"Did you hear that?" Ron and Hermione led as the group approached the end of the corridor. It veered sharply to the left, making it impossible to know what was around the corner. Minus the fact that they remained stuck in pitch darkness.

There were muttered voices up ahead, the whisperings of which were almost indistinct. The group huddled together against the wall, straining to listen.

"Gotta find Dumbledore-"

"Yes, and the blood traitor."

"The Malfoy boy must die. Voldemort's orders."

"I reckon it's the only way Ole Lucius can redeem himself after what happened at the Ministry."

Hermione clasped a hand over her gaping mouth. Luna's eyes were hot with tears. Ron felt his stomach drop a few meters.

"Ma-Malfoy?" He whispered, a pang of regret in his voice. Suddenly, a clarity settled within Ron's psyche. Memories flooded the front of his mind- Harry standing in the common room, afraid to tell him about Draco because 'his life could be at stake.' Angrily stomping off because he couldn't handle Harry being in love. The two of them sneaking flirty glances in each other's direction and Ron almost vomiting but looking at Hermione the same. The laughter. There had been more giggling and spat pumpkin juice in the last few months than there had been all of fifth year. Why hadn't Ron recognized how happy Harry had been?

He snapped back to reality, focusing on the voices ahead. Right then and there, Ron Weasley made a decision. The next chance he got, he'd set things right with Draco Malfoy.

Dean could feel Seamus's hot breath tickling against the back of his neck. Emotions were running high as they were stacked motionlessly against the opposing wall of the corridor, minding well to stay hidden from sight.

Not that anyone could see.

He swore he heard Luna crying, and Ron's voice held some kind of emotion he'd never seen evoked from the bloke. In all of the tension, he barely minded when Seamus slipped an arm around his waist. This could quite possibly be their last night on Earth, and the idea settled within him as the Death Eaters continued to converse about the invasion.

No, he didn't mind Seamus at all. And, in fact, if he had to be honest with himself, he'd find that he never did. He reached a hand back to Seamus's free arm and gave it a squeeze. He felt Seamus relax against him.

All was calm for a moment. Until Neville gasped.

All six of them turned around to see what the commotion was, but Neville had already cast a Lumos. There, in the dim wand light, was the mask of a Death Eater.

"Well, well, Well, if it isn't the stray Hogwarts students lurking where they ought not be. Didn't your head master teach you to stay away from Death Eaters?"

Neville lifted his wand to cast a jinx, but the masked man was faster. In a fraction of a second, Neville was disarmed.

"Yaxley?" One of the men who'd been conversing earlier rounded the corner. "What are you-" he paused. "Ah, you've found young blood."

The other Death Eater rushed behind him. "Amycus, you found Yaxley? Ah!" The voice was feminine, and she stopped at the sight of the students. They were now surrounded.

"I knew this would be fun!" She finished.

Amycus studied the group. "Isn't that Arthur Weasley's boy?"

Ron flushed, and Hermione whipped around to face the accuser. He gulped, but didn't answer.

"He's a pure blood." The other remarked. "We can't kill him."

"Actually," Yaxley remarked from across the group. "Our orders were to kill anyone who gets in our way. And if you ask me, Alecto..."

Alecto let out a guffaw, a giddy laugh that was wild with desire. She didn't just have to kill for Voldemort... she wanted to.

Amycus lifted his wand with a smirk. "Well, let's get to it then. The Weasley is mine."

Alecto shrieked and raised her wand. "Crucio!"

But it was Hermione who tumbled to the floor with a yelp. Her face twisted into a grimace of sheer pain as her finger nails dug deep into her robes. Her teeth were grinding, a small distraction to the immense amount of torture that was upon her. Every nerve fiber was on fire- every body part roasting on hot coals and burning raw flesh. There were needles in her eyes, there must have been, because her vision was prickly and the world was a blur of darkness and skull masks. She heard a muffled cry- a Weasley- to "Please, stop hurting her."

And then, everything went black.

Ron was utterly helpless. He heard nothing over the pounding of his heart, adrenaline pulsing in his chest. He wanted to curse Alecto, better yet kill her, but the wand of Amycus Carrow was held steadily at his temple. His gulp was an audible swallow accompanied by palms that were as red and sweaty as his own cheeks.

Neville was unarmed and the others were at the mercy of Yaxley, who was armed and ready to kill.

"Stupefy!" Seamus yelled, taking a rather brave chance at Alecto but falling victim to Yaxley's own black magic. He yelped before falling to his knees and profusely vomiting.

"Seamus!" Dean called for him blindly but was stopped by Yaxley's rapid immobilization.

"Please, stop hurting her." Ron was begging now, wanting anything, needing anything to stop Hermione's pain. But Alecto only laughed and increased the strength of the spell.

Tears were lodged uncomfortably in the back of his throat. Cho was sobbing uncontrollably. Luna appeared to be in another world entirely.

There was no hope.

But then...

"Expelliarmus!" The voice was none of theirs. It wasn't even one of the Death Eaters. Ron looked up, horrified at what he might see.

But it wasn't Luna or Cho or even Dean who was disarmed. It was Alecto.

"Who the-" Yaxley broke his concentration on the girls and turned to search for the culprit of his fellow's disarmament.

There, in the distance and coming their way, was Draco Malfoy.

"Stupefy!" Ron's hands flew to his head as he dodged Luna's spell and Amycus fell before them.

"Why, You filthy little!-" Yaxley stepped forward and aimed at Luna, who cocked her head sideways with a smile.

"Have you met Harry Potter, sir?" Her eyes were bright with excitement, glowing prominently against the wandlight.

Yaxley's brow furrowed in confusion for a split second before he tumbled to the floor.

"Immobulus!" The jinx came from behind and hit Yaxley so suddenly that he had no time to defend himself.

"Well, you have now." Luna informed airily to Yaxley's still body, sprawled on the floor between them.

Harry flashed her a smile before crossing to Seamus and Dean, muttering a subtle "reinervate" to reverse the spellwork. A few feet away, Ron pulled Draco Malfoy into an embrace.

"Malfoy- Draco- I... You... thank you."

Draco started at the sudden unexpected contact and was rigid for a moment before he allowed himself to accept Ron's unspoken apology.

With a shy quirk of his lips that only Harry seemed to notice, Draco placed his arms around Ron's back in a brotherly embrace that shattered all walls between them. With a few friendly pats between Ron's shoulder blades, his smile was replaced with an all too familiar Malfoy smirk.

"I think that's enough contact. The last thing I'd like to do right now is turn into a red-headed Weasel."

Ron immediately recognized Malfoy's playful sarcasm as they pulled apart. He grinned.

"Please, Ferret. You wish you were a red-headed weasel."

And then with a slight chuckle and an unspoken understanding of friendship, the two exchanged a nod and Ron turned abruptly to tend to Hermione.

"Thought you'd disarm me, you brats?" Alecto had found her wand and was thoroughly livid.

Neville, who had just found his own wand, straightened. "Petrificus totalus!" He spat quickly and without hesitation.

Alecto Carrow was down for the count. As her rigid frame hit the floor, her mask slipped incidentally to the side to reveal a frozen smirk.

Neville released the breath he was holding. Seamus and Dean found themselves perched at his sides, rejuvenated and ready to keep fighting.

Harry grinned in his direction. "You've gotten really good at that spell, Neville."

"I, uhm," he hesitated at first, but straightened with another glance at Carrow. "I have, haven't I? Thanks, Harry."

And then Draco's palm was on Harry's shoulder. "We need to keep going." He whispered, the breath tickling the lobe of his ears. Harry nodded, knowing that there was to be more trouble ahead. Their small victory had illuminated something within him, and he looked at Draco lovingly.

"We've got this." He stated, and Draco returned the sentiment with a soft expression that reflected his own confidence. As they took a step forward, prepared to lead the group across the 7th floor, Amycus Carrow began to stir.

His movements were subtle as he awoke from the effects of Luna's spell. He sluggishly reached for his wand, which had landed a few feet from him, and glanced upward to see a group of Hogwarts students looking a bit too smug for his liking.

No one defeated Amycus and lived. Senses coming too, he rapidly grasped his wand and pointed it at the group, hastily going without aim and hoping to hit any one of them.

He opened his mouth to say the spell, to injure, harm, or kill any one of the brats. But then, he saw her. She was speaking to the one she called "Neville," a dreamy and far-off glaze plastered on her face. Was she stuck like that?

She was the one who had stunned him. She was the one who was going to die.

He pointed his wand in her direction, aiming for destruction.

"They're all at wand point! Hermione, she's on the floor. I think he's used the Cruciatus on her!"

Ginny and Hannah frantically whispered to Susan and Ernie, whose orbits had all but tripled in size.

"Guys, we've got to do something!" Ginny's voice was hoarse and contained an urgency that the Hufflepuffs had never heard from her. "They've got Luna! And Neville!"

Ernie pushed past them, climbing the final steps and poking his head slowly above ground. The door was cracked maybe an inch, and with all of the commotion no one had noticed the creaking of the rusted hinges as he thrust upward.

"I'll keep watch." He told the others, and Ginny pushed her way next to him. "Me too."

Two sets of eyes watched the group, waiting for the perfect moment to intervene.

"Malfoy! Harry!" Macmillan whispered excitedly as Hannah and Susan waited for report.

"They're here!?" Susan jumped excitedly, praying for the best to occur.

"Yes, and they're completely kicking Death Eater arse!" Ernie wildly commentated. He reminded Ginny eerily of Lee Jordan, her brothers' best friend.

"Come on!" Macmillan signaled for them to join, but Ginny stopped him with a grip on the arm.

"No," she stated cautiously, "let's wait."

They observed Luna's Stupefy, and Neville's Petrificus, and Ron and Malfoy's blossoming friendship. And then, Ginny saw with a start, Amycus's awakening.

Her pulse quickened. She'd almost told the group that they were safe to emerge, to join the rest of Dumbledore's Army in their escapade to rid the 7th floor of darkness. But then, the Death Eater on the floor was stirring, and he was reaching for his wand, and Oh my god, he was pointing it at Luna...

"PROTEGO!" She accidentally shoved Ernie as she thrust the trap door open and emerged fully. In all of her red-headed, fiery passion, her shield extended to Luna gracefully and flawlessly blocked the Carrow's curse. All eyes turned to Ginny and the others as they began to pop from the floor one by one.

Upon seeing her savior, Luna's cheeks tugged upward into an impossibly wide grin. "Ginny, love!" She exclaimed, and Ginny felt herself blushing as she approached them.

Amycus's wand remained high, and the others began to arm themselves in a fit of haste. But before he could curse them, he cast a quick reinervate on his counterparts.

When Hermione came to, there were curses flying. Bright swirls of magic hurled across the corridor in a rainbow of colors that illuminated the area with ease. Ron was above her; she could just barely make out those crystal blue eyes...

The world became clearer. Reality set in. Her friends were all around her, jumping and hiding frantically behind anything they could use to shield themselves. Casting hexes and curses and defensive charms at Voldemort's men. My God, were they... winning? She blinked rapidly, allowing her senses to return to full capacity.

"Hermione? Hermione, thank God!" Ron pulled her into an embrace as soon as she attempted to sit up. His arms were warm, and smelled of the burrow. Her second home. It was surreal to be held in the middle of a war zone, as if they were shielded by affection.

Ron pulled back and placed both hands on her temporal bones, running his palms along her hair. His fingers rested on her posterior head as he gazed into brown eyes that were almost as dark as the world around them. They were beautiful.

And then, he kissed her. Gently, at first, but then it was firm as he pressed his lips against hers. Her mouth seemed to involuntarily part, needing more of him. More of what she'd been waiting for for so long...

His tongue was warm against hers. It was better than she ever could have formulated, or guessed, or figured out. Everything seemed to tense and relax simultaneously and her senses were raging hot white. Her hand had found his cheek, pulling his freckled face closer, enjoying the moment that was finally theirs.

They pulled apart, smiling stupidly at one another, a similar thought of "what in the hell took us so long" bounding between them.

"Hermione, I'm in love with you!" Ron exclaimed, taking her hand and lifting her to a standing position. "Harry loves Draco, and I love you, and I just... I've known it for so long, you know? You're it, 'Mione! You're the one for me!"

A look of concern flashed across brown eyes before she shrieked "duck!" As a bright green curse flew overhead.

"Wow, um, thanks Hermione! So about what I said..." they straightened up, and Hermione immediately began dragging them to safety behind a suit of armor.

"We've got to move, Ronald!" She paused, turning back to show him her biggest smile. "But, yes, I love you, too!"

Blaise was immobilized in the strongest of forms, but his senses were keen as ever. He'd landed behind a transfigured couch that was surrounded by piles of books and outdated copies of the Prophet.

He listened intensely as the Death Eaters began to step from the vanishing cabinet, one by one. There were so many of them, he lost count. He strained to hear names, to make out what subtle conversations were taking place.

He heard shrieks of laughter and malicious cackling. Hushed giggles and proclamations of the Dark Lord's victory.

He immediately recognized the next voice that arrived. It was deep, resonating with leadership and authority. He'd heard it most of his childhood on play dates with his best mate. He'd listened to it conversing with his own father. Truth be told, he knew that voice even without seeing the face. He knew it almost as well as he knew the owner's son.

"You've done a fine job, Pansy. You know the plan. Your role is to keep an eye out for Potter. You are not to kill him; he is to be left to our Lord. But you will stop him at any other cost. We all know that the pretentious little brat has a habit of... disrupting things. Nothing is to get in our way tonight."

He seemed to turn to the rest of the Death Eaters. "There will be plenty of deaths tonight. Justice regarding the blood traitors will be served. Remember who you kill for."

And then the clomping of footsteps was evident, shrinking in the distance as the Death Eaters began to infiltrate the 7th floor. All but one seemed to exit.

"Pansy, I just wanted to let you know how absolutely proud of you I am. You've done great work. Always remember that the Dark Lord's purpose comes before everything, including those we love most. You've done a great job at proving that tonight."

Cassius Parkinson. He recognized that voice too. He knew this must've meant more than life itself to Pansy; growing up with her proved that her relationship with her father was difficult. It was actually quite similar to Malfoy's, and Blaise wondered if she'd done most of this to please him. Or to get back at Draco for not filling the emptiness in her soul.

As the remaining Death Eater left the room, Blaise heard one more thing prefacing the complete silence that ensued: The muffled sobs of Pansy Parkinson.

"Well, guys, I think we've done it." Macmillan and the rest of the gang stood over the three Death Eaters, who were stunned, bound, and completely unconscious.

"Shall we continue?" Piped Neville, who had already cast a lumos to guide the way.

Draco and Harry were in the lead, shoulder to shoulder, alarmingly close but not touching.

Ron and Hermione were next, armed and ready but keeping close contact. Beside them was Hannah and Neville, who'd shared small pecks and hugs and grateful sweet things that proved their feelings for one another.

Next in line were Ginny and Luna, who marched forward arm in arm without question from the others. Dean and Seamus walked without contact but were both alarmingly aware of the new air that had settled between them. Even in a war zone, there were gentle smiles and soft glances between them. Things, it seemed, would never be the same.

And behind them was the conglomerate of Hufflepuffs and Cho Chang, following in earnest and keeping watch from behind.

They continued forward, wands lit in an effort to interrupt the darkness. Confidence trailed them; they didn't bother hiding anymore. As they rounded the corner of the next corridor, something to the right caught Draco's eye: a window.

The moonlight cast a bright kind of shadow on the hall ahead of them. The opening was a kind relief to the pitch black around them, a natural reprieve to the wandlight.

Draco stopped to peer outside, searching immediately for the astronomy tower. Just ahead and to the left of his line of vision was the Dark Mark, floating in a smokey haze above his destination.

He stared for a moment, absorbed in what was to come. That was when he saw a bright flash of neon lime light from the tower, reflecting on the surface of the castle in an eerie glow that could only mean one thing: the battle had begun.

His breath caught in a harsh bubble somewhere down the middle of his trachea, and Harry gave his arm a squeeze.

"Harry, I've got to go." He turned to his mate, losing himself momentarily in green irises. He watched Potter's Adam's apple bob after a deep swallow.

"I'll come with you."

Harry's grip tightened on his bicep. Draco's gaze didn't falter, but his head fell slightly.

"I've got to do this one alone, Harry. This is my battle to fight with my father."

His voice cracked slightly. He wanted nothing more than the bring Harry, to leave and skip off into the sunset and never look back.

But this was war. And war requires sacrifice. And the last thing he wanted was to put Harry in harm's way.

Harry nodded without word. As much as it pained him, he could feel what Draco was going through. And he knew that if the tables were turned, he wouldn't let him near that tower. So, regretfully, he didn't argue.

Draco's stare deepened into a wordless "I love you" before he turned and headed into the shadows.