Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw students leap up, aiming their wands at Slytherin's table. Pointing at Harry, Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin, yells for someone to grab him. Voldemort's booming voice, seemingly from nowhere, demands that, to save the school, Harry Potter must surrender by midnight. As tension mounts over the approaching battle, Harry anxiously searches the room for Ron and Hermione, who are still missing.
The Order and the professors have agreed upon a battle plan and begin dividing into groups. Every Hogwarts being, living or dead, is listening to Professor McGonagall: students will be evacuated before the battle begins, though the older students can remain and fight. The enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall is dark with twinkling stars the students are sitting below, clothed in their dressing gowns or traveling cloaks.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
