DRACO POV

"Where the hell are they?" Seamus complained. "They should've been back by now."

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" I snapped in annoyance. I knew that Seamus wasn't fond of me, but he was starting to irritate me. We were both worried sick and his complaining wasn't really helping the current situation. Ron, Hermione, and Harry went searching the grounds for Liana but that was at least a half hour ago, maybe more. It shouldn't have taken them this long, unless they'd encountered an obstacle along the way. I groaned unable to stand it anymore. I had to know what was going on.

As I started to walk toward the courtyard, havoc was wreaking, Seamus stopped me. "You'll get killed out there!" he told me.

"I don't care," I said, determined to find my girlfriend. Then I turned to him. "Are you coming, or what?" With a sigh, he nodded. We dashed through the courtyard, where a massacre was taking place. Flickers of colorful lights poured out of wands. Dementors were flooding the premises and they were headed toward us. Both of us whipped our wands out, ready to put up a fight.

"Expecto patronum!" we both shouted. Our patronuses weren't perfect, but they were enough to get the Dementors off of our backs. A giant began making their way toward us, but it wasn't faster than we were. Seamus and I dashed past the chaos, dodging spells as we went. Not watching where I was going, I bumped into Ginny who was running away from a Death Eater that I recognized as my uncle.

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, disarming him and sending him flying backwards. He landed on one of the columns and then smacked down face first with the ground. I didn't bother to check to see if he was still alive. Honestly, I didn't care. If anyone deserved to die, it was him! He and my aunt had tracked us down to Salem, and I hadn't forgiven either of them for it. I could never forgive them for trying to hurt my girlfriend.

We fought our way through the courtyard and headed toward the lake, away from all of the chaos. I looked around, looking for any signs of our friends. "Where do ya think they went?" Seamus asked. "The forest?"

I thought about it for a moment. If Pansy was going to kill Liana, she'd probably do it someplace secluded. It sounded about right. "I guess we're about to find out," I said and walked on into the night with Seamus not too far behind.

LIANA POV

As soon as I saw Pansy, I began to run out of the boathouse. Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed. "We can hide in the Forest," I whispered as we ran. All I could hear was the sound of leaves crunching and branches breaking from behind me. I lead the way and dashed into the Forbidden Forest. Honestly, I wasn't absolutely positive that Pansy was following us anymore, but I wasn't about to take the risk to find out.

I stopped short, tired from running the long distance. Ron and Hermione also stopped. "Where's Harry?" asked Hermione, frowning. Looking around, I noticed that Harry was nowhere in sight. Had Pansy taken him? Or had he gone away on his own, just as we weren't looking.

"He was right behind me a minute ago," said Ron quietly, "I swear."

"We've got to keep moving," I said, shaking my head. Silently, I said a prayer for Harry to remain unharmed. "We should split up. She just wants me. And I don't want the two of you to get hurt."

Though they both hesitated, they knew it was true. If they were with her, their lives would be at risk. Hermione nodded and pulled Ron away into the shadows. Then I was alone in the silent forest.

Slowly, I walked. Soundlessly, so that I wouldn't draw any attention to myself. As I walked, I realized that I had no wand to use. I sucked my teeth and cursed under my breath. Now, I was powerless and alone. If Pansy found me, I was done for. I could kiss my precious life good bye.

I walked between the trees and the dark shadows. From a distance, I heard shuffling in the night. I turned in every direction, trying to figure out where the now louder noises were coming from. They were footsteps. Someone was getting closer.

I hurried away and heard familiar voices. "We've looked everywhere. She's not here!" I heard Seamus say.

"Maybe she's in the school somewhere. Let's go back," said Draco. My eyes widened at the sound of his voice.

"Draco!" I called, running toward his voice.

"Liana?" both boys called out.

I ran and I ran until I collided with Draco's chest. Immediately, he wrapped his arms around me and breathed into my hair. "I thought I was going to lose you," he murmured into my hair. I looked up to find his sad grey eyes.

I shook my head. "You didn't," I said. "And you won't."

We were interrupted by Seamus, who looked too heartbroken to try and hide. "Now what do we do?"

"Pansy might be in the forest somewhere. Ron and Hermione were with me, but I have no idea where they went. And Harry's disappeared. Have you seen him?" I explained. Both boys shook their head.

"Are you okay?" asked Seamus.

"I'm fine," I said. "My head hurts a bit, but it's bearable."

"We need to get you out of here," said Draco.

"Snape is dead," I said. "He said for me to tell you that he's sorry."

Draco froze, unable to comprehend. I knew that Draco had grown fond of the man. His death was a surprise to us all. Another headmaster dead, I thought. I took his hand in mine, to comfort him. "Come on," he said softly. "We're going to take you someplace safe until this is all over."

"How do ya know it's going to be over?" questioned Seamus. "What if He wins? What then? He'll kill us all without a care."

"He won't. I know He wont," I said, despite my lack of confidence. The three of us walked out of the Forbidden Forest. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the dungeons," said Seamus before Draco could answer me.

"Is it safe down there?" I asked.

"Nowhere is completely safe," replied Draco, "but it's safer down there than out here. And besides . . . you have no wand to defend yourself and neither of us have an extra wand to spare."

I sighed and followed behind my current boyfriend and my former boyfriend.

We managed to find a safe way inside the castle. I assumed that the battle was dying down since I didn't hear much noise or screaming. Seamus and Draco took me to the dungeon—the potions classroom. "I'll wait outside," Seamus announced and left me alone in the room with my boyfriend.

"Where are you going to go now?" I asked him.

"Seamus and I will look for the others and see how much damage has been done," he answered. "In the meantime, you have to stay here. Do you understand me?"

Sighing, I shook my head yes. "I understand."

He frowned at me for a moment. "I'm serious. You can't leave this dungeon. If you try to leave, I won't be able to protect you. I'll come back for you. I promise. You just have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

"I do," I said.

He hugged me and then raised my chin to kiss me. "I'll be back. Just stay hidden in here and you'll be fine. Everything is going to be okay."

Seamus came into the room. "You'll be safe here, Liana. Just promise that you won't leave."

I walked over to him slowly and gave him a hug, taking him by surprise. His body relaxed against mine. "I'm so sorry, Seamus," I whispered into his ear before I pulled away from him. Seamus said nothing, but gave me a solemn smile. When I looked at Draco, he didn't look very pleased. Perhaps he suspected that Seamus and I had something more going on, but I didn't have the time to worry about it.

Draco and Seamus left the room, locking it behind them. Of course they wouldn't leave it open. Both of them knew me well. Neither completely trusted me. I didn't blame them. I had to find a way out of here. They couldn't possibly expect me to remain idle while everyone else was doing everything in their power to help. The longer I stayed down here, the more I would worry and wonder who was still alive. Was Bella alive? Harry? Ron and Hermione?

I sat on the floor. I was so frustrated. There were no windows to look out of and I couldn't hear a sound. There was nothing but an eerie silence that was never-ending. I wasn't even sure how long I'd been down here. It felt like an eternity.

I'd had enough. I rose and decided that somehow, someway, I'd find a way out of here. I took several minutes to search the classroom for some sort of secret passageway. I knew that Hogwarts had quite a few, but I'd never discovered any.

After a while, I gave up and sat against the bookshelf. I smiled, remembering when Draco, Harry, and I had to serve detention with Snape. I was sad because Snape was gone forever and I was also sad because that was the same night I told Draco that I loved him. Since he and Seamus left me here, I wasn't too sure I'd ever get to say those three words to him again.

As a tear escaped from my eyes, I fell backward. I got up on my feet and realized that the bookcase was a secret passage. I didn't know where it would take me. For all I knew, it could lead me to a dead end. But I didn't care. I crawled through the small opening the bookcase had provided me with and crawled through the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a ladder. It was dark, so I was careful as I slowly made my way up the ladder. I had no idea where I was going. I just knew that I was going somewhere.