All four houses were standing in the great hall. Three of the houses were celebrating, because the Slytherins had just been sent to the dungeon. None of the Slytherins were happy about this. It wasn't their fault that they were scared. It wasn't their fault that a majority of the death eaters were from their house. They were just kids, but none of them were grave enough to say so. All except one. One girl had found enough courage to do something all the others wanted to, but didn't.
"No!" She declared. "We didn't do anything wrong! We want this to be over as much as you do!"
Everyone silently stared at the girl. She stood confidently amongst her peers. "I won't go down to the dungeon for a crime I haven't committed." She said. "I want to help." The last part seemed to be more difficult for her to say for some reason, but she still stood there with the same strength as she did before.
Shortly after her speech, a few other Slytherins joined her. Agreeing that they wanted to help as well. They stood together to the surprise of the other three houses. A few of the other Slytherins stayed back though. The others saw this as cowardness, but the Slytherins knew why they refused. It was the same reason they were hesitant.
"Very well then." Said Professor Mcgonagall.
The few who didn't join the Slytherins willing to fight went back to the Slytherin common room.
Everyone was surprised by the actions that these students had taken, but now was not the time to dwell on that matter.
"I assume you have a reason for returning, Potter." Said Professor Mcgonagall.
Harry then explained what he needed from those at Hogwarts. Everyone then left to do what was needed of them. Members of the order put up a shield around the entirety of Hogwarts castle, and Mcgonagall sent an army of stone soldiers to defend the school and all those in it. After that, all they could do was wait and prepare for when the Dark Lord and his followers managed to pass these defenses.
During this time, Mcgonagall seemed out the Slytherin girl who had spoken earlier. Mcgonagall recognized her as one of her students. She was actually one of her best students. The girl was smart and respectful. The girl was a fast learner much like Miss Granger, but instead of constant studying and paying attention, she would listen until she understood then start to daydream and leave into her own little world. Mcgonagall would catch her in these states and then pick on her to answer the question. The girl would look up, knowing what Mcgonagall was doing, and give the best answer she could possibly give with this sly little smile on her face. Mcgonagall couldn't decide if it annoyed her or if she found it amusing.
Mcgonagall tried her best to show as little favoritism as possible, but she didn't always succeed. The few observant students were well aware that Mcgonagall, like most Gryffindors, was not the most fond of the Slytherins. She didn't treat them any differently then the other students, but she did expect differently from the Slytherin students. She expected all of the students to have some of the stereotypical traits of their house. Some were much more obvious than the others, but all had the traits that the house was known for. All her Hufflepuff students were kind and loyal. All her Ravenclaw students were all determined. All her Gryffindor students showed bravery in even the smallest of tasks. And all her Slytherin students were clever and cunning. However it was only with the Slytherin students that she found herself using the stereotype the students used. She found herself preparing for a rude brat when faced with a Slytherin. She felt quilty of this thought process, but it's the one she's had since she was eleven.
Mcgonagall found the Slytherin girl. Her name was Freya Ashcraft. She had short, curly, brown hair to match her dark brown eyes. She was taller than most of the other students and incredibly pale. She was actually quite a beautiful girl. She was on her way to the astronomy tower, Mcgonagall assumed this was to be able to see when the death eaters were coming.
"Miss Ashcraft." She called.
The girl turned around and gave the professor her full attention, awaiting orders.
"That was very grave what you did," Mcgonagall told her, "I wanted to apologize for my misjudgement."
Freya nodded her head, "Thank you." She said and continued her journey upward. Mcgonagall left and returned downstairs to lead the others.
a few moments later the girl came down from the astronomy tower knowing that the shield is almost broken, and she will be needed to fight. She stood alongside the others, wand at the ready. Mcgonagall looked around at her students and noticed all the others doing similarly. She noticed that almost all of them looked ready to do what was necessary, but some of the Slytherins looked terrified to do so. It was then that she realized why some were reluctant to fight. It never occurred to her that they were family and friends with the people they were about to fight. Of course she knew that they were related, but she had completely forgotten that they actually care for one another. In fact, the bonds she's seen between some of the Slytherins are actually stronger than others in the school. Growing up, she didn't really understand it, but when she became a professor at the school it made more sense.
There were times when Snape would have to come to her explaining that she should not allow certain students outside of the classroom alone, because he had found out that they would commit self harm. And though it was rare, there would be a few students that went even further. She then realized why the Slytherin friendships seemed so much closer than others. They had an understanding of each other. They have helped and even saved one another in a way very few can truly understand. And it was only just now that she realized these students were fighting the very people that had saved and helped them. The people they have grown to care about and even love. She felt more guilty now for making the Slytherins fight then she did for the others.
For the other students the thing that made her guilty was the fact that she was making them risk their lives and fight even though they were just children. However with the Slytherins, not only was she doing that, but she was making them fight people they know and love. She had never even considered the toll this war would even have on these students. She had never admired her students more.
the fight began. Mcgonagall could not focus on her students anymore. She focused on defending the school and winning this war once and for all. She fought and noticed everyone else doing the same. There were a few that went back to the castle in order for their wounds to be tended to, but there were others who won their duels and swiftly went to fight another.
As Mcgonagall finished dueling with one of the lesser death eaters she turned and saw a hufflepuff boy get thrown onto the ground from an incredible height. Mcgonagall took care of the death eater the boy was fighting and turned to the student. He was still breathing, but was clearly injured. She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and apparated them to the castle so Madame Pomfrey could attend to his wounds. She laid the boy down next to the others who were injured in battle. When she stood up though, she noticed the Slytherin girls lying down in a pool of blood.
The professor walked over to the girl and kneeled beside her. "What happened?"
"I was fighting one of the death eaters and she hit me with a spell I've never heard of before. They won't tell me exactly, but from what I can tell, I'll bleed to death and since we don't know the spell we can't counter it." Freya explained.
"I'm sure they'll figure out something." Mcgonagall tried to reassure her.
Freya laughed but it quickly turned to coughs of blood. "It doesn't take too long to bleed to death, and she can't exactly focus on a hopeless case with all the others that she can heal." She was weak and paler than usual. It wouldn't be much longer till she was dead and both of them knew it.
Mcgonagall was not ok with letting this girl die alone, so she stayed by her side. It was silent for a few seconds apart from the coughs and screams from the injured, but the sound that surprised and bothered Minerva the most was the next word Freya muttered.
"Sorry." She said.
"What on earth do you have to be sorry for?" Minerva asked.
"I had the perfect opportunity to kill the death eater, but I couldn't do it." Explained Freya.
"An unwillingness to kill is not something to be ashamed of." Mcgonagall told her.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to kill. Had it been anyone else I would've." Stated Freya.
Mcgonagall looked at the girl, her head slightly tilted with confusion. "Who was it?"
"My sister." Freya whispered too weak to speak at a normal volume.
Minerva closed her eyes trying to blink away tears and failing. "I'm so sorry. You should not feel guilty that. It's horrible that you're sister did this to you." She turned to look Freya in the eye so she could give an even more heartfelt apology, but the girl was already dead.
Minerva let a few more tears fall before she got up and continued to fight.
Eventually, the war was won and people went to go mourn their loved ones. They entered the great hall which was now full of bodies lined side by side. There were some people that got a hoard of friends and family to mourn them while others only had one or two. The only person people were not expecting to see mourning the loss of someone fighting against the death eaters was Draco Malfoy.
Harry walked over to Draco and saw that he was standing over the body of Freya. "Did you know her?"
Draco jumped slightly, not expecting to be spoken to, but eventually answered the question. "Yes," he said, "last year we helped each other out, quite a bit actually."
Harry looked up at Draco, "How so?"
"We were both having a hard time that year and were close to making some terrible decisions." He explained.
Harry realized what he meant and decided not to push the subject any further. He left Draco and returned to the Weasleys. Draco and his mother left shortly after that.