Chapter Twenty-Two

The first part of the trio's journey went relatively smoothly, as they made their way from Volterra up to Florence. They joked and constantly spoke to each other through the walkie talkies, as Felix and Hermione tried to keep up with an invisible Demetri, who was leading them.

Hermione wished she could have spent some time in Florence for this was a place she had always dreamed of visiting one day. Despite everyone thinking she was nothing more than an academic bookworm, she also had a passion for history, arts, and architecture, courtesy of her parents.

She wanted to visit The Duomo, a domed Cathedral set in the town of Santa Maria del Fiore. She had of course read all about the city and had even made a 'to visit' list of places she wanted to see, but information on a book was nothing compared to actually going and seeing it with her own eyes.

She wanted to visit art galleries and museums such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti. And walk across the Ponte Vecchio that overlooks the Arno River at night time. There was just so much history and culture in Florence and in Italy as a whole and she had wanted a taste of this, after finishing her schooling at Hogwarts and once the War was over, if she made it out alive.

Despite never having visited Italy, she loved the thought of going and touring the full country, seeing all the big cities such as Florence, Rome, Millan, Venice, and Naples. But unfortunately she would never get that chance, not as the person she was now.

So it was with a heavy heart that she passed Florence, seeing only a small glimpse of it from the outskirts as they made their way up to Bologna next. If Demetri and Felix noticed her sudden quietness, they didn't say anything and respected her mood change, although neither one understood what had happened to cause it.

Reaching Bologna however, she had quickly come out of her dark mood and began to do what she did best, ask the pair of vampires a lot of questions. She had never heard of Bologna before, but did wonder if that was where bolognaise sauce got its name from, yet she didn't know much about the city itself. So with a renewed enthusiasm she began to interrogate Demetri and Felix to find out what they knew.

They were happy to answer her questions, well the ones that they could, and rather liked this excited version of her, rather than the quiet companion they had earlier.

Hermione was told that this was the largest city and the capital of the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy and was home to the second oldest university in the world, the University of Bologna which was built in 1088. This information of course piqued Hermione's interest as she wondered what it would have been like to live and study there as a normal muggle.

There were several interesting places to visit in Bologna, according to both Demetri and Felix, such as the Duo Torri, which are two of the most famous Roman defensive towers built in the city. There was also the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, which is a beautiful basilica church built on top of a forested hill above the city, making it a prominent sight.

After making their way through Bologna, they then headed to their next stop called Treviso, the capital city of the Province of Treviso. Before heading to their final destination in Italy to a city called Gorizia, which bordered on to Slovenia.

They had been travelling for two days before reaching their last stop, for it had taken them longer than expected as the cities they passed were busy with humans, and it was a lot harder for them to navigate when they were invisible to each other.

They had made progress however, so Demetri thought it would be best to stop here, so that they could feed and build up their energy for the next part of the journey. On top of that Hermione's disillusionment charms were beginning to weaken, turning them from being completely invisible to looking like a slight shimmer. She had tried to keep them topped up, but it was hard doing it to people who she couldn't see while running. Although they still couldn't be detected, if someone looked long and hard enough they would see the slight gleam of their bodies.

Gorizia was the capital of the Province of Gorizia and was located at the foot of the Julian Alps which bordered on to Slovenia. They travelled to the bottom of the Alps so that they were close enough to the border, where they would eventually have to cross, but far away from humans, so as not to be noticed.

Hermione cancelled the disillusionment charms and the silencing charms, and smiled warmly up at the two vampires.

"Well it's so nice to see your pretty faces again." She said with a small giggle.

"Not sure I can say the same about you my little witchling, your hair is atrocious." Demetri said with a mischievous grin.

"And for once he isn't exaggerating." Felix added.

Hermione patted her head to feel stray frizzy curls that had come undone from the ponytail she had put it in when they first left Volterra, and after all that running at high speed it was no wonder her curls were bad. With a small frown she went into her beaded bag and pulled out a mirror and a brush, before setting to work. It seemed that no matter what she was, a muggle, witch or vampire, she would never escape this problem with her hair, despite how much it had tamed since she had turned into a vampire.

Putting the items back into her bag, she smiled and turned to the two male vampires who were sitting down under a tree, waiting for her to finish righting herself.

"There is that better?" She asked sitting down to join them.

"Much." They both said at the same time.

"So what happens next?" She asked, leaning her head down onto Felix's strong broad shoulder.

"Well next we should feed. It's better to do it often while we travel to keep our energy levels up." Demetri looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Felix and I will head to the nearest town and you can look here." He said.

Hermione frowned slightly at his words. He was being respectful of the fact that they fed from humans while she fed from animals, but she didn't like the idea of being too far away from them especially in such an unfamiliar country.

"How will we find each other?" She asked quietly.

"I am a tracker my little witchling." Demetri said with a smug smile. "Also I can put markers somewhere here so that we can easily find the location again."

She sighed knowing it was for the best. The last thing she wanted to see again was them feeding from humans. Ever since that fateful day in the dome room Aro, Marcus and Caius always made sure that Hermione was no-where near the room during their feeding time, which she was incredibly grateful for. But the smell that lingered in the dome room afterwards was both intoxicating and disgusting to her.

"Alright then let's do it." She said with a small smile.

"We promise we won't be long." Felix said squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

Demetri sniffed the air then turned back in the direction they had just come from.

"I can smell the blood of a group of people coming from those who live on the outskirts of the city. About three miles that way. I think that would be our best chance without being caught." He said.

They had done this a lot throughout the years, so knew what they were doing without the risk of being exposed or leaving a trail behind. They also knew when to take a risk and when not to.

Felix nodded, trusting his mate before turning to face Hermione.

"Would you cast your little spell to make us invisible again little witchling, since we're out in the daylight and are more at risk of being seen." He asked.

Hermione smirked and waved her hand casting the disillusionment spell again.

"Thanks and remember we still have our walkie talkies if you need us little witchling." He added afterwards.

She sighed at the two invisible vampires and shook her head at them, her hands firmly placed on her hips.

"Honestly boys I can take care of myself, now go before I hex you both."

She heard them chuckling before Demetri said,

"Bossy little thing isn't she dear."

"She is that." Felix said in agreement.

"Go." Hermione yelled, while trying to stop herself from giggling.

Even though things were different now, she still at times thought about all the adventures she had shared with Ron and Harry, after all they had been a large part of her life at one point. She missed them more just now because of the similar situation she was in with Felix and Demetri. It was funny how she had settled into a trio with two boys as a witch, then having the same thing happening again as a vampire. Maybe she was destined to always be 'one of the boys', as they say.

Felix spoke on the walkie talkie to confirm they had now left the area and were heading to feed. So Hermione sniffed the air to find her own meal, which didn't take long to locate. There was a herd of sheep a couple of miles south or wild goats closer to the foot of the Julian Alps to pick from. Risking a chance, she began to run towards the goats, because feeding and killing one of the sheep could draw unwanted and unnecessary attention to herself.

She found a group of adult males, as she could tell by the size of their horns, foraging in one of the rough terrains at the side of one of the mountains. It wasn't too high for her to get too but it did mean she would have to climb. With her new strength and vampire speed it was easy work for her however.

She disillusioned herself and cast a silencing charm before making the short climb to where they were. She looked over the group of goats and located the largest of the males, probably the alpha, since he was the biggest and had the largest horns. She made her way towards them before pouncing on the one she wanted, having to duck and manoeuvre, as it panicked and butted her with its head and sharp horns. She wrapped her powerful body around its back and stomach squeezing it into submission, before sinking her teeth into its neck and sucking. The goat was using the last of its energy trying to escape but she had a tight hold of it. The other males in the group had ran away to a safe distance, some turning back to look as their leader became Hermione's meal.

Once she was done she headed back to the meeting point and patiently waited for Felix and Demetri to return. Hunting humans required more skill and patience than hunting animals, because they had to cover their tracks and then hide the bodies, whereas Hermione didn't have that problem. No-one would go looking for dead wild animals after all.

As soon as the two vampires had returned they were all ready to leave, so once she had cast her spells, they headed off across the Julian Alps and into Slovenia. Their next destination was Kranj, the fourth biggest city in Slovenia situated amongst a picturesque landscape.

Demetri had chosen to go through Kranj instead of Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, because it was large enough for them to pass through undetected. The capital city would no doubt be much busier because of the time of day, which would further delay them.

After Kranj they made their way to Ptuj without stopping. Just like they had done in Gorizia, they stopped and made a base camp before splitting up to feed. Once they met up again they relaxed for a while before moving on. So far they had been travelling for three and a half days straight and had no signs of other vampires in any of the areas they had been in. It also helped having the spells Hermione put on them, for this meant that they couldn't be sensed by others until the spells had been cancelled.

They left Slovenia and made their way into Hungary, passing through a city called Kaposvar in the south-western part of the country. They basically headed across the country in a straight-line to Mako which was in the south-eastern part. Again they choose to stop here to feed, but instead of leaving straight away, they made a small camp deep within a forest to discuss the next stage of their plans.

They were so close to entering Romania that they had to be extra vigilant now, as the chances of them running into members of the Romanian coven grew higher the closer they moved into their territory. And Mako wasn't that far from the Romanian border and their next destination.

Sitting on top of a fallen tree, the three vampires relaxed peacefully while discussing their next move, safe in the knowledge that there were no other vampires close by.

"We need to keep our eyes and ears open because no doubt the Romanians will be guarding the borders like hawks." Demetri said.

"Constant vigilance." Hermione said in agreement, with a small smile playing across her lips.

"Exactly." Demetri agreed, not realising the little joke Hermione had just made.

"Luckily for them they won't even know we're coming thanks to our own little witchling." Felix said nudging Hermione's shoulder playfully.

Hermione gave a very unladylike snort and rolled her eyes at him, although humour twinkled brightly in their depths.

"Glad I can be of some use." She said, nudging his shoulder back.

"So the next stop is Arad then on to Deva, where we will feed again, before finally stopping at your friend's sanctuary in Arefu. Will you be able to find them alright since the place is heavily guarded?" Demetri asked, having not given it any thought before.

Hermione nodded her head in the affirmative then said,

"Yes the closer I get to it, the more I will be able to feel their magic. Plus, if we get lost I can always send him a patronus for help."

Demetri looked at her curiously, knowing that she had probably already explained to him what a patronus was before, but he couldn't remember all the magical terms she had for things. Magic was incredibly mind boggling, especially to people like him.

She sighed and waved her hand to show him her bat patronus but what she saw surprised even her. Her normal otter was back moving elegantly through the air, as if it was swimming in water. She gasped at the sight before her and simply stared after it.

Having noticed the surprise etched onto her face, and having heard her small gasp of surprise, both vampires looked at her with concern, wondering if something was wrong with her magic or worse; her.

"What's the matter?" Felix asked looking from Hermione to the dancing otter.

"I don't understand." She whispered quietly.

She cancelled her patronus then took a step forward to where it had just been, her head bent low as she stood in quiet contemplation, trying to get her head around this new development.

What did this change mean? Her otter had turned into a bat when she realised that she was in love with Severus. Now it had reverted back, did that mean she was no longer in love with him? Sifting through all of her feelings she thought of Severus and tried to decipher what he meant to her. Right now she felt guilty, for she hadn't been thinking of him as much as she had at the beginning. She still ached and longed for him, but since she had been so focused on Aro and this new War, what she felt for Severus now had diminished slightly, but the love she had for him was not totally gone. She still loved him, she could feel it in her heart.

Her patronus didn't represent Aro either, so it couldn't mean that she was in love with him, as it would have taken on something that would have represented him in a way. A patronus only changed when someone went through an emotional upheaval, including falling in love. That's why hers had changed to a bat, because it had represented Severus the first day he taught her how to fly, and once she had realised she loved him. But she had never heard of anyone's patronus reverting back to its original state before. The only thing she could think of was, she was confused about what she felt for both Aro and Severus, so therefore her patronus had reverted back to what it had first been. It was the only logical explanation she could think of. Her heart didn't know which man she truly wanted, so for now she chose neither. It made sense in a way.

"Hermione are you alright?" Demetri asked, as both vampires came to stand next to her.

She nodded her head, trying to keep her emotions at bay before looking up at him, with big wide eyes. How could she possibly explain to them what this meant? It was confusing even to her, so how could they possibly understand.

"Yeah it's just…" She began to say before her voice trailed off. Her body instantly stiffened as her head snapped around to look at the side.

Vampires were descending on them quickly, no more than five miles away, coming from the borders.

"Do you think they are from the Romanian coven?" Hermione asked the two males by her side, who were also stiff and ready for a fight.

"I'm not sure but let's not take the chance. Hermione cast your spells. We will surprise them and if they are the Romanians we will fight." Demetri said, feeling the need to track them already.

"And if not?" Hermione asked.

"Then we will interrogate them and find out what they know. If they are innocent, we will release them. If not, they will be killed." Felix said bluntly, in his commanding voice.

Hermione nodded and cast her spells, before the trio moved through the trees to get into position. Her mind and body were preparing to fight, the closer the other group came to them. This was her first proper task as a member of the Volturi and she was excited. She had never quite felt like this before, and having Felix and Demetri by her side only made her feel more invincible at that moment.

"Stop at that clearing right in front. The group are just beyond those trees." Demetri instructed through the walkie talkies.

"Gotcha stud." Hermione replied with a small chuckle.

Following Demetri's instructions, the three vampires remained disillusioned and silenced as they watched and waited for the group to come into the clearing. Luckily they didn't have to wait long.

An adult male, who was probably the coven leader, and an adult female walked cautiously into the middle of the clearing. Looking around warily, before the male beckoned behind him.

"It's alright Anna come out." He said, as a teenage girl with dark brown hair walked slowly out of from the trees towards them.

Just looking at the three of them Hermione could tell that they were not part of the Romanian coven. They were cautious and looked absolutely terrified, as if they were running from something or rather someone.

"What do we do?" Hermione whispered through her walkie talkie, despite the fact that the silencing spell stopped them from being heard anyway.

"You and Demetri move behind the group, I will take them from the front. I don't think they are a threat, but we shouldn't risk it." Felix said, his tone sounding like that of an experienced commander. "On the count of three Demetri you grab the adult female, Hermione you grab the youngest female, then cancel the spells. Ready." He said giving them a second to prepare. "One, two, three."

Hermione rushed around the clearing and just before she grabbed the young woman, Felix shouted 'now' through the walkie talkies.

She cancelled the spells before grabbing the woman known as Anna. The two women screamed, while the man roared for them to let go before dropping to his knees in surrender.

"Please I beg of you don't hurt my family." He said looking at Demetri and Hermione. "Please." He begged again clasping his hands in front of him and shaking them, as if sending out a silent prayer.

"We will not harm them unless you tell us what we want to know." Felix said, looking strong and intimidating standing over the kneeling vampire before him.

"Anything, I will tell you anything, just please don't hurt them." He whispered. Felix moved his large black cloak revealing the Volturi pendent proudly displayed around his neck. The unknown vampire gasped, before moving backwards, a look of sheer terror on his face. "Y-you're Volturi." He said recognising it at once.

Felix slowly followed the man, as he scuttled backwards, knowing that he would not get very far if he tried to make a run for it. He looked like an honourable man however, so Felix knew that he would not go and leave his family behind. Knowing that if he did leave, death would claim them.

"We are, but we promise not to harm you or your family if you cooperate."

The unknown vampire looked at his family and whispered I'm sorry, causing the two women to struggle in their captor's arms.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, you're simply making things harder for yourself." Demetri said in warning.

"Go to hell." The woman hissed back. Demetri pulled on her harder causing her to moan in pain.

"Please, I will tell you anything, just let them go." The man pleaded seeing the pain and fear cross his mates face.

Demetri loosened his grip and nodded his head to Felix.

Hermione meanwhile held onto Anna, who had stopped struggling.

"It's alright." Hermione cooed. "You won't be hurt I promise." She whispered, so that only Anna could hear her.

Anna nodded her head, but didn't say anything as she watched the proceedings with her mother and father.

"Start by telling us who you are and why you are running away." Felix said moving closer to the male vampire, who had stopped moving and was now sitting hunched on his knees.

"My name is Abel Petran and that is my wife Flori and our daughter Anna, we come from Slobozia in Romania." He said indicating to the older woman first then to his daughter. "We are running because the Romanian coven have gone mad with power. War is coming to the Volturi soon." He said, his eyes downcast as he spoke the last part.

Felix sighed and looked as if he was bored before saying,

"We already know about the War, that is why we are here. If you are from Romania why are you running away and not fighting with your coven?"

Abel looked to his family sadly before gazing back up at Felix.

"They are not my coven. My family is and we are not fighters, we do not want to join this War. But those who do not join the army are killed, accused of being traitors. Whole families have been destroyed for saying no. I did not want that to happen to my family. So we fled. They have been chasing us since we left. They are coming." A look of sheer panic crossed his features as he spoke. "Please let us go, or they will find us and kill us."

Felix looked on at the pleading man, sympathy building for his plight, although he did not show it outwardly.

"Before I let you go, tell me what do you know of their secret weapon?" He asked.

The man sighed and looked at his family once more.

"We do not know what the secret weapon is, but we have been told that a man dwells within the coven, more powerful than any vampire before. They say he has the strength and power to destroy the Volturi once and for all. His hatred for your coven is beyond anything, anyone has ever heard of. But they are just stories." He whispered. "Please let us go. I have told you everything that I know." He pleaded once again.

"Very well." Felix said, before looking towards Demetri and Hermione and giving them a nod of his head.

At his command Hermione and Demetri let go of the two females, who instantly ran towards the male. They huddled together in fear and in gratitude before Abel looked up warily.

"You should leave here and go somewhere safe. We will distract the Romanians tracking you." Demetri said. They all knew the meaning behind his words.

"Thank you, thank you." Abel said rising to his feet and taking both his wife and daughters hands in his own. He moved them safely behind him, still not trusting the three Volturi vampires, before backing out the clearing, never once taking his eyes off the Volturi trio. Once he knew they were safe they fled, not stopping until they were far away from the three vampires they had always believed to be the enemy.

Felix, Demetri and Hermione stayed in the clearing after the family of vampires had fled, to discuss the new information that they had just heard.

"Do you think this male vampire is there secret weapon? Or do you think he just has a strong power?" Demetri asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but if what Abel said is true then we are in for a much tougher fight than we thought." Felix said, rubbing his chin absentmindedly. "They are slaughtering their own people for not joining with them. Even the Volturi isn't that bad." He said with a remorseful sigh.

"Power hungry psychos are like that." Hermione said thinking of Lord Voldemort and his minions. He used the pureblood supremacy as a way to gain power and control. Despite the fact he killed muggles, half bloods and purebloods. He didn't care who it was he killed and tortured as long as he got what he wanted in the end. This Romanian coven sounded no different in her eyes.

"Now we sit and wait. The fight will shortly come to us." Felix said as his gaze drifted through the clearing.

A group of vampires were heading towards them and unlike the family of three who had just passed through the clearing, these vampires were clearly the enemy.

"Prepare yourselves for battle." Demetri said. Using his power of tracking he could sense that the other group were about twenty miles away, but it wouldn't take them long to close the distance between them.

Following his lead, the three vampires stood in a line getting into their defensive positions, eyes trained towards the other side of the clearing, as they waited. They didn't want Hermione to cast her spells because this time, they wanted the other group to find them.


Meanwhile back at Hogwarts night time had quickly descended and while the students were sleeping soundly in their beds, the first Order of the Phoenix meeting, since the end of the second War was taking place. Professors who were not in the order guarded the entrance of the Great Hall while others patrolled the corridors for any students breaking curfew.

Dumbledore greeted every member of what was now called the Third Order of the Phoenix. Some of the original members were still present, joined now by members from the second rising, and now there were new members who wanted to join.

Standing up and looking down at all the faces he smiled at them, gladdened by the mixture of people who were in attendance, some who he never believed would be sitting before him now, as members of the light.

Remus and his heavily pregnant wife Dora sat next to Arthur and Molly Weasley, the latter fusing over the pregnant witch. The Weasley children, although they were no longer classed as children now, were also in attendance. Percy, who had made up with his family after realising how wrong and foolish he had been, sat next to Bill and his wife Fleur. Then there was Fred and his fiancée Katie and also George and his fiancée Angelina. Alastor Moody stood, keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings next to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic. There were also the younger generation in attendance, Harry of course and Ron, were sitting next to Neville, Luna and Ginny. Then there was Albus, Minerva and of course Severus. The three biggest surprises however were Lucius, Narcissa and Draco.

After the War, when the Malfoys were found innocent thanks to the members of the Order, they had pledged their support to them as a way of thanks. Although they were not fully trusted as yet, for that took time after everything they had all been through, they were growing a tentative friendship with the other members. War changes people, and for some this change was a good thing, especially in the case of the Malfoys.

"Thank you all for joining me here tonight. I know that I have taken you away from your busy lives but I do appreciate you finding the time." Albus said, as the room fell silent. "The reason I have asked you all here tonight is because War is coming to the world again."

There was a collective gasp as everyone began to murmur amongst themselves.

"I do not understand; all the death eaters have been captured Albus. As the Minister I have received no such reports of this kind." Kingsley said, his arms folded across his chest.

"That is true my friend but the War I speak of is not a Wizarding War." He sighed. "Before the school term resumed, Severus, Remus and myself travelled to Volterra to see Hermione, as some of you already know. We were concerned about her wellbeing." He raised his hand up to shush the group, as they began to fear for their friend. "Do not worry she is doing quite well now." He said not wanting to delve in and tell them what she had gone through, for that was her story after all. "While we were there Hermione had another vision. Many years ago before the Volturi were in power, they had a century long War to overthrow the Romanian coven, who at that time had power over all the vampires. The Romanians are fearless, they want power and do not have rules to follow like the Volturi. They want their race to be out in the open and revered as Gods. The Volturi of course will fight this. Which brings me back to the topic of War." He looked over the top of his spectacles at all the pale faces, who knew where this was going. "The Romanians want their power back and have threatened War on the Volturi. A great battle will take place in February and right now the Volturi are amassing a small army, while the Romanians army grows larger every day. Hermione has seen the vision, she knows when and where this battle will take place." He sighed wearily before saying, "I fear that if the Volturi fail, the Romanians will take over their world, then move on to the muggle world and then onto ours. We have heard that they have a secret weapon but as of yet we don't know what that it is exactly."

"They have Hermione though and from what I've heard she is powerful enough to take on an army. Why involve us in something that does not concern our world?" Percy asked.

Severus glared at the man and through gritted teeth said,

"You want her to run into a battle like a lamb to the slaughter. Despite what you or anyone else thinks she is still one us."

Dumbledore put his hand gently on the Potion Master's arm, to try and calm him, before turning his own glare towards Percy Weasley.

"Severus is right, despite how powerful she may be, Hermione can't destroy an army with over 500 soldiers in it. And possibly more. She needs help, which is why I called you here today."

"Excuse me Professor Dumbledore." Harry said respectfully, while fidgeting in his chair. "But how are we supposed to fight against vampires like them. Didn't Hermione already say our magic couldn't work against them?" He asked.

Dumbledore sighed and nodded his head.

"That is quite right Harry, she did say that. But that doesn't mean she can't use our magic against them." He said with a small twinkle. "You've all seen what she can do, we could help in that way. Also if she has any chance of winning, we need to give her back her wand." At his words Severus waved his own wand through the air, revealing Hermione's wand in a glass case. It was glowing faintly with a white light. "Mistress and wand must be reunited for the full force of her power to be unleashed. But the only way we can get it to her, is by going there ourselves."

He looked over all the faces as they looked at the wand in awe, and with a curious fascination.

"What do you propose?" Arthur, the more logical of the Weasleys, except for perhaps Bill, asked.

Dumbledore let his steely blue eyes travel across the room, to every member of the order.

"I propose that when the time is right, a group of us go to Hermione and help."

"And if we don't go?" Arthur asked again as he tried to think of all the pros and cons.

Albus Dumbledore sighed and looked solemn, as he stroked his long beard.

"Then I think we should all pray to Merlin that the Volturi wins. I do not want to think of what will be, should the alternative happen."

Again the group of order members began to murmur and speak amongst themselves as they listened to Dumbledore's words. They were not stupid or blind, they could see and hear the worry behind his words, and in his eyes that had lost that mischievous twinkle.

"Albus I should inform you then that we received a letter from Charlie not that long ago. Hermione and two other vampires are heading to Romania, she asked if they could set up a base camp at his sanctuary." Arthur said.

Dumbledore had not heard that news, and wondered what would drive her to go into enemy territory. Unless it was to gather useful information.

"Thank you for notifying me of that Arthur. I did not know that she was travelling." He said stroking his beard again in thought. "Would you perhaps write to Charlie and ask him to report back on Hermione and her friends and find out why she's there?"

Before anyone could say anything more, the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, and every member except for Dora, who couldn't stand that quickly because of her large baby bump, jumped up and pointed their wands towards the door.

"I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop her." Professor Flitwick squeaked, as he was pulled across the floor, still holding onto Professor Trelawney's leg.

"Sybill what is the meaning of this?" Albus asked, moving forward and with a flick of his wrist, closed the doors to the Great Hall once more. While Professor Flitwick rose to his full height and dusted off his clothing, trying to preserve some of his dignity.

Sybill seemed not to hear him as she glided towards the group, not looking at any of them. Her eyes seemed glazed and unfocused, like she was in a trance, and her breathing seemed loud and raspy. In a deep breathy voice that was not her own she said,

"She who holds the power of two worlds, will perish in fire and death. A friend who is foe wishes to harm her. While a foe who is friend wishes to help. But only the golden light can save her, before the dark one can reach her."

She coughed and barked, before looking around the room in a daze.

"Oh hello." She said before quickly passing out.

"Filius would you mind levitating dear Sybill up to the hospital wing." Dumbledore asked gently, having not moved since Sybill's prophecy.

"What?" Filius squeaked, surprised at where he was. "Yes, yes of course." He swished his wand causing an unconscious Sybill to be lifted into the air, following behind Filius as he left the Great Hall.

Albus waited for the doors to close before heading back to his chair, and slumping down onto it as he ran his hands across his face and beard. He sighed heavily before looking at the stunned faces of the group, who simply gazed at him.

"I believe things are much graver than I thought." He whispered, almost to himself.

Severus felt like ice was running through his veins. He had no doubt about who that prophecy was about, but if it was true then Hermione was going to die. There was no easier way to put it. He couldn't let that happen, he had already lost her once, he couldn't bear to lose her again. Not like that.

"I will go to Volterra with you Albus and I will fight alongside the Volturi." Severus said.

Dumbledore's eyes turned to the Potion Master, as he saw the anguish in the young man's dark gaze.

"Thank you my boy." He whispered in understanding, knowing what the young woman in question meant to him.

"I will fight too." Harry said standing to his feet. "Hermione is our friend. She saved our lives and I think it's time we repaid her."

At that moment, Severus had never been more proud or thankful to the young man he had always seen as an enemy. He nodded to him in gratitude and saw happiness flicker in the young man's eyes.

"Bloody hell Harry this is just like old times." Ron said standing to his feet. "Guess I'm in too."

"Brilliant." Harry exclaimed, causing Molly to whimper in the background.

"If you think I am letting all these adolescent whippersnappers have all the fun then you're wrong." Alastor Moody said, puffing out his chest. "I will fight too."

"And me." Kingsley said.

Neville rose valiantly and joined Ron and Harry.

"I-I will too." He stammered, although he had the look of someone who was determined.

Dora nudged Remus, despite the fact she was heavily pregnant she didn't want to stop Remus from helping his friend. She wasn't due until January, so she hoped he would be there for the birth.

"Are you sure?" He whispered into his wife's ear.

She nodded, all the while rubbing her stomach gently.

"If it wasn't for Hermione Remus, we wouldn't be here to enjoy our son. We wouldn't be able to bring him up in a world without fear. Harry's right, we owe her a lot."

Remus smiled at her affectionately before kissing her head, then stood to his feet.

"I will fight too."

"So will…" Fred said.

"We." George finished, high fiving each other.

"If these two prats are going then so am I." Bill said ruffling the hair of his twin brother's heads.

Ginny who had been looking on stood up with a glare.

"Well if they're all going so am I." She huffed.

"Me too." Luna said, her soft voice floating through the air.

Molly Weasley jumped up from her seat then and shouted unable to take anymore.

"No." She shook her head and moved towards her daughter. "I was just about coping with the boys going but I am not allowing you girls to go. Albus, War is no place for these girls." She said, pleading for him to agree.

"Yes you are quite right Molly dear." He said to the moans of some of the females who had been eager to join. "We do not think any less of you, in fact we admire your courage but Molly is right. The females will stay here, Minerva." He said turning to look at his Deputy. "You will stay here and run the school in my stead."

Minerva rose slowly to her feet, her gaze never wavering from his twinkling baby blue eyes.

"Albus bloody Dumbledore you are incredibly foolish." She said sternly. "But also very brave." Her face softened as she stood up on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, much to the surprise of those in the room. "Thank you." She said, after all Hermione was still one of her treasured cubs.

For the first time ever, the members of the Order of the Phoenix were surprised to see the powerful wizard blush a deep red.

"Yes well." He choked out.

Lucius who had been watching the proceedings quietly rose to his feet, along with his son and said,

"The Malfoys will fight too." The whole group quickly turned to stare at him as if he had just grown a pair of antlers. "Hermione saved my family and helped clear my name. There is nothing we wouldn't do for her." He said truthfully.

Dumbledore smiled, seeing the unity between the unlikely group of allies.

"Then it is settled. We will leave for War and help our friend." Dumbledore said. With that the first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix had come to an end, as the group who would be leaving for Volterra agreed to meet up before they left, in order to go over there plans. Excitement and fear gripped the group, but they all knew that there was never going to be any other outcome. Hermione was, and always would be a part of them, despite the fact she was a vampire. With the love and loyalty they had for her, no-one saw her wand glow whiter.

The room emptied as all the members left to go back to their respected homes, with only Albus and Severus staying behind as they tried to make sense of the rest of the prophecy.