Author's Note: Some of the dialogue and events in this story is from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36, "The Flaw in the Plan."
There was chaos before Neville Longbottom used Godric Gryffindor's sword to cut off Nagini's head, as the giants that had sworn allegiance to the Dark Lord were doing battle with another giant and a herd of centaurs. The chaos, however, definitely increased after the giant snake's death.
A Shield Charm was clearly cast between the Dark Lord and Longbottom before the Dark Lord could take his rage out on the boy.
The caster could not be seen, but Lucius and Narcissa had no doubt that it had been Potter. They had seen the boy pull out an Invisibility Cloak as he had sprung up from the ground, clearly not dead, even though both Malfoys had already known that beforehand. Narcissa had known because she, of course, had lied to the Dark Lord about Potter being dead. Lucius had known because he could tell when Narcissa was lying about something.
So much for Gryffindor courage, Lucius sneered to himself as he watched Potter disappear from sight. So much for the great champion and savior.
Lucius wished that he had an Invisibility Cloak to hide both him and Narcissa. He wished that he had his wand, so that he could cast the Disillusionment Charm on the two of them.
"'HARRY!'" Hagrid's shout filled the air. "'HARRY – WHERE'S HARRY?'"
Chaos was the only answer given to Hagrid's question. Centaurs began to shoot arrows at the Death Eaters. Thestrals and a hippogriff (both Lucius and Narcissa couldn't help but wonder if that was the same hippogriff that had attacked Draco in his third year) scratched at the eyes of the Dark Lord's giants. The other giant, the one who had earlier screamed "'HAGGER,'" swung his huge fists at the blinded or at the very least half-blinded giants.
Among all the chaos, though, the two Malfoys caught sight of the Dark Lord. He suddenly turned and met both of their eyes. Even from the distance, there was no denying the rage in the Dark Lord's eyes as he looked directly at Narcissa.
Lucius squeezed Narcissa's hand reassuringly as the Dark Lord began to make his way towards them.
They didn't have a single weapon that they could use to defend themselves.
"Let's go find Draco and get out of here," Lucius muttered urgently to his wife.
Narcissa nodded her head in agreement, her eyes wide with fear.
The two Malfoys then began to charge through the crowd, even though they made sure to keep distance and bodies between them and the Dark Lord.
As they ran, Lucius and Narcissa noticed that several Death Eaters were mysteriously brought down. Potter's work, no doubt. Perhaps the boy, in at least some ways, was more Slytherin than Gryffindor.
Meanwhile, the battle between the giants had caused people from both sides to be pushed back into Hogwarts. Lucius and Narcissa noticed that the Dark Lord was one of those that was forced to go into the castle.
More people joined the fight against the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. The two Malfoys caught sight of the familiar red hair of a Weasley. They also noticed Horace Slughorn, who clearly had been sleeping when the battle had started as he was still wearing his emerald pajamas.
Curses were being sent wildly by both sides.
Lucius pulled Narcissa close to him, so that she would at least have some shielding.
Lucius then noticed a curse being sent his and Narcissa's way.
The Malfoy patriarch pushed both himself and his wife down onto the floor. Lucius made sure that his body was covering Narcissa's as the curse flew over them.
There was no telling who had sent the curse. It could have been a Death Eater or it could have been a Hogwarts defender. It was likely, though, that neither Lucius nor Narcissa had been the intended target, as people from both sides seemed to be just shooting curses and not caring what or who they hit.
Lucius was about to pull both himself and Narcissa off the floor when he noticed another wildly cast curse coming their way.
"Idiots, learn how to aim!" Lucius shouted angrily as he once again shielded his wife's body.
Lucius was tired of war. He had been dodging curses since he was a small child, when attacks initiated by both Purebloods and Mudbloods alike had been the norm. Nothing had changed. Just as it had been back then, neither side cared who got hurt.
And neither Malfoy had a wand that they could use to deflect any curses that came their way.
Narcissa squeezed Lucius's hand in an attempt to calm him.
Meanwhile, the centaurs made their way into the castle, still shooting arrows. Their entrance, however, was overshadowed by the kitchen door being flung off its hinges.
An army of house-elves, carrying knives and cleavers, came pouring into the entrance hall.
Lucius and Narcissa immediately recognized the old, wrinkled house-elf in the lead.
Narcissa could not help but think about how Kreacher's appearance at Malfoy Manor just two years ago had ended up leading to her husband's arrest and imprisonment, which had then been followed by the Dark Lord's constant torture and humiliation of him in his own house.
Kreacher's appearance had also lead to Sirius's death, Sirius who had been the last living male Black. The Black name was now dead.
But the Black blood was still alive, and Narcissa intended for it to live on through her son Draco.
"'Fight! Fight!'" Kreacher bellowed. "'Fight for my Master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!'"
The house-elves then began to attack the Death Eaters with their weapons.
Lucius pushed both himself and Narcissa out of the way of a stray arrow.
Didn't anyone know how to aim?
"Draco," Narcissa moaned. "Oh, Draco, where are you?"
"Draco's a smart boy," Lucius replied, trying to sound reassuringly. "He's probably somewhere safe, away from all this chaos."
Neither Malfoy could bear speaking out loud the thought that nowhere in Hogwarts was safe.
Meanwhile, the Death Eaters around them continued to fall at the hands of the Hogwarts defenders.
"Draco!" Narcissa began to scream, both the panic and the desperation in her voice clear. "Draco!"
"Draco! Draco!" Lucius screamed as well.
They needed to find their son and get him out of here before things got even worse.
Draco was wondering around in a semi-daze. He heard the sounds of battle not far from him, but his mind and body seemed to be separate from one another. His mind was telling him that he needed to find a safe place to hide before the battle made its way towards him, but his body was too busy with wandering around aimlessly to obey.
Draco hoped that where he had left a still unconscious Goyle would remain a safe place.
He had wanted to redeem his family in the Dark Lord's eyes so badly. He had wanted so badly to be the one to finally deliver Potter to the Dark Lord.
But instead of obtaining such a victory for his family, Draco had ended up having to be saved by Potter.
And Crabbe was dead, all because Draco had foolishly believed that he could still achieve glory for his family.
I'm nothing but a pathetic excuse of a wizard, Draco thought. I'm nothing but a failure, a shame to the Malfoy name. Perhaps I deserve to die.
Screams of pain suddenly filled the air.
Draco trembled. The screams were getting closer, which meant that the battle was getting closer as well.
No, I don't really want to die. I don't want to die for a war that has torn apart my family. It's just not worth it anymore.
Images of his parents suddenly filled Draco's head. He could see their faces as they came across his dead, mutilated body.
His mother, who had been so strong since the beginning of their ordeal, finally broke down. Tears fell down her beautiful face as she collapsed onto the floor in order to cradle the body of her only son and child.
His father, meanwhile, also broke down. He didn't cry as openly as his wife, but there were definitely tears in his eyes as he tried to comfort her while also struggling to contain his own grief.
The sounds of approaching, frantic footsteps caused these images to disappear.
Draco reached for his mother's wand, but then he remembered that he had lost it.
I'm about to die, Draco thought as he struggled to control his rising panic. I'm about to die, and my parents are going to be the ones to discover my body.
Two blond-haired figures suddenly appeared in the hallway.
Draco blinked several times, convinced that he was seeing things. There was no way that his parents could be in Hogwarts. There was no way that his parents were right there in front of him.
"Draco!" Narcissa cried in obvious relief. "Draco!"
"Draco!" Lucius shouted as well.
"Mother," Draco gasped. "Father."
A moment later, Draco felt his mother wrapping her arms around him.
Draco then saw his father's equally relived face over his mother's shoulder.
Lucius stretched out his arms to embrace both his wife and son.
There were more screams of pain, along with sounds of curses hitting the walls and shattering items.
"Let's get out of here," Lucius spoke.
The three Malfoys then began to make their way away from the sounds of battle.
"'NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!'" a woman's voice (Molly Weasley's voice) suddenly shouted angrily.
Daughter, both Lucius and Narcissa thought in angst as they could not help but remember their stillborn daughter Ara.
The sound of Bellatrix's familiar laughter then filled the air.
"Bella," Narcissa breathed. Despite everything, Bellatrix was still her sister, and she needed to know what happened next.
Lucius led the way as the three Malfoys made their way back towards the battle.
"'OUT OF MY WAY!'" Molly Weasley's voice screamed, followed by "'No! Get back! Get back! She is mine!'"
Both Lucius and Narcissa wished that they had been fortunate enough to have been granted the opportunity to defend their daughter's life.
The three Malfoys made their way into the Great Hall. No one, however, seemed to notice them, as everyone's attention was focused on the Dark Lord's battle with McGonagall, Slughorn, and Shacklebolt and Bellatrix's battle with Molly Weasley.
"'What will happen to your children when I've killed you?'" Bellatrix taunted, her voice completely mad. "'When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?'"
So, the Weasleys had lost one of their children.
Lucius reached for Draco's hand and pulled his son close to him, even though the Malfoy patriarch made sure to still keep his body in front of Draco's.
He and Narcissa only had one child, and they could have just as easily lost him as the Weasleys had lost one of theirs.
"'You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!'" the Weasley matriarch cried.
Bellatrix just laughed. A moment later, though, Molly Weasley's curse struck Bellatrix directly above her heart.
The Dark Lord screamed as Bellatrix's body crumbled and fell down onto the floor. McGonagall, Slughorn, and Shacklebolt were sent flying.
Lucius reached behind him and found Narcissa's hand. He wasn't unhappy at all that Bellatrix was dead, but he knew that his wife had cared about her.
Lucius turned his face to look at Narcissa as he squeezed her hand.
There was a blank expression on Narcissa's face. It was clear she didn't quite know how to react.
A moment later, however, Narcissa seemed to come back to her senses. She blinked her eyes several times before meeting her husband's eyes.
"That could have easily been you, Lucius," Narcissa finally spoke, the horror in her voice clear.
"That could have easily been any of us," Lucius responded, "but it wasn't."
Meanwhile, the Dark Lord pointed his wand at Molly Weasley.
"'Protego!'" Potter's voice cried.
A moment later, Potter was visible, as he had finally pulled off his Invisibility Cloak.
There were screams of "'Harry!'" and "'HE'S ALIVE!'"
The, he's alive, Lucius thought sarcastically. I could have told all of you that a lot earlier. Honestly, didn't anyone else beside me and Narcissa see Potter leap up from the ground outside when he was supposed to be dead?
Meanwhile, the Dark Lord and Potter began to circle one another as everyone grew silent. Both tension and fear filled the air.
Narcissa and Draco pressed their bodies closer to Lucius's.
The Malfoy patriarch shifted so that his body was still at least semi-covering the bodies of his wife and son.
They should be running right now, while no one was paying them any attention.
But all three Malfoys just needed to know. All three Malfoys just needed to know who would finally be the victor, the Dark Lord or Harry Potter.