Chapter one - The Calm Before the Storm

Dumbledore sat in his office; the siege has been taking its toll on him. Limited food and demoralized staff do not make a good defense. Sensing the power of the wards wavering under the constant attacks, things looked bleak for the aging headmaster. It has been 7 months since he's seen Harry and his two closest friends. Voldemort's forces have been battering the wards constantly for the last two months. They first tried to starve them into submission. That didn't work. They don't call Hogwarts the most protected place in Magical Britain for no reason. Hogwarts has a reserve supply of food up to a year. When the Death Eaters figured this out, they decided to continuously assault the wards. Dumbledore checks the time and date with his wand. April 12, 1998, 1:29:57 p.m. The next assault should be here on the turn of the hour. He was mortified when Ron showed up back at the castle, alone. He told Dumbledore how he just wanted a warm bed and a nice meal. He left Harry and Hermione just a few days before the end of October, frustrated with the lack of progress. Sleeping and walking around the Burrow, he had a lot of time to think and he realized that he made a mistake leaving them. He tried to apparate back only to figure out that he didn't remember where left them. He then snuck into Hogwarts through the passage in Hog's Head, with the help of Aberforth, finding out the Shrieking Shack passage had collapsed. He then told Dumbledore of all he did, expressing true remorse at his actions, something the headmaster had rarely seen in the young man. He was roused from his thinking when he heard a thunderous crack and felt the wards surrounding Hogwarts shatter. Only one man could do that. Voldemort had arrived.

The final stand has begun.

Ron was trying to make himself useful. After leaving Harry and Hermione, he felt lost. He felt like he lost his identity. Always living in the shadow of his brothers makes him quite jealous at times. And he let his jealousy fuel his anger at Harry for not making progress with the information Dumbledore gave them. Harry told him that Dumbledore gave him almost no information to go off of. Ron didn't believe him. Why wouldn't Dumbledore give the wizarding world's hero the best chance at being said hero? He left in his anger, forcing Hermione to choose. And she chose to stay with Harry. Of course she would, she's been with him through everything. Even when Ron abandoned Harry during his most trying time, The TriWizard Tournament, she was right there, with him through thick and thin. Looking back on it, Ron was ashamed of how he acted. Harry would have never put his name into the Goblet. Harry hates his celebrity status, and voluntarily putting your name in said tournament would only grow it. He felt pretty stupid looking back on it. He focused back on the present, in the Great Hall, helping instruct basic defense with Neville and Ginny. Luna was teaching the younger students the basic shield charm, Protego. Neville was walking around, giving help to any who needed it. Ginny was explaining a curse and how to distinguish them from other forms of magic. Ron was wondering where Harry and Hermione were and if he would ever see them again when he heard a deafening crack outside. He knew that sound, the sound of a ward collapsing. He knew that would only mean one thing. Voldemort was here.

The battle has begun.

Neville was in the Great Hall instructing the DA after the trio left at the beginning of the school year. He took over for Harry when he left since no one else could. Besides himself, only Hermione could come close to Harry in terms of raw power. Luna and Ginny were close, but could not be considered equal. Ginny. He had always harbored some feelings for her, but her infatuation of Harry her first years and Harry's notice of her in her later years of Hogwarts, he felt like it was a futile attempt. He refocused and resumed his next lesson. He was currently having the third through fifth years practicing their aim. Conjuring gongs on stands and having them cast a stinging hex at it. As he was walking around and giving help when necessary, he felt a pang of worry for Harry and Hermione. How could he not. They brought him out of his shell and transformed him from a chubby, timid first year to a powerful and confident wizard. As Neville was thinking about the past, he heard a crack that shook the Great Hall. He only knew one man could unleash such destructive power. Voldemort was here. The DA were not ready, yet they were willing to defend their home. Neville couldn't help but chuckle thinking about it. It reminded him of an old muggle story Hermione was explaining to Harry, about the 300. 300 Spartans against millions of Persians, whatever those were. He remembered Hermione telling them that the Spartans fought for three days, slaughtering Persians. He couldn't help but see some irony in the similarity of their situation. Something about hot gates struck him, he couldn't shake it. He pushed it out of his mind; there were more important things to worry about. Preparing for the final stand.

The time has come.