Harry gripped his holly wand and inched closer until his target - Draco Malfoy - was within line of sight. He slowed his breathing down and forced himself to stay completely still. Even though Harry was hidden under an invisibility cloak, he knew that any noise would betray his location to the Slytherin student. While he was certain he could stun Malfoy if need be, Harry's real goal was to find out what the little bastard was up to. For weeks, he had been watching Malfoy's movements using the Marauder's Map, and now he had finally tracked him here, to the Room of Requirement.

The cavernous room Harry found himself in had stacks upon stacks of decrepit furniture, grimy books, and various other objects covered in a thick layer of dust. The air was stale and smelled faintly of rot. Harry creeped even closer to Malfoy, edging around the nearest stack and eying it warily. It looked like it would fall over at the slightest contact.

Now only a dozen feet behind Malfoy, Harry could hear him mutter something and poke a tall, shabby-looking cabinet with his wand. The blonde wizard continued in this vein for several minutes. Harry observed quietly, holding his wand at the ready the whole time. He had no idea what Malfoy was up to, but he was certain it was bad news.

"Yes!" Malfoy shouted triumphantly, alarming Harry and almost causing him to betray his position. Luckily, Draco's attention was fully focused on the mysterious cabinet, and he didn't hear Harry's startled jump.

Malfoy closed both doors of the cabinet slowly, almost reverently. He then touched his wand to the wood and intoned, "Harmonia Nectere Passus." Harry tensed up.

Suddenly, the doors swung open, and a tall man in dark robes and a silver mask stepped out. He looked around with interest, then addressed Malfoy.

"Well done, Draco," the Death Eater drawled. "I knew you could do it in time, given the proper... motivation. If our little operation goes according to plan, the Dark Lord will be most pleased." He faced the cabinet. "Let's not keep our comrades waiting."

Harry heard enough. He burst into action, leaping towards Malfoy and whispering a quick "Petrificus Totalus" at his back. He then grabbed Draco by the robes and aimed his wand over the boy's shoulder.

"Draco? What..." the Death Eater turned around.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted urgently, aiming at the masked man. A moment's notice was all the Death Eater needed, however, and Harry's Stunner splashed harmlessly on a shimmering shield. There was a moment of incredulous silence, and the combatants started trading spells.

"Expelliarmus! Impedimenta! Levicorpus!" roared Harry.

"Aparecium! Silencio!" the Death Eater responded as he deflected the younger wizard's spells with expert ease. Luckily for Harry, Aparecium didn't work against his invisibility cloak, and Draco was so kind as to take the other spell for him.

"Confundo! Stupefy!" Harry continued to attack the enemy while using Malfoy as a live shield. The Death Eater growled in frustration at being unable to use some of the more lethal spells in his arsenal. He was defending against the sixth-year's enthusiastic onslaught expertly, but he was still being pushed back with each spell.

Harry grinned as he forced the Death Eater against a large pile of junk. The bastard had nowhere to run now! However, just when he thought he had him cornered, the Death Eater launched a counterattack.

"Finite Incantatem! Accio invisibility cloak!" the man growled, jabbing his wand in Harry's direction. Immediately, he felt his cloak slide off and Draco begin to struggle.

"Stupefy," he spat, aiming the wand at Draco's neck. The boy's body went slack and Harry grunted at the sudden weight. Unlike Petrificus, Stupefy didn't make the body rigid, and Harry was forced to hold Draco upright if he didn't want to lose his shield.

"Well, well. I certainly didn't expect the great Harry Potter, of all people."

Harry trained his wand back at the Death Eater, who was now slowly advancing towards him, holding the cloak in one hand. He tried to shuffle backwards without dropping Draco. Damn, that ponce was heavy.

"Now, be a good boy and let Draco go. I could cleave you both in half, of course, but I'd rather not piss Lucius off," the Death Eater continued in a pleasant tone. He didn't have to wait very long for an answer.

"Confringo!"

"Tut, tut," said the Death Eater mildly after blocking Harry's attack. "Such an impatient child. You are merely," he raised his wand, "delaying the inevitable! Accio Draco!"

Making a split-second decision, Harry let Draco go. Furthermore, he helped him along, pouring all magic he could muster into a Banishing Charm and aiming it at the boy's back.

The results were spectacular. The Death Eater had no time to react as Draco's unresponsive body crashed into him like a live missile and pushed them both into what looked like a stack of ancient school desks. The stack wobbled dangerously, and moments later the two servants of Voldemort were buried under a pile of rotten wood.

Harry jumped forward and grabbed his invisibility cloak from the ground. Wrapping himself in it, he moved as quietly as he could to stand besides the buried Death Eaters. The man who came through the cabinet was still conscious. In fact, he was attempting to free himself by throwing fragments of desks off him using both magic and sheer physical strength. Harry had to duck once as he nearly got hit by a decaying wooden plank.

"I'll get you, Potter!" the man bellowed angrily, all pretense of pleasantness gone from his voice. "I'll make you hurt before I deliver you to the Dark Lord!"

Harry took careful aim at the enraged Death Eater. Having freed himself, the man stood among the wreckage breathing heavily, his eyes darting around the room. He looked decidedly worse for the wear, his fancy robes dirty and his silver mask cracked in the middle. Harry harbored no illusions though: this man was an experienced dueler, and he stood no chance against him in a fair fight.

Later, he would often ponder why he had chosen to use that particular spell at that moment. He was in a perfect position to catch the Death Eater by surprise and stun him, after all.

Harry slashed his wand and whispered harshly, "Sectumsempra!"

The Death Eater howled in pain as his wand hand fell to the ground. The blood spurting from the stump was the last thing he saw, before Harry's follow-up stunner knocked him out.

Harry stared at the quickly growing pool of blood on the ground for a few moments, then shook himself out of his stupor. There still were things that needed to be done. He stunned the one-handed Death Eater again for a good measure, then fished Draco out of the rubble using a Summoning Charm and did the same to him.

"Accio wands. Incarcerous. Incarcerous."

He hesitated for a moment, then snapped both wands, taking no small amount of pleasure in the process. The two arseholes were now as harmless as he could make them - short of killing them, of course.

He turned his attention back to the bleeding Death Eater and tried a half-hearted "Episkey" on his arm. The spell didn't seem to do much to staunch the bleeding, so Harry settled on tying a rope around his forearm as tightly as he could. As soon as he was done, Harry turned his back on the man and tried to push all thoughts of him out of his mind. If the Death Eater survived, he would face a trial. If not, well... Harry certainly wouldn't shed any tears over a terrorist who attempted to attack a school full of children.

Walking up to the cabinet, Harry considered his next move. He was shaking slightly from the adrenaline and wanted nothing more than to crawl to some safe place and huddle in a ball, but he knew he had a job to do. It was again up to him to protect Hogwarts.

The old piece of furniture looked innocent enough, but Harry knew what danger it posed. Somehow this cabinet acted like a portal between here and... somewhere else, circumventing the famous Hogwarts wards completely and allowing Death Eaters to invade the school from within.

"Lumos."

Harry used his wand to open the creaky doors wider and peered inside. It was empty and looked just as you would expect an old wardrobe to look: faded wood, dust bunnies, and no sign of murderous Dark wizards.

Fortunately, it appeared that the doors had to be closed on both ends in order for the portal to activate.

Harry furrowed his brow in thought. Were the Death Eaters still waiting on the other side? The confrontation had taken less than five minutes, so it was a very real possibility. The school would remain safe as long as the doors stayed open, but... Could he somehow use this situation to his advantage?

Harry bit his lip. If only he was a stronger dueler, he could simply incapacitate the Death Eaters one by one as they came through the cabinet. Yet the fight he just had showed him that he was still no match for a fully trained Dark wizard. What could he possibly...

"Ha... Hahaha!" Harry laughed suddenly, breaking into a grin. "Oh, my brain surprises even me sometimes."

He pointed his wand at the cabinet and pronounced carefully, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

"Remind me again, what are we doing here?" asked Neville, looking at Harry oddly. He had kept lookout just outside the Room of Requirement at Harry's request, although the most he had to do was chase away some weird first-year girls. Minutes later, Harry emerged from the room, levitating an ancient wardrobe with a look of utmost concentration on his face. He went straight for the nearest empty classroom and was currently floating the aforementioned wardrobe outside the window.

Harry spared a glance at his friend and deadpanned, "Killing Death Eaters."

Neville's eyes widened, but he swallowed and nodded, "Oh, alright."

Harry smiled to himself. Neville was a good friend. So were Ron and Hermione, but they seemed to have little faith in Harry's instincts lately. He was lucky that Neville trusted him implicitly.

The cabinet was currently floating just outside a large classroom window. It was positioned horizontally and the doors were hanging open. Harry was adjusting the distance and height so he could easily reach the cabinet with his other hand.

Suddenly, a gust of wind buffeted it to one side, and Harry grunted in effort. He had been holding the levitation spell on the heavy object for over a minute now, and he was starting to feel a strain in his arm, almost as if he had been using his muscles to carry the damn thing.

"Neville... Help!" Harry gasped as the cabinet dipped downwards and he grabbed his wand with both hands to steady it.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The cabinet shook and vibrated for a few moments, until the two spells synchronized and Harry felt the pressure on his arm recede. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, mate."

"Anytime, Harry. But what did you mean by 'killing Death Eaters', exactly?"

"Oh, right," Harry chuckled slightly. "Well, this thing is apparently a portal of some sort, so when we close the doors, the Death Eaters will come."

"Are... Are you sure, Harry?" Neville sounded skeptical. Harry supposed he didn't look like the most sane person right now, distressed and disheveled after the fight as he was.

"Pretty sure," he replied. "How about we just close the doors and see?"

"Okay."

The boys walked closer to the window, nodded at each other, and used their free hands to close the cabinet doors. As soon as they were shut, there was a thump, and a sudden pressure from the inside blew the doors open again. Neville jumped back with a yelp; Harry just stared.

A Death Eater was falling to his death.

"Fuuuuuuu-" the man screamed. Then there was a thud. Then, silence.

"Bloody hell! Remind me to never doubt you again," said Neville in a quivering voice.

Harry just nodded, pretty shaken up himself. Sticking his head out, he saw a black-robed figure sprawled on the ground far below.

"We need to continue, Neville," Harry said in as firm a tone as he could manage.

After only a moment's hesitation, Neville raised his hand to close the door on his side again.

"I just remembered something," said Harry conversationally after another Death Eater plummeted to his death. "You told me your uncle dropped you out of the window once, and you bounced. Do you think any of them could survive the fall?"

Nevile shuddered at the memory. "I doubt it, Harry. Accidental magic almost never happens to adults. I suppose they could Apparate if they concentrated fast enough, but..."

"You can't Apparate in Hogwarts!" the two Gryffindors cheered, and grinned at each other madly.

By the time they encountered the first serious obstacle to their plan, Harry and Neville had already removed seven Dark Wizards from Voldemort's service. The said obstacle had charged in through the classroom door behind them, and was currently screeching at the top of her voice.

"WHAT IN THE BLAZES ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Killing Death Eaters," Harry repeated the same thing he had told Neville before.

"Killing... Potter! Stop this madness at once!" Professor McGonagall was out of breath as she had had to run all the way up to the seventh floor, but she still managed to shout between breaths. Neville flinched slightly, but Harry stood his ground. He turned towards the Professor as much as he could without dropping the Levitation Charm, and explained deliberately.

"This flimsy cabinet is a doorway of some sort. The Death Eaters had been planning to invade the school through it. They would have killed, Professor. They would have killed the teachers, and they would have killed the students as well," Harry tried to appeal to McGonagall's sense of protectiveness. "The portal activates when we close the doors. This is our chance. We won't get another opportunity to eliminate Voldemort's servants without endangering ourselves".

Minerva gazed at the cabinet with shock. She was pale as a sheet and was wringing her hands unconsciously. The thought of Death Eaters running amok in Hogwarts was a terrifying one, indeed. As part of the Hogwarts staff, it was her job to protect the students. As part of the Order of the Phoenix, it was her job to oppose Voldemort. She could certainly see that this was an unparalleled opportunity to make a dent in the Death Eater forces. Even so...

"Even so, Mr. Potter," she said in a calmer voice than she'd thought she would, "We can't just kill them. That's what separates us from them. Bring that thing inside."

Harry just stared at her dispassionately, not moving an inch. McGonagall sighed.

"They must be apprehended and tried, Mr. Potter. We'll stun them as they come out," she clarified.

Harry turned to Neville and nodded. Moments later, the cabinet was in the middle of the classroom, the two Hogwarts students and one teacher standing in front of it. Harry's wand arm was heavy and unresponsive from holding the spell for so long, and he doubted he would have lasted much longer even if McGonagall hadn't come.

"Normally, I wouldn't endanger students like this," said McGonagall stiffly. "However, you are not just any student, are you, Mr. Potter? You too, Mr. Longbottom," she added, glancing at Neville. "For the duration of this escapade, consider yourselves temporary members of the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry chuckled inwardly at the formality, but he and Neville gave the Professor a solemn nod. However, her mentioning of the Order reminded him of its leader. They didn't always see eye-to-eye, but Harry couldn't deny the ancient wizard possessed prodigious skill with a wand.

"We can probably handle this, Professor," said Harry, "But still, I'd feel much safer if Professor Dumbledore was here. How come he hasn't arrived yet?"

"The Headmaster is out of the castle, Mr. Potter," answered McGonagall. "I've sent him a Patronus message before coming here, but I don't know when or even if it will reach him. Now, I do believe we should hurry, so the ones on the other side don't suspect anything."

Harry nodded sheepishly. He and Neville glanced at each other and closed the doors. Taking a step backwards, the boys aimed their wands at the cabinet. Everything was quiet for a few seconds; then, the cabinet doors flew open and a feminine figure stepped outside.

"Hello, Hogwarts!" the Death Eater announced cheerfully, before three point-blank stunners hit her in the chest. Harry nodded to himself. No matter how experienced the Death Eaters were, they simply couldn't dodge three close-distance spells right after being transported by the cabinet. He turned to see how his companions fared, and raised his eyebrows at Neville.

The boy was glaring daggers at the unconscious Death Eater as McGonagall levitated her limp body out of the way and against the wall. His fists were clenched and he was grinding his teeth.

"Neville?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Neville spat out the name as if it was a curse. Harry turned to the masked woman sharply.

"Accio Death Eater mask."

Harry narrowed his eyes as the face of the bitch who killed Sirius and so many others was revealed; Neville growled quietly. Oddly enough, Bellatrix looked less insane when she was unconscious, perhaps even peaceful. Harry needed no reminders that he was looking at a demented mass murderer, though.

"She will get what's coming to her, Neville," said Harry quietly, clasping the young man's shoulder. "But for now, let's use this opportunity to get as many of those bastards as we can."

Neville took a deep, steadying breath, and nodded, positioning himself to the left side of the cabinet.

"Let's continue, Professor," he said roughly, returning McGonagalls' worried gaze with relative calm. McGonagall nodded stiffly, her pale face composed into an emotionless mask.

"Very well. Mr Potter, if you would kindly step to my right and prepare to close the door. Do give us a countdown this time."

Harry acquiesced and moved, leaving McGonagall right in front of the cabinet again. She seemed to be doing some sort of a breathing exercise with her eyes closed. He also took a deep breath to calm his shaking hands, raised his wand, and put his left hand on the door, preparing to push it closed. He then turned his head to see if Neville was ready to do his part.

Neville wasn't there.

Harry blinked, then went to check behind the cabinet. Ah...

"Neville-" he began.

"What do you think you're doing, Longbottom?!" McGonagall shrieked. Harry was seriously beginning to fear for his House Head's mental well-being. Actually, his fellow Gryffindor didn't seem entirely stable at the moment, either. Amateurs.

Neville was standing at the window with a goofy smile on his face and showed no reaction to McGonagall's scream. He was muttering something under his breath.

Lestrange's body was nowhere in sight.

It wasn't hard to put the two and two together, and it seemed that the Deputy Headmistress came to the same conclusion.

"You... You just..." the normally unflappable professor couldn't get her bearings.

"Professor," interjected Harry firmly, stepping in front of her.

"...Just chucked that woman out of the window!" she finished, aghast.

"Professor McGonagall!" Harry shouted, trying to break her out of her stupor. "If we are to capture more Death Eaters and protect lots of innocent lives today, we have to continue!"

"I can't believe, I can't believe you just did that, Mr. Longbottom," Minerva was shaking her head in denial. "A monster that she may be, a defenseless woman..."

"He did nothing of the sort, Professor. Lestrange was one of the Death Eaters who fell to their deaths while I was levitating the cabinet." Harry stared right into McGonagall's eyes, trying to pass on a message. "Surely you don't want Neville to get into trouble with Ministry or get targeted by Voldemort?"

To Harry's great surprise, McGonagall nodded, although she was clearly not happy about it. She gave Neville a look of mixed pity and reproach, and walked back to the cabinet.

"Just the two of us will do, Mr. Potter," she announced briskly. "And for Merlin's sake, no more killing today!"

Three stunned and bound Death Eaters later, Neville joined them again. He assured the wary McGonagall that he was alright, and thanked Harry quietly. The boy seemed oddly calm, completely in contrast with his usual nervous demeanor, and Harry resolved to talk to him later. The trio continued without further incident until the Death Eaters stopped coming.

The Boy Who Lived Protects Hogwarts Against Death Eaters
Eight Dead, Ten Arrested in Aftermath of Hogwarts Battle

The wizarding community of Britain is once again deeply indebted to Harry Potter, who with the aid of the Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and a fellow student managed to protect the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry against a vicious Death Eater attack. Ministry investigation is underway, but we already know that no less than 16 Death Eaters were involved in yesterday's assault.

Eight servants of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named perished in the battle, and the rest are currently in custody. Among them are three Hogwarts students who, according to our sources, found a way around the Hogwarts wards and somehow transported the Death Eaters in. Many will agree that this despicable act deserves the harshest penalty, yet only one of the three, Draco Malfoy, will be tried as an adult. Just like his father, a confirmed Death Eater Lucius Malfoy, Draco was found to be carrying the Dark Mark.

This terrifying event once again raises the question of how safe the largest institution for magical learning in Britain is. Not only its lauded wards were breached by a handful of students, marked Death Eaters were allowed to walk freely among our children. Regrettably, Headmaster Dumbledore was unavailable for comment. According to certified Healer Madam Pomfrey, he is currently recovering at the school's Hospital Wing. It is unknown whether Headmaster's indisposition is a result of the recent battle or simply his ripe age.

"The situation at Hogwarts can't be allowed to continue," said Minister Scrimgeour in a public statement hours before. "The safety of our young is of paramount importance. The Ministry will station Aurors at the school as soon as possible. We'll also question the staff and the students with known Death Eater connections, and check everyone for the Dark Mark." Hopefully the Ministry will succeed where Dumbledore has failed.

The Minister also hinted that Harry Potter might become the latest recipient of Order of Merlin soon, a fitting reward for his heroic deeds. Mr. Potter's latest accomplishment will no doubt bring back the speculation about him being the Chosen One, destined to destroy You-Know-Who. However, when questioned by our reporters, Mr. Potter downplayed his own role in the events, stating the following: "It is the Ministry's job to fight Death Eaters, not mine. I'm glad to see them take a more active stance, even if they will have to go against Professor Dumbledore's wishes." The young hero then added: "However, I will defend myself and my friends to the best of my ability - and so should every other self-respecting wizard." We at the Daily Prophet salute Mr. Potter's determination and courage.

A/N: you might wonder about the Death Eater's use of Aparecium in this fic. I like to think that this spell could be used to reveal Disillusioned people in the area. Since invisibility cloaks are pretty rare, the Death Eater assumed that his opponent was Disillusioned.