Oh wow... I feel terrible for not uploading something in this story sooner! Last night I sat down and wrote out a whole chapter for you guys, mostly because I finally had an idea but also because I had nothing else to do at the moment. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I'm going to try my hardest to write more in this more often. I promise I'll be better! I want this story done before I start school back up in September, so hold me to that goal please!

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy! =)

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Artemis

Waking everyone else up had been the nightmare I was sure it was going to be. No one in my group had slept well in days, and I was sure the same was true of Harry and his friends. Everyone desperately needed their rest, but unfortunately, this matter could not wait until the morning. We needed to get all the details sorted out as quickly as possible. After all, we never knew when we would encounter Voldemort again, or run into another Horcrux for that matter.

The group all slowly came to their senses around the now roaring fire. It was best that we had some form of light for this conversation. Perhaps it would be able to keep everyone awake longer. Once I had noticed everyone was up, I decided it was time to reveal Holly to the others.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I woke you all," I said, a hint of uneasiness lingering in my voice. "But my secret weapon has arrived a tad earlier than I suspected."

"And what could that possibly be?" Harry raised a questioning eyebrow to my statement, just as I assumed he would.

I snickered quietly at his question. "It's more of a who than a what." I gestured towards Holly, who no one other than Audrey seemed to have noticed standing there until that point. It's something that made me begin to question what kind of idiots I had been working with. "This is a good friend of mine, Major Holly Short of the LEPrecon unit. She's here to help us."

Both Harry and Ron began to laugh maniacally at the suggestion of an elf helping them. As I went to reprimand them, Holly quickly fired a quick shot at them, narrowly missing them both. She placed her gun back in its holster before speaking. "So you think I'm funny do you?" she inquired. I had heard the voice she was using before, and I knew she was peeved.

Neither one of them spoke up, but Hermione decided it was an apt time to add her input. "Actually you guys, elves possess a large amount of untapped magic. She could really be helpful to our search." I should've known she was going to start rambling about elves after she started S.P.E.W. in our fifth year.

"Oh shut up Hermione," Sebastian said. "She's just an elf."

Holly, however, seemed to be a tad offended by that remark. "I have a lot more than magic at my disposal. I have access to all sorts of technology that you can't even begin to dream of. Tell them, Arty."

I frowned when I heard her call me that. "She is correct. The People have all sorts of abilities, technology, and man-power that can help us defeat Voldemort once and for all."

Before anyone else had spoken, Holly decided it was her turn to ask questions of us. "So who is this Voldemort guy specifically?"

Voldemort... how did one accurately explain him to someone? So many words could be used to describe him, yet none seemed to encompass everything that made him exactly who he was. "He is a dark wizard," I began. "And he is bent on taking over the human world, both magical and nonmagical."

"He killed my parents," Harry added.

"And my brother," Ron stated.

"He tried to kill me," Audrey said quietly. Hearing her say that made me place my arm around her shoulders. I knew she still didn't like talking about the torture she endured by his hand.

"So basically he's a nut case?" Holly inquired.

"Some would call him crazy; some would call him genius," I stated. "He has some ideas that are great, but he goes about completing them the wrong way." I took a deep breath. "He's quick tempered, and doesn't like being crossed. We all, in one way or another, have royally pissed him off, and now he wants us all dead."

I watched Holly's hazel eyes widen for a moment. She was becoming skeptical, I could tell. "For some reason the fact that he wants you dead doesn't surprise me." She pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing. "So you're on the run, hoping he doesn't find you?"

"Yes and no," I answered. "You see, on top of running, we're in the process of his destroying Horcruxes."

"Horcruxes?" I had forgotten Holly didn't know what those were.

"A Horcrux is an object in which one has concealed part of their soul," I explained. "With Horcruxes, if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, as part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged." I took a deep breath. "It's a very dark piece of magic. Voldemort has seven Horcruxes. We've only destroyed, what? One, working on two?" When I received a few nods in agreement I looked to Holly. "And we have no idea on what they could even be, so you can see we're kind of in dire circumstances."

Holly took a deep breath. "You know, I'm not sure what we can do. I mean, once we find these Horcruxes, I'm sure we could help destroy them, but other than that I don't know how we can really help."

"That's all you can do?" Malfoy asked, and he sure seemed irritated by that statement.

"Well, that and maybe offer some form of protection for you," Holly continued. "I'll have to talk to Foaly about it further. He might be able to do some research and try to find something that might help you hunt down what's left."

Audrey rested her head on my shoulder, and I knew we had to start wrapping it up before everyone else started to doze off as well. Pansy had already turned away from the conversation, trying to go back to bed. She had been silent the whole time; I think she was still upset about her fight with Draco earlier. Normally I would've been upset by her lack of attention, but tonight I was going to make an exception.

"I suppose that's better than nothing," I eventually sighed. "I suggest you talk to Foaly as soon as possible. Find out what he can do to help. We'll be moving out tomorrow morning. Go back to bed."

With that, I turned away from the group, carefully moving Audrey back to where she was trying to sleep. I laid her down before taking my spot on the ground next to her. I closed my eyes, trying my hardest to get some sleep. It was not running as smoothly as I had originally planned. Maybe my ingenious plan hadn't been so ingenious after all...