Hermione found Ron in his dorm room thumbing through a Quidditch magazine while sitting crossed-legged on his bed. When she came in, no longer surprised to have Hermione Granger barge right into the boys' dorm room, Ron looked up and said, "Hey, Hermione…" he glanced behind Hermione, "where's Harry?"

"In the Great Hall looking for you. Put that magazine away; there's trouble, Ron."

Ron sat up straighter and his care-free expression fled, as much for Hermione's demeanor as her actual words. "What kind of trouble?"

"Voldemort kind."

"Shite!" Ron cursed under his breath and got off the bed. "What's going on?"

Hermione gave Ron a quick version of the events of that morning from the moment she and Harry spotted Shylock struggling toward the castle. Early in her recount, Ginny wandered into the room. When the youngest Weasley caught on to the topic of conversation she went very sober and listened raptly while Hermione finished her story with Dumbledore leaving only moments ago for Hogsmeade to put together an impromptu army of witches and wizards to confront Voldemort.

By the time Hermione was finished summarizing the morning's flurry of activity, Ron's skin had a ghostly pallor that made his hair unbearably orange and his freckles stand out like chicken pox. Ginny was stony-faced, the lines of her young face severe and vicious… she had her own personal reasons to want Voldemort dead for the things he'd done to her in her first year.

"So we need to get into Dumbledore's office to use his fireplace. We need you to floo your father at the ministry," Hermione at last got to the reason she'd gone looking for the Weasleys.

"What can Dad do?" Ron asked with a thick swallow, still reeling from the information about Voldemort being so terrifyingly close to the school.

"Tell us what is going on from within the ministry. There's no way here at Hogwarts for us to keep apprised of what's happening with the attack on Dane, but there might be someone inside the ministry who would know more than we do, and it may be your father knows them."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, maybe. Though Dad isn't exactly in the department for fighting dark wizards and Death Eaters. He could know even less than we do, you know."

Hermione had thought of that, but she shook her head just the same. "It's the best we have right now, and it's worth a try.

"Now we all we have to do is find Harry."

"He's outside," Ginny said.

Hermione turned quickly to look at Ginny. "What?"

"I passed him on my way in; he said you were meeting him out by the lake." Ginny's eyebrows drew together when she saw the aghast look on Hermione's face to the news. "What's wrong?"

"That git!" Hermione screeched.

Hermione rushed to Harry's still-open trunk and pawed through the contents until she found the Marauder's Map. She hastily drew out her wand and said in a rush, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," and tapped the map with the tip of her wand. The grounds of Hogwarts appeared on the parchment, complete with moving footprints and their corresponding name tags for the occupants of Hogwarts.

She called up the images of the map and flipped to the proper page just in time to see the tiny footprints that bore the label 'Harry Potter' reach the edge of Hogwarts' grounds then disappear beyond the scope and range of the map.

"Bloody hell!" Hermione cursed and threw down the map in disgust. She whirled and ran for the door.

"Hey! Wait, what's going on?!" Ron called, "Where's Harry?!"

"On his way to Dane!" Hermione yelled furiously over her shoulder, then she was gone.

Ginny and Ron looked at one another, shocked.

"He wouldn't…," Ginny gasped.

"Oh, bloody right he would," Ron groused and shook his head.

"Shouldn't we go with Hermione? If she's going to stop him, she may need help."

Ron rubbed at his hair furtively and shook his head. "Don't think we could keep up. I get the feeling it won't be Hermione catching up with Harry so much as Sagehunter catching up with Knight."

"Oh…" Ginny said with resignation.

Ron went over to the Marauder's Map and picked it up. He glanced at the hurrying representation of Hermione as she raced through the hallway and out of the castle in pursuit of Harry.

Ginny shrugged. "Well, we could still contact Dad and see if he knows anything about the meeting at Hogsmeade and going after Voldemort at Dane."

Ron nodded and he and his sister left the boys' dorm and descended the stairs. As they reached the hallway Ron began to glance at the map in his hand. No reason to get caught trying to sneak into Dumbledore's office if there was a way to avoid it right at his fingertips.

They were halfway there when the half-page Hermione had turned to in order to look for Harry on the grounds, since her departure a blank page as most everyone was inside, suddenly spotted with new footprints and new floating name tags.

"Hold on," Ron stopped and peered closer at the new images. There were names emerging that he did not recognize; he puzzled over 'Crabbe' and 'Goyle' a moment, knowing the two Slytherins were not at the school for the Christmas holiday, then he yelped like a kicked dog when 'Tom Morvolo Riddle Jr.' walked its way on to the page.

"What?" Ginny asked anxiously to her brother's outburst and sudden lack of color.

"He's here!" Ron hissed.

Ginny yanked the map away from Ron and looked down at it. Her eyes went wide as saucers when she saw what he had. "But… he's supposed to be in Dane!"

"Well, he's not. I have to tell Harry and Hermione."

"What do I do?" Ginny asked, looking up at her brother frantically.

"Take the map, find McGonagall, show her, warn her! And for pity's sake, be careful!" With that Ron turned and ran. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him… he cursed not taking up running with Harry and Hermione. It seemed to take him hours to lunge his way up the Gryffindor boys' dorm stairwell.

Heaving for breath, he staggered to the closet, threw open the door, and pulled out his new Cleansweep. He noticed Harry's Firebolt missing… no time for that. He raced to Harry's trunk, in such a sad state of disarray from two mindless ransackings, and Ron added his own mess to the anarchy as he threw aside the few jumpers and pants that lay atop Harry's invisibility cloak. Ron snatched it up and ran from the room.

He donned the cloak well before he was at a door to the outside. With heart pounding, he stood in the doorway and scanned the grounds for sign of Voldemort and his followers. He saw nothing yet, but that did little to ease Ron's anxiety. He knew they were there.

Ron mounted his broom, firmly fixed one corner of the invisibility cloak to the end of his broom, leaned in, and flew forward. He skirted the ground as fast as he dared, keeping low because the cloak wouldn't do him any good if he was over the Death Eaters' heads and they happened to look up. It wouldn't do him any good if he flew too fast and it flapped in the wind, revealing glimpses of Ron's legs and feet.

So he skimmed the earth, so close that he could see the details in the imprints of shoes in the snow, and he flew agonizingly slow and let the thought consume him 'find Harry and Hermione, find them, don't get caught, tell them, Voldemort's at Hogwarts!'

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Hermione ran as she had never run before, legs and arms pumping as she charged after Harry. There was no sign of him ahead of her save for his racing footprints that she followed unerringly. When she was clear of the school, safe from the risk of prying eyes belonging to students leaning out school windows, when she was well and fully fled into the woods in pursuit of Harry, she dropped down without slowing her stride and became Sagehunter. The difference was like that between night and day. It made it seem as though she'd been running in waist-deep water as Hermione Granger. Sagehunter accelerated ahead at break-neck speed, coursing over the snow with wide paws kicking up drifts of white powder. Her paws weren't made to manage snow, but they managed it better than a girl's dainty feet. Sagehunter surged forward, ears back and long back folding and bowing at double-time, coiling and extending with each earth-engulfing stride. She found Knight's paw prints where Harry had changed, caught his scent, and ran.

She had to stop him, it was her only thought, a singular purpose in an acute hunter's mind.

Luck was with her, or rather, Knight's impatience to reach Dane worked to her favor. His tracks left the maze of trees that comprised the forest and broke into open ground. It was a straighter course to Hogsmeade, and therein Dane.

It was the break Sagehunter desperately needed.

Sagehunter put on a burst of speed and charged ahead over the open land.

At last, ahead, she saw a spot of movement amid the barren trees and white banks of snow. As she ran harder, drew nearer to the smudge, she made out the black form of a large cat running ahead of her. Knight. Sagehunter poured every ounce of strength she had into catching him. It was a hunt that she must not botch. If she lost her quarry she risked the loss of so much more than she could bear to think on. Failure was not acceptable, she had to stop him.

While still a fair distance away, Knight heard something closing on him from behind as Sagehunter drew ever closer to his racing form. He stopped momentarily to whirl and face his pursuer… when he saw it was her he spat angrily, teeth bared, and spun around. With a deft change of direction, he dashed for the tree line.

Sagehunter raced with all the speed that her feline body could allot her. If Knight reached the trees, if it became a race amid the forest, she couldn't catch him. Her only hope to overtake him was on open terrain. She had to get to him before he was in the forest, in his natural element.

His detour to the woods was not directly ahead of her or him, it was to Knight's left. It provided her the chance to lead her target rather than merely giving flat pursuit… it gave her a little more ground to reach him quicker as he ran perpendicular to her straight line. He knew as well as she where the advantage would go to him, and he meant to use it against her. He was banking everything on reaching the forest before she reached him.

He very nearly did, and it was with a last moment of horror to think that she might lose him that Sagehunter reached for the last bit of power in her cat body and sprang forward. Knight froze when he saw it coming, fairly flying at him but for the lack of wings, but he wasn't quick enough to dodge her leap. Sagehunter slammed into Knight and they went down in a hissing, rolling ball of black and tawny fur.

Knight kicked and screamed to free himself from her. Sagehunter scrambled to keep him down. Neither used claws or teeth, but they threw themselves at one another with the full of their body weight, trying to joust the other into submission.

They tussled and tangled in the snow for a furious few seconds before Knight fought free of Sagehunter. The two cats jumped apart at the same moment. Knight stood, legs braced, facing Sagehunter and heaving for breath. Sagehunter faced him just as resolutely, just as winded. When they broke apart, Sagehunter ended up in the way of Knight's path to Dane. It was luck, pure chance, but she recognized her fortuitous placement and held her ground. She would not let him pass.

Knight spat and roared and swatted at Sagehunter in frustration and anger. Sagehunter roared back and crouched, ready to pounce on him again if he tried to run or get around her.

Knight snarled and paced, head low and eyes intent on Sagehunter… studying her as he might a rival, an opponent. Sagehunter met his challenge, eyes just as unflinching as she leveled a glare at Knight. Masters of two domains clashed in neutral territory, the lord of the jungle and the empress of the savannah matched against each other on the snowscape. Neither could say how such a confrontation would end.

A menacing growl rumbled up from the depths of Knight's throat. Sagehunter gave a low-thunder growl in answer. The hairs on the back of their necks were erect, their muscles quivering, and always they watched one another with singular intent.

Then they heard the sound of cloth slapping in the wind and a familiar smell filled the air. For a time, both noted it but refused to take their eyes off the other. Then the sound grew louder and the scent stronger. Knight broke first the stand-off first to look for the intrusion, as the scent was coming up quickly from behind him.

From seeming midair, Ron appeared, throwing off a blanket and jumping from his broom, only to stumble from his high-speed dismount crying, "Don't eat me! It's me, Ron!"

For a second, the introduction of a wizard on a broom was utterly out of place in the battleground for jaguar and lioness. Knight blinked at Ron, glanced at Sagehunter who was clearly just as baffled, then he changed back to Harry.

"Ron?" Harry asked.

Sagehunter stepped forward, stepped into Hermione… but she was not looking at Ron. She still had eyes only for Harry, but not in a romantic sort of way. She marched right up to him and punched Harry in the shoulder.

"OW!"

"You idiot! What the hell did you think you were doing?!"

Harry scowled at Hermione, who was standing beside him with clothes and hair sopping wet, a bruise blooming on her jaw, and her hands on her hips in a pose of pure fury as her eyes blazed at him. For once, she was no less a lioness for having resumed human form.

"I wasn't going to wait around for Voledmort to kill Sirius because he's not part of the 'bigger picture'."

"Did you even listen to a word Dumbledore said? To a word I said?"

"I can't leave him to Voldemort!" Harry bellowed. "I know you all seem to think it's the only thing I can do, but you're wrong!"

"V-V-Voldemort…" Ron gasped from his knees in the snow.

"Sirius knew the risk involved in going against Voldemort. Merlin, he's done it before! He spent years in Azkaban for tangling in the affairs of Voldemort during the war! He would not have done it again if he didn't fully understand the danger and accepted it."

"V-Voldemort…" Ron choked.

"Bugger that. Maybe I'm not ready to accept that I just stood around while my godfather died," Harry shot back acidly.

"Vol-Voldemort," Ron blurted, louder this time.

"What?!" Harry and Hermione turned as one to snap at Ron.

Ron gulped in air. "Voldemort's… at Hogwarts… right now."

Both Harry and Hermione went stone still.

"He's… there," Ron gasped.

"What?" Hermione noticeably paled, and Harry had no caustic retort to fling at her. "How do you know?"

"Marauder's Map told me," Ron said, at last catching his breath.

Harry and Hermione looked in shock at one another. "But… but he's supposed to be in Dane," Harry stammered.

Hermione gasped when it suddenly made horrifying sense to her. "Oh, no! Harry, it was a trap! A trap no matter what you did. He let Aberforth escape to get word to us about his location. He counted on you finding out what happened to Sirius and forcing this issue. Damnit, Voldemort set you up regardless of what you decided to do. He'd have you captured at Dane when you went to save Sirius or he'd capture you at Hogwarts when attention was focused on Dane!"

"Come again?" Ron asked, bewildered by the leap Hermione had made.

"Think, Ron. Voldemort's never come near Hogwarts himself because he was scared of Headmaster Dumbledore, he knows he can't take him on single-handed, but—"

"Dumbledore's not at Hogwarts," Harry said sickly, "he's at Hogsmeade putting together an attack force. An attack on a decoy."

Hermione nodded. "Leaving the school vulnerable. And if you went to Dane, Harry, you'd be walking into the unknown… who knows what kind of ambush they had planned for you if you showed up to rescue Sirius."

Harry would throw up about that later. Now, he had a choice. Sirius or those left behind at Hogwarts.

In the distance, like a tree crashing to the ground, there was an explosion that thundered through the air and seemed to vibrate up through the bottoms of their feet. It came from the direction of Hogwarts. All three looked back toward the school in distressed, gloomy silence.

Harry went over to Ron where the redhead still knelt in the snow and extended his hand to help his friend to his feet. When Ron was standing Harry looked first at him, then at Hermione. They were both watching him closely to learn what he would do. Somehow, it was left up to him. With finality, Harry said, "We have to go back."

Hermione was stolid in her resolve. She would not argue this time. Ron looked ill but he gave a nod just the same.

"Dumbledore was right," Harry said gravely, "this all ends today."