A/N: I do not own Pitch Perfect or Harry Potter or any of their characters.

Seventh Year

They all knew it was going to come down to this. Ever since Voldemort had returned. Ever since the Death Eaters had taken over Hogwarts. They knew there had to be one final battle. They knew it had to be here.

Voldemort had told them they would be left unharmed if they simply handed over Harry Potter, who had reappeared after being absent the whole year. Voldemort's voice in her head had filled Beca with a fear she'd never felt before.

McGonagall stood in the Great Hall, and told them that anyone over the age of 17 who wished to stay and fight could, and all the other students would be evacuated. And Beca felt Chloe slip her hand into hers and squeeze tightly. There was no question. They would stay and fight.

Beca was one of few Slytherins that did. Stacie remained too, along with some others from their year, but once the students to be evacuated had left she saw the room was filled with mostly Gryffindors. As Beca looked around the room to see who had stayed and who had left, she felt Chloe tugging at her tie.

"What are you doing?" Beca asked, confused.

"Just…" She succeeded in untying it. "I just don't want to risk anything. I don't want anyone to see the green and think you're on the other side."

"I don't think other students would attack me just because I'm a Slytherin," Beca said. But she pulled off her robe too so the Slytherin house crest was no longer on her.

"I know," Chloe said. "I just don't want to risk it. People are scared, they might jinx first and ask questions later."

Chloe waved Stacie over and she also pulled off anything identifying her as a Slytherin.

"Now what?" Stacie asked, looking around the room. "Do we just run out there and join the fight?"

"I don't know," Chloe replied, biting her lip. They could hear sounds of the battle already raging in the grounds and outside the doors.

Aubrey and Jesse soon joined their group. "Are you guys coming?" Aubrey asked, her wand already drawn.

Groups of students were beginning to make their way out of the Great Hall now, wands raised as they prepared to fight.

Beca looked at Chloe who nodded.

"Yeah," Beca said. "What's our plan?"

"Look for people who need help," Jessie said, already moving towards the door. "Look for Death Eaters who need cursing."

They left the Great Hall.

Beca expected to run into hordes of Death Eaters and Snatchers and every other kind of enemy immediately. She was waiting for Dementors to sweep in. For giants and trolls to pull down walls on top of them.

But they didn't see anyone for a while. They heard the shouts and curses and cries but they didn't see anyone.

Beca's nerves were on edge. She was pointing her wand at every shadow, jumping at every noise. She just wanted it to start already. It was like watching a wave build and build and knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it hitting you.

And then it started.

As they were walking down a corridor, an enormous fist suddenly slammed through one of the windows. Beca and Chloe threw themselves one way and Stacie, Aubrey and Jesse another.

They heard the deafening roar of the giant outside as it reared its fist back to try again.

"Move!" Chloe shouted, pulling Beca to her feet. They ran full sprint down the corridor, trying to get away from the side of the castle. "Keep going," Chloe said, her hand on Beca's back, urging her on.

"What about the others?" Beca asked, panting as they ran.

"I don't know," Chloe said, her voice strained. "We can't go back that way."

They kept running until they were able to turn into another passageway which lead them deeper into the castle, and away from the outside wall.

"Okay," Beca said, her chest heaving as she tried to get her breath back. "I think we can stop."

They stopped running and leaned against one of the walls.

"Man I'm out of shape," Beca wheezed, her hand on her chest. "I need to work on my cardio."

Chloe laughed as best as she could while breathing heavily herself. "Are you okay?"

Beca nodded. She tried to wipe the sweat out of her eyes only to discover it was blood.

She must have been hit by the falling debris and hadn't even noticed.

"We should keep moving," Chloe said.

And they did. Beca tried to figure out where in the castle they were, but it all seemed suddenly strange and alien to her. She knew the castle had a habit of rearranging itself, how many times had she climbed a staircase only to have it suddenly shift and turn? But this seemed different. She wondered if it was just another way of the castle trying to protect itself from the intruders.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked Chloe.

Chloe shook her head, biting her lip again.

It made Beca nervous about their chances of retreating back to the Great Hall if they needed to.

"Do you think Aubrey and the others are okay?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah," Beca said, sounding more confident that she felt. "I'm sure they're fine."

They kept walking until they found themselves in a larger, more open room.

There were more people in this room. Some of them were students, some must have been members of the Order of the Phoenix, but most weren't on their side, and all of them were engaged in heated battles, throwing curses and hexes at each other. The room was full of the sound of shouted spells and yells of fury and pain.

A side door opened across from them and a small group of Death Eaters were suddenly advancing.

"Expulso!" One of them cried, his wand pointed at them.

Before they'd even had time to react the stone column behind them exploded, and chunks of stone rained down on them.

"Is it Potter?" One of them asked. "One of them was a redhead, might be a Weasley."

"No," said a different voice. "I know who they are. Leave them to me. The rest of you get searching for Potter."

Beca recognised the voice and she felt the fear flare up in her again. His approaching footsteps were getting louder.

Beca stood, breathing heavily, her wand pointed at the Death Eater in front of her. She could feel blood running down the side of her head, and she could taste it in her mouth.

The Death Eater was already pointing his own wand at her. His arm was shaking slightly, but she could see the hatred shining in his eyes behind the mask he wore.

She knew those eyes.

She knew that mask.

"Rebeca."

"Dad."

"Rennervate."

Beca heard the word and then felt as if she was being pulled upwards and out of the darkness.

She opened her eyes, blinking up, confused and disoriented, at the concerned face of the woman crouched over her.

"What…"

"Are you alright?" The woman asked, helping her sit up.

"Yeah," Beca said, feeling the back of her head which was sticky with blood. She looked around for her Dad, expecting him to be standing there, his wand raised, ready to curse her again. She felt sick and her head was pounding.

"Don't worry, he's gone. He ran off before I could get him," the woman said.

Beca heard a moan of pain beside her and turned to see Chloe lying pinned beneath a large chunk of the exploded column.

"Chloe!" Beca said, scrambling to get near her. "Can you help me?"

"Of course," the woman said. "I'll levitate the stone off her, and you pull her out, okay?"

Beca nodded.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The woman swished and flicked her wand and the chunk of stone rose into the air.

Chloe let out a cry of pain and relief and Beca pulled her out of the remaining rubble.

"Are you okay?" Beca asked, brushing the dust and blood from her face. Chloe shook her head, her eyes screwed up in pain.

"You need to get back to the Great Hall," the woman said, looking around her now. The fighting had mostly stopped in this area, but the woman seemed to be looking for someone. "Have either of you seen Remus Lupin? He was a teacher here a few years ago."

They shook their heads.

"Damn. If you do see him, tell him his wife is looking for him, okay? Stay safe girls!"

And with that she was gone.

"Beca, I'm scared," Chloe said, tears cutting through the dust that had settled on her cheeks.

"I know," Beca replied, wishing she asked the woman to help them back before she'd ran off. "I know. I am too." She managed to position them so they were slightly concealed amongst the rubble. A large chuck of castle wall was shielding them from the rest of the room, and Beca moved them so their backs were pressed up against it. She didn't think Chloe would be able to walk right now, so she wanted them to be in a safe place while they waited for help.

"I want to go home," Chloe said, her voice breaking. Beca pulled her closer, her arms wrapped around her shoulders, Chloe's face buried in her neck. "I don't want to fight anymore, I just want to go home."

"I'll get you home, I promise," Beca said. She swallowed hard, trying to fight her own tears.

"You'll get us both home," Chloe said, her grip on Beca tightening.

"I'm already home, Chloe," Beca said. "Hogwarts and you, that's my home. It always has been. I love you, you know?"

She hadn't said it before, but now seemed like the time. She was so afraid of not making it out alive, but even more afraid of dying without Chloe knowing how she really, truly felt.

"I love you too," Chloe replied, moving away slightly so she could look at Beca. Chloe's eyes were full of tears but Beca saw her own love and determination reflected back in them. Beca cupped her face and pulled her closer, kissing her with everything she had. As Chloe closed her eyes, the tears spilled over.

"Once this is over," Chloe said, their foreheads resting together, "we can go home and start a real life together. We can get a place to live and we can get nice jobs and a… a fucking cat if we want."

Beca let out something between a laugh and a sob.

"Can we get a dog instead?"

"We can have both. And chickens and a bloody Hippogriff," Chloe said, both of them half laughing and half crying. "We can be together, and we can be happy."

And then the fighting in the room started up again. The colours of the spells lit up the walls.

Beca clutched Chloe tighter, fear rising in her again, the day dreams of their future shattering.

What are we doing here? Beca thought, her heart hammering as she held onto Chloe as hard as she could. What the fuck are we doing here? We're just kids.

We're just fucking kids.

They were just seventeen. Seventeen-year-olds fighting grown witches and wizards. They were technically of age but what did that mean? They were old enough to use magic away from school. Old enough to order a Firewhiskey at a pub. Old enough to die fighting in a war against the most powerful dark wizard of all time?

They didn't feel old enough.

They felt like scared kids, hiding.

Chloe felt a longing for her mother. For her to come and take her home and protect her.

Beca, who had never known what the comfort and protection of a parent had felt like, just wanted to be somewhere, anywhere, safe.

The room fell quiet again. Beca counted to 100 in her head before peaking over their barrier. The room was empty.

Her head was still throbbing and she felt sick and tired. The urge to close her eyes and sleep was almost overwhelming. Someone would find them right? She almost gave in but forced her eyes open when she heard a small groan from Chloe.

She looked at her and saw she had gotten paler, her jaw clenched against the pain in her legs.

"Do you think you can walk?" Beca asked.

"I can try," Chloe said, forcing her eyes open.

"We can wait if you want, someone might come and help us," Beca said, her heart still pounding.

Chloe shook her head. "I don't know how much longer I can wait, Beca," she said. "I think I know where we are. now. The Great Hall isn't too far from here."

"Okay," Beca said. She stood up and then helped Chloe to her feet, ignoring the dizziness that washed over her. She pulled one of Chloe's arms around her shoulders and held her up. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Chloe said, gritting her teeth. "Let's just go."

They took their time, making their way through the now almost unrecognisable passageways and corridors of Hogwarts. Almost everything had been blasted apart. Suits of armour lay broken against walls. Portraits were slashed. Tapestries burned up. It made Beca want to cry.

But they pushed on.

"Almost there," Chloe said, her voice sounding dangerously weak. "Almost-

"Avada Kedavra!"

Beca felt Chloe pull them down and they hid once again by a broken stone pillar.

Beca was breathing hard as she held Chloe close to her.

She heard more shouting and spell casting. Another flash of green light lit up the corridor, and it fell silent once again.

"Are you okay?" Beca asked, poking her head up to check that they were safe.

Chloe didn't answer.

"Chloe?" Beca looked down and saw that the redhead was lying there, eyes closed. "Chloe." Beca said, louder this time, a hint of panic in her voice.

She's just passed out, that's all, she told herself, her heart threatening to break through her ribs. Just from the pain. She's still alive.

She must be.

She has to be.

With a trembling hand, Beca's touched Chloe's neck, searching for a pulse.

And she found nothing.

"No."

Beca shook her and got no response.

"No, come on." Her voice was shaking hard. Tears were falling quickly now, clouding her vision. "Chloe, come on. You can't-" Her voice broke off into sobs and she tried to swallow them down. Tried to stay in control because maybe she could still help. Maybe someone could still help. "Baby please, you have to wake up. You can't leave me here."

And in her head came Voldemort's voice offering an hour of safety. An hour to treat their injured. An hour to bury their dead.

And Beca screamed.

She screamed and yelled until they found her.

Aubrey was the first to reach them, shouting their names.

"Beca! Chloe!"

"Help her!" Was Beca's strangled response. "Do something!"

"Beca…"

"Bring her back!"

Even when Aubrey dissolved into tears next to her, Beca refused to believe that there was nothing that could be done.

Because of course someone could do something.

Anything.

Chloe couldn't be dead.

"Beca, come on," Stacie said, softly. Her arm around her shoulder.

"You have to help her," Beca said, her voice ragged and broken, her breathing coming in short and sharp grasps.

"She's gone, Becs," Stacie said, fighting to keep her own voice steady.

"She can't be," Beca said, before losing it completely.

Stacie half carried her to the Great Hall while Chloe was levitated on a stretcher just behind them.

Professor McGonagall was in there trying to sort out which people needed urgent treatment and who could wait. When she saw Beca she looked relieved, but the look quickly changed to shock and despair when she saw Chloe.

"Oh my goodness," she whispered, rushing over.

Chloe was gently placed on the ground by the wizards levitating her, and they left the room again to search for more people.

"Miss Mitchell," Professor McGonagall said, "come with me. We'll… We'll get you something for the shock and get you cleaned up."

But Beca shook her head, staring down at Chloe, the tears still coming thick and fast.

"I don't want to leave her," Beca said, her voice shaking. She sank to her knees beside her, and held her hand, pressing her lips to Chloe's knuckles, choking out another sob.

This wasn't fair. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.

What good was magic if it couldn't bring Chloe back to her?

She heard the sound of Aubrey's soft crying, and the gentle murmured reassurances from Jesse.

She squeezed her eyes shut and wished harder than ever that they could switch places.

Why did that curse hit Chloe and not her?

"Beca," Stacie said, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Your head is still bleeding, can I patch you up?"

Beca looked up and saw Stacie sitting there, her eyes red from crying. She nodded and let go of Chloe's hand.

Stacie cleaned the blood, tears, sweat and dirt from her face before applying some essence of Dittany to close up the wound that was still bleeding.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Stacie asked.

"The back of my head got a little banged up," Beca said.

Stacie moved behind her to check it, and Beca felt the slight sting of the Dittany being applied.

"Thanks," Beca said.

"I'm so sorry about Chloe, Beca," she said, and Beca's eyes filled with tears again.

"I love her," she said, letting Stacie pull her into a hug.

"I know," Stacie said.

The four of them sat huddled around Chloe's body for a long time. Beca never did stop crying.

When the final battle between Harry and Voldemort happened in the middle of the Great Hall, and Beca watched the duel that would decide the fate of their world, all she could think about was the pain in her chest that came from losing Chloe.

She couldn't stand it. Not another second of it. But she had no choice in the matter.

There was no fixing this type of pain.

When Voldemort was defeated, Beca expected to feel some kind of relief but she didn't.

In the back of her mind she knew something good had happened. Something amazing and momentous. She knew it meant no more of her friends would have to die.

But she couldn't see past the pain.

"Miss Mitchell… Beca... could you come with me please?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Beca was so surprised that McGonagall had actually called her Beca, that she simply nodded and followed her without hesitation.

As they walked Beca cast her eyes across other people who had died in the battle. With a pang in her chest, she saw the woman who had helped them earlier, lying beside Remus Lupin, their hands almost touching.

"I am so very sorry, Beca," she said. "Chloe was an amazing person. She was kind and clever and brave, and she will be missed by everyone who knew her."

"Thank you professor," Beca said, her voice catching in her throat again. "Does… Does her family know?"

"I believe Professor Sprout has notified them, yes. I am afraid to say I have some more sad news to give you," she said, leading her into one of the side rooms.

Inside lay rows of those who had fought against them in the battle.

Beca spotted him almost immediately.

"I'm sorry, Beca," she said. "I know he was fighting on You-Know… on Voldemort's side, but he was still you father. And you are allowed to grieve for him."

Beca looked at the man who had raised her, and she felt nothing. He had made growing up a misery. He had allowed his fellow Death Eaters to torture her. He'd duelled against her only hours before. If anything, she felt relief.

"Is it wrong that I'm glad?" Beca asked, her tone almost emotionless.

"No," McGonagall said. "There isn't a right or wrong way to process these feelings."

"Can we go back?"

"Of course," McGonagall said, her hand resting lightly on Beca's back.

When they returned to the Great Hall, Chloe's family was there. Aubrey was standing back from Chloe now, Jesse's arm still around her shoulder. Stacie was still there, also standing back.

She could hear the cries of Chloe's mother from the entrance to the Great Hall, and it stopped her in her tracks.

Chloe's older brother was also crying, and her dad was doing everything in his power not to cry. The three of them were huddled together.

Beca saw that the blood had been cleaned from Chloe's face, and she wondered if Stacie had done that. Chloe looked like she could have been sleeping.

She didn't want to intrude on their grief, but she knew the bodies were being moved soon and she didn't want to miss her last opportunity to say goodbye to Chloe. She made her way over.

"Mrs Beale?" She said, her voice still rough. Chloe's mother looked up. "I'm… I'm so sorry. I tried to keep her safe. I'm sorry."

She started crying hard again. She braced herself for them to shout and curse and blame her for letting their daughter get killed. But they didn't. All three of them put their arms around Beca and she cried until there was nothing left.

"I'm so sorry," she kept saying. "I loved her so much."

After a few hours the Beales were preparing to leave, and they would be taking their daughter with them.

"You are more than welcome to come Beca," Mrs Beale said.

"Thank you, but I have some things I need to sort out," Beca said. The truth was that she couldn't bear to go back to that house where she'd spent the last two summers which had been the happiest of her life. "I'll come for the funeral though, if that's okay?"

"Of course," she said.

"Before you take her, can I say goodbye?"

Mrs Beale nodded, and Beca crouched down by her girlfriend.

"i have to say, I'm kinda pissed you didn't come back as a ghost," Beca said, trying hard not to cry. "You always threatened to haunt me whenever I annoyed you." She took a shaky breath in and out. "I can't even comprehend how much I'm going to miss you Chloe. You were… You are… everything. You're my home. And I love you. And now you're going home." She started crying again. "I promised I'd get you home, Chloe."

She could hear Chloe's parents crying again. She could hear Aubrey and Stacie crying again.

"This isn't fair," Beca choked out. "She should still be here, this isn't fair."

She felt Stacie holding her.

Chloe was covered with a sheet and someone began to levitate her again, and Beca's heart was hammering in her chest.

She'd never see her again.

In the end, it took a sleeping draught to get her to stop crying. When Beca was offered a few hours of blissful dreamless sleep, she took it immediately. The hospital wing was full, so the girls went to their dorm. Beca didn't have the energy to change for bed, so once she'd kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed, Stacie handed her the potion. Tears were still spilling down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes impatiently before drinking the potion.

"Stacie," she said, lying down, "thank you."

"For what?" Stacie asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

But Beca had already fallen asleep.