A/N: As a point of reference, I'm using the Department of Mysteries map created by Christopher Culley and available on The Harry Potter Lexicon.

A/N 2: Fair warning: this chapter has a cliffhanger. After more than 700,000 words in this epic trilogy, I couldn't fit the climax of this story into a single chapter and still do it justice. The other half will appear on Tuesday at its regular time.

A/N 3: Thanks to all those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. I'm glad that people have been enjoying it. And a special thanks to Bonnie and Mainsail for beta reading this and thus improving on the original. Bonnie in particular spent a lot of time this past week smoothing out the rough patches in this chapter. If you have questions or concerns about what's going on, feel free to include them in a review or a PM — I'll try to answer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.

Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "A Little Child Shall Lead Them" by White Squirrel. Hermione goes back in time in order to fix things — Harry may have won, but far too many died and far too much was destroyed in the process. The problem is, even Hermione will find it difficult to be taken seriously as a two-year-old.

Final Countdown: 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2!

Chapter 49 - Woke Up This Morning

Thursday, June 1, 1996, Morning. 7:00 AM.

Jasmine woke with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, and every fiber of her being felt on edge. These feelings didn't go away when she showered for the day. They didn't lessen when she dressed and strapped her wand to her forearm. Not even breakfast with her friends made her feel better.

"Hey, Hermione?" she asked. "Have you ever woken up and felt like you were about to have a great day? Like everything was going to go your way?"

"Yeah, I think so," Hermione answered. "Why?"

Jasmine looked up at the staff table to see the pink pseudo-headmistress smiling evilly at her and shivered. "Because I don't think today is going to be one of those days."

Dolores Umbridge ate her breakfast slowly, thinking about how to best proceed with her plans. Ever since Marietta Edgecomb had come to her last week to admit to the sorts of books which Potter had been distributing since last spring, she'd been trying to find a way to use that information.

It's a pity that Miss Edgecomb's mother made her burn those books over the summer, otherwise I'd already have all the evidence I need, Umbridge lamented. Cornelius wants me to bait Potter into running to the Ministry before OWLs start on Monday, and preferably tonight; but his plan is so convoluted that it's absurd! I don't know what he was thinking, but clearly he can't cope without me there.

Umbridge took another sip of her tea as she eyed Jasmine Potter balefully. No matter — my plan is much simpler and more likely to work. Soon I'll have the evidence to expel both of those brats, and then I'll be back at the Ministry where I belong. Soon... very soon... she thought with a predatory smile, Potter and her pet mudblood will be permanently removed from our world, and we will once again have order and security under the guidance of the Ministry. I just need to interrogate some students….

"Minerva, do you know where Severus is?" Umbridge asked abruptly.

McGonagall's faux civility seemed even frostier than usual this morning. "I'm afraid I don't know. He doesn't always attend breakfast."

"Very well, I'll have to go looking for him myself," Umbridge said. If he has veritaserum, this will go a lot faster; if not, I'll have to get the evidence the hard way.

Thursday, June 1, 1996, Night. 10:00 PM.

"See," Hermione was saying as they entered their dorm, "I told you there was nothing to worry about. Nothing happened all day."

"Hey, Jasmine," Parvati called out. "There's a strange bird with a package sitting on your bed. He's been there for a little while, I think."

When Jasmine got to her bed, she saw a large raven standing on a thick, square package wrapped in parchment and tied with string. "You just had to say something, didn't you?" Jasmine groaned.

"Well... it might not be bad..." Hermione said feebly, not sounding like she believed it herself.

The raven eyed Jasmine for a moment, then cawed loudly before flying out the dorm window. Both Jasmine and Hermione cast multiple spells on the package it had left behind, checking for any sort of hexes or curses.

When nothing dangerous turned up, Jasmine carefully opened it, finding a golden phoenix pendant, a small hand mirror, and a note. Something about the pendant raised a quiet alarm in the back of her mind, but she didn't have time to figure it out. "Tap the mirror with your wand and say 'activate' to use," she read aloud. She did so, and was horrified at the face that replaced her own.

"Well, it's about time," came the sibilant voice of Lord Voldemort. "You never call, you never write…."

"You!" Jasmine hissed. "What do you want?"

"It's what We already have that should concern you more at the moment," Voldemort said with a predatory smile. "Don't you recognize the little trinket that was included in the package?"

Jasmine frowned down at the pendant in her other hand, but realization slowly spread across her face. "Remus!" she whispered. "How did you—"

"How is hardly important," Voldemort interrupted. "What's important is what you're willing to do to get him back."

"What do you want?" Jasmine asked. Hermione shook her head violently, trying to tell Jasmine not to play his game.

Voldemort smiled thinly. "There's something in the Ministry that We want. Something you are quite capable of retrieving for Us, We assure you. Go there, get it, and bring it outside the muggle entrance before midnight, and you can have your pet werewolf back."

"How do we even know he's still alive?" Hermione jumped in to say before Jasmine could agree.

"The mudblood dares speak to Lord Voldemort!" came an outraged female voice from the other end of the connection.

"She dares, and she's right," Jasmine said. "If he's already dead, I'm not going anywhere."

There was a glint in Voldemort's eye as he said, "Very well, We can provide you with your proof... but it will cost you."

"Fine, I'll pay it," Jasmine said before Hermione could stop her.

The image on the mirror bounced around as the other end was repositioned, and in a moment they were viewing Remus Lupin, strapped to a wooden table and covered with lines of blood. In his face was carved the impact of hours of torture, but there was no doubt that he was alive.

"That can't be Remus!" Hermione hissed. "Tonight's a full moon, and he hasn't transformed!"

"It sounds as though the know-it-all hasn't done her homework," Voldemort sneered. "Werewolves only transform when they are hit by the light of the full moon. If they hide from it, they experience terrible pain that builds and builds as their body is prevented from transforming. We have of course been helping that along."

"Oh, no!" Hermione whispered.

"Satisfied?" Voldemort asked as he spun the mirror to face him again.

"Yes," Jasmine choked out.

"Good," Voldemort said as he spun the mirror back to Remus. "Now it's time to pay the price. Macnair!"

From off to the side they saw a silvery axe swing down and cut clean through the wrist of Remus' left hand. A blood-curdling scream was torn from him as he strained against his bonds in agony.

"Such a beautiful sound. We never get tired of it," Voldemort said almost wistfully, chuckling softly to himself before looking into the mirror once again. "We didn't say that you would have to pay the price, Potter. Without the light of the moon, the pain of that injury will be many times worse than normal."

"You bastard!" Jasmine spat in helpless fury, attracting the attention of the others in the dorm.

"We can sit here and trade insults all night, or you can go do what you need to do in order to free your werewolf," Voldemort said with a cruel smirk. "Or what's left of him. We must warn you, though, as long as he's here, We are going to have to allow Our followers to... play with him. It would be unkind of Us not to."

"Fine!" Jasmine said, angrily brushing a few tears away. "What is it that you want?"

"A prophecy sphere," Voldemort answered. "It's in the Prophecy Room of the Department of Mysteries, down on the bottom level of the Ministry of Magic. It's located most of the way along row ninety-seven and is marked as being about the two of us. Hurry — you have less than two hours to bring it to the muggle entrance outside the Ministry, alone, or the werewolf dies. Painfully."

The connection was cut and Jasmine found herself staring at her own tear-streaked face.

"You know it's a trap," Hermione whispered.

"Of course it's a trap," Jasmine said. "But so what? I can't leave Remus like that."

"I didn't say you should," Hermione said. "I just want us to be prepared for what's coming." She then hurried over to her trunk and pulled out a small package.

"What's wrong?" Lavender asked.

"Can't talk, have to go," Jasmine said shortly as she turned to leave.

"Go where, specifically?" Hermione asked, a half step behind her.

"We'll use the floo in Fleur's office," Jasmine answered. "Maybe we'll be able to get there faster than he expects and turn the trap back on him."

"Floo Sirius first," Hermione insisted. "He can let the others know what's going on."

Out on the stairs to the girls dorms they encountered Gabrielle and Ginny, who were on their way to bed. Jasmine didn't stop, but Hermione quickly filled them in on what was going on. Gabrielle immediately ran for her dorm while Ginny sent a message to everyone else via her button, allowing Hermione to catch back up with Jasmine.

Thursday, June 1, 1996, Night. 10:15 PM.

"I am sorry, but zere is no way to make a connection," Fleur said angrily. "Something is interfering with ze floo."

"What's the emergency?" Padma asked as she entered Fleur's quarters, most of the rest of the study group right behind her.

"Voldemort has captured Remus Lupin and will kill him if Jasmine doesn't get a prophecy sphere from the Ministry and hand it over personally," Hermione summarized. "We've got until midnight."

"I think we all know what that prophecy sphere says, too," Jasmine said grimly.

"My auntie—" Susan tried to suggest, but Jasmine cut her off.

"I'm sorry, but there's no time to contact her, convince her this is real, and get her to agree to the exchange — certainly not with me delivering it alone, like Voldemort is demanding. And that's assuming she could even get all that done behind Fudge's back."

"On top of that, the floo isn't working," Hermione added as Gabrielle entered, looking decidedly bulky under her school robes. She nodded to her sister, who ducked into her bedroom. "We tried to contact Sirius to let him know, but we can't connect. We also can't connect to the Ministry."

"Then we need to find some other way to get there," Susan said, making it clear that Jasmine and Hermione wouldn't be travelling alone, no matter what Voldemort wanted.

"Hey, we have another problem," Tracey said before the conversation could go any further. "I was already going to send out a message when yours came in. Pansy took me aside a little bit ago and said she was warned that something was going to happen in Hogwarts, probably tonight. She told me she was going to barricade herself in her dorm and that I should do the same."

"An attack? Here, like we originally assumed?" Hermione asked. "I was thinking that this thing with the Ministry was what we've been waiting for."

"Seems a bit audacious for him to attack both," Daphne agreed. "Maybe there will be a small attack here once we leave as a diversion to empty out the Ministry? Or after, if he thinks he'll control the Ministry somehow?"

"Then we'll warn people before we leave," Jasmine said. Before she could continue, the Grey Lady floated into Fleur's quarters.

"Professor Delacour?" she called out. "Dolores Umbridge has called for a mass meeting in the Great Hall."

"Now?" Fleur asked incredulously as she stepped out of her bedroom, still strapping on her golden armor.

The Grey Lady nodded. "She's calling in all students and all staff. She seems to be quite irate about some violation of the rules." She looked over at Jasmine and added, "I suspect it has to do with you, though I cannot be sure."

Jasmine groaned. "I do not have time for this!"

Thursday, June 1, 1996, Night. 10:30 PM.

When Jasmine and her friends burst into the Great Hall, they interrupted Umbridge in the middle of what looked like had been a good rant. "There you two are!" she shouted. "It's about time!"

"What is it with everyone always thinking I'm late?" Jasmine grumbled as she strode towards Umbridge, who was standing where the staff table usually was. Around her were a number of exceptionally smug members of the Inquisitorial Squad. Off to the side stood McGonagall, Flitwick, and several uncomfortable-looking professors. Fleur did not join them.

"I found your books!" Umbridge shouted with glee as she waved a book above her head. "I finally found them! I was just informing all the students about how you've been corrupting them with evil, degenerate muggle ideas! They'll all have to go through intensive reeducation in order to undo all of the damage you've caused, you nasty little girls!"

Jasmine stole a quick glance to either side as she walked between the rows of students, all of them standing at attention where their house tables usually were. None of them looked happy, but the sight of Jasmine and her friends seemed to give them all a bit of encouragement.

"What are you on about, you ridiculous toad?" Jasmine said loudly.

Umbridge's eyes bulged at the defiance, and her voice began to turn shrill. "You, of course! You're trying to destroy our culture, our society, and our way of life with this filth! But I caught you! Yes, and hopefully before you caused too much damage! First I'll have you and that mudblood expelled from the school, then your magic will be bound so you can be banished from magical society, and finally I'll ensure that all the degenerate lies that you've been spreading are washed away — along with those who believe them, too, if need be."

Jasmine frowned as she stopped a few meters away. "Do you think you've got what it takes to follow through on that threat?" she asked.

"Oh, you won't be able to wiggle out of this," Umbridge insisted. "I made sure that the Ministry decrees were worded carefully this time. I now have abundant evidence of you having violated several of them, and that's more than enough to ensure your expulsion. No technicalities or loopholes will save you now!"

"I was thinking more about this saving me," Jasmine said as her wand shot into her hand. Instantly a banishing charm threw Umbridge into the wall behind her. Before her Inquisitorial Squad could react, stunners from Jasmine's friends downed them all, and they were quickly bound in magical ropes.

Jasmine walked up to the dazed Umbridge and leaned down to meet her gaze directly. "If I had time, I'd show you how angry you've made me," she said, and she could see the fear in the older witch's eyes. "Unfortunately, I have something that needs to be done at the Ministry, and you've already delayed me far too long." Incongruously, Umbridge's lips started to twist into a smile at those words, but it was wiped away an instant later when Jasmine cast "Incarcerous!" on her.

She returned to her friends to find they had already been joined by the other staff members.

"Although I can understand your anger, I doubt you'll be able to get away with doing that without severe repercussions," McGonagall said as Jasmine came up to them.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I need to get going—"

"I know," McGonagall interrupted. "Miss Granger already informed us. Although I'd like to prevent you from leaving, I'm not sure I'd succeed. I'd certainly not be able to do that and prepare the castle for possible attack as well."

"Thank you, Professor," Jasmine said with a sigh of relief. "I didn't want to have to fight you on this."

"I care about Remus too," McGonagall reminded her softly.

"We'll need to get the students back to their dorms," Professor Sinistra suggested. "Then we can work out what security measures we can still implement even without the Headmaster."

"We've been training for weeks to help defend the castle," Ron piped up from the back of the group. "Me, Neville, and Blaise will stay and lead volunteers until aurors or someone else can get here to help."

"We're staying, too," Ginny said as she and Luna approached.

Jasmine looked from Ginny to Neville, then from Luna to Ron. "That's fine," she said. "I'd rather that no one endanger themselves by going with me, but I know that's not an argument I'll win."

"You're training her well," Luna remarked, giving Hermione a smile of approval. Then she looked past her to the bound Dolores Umbridge leaning against the wall. "Oh, goody — now we'll get pudding again!" she said brightly. As the conversation shifted back to the matter at hand, she surreptitiously flicked her wand at the pink witch, incanting Maculae Sempiterna at her.

"What was that?" Ginny whispered.

"The perpetual pimple hex," Luna answered with a beatific smile that made Ginny's skin crawl. "Now she's a spotted pink toad."

"If you're adamant about leaving, all the confiscated brooms are locked up in Filch's office," Flitwick was saying. "You can fly to Hogsmeade, then floo to the Ministry from there, assuming the outage only affects Hogwarts. Come with me."

"We can lock zis in one of zose classrooms," Gabrielle announced, levitating Umbridge to bring her along.

Flitwick nodded as they all set off briskly. "Good idea — we don't want her in the way if something happens."

When they reached his office and began filing inside, Gabrielle took a detour to the classroom across the hall. "Get a broom for me, Fleur," she called over her shoulder, Umbridge's bound body floating ahead of her. Once inside, she cancelled the levitation charm abruptly, allowing Umbridge to fall painfully to the stone floor. Leaning over, she looked into Umbridge's angry eyes and said, "I know you are plotting revenge already. I know you will not let zis go, not until you harm or kill Jasmine. I've known zis about you almost since you arrived here."

Umbridge's brows furrowed as Gabrielle twirled her wand, renewing the charms that held the older witch immobile. "You should not assume, however, zat you will get ze chance," she said as she leaned down again, pulling her sword and pressing it to the other witch's neck, causing her acne-covered face to pale. "You would not even leave zis classroom alive, if I had ze time. But I will be back — of zat you can be certain."

Thursday, June 1, 1996, Night. 10:45 PM.

While nine witches mounted eight brooms (Hermione refused to fly alone), Minerva McGonagall sent out three patronus messages summarizing the situation — one to Sirius, one to Dumbledore, and one to Amelia Bones. "That's all we can do for now," she said. "Hopefully the warning about something happening here was just to distract us."

While she continued to watch the witches as they headed towards Hogsmeade, even after she couldn't see them anymore, Flitwick turned to the two house elves that Jasmine and Hermione had called upon to help. He hadn't missed the scowl Hermione gave her girlfriend when they both arrived wearing muggle camouflage. "Anything suspicious on that marvelous map?" he asked.

"No, Littlest Professor, sir," Winky answered.

Neville barely managed to suppress a snort of laughter. "What about the students who don't volunteer to help or who are too young?" he asked.

"Their dorms would be safest, but I don't like the idea of splitting them up — that would be four places that we'd absolutely have to defend," Flitwick mused.

"What about keeping them in the Great Hall?" Bathsheda Babbling suggested. "We did that back when Sirius Black broke into the castle."

"Excellent idea!" Flitwick said. "They're already there anyway, too."

"We can't trust everyone there, though," Ron interjected. "Not just the Inquisitorial Squad, but also a lot of the Slytherins."

"Some of whom are missing," Blaise pointed out. "Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle aren't with the rest of our house, nor do they show up on the map."

"The safest thing to do would be to disarm the least trustworthy students, then lock them in the antechamber off the Great Hall," Flitwick responded. "Violet can keep an eye on them for us and use the other portraits to let us know if they do anything suspicious."

Flitwick turned to look at his long-time friend, who was still watching the sky. Ignoring the arguments in the background as a number of students were forced to give up their wands and move to a different room, he walked over to her and gently placed his hand on her elbow. She jumped slightly in surprise.

"Sorry," she said. "What do we need to do next?"

Flitwick smiled and shook his head. "You're here, but you're not really here, are you?" She looked at him in confusion, so he continued, "Your body is here, but your mind is with those nine young witches, am I right? And two of them in particular?"

McGonagall's cheeks reddened slightly. "I can't not worry about them — not knowing what they are going into."

"Maybe you should be with them?"

"And leave my post?" McGonagall protested. "My place is here!"

"Your place is with your students," Flitwick pointed out, "and right now your students are divided. You won't be much good here if you are constantly worrying about the others."

"I still can't just up and leave—"

"I doubt that anything will happen here," Flitwick interrupted. "No one has successfully attacked Hogwarts — ever. I'd be concerned if You-Know-Who were going to attack personally, but doing so after specifically getting Miss Potter out of the way would be an admission that he's afraid of her, something he'd never do. Even sending in some Death Eaters after getting her out of the castle strikes me as unlikely, but if he does, we will have locked the castle down as much as we can without the Headmaster, and all the most vulnerable students will be in the castle's most secure room. Your other students won't be nearly as safe."

McGonagall's stern expression faltered as she looked back out the open doors towards Hogsmeade.

"Go, Minerva," Flitwick insisted. "I'll hold the castle until you return."

"But... are you sure?" she asked. Instead of saying anything, he simply picked up the broom which Hermione had refused to use and held it out to his colleague.

"Thank you," she said softly as she mounted it and sped off towards the village.

Thursday, June 1, 1996, Night. 11:00 PM.

The first thing Jasmine noticed when she rolled out of the floo and into the Ministry of Magic was how quiet it was. When she had arrived here less than a year earlier, the atrium had been packed with witches and wizards; tonight, it was eerily empty.

"There should be a guard there," Susan said, pointing at the desk where Jasmine and Hermione had had their wands checked before their trial. The nine witches moved quietly and found no one there and no sign that anyone had been there for quite some time.

"This would have been a lot harder if we'd had to deal with guards," Susan said, "but I don't like the idea that someone else has already been here in order to 'help' us." Hannah and Tracey kept looking around nervously, their knuckles white with how tightly they were gripping their wands.

"We'll worry about that on the way back out," Daphne insisted. "We can probably assume that we'll be able to get down there easily enough — it's coming back that we're more likely to run into trouble."

"What's with the giant banner of Fudge?" Jasmine asked. "It wasn't here a year ago."

"My aunt mentioned it in one of her letters," Susan answered. "It's supposed to reassure people about the power and benevolence of the Ministry."

"It gives me the shivers," Hermione said, and the others all nodded in agreement.

They couldn't all fit into one lift, so they split up into two groups to ride down. On the way, Fleur and Gabrielle made one last check of their armor while Jasmine and Hermione each pulled out a small vial of liquid and put the final stage of their plan into motion.

Once there, Susan led them into a circular room which she said she'd heard her aunt talk about. "I'm not sure if even she knew how it works," Susan explained, "but based on things she's said, I might be able to figure out the next step."

It took three tries with the spinning room before Susan found something she recognized. "This looks like the room that deals with time," she said as she held the door open. "I think the prophecy room is somewhere nearby." All nine witches slipped into a room with all kinds of bizarre experiments laid out.

"I read about this room once," Padma said softly as Jasmine eyed all the devices. "I never expected that I'd visit it like this, though."

When Susan opened the single door at the far end of the time room, everyone gasped at the sight of rows and rows of glass spheres. "I guess this is it," Jasmine said as she boldly stepped through the doorway, unknowingly setting off a silent alarm that alerted several interested parties to a breach in the Department of Mysteries. Once all of the witches were through, the door stayed open for several seconds before closing.

Despite the massive size of the room, they found row ninety-seven fairly quickly, and it wasn't too much longer before they located the prophecy sphere they were looking for. Yet when they finally found it, Jasmine hesitated before grabbing it.

"What is it, Jas?" Hermione asked, scanning the room constantly for danger.

"It's just... if he wants this so badly, I'm not sure he should get it." Jasmine said. "What if I were to give him a different one instead?"

"Don't touch any of the others!" Susan hissed. "Only those mentioned in a prophecy can take them off the shelf. Anyone else who tries will go insane!" Jasmine yanked her hand back and exchanged a questioning look with Hermione.

"We need to give him something in order to get Remus back!" Hermione insisted. "And time is running out!"

"I know, I know," Jasmine responded, "I just..."

"I told you she wouldn't be able to do it!" came a high-pitched female voice out of the gloom. The already-nervous witches tensed up even more as a dozen disillusioned Death Eaters appeared around them, most wearing silver masks. The one exception was the speaker, Bellatrix Lestrange. "Is the wittle witch afwaid?" she asked. "She should be!"

"Afraid of an insane witch like you?" Jasmine asked. "Hardly."

"Mind your mouth, half-blood," she shouted, taking a step forward, "and respect your betters! We are the chosen few of the Dark Lord, the ones tasked with cleansing our world of filth like you in order to restore Magic to its rightful place!"

Gabrielle frowned deeply at that, but she was distracted from her thoughts as Jasmine responded, "Being an insane witch who was chosen by an even more insane wizard isn't something I'd brag about."

"Shut it!" Bellatrix screamed, and only the Death Eater holding her back kept her from physically attacking. "You have no respect for magical blood, so how can you possibly respect Magic itself, much less understand the importance of protecting magical culture! Once vermin like you are exterminated, Magic will rule once again!"

"Settle down!" the tall wizard restraining her said. "We need her to get the prophecy sphere!"

"Is that you, Lucius?" Jasmine asked.

"How're the scars healing?" Hermione added. "Painfully, I hope."

Jasmine shot her a look as the wizard yanked off his silver mask, revealing that Lucius Malfoy's once aristocratic face had become horribly distorted with burn scars and that he no longer had his famous blonde locks. None of the younger witches could hide their gasps of horror and revulsion. "Shut up, mudblood," he spat before turning his attention to Jasmine. "See what you've done to me, you vile little witch? I'd torture you to death right now if our master didn't need you alive for this task!"

"Being surrounded by all of you doesn't make me think that I'll be allowed to exit the Ministry with the prophecy like Voldemort promised," Jasmine said, pausing briefly while Bellatrix screamed insults at her for daring to speak her lord's name aloud. "So tell me again why I should pick it up?"

"Because if you don't, you definitely won't see that animal again," Lucius said. "And until you do, you have several friends here who can suffer greatly for your defiance. Starting with your pet mudblood there."

Jasmine turned to look at Hermione. They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment before Jasmine asked, "Boom?"

"Boom."

"Always a big boom." Jasmine sighed as all the witches cast a wandless protection spell on their heads.

"Let me have at them first," one of the wizards pleaded. "I'd prefer to start with Potter, but I promise to leave her alive! I'd love to—"

No one ever found out what Amycus Carrow would have loved to do because a bronze sword pierced straight through his brain before it could form another word. The sword jerked itself free and flew back into Gabrielle's hand as the body crumpled to the floor. "Amycus!" shrieked the witch next to him, collapsing to her knees and clutching at his lifeless form. The other Death Eaters were briefly stunned at the unexpected violence, giving Jasmine and Hermione a chance to raise their wands straight up into the air.

"Fulgur Maximum!" Hermione cried.

"Tono Grandissime!" Jasmine shouted at the same moment.

The flash was enough to blind the Death Eaters temporarily; the thunderous sound of the second spell knocked them off their feet and deafened them. It would have done the same to the young witches, too, if they hadn't shielded their faces and crouched slightly in anticipation.

One unexpected consequence of the thunderclap was the damage it did to the nearby shelves and prophecy spheres. Some of the closest shelves were pushed back hard enough by the sonic wave that they tipped over, starting a domino effect in all directions that would cause hundreds more shelves to crash into each other. Many nearby spheres were blown off their shelves entirely, and Hermione had to dive for the one they had come there to get, catching it mere inches before it shattered against the stone floor.

"Here, maybe you should take this," she said a little shakily, handing the sphere to Jasmine.

"My auntie is going to be so mad at me," Susan moaned as she witnessed the near-total destruction of one of the most important rooms in the Ministry of Magic.

"Maybe she'll just take it out of your allowance?" Tracey suggested.

"Escape!" Hermione called out, and Jasmine immediately cast "Fumus Maximus!" sending thick black smoke everywhere. The others crouched low and cast "Lacero!" at shin-level. Screams from all around them let them know they had connected, and they all started running back the way they came. Yet when they reached the door they'd originally entered through, it was sealed against them and none of their spells could get it open. Once more, Jasmine sent black smoke around them as they ran along the wall, looking for a second exit.

By the time they found another door, they could all hear enraged voices coming closer in the smoke. Jasmine and Hermione, who were in the front of the group, raised their wands and had curses on their lips when the door in front of them opened... then almost collapsed in relief when they found it was Minerva McGonagall.

"Come on, all of you," she ordered, holding the door open as the witches raced through. "I've already notified the Order," she said as she sealed the door. "I'm wearing a pendant that will lead them right to us."

Jasmine blasted a nearby desk while Hermione sent the rest on ahead to see if the way was clear, then the two got to work transfiguring the debris into Asian giant hornets. Gabrielle and Fleur stood guard.

"What do I key them on?" Hermione asked as she worked to layer in the compulsion charms.

"Hmmm... I guess adults wearing black," Jasmine suggested as dozens and dozens of vicious-looking insects began to form out of the wood splinters.

"Yeah, the Order members tend to wear colors," Hermione said, "but I'll add in a preference for silver masks, since most of the Death Eaters were still wearing those things when we saw them last."

Jasmine nodded, and by the time they were done Padma had returned to let them know that the way seemed to be clear until the next room. The pounding had already started on the sealed door when they ran, making their way through a massive room that seemed to be focused on astronomy. When they got to the far side, they heard the previous door crash open, followed almost immediately by screaming.

"Not the eyes! Not the eyes!" was the last thing they heard before they closed and sealed the new door. They turned and found themselves in a room dominated by tanks filled with creatures that looked like large brains with tentacles.

"I don't know what those things are," Daphne said uneasily, "but somehow I think it would be a good idea to stay as far away from them as possible."

"Won't get any argument from me," Tracey muttered as McGonagall led them to the door she'd come through earlier.

"This is the spinning circular room," she said as she opened the door, only to see more than a dozen Death Eaters standing in the center.

"Sphaera Ignia!" Jasmine shouted as McGonagall slammed the door closed. They couldn't see the effects of the meter-wide ball of fire as it impacted the group, but they could hear the screams.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Hannah mumbled as McGonagall sealed the door, then led them all to the only other exit from the room.

"Just remember," Susan told her, "better them than us. They chose to attack; it's our right to defend ourselves."

They all dashed through the final door, taking them into a room with stone steps and seating leading down to a circular area; in the middle was a raised dais that had a strange stone arch. Hanging from it were tattered cloth curtains that swayed as if in a breeze, despite the absence of any wind at all.

"Don't get too close to that," McGonagall warned. "That's the Veil of Death. It used to be an execution device because anyone who passes through it is immediately transported to the realm of the dead."

"My auntie never mentioned this," Susan said.

"Little wonder," Padma remarked. "That's just too creepy."

Hermione's head shot up. "What's wrong?" Jasmine asked her.

"I don't know," Hermione answered, looking around the room in confusion. "I thought I heard something."

"Miss Potter! Miss Granger!" McGonagall called out. "We need to keep moving! The other door is over—"

Just then, the door McGonagall was pointing at exploded and a half dozen Death Eaters stormed in, many with scorched and smoking cloaks. All the witches turned to face them and started backing away, but before they could do anything, Hermione was suddenly grabbed from behind. Her arm was cruelly wrenched up behind her back and her wand easily plucked from her nerveless fingers.

"Got you, mudblood!" said the wizard triumphantly, and Hermione turned her head to look into the lidless eyes of Lucius Malfoy. She felt her gorge rise at seeing him so close. He gave an especially vicious twist to her arm, drawing a gasp of pain from her as she was forced to her knees.

Jasmine and the others then realized that the Death Eaters they'd been fleeing had snuck in behind them while the reinforcements had arrived in front. They were now surrounded.

"Surrender the prophecy, Potter!" Lucius demanded. Bellatrix cackled, though it lacked its usual gleeful tone because she and the other six who had made it that far were covered in angry red blotches, courtesy of the hornets. Jasmine looked around for some alternative, but Lucius wasn't going to give her the chance to find one. "Don't try anything or I'll kill her. And if you don't give up the prophecy to me now, I'll do far, far worse to her."

"Let her go!" McGonagall roared, and Fleur had to hold Gabrielle back from hurling herself at Lucius.

The wizard simply laughed at them. "I no longer have to take orders from you, you harridan," he sneered. "And you've only delayed the inevitable by coming here."

"What do you mean?"

"By now, my son and far more of the Dark Lord's servants will have taken over Hogwarts," he declared, "Even now, they should be engaged in the glorious task of cleansing the school of its filth and vermin."

"What about Remus Lupin?" Jasmine asked. "I was promised him in return for this thing."

Lucius shook his head. "You lost any claim on the beast when you defied us. Now you're bargaining for the mudblood alone."

While Lucius was monologuing, Hermione had realized something. When she caught Jasmine's attention, she flicked her gaze to where her hand was. Jasmine's eyes widened.

"OK," she announced as she lowered her wand. "Just don't hurt her." The other witches lowered their wands as well, confused but willing to follow Jasmine's lead.

Lucius smirked in pleasure at his easy victory, but when Hermione whispered, "Emasculo," his expression shifted to horror... and then the pain hit. His hostage forgotten, he clutched at his crotch where a large, dark stain was forming; bright red began seeping through his fingers. Hermione caught up her wand as it clattered to the floor.

"Thank you, Walburga!" Jasmine murmured as she dove to join her friends.

Lucius' howl of agony as he toppled over distracted his fellow Death Eaters even as the young witches all began casting violent spells at the adults. Lacking any suitable materials for transfiguration, McGonagall swiftly yanked out one of her own hairpins and transformed it into a barricade in front of the girls. She then took up a position at their backs with Fleur and Gabrielle to cover them from the rear.

The confused free-for-all only lasted a couple of minutes before several members of the Order of the Phoenix rushed in: Albus Dumbledore and Sirius, followed closely by Bill Weasley, Hestia Jones, and Mad-Eye Moody.

"Minerva," Dumbledore called out, "we must get these students to safety!"

"That's not the plan!" Jasmine hissed to Hermione before she was forced to stop casting a spell and rolled to avoid a killing curse. "He'd better not mess this up by trying to save us!"

"If it comes to that, we'll just have to deal with it," Hermione said after casting a fireball at the back of a Death Eater who was preoccupied with Moody. "Morgana knows that not much else has been to plan so far."

The Death Eaters were now outnumbered, but they were vicious fighters who didn't hesitate to use Unforgivables, so the Order and the coven were kept mostly on the defensive. Nearby benches exploded in a shower of stone as deflected spells flew wildly. The students had formed a defensive ring on the lowest level, interlocking shields while some cast offensive spells and others levitated debris to block Unforgivables. Around them the Death Eaters and the Order fought up and down the stone seating, gradually thinning each other's numbers.

Dumbledore was a whirlwind of magic as he tried to protect everyone at once. First he was in the midst of the students, transfiguring more barricades. Next he was at the top of the stone steps, helping Bill before he was overwhelmed by a group of five Death Eaters.

Jasmine was never able to piece together exactly what happened next. She knew she heard a scream behind her and turned to see Barty Crouch Jr. pointing his wand at her, a confused expression on his face. Then he toppled over, his back a smoking ruin and an angry Minerva McGonagall standing behind him. Jasmine thought she heard Sirius call out, "Good one, Minnie!" from somewhere near the archway, and when she turned she saw a masked Death Eater shout "Avada Kedavra!"

His wand wasn't pointed at her, though. It was pointed at Sirius.

Jasmine wanted to scream, but there was no time. Suddenly there was a flash of purple robes as Albus Dumbledore was there beside him, silently summoning a large piece of rock to block the lethal green spell that had been intended for Sirius. The stone caught the spell and blew apart, but as the shattered remnants flew back into the old wizard's face, he lost his footing against the top step of the dais and fell backwards towards the Veil.

"Albus!" Sirius shouted, reaching out with his free hand, but it was already too late.

For a timeless instant there was only his surprised expression as the Veil parted for the headmaster. Yet just before he disappeared completely, his features relaxed, and Jasmine saw something that almost looked like contentment written there. Then he was gone.

This time she did scream, and she hardly gave it any thought when her wand whipped in the direction of the Death Eater, casting "Lacero!" at his head. Hermione was already beside her, shouting "Confringo!" at the same wizard. He twisted away, avoiding the explosive blasting hex but not the cutting curse as Jasmine's spell sliced across the side of his head, removing skin and hair before causing his mask to fall away. When he stood straight again, everyone could see the shocked and bloody face of Severus Snape.

"No!" McGonagall cried as she and Hermione began casting furiously at Snape. Jasmine joined them an instant later, and together the three of them pummeled the former professor with a relentless hail of spellfire.

Yet in their rage they had forgotten about Bellatrix. The witch darted out from behind the archway and screamed "Bombarda!" catching Minerva squarely. She was flung hard into the far wall, where her head impacted with an audible crack. She slumped to the floor.

As the assault against him faltered, Snape made full use of the respite and fled for the door he and the other reinforcements had come through earlier. Bellatrix could also see that the fight was a lost cause and wasted no time making for the other door out of the Death Chamber, the one she and the original group of Death Eaters had come through.

Gabrielle was up in a flash, chasing after her while Hermione ran just as quickly after Snape. Jasmine and Sirius made to follow, but she paused and looked over at Minerva, who had begun to stir. Then she glanced anxiously back at the door.

Sirius hesitated only a second. "You go on, kitten," he said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'll take care of her. I'll be along as soon as I can." Jasmine shot him a grateful look and took off after Hermione at a dead run.

Sirius began making his way over to McGonagall. Moody was busy securing the downed Death Eaters; Bill and Hestia were nowhere to be seen. The coven members were bloodied and bruised, but seemed to have the remaining fight well in hand.

Fleur and Daphne had just taken out the last opponent when Fleur looked around and noticed that her two charges were missing. She looked up frantically at Sirius, who pointed to the door Snape had run out. With a blistering stream of French curses, she sprinted for the exit, the other witches two steps behind her.

He had reached Minerva when Moody approached. "The Death Eaters are all stunned and bound," he said shortly. "Jones and Weasley are unconscious, but I think they'll be alright until we can get some healers down here. I'm going to help our young Miss Delacour against that insane bitch." Without waiting for a reply, he stumped off at a surprisingly good clip.

Sirius looked down at the woman slumped against the wall in front of him. "Let me help you up, Minnie," he said, but she raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't you dare use that name, you scamp," she said. "I'm alright — nothing broken, I've merely had the wind knocked out of me. And a bit of a headache," she added, frowning as she rubbed at her temple.

"Are you sure? You don't look very good." He knelt beside her and frowned in concern.

"And you're a fine sight yourself, Sirius Black," she said tartly, eyeing his scorched robes and the blood on his face. When he refused to be put off, she relented and patted his arm. "I'm fine, lad. I'm wearing one of the basilisk tunics. Now go — you need to catch up to your goddaughter, and I'll only slow you down."

"Alright..." he said, sounding reluctant even though he obviously wanted to get to Jasmine. "I'll send down the first healer I see."

"Fine, fine," she said with a dismissive wave as he stood and ran out of the room. She took a few deep breaths and began gingerly testing her limbs. Her protestations to Sirius aside, she had hit that wall pretty hard, and she wasn't entirely sure everything still worked properly.

Once she was satisfied that it was safe to get up, she tried to stand, but immediately collapsed back when a blinding pain lanced through her skull. Deep inside, something had indeed broken.