Author's Note: Parts of this fic contain dialogue and events taken directly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31, "The Battle of Hogwarts."
For a moment, all Draco could do was just stand there, frozen in fear, as he watched the Fiendfyre make its way towards him.
Draco then heard Potter scream "Aguamenti," only for the water that shot out of his wand to immediately evaporate in the air.
"RUN!" Potter then yelled.
This finally got Draco moving. He grabbed a Stunned Goyle and began to run. He couldn't see Crabbe anywhere. He had even lost sight of Potter, Weasley, and Granger.
All that Draco could see was fire. It had them completely surrounded.
Then, Draco saw a pile of desks. He didn't know how he managed to drag both him and Goyle on top of the pile, especially since Goyle was heavier than him and practically dead-weight in his Stunned state; but Draco somehow managed to get the both of them on top of the desks.
Draco looked around. All he could see was fire. He saw no way to escape. He was trapped, completely trapped. Both him and Goyle.
Both of them were going to die, and there was nothing that Draco could do to stop that.
Draco glanced over at the unconscious Goyle. Crabbe was probably already dead, and Draco knew that soon he and Goyle would be joining him.
This was not what Draco had wanted. He knew that he had rarely treated Crabbe and Goyle with any respect (he had often treated like crap, to be honest), but he did care about them. And he never would have wanted them to die because of his failure.
Ever since the Dark Lord had given him the task of murdering Dumbledore, it seemed as if Draco had been nothing but a failure. He just couldn't do anything right.
And now he, Goyle, and Crabbe were all going to pay the price for his latest and final failure.
He was nothing but a failure.
As Draco looked at the fire, however, he didn't just see the flames. He also saw the Dark Lord beating him, his mother, and his father for allowing Potter to escape from Malfoy Manor.
If only Draco had confirmed that it was Potter. If Draco had told them from the beginning that it was Potter. Everything would have then turned out differently. He and his parents would not have suffered such brutal beatings. He and his parents would not have been forced to watch as the Dark Lord had beat them one by one.
And Draco wouldn't now be here in the Room of Requirement with Goyle, completely surrounded by cursed fire.
Draco could clearly see his parents' faces in his mind. They had never blamed him for anything. Instead, they had always tried their best to protect him. They had not always succeeded, of course, but at least they had tried.
At least they had done something of value.
Draco, on the other hand, had been completely useless in everything. He had been nothing but a failure.
And now Draco had led his friends to their deaths.
Draco once again saw his parents' faces in his mind. There would be nothing left of Draco's body after the Fiendfyre finally made its way towards him. His parents would never find his body. His parents would never know what had happened to their son. Their son would be forever missing, and they would never have the chance to bury him.
And Draco knew that would pain and torment his parents more than anything that the Dark Lord could ever do to them.
That was why Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had not wanted him to get involved with anything. That was why they had wanted him to do nothing but be a student as soon as he had returned to Hogwarts. They had not wanted to lose him because of his recklessness and his stupidity.
If only Draco had not been so desperate to redeem himself and his parents in the Dark Lord's eyes by trying to finally bring Potter to him. If only Draco had just listened to his parents for once.
Draco glanced over again at the unconscious Goyle. And he once again thought of his parents.
"I'm sorry," Draco breathed. "I'm so sorry for everything."
Then, Draco saw Potter flying towards him on a broomstick.
Draco blinked several times. He had to be seeing things.
But no, he wasn't. Potter was really flying towards him.
Draco raised one arm, and to his surprise, Potter actually took it.
Potter had come back to save him? Draco didn't know what to think, but he most definitely was grateful.
Draco climbed on the broom behind Potter, while Weasley and Granger dragged an unconscious Goyle onto their broom.
They were saved. They were going to live.
Draco only wished that he had been able to save Crabbe as well. Poor Crabbe.
But at least Goyle was okay. Draco knew that he had saved Goyle by dragging him onto the pile of desks with him. At least Draco had finally done one right thing in what seemed like forever.
And at least Draco would get the chance to see his parents again. They now wouldn't have to live the rest of their lives never knowing what had happened to their son.
Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy now wouldn't have to live the rest of their lives with that unbearable pain and torment.