Title: Darkened Halls.

Summary: The ''final'' battle came and went, and as the children of the generation stood over the ruins of their lives, a decision was made that would change them forever. They would not let who they were fade.

Main characters: Harry, Ginny, Weasley twins, Ron, Luna, Hermione, Gabrielle Delacour.

Pairings: FredHermioneGeorge, RonGabrielle.

Warnings: No slash, no graphic sexual content, war situations, VampireFred, VeelaGabrielle, ThunderbirdHarry, WerewolfNeville, all are ageless through a potion accident. Powerful Harry but not god like, yet, wink. Very Ooc, AU, not Hbp compliant.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the places of the Harry Potter world; I simply borrow them and let my twisted muses have fun. I was inspired for some things that will appear later in the story by Miranda Flairgold's fanfictions, 'A second chance at Life' and 'Changes in a time of war'.

This nasty bit on author's notes will not be repeated in other chapters, takes way too much space. Changes will be noted there if and when necessary.

Chapter One: The Last Stand.

The battle was done, everything was lost to them, they stood overlooking the battle grounds, all nine of them. The leader stood to the front, his chin length hair flapping in the wind. The wind brought up the scent of death to their noses, their eyes used to what they saw below on the ground. They were perched on one of the still standing towers of the old school, Hogwarts. It was half crumbled to the ground, many halls having been blown apart.

Some made platforms; other towers fell down creating large holes in the castle. The great hall's roof had fallen in, giving the view of the real sky for the first time since its creation. The only tower still remaining somewhat straight and untouched was the astronomy tower, although missing a roof and the walls to its last level. The magic in Hogwarts made it possible for it not to crumble on itself as the magic was self replenishing.

The damage that had been done though would not be repaired by the wards; it needed more magic to do repairs of that scale. It created a small pinch of sadness in their heart, seeing what had been their home for the last ten years reduced to that. In fact, it didn't bother them as much as the many dead littering the ground. They could recognise most of the ones that had been on their side, even children no older than thirteen amongst those who had fought.

It was a pity really, a complete generation lost to a mindless war. Even they, the best of their generation when it came to that war thought it was needless. So much had been lost, but they still had each other. They, the not so golden trio, Luna, Neville, Fred, George and the not so small anymore french part veela, Gabrielle were what was left of a great army, amongst the few survivors. They were standing there, waiting for something. One of two young blond haired women turned to their leader, a black haired muscular young man.

''What do we do now?'' She asked, her trademark dreamy blue eyes looking at their leader, only then adding the proper form of respect as an afterthought. ''Sir.''

Blazing emerald eyes turned to the blond woman, a defined eyebrow rising slightly at her question.

''Protector, Feathers, I want you both looking for possible injured survivors. Loki, Hera and Pyro, find any living death eaters and make sure none can hurt anyone anymore. Athena and Moonlight, register the changes on the map. Forest, find any useable plants and minerals and any salvageable useful goods. I myself will find a satisfactory shelter.'' The black haired man replied.

Three red heads, one female and two, obviously twins, men bowed before sharply turning on their heels, their expressions grim but determined. These were the two Weasley twins and their only sister, Guenièvre. They otherwise were called Loki, Pyro and Hera for all intents and purposes. Another red haired man, this time accompanied by a overly beautiful blond haired woman bowed to their leader before heading to the squeaky staircase behind the trio, the blue eyed woman following closely. Ronald Bilius Weasley and his mate, Gabrielle Delacour, or better known as Protector and Feathers.

The four remaining people each had their tasks, and a mousy brown haired man started looking around the floor they were on, making sure to rescue any salvageable item before going down. A nod to the imposing emerald eyed figure was the only sign he had acquiesced to his leader's request. Methodically, Neville gathered anything useful before heading down the stairs. Two women had sit in one of the 'corners' of the tower, the same dreamy eyed one and an intelligent looking brown haired chocolaty coloured eyed woman. They were discussing over a rather large piece of parchment, wands waving from time to time, and magic rippling in the map set before both.

''Moonlight, Athena, I will leave you to your meddling.'' The black haired man told as first the pale haired woman, then the brown haired one turned to him.

They nodded and returned to their map modifying activities. He chuckled slightly; Luna and Hermione had always been fond of their tinkering.

(Author's note: I know this part about name giving was a tad long, but I wanted to make sure anybody knew who was who. By the way, Harry will be Thanatos.)

Shaking his head, he started down the slightly unstable stair case. He had to find an easily protected place for them to be. Possibly with an easy access to the outside and cover from the elements. He wandered a bit, the destruction around him making it difficult to recognise where everything had been. He guessed he was around Mirtle's lavatories' level. Speaking about the ghost's washrooms, he stumbled onto them quite literally. He was walking down one of the hallways, when suddenly his foot went through the floor.

Thanatos let out a startled cry, falling to the ground, now sprawled on the uneven ground. If someone had been in the room below, he or she would have seen a leg dangling out of the ceiling from mid thigh down. Groaning slightly, he raised his hand and rubbed his forehead where it had stuck the floor when he had fallen. Slowly, he tried to push himself off the wooden ground, the floor seemed to moan under his weight and the black haired warrior lay back down. He didn't really fancy falling in the room under him.

Briefly, he considered yelling if there was any of his team around, but he had a better way to let them know he was in a bit of trouble. Sure, he could use magic, but, for one, he was exhausted, two he was in an area that contain very chaotic magic at the moment and for that reason he wouldn't try placing spells on the ground around him, it would only make matters worse. The only thing he could use right now was a distress beacon; it would send a signal made out of neutral, passive magic that wouldn't interfere with any magic in the surroundings. It would provide his team with his location, and the situation he was currently in.

The only reason that they could do magic at all amongst the crumbled wards and the various magic left by the warriors from both sides was that it was passive. Soon, he felt a wave of passive magic pass him, it was the girls' scan, its role was to memorize the layout of the castle, being as it was it would be needed. Slowly, in the midst of many creaking wooden planks, he tried to reach for the medallion around his neck. It was on a fine looking silver chain, with a small emerald dragon hanging from it. It was a very small thing, unnoticeable to those who weren't looking for it, and if they did it would be innocent enough to pass off as a simple jewel.

He had to slip it from under his vest, a special made vest with only nine in existence. It was a Kevlar vest, borrowed from muggle law enforcement, but the fabric covering it is not other than basilick hide. It had been fortunate nobody had picked the body from the chamber of secrets before them. He gripped the small medallion and sent a very small burst of magic to it, hoping it wouldn't destabilise what was left of wards around him. To his usual luck, apart from some creaking, he was left in his small little hole without too much problems. The resistance's leader now could only wait for his signal to be intercepted and he would be out of there to continue his search.

Sighing softly, he let his head rest on the dusty floor under his, the cool touch easing the soreness of his head. It shouldn't have hurt that much, he probably banged his head harder than he thought. As he laid there, the dust covered young man reviewed the possible shelters from what he had seen of the castle so far. It wasn't much, there were suitable places, but most were too small. They were nine, not one or two, plus, most of them were mated with another and he expected children would be born in a near future. Slowly, as time passed exhaustion took over, and he started to feel fuzzy, laying flat on a surface even as hard as it was made him sleepy.

Soon though, he heard steps coming his way. He tried raising his head as much as he could without throwing his precarious equilibrium out of balance. Not that it was a large hole he was sprawled on, but he didn't like the sound of the floor around him, thus rendering it impossible for him to move too much without falling through, which would be bad. Fortunately for him, it wasn't the petite Gabrielle who arrived first. He wasn't sure she was strong enough to pull him away from the hole he was laying on (when not in a murderous mood that is). To his relief, it was a rather large and muscular young man, Forest.

''Need help sir?'' the brown haired man asked.

''It would be appreciated.'' was the slightly muffled reply.

Neville had started edging his way towards his leader, his captain and commander, unsure of the ground he stood on. Caution was what was needed this time around. They wouldn't want a repeat of the Eastgate Bridge, which had been dreadful. He had had enough broken bones then to not want to repeat a similar experience.

''Beta Forest, do you happen to have rope on you?'' The leader asked matter-of-factly.

''Unfortunately no Sir.'' the hardened soldier replied. ''Though I might have something else that may be of help.''

The earth loving man crouched to the ground, a hand sliding the backpack off of him. No sooner than the small leather sack was on the ground that he plunged his whole arm in it, obviously searching for whatever it was that would help. Soon, his hand came out of the bag, holding what seemed to be a broom pole. But as he pulled it out of the pack, it looked to be never ending. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the wooden pole was out of the bag.

''Forest, tell me, why do you have a twenty feet pole in your pack?''

''I thought it could be useful, sir.'' The other man replied, shrugging. ''It seems I was right.''

A simple roll of his emerald eyes was the answer the brown haired man got. Extending his arm as much as he could without going through the floor, the black haired man gave his friend a pointed look. His second in command gripped one end on the stick with both hands, an even foot between his hands. This way, he didn't have to endanger himself in coming closer than necessary. Neville made a quick job of handing the stick to his commander. One handed, the black haired young man simply gripped the stick that was coming closer and closer from his face, well, if you could call the inch thick pole poking him a stick. Slowly, using his more formidable weight, the plant lover tugged his friend from a sticky situation.

The floor creaked, groaning as he moved, and suddenly part of it collapsed; making the green eyed immortal dangle from the side of the hole. It was lucky he had such a stubborn grip on the stick; it was after all his lifeline for the time being. Neville made a fast retreat, dragging the thunderbird animagus with him. Once they were on safe ground, the leader got to his feet, trying to dust his clothes as much as he could.

''We will have to straighten the wards and recreate most of the outer layers. We will add our own as well, can't let a chance like that get away.'' He said with a nasty grin.

''I have no doubt Athena, Moonlight and the Flames will have fun setting them up.'' The werewolf said in return, an equally dark smile on his face.

When they would talk to their 'warders' about it, they would certainly see the dark ideas going through their heads. Personally, he was glad that they were on the same side, when paired together; it was indeed a scary sight. Both shuddered slightly at the thought, they would never know where that entire sadistic streak had come from. They very well could remember an instance or two where they had been at the end of the youngest Weasley's hexes. Shaking off the unpleasant feeling, they walked away from the hallway they had been in, choosing to follow another, smaller, one. The walls gradually feel close above them, creating a vaguely triangular cave like hall. In a time not so long ago, it had been a hallway with many classrooms, but now most were closed off as they could see from the very light shimmer of certain parts of the walls. It indicated there had been a door there.

There weren't any torches lit, but Thanatos relied on his second in command to alert him if he saw anything suspicious or interesting. After a while of walking, they arrived at a dead end, a small round room with no windows or obvious doors. Looking around, he let his werewolf friend check the area for threats, a simple head nod being his command. Going over everything, the werewolf came back to stand next to his commander and alpha, if a bit behind him.

''I could sense small air disturbances, there must be some doors hidden here that we can't detect.'' He reported.

''I will check for cloaked magic. In the mean time, I would like you to go and gather Moonlight and Athena and bring them back here with torches. I thrust you won't get lost?'' He addressed Forest, who simply nodded before returning the way he had come.

Slowly, eyes closed, he walked around the small circular room, trailing a hand along the wall, searching for inconsistencies in the rock telling him of a possible secret passage. He let his magical sense scan the wall below his fingers, soon finding a part of the wall where his magic echoed strangely. It was shaped like a diminutive archway, if he would have to cross it, the majority of the boys would have to bow their head to evade having a bruise on their forehead. Since warding wasn't his specialisation, he would have to wait for Luna to arrive and take it up from where he had left. Producing a bit of chalk from one of his coat's many pockets; it always could be useful as that day was a proof. He traced the outline in a bright white color before repeating the process of search an entrance just in case he had missed something.

The 'door' was situated, strangely enough, right next to the entrance. He would never have guessed it to be there if he hadn't done a throughout investigation. Perhaps this place would be perfect; it indeed had several points in its favour. The door was well hidden, nobody would think to hide it next to the entrance and most would go directly in front of them to search for a door. If there weren't rooms behind it, they could very well make them themselves. Sighing softly, he waited for his team to arrive. It would still take them a few more moments and there was only so much he could do alone. He didn't have to wait too long as footsteps echoed towards him from the passageway.

He could recognise them instantly; they had learned each other's identification a while ago to keep from killing each other in battle, very useful skill. There was the soft glide like predatory stepping of Neville's, Hermione's regular pattern like determined footsteps and Luna's bouncy hop like walk. Of course, it wasn't the only thing, but it was the easiest to identify. Always the cautious one, he waited to make sure they were indeed who he thought they were before stepping out of the shadows. Of course, Neville wasn't surprised as any of the others would have been.

''Moonlight, Athena, I want both of you working on the door I outlined. To be hidden that way must mean there is something behind it of some sort of importance.'' He explained to his two female companions swiftly.

The two nodded in reply before going to poke and tickle the hidden archway. It will take a while… The black haired man thought, preparing for the wait.

Author's notes:

Please tell me what you think of this story, feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated. Flames will be used to roast Voldie's inbred behind.