Something to Remember

Chapter 14 Run Baby Run

**

Draco went to bed early that night, seeing the day as wasted. Cho had insisted she needed to find Harry immediately after their little chat of the most obvious -- about the fact that she and Harry were on the brink of being over, which Draco thought was at least somewhat noteworthy information -- and so he yet again was alone. Draco hated being alone, hated to be put in a vulnerable position like this, especially at times like now in which he was surrounded exclusively by only his "fellow", yet obviously most unwelcoming, Slytherin counterparts. Uncomfortable aloneness was something he had dreaded ever since he was a child, although Draco never quite understood why. For one reason or another, the feeling that there was no one by his side was just somehow horrifying to him ...

Draco patiently waited at his bedside for Hermione to join him for what seemed like an eternity. He sat in a confused train of thought for a moment. Everything in his life had changed so drastically in the past few months, and yet it seemed as though it had gone by very quickly. And yet, though terrible things had happened, he would not take back a moment of it. He was happier now than ever before.

Draco thought of his father. His father had not been perfect. He had been far from it. He had not been a delightful man. And yet, he had always loved Draco. He could have been a better father, but he had always been proud of his son. And now their relationship was obviously forever broken. Of course, his father deserved it. He had done terrible things ... And yet, Draco could not help but feel a bit sorry for him. As horrible and as terrible as his father was, he had provided him with food and put a roof over his head for fifteen years. But, Draco understood that regardless if deep down -- very deep down that is -- he still cared for his father even in the slightest way, in the end the man that was Lucius Malfoy had gotten what he deserved.

And then Hermione came inside at last after what felt like several hours later and rested down by his side, her warm, precious body comfortingly pressed against his. He was still alone in his dormitory (the others were still partying downstairs at Millicent Bulstrode's birthday party), so Hermione had taken off her cloak upon entry to not frighten him, although of course once she'd fallen into bed with her beloved she immediately put the Invisibility Cloak on once again. Nevertheless, even in that brief moment in which Draco received a glimpse of his "forbidden" wife right in front of his eyes, he was pained to see that she looked just as miserable as she usually did. Draco held her more closely than normal in his embrace tonight, which was filled with earnest concern and his sad but true, loving distress, and then before he knew it, finally, with Hermione beside him, he'd fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**

Draco entered Potions on Monday hoping to have a nice easy start to the week. He hoped Snape would lecture the whole period, which was a possibility as they did not have Double Potions that day. That way Draco and Harry could pass notes.

Draco certainly did not get his wish that day.

As he walked in, as though on cue all of the Slytherins suddenly exploded into an uncontrollable laughter, and they were pointing at him. Pansy, as usual, was leading them. "It isn't just Draco now! It's his whole bloody family! Has your mother told you yet? HA!" Pansy yelled out, as she sniggered stupidly in her exaggerated, flamboyant laughter.

It was obvious she, alongside the bunch of his ex-fellow Slytherins beckoning her on, were specially intent on riling him up today. At first, as Pansy threw him a copy of the first March issue of Witch Weekly and narrowly missed the side of his face by mere centimeters, he could not help his resigned, long-sickened sigh. Then Draco looked at the cover. He was neither embarrassed nor surprised. On the front-cover was a picture of his mother and Remus looking perfectly photogenic in their humble stroll around Diagon Alley (probably from just the other day, if Draco correctly recalled), captured here in front of Gringotts Banks -- holding hands!!! His mother was a well-established witch, and even Draco had thought it was plain his mum and Remus had something going on for a while now. He supposed he'd be a fool to be shocked that the same observation had eventually fallen under the public's eye.

Half-smiling to himself in a rare, daydream-like moment, Draco with rather fondness thought to himself, 'I mean, honestly, Mum never stops talking about what a charm he is ...' So Draco turned right to the page of the article unabashedly. He didn't want Pansy to think any of this had a negative influence on him, and actually even half-giggled at the headline as he began scanning the article:

**

Narcissa Malfoy Files for Divorce and Enjoys Being Newly-Single

Narcissa Malfoy, an honorable member of the wizarding society, recently lost the companionship of her husband Lucius Malfoy, who is presently doing life in Azkaban for, according to the official Ministry word, "Involvement in varied Death Eater activity." Narcissa Malfoy, who was naturally also initially suspected for Death Eater activity herself, has been cleared completely, and it is even rumored that she's passed along information to long-glorious Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, which has -- according to an all-exclusive Witch Weekly insider -- "proved of pertinent use."

However, Narcissa Malfoy seems to have moved on quite quickly from her husband. It was three days after the arrest of Lucius Malfoy that Narcissa had filed for divorce. And Witch Weekly can exclusively announce from close sources that Narcissa Malfoy, now Narcissa Black for obvious reasons, seems to have found new love!

Nonetheless, Narcissa gives the wizarding community quite a shock with her new taste. She has recently been seen shopping in Diagon Alley with a not-so-honorable member of the wizarding community - none other than Remus Lupin, a dangerous werewolf. Though some such as Albus Dumbledore may trust such characters as Mr. Lupin, he has been reported to have nearly attacked several students when he taught Defense Against the Dark Arts two years ago (rumored to be the reason his employment with Hogwarts ended after just one year of teaching). Narcissa Black has never been known to mingle, romantically or otherwise, with hazardous half breeds like Remus Lupin, which hence is the highlight of why this utterly unexpected news rings such alarm. And thus, concerned so -- with extra-special consideration to the risk of [potentially perilous] danger which he could place her in if the two indeed choose this unideal affair -- one can hardly be left, in good conscience anyway, to say "to each her own" with fairest of wishes ...

We at Witch Weekly (as well as all of our readers, we hope!), however, do sincerely hope Narcissa reconsiders her motives. A source close to her has reportedly said rings have been exchanged and a wedding date is soon to be announced. Witch Weekly attempted to conduct a very short interview with Ms. Black and Mr. Lupin in Diagon Alley, but they declined repeatedly and were seen rushing off shortly thereafter.

Without littlest of answer regarding this ill-fated lifestyle of which Ms. Narcissa Black, newly-divorced from her previous identity as 'Mrs. Lucius Malfoy', very well seems to be selecting for herself, we at Witch Weekly can only wish the best for Narcissa, for we are very worried that recent traumatizing events have perhaps meddled with her head.

**

But once finished properly reading the article, Draco was completely disgusted. Remus was one of the best people he had ever met, and they had spoken about him as though he was trash in that magazine. He felt terrible for the both of them. And as a matter of shameless fact, Draco sincerely hoped Remus and his mother WERE together! He was good for her. He had barely ever seen her so happy ...

He then noticed something else. He completely had forgotten his mother was a cousin of Avery, another Death Eater. But this as well did not shock him, nor anyone else either. The pure bloods were very rare, a dying breed after all, and many of them were distantly related somehow. Remus mentioned to him once that Narcissa and Sirius were even distantly related as fifth cousins, or something of the sort anyway, Draco suddenly remembered ...

The Slytherins were meanwhile still laughing hard, but Draco really did not care anymore. It was pointless and immature. He was happy for his mother. Harry walked in with Ron, as usual, and Draco showed Harry the magazine as Draco sat with Harry. Harry looked even more enraged. Hermione walked in and sat on the other side of Draco, who told her to look at the magazine, which she immediately did after one glance at the "compelling" headline.

And unsurprisingly Hermione, too, wore an equally angry expression the minute she'd read it through. She, however, actually DID manage to vocalize a response, although as she spoke her voice was acidic, and tripped on rapid distaste. "Typical," Hermione snapped, rolling her eyes. Sounding almost out of breath, she looked quite angry indeed. "Remember the thing with Harry and me last year? Witch Weekly is at it again, I suppose ..."

She did not speak the rest of the lesson, but Draco decided that just this once it was actually a good sign.

**

Cho Chang approached Draco at lunch that day. Draco was positive he knew the topic of the discussion. "Harry." Cho spoke the magic word as soon as she sat down. "Is he still mad at me, Draco?" She sounded beyond worried and almost desperate.

Draco was bored, and did not hesitate in showing it. "I dunno, Cho. He hasn't even talked about you," Draco openly said, speaking with brutal honestly.

"Hmm," wondered Cho, though she sounded very uncomfortable now. "I still love him, I really do."

"Express yourself, then, Cho ...To him, that is," Draco rushed to clarify. It wasn't that he didn't like her; it was just that her problem was sitting right next to him, and most likely hearing everything they said. And on that thought ...

"Harry!" blasted out Draco spontaneously; put plain, he simply could not contain himself any longer. "Cho wants you back."

Harry looked stunned as he immediately looked over at them. Cho was so red she looked like a balloon that was about to pop. "Harry, I am really sorry for the way I treated you." She looked immediately away, clearly very upset.

"Well, I'm glad you are sorry, but I'm not taking you back. You couldn't understand or be there for me. You can go back to being the most popular girl in the school that only dates the perfect guys now. You're so bloody immature, Cho, really," rebuked Harry strongly, harshly unreceptive and clearly determined to stand his ground. Draco was in awe. He thought Harry might be nice about it, this was quite a surprise to him ...

Not that such was enough to stop Draco from entertaining more fuel to the flame. "Lavender likes you." And now Draco was positively enjoying himself as Cho stalked off. He did feel sorry for her a bit, but it was rather hilarious, the entire situation admittedly was. Harry was right -- Cho was being a bit immature these days; that was all there was to it. He, Draco, alone regularly talked to her of their little group of four now. Draco thought as well that it could be easier for Cho to just stop while she was ahead. He laughed out loud at the thought.

"Draco, you're kidding," pleaded Harry desperately. But despite being astonished, he, too, could not help laughing a mere moment later. "Come off it, mate."

"She and Ginny told me the other day. Ask her yourself," Draco continued on convincingly. It really was too funny. "Lavender's kind of a fuck up, though."

"No shit. Why do you think I still haven't hung out with her after all these years, Draco?" Harry sounded utterly disgusted by Lavender, but they were still laughing hard, enjoying themselves to a degree. "She is a fuck up. She's been out with half the guys in school."

And right then Ginny and Lavender walked by, giggling among themselves. "You know, she's been with Ginny a lot these days," said Harry dryly, finding this highly distasteful.

"Yup, she has. Parvarti and her don't talk anymore," explained Draco conversationally.

"I heard about that, I think," Harry recalled casually, nodding. "Did it have something to do with Dean?"

"Yeah, Parvarti kissed him. Lavender and Ginny were talking about it with me. But on to more serious manners, um, so about Remus and my mum ..." said Draco swiftly, changing the subject; enough was enough after all. He hated that he was blushing. "I'm still scared for Remus after the weird thing with you and Trelawney. He didn't seem to take our warning too seriously."

"Well, she is a proven fraud, don't forget about that!" Harry reminded him, coming across rather firm in Remus' defense on this topic. Nonetheless, the truth was Harry didn't genuinely look too sure himself. "But she did make the prediction that Wormtail would find Voldemort and revive his master's body, and he did ..."

There was an intense quiet for a moment. The discomfort in the air was really beginning to heat.

**

The next couple of weeks passed by like nothing. They were extremely dull, especially for Draco. He and Cho barely talked anymore, as all she did was go on and on about Harry and how badly she wanted him back. It got so annoying that he routinely made sure he had to run whenever she came anywhere remotely close to him, and in the end, she drifted back to her old friends.

Draco supposed it was kind of sad, losing a friend. They had grown apart, he supposed. It wasn't something he enjoyed or anything, but he supposed it had to happen. She really wasn't as interesting as she used to be. And she seemed to totally have moved on from the whole Cedric thing, so he couldn't even feel sorry for her anymore. It was just as if Draco had never met Cho, like before they were friends. It was always sad losing a friend, but it seemed as though she had at least eventually understood why.

On a separate note, Harry had beaten Draco at Quidditch. Again. It was saddening, but it wasn't horrible. It had been a close game. In the end, he shook Harry's hand and that had been the end of it. The torment from the Slytherins ... Well, he was used to it at this point.

"Draco." It was Lavender. "You seem so down lately."

It was breakfast on March 15. The Ides of March no less. Draco and Harry were going to Hogsmeade, and Lavender had decided to tag along. Harry had basically just conceded to the fact that giving Lavender a "chance" (or something like that) was better than outright, publicly renouncing her, much as his insides sometimes precariously tempted him toward the latter option. They were not official yet, though. Draco sincerely hoped he didn't decide to go out with her in the end.

"Oh, I wonder why," he replied uninterestedly, very sarcastically. It had been over a month since Hermione had really talked to him. He had recently lost a friend. Things in the wizarding world were looking terrible, and things weren't getting better.

"I was just trying to be nice," snapped Lavender. "But you ARE Draco Malfoy after all, should've known it'd be pointless."

"Yes, I am, and yes, you're right, you surely should have known. Come off it, Lav! I bloody well reckon you've known me a little longer than that, hm?" Draco retorted with total composure, smirking shamelessly as he casually then asked, "Where's Ginny?"

"She's with her new boyfriend," said Lavender testily, exhaling a breath of steam. "She's avoiding you if you haven't already noticed." Lavender immediately looked as though she wanted to hurt herself for letting that come out. "Pretend you didn't hear that!"

"What?! That can't be true. Why would Ginny be avoiding me?" Draco asked urgently, privately wishing he really was as skeptical as he'd intentionally made himself sound. Why might Ginny be mad at him? He had done nothing to her, at least not to Draco's knowledge ...

"I ... well, you didn't do anything wrong, not necessarily anyway," said Lavender awkwardly, looking very uncomfortable.

"Who is she going out with?" Draco demanded stiffly.

"Billy Robertson, a Ravenclaw seventh year," answered Lavender expressionlessly, forfeiting to his demands.

"WHAT? My god that kid is such a prat! I never liked him, you know, I swear it on Salazar's grave ..." responded Draco madly, vicious in his utmost disgust with this very undesirable news. "I actually got into a little fight with that blithering idiot last year. How coincidental ..." The dry bitterness to his tone felt almost tangible in the air.

"... Yes, I know. Everyone knows. That's why she doesn't want you two near each other."

And yet Lavender seemed suspicious. Draco was almost sure there was much more to this. Ginny was one of his close friends and he didn't want to lose her.

**

The Hog's Head was conveniently quiet that day. And she was happy for this. She almost considered pulling down her cloak's hood and letting her face be in plain sight. But in end, she decided to play it safe now rather than be sorry later. She ordered a quick Firewhisky. She couldn't wait to get started on her work for today. She wanted it to be perfect.

She had to wait for the perfect time. The plan was tricky, but she would be able to make it work. And when it worked, she would be honored above all others ...

Time would very soon tell.

**

Draco found Ginny with Billy, and not caring what he would say, pulled Ginny to the side. He immediately got to the point. "Why are you avoiding me?"

"I am not avoiding you!" Ginny denied flippantly.

"You are. And it's not just because of Billy, you wouldn't care, I don't think," Draco expressed thoughtfully.

"Oh, isn't it obvious, Draco? Think!" stressed Ginny, no less impatiently ... Except now she was all the sudden blushing.

And Draco understood perfectly. Ginny fancied him. That's why she had been odd around Lavender. That was why she was avoiding him. She couldn't stand to be around him as she knew she'd never have him. "Oh Ginny ... I have Hermione," he said finally.

"I know. So I thought I should just stay away from you," said Ginny snidely, although she looked quite sad. "I don't even like Billy, but he asked me out, and well, you can guess why I said yes."

"You're a great friend, but we can't be anything else," clarified Draco in a hardened, clear-cut tone. He felt sorry for Ginny, he really did. "I'm sorry, Ginny, I really am."

"Well, I guess I better get back to Billy." Ginny looked miserable.

And then, interrupting like a thief in the night, "ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" Madam Rosmerta was pointing out the window, and was screaming.

Draco looked out the window and was horrified. Dementors, dozens of them, were gliding around the streets of Hogsmeade outside. "Ginny, Ginny, LOOK ... Oh my God ..."

And there was a sudden cool air around them. "Draco ..."

Two Dementors broke through the doors of the pub and there was a stream of commotion. Everybody was screaming and yelling for a few moments trying to run around as much as they could, but then ...

Ginny was holding onto him. It was so cold ...His father and him were dueling ... Hermione was screaming in pain ... He was ten and his father was beating him ... His father slapped him across the face again and again for coming second best to a Mudblood ... He was being beat by Crabbe and Goyle ... Harry had beaten him at Quidditch ... He had found Hermione at the Astronomy Tower ...

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" It was Harry's voice intercepting over all of them. Draco looked over, Ginny was shaking like mad in his arms ... One Death Eater went away ... It wasn't as cold now . Another went away ... The chills remained, and as Draco watched outside, there were many, so many ...

"Harry, we have to do something!" Draco ran over to Harry in all the commotion, and Ginny followed.

"Let's go!" screamed Harry, in all the noise; and the three of them ran out together.

As they went out, the Dementors, luckily it seemed, glided away to other parts. And right when Draco thought they were safe, something very much other wise occurred. Five hooded figures approached them and pulled back their hoods.

Five Death Eaters stood in front of them. Bellatrix Lestrange ... Wormtail ... Tim Zabini ... And Crabbe and Goyle's fathers.

Draco, Harry and Ginny were stunned. They were outnumbered by a slew of very skilled Death Eaters.

"Ah, famous Potter. And his little blood traitor friends, too," condescended Bellatrix eloquently. She scoffed a cold, heavyhearted laugh at him.

"Back off, children, your lives can be spared today. The Dark Lord will take you himself, Potter," Zabini ordered threateningly.

"Why are you here, today, then?" asked Ginny bravely, speaking for the first time. Draco still remained absolutely quiet, he was very white.

Bellatrix immediately interjected, snatching the chance to continue exploiting her doom-spelling speech at them yet again no doubt, but this time with an excess of amusement to her tone as well. "You'll see. One of your little friends will be gone soon!" And at this, Bellatrix barked with loud laughter.

"Really," doubted Harry bluntly, fully unamused. It was quite plain he was trying to stall. Draco, meanwhile, just hoped the Aurors would arrive soon. The streets were now empty ...The people had locked themselves inside. But what were the Death Eaters going to do?

"Stand aside, Potter," commanded Bellatrix dominantly, her harrow of evilness at full conviction.

"Why should I?" But Harry looked very cautious now. Draco took out his wand very quickly.

"Expelliarmus!" screamed Draco, but Bellatrix was much too quick, she had seen him take out his wand and had dodged it.

"Pitiful, you fool!" Bellatrix eyed Draco closely. "If you insist ... Crucio!"

It had happened too fast. Draco had dodged a hit very fast, but she had not aimed at Draco ...She had aimed at Ginny, and had hit her in the chest. Ginny was screaming in pain ... every bone in her body shaking like mad ... She looked as though she wanted nothing more to die and end it all ... the looked of horror in her face was terrible ... And then it stopped.

"RUN!" screamed Harry. Harry had grabbed Ginny and they hid behind a large dust bin. Draco took refuge against a shop door, slightly hidden, as it was further back then the brick walls by a few feet. Harry had made a good decision, they had no chance. At least now they had a few extra moments ...

And Draco made a quick motion and moved further away from the Death Eaters ... And ran right into Hermione.

"Draco! Oh God, you're safe ... What have I been thinking ...You've needed me ..." Hermione hugged him. In the moment that could be his death Draco still felt much happier, Hermione was back. "I knew you'd be near. They almost didn't let me out."

"Kill the Malfoy Boy!" It was Bellatrix Lestrange once again, uttering her menacing ultimatum in a tone that was deathly frightening.

And at this Draco decided he could not hide anymore. He ran out into the open. "Levicorpus!" And Draco was just fast enough this time. Bellatrix was being hanged in the air, upside down. He had learned that spell from his father.

"Corinne Begga!" shrieked Zabini and Hermione barely dodged a potentially deadly spell.

"Accio Wand!" bellowed Hermione and Draco thought that had been an awfully smart move on her part. Zabini's wand flew towards her. She caught it swiftly. Draco was dangling Bellatrix in the air, but Bellatrix would be back down any moment, she was fighting off the spell well ...

Hermione quickly stunned Zabini. Bellatrix fell. "Tell me who you're going after, tell me now!" demanded Draco hostilely, and Bellatrix and he were moving a lot, circling each almost and Hermione repeatedly tried to stun Bellatrix.

And at that moment, Draco heard, ever so clearly, Ginny scream ... then Harry ... They were losing against the other three Death Eaters ... Of course more had gone after them .... Draco could not hide his fear .... He hoped much his two friends were still alive ... Of course Harry would be, left to Voldemort ... but they would not hesitate to kill a spare ...

"Ha, scared, Draco? You know you are such filth. Your mother is no sister of mine. You are no nephew of mine. You go for Mudbloods and hang now with such filth ... put your own father in jail .... The Dark Lord has you marked, Draco .... I shall be honored above all others for murdering you ..."

Crack.

Remus and Mrs. Figg appeared out of nowhere. Three stunning spells at once went right at Bellatrix, all missing once again. But Bellatrix was not stupid, she Apparated from sight in a flash.

But she reappeared only right down the road and she was headed for Hogwarts.

"She will run into Dumbledore and twelve other members of the Order ... Are you two okay?" asked Remus desperately, flustered with concern.

"It's Harry and Ginny!" yelled out Hermione. "Come on!"

Ginny screamed again ... The four of them ran over to where Ginny was facing three Death Eaters, alone ... Harry was on the floor; unconscious, most likely stunned ... Ginny was dodging many spells but was looking terrible at the moment, but holding up great in those circumstances ... Draco admired her toughness ...

Three stunning spells hit Crabbe all at once ... He went down; he'd be out for hours ...Mrs. Figg and Remus were battling Goyle and Wormtail together ... Ginny had retreated towards Draco and Hermione; she looked a terrible mess, and fell into Draco's arms. She was bleeding badly.

And Draco remembered ... The silver hand ... Wormtail and Lupin ... and Draco looked over ... Lupin was losing ...

"IMPEDIMENTA!" screeched Draco and Wormtail froze him for a second. "Remus, listen, LISTEN, finish him now!"

"Stupefy!" shouted Remus finally, as if on cue, and Wormtail fell, dead-unconscious. They all cornered Goyle, and he, too, was no fool and swiftly Apparated to the end of the street, headed for Hogwarts.

"Obliviate!" whispered Mrs. Figg to Harry, who awoke, looking terrible. "You four, STAY. Don't make a move!"

And Remus and Mrs. Figg also headed for Hogwarts.

"Harry, you okay?" worried Draco, softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ginny, oh my God ..." Harry looked as though he felt rather guilty.

"You put up a good fight; I just stood it out long enough for rescue to come. I would have been dead. Wormtail tried the Killing Curse on me three times," a fear-filled Ginny explained coolly, her voice emptied and barren of its normal livelihood.

"We should see how the battle at Hogwarts is going," suggested Draco darkly. The four of them quickly tied the Death Eaters together and ran down the street. It was a horrible sight. It was not going as well, obviously, as Remus was sure it would have. The Dementors had gone to Hogwarts, and there were many Aurors, yes, but there were many Death Eaters as well. Who had they intended to attack?

"I'm going," decided Harry firmly.

"Harry, she said to stay --" Hermione began to say, but she didn't look as though she would stop him.

"She didn't know how bad it would be," interrupted Harry, sounding stronger than before, and he did run down that street, but he was not alone. The other three followed, even Ginny.

**

As they approached the castle doors of Hogwarts, they realized many more Aurors were down now. Dumbledore was fighting off five Death Eaters at once ... Lupin and Mrs. Figg faced four Death Eaters ... McGonagall faced four Death Eaters ...They all stood strong, but they would not stand much longer ...

And it was one sight that stood out more than the others. It was Neville of all facing Bellatrix alone ... Draco understood, he vowed revenge ... He would be killed, there was no way Neville would face her ... He ran to heed to Neville's side ...

"Incendio!" screamed Draco, barely thinking, and Bellatrix's robes were on fire, leaving a few seconds for actual thought. Bellatrix put it out almost immediately. "Run, Neville!"

Neville shook his head. "Langsta Loci!" Bellatrix's stomach area of her robes split and blood exploded from her stomach. Neville had just done terrible dark magic, and Bellatrix nearly fell at this point. How she stood, probably a few inches from death, Draco did not know, but he simply stood in awe at both Neville and Bellatrix.

Two other Death Eaters grabbed Bellatrix and attempted a run for it. "Run until we can Apparate!" yelled one of them.

Draco and Neville both went after the three of them. Bellatrix was screaming. "NO ... WE MUST KILL SNAPE ... BLOODY TRAITOR ..." She seemed to be using all her energy.

Draco was stunned. So Voldemort had known all along that Snape had not returned to his side; his cover was blown. It had not been Harry or Dumbledore they were after that day.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco cried, thinking quick on his feet, but it was no use. Neville, too, attempted spells, but they were much too ahead of them and eventually Apparated away.

Draco looked at Neville. Neville was down on his knees, in tears, but he looked so angry, he had never seen Neville like this. It was frightening. Draco understood the revenge ... Neville had been close to killing Bellatrix ...

"Neville, I'm sorry," Draco consoled (or at least tried to the best of his ability), quietly expressing a gentleness rare for himself. Draco looked back ... He saw Snape now ...The Death Eaters ignored the members of the Order of the Phoenix ... All of them were sending spells at Snape ... Snape dodged a few lucky killing curses ... Dumbledore and the others were trying to save Snape ... It was no use, the Dementors were trying to attack Dumbledore now ... Too many enemies ... Snape held up ... And still, alive he was ... Snape faced six Death Eaters now, Goyle one of them ... And a Dementor swept up onto Snape ... It was going to perform the kiss ...

And Dumbledore had banished the Dementor away, just in time, and took a couple Death Eaters along with it. However, still, four Death Eaters faced Snape, and Snape, so luckily, dodged some spells, but was now getting hit repeatedly by hexes. Draco knew Snape was going to die now ...

Snape looked weak. The other members of the Order and the Aurors were almost all down now ... The Dementors had taken them all down ... Hermione and Ginny and Harry were facing Death Eaters separately. It was no use ... And then, Draco saw it happen, as if time had stood still ...

Goyle had pointed his wand directly at Snape. Draco could tell he knew Dumbledore was about to stun him ... But he took the opportunity ... Goyle shot a flash of green light at Snape ... And this time, Snape was not lucky ... Snape fell to the floor, down, and this time for good.

A shiver of fear went through Draco. It was over. Snape was dead. And the Dementors retreated ... And the Death Eaters ran ... They were coming towards Draco and Neville ...Draco and Neville could not fight them all ... They stood out of the way; hiding a bit ... The Death Eaters neither noticed or cared about them ...They Apparated as soon as they reached the village. And it was over.

Draco and Neville ran towards the others. It was truly one of the most terrible moments of Draco's lives. Neville and Draco joined Harry and Ginny and Hermione's sides and they stood together, and watched. Almost all of the Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix had fainted from the amount of Dementors ... Some were down because of a loss of battle ... Dumbledore was bowed next to Snape's body, and it looked as though Dumbledore was weeping.

**

Trying to be fast as possible, Professor McGonagall was silently reviving the Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. And then, she looked at the five of them for the first time. She looked very grave. "Please, Mr. Longbottom, call for Madam Pomfrey."

"He held up a fight, he really did," mentioned Hermione in Neville's defense; she didn't want McGonagall to think he'd been rash or foolish.

"He really did. He lasted much longer than I thought he would," reaffirmed Draco, straightforwardly granting his admission on behalf of Neville, a former most despised foe of his, as a gesture of respectful acknowledgment.

It was a moment that really highlighted how much he, Draco Malfoy, as the personage of his young adolescent self, had grown and changed.

**

It'd by now been evening time in the Gryffindor Common Room for some time. All students had been immediately locked each up in their given dormitories, but Draco, of course, had followed suit with Hermione and the others. Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ginny and Ron were sitting closely together in the common area, huddled by the fire downstairs from their private dormitories. Comfortably as possible the five of them were attempting to discuss an accurate run-through of the day's "event" rationally, which, however difficult (given the surreal trauma of it all presented quite the incontestable difficulty), was a heavy-burdened process the five nonetheless actually acted wise to guide themselves through.

Seated together each in their own confused, overwhelmed heads, the five of them still knew how badly they needed to seek to re-obtain a linear, wholesome recollection of the terrifically tragic day's series of events. Thus, pulling themselves together the five decidedly appointed one person at a time the role of reflecting speaker as to avoid a wasteful, convoluted mess of meddled, dysfunctional conversing back-and-forth; then, utilizing both care and reason, they began piecing together each detail one-by-one until yes, through solely the gut instinct and pressed focus of their five collaborative mental efforts they'd managed to puzzle together a representational portrait which at very least salvaged and consolidated the more important of details from the massacre ... And with more success than most adult wizards many times their age would at that, which, fair to say, marked a certain respective growth in terms of their maturity as young witches and wizards. Their determination to help fight back despite not only their young ages, but also incredibly daunting odds, merited an unarguable degree of high-reached nobleness for all five of them.

Nevertheless, Hermione remained so sad. So, so very sad. She felt like a failure. She had spent so much time feeling sorry for herself. And in the last moment, when her friends really needed her, she only barely made it for them. It had made her come to her senses though. Yes, something horrible had happened, but no, the world did not stop moving. And she was going to be okay now. She couldn't let herself fall --

"... You were brilliant, Ginny," Harry was spiritedly meanwhile saying, sincere in commending the young, now flustering redhead witch before him, whom, most remarkably, was no longer only his best mate's sister, but also his own friend, too.

Ginny instantly blushed a scarlet shade of red so deep, her cheeks seemed to almost inadvertently match the vivaciousness of her fiery-red hair! Hermione knew Ginny had never fully gotten over Harry, and the thought incidentally made her let loose a guilty chuckle as Ginny anxiously articulated her appreciation of his compliment. "Thanks so much, Harry! That means a lot ... It's horrible about Snape, though, isn't it? We couldn't have saved him, though. There's nothing we could have done differently ..." said a first beaming, then despairing Ginny, who was speaking noticeably faster in a clear show of nervousness. But her timidness was only for a moment, because then, taking a deep gulp, she finished with a firmly-set statement. "There was just no way. We simply could not have saved him."

But nevertheless, still, it remained obvious she was restating the fact really for herself, in order to force herself even deep down to truly believe it. Overall, it simply appeared to be quite evident that Ginny, the youngest among them technically, stomached a very mixed bag of unsettled, ambivalent emotions regarding the whole affair ...

"I would have been there fighting with you guys. Madam Puddifoot locked Katie and me in and Katie wouldn't let me sneak back out. We broke up," let out Ron exasperatedly, having been feeling horribly guilty all day.

"It's okay, Ron. Anyway, listen, the funeral for Snape is Wednesday ... It would have been his birthday," explained Harry in a dead-empty, hollow voice.

**