𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒

Chapter 36

It was getting closer to the time of the equinox and Harry still had no luck meeting with the old Headmaster.

"I'm sorry Mr. Potter," McGonagall apologized. "Professor Dumbledore is away for the day. I'm not sure when he'll be back."

Harry thanked his head of house and returned to the library where Hermione, Ron and Draco were reading about circle magic and the use of souls, trying to figure out what the Dark Lord had planned. 'He must have already left to talk to the Order,' Harry thought with frustration.

He explained the situation when he returned and sat down at the large table the other three teens were at in the furthest corner of the library. They had chosen this area as there were a lot more people around then there normally would have been. This should have been a Hogsmeade weekend, but Dumbledore had cancelled the outing because of the Death Eater activity and his conversation with Harry and his friends the night before.

"I can't believe it," the raven haired teen complained. "When you need him, he's not around or he's too busy to see me."

It wasn't that Dumbledore didn't want to see the boy, but the old man had been very busy trying to organize a response plan to the upcoming attack at Hogsmeade.

The Headmaster was at this very moment setting up resistance fighters in the wizarding town and overseeing evacuation procedures to keep the populace safe. There was portkeys to make that would take Aurors and fighters to various safe houses in the event they needed medical attention or a place to retreat and regroup during battle, healing supplies had to be organized at each site where an Order member and a healer would be, and Dumbledore himself was charming various talismans for each person so that they could signal where an attack was happening to gain help from their fellows to the heaviest battle areas.

The group of teens had no way of knowing that the Headmaster already knew the date that Voldemort was most likely to attack. He may have been old, but he could figure things out as well as, if not better than, the four teenagers that were making their own plans.

"I don't know what he's thinking, honestly," Draco agreed. It almost seemed to the blonde as if the elder wizard was avoiding them for some reason. "Well, we don't need him," the Slytherin added, sniffing disdainfully as he moved his chair closer to his boyfriends.

Harry dropped his arm around Draco's shoulders and sighed, earning a slight glare from Ron and a little smile from Hermione. "I guess we should be going, it's almost curfew," the Gryffindor breathed, giving Draco's shoulders a squeeze.

"Don't worry, Harry. We'll get everything figured out. It'll all work out, you'll see," Hermione stated. The four teens rose from their chairs and put the books away before leaving. Hermione and Ron went up to the Gryffindor tower while Harry walked Draco back to his rooms, promising his friends he'd be right back.

Draco leaned up and gave his boyfriend a kiss just outside the Knight portrait. The gentle peck on the lips began to grow hungrier, but then Harry reluctantly pulled away.

"If you keep that up, I'll never be able to leave." "Would that be so bad," Draco drawled sexily. "Your insatiable, you know that?" Harry grinned.

"You've created a monster," Draco replied with a smirk before he turned and said the password, causing the portrait swing open.

"Meet us in the library after classes," Harry told him before dropping one more quick kiss on the blonde's lips before he entered his rooms. Hermione thought she was getting closer to an answer as to what Voldemort would want with his victim's souls and wanted to discuss it with the boys.

"Okay," Draco replied with yawn. All this late night research was making him sleepy.

Harry shook his head and smiled after the door closed. Draping his invisibility cloak over his shoulders and flipping it over his head, he turned to walk back down the corridor towards his dorm.