Author's Note: This is the second to last chapter of I Never Thought I Would Be A Hero. While I seriously considered making you all wait another week for the final chapter, I decided that it would be in my best interest to reduce said week to a mere two days. On Friday, I will update with the long awaited final chapter of I Never Thought I Would Be a Hero. Should I recieve an incredible wave of shocked reviews, then I may update it tomorrow night instead. Writing this story took me well over a year and a half, so I'm pleased with all of the reviews I received and hope that you will all check out my other stories. Thank you for sticking with this story. I truly appreciate it.
Disclaimer: Property of JKR mostly. My own characters sprinkled throughout my own plot.
Warnings: Character Death, gore, revenge, dementors.
I Never Thought I Would Be A Hero
Original Dark Angel
Chapter 15: Heroes Fall . . .
The wards had been breached. Hogwarts was in chaos despite the nearly two week warning they had received and hours of careful planning. No one had been prepared for the dragons. Deatheaters, giants, trolls, and dementors, yes. Dragons, no. Charlie Weasley led the defense against the dragons, forced to bring down the magnificent creatures that he had devoted his life to studying. There were too many lives at stake on the battlefield to spare the beasts.
Hagrid and Madame Maxime stood alongside Grawp, armed with wands, while Grawp brandished a cudgel, the likes of which could crush a giant's skull with a single blow.
Remus Lupin stood boldly at Harry Potter's side, Ron and Hermione to his left. Luna Luvgood was firmly placed on the hero's right with Draco and Ginny Malfoy beside her. Wands raised, it was Lupin who sent out the silver patronus of a large Grim to announce the light's intention to fight rather than surrender. As it romped over the field, Harry sent his stag to join it. They were two of the strongest patronuses that Draco had ever seen. He wondered briefly if patronuses could be indwelt with souls of the departed, because the pair wasn't fading. Padfoot and Prongs would be part of the battle today. Then the first killing curse was cast and both sides plunged into battle.
The first volley of spells was a violent flury of red and green light: unforgiveables on the part of the deatheaters and stunners from the Light. Then the duels became more personal. Foes squared off against each other. Lupin took on Pettigrew. The Golden Trio faced off against a troll (which was rather fitting since the Golden Trio's first adventure had started with a troll as well). Draco and Ginny were quickly separated, Lucas chasing Ginny through the ranks while Draco fought his old housemates.
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Hermione raced towards a fallen auror being threatened by a deatheater. She tripped and fell over Mundungus Fletcher's body. She blinked in horro and it paused her long enough for the deatheater to take notice of her. Before the purple light could strike her; she felt a hand grabbing a fistfall of her robes and haul her out of the curse's path. She looked up startled and realized that her rescuer was Malfoy's friend. He was supposed to leave with Professor Snape this morning! Blaise gave her a roguish grin and took off towards Malfoy. Gathering her wits about her, Hermione turned and cast an impediment jinx at the deatheater so she could rush to Tonks' aid.
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Ginny finally reached her destination-just out of the Whomping Willow's reach. She spun to face Lucas, casting her first hex. The bat-booghey hex didn't slow him down as much as Ginny would have liked, but he did fall neatly into her trap. By rushing her while still under the hex, he missed the significance of her position and crashed headlong into the angry tree when she sidestepped. She heard three or four sickening cracks, before the tree pitched him at her feet. She hissed two healing charms before the Petrificus Totalis, but left his wand arm broken. She crouched next to him when his poison green eyes opened. "Learn this, Lucas. I'm Draco's girl and he is so much stronger than you. I'm Fleur's sister-in-law and Jenny's aunt. I won't ever forgive you for what you've done. You will never harm another soul again." She pulled out a mirror from her pocket and placed it beside him on the grass before walking away.
Lucas couldn't look away from the mirror and the mirror had been enchanted to show every one of his victims' blood-stained faces. It would eventually drive him mad.
With great satisfaction, Ginny returned to the fight in time to be the only witness to Blaise's sacrifice.
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Blaise had spotted Lucius Malfoy sneaking up behind Draco, wand raised and managed to get between Draco and the spell. The purple light struck him in the chest and he collapsed to the ground, pain wracking his body. He was finding out the effects of Pandora's Curse first hand. He barely heard the muttered cutting curse, but he felt the pain multiply. Forcing his eyes open, his hazy vision saw that Draco had finally petrified Pansy and was turning around to face the new foe. Lucius tackled his son and prevented Draco from seeing Blaise. It was the only merciful thing Lucius had done for either boy. Blaise didn't want Draco to see him die. His best friend carried enough wrongful guilt on his shoulders. He was also sure that a reprimand would be the first thing out of Draco's mouth and to be quite frank he didn't want to hear it.
He was surprised when Ginny's face appeared in his field of vision. He didn't know why she was crying, but then he remembered that he was dying. There was no counter, no antidote. At least the cutting curse ensured that he would die quickly.
"You stupid, horrible, wonderful boy!" Ginny pressed a kiss against his sweaty forehead. 'Why?"
"Cause I love you ad Draco," Blaise slurred. 'And because you two can do more for Ian than I could ever hope to do myself. What kind of big brother would I be if I didn't make sure that the world was safe for my baby brother?" He struggled for the next few breaths and looked down. Under his collarbone there was a two inch heart cracked down the center. "Huh. OS that's what inevitable death looks like." Ginny was crying again. Blaise frowned. "Don't cry, Ginny." He pushed himself up on one arm and kissed her cheek before he ran out of strength. As he returned to his prior position on the ground, he cracked a quick smirk. He had become numb. "Tell Draco that if he's trying to hide the fact that he's married, he should take off the ring before breakfast, not halfway through when he realizes that he forgot."
Ginny laughed despite herself. "I don't know if Draco could have spied as long as he did without you there to cover for him. How on earth did you manage?"
"Don't know," Blaise mumbled. He was so tired and it was so hard to keep his eyes open. A moment later, Blaise gave up the battle.
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Ginny stood and backed away from Blasé's body, casting a quick preservation charm. She stepped through the shield that a solemn Fred Weasley had cast while he took care of a troll. Mouthing a quick thank you, she made her way towards Draco.
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Draco was participating in a familiar form of dueling with his father. Growing up, Lucius had demanded him to have hours of training in the noble art of swordplay. Now locked in battle with the man who sired him, he was thankful for every second. He continued to elude the sharp blade, edging closer to the deatheater shooting off stunners like they were going out of style. When the opportune moment came, he struck out with his blade and deflected a spell, aiming it at his father. Lucius Malfoy toppled to the ground and Draco swore. Just his luck; the deatheater had just switched to the leg-locker curse. But before he could make a move to further incapacitate the man, his father whipped out his wand and used the Killing Curse on himself.
Draco stared at the corpse in shock. His father would rather kill himself than be taken alive by his son? He started when a small hand rested on his arm. Then his mind registered and he tried to give Ginny a carefree smirk. It failed. He had seen her next to a fallen warrior when he was fighting and hoped it wasn't one of her brothers. "Okay?"
Ginny stood on tiptoe and kissed him hard. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Good."
Then she was gone and Draco moved to counter another attack, caught in the endless dance. He swirled again only to find a dementor across from him.
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Harry Potter grimly made his way through the ranks of deatheaters and dementors. Voldemort stood in the dead center of the deatheaters with that psychotic little girl at his side. He spotted an opening an d almost took it, but then he saw the dementor advancing on Malfoy. Ginny had told him that Malfoy could conjure a brilliant dragon patronus, but not in the presence of a dementor. There were too many bad memories from his childhood that could barely be suppressed in a normal setting. Decision made, he cast a fresh patronus and directed it towards the afflicted teen. It wasn't as strong as his first patronus which was still fighting about ten feet away, but it was enough to send the dementor away. He offered a hand to Malfoy, fragile truce once more in place.
"If you can't cast a patronus, the cunning thing to do would be to get out of the way," he sniped for old times sake.
Malfoy nodded curtly. "But why bother when some foolish Gryffindor will come running bravely to your rescue."
"I'm telling, Ginny," Harry muttered, sending a Jelly-legs curse at Avery.
"What are you, Potter? Four?" Malfoy blocked a stunner and smirked over his shoulder. "Go ahead and tell her. She's heard it all before."
"Slytherin."
"Gryffindor."
Their banter died as they broke through the final defensive ranks. Before them was Voldemort, only ten feet away. Standing by his side was Ryan Shiva Riddle.
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Ryan flung herself astride her favored mount, the last female opal-eyed dragon. No one dared attacking her now or they would be responsible for the extinction of the species. The strengthened imperious curse linked its mind directly to her commands. Ryan was invincible.
She dove at perfect Potter and the traitor, never realizing that the dragon-keeper Weasley had spelled a Finite Incantatem at her precious pet, which would be shortly followed by a Reductor Curse.
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Draco had flung himself left and Potter had dodged right with the practiced skill of years of Seeker training. Draco averted his eyes as the girl he had once teasingly called 'little sister' went up in flame as her dragon turned on her. A second later the beast exploded and there was nothing left to identify. Draco felt a twinge of guilt at the relief that Ryan was gone. But he couldn't deny that he had been worried about dealing with her afterwards. They couldn't kill her, couldn't throw an eleven-year-old in Azkaban, but it was too late to save her from becoming the monster that her father had trained her to become. And Voldemort could possess her and come back because of the blood link. This was probably the best outcome he could have hoped for.
Draco suddenly realized that they were now perfectly positioned to attack the Dark Lord except for one thing . . . an enraged Voldemort had somehow gotten a hold of Luna.
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Dumbledore had been shocked to find the golden unicorn tied to an ornate ivory obelisk. He had never seen this part of the Forbidden Forest and the unnatural stillness made him hope that he would never see it again. The unicorn appeared to be fast asleep, and hesitatingly, Dumbledore placed one hand on its nose. Crystal blue eyes fluttered open and met his own. So startled by the telepathic link that he now held with such a pure creature, the only words that the ancient and wise Dumbledore registered were "What? How? Why?"
"It is time for the awakening then," the unicorn responded patiently. "As my Lady Rowena foresaw. Unbind me and I shall give you the blood you require."
"How did you come to be here?" Dumbledore queried as he began unfettering the creature.
"The Lady foresaw a day when willing unicorn blood would be needed to return life to one who unjustly lost his in his destruction of ultimate evil. She requested a volunteer and I came forward."
Dumbledore almost dropped the harness. "Rowena Ravenclaw imprisoned you! Are you sure? Not someone like . . ."
"My Lord Salazar was very much against my unnatural binding. It was the first rift in his relationship with the other founders, I regret to say. He visited me everyday until he died. You must not judge him or the members of his house so harshly. By doing so, you foster the growth of evil, headmaster." The unicorn drew its horn across its flank and mechanically, Dumbledore moved to capture the crimson liquid in the glass vial he had brought. When he looked up again, the unicorn had aged. "Do not try to cheat fate, headmaster," it warned. "This blood is only meant for the one to destroy your dark lord. If any other drinks it, the curse of unicorn blood will be upon him ten-fold." The unicorn broke off the tip of his horn on the obelisk. "Give this to the reluctant lycanthrope. There will be orphans on both sides of the war. His mission will be to care for them. As long as he swallows this before the next full moon, he will be cured."
"I hear and obey," Dumbledore muttered shakily before the link was broken and the silver creature faded away.
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Draco had his wand out, but there was nothing he could do with Luna in his direct path. Potter had paled by several shades. "Don't hurt her. She's a pureblood. It's me you want." Draco bit back a growl when the idiot shoved his wand into his robes. "I'll surrender. Just don't hurt her."
Luna stood straight and looked her husband in the eye. "I love you, Harry," she said with a calm dignity that had always marked her despite the outlandish statements that the Sixth Year was prone to.
Voldemort laughed. "Pitiful, Potter. Do you-" He was cut off when Longbottom of all people leapt onto his back and made a furious attempt to grab his wand. Of course the Dark Lord hexed him off and sent a cutting curse at him for good measure. The Gryffindor didn't get up from where he had landed, but Draco didn't think he was dead. Of course he had his own problems. He had tried to free Luna while the Dark Lord was distracted and now suffered under the Cruciatus Curse.
The torture was brief, but through. When he finally came to his senses, Luna was crumpled on the ground, the boy-who-lived sobbing over her form. His limbs were like jelly and his mind struggled to make sense of the images it was presented with.
The Dark Lord laughed again. "Just a little boy, after all, eh, Potter? If I'd known you were so easy to break, I wouldn't have bothered with your parents or that mangy mutt of a godfather."
Draco looked at Potter-no, Harry-again. The boy suddenly didn't look any older than Ian and Draco felt unease about his part in convincing Potter to marry Luna before the final battle. It had only made the emotionally unstable boy become dependent upon yet another person who would eventually leave him. There was literally nothing left for Harry to live for anymore. The boy looked back up at Voldemort with empty green eyes and waited.
Draco had to try. He fought to raise his wand and cast the strongest shield he could. The Killing Curse ripped through it, and Potter crumpled to the ground. Within an instant, the silver patronuses were beside the fallen hero. The stag dragged its antlers across the dust in mourning as it flickered from view. The dog lasted one moment longer, voice raised in a keening howl.
Voldemort turned back to Draco and muttered two words that sent him into a heap next to Harry Potter and snapping his ebony wand under his weight. "Unleash Pandoran."
The curse knocked Draco to the ground. Pain ravaged his lungs and chest. The Dark Lord moved forward to stand over them. Potter was dead, no doubt about it and he would follow. Draco knew the curse the Dark Lord had used. He'd be dead in an hour if Voldemort didn't kill him first. He was going to die. Everything he had told Ginny last night was true. Where was she? He needed to see her. Would she remember what he had said?
The Dark Lord sneered. "You could have been my right hand, boy. You threw it all away for the 'good side.' The Potter brat is dead now. You gambled and lost. Was it worth it? What could possibly be worth your life?"
Draco saw her then. Red hair spilled over her shoulders in a furious fire, as she cursed everything in sight, trying to reach him.
"Ginny is. Ginny is everything. I'm doing this for her." He fumbled in Harry's robes. His wand was gone, but with any luck, Potter's would still be in one piece. He yanked it out, screaming his curse as he went. The Dark Lord's eyes widened in surprise as the flash of green light killed him and he fell to the ground. He fell back clutching Potter's wand in his good hand. It hadn't felt awkward when he'd used it. It felt like his own wand in his grasp. Another wizard's wand shouldn't have been so easy to use. He didn't have the strength to puzzle it out. Breathing was struggle enough now.
"Draco!" Ginny flung herself at him. The shoulder of his shirt was torn and she could see the jagged cut in the shape of a cracked heart. "Pandora's Curse," she whispered in horror. "Draco?"
Neville joined her, wiping the blood away from the cut down the side of his face. "Here, Ginny. Help me get him up. The deatheaters are fleeing and Madame Pomfrey can take a look at him in the Great Hall." He shouldered most of Draco's weight, and between him and Ginny, managed to get him inside. His body convulsed as they lowered him to a conjured cot.
"Don't bother the healers, Longbottom. I'm dead. There's no way to reverse Pandora's Curse. Others need them more." Hesitantly, Neville left to give them privacy. He had more friends to dig out of the rubble. Ginny knelt beside him. "Ginny, I meant it. Don't mourn me. Take the money and live your life. Marry Blaise or something. He owes me."
She ignored the statement. He would know soon enough. She didn't want to taint her last few moments with him. "You killed Voldemort. Not Harry. I saw you. You did what no one else could."
"I never thought I would be a hero," he tried to laugh.
Tears spilled from her eyes into his shirt. "You've always been my hero. I'll wear your name proudly until my dying day, and someday I'll tell our baby how you redeemed it, killing the Dark Lord." His body was shaking now and silver eyes sought hers. She intertwined their fingers, holding it up for him to see. I love you, Draco Malfoy."
"I love you, Ginny Malfoy. Never forget that." He struggled for a last breath. "Never!" The chest didn't rise again. Ginny flung herself down on his chest, fingers tangled in his shirt, sobbing. "I won't."
Author's Note: Please don't flame me. I set most things right in the next chapter. I think you'll like the way that it turns out. And if not, well, I don't plan on killing anyone in my next D/G. It's called Harmony, although I'm not sure when it will be up and is post HBP.