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Kingsley Shacklebolt was becoming more impressed with Minerva the more time he spent with her. "You should've been an Auror," he said admiringly. "The way you blasted that Inferius, it was extremely impressive. Minerva, you're wasted at Hogwarts. You can come to the Ministry and be my partner any time you like."

She smiled graciously. "Thank you, but I am very happy here at Hogwarts. I prefer to go on sending you younger recruits."

"If you ever change your mind..." he said temptingly.

They were deep in the Forest, wands out. Except for being attacked by a stray Inferius, they had met no resistance.

"You know, the gates are open," Minerva suggested. "That is where he will come from."

A Patronus appeared before them. A gleaming silver phoenix.

"Albus!" Minerva gasped. "No! It cannot be."

Then the message came to them and they looked at each other in amazement. They turned immediately and began to walk rapidly toward the gates. At first they were silent, but they both began to speak at the same time.

"A real prophecy from Sibyll? Who'd have believed it," Minerva exclaimed sarcastically.

"His Patronus! Snape now has Dumbledore's Patronus," said Kingsley.

They looked at each other and fell silent.

"It must be real. The Patronus is proof that something deep is occurring this day," said Minerva. "Potter is there too, as well as the others. I worry about Alastor's attitude, however. He still does not believe Severus is with us. Will he do something disastrous?"

Kingsley was silent for a long time. However, he began to walk faster, which seemed to be his answer.


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Michael sat on top of the Astronomy Tower, watching the edge of the Forest through his sight. Since shooting the snake he had merely waited. He had felt relaxed earlier, but when Kingsley told him there seemed to be more at stake, with the focus moving to the Forest, he had watched closely. Minerva and Kingsley had gone into the Forest, but nothing had come out yet. He knew Zelda would be worried that he was gone so long, but he had a nagging feeling that there was something more for him to do here before he went home.


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Harry, Snape and the others were watching the Marauders Map closely. They saw the moment when Zelda and Ginny began to move quickly away from Voldemort and his followers, heading in a direction that was free from immediate dangers. They breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

Snape and Harry watched intently as Voldemort separated from the other two and headed deep into the Forest.

Harry's breath hissed inward as he realized where the enemy must be going. With his eyes he told Severus, "We have to follow him."

Snape nodded. Looking around at the others, he said harshly, "We must part here. Someone must deal with Greyback and Bellatrix. Someone must bring Zelda and Ginny Weasley to safety. Potter and I must follow the Dark Lord."

"Harry, think about this," said Lupin. "Are you sure you want to go with /him/?"

Tonks put a restraining hand on his arm. "Harry knows what he's doing, Remus." She looked over to where Harry was standing next to Snape and said, "I'll go after my dear cousin and Remus will come with me. Moody's coming too."

"I'm not letting this bloody criminal get away now," replied Mad-Eye. "I'm going too. He'll probably turn on Potter and kill him in front of Voldemort, to gain favor with him."

"Don't be a bloody fool, Moody," Tonks snapped.

"None of us can get out of Hogwarts, Mad-Eye," Ron pointed out. "Anyway, I'm going with Harry and Professor Snape. But who's going to help Zelda and Ginny?" He saw Harry's pleading look and said, "I know, Harry, but I promised Hermione."

"Bloody stubborn Gryffindors," muttered Snape sourly, hoping he was disguising his complete panic. He looked up and found himself gazing into the centaur's wise blue eyes.

"I shall go to your Zelda," said Firenze sternly. "I will try to get them both to safety, but it must be done quickly, so I shall leave you now." He held his hand out, first to Snape and then to Harry. "I hope that we shall meet again." He turned and cantered away.

Harry looked at Professor Snape. Before his eyes the faint hint of weakness he had displayed faded away, to be replaced by the familiar cold glare. He realized it was probably the best way to get through this, so he stilled his terrified mind, closing off his fear for Ginny and Zelda. His green eyes were cool and expressionless when he turned back to the others.

"Good luck," he said quietly. "Here, take the Map. I think I know where he's going, but you should know what's happening." He held the open Map out to Remus Lupin, who took it very unwillingly.

"Be careful, Harry," he said, looking doubtfully at Snape.

Harry merely nodded, and then began striding down a path they had not traveled yet. Ron walked by his side and Snape followed close behind them, a sinister figure in his cloak. The hopes of all were riding on Harry Potter's thin shoulders.

Moody stared defiantly at the three wizards as they walked away, but finally looked at his remaining companions.

Tonks went to stand next to Lupin and study the Map. "How convenient," she said cheerfully. "Bellatrix and Greyback are headed straight toward us. What would you say is the best way for us to deal with those two?"


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Suddenly the Cruciatus Curse ended. Molly lay on the floor for a moment, aching and winded, but she raised her head to see what was happening. Incredibly, she saw the barman from the Hog's Head, Aberforth Dumbledore, whose skinny arm was wrapped around the neck of the Death Eater. Another Death Eater was creeping out the door where the first had appeared, however and was raising her wand.

"/Expelliarmus/!" gasped Molly, pointing her wand with a shaking hand.

The Death Eater's wand flew high in the air and landed near the staircase, causing her to scream with dismay. She ran clumsily toward it, scooped it up and began lumbering up the stairs.

Molly turned her attention toward the grappling wizards again. The heavier Death Eater was working the tip of his wand toward Aberforth. It was a risky shot while she lay on the floor, but she had no choice.

"/Stupefy/!" she snapped.

The Death Eater collapsed in a heap on the floor, dragging Aberforth down with him.

Meanwhile, the female Death Eater was high up on the landing. She had stopped to watch the action below and when she saw the pair go down, she screamed, "Amycus!" and turned her wand toward Molly.

"/Stupefy/!" Molly shouted, still lying on the floor.

The witch sagged forward over the banister and crumpled, head first, landing on the marble floor with a sodden-sounding crack. All was silent. Molly raised her head again hastily, but the world was spinning, so she carefully put it down on the floor and closed her eyes.


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A slight whimper came from behind a large tree, causing Kingsley to freeze.

"Show yourself!" he ordered, wand ready. "In the name of the Ministry of Magic."

Nothing moved, so gesturing to Minerva to back him up, he strode boldly forward. A body sprang at him, knocking him to the ground, and attempted to hold him down.

"Run, Mother!" screamed Draco Malfoy. He tried desperately to keep the Auror from moving, but felt himself being shoved roughly to the ground.

Narcissa Malfoy limped forward, her hands outstretched. She had seen what Draco had not, that Professor McGonagall was there too, and they had no chance of escaping.

"Draco, it's over. Please stop," she said. She said beseechingly to Kingsley, "Please, don't hurt him. We mean no harm."

"Mr. Malfoy," snapped Minerva. "Stop struggling and stand up at once."

The shock of hearing his teacher's voice caused Draco to go limp in the Auror's grasp. He stared into Kingsley's eyes for a long moment, and when the older wizard climbed off him, he rose slowly and faced Professor McGonagall.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy," she said sternly. "What have you to say for yourself?"

"Voldemort's coming. He's probably here by now," Draco said grimly. "Potter's looking for him right now, but he let us go. Professor, I just want to get my mother out of this. We have no wands. Please, at least let my mother go. Voldemort will kill her."

"Why should I allow you to escape?" she asked severely. "You have caused a great deal of harm to many people."

Being held to account for his actions was an uncommon experience for the young man. Without the past weeks of facing himself in complete isolation, he might have tried to defend himself.

"I know it, Professor. I don't much care what happens to me, but my mother doesn't deserve to be killed by Voldemort," he said quietly.

"No one deserves to be killed by Voldemort," Kingsley said angrily. "Turn out your pockets, boy."

Once both Malfoys had been thoroughly searched, Kingsley glanced at Minerva and then said, "You'll both be held accountable at some point, but we don't have time to deal with you now. Hide yourselves if you wish, but don't try to leave the grounds. And I suggest that you stay within the trees. There's a trap set for anyone who leaves the cover of the Forest."

Minerva was impatient to go on. She nodded and said, "Good luck, Mr. Malfoy. Mrs. Malfoy."

The wretched looking pair trudged wearily away toward the edge of the Forest, Narcissa leaning on her son's shoulder.


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Bellatrix Lestrange worked her way through the Forbidden Forest, a furious scowl on her face. She glanced once at her revolting companion and saw him staring at her, an odd expression on his loathsome face.

"You had to bollix up the Ministry attack, didn't you, you bloody cow?" he rasped as he tromped by her side.

"It wasn't my fault!" she snarled. He eyes bulged briefly as she tried to calm herself. "It's as if they knew we were coming. Probably the traitor Snape managed to get word to them, somehow. He wishes to discredit me with the Dark Lord."

"Nevertheless, /Bellatrix/, your plan was a bloody disaster. Once that Polyjuice wore off, everyone but us was killed or captured. We lost the battle of the Ministry. If we can't take Hogwarts, we've got nothing left," he snarled back.

"We took some down, though," she replied defensively. "I killed Cornelius Fudge myself. The Dark Lord brought down Scrimgeour and I saw red Weasley heads go down under our attack. We destroyed many of our enemies today."

He growled, deep in his throat. "But we lost! When this is over, you'll be lucky if Lord Voldemort lets you live. I think you know it too."

Bellatrix felt her gut churn fiercely. She did indeed know that she would pay a price for what had happened at the Ministry. But perhaps if she served well at Hogwarts, she would be forgiven. She swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat and said defiantly, "Our Master knows I am loyal. I will serve him well here, and then I shall go forward in his service. He needs me. When we free those who languish in Azkaban we will go on, stronger than before."

A snarl came from the furious werewolf, but he refused to dignify her pathetic defiance with a response. They both knew she might not survive her next sight of Voldemort.


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"Mrs. Weasley, wake up," a familiar voice murmured somewhere above Molly's head.

She opened her eyes to see Professor Flitwick's bright eyes looking down on her. It took a moment to realize what had happened, but then she sat up quickly and said, "Where are they?"

"You did a fine job," he replied cheerfully. "It seems there's only one Death Eater left now." He pointed cheerfully toward the huddled body of Alecto first, and then directed her attention toward the semi-conscious lump that was the other. He had been completely tied with magical ropes, and Aberforth Dumbledore was shuffling his feet, holding the Dark wizard's wand as though it were a filthy thing.

Molly managed to stand up. The Cruciatus Curse had left her shaky, but she felt stronger than she had earlier. She walked slowly to Aberforth and said, "Thank you for saving my life. I don't know how you came here when you did, but your arrival was very timely."

Aberforth managed to look at her face briefly, but his eyes fell back to the floor. "Glad to help," he said briefly. "Snape says you're a good woman." He looked down at the Death Eater by his feet. "Nice spell work."

She smiled, energized by knowing she was still alive. "Thank you again for rescuing me, Mr. Dumbledore."

Professor Flitwick interjected, "We need to find the last one. I came to report that we believe the Inferi have all been found and destroyed. A wounded giant had somehow managed to get into the dungeons, where he wedged himself in a narrow corridor. He has been removed. That leaves only one more Death Eater."

"He'll be a tricky one to lay our hands on," said Molly. "It's Peter Pettigrew. He knows the castle and grounds intimately, and he is an Animagus. He transforms at will to become a rat."

"I'll inform the rest of the staff," the tiny wizard said thoughtfully. "I shall also ponder ways to keep him from escaping once we do find him." He smiled warmly at her. "I believe we are extremely lucky that you are joining our staff, Mrs. Weasley. You are a very capable witch." His eyes twinkled encouragingly at her.

Molly knew that Pettigrew would be the toughest of all to capture, but being respected as part of such a hard working, competent school staff made her briefly feel warm with pride. She allowed herself a few seconds to embrace the sensation and headed off to search for Pettigrew. She hoped that she would be the one to find him, since for years he had taken advantage of her family in a way that made her furious.


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Zelda and Ginny were winded and sweating, so they went to ground to catch their breath. Collapsed under a thorny shrub, they looked out to see if they were being followed. Zelda took the gun out of her pocket and carefully eased the safety off.

"I'm sorry," Ginny whispered. "I'm so sorry I got you into this." Her eyes showed the depth of her remorse.

"I know," said Zelda resignedly. Stupid, passionate teenagers, she thought, striving to stay calm. "If I think any more about it, though, I'll become catatonic and freeze here in this shrub like a scared rabbit. Let's start figuring out how we're going to get out of here. The one good thing is that no one knows we're here, so they can't be worried about us."

A rustling sound that came from the path made them grasp each other's hand nervously. As the sound of someone walking neared them, Zelda cautiously peered out to see who was coming. She heard a tiny gasp from the girl next to her and silently cursed Ginny's inability to control herself.