Chapter 30

Disclaimer: Not mine. I just borrowed them for a while. I promise to put them back when I'm done. Oh, nope, no money either...just for fun.

I want to give a great big thank you hug to Arabellabloodgood and to DuchessOfArcadia for combing through this and helping me clean up my many mistakes. I really appreciate it more than you can possibly know.

Thank you, Jay, for the beautiful banner. I absolutely love it!

Hermione had woken up in the hospital wing and immediately looked around. Ron was sleeping on the cot beside her, covered in bandages. When she sat up, she saw Dean, Dennis, Lee, Susan, and Luna lying on cots as well. Neville lay on a cot to her left with Angelina on his other side, and down at the end of the room lay Dolores Umbridge.

Madam Pomfrey walked over to her cot, followed by Kingsley Shacklebolt, Headmaster Dumbledore, Minister Fudge, a square-jawed witch with very short, gray hair, and a balding wizard with glasses in dark robes. "Miss Granger, may I introduced Madam Amelia Bones from the Magical Law Enforcement Department," Dumbledore said as Madam Pomfrey helped Hermione sit up, propping her back with magically enlarged pillows.

The woman nodded in greeting, but made furtive glances in Susan's direction.

"I assume that since you take the Daily Prophet you recognize Minister Fudge, and this is Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt," Dumbledore continued. The balding wizard with glasses stood behind her guests, but Dumbledore didn't introduce him. Hermione wondered why. "We're here to inquire after the events from last Thursday night, if you'll be so kind as to answer a few questions."

"Sure, Headmaster, I'll be happy to tell you what I know," Hermione said, watching the balding wizard with glasses who stood there with his arms crossed.

"Miss Granger, could you please tell us how you got to the Ministry?"

Hermione looked at the witch. "We rode Thestrals. Well, most of us did; Dean, Cho, Katie, and Angelina had their brooms," she said in answer to Madam Bones' question.

"I'm well aware of how you got to the Ministry, Miss Granger," Minister Fudge said, staring at her crossly. "Rubeus Hagrid had to come collect the Thestrals. Very irresponsible leaving them to wonder about on the street; Muggles saw them of course. The Oblivators had to..."

"How did you gain entry, is what the Minister is asking," Kingsley repeated the question, his tone much more congenial, but still authoritative.

"Through an old, battered telephone box," she admitted. "Fred, George, and Lee met us in the Atrium. I'm not sure how they got in."

"You came in through the visitor's entrance, but you didn't register your wands at the security desk," Minister Fudge said, looking at her accusingly.

"There wasn't anyone there," Hermione stated, refusing to let his attitude bother her. "Once everyone crowded into the lifts, Harry took us to level nine to the Department of Mysteries."

Kingsley frowned. "No one stopped you?"

"No one was there. The place was completely empty; we were the only people there," she said, looking at him. She took a deep breath. "Harry led us down the corridor into a large circular room in the Department of Mysteries. Harry told us what to look for, a room that glittered, so we all tried different doors, but you could only open one at a time, and the circular room kept spinning each time we closed a door. The first room we tried had a huge amphitheater room with a stone arch that Harry called a veil... Harry could hear voices, so did Luna, Katie, Seamus, Colin, and Dennis... They were entranced...so were Ginny, Susan and Cho...the rest of us had to drag them out of there." She shivered involuntarily, and the wizard with the glasses frowned. "The third door we tried was locked, and the fourth door...the room was dark, we couldn't see anything, but the fifth door was the one Harry remembered..."

"Potter remembered," Fudge interrupted her. "He was never in the Department of Mysteries before."

"Voldemort had been," Dumbledore said firmly, scowling slightly at Fudge and the wizard with glasses, who so far hadn't said a word, just looked at her with his arms crossed. "He's been using magic...Dark magic...to entice Harry there for a while now." He turned and looked kindly at Hermione. "Go on, Miss Granger," he said patiently.

"The room had a huge crystal bell jar with a tiny bird in it that molted and fell, turned into an egg, then hatched... sorry. There was a cabinet of clocks and a small case of Time-Turners..." Hermione said, trying to remember everything as best she could. "But Harry led us through that room into another."

"Yes, yes, the Hall of Prophecy," Fudge said, and Kingsley scowled at him. "Get on with it."

"Harry had us divide up. We were looking for row ninety-seven...that's where Harry said Voldemort had Sirius...so we divided in thirds: Neville, Luna, Ginny, Harry, Ron, and I went right; Dean, Cho, Katie, Colin, and Dennis went left, I think, I'm not exactly sure, but Fred, George, Angelina, Susan, and Lee went straight ahead. But when we reached the end of row ninety-seven, there was no one there. I could see Katie and Colin a few rows down to our left and Fred and Lee were several rows down on my right, but no one else. That was when Ron spotted a tag on one of the orbs, S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D., the Dark Lord and Harry Potter. Anyway, even though we were telling him not to, Harry picked it up. That's when it happened."

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Madam Bones asked, clearly interested in any information she could get, and the wizard behind her uncrossed his arms as he stepped forward slightly.

"These black shapes began to appear...like smoke solidifying...Death Eaters," Hermione said. "Lucius Malfoy was one of them as was Bellatrix Lestrange." She looked up at Dumbledore, and he nodded for her to continue. "Bellatrix was taunting Harry, but Mr. Malfoy was keeping her in line, trying to get Harry to hand him the orb."

"Malfoy striked against kids?" Fudge asked, clearly not wanting to hear that his benefactor was involved.

Hermione wanted to tell him 'struck,' but refrained and shook her head. "No, he tried to talk Harry into giving him the orb and to keep the others from doing anything to us. Bellatrix threatened to torture Ginny, but Mr. Malfoy wouldn't let her. However, when Harry told them...the Death Eaters...the truth that Voldemort was a half-blood, Bellatrix tried to stun Harry, and that started the fighting. We were cornered, Harry, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Ron, and I. I heard Dean, Cho, Katie, Colin, and Dennis fighting in one of the other rows, and I heard Fred tell George, Angelina, Susan and Lee, saying to split up, but they sounded like they were on the other side of the room."

Madam Bones was trying very hard to remain calm, but Fudge and the balding wizard with glasses were glowering at her. So, Hermione tried not to look at them, finding it easier to focus on Dumbledore or Kingsley.

"Mr. Malfoy tried to get them to stop fighting, but the others wouldn't listen anymore. You see, all Mr. Malfoy wanted was to hear the prophecy. We all used Reducto, and I'm sure that I heard the twins use it as well, and the shelves started to fall, the orbs were breaking, we were dodging spell-fire and casting whatever came to mind... We...Harry, Neville, Angelina, Lee, and I...ran into the room which we came from; and Ron, Luna, Ginny, Fred, George, and Susan went through another door. I think Dean, Cho, Katie, Colin, and Dennis...they were behind us..." She wasn't sure; she hadn't seen where they had gone. "I heard Mr. Malfoy say to leave someone named Nott behind, and he divided them into pairs..."

"Do you remember their names, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked kindly as if discussing the weather.

She thought for a moment. She knew a few of them were Severus' friends from school, but she didn't want to admit that she recognized them in front of the Minister. "Besides Mr. Malfoy and Nott? Jugson. Rosier, the Lestranges...Rodolphus and Rabastan, and Bellatrix, of course, I've mentioned her. Crabbe, Dolohov, Macnair, Avery... er, Walden, Mulciber, and Rookwood..." She checked her memory, trying to remember all the names. "Hurshiser and Rowe...Rowle, and a you. He said, 'and you, with me,' so there might have been another. Yeah, I think that is everyone I heard Mr. Malfoy mention."

"So, what happened next?" Dumbledore asked.

"Two of them followed us into the Time Room, but Harry Stunned one, and Neville made the other trip...he fell into the Bell Jar of Time. I saw another Death Eater enter just before we ran into the office." Hermione said.

The wizard with glasses was listening intently, as were Kingsley and Madam Bones. Minister Fudge was still glaring at her. However, Dumbledore was smiling slightly like a proud grandfather.

"Harry, Neville, Angelina, Lee, and I hid under desks; I silenced one, Harry bound the one I'd silenced, and Angelina Stunned the Death Eater who'd hit Lee with a curse I've never heard before. Lee hit the wall hard from the curse, and I was hit with a purple flame and knocked out. That's all I remember."

Neville sat up, leaning on his elbow. "We got at least two of them good in the room with all the Recollection Orbs; I got Antonin Dolohov. I remember his face from the Daily Prophet...he's the one who killed the Prewetts. Jugson, Walden, and Mulciber, I know they were hit...I heard their names called out, and like Hermione said, someone named Nott, too. I heard him mentioned. Anyway, Dolohov must have been revived, 'cause he's the one that hit Hermione in the office with the purple flame curse, and Rabastan Lestrange kicked me and broke my nose and my wand, but Harry Stunned him. The Death Eater I hit with a Tripping Hex who fell into the bell jar...he was Crabbe's dad; I've seen him on the platform in King's Cross before. He came in...he'd turned into a baby, well his head had anyway...he started flailing around and got the other guy, so we escaped. Lee was pretty badly singed, but he was all right after Angelina Rennervated him.

"Harry and I carried Hermione, and our group hooked up with Ron, Luna, Ginny, Fred, George, and Susan in anteroom, so we retreated in to what looked like a study room with loads of books and instruments in shelves on the walls. Harry, Angelina, and I started sealing the doors. George and Susan told us that they had fought four of them in the Planet Room, I think. George said Ron had used the Reducto to blow up Pluto, taking out one Death Eater, but Ron had been hit with a spell that had him acting all pissed-drunk. Ginny's ankle had been broken bad, Fred was pretty badly singed, but doing okay, and George had a cut over his left eye. Susan's arm was bleeding, and she was staggering a little, but Luna stopped the bleeding with a healing spell."

Madam Bones gasped and Kingsley put his hand on her back reassuringly as Neville continued, "But Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and two others were breaking in through one of the doors, so we ran into the Brain Room. Luna was knocked out with a curse before she could close the door, but Harry and George got it closed. That's where Dean, Cho, Katie, Colin, and Dennis were. Dean was hurt bad."

"I see, please go on," Dumbledore said as if they were discussing a rather exciting movie, so Neville sat up to get more comfortable. The wizard with the glasses crossed his arms, scowling.

"Well, Dennis had been hurt by a brain's tentacles. Cho and Katie had been trying to get the brain's tentacles off Dennis when we got there...they did it too. Ron, for some reason, summoned one of the brains and was attacked by its tentacles, too. So, Cho helped Fred get Ron's off him while the rest of us tried to fight the Death Eaters. But Harry made a dash for it, holding the Recollection Orb with Harry's prophecy above his head, and most of the Death Eaters, four or five of them, I think, followed Harry. We subdued the two who stayed, and everyone who could still fight ran into the spinning anteroom. We got there just in time to immobilize one Death Eater and to see which door they went though. Katie marked it before they started spinning."

Dumbledore nodded encouragingly, and Fudge fidgeted nervously while Madam Bones wrung her hands a bit. The quiet wizard with the glasses was still scowling at Neville.

"When I entered the amphitheater room with the stone arch in it, the one with the veil, there were ten Death Eaters surrounding Harry. Cho, Katie, Colin, Angelina, Fred, George, Susan, and me...we tried to protect Harry, but we were outnumbered, and I was using Hermione's wand, so it wasn't, well, obeying me. It wasn't the same as using my dad's."

"So who attacked whom?" Fudge asked.

Neville shrugged his shoulders, grimacing slightly as he did. "Gosh, it was all happening so fast. I tried to Stun any of them I could, but couldn't say it right because of my nose. Mr. Malfoy was still trying to get Harry to give over the Recollection Orb...he wasn't doing much. Bellatrix was using a spell with a red-orange spell-light or the Cruciatus at any of us she could. One named Avery was using the some curse with a blue spell-light...he got Susan with it," he said, and Madam Bones inhaled sharply, but Neville gave her an apologetic smile and continued. "Dolohov was using a purple zigzagging one... It's hard to say. There were so many curses and defensive spells flying around. Then the adults came in; not all of them were Aurors either. Professor Lupin was there and Sirius Black; I recognized him from the papers. He was there," Neville said, pointing to Kingsley. "And Professor Moody...actually the real Auror Moody, huh, since he wasn't really Professor Moody to begin with? And I saw Ron's dad fighting too."

Hermione listened with a sense of awe as Neville described the fight.

Madam Pomfrey had delivered Hermione's Saturday edition of the Daily Prophet with her cards and mail after she'd finished her breakfast. Harry and Ginny came in a bit later and told Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ron what had been going on in the castle while they'd been laid up. Harry was sitting on the end of Ron's bed, and Ginny, whose ankle had been mended hours after she'd been brought to Madam Pomfrey Thursday night, sat on the end of Hermione's bed. Luna, still in her hospital pajamas, was sitting cross-legged on the end of Neville's bed, balancing his Mimbulus mimbletonia on her ankles. The plant was now three times the size since Hermione had last seen it. A few cots away, Colin was visiting with his brother, playing exploding snap, and Hannah and Justin were visiting quietly with Susan, no doubt catching her up on the events as well.

"Bet Dumbledore wishes he could've got rid of Trelawney for good," said Ron, now munching on his fourteenth Frog. "Mind you, the whole subject's useless if you ask me, Firenze isn't a lot better..."*

"How can you say that?" Hermione demanded, cutting him off. "After we've just found out that there are real prophecies?"*

Harry looked away, troubled. "It's a pity it broke," Hermione said softly, shaking her head, but then looked up at Harry.* He wasn't engaged in the discussion anymore, in fact he wasn't looking at any of them either, just staring at the wall with a pained expression on his face.

"Yeah it is," Ron was saying, but Hermione had stopped paying attention too, watching Harry with concern. "Still, at least You-Know-Who never found out what was in it either..." Hermione was as surprised and disappointed as Ron when Harry suddenly stood up. "Where are you going?" Ron asked.*

"Er...Hagrid's," Harry said. "You know, he just got back, and I promised I'd go down and see him and tell how you lot are."*

"Oh, all right then," said Ron grumpily, crossing his arms and staring out of the window at the bright blue sky. "Wish we could come..."*

Say hello to him for us!" Hermione called after him as he walked away. "And ask him what's happening about..." She paused, not sure what to call Grawp considering she could be overheard, "about his little friend."*

"You mean his little brother," Luna said, stroking Neville's spineless, cactus-like plant, making the plant move as if tickled and produce odd cooing noises. "He's sad about his godfather," she said.

It took a moment to for Hermione to catch on to what Luna meant. "Of course he's sad about him," she said, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"No, I mean, he thinks it's his fault," Luna stated, making the plant shiver in delight. "If he hadn't believed You-Know-Who, then we wouldn't have gone, and Sirius Black wouldn't have gone to save us."

"So it is our fault that he's dead?" Ron asked, incensed.

"No," Neville said. "It's You-Know-Who's fault, he's the one who lured us there. But Luna's right, Harry is probably blaming himself." He glanced around before propping himself up on his elbow to lean closer. "I was on the ground, dodging a curse, when Harry tripped and the orb broke. It was right in front of my face, and this little misty figure appeared... so, I did hear part of the prophecy though. I heard the voice say, 'either must die at the hand of,' then I think it said, 'the other,' however, there was an explosion of rock and someone was yelling so I can't be sure, but I think I'm right. Although, I did hear it say that the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

"NO!" Hermione gasped as she sucked in her breath.

"Blimey," Ron said, quickly looking at Hermione. "Do you think? I mean, it has to be, right?"

Neville shrugged one shoulder. "It said 'as the seventh month dies.' That is the thirty-first of July, right?"

"Do you reckon he knows?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione again.

"I'm sure someone knows the prophecy," Luna said. "Ron said that the tag on the orb read, S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D., the Dark Lord and Harry Potter. I don't know who S.P.T. is, but A.P.W.B.D. are Headmaster Dumbledore's initials. So he knows, unless someone else has the same five initials, but that's not really likely, is it? And someone placed the memory into the Recollection Orb, since it was on the shelves."

Hermione looked pointedly at Ron, but he only shrugged his shoulders and opened another Chocolate Frog.

Most thought that Severus' heart was made of ice and that he had no feelings whatsoever. Not at all true, but although he had perfected his ability of controlling his emotions, he did still have them. He was human after all, just not a bleeding heart Gryffindor, regardless of how many times Dumbledore insisted that the Sorting Hat had placed him in the wrong house. Slytherin suited him, his personality, his ambitions, his intellectual pursuits, and the dungeons suited his need for quiet solitude.

Although, in truth, even though he'd been in a foul mood ever since Thursday evening, he was feeling a bit amused presently, watching Crabbe and Goyle, who'd been cornered into assisting Minerva with her carpet bag and cloak, trudge up the stairs ahead of their professors. He'd just finished brewing another batch of the potion for Messrs Weasley and Creevey, which he was taking up to the hospital for Madam Pomfrey, when he'd run into Potter, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Of course he'd heard the exchange between Potter and Malfoy; voices carried well in the Entrance Hall. He'd been most surprised at Potter's blatant cheek about deciding which curse to use on Malfoy, shocked even. When Minerva had arrived, looking weary and out of breath, she'd handled the situation, not exactly how he'd have done, but actually considering the circumstances, well enough, he supposed.

He'd walked with her to her office because seeing the usually spry old witch leaning heavily on her walking stick while also pulling herself along up the stairs using the banister deeply concerned him. If she hadn't enlisted the aid of his two Slytherins, he'd have levitated her bag and carried her cloak for her himself.

"So, fill me in," Minerva said casually, once they were alone. "What has been happening in my absence?" A house-elf appeared and collected her cloak and carpetbag. "Oh, thank you," she told the elf then turned to look at him.

He set his crate of potions on a chair and faced her. "As I know you are aware, Potter and twenty-three of his friends went on a foolhardy mission to rescue Sirius Black, who, by the way, was not in anyway in any danger, all because the Dark Lord gave Potter visions, breaking nearly every..."

"I'm well aware of what happened on Thursday, Severus; Emmeline came to tell me everything, and I had a nice long visit with Nymphadora," Minerva said as she lowered herself gingerly into her chair. "What about the school? Dolores; is she still here?"

"Unfortunately," he said smoothly. Her slow movements, the sheen of perspiration on her face and neck, and the heavy breathing worried him.

"I see." She laced her fingers and placed her hands on her desk. "Dumbledore has resumed control of the school."

"Yes," he replied smoothly, although she'd said it as a statement. Why is she asking me if she's already been informed? "Dumbledore has resumed his duties as Headmaster."

"You are on your way to see Madam Pomfrey?" she asked after breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly, as another house-elf appeared with a tea service for two.

She indicated the other chair before her desk with her hand, but he shook his head, declining the offer. "Yes," he said, his hands clasped behind his back. "Yes, I created the potion she needs for the students recovering from the damage caused by the magical brains." Incapacitated by the tentacles of thought emanating from the brains of two of the most powerful wizards in wizarding history, to be precise, if what Dumbledore had said is correct. He also had potions for Miss Granger, one to help boost up her strength and another to aid in her recovery.

"Wonderful," she said with a smile. "Please let Poppy know I'll be up as soon as I catch my breath."

"Certainly," he said, inclining his head and turning to pick up his crate.

"Severus." He turned around. "Thank you for everything." He raised an eyebrow at the remark, and she smiled. "I know you alerted the Order and did what you could to protect the students while Albus and I were gone."

"I did what I could," he intoned, returning her smile with a small one of his own. "Minerva."

He left her office and made his way up to the hospital wing to deliver his potions. He followed Madam Pomfrey as she checked on Messrs Weasley and Creevey.

Madam Pomfrey and Severus stopped by Dennis Creevey's bed first, making his brother skedaddle away, so that Severus could use Legilimency on the boy's mind to see how he was adjusting to the alien memories of Mordrid Swithin Wroithesley, the brilliant, yet slightly demented, eighteenth century Necromancer and Alchemist. The boy was altogether too trusting, eagerly allowing Severus' penetration. Creevey's mind was a whirl of thought and images, but the memories of Mordrid Swithin Wroithesley were still in the forefront amid the exhausting array of the boy's thoughts. Severus pulled out of the boy's mind quickly since the connection was threatening to give him a bloody migraine. Surprisingly, the boy was handling the additional memories quite well, as if he'd assimilated them from either watching a movie or from reading a rather disturbing book. Then again, Muggle-borns were resilient that way...everything about their world was new, exciting and an adventure, so the boy's acceptance of the memories and thoughts were understandable. It was still too soon to tell whether or not the new memories would become permanent personality imprint on the boy.

He then repeated the interview with Mr. Weasley's to check on his progress; Mr. Weasley's injuries were somewhat more involved, and the assimilation of the alien memories from Lucien M. Underwood's brain was a bit more befuddled. Lucien Underwood had been a noted Slytherin, a cunning and brilliant intellect who had a thirst for knowledge, was known for his experimentation, and the joy of discovery. However, he cared more about the discoveries he created than in the practical applications that someone would make of them, which drove him to become a Dark wizard and the right hand of Gellert Grindelwald. Nevertheless, Weasley still showed signs that Underwood's brain might leave permanent, indelible personality imprints, but Severus was hopeful that the boy could assimilate the alien memories so he'd not have to use Legilimency to remove them.

Hopefully, the boy's lazy attitude toward scholastic pursuits will override Lucien Underwood's influence. He'd have to talk to Minerva and Dumbledore about extra lessons in Charms, Transfiguration and, of course, as much as he dreaded the prospect, Potions, if the boy decided to enact on the drive to experiment.

Madam Pomfrey then walked over to check on Susan, which left him free to check on Miss Granger.

"Miss Weasley, may I have a word with Miss Granger?" he intoned, and Miss Weasley looked up at him in shock. "Alone."

"Of course, Professor," she said as she scrambled from Miss Granger's bed and then walked over to sit in the chair by her brother. He drew the curtains around Miss Granger's bed and cast several swift spells to ensure their privacy.

Miss Granger looked up at him, her soft doe-like eyes curious but unwavering. Merlin but he'd missed the way she'd looked at him like this, but that didn't negate the fact that he was livid with her. He crossed his arms and glared at her, and she lowered her head as if shamed. After counting to nine, he said, "Why didn't you trust me, Miss Granger?"

"Sir?" she asked, her wide, soft brown eyes showing her confusion.

"You heard me, why did you run off to the Ministry of Magic, on Potter's whim, before I had the chance to check out if Black was indeed in any danger?" he spat at her.

"I-I...I didn't know!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening even more.

"You didn't think," he snarled as he pocketed his wand lest he use it.

"Harry was sure...he was going, I couldn't very well let him go alone," she babbled, as if to justify her actions.

It didn't in his opinion. "So you hold no trust in me what-so-ever," he said coolly.

She shook her head as she replied, "I had no idea you were taking Harry seriously!"

"I told you not too act too fast to give me time to determine the truth," he snarled, staring down at her.

She bristled at his accusation. "No you didn't! You told Umbridge that you didn't have any further stocks of Veritaserum, and you would have the greatest sympathy with her if she'd wanted to poison Harry!"

He crossed his arms and glowered at her. "That's what you remember..."

"I remember it perfectly!" she interrupted him.

His fingers tightened on his arms. "I also implied that I would go and discover the truth before you went..."

She sat up straighter. "You were looking right at Harry when you said 'I cannot help you.' What was I supposed to think?"

"And I was looking directly at you when I said," he paused to remember his exact wording, "That they act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling." She opened her mouth to say something, gaping at him like a guppy, then shut her mouth with a snap. "Precisely. I am in Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. I am honor bound to help protect Potter by more than just simply my word and you...you should know that. You of all people should know what side I'm on."

"How could I?" she asked, staring up at him akin of any petulant student.

"Really?" he intoned dryly. "You are not that dense, nor are you uninformed as to my actions this past year...or your previous years! Or are you completely ignorant as to the position I set myself up for as your personal Defense Club, er, Dumbledore's Army, group, advisor? You think I wasn't aware of exactly which door Potter was seeing in his visions...I knew!"

"But you didn't come!" she insisted, snapping at him in a manner no other student dared. "At the Ministry, you didn't come."

His arms unfolded and fell to his sides. "Someone had to stay here and protect the castle and the other students!" he snarled. "For someone so brilliant you are incredibly naïve and stupid." Her mouth gapped open again as she stared at him in shock, then shut with a snap again. "I went to Grimmauld Place myself; I spoke to Black, and then I was able to reach both Kingsley and Tonks, as well as Lupin. I knew how to reach Dumbledore when I found out that you and your friends had gone to the Department of Mysteries. He told me to return to the school and to not participate in the battle."

"So your cover would not be blown," she said, looking down at her hands lying on her lap.

"No, so I could be on hand to safe guard the students under my care," he said, and she looked up at him. "Filius was alerted as were the other Professors on our side. Did it not occur to you that Dumbledore had selected his staff with care, with one purpose? That even the imbeciles he chose for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts were chosen because of their position in this war?"

"Except for Umbridge," she pointed out unnecessarily.

"Obviously, and that idiot fop, Lockhart," he intoned dryly and crossed his arms again. "He'd had Greer Meckintyre in mind for the post; the idiot agreed to take a year's leave of absence from the Aurory to do so."

Her chin lifted slightly. "But Harry, he was going! I had little choice," she said, raising her voice slightly in her need to make him understand her idiocy. "He was frantic to go, and there was no stopping him."

He refrained from snorting. "Yes, that dunderhead friend of yours is just like his father, always so cocksure, always doing what he wanted, careless of others, arrogant enough to believe he was invincible..."

"HARRY IS NOT HIS FATHER!" she yelled at him, then lowered her voice but only slightly, "Why can't you accept that?"

"Actually, for your information, Potter is very much like his father," he snarled, losing his temper, his arms once again unfolding and falling at his sides. "Like James Potter, his son is a bigot when it comes to Slytherins. Like his father, he enjoys it when a Slytherin gets hurt. Like his father, he has no respect for rules, romps about the castle at any hour he chooses, involves himself in matters best left to the teachers to handle, will use the tunnels to go to Hogsmeade and steal sweets, uses his Invisibility Cloak to terrify a fellow student, will throw fireworks into his Slytherin classmates' cauldrons to create a diversion so he can steal ingredients for an illegal potion. And they both have a blind, prejudicial aversion to anyone who knows and understands the Dark Arts, and they both despise me."¹

He took a breath to steel himself. "But yes, there are a few differences: James Potter knew how to charm adults; however, his son is a sullen boy who would've received a clip on the ear of many an adult in the wizarding world if not for his 'Boy Who Lived' status and Dumbledore's protection. However, I will concede that James Potter wasn't as lazy as his son. James Potter did take his academics much more seriously than his son, and he was a more avid reader, strived harder in lessons, and carried nine NEWT-level classes while Harry Potter will only carry five, the minimum necessary to be an Auror. But as for his behavior and attitude, he is James Potter all over."¹

He turned on his heel and strode out of the hospital, away from her. Damn her. Bloody well damn her and her devotion to that idiot boy.

Neville, Dean, and Lee were released on Monday, but Ron, Dennis, Luna, and Hermione were kept in the hospital until Tuesday night. Susan and Angelina were going to have to stay another day or so, because of the resilience of the curses that had hit them.

Hermione wanted to talk to Harry about Sirius, knowing that Luna had been right, he'd have taken Sirius' death personally, and yet Harry was withdrawing from everyone and everything.

Professor Umbridge had left the hospital Tuesday morning, probably because she was unnerved by the clomping sound, somewhat reminiscent of horses hooves, that could be heard from outside the hospital windows over her bed. And the students hadn't let up on her all day, so many wanting to get one last prank pulled on Hogwarts' most hated professor ever. Hermione had been told that she'd tried to sneak out unnoticed during dinner, but the students started chucking their dinner rolls at her as she passed, and Peeves had chased her from the Entrance Hall all the way to the school gates, alternately whacking her with Professor McGonagall's walking stick and a sock full of chalk, as many of the students followed behind them cheering and jeering Umbridge's departure.

Susan was released on Wednesday.

The last evening, at the leaving feast, Hermione asked Ron, "Where's Harry? Didn't he come down with you?"

"He's still in the dorm, packing," Ron said.

Angelina entered the Great Hall, apparently released from the hospital. She waved at Hermione and Ron before she sat down between two of her friends at their end of the table.

After dinner, Hermione spotted Luna tacking up a list on the notice board. "They take your stuff again?" she asked, looking at the list. "I think I saw red boots on one of the suits of armor on the seventh floor, and blue cloak hanging on a gargoyle. I'll go get them for you."

"Thank you," she said serenely. "I saw Harry earlier."

"How is he?" Hermione asked.

"Unhappy...well, I'd say disturbed, but people mistake that term," Luna replied, turning for the stairs.

"About his godfather?" Hermione asked, wondering if there was more to his moodiness or not. Luna had a way of perceiving things others missed.

"It is the second time he's lost someone close, and he knew his godfather fairly well, didn't he? I mean enough to go and try to save him and all," Luna said as they walked up the stairs together. "It's too bad he couldn't have spoken to his mum and dad."

"Yeah, considering they died when he was so little," Hermione agreed. "He never knew them at all, not like Sirius. At least they got to know each other."

"It's who he heard in that room with the archway...his mum and dad," Luna stated with a wistful smile. "I heard my mum, I think, it was hard to tell, couldn't really make out what she was saying."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, feeling awkward. She remembered Harry's and Luna's reaction to the stone arch. Is that what Harry and the other's heard? Now she understood what had drawn her friends toward the stone arch. "I must be awful losing a mother." She never knew what to say to someone who'd lost a parent. "I haven't..."

"No, you couldn't see the Thestrals," Luna said with an understanding smile.

"How did she...?"

Luna looked up at the candle in the wall scone. "My mum was quite an extraordinary witch, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather horribly wrong. I was nine. You want me to tell you what Harry said, don't you?"

"Yes, please," Hermione said, and listened with growing concern as Luna told her about her conversation with Harry.

Down in the dungeons later that same night, Darias, Raithe, and Duane sat at on the makeshift benches in an unused classroom with Serena, Valeria and Tammorah on another, facing them. Grantham Thortenson had finally taken a stand and was straddling a chair he'd conjured, and Professor Snape leaned against an old desk with his arms crossed, listening to his chosen decide their fate.

"So, it's settled, we're choosing to decline?" Darias asked, after a long pause of silence.

Everyone nodded, some more fervently than others, and Severus's lips pulled back in a small, pleased smile.

"Okay, so we'll need a safe word and a possible safe house arranged if you find yourself pressed to the wall." Darias pulled out a box from his bag. "These are charmed with the Protean Charm," he said, handing each of his friends a small pouch. They each pulled out a red-flecked, green stone pendant, bezel set with symbols engraved in the thick silver setting. "The symbols can be changed into words, but keep in mind it will appear on all the others since they are connected. The stone is bloodstone, from a dragon's den, and enhances the magic of the charm. You can also use it to get to a small beach house I own. My parents don't even know about the house, so it's safe for now."

"It's a Portkey?" Valeria asked, turning the pendant over.

"Yes," Darias admitted, and Severus nodded in affirmation, but allowed Darias to continue. "You can activate it by tapping the back with your wand, and it will take you to Darias' Hold. My family all call me Raymond, after my father. No one but you six know about my house. I purchased it under the name Darias Holden."

"I still can't believe you bought the place," Duane stated.

"It's nice; small, but cozy," Serena stated. "Is it still under the Fidelius?"

"Yes," Darias stated, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs as Severus nodded again. He and Darias had personally placed the Fidelius as well as other protections spells on the property as well as the house.

"Oh, and Professor Snape knows of the house as well. He, too, has one of these in his pocket. He said he'd do what he can if we run into trouble."

Severus nodded in affirmation, again. "As I have promised you I would."

"What about the sixth-years?" Granthan asked, putting his pendant back into his pouch. "I know that they are on the recruitment lists as well."

"Montegue, Pucey, and Warrington are going to join; when is up to them and their parents. Urguhart, Aubry, Higgs have told me they will ask their parents to wait until they finish school. That gives them a year reprieve. The Dark Lord will wait until they finish school...he waited for us," Darias stated.

"The Dark Lord prefers to wait until his recruits are of age of consent," Severus said smoothly. "However, it's very unlikely he'll force the Mark on any students returning to Hogwarts."

"What about the girls: Reilly, Nolan, Maguire, and Langley?" Raithe asked.

"Penelope said that she, Mary, and Winnifred are going to the south of France with her parents," Tammorah said, smiling, but there was little of it reflected in her eyes, presently. "Mary Langley and her mum are going to visit her mother's family in Austria and Russia this summer."

"That leaves Catherin MacTirdelvach out. Wasn't she swaying?" Raithe asked, and Severus was surprised by the undertones he read in that question.

Darias smirked; apparently he knew that Raithe liked the girl. "She's not a fighter, Raithe, and her father has too much control over the family. However, he's not likely to make any arrangements for her until her seventeenth birthday."

"Egraine Whyte, Lassarina Fitzgerald, Sybilla Grey...are they still siding with You-Know-Who?" Grantham asked, still refusing to call Voldemort the Dark Lord.

"I couldn't sway them; Penelope and Mary tried to see if they would sway, but they are too ensconced in the pure-blood prejudices and way of thinking," Serena stated. "In fact, Lassarina and Sybilla may be betrothed this summer; if not, they will be by next Christmas."

Darias nodded, staring at his hands clasped between his knees. Raithe leaned back, his hands clasped into a fist. The others simply sat there reflecting on their thoughts. Darias looked up. "Urguhart said he'd look after the fifth- and sixth-years when they return, and keep up what we started," Darias said, looking at Severus and then his friends. "He's already made a list of the fourth-years who might be swayed."

Severus knew that Urguhart was the best choice to lead his recruits next year, and he was a candidate for Head Boy, although he knew that the Headmaster would not consider the boy. There hadn't been a Slytherin Head Boy or Head Girl during Dumbledore's years as Headmaster. And the old man bemoans about the pure-bloods prejudices, he thought ruefully. He himself is as prejudiced against Slytherin as any hotheaded Gryffindor.

"He has pendants similar to ours, but I didn't make them Portkeys. Since they are all coming back here, I didn't think they'd need them to escape," Darias was saying. "But Raithe, Duane, and I will keep in touch with them. We've worked out means of communicating and some codes. Hopefully, Nott will decide next year which side he's on. I think he'll choose ours. Brambila Rushbridge said she and Penelope would keep at Candice Longacre and Tracy Davis, see if they can pull them as well."

"Right, so we're on our own," Grantham stated, crossing his arms.

"No," Valeria said, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "We stick together, as friends and comrades. We ride this out until it comes to a head, but we stick together."

"She's right," Duane stated with a firm nod, and Severus smiled again in reassurance. "We ride this out together, and keep our wits about us. Snape didn't risk his neck to have us fail. If we stick together, keep practicing our Occlumency, we should get through this."

"Merlin, I hope Dumbledore wins," Serena said with a heavy sigh.

"And when the time comes, I'll be here, wand in hand to see that he does," Raithe stated.

Darias' mouth curved into a crooked smile at the determination reflected on his friend's faces. "So will I," he stated. "No matter what side my dad takes, I will stand up for what's right."

Serena looked at him nervously, but nodded her head as the others voiced their agreement to fight.

Over all, Severus was pleased with the meeting; however, he was still going to keep an eye on Miss Merkle and now Miss Wilkes as well. And as much as he hated involving himself in their petty love lives, he'd have to talk to Mr. Macrae regarding his association with Catherin MacTirdelvach.

~ T. B. .C. ~

Author's Notes:

The sentences and dialogue denoted by an asterisk* were borrowed/quoted from the American version of, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. No plagiarism is intended, I merely used to it show what is going on from another character's POV from what Harry's was in the books. Those lines are totally JKR's and her incredible work.

I didn't want to type out the entire Battle in the Department of Mysteries; I thought it would be too redundant, so I only gave you an overview. Everything that that happened in the book that I don't mention, everything that happened in the Ministry atrium, for example, and the conversation between Dumbledore and Harry in his office, up to Hermione waking up in the hospital, are what happened in the book...pretty much as they happened in canon.