"You promised!"
The harsh accusation burns him to the core as he listens to his girlfriend shout.
"You promised me! You swore you wouldn't do anything to get yourself killed."
Holly's green eyes are glistening as her anger dissipates into worry. She closes her eyes tightly, wishing that this were a dream. Draco could not do this to her. He said they would stay together, that he wouldn't be stupid as long as she didn't get herself killed. Then, Dumbledore asks him to go on this mission to infiltrated enemy headquarters on a rescue mission when most of the inner circle would be with Voldemort fighting another front that they had 'accidentally' leaked via a certain spy.
"I promised to protect you no matter what," Draco looked up at Holly from across the room. He knew she would be mad at him when he accepted this mission, but he also knew that if they managed to succeed, she would have one less thing to worry about in the future. "It's getting harder and harder to contact Snape. I'm the only other person that has spent time studying Death Eaters. I know their characters, strengths, weaknesses, tactics, and the layout of the building…and…and I know that I can't let you risk your life over something like this. You're the only one that has the power to truly make a difference in this war, Holly. And I hate it. I hate that it has to be you, but I refuse to let you fight alone."
Holly was staring at the floor, refusing to say anything or let her tears fall. She shook her head and looked up at Draco.
"That's not true," she said with tightly controlled anger. "I've had help since my first year, and most of it has been sheer dumb luck. Everyone has the power to make a difference in this war. There are other people that can do this, Draco! It doesn't have to be you!" Holly was shouting now, not caring that all of headquarters could probably here them. "I've lost too many people, and I refuse to lose you!"
After a strained pause, Holly let out a shaky breath. She knew she was being selfish and irrational, but just once, she wished fate would let her win. "I know I've got no right to tell you what to do, and you probably think I'm a huge hypocrite right now, but my life is not worth losing you."
Draco stepped forward and embraced his girlfriend, all anger gone.
"Your life is everything," whispered Draco, "You mean so much more to me and to your friends than you think, and we will do everything to protect you."
The couple stood in each other's arms in silence, too afraid to say anything about what lay in store for them.
-xXx-
Draco woke up at 1:30AM to head down stairs the day of the rescue mission. He and Holly had taken to sharing a room since the war became more dangerous. They had been put through all sorts of training, including basic Auror training. Draco had been versed in dueling before, and was ahead of many of the other new Order members. Although, Holly had been doing almost double the work he had. She had more experience, but less training and much of her training had been about working on tactics or really anything that may help her against the Dark Lord. She dabbled in rare spells that were as dark as they were light. She proved to be a fierce leader capable of making split second decisions in high stress situations, but more often than not she tackled things head on with no regard for her own preservation. This irked Draco to no end. How was he supposed to protect her if she disregarded her own life?
Pulling on his boots, he could feel her eyes on his back and he thought about the last time they fought. They had a large, public argument after one of their training sessions, much to the amusement of Shakleboldt and Tonks. It started out quite serious, but soon they were sitting on the floor next to each other reminiscing about school. He couldn't stay mad long, her selflessness was part of why he loved her so much.
Holly had taken to dressing in his shirts, and she was wearing his favorite green shirt when she put her arms around him, cheek pressed to his back. He held her hands and turned around to kiss her temple. Downstairs, they were met by the other members of the rescue mission also decked out in magical protective armor. Moody was giving last minute orders and Dumbledore was quietly talking with Amos and Remus. A few heads looked their way, and Remus gave a small, sad smile to her before turning back to his discussion.
Draco held her hand as they sat in the corner waiting for his instructions. She looked into his silver eyes and refused to look away. The war had hardly begun for them, but already changes were noticeable. Her boyfriend's eyes held a steely determination that made his eyes darker, and his complexion more serious. He had gained muscle and grown five centimeters taller. He looked fierce in his black dragon-hide armor, but he was still only nearly of age. He must have sensed her worries, because he pulled her into a hug. Holly bit her lip and winced when Moody gave the signal. They stood up steadily, not breaking eye contact.
"Come back to me," she whispered. He simply kissed her and walked away.
He wouldn't make promises he couldn't keep.
-xXx-
Holly threw herself into her training the summer after Sirius died. She knew any chance at a normal life was over. Why should she deny or pretend to be something she's not? Her friends had understood that ultimately the choice was hers, but they supported her. They hadn't gone back to school, no matter how much Hermione harped on the importance of completing their education; she knew she couldn't go back. There was too much to be done and Draco was no longer safe in Slytherin. Heck, she wasn't entirely sure she'd be safe in Gryffindor either. Ron had surprisingly calmed Hermione and nodded at Holly settling the matter. Ron was great like that. She said goodbye to them in August and Ginny promised to keep them all in line, and as the train left she felt tears rolling down her cheeks knowing that her last time at Hogwarts was right after her Godfather died. That is not how she wanted to remember her true home. They still sent her updates about what was going on and surprisingly, Neville stepped up and became the unofficial house leader after she left.
After her talk with Draco earlier in the summer, she promised to do everything to ensure she was strong enough to live up to their expectations and to protect them. Moody had personally trained her, until he was needed on important missions. A senior auror now supervised her training, and she studied notes from Flitwick. People forget he won the freestyle dueling competition in his prime. His techniques were ruthless. Remus ensured she continued her general education courses, including working on potions, albeit only the ones relevant to healing and countering poisons. Dumbledore also had a hand in her training. Her homework for him comprised of Ancient magic techniques, spells from different countries, mind arts, basic healing, and politics. Sometimes she would catch Dumbledore looking at her with sad eyes, sadness for what she had to do and the role he played in shaping her into a warrior. He would often show her his memories from the previous war, and of young Tom Riddle.
Holly felt sorry for him. Tom Riddle was a victim of a cruel world and he responded in the only way he knew, through harshness and destruction. That didn't mean she forgave him though. Her nightmares and visions were more proof of how little humanity Riddle had left.
She spent almost every free moment with Draco. Their training schedules had left them few times to see each other except for at the end of the day, and by then they were often too tired to do anything but rest. She moved into his room shortly after their training began and no one said anything. They could hardly sleep anyway between their nightmares and worries. Then, that blasted mission came up and Draco volunteered to help. After he left, Holly tried studying the outline Remus left her.
The resistance movement was growing as Voldemort began spreading his influence. Most of it was contained in the UK, but the French ministry had already contacted Dumbledore. The Ministry was merely a puppet that instilled fear, but its consistency still kept society from completely deteriorating. It was no longer safe to walk alone, and a curfew had been set. People were barely holding on. Almost the entire auror force had joined the Order, the Rebellion. Hogwarts was the last safe haven, but Holly wasn't too sure it would last past this year. She helped in battle strategies and kept training, but she was getting restless. She knew Dumbledore was hesitant to let her fight, but during one of their training sessions, she pointed out that there was little he could do to stop the prophecy. She still hadn't told Draco about it.
-xXx-
Draco ran around a corner, ducking down as a purple curse shot over his head. He heard his partner shout, and he gave the signal to press forward. Getting into the house was easy. They met minimal resistance and made it to the holding cells without casualty. They managed to rescue their eight allies, but they met serious opposition when trying to leave. He dodged another curse. They were almost outside the anti-apparition wards, when Draco was thrown to the ground. He felt Moody hauling him up and he looked down at his bleeding chest. Well, Holly wasn't going to like that.
She was in the kitchen helping Molly make lunch when a loud pop echoed from the front room. Grabbing her wand, she dashed from the kitchen to see Dumbledore giving orders. There were eight more people in the party than had left, so the mission had been successful. Someone was giving orders and getting people sorted, but she heard none of it. She made her way through the crowd searching for the familiar head of platinum blonde. Fred and George were assisting an auror who had a nasty looking gash on his arm. Shakleboldt was checking in with Dumbledore as Moody was shouting more orders. Molly ran around handing out drinks to everyone and people were checking injuries. Holly didn't see him.
Before she could panic too much, she felt a large hand rest on her shoulder. She whirled around to see Dumbledore looking at her with concern behind his half-moon spectacles.
"Ms. Potter, do not worry," he said in his gentle tone. "Mr. Malfoy has sustained a small injury and is resting in care of Madame Pomfrey. We didn't want to risk sending too many people to Hogwarts, but not to worry my dear. He is in the best care and should be back tomorrow."
A flash of worry shown in her eyes, before she realized that sneaking off or demanding to see him would just cause unnecessary problems. Nodding silently, she walked back to kitchen to finish making lunch. She forgot to eat a sandwich herself.
-xXx-
Greenlight/screams/running/blood
Holly's eyes shot open as she felt herself falling out of bed in a tangle of blankets. But before she could hit the ground, she twisted to land in a low crouch. The night was silent except for Hedwig ruffling her feathers and staring at Holly, startled by the sudden movement. Holly fell back against her bed and took a shaky breath. She had frequent nightmares whenever Voldemort was feeling something extreme, usually anger. However, ever since that ritual in the graveyard, the nightmares were more frequent. She had worked and worked to become a decent occlumens and had worked on masking her presence whenever she felt herself connect to Voldemort's mind. She couldn't keep him completely out, but neither could he. Voldemort usually stayed out of Holly's mind though since she always felt pain when he tried to break into her mind and would direct more magic to her shields to render his attempts unsuccessful. Sighing, she moved to get a book out of her trunk knowing that once again sleep would elude her.
Holly watched the sun rise from her small window. She didn't get any sleep at all knowing Draco was in the hospital, and Voldemort was feeling particularly happy that night. She continued to pet Hedwig and talk to her longtime friend.
"I hope he's alright," she whispered. "I would hate to think about what would happen if I lost him…"
Her mind begins to wander again. She thinks about her friends, the Order, her role in this war, and the prophecy that changed her life. Draco needs to know about it. He needs to know the reason she's being hunted down and that the longer he stays with her, the more likely he's going to be pulled down too.
The ex-prince of Slytherin returns late that afternoon covered in bandages looking tired, but there's no longer blood everywhere.
-xXx-
They have another moment in the middle of the night, exposing their souls and releasing all fears, anxieties, hopes, dreams, and after all that, she tells him.