Got One Hundred Steps to Go (Tonight I'll Make it Ninety Nine)

17

By the middle of March, Harry and his friends thought they had a workable plan on how to get into the Hogwarts. He sent a message to Minerva and asked her and Sirius to meet him at Potter Manor that weekend.

He had kept in contact with Minerva as much as possible, sending messages once a week through the house elves. It was reassuring for both of them to have that point of contact, even if the only thing they wrote was that they were all right.

Minerva and Sirius arrived less than a minute after Harry, and Sirius didn't waste any time in grabbing Harry in a tight hug. Harry held him just as strongly, incredibly happy to be able to see his godfather again.

When they pulled apart, Minerva had her turn, before they all sat down and Harry explained the plan.

"We need to get into Hogwarts, which means we need to draw the Death Eaters out," Harry explained.

Sirius frowned. "Why do you need to get into the castle?"

Harry sighed. "We need the sword to destroy the horcruxes. We also think there may be a horcrux hidden there somewhere." They both looked startled, so Harry explained his reasoning for believing Voldemort had hidden a soul piece at Hogwarts.

Sirius shuddered when he was done. "It makes sense," he agreed. "It's creepy and I really don't want to think about you going in there with all those Death Eaters, but I understand why it has to be done. What do you need from us?"

Harry took a deep breath. "We need you to be the distraction. Can you get the Order and anyone else who's willing to engage the Death Eaters at a specific time?"

Sirius pursed his lips. "A group of Death Eaters shows up at Diagon Alley every morning. If you tell us when, we'll attack."

Harry nodded. They had kept watch on the Alley as well, and had marked the contingent of Death Eaters that arrived daily. "Keep your medallion with you, and I'll send you a message when we're ready. It will be in a couple of weeks, most likely. We still have a few things to work out, but I'll let you know."

Sirius and Minerva knew they needed to start contacting the Order, as well as others whom they thought would be willing to fight with them, either in person or acting as healers.

Standing up, they said their good byes, promising to keep each other informed. Sirius clearly didn't want to leave Harry, but he knew that he had to continue trusting his godson. This plan was more than a little crazy, but it did bear the potential for victory.

Once his former guardians had left, Harry returned to Lion's Castle, and informed the others that they were on board, and would deal with getting the Order organized.

Over the next few days, Harry contacted Fred, George, and Cedric, sending them short notes with one of his house elves. He didn't want to put too much into writing, but he did prompt them to keep the medallions he had given them on their person, and to be ready for a fight. Fred and George, after reading and subsequently burning the message, sent the house elf back to Harry with a new set of transmitters. These ones were more developed, and could work over longer distances.

Upon reading the accompanying note, Harry was very happy to have such a tool; Fred and George had kept a few for themselves, which would be distributed as needed before the fight, and they assured Harry that the communicators would stretch the distance between Hogwarts and Diagon Alley. It was a definite improvement, as the range of the previous set had been limited to a little less than ten kilometers.

Harry sent another note, telling the twins to give transmitters to Cedric, Sirius, Minerva, and Amelia, as they would probably need them the most.

He sent another message to Cedric, telling him to go to McGonagall Castle, to be included in the planning stage of this attack, before he began contacting the members of the DA.