Chapter One: Within Battle
Draco hissed as he narrowly managed to duck before a green ray of light missed him by a few inches. He quickly rounded a corner to a more quiet area of the castle. Once he had settled into a somewhat safe little corner he took a moment to catch his breath and quietly screamed. Crabbe was dead. He had just witness the death of one of his closest friends and he could only blame himself. Why did he have to drag them into that room? On top of everything, bloody Potter had just saved his life.
A sudden loud noise brought Draco back to reality and he sprinted back into action. He had to find some form of safe place. For now, no one was directly attacking him, only a few stray curses here and there, but he was able to block, or dodge them. He couldn't disapparate because He would know Draco was trying to run away, and his mother would be the one suffering the consequences. Draco was stuck in this hell, silently powerless as he heard one by one the bodies of people hit the ground. By now he couldn't tell allies and enemies apart. He wasn't even sure if those he considered enemies at the beginning of this hell were still his enemies. After all, his nemesis Harry bloody Potter had just saved him from a literal inferno. The Hogwarts students were supposed to be who he was fighting against, but he couldn't bring himself to cast a single curse at them. To say that the youngest Malfoy was having doubts was an understatement. The Death Eaters, however, were having a field day killing these students one by one. This made him angry and willing to even join the students, he knew of course that this was impossible seeing as how if he did so, it wouldn't take long for Him to realize it, and take it out on his defenseless mother.
Draco's grip on his mothers wand tightened at the thought of her so close to that monster without any means of protection. If she still had her wand she could at least stand a change at fleeing. Why did he have to take it? Why did he have to fight in his terrible war? Suddenly he was pulled away from his mental torment and pushed up against a wall. Draco tried to kick and escape, but his body felt limp. His mothers wand was taken away by a pair of slender fingers. Draco tried to scream, but his mouth wouldn't open. He frantically looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the dark he focused on a small figure below him. It was a girl.
"Draco Malfoy?" She asked.
Draco stood still. He knew that voice. Where did he know that voice? It is so familiar, the name is in his mind but he can't seem to focus in on the face that voice belongs to.
"Of course it's you. Listen, I know where your allegiance stand at the moment, so I can't let you go. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you with me." She said again, this time with a hint of an apologetic tone.
Draco's heart sped up. No, they couldn't take him. If they did what would happen to his mother? He would notice Draco's absence and his mother would pay. She can't remove him. She can't. He couldn't give into this stranger. She was alone, who did she think she was? Surely she doesn't stand a chance against him all alone.
Draco felt the bonds on his arms become lose, and he broke them off quickly . A noise had emitted from round the corridor and she had taken her eyes off him for a brief second. He took this as an opportunity and tackled her down to the ground. "Draco, stop!" She cried out. Draco's eyes quickly found her's and suddenly she was no stranger anymore. Sudden realization of her identity hit Draco worse than any spell could at this moment. Draco pulled back, and he sat down with his back up against the wall he was previously pinned against. His face in his palms, and a silent scream still in his throat.
"Lumos." She recited, and now her was brightly lit up. Draco lowered his hands and looked over at his old friend.
"Cristalina Kent." Draco's eyes narrowed.
"Please let me take you away. You and I both know you don't want to be here." She looked Draco in the eyes.
"No I don't. No one does. Yet we all have to be here. Who are you to be pulling me out of here? You don't know me, the things I've done. I deserve to be here." Draco hissed.
"I know more than you think! Don't you forget that we basically grew up together Draco Malfoy! I know who you really are. I know you won't leave because of your mother, but I can guarantee her safety. He will never know you left. I'll come back for her right away, I'd never leave her here."
Draco frowned at her, "Then save her first." Draco then stood up, Cristalina pointed her wand at him, ready to restrain him when there was a sudden ringing in her ears. It was him.
"You have fought valiantly but in vain. I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste, I therefore, command my forces to retreat. in their absence dispose of your dead with dignity. I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for you one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
Cristalina sighed, the battle sounds around them had diminished by now, a sign that true to his words, the death eaters had retreated. Draco then stepped out into the light of outside. Cristalina ran after him, and once she caught up she yanked his arm, forcing him to turn to face her. "Just stay in the castle Draco, please." The way she looked at him caught Draco off guard. Why was she being so nice to him? It had been nearly nine years since he last saw her yet she's acting like they were still friends.
The Kent family and the Malfoy's were once really close, well the wives were anyway. His mother and her's were the best of friends. Therefore Draco would often find himself visiting Chateau Kent to visit his mother's friend, Rowena, and her daughter, Cristalina. She was an only child so Draco made her his friend. She would be the only one who would put Draco in his place, he really liked her. But for some reason, nine years ago they just stopped going. Draco soon learned to never mention them again when his father hit him for whining that he wanted to go back, he was only ten years old. That was before he had enrolled in Hogwarts. He hadn't seen her again, until now.
Now here they were. The girl who used to be exactly two inches taller than him now stood more than a foot lower than him. They were out of the darkness now, and Draco could really see her features. Long curly brown hair that framed her small heart shaped face perfectly. Big brown eyes looking up at him with an emotion he had only ever seen on his own mother, it was worry. She was worried about him. Cristalina noticed him hesitating, and she actually smiled at him. His eyes widened. Why was he reacting this way? Cristalina searched his features, and chuckled.
"Why are you laughing?" He asked her with an incredulous look on his face.
"I'm not taller than you anymore. Guess I'm the shortie now." Draco noticed that her eyes still got small when she smiled.
"Yeah, looks like you stopped growing since we last saw each other." Draco responded against his better judgment. Cristalina started to laugh whole heartedly now.
"You're still a giant prick I see."
Draco liked her laugh, but was snapped back to reality by a loud sound emitted probably from outside. "I've really got to go."
"Of course. I'll be in the Great Hall if you need anything." She let go of his arm.
"Why are you here?" He didn't mean it the way it came out.
She gave him a small smile, "Like you said. We all have to be here." She turned around and quickly disapparated.
Cristalina apparated in the Great Hall, and gasped at the scene. There were so many bodies. Cristalina's knuckled turned white around her wand. She was sure she managed to get a lot of them out of here. Why were there so many dead?
"Cristalina! My dear, please come help this one."
Cristalina turned to see Madame Pomfrey, whom she met when she first went to St. Mungo's to treat an illness she received as a child. Soon the experience of being around a healing ward intrigued her. Madame Pomfrey's mentor became he own. She was a healer's apprentice, now.
Cristalina ran over, and got on her knees next to an injured red haired man. His whole left side of his face was covered with blood that was leaking from an injury to his head. Cristalina was on his left side, so she had perfect access to the wound. "I've got him. Go." She told the older healer who nodded and quickly got to working with another injured wizard.
"Hey, there. My name is Cristalina Kent. I've got to say, stranger, you're awfully handsome, and it'd be an terrible waste if you died." She started to talk to him, and she began to cast small silent charms on his injury.
She heard a low chuckle emit from the wizard. That's good, that means he was conscious and able to respond to her.
"Can you move your fingers? Move your index finger up once for yes, twice for no." She asked him.
Another chuckle followed by his index finger going up once.
Cristalina smiled, "Good. Now you're going to feel a sting on your head, right on your wound. If for any reason, you find the pain unbearable, please raise your index finger up. I'll see it and stop immediately. Understood? Once for yes, twice for no." One finger raise later, she started to clean his wound. He groaned, but he never lifted his finger in protest. She stopped once to make sure he was still conscious and able to lift his finger. Once it was confirmed that he could, she started up again. When she was done she performed a cleansing spell on his face, and analyzed his body for any fractures. Two broken ribs. After fixing that for him, he slowly opened his eyes and cleared his throat.
"That feels way better, thanks." He smiled up at her weakly, still sore from the healing.
"No, problem. What's your name?" She smiled at him and conjured a quill and parchment in front of her.
"So you can look me up later? Fred, Fred Weasley." He said with a smirk and a wink, trying to get up, but flinching when he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.
"Well, Fred Weasley, it is actually so that I have it in the records but sure, who am I to hurt an injured man's feelings. By the way you might want to stay laying down, otherwise you're wounds will sting." She smirked, only giving him an amused sideways glance.
Fred laughed, wincing at the pain again, this healer was really cute and incredibly witty. Just my type. Fred thought.
"Well, Fred, your family is waiting for you so I'll go ahead and wave them by. I'm sorry I kept them away, but I needed a little bit of space to work on you." She smiled apologetically at him.
He shook his head, "It's quite alright. I'm sure you wanted me all to yourself."
Cristalina smirked, "Absolutely."
"Fred! Oh my boy! You nearly scared me to death!" An older woman, his mother Cristina presumes, comes up and throws her arms around her son as she gets on her knees. Cristalina stands up to give the family some space. Percy let out a giant smile once he saw his younger brother was alright. He looked at the healer, and was shocked at how young she looked. He walked around his now embracing family and went to talk to her.
"Hello, I'm Percy Weasley, Fred's brother. I just wanted to say thank you. For a moment I thought…" Percy felt a knot in his throat and was unable to finish that terrible sentence. He had extended his hand for her.
She gladly took his hand and shook it, "Hello, Percy. I'm Cristalina. No need to thank me, your brother was in critical condition. Madame Pomfrey doesn't specialize in head traumas which is why I was called over. Your brother will be alright, but he must rest for now. I'm really sorry, but I've got to go now, here." She handed Percy a small vial with a lilac liquid. "It's a remedy of my own invention. A mixture of healing herbs, perfect for Fred's internal bruising." She gave him a warm smile. "This is to be taken right before his next meal, and please get him out of here before the hour."
Percy nodded and thanked her again, waving her off.