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Chapter Five:

Harry met Hermione in the common room before they headed off to breakfast. “Are you worried, Harry?” she asked quietly as they walked through the halls.

“I’m not allowed to be worried,” he muttered.

Hermione stopped. “Harry, stop. Don’t say things like that. At least not to me. If you want to pretend that you are infallible, do it, but don’t do it in front of me. I know you, Harry. I know the real you,” she said firmly.

Harry looked at her for a moment, then a grin started to form in one corner of his mouth. “Ok, Hermione. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I was just thinking about what everyone else would think. They wouldn’t want their hope-to-come-out-of-this-alive worried. I just... forgot that you don’t look at me that way,” he grinned.

“I haven’t seen you as the Boy-Who-Lived since the first day we met, Harry.”

“Well then, to answer your question, yes, I am worried. I have a bad feeling about this.” Another grin crept over his features slowly as he added in a serious tone. “Maybe one of Professor Trelawny’s death omens will come true.”

Hermione reached out and smacked him in the arm. “Harry! Don’t say things like that!”

“But you said you didn’t want me to act like I was infallible around you,” he grinned, rubbing his arm.

“Death is an entirely different situation,” she replied softly. She suddenly had the mental image of Harry lying on the ground in some muddy battlefield and she could feel her heart wrench.

Harry saw the tears forming in the corners of her eyes and he moved to her to wipe them away. “Hey, Hermione, I’m sorry. I... I’m sorry,” he said again, kissing her forehead as he held her close.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” she whispered.

Harry put a hand under her chin and gently lifted her face so that she was looking into his eyes. “I won’t leave you, I promise,” he said firmly. There was no trace of a grin, his eyes seemed to be deeper, and she let his promise sink in, warming her to the bone. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, as though to seal his promise before they continued their walk to the Great Hall.

There was a buzz going around the Hall as they walked past the three tables to the Gryffindor table all the way at the far end. An owl was sitting on Hermione’s seat and the two of them realized that mail must have come, and that was what the buzz was about. She took the “Daily Prophet” from the owl, dropped a few coins in the pouch, and the bird vacated her seat.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

Terror In Azkaban

Last night a riot broke in Azkaban as two hooded figures entered. The guards were instantly silenced by the Killing Curse and it seems that the hooded figures convinced the dementors to join them. Many cells were opened and the terrible souls that had been captive were let free. Among them were Mr. and Mrs. Lestrange, convicted in the torture of Mr. Longbottom, a former Auror, and his wife.

Eyewitness accounts from the very few prisoners who were left in their cells, alive, stated that the hooded figures wore masks. They moved from cell to cell asking a simple question. “Do you swear allegiance to the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort?”

“The one that was speaking, his voice was calm, smooth. They didn’t even seem to be affected by the dementors,” one prisoner said. His sanity seemed to come back to him after the dementors had followed the two hooded figures away. Before they vanished, however, the Dark Mark was sent into the air and the two figures as well as those who joined them started to laugh.

The Ministry has no comment at the time, and they do not know exactly who was under the hood. They have no comment on whether the Dark Lord has risen once more, or if this attack was merely intimidation.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

“Bloody hell,” Harry muttered as he read along with Hermione.

“He’s back,” Hermione said softly beside him. Beneath the table, Hermione’s hand found Harry’s and squeezed tight.

* * * *

A hooded figure with a silver hand walked down to Lucius’ dungeons with a human figure in his arms. He had kidnapped her from a neighboring village as food for the dementors. To make sure that she had enough trauma to relive, he first made her watch as he tortured and slaughtered her family. He put her in a cell at the bottom of a corridor, and the dementors swarmed around. He woke her from his spell, and almost immediately the screams started. Wormtail turned and shut the door into the dungeons to ensure that the dementors wouldn’t wander about the Malfoy Mansion.

“Your work was commendable, Lucius, Nott,” Voldemort said, his lips once again peeling back from his teeth in a horrible grin.

“Thank you, My Lord,” they replied, bowing.

“Ah, the Lestranges,” Voldemort said as two new figures approached.

They both dropped to their knees and kissed the foot of Voldemort’s robes before standing again. “My Lord, we knew that you would come for us, your faithful servants.”

“Yes, you were faithful. Even on the word that you would be sentenced to life in Azkaban, you declared your allegiance. You will be honored beyond any of your fellow Death Eaters. You will help to lead the Dark Side in battle against the Light. When we emerge victorious, you will share in the spoils, and you will have power beyond that of any other besides myself.”

“Thank you, My Lord. We are truly unworthy,” a woman’s voice said, as both figures bowed.

“Now, to unveil my plans. With an army of Death Eaters, we could take villages, cities, maybe the Ministry itself, but with an army such that we have begun creating, we will conquer Hogwarts and indeed, the whole of Britain. Beyond that, we will work toward taking all the world, until the entirety of the earth will cower beneath the Dark Mark.” Voldemort listened as his Death Eaters cheered. “MacNair has informed me that he has recruited many creatures of the Dark for our army. Creatures such as Erklings, who like to eat children, for we will not allow Dumbledore to evacuate them, Goblins, Red Caps, Pogrebin, Vampires, werewolves, and even the Chimaera, the Nundu, and the Trolls. He has informed me that he will work toward an alliance with the Banshee, the Dragons, the Manticore, and will have enough Bicorn for us to ride into battle on. With this army, we will inspire fear into the hearts of even the bravest warriors. We cannot fail.” Again the walls shook as the Death Eaters cheered and shouted.

* * * *

Draco moved silently throughout the Slytherin common room handing the students packages. When the night of the downfall of Hogwarts came, the students wearing these green jumpers with the Dark Mark in glowing red would not be harmed. He had forced all those who were not willing to declare themselves followers of Lord Voldemort out of the room. “Remember not to take these out until the night of the battle. It won’t be too long now, but we must not let the others know about it. They will pay for their sin of not declaring allegiance to the Dark Lord.”

* * * *

Dumbledore, McGonagall, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Filius Flitwick (the Head of Ravenclaw), and Sprout (Head of Hufflepuff) were all gathered in the staff room.

Harry and Hermione made their way to the room, summoned there for the meeting. They would be the link between staff and student.

“Friends, we come here tonight to discuss very serious matters. It seems that Lord Voldemort has risen again. We must discuss how we will defend the world. No doubt his first real attack will be against Hogwarts, as it houses both myself and Harry Potter,” he said, nodding toward the dark-haired boy sitting with his hand gripping Hermione’s tightly. The centaurs, besides Firenze, who decided to fight against Voldemort when he was slaying unicorns in the Forbidden Forest, refuse to take part. They claim to be observers. I expected nothing more. We must decide the best way to evacuate the younger students who will not be allowed to stay and the older students who will not desire to. I am open to suggestions,” Dumbledore said, opening his hands in gesture.

Chapter Six:

Albus talked to Harry aside from the rest of the group. “Harry, the student body looks up to you. You have more of an ability to speak to them as an equal than I do. I don’t want my presence to change anyone’s mind, so I’m going to ask you and Ms. Granger to speak to the student body for me. Inform them of the plan to evacuate and the plan to allow the older students the option of leaving, or staying to fight. I will speak to the staff personally, then we shall carry out the plan.”

Harry nodded, gulping back the bit of fear he had of speaking to all the students of Hogwarts.

“I will call a meeting in the Great Hall immediately.” Albus straightened himself and put his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We will come out of this, perhaps not unscathed, but we will rejoice when it is over.”

Harry raised his head with a renewed sense of confidence and courage. He and Hermione walked from the staff room to the Great Hall, hearing Dumbledore project his voice across the entire castle, calling a meeting for the entire student body. The two of them walked up to the Head Table, where Dumbledore and McGonagall usually sat. They waited until it looked as though the entire Hall was filled.

* * * *

“Professors,” Albus started, then realized it was the wrong way to go. “Friends, we have reached a terrible place in the history of this school. We are soon to be flung into an attack of the caliber that this castle has never seen. Lord Voldemort has indeed risen again, and he is said to be on his way to attack. He will not spare any of us, and will not let up until one side or the other is destroyed. We must ensure that it is not the side of Good that is destroyed. If this school were to fall, the rest of the wizarding world will not be far behind. He will attack us with his Death Eaters and monstrous beasts. We only have ourselves, some of the braver students, and our friends who will be joining us from the Ministry and others who decided to come to our aid. Our first duty will be to evacuate the students from this school. Heads of Houses will appoint the most trustworthy student from each house to lead the students away. Mr. Potter has been kind enough to inform me of a secret tunnel that leads from the halls of Hogwarts directly to Hogsmeade where the students will take a Portkey, or the Hogwarts Express away.”

* * * *

Hermione, in the manner of the Deputy Headmistress, tapped a fork on a glass to get the students’ attention. Harry climbed up to stand on the table. There was a murmur as everybody in the room realized that Dumbledore was not standing there. “Sonorus,” Harry said, pointing his wand at his throat.

“Students of Hogwarts,” Harry said, his voice filling the very corners of the room. “Professor Dumbledore has asked me to come to you to inform you of the grave peril that the school is in. Volde- You-Know-Who has risen again. He is building an army to come to Hogwarts with the intention of destroying everything, and everyone, within its walls.” There was a loud murmur, and a few shouts, coming from the majority of the room. A section of Slytherin was strangely quiet, as Hermione noticed. “All students who have not yet reached their fifth year will be evacuated. All students fifth year and above who choose to leave will be evacuated as well. Any fifth year or above who chooses to stand against the coming storm with me, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore, and the rest of the staff are welcome to do so.” He let the commotion die down again before resuming. “It is an important decision for you to make, but it must be made quickly. For those of you who will be evacuated, you will meet your Heads of Houses on the third floor next to the one-eyed witch. There, you will enter a tunnel that will lead you to the cellar of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. Once in Hogsmeade, there are several Portkeys and the Hogwarts Express to take you home. We must hurry as there is not much time left, so, in a calm orderly fashion... don’t make Hermione jinx you,” he added with a grin, “those of you wishing to stay, please make your way up to the Head Table. The rest of you quickly, but calmly make your way up to the third floor, and Merlin be with you.” He pointed his wand and whispered, “Quietus,” so that his voice would return to normal.

There was an eerie calm about the crowd as the students stood and, amazingly, calmly walked to the Head Table or out of the room. The majority of the seventh years, about half of the sixth years, and about a quarter of the fifth years stood before Harry and Hermione, willing to stay and risk their lives for the school. Hermione eyed the group of Slytherins standing near the back. They had been the same ones who had stayed quiet with the news that Voldemort had risen again.

“I will need to go make my report to Professor Dumbledore. Thank you for joining us in this fight. For now, Hermione is going to quickly go over some curses and hexes that we will be using to fight against the Death Eaters. Use anything that you think will help, even as simple as Expelliarmus, Petrificus Totalus, Wingardium Leviosa, or even Obliviate. Perhaps we can make some of them forget that they are fighting us,” he grinned. It didn’t seem that many of the students appreciated his sense of humor at the moment.

Harry looked over the students, most with a look of false bravado on their faces, some openly frightened, making a count before turning and leaving. Hermione instantly started teaching about the relatively easy curses and hexes that the students may or may not have remembered, or even learned. Among them were Homorphus (which would turn a werewolf back to its human form, or keep a werewolf in its human form), the Reductor Curse, used to blast solid objects away, and Relashio, which would shoot a jet of fiery sparks.

* * * *

Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick met their students in the hall of the third floor. Minerva had already opened the secret passage and they each appointed someone from each House to lead the students away. Minerva smiled grimly when she realized that the oldest Gryffindor student to be fleeing was Dennis Creevey, a fourth year student, brother of Colin. She appointed him Gryffindor’s leader. He took great pride in the title and couldn’t wait to tell his brother when he saw him again.

Snape put Millicent Bulstrode, a seventh year Slytherin in charge of his house. Sprout told Sally Ann Perks, also a seventh year, from Hufflepuff to watch her students. Flitwick placed his trust in Lisa Turpin, a seventh year from Ravenclaw.

Lisa and Sally Ann were to lead the pack of students while Dennis and Millicent brought up the rear to watch for stragglers.

* * * *

Voldemort looked at his Death Eaters. He had over one hundred at his command now. The twenty in his inner circle had ‘recruited’ some and others who were not in the inner circle returned as they heard of the coming war. All were hooded, those in his inner circle had grotesque white masks on. “My Death Eaters! My sources inform me that Dumbledore is picking up the pace on his plans. We will form our army in Hogsmeade, just south of the gates of Hogwarts. We will begin our assault there, waiting for our beasts of the darkness to join us. Apparate to Hogsmeade, destroy the village, and let us begin our attack under the sign of the Dark Mark!” The Death Eaters shouted a great cheer before Apparating to Hogsmeade to begin the attack.