𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒

Chapter 38

"Harry! Harry!" Ron whispered harshly so as not to wake the others in the room as he shook his sweating and moaning friend awake.

Harry jolted upright with a scream on his lips which he just barely held in, his scar throbbing hotly in the very depths of his skull. Panting and gripping tightly onto Ron's arms, he slowly composed himself until he was able to speak to the red-head. "It's started," he finally gasped out. "We have to get the others together."

Ron didn't argue or ask questions. Watching his fellow Gryffindor rub at his scared forehead, he immediately understood how Harry knew what was going on.

Quick as a flash, Ron and Harry dressed, grabbing the Marauders Map and Harry's Invisibility Cloak, while the other boys in the dorm slept on. Neville rolled over on his bed, mumbling something in his sleep, but didn't wake. Once their dorm mate had quieted, the two Gryffindors crept out of their room, heading for the girls staircase.

"The alarm is going to wake everyone," Ron hissed.

"It's okay, we're not going up," Harry answered pulling out a flat piece of plastic from his robe, which he unfolded and then proceeded to punch a few of the buttons on it while Ron looked on curiously. "Muggle cell phone," Harry told his friend. "Hermione's parents sent them to her when the war was declared, just in case we needed to get in contact with each other or them. I hope it will work."

Harry crossed his fingers, remembering when Hermione had used hers to frantically try and call her parents when they went missing with no luck. Time after time all she had received from her phone was the message that the number she was trying to reach was out of range, and that's if she got any kind of signal at all. Thank goodness her parents had been found, and not long ago. They had managed to evade the Death Eaters when they had broken into their home, using their fire escape plan. They had thrown the chain ladder from their bedroom window and ran and hid in a large culvert in their neighbourhood. The Aurors, who had been canvassing and patrolling the area during the days after the attack, eventually found them wet, dirty and hungry, but unharmed. They were now staying at Order headquarters and were none the worse for wear from their ordeal.

Hermione had gone with the hope that since she and Harry were in closer proximity the phones would work. The worry was still there, though, that because of the heavy magical auras inside Hogwarts, the signal may become scrambled and may not operate, regardless of their proximity.

Harry held the device to his ear, keeping his fingers crossed, and heard a low ringing, sounding as if it was coming from a far way off. A moment later, amidst much static, Hermione's sleepy voice wafted into his ear.

She was down the stairs in seconds, meeting the two boys in the common room. Harry and Ron wondered if she had been sleeping fully clothed in order to have arrived so quickly. The three of them snuck out quietly from behind the portrait door, checked the map for Filch's whereabouts and then slunk down the corridor towards Draco's rooms, huddling together under the invisibility cloak.

By the time the four teens slipped through the secret passage behind Gregory the Smarmy and made it into Hogsmeade, the battle was going full force. At first the four youths couldn't distinguish between friend or foe because of the darkness and the flashing lights from the many spells and hexes that were flying all around them.

Harry saw a jet of red light coming directly towards him and he threw himself to the ground as the spell flashed over his head, so close that it ruffled his hair. He could see Draco, Ron and Hermione ducking and weaving trying to avoid the flying curses that went whipping by them at furious speed, crashing through the walls of buildings behind them.

Harry scrambled up from the ground and then dashed to the side as Draco blocked a spell that was aimed at his Gryffindor boyfriend.

"Turn to stone, congeal and solidify!" Harry yelled, waving his hand wildly, trying to aim his wandless spell towards the Death Eater that had cast the curse. It flashed past the hooded man's ear, just barely missing.