=== February 22, 1997 ===
Dobby appears beside Harry. "They are all here, it looks like they are starting the ritual."
Harry nods. "You know what to do." Dobby vanishes.
"I better head back to the common room and set up the command center." Ron says as he leaves.
"I just sent patronuses to the prefects and told them to evacuate the school." McGonagall says. "Next will be the faculty, could you two get Professor Meris? My patronus can't get to him."
"Of course." Harry says.
"Can we take Shannon with us?" Hermione asks. "Then she can take Magnus up to the Daycare."
"Of course." McGonagall says.
#####
Voldemort growls when the runes on Amanda don't glow. "You messed up!" He points his wand at Pansy.
"No, my lord!" Pansy begs.
"Crucio!" Voldemort growls and Pansy screams in pain, after a minute he stops the spell. "Put her through the cabinet, the boys can have their way with her later."
Pansy twitches as she hugs her knees to her chest. "Come on." Dolohov says as he grabs her and turns to the cabinet. "My lord, the cabinet! It's gone!"
"Impossible!" Voldemort yells as he turns to see Dolohov is correct. He quickly turns and sees Draco gone, he frantically looks at the altar only to see Winky grab Amanda and apparate away. "House elves."
"Not just any house elf." Snape says. "That one belongs to the Potters. Seems like the Malfoys were playing both sides."
Voldemort screams, in his anger a ripple of magic bursts from him. Knocking all the Death Eaters and all the shelves down. "My lord, look." One of the Death Eaters points to a stone corridor that seems out of place in the room.
#####
Amanda sits in her quarters when Winky and Dobby appear with Draco and, well, her, except bound. She uses her wand to untie them. "Are you alright?" She asks the other her as she hands her a flask.
The other Amanda takes the flask and drinks from it. The potion restores her to her true form; Ginny Potter. "I'm fine." Ginny answers.
"Me too." Draco says.
"What happened?" Amanda asks.
"There was a group of students wearing Death regalia waiting for us outside the Room." Draco answers. "They tied me up, then Pansy prepped Ginny for the ritual. Meanwhile the rest of them went through the cabinet."
#####
"Protego!" Amelia shouts creating a shield to stop the werewolves from coming at her and Arthur, the other workers far off.
A silver bracelet crosses Amelia's vision. Cheshire steps up, several more silver bracelets on her arms and aims her wand at the one on the ground. "Clustrum!" The bracelet quickly shifts into a set of bars. "That should hold them for a while." The werewolves touch the bars and quickly back away as the silver burns them.
"Where did you learn that?" Amelia asks as she releases her shield.
"I minored in transfiguration." Cheshire explains.
"Can you do that with each of those bracelets?" Amelia asks.
"Of course." Cheshire answers.
"Good, I suspect we'll see more werewolves as we try to get out of here." Amelia says.
"Then we'll just wait them out." Cheshire says. "The sun will come up eventually."
"Not the best option, someone used fiendfyre on the wardstone." Amelia explains. "Which means that the werewolves have allies."
Cheshire nods. "Then I only have one idea."
#####
Harry bursts into Malachi's office followed by Hermione and Shannon. They find the office empty except for a note sitting on the desk.
Cheshire in trouble. Had to go.
~Malachi
"I'll go take Magnus up to the daycare." Shannon says.
"The girls should already be there." Hermione says. "Lock it down and don't open it until you get one of our patronuses."
"Understood." Shannon says as she heads to the attached rooms.
"Come on," Harry says. "We need to get to the Great Hall."
#####
Tonks and Kingsley stand on opposite sides of the fiendfyre wands held up, sweat pouring from them.
"We have it down to its starting point." Kingsley says with a grunt.
Tonks nods exhausted. "Finish it."
Kingsley focuses on the fiendfyre. "Finite!" The fire vanishes. Both of them fall backwards onto the ground exhausted.
"Good work." Tonks says.
"You too." Kingsley says.
#####
Ginny, Draco and Amanda walk into the Gryffindor common room and find it transformed. All the tables and such are pushed against one wall. In the middle of the common room is an illusionary scale model of the entire castle. As they get closer they see names move around. Ron stands in the middle of the castle.
"What in the world is this?" Amanda asks.
"Welcome to what Hermione calls the command center." Ron says. "Using the Marauder's Map as a start Hermione created this much bigger version, complete with the ability for whomever is using it to send their voice to an area by touching it with your wand."
Draco looks the whole thing over. "I don't get it.*
"Ron's one redeeming trait is he's excellent at chess." Ginny says. "The map is a giant chess board and everyone else is one of the pieces."
"I see," Amanda says. "He's marked some of them with chess symbols. Harry and Hermione are the white king and queen."
"Where are Riddle and the others?" Draco asks.
"They're still in the room." Ron says as he watches the castle. Then he mutters: "Impossible."
#####
Cheshire throws the last of her bracelets only for a spell to hit it and destroy it. A Death Eater steps out of the shadows. "Surrender." A male voice says from behind the mask.
"Go to Hell." Amelia replies.
"You first." The Death Eater says as he moves out of the way and werewolves come running forward.
"Do you have a plan for this?" Arthur asks.
"Get down!" Malachi yells.
Cheshire pulls Arthur and Amelia to the ground. They both try to get up "Wait." She says holding them down.
"Unda!" Malachi slashes Levinant, unleashing a wave of energy as he does. The wave goes over their heads and cuts the frontline werewolves in half, the rest turn and run. Malachi steps forward summoning Atrunant as he does. "Someone call for a way out?"
Cheshire gets up and carefully kisses Malachi. "Am I ever glad to see you."
#####
"The founders." Voldemort muses as stares at the painting.
"And who are you?" Godric asks.
"The one who is going to accomplish Salazar's dream." Voldemort says as he touches the frame and cuts himself.
"My dream?" Salazar asks.
"Yes, to rid the world of muggleborns!" Voldemort answers. Salazar remains silent and Voldemort speaks again. "But first I need to get out of this room."
"There's a back way out." Salazar says.
"How?" Voldemort asks.
"If you firmly press on one of the stones below this painting you'll access the servant tunnels." Salazar answers.
Voldemort quickly finds the store, the wall swings revealing a narrow hallway. "This way!" He commands.
#####
Inside the Great Hall all the seventh year students wait along with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape
"Harry!" Ron's voice echoes through the Great Hall as Harry and Hermione step inside. "Riddle and the others just vanished from the map!"
Harry stops and looks at Hermione then the professors. "Any ideas?"
"Could they have turned into smoke like in the Ministry?" Hermione asks.
"No, I changed the wards before I came here." Dumbledore answers. "Only Minerva can transform right now."
"Then where did they go?" Harry asks.
"Muggle castles like this would have narrow passageways for servants to use." Hermione says. "Does Hogwarts have anything like that?"
"If it does, I don't know about them." Dumbledore admits.
"Dobby!' Harry calls out.
Dobby appears. "You called Master Harry?"
"You worked here for a while, are there hidden corridors?" Harry asks.
Dobby nods. "All over the castle, they lead everywhere."
"Minerva, it's time!" Dumbledore says.
McGonagall nods as heads to the nearby statues with wand in hand. "Piertotum Locomotor!" The statues leap to life.
"Dobby," Dumbledore says. "Would you show Professor McGonagall as many ways to access the hidden corridors as you can?"
"Dobby can do that."
"Then go do that." Harry commands.
Dobby nods and goes with McGonagall. Dumbledore turns to the assembled students. "Do any of you have a corporeal patronus?" Half the students raise their hands.
"Good split up, one who has a patronus one who doesn't. Split up and keep an eye out for the Death Eaters. Don't directly confront them if you can avoid it." Dumbledore says.
The students quickly group up and head off. "Where do you want me, sir?" Flitwick asks
"I was hoping Mister and Missus Potter would split up with us." Dumbledore answers.
"I'll go with Professor Flitwick." Hermione says.
Harry nods. "Be careful."
"You too." Hermione replies as she kisses him and they go their separate ways.