Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, blah blah blah. You know what I'd like to know? Has any author ever actually sued a fan for writing a fanfic without a disclaimer? Because if they haven't, someone explain to me the point of us authors having to write one of these in every single chapter we write lol.
A/N – This is a one-shot fic about the final battle, just a little idea I had. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review!! Lol
Realization
People say that one battle can change everything.
Can one battle make us realize our innermost desires? Can one night reveal to us what has been there all along, invisible only to us?
They had readied themselves for this night; they had prepared for two years. Many long nights were spent in empty classrooms, practicing for this moment. Hours spent in the library, researching to find the best ways to defeat the enemy.
A tentative truce had been formed, both holding to it. Many were surprised, but those who knew them well enough to look beyond their exterior reactions were not; for they had never truly loathed each other. Their hate was laced with a gripping passion that enabled them to light a spark in each other that no other was able to ignite, leaving them feeling more intensely for each other than most feel in their life. They held on to these emotions, living off the fire they burned in one another, unconsciously knowing that without it they would fall into darkness.
Blinded by dislike, they had seen only the insults and scathing remarks that were exchanged. The feeling behind the Slytherin's sneered, sarcastic warning to them in the beginning of their fourth year was never pondered, and its underlying concern was not even realized by the one who said it.
As they headed for Malfoy Manor that night, the two bitched and snapped at each other, the tension so think you could cut it with a knife. The friendship they had developed over time was gone for now, despite the fact that they both knew they were only bickering to hide concern. Not being able to handle the Slytherin at the moment, the Gryffindor turned to his other friends and the others that were with them. He looked at them for a long time, knowing full well that it might be the last time he saw them. He hated the faith they all had in him, for he was not sure that he was capable of living up to their expectations. He loved his friends, of course, but they didn't truly understand his pain, his life. Didn't understand that he wanted nothing more than for this all to be over; to curl up in his bed and, for once in his life, have nothing to worry about.
The Slytherin looked at him, seeing his weariness. As he had gotten to know him, he had begun to feel that the other had seen too much for his years, turned into a man too soon. The blonde had underestimated the weight of the world that lay on Harry's shoulders, but even he was forced to admit that a large portion of the hope in winning this war was placed in the Gryffindor. Unaware of his companion's scrutiny, the raven-haired man continued to let his thoughts run across his face, unshielded. Draco watched the man who had become his ally, his friend. He had not wanted to trust him as he did, to actually care if he got out of this alive; had not wanted to wish he could ease the other's pain. The compassion was unexpected, as he was never one to feel sympathetic. Draco could hardly believe that the head of Gryffindor's Golden Trio had looked past his last name and his father, even when one third of the group accused him of being stupid for giving "that idiotic git" a second chance, as Ron had so eloquently put it. The redhead had eventually come around, but he still looked at the Slytherin with distrust, making Draco want to scream, "I'm on your fucking side! Stop bloody looking at me like I'm going to murder you in your sleep!" But he resisted, and Weasley continued sending him suspicious glances. Only his girlfriend's reproachful look made Ron flush and avert his gaze. Merlin, Draco was thankful for Hermione; he suspected she had become something of a buffer between the redhead and himself. Hermione always took the time to send him a little smile to let him know she trusted him, always with a knowing look in her eyes that he hadn't quite been able to figure out. One day, after a meeting in Dumbledore's office a few weeks prior to this night, she had said to him "Love is not the opposite of hate, Draco," before walking away. He had not for the life of him been able to interpret what the hell she had been trying to get across by saying that to him, but he had a feeling he was missing something, for even Ron's glares were reluctantly knowing.
Suddenly, Harry looked up and caught the Slytherin's sliver gaze. The blonde simply arched a pale eyebrow, as was his way, as the Gryffindor's face turned stony and determined once again, any trace of vulnerability fading, lost behind emerald eyes that were now sharp as shards of glass. Draco wondered when the last time Harry's eyes had held real happiness was; he didn't think he had ever seen Harry smile with holding back. Little did he know, the Gryffindor in question was wondering the same thing about him.
Their wandering minds came to an abrupt halt as they entered Malfoy Manor. Seeing as they were greeted by a group of bloodthirsty Death Eaters, they had no time to do anything but dodge spells and call out deflecting charms while simultaneously trying to inflict their own damage on the opposing group. With Dumbledore leading them, they slowly battled Voldemort's followers. The latter thought they were tricking the Light fighters; leading them into a trap where the Dark Lord would bind each to the wall and slowly kill them. However, Dumbledore was not the only person Tom Riddle feared for nothing, and Draco's connection to Lucius before switching sides had not left him empty-handed. Letting the Death Eaters believe they were gaining the upper hand, they followed them while curses flew in the air.
Harry nearly cried out as Hermione barely ducked a Crutatious curse, before she stood fast again, screaming harshly "Stupefy!" leaving the Death Eater to fall soundlessly to the floor, rendered unconscious. The pace of the Dark Lord's minions slowed as they came closer to a large stone door. Motioning everyone to tell them to move between the Death Eaters and the door, he shouted "Ignitious!" while waving his wand in a circle around their enemies and throwing a potion onto the floor in front of himself. Leaving the servants of a madman screaming, trapped within a blazing circle of inextinguishable fire that they could not apparate out of, he slowly opened the door.
"Mr. Potter." Voldemort hissed coldly. "Your time has finally come, I see."
"We'll see," Harry replied in a strong voice, filled with determination and hate for the wizard who stood before him. Eyeing Lucius, Snape, and Bellatrix, he said, "I see that you've left your more important minions stay with you. And here I thought this was between you and me."
The Dark Lord cackled before noticing that his other followers had not entered the room with Potter and the rest of them. "What have you done with my minions, Mr. Potter?" he asked mockingly.
"I believe they will be occupied for quite some time, Tom, uselessly trying to find their way out of an indestructible ring of fire," Dumbledore spoke up, turning his blue eyes to rest on Voldemort.
A slight frown suddenly made it's way onto the dark wizard's face, as he seemed to realize something. "But there only one man alive who brew the potion needed to complete that spell."
"Yes I know," the Headmaster replied, the famous twinkle in his eyes coming to life as Severus made his way across the room to stand beside Draco and Harry.
Slit-like eyes flashed blood-red as Voldemort stood sharply and screamed, "You will not live if you have defied me!" pointing his wand at the spy and hissing "Adava Kedavra." The Potions professor dodged the green light with time to spare, for any idiot could have figured out that the other wizard would kill his betrayers immediately. This action seemed to cause the other Death Eaters to snap out of their trances, and Harry found himself face to face with Bellatrix. Disarming her before she could even blink, the Gryffindor soon had his wand pointed at her throat and he hissed "This is for Sirius, you bitch," before placing a stupefying spell on her, knowing she would be knocked out for hours because of the power he had placed into his words. He then muttered a spell that made deep gashes appear all over her, satisfied in knowing she would wake up in world filled only with pain, and then she would be brought to justice. Killing her had crossed his mind, but there was only one he was willing to utter the words to.
Draco felt almost proud at Harry's parting line to his aunt, but didn't think about it for too long because a second later, his father was in front of him, glaring daggers at him. "How could you do this to me," Lucius hissed. "I've always had your best interests in mind." The Slytherin laughed in response. "Are the beatings included in what's best for me? What about the Crucios, and the torture?" The elder Malfoy's lips tightened and his glare intensified. "You insolent-" he began, but was cut off by his son, who went on talking as if he had not stopped. "What about killing my mother? Was that part of what's best for me? Because, and please do correct me if I'm wrong, somehow I just don't think that benefited me." While speaking, Draco slowly backed his father against the wall and smirked at the spark of fear he saw in his father eyes. "See, Father, I'm like you in a way. I don't let people get away with pissing me off." He laughed. "I guess there is one good trait you passed down to me after all." With that he uttered a spell that left Lucius chained to the wall, unable to move. "Any last words, Lucius?" he smirked mockingly. The Death Eater's eyes widened as he realized what his son was about to do. "Draco, please-""It's a little too late to be saying Draco please, Lucius, although I do get a twisted satisfaction hearing you beg." "You don't want to do this," Lucius said, pleading, eliciting another laugh. "Why, Father, I believe that I have never wanted to do anything more, which makes you wrong, once again. It's nice to know you'll never again have the chance to be right." With those parting words, the son of Lucius Malfoy stepped back and yelled 'Adava Kedavra!' in a strong voice, watching in satisfaction as his father's eyes looked on at the jet of green light in disbelief. Then all signs of life faded as Lucius Malfoy was killed. Draco slowly reversed the chaining charm. He wouldn't want people to think a Malfoy had died chained to the wall or anything of the sort.
The Slytherin turned around to find everyone staring at him in disbelief, except Dumbledore, who was looking at him with that damnable twinkled in his eyes, and Voldemort, who stood silently before clapping his skeletal hands together. "Draco," he said cheerfully. "I knew you had it in you."
The blonde's eyes narrowed. "You're lucky I don't kill you too, you fucking madman." The Dark Lord laughed. "I assume you're leaving that up to the famous Harry Potter, are you not?" No one said a word, and all was silent and unmoving for a minute before both Harry and Voldemort drew their wands to each other and shouted the killing curse. The forces of magic met, neither surprised as both now knew that one would have to be stronger than the other to force the curse through the other's wand. The epitome of good and the epitome of evil, locked in a staring contest. Draco could see Harry beginning to get nervous; he knew that the raven-haired hero could do this, but he couldn't do it alone. Moving so that he stood next to Voldemort, he said "Harry, look at me." And Harry did, his confusion and decreasing hope showing in his eyes. Draco just stared into his eyes, letting all of his confidence and concern for the Gryffindor show in his eyes, silently trying to tell him that he could do this, that he was capable of so much more than this. The message seemed to get across, for Harry's eyes narrowed even further and a new determination showed on his face, washing away his doubt. He continued to feed off of Draco's faith in him, and slowly but surely, the green light connecting the two brother wands traveled toward the Dark Lord. Red eyes widened and no one in the room dared to breathe. Nothing but the frustrated shouts of the trapped Death Eaters could be heard in the dark room. Draco continued to silently mouth you can do this, his silver eyes glowing in the intensity of the gaze between the two. Then, Harry's eyes widened as if he had seen something in Draco's eyes that he had never seen before, and this realization was apparently exactly what he needed for with one push of his wand, the green ball of light crashed into Voldemort.
The Dark Lord's screams were heard for a few minutes before the powerful killing spell the two wizards had combined killed every last piece of him. The Gryffindor looked to Dumbledore before asking "Is he really gone?" The Headmaster smiled at him in return and said gently, "Yes, Harry, that was quite a powerful spell." Potter grinned as everyone in the room began cheering. Everyone, except Snape, who would only indulge in a small smile and a roll of his eyes at everyone's seemingly unnecessary desire to show their happiness.
Basking in the pleasure of his victory for only a minute, Harry turned to look back at Draco, and they stared at each other for a minute before Harry seemed to make a decision. He approached the blonde quickly and without warning, took his face in his hands and kissed him forcefully on the lips. Draco tried to pull away, having been caught very off-guard, but Harry wouldn't let him. He held him captive with his hands, and when Draco finally allowed himself to sink into the pleasure of the kiss, he was captured by the sweetness of Harry's lips. Allowing his hands to run through raven hair, he sighed as Harry ran his tongue over his bottom lip and he opened his mouth. The kiss was filled with needy desperation and passion, but had a strong undercurrent of promise and trust. Their kiss spoke volumes, and ensured their lives without asking their permission.
Harry finally broke the kiss, resting his forehead against Draco's and staring into his eyes. There was no need to say the obvious; all their emotions shined in their eyes as they gazed at each other, oblivious to the cheering of Hermione, Ginny, Seamus, and Blaise, the Headmaster's soft smile and eyes that seemed to light the room with his pleasure, and the very reluctant acceptance of Ron and Snape. For every single person had known about their feelings before they did; it had been obvious to everyone but themselves.
As they stared at each other, their minds ran through the time that had brought them to where they stood. Two years of not fighting. It had started as reluctant agreement, which led to each beginning to wonder about the other. Their curiousness had resulted in many long chats while researching; chats which greatly increased their comfort around each other. They had tried to hold back, but found that neither could in the presence of the other. Admitting that something about the other had always intrigued him had been the first step to trust; Draco had been the only one Harry had let know his true pain and the pressure he felt on him, just as Harry had been the only one Draco had ever told about Lucius's definition of what it meant to be a father. In their lives, it had been an incredible and unexpected journey, them becoming friends, and neither regretted any part of it, but with one thing being an exception:
It had taken them two years to realize that they had fallen in love along the way.