Author's Note: Hello all and welcome back to this last chapter of Book IV! I'm really baffled but also filled with so much pride and happiness when I see how many people have followed this story, have favourited it, and how many of you take the time out of your busy lives to leave a review. It really means so much to me, so thank you all for joining me on this journey!

This week, I especially want to thank Lissi45829 and 598 for binge-reading this story and then taking the time afterwards to let me know their thoughts, and of course TheMushroomGuild and Ghostwriter71, who let me know each week what parts of the chapter particularly stood out to them. I rather liked writing from Draco's perspective, because it allowed me to adopt his offhanded, rather rude thinking for a bit (and throw in some light swearing here and there ;)).

Anyway, enjoy this chapter and remember: this is not the end of the story!

May 2, 1997
Somewhere in Scotland

Immediately after her statement, the clearing filled with the wailing cries of Hagrid as he trashed against his bonds. Her heart broke at hearing it, but she forced herself not to look at him. Instead, she returned to a place close to the Dark Lord as he ordered Harry's body to be collected as they return to the castle.

'Has Severus returned yet with the prisoner?'

At the Dark Lord's question, Sophie's ears perked up – although she tried to keep her head down to avoid looking too much like she was eavesdropping. At a response to the negative from one of the Death Eaters, he hummed, almost regretfully.

'I suppose it is no matter; I don't have need of the wand maker anymore. Still, I would have liked Severus to be here for our triumph.'

As it turned out, his regret was not large enough to keep the procession, and soon they were off towards the castle. Sophie had tried to tuck herself away as much as possible, but unfortunately Voldemort had requested her near to "show her fellow classmates that they were on the losing side". Still, she tried to hide as much as possible behind the towering form of Hagrid in front of her, all the while trying not to come too close to Lucius Malfoy who walked but a few spaces beside her.

She had first spotted him among the crowd when she returned to the Dark Lord's side. In line with her memory, he looked sickly and tired. Rather than have that fact inspire pity within her, however, it only served to anger her more. This was the path he had chosen. How dare he now have doubts about following the man he had been ready to sell his son's soul to?

Too much time to dwell on this question – or her hatred for the man – she didn't have, however, for all too soon they arrived at the front doors of the castle. As the defenders filed out to confirm that the Boy-Who-Lived had indeed died, Sophie caught the gaze of more than one of her acquaintances in the wizarding world – and at seeing her there, their expressions ranged from incredulous to betrayed, to all-out enraged.

In her attempts to avoid their accusing stares, her gaze by chance met that of someone whom she had not expected to see there. Draco was standing with the Hogwarts students, a little in the back but still easily identifiable by his pale complexion and white hair. When he recognised her, his pale eyebrows rose high onto his forehead – and his grey eyes bulged almost as much as she imagined her own did at the sight of him.

'… forward and join us!' A silence followed Voldemort's declaration. Despite the uncertainty and defeat visible on the face of many of the defenders of Hogwarts, no one stepped forward. No one responded. Voldemort's gaze roamed the crowd, and stopped on the last person Sophie wanted him to see. 'Draco, you have returned, I see. Come. Come now and all your past transgressions will be forgiven.'

Draco looked pale, his eyes filled with a fear that made Sophie's stomach plunge. But he didn't move. Instead, Neville stepped forth from the crowd. As he directed his speech first to Voldemort, and then to the crowd, Sophie's gaze once more returned to her dear friend. Although his attention was elsewhere, she never saw him more clearly – and felt her heart swell with pride.

Neville called for the defenders to take back up their arms, Harry returned from the dead, and as all hell subsequently broke loose, Sophie darted away into the ensuing chaos in search of Draco.

May 2, 1997
Somewhere in Scotland

As the defenders of Hogwarts rallied and the Death Eaters attacked, the stone courtyard soon turned into a battleground, where Sophie's search for Draco turned into a real struggle to keep her own head – and all other limbs attached.

At one point, dodging a wayward spell, from friend or foe she didn't know, she saw a flash of silver hair, and dashed after it into the castle. There, where it was a little quieter and the battle a little less fierce, she took a moment to gaze around. The Hogwarts entrance hall was all but destroyed, even more so than it had been when she had last passed through there. The ground was littered with debris, and she was sad to see that some of the paintings there had been scorched or even completely obliterated by the fighting. The silver-haired person, if it ever had been Draco or not, was gone.

She was about to turn back towards the entrance, when a voice called out to her – and froze her to her spot.

'You,' Lucius Malfoy sneered, as he appeared from one of the side corridors, wand trained on her as he regarded her with an expression of utter disgust. 'I knew from the moment you appeared that something was off about you.'

Sophie swallowed, a lump in her throat preventing her from making any response. As she stood rooted to the spot, she found herself thinking, quite randomly, that it was funny how she had expected it to be Bellatrix who would be the one to confront her. Who might kill her. Funny how such things went. Unable to move her feet, she pulled the stolen wand from her pocket, trying to keep her hand from shaking too much as she held it out in front of her.

If she had hoped the image would scare him off, she was mistaken, for at seeing the wand, Lucius smiled coldly, 'I'm sure the Dark Lord will be most grateful if I were to deliver you to him. Of course, I don't think he would blame me for killing you in the process.' And within the next second, a curse left his lips and Sophie found herself ducking behind a tall stone brazier. The top half was blasted clean off, only hair lengths away from where her head had been. Not wanting to wait for another attack, Sophie pushed herself off of the ground and sprinted into a nearby corridor.

They continued in this fashion for what felt like forever; Sophie jumping, ducking, and squirting out of the way of curses while Lucius followed her at an equal pace. She tried to lose him in the many hallways of the castle, but somehow he was always one step behind her. In the end, they re-emerged in the main hallway only a little from where they started, the double doors only a bit further away but still tempting Sophie to try and make for the open outdoors.

She barely dodged another spell, looking back only once before she sprinted down the stairs towards the front doors. Several spells landed to the left and right of her, and she was so sure that she had made it when one hit her square in the back. The next few seconds were a mystery as she quite literally sailed through the air, the world only returning to her as she landed several steps down the stairs in a heap of painful limbs, scrapes, and bruises. Through blurred vision, she could see Lucius advancing from on top of the stairs.

Before she could try to pull herself back up and continue for the double doors, a hand grabbed hold of her collar and dragged her into a side corridor.

At first, the sight of cool grey eyes and silver hair almost made her scream. Then realisation set in and she relaxed in Draco's hold.

'Are you insane?' He demanded, his expression troubled and decidedly pissed-off. At least he had sense enough to keep his voice down. 'What are you doing here? And what's up with your hair?'

Now stabilized enough to think somewhat clearly, Sophie pulled out of his grip, pushing some of her wayward – blond – hair out her face. 'Oh confound my stupid hair! And how dare you call me insane? I might say the same about you being here!'

'I have a wand, it's entirely different!'

'So do I,' she retorted smartly, holding up the wand that she for some reason still had in her hand for him to see.

Draco scoffed, 'A fat load of good it's going to do you – or has done for that matter. You do remember you need to be an actual witch to use a wand, right – or has falling on your head made you conveniently forget that part?'

At this moment, a shadow fell over them, and both turned to see Lucius had appeared, his frame black against the natural light that streamed in from behind him. 'A Muggle?' He sneered, his tone and expression so full of disgust that it made Sophie almost question her hearing for thinking him calling her such a mundane thing as a Muggle. But no, there it was, written in every line on his face, in the sneer on his lips and the downturn of his eyebrows. He raised his wand, 'I'm not sure how you managed to get here but I will make sure to be the one removing you. Step back while I take care of this filthy Muggle, son.'

For a moment, one traitorous moment, Sophie believed that he would. When Draco made to move, for a second she was certain that he would be joining his father after all. But then he simply readjusted his body so that it was positioned in front of hers. He didn't say anything, but while she could not see his face, she believed him to have gazed up at his father.

Whatever was in that gaze must have been enough to anger Lucius, for he bared his teeth. 'Move aside, Draco,' he grounded. 'Or I will curse you alongside her.

'Do not believe for a second that I will show mercy on a blood traitor only because he is a spawn of mine.'

Once again, Draco did not rise to his father's insults. Instead, Sophie noticed he had tightened his grip on his wand, clearly preparing himself to protect them once the curses would inevitably fly. But as it turned out, his protection would not be the one to save them.

'And I will not show mercy on someone who tries to harm my son.' Narcissa Malfoy, née Black, stepped into the hallway, wand unshakingly trained on her husband as she levelled him with a cold glance. 'Lower your wand, Lucius.'

'This does not concern you, Narcissa. If our son has turned into a traitor of his blood, of his family, then I shall treat him as such.'

'You will leave my son alone, if you do not care to be hexed.'

Sensing the genuineness of her threat, Lucius, with one final venomous glare in the direction of Draco and Sophie, lowered his wand at last – and slunk out of the hallway.

May 2, 1997
Somewhere in Scotland

As soon as he had disappeared from view, Narcissa also lowered her wand, a flash of wariness crossing her face before it was tucked away behind the usual façade of cool and poise. 'Many of the still-standing Death Eaters have been rounded up in the courtyard. However, the Dark Lord still stands undefeated.'

'The Dark Lord,' Sophie echoed, suddenly reminded of what was yet to take place. She scrambled to her feet, ready to take off sprinting into the direction of the front doors, when Draco's hand on her forearm stopped her. The question on his face was unmistakable, and she decided – far less consciously and perhaps more reflexively than before – to trust him. 'He will soon face off Harry Potter in the final battle.'

He nodded, and they took off for the front doors together. When they arrived there, Harry just cast a Shielding Charm to protect Molly Weasley from what was unquestionably a nasty curse from Voldemort himself. Many of the Hogwarts defenders – teachers, parents, other sympathisers, and even students – had gathered to watch the final battle. As Narcissa had said, all of the Death Eaters had been defeated, lying either dead or tied up in a corner of the courtyard. Not seeing Lucius among them, Sophie surmised he must have fled.

Harry and Voldemort were now slowly circling, taunting, before at last they both simultaneously attacked – Harry to Disarm, Voldemort to kill. When the spells met, the sound of a cannon blast echoed across the silent courtyard, sparks flying left and right as the wands locked once more in Priori Incantatem. And suddenly, Sophie remembered one other detail she had forgotten in her preparation for the war.

The Deathly Hallows. She had never worried about the Invisibility Cloak, had thought the Resurrection Stone too unimportant to figure out whether it would find its way to Harry or not, but had often considered the location of the Elder Wand. But she had forgotten its loyalty.

The only way Harry would win this duel, the only way he could, is if the wand was really loyal to him. But that only happened because Draco was supposed to have first Disarmed Dumbledore, and then at Malfoy Manor was Disarmed by Harry. But neither of those events had happened, and so even in the case that the wand was not loyal to Voldemort yet, it was not loyal to Harry either.

She watched in agony as the spell collision point moved closer to Harry, then screwed her eyes shut to block out the inevitable. Several seconds passed in this fashion, feeling like an eternity, when a dull dud sounded – like the sound of a body hitting the stone ground – and all went eerily quiet. Then, loud cheering filled the courtyard, and Sophie's eyes snapped open in surprise.

Harry lived. He lived. And he was holding the Elder Wand in his outstretched hand. 'Harry won?'

'I thought that was supposed to happen?'

'Yes, but… it can't. The wand… it… The Elder Wand was supposed to spare Harry because it was loyal to him. But it isn't. It can't be.'

Draco frowned at her explanation, but didn't have time to respond for just then Narcissa – who Sophie had quite forgotten was still there – said, 'Come now. It is time to return to the headquarters.'

May 2, 1997
Somewhere in Scotland

As they traversed the hallways of the castle up towards the Room of Requirement and the Vanishing Cabinet that it held, the realisation that, whether she understood how or not, it was over slowly started to sink in. The war was truly over. Draco, his mother, Emma, everyone was safe. There was no need for hiding anymore, no need for staying in after dark, for minding your step and looking over your shoulder.

It should be a good thing, a relief, and to some extent it was – only to some extent it wasn't. With the end of the war, Sophie's part in this story was over. Whatever came next, she knew no more than anyone else, had no more useful information left to offer unless someone cared to know the names of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's future children. No, she had done her duty and now it was time to go home and return to her own life. She knew she shouldn't feel so sad about that, but couldn't help but do anyway.

They were the first to arrive back at the Vanishing Cabinet, it seemed, all other defenders likely still busy with the happy and less happy aftermaths of the battle. Narcissa disappeared first through the Cabinet and when she was gone, Draco turned to Sophie. 'I'm assuming you can get through this yourself, given that you somehow managed to wind up here?'

'I actually arrived by Floo in Dumbledore's office.'

'Of course you did,' Draco deadpanned, at this point not even surprised anymore. 'Come along then,' he sighed, before pulling her into the Cabinet and, a second later, out the other end.

They found themselves in a rather small, simplistic, and if she was completely honest rather dingy guest bedroom. Narcissa stood off to the side, studying her nails, but stepped forward when Draco and Sophie arrived. 'It's probably best if I take her on side-along Apparation. Draco, can you find our way back to London by yourself?'
As Draco nodded in agreement, Sophie cleared her throat reluctantly before she addressed the witch, 'Actually, I was wondering if you might drop me off home?

From the corner of her eye, she saw Draco's head swivel in her direction. 'You're not coming with us?'

She responded to her feet. 'The war is over, I would only be in the way now. Besides, it is time I return to my parents. I am sure they will be happy to see me again.'

'Well what about your things?'

'There's nothing in my bag that I have immediate need off. Maybe when things have calmed down a bit, someone in the Order can drop it off and disable the wards around our house?'

He nodded, but didn't say anything. In his stead, Narcissa stepped up and looped her arm through Sophie's. Then, in the next second, and accompanied with a loud crack, the two females disappeared from the inn's guestroom, leaving no trace behind of ever having been there in the first place.