Hey guys! I know that its been a really long time since I last updated but here's another chapter for anyone who's still interested. It's a pretty long one, so I hope you like it :)

DRACO:

Despite the mounting pressure of O.W.L. exams and my growing fear of the summer to come, the following weeks were some of the best that I had at Hogwarts in a long time. Pansy was no longer clinging to my arm constantly and the majority of the Slytherin house seemed to be avoiding me after seeing me lay into Pansy in the common room. I reallocated most of my time to focus on my studies, with Blaise as my only consistent company. On occasion, when I was lucky, I would see Olivia across the library. I hadn't been able to speak to her since I saw her in the hospital wing, but being able to briefly glance at her was all that I needed. By the time that exam week rolled around, I was burnt out and exhausted. Star charts and ancient runes swam through my brain constantly, making it impossible to put all of my attention into a single task. However, I had begun to enjoy this kind of exhaustion. I was too tired to worry about receiving my Mark.

On Monday, I sat my first exam: Theory of Charms. I felt alright about it at first, but by the time we were sat down for lunch, I had successfully managed to second-guess every single answer. This was my problem: I was decently smart, but I was so paranoid of messing up that I could never answer confidently.

Unfortunately though, my practical exam did involve one small disaster. I was nearly finished by the time Potter walked in and sat down with the judge beside mine. His heavy and judgmental stare caused me to panic and the wine glass that I had been levitating smashed to the floor. This threw me into a spiral, the frustration at my mistake disturbing my focus for the remainder of the evaluation. How had I managed to mess up something as simple as levitation? First years knew how to levitate objects without a problem.

Next came Transfigurations, which went surprisingly well. Herbology was on Wednesday and I left that exam feeling more defeated than either of the ones before, but that defeat wouldn't come close to what I felt after Thursday's Defense Against the Dark Arts practical. The DADA theory exam was simple seeing as that was all that Umbridge taught us this year, but when it came to actually using any spells, I was useless. Perhaps Potter had been onto something with that little club of his.

Ancient Runes on Friday was the only one so far that I had felt decently good about. I had spent a great deal of my free time researching runes simply because I found them fascinating, which paid off when it was exam time. Then there was Potions on the following Monday. This one, despite my usual high marks in class, I was nervous about. Without Professor Snape grading me, I wouldn't have the advantage of being in his house. It was no secret that he had always favored Slytherins, which was convenient in most situations, but would definitely only hurt my exam scores.

The final three to follow, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, and History of Magic went as well as I could have expected without any major slip ups.

Once I had finally finished my History of Magic exam (which was rudely interrupted by Potter fainting and ruining my concentration), I immediately made my way to the castle grounds for a walk around the lake, Blaise by my side.

In the past few days, Blaise and I's time together was spent mostly is silence. We had both been stressed over exams, accompanied with the underlying fear of what this summer would bring. This silence heavier than normal, but neither of us was willing to address in. Until now, that is.

"Well that's finally over," Blaise sighed as we walked.

I stared down at my feet. For most students, the end of exams brought on immense excitement for the summer, but for me it merely made room for even more anxiety. "Can we maybe not talk about that?" I said bitterly, but immediately regretted it.

He was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Dray, you need to talk about it," he said, "I told you. You can't keep acting like there's nothing going on."

"It's worked thus far," I retorted coldly.

He shook his head. "Has it though?" He replied in an equally harsh voice.

Thankfully, I was spared a response as someone behind us shouted my name. I turned around to see Theodore Nott running in our direction. "What d'you reckon he wants?" I muttered under my breath to Blaise.

"Malfoy," Theo panted as he approached, "Umbridge is looking for you! Someone's broke into her office!"

My breath caught in my throat, immediately assuming the worst. "Who?" I asked frantically without a second thought.

Theo shrugged, "D'know. Probably some stupid Gryffindor."

Blaise and I locked eyes for a brief second. Somehow, he seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. Olivia was involved somehow, I just knew it. Together, we both pushed past Theo and sprinted towards the castle.

"Where are we running?" Blaise shouted as we burst into the entrance hall.

I looked over at him without slowing down. "The office! We've got to warn them! Olivia's dead is Umbridge catches her."

"Are you sure we've got the time?"

No, my logical brain told me. "We need to buy some time," I said, stopping dead in my tracks.

"You go," he nodded, backpedaling a few paces, "I'll figure something out!"

I took a deep breath and broke into a run once again as he disappeared in the opposite direction.

I had never run so fast in my life. My lungs burned as I struggled to see five feet in front of me, blinded by the fear of what I might be getting myself into. My mind screamed a thousand thoughts at once, none of them complete or logical.

A shrill scream echoed through the corridor, bringing me back to reality just as I ran directly into Ginny Weasley. "Whoa! So-n of a bitch!" I yelped, catching myself before I accidentally apologised.

"Watch it, Malfoy!" She growled back, "I wouldn't go down that corridor if I were you. Someone let off some Garroting Gas and I wouldn't want to have to deliver your body to-"

"Piss off, Weasley. I know what you're up to. Where's Riddle?"

She shrugged half-heartedly, "Why do you ask?"

"Because Umbridge is on her way up here, you weasel," I spat. Perhaps the weasel part was a bit much. "And I'm trying to do you lot a favor."

I didn't wait to hear her response, spinning on my heels and continuing off down the corridor.

"Olivia!" I shouted the second that I turned the corner and saw her standing at the base of the staircase to the office.

She flashed her eyes up at me, clearly startled. "Draco? What are you doing here?" She asked frantically.

Our eyes met for the first time since the day of the Quidditch accident and I felt my heartbeat skip inside my chest. "I uh…. I'm…" I stammered as my brain failed me, overwhelmed by the sound of her voice. "Umbridge." I managed to choke out desperately.

"Umbridge? Is she coming?"

"Yes!" I half-shouted. Instantly, she turned and began to run up the stairs. "Wait! Where are you going?" I asked as I jumped after her and grabbed her by the wrist.

"I have to warn Harry," She said, a panicked look in her eyes.

I shook my head. "We haven't got time! Potter can get himself out of this one, just like he always does."

"No." She insisted, "Draco, I can't leave him. He's counting on me."

Damn Gryffindors and their loyalty. "Fine. I'm coming with you," I countered.

"You can't. You'll get in so much trouble if you're caught helping-"

"I don't care! So Filch hangs me up by my toenails? So be it. I'm not leaving you." The words escaped my mouth before I had a chance to think about them. Perhaps my own loyalty was beginning to get the best of me.

"Potter!" A squeaky voice called down the corridor, instantly making me feel sick at my stomach. We were too late.

"Shit," I muttered. I had to think quickly. There had to be some way out of this. But I panicked. "Give me your wand!" I whispered as I pulled my own out of my pocket

She stared up at me, open mouthed, "What are you-?"

"Just do it!"

She hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure of whether or not she could trust me. Slowly, she produced it out of her robe and handed it over. In one swift movement, I snatched it from her grasp and pulled her into a headlock, my wand at her throat.

"Got one, Professor!" I yelled.

Olivia screamed in surprise.

"Excellent job, Draco! 50 points to Slytherin!" Umbridge called as she approached the staircase. When she appeared at the bottom of the stairs, she was flanked by Millicent and Blaise, who had Ginny by the robes and a wand against her back. Blaise gave me a wide-eyed look of shock, but I averted my eyes to avoid his stare. "Oh, Riddle! Make it 100 points! Up! Quickly!"

We obeyed, hurriedly making our way up towards the office. My raging heartbeat climbed up my throat as I felt Olivia struggling against my grasp. When I thought of me holding her close, this wasn't quite how I had imagined it.

When we burst into the room, Granger was stood behind the desk, frozen in fear.

"Ah, yes," Umbridge sighed. That's when I noticed him: Potter was knelt on the floor with his face in the fireplace. Umbridge grabbed him by the hair, dragging him back across the floor. "You think," she whispered, bending Harry's neck back so far that it looked as though she were about to slit his throat, so that he was looking up at the ceiling above him, "that after two nifflers I was going to let one more foul, scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge? I had Stealth Sensoring Spells placed all around my doorway after the last one got in, you foolish boy. Take his wand," she barked. It took me a moment to realize that she was talking to me.

Reluctantly, I reached inside Potter's robe and pulled his wand out of his pocket.

"Hers too." There was a scuffle at the door as Millicent wrestled Hermione's wand away. "I want to know why you are in my office," said Umbridge, shaking the fist clutching his hair so that he staggered.

"I was — trying to get my Firebolt!" Harry croaked as he struggled against her.

"Liar." She shook his head again. "Your Firebolt is under strict guard in the dungeons, as you very well know, Potter. You had your head in my fire. With whom have you been communicating?"

"No one—" said Harry, trying to pull away from her. I winced at the thought of the pain she was inflicting on him.

"Liar!" shouted Umbridge. She threw him from her, and he slammed into the desk. He looked around like a deer caught in headlights. When his eyes resting on me, I spun his wand in my hand nervously.

There was a commotion outside and several large Slytherins entered, each gripping Ron, Loony, and Longbottom, who was trapped in a stranglehold by Crabbe and looked in imminent danger of suffocation. All four of them had been gagged.

What had I gotten myself into?

"Got 'em all," said Warrington, shoving Ron roughly forward into the room.

"Good, good," said Umbridge, watching Ginny's struggles against Blaise. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?" Her eyes shifted to me, as if expecting a response.

I forced out a laugh, determined not to break my cover. Umbridge gave me her wide, complacent smile and settled herself into a chintz-covered armchair, blinking up at her captives like a toad in a flowerbed, clearly pleased. "So, Potter," she said. "You stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon," she nodded at Ron, "to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes, Mr. Filch having just informed me so.

"Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone. . . ."

"It's none of your business who I talk to," Harry snarled.

Umbridge's slack face seemed to tighten.

"Very well," she said in her most dangerous and falsely sweet voice.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. I offered you the chance to tell me freely. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Draco — fetch Professor Snape."

I swallowed hard. "And miss the show?" I choked, anxiously tucking Harry and Olivia's wands into my robe. "Warrington, you go!"

Warrington sneered at me, clearly not thrilled about having to walk out on all the action. Still, I managed to get him to do my biding, as usual. He gave the Weasley boy another shove towards the floor before turning and disappearing down the stairs.

In the meantime, the office fell silent aside from the occasional scuffle of crusaders resisting their captors. Blaise and I held eye contact for a moment before I glanced down at Olivia. Her face was expressionless as she attempted to fight against me. Her small hands clawed uselessly at my arm wrapped around her neck in an attempt to pry herself free to no avail.

"This was a set up," she growled lowly, "you tricked me and I believed you."

I didn't mean to, I wanted to tell her. But I couldn't say anything in this room full of people. Umbridge gave me a tight-lipped smile that made me feel sick at my stomach.

Two pairs of footsteps echoed from the corridor outside and Warrington came back into the room, followed closely by Professor Snape.

"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" He asked flatly as he glanced around at the scene in front of him in disinterest.

"Ah, Professor Snape," said Umbridge, smiling widely and standing up again. "Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please."

"You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter," he said, observing her coolly through his greasy curtains of black hair. "Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be suffcient."

Umbridge flushed. "You can make some more, can't you?" she said, her voice becoming more sweetly girlish as it always did when she was furious.

"Certainly," said Snape, his lip curling. "It takes a full moon cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month."

"A month?" squawked Umbridge, swelling toadishly. "A month? But I need it this evening, Snape! I have just found Potter using my fire to communicate with a person or persons unknown!"

"Really?" said Snape, showing his first, faint sign of interest as he looked around at Harry. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules."

"I wish to interrogate him!" shouted Umbridge angrily, and Snape looked away from Harry back into her furiously quivering face. "I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!"

"I have already told you," said Snape smoothly, "that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter — and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did — I cannot help you. The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling. . . ."

Snape and Potter shared another glance, Harry's face frantic and concentrated. "

You are on probation!" shrieked Professor Umbridge, and Snape looked back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised as his interest seemed to peak. "You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!"

My breath caught at the sound of my father's name. Olivia seemed to take notice, her eyes briefly flashing up towards my face. I didn't have long to consider it, as when Snape gave Umbridge a curt bow before turning to leave, Harry seemed to pipe up. "He's got Padfoot!" he shouted. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

Snape stopped dead with his hand on Umbridge's door handle.

"Padfoot?" cried Professor Umbridge, looking eagerly from Harry to Snape. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"

I recognized the name immediately, though I didn't know exactly what it meant. Olivia had mentioned a "Padfoot" in her letters to me over the summer. All that I knew was that Padfoot was a person that had helped teach her defense, someone that meant a lot to her. If someone that she cared about was in trouble, I had do something to help.

Snape looked around at Harry. His face was inscrutable. I couldn't quite tell if he knew what Harry was on about, and if he did, he didn't let that on in front of Umbridge.

"I have no idea," said Snape coldly. "Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if ever you apply for a job." I stifled a laugh at the thought of Crabbe ever getting a job.

Snape closed the door behind him with a snap. Great. If he wasn't going to do anything to help, it was up to me to come up with a plan. He looked at Umbridge, who seemed to be feeling the same way; her chest was heaving with rage and frustration.

"Very well," she said, and she pulled out her wand. "Very well. I am left with no alternative. This is more than a matter of school discipline; this is an issue of Ministry security. Yes . . . yes . . ."

She seemed to be talking herself into something. She was shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot, staring daggers at Harry, beating her wand against her empty palm and breathing heavily. "You are forcing me, Potter. I do not want to," said Umbridge, still moving restlessly on the spot, "but sometimes circumstances justify the use. I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice. . . ."

I knew exactly what she was suggesting, and I couldn't watch it happen.

"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue," said Umbridge quietly.

"Professor," I interrupted before I had a chance to think about it, "surely there has got to be another way."

She turned from Potter to look at me. "Excuse me, Malfoy?" She asked skeptically.

"Well it's… it's illegal," I stammered, suddenly losing my nerve. "The Minister wouldn't want you breaking the law, would he? I don't want you to get in trouble over Potter."

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," said Umbridge, who was now panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of Harry's body in turn, apparently trying to decide what would hurt the most. "He never knew I ordered dementors after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same."

"It was you?" gasped Harry. "You sent the dementors after me?"

"Somebody had to act," breathed Umbridge, as her wand came to rest pointing directly at Harry's forehead. "They were all bleating about silencing you somehow — discrediting you — but I was the one who actually did something about it! Only you wriggled out of that one, didn't you, Potter? Not today, though, not now . . ."

And taking a deep breath, she cried, "Cruc —"

I winced at the sound of the word, knowing the pain all too well.

"NO!" Hermione screamed in a cracked voice from behind Millicent "No — Harry — Harry, we'll have to tell her!"

"No way!" yelled Harry, struggling to look towards his friend.

"We'll have to, Harry, she'll force it out of you anyway, what's . . . what's the point?" Hermione began to cry weakly into the back of Millicent Bulstrode's robes. Millicent stopped trying to squash her against the wall immediately and dodged out of her way looking disgusted.

"Well, well, well!" said Umbridge, looking triumphant. "Little Miss Question-All is going to give us some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!"

"Hermione, don't!" Olivia screamed, taking me by surprise.

Despite everyone's looks of concern and anger, there was something rather suspicious about the scene. Though Granger was loudly sobbing into her hands, there wasn't a trace of a tear. She knew exactly what she was doing. "Well," she said without looking up "well, he was trying to speak to Professor Dumbledore. . . ."

Olivia froze in my arms, taking in a sharp breath. I glanced around at the others, Ron was also frozen, his eyes wide; Ginny stopped trying to stamp on Blaise's toes; even Luna looked mildly surprised. Fortunately, the attention of Umbridge and the rest of the Inquisitorial Squad was focused too exclusively upon Hermione to notice any of this.

"Dumbledore?" said Umbridge eagerly. "You know where Dumbledore is, then?"

"Well . . . no!" sobbed Hermione. "We've tried the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley and the Three Broomsticks and even the Hog's Head —"

"Idiot girl, Dumbledore won't be sitting in a pub when the whole Ministry's looking for him!" shouted Umbridge, disappointment etched in every sagging line of her face. Dammit. She knew this wasn't the truth.

"But — but we needed to tell him something important!" wailed Hermione desperatly, holding her hands more tightly over her face to disguise the continued absence of tears.

"Yes?" said Umbridge with a sudden resurgence of excitement. "What was it you wanted to tell him?"

"We . . . we wanted to tell him it's r-ready!" choked Hermione.

"What's ready?" demanded Umbridge, and now she grabbed Hermione's shoulders again and shook her slightly. "What's ready, girl?"

"The . . . the weapon," said Hermione.

"Weapon? Weapon?" said Umbridge, and her eyes seemed to pop with excitement. "You have been developing some method of resistance? A weapon you could use against the Ministry? On Professor Dumbledore's orders, of course?"

"Y-y-yes," gasped Hermione. "But he had to leave before it was finished and n-n-now we've finished it for him, and we c-c-can't find him t-t-to tell him!"

"What kind of weapon is it?" said Umbridge harshly, her stubby hands still tight on Hermione's shoulders.

"We don't r-r-really understand it," said Hermione, sniffing loudly. "We j-j-just did what P-P-Professor Dumbledore told us t-t-to do . . ."

Umbridge straightened up, looking exultant. "Lead me to the weapon," she said.

"I'm not showing . . . them," said Hermione shrilly, looking around at the Slytherins through her fingers.

"It is not for you to set conditions," said Professor Umbridge harshly. "Fine," said Hermione, now sobbing into her hands again, "fine . . . let them see it, I hope they use it on you! In fact, I wish you'd invite loads and loads of people to come and see! Th-that would serve you right — oh, I'd love it if the wh-whole school knew where it was, and how to u-use it, and then if you annoy any of them they'll be able to s-sort you out!"

Those words seemed to have an impact on Umbridge. She glanced around suspiciously, her eyes eventually resting on me. "Go, Professor. You must investigate," I said eagerly. "I can keep the rest of them under control."

She seemed to consider it for a moment. "All right, dear, let's make it just you and me . . . and we'll take Potter too, shall we? Get up, now. It does not sound as though this weapon is something that schoolchildren should see. You will remain here until I return and make sure none of these" — she gestured around at Olivia, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna — "escape."

"All right," I said, pulling Olivia closer and tucking my face into her hair in an attempt to hide my smile.

"And you two can go ahead of me and show me the way," said Umbridge, pointing at Harry and Hermione with her wand. "Lead on. . . ."

And they made their way across the office and to the door, disappearing down the staircase.

I took a deep breath, looking around the room and surveying the situation. I had to think of something to do. I looked to Blaise desperately, knowing that in a room full of other Slytherins, I would need his help. When he finally met my eyes, I gave him a sharp nod, hoping he would understand.

"I have a plan," I whispered to Olivia in the quietest voice that I could muster. I repositioned her in my arms. "Reach into my robes and grab your wand," I said through clenched teeth. She looked up at me, clearly skeptical. I gave her a slow nod of encouragement and she seemed to trust it. Her hand slid into my robe and I felt her wand come out of my pocket.

I took a deep breath, my hand clenched around my own wand. I waited for a while, knowing that acting too soon would be far too suspicous. In the meantime, I surveyed the room. This was risky. But it was necessary. I had to help Olivia.

"On my count," I whispered, my eyes locking with Blaise's. Luckily, the others seemed far too distracted by the captives to pay me any attention.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

"Petricifus Totalus!" I yelled, nailing Warrington in the chest with the jinx.

Olivia had gone for Millicent with a Stunner, knocking her back away from Blaise. This allowed Blaise to Stun Crabbe, freeing Longbottom from his grasp.

Ginny Weasley seemed to clue in, pulling out her wand and casting a Bat Bogey Hex at Goyle.

"UGH!" Goyle yelped in surprise as they swarmed his face. Lovegood, who seemed wildly unaware of what was going on around her, stepped back in confusion.

I let out an involuntary laugh, "Nice one."

Olivia spun around to look at me, a wide smile on her face. "You're bloody brilliant," She said.

"That's what you're calling it now?" Millicent growled as she struggled back onto her feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Longbottom yelled, and to my surprise, Millicent's wand went flying across the room.

I looked back to Olivia in our brief moment of peace. "Let's get out of here," I huffed, reaching out and grabbing her by the hand. She seemed to agree, leading the way towards the stairs. Ron, Ginny, Longbottom, Lovegood, and Blaise followed, all seeming eager to get back to the task at hand.

"How do you plan on getting to London?" I asked, coming to a halt around the corner.

Olivia shrugged, "I'm hoping Harry has a plan."

I nodded. "Alright," I sighed, panting slightly as I look around at the group. They all stared at me with wide eyes and open mouths, seemingly still trying to process what had just happened.

"You should go find Snape," Olivia suggested, "Tell him to contact the Order, let them know that Padfoot is in trouble."

The Order? My brain asked, but I knew there wasn't time for questions. "Will do. You should go before the others come to their senses. Let me know how you get on."

She nodded sharply began to turn away, the others following her.

"Wait!" I said in an unintentional shout. I pulled Potter and Granger's wands out of my robe. "Give these back."

She smiled, meeting my eyes as she took them from my hand. I leaned down and left a quick peck on her lips. "Good luck."

And with that, we ran off in opposite directions.

OLIVIA:

"I'm sorry," Ron panted as we approached the Dark Forest, "but I think I've actually lost in this time. Did Draco Malfoy really just save our lives?"

I laughed, high on adrenaline. "Don't sound so surprised," I said with a sly smile.

"Surprised?" He scoffed, "I'm bloody amazed."

Low voices echoed through the trees and we knew Harry and Hermione were close. "Well, we can't do anything without wands," I heard Hermione say hopelessly, "Anyway, Harry, how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?"

"Yeah," I called, "we were just wondering the same thing."

I saw Harry jump in surprise. Ron stepped up beside me. "Any ideas?"

"How did you lot get away?" Harry asked, clearly bewildered.

The whole group of escapees look towards me. "Being friends with Draco Malfoy has its benefits," was all that I could think to say with a proud shrug.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked, his mouth falling open.

"It was brilliant!" Neville chimed, "Warrington's face when Draco hit him with the impediment jinx was hilarious!"

I sighed, desperate to divert everyone's stares of amusement. "What'd you do with Umbridge?" I asked, changing the subject back to the task at hand.

"She got carried away," said Harry in a casual tone, "by a herd of centaurs."

"And they left you behind?" I asked, only more confused than I had been before.

"No, they got chased off by Grawp," said Harry.

"Who's Grawp?" Luna asked interestedly.

"Hagrid's little brother," said Ron promptly. "Anyway, never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has You-Know-Who got Sirius or — ?"

"Yes," said Harry, as his scar gave another painful prickle, "and I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him." Everyone fell silent, looking rather scared. The problem facing us seemed insurmountable.

"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" said Luna in the closest thing to a matter-of-fact voice we had ever heard her use.

"Okay," said Harry irritably, rounding on her, "first of all, 'we' aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second of all, Ron's the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so —"

"Excuse me?" I huffed, "I've got a broom. And so has Ginny."

"Yeah, I've got a broom!" said Ginny.

"But you're not coming," said Ron angrily.

"Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!" said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking.

"You're too —" Harry began.

"I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-KnowWho over the Sorcerer's Stone," she said fiercely, "and it's because of me Goyle's stuck back in Umbridge's office with giant flying bogeys attacking him —"

I stepped forward in between them, my eyes locked on Harry. "Besides, Harry, you can't possibly think that you three are going to go it alone."

"It's too dangerous. Olivia, if a Death Eater gets their hands on you—"

"Do you really think I care?" I interupted. "I'm going with you and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"We were all in the D.A. together," said Neville quietly. "It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real — or was that all just a game or something?"

"No — of course it wasn't —" said Harry impatiently.

"Then we should come too," said Neville simply. "We want to help."

"That's right," said Luna, smiling happily.

Harry glanced from Ron to Hermione and back again. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway," he said in frusteration, "because we still don't know how to get there—"

"I thought we'd settled that?" said Luna maddeningly. "We're flying!"

"Look," said Ron, barely containing his anger, "you might be able to fly without a broomstick but the rest of us can't sprout wings whenever we —"

"There are other ways of flying than with broomsticks," said Luna serenely.

"I s'pose we're going to ride on the back of the Kacky Snorgle or whatever it is?" Ron demanded.

"The Crumple-Horned Snorkack can't fly," said Luna in a dignified voice, "but they can, and Hagrid says they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for." I glanced past Harry and Hermione, in the direction that Luna was pointing. Standing between two trees, their white eyes gleaming eerily, were three thestrals, watching the whispered conversation as though they understood every word.

"Yes!" Harry whispered, moving towards them. They tossed their reptilian heads, throwing back long black manes, and Harry stretched out his hand eagerly and patted the nearest one's shining neck.

"Is it those mad horse things?" said Ron uncertainly, staring at a point slightly to the left of the thestral Harry was patting. "Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"How many?"

"Just three."

"Well, we need four," I said insistantly.

"Five," said Ginny, scowling.

"I think there are seven of us, actually," said Luna calmly, counting.

"Don't be stupid, we can't all go!" said Harry angrily. "Look, you three" — he pointed at Neville, Ginny, and Luna — "you're not involved in this, you're not —"

"How come Olivia gets to go?" Ginny asked.

"Because she's—"

"If I'm going, we're all going," I insisted.

"Okay, fine, it's your choice," he said curtly, clearly realizing that we didn't have time to argue. "But unless we can find more thestrals you're not going to be able —"

"Oh, more of them will come," I said confidently,

"What makes you think that?"

"Because in case you hadn't noticed, you and Hermione happen to be covered in blood," I sighed again, "and we know Hagrid lures thestrals with raw meat, so that's probably why these two turned up in the first place. . . ."

And as if on cue, a herd of no less than seven thestrals came through the trees, their great leathery wings folded tight to their bodies, their eyes gleaming through the darkness. Harry had no excuse now.

"That doesn't fix the fact that neither of us have got wands," Hermione said, clearly weary of the creatures despite the fact that she couldn't see them.

"Oh!" I gasped, pulling their wands from inside my robes "Draco gave these to me." I handed them forward, and they took them reluctantly.

"All right," Harry said, clearly not pleased, "pick one and get on, then."

Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! I've recently fallen back in love with writing, so I should be updating again soon if you'd like. Thanks for reading!