A/N: This is actually a quick update, especially for me! I just had a lot of motivation for this chapter. For writing in general, actually.

I'm going down to see my girlfriend next Saturday (yep, we've got another date arranged) so the next update will either be after that, so will be just over a week, or maybe before if I can get it done quick enough. So let's see which one it'll be. Hopefully the last one!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Concealed Torture

Chapter 21 - The Battle of Hogwarts

The courtyard was immediately lit up by the fury of spells being cast from either side. Harry and Draco were forced to release their hold on each other when a killing curse was thrown over at them. A scream from Voldemort about him being the one to kill Harry Potter could be heard from where they were. The two of them had their wands raised, a watchful eye out to the Death Eaters, both thinking over a plan in their minds. That was when Draco's eye caught his father at the edge of the courtyard. His cold eyes met Draco's, and he quickly turned around a corner behind him, out of sight. It was a clear message for him to follow.

Harry noticed this as well, and turned to Draco after he stunned a nearby Death Eater.

"You're going to go after him, aren't you, Draco?" he questioned, to which Draco immediately nodded.

"Of course I am. Can you cover me?"

"I will. Be careful."

Draco nodded once more and transformed into Animagus form. Harry was confused for a moment, before he realised that Draco was able to move much faster in that form. A target which is both small and fast would be harder to hit. Harry kept his eye on the fox, watching as he cast Protego around himself, his four legs carrying him swiftly across the courtyard. A grin grew on Harry's face, before he quickly sidestepped a Crucio sent his way. He stepped back slightly, bumping into Fred and George behind him.

"Be careful where you're going, Harry!" Fred exclaimed.

"Fred, move!" George shouted, and pulled his twin closer to him, away from a stray killing curse. Fred breathed in deeply, nodding at his brother.

"Thanks for that, George!" Fred replied, then sighed in relief.

"Alright guys, I need everyone's help to take out as many Death Eaters as possible so I can get to Voldemort. Come on, let's get out there."

Puri managed to make his way across the courtyard without being harmed. The other Death Eaters knew about the power he had inherited and how his Animagus form was a fox, but he was able to run at a very high pace and dodged out of the way of every curse sent in his direction. He walked around the corner to see his father leaning on a tree. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the small fox, and a smirk crept on his face.

"Hello there, Draco. It is such a lovely morning, isn't it?" the elder Malfoy drawled at his son. Puri tilted his white head a little, before he transformed.

"Hello, daddy. It's a pleasure to see you."

"I thought it would be thoughtful of me to make you come to a quieter place so we could have a nice father and son chat."

"Wow, really? Well, that would be a first. This is exactly what I wanted... Oh, back when I was five. Now I just want to kill your ass," Draco grinned, an eyebrow raised. Lucius was slightly taken back by his son's confidence. It fazed him for just a moment, before his eyes narrowed further.

"You may want to watch your tongue, dear Draco. You wouldn't want to die with you talking like that, don't you?" Lucius spat.

"Are you honestly being serious? Have you really convinced yourself that you are actually going to kill me? I'm not your punching bag anymore, Lucius. All my life I've been scared of you, but now I just feel hatred. I know that you are envious of me. You've always wanted Vulpes' power for yourself, and yet you never inherited it. I did. How does that make you feel? Worried, I reckon. It probably makes you hate me even more, and it just adds to the list of reasons why you want to kill me. But that is too bad, because only one Malfoy will be dying tonight, and I can assure you that no one will miss him," Draco said. Lucius glared at him, his grip on his wand tightening.

"Yes, you're right. No one will miss the pathetic excuse for life which is you. Well, apart from maybe Potter. I don't see why you're so confident that you're going to win against me, Draco. You can't even use all of the power you have. It's useless in your hands. So when you're in the afterlife, Draco, please do say hello to Potter for me. Don't worry, I won't... Actually, that's a lie. I will make this painful. CRUCIO!"

Draco, however, had already predicted what his father was going to do and sidestepped the unforgiveable curse with ease. He exaggerated a yawn and picked at a nail, grinning at his father playfully.

"Oh honestly, Lucius! You've become a little bit predictable, haven't you? Is that all you can do?" he drawled, winking.

"You'll pay for speaking to your father like that! Incarceous!"

Draco hadn't expected this spell quite as much. One of the ropes managed to tie Draco's right wrist to a branch above his head. He panicked for a brief moment, but was quickly calm again. He faked another yawn as he watched his father step closer to him.

"Enough with all this cockiness, Draco. You know that no matter what, I will always be more powerful than you," he snarled. Draco simply laughed, and waved his wand at the rope, making it loosen. When it released him, he looked once again at his father.

"The thing is, Lucius, is that if you hadn't done all this damage to me, I would have complete power over you. And yet, I know that you're still scared. You're scared because you know that you're no longer able to push me around. You know that I can fend for myself now, that my confidence has grown enough to stand up to you. That's what scares you. For the first time in my life, I can finally understand some of what is going through that twisted head of yours," Draco said. His voice was quiet, his lips curled into a slight grin.

"I'm not scared of you, Draco," Lucius hissed. Draco raised an eyebrow, his grin slowly growing.

"Really?" he questioned, his voice still low. He shook his head slowly.

"Avete Statum!" Lucius suddenly cast. Surprised, Draco flew backwards. He winced as he hit the floor, his head banging against it, though he knew he couldn't let his father have the advantage. He pushed himself off the floor straight after falling onto it, regardless of the dizziness he felt.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Lucius shouted when he saw his son get up quickly, but he was too slow. Draco spun out of the way of the spell, raising his own wand at his father.

"Expel-"

"CRUCIO!" Lucius quickly screamed, and this time, the curse hit its target. Draco cried out and fell to his knees, his eyes squeezed shut. His wand slipped out of his hand, but he didn't allow the pain to sink him any further to the ground. He winced at the torture going through his body, and opened one grey eye to look at Lucius. The man had a wide smirk on his face, and he knelt down beside his son.

"You may act brave and that you've moved on, but I can see through that, Draco. You're just the same as you used to be; a scared, pathetically weak boy whose strength and will to live has never been fixed. You're still breaking, I know you are. I've worked at breaking you your whole life, and tonight, I will make sure that you are completely broken. I will make you suffer for being a traitor, and for having what belongs to me. You won't ever see another day. You can't stop me; you're too weak for that. You're nothing," he whispered in Draco's ear. The boy, despite his pain, opened his other eye and glared at his father.

"Y-You're... You're wrong," Draco said breathlessly. Bracing himself, he managed to push himself up shakily to his feet, even with the torture still causing him pain. Though his body wasn't steady and was threatening to fall at any moment, he was still standing. Lucius was clearly shocked, though he quickly concealed it and the evil smile returned.

"Impressive, Draco," he commented.

"We-Well, I've a had a lot of p-practise," he managed to say, and then raised a shaking hand. Lucius laughed, shaking his head.

"You can barely do that anyway. Do you really think that you could do that in this state?"

"I-I wouldn't count on t-that... Crucio!"

Draco hadn't been fully certain that he would have been able to cast the spell. However, the unforgivable curse still hit the elder Malfoy. The man screamed and fell to the floor, dropping his wand and cane as he did so. Draco breathed out in relief when the curse was lifted from him, though he winced when a searing pain went through his head. He ignored it, however, and bent down to pick his wand back up, and then went closer to Lucius so he was knelt by him. He couldn't stop a smirk from growing on his face, from the turned tables of who was on the receiving end. Lucius' eyes opened a little, landing on Draco.

"It doesn't feel good, does it, Lucius? This is what you've made me feel countless times over the years. I hate the thought of others being in pain, but... It's not like that with you. You are finally getting what you deserve. Not only from the pain you've caused me, but also from the pain you've caused my mother, and all of those innocent people you've hurt to get on Voldemort's good side. I despise everything there is about you. You're going to pay for what you've done," Draco hissed into his father's ear. He moved away from Lucius to pick up his cane and wand, and glanced at him for a moment before he put the wand back inside the cane. After that, he removed the curse from his father. The man panted and a couple of beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. He didn't have any time to address where his possessions were before he saw Draco's wand pointing at him.

"Incarcious," Draco said softly, and watched as the ropes bound his father's wrists and ankles together. He grabbed one of the arms and pulled him up roughly so that he was sat up against a tree. Lucius snarled at him and attempted to shake his hand off.

"You better get these ropes off me, Draco, or I'll make sure that your death is even more painful!" he hissed. Draco simply rolled his eyes, and once more, raised an eyebrow.

"Lucius, really? I know that this is an act. You're acting very bravely, quite like a Gryffindor, I must say. Your eyes, however, are telling me a different story," Draco said, before he crouched again in front of Lucius, his gaze never shifting from the man's eyes. "They are telling me that you're not feeling brave, nor are you feeling courageous. You're scared - actually no, make that terrified. You're worried, and you've given up, because you know that it's your time to lose."

Lucius' eyes widened, and he gulped, though he stayed silent after that. Draco winked at him, and then pushed himself off the ground. He turned to Lucius' wand and cane, and pointed his wand at them to destroy them with a Reducto.

"I thought I would never kill someone, ever. But I would actually be doing you a favour. Death is better than the Kiss. It's actually very thoughtful of me."

"Draco, you don't have to do this. I know what I've done is wrong, but you-"

"If I don't kill you, then you'll have a fate worse than death. I should let you have that, but I want revenge. For me, for my mother, for the witches, wizards and even muggles that you've tortured and killed. That's why I am going to do this."

He pointed his wand at the ground when he decided what spell to cast.

"Serpensortia."

Both he and Lucius watched as the long black snake shot out of his wand and onto the floor. Lucius gulped once more, and the snake turned to Draco, bowing his head.

"Hello, master," it hissed at him. Draco smiled at the serpent.

"Hello there," Draco replied. Lucius stared at them both, no longer bothering to even try to hide his fear.

"W-What are you saying? What are you going to do?"

"Something which you deserve," Draco said quietly, turning back to the snake. "Could you do me a favour?"

"Anything, sir," the snake replied.

"I want you to kill the man over there," said Draco. The snake turned its head to look at the bound Lucius Malfoy on the floor, before turning back to Draco.

"Is master sure? I can sense that he is of the same blood."

"I'm positive. Don't be concerned about that," Draco answered. The snake nodded its head.

"If you are positive, then certainly."

It turned away from Draco, and slowly slithered its way to Lucius. The man tried to back away, but both the tree he was leant against and the ropes prevented him. He didn't have time to speak before the snake shot forward and bit into the pale neck. An ear-piercing scream filled the empty field, and his face paled considerably as his blood was drained. The snake continued to bite into the neck.

"Stop, that will do," Draco ordered when he saw the blood drip down his father's neck. The snake immediately obeyed and backed away. Draco then stepped forward and crouched in front of Lucius.

"W-Where did I g-go wrong in ra-raising you? B-Being gay, fr-friends with m-mudbloods and-"

Lucius couldn't continue speaking and instead coughed heavily. Blood spurted out of his throat when he did so. This made Draco wince, and for a moment, he felt guilty. But then he remembered all of Lucius' victims, and the guilt quickly vanished.

"That's one more thing I don't understand about you. Look at the blood which is on you; your blood. That looks no different than the lives of muggles and muggleborns you and your filthy army have taken. There are so many things that I will never understand about you, and yet, I don't think if I actually do want to understand," he said quietly. Lucius' eyes started to close, and just a minute later, Draco felt the body go limp. Lucius Malfoy was dead. After years of terror for both Draco and his mother, after years of not being safe even in his own home, he had gotten his revenge.

He rose from the ground slowly, not quite able to believe what had just happened. He starred down at the deceased body of his father, and the blood which seeped out of his neck and onto the grass under him. His stare only stopped when he felt something rub by his leg. He looked down and met the gaze of the snake he had conjured.

"Is master okay? Did I do the right thing?" it asked. Draco glanced for a moment at his father, before he smiled.

"Yes, it was the right thing to do," he replied.

"What happens to me now? I don't even have a name," the snake said. Draco pondered this for a moment, before his smile grew wider.

"You do now. How does Serpente sound?"

"Master has given me a name? I do like Serpente. But I am just a conjured snake, nothing more."

"You are more. Call me Draco."

"Certainly, Draco."

Draco grinned, though it quickly faded when he saw that the Dark Mark had been cast above the courtyard.

"We have to go," he said hurriedly, before he transformed back into Puri and ran in the direction of the battle.

There had been no time for Harry to worry about Draco in the intense heat of the battle, despite the fact that he had not returned for at least fifteen minutes. It seemed as though the light side may have been winning, though it was difficult to tell with the fury of spells being cast. He stayed by his friends' sides as they battled through the Death Eaters, his eye on the look out for Voldemort.

"I don't see why we didn't do this for our first date," Blaise chuckled to Pansy.

"I know, this is just so roman-"

Her words were interrupted when she was pushed to the ground by strong hands. She cried out when she hit the floor, rubbing her back.

"Blaise, why did you..."

She stopped when she noticed his body lying on the ground. He was completely silent, and didn't seem to be moving a muscle.

"No, no, no..." she said, panicked. She stumbled over to Blaise, putting one arm around the boy's shoulders to lift him up. His head lopped to the side, lifeless. "Blaise?"

Her other hand cupped Blaise's cheek, which was becoming wet from the tears falling down from Pansy's face.

"You can't die! Please Blaise, don't leave me!"

She buried her head into his chest as she wept, the hand around his shoulders gripping tightly on his clothing. Hermione bent down next to her, and put an arm around her trembling shoulders. Her body was shaking uncontrollably from her sobs.

"It'll be okay, Pansy, it'll be okay..." Hermione murmured in an attempt to comfort the poor girl.

"How will it be okay? He's gone, Hermione! He's dead and he's never coming back!" she cried. Both girls then looked up at three boys walking up to them; Nott, Goyle and Crabbe. Nott and Goyle's wands were raised, ready to attack, though they were quickly disarmed by Ron and Ginny. Crabbe's wand, however, was lowered. He was staring at the deceased body of Blaise with wide eyes and apparent horror.

"I said I was going to protect you, Ginny," Nott said, narrowing his eyes. "I promised you that, and then you betrayed me. How could you do that? I thought you loved me."

"I could never love you," Ginny spat, raising her wand. "Stupefy!"

Nott flew backwards and hit the ground, unconscious. It was then Goyle's turn, though after that, they stared at Crabbe, who was still looking down at Blaise's body.

"You," Pansy said in a low voice, her eyes glaring at Crabbe. "You did this!"

"I-I'm sorry, Pansy... I didn't know what I was thinking."

"Don't you dare start making excuses! I loved him, and you took him away from me! I hate you!" she shouted, before she raised her wand at him. Hermione yelped and quickly pushed her hand down.

"Don't kill him, Pansy! That won't make you any better than he is! Please don't do it," she pleaded. Pansy hesitated, before she sighed and settled on casting Stupefy. The boy didn't even make an attempt to move out of the way. Harry stepped forward to immediately cast Incarceous on all three of the Death Eaters. Pansy looked back down at her deceased boyfriend, and once again buried her hand into his chest, which was already wet from tears.

"I don't think I can live without you, Blaise," she whispered in a voice so quiet that only Hermione was able to hear her. "Why did you have to go? We had made so many plans together, but now you're gone and they won't ever happen. I thought you were the one. Why do you have to leave me? I love you so much. I don't think I'd be able to let you go..."

"Hermione, stay with her. We need to finish this now," said Harry, blinking back his own tears over the loss of his friend. Hermione nodded and continued to hold Pansy while she whispered comforting words in her ear. Harry had just managed to catch the glistening of a tear fall down Hermione's cheek before he turned around with the others.

"It has quietened down," he said to the Weasleys behind him. They looked around and saw that there was indeed less fighting than before. The light side had less casualties than the dark, and more Death Eaters were begining to fall.

"I need to find Voldemort," he said simply, before he ran away from them. Ron opened his mouth to call after him, but immediately shut it. He knew that there was no need to bother. Instead, he turned to his siblings.

"We don't need to worry about him. He'll be fine. I can imagine he's going to find Draco soon anyway," Ron explained. The other three nodded, though Ginny looked a little concerned.

"Do you think he's okay? Draco, I mean. I haven't seen him since he went after his father," she said.

"I'm sure he will be, Ginny," Ron replied, though he was slightly unsure himself. What if something had happened to Draco? He didn't think he would be able to cope with the death of two friends.

"I just... I never got the chance to apologise, and... I'm just worried."

"I know, Ginny, I know," Ron said softly, pulling his younger sister into a hug. His eyes looked over her, hoping that both Harry and Draco would be fine.

Puri made his way back into the courtyard, and once he had entered it, immediately stopped his walking to peer around in search of his friends. The fight seemed to be dying down a little, but his restricted colour range made it hard to spot exactly where his friends were. He then stepped forward, but his bath was blocked by a large snake slithering in front of him... Which wasn't Serpente. He quickly transformed out of his Animagus form and stared down at the long form of Nagini, his hand gripping his wand tightly. He stepped back when she hissed at him threateningly.

"Why hello there, dear Draco. How have you been?"

Draco's head shot up at the sound of the Dark Lord's sly voice. Panic rose, though after overcoming his father, his confidence had built up further. So he smirked and placed a hand on his hip, not allowing any concern to show through.

"Ah, it hasn't been too bad, I suppose. Yourself?"

"Things have been going well, breaking into Hogwarts, ready to kill Potter and all. Where is your father?" Voldemort questioned, as he took his time to get his wand out from his robes.

"Around the corner, though I'm afraid he won't be joining us any time soon. You'll be able to see him the afterlife though, if you wish to do so."

"I think not, Draco. I do believe that a father and son reunion sounds pleasant though, don't you think?"

"Not so much, in all honesty," Draco replied. Voldemort let out a cruel laugh.

"That's too bad. But I think I shall let Nagini take care of you; she deserves a new meal. But don't worry, Harry will be joining you as well, soon enough," he hissed, and turned to Nagini. "Dinnertime, girl."

The snake hissed and slithered towards Draco. Her mouth opened, and Draco had raised his wand to stop her himself, but had no chance to before someone else did the job for him.

"Avada Kedavra!" a female voice said, and the unforgivable curse hit its target. Her head slammed down onto the floor, and stayed there, lying lifeless. Voldemort stared at his snake, furious.

"How dare you, Narcissa!" he shouted. Draco turned to his mother, his eyes widening.

"Mother? You... You killed her," he said, clearly shocked.

"Of course I did," she replied. "No one is going to hurt my son, ever again."

"But I have your wand!" Voldemort exclaimed.

"I was given a new one. Honestly," she said while she rolled her eyes.

"Draco, you're alright!" a voice called from behind him, and he turned to see Harry running to his side.

"Oh, Harry. How lovely of you to join us," Voldemort drawled, his eyes now fixed on the Gryffindor.

"You might as well give up now, Tom. Look around you; we've won. Your plan has failed."

"Yes, I do believe it has... But I am not giving up without a fight. Shall we, Harry?" the Lord asked as he raised his wand at Harry.

"I suppose I should make your last moment be a little less embarrassing, for your sake," Harry answered, raising his own wand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Something wasn't right. There was no clash of spells; only Voldemort's wand flying out of his hand after he had cast his own spell. The killing curse hadn't been sent in Harry's direction. It had been aimed towards his left - towards Draco.

"NO!" Harry yelled, and crouched down, his hands reaching forward to hold the Slytherin's deceased body. But the sight in front of him was not what he had been expecting. Draco was alive, but not so well, as he was holding the limp body of his mother in his arms. She had blocked the killing curse. She was dead.

"No, you can't die on me now! Not after all that we've been through together!" Draco cried as he hugged her against his chest. He didn't even notice the body of Voldemort collapsing on the ground from a spell sent by Harry, or the small crowd that was beginning to crowd around them, now that the battle had ended. The only thing that he was able to notice was his deceased mother in his arms. Harry crouched down beside them and wrapped an arm around Draco's waist.

"Draco, I'm here. It's going to be alright," Harry murmured to him, trying to be comforting, though Draco was hysterical.

"No, it won't be! I can't lose her! Not now, not after everything that has happened..." He wept. He looked back at his mother in his arms. She looked so peaceful, as though she was sleeping, and her face was one of true beauty. He realised just how much of a beautiful woman she was. Not just on the outside, but on the inside, as well. She was brave, caring, loving... And she had died from the result of what she had wanted to do all her life. That was to protect her son.

"Why do you have to go like this? It's all over now. You won't be able to see a world without Voldemort," he whispered, his tears falling onto her as he hung his face above her body. "Mother, I don't want you to go. I love you so much."

After he said those words, in a voice that was barely audible, a sudden warm sensation filled his body. A gasp escaped his lips when his hands glowed a golden colour, which began to fill his mother's form. That was when the realisation of Jasmine's words hit him.

He was able to use his magic to bring her back to life, but at a price... His magic had drained from him to give her life, and he died from the impact before his magic was able to restore... Your life could end the same way, especially as you are already damaged...

His head began to spin, his vision suddenly tunnelled with darkness. The last thing he saw was someone rushing to his side and the last thing he felt was being held in strong arms, but that was all he was able to sense before his mind was completely enveloped in darkness and his body fell limp against the one which was holding him.

A/N: I forgot how emotional it was writing this the first time around. It was even worse this time, but I didn't allow myself to cry as I was sitting in the living room with my parents xD

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! There are just two more to go now.

Thanks for reading! Until next time.