It was chaos. Harry had continual reports coming from Ron, and as far as he knew, no one could tell who was winning. He and Draco were doing their fair share of immobilisations, but he had already had to revive some of his own. He had seen others being dragged to safety while their friends provided cover fire.

'Harry?' Draco, who hadn't left his side, was calling him.

'Yeah?'

'Pettigrew.'

Harry wheeled around. Peter Pettigrew, who had been pointing a wand at him, was now cowering at his feet.'

'Please. Your father...'

'My father would have no qualms about killing you. I don't have many either.' The man in front of him shook like a child and cried a stream of entreaties. Harry continued, 'Sirius definitely wouldn't. But I think he would like for people to know he didn't betray my mum and dad. You can't confess if you're dead. Incarcerous!' Ropes wound themselves tightly around Pettigrew. Harry threw a shield up around him. He wouldn't risk any other Death Eater trying to hide the evidence.

'Severus!' Remus cried. 'They got past Filius's group. Bellatrix and her team.'

Snape let loose a string of curses that would have impressed many of his pupils. 'Towards the school?'

'Yes.'

'I'll have to warn them.'

'Now, now, now, Potter. You wouldn't want to kill your boyfriend's father, would you?' Lucius Malfoy sneered over the word boyfriend like it tasted rotten. 'I could be your father-in-law after all. What would Draco say if you killed me?'

Draco's voice came from behind them. 'He'd say "you should have let me do it".'

'You don't mean that, Draco.'

Draco sighed. 'No, I don't. But I want to, which I imagine counts for something. Stupefy!' Lucius apparently hadn't even been expecting that from his son, because he dropped like a stone. Harry called the same ropes and shield as before.

Harry was pulled into Snape's head. When he came back to himself, he looked at Draco. 'Snape says they've got near the school. Ron's going to need help.'

'What do you mean?'

'Voldemort's that way.' He inclined his head. 'I can feel it. And he'll kill you if you come with me. At least I'll get a few minutes taunting. This won't end until I face him.'

'You want me to go to Ron,' Draco stated.

'Yes.'

'Fine. But if you don't come back, don't think I won't find some way of punishing you for it.'

'I'll remember that.' He clutched the galleon. 'Ron?'

'Harry?'

'They're through. I'm sending Draco your direction.'

'Don't. Terry's group's in trouble. By the greenhouses. They could use the help.'

'How are we doing?'

'Nearly time for a miracle?'

'I'm on it. Good luck.'

'You too.'

Harry looked at Draco. 'Okay?'

'Okay.'

Minerva McGonagall sat in front of the Floos at the Ministry office. 'Fix it!'

'Professor, I'm sorry, I can't figure out...'

She looked around the room. Arthur Weasley was there. And he wasn't the only one in the Ministry with Hogwarts children or siblings. They focussed angrily on the unfortunate Floo operator. 'My children could be dying while we wait here. Fix it now.'

Severus had been fighting now for what seemed like hours, trying to make his way to Ron and Hermione in the entrance hall.

'Severus?' Lupin called.

'What?'

'Look.'

He turned to observe, at the edges of the grounds,a slight dark-haired figure winding its way towards the top. Towards a silhouette clouded in smoke.

'Is there anything we could...?' Remus asked.

'No.'

'Hermione!' Ron screamed. Just like in practice, she had seen the attacker coming from behind. Just like in practice, she had caught it long before he did, absorbed in battle strategy as he was. Unlike in practice, she wasn't in time to stop the hex. She was, however, in time to get between it and Ron. She fell, and by the time it took Ron the few seconds to dispatch the Death Eater and reach her, she was lying in a pool of blood. 'No,' he whispered.

Harry had reached Voldemort.

'Thissss is what you have taught them, Potter? Conjuring tricks? Light shows and stunning spells and hexes any three year old wizard should know? Dumbledore had the same failing. Too afraid of real power to try and grasp it. This is why we will triumph. You fear me because you know I will not hesitate to kill you. And you are nothing to me, because you will.'

Harry stood there, unmoved, 'Then do it.'

The two spells were shouted concurrently:

'Avada Kedavra.'

'Expelliarmus.'

Once again the two spells met, holding the wands together. This time, however, there was no imbalance. The bead of energy was held exactly between the wands, unmoving.

'Very impresssssive, Potter, but you overestimate yourself. Did you not think I had considered our little ... problem?'

Harry screamed. He placed a hand to the side of his head, clawing at it as if trying to bore through his skull. Voldemort's eyes were closed in a silent rapture. The killing curse moved closer to Harry.

On the other side of the grounds, Draco froze. Then he turned to his group. 'Terry, you're in charge.' Draco started running, paying only scant attention to where he was going.

He half-closed his eyes, entering the shadowy mental world which bonded the two of them. Harry was disappearing, fading into the darkness. Draco flung himself forwards, chasing Harry into the black.

Severus's relief force had finally broken through to Ron and Hermione.

Severus leant against the wall heavily, eyes widening in horror. 'Draco, stop. It's too late, there's nothing you can do. Come back.' He knelt down.

Closing his eyes to the chaos in the castle, he threw a mental arm around each of his two boys, holding them fast.

'What's happening?' Ron yelled over the sounds of hexes.

'Harry's dying. Draco's trying to follow him,' Snape replied bluntly.

'Well stop it!' Ron fired back, refusing to believe for one second that Harry wouldn't make it.

'Mr Weasley,' Snape responded through gritted teeth, 'the only person to successfully repel the Avada Kedavra is Mr Potter. I am doing my best to hold Harry and Draco to this world, but I do not believe I have that much power left.'

Ron ignored the defeatist tone and focused on Snape's face. The effort he was putting into holding on was obvious. It might not just be Draco in danger of being pulled down.

There was only blackness and dark mutterings. Harry could feel Draco and Snape trying to anchor him, but could take no comfort in it. Voldemort's insidious presence overwhelmed everything else. He was standing in front of the veil again and this time there was no one to pull him back.

The curse was now only a few inches from Harry's wand.

Severus opened his eyes and looked at Ron. 'I've lost Harry.'

'Does that mean...?' Ron asked.

'If Draco can't hold him.'

'You're holding Draco, right?'

He sighed, 'I'm doing all I can. But Draco will let go of me before he lets go of Harry. He's afraid I'm going to pull him out. And he isn't altogether wrong. If we can't save Harry...'

Hermione coughed weakly. Ron rushed to her side. 'You okay?'

'Blood.'

'Madam Pomfrey'll fix it right up. Don't worry.'

'No!' Her face was sickly pale and covered with ugly bruising, but Ron smiled briefly at the familiar look of exasperation. She continued, 'We're all tied to him and Draco. Blood magic.'

Ron cried out in triumph. He leant forward and captured Hermione's lips for the briefest of seconds. 'So how do we do it?'

'All we need to do is ask.'

'That's it?'

'As long as they mean it.'

Ron grasped his DA galleon and thought the request. Sitting between Hermione and Snape he closed his eyes to the destruction. Holding Hermione's hand, he pictured their pool of blood and poured his energy into it. 'Whatever you need, Harry.'

'Always.'

'Of course.'

'Not much left, but it's yours.'

'Sure, boss.'

'Take it. Good luck.'

'Didn't even need to ask.'

The blackness melted away. Harry looked around in confusion. Instead of one tie, he was now bound safely by fifty, glowing with light. He could now hear Draco's mixed entreaties and admonishments. As he came back to himself, Snape found him again, whispering dire warnings if he did that again. And he could see, for the first time, the line binding him to Voldemort, warping all the others around him.

He realised, with a sudden calm, that this was nothing to do with anger, or hatred, rather a simple understanding that the people he loved needed this person out of their world.

He focussed on the connection between himself and Voldemort. It was so simple. He thought the words, 'Avada Kedavra.'

The voiceless command echoed in heads of the DA members on the field, and the Death Eaters felt the power. It was heard by Ron, Hermione and Severus in the entrance hall, and Draco, collapsed a foot away from Harry.

The world went black.