The Great Hall was packed with terrified students. Some wore travelling cloaks, others wore dressing gowns, but the same fearful expression was painted on all of their faces. Several of the younger students had even been reduced to tears. Every eye was fixed upon Professor McGonagall, who was speaking from the raised platform at the top of the Hall. Behind her stood the remaining teachers and the members of the Order of the Phoenix who had arrived to fight.

Katie was about to take a seat with Draco at the Slytherin table when she spotted Harry skirting around the edges of the room. Telling Draco that she would be right back, she made her way over to Harry.

"Harry," she began, her voice quavering. "Harry, I — I've got to tell you something."

The nervousness of her voice seemed to worry Harry. He frowned at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Katie was overcome with the urge to cry — she could feel tears bubbling up inside her eyes, but she pulled herself together and, taking a deep breath, she confessed.

"It was me," she said. "I told him about the Horcruxes."

Harry blinked at her. "What?"

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "He — he was using the Cruciatus Curse on Draco — I couldn't stand — I had to tell him — I had to help!" she continued to ramble until Harry firmly grabbed her hands and shook her.

"It's fine." he told her. She stared at him like he had gone mad.

"Harry, have you lost it?"

Harry shook his head. "He would have found out anyway, after we broke into Gringotts. And, hey, if it makes you feel better, if it was me, and he was torturing Ginny, I would have cracked too."

Katie offered Harry a gentle smile, which he returned. She had never really stopped to appreciate Harry's kindness and morality — these were traits that people often overlooked, but in that moment, she had never appreciated them more. The two of them fell into silence to listen to McGonagall's speech.

"...evacuation will be overseen by Mr Filch and Madam Pomfrey," she was explaining to the Hall at large. "Prefects, when I give the word, you will organise your house and take your charges, in an orderly fashion, to the evacuation point."

Ernie Macmillan stood up at the Hufflepuff table and shouted, "And what if we want to stay and fight?"

There was a roar of applause.

"If you are of age, you may stay," Professor McGonagall replied.

"What about our things?" a girl called from the Ravenclaw table. "Our trunks? Our owls?"

"We have no time to collect possessions," McGonagall said. "The important thing is that we get you out of here safely."

Katie and Harry started moving along the Gryffindor table in search of Ron and Hermione. Many heads turned to face Harry and a great deal of whispering broke out in his wake.

"We have already placed protection around the castle," McGonagall went on, "but it is unlikely to hold for very long unless we reinforce it. I must ask you, therefore, to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects—"

But her final words were drowned out as a different voice echoed throughout the Great Hall. It was high, cold and clear, and it seemed to be coming from within the walls. Katie recognised the voice of her father immediately.

"I know that you are preparing to fight." There were screams amongst the students. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

No one was screaming anymore. Everyone was too petrified to even breathe.

"Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

Silence swallowed them again. Every head turned towards Harry to hold him frozen in the glare of hundreds of eyes. Then a figure rose from the Slytherin table and Katie felt white-hot anger boil up inside of her.

"But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!" Pansy Parkinson yelled, pointing a trembling finger towards Harry.

Instinctively, Katie stepped closer to Harry. Then there was a great rumbling of noise as students rose from their seats and surrounded Harry, creating a protective barrier between him and Pansy. Draco, Katie noticed, was the only Slytherin to leave their table.

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," McGonagall gritted her teeth. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr Filch. The rest of your house will follow."

There was a grinding of benches as the Slytherins stood up and trooped from the Hall.

"Ravenclaws, follow on!" McGonagall ordered.

Once the youngest students had left, a select few seventh years remained in the Hall. Most of them, Katie noticed, were Gryffindors and Hufflepuff. Slytherin had the smallest number of fighters — only she and Draco remained behind, and Draco didn't even have a wand.

Draco took Katie's hand and they followed Harry to the Gryffindor table, where the Weasleys were grouped.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked.

Mr Weasley went pale. "Haven't you found—?"

Arthur broke off as Kinglsey stepped up onto the platform to address those who had remained behind.

"We've only got half an hour until midnight, so we need to act fast! A battle plan has been agreed between the teachers of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix. Professors Flitwick, Sprout and McGonagall are going to take groups up to the three highest towers — Ravenclaw, Astronomy and Gryffindor — where they'll have a good overview, excellent positions from which to work spells. Meanwhile, Remus, Arthur and I will take groups into the grounds. We'll need somebody to organise defence at the entrances and passageways into the school—"

"Sounds like a job for us!" called Fred, indicating to himself and George, and Kingsley nodded his approval.

"All right, leaders up here and we'll divide up the troops!"

"Potter!" McGonagall was hurrying towards Harry as students flooded the platform, jostling for positions, receiving instructions. "Potter, aren't you supposed to be looking for something?"

"What? Oh," Harry said. "Oh yeah!"

"Then go, Potter, go!"

"Right — yeah—," Harry rounded on Katie. "I've had an idea. No one in living memory has seen the diadem, right?"

Katie nodded, although she was confused. "Right."

"D'you reckon one of the ghosts have seen it?"

Katie blinked slowly at Harry. "You're not all that stupid, you know?"

Harry grinned at her.

"Do either of you know who the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower is?" Harry asked. Draco looked taken aback by the fact that he was being addressed in a civil manner by Harry Potter.

"The — er — Grey Lady, I think." Draco answered. Harry gave him a small nod of appreciation.

"You find the Grey Lady, we'll look for Ron and Hermione." Katie told Harry.

Harry made to leave but then he stopped, turned around, and put his hand inside his pocket. He took out a wand — Draco's wand — and handed it to the blonde.

"I think this is yours." Harry said.

Draco's mouth fell open as his eyes danced between Harry's face and the hawthorn wand. "I — what?" Draco stammered. "Don't — don't you need it?"

"I have a spare," Harry explained. "Take it."

"Merlin's beard," Draco breathed, taking the wand from Harry and twirling it around his hands. "Thanks, Potter."

Harry didn't smile but Katie could have sworn she saw the corners of his lips twitch.

"Don't mention it."

With that being said, Harry rushed from the Hall, Draco's disbelieving eyes following him the whole way.

"Miss Blair," McGonagall said. Katie turned around to face the woman. "I trust you are now aware of your true parentage?"

Katie gulped. "Yes, Professor."

"And you are still prepared to fight him?" Pity was swirling in McGonagall's eyes, which made Katie wand to cringe. The last thing she needed was people pitying her.

"I am, Professor." she nodded firmly. A small smile formed on McGonagall's face.

"You're selfless, Blair. That's not something that is very common in Slytherins," McGonagall said, pride laced through her voice. "Anthony would be proud of you."

Heat rose to Katie's cheeks. "Thank you, Professor."

Still smiling, McGonagall turned to face Draco. He seemed to shrink under her piercing gaze — he probably expected her to scold him, but she just nodded curtly and said, "It's good to see that you've grown up, Mr Malfoy."

Draco blushed, too, and then McGonagall swept away from them. Professor Flitwick came hobbling over and Katie didn't even notice him until he cleared his throat to make himself known.

"Miss Blair, will you join us in Ravenclaw Tower?" he asked. "As I recall, you were always rather gifted with Charms."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but there's something I have to do first," Katie said, then she turned to Draco. "Ron and Hermione."

Draco nodded and the pair left the Great Hall together. They allowed themselves to be swept up the stairs by the rush of students heading for the Room of Requirement for evacuation.

"Do you have any idea where they could be?" Draco shouted over the rumbling of frantic footsteps.

"Ginny said something about a bathroom—" Katie cut herself off as the relisation struck her. "Blimey — the Chamber of Secrets!"

She took off at a sprint and just heard Draco shout, "What?"

Panting and heavy footsteps behind her told Katie that Draco was pursuing her down the second floor corridor. Outside in the grounds, people were already swarming across the lawns, readying themselves for battle.

"The Chamber of Secrets is in a bathroom?" Draco asked breathlessly.

"The entrance, yeah." Katie replied. She too was out of breath, but she did not slow down until she reached the hallway in which Moaning Myrtle's bathroom resided. She had just turned a corner when the door to the bathroom burst open and Ron and Hermione came hurrying out, each of them holding a handful of what appeared to be teeth. Ron was also carrying a broomstick. Katie paused to catch her breath, as did Draco, and stared at Ron and Hermione.

"What are those?" Katie inquired.

"Basilisk fangs," Hermione held one up. "It was Ron's idea, all Ron's idea! Tom Riddle's Diary was a Horcrux, right? Harry used a Basilisk fang to destroy it, so we thought — Ron thought — we would go down to the Chamber to get some."

"Brilliant!" Katie beamed.

Draco, however, looked completely and utterly bewildered.

"What the hell is a Horcrux?" he asked.

Katie broke into quick explanation. "An object that someone has concealed part of their soul is. Dumbledore reckoned Voldemort made six. He can't be killed until all of his Horcruxes are destroyed."

Dawning comprehension split across Draco's face.

"That's what you were doing," he said. "All that time that people thought you were missing or on the run, you were hunting Horcruxes."

Katie nodded in confirmation. She was about to say something but Hermione got there first.

"Where's Harry?" she questioned.

"He went to find the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower," Katie told them. "He thinks she might know where the diadem is."

"And if she doesn't know where it is?" Ron said gravely.

There were flashes of light, bangs and screams from outside in the grounds. Katie glanced down at her watch. It was midnight. The battle had begun.

"Then it's over." she said.

***

"Where the hell have you been?" Harry shouted.

"Chamber of Secrets." Ron responded.

"Chamber — what?" Harry said, coming to an unsteady halt.

"It was Ron's idea, all Ron's idea!" Hermione repeated her words from before. "Wasn't it absolutely brilliant? There we were, after you left, and I said to Ron, even if we find the other one, how are we going to get rid of it? We still hadn't got rid of the cup! And then he thought of it! The Basilisk!"

"What the—?"

"Something to get rid of the Horcruxes." Ron said simply.

"But how did you get in there?" Katie asked weakly. "You need to speak Parseltongue!"

"He did!" Hermione said. "Show them, Ron."

Ron made a horrible hissing sound that sent a shiver down Katie's spine.

"It's what you did to open the locket." Ron told Harry, his cheeks dusting a light shade of pink.

"He was amazing!" Hermione cried. "Amazing!"

"So..." Harry breathed. "So..."

"So we're another Horcrux down," Ron pulled the remains of a golden cup from his jacket. "Hermione stabbed it. So what's new with you?"

As he said it, there was an explosion from overhead. The ceiling rattled and there was a distant scream.

"Dean! Dean!"

They all turned their heads. Seamus was hurtling down the hallway towards Dean, who stood at the other end of the corridor.

"Seamus!" Dean looked worried. "What happened?"

"Someone — someone's dead," Seamus panted. "On the third floor — curly blonde hair, probably older than us — I didn't stop to check who it was but it's definitely someone on our side."

Katerina felt her entire world flip. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco all turned to face her, anxiety written all over their faces. She tried to swallow but her mouth had gone as dry as a desert.

Without a word, she dashed to the nearest staircase, ignoring her friends as they called her back. The third floor was in ruins. Walls had been blasted apart, windows were smashed, statues lay crumbled on the floor and thick dust filled the air. Bangs and shouts echoed from the halls around Katie as she ran through the third floor, screaming for her brother.

"Christian! Christian!"

Tears cascaded down her face, blurring her vision. She leapt over a fallen statue of a gargoyle, dodged a few spells that flew through the windows, continuing to call out.

"Christian!"

And then she heard it.

"Katerina?"

Her heart stopped. She froze.

"Christian?" she called desperately.

"Katerina? Katie! Where are you?"

She started sprinting again but she did not have to run for long. At the end of the corridor, someone rounded the corner and paused, throwing his eyes around desperately. His curly blonde hair was matted with dirt, blood and dust, and there was a deep bleeding gash on his forehead. His clothes were torn and his face was dirty, but he was alive.

"No way..." he whispered, and then he shouted, "No way! No way!"

Blood thundered in Katerina's ears as she ran to her brother, throwing her arms around him and almost knocking him flat with the force of the hug. But he didn't seem to mind. He lifted her off her feet and hugged her like he never wanted to let her go.

"I thought you were dead!" he sobbed. "The Daily Prophet — they said you were dead!"

"I'm all right, I'm all right," Katie said tearfully. "Seamus — he said someone with curly blonde hair — I got so worried, Chris... Where's Niall? Is he OK?"

Chris placed his sister on her feet but he still held onto her arm, as though he feared she would disappear if he let her go. His eyes were teary and bloodshot — he was crying almost as much as Katie was.

"He's fine," Chris assured her. "We were looking for Fred and George when I heard you shouting, so I ran. I couldn't believe it..." he shook his head; tears leaked from his eyes once more. "You're alive..."

"Chris!" someone yelped.

Katie looked over her shoulder. Hermione was rushing up the corridor, followed closely by Harry, Ron and Draco. All of them were grinning — but none so as much as Hermione, whose eyes were shining brighter than the flying spells down below in the courtyard. Niall came around the corner, beaming, and Hermione slowed to a jog.

Katie ran to hug Niall as the others greeted Chris. Niall let out a sound that sounded like a bird squawking when he saw Katie.

"Merlin's beard!" he cried. "You're alive!"

And he hugged her with just as much enthusiasm as Chris had done.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but we've got to get to the Room of Requirement." Harry announced.

Someone from a nearby corridor shouted, "A little help over here, please!"

Chris and Niall locked eyes and nodded. Before he left to rejoin the battle, Chris hugged Katie again. A wave of sadness rushed over her. The way Chris was hugging her... it was as if he thought this would be the last hug he would ever give her.

"Fuck shit up and don't die." he told her, smiling, then he hurried after Niall.

Five minutes later, Katie, Draco, Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived at the familiar blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor. Tonks and Ginny were stood by a window, casting spells down into the grounds. Ginny cast a well aimed hex towards a Death Eater.

"I thought you were supposed to be with Teddy at your mother's?" Harry addressed Tonks.

"I couldn't stand not knowing—" Tonks looked anguished. "She'll look after him — have you seen Remus?"

"He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the grounds—"

Without another word, Tonks sped off. Ginny continued to fire spell after spell out of the smashed window.

"Hang on a moment!" Ron said sharply. "We've forgotten someone!"

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"

"You mean we ought to get them fighting?" Harry asked.

"No," Ron said seriously. "I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbys, do we? We can't order them to die for us—"

There was a clatter as the Basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick that he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermione off her feet. Katie had to slap her hands over her mouth to stop herself from squealing in delight.

"Is this the moment?" Harry asked weakly. "OI! There's a war going on here!"

Ron and Hermione broke apart, their arms still around each other.

"I know, mate," Ron said rather breathlessly. "So it's now or never, isn't it?"

Katie wanted nothing more than to hug them both, but there was another explosion and Chris and Niall hurtled passed them.

"I'm going to help them," Katie decided instantaneously. "You're sure you know where the diadem is?"

Harry nodded. "Go," he encouraged. "They need you."

Draco followed Katie into battle. They ran in the direction that Chris and Niall had gone and eventually found them duelling two Death Eaters, accompanied by Fred and Percy. The man duelling Percy backed off and his hood slipped off, revealing the face of Thicknesse, the Minister.

"Hello, Minister!" Percy bellowed, striking Thicknesse with a jinx. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"

"You're joking, Perce!" Fred shouted as Katie Stunned the Death Eater that he was fighting. Thicknesse had crumpled to his knees as tiny spikes erupted all over his skin. Fred looked at Percy with glee.

"You actually are joking, Perce... I don't think I've heard you joke since you were—"