As quickly as they had come, the Death Eaters retreated to the forest, leaving Hogwarts alone with its defenders. Bodies littered the floor, twice as many of us as Death Eaters. Those weren't good odds.
McGonagall gave orders for all of our dead and wounded to be taken to the room of requirement. People moved about, hurrying to obey. I scanned those still standing, searching for that oh-so-familiar blonde.
"Harry! Harry!" I turned to find Seamus calling to me from across the room. "Help me get Dean upstairs, mate. Those bastards got him good." I hurried to help him, still searching for Draco as I went.
We made it too the room of requirement with little trouble, avoiding the part of the staircase that had fallen. I left Seamus and Dean alone and continued my search. I found Hermione first, helping to heal the wounded.
"Have you seen Draco?" I asked her. She shook her head.
"Not since the fighting started," she answered. Her eyes moved past me, looking over my shoulder. "Ron!" she exclaimed. I turned as she ran past, throwing herself into Ron's arms. My heart sped up as Draco stepped from behind him, eyes scanning the room. His face flooded with relief as he spotted me. We met each other halfway, pulling each other close.
"I thought I'd lost you," I whispered.
"Sorry," he replied. "Ron and I were helping Remus and Mad-Eye get rid of the dead Death Eaters."
"You mean you and Ron actually worked together?" I joked, happy to have him back in my arms. Draco nodded, grinning.
"He saved my life out there."
"Did he?"
"Mmhm."
"Remind me to thank him later." I smiled, pressing my lips against his. A chilling laugh froze everyone in the room.
"Foolish defenders of Hogwarts." Voldemort's voice boomed out across the grounds, echoing off the walls. "Now you have tasted war, have seen death. It doesn't have to go on this way. Hand over the boy, and your lives will be spared. You have one hour. At midnight, we strike again and no one will be spared."
As the voice died out, screams rang out around the room. Draco's arms tightened around me. "That bastard won't touch you," he hissed. "He'll have to go through me first."
McGonagall and the other professors tried to calm everyone. Remus laid a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Harry," he said. "You're safe here."
Hermione called for Draco's help. He brought my hand to his lips before going off to assist her. I looked around the room, taking in the sights and sounds. So much death… Everywhere I looked, people were mourning for the friends and loved ones they had lost. In less than an hour everyone else would be dead, too. In my mind I saw the images: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Blaise, Pansy—all dead. And Draco, hair and clothes stained in blood and dirt, his body cold, broken…his eyes pale and lifeless…No. I shook the thought from my mind. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let them die knowing there was a way to save them. My mind made up, I moved toward the door. I took one last look at Draco, leaning over a wounded Ravenclaw sixth year. I took a deep breath, holding back the tears as I left the room and walked away from everyone I loved.
The grounds were deserted. It had stopped raining and the clouds had cleared, giving way to the bright light of the crescent moon. I entered the trees in silence, giving one last look to my home away from home. Hogwarts looked just as it had when I was at school. It was hard to believe so much devastation had filled the once warm and welcoming halls.
It was dark inside the forest, the thick trees blocking all light from the moon. I walked straight into the blackness, heading for the center of the forest. I tried hard not to think about the people I had left behind, or what Draco would do when he found out I was gone. As if in answer to the question, a voice rang out in the night. A voice I knew well, calling my name again and again. I felt the icy chill of Dementors as they swept past me, heading for the forest's edge.
"Don't hurt him," I whispered. "Please."
It felt as though I'd been walking forever when I finally saw the light up ahead. I paused at the edge of the fire lit clearing filled with Death Eaters. At the very center stood Voldemort in all his malicious glory. The anticipation in the clear was thick. Voldemort began to pace impatiently back and forth.
"The boy has five minutes," Rudolphus Lestrange called.
"My lord," a familiar voice spoke up. My blood ran cold as Lucias Malfoy stepped forward. "My lord, Potter obviously isn't coming. Perhaps we should finish things now?"
"You dare speak out against my orders, Lucias?" Voldemort hissed, turning on the blonde. "I know Potter. I know the way he works. He won't allow innocent people to die for him. He will be here."
Taking this as my cue, I stepped from the trees. "You know me well, Voldemort," I called. All eyes turned to me, many of them filled with shock at my sudden appearance. "I'm right here. I came to you willingly. Now you must honor your word. Let the people at Hogwarts go free."
Voldemort grinned darkly, pleased that his plan had worked. "Harry Potter," he taunted, walking a circle around me. "You're desire to play the hero never disappoints."
"I'm not playing the hero. I'm doing what's right—what I should have done a long time ago." Voldemort chuckled darkly.
"I think there's someone else who should share in this moment." He raised a hand. From the trees behind him came a loud crunching and crashing as someone was dragged unwillingly forward by three armed Death Eaters.
"Hagrid," I whispered, despair filling me as I watched my old friend be pulled from the trees. "Let him go!"
"Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed. "You shouldn' 'ave come, Harry!"
"Silence, you oaf!" Voldemort hissed, flicking his wand towards the half-giant. Hagrid fell silent under the spell. But that didn't stop his eyes—his pleading, begging eyes.
"Let him go, Voldemort!" I said, my attention returning to the Dark Lord.
"Oh, we will, Mr. Potter. Have no fear. First, I think, he should share in your downfall." He turned to address his Death Eaters. "Remember this night, for it is a night that will go down in history. It is the night that Harry Potter surrendered to Lord Voldemort!" Cheers went up around the clearing as Voldemort turned to face me, wand in hand. "Good bye, Harry Potter. Avada—"
'Draco, I'm sorry,' I thought. Images flashed quickly through my mind. A first kiss, the first time we made love, our engagement, our wedding—a bright smile, pale blonde hair, shining silver eyes. 'I love you.'
"—Kedavra!"
A flash of green, and everything went black.
