Disgust and repulsion coursed through Draco's veins, as he held his wand up high and braced himself to attack. He felt Harry tense beside him, and a deathly silence hung in the air as Voldemort's gaze passed between their faces.
"Harry," Voldemort finally said in that familiar cold voice. The voice of Draco's nightmares. "We meet again at last."
Draco's breath increased in droves as he waited. Voldemort seemed to notice as he fixed his attention on Draco next, an evil grin erupting across his face.
"And Draco! I was sorry to hear about your mother. I hear she's in no better condition than the Longbottoms, now. Such a waste."
Draco began to shake in anger. Zabini whispered something to him, wait for the signal, but Draco barely heard. His vision tunnelled on Voldemort.
"Of course," Voldemort continued, "that's what happens when you try to cross me."
"You're not Voldemort," Harry said slowly, in the same tone one might use to reassure a child. "I saw Voldemort's body. You might have the wizarding world fooled, but you can't fool me."
Voldemort's eyes glinted dangerously, but he only spun his wand between white, spider-like fingers and answered calmly. "You did well, Harry. Better than I might have expected. But you overlooked one crucial element of Dumbledore's clever plan."
"Yeah? And what's that?" Harry asked.
"The final horcrux." The corners of Voldemort's lips twitched. He seemed proud of himself, as he continued to pace before the fireplace roaring with flames. "You realised, I presume, the pattern? A horcrux for each Hogwarts house?"
Harry stayed silent, his jaw set. Draco's gaze flitted between him and Voldemort, waiting for the signal to attack.
"And yet, you never destroyed an item of Godric Gryffindor's. Did you never wonder about that?"
Voldemort smirked as his words sunk in. Draco's breath hitched in his chest — this couldn't be real. Surely it couldn't be. Potter would not have left out something so important… would he?
"There's only the sword," Harry said slowly.
"Precisely." Voldemort's eyes were alight with excitement now. "Thanks to your little magic experiment, impregnating the basilisk venom, it is now quite indestructible. And of course, both yourself and Dumbledore refused to see it for what it was. Your last beacon of hope… already claimed by me."
"You're lying!" Harry shouted, his patience gone now. Draco could see the fear in Potter's eyes, his glasses reflecting the prickling flames of the fire.
"By now, my death eaters will have total control of the ministry. Shacklebolt will be truly dead. And my most loyal servant, ready to take his place."
"People will never let it happen," Potter continued. "We've worked too hard to rebuild after the mess you left behind."
Voldemort let out a cool, high-pitched laugh. "Your people won't even know. Your little idea to keep Shacklebolt polyjuiced was… inspiring. We will be adopting that one. But enough of that," he snapped, his demeanour changing suddenly. "I think it's time we had a re-match, Potter. An even duel, once and for all. No wand play. No parts of me inside of you. Oh yes," he said, at the horror on Potter's face. "My death eaters have kept me well informed on all the information I missed last time."
"Where are they now, then?" Potter asked. "Your followers are either dead or in Azkaban."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Voldemort gloated. "You don't think those most loyal to me had a horcrux of their own?"
Draco's blood ran cold. "Bellatrix," he muttered in horror.
"Very good, Draco. But no matter. I have all the followers I need in this very room, right now."
Draco's brows knitted in confusion, but before he had time to react, Voldemort shouted, "seize them!"
A pair of hands seized Draco's behind his back, knocking his wand to the floor. The same thing was happening to Blaise and Harry beside him, and within seconds they were all tied in ropes and shoved to the ground. Draco growled in anger as he twisted around to see it was Weasley, Dean and another Gryffindor bringing them down. Betrayal.
"Ron," Harry groaned. "How could you?"
"Next time," Weasley hissed to Dean, "you can be the Weasley."
It dawned on Draco slowly, then all at one. "Polyjuice potion."
"What did you do to them?" Harry asked through clenched teeth.
"Doesn't matter," the fake Weasley smirked. "You won't be seeing them again."
Harry charged at him, with enough surprise on his side to knock the man to the floor and grasp his wand, even with his hands tied behind him. He cut his bindings free and turned to Voldemort, leaving the fake Weasley on the ground unconscious. Draco saw something reminiscent of Dumbledore's style in the way Potter moved.
"Well done, Harry," Voldemort jeered. "But it'll take more than that to beat me."
With barely a moment's pause, Voldemort began casting jets of green light at Harry. He managed to shield and deflect most of them, but didn't have enough room to send a returning curse of his own. The two other death eaters were morphing back into themselves now, and both were paying more attention to the battle than to Draco and Zabini.
"What do you reckon?" Zabini muttered.
Draco's face paled as he took in everything going on before him. "Depends if Potter goes down," he answered truthfully.
Even with the vastness of the sitting room they occupied, the air quickly became heated and stifling with the force of all the spells. Harry still could not get the upper hand. He needed help, Draco realised. And fast.
He muttered his plan to Zabini as quickly as he could. Blaise nodded, and Draco staggered across to the death eaters at once.
He barely made an effort, keeping them under a false sense of security as they knocked him back down to the ground. But it was enough of a distraction, and Blaise wrenched his wand free and took them both out before Voldemort noticed what was happening.
"No!" Voldemort shouted.
It was enough that Harry could begin the offence. Voldemort's eyes kept flicking to Draco and Zabini, but Potter kept him busy enough blocking a myriad of curses. Zabini cut through Draco's bonds and threw him his wand, and they joined Harry in the fight.
Beads of sweat broke out on Voldemort's bald head as he took them all on at once. Draco unleashed all his anger, all his resentment, all his regrets into the attack. Twice, he blocked a killing curse from hitting Blaise. But even so, as Voldemort began to tire, so did they all.
They were dangerously close to growing clumsy, to making mistakes. Draco searched for an advantage, his eyes scanning the room in quick darts between spells, but nothing came to him. And, just as he was feeling really desperate, a stunning curse from behind knocked both Harry and Zabini out cold.
"What-?
A jet of red light sent Draco's wand flying. He whipped around to see his aunt lolling in the doorway, her face sunken and hollow once more. She threw her head back and cackled, the sound reverberating through the room.
"Bellatrix," he whispered.
"You did well, Draco!" she exclaimed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "But there's no need to fight anymore. You're home."
She pushed him down to his knees on the floor. Draco gave in, a sharp crack soaring through his kneecaps. He winced, and fought the waves of terror threatening to overcome him as he looked up into the mad, red eyes of Voldemort.
Bellatrix knelt beside him, flicking her head back after a few seconds to gaze at Voldemort with reverence. A sharp shiver swept through Draco.
"I am giving you a chance, Draco," Voldemort said quietly. "You have grown since we last met. You did what you had to, in order to survive while I was gone. I do not condemn this quality. We are the serpent of Salazar Slytherin, after all."
Draco whimpered.
"Join me again," he whispered in a hiss. "I will forgive all crimes. Both yours and those of your family. And I hear you have been a busy man," he smirked. "The Greengrass girl?"
"Leave her out of this," Draco snarled.
"I will not harm the girl," Voldemort said, eyebrows raised, as though he were offended at the presumption. "Her blood is as pure as yours. And her parents gave their lives to keep order amongst my followers. Of course, I will not harm her. Unless you require a little… motivation."
He had him. Just as last time, Voldemort had discovered Draco's only weakness. Astoria. He would not defy Voldemort, not if it meant harm would come to her. He took a deep breath in. He closed his eyes, and bid Astoria a silent goodbye. It would never be safe to be with her again. Not after this. I love you, he said in his mind. It was all he could manage.
He looked up into those red eyes that had plagued him for more than two years. And, knowing it was a death sentence of his own to do so, he said the words. "I'm in."