In the Name of Love

The first time Harry Potter set out to end someone's life, he failed. He didn't understand what had happened, not until much later, when things could be sorted out and explained to him by others, when his emotions could be pushed aside. In the moment, though, there was too much noise, too much shouting, shock and horror and guilt over the inflexible determination to stay alive, even if he didn't deserve to, even if he should have died. That was what Lavender had screamed at him, shrieking it while crying and trying to attack him with her fingernails. He hadn't even stepped back, hadn't reacted in the slightest. After facing down Severus Snape and any number of Death Eaters, he just did not have the capacity within him to back down in the face of a girl's grief. Besides, she had the right to be angry.

Hermione had more right, because Lavender was an ex-girlfriend and Hermione was his true love, but Hermione, though white and pale, was holding Lavender back, preventing her from attacking Harry and then stolidly accepting the other girl's fists striking her.

That moved Harry into action, because it wasn't fair that Hermione be blamed. Ron was dead, and it was Harry's fault.

The prologue was short, because it was the prologue. Probably none of the chapters will be hugely long, but they'll come out in a hurry, so hopefully that will work out for everyone. Yes, the ships as they stand here, at the start, are not PK-compliant. That's because I wanted to start from canon, but rest assured, this is a Harry/Hermione and Draco/Ginny fic.

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Hogwarts had closed after Dumbledore's death. The same Board of Governors who had believed the school would run quite well without Dumbledore during the Chamber of Secrets incident had declared that the school could not go on without him. Professor McGonagall, who had rallied after the immediate shock to declare that Dumbledore would not have wanted the school to close, had been furious. None of her arguments were listened to, however, and ultimately the official paperwork stated that she had been removed from her position, even before the school had closed.

It would have gone very poorly for the Governors at that point if Flitwick and Sprout hadn't intervened to take McGonagall's wand away and drag her out of the room. After several rounds of gillywater, and then several more of firewhiskey, Minerva McGonagall had made a sacred vow: She would continue Dumbledore's work, and woe betide anyone who stood in her way.

That was why a good portion of Bill and Fleur's wedding reception was spent making plans. Classes would be held at the private homes of Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall, with supplies smuggled out of Hogwarts by Hagrid. Finding a place large enough to house students was a top priority, but McGonagall swore that she would work something out for fall if she had to build her own home tall enough to rival one of those muggle buildings all covered in mirrors.

In the meantime, however, they had other things to do. Harry explained everything he could remember to Ron and Hermione, then went through it all again and again, until finally Hermione had stood up and demanded to go to Grimmauld Place, immediately. She practically flew through the hallways, throwing doors open and flinging the contents out of cabinets with no regard for her own safety. Ron and Harry were bitten and stung and frightened out of their wits by a boggart version of McGonagall screeching that they had failed the NEWTs and would never find careers outside of the fast food industry, but Hermione barely paused until she came up with a locket that looked familiar enough to send chills down Harry's spine.

"Bloody hell, that was here summer before last," said Ron. "Remember, we all had a go at opening it and couldn't get it to budge?"

"And if we'd succeeded," Hermione said grimly, "Dumbledore wouldn't have been the only one withering away."

"So how do we destroy it?" asked Ron. "I don't much fancy withering."

Hermione bit her lip. "I don't know."

"Never thought I'd hear that," said Ron. "I'll have to write it in the diary I got last Christmas. Today, Hermione didn't know something."

"Oh, shut up," she said crossly. "I'll just have to do some research. And don't think that you won't be helping me!"

There wasn't much else to do; Harry had no idea how to even begin finding the other horcruxes, or what to do once they found them. They holed up in the attic at the Burrow, but the constant interruptions made Hermione finally bring up the topic of Grimmauld Place. "I know it's... Not the most pleasant place, and that you don't like it, but it'd be better than trying to think while the ghoul is shrieking."

"Books and gloomy surroundings," muttered Ron. "We might as well be in school."

"Ron, you're brilliant!" Harry blinked at the way Hermione's face lit up. "Harry, can we? It'd be perfect!"

"Sure," said Harry, exchanging confused looks with Ron. "As soon as you tell me what we're doing."

Hermione blushed a bit. "It's the perfect solution, really. We can get the professors to cast all sorts of protection charms on Grimmauld Place, and then they can house some of the students there. It's huge! And then if they're there, they could help us get books and do research, and... It's perfect, really."

Returning to live in Grimmauld Place was the last thing Harry wanted, but Hermione looked so eager, her brown eyes shining, that he couldn't resist. "All right," he said, "but you've got to promise that defeating Voldemort comes before schoolwork, no matter what."

"And that you'll let us copy your homework," Ron added hastily, only to subside at Hermione's glare. "It was worth a try, anyway."

McGonagall agreed with the plan instantly, and Grimmauld Place was soon swarming with Hogwarts professors, all casting spells. Even Madame Pince had arrived, bringing along a significant proportion of the Hogwarts library. Harry spent a single weekend with the Dursleys and came back to find the place nearly unrecognizable.

The kitchen swarmed with House Elves, the dining room had been expanded to allow any number of people to eat at once, and the rest of the downstairs had been converted into classrooms. Upstairs there was a single common room, a staff lounge, and the rest were all bedrooms, some of which had already been filled. Seamus was there, and Neville. There was a quiet Slytherin girl who spent a lot of time following Luna and Ginny around, and Lavender Brown was expected sometime in the coming week, much to Hermione's chagrin. The relationship she'd had with Ron might be well over, and Ron and Hermione might be snogging at every opportunity, but the subject of the other girl was still a touchy one.

Everything was different, but somehow it had all turned out the same. Everything Harry had loved about Hogwarts was here, except for Dumbledore. Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there, and within the first day, Harry's resolve had crumbled and he and Ginny were back together. It was almost idyllic, except that most of each day was spent trying to work out how to stop the world from ending.