You Promised Me...

Where are you guys? she thought, her eyes frantically scanning the battlefield. Neither of the boys were to be seen. Boys. For that was what they were. Boys. How could children have gotten sucked into this war? She knew it was unfair. Knew they had been robbed of their childhood. But deep down, she also knew it was their destiny. What happened out on the battlefield today is what's meant to happen. Everything's going to work out for the best, she tried to reassure herself. The thought brought little comfort.

She quickly scanned the area again, with no results. They must have gone to a different clearing. They had been in the forests of Scotland for nearly a month, fighting little battlements here and there as they traveled towards their final destination. And now they were here. The final battle. How depressing that title seemed. It sounded like it was the end. It is the end. No, wait, it's not. Stop thinking like that.

A Death Eater came charging at her from behind the trees. Apparently she wasn't as well hidden as she had thought she was. She whipped around and cast "Stupefy!" and he quickly crumbled unconscious at her feet. She turned back around and peered out from behind the trees. There they were. They had emerged from a clump to her left, hurling themselves at a small group of Death Eaters. They were all stunned. They turned and grinned at each other, apparently thinking they had gotten rid of all the Death Eaters in that clearing, when another figure sprung out of the shade of the trees.

"CRUCIO!" he bellowed, and the red head crumpled to the ground, screaming in pain for a brief second until he went unconscious.

Her heart leaped, but she did nothing. She was a watcher, after all, only intervening when necessary. And the other boy would take care of it. His eyes flashed with rage, and he raised his wand in a deadly fashion. Oh no, she thought. He wouldn't. They weren't allowed. They were here because of killing. Surely he wouldn't do the very thing they were against.

She was about to intervene when another figure, another watcher perhaps, she couldn't tell from this distance, leaped out of the shadows and quickly stunned the Death Eater. The dim sunlight draped across his face as he turned in her direction, his eyes meeting hers; wise brown ones meeting young, naïve brown ones. He knew she was there, and he knew she had hesitated. She silently cursed herself. He had a few words with the dark haired boy who began to look ashamed, nodded at him and disappeared into the shadows once again. The boy squatted down next to his fallen comrade and friend, whispered "Ennervate," and the red head sat up slowly, rubbing his head.

"What happened, Mate?" he asked painfully.

"Well, you being the tall git you are, and clumsy one at that, ran right into that tree branch right there," and he pointed to an impossibly high branch that even a giraffe couldn't reach. He had a wide grin on his face.

"Right. Stupid prat. Joking at a time like this," but he too had a grin on his face.

He stood up slowly, leaning on his friend for support. He grimaced with pain every time he moved.

"I suppose you haven't seen her yet, have you?" he asked tentatively. "I mean, I know she's supposed to keep hidden and all, and only interfere when she has to, but I thought, well..."

"Sorry, Mate. Haven't seen er. I know she's alright, though. I can feel it. And I know you can, too."

He nodded and stood up on his own, still a little shaky. She wanted him to know she was alright. Needed him to know. She reached out with her heart and mind, stretching her will towards him. She knew it was dangerous. A Sensitive might feel her power. But it was more dangerous to reveal herself. And she needed him to know. At once, he looked in her direction. There was a tug at his heart, pulling his gaze that way. He knew it was her, and he smiled. A real, genuine smile. Something she had not seen in a while.

A thrashing in the underbrush behind her attracted her attention and she broke her connection with him. A silvery, blond-haired boy stumbled out of the brush, weeds and briars tangled in his usually spotless hair. Mud was streaked across his face, a wild terror written in his eyes. His eyes that fell upon her seconds later. Without words, he grabbed onto her elbow and steered her to the right. He dragged her on for what seemed like hours, until neither of them could go any further.

He was a watcher, too. There were a lot of watchers. She was surprised the boys she had been watching earlier were not watchers. But then again, their role was to fight out in the open. It just wouldn't work if the dark-haired boy went into hiding. And the red head had refused to leave his side. When she had insisted on staying by his side, too, everyone had refused to let her. So now she was a watcher. Those who were not the dark-haired boy, but still in as much danger, had gone into hiding. She had gone into hiding because she was a "Mudblood," or so they put it. And a very dear friend of the one they wanted the most. The man who had helped the boys earlier had gone into hiding because he was a dark creature who had refused to join the Dark Side. And the blond-haired boy beside her was a traitor to the Dark Side.

He had betrayed everything he was brought up to believe. He had betrayed his family. All because of a certain red-headed girl with a soft-spoken nature. It was ironic really. His whole childhood he had been brought up to hate her family, and he had when he had first met them. His father had worked so hard to destroy them, but in the end, he was the reason they had really met in the first place. He had brought them together. And by doing so, he had created his own demise. Imagine dying, betrayed by your own son, knowing your son had betrayed you because he was in love with the youngest daughter of the family you hated most, and the last thing you ever saw was him with his arm around her, planting a kiss on her forehead, looking into her eyes with love shining out of his. For a brief moment, a very brief moment, she felt sorry for Lucius Malfoy. The feeling went just as quickly as it came.

She was broken out of her thoughts by a slight rustle in the woods around her. Her head snapped up and her ears were attentive. She glanced sideways and noticed he was doing the same; listening for any sounds that were not natural. Not that nature made any sounds around here anymore. Ever since the battle had started she had noticed the birds no longer chirped, the wind no longer blew. Nothing stirred, unless moved in battle.

He stood up, gently took her hand, and together they set off as quickly and quietly as possible in the opposite direction. They walked and walked, never sure if they were heading farther in or out of the forest. All they could do was hope. The sun was beginning to set. It cast a fire orange glow that they could make out just above the tree tops. A bright ball of flame was visible to their right. Well, at least now they knew they were heading in the right direction.

At last, they came to a wooden fence, maybe 20 ft. high. They circled around it until they came to the gate. She knocked three times in swift succession and the gate vanished just long enough for them to slip inside. They had entered the camp where the Light was staked out. Only those who had good intentions could see the encampment; those of the Dark would see nothing but an empty clearing. Small tents were lined up here and there, fires were scattered everywhere, and men and women walked to and fro.

The blond-haired boy retired to his own tent, mumbling about needing to wash up. She scanned the area for her two best friends, but to no avail. She checked their tents, the mess hall (which was a few tables lined up and sectioned off with a curtain), and decided they must be in the showers. They should be back by now. The Light was required to return by sunset to account for everyone and to get rest. She sat down near her tent to wait, and had just started a fire of her own when a big, shaggy black dog came speeding towards her. In a moment, with a small "pop," he had turned into a wizard, with equally shaggy black hair.

"There you are, Bookworm! We've been looking for you! Greenhorn and Hothead haven't come back yet. Have you seen them?" he asked worriedly.

Bookworm, Greenhorn, and Hothead were code names. They didn't use real names, except when announcing those who had died during the day.

"I saw them a while back, Snuffles. In a clearing a little to the south. Moony was there. But I got dragged away by Dragon. Do you think something's happened to them?" She was beginning to panic. They'd never been late before.

"I don't know? I'll question Moony. If they haven't come back by the time we finish the er- list, then we'll send out a search party."

He promptly turned back into a dog and raced over to Moony. They had a few words, Snuffles shaking his head. He then walked to a small stump, which he used as a platform.

"May I have your attention please?" he boomed out. "We have another list today, though it is shorter than yesterday's. First, we have Eloise Midgen, Professor Ivy Sprout, Anders McKinley, Adair Madden, Lonnie Bair, Joel Sanders, and Linda Shaner."

Bookworm expelled a sigh of relief. The look on Snuffles face after he had talked to Moony had worried her. But at least she didn't know for sure they were dead. She still had something to hope for. Snuffles, Moony, Slimeball (Snuffles had picked this name out for this particular wizard), Tabby, Mooneyes, and Pirateleg approached her. Mooneyes is the one who spoke.

"Come, Bookworm. We should go look for them. I'm afraid something's happened. They know when the curfew is." He glanced over her shoulder and a shadow fell across her. "You come, too, Dragon. We need all the help we can get."

Bookworm got to her feet, and slowly followed the others out of the encampment. Please don't let anything have happened to them, she prayed. Dragon silently took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled up at him. Funny, she thought, I never thought we'd ever become friends. I guess some people really can change.

"We'll split up here," Snuffles was saying. "We can cover more ground this way. Bookworm, Dragon, you go that way. Me and Moony will go this way. Tabby and Mooneyes'll go that way, and Slimeball (here he grinned widely) and Pirateleg will go that way. Agreed?"

They all shook their heads in agreement. As Bookworm and Dragon made their way along a path to the West, she felt a strange chill take hold of her heart, of her soul. Something was going to happen tonight. Something big. Maybe the war would end. A lot of people would die. She shivered.

At her side, Dragon tensed, his eyes and ears alert. She turned her attention in the direction he was looking. She could hear shouts and curses coming from up ahead. They stole into the cover of the trees and inched forward. They came to the edge of a large clearing. Hothead and Greenhorn were surrounded by many Death Eaters, and at the edge of the clearing on the opposite side, stood Voldemort himself, smiling a very cruel smile. Anger and fear coursed through Bookworm's veins. She tensed and was about to jump out into the clearing, but Dragon held her back. She looked at him with questioning eyes, but he only shook his head as if to say this isn't the time, wait. She glared at him, but resigned to just watch.

Hothead and Greenhorn were doing well against the Death Eaters, most of them stunned by now. When they had stunned the last of them, Greenhorn turned sharply and faced Voldemort, his green eyes glowing with hatred. Hothead stood at his side. Voldemort only smiled wider, as if something was amusing, and a second later, Bookworm saw why. Dozens of Death Eaters were Apparating behind Greenhorn and Hothead, both of them too absorbed in Voldemort to notice. One of the Death Eaters raised his wand and pointed it at Hothead's back. Bookworm couldn't watch any longer. She had to do something and Dragon wasn't going to stop her this time. She wrenched out of his grasp and ran into the clearing, her wand raised.

"Ron! Watch out!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Ron turned around and saw the Death Eater, too late. The spell was cast and the beam of light was heading straight towards him. She ran to him, trying to reach him in time. She knew it was impossible, so she shouted the first spell that came to mind.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" she shouted, and Ron lifted into the air. He soared towards her and landed beside her.

"Hermione! What are you doing here? Thanks, but now Harry's in there by himself!" Ron yelled, half grateful and half angry.

The Death Eaters had surrounded Harry, and he was by himself. Hermione's eyes filled with tears, but before either of them could react, a silver haired boy darted past them, pushing his way to the center of the circle.

"Draco!" Hermione shouted, but he ignored her and disappeared into the circle.

She looked up at Ron who was staring at a spot somewhere behind her. She turned sharply and saw dozens more Death Eaters Apparating into the clearing. Oh no. We'll never be able to hold them all back. Especially with Voldemort here. We've got to try, though. She elbowed Ron to get his attention and held her wand ready, a look of determination in her eyes. He nodded his head and they both began shooting curses at their opponents. The circle burst open behind them a few seconds later; Draco was leaning on Harry for support, a nasty gash on his right cheek. More and more Death Eaters kept Apparating into the clearing. Mooneyes, Tabby, Snuffles, Moony, Slimeball, and Pirateleg came hurtling into the clearing, all of them shouting curses left and right, trying to make their way towards Harry. It seemed this was the final showdown. Today it would end. A Death Eater had snuck behind Harry and pointed his wand at his back.

"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted. The Killing Curse sped towards Harry, but just as it was about to collide with him, another figure stepped in the way and crumpled to the ground.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry cried, whirling around. Tears leaked down his face.

He raised his wand and pointed it at the Death Eater and was about to shout the Killing Curse himself when Snuffles intervened.

"Move aside, Sirius!" Harry shouted, rage seething in his voice.

"I can't do that, Harry. You know the penalty if you kill any of them, save Voldemort himself," Sirius said, although the look in his eyes suggested he wanted to kill the Death Eater as much as Harry did.

Harry lowered his wand and turned to face the other Death Eaters, who had all stopped to watch the exchange, but were now fighting again. Some of the Death Eaters had captured and bound Slimeball, and, as much as she loathed the git, Hermione resolved to rescue him. She made her way towards him and noticed that he was gagged. When she had reached him, she un-gagged him as he seemed to be trying to say something.

"It's a trap!" he nearly shouted at her. "Th-"

He was cut off by the Killing Curse. His head slumped down on his chest, wide glassy eyes shone out at Hermione. She felt sick. Even though she didn't like Professor Snape, she had never wanted him dead. A curse hit her from behind and she fell to her knees.

"Hermione!" Ron shouted. He ran towards her and pushed her out of the way as the Crucio Curse was cast. He screamed in agony, his nose starting to bleed, and Hermione, filled with a fear and anger she had never known before, lunged at the Death Eater with her remaining strength. The Death Eater, apparently not expecting such an attack from a "Mudblood" fell back in surprise, his wand rolling several feet away. Ron had recovered from the attack and was now trying to pull Hermione off the unconscious Death Eater. She had been beating him without realizing he had gone unconscious. Ron gathered her in his arms and she collapsed into his chest, sobbing.

"Oh, Ron. I thought I'd lost you. Don't ever do that again," she said through her tears.

"Shh. It's alright, Hermione. I'm here. I won't ever leave you," he reassured her and patted her back awkwardly.

"I love you, Ron," she whispered, exhaustion taking over, though the battle was still raging on around them. They both seemed unaware of this.

"I love you, too, Hermione," he said into her ear. "I always have." And he kissed the top of her head.

"RON!" Professor Lupin shouted, bringing them both back to reality.

Lupin, McGonagall, Sirius, Harry, and Mad-eye Moody were surrounded by dozens of Death Eaters. Draco was lying on the ground, though nobody knew if he was dead or alive. Voldemort watched everything with a sick, twisted grin. Ron and Hermione stood up and advanced on the group, wands held ready. Upon seeing them, Voldemort frowned. He had obviously not seen the two, crouched low among the fallen.

"You there, boy!" he shouted at Ron. "I have a little gift for you." His smile returned, though even more twisted than before.

He snapped his fingers and Percy Weasley appeared, bound and gagged at his feet. Rage enveloped Ron. Nobody messed with his family. And besides, Percy had gone neutral. He wasn't in this fight. Percy's eyes had gone wide, and he was shaking his head at Ron as if to say to leave him and help Harry. Don't worry about him. But Ron wouldn't do that. He couldn't. He had to help Percy. Even though they fought most of the time, he still loved him dearly. Ron advanced on Voldemort, forgetting everything else at the moment.

"Give him back," he said through clenched teeth.

"Come and get him," was Voldemort's curt reply.

Ron charged, but he was too late. Percy slumped to the ground. Ron fell to his knees and cradled Percy's head in his lap. Mum was going to be devastated. He jumped to his feet and charged at Voldemort once more, but was knocked back by a curse.

"Ron! Leave him! Let's help Harry," Hermione pleaded, hoping she could get through to him.

Miraculously, it worked. He turned sharply and ran to rejoin her. They headed towards the others once more, shouting "Stupefy" as they went. Several Death Eaters fell. Harry broke free from the circle and headed towards Voldemort. Sirius tried to make a grab for his robes to hold him back, but Harry dodged out of the way. Nobody was going to stop him. This had gone far enough. He stood in front of Voldemort now, steady and calm. Everybody had stopped.

"This ends now," he said, and everybody knew it would.

Both wizards raised their wands and shouted the curse at the same time. A blinding white light engulfed everything. They all had to shield their eyes. When it had subsided minutes later, nothing remained of Voldemort, and Harry was on his knees, breathing hard. Everybody rushed over to him.

"What happened, Harry? Are you alright?" Sirius asked.

"Don't--know--what--happened," Harry said between breaths. "Bright light--Mum and Dad--Cedric--helped..." he trailed off and collapsed.

"We need to get him to the camp," Lupin said, and Sirius gathered Harry in his arms and promptly ran to the camp.

A small groan attracted Hermione's attention, and her eyes fell on Draco. She rushed over to him and knelt down beside him.

"Are you alright, Draco?" she whispered, hoping he could hear her.

He groaned again in response. Ron had joined Hermione now, and had his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

"It's ok, Draco. We're going to get some help. You'll be alright."

They began to stand up to go get some help, but Draco reached out and grabbed onto Hermione's arm.

"Don't go," he whispered. "I don't want to be alone when I..." he trailed off.

"Nonsense," Hermione scolded. "You're going to be just fine," though she didn't know if she was trying to convince him or herself.

"Tell Ginny," he paused, "that I love her. I always have and always will..."

"Draco? Draco?" Hermione shook him, but he didn't respond. "Draco!" she screamed, but still nothing.

Ron wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, her tears soaking his shirt once more.

"He's gone, Hermione. He's gone."

"Ron?"

"Yes?"

"Did you mean what you said earlier? When you said you've always loved me?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Of course I meant it. And I still mean it. Hermione, you are the love of my life. I know we're still young, but I know that already. I could never live a day without you. You mean everything to me."

Hermione smiled and buried her head deeper into his chest. He was so warm and comforting. He felt very--safe.

"Hermione, Ron?" It was Professor Lupin. "I think you two had better come with me. Harry wants to see you two."

"I think I'd better write a letter to my Mum, too," Ron said, eyes tearing up.

"Fred and George have already done so," Lupin said sympathetically. "But you two must hurry. We haven't got much time." His eyes shone with tears.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, both sets of eyes wide. Surely nothing that serious was wrong with Harry. I mean, he was going to be alright, wasn't he? He had promised them he would come back with them. They quickly followed Lupin to the camp, hand in hand. A crowd was gathered around Harry, who lay on a bed back towards the far corner of the camp. Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey shooed them all away when Ron and Hermione approached. Sirius sat at the bedside, holding Harry's hand. He seemed beyond shock, beyond grief. He sat staring blankly ahead, tears streaming down his face. Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione and smiled a very weak smile.

"Alright, Harry?" Ron asked, a little uncomfortable. He never thought he'd see his best friend in such a bad state.

"Alright, Ron," Harry replied, chuckling a bit.

Hermione rushed forwards and wrapped her arms around Harry, sobbing.

"Oh, Harry!" she cried into his blankets. He hugged her back.

"Remember what I said in first year, when we were going after Quirrell? About you being a great wizard? It's still true! You are the greatest wizard I've ever known. You're like a brother to me, Harry, and, you can't leave me, us, you can't Harry, you just can't!" she wailed.

"I've got to, Hermione. I've just got to. I've done what I was supposed to do."

"No! You can't! I won't let you! You promised me, us, that you would come back with us! You promised!" she hugged him more fiercely and he grimaced in pain.

"Hermione, come on. You're hurting him," she heard Ron's voice somewhere in the recesses of her mind.

She blocked him out and hugged Harry even tighter, determined not to let him go. She was vaguely aware of a pair of strong arms trying to pry her off of Harry before everything went black.

Hermione Granger awoke in the sixth year's girls' dormitory. Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks.

In the next dormitory, Ginny Weasley awoke at the same time to her own voice whispering "I love you, Draco Malfoy."