Immortalitas Aestas

Harry was sitting in the window seat of the Gryffindor boys' dorm as dawn broke. Crookshanks had somehow gotten into the room and was lying on Harry's lap, head in the bend of his elbow. Harry absently stroked his fur as he thought over everything that had happened the past week.

There'd been Pansy's vision, and the sudden rush of panic at the thought of everything that would have to be done if they were to keep the school and its students safe from any impending battle. There'd been nightly meetings where the Adversarius members practiced their spellwork: sessions led by Blaise and Tracy, where they worked on the Contego shield; Charms sessions led by Lavender and Ron to reinforce defensive and offensive spells; meetings to discuss logistics. Then there'd been the house-led Charms drills, and even an Order meeting, although that was basically just to let everyone know what everyone else would be taking care of between then and Saturday, and what areas they'd cover during the battle. And, of course, they'd had to keep up with their classes during the day, and find time to complete their homework, so as not to cause suspicion. All of the members had been running on very little sleep the entire week which Harry was sure was a bad idea, but short of handing everyone a sleeping draught, couldn't be helped. There just simply weren't enough hours in the day.

And now it was Saturday, and Harry was already up, having slept no more than a few hours, and even those precious few hours of sleep had only been attained when Draco had unceremoniously dragged him off to his private room and basically thrown him into the bed. He scrubbed a hand over his face and stood, dislodging Crookshanks from his lap. Since he was already up, he figured he might as well get ready to face the day. He gathered up some clothes and headed for the showers.

As he reentered the dorm, Harry saw that Ron was awake, and Neville had started to stir. Ron nodded in greeting.

"Did you sleep?"

"A bit," Harry replied. "You?"

"Some."

They exchanged glances, and Ron gave a slight smile. "Give me a bit, yeah? We'll go down to breakfast together."

Harry nodded, and settled back down in the window seat to wait. The morning had dawned gray and cold, adding an even more ominous feel to the day. Harry hoped that it wouldn't rain.

Hermione joined them at the bottom of the stairs. "Did you two sleep okay?"

Harry couldn't help it. He laughed. He stole a glance at Ron, who was also fighting back laughter, and promptly dissolved into even more laughter, the two of them basically clutching at each other for support until Hermione looked at them with concern.

Harry drew in a deep breath and tried to get himself under control.

"Sorry. It's just that he already asked me that this morning, and it's really kind of a stupid question, because I doubt I got any more sleep than you did, which you know was not a lot."

Hermione looked slightly abashed. "Well, no. But I thought it polite to ask."

Ron smiled at her, still laughing, and looped an arm around her shoulders. "And we appreciate that."

Lavender was sitting on the sofa in the common room and, after exchanging greetings, she joined them as they headed to the Great Hall. The corridors were pretty much deserted, as there weren't too many early risers on Saturday, but when they entered the Great Hall they weren't surprised to see that those people who were up were members of the Adversarius and some of the staff.

They started to head to the Gryffindor table out of habit, but Blaise stopped them.

"Potter! Come over here. Everyone else, too."

There was a general noise of movement as benches scrapped backwards and people came over to the Slytherin table. Justin Finch-Fletchley was looking at Blaise curiously, so he elaborated.

"Since we're the only ones up so far, aside from the professors, who already know what I want to talk about, I thought we could hold a bit of an impromptu meeting."

There were nods and murmurs of assent, and everyone sat down.

"It's weird over here," Terry Boot said. "Completely different perspective than I'm used to."

"That's because it's better," Pansy said with a smirk, spooning some honey into her porridge.

Harry rolled his eyes. "What did you want to talk about, Blaise?"

"I'd like some details. How's Dumbledore going to do this?" he asked. "You know, this afternoon. Or evening. Or whatever. Do we even know what time this is happening?"

Morag, spreading jam on her toast, said, "Nine o'clock." Everyone turned to stare at her confusedly. She glanced up. "What?"

"How....," Blaise started to say, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"Nine o'clock," Pansy repeated. "Well. It's not like anyone's allowed outside anyway, so we won't have to worry about that. I guess we could always do the drill around seven, then, just to get everyone in their common rooms and accounted for?"

Harry nodded. "I'm pretty sure that's the plan. Not that I've heard anything definite." He was very careful to keep any bitterness out of his voice, but wasn't sure he'd succeeded, as Hermione had placed a hand on his arm, and Draco had shot him a sympathetic smile.

"How's your plant going, Macmillan?" Draco asked, changing the subject. "Have you got it set around the castle yet?"

Harry had already heard the update from Ernie, so he tuned him out. There were other questions being asked around the table about everyone else's progress, but all Harry could focus on was the fact that all of this was happening tonight and Harry wasn't sure he was ready.

But then again, could you ever be ready to kill someone? Even someone who deserved it? Harry wasn't so certain but also knew it wasn't a question anyone wanted to hear him ask.

Harry suddenly realized that everyone was staring at him expectantly and he had no idea why.

"What?" he asked blankly.

"You're ready, right?" Tracey asked irritably. "I mean, since this whole thing revolves around you, I just thought it prudent to ask."

Oh, right. They wanted assurances and platitudes. They wanted Harry to guarantee that everything would go just as they'd planned, that nothing would go wrong. Harry looked around at everyone and realized something else: they were scared. No, he corrected himself, not scared. They were terrified.

He looked at Hermione and Ron, who both gave him a small smile.

"We are all ready," he said. "All of us. There isn't anything any of us could have done better." The fear didn't recede from their faces, so Harry realized he needed to do something else. Time to be blunt, he decided, taking a quick look around to make sure their small group was still alone, and stood up with his wand out.

"Incarcerous!" he yelled, pointing his wand at Hannah.

Without even thinking about it, Hannah conjured Contego and Harry's spell bounced off harmlessly into the wall. There were surprised looks, and Harry smiled.

"See?" he asked. "You're ready."

There were bursts of laughter around the table as Harry sat back down and he could feel that the tension in the air had lessened. Not entirely, but it was certainly better.

He was just finishing his toast when Blaise stood up and threw a burning hex at him. Harry hardly had time to get his wand up, but did, and conjured a shielding spell. Blaise's hex bounced off, the glimmer of Harry's shield shimmering in the light. The hex hit the table, leaving a rather large char mark on the surface and the smell of burning wood in the air. Blaise nodded once in satisfaction and sat back down.

"He's ready, too," he added needlessly. Hermione rolled her eyes and fixed the table with a murmured spell.

"I keep forgetting you've done this before," Pansy said, looking at him over the rim of her cup.

Harry smiled slightly but didn't respond.

Let's hope this is the last time, he thought.

***

As the Great Hall had started to fill with the other students, there were several curious looks cast at the group of students at the Slytherin table, all of which the Slytherins ignored in their typical style. The members of the Adversarius dispersed to their usual spots as more students came in, the Hufflepuffs moving with great speed after a particularly nasty look from Nott.

Once everyone was settled, Draco realized that Harry had skipped out completely, and felt a slight flare of annoyance at his disappearance. He'd also snuck out before Draco had woken up that morning, and had hardly looked at him at all during breakfast, either. Something was obviously bothering him, and Draco wanted to know what it was. He got up from the table, ignoring Daphne's question about where he was going, and headed over to Hermione.

"Do you have a minute, Granger?" he asked, aware that all eyes were on him the instant he appeared behind her.

"I suppose," she said, closing her Transfigurations book. She looked at him curiously and he rolled his eyes.

"Privately?"

A look of recognition flared across her face and she gave a huff of laughter, nodding once. "Sure."

Draco resisted the urge to haul her up off the bench, standing impatiently as she gathered up her things and stood.

"Where to?" she asked.

Draco shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Just ... not here."

She nodded again and led him out of the Hall, stopping at the foot of the stairs. There were still some stragglers coming down for breakfast, most of whom stared bemusedly at the duo at the bottom of the stairs; even though Draco and Hermione were getting along much better than previously, it was still odd for them to be spending any sort of time together.

"You're looking for Harry, right?" she asked quietly after a group of Ravenclaws passed.

Draco nodded. Lord, he must be really transparent.

She gave a slight grin and gestured for him to follow her up the stairs. "I don't know exactly where he is, but I can find out for you. Follow me."

Hermione was walking at a rather brisk pace and Draco realized he was one step short of running. "Is there a reason we're walking so fast?" he asked irritably.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I didn't realize. I was thinking about something else." Draco rolled his eyes but noticed that she did slow down a bit.

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who looked at Hermione, aghast. "Surely you're not letting him in, dear?"

"No, ma'am, he's waiting out here."

The Fat Lady gave a nod, then leaned forward. "Password?" she whispered, and Draco let out a snort of laughter.

Hermione whispered something and the portrait hole opened up. "I'll be right back," she told Draco.

As she disappeared Draco leaned against the wall, rubbing slightly at his temples with his fingertips. He could feel a slight headache coming on and wondered if he ought to visit Pomfrey to get a pain relieving potion from her. The Fat Lady was looking at him with open curiosity written on her face, but he turned his back, ignoring her. He'd moved on to doing Arithmancy calculations in his head - honestly, what was taking her so long? - when the portrait swung open again and Hermione climbed out into the corridor.

"He's in the Owlery," she said without preamble.

Draco dropped his hands and tilted his head slightly. "How do you know that?"

"Um," she said, flushing pink. "Well, there's this thing that Harry has...." She trailed off, then shook her head. "You know what? I'm not going to tell you. Ask Harry."

Draco remembered his conversation with Lupin the day Harry and Pansy had gotten thrown out of the library, and said, "Is it the map Lupin mentioned?"

Hermione blinked. "Professor Lupin told you about the map?"

"Not exactly. He told me Harry had a map, and that I should ask him about it." He noticed that Hermione was holding a rather old bit of parchment, although she was trying to keep it out of sight behind her. He gestured at it and said, "Is that the map?"

Hermione bit her bottom lip, then nodded. "Yes. I'm not really supposed to have it, I don't think. It belongs to Harry. I just ... borrowed it."

"Tell you what," Draco said, "you give it to me, and I'll not mention how I got it. I want to know what it's all about anyway, and since I'm going to see Harry I might as well ask him."

"I don't care if you tell him," Hermione said. "He'll probably guess anyway. But it won't work for you," she cautioned. "You have to have the password."

Draco raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Sounds complex."

"Yes," she murmured, then seemed to make up her mind. "Okay. Here it is."

Draco took the parchment from her hand, turning it over to examine it. "It's completely blank."

She grinned at him then and gave a laugh. "As far as you know, yes."

He tilted his head in acknowledgement then tucked it into his pocket. "Thanks, Hermione."

She waved at him as he turned and headed toward the Owlery. He decided that his headache wasn't as bad as he'd originally thought and decided to bypass the Hospital Wing. Besides, Pomfrey would just fuss at him and he really could do without that.

He climbed the stairs to the Owlery, pausing in the doorway when he heard Harry's voice, although he couldn't make out exactly what he was saying until he stepped into the room.

"... if I can do this," Harry was murmuring to Hedwig, who was standing on his arm, nuzzling her face against his hair.

Harry was seated on the window ledge, looking outside onto the castle grounds. He was stroking Hedwig's feathers softly, and she was hooting at him in response.

"I can't even cast the Cruciatus curse," Harry continued softly. "How am I supposed to cast the killing curse when I can't even summon enough hate to cast Crucio?"

Ah. So that's what was bothering him. Draco should have realized it was something like that and felt rather stupid that he hadn't figured it out. Harry had always gotten twitchy when anyone would mention the Unforgivables.

Hedwig obviously didn't have any response for him, and Harry sighed. "Fate of the world resting on my shoulders, indeed," Harry muttered.

Draco decided that was quite enough self-pity, and cleared his throat. Harry jumped at the sound, startling Hedwig, who hooted indignantly and flew up to her perch. Harry spun toward the sound, wand already held aloft, then relaxed slightly as he saw who it was.

"Draco," he murmured, tucking his wand away before scrubbing his hands across his face, briefly dislodging his glasses. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Draco said.

"No you're not," Harry said with a ghost of a smile. "How'd you find me?"

He pulled the tattered parchment out of his pocket in response and held it out to Harry. Harry took it, surprise written on his face. "How did you get this? It was in my trunk."

"I didn't," Draco said. "Hermione got it for me when she realized I was looking for you. I don't know exactly what this old piece of parchment is, but Lupin mentioned you had a map."

Harry blinked. "Um. Okay." He looked down at the parchment in his hands, then shook his head. "No. Wait. What?"

Draco laughed slightly, then reached to wrap his fingers around Harry's wrist, pulling him into a hug. "Lupin mentioned that you had a map, that day when you and Pansy got thrown out of the library. He told me to ask you about it. Hermione had this in her hands when she told me where you were, and I just sort of put two and two together."

"Oh," Harry said, returning the hug after a moment of hesitation. He sighed, resting his forehead against Draco's. "Want to see how it works, then?"

Draco nodded, curiosity overruling anything else. "Show me." It came out more like a demand than a request, causing Harry to give a small laugh.

Harry pulled back and drew out his wand. He held it over the parchment, saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Draco watched in amazement as a map unfolded before his eyes. The whole of Hogwarts was laid out on the parchment, and he realized that you could actually see everyone in the school. His eyes focused on the Slytherin common room, seeing dots for Daphne and Millicent, and a bit further away a dot labeled "Pansy Parkinson" pacing back and forth in what was probably her room. He saw Professor Snape in his classroom, Filch patrolling the halls on the second floor, and Dumbledore in his office. He scanned the parchment before finding the Owlery, and seeing his and Harry's dots standing nearly on top of each other, looked up wide-eyed and said, "Wow."

Harry smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"How did you get this?" Draco asked, taking the parchment out of Harry's hands for a closer look.

"Fred and George gave it to me third year. I wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade because my uncle refused to sign my permission slip after I blew up my aunt, and I guess they thought it was a bit unfair or something. Or they just wanted to cause trouble."

"Hmm," Draco said, still looking avidly at the map. A dot labeled "Zacharias Smith" was standing quite close to one labeled "Anthony Goldstein", and Draco smirked. This map could be lots of fun, he thought, and he watched as the dots moved even closer. He then realized what Harry had said, and looked up from the map. "You blew up your aunt?"

Harry shrugged noncommittally. "It was an accident."

Draco filed that away to discuss another time, and handed the map back to Harry. "How do you turn it off?"

"Mischief managed," was Harry's reply, and the map went blank.

"Wow," Draco said again. "That map is amazing, Harry." Remembering the names he'd seen along the top of the map he asked, "Who were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs? Do you know?"

That got a real smile out of Harry, who said, "Moony is Professor Lupin. Padfoot is Sirius, Wormtail is Peter Pettigrew, and Prongs, well, Prongs was my dad."

"Your dad made this?" Draco knew he sounded incredulous, but the magic and ingenuity that had to have gone into the map was crazy to think about. He'd seen a lot of astonishing things in his seventeen years in the magical world, but this map definitely topped nearly all of them.

"Yep. They called it the Marauder's Map. That's why Lupin knew about it. He took it from me third year when everyone thought Sirius was out to kill me, but gave it back when he resigned. He told me he could do it in good conscience because he was no longer my professor. And now, well, I guess he knows I'll keep it safe, so doesn't feel bad about letting me have it, even if it has allowed me to roam the halls without being detected, and gotten me into various bits of trouble over the years."

Deciding that this was yet another conversation to save for a later time, Draco nodded. "Okay, so Lupin's pretty brilliant after all."

Harry grinned. "I told you he was."

Loathe as he was to change Harry's mood, Draco knew they needed to talk about what he'd overheard, and the reason Harry had disappeared twice this morning. He lightly grasped Harry's wrist again, tugging him back toward the window seat to sit. He cast a quick Cleaning charm before sitting down, pulling Harry to sit next to him. Realizing that it was nearly freezing in the Owlery, he also cast a quick warming charm and sighed in relief as the temperature rose. Harry seemed to know what he wanted to talk about, and the smile disappeared from his face.

"How much did you overhear, then?" he asked.

"Enough," Draco replied. "If something's bothering you, you should talk to me about it. I can offer an opinion, whereas your owl is rather limited in her response."

Harry gave a slight laugh. "I suppose so."

Draco folded his hands in his lap, unsure if Harry wanted to be touched. Harry was fiddling with the map, picking nervously at one corner, but Draco just waited him out. He knew Harry would eventually get up the nerve to say what was on his mind.

"Have you ever cast the Killing curse?"

Draco blinked. That hadn't been what he was expecting. "No. I've cast the other two, but not that one. You have to really mean it."

"You have to really mean it for all of them, Draco."

"True. But the Killing curse is sort of in a league of its own, as Pansy would say."

Harry sighed. "I know. I can't do it. I can't cast any of them, but I really can't cast that one."

Draco decided that he didn't care if Harry wanted to be touched or not, and reached out a hand, stilling the one that had still been plucking at the map. Harry's hand was cold, and Draco covered it completely with his own. "There are other ways to kill someone besides the Killing curse, Harry. I'm sure you know that. I can think of a whole list of spells that would serve this purpose. But I don't think your inability to cast the Unforgivables - which is a good thing, Harry, make no mistake - is really the issue. So what's this really about?"

Harry turned his hand so that their fingers entwined. "I was thinking about what Tracey said at breakfast. How this whole battle tonight revolves around me. It's not like I needed her reminding me, or anything, but she has a point. Everyone expects me to kill him, Draco. And...." Harry trailed off, looking up, fingers tightening against Draco's own. "And I'm just not sure I can," he finally said, voice very quiet. "He deserves it, God knows, but when it comes down to it, I'm not sure I can stand there and take another person's life. Even a person like Voldemort."

Draco leaned back against the window frame and thought for a moment. He'd thought this might have been an issue and was kicking himself for not talking to Harry about it sooner. But he was at as much of a loss now as he had been when the thought had first crossed his mind, still unsure of what to say. Although he did have one question.

"What makes you think you have to kill him?"

Harry released a breath and slumped down, looking perplexed. "I don't know. I guess it's just the way Dumbledore's been talking, and all the extra training I've been having to do. I just ... assumed."

"But he's never actually said that you're the one, right?" Draco pressed.

"No," Harry said, and Draco could see that he was thinking back over anything and everything that had ever been said to him on the subject of Voldemort. "No, he never said anything like that, now that I think about it."

Draco nodded like that solved everything. Harry saw him and rolled his eyes. "Tonight still has quite a bit to do with me, Draco, even if I don't have to be the one to cast the final curse."

"Sure. He's quite obsessed with you, if you ask me. Do you think you'll have to duel him?"

Harry released Draco's hand and pulled his glasses off, rubbing at his eyes. "I don't know. The last time he tried that it didn't work so well."

"Right, Priori Incantatem. I remember hearing my father mention that."

"You remember hearing your father mention that," Harry repeated. "I wasn't aware that my duel with Voldemort was a subject you'd discussed with your father."

Draco rolled his eyes. "He wasn't talking to me, you prat. He was talking to Snape. They were in the drawing room and I may have been hiding in the fireplace at the time and accidentally overheard them. Snape wasn't at the graveyard that night, so my father was filling him in, as this was prior to his spy status being discovered."

"What were you doing in your fireplace?" Harry asked.

"Oh. Well, there was this Sticking charm that I'd read about in a book in my father's library, that was supposed to allow you to stick to surfaces like walls and whatnot and let you climb up or down them. It was hot in the house, so the fireplaces weren't lit, and I figured it might be a good place to try the spell out. Of course, I don't think I got it quite right, because I ended up stuck fast to the stone. It took two house-elves plus my mother to get me down." Draco realized that Harry was fighting back a smile and gave a half-smile of his own. "Don't even say anything, Harry. It wasn't funny."

Harry's mouth quivered with suppressed laughter. "I'm sure it wasn't," he finally managed, his voice tinged with humor.

Wanting to get the subject off his past humiliations (his father had been most unimpressed with Draco's attempt at the Sticking charm), he returned the topic to that evening's upcoming events. "So. You don't think you'll have to duel, and you don't have to kill him yourself. But something is still bothering you, Harry, so let's have it."

The humor disappeared from Harry's face completely, and he stood up quickly, tucking the map into his robe pocket. He didn't say anything, instead walking over to the other window and leaning his elbows against the sill. Draco stayed seated, guessing that Harry needed some distance.

"Do you know how many times I've put my friends in danger?" Harry finally asked, voice very soft.

"Not an exact number, no," Draco said. "Double-digits?"

Harry huffed in annoyance, turning his head to look at Draco. When he spoke his voice was sharp. "This isn't a joke, Draco." He had his hands folded together and Draco could see that his fingers were turning white from the pressure. "The point is that I've put them into situations they shouldn't have had to be involved in countless times, and I'm about to do it again. Only this time, it's not just my friends. It's every single bloody person I care about. Forgive me if I'm unable to laugh it off or pretend like today is just another normal day. Because it's not."

Draco bowed his head briefly in acknowledgement. It had been stupid to try to be humorous about all this when it was obviously worrying Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry sighed and put his face in his hands. "Forget it."

Draco stood, fidgeting with the edge of his robe. He didn't often have to comfort people and wasn't always sure what to do. Usually a hug and kiss would fix Harry's mood, but this was rather extenuating circumstances. Still, he supposed he could try.

"Come here," Draco murmured.

Harry sighed again as he straightened up. "There isn't really anything you can say, Draco, although I appreciate the effort."

"Harry," Draco said patiently. "Shut up for a minute and just come here."

Harry did, albeit rather slowly, like he was going to face an inquisition. He stopped directly in front of Draco and just stared at him. Draco looked him over closely, from the shadows beneath his eyes to the tension in his jaw, and the tiredness and fear he was trying to hide in his eyes. Not knowing what to say, and realizing there was little he could say that would help, he simply pulled Harry close and wrapped his arms around him. Harry sighed into the side of his neck, resting his face in the area where Draco's neck met his shoulder, and finally returned the embrace, arms coming up to wrap around Draco, hands fisting in the material of his robe.

They stood that way for a moment before Draco spoke.

"It will all be fine, Harry," he finally said. Harry made a noise of disagreement, but Draco shushed him. "It will. I'll be right there beside you, and you'll have Hermione and Weasley, both of whom are quite good at their charms, at your back. The adults all know what they're doing. We're as prepared as we possibly can be, you said so yourself at breakfast.

"And besides," he added. "I told you once before that this wasn't just your fight, that all of us - all of us, Harry - chose this. We wanted to be involved, and we're ready. For anything. And while Tracey may have had a point that this evening has quite a bit to do with you personally, she was wrong to insinuate that it had everything to do with you. We're fighting for our freedom, and our lives. And as a Slytherin who is quite concerned with the idea of self-preservation, I certainly am not leaving my life in the hands of others. After all, if you want something done right, you should do it yourself."

That got another slight laugh from Harry, who brought his head up so he could look Draco in the face. "Is that another line from Pansy?"

"Yes. I'm afraid my vocabulary is quite full of Muggle phrases, thanks to her."

Harry gave him a half-smile before he turned pensive. "You mentioned that you'd be there. To be honest, that's one of the things I'm worried about. Pansy told me about her vision, Draco. She told me that Lucius had a knife to your throat."

"I do believe it was a dagger, actually."

Harry rolled his eyes, the action speaking louder than any words, and Draco laughed. "Sorry. Anyway, it's not a concern. I've been brewing huge batches of the Invincibility potion, as you know. I'll make sure I take some before anything starts, and have an extra bottle on me just in case. I'll be fine, Harry. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Draco."

Draco tsked and said rather imperiously, "I'll have you know that I usually refrain from making promises unless I know for certain that I can keep them."

"Good to know," Harry murmured, leaning forward to kiss Draco. The gentle kiss grew stronger and they were snogging quite heatedly when the ring around Draco's finger warmed up, signaling a message via the Protean charm that Hermione had put on them. Harry's had obviously done the same, as he pulled back and looked at his right hand, eyes focusing on the words that had appeared on the ring.

"It's Hermione," Harry said. "Dumbledore's called a meeting."

They disentangled themselves from each other and Draco used his wand to straighten out their robes. Harry gave a last caress to Hedwig's feathers before they headed out the door, down to the meeting.

***

Dinner that night was a rather tense, stilted affair, at least for Pansy. She forced herself to put food in her mouth and swallow, not tasting anything and hoping it wouldn't all just come right back up. Next to her sat Blaise, who was uncharacteristically fiddling with his juice goblet with one hand while the fingers of the other tapped out a rhythm known only to him. Draco was meticulously cutting his roast beef into smaller and smaller pieces and then decidedly not eating them, and Tracey was pushing her carrots back and forth across her plate like a small child who hadn't yet learned proper table manners. Their behavior was completely un-Slytherin-like, but she supposed that really couldn't be helped.

The meeting that afternoon had been nerve-wracking. Dumbledore had told them that they would, indeed, be performing the lockdown drill directly after dinner, and would be going through the usual drill of charming the students into their common rooms and then searching down those who had tried to hide. Once everyone was found and safely returned to their dormitories, they would pull any students of majority age who wanted to participate in the battle - as they'd been doing in the drills the entire week - and come down to the Great Hall, where it would be revealed that this was not, in fact, a drill at all. Any students who had a sudden change of heart would be secluded in the Charms classroom, as the knowledge of the battle wasn't to be revealed to the rest of the students until it was absolutely necessary.

Pansy had to admit that the idea of hiding in the school was tempting. She knew she'd most likely find her father on the battlefield and wasn't really looking forward to having to face him down. She knew the other Slytherins were thinking along the same lines - all of them had given up their families for their beliefs - but knew that, like herself, they'd all be out there when the time came.

Pansy glanced up, pulled from her thoughts as Blaise nearly knocked his juice over onto her plate. A bit farther down the table, sandwiched between Goyle and Millicent, sat Theo Nott. He looked like he was having trouble staying seated; he kept bouncing up slightly in his seat before sitting back down gingerly. Pansy decided to focus on his strange behavior instead of the increasing fear that kept bubbling up inside her; better to focus on someone else's problems, after all.

"What's the matter, Theo, did someone hex you in the arse with Acer Postulo?"

That got Draco's attention. He snorted with laughter as he set down his knife and looked along the table to Theo, who flushed bright red. His response got a chuckle from Blaise, who finally put his goblet down and smirked in Theo's direction.

"Sticking your arse in somewhere it wasn't wanted, Theo?" Blaise asked suggestively.

Even Tracey let out a snort at that, eyes sparkling with mirth as she looked across the table at Blaise, who winked.

"I can't imagine that anyone would want an arse like that, can you?" Draco asked snidely.

"I certainly wouldn't," Pansy said bluntly. "I prefer a man with more ... substance."

At that Tracey lost the control she'd had on her laughter and cracked up, causing the entire group of seventh years to erupt in hilarity. And oh, it felt good to laugh like this after the seriousness that had been following her around all day and weighing her down. There were tears running down her face and she realized that she wasn't even laughing at Theo any longer, who was shooting them all absolutely murderous looks; it had nothing to do with Theo at all.

Mandy and Terry were twisted entirely around in their seats to look at the Slytherin table, eyes wide. In fact, Pansy realized as she hauled air into her lungs, trying to curb her giggles, the entire Hall had fallen silent, and everyone had turned to try to see what was going on.

Draco was still chuckling with mirth, hand over his mouth to stifle his amusement, and Blaise had practically fallen off the bench next to her, a hand on her arm the only thing keeping him in his seat.

"We'll see who has the last laugh," Theo hissed, elbowing a chortling Millicent as he stood up from his seat.

Pansy tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling, trying in vain to get her laughter under control. The laughter was finally mostly curtailed by Dumbledore, who chose that moment to speak.

"Mr. Nott, if you would please return to your seat, I'm afraid I can't have anyone leaving the Great Hall just yet."

Theo shot a dark look at Dumbledore, who returned the look with a serene expression. Realizing he couldn't very well ignore a direct request from the Headmaster, he sullenly sat back down. However, this time he chose a seat at the very end of the table, next to a first year girl named Clara, who looked at him curiously.

"Thank you, Mr. Nott," Dumbledore said. "If everyone would please finish eating quickly, we need to practice our emergency lockdown drill again. I realize that we've been having these drills quite often this past week, but the prefects and staff have been ironing out a few kinks in the process. We're fairly certain that we've finally figured out how to execute it perfectly, though, so need your help just one more time. Hopefully after this evening we can put the drill away until it is absolutely needed."

That effectively ended any remaining laughter and Pansy felt herself tense. She glanced at her watch: 6:45. Two hours and fifteen minutes until her vision became a reality.

"You all know the drill by now," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Prefects, please escort your housemates to their common rooms."

Pansy stood along with Draco, who gave her a tight nod. The fifth and sixth year prefects also stood. Pansy made a point to erase all emotion from her face; as this was supposedly only a drill it wouldn't do to show her nerves.

"You heard the Headmaster," Pansy said, slightly more sharp than she'd meant to. "Let's go."

She caught Draco's eye and jerked her chin in Theo's direction; he was trying to slip out while they weren't looking.

"Nott, don't even think about it," Draco said clearly. "You're going to be in the front of the bunch."

Theo's jaw clenched but he finally shrugged, moving along the table to stand next to Pansy. "Whatever."

Draco looked at him sharply. "Don't try anything funny."

Theo didn't reply, but there was a smirk on his lips. "Sure, Draco."

Pansy finally got the group of Slytherins moving with a few well-placed elbows and they made their way to the dungeons and finally into the common room. The younger students disappeared to their dorms as usual, the seventh years settling themselves on the sofas. Those sixth years that were old enough to participate in a hypothetical battle also stayed in the common room.

Only one sixth year prefect, Marcel Harper, was old enough to participate, so he joined Pansy and Draco out in the corridor. Draco muttered the charm to seal the entrance to the common room; a flash of blue light told them he'd done it correctly. Pansy then completed the final step, casting Invenio Desideror. Just as she finished, Professor Snape appeared from the opposite end of the corridor, a parchment popping into his hands with the names of any missing Slytherins.

"Only three," he said, glancing over the list. "Asteria Greengrass, Anastasia Vaisey and Graham Pritchard."

"Graham was at dinner," Marcel said. "He was sitting right next to me."

Snape gave a curt nod. "Let's take the list to the Great Hall."

When they reentered the Hall they saw Potter and Granger standing over a piece of old parchment. Potter was scanning the parchment while Granger read off the names from the list in her hand.

"Scarlett Fawcett," Granger said, glancing over Potter's shoulder.

"Kitchens," Potter replied after a moment.

"Orla Quirke?"

"Same. Ingrid Carmichael's in there, too. And so is Alfred Chambers."

"Okay, that takes care of the Ravenclaws," Granger said, returning the list to Professor Flitwick, who headed off to gather up his missing students.

"Needed a bit of after-dinner dinner?" Draco asked, amused.

Potter straightened with a slight grin. "Who knows?"

"How do you know where they are?" Pansy demanded.

Potter shrugged easily. "It's a secret."

Pansy tried to climb up on the dais to see what they'd been looking at, but Granger scooped the parchment up into her arms, and Draco further halted her progress by grabbing her around the elbow.

"Here's the Slytherin list," Snape said sourly, pushing past them. "Do find them in due haste."

Potter rolled his eyes but acquiesced, turning back to the parchment that Granger had placed back on the table.

"Pritchard's outside your common room," Potter said after another minute. "Looks like Asteria and Anastasia are in the loo outside the Charms classroom."

Snape nodded once. "Come," he said to Marcel, and the two of them headed out.

Potter turned around so that he was resting against the edge of the table. "Just waiting for the Hufflepuffs, then we can move on."

Pansy sat on the dais, hands folded together in her lap. Professor Sprout finally appeared with a list; there were two Hufflepuff second years missing, but Potter located them in yet another toilet, and Sprout set out to get them.

Pansy glanced at her watch again: 7:35. Draco saw her looking at it and caught one of her hands, squeezing it slightly before releasing it.

"Breathe, Pansy," he murmured. "It'll be all right."

Pansy rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, breathing once deeply. She continued to lean against Draco until the Hall started to fill with those students who said they wanted to fight - hypothetically speaking, of course - before finally standing as Professor Snape returned with the Slytherins. She was slightly surprised to see Nott among them, and was again distracted by the shifty look on his face.

"Something's up with Theo," she whispered to Draco, who pulled his gaze away from Potter to look.

"Hmm," he said. "We'll need to watch him, I think."

"You think he's on the Dark Lord's side, then?" Pansy asked quietly.

"Wouldn't surprise me one bit," Draco replied, just as softly.

Pansy sighed. "I really hope he's not. I've known him since we were little."

Draco made a sound of acknowledgement, but didn't say anything. They were all distracted by the appearance of Dumbledore, who was leading in the members of the Order of the Phoenix. The students that had volunteered to fight sat up a little straighter; it looked like they'd finally cottoned on that this wasn't another instance of "just in case", as the Order members had never been present for any of their previous drills.

"If I can have your attention, we have a rather serious matter to discuss," Dumbledore said, motioning for everyone to be seated. "I'm afraid that this is not a drill."

***

The silence that followed Dumbledore's announcement was profound. Draco felt Pansy tense next to him and ran a hand soothingly down her arm. They'd known this was coming, but the straight-forwardness of the announcement had slightly thrown him; Dumbledore wasn't exactly known for getting straight to the point.

As the members of the Order moved toward the antechamber off the Great Hall, Dumbledore gestured toward the four students still sitting on the dais, motioning for them to stand, before turning to talk to Shacklebolt. Draco did so, pulling Pansy up with him, and followed Harry and Hermione to some empty spots at the Ravenclaw table. Harry sat across from Draco, Hermione next to him, and they were joined a few seconds later by Weasley, who sat on Harry's other side.

"Ginny's hacked off," Weasley whispered. "She's not seventeen yet so I didn't let her come down; Mum would've had my head if I had. Not sure how she knew, but she could tell that this was the real deal."

"She probably could have helped us," Harry said quietly. "She knows the Patronus charm. But I feel better knowing she won't be in the middle of anything."

"Me, too," Weasley said. "It's bad enough the rest of my family's involved."

Harry winced and Draco wanted to kick Weasley in the shins. Talk about being thick-headed.

"Teaspoon, Ron," Hermione said exasperatedly. Draco didn't know what she meant, but Weasley clearly did, as he immediately flushed bright red.

"Oh. Sorry, Harry," he said, apologetic. "You know that wasn't really what I meant."

"Forget it," Harry muttered.

The conversation was interrupted by Fred and George Weasley, who had entered with the other Order members and taken seats next to Draco. Draco couldn't tell them apart on the best of days, and it seemed they'd gone out of their way to confuse him even further, as both were dressed identically in black robes. Draco wasn't sure why they were sitting with them instead of heading back to the antechamber like all the other Order members, but the question was answered by one of them seconds later.

"We're staying with you," one of them declared. "We don't really want to be adults."

That got a smile out of Harry, who said, "No, of course not."

"Besides," the other twin continued, "they're discussing strategies and whatnot. You'd think they were all Ravenclaws, the way they keep going on about proper steps to take and military order and all that rot. Everyone knows Gryffindors do better when they just rush headlong into danger."

"Bellowing war cries and waving around swords?" Pansy asked deadpan.

Draco hid his laughter with a cough as Fred or George or whichever one it was said, "Exactly!"

"Anyway, Harry," the other one said, "we brought some things we think you'll like. Enough to cause some Death Eater distractions, I should think."

Harry smiled. "That's great, George. I'll look them over in a bit."

Dumbledore had turned back around to face the Hall, and their small group fell quiet.

"As I said before, this is not another drill. We have it on good authority that Voldemort-" and here he paused for the requisite shudders and exclamations at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, "-and his Death Eaters will attack Hogwarts tonight. At this time I need everyone present to decide whether they wish to take part in the altercation or if they would prefer to remain in the castle under its protection. If you wish to fight, please remain seated. If you do not wish to participate in the battle, please move over to the door to the Great Hall. Professor Flitwick will escort you to the Charms classroom, as I am afraid that we cannot allow you to return to your dormitories."

There was some shifting before a few people from each table stood and moved toward the door. All in all it looked like the majority of the students still planned on fighting. Draco was not surprised to see Nott in the group at the door and wondered once again what he was up to, as he had never even left the common room during all the other drills.

"Why did Theo even come down here?" Pansy whispered, voicing Draco's thoughts.

Draco shook his head. "I don't know."

After a nod from Dumbledore, Flitwick led the students out. Dumbledore stepped up to the Ravenclaw table and spoke to Harry.

"I would like you to take the students who have remained over to the far side of the Great Hall," he said. "You need to determine who can do the Patronus charm and who cannot and partner them accordingly. Also, I believe the products the Weasley twins have brought along will be useful."

Fred and George grinned. "Dead useful," one of them quipped.

"Sir, I'd like to know what's being discussed between the Order members," Harry said. "I feel that I have a right to know."

"You will," Dumbledore assured him, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "But at this time it is more important for you to help your fellow students."

Harry sighed. "Yes, Sir."

Dumbledore moved back toward the antechamber as Harry stood. Instantly all eyes were upon him.

"We need to determine everyone's strengths," Harry said. "Please move to the back of the Hall. Ron, Lavender, get a few others to help you move the tables, please."

There was a distinct rise in the noise level as people stood and Ron, Lavender, Padma and Ernie began levitating the tables so that they were out of the center of the floor. Draco stepped next to Harry, who turned to look at him.

"Can you cast the Patronus?"

"Yes," Draco answered.

"Show me," Harry said.

Draco nodded once, then closed his eyes, bringing the image of the way Harry had looked underneath him that night in the Room of Requirement, with the moonlight slanting through the window and falling across his face.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Out from Draco's wand burst a silver fox, who circled around once before sitting primly. It cocked its head sideways, looking back at Draco, who looked back at it in confusion. His Patronus hadn't been a fox last he'd checked. It was only a split second later that he realized exactly which fox it was.

"Isn't that you?" Pansy asked, amused. "I've never heard of someone's Patronus being themselves. It's a bit egotistical, no?"

Draco shook his head but didn't reply, and also didn't look at Harry, who was peering closely at the fox. Draco knew that it would only be a second or two before Harry realized exactly whose form it was, and it was decidedly not Draco's.

"Harry, we've got the tables--" Weasley cut off with a gasp as he saw the fox; clearly he knew exactly whose shape Draco's Patronus took after, too. "Blimey," he murmured, staring at the fox.

Harry went down on his knees in front of the Patronus, fingers reaching out and just barely skimming over its head. He looked up at Draco with an unreadable expression; there were way too many emotions flickering over his face for Draco to decipher.

They were interrupted by a loud bang and an explosion of fireworks over their heads. Draco jumped, colliding roughly into Pansy, who tripped over her robe and fell, taking Draco down with her.

"What the hell was that?" Pansy demanded, rubbing at the spot on her ribcage where Draco's elbow had jabbed her.

"Sorry!" one of the twins shouted. "Box must've not been shut all the way."

"Your distractions?" Harry asked mildly. He was still on the floor, but Draco's Patronus had disappeared when he'd lost concentration, leaving him kneeling next to empty space.

"It wasn't meant to be," Fred or George replied. "Didn't realize they'd got stuck in there."

Harry nodded and stood, brushing his knees off. "Might work well, though, if everyone's reaction was any indication." The twins turned thoughtful, mulling over what Harry had said.

He walked over to the tangle that was Draco and Pansy and offered them both a hand. Pansy took it quickly and was hauled up. Draco took Harry's hand after a slight moment of hesitation and let Harry pull him to his feet. He was surprised to feel that Harry didn't release him. Instead Harry locked their fingers together, letting the fall of their robes conceal their hands from view.

"Okay, a show of hands, if you please. I know nearly all of you who were in the D.A. can cast the Patronus charm, but are there any others of you who can?"

Draco was surprised to see that there were a fair amount of them. The Patronus was a rather difficult charm, after all; most adults couldn't cast it at all, and Draco hadn't learned it until the past year.

"Why are you asking if we can cast it?" Finnigan asked. "Are there going to be Dementors?"

"Yes," Harry answered simply. "I need to know who can cast it and who can't, because I'm going to try to partner those of you who can't together with someone who can. Two sets of eyes are better than one, and this way one of you can worry about the Dementors and the other of you can worry about the Death Eaters."

"So you're really going to battle You-Know-Who?" Megan Jones asked.

Next to him Pansy rolled her eyes, but Harry simply said, "Yes," again.

Harry glanced at Hermione, who took over. "We need to see your Patronuses, so if you'd all spread out and cast them toward the center, we can start pairing you off. Those of you who can't do the spell, please move over to the right."

Everyone did as Hermione asked, and instantly the Great Hall was filled with cries of "Expecto Patronum". Harry, meanwhile, tugged on Draco's hand and pulled him over to the opposite wall.

"Um, Harry, don't you think you should be paying attention to what they're doing?" Draco asked rather desperately. He didn't want to talk about his Patronus or what it had revealed inadvertently. He didn't think he was ready for any such conversation.

"Hermione will handle it," Harry said firmly. "I want to talk about your Patronus."

Draco tugged ineffectually at his hand but Harry simply tightened his grip.

"Did you know that your Patronus was me?"

Leave it to Harry to get right to the point, Draco thought. He sighed and tried again to pull away but Harry reached up and gripped the front of his robes, holding him firmly in place. Draco realized he had no choice but to answer.

"It wasn't always," he finally said, voice quiet. "It used to be a hawk."

Harry didn't say anything; he just continued to stare at Draco, who shifted uneasily.

"I didn't even know they could change," Draco continued. "I thought it was going to be as it always was."

"Patronuses can change shape after a 'severe emotional upheaval'," Harry said, sounding like he was quoting something. "Or maybe just a change of heart."

Draco swallowed heavily. "Harry," he said, but didn't get a chance to continue as Harry's fingers tightened in his robes and he was tugged forward. Harry's lips touched his and all thought floated away as he was soundly kissed.

The sound of a throat clearing rather forcefully finally drifted into Draco's consciousness, and he realized that he was clinging to Harry quite desperately, and that the entire Hall had fallen dead silent.

Harry finally broke the kiss and turned his head to look at Hermione, the source of the throat-clearing, who was trying to look stern, but Draco noticed that the effect was ruined by the smile she was trying to hide.

"Bloody hell, Harry," Weasley said. "I always knew you were big on dramatic gestures but I didn't really figure you'd resort to one now."

Harry turned his head to smirk at Ron, who gave him a half-smile back. "Sorry, mate," he said, clearly not sorry in the slightest. He still hadn't released Draco and was, in fact, playing with strands of Draco's hair as they stood there, the other hand still fisted in Draco's robe. "I'll try to control myself next time."

Hermione started laughing at that, and Weasley joined her, the two of them clutching at each other as they nearly fell down.

Harry looked back to Draco and gave him another smile before leaning forward and kissing him once more, lightly, before releasing him. Harry moved over to join Ron and Hermione, who had settled down slightly. Draco glanced over at Pansy, who was smirking at him.

"Whatever happened to wanting to keep it to yourself?" she asked amusedly.

"Change of plans," Draco replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close for a hug. He glanced at everyone else, who were mostly standing around, mouths agape. He caught Blaise's eye, who merely shrugged.

"You and Potter?" Lisa Turpin asked weakly.

"Yes," Draco said, amused at her reaction.

"Oh," she said faintly. "Okay."

Draco gave a slight laugh. Daphne was shaking her head in amazement and the rest of his housemates save Blaise were equally stunned. The looks he was getting from the other three houses weren't nearly as friendly and Draco remembered in that instant that not everyone in the room trusted him. An hour before a battle against the Death Eaters probably hadn't been the best time to spring such a revelation on everyone.

"Well, that was exciting!" one of the twins declared. The other one set off another firework, which exploded in the air in the shape of a heart, causing everyone to laugh, especially at Draco, who blushed.

"Okay, enough with the fireworks," Harry said good-naturedly, and Draco was pleased to see that he was faintly pink in embarrassment as well. "Time to get back to business."

That sobered everyone instantly and they turned back to the partnerships that Hermione had placed them in. Pansy was paired with Morag, who couldn't do the Patronus charm but was equally as well-versed in offensive charms as Pansy herself. Longbottom, he saw, was paired with Daphne, and had just cast his Patronus, which took the form of a Great Dane. Daphne, meanwhile, was showing him how to cast a stronger shield charm.

Harry had stepped over to the Weasley twins, who were pulling out boxes of their products, which were quickly enlarged to their normal size. Draco stepped up next to them and listened in.

"These are our Decoy Detonators. Should be great for distractions. We also have Shield hats--"

"Should be enough for everyone," the other twin interjected.

"--as well as Shield cloaks and gloves. They still don't work against Unforgivables, but should at least give everyone a bit more protection."

"These are great, guys," Harry said. "You've already outfitted yourselves, I see."

"'Course," they said in unison.

Harry nodded and picked up a cloak. "Perfect." He turned to Draco and held it out. "Put this on."

Draco took it and did as Harry said, clasping it underneath his chin. "How do I look?"

"It'll do," Harry said with a smile. He turned and motioned to everyone. "You all need to come over here and get one of each of these. Put them on; they're Shield cloaks, hats and gloves. They won't work against Unforgivables, but should work for your basic jinxes and hexes."

Once everyone was properly attired, they turned to face Harry for more instructions. Draco saw Pansy glance at her watch again and couldn't help but look at the time himself: 8:25.

"Fred and George have also brought some of their Decoy Detonators. Each of you should take two. Padma, Terry, you take the rest of them and split them between you. Since you'll be above the battlefield you'll have a better view of where they're needed."

Everyone turned to stare at the two Ravenclaws, who looked at each other and shrugged. "We're going to be riding on Hippogriffs," Padma elaborated. "Which reminds me, Harry. How are we going to be able to tell everyone apart? I thought the Death Eaters wore black robes?"

"Ah, no worries," said one of the twins. "A simple color-change spell on your robes will do. Like this." He turned and cast a charm on his brother's robe, which turned a violent magenta that clashed horrendously with his hair.

"Perhaps something a bit more low-key, Fred?" Harry asked diplomatically.

"Oh, Harry, you're no fun," Fred replied, but he flicked his wand again and the magenta was changed to a royal blue instead.

"Much better," Harry said with a smile. Everyone followed suit, changing the black robes to royal blue.

"Potter, there are two more things to distribute," Snape said, stepping up to the group of students. He was carrying a crate that Draco knew was full of the Invincibility potion that he'd brewed and had a cloth bag looped around one wrist. "Everyone is to take one each of the potion but is not to drink it yet. There's an Unbreakable charm on the bottle; place it in your pockets until later. You'll be told when to drink it."

Snape also removed the bag from his arm and opened it, revealing huge chunks of chocolate. "Lupin," he said, and Draco noted the faint sneer at the pronouncement of their professor's name, "has requested that everyone take a piece of chocolate to help counteract the effects of the Dementors. There is a Keep-Fresh charm on them so they will last until you need them. Use it wisely; you are only to receive one piece each."

Everyone took one of the bottles, Draco taking a second one per his promise to Harry, and then a piece of chocolate. All three items were tucked carefully into his pocket along with the Decoy Detonators and his wand.

The Order had obviously concluded their final meeting, as the members had left the antechamber and were milling about the Hall. Draco caught Harry's arm and pulled him away from the others. He'd been wondering about something that kept being conveniently overlooked.

"What about the full moon?" he asked Harry. With the full moon Lupin would have to undergo his usual transformation; in fact, it was late enough that Draco wondered if he'd done so already.

"Snape gave Lupin his Wolfsbane," Harry said. "I don't really know what's going on with that, but they were talking about letting him out. Since he'd have his mind, it should technically be safe for everyone to be around him. And a werewolf is strong; it would be a nice asset. Especially if Voldemort is stupid enough to release Fenrir Greyback on us."

Draco felt like someone had poured ice down his back. "Surely he wouldn't?" Draco asked, horrified. "Greyback wouldn't give a toss about who anyone was. He could end up biting Voldemort himself!"

Harry shrugged. "Snape didn't think so. But I don't really know. And Pansy did hear a wolf's howl in her vision."

Draco's stomach twisted. The battle was going to be difficult enough without a rogue werewolf running about!

"Do not concern yourselves with Fenrir Greyback," Dumbledore said, appearing out of nowhere. "I do not believe that even Voldemort is blood-thirsty enough to risk all of his followers should Greyback decide to attack. His own life is worth too much to him."

"Then Professor Lupin is going to be fighting?" Harry asked.

"He is. He is currently waiting in the Shrieking Shack as we speak. Sirius will be joining him momentarily. I believe Sirius would like to speak with you before he goes, Harry."

Harry nodded and moved over to the doors, where Sirius was waiting. Draco watched them for a moment before a soft touch on his hand grabbed his attention. He turned to see his mother, regarding him calmly.

Draco returned the look, his throat tightening. God, he loved his mother. He didn't want anything to happen to her, not when she was the only family he had left. He noticed that she was wearing one of the Weasley twins' cloaks and had a hat clasped in one of her hands.

Draco forced a smile but was sure it came out wobbly. "I don't really think that hat's your style."

Narcissa smiled at him and reached out a hand, ghosting it over his cheek. "It will do."

Draco couldn't say anything else and instead stepped forward and hugged her. She embraced him back and placed a kiss on his cheek, holding him for a moment before releasing him. She held him at arm's length and looked at him.

"I am proud of you, Draco," she said. "You have chosen your side and fought for what you believe in, and the young man you love." Draco was surprised; he hadn't realized that she knew about Harry. She smiled at him, nodding once. "I am your mother, Draco. I know these things." Draco returned the smile.

"While your father has tarnished the Malfoy name nearly beyond repair, I believe that your actions, tonight and in the future, will restore it to its former glory," she continued. "And I look forward to being there for you through every step. You are my son, and I love you."

Draco felt tears threatening and tried to blink them back. "I love you, too, Mum," he said, voice thick. She embraced him once more then stepped back. "Your young man is coming," she said softly with a smile, squeezing Draco's shoulder before moving back to Andromeda, who was standing over to one side conversing with Hestia Jones.

"All right?" Harry asked.

Draco drew a deep breath and released it slowly. "All right," he replied, and Harry nodded, squeezing his hand.

Dumbledore reappeared with Ron and Hermione. "Harry, I'd like to quickly go over everything with the four of you. And then we will need to move outside. It is nearly time."

Nearly time. Funny how two words could sound so ominous.

Dumbledore quickly outlined the plan. The members of the Adversarius, along with the Order members, would be right in the center of the battle, as they were the best trained. The other students would be positioned along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, in the hopes that their Patronuses would keep the Dementors at bay.

Padma, Terry, Charlie Weasley and Sturgis Podmore would be above the battle on Hippogriffs, allowing them a clear look at the battlefield and where extra help might be needed. This would also allow them to cast down on the unsuspecting Death Eaters and hopefully stay out of range of any spellfire on the ground.

Macmillan had gotten his hybrid plant to sprout and hold; it was planted around the entire front of the castle and was charmed to attack anyone that came within three feet of it. Flitwick was in the process of moving all the suits of armor in the castle out to the front lawn, where Hannah Abbott would use her charm to make some of them into decoy students. Draco could hear the clang of metal from inside the hall as the knights were marched outside.

"We will most likely be outnumbered," Dumbledore cautioned. "This is something you should expect, so that it will not surprise you. Voldemort has many ways of gathering followers, as you know."

The four of them nodded, faces grim. It stood to reason that some of the people who would lose their lives tonight most likely didn't even want to be there, but were being forced by magic.

"Once we are outside, we will cast the final spell," Dumbledore said. "You need one member from each house to do the casting. If I might make a suggestion, I believe that you, Harry, should be the Gryffindor. Mr. Malfoy would be perfect for the Slytherin representative, and Miss Patil for Ravenclaw. I am sure you can get Mr. Macmillan to agree to be the delegate from Hufflepuff."

"Do they know the incantation?" Harry asked.

"I believe they do," Dumbledore answered, "but it would be prudent to go over it again before you actually cast it. It is not a difficult charm."

Dumbledore smiled down at Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You will do your parents proud tonight, of that I am certain," he said quietly.

"Thank you, Sir," Harry said, bowing his head respectfully. "I will do my best."

Dumbledore nodded and squeezed Harry's shoulder briefly. "It is time."

As Dumbledore moved away to gather everyone up, Harry turned to look at Ron and Hermione. His face was awash in emotion and Draco noticed that Hermione had tears in her eyes and that Weasley was blinking back a few of his own. When he and Harry were alone it was easy to forget the history between the trio in front of him, but there was no question that Harry loved Ron and Hermione fiercely; they were, without a doubt, his two closest friends.

"Stay safe," Hermione finally said, voice tight, reaching out and hugging Harry. Harry returned the embrace, then reached out his free hand to tug Weasley into the group. The three of them stood with their arms around each other for a moment before stepping back, Hermione wiping away tears.

Weasley turned away slightly and Draco saw him bring a hand up to his eyes. He turned back and cleared his throat. "Once more, for old time's sake?" he asked with a small smile.

Harry nodded. "Once more." He turned to look at Draco, face very serious. "Remember your promise," he whispered.

Draco's throat grew tight at the expression in Harry's eyes, but managed to nod once. "I'll remember." Not caring who was watching, Draco pulled Harry close and kissed him again.

Pansy chose that moment to appear, throwing her arms around Draco's neck in a fierce hug of her own. "Don't do anything stupid," she said harshly. "Remember that you're not a Gryffindor."

He laughed slightly and she gave him a small smile in return. "I'll remember," he said again.

"We need to head outside now," Dumbledore said, voice rising above all the other admonishments to stay safe.

As they exited the Great Hall, they were surprised to see Professor McGonagall, who was herding what looked like an entire classroom-full of desks out the doors onto the lawn. She had animated them so that they were walking in military formation, stopping directly behind Flitwick's suits of armor.

Hannah pushed past them, joining Flitwick on the lawn, and started charming the knights to look like students; they were pretty nondescript, all told, each of them looking identical in their blue cloaks and hats.

Hermione had grabbed Macmillan and Padma, obviously explaining the incantation and making sure they wanted to be the spellcasters when the time came. Harry stepped up next to him, tugging his hat into place on his head. His hands were already covered in the Shield gloves. He was looking up at the sky, which was full of dark, black clouds, the full moon just barely visible between them. Someone had charmed fairy lights to float around the grounds, lending them a semblance of light by which to see, which was good because otherwise they'd no doubt be crashing into each other momentarily.

"It would be really nice if it didn't rain," Harry murmured. Draco made a sound of agreement, although it didn't seem likely that Harry's wish would come true. Harry sighed and looked at Hermione, who gave a thumbs-up. Obviously Padma and Ernie were ready to go.

Dumbledore was quickly ushering the non-Adversarius students out toward the forest, where they each took positions in amongst the trees. Draco saw Hagrid standing nearby, four Hippogriffs following behind him on leads. In his other hand was a pink umbrella.

Harry turned to face the remaining students and when he spoke his voice was calm.

"We're finally at the end of it," he said. "The end of two years of hard training, sleepless nights, and countless numbers of shattered lives. Tonight, Voldemort will fall.

"I'm not a very good speech-giver," he continued. "I don't know how to say all the right words or the pretty phrases that you're wanting to hear from me. I really only know how to go into things headfirst and think about the consequences later; I am, after all, a Gryffindor." There was some slight laughter at this statement, and Harry gave a small smile.

"I can say for certain, that this is the end. After tonight our lives will continue on as they're meant to, with no further threats from Voldemort or his Death Eaters. I want all of you to know how honored I am to have been a part of this group with you. Each of you has taught me things I otherwise would not have known, and have shown yourselves to be loyal companions. Our victory tonight will be a direct result of all of your hard work and dedication, and I couldn't be prouder to know that my name will share the history books with yours."

Next to Draco, Pansy covertly checked her watch. "Seven minutes," she murmured. "Wrap it up, Potter."

Harry heard her and cast an amused glance in her direction, nodding slightly in acknowledgement.

"This next step is for Draco, Ernie, Padma and me. It's the spell I mentioned at the meeting today, Dum Mors. The rest of you don't need to do anything; just know that, as long as one of us is alive, the school will be safe, and the students inside will remain out of harm's way. Remember that tonight we don't do battle only for ourselves and our lives, but for the lives of our classmates, many of whom are too young to fight for themselves. It is up to us to keep them safe."

That seemed to strengthen the resolve of some of the students, because Draco noticed that they were all standing a bit straighter.

"Let's do this," Harry said firmly.

He jumped down the stairs and turned to face the school. Draco stepped down with him, Padma and Ernie joining them.

"We have to go in the order of the school crest, in clockwise order," Harry said quickly. "So I'm first, then Draco, then Padma, and Ernie. Okay?"

The other three nodded their assent. Draco caught Pansy's eye; she held up four fingers.

"Servo Insquequo Nex!" Harry shouted, wand held aloft. From the tip burst a huge lion, sparkling golden in the air. It roared once, then pawed the sky, bowing its head to Harry, who returned the gesture.

Draco followed. "Servo Insquequo Nex!" A long, green snake appeared from his wand, hissing in greeting. It curved into the letter "s" as it settled next to the lion, then focused on Draco, bowing its head. Draco did so as well.

"Servo Insquequo Nex!" Padma said clearly, bringing forth a large eagle, who screeched, circling the air once before settling underneath the snake. It regarded them silently before bowing its head, and Padma nodded back.

"Servo Insquequo Nex!" Ernie said, completing the charm. From his wand burst a badger, who let out a growl before sitting next to the eagle. It bowed to Macmillan, who returned the move.

Dumbledore appeared next to them, and with a fancy wave of his wand and a murmured charm, the four animals turned into the Hogwart's crest. The crest rose up into the air, shimmering even through the darkness. It started to raise itself until it was settled over the whole of the school; Dumbledore slowly lowered his wand and the crest followed suit, until it landed on the school, the crest dissipating into the stone.

Charlie Weasley ran up to them, gesturing for Padma to follow him quickly to the Hippogriffs. Terry was already seated on one and was hanging a bag that contained the Decoy Detonators around its neck. Podmore was aboard the other one and was already leading it toward the lawn at a run.

"Everyone take your Invincibility potion!" Harry shouted. "And put on your hats and gloves! Quickly now!"

Everyone complied hurriedly. Draco looked at Pansy who shook her head. Time was up.

"Here we go," Harry said, and at that moment two things occurred at once; they felt a brush of magic across their faces - "The wards are down!" McGonagall cried out - and the rain that had been threatening all day suddenly poured from the sky.

"Bloody hell!" Weasley cried out, and at that second, the sky was filled with pops, as the Death Eaters Apparated straight onto the Hogwarts' lawn.

***

It was chaos.

There was no other word to describe it. As soon as the Death Eaters had appeared they'd begun to fling curses; the air was filled with the sound of spells and the downpour of rain.

Harry dove to the left as someone threw a Stunner at him. That's interesting, he thought. Obviously Voldemort had told them to bring Harry to him alive. He clearly wanted the pleasure of killing him himself.

Harry rolled to his feet, slipping slightly on the wet grass, only to see one of McGonagall's desks fly open to pelt the unsuspecting Death Eater with pieces of parchment and bits of broken quills. Harry quickly yelled, "Incarcerous!" and they were bound tightly, falling straight to the ground as easily as if Harry had Petrified them. Harry Stunned whoever it was and left them there, the desk moving over the prone figure to stand guard.

"Well, they sure get straight to the point," Draco said, flinging a curse over Harry's shoulder before pulling him behind a suit of armor as another curse came flying toward them. "We need to waterproof ourselves," he said briskly, quickly casting water-repellent charms on Harry's glasses and outer clothes.

"Good thinking," Harry said, as he'd already been unable to see clearly out of the wet lenses.

Harry used his vantage point to scope things out; as no one had attempted to go toward the school yet, they were relatively safe.

"Do you see him?" Draco asked, obviously meaning Voldemort.

"No," Harry said, throwing a curse at the back of a Death Eater that had Lavender in their sights. "And I don't feel him, either. I don't think he's here yet."

They didn't have long to ponder this, as the knight they'd been hiding behind suddenly moved. It clanged across the grass toward a huge, hulking Death Eater, before bringing its fist down on the top of their head, knocking the mask they'd been wearing askew.

"Rowle," Draco said, tugging Harry across the lawn, flinging curses as he went. He hid them behind another suit of armor and Harry sighed exasperatedly.

"Draco, I'm not going to spend the entire time crouched behind some rusty old knight!"

"Of course you're not," Draco said dismissively. "I just figured we should try to scout things out and see where to go."

Harry knew he had a point, so looked out over the battlefield.

There were already bodies littered on the ground. Some of them had on the blue cloaks that the Weasley twins had given them and Harry fervently hoped they were simply Stunned.

He saw Kingsley engaged in a duel with an unmasked Rodolphus Lestrange. Kingsley appeared to be winning, as Lestrange was being forced backward toward the Forbidden Forest. Suddenly, three red Stunners shot out of the woods, and Lestrange fell to the ground. Kingsley made short work of binding him, then quickly levitated the body into the forest before turning to help Hestia Jones fight off another Death Eater.

"Here," Harry said, digging into his pocket and pulling out his invisibility cloak. "Get under here, that way we can move around without anyone seeing us."

Draco gave him a stern look. "You've had that the whole time?"

Harry shrugged before throwing it over them. "Try to be quiet," he said. "It doesn't muffle sound at all."

Covered in the cloak, they made their way through the battlefield, throwing out spells where they were needed but mostly trying to locate Voldemort. Harry released one of his Decoy Detonators, which exploded, drawing the attention of an unmasked Avery, who was quickly downed by a spell from Emmeline Vance.

Everywhere they looked they saw people dueling masked Death Eaters. Some of them had lost their masks, making them easier targets for people with personal vendettas. Sirius was dueling a cackling Bellatrix Lestrange, and Snape was battling a sneering Dolohov, who'd nearly killed him when his spy status had been discovered.

The rain was making the ground muddy and slick; several times Harry and Draco nearly went down in the muck.

"We should move toward the center," Harry said, releasing his final Detonator. Draco nodded. As they set out Harry suddenly froze as a wave of cold enveloped him.

"Dementors," he forced out, already hearing the faint screams of his mother's final seconds. Just as suddenly as the cold appeared, it dissipated slightly as several calls of, "Expecto Patronum!" came from the forest behind them.

Harry drew a deep breath and looked up; sure enough, the sky was filled with the dark figures of the Dementors. They were swooping down onto the figures on the lawn, seemingly not caring whom they had targeted, as Death Eaters and Order members alike fell victim to their terror.

From the gates of Hogwarts came shouts and more spellfire. Harry heard Dawlish's voice crying out commands. It seemed the Aurors had arrived. Their numbers made things a little more even, although there were still more black-robed figures than anyone else.

"Took them long enough," Draco muttered, grabbing Harry's arm as he nearly went down in the mud again.

They positioned themselves more in the center before Harry threw off the cloak, tucking it quickly into his pocket. It was pretty dark and wet and he was hoping the Shield hat would keep him from being recognized so easily. Luckily the hat covered Draco's tell-tale blond hair, too.

"Hey, Mulciber!" Harry called out, grabbing the Death Eater's attention and allowing Tonks to find her feet again. "Hope you like the accommodations at Azkaban!"

"Potter!" he snarled, raising his wand. Lightning quick, Tonks had him bound and at her feet, nodding her thanks at Harry.

Unfortunately his yell of Harry's name brought him all kinds of unwanted attention, because suddenly there were several wands pointed in his direction. As the spells were yelled out, he found himself hitting the ground hard as Draco shoved him down. Mud coated his glasses and got into his mouth, causing Harry to choke. Draco was flinging Stunning spells at everyone in the vicinity; some of them hit their targets but most of them went wide. Draco pulled Harry up but they were in serious trouble. That is, until a wolf's howl rent the air and a huge gray wolf went flying over their heads, bringing down two Death Eaters in one go and effectively surprising the others. Harry quickly took care of one of them, Draco getting the final one.

"Thanks, Professor," Harry said, wiping the mud off his glasses.

The Dementors chose that moment to attack again, and Harry quickly cast his Patronus to ward them off. The chill had invaded his bones, though, so Harry took a small bite of the chocolate Snape had given them, feeling the effects recede slightly.

"We have to keep moving," Draco said. "It'll be harder to hit us if we don't stay in one spot. Let's try to draw them toward the school so Macmillan's plant can do some of the work for us."

The two of them set off at a run, throwing spells out as they went. They seemed to gain the focus of the elder Crabbe and Goyle, who followed in pursuit. As they neared the school, Harry quickly covered Draco and himself with his cloak and stepped away to the side. It was obvious who the younger Crabbe and Goyle got their lack of intelligence from, as the two men continued to run right up to the building. Ernie's plant shot out and grabbed them fast, twining around their bodies until they were pulled right up close to the walls of the castle, completely unable to move.

"Brilliant," Harry said. He didn't have too much time to think about it, though, as someone shouted, "The Dark Lord is here!" and Harry gasped as his head throbbed in pain.

The Dementors swooped in again, but this time were waylaid by a Patronus that seemed to come from above them.

"Harry, they're casting from the school!" Draco exclaimed.

Harry forced himself to breathe and was glad to feel that the pain in his head subsided slightly to a dull ache. He looked up and sure enough, Draco was right; it seemed that those in the Charms classroom had decided to help after all.

Harry stood unsteadily, wincing as the pain in his head flared once sharply. "I need to find Voldemort."

Draco nodded and threw the cloak over them, and they set off back into the battle.

Harry glanced around, and noticed that crystal balls seemed to be hurtling from the castle. Trelawney's bespectacled head appeared in a window, followed by more crystal balls. One of them found a target, cracking sharply in half on the head of Selwynn, who went down in a heap. There were hexes being thrown from the windows of the castle, from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Tower both. Padma and Terry were circling above throwing Stunning spells down on the heads of the Death Eaters. McGonagall's desks were throwing themselves at their enemies, sometimes tackling them and other times being blown to pieces by a spell. The suits of armor had lost Hannah's spell but were still clanging noisily around the grounds, doing their best to bring down the Death Eaters; Flitwick must have charmed them to attack.

As they walked past a dueling Auror and Death Eater, there was a loud bang as someone released one of the Decoy Detonators. Farther on was a flash of fireworks from one of the twins, and more bangs from the Detonators. And still the black robes were everywhere.

It also looked like those students who'd started out in the Forbidden Forest had been pulled onto the lawn. Seamus and Dean were rushing at a group of Death Eaters, bellowing something at the top of their lungs. Lisa Turpin and Michael Corner were frantically trying to keep up with the hexes being thrown at them by Gibbon. Ron and Hermione were no where to be seen, and Harry felt a rush of panic at the thought that something had gone wrong. All of this was wrong, they weren't ready, they didn't know enough spells! Harry had just made up his mind to rush into the middle of everything when he was stopped by Draco.

"Harry," Draco said, grabbing him forcefully by the arm. "Get it together."

"They're our classmates, Draco!" Harry said, voice gone high in terror.

"You can't be everywhere at once!" Draco yelled, shaking Harry by the shoulders. "You're only one person!"

Harry sucked in a breath. Draco was right. He was supposed to be the one this whole thing revolved around and here he was falling apart underneath an invisibility cloak. Enough was enough.

"You're right," he said tightly. "Sorry."

Draco looked at him with concern, but finally nodded. "Let's find Voldemort and end this."

They made their way across the lawn, using the growing pain in Harry's head to guide them.

As they ran, slipping every now and then in the mud, Harry saw Daphne and Neville valiantly fighting off Yaxley, although it was clear that Yaxley had the better spells. Neville finally hurled himself at Yaxley's knees, bringing the large Death Eater down in a tangle of limbs. Daphne shouted Neville's name and Harry saw Yaxley's wand rise as he yelled, "Sectumsempra!" Daphne had enough sense to spin out of the way, but the spell still caught her and she went down in a heap, clutching her arm. Neville pushed himself up into a sitting position and promptly punched Yaxley in the face; Harry could hear the sound of bone breaking at impact.

Twisting out from under the cloak, Harry pointed his wand at the bit of Yaxley he could see and yelled, "Stupefy!"

Neville clambered off of Yaxley and clapped a hand to Harry's shoulder. "Thanks, Harry."

Daphne was crying, her hair plastered to her face from the rain. She was holding a hand to her arm, which was dripping blood through her fingers.

"Neville, you need to get her off the lawn," Harry said, Stunning another Death Eater as he ran over to her. "Take her into the forest and try to bind the wound."

Neville nodded and scooped the much-smaller Daphne up into his arms. "End this, Harry," he said seriously.

Harry nodded. "I'm going to. Right now."

Neville gave him a nod and ran toward the forest.

Draco had thrown off the cloak when Harry had moved to curse Yaxley but had gotten waylaid by one of the Carrows. He was running toward Harry when Lucius Malfoy suddenly Apparated right behind him. Before Harry could even say anything, Lucius had a dagger to Draco's throat.

"Hello, Draco," he said, voice menacing. "How nice to see you again."

"Father," Draco said evenly. "I'm sorry I can't say the same."

Lucius' mouth twisted. "The Dark Lord requests your presence, Potter," he said. "Find him quickly or you will be sorry." And just like that, he disappeared with Draco.

"Fuck!" Harry yelled, running to scoop up his cloak and berating himself the whole while. Lucius had obviously known right where Draco was the entire time; no doubt there were spells that could locate family members, and Lucius would most likely be well-versed in them. Why hadn't he thought of something like that?

"Harry!" he heard Hermione shout. She ran up to him and Harry felt instant relief that she was okay. "Was that Lucius Malfoy?"

"Yes," Harry said. "He took Draco. He said Voldemort wants to see me."

Hermione pulled him toward the forest. "You can use your ring. It will take you right to Draco, remember?" She pushed him in amongst the trees and he was amazed to see that there was a sort of mini-hospital set up among the foliage. Ron was being tended to by Madam Pomfrey, who was daubing some sort of thick green paste on his face.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked.

"Ernie's damn plant," Ron said. "Got too close as I tried to get Travers into range. Grabbed him right good but it snapped me in the face. I'll be good in a minute and then I'm going back out there. We're massively outnumbered."

Hermione grabbed Harry's hands and pulled off his gloves, revealing the silver ring on his finger.

"Just say 'Portus, Draco', and it will take you right to him. Make sure you're ready, Harry. It could be a trap."

Harry nodded. "Be careful," he told her.

"You, too."

Taking a deep breath and making sure his wand was clasped firmly in his hand, he said, "Portus, Draco." He felt the instantaneous tug behind his navel and the forest disappeared. He reappeared just as suddenly, right in front of the stairs to the school.

He knew instantly that it was the right place, as his head exploded in pain and he fell to his knees, his left hand pressed against his scar.

"Harry!" Draco shouted, struggling to get away from his father. "Go back, it's a trap!"

"Ah ah," Voldemort said smugly. "Potter won't be going anywhere, I'm afraid." And with a flick of his wand a huge dome of red light spread out above them, locking the four of them inside.

He noticed dimly that the red dome of light had two good purposes; one, it blocked out the rain that was still falling steadily, and two, he could no longer feel the Dementors. Harry managed to get to his feet, but the pain in his head was excruciating. He swayed slightly but kept a firm grasp on his wand. If Voldemort held true to form he'd try to disarm him any second now.

"Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried. Harry's wand jumped in his grasp but Harry had been expecting it and therefore didn't lose his grip.

He hauled air into his lungs and felt the pain in his head lessen just slightly.

"You're getting predictable in your old age, Tom," Harry said. "Always the same thing, every time."

Voldemort eyes flashed with anger. "Do not call me Tom," he said. "There was one other tonight that made the same mistake; he will make it no longer."

Harry reeled at that. Dumbledore was dead?

Voldemort smiled nastily. "Oh, yes. Dear old Dumbledore is out of commission. Left you lot without a leader, he did."

Harry glared at Voldemort. "That won't matter, seeing as I don't intend to let you live past this night." He raised his wand and yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Obviously his move had been expected as well, because Voldemort didn't lose his wand, either.

"Tsk, tsk," Voldemort said. "Really, Potter, get serious. You think you can defeat me with your second year spells? Oh, no. It will take much more than that. Crucio!"

And oh, okay, he should have expected this, too. It was interesting that no matter how many times you had to undergo this that you never really got used to the pain. It was undoubtedly the worst pain he'd ever felt; it felt like there was acid in his veins and it was slowly burning him alive. He could distantly hear screams and realized they were coming from him; when Voldemort finally ended the spell Harry was panting and tears were clouding his vision. He rolled over and got his legs under him although he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand right away.

"You know, I've longed for this night," Voldemort began conversationally. "I don't mind saying it's been a sixteen year long goal. To finally rid myself of your presence once and for all? Yes. I have dreamed of this night often."

Harry slowly stood, legs shaking as they took his weight, but holding. "Sorry to disappoint," he said, "but it won't be me who dies tonight."

Voldemort laughed. "Potter, you stupid child. How mistaken you are. Crucio!"

Harry had been expecting it this time, though, and cast Contego. He could feel the magic of the shield pushing against him as Voldemort's spell bounced off, and knew he wouldn't be able to hold it for long, even with the ring to focus the energy. Thankfully Voldemort didn't cast it again right away so Harry could let the shield drop.

Voldemort was regarding him thoughtfully. "It appears that you've finally finished the spell that Severus told me about back when I still thought he was on my side," he said after a moment. "Tell me, who was the one that figured it out?"

"It was Blaise," Draco said, wincing as the dagger dug into his throat. "Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davis." There was an enormous amount of pride in his voice as he said their names.

"At least they were Slytherins," Voldemort conceded, then flicked his wand at Harry. Harry felt like there were needles poking him everywhere; it wasn't anywhere near as painful as the Cruciatus, but as he was pretty overloaded on pain at the moment it didn't feel anything remotely like pleasure, either.

Voldemort did something so that Harry's head once again threatened to explode and Harry felt his grip loosen on his wand; the wand sailed into Voldemort's outstretched hand. Voldemort gave a maniacal laugh that sent ice down Harry's spine.

"I am betting, however, that even Slytherins couldn't figure out how to cast such a spell without a wand," Voldemort said. "Crucio!"

Oh, shit, okay, he was dying, Harry was convinced. Nothing could hurt as badly as his body did at this moment. His arms and legs twisted in on themselves as pain wracked his body. He was dimly aware of Draco screaming his name, but could hardly hear him over the screams that were coming out of his own mouth.

And then the pain was gone, and Harry was again left gasping on the ground, his breath wheezing in and out of his chest, tears falling freely down his face. He managed to get his knees under him but knew he wouldn't be able to stand, not after that last bout. He was shaking everywhere.

He looked at Draco who was still held in place by the dagger in his father's hand. Draco had tears streaming down his face, but his gaze was steady as he looked at Harry. Harry took a deep breath, breathing in the calm that Draco was trying to give him.

Voldemort was twirling Harry's wand in one long-fingered hand. When Harry looked at him he realized that Voldemort was regarding Draco thoughtfully. He felt his stomach clench; nothing that Voldemort came up with at this point could be good.

"Young Malfoy," he said. "Tell me why you did not join me."

Draco looked at him, bemused. "Are you serious?" he finally asked.

"Quite," Voldemort said. "Your father was under the impression that you would, you see, and then ... well. You did a complete about-face and took your mother with you."

Draco shrugged, the movement hampered by Lucius' grip. "My father was mistaken."

"Clearly," Voldemort said, stepping closer. "I want to know why he was mistaken."

Draco's face turned bored, although it was slightly ruined by the tears drying on his cheeks. "I don't particularly care what you want."

Voldemort smirked. "No, I'm sure you don't. But if you don't tell me, I'll be forced to cast Cruciatus again on Potter here, and I'm really not certain how many more bouts he can handle. We could very well have another case of Longbottoms on our hands."

Draco's glance moved to Harry, no doubt seeing how badly he was feeling and realizing that Harry most likely couldn't undergo another round of the spell.

"Our ideals differ quite significantly," Draco finally said.

"I see," Voldemort replied. "Such as?"

Draco's teeth clenched momentarily but he relaxed again slightly and said, "I'm not much for torturing people."

That got a laugh. "People in general or certain people in particular?"

Draco made a sound of irritation. "Depends."

"Perhaps you need a more practical demonstration," Voldemort said and Harry braced himself for the incoming spell. "Cru--"

"Stop, for God's sake, stop!" Draco cried, twisting in Lucius' grip. "All right, I'll answer your damned question!"

Voldemort smiled. "I think you just did. It seems you were right, Lucius. Your son does fancy himself in love with Potter."

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius replied distastefully.

"Hmm," was Voldemort's response. Draco, however, didn't seem to understand that now wasn't really the time to talk.

"I don't fancy myself anything," he retorted. "I know."

Harry felt his eyes widen in shock. He'd thought that's how Draco had felt when he'd seen his Patronus, but Draco hadn't said the words, and Harry hadn't asked to hear them. Now, though, Draco had just declared his love in front of his father and Voldemort, of all people, and if his father's expression was anything to go by it was most unwanted news indeed.

"I see," Voldemort said. "Most interesting."

He tucked Harry's wand in his pocket and turned to look directly at Lucius.

"Lucius," he said imperiously.

"Yes, my Lord?" Lucius replied carefully.

"Kill your son," Voldemort said.

Lucius' hand tightened around the hilt of the dagger. "My Lord?" he said, aghast.

"I said 'kill your son'," Voldemort repeated. "He has brought dishonor on your family, Lucius. He has sided with Dumbledore and his ilk. He has not remained true to the cause. You have spent the past several months going on at length about how he has sullied the Malfoy name with his dalliances with Potter, have you not? And now we have a confession that not only has he been taking up with Potter, as he told your portrait so nicely, but that he loves him. This is something that must be handled, am I correct?"

"Yes," Lucius said weakly. "But my Lord--"

"Kill him," Voldemort demanded. "If his earlier behavior truly shamed you as you have claimed, this added confession should make it even easier."

Harry could see Lucius swallow from where he was kneeling. "My Lord--" Lucius tried again.

"I said KILL HIM!" Voldemort yelled, pointing his wand at Lucius. "Kill him now!"

Lucius stiffened, the dagger at Draco's throat digging in slightly, causing Draco to wince as the blade nicked him. Lucius was shaking, trying to keep the dagger from dragging across Draco's throat, and Harry suddenly realized that Voldemort had put him under Imperius, and that Lucius was trying to fight him off.

It was a fight he wasn't winning. A drop of blood dripped from the tip of the dagger down Draco's neck and Harry realized that they were well past the hour the Invincibility potion lasted; there was no way Draco had been able to take the second dose.

Harry hauled himself to his feet, swaying slightly, not sure what he intended to do but knowing he had to do something, or Draco would die right in front of him.

And suddenly several things happened at once.

The red dome of light that had been around the four of them abruptly disappeared, and within seconds a huge, black dog had hurtled itself at Lucius, knocking both him and Draco to the ground. Draco let out a scream of pain as he fell, but Harry pushed away the thought of what that scream might mean, as Narcissa unexpectedly appeared next to him, flinging curses at Voldemort, who seemed shocked that everything had suddenly gone pear-shaped.

Voldemort seemed to regain his focus, though, and easily downed Narcissa with a spell. She crumpled to the ground at the Dark Lord's feet.

There were shouts of more curses hurled past him, all of which were easily deflected by Voldemort, and suddenly Harry understood.

Draco had been wrong; this fight was about Voldemort and Harry. It was Harry that had to take him down. It was Harry's responsibility to rid the world of the Dark Lord - not anyone else's.

In that moment, the air was filled with phoenix song, and the sword of Gryffindor clattered to the ground at Harry's feet.

Not even thinking about anything, only knowing that this had to end before he lost anyone else he cared about, Harry stooped down, picked up the sword, and ran full tilt toward Voldemort, jumping over Narcissa's prone form and plunging the blade through Voldemort's chest.

Voldemort jerked in surprise, red eyes wide with shock. There was a gurgle in his throat, and blood bubbled up from his mouth. "Well, well, Potter," he said, choking. "I didn't think you had it in you. Clearly, I was wrong."

Harry viciously pulled the sword out; it was slick with blood, the drops falling heavily to the ground.

"This is over," he said clearly, and watched with satisfaction as Voldemort gave one more jerk before his body seemed to collapse in on itself and he fell to the ground. Harry took one step toward the tangle that was Draco and Lucius when there was a flash of brilliant red light from Voldemort's body, and Harry's world exploded in a burst of pain more excruciating than even the Cruciatus curses he'd just been subjected to.

There were shouts all around him but he didn't even try to decipher them, instead falling gratefully into the darkness that swallowed him.