Seventh Year
She told her parents that summer that they needed to move back to America. When they asked why, she ducked out of answering, calling over shoulder that they needed to start packing.
They seemed surprised when she sat down with them and explained what had been happening in the wizarding world and Hogwarts. Maybe her letters had glossed over a few (a lot) of the gory bits. But, somehow, for some unknown reason, they agreed with her. At first they demanded she go with them, but Amara steeled her resolve and said she wouldn't leave her friends alone. Not that she really had many friends besides June, but her parents didn't need to know that.
Their house sold, possessions shipped, and goodbyes hugged, Amara and her parents parted on the promise to stay safe. For the rest of the summer she lived with June, bunking in June's neon-purple room, trays of makeup and hair products, and scattered clothes. In all honesty, Amara was surprised June's parents had agreed to let her go back for seventh year; June may be a pureblood but she was still a Hufflepuff and protested against anything Lord Moldey- as they had started to refer to He Who Must Not Be Named, as the previous title was too exhausting to say and his real name had a taboo tracer on it- related.
The train was significantly less packed that year. She and June rode in a compartment with Ginny Weasley, Susan Bones, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom. There were a few shared laughs, the occasional smile, but the dark aura of what they approached with every passing minute hung heavily over all of their heads, except maybe Luna's. Amara emerged once from the compartment in search of the trolley to buy a round of chocolate frogs and promptly ran into Blaise, whose eyes widened at the sight of her. He glanced at both ends of the train corridor before shoving her into an empty compartment and shutting the door quickly behind him.
"What the hell are you doing here, Stormwind," he hissed, eyes darting around the cabin even though no one was around.
"What do you mean Zabini, I'm here for my seventh year just like you and all your pals." Blaise's eyes narrowed. She gulped. "And maybe to help protect some of the younger ones who don't quite know what is happening."
"You shouldn't be here. Merlin, wasn't the knowledge of going back to a Death Eater run Hogwarts enough to keep you away?" Blaise turned away from her, the corners of his mouth turning down as he groaned, and ran both his hands through his hair. "He's going to kill me. I couldn't do anything about it but Merlin's arse he had to pick a stubborn one. Bloody stupid git-"
"He?" she asked curiously as excitement grew in the pit of her stomach. "Do you mean Draco?"
"Yes, the bloody prick managed to survive this summer, but don't doubt that it wasn't hell keeping the bastard alive." He turned and grabbed her shoulders; Amara took a step back from the force of his movements so she wouldn't fall. "He can't see you."
"Why not?"
"Why must you always ask why?!"
"I'm a Ravenclaw. Call it nature."
Blaise chuckled at her response and ran a hand down his face while resting the other on his hip.
"Bloody hell one day that Ravenclaw curiosity will get us all killed."
"And what in the world is that supposed to mean?"
"For fuck's sake, Stormwind, it means that you should not be here! You should be running for the hills! Hiding! Being anywhere on this fucking Earth but here!" He laughed in the way one does when one is overwhelmed with disbelief. "Especially someone with your background, coming back to what will essentially be a Death Eater camp…"
The lingering end of his sentence did not go unnoticed.
"I know what I'm getting myself into, Blaise," Amara said, her voice soft. "Trust me when I say that and that I have my own reasons for coming back, as impossible as they may seem."
Their moment of understanding was shattered by the slamming open of the compartment doors.
"Blaise, you big buffoon are you- well, fuck." Pansy's jaw tightened upon seeing the two. "Draco's not going to be happy with you, Zabini."
"Why would I not be happy with seeing the little shit? Don't tell me he snuck off to get laid before we even get to Hogwarts."
Draco's disembodied voice rang condescendingly down the corridor. Blaise shoved Amara behind him, using his bulk and height to block Draco's view.
"Blaise, what the actual fuck are you doing?"
It was a breath of fresh air to hear him. Even with his voice taut in annoyance to his friends, thank the Lord he was alive.
"I'm keeping my secret a secret from you, I want this one all to myself this time and not falling all over you."
That earned Blaise a sharp punch to the kidney from Amara, which he admirably took with only a slight wince. His elbow shot back in retaliation. It caught Amara off guard and she fell to her knees, gasping for air. This, as it just so happened, put her right in the sight of the one and only Draco Malfoy.
Who was glaring at her as if she was a spot of mud on his perfectly polished shoes.
"Blaise do you care to tell me why you pick now of all times to fuck a Mudblood?" Draco's tone was cold and arrogant.
"I have a name," Amara said before Blaise even had a chance to respond.
In a flash, Draco's wand was held unwavering at her throat. Pansy and Blaise both jumped slightly, their eyes wide and hands halfway to their own wands. Amara just stuck out her chin and repeated herself.
"I have a name, Draco. I would hope that even after this long you would know it."
"You will do well to remember your place, Mudblood." Draco dug the tip of his wand into the side of her neck. "Some of the others may not take such an act of disobedience as well as I do and only let you off with a warning."
His eyes were twin circles of steel, but Amara glimpsed the flicker of fear in them. She could see the tightness of his skin, the bloodshot eyes, the shattered boy behind the cleaned-up image of a man.
And just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone, taking Pansy with him. Blaise sighed and moved to follow the pair. When he reached the compartment door, he merely said, "Follow his advice. Lay low and stay out of trouble and maybe we can all make it through this alive."
Of course, once the train reached Hogwarts all bets were off.
The year was miserable. The Carrow twins were in charge of detentions; to any non-Slytherin students, mostly Muggle-borns and those considered to be blood traitors, detention meant torture time. Death Eater children and others would use the time to practice the Cruciatus Curse and occasionally the Imperious Curse. Among those who enjoyed the torture the most were Crabbe, Goyle, Astoria, and a few other no name purebloods.
In an attempt to keep the younger kids safe, Neville and Ginny brought back the DA coins from fifth year. They managed to get the Room of Requirement running so no Death Eaters or their followers could get in and kept those at the highest risk safe inside. Amara and Neville traded times in detention, helping the other limp back to the Common Rooms or the Room of Requirement afterwards. Snape was rarely seen outside the headmaster's office and at meals.
Time dragged on. Every once in a while, Amara would brush by Draco in the halls or see him in the library, his hair mussed, his left arm always fully covered unless in the presence of another Death Eater. She learned early on not to make any effort to communicate, having been caught trying once and received two hours locked in the dungeons for it.
Not all was lost. Sometimes when she left her belongings in the library in search of a book, she would come back to a list of names nestled between pieces of parchment in her bag. These were the kids she and Neville and Ginny moved to the Room of Requirement as soon as they could. Though the lists were never signed, Amara knew just who was leaving them.
Christmas break came and went. Many students didn't return, including Luna and June. Amara knew June and her parents were planning to flee the continent, but was unsure of their success. Luna's disappearance was a mystery.
Such a loss of targets at school meant those who remained spent double or even triple the amount of time as before being tortured. The Unforgivable Curses were brought into the classroom rather than left as entertainment for detention. Amara was thankful she never ran into Draco during those class times.
Then Harry walked through the painting hanging on the wall of the Room of Requirement. The final battle began.
Amara remembered shouting an endless stream of curses, feeling the light of friendly and unfriendly spells whiz by her. Fire danced around her, highlighting faces and darkening shadows. She twirled and ran around countless bodies, unable to look at the faces of the dead and doing what she could to protect the injured.
Never in her life could she imagine feeling relief as Voldemort's voice rang across the school grounds announcing his ultimatum. Alongside her classmates and the Order of the Phoenix members, she carried and dragged the bodies of the injured and fallen to the Great Hall. As much as she hated herself for thinking so, she was grateful not to see the bodies of Draco, Blaise, or Pansy among the dead.
Then she looked around the hall at the damage to the families and people around her.
Fred Weasley was dead. George was kneeling next to his body, sobbing alongside his mother and siblings. Amara walked up to hold George's hand, tears falling as she let George turn to her and cry. She remembered helping the twins come up with new formulas and tricks, designing the ideas late into the night. She remembered how close the twins were and could not imagine the loss George was feeling.
Further along were the bodies of Remus Lupin, the greatest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher she had had, and the bright pink haired woman Amara had fought alongside a year earlier.
Younger students, faces pale and hands trembling, stared at the lifeless eyes of their classmates on the floor.
Friends and loved ones hugging each other close, aware of just how little time they might have left with each other.
The hour was up. Loud cheers came from the front of the castle; students, teachers, everyone who wasn't providing medical care raced to the noise, wands clenched tightly and hope in their eyes.
Hope that dimmed when the sight of Hagrid carrying a limp Harry appeared in front of a crowd of Death Eaters and Voldemort, all of whom were cackling. Two giants loomed behind them.
Voldemort announced Harry's death with glee. Amara could hear the screams of horror from Ginny and Hermione, but couldn't bring herself to make a sound. The polished wood of her wand dug into the palm of her hand. Tears burned the back of her eyes. Around her, other students and teachers began yelling out, Finally finding her voice, Amara opened her mouth to join the crowd when a flash of light from Voldemort silenced them all.
The Dark Lord had Hagrid place Harry in front of him, like some sort of trophy. He said something Amara didn't quite catch; it was enough, however, to make Ron yell out, breaking the silencing charm. Once again, the crowd behind him rose up in screams and yells. Voldemort began saying something about Harry trying to sneak away to run from the battle, when someone flew at Voldemort from across the courtyard.
Neville Longbottom, the kid who most everyone had teased for being in Gryffindor, had tried to take out the Dark Lord. Now he lay halfway across the courtyard, in the no man's land zone between the two groups, wandless. He was offered a place among Voldemort's ranks, to be forgiven of his blood traitor status, and he refused. Amara cheered with other Hogwarts defenders at Neville's refusal. Voldemort accioed the Sorting Hat before casting a full body bind spell on Neville. He placed the hat upon Neville's head, an action the warranted the movement of several of Neville's friends, including Amara, raising their wands and starting forward until the Death Eaters raised their own wands in retaliation. With a flick of Voldemort's wrist, the Sorting Hat went up in flames on top of Neville's head.
After that all hell broke loose. Screams went up all around; not just from Hogwarts' defenders at the front steps but from those who swarmed over walls and from the forest. A dwarfed giant rushed into the fray in addition to a group of centaurs. Colorful spells once again raced towards either side.
Amongst the chaos, Amara saw Neville slash off the head of Nagini, Voldemort's snake, with the sword of Gryffindor. She heard Hagrid calling for Harry, but didn't allow herself to think much of it. Thestrals and a hippogriff soared over the battle, helping the dwarfed giant fight Voldemort's full sized ones. The fight was slowly pushed back into the Great Hall, where Amara fought back to back with George, trading off shield spells and attack spells when needed. She saw Molly Weasley take over fighting Bellatrix Lestrange from the combined efforts of Hermione, Ginny, and Luna. Lee Jordan joined her and George, and they all stood back to back to back, protecting each other and slamming enemies around them to the ground.
Then, Harry appeared in the middle of the battle. Wands were loosened in shock from both sides as the Boy Who Lived not once now, but twice, protected Molly Weasley from Voldemort. Cheers and screams rang through the air once more before a deafening silence settled.
What happened next, Amara could never quite remember fully. She knew that Harry and Voldemort traded words and insults alike, but the exact sayings were lost on her. Love was brought into questions. Harry's mother's love, Dumbledore's love, somehow even Snape's love. Voldemort had laughed at some point.
Then Draco's name popped up. Draco had disarmed Dumbledore, and Harry had somehow taken Draco's wand, therefore Harry, not Voldemort, was the rightful master of the Elder Wand.
Light flew from Harry's and Voldemort's wands after those words. Green and red light collided in a bang of golden sparks.
Amara was blinded by the collision, as was most of the hall. When the light faded, it was clear to see that Voldemort was dead. While unsure about how it came to be, the defenders roared in celebration. Amara stood her ground as people rushed by her to get to Harry, her shoulders knocked back and forth as people all but climbed over her to get to others. Most of the Death Eaters fled as soon as they came to their senses. A majority of those who fled were captured.
The celebration broke down quickly as people began searching for family and friends. Amara stood awkwardly to the side, pretending to be occupied by the flickering fire of one of the torches on the wall.
She watched as those around her embraced, crying tears of joy and sadness alike. The battle was over, but at a cost. Fifty at least were dead, countless more were injured. Supplies were being brought in as the more serious injuries were brought to Saint Mungo's. Amara caught sight of the Malfoys, who sat on a bench to the side, huddled close to each other. Draco's father's eyes darted to everyone that passed, his wand held tightly. Though his eyes were in constant movement, they were flat, lifeless, as if he could not believe what was happening in front of him. Draco's hair was singed and blood was scabbed beneath his nose, but other than that he seemed unharmed.
Amara sank to the ground, leaning her head against the wall and wrapping her arms around her knees. Exhausted, she closed her eyes, the celebration and chatter lulling her to sleep, stirring slightly as she felt a blanket being placed over her before descending into darkness.
A/N: I apologize for this chapter being both short and extremely late; I have been very busy working and trying to plan a trip to see a very important person to me at the end of this month. I don't know how often I will be able to update but please know that I will be trying to write! No matter how long this takes this is a project I intend to finish. Getting reviews helps motivate as well... Hint hint.
After this chapter everything is new (obviously)! I hope y'all are looking forward to seeing what lies in store for everyone beyond this point, because everything and anything is up for grabs...