Better be Slytherin
Mudbloods and Morals
LIV
Running back up the hill towards the castle in the pre-dawn darkness, Pansy didn't even feel scared as she'd thought she would. She was glad to be doing something, something other than sitting in that awful pub trying to drown her worry and anxiety. Whatever was going to happen now, she realised, would be final. One side would win, and she just wanted it to happen, she just wanted it to end. She'd always been afraid of the dark and the unknown, spoilt and rich she'd grown up deciding everything and now suddenly she was all alone out there on the abandoned battlefield, without control. It was certainly new.
She knew it would be the end now, she was sure of it. And in the midst of it all she'd realised she didn't care anymore. About Mudbloods and morals and old loyalties and Slytherin rules. What did any of it matter out here anyway?
She just wanted to survive, along with Draco and their friends.
In the distance, across the grounds, they could see a bunch of masked Death Eaters, who merely nodded at them and let them pass without an attack, presumably because they were wearing Slytherin cloaks.
She was running, panting next to Zabini, Queenie and Tracey, when suddenly curses started coming at them in jets of light, coming from the entrance of the castle, coming from the people they were on their way to help.
"Stop!" professor Slughorn cried, and soundlessly procured a Protego spell around them, his arms raised. Pansy could see Colin Creevey, Seamus Finnegan and a couple other Gryffindors she didn't know by name.
"We're on your side!" shouted Pansy desperately. Then, her insides froze, as she realised the Death Eaters behind her who had just let them pass, could hear. Without thinking, she turned around and paused for a second, while the other Slytherins kept running. Before she could tell anyone, they had disappeared and she was suddenly yards away. When she looked at him she saw his eyes widening and his face screwing up. His mouth twisted in an angry grimace, shock etched on his face, and she realised it was the same scruffy looking Death Eater she'd run into merely a month ago on the streets of Hogsmeade that late evening when she and Draco had got a room at the Three Broomsticks.
"You're on their side are you, Parkinson?" he screamed. Instantly panicking, she started running again towards the castle. It was only him and her there out on the grass, they others had kept running and made their way in, but before she could scream for Tracey or Blaise, she was hit by a Stunning Spell from the back.
"YOU'RE ON THEIR SIDE, ARE YOU?" he shouted and she hoped someone would hear him and come back outside. She was on the ground in an awkward position, unable to move.
He was coming closer, not running, walking and hitting her again and again with the Stunning spell so she couldn't get up from the ground. She could hear duelling and a hundred voices from inside of the castle. She could see the light streaming out from the Entrance Hall. But she was left on the grass and no one missed her, no one saw her, no one came for her... except the Death Eater behind her.
"YOU, who convinced me you were a supporter, a sympathiser, to sneak out of school with your Death Eater boyfriend? YOU'RE ON THEIR SIDE? YOU FILTHY TRAITOR!"
He had caught up to her now and he grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her head back. She couldn't see him but she could feel him, his strong hands, way stronger than hers, she, who'd never done any Quidditch because it was for boys; she, who had never learnt to duel because it was for boys; she, who had never bothered to learn to defend herself because she had always assumed she'd have a boy to do it for her.
No physical strength, no more than basic magic, she knew she had no chance whatsoever. He had his hand in her hair, it hurt, she'd never been physically hurt before by anyone – it was terrifying, and he was dragging her head up and down in the air.
"YOU STUPID GIRL, YOU STUPID TRAITOR! You think you're going to get away? Not from me, girly."
He let her go, and for one second she dared to hope she could get up and run into the castle. Before she'd even gotten to her knees, however, she understood why he'd let her go.
He'd only backed away to shout, "Crucio!" and she experienced pain as she'd never felt it. And she was crying, sobbing, wailing, screaming – surely someone would hear this – and every inch of her body ached, and surely she was dead, she must die from this pain because this was not humanly possible to endure...
Then it stopped and everything was strangely quiet. She was dizzy and didn't try to get up this time. She could hear herself sobbing... She was so shocked and hurt she couldn't think straight. And then she was turned over, the dark figure bending over her, she saw two hands moving towards her neck, now surely, she would die if she wasn't already dead... But she could do nothing to stop the stronger hands gripping her neck. She choked and gasped. She clawed at the hands covering her neck, she could feel her eyes bulging; he was choking her, she was going dizzier, and the last thing she heard before she surely died was, "Traitor... When I've killed you I'm going to kill your boyfriend..."
She was gasping and choking, the last thing she would ever see was the rising sun over Hogwarts, the sky a light orange. It was a beautiful thing to see before one's death, one final glance of this world before she would depart...
But then, there was a loud bang and the hands that were murdering her were ripped off her. She drew a croaking breath, a hoarse weak breath that hurt her throat, and everything was still blackening even though she wasn't being strangled anymore... Her throat hurt too much to breathe properly...
"Parkinson, are you all right?"
Someone was mending her throat, she knew because she heard murmurings of incantations, and her throat hurt even more for a bit but then she managed to breathe again, and she sucked in more and more air, and she felt her vision returning, and between her eyelashes, her eyes barely open, she could see Colin Creevey bent over her, bringing her back to life.
"You're ok," he said, and the world returned to Pansy. She could see light again, and she opened her eyes properly. She was breathing again in short gasps. He helped her sit up.
"Thank you—" she gasped and she heard to her horror that her voice was raspy, hoarse. "You saved my life," she said and she wondered why.
"Well," he smiled, "you said you were on our side. I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first—"
The Death Eater was stirring, and Creevey grabbed her hand quickly and pulled her up.
They ran towards the entrance, and he shot another Stunning Spell at the Death Eater. They ran, ran for their lives, and Pansy saw Creevey being hit with a curse and he fell to the ground and she stopped running even though she knew that now it was her turn, because she couldn't leave him after he'd saved her.
She stumbled down to the ground and shouted "Protego". She had read of but never used the Shield Charm, and she saw the Death Eater raise his wand to cast the Killing Curse on her and she knew her Shield Charm wouldn't be strong enough. She had escaped death once tonight but not this time, she would die now.
Suddenly, massive thumps, as if small earthquakes were heard and the ground shook badly. The Curse never came, and she looked up to see one of the Giants swaying dangerously some twenty feet up, and suddenly with a magnificent crash, it fell in a thundering mess, on top of the Death Eater.
Gaping and panting Pansy stumbled back. Relieved, she turned to Creevey.
But he lay dead upon the ground.
Apparently while they'd been away a series of things had happened in a short amount of time. Potter had gone to the forest and either surrendered or tried to escape and been caught, because the Dark Lord had apparently killed him. Then they had come back to Hogwarts to face the resistance and shown them Potters body, where Longbottom had chopped the head of the Dark Lord's snake with a sword for some reason.
Chaos had erupted. House-Elves, Aurors, teachers, Centaurs, Death Eaters, students and Order members were all retreating back into the Great Hall and the battle ensued again.
And then suddenly, Potter had seemingly resurrected.
"HE'S ALIVE!"
The crowd had exploded in shouts and screams and cheers alike. And Death Eater after Death Eater had fallen due to the Order members.
Pansy was just staring at it, and now suddenly most of them had been defeated and it was only Potter and the Dark Lord left. Panicking, she ran around looking for Draco but couldn't see him anywhere. She ran past Tracey, who was bleeding and being comforted by Zabini.
She didn't understand or care about any of what the two duellers were shouting about – ancient magic, Horcruxes, Elder Wands, Dumbledore and Prophecies.
"If it is not love that will save you this time," she could hear the Dark Lord taunting, "you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"
"I believe both," said Potter, and then the Dark Lord's humourless cold laugh echoed around the Hall.
"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!"
"You thought you did," said Potter, "but you were wrong."
"What childish dream is this?"
"Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him!"
"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!" Voldemort's voice shook with malicious pleasure. "I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! It's power is mine!"
"The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."
The crowd gasped. Pansy's heart skipped a beat and her stomach turned over. What in Merlin's name was Potter on about? She didn't understand much but she realised the Dark Lord would want to kill Draco now. Please don't start looking for him now, she thought pathetically.
And then, there was a bang like a cannon blast and screams when they both shot their spells at the same time. They collided in the middle of the air like fireworks. And then the Dark Lord fell back like a ragdoll, and hit the floor with a thud so heavy it shook the windows of the hall.
There was shocked silence and then screams and cheers broke out just as Pansy realised what had happened.
The Dark Lord was dead.
Gone, lifeless.
Actually dead.
And through the crowd that was embracing Potter she finally saw him, with her heart beating in shock and relief. Draco was slumped on the floor against one of the house tables in the corner and he was grasping his left forearm in apparent pain, and gasping.
He was alive. She'd never been so happy to see him. She moved as fast as she could through the crowd, shaking with pent up anxiety.
