Disclaimer: Just in case I haven't said it in a while and have over stepped some boundaries in this story, I don't own Harry Potter. Anything in this story that you either don't recognize in the books or the movies, which ever you keep up with, I made up in my own little world of magic and fantasy.

And if J.K. Rowling wants to use any of my ideas, than she is more than welcome to them. It's only fair since I took so many of her characters and settings to use in my own story. Enjoy all.

That evening, while everyone began to get ready for the battle at hand, Aurora spent her time relaxing and allowing her body to finish healing while submerged in hot water. She stayed in the water for hours just letting the water take away all of her stress in body and mind.

The Headmaster, along with many of the professors who weren't doing anything in particular to aid in the preparations for the battle, gathered all of the fourth years and younger to be sent home or to any other safe place away from the school. All fifth years and above were given the choice to either stay and fight, stay and help prepare then leave to go home, or leave with the children who couldn't go home and take care of them until it was safe to come back to the school.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco were all ones that chose to stay. They may not have all become the kind of friends that the Golden Trio had always been, but when you've shown that you have actually changed sides, and you start dating Hermione Granger, you tend to become one of the gang and go where they go. The Trio had been apart of the action, so to say, their entire school careers, so there was no way that they were going to miss out on the "fun" just because this was going to be a lover's quarrel. And Draco wasn't about to let Hermione go off to battle for a woman that his god-father had loved for so long without him by her side. It would have been against his family honor, and a betrayal to Severus if he had done so.

Severus, Poppy, and a few of his more competent students, Hermione and Draco included, brewed potions of every variety. Pepper Up and Power Up, (A rare potion used by the Order while in battle to increase one's magical abilities, but only in bursts, and only for a short time.) and there were also some protection potions brewed that when drunk would either produce magic repelling body armor, shields, or give the drinker the ability to produce stronger barriers. And for the more advanced fighters, explosive potions were concocted and distributed.

Other professors went about the grounds and castle fortifying the charms and guards as a way to gain more time before the actual face to face fighting had to occur.

During all of this activity, Aurora relaxed in the bath mulling over the last thing Albus said to her. "Follow your heart. It has never and will never lead you astray."

'That's easier said than done, especially when your heart doesn't even know what it wants.'

Aurora began, at that moment, to feel as if she weren't alone in the room. At first, she thought that it was merely Severus or Poppy coming to check on her, but remembered that they were both going to be bonetireingly busy all day and wouldn't be able to get away for even a moment.

She took away the barrier so the water could escape while she died off. Having never gotten the hang of a simple heating charm for an entire room, she took to bathing behind a closed curtain so the heat would remain concentrated around her. She reached out and grabbed her towel and the feeling grew stronger. She quickly dried off, still inside the curtain, and wrapped the towel around her form tightly before she opened the curtain fully.

"Oh Merlin!" came her raspy voice from sheer shock.

There standing before her was the smug, looming, haunting form of Lucius Malfoy. As if he had forgotten his manners, he stepped back to allow her room to get out of the tub fully.

When she didn't move, he decided to try to coax her out. He reached out his right hand as he spoke, "Come my lady. My master wishes a word with you immediately."

"Never! I'll not go anywhere with you, and he knows that! He would never send you to get me. He barred you're access to me years ago."

"I am the only one of my master's followers whom he knows will not harm you in any way. I fear not only his wrath if I should even ruffle a single hair on your head, but yours as well after seeing your display of power before. Now, please come with me?"

"Like I said before, never. I refuse to go anywhere with you, and I'll not see him either."

"Then you have signed your friends death certificates, along with every child who stands on that battlefield with them to protect you."

With that Lucius transformed into tom just long enough to allow Aurora to see who she was really talking to, and then he was gone.

'Oh no! What have I done?' Aurora jumped out of the tub, ran to her wardrobe, donned some clothes and a cloak, and threw her hair up on the way out of the castle, praying that they weren't out there waiting for her.

The scene that greeted her was more than she could have hoped for. The birds were singing, a few of the children were out playing and talking while either waiting for parents to come get them, or for their groups to be called for departure. There was nothing to worry about, and a part of her found where she wanted to be, while the other part felt empty at what tom had said to her.

Suddenly feeling like she had been hidden away for far too long, she spent the rest of the evening and most of the night outside in the fresh air. She really couldn't remember the last time she had simply had fun outside.

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It was nearing early morning when she went in. All of the students who were being shipped off had long since been gone, and those that were staying had an air of apprehension about them which made them no fun to even talk to. She spent the hours after they had all been called in for curfew in solitude on the Quidditch Pitch just taking in everything, and trying not to think of what Albus had told her.

It was getting about time for the sun to start peaking out above the horizon when Aurora finally decided that she should go in to try and get some sleep. As she approached the doorway to their bedroom, something stopped her.

The sight of Severus just laying there in the bed. He looked so peaceful, so carefree, and just as young as the day they had met. That sight of him made her want both to run over to him, lay in his arms, and take comfort in just being near him, and to run away to the arms of the other man she loved. She could remember how Tom looked in the middle of the night as he slept, and it made her heart hurt for having to be far away from him and having said those awful things to him when he came to take her away.

Then, out of nowhere, Aurora felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned expecting to see Tom, or one of his minions, but instead there stood Dumbledore.

"Headmaster! You startled me. Is there something that you wished to discuss with me?"

"You may call me Albus my dear. We are colleagues, or at least we were for a time, so you don't have to address me with such formality all of the time."

"Alright, Albus. Is there something that you wished to discuss with me?"

"No. I was merely going to inquire as to why you aren't in bed now. The battle will start tomorrow morning and you are going to need your strength if you're going to fight."

"I'm not going t fight," a twinge of remorse in her voice.

"Understandable. Severus can be a bit demanding sometimes, but he does this for your safety. But the least you could do would be to go to him and let him know that you don't resent him for his decision," having misread the remorse he hears in her voice.

"Severus has made no such demand. He hasn't even spoken to me about whether or not I'll be fighting. I've chosen not to fight."

"Still, you could be there with him." Dumbledore had an idea of where this was going, but he wasn't going to lead her in that direction if she didn't want to go.

"Albus, I'm frightened."

He opened his arms for her to take comfort in. "Of what?"

"I'm frightened of how the battle will turn out."

"That Severus will lose?"

"And that he'll win. I know I can't have them both, but I can't live and be whole with one of them dead. I love them both so much that I would die for either of them, even knowing who he really is."

"I believe you. Just remember what I told you before. Follow your heart."

"How can I possibly follow my heart when it doesn't even know what it wants? Part of my heart would love nothing more than to stay here with Severus and fight against the evil of this world, but the other part wants to be back in Tom's arms feeling his protection and knowing that nothing could happen to me, even though I can't remember anything about my past."

"I understand."

"How could you possibly understand!" Aurora ran off to hide so she could begin to think, and to be out of the way when the fighting would begin in a few hours.

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Severus had been dragged out of his sleep at her profession of fear and heard the rest of the conversation, only to see her run off.

Dumbledore looked right at him and simply stated, "Everything will work itself out in the end. Get some rest my boy."