Edited 4/24/23

Thanks to RabidCommentarian for beta work. And bam2305 for alpha-ing.

So it's not Wednesday, sooooo sorry, but I ended up adding a TON of content to this chapter at the last minute. The Battle of Hogwarts is almost done and I think I should be ready on Wednesday!

Any wayyyyys I hope you enjoy this little pre-Battle Chapter!

Thursday, April 23 - Thursday, April 30, 1998

Theo

Theo checked their stock of potions for the hundredth time. He went over the calculations again, making sure that everything was lined up correctly. He'd been relentlessly preparing for the Battle. If it didn't finish on the 2nd, he was going to officially defect and Draco would continue in his role as spy.

They'd crafted a plan for Narcissa. They would make it look as though she was hit with a curse and die, and then get her to Granger Cabin, Hermione had already agreed to give up her room to the Malfoy Matriarch. He was going to make sure that they saved as many people as possible. He thought of George and wanted his friend back so badly. He was hoping to free Thorfinn during the Battle so that they could… he wouldn't go down that route yet. Maybe this iteration of Finn wouldn't want him.

"Theo, mate," called Blaise from where he was lounging on the bed, "you need to calm down, you look like a nutter pacing around and muttering to yourself."

"Oi, leave him be, Blaise, his Father is pressuring him," said Draco, throwing a pillow at Blaise.

"Oh, sorry, mate…" Blaise said sheepishly.

"Not all of us are protected by Mummy and the Weaselette," sneered Draco.

"Please stop bickering, you're distracting me," Theo barked, looking between the two of them.

"And Gin and I are just temporary until…" he trailed off into silent brooding. Theo knew just how petty Ginevra Weasley could be, an opportunist if he'd ever met one. If he was perfectly honest, Blaise was probably a better fit for her than Potter, not that he'd be adding his two cents into that drama.

After acquiring the Horcrux from Bellatrix's vault, Draco had looked more focused than when he'd left. He'd filled in Theo on all the things that had happened, but he knew his friend well enough to know that he wasn't telling him something.

A first year knocked tentatively on their door. "Mr. Nott, Mr. Malfoy, the Headmaster is requesting to see you," the boy squeaked. Theo nodded and turned to Draco who dramatically waved his arm, directing him to go first. They followed the boy out to the Common Room.

Severus was waiting for them in the hall. "Come along, Theodore, Draco we have much to do," he said shortly. Theo followed, knowing that anything they had to discuss would wait until they were in the Headmaster's study.

When they'd arrived, Theo had collapsed into the chair. "How long?" Severus asked as he floated glasses of Firewhiskey to them.

Theo looked at Draco who looked back at him questioningly. Theo nodded encouragingly at Draco. "Next Friday," Draco said softly.

"Have you been stocking up on potions?" Severus said, looking between them.

"Of course, we'll double the Hospital Wing's stock," said Draco proudly.

"We uh, we've made you something," Theo said, handing Severus a vial. "It's an antidote to Nagini's venom. We have a few more, but since the three of us are traitors we thought..." Severus nodded and pocketed the venom.

They sipped in silence for a while, all in their own thoughts. "How much is Ms. Granger aware of? How much do you trust her?" Severus asked, turning to Draco.

"Nexus Vincula," he said quietly. He gestured to the Gold and Silver Cords leading south. "That is how much we trust her." Severus raised an eyebrow.

"B-but she's a Muggleborn," he said softly, "They don't have Cords."

"No, Severus," Theo said softly, "Mudbloods don't have Cords," Severus and Draco flinched at the word, "but Pureblood Muggleborns do."

"P-Pureblood Muggleborns?" Severus stammered.

Draco chuckled, "Turns out Theo's Grandfather had it wrong. Pureblood has to do with the family magics, not who birthed you. Granger is the first of the Granger Purebloods, but she's also a Muggleborn."

Theo nodded, "Last Spring," he said even though it would technically happen next Spring Equinox, "Granger created a Grimoire and Granger Family Magic. She let me watch, it was pretty amazing. Then a house elf explained what Pureblood and Halfblood and Muggleborn and Mudblood," the two flinched again, "actually mean."

"So…" Severus faded off in thought.

"Potter and you are Halfblood," Draco started, "Because his Mum and your Dad were a-well, you know, and a Muggle respectively. Theo and I are Pureblood because both our parents were part of their Family Magics. Granger is a Pureblood because her blood has been Purified by the Ritual."

"Could I become a Pureblood?" Severus asked.

"I don't think so," Theo said, scratching his chin, "because your Mum inducted you into the Prince Family Magics, but you still don't have any from the other side. Same with Potter. His Mum never created the, what was her name again?"

"Evans," Severus said quickly.

"Right-o the Evans Family Magic." Theo shrugged. "Turns out it's a lot more straightforward than we thought. And our Dads are idiots, not that that's some big secret or anything. I wonder if Tom is a Mudblood?"

"Can't be can he, he's the Heir of Slytherin," said Draco with a chuckle.

"True, ol' Merope must have added him to the line before she died then, poor Bastard," Theo added with a chuckle.

The three of them sat in contemplative silence for a while, nursing their drinks.

Eventually, Severus roused himself. "Well it looks like I've learned something new today. What else do you need?" he asked, looking between them.

"I think we're mostly set, if I'm honest Granger is the Mastermind behind it all," Draco said.

"Oi! What am I, arm candy?" Theo said scowling.

"You'd have to have someone's arm to be on in order to be arm candy, mate," Draco said with a chuckle.

"It's not my fault that all the men around her are too far in the closet to notice me!" Theo said, crossing his arms and winking at his friend. They heard Severus chuckle and turned their faces to grin at him.

"I'm quite proud of you two," he said. Theo bit his cheek, Severus wasn't the most sentimental man, but Theo thought that he would have been a right sight better as a father than his own. "You're doing all you can to bring this War to an end. I know there's something different about you," when Draco opened his mouth, he held up a hand. "No, don't tell me until the Dark Lord is gone."

Draco nodded stoically. "I'm glad you're my Godfather, Uncle Sev. I'm sorry for being such a little shite when I was younger."

Severus chuckled, "A Malfoy, apologising?"

"A few people have told me recently that the next generation of Malfoys won't be following that rule," Draco said, a light pink tinging his cheeks.

That weekend was full of Draco, Theo, and Severus prepping potions and brushing up on their spells. By Sunday evening, Theo had collapsed into his bed, seriously dreading the week of classes. Severus had insisted that they attend classes this week and not skive off, however much they wanted to.

Theo had begun to plan how he was going to lift the Imperius off of Finn. He wanted to see him, be held by him again. Their time had been so short. He threw his head back and sighed heavily. He had become the relationship guru for Draco as he began to sort through his feelings for Mia. He loved Draco, but Merlin the boy was an idiot. He seemed to be under the impression that even though they were Soulmates, she wouldn't want him.

"Theo ca-" Draco started, facing away from Theo. Before he could continue, Theo pelted a pillow at his friend.

"Shut up," he groaned. "Mia and you will fall blissfully in love, you'll continue to be an arse and she'll deal with it because you're Soulmates. Now bugger off. I want to take a nap." He closed the curtains of his four poster dramatically and squeezed his eyes closed. He was so tired of being alone.

He was utterly exhausted. This whole adventure, while productive, wasn't daisies and rainbows. He'd had to torture children and keep up his front of being a proud Pureblood amongst his fellow Slytherins. He'd had to pretend that he was more focused on his books than the stupid simpering girls that were looking for husbands. Being here was utter bollocks.

He longed for the quiet camaraderie of their potions lab in the Manor. He sighed and opened his curtains. Draco was just sitting in his bed staring off into space.

When he noticed that Theo was staring at him, he looked up.

"I'm an arse, aren't I?" He said, shoulders drooping. Theo didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow at him. "I've barely asked about how you are and all I talk about is my Soulmate and being a Death Eater."

Draco came over and laid on the bed next to Theo like they had when they were kids.

"It's been… a lot," Theo sighed. "No matter what I do, it feels like something bad is going to happen. We're teetering on the edge of a knife."

"I know. Tell me about how it was after I was gone," Draco said, folding his hands on his chest.

"At first I just holed up with Nev and Aunt Gussie, then when the Death Eaters attacked Veridian View we went to the Order.

"Then I got to take over my Family Magic, and you know how big of a swot Granger is, she wanted to participate in the ritual, so I let her. I guess from there our fates were sealed. She's my person."

"Not Rowle?" Draco asked, smirking.

"Finn is amazing, but not my Soulmate. He's … I miss him, but we were still so new, I have no idea what we could have been. I guess I sort of feel like there is something more out there?"

"So?" Draco asked, looking over at him.

"I don't know, really. I just…" he sighed again. "I'm tired and why is it up to a bunch of kids to end a war? I just want to be a normal teenager who can fall in love or lust or whatever whenever I want." He rubbed his eyes in frustration. "What if we fail?" He whispered.

"The Granger-Malfoy-Nott Braintrust could never fail," Draco said with a chuckle. "You two have been doing calculations for ages now with me on your team, there is nothing we can't do."

"You may be an arse, Drake, but I wouldn't trade you for the world."

Hermione

Hermione lay back heavily on her bed. Draco had been regularly communicating with her over the past few weeks. They'd begun talking about everything, from how they grew up, to what they wanted for the future. She couldn't help but be frustrated by how he avoided questions about their future. At the risk of sounding like a lovesick teenager, which while she was a teenager she refused to classify herself as lovesick, she spent hours every day thinking about him.

Her notebook lit and she pulled it out, reading his message.

You up?

Of course I'm up, I'm sitting in this bloody cabin waiting for the next step.

No need to get snappy, Granger.

Do you need something?

Hermione groaned. He was so hot and cold. And writing didn't have the same context so she couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

There are many things I need…

Malfoy.

Just checking in.

I'm fine. Everything is fine. The world is spinning. Is that good enough?

Merlin, what's got your knickers in a twist?

"You, you insufferable arse," she muttered to herself. She couldn't actually explain why she was feeling so on edge. They'd essentially agreed to be together, but the waiting was killing her.

Nothing, just bored.

Then let me entertain you.

You can try.

If the War was over right now, what would you do?

She blinked at the page for long moments. If she were perfectly frank, she'd find him, kiss him and force him to make some decisions about their relationship.

Travel, I think.

Anywhere specific?

Australia, probably.

Down under, eh? Why Australia.

It's just somewhere my parents always wanted to go back to and I've never been.

I've heard some wild tales about the Aboriginal Magics.

Yes! The way the shamanistic tradition is implemented in their magical education is fascinating. I'd love to visit all the other schools. I think Hogwarts is really missing out on all the different types of learning. Beauxbatons is known for Alchemy, which is fascinating and Castelobruxo has a wonderful Magical Creatures Program-

There's my little swot.

She felt herself flush. His little swot. She groaned.

Well if you didn't want to talk about this, you didn't have to bring it up.

I did. I do. I mean… I lo really like hearing you talk, er write.

Oh…

She wasn't really sure what to say. He had definitely almost written that he loved hearing her talk which was… a lot. And he was teasing her, or she thought he was anyway.

Well I've bollocksed this up, haven't I?

Oh no, you er, just caught me by surprise is all

Granger, I can't wait to take you to all the schools so you can pick their brains. And I can listen and then I we can talk about all the things we learned afterwards. Maybe we can write a book about it? You know talk about different cultures and how they interact with Magic. Theo mentioned that your family was from Barbados. I'd be curious about some of the Magical Traditions from there. Do you know anything about them?

She just stared at the page. He wanted to travel with her? He wanted to talk about the future? He wanted to know about her traditions?

Too much? I said too much didn't I? I'm not good at this stuff, I'm just so… fuck. I'm sorry Granger, I'm just going to go dive headfirst into the Black Lake now.

NO! Er… it's not too much, I'm just surprised you never want to talk about us the future like that. What would you do if the War was over?

Gryffindor Bold or Slytherin Subtle?

Bold.

I'd go to Granger Cabin and kiss you senseless, then I'd introduce you to my Mum, and then take you wherever you want to go.

Wow… are you drunk?

I might have had a few, but I'm serious, Granger. I can't get you out of my head.

the feeling is mutual…

Thank fuck. I can't stop thinking about what's next, and just what we'll do after. I hate the Manor with a passion, but we'll have to live there at least part of the year because of the Family Magics, but you know that since you have your own. But I don't want you to have to live there because it doesn't have good memories for you, and honestly it barely has any good ones left for me either and I'm rambling. I just… you're you and I'm this little shit who always treated you so awfully and now you're my Soulmate…

Malfoy. It's… I know. I've been thinking about all this since we figured it out and we have a lot of bloody downtime in this cabin. Let's just figure it out together. Here's my Gryffindor Bold statement: I had a dream about us last night.

What about us?

There was a bed involved…

And what were we wearing in this dream, Granger?

Nothing.

You're going to kill me. Now I know I'm going to dream about you toni- I have to go, but know that I'll be thinking of you.

As will I. You rarely leave my thoughts.

She was fucked. There was no way she'd be able to handle waiting now.

Hermione was nervous. Harry was having more regular flashes from Voldemort. A few days after Hermione had destroyed the Cup, Harry saw Voldemort trying to cast a Cruciatus on one of his Death Eaters and the spell didn't hit. He'd been enraged and immediately cast the Killing Curse, but was quite heated about the exchange.

He dragged a low level Death Eater who'd displeased him to the cave, and upon finding it empty, destroyed most of it. This had left him significantly weakened. After a day of rest he'd sent Bellatrix to check on her vault, pleased when she returned with the memory of the Cup. He'd gone to the Gaunt Shack and upon finding it empty grew more alarmed. On Thursday, Harry had begun seeing the Diadem and Hogwarts.

Before he could rush off, Hermione convinced him to make a plan. "We need to get in without being noticed, Harry," she said.

"She's right mate, I know you want to jump right in, but let's at least make a tentative plan?" Ron chimed in.

With a smirk, she handed each of them a list Entitled "Battle Planner"

Battle Planner

- Hermione

- Alert the Spy and Accomplice

- Connect with McGonagall and the Order

- Organise Dumbledore's Army

- Harry

- Make an Appearance with the Order

- Get the Basilisk Fangs

- Find and Destroy the Diadem

- Think BEFORE acting

- Ron

- Meet with Order leadership about Battle Plan

- Help Harry with the Basilisk Fang and Diadem

- Goals

- Finish off Tom

- Keep as many people alive as possible

- Destroy every Horcrux

- Remember

- Stick with the Plan

- Don't be goaded into an unnecessary fights

- Stay Vigilant

- To Do List

- Organize the Hospital Safehouse

- Connect with Remus

- Finalize plans with the Spy

- Practice Duelling Spells

- Create a Fall Back Plan

- Notes

- Half the Battle is getting there, we can do this!

Harry and Ron gaped at her. "You're mental," Ron said with a small smile, forgetting, for a moment, that they hadn't really been talking.

Hermione grinned at him for a moment, but felt the smile melt from her face.

"So you two should go and practise your duelling spells," she said after a moment, "I'm going to contact Remus so we can get the Hospital Safehouse started and start a Fall Back plan."

The next few days felt like a whirlwind of preparations. Remus and Kingsley had come and begun setting out plans for them. They decided that the Hospital would use House Elves to transport injured people away. This was one of the few ways that they could make sure everyone got care as soon as they were injured.

Harry and Ron spent an hour each day practising duelling with Remus or Kingsley, depending on who was free. Hermione began to double down on her research on the potential for other Horcruxes.

The night before the final Battle came like the calm before the storm. All three of the occupants of Granger Cabin tossed and turned, unable to settle down. She'd spent hours looking over their calculations. It was possible to fix everything, but the chances of something going wrong were astronomical. Finally, she forced the boys to take a Dreamless Sleep that night so they'd be fully rested, while she told them that she'd be on asked Darcy and Bennett to keep watch and crawled into Draco's bed, sleeping soundly after she took her potion.

That morning came much too fast for her liking, but there was nothing to be done except jump, feet first into what she hoped was the end of the War.

ARE YOU READY!? Who will live and who will die!? Did you appreciate the Dramione flirty "texts?" :)

I couldn't do this without bam2305! Thanks for being you!