The Great Hall was not as it used to be, not that it had been for a while. The enchanted ceiling was dark and ominous, although sprinkled with stars. Professor McGonagall stood at the top of the Hall on a raised platform, looking grim, yet still, as always, very stern. Behind her were remaining teachers, Firenze the Centaur, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix, aside from her father which made her bite her lip so hard it might bleed. 

It seemed word had spread very fast about the inevitable upcoming battle. 

Emma was feeling very shaky, her leg thumping and her fingers fidgeting. She looked down aways along the Slytherin table and her eyes met with Daphnes, who bit her lip and looked away. Emma had not yet had the chance to speak with the blonde but at this very moment just wanted to hug her, even if she had opened her mouth to Astoria. Even if she feared for her and her sister's lives and decided she didn't want to be around Emma anymore. That much Emma could understand, she could see past, and she could forgive. 

As McGonagall talked about an evacuation point for students underage or who didn't want to be here for the fight, Emma's mind, against her will, drifted towards one platinum blond student who was absent from the Slytherin table, who was absent from Hogwarts altogether. She missed him terribly and feared for him at this moment, had feared for him since the moment she left his manor. Who knew how Voldemort reacted when he arrived at Malfoy Manor and discovered that nothing valuable was there for him to see?

"Where's Professor Snape?" Astoria suddenly called out from beside her sister, snapping Emma back into reality. 

Professor McGonagall blinked at Astoria and said, in a calm voice, "He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk."

Cheers came from all around the hall much to Astoria's dismay, who shrunk down beside Daphne with a glum look on her face. Professor McGonagall continued. 

"We have already placed protection around the castle...."

Emma shook her head and stood, not able to take her fidgeting anymore and walked quickly down the Slytherin table, ignoring the faces looking up at her as she passed. She sunk down on the bench beside Daphne, earning a dirty look from Astoria. Daphne looked like she had just sighed of relief. 

"I can't take this anymore, Daphne. You're my friend...or, at least, I thought you were..."

Daphne took Emma's hands and smiled softly. "I am. I'm sorry for what I did, but I promise you I haven't told another soul and don't plan to. We could die tonight...don't exactly want to leave this world on a bad note either."

"Please don't say that," Emma quivered, biting her lip. Although she couldn't exactly avoid the truth. 

"Draco isn't here," Daphne frowned. Astoria leaned forward to listen at the sound of Draco's name. "I thought he'd return, his mother would've wanted him to as it wouldn't be normal at his home, but he hasn't. It's quite concerning."

A sinking feeling crept in Emma's stomach. She pulled her hands out of Daphne's to tuck her, Emma's, stray hairs behind her ears. 

"I know," Emma replied. "I hope he's okay. He's really just--"

But what Emma wanted to say was ripped out of her mind in a heartbeat. A voice drifted and echoed throughout the Great Hall, overtaking whatever Professor McGonagall was trying to say. 

"I know that you are preparing to fight," the voice echoed. 

It was a monstrous whisper, but loud enough for the entirety of the student body in the hall to hear. It sounded like it could have come from the walls and Emma felt herself leaning away from it. Students began to scream. 

"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."

Emma swallowed, sharing a fearful look with both Daphne and Astoria. 

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

Emma, surely along with several others, scanned the room for Harry. She had seen him rushing through the Gryffindor table at some point. She found him and he found her, and she could see his adams apple move from how harshly he swallowed. Emma's eyes watered with fear for him but he didn't look away, his eyes looked as though they were talking to her. 

Suddenly, a figure rose from across the table. Emma squinted at Pansy as she raised a shaky arm and pointed across the room, screaming, "But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!"

Before anyone could get a word out, before Emma could think to stand up and tell Pansy to sit down and mind her own business unless she wanted a broken nose, the Gryffindors all raised to stand in front of Harry, glaring at the Slytherins. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws followed suit to the Gryffindors, their wands emerging defensively. 

She wasn't sure it was such a good idea, but she did it anyway. Emma stood from her spot at the Slytherin table, and wands defending Harry pointed towards her as she shakily made her way over. She stopped quickly. 

"She's alright," Harry shouted, clearly overwhelmed. 

The students defending Harry parted a little to let Emma through to join him. She hugged him instantly, earning a few odd looks, but she couldn't help it. Hearing Voldemort's chilling voice for the first time made everything finally seem so real, and so did the thought of losing Harry tonight. 

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr Filch. If the rest of your house could follow."

As students began to file out on McGonagall's slight orders (those who were fighting were staying), half the Hall had emptied. The entire Slytherin table was empty which was of no surprise to Emma, a short number of Ravenclaws stayed, even more Hufflepuffs stayed, and half of Gryffindor stayed. Emma really hoped Daphne would have stayed with her, but at least Emma would know that Daphne was safe. 

Even if McGonagall and the rest of the teachers and the Order had planned the defences and where students would remain while it all played out, no more than half an hour later people were running all around the castle, frightened, determined or both. 

A screaming girl running past knocked into Emma, pushing the girl back slightly as she made her way towards one of the windows. There were lights flashing out on the grounds indicating that people were already duelling, and as she looked up she noticed that one of the biggest defences was almost completely impaled. What looked like hundreds of flashes of lights were shooting up at it from outside of the castle gates and seemed to start to crack. 

"Emma!" 

The girl whirled around at the sound of her name and came face to face with a panting Ginny. Her red hair was a mess and she was gasping for air. 

"What's going on out there? Oh my...it's all started so quickly."

"Ginny...you aren't supposed to be here!" Emma put her hands on Ginny's shoulders and began to guide her back up the stairs from which the redhead had come. "Your mother and father, and Lupin, specifically told you to stay put in the Room of Requirement where you'll be safe."

"Oh, bugger that. I can't stand it! I can fight and I'll do it with or without you. Are you with me?" Ginny breathed out, her brown eyes locked hard on Emma's blue ones. 

Emma opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by a running figure that looked all too familiar. 

"Draco!"

The boy turned around in less than a second, clearly knowing all too well who the voice belonged to. He somehow missed Emma standing there with Ginny and ran right past them up the stairs Ginny had come from. Draco was also panting, looking as though he had run across half the castle, accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle. Those two didn't stop running, or at least trying to run, up the stairs until they were on the first platform, where they turned and called for Draco. 

Emma's heart was racing a thousand miles in her chest as she stared into Draco's comforting grey eyes and, without realising it, took a step forward. His face fell at the sight of her and he looked torn for a moment, before clearly deciding on something in his mind and turning to race up the rest of the stairs, without a word, with Crabbe and Goyle at his heels.