Heading back to Hogwarts after almost a year felt strange and concerning to everyone, especially under the unfortunate circumstances. Everyone was preparing to leave Shell Cottage, standing under the night sky painted with stars and their wands in hand. It didn't seem real to any of them that the time to fight was upon them, the time to battle against You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters was finally here. It was now or never.

Mary's hands were beginning to shake the more they kept waiting for Bill to lead them to Hogwarts. Not only did the battle itself gnaw at her brain, but her previous moment with Oliver was doing the same.

He loved her. He really loved her.

Love was something new to Mary, never confessing such a thing to a boy. She never even felt anything like that towards Blaise. Then again, while being with Blaise, they were just about confined to the walls of Hogwarts, only meeting in the corridors or sitting next to each other in class or in the Great Hall. With Oliver, they were constantly moving, always finding themselves under the endless sky. Things didn't feel so confined. She didn't feel so confined.

Blaise lived a life already built for him, and Mary just wasn't meant to stay in the same bubble like he was. With Oliver, there are no boundaries, no expectations. The two were meant to be free.

Mary felt something towards Oliver, and maybe she was leaning towards love.

"You okay?" Oliver asked, taking her hand.

She looked over at him and nodded. "Sort of, you?"

"I'm getting there," he admitted.

She squeezed his hand. "We'll be okay."

He gave her a soft smile in return. "Yeah, we will."

It gave Mary a hint of hope, something she needed right about now.

Bill finally met up with the others outside, exhaling. "Right, are we ready to go?" When the others nodded their heads, he did the same. "Good. Now, we all have to be prepared for any Death Eaters once we get there. I'm certain Hogwarts' security has tightened up since Snape became the new headmaster."

"Snape's the new headmaster?" Jacob asked. "That sounds depressing."

"It's torture, according to Ginny's letters," he replied. "But soon her and the other students there will not have to deal with him or any more of those horrible Death Eaters any longer."

With that, everyone gathered in a circle, connecting hands before Apparating off the beach and into the center of Hogsmeade. Before they knew it, an alarm echoed all over the village, resulting in Death Eaters closing them in from every direction. With a flick of their wands, spells began to fly, in which Bill and the others retaliated. After many attempts, the Death Eaters were defeated, so they kept going. According to the Patronus that Harry sent them, Aberforth Dumbledore, the brother of the former headmaster at Hogwarts, would help them get inside the castle through a secret passageway. They walked down the dark pathway, their footsteps echoing throughout the walls. As they got closer to the end, adrenaline increased.

They met Hermione and Ron at the door, in which they led them with the rest of the Order to the Great Hall. Mary didn't recognize many of the members, only Violet's parents and Ruth, her older sister, but she wasn't too worried about introductions at the moment. She took a look around at the school, noticing how gloomy it looked, remembering how bright and lively the school used to be and how she missed that, despite being on the wrong side of things at the time.

Once they approached the doors, one of the older members opened them up and led the rest inside, standing beside each other. All eyes from the other students and professors went to them as they stood their ground, while Harry remained in the center of the hall.

"You see, despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, and it's quite extensive." Harry paused, his angry eyes fixated on Professor Snape. "How dare you stand where he stood! Tell everyone how it happened that night! Tell everyone how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him!"

Professor Snape responded by pulling out his wand and aiming it at Harry, only for Professor McGonagall to intervene on Harry's behalf as gasps erupted. She pointed her wand towards him, her hand slightly shaking. The Great Hall went silent as the showdown was about to begin.

Tension rose at a fast rate, so Mary grabbed Oliver's hand by instinct, already having a worried look on her face. Suddenly, Professor McGonagall was the first to fire a spell, in which Professor Snape blocked it. It quickly became a duel as the two faced-off, throwing spells at each other, going back and forth. Finally, Professor Snape surrendered, using his cloak to Apparate and fly out of the window.

"COWARD!" Professor McGonagall shouted.

As the students all around cheered, along with light shining in the Great Hall, relief was coming over Mary. But that feeling didn't last long when she noticed something was wrong with Harry. She watched as the rest of the crowd's cheering faded, and the silence within the hall was replaced with something that sent chills down Mary's spine.

"Harry...Harry..."

"Merlin, it's him," Jacob whispered.

Suddenly, two girls screaming made the others jump, followed by the voice of You-Know-Who once again.

"I know that many of you will want to fight. Some of you may even think that to fight is wise. But this is folly. Give me Harry Potter. Do this and no one shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."

For a moment, no one said anything, stunned by the sound of You-Know-Who still ringing in their ears. Oliver shot Mary a worried look, holding her hand tighter.

All of a sudden, a familiar girl broke the silence. "What are you waiting for?! Someone grab him!" Pansy Parkinson shouted.

Before anyone could respond, another voice came booming in the Great Hall. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Filch yelled.

"They are supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot!" Professor McGonagall scolded.

He stared at her, lowering his light. "Oh. Sorry, ma'am."

The woman huffed a sigh. "As it happens, Mr. Filch, your arrival is most opportune. If you would, I would like you to lead Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin House from the hall."

"Exactly where is it I'll be leading them to, ma'am?" he asked.

"The dungeons will do."

While students from Slytherin House were being escorted out of the Great Hall, everyone else began to scatter, rushing to prepare for the fight ahead of them. The Fire Pack stuck together as they exited behind Slytherin House and the Hamilton family, trying to dodge the rest of the students and teachers piling out like they were.

"So what now?" Eliza asked.

"The professors are on their way to secure the castle outside," Violet's father replied. "We're about to head out there as well and help. All of you need to stay inside and get ready for whatever we're about to face."

"How bad do you think it's going to get, Dad?" Violet asked.

"It'll be a long fight, I'm sure," he admitted, pulling her in for a hug. "Be safe, okay?"

Violet nodded her head, giving her mother and sister a hug as well before they left to go outside. Ruth, her older sister, ran off to gather any students not old enough to fight, wanting to get them to a safe place where no Death Eaters could find them.

The five got in a circle, merely staring at each other for a moment, knowing the worst was yet to come. It was only going to get rough, but the others were determined to be ready for it.

"Are any of you ready for this?" Jacob questioned.

Oliver shook his head. "No, not really."

"Didn't think so," he responded. "But Andy wouldn't want us to back down from a fight. He'd be the one leading us to battle."

The others chuckled at this, knowing it was true.

"Well, then, let's go prepare to kick some Death Eater arse," Eliza stated, heading up the stairs, followed by Jacob and Violet.

Oliver looked at Mary, raising his eyebrows. "We're in this together. I can promise you that. What do you say?"

She looked at him, feeling her heart beating faster, along with her stomach about to flip. The more she stared at him, the more she realized what she was feeling, what it actually meant. As much as she wanted to, all that she could say while nodding her head as a wave of reassurance came over her was, "Together."

With that, he pulled her with him up the stairs to catch up with the others, not giving any more time to think about what she really wanted to say.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, I didn't think I'd finish this by today, but here we are lmao.

So the battle is about to begin. Hope you're prepared.

Song above is Legend by The Score.

Comment, vote, next update will be on 9/6.

-A