Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor - 14. Chapter 14

As winter turned into spring, Harry felt as if his life was both falling apart and coming together. What hurt the most was his shattered friendship with Ron. His first and best friend no longer wanted anything to do with him. The few times they talked, nothing but insults spewed out of the redhead's mouth. His insults were so hurtful, so painful, that Harry had taken to referring to him by Draco's old insult, Weasel.

Draco had not spoken to him for a whole day when he heard Harry call Ron that.

Hermione had publicly broken up with Ron when it became clear that he was sleeping with Cho. The fact that she'd started sleeping with Neville before that never even entered the discussion, but she was now constantly seen in Neville's company. Harry had managed to repair most of his fragmented friendships with the sixth and seventh year Gryffindors. The twins and Ginny tried to be friendly whenever they saw him, as long as Ron wasn't around. Molly had sent him two letters expressing concern about the things Ron had told her about him. Harry wasn't sure if she was taking Harry's side or Ron's, but she kept on urging them to "make-up" in her letters.

She sent a Howler when Ron informed him that Harry had called him 'Weasel'.

At the beginning of March, he felt something change about the Sword of Gryffindor and during practice accidentally cast a spell with it, knocking Draco to the ground. After that, he began to practice casting with it whenever there was no danger of being seen, even mastering the Patronus quite easily. The hardest part was strengthening his wrist to complete the necessary movements required for many spells. A three foot long piece of steel is much heavier than any wand.

As April brought an end to March showers, the days grew warmer, and Harry and Draco began taking long flights on their brooms, crisscrossing the Hogwarts perimeter in endless contests and races. Those times were the only rest and relaxation either got except on Hogsmeade weekends when they disappeared to Black Manor.

By mutual agreement, they decided not to attend the Quidditch matches. It hurt too much. Ginny had replaced Harry as Seeker, and he begged her to use his Firebolt for the matches. Ron had tried to prevent her from doing so, but she proved she was a true Weasley woman when she chewed him out and he backed down.

The Slytherins moved forward with the preparations for the Blood Oath. Several times Harry got cold feet, but after talking about it with Draco he let things continue each time. Draco didn't try to convince him to not change his mind. Instead, he acted as a foil for Harry's doubts and concerns, and really made him think things through.

It was so frustrating sometimes. Harry just wanted to jump in and get it done with. Draco wanted to plan everything out and was often hesitant to take action. Most of the time they met somewhere in the middle. When they didn't the fights were often spectacular. Five years of rivalry meant that they knew each other's hot spots far too well, and when they argued they would hit every single one of them. The entire school got a picture of this when after arguing before breakfast, Draco said something that set Harry off just within the entrance to the great hall. The insults that they threw at each other were harsher than any they had ever used during their rivalry and both were red in the face before Snape dragged them out of the hall. Bets were immediately started on how long before they'd make up.

Hermione won. They were spotted just before lunch, flying in circles around the castle on Draco's broom (Ginny had borrowed Harry's for practice). Harry was sitting backwards, facing Draco and they were snogging as they circled the keep. Hermione just grinned, having been witness to their fights over the last few months.

She'd told Seamus they were both cranky in the morning and that when they 'woke up' before lunch they'd realized they'd been fighting in their sleep throughout the morning and would make up.

Seamus just thought they were ALL insane.

It was one week before the Blood Oath ceremony when Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle showed up at their private room right after dinner with forebodingly bleak expressions. Once the room had been secured and a silencing charm used, they told Harry and Draco that every student in Hogwarts with a Death Eater parent had been sent an owl that night. They were told to leave the school quietly before curfew, but after dark and make their way to where the Forbidden Forest bordered the Lake. There they'd be met by their parents and taken to a place of safety. It was a little over an hour to sunset.

Pansy also reported that her Mark had started burning an hour ago.

Leaving the three in their quarters, Draco and Harry headed up to Dumbledore's office. Harry's heart was pounding as he said the password to the gargoyle and climbed the winding stair case. Dumbledore looked up from what he was reading and took one look at their faces before leaning back in his chair, crossing his fingers together and murmuring, "It's finally come."

As night arrived, twenty-three students snuck out of the castle by various means. Neither Cho nor Ron could be found, but every prefect was located immediately upon the students leaving. The prefects were stationed outside the common rooms of their respective houses and prevented students from leaving. When curfew came all of the straggling students from the Library and the great hall were rounded up and herded back to their rooms. As Harry activated the charm on his badge to summon the Defenders, he worried about the still missing Ron and Cho, but Dumbledore had already sent Professors Sprout and Trelawney looking for them.

As the Defenders assembled, Harry stopped pacing and looked into each of their faces, seeing the same anxiety he felt reflected back at him. Draco's presence by his side calmed him a little, and he soon began to emit a calming confidence that he didn't really feel.

"Alright." He drawled smoothly as the last two Ravenclaws showed up and joined their comrades facing him. "Justin, Juliana, Neville, and Blaise, please wait for me in Draco's bedroom. I'll give you your assignment when I'm done with the others."

The four he named gave him questioning looks, but still went into Draco's unused bedroom and sat on the bed. They could still hear everything said in the common room, and didn't try to hide that they were listening. Harry ignored them for the moment, looking at the faces that remained in front of him. Fred and George were nervous, but looked ready with their wands still in their hands. Crabbe was cracking his knuckles, looking ready to go, and Goyle was smiling like he was finally going to get to crack some heads open.

"Here's the situation." Harry said confidently, more confidently than he felt. "Tonight those students with Death Eater parents were told to sneak out of the school after dark. They've left. We're pretty sure that means an attack is imminent soon. Your job is to stand ready with the Prefects to escort your House to the safe area in the dungeons. Crabbe, Goyle, Slytherin has the shortest distance to go. Once your House is in the clear, I want you to station yourselves at the entrance the other Houses will use and make sure it's protected. That's the best ambush spot where they can hurt us the most. Don't make it obvious you're there either. Use Camouflage to hide near the entrance but not directly by it."

"Harry, we're the ones who gave you that idea." Crabbe reminded him with a smile.

"Right, sorry." Harry said, his nervousness showing. A touch on his arm by Draco calmed him down again. "Anyway, Tomais and Jolina, join them when your house is safe. Ariana, Mikaela, you two will head to the foot of the great staircase when you're done. Remember, all of you will be the final line of defense. If you're facing the enemy and you fail, the next people to be facing the enemy will be the rest of the students. Fred, George, you have the longest to go in order to get to safety. Keep the first and second years in the middle of the group. The staircases have been spelled to lock into place, but if they've left any mischief makers, they might unlock them. Be sure to place some upper classmen among the little ones in case the groups get split up. If that happens, take whatever group you are with to safety and then head back for the others. Before you leave the common room, make sure that you tell everyone their goal is just to get to the foot of the great staircase. As far as we can tell no one but the Professors, Headmaster, and us know where the safe room is located."

"Can we be sure the secret keeper hasn't been compromised?" Mikaela asked quietly.

"Yes. I know who the secret keeper is and I have no doubt whatsoever that the person has not been compromised." Harry said truthfully, since he was the secret keeper himself.

"Harry, what will the rest of you be doing?" George asked.

"We're forming the second line of defense." Harry answered. "Okay so if there aren't any more questions, head out. Remember, if you engage the enemy, activate the charms on your badge so Dumbledore knows. That's the only way you'll get reinforcements. Good luck."

Next Harry summoned those that had been waiting in the bedroom. They stood before him, tall and confident as he was trying to be towards them. He'd selected this group because they'd been the best in practices with offensive spells. Neville had shown himself to be positively vicious ever since he returned from the Ministry disaster. His eyes gleamed with what Harry realized was passion. A passion to once again go against Death Eaters who had done things like drive his parents insane, it was a passion that slightly scared Harry.

"We're the second line of defense." He told the group now waiting before him. Draco walked over to several bags that were lined up against the wall, having been delivered by Dobby shortly before the Defenders were summoned. He brought one of the bags and a parchment over as Harry was speaking. "Justin and Juliana, the parchment Draco is giving you will show you the location of a secret tunnel that leads into Hogwarts. It's your job to protect that tunnel. The bag contains enough food and water for a day. There's also two boxes of Weasley's fireworks in there. You might remember them from last year. Put them in the entrance to the tunnel and hit them with an Incendio spell if anyone comes through. Not only will it light up anyone in the tunnel, but it might also set them on fire. Camouflage yourselves near the tunnel entrance. I suggest you split the food and water up and keep a good distance from each other. Set up a crossfire if you can and lie down. You could be there for a long time and if you stand or sit you might break the spell. Neville, Blaise, you also have another tunnel entrance to guard. Draco and I will be roving around. If we approach your positions, we'll use green lumos spells so that you'll see us. Unless something is wrong, don't respond to our presence."

"How will you know we're even there?" Neville asked.

"Your badges." Harry answered. "Mine's charmed so that I can sense any of you when I'm close by. It's very specific and can't be detected unless you have the master badge."

"Okay."

"Good luck." Harry said as the two pairs moved out. He sighed as they left. Draco gave him a chaste kiss before they grabbed the remaining bags, more material from the Weasley twins, and moved out.

The attack didn't come that night.

It came as the sky was beginning to lighten with the impending dawn. Tired by a night of nervous watching at their posts, the Defenders were almost too late to realize what was happening. Exhausted from a night of searching the school grounds, the Professors as well as Harry and Draco nearly panicked when the gong sounded. The charmed badge Harry wore let him know that Neville had sounded the alarm.

Harry was standing outside the Gryffindor Common room talking to Fred and George in quiet, tired tones when he felt a familiar chill and the halls around him became deathly dark. In his tired state, he almost panicked as whispers of the memory of his parents dying swirled around his brain.

"Dementors" Harry hissed. They were inside Gryffindor tower!

"Impossible!" Draco hissed back, ignoring whatever memories were being dredged up in his mind. "The Outer Wards would have sounded the gong first!"

"Not if they'd been taken down," George replied while Fred ran to the portrait of the Fat Lady calling out the password. Harry was hard on his heels, and when he entered the common room he found chaos. Seamus, as Prefect, was working with Hermione to get the terrified first and second years organized while more students trickled in. A scream from the girl's corridor tore Harry in that direction. He yelled out a password to turn off the alarm as he entered, with Draco hard on his heals. Both had their wands in their hands and the screaming guided them to the top of the tower where the seventh year dorms were. Fred and George remained behind to help Hermione and Seamus get the other students organized.

When he burst into the seventh year girls' room from which the screaming came, Harry beheld a scene of complete chaos. Two dementors were in the room, both starting to bend over two girls who were trapped in their beds. The screaming was coming from a girl who was in a full-body bind and being levitated out of her bed by a Death Eater who still held a broom in one hand.

"Expecto P…" Harry started to summon his Patronus, but was hit by a disarming spell from another Death Eater he hadn't seen. His wand went flying from his hand and the training of recent months took over. He dropped to the floor, rolled and came up with the Sword of Gryffindor in his hands. Its blade glowed an angry red as he drew it, and all the effects of the Dementors' presences faded from his mind. The closest Dementor had straightened in surprise as he drew the blade, and shrank back for a moment, but it was too late. The creature he'd always been told was impervious to most weapons and spells fell to the ground in two parts.

The Death Eaters and remaining Dementor seemed frozen, but Draco wasn't. In rapid succession he fired off two spells that knocked both Death Eaters against the walls. One had hit a Death Eater in the throat, crushing it completely and he began choking to death as he slid down the wall. The other spell had hit a Death Eater in the chest, breaking several ribs and sending the man into unconsciousness. The remaining Dementor tried to flee, but Harry also sent it falling to the floor in two pieces.

The Sword of Gryffindor had cut through the dementors like they were wax parchment. Draco cast a full body bind on the still living Death Eater, then cast a Camouflage spell on him so his compatriots couldn't find him and free him. Harry used the Sword to summon his wand and to unbind the two Gryffindors. The girls whom the Dementors had been preparing to kiss roused quickly and their wands were instantly in their hands and they looked ready to kill. The other two were even faster with their wands and followed Harry and Draco out of the tower. The four girls all joined in with the tail end of the Gryffindors who were now filing out of the common room under the guidance of Hermione with Seamus in the rear. Seamus saw Harry and Draco and nodded at them.

"Those are the last four." Seamus called out as he exited the room. Draco hissed again as the Sword, which had returned to its normal bright sheen, started to glow red once more. Four Dementors came out of the boys wing followed by two more Death Eaters. Draco began casting spells at the Death Eaters as soon as he saw them, he was so fast that neither had a chance to do more than try to block them. Harry squared off against the Dementors, for once not feeling anything from them. As they moved towards him, he responded with precise thrusts and parries with the Sword, and realized that it must have more abilities than Dumbledore had known, or at least had told him about.

The Dementors surrounded him, but not without casualties. One lost an arm, another he stabbed through the chest and it fell the ground. As one touched him from behind, he grew weak as he'd grown to expect from facing Dementors, but he still had enough strength to swing around and severe the arm. Two more thrusts and the last Dementor fell to the ground dead. He looked up to see both Death Eaters now on the attack, and Draco sweating as he sought to block all their spells. Harry smiled as he joined the fight, the Sword acting as his wand. Moments later, both Death Eaters were wandless, bound, and hidden for retrieval later. Panting from the use of magic and the fighting, Harry put his arm around an equally tired Draco and they stumbled out of the common room.

Once outside, Draco stood on his own, and they began to make their way down the stairs. The stairs had remained locked in place, and the rest of Gryffindor was nowhere to be seen. At the bottom, they were challenged by Ariana and Mikaela. That was when the Sword started to glow red again. The two Ravenclaws paled.

Twelve Dementors surrounded the four students, with six Death Eaters and one student spread among them. A Death Eater held the student by her throat and had a wand pointed at the girl's temple. As they moved into the light, Harry recognized her.

It was Cho.

Behind him he could hear Draco muttering something to the two Ravenclaws. All three moved up to Harry, then turned so that the four stood back to back. The Death Eater who held Cho stepped forward while the others and the Dementors stayed still.

"Ai!" the Death Eater holding Cho exclaimed, and rage flooded through Harry's body, wiping out the last bit of exhaustion he felt. "Looksie at this. The poor wee little lad has himself a toy! Oh, Pottie, be careful would you. I would hate to see you cut your own arm off before the Master does it for you!"

"Bellatix," Harry said in a flat voice, and he noticed she seemed to react in surprise although she was still masked. "I can die a happy man once I've held your still beating heart in my hand."

"Oh! Is the puir little lad mad because his godpappy went away?" Lestrange's voice was taunting, and his anger grew even more intense, until he felt a soft, cool hand touch his arm briefly Draco's touch cooled him. He was still angry, but now the anger burned under his control.

"Let her go, Lestrange." Harry said in that same flat voice. "You can have your life if you and your friends leave now."

"Don't be so cocky." Lestrange spat, sensing somehow that her taunting wouldn't work. "In case you haven't noticed, there's twelve Dementors, six of us, four of you and we have a hostage."

"Expelliamus!" Harry called, taking Bellatrix by surprise. Her wand flew out of her hand and she thrust Cho aside as she dove for where it had landed against the staircase. The Dementors moved forward at that point, as did the Death Eaters. The two Ravenclaws cast Patronuses while Draco threw a fireball at a box of Weasley's fireworks. The next few minutes became chaotic as Harry moved forward to meet the Dementors with the glowing Sword of Gryffindor.

Spells flew at him and were blocked by Draco and the girls while Harry cut a swath through the Dementors with the sword. Several times they managed to lay a hand on him, but he refused to yield. Within minutes, all twelve Dementors lay dead, sliced to pieces. Two Death Eaters were down as well, but they had broken up the group of students when they let fly with the Killing Curse. All three had dodged the deadly spell, but the remaining Death Eaters kept them apart. As Harry joined the spell fight with the Sword as his wand, both Ravenclaw girls were dropped by spells from two more Death Eaters who joined the fight. Harry didn't even have time to sigh in relief that neither were hit by the Killing Curse. Draco and he were split up, hiding behind two different staircases and casting spells whenever a Death Eater moved into their line of sight. Desperately, Harry touched his badge and whispered into it as quietly as he could. Crabbe and Goyle should be joining the fight soon.

Movement from the corner of his vision made him spin, ready to cast a spell when he saw that it was Cho. Somehow she held her wand in her hand. A Death Eater stood to cast a spell at her, and he hit the Death Eater with a paralysis jinx. Cho reached him panting heavily. Strangely she didn't take cover though. She looked down at him sadly for a moment, and too late he realized her wand was pointing directly at him.

"Stupefy!" She said, and Harry was unable to get his Sword up in time to block it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" Draco's agonized scream was the last thing he heard as blackness took him."

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A/N - Okay, hoped you liked that a little bit. Here's where I announce I'm going on a two month vacation and will pick the story up when I return. Now that I've dodged all the rotten fruit, I'll tell you I'm just kidding.

This chapter isn't over yet, so don't worry. Up to this point, I've kept with JK Rowling's habit of writing only from Harry's POV although most if it is third person focused primarily on Harry with occasional insights into other characters.

However, I don't fancy finishing the story and THEN having Dumbledore tell Harry what happened to everyone else. So, this chapter is going to finish from the perspective of Neville Longbottom.

No, you're not going to see Draco's perspective. Maybe, sometime in the future you will, but this is Neville's moment to shine. Don't begrudge it of him. Well, enjoy!

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As the hours passed by and the cold of the stone on which he lay permeated Neville's body, he found his concentration drifting. As the night turned to morning, Neville's mind drifted over the sixteen years that had made up his life and he wondered if tonight would be the end for him, and if he was satisfied.

Until this past summer, he knew he was a disappointment to his Grandmother. She loved him in her weird way, and wanted the best for him, but his clumsiness was such that it kept him from living up to her expectations. He'd grown up in the shadow of two parents, legends among Aurors, who had been broken by an Unforgivable curse at the hands of Death Eaters.

Despite his clumsiness, he knew his grandmother secretly dreamed of him one day avenging them. At the end of last term he'd joined the great Hero, his friend Harry Potter, in a daring raid on the Ministry of Magic itself.

It was the most embarrassing event of his life.

He'd gone from being mildly useful to a liability when he'd broken his nose. He'd come face to face with the people that had driven his parents insane, and been helpless to stop them, much less avenge his own parents. He'd gone home that year and given serious thought to ending his sick pathetic excuse of a life.

Instead, something inside of him had shifted, had moved, and a fire was born in his heart. Never having been too keen on physical labor, he had poured himself into exercising and doing work around the house. By the end of summer, he had changed physically.

He returned to school much more fit than he'd left it, and returned to a school vastly different than the one he'd left. Over the summer he'd come to realize that he'd been through an experience at the Ministry that most of his fellow students would, if they were lucky, never face. He'd come out of it with nothing more severe than a broken nose.

Harry Potter had lost his godfather.

Hermione Granger had been seriously injured.

Ron Weasley had suffered a mysterious hex that left him slightly insane until it was lifted.

Word had spread, in its usual mysterious way, of the events the previous term and he found that upon his return he had become something of a hero to those in years below him, and for those in his year and year above he was now considered a part of Harry's "inner circle".

What that meant exactly, he wasn't sure. He saw less of Harry than he had before, but in every contact Harry seemed to instinctively trust him and expect things from him. With his newborn confidence Neville had not failed to meet or exceed those expectations and he found his popularity growing.

He hadn't been surprised when Harry returned with Draco Malfoy at his side. In fact, he won twenty-five galleons for not only guessing that they'd eventually hook up as a couple but the year in which it would happen. He'd made that bet in the second year, the same year that he'd begun to look at Hermione Granger in a new way. He'd never expected to do more than watch her from afar. He knew her inside out; he could tell when she was happy from the way she laughed, knew that she was intrigued by something when she cocked her head to the side in a certain way, and he knew that she was hurting when she failed to even look at a new book in the library.

That was how he'd known something was wrong a few weeks ago. Everyone knew that Ron and her were finally a couple, and to find her ignoring the newest copy of Wizards' Guide to Abnormal Fungi was unheard of. She normally would have torn the book off the shelf and sat down to absorb it immediately. Instead, her hand passed over it absentmindedly as she wondered down another shelf of books, not really paying attention to them.

She'd cried on his shoulder that day. The day after she had covered his mouth in a kiss he never dreamed would happen. Then had come the day when she officially broke up with Ron and publicly declared him her boyfriend. Now as the cold stone froze his body he prayed she'd be safe.

His thoughts were interrupted from a sound within the tunnel he was guarding. Blaise Zabini was hidden on the opposite side of the entrance from him. Neville would certainly have never chosen to trust the Slytherin, but Harry did. If Harry trusted the Slytherin, then Neville could as well.

The sounds grew clearer, and a cursing voice resounded down the corridor. It was Neville's job to light the fireworks and he held his breath, waiting for the sounds to get closer. The tunnel was dark with the nearest torch fifty feet down the passageway. There was just enough light to see the beige box of fireworks, and when something blocked the view of the box, he knew they were here.

"Incendio!" Neville cried and a stream of fire spat out from his wand and struck not only the legs of whoever was in front of the box, but the box itself. Instantly the darkness was torn by bright flashes as fireworks went off. Giant streamers streaked down the tunnel, a dragon took wing, blowing fire in every direction, and flame shot everywhere.

Knowing the spell he had cast would undo the camouflaging spell, and that the stream of fire would have told them where he was, Neville rolled to his right. He still had a clear line of sight to the entrance of the tunnel. Two forms in black cloaks where now lying flat at the entrance, their dark cloaks on fire. The fireworks continued to burn, and he noticed that the tunnel was now lit by a series of glowing lights that stuck to the ceiling. Blaise was standing, wand in hand and a look of ferocity that declared anything that moved in the tunnel would not live long. Neville got to his feet and stood ready.

Several more hours passed before Professor Snape appeared. His black robes were ripped and a blood flowed down from a cut on his left arm. His hair was even wilder than normal and his face had dark streaks that looked like blood as well. His eyes burned with an anger that made Neville glad he'd never take potions again. Neville had long since extinguished the fires on the two Death Eaters and verified that they were dead.

For some reason the thought that at age sixteen Neville had killed someone didn't seem to bother him.

Snape looked at the two bodies for a moment before asking if they were dead. Neville nodded, and the Professor's eyebrows shot up when Blaise informed him that Neville set the Death Eaters on fire with a spell and that the explosions of the fireworks had killed them. Neville just shrugged when Snape stared at him. Snape's only verbal response was to tell them to follow him.

The great hall was full of people, but no one was talking. The tables were filled with food, but no one was eating. Neville looked for missing faces and only found a few. Cho Chang was gone, as was Ron who had been sitting with her recently. The Weasley twins were there, their very postures screaming exhaustion. The two girls from Ravenclaw, Mikaela and whatever her name was also were missing. Draco was at the Slytherin table and looked up with an expression of hope when they entered with Snape, and the look faded as he saw who it was. That was all it took, and Neville knew…

Harry Potter was gone.

Neville felt his legs go weak and his heart drop into his stomach, but he forced himself to stand tall as Snape headed to the high table. He numbly sat down next to the twins, who asked him if he was all right. Dazedly he informed them that he'd killed two Death Eaters and their fireworks worked great, then ignored their expressions of shock to stare at the Headmaster. As the Headmaster spoke to Snape, Neville wondered how this had happened, and what was going to be done. When Dumbledore rose, everyone faced him expectantly.

"This has been a most tragic night." Dumbledore said, and his voice sounded older than Neville ever imagined it could be. "Tonight we were attacked by more force than anyone ever imagined would be brought against this school. I believe that nearly every Death Eater sworn to our enemy was here tonight, and yet not one student is dead. Twenty-three students left this school of their own accord, warned by parents among the enemy of their danger. Some of those students who were warned carried word to Harry Potter, who then informed me. If not for them, this night would have been much worse."

"How much worse could it have gotten?" A tearful Hermione Granger said from the doorway. Neville's heart leaped in his chest, but a glance from her told him to stay, which he did. "Old man, how could tonight have been worse, tell us your great wisdom, please."

Hermione's mocking tone seemed to shock the hall, but Dumbledore just shook his head sadly. Hermione continued to stare defiantly at him, but McGonagall stood, moving to her side and whispering softly in her ear. Hermione shook her head no, but McGonagall said something else, and then Hermione was sobbing and wrapping her arms around the older woman. Neville had to fight the desire to rush after them as McGonagall escorted Hermione out of the hall.

"You will have to forgive Miss Granger." Dumbledore said softly. "We have found young Mr. Weasley and discovered that he was horrendously abused by both the Cruciatus and the Imperius curses. From what we have been able to tell, Cho Chang used these curses to secure knowledge that enabled her, under the guidance of Death Eaters, to disable most of the wards. Whether her participation was willing or forced, we do not yet know. Five other students, four of them Defenders and one Gryffindor were injured in the attack. The Gryffindor student was injured in the very first moments of the attack, but rescued by Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

As a result of this unprecedented attack on our school, only Harry Potter and Cho Chang are missing. On the other hand, our enemy has lost over eighty Dementors, two-thirds of the total known to have answered his call. Whether the rest will remain in his service after such casualties only time will tell. He has also lost at least twenty-six of his Death Eaters. Once all the tunnels are checked, we may find more. Of those twenty-six, ten are dead. The rest will be picked up by Aurors later today and taken for trial and imprisonment on over four hundred counts of assault and of course aiding in the kidnapping of Harry Potter."

"What's the use?" Draco Malfoy's voice was filled with anguish, but rang out clearly in the hall. Neville looked at him and his face was red from his weeping. Anyone who doubted his love for Harry Potter had only to look at that face and they would never doubt. "If you send them to Azkaban they'll only be gone for a few months before escaping and returning here."

"Azkaban is guarded by dragons now." Dumbledore announced, and everyone in the hall gasped. "They began this guard duty last night and will maintain it for the foreseeable future. Anyone approaching or leaving Azkaban by any route other than secret routes set by the Ministry will find themselves facing hungry dragons.

"They should all be fried now." Malfoy said before sitting down. Dumbledore gazed at him in sympathy before continuing.

"Classes for the day, and for tomorrow are cancelled. Aurors will be arriving within the next few hours to assume the guard of the castle while the staff and Defenders rest. Food will be available in the hall throughout the day, in addition to regular meal times. The Ministry is withholding news of the attack to the press until your parents can be informed privately. I urge each and every one of you to write immediately and assure your parents that you are in good health. Do not fear for Mr. Potter. We, and many others of the finest wizards and witches in the wizarding world will bend all of our efforts to finding him. Mr. Malfoy's engagement bracelet is still gold, and that is cause for hope. As long as Mr. Potter remains alive, it will stay that color. Until it turns black with Mr. Potter's death, there is still hope. Those wishing to sleep may leave now."

Dumbledore left the hall then, followed by most of the staff. Draco Malfoy stood, looking over the hall. His crying was done and now there was a look in his eyes, a look Neville recognized from the fires that were burning inside of him. For the first time ever, Neville locked eyes with the blond Slytherin, and he felt the silent summons. Malfoy's gaze next locked with each of the Weasley twins, and they nodded in return. When Malfoy left the hall, followed by Blaise Zabini as well as Crabbe and Goyle, Neville stood and followed, not having to look to know that the Weasley twins were right behind.

When they reached the rooms Malfoy shared with Harry, he motioned everyone to sit down. A moment later a house elf Neville recognized as Dobby from all the hats, socks, and scarves it wore appeared with tea, which Malfoy poured and handed around before sitting down himself. The room was silent as he sipped at the tea and stared into the fire. When he spoke, his words flared hope inside Neville, and the question was one that everyone in the room already knew the answer to:

"I know how to find Harry." Malfoy said in a flat voice. "Will you help me?"