Chapter 47
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world obviously belongs to JK Rowling and not me. Obviously.
… … … …
Thunderous booms continued overhead as Draco collapsed to the floor over Blaise's body and began to shake uncontrollably. With his left hand he closed Blaise's lifeless eyes and looked to the door. Leila's hands covered her mouth as she watched Draco in his agony. What exactly could she do for him? He had lost two people he had once called his friends and despite his recent switch in allegiances; Leila knew he still considered them to be his friends. She gently pushed Theo's legs off her body and crawled over to where Draco lay on the floor. Leila tried to wrap her arms around him; but he pushed her off. Leila looked back to Harry who was leaning up against the wall still trying to catch his breath. She again placed her hand on Draco's shoulder, but he moved his shoulder which caused her hand to slip to the floor.
"Draco," Leila whispered.
"They're gone," Draco whimpered. "And it's my fault."
"No, it's not," Leila pleaded.
"Yes it is," Draco said coldly. "Either way it stems back from one of my choices. I never should have…"
"Don't you dare finish that. Don't go weak on us when we need you," Leila furthered.
"You don't need me," Draco spat.
"We couldn't have destroyed that Horcrux without you, mate," Harry interrupted.
"Fiendfyre destroys Horcruxes. That was brilliant Draco. I had completely forgotten," Hermione added.
"That was all you, Draco. You destroyed that Horcrux," Leila said.
"It doesn't change the fact that Zabini and Crabbe are dead," Draco argued.
"Nothing can bring them back, you know that," Ron said.
"They were my friends," Draco hissed.
Draco roughly picked himself up and ran over to where Theodore Nott lay unconscious on the floor. Draco then began to kick Theo square in the stomach and chest. He rested his hands on the wall and just kicked at the boy who he had once considered as an equal. Rage seemed to overtake Draco as Theo began to groan in pain. Leila screamed for him to stop; but he didn't. He couldn't. Right now his grief told him that Theo deserved this. Draco kicked Theo square in the jaw which caused blood to spew from the unconscious boy's mouth. Ron and Harry were finally to their feet and they each took a hold of one of Draco's arms and dragged him away from a battered Theodore Nott. Draco tried to fight them; but their grip on him was too strong. The three boys were on the other side of the corridor, as Leila bent down and wiped the trickle of blood from Theo's mouth.
"Settle down, mate," Ron ordered.
"Trying to get even is not the way to get through this, believe me," Harry said. "That hate and anger will just consume you. Don't let it. That's exactly what he wants. Don't let him control you again. You're better than that."
Draco collapsed once more to the floor in tears. It was hard to watch Draco like that. Leila wished there was something more she could do for him.
"They were my friends," Draco sniffled.
Leila bent to the floor and pushed Draco's hands away from his face. His tear-filled icy eyes met Leila's emerald eyes. She cupped his cheeks in her small hands and continued to look him straight in the eyes.
"There's nothing wrong with feeling sad over losing them. You'll probably feel that way for quite some time, I imagine; but we're your friends too. We need to destroy all the Horcruxes so this can finally be over," Leila said. "If we don't finish this, their deaths will have meant nothing; just more casualties to a Dark Lord who doesn't even care about anyone but himself. We need you now more than ever, Draco. You have to realize that."
Draco looked to Leila with tears shining in his eyes. Leila reached for Draco's left arm. He flinched when she pulled his sleeve up revealing his Dark Mark, but more importantly revealing the words etched into his arm: BLOOD TRAITOR. Draco stared at the words permanently fixed into his arms when Leila's fingers drifted over the last few letters in his arm. Draco shuddered at her touch, but Leila continued to trace the letters on his arm.
"Someone once told me that you're braver than you think," Leila said lightly as her eyes met Draco's eyes.
"That person was me," Harry added.
"It doesn't matter who said it," Leila said rolling her eyes. "What matters is that we're a team: you, me, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and everyone else fighting for what is right. We have a reason worth fighting for."
Draco roughly wiped away any tears that were left on his face. For so long he had been fighting on Voldemort's side because it was what he manipulated to believe was right. When he switched allegiances it was because of Leila. He knew it was probably a poor reason; but once he had chosen it, things seemed to make more sense. Leila was right; they did have something worth fighting for: love and friendship. Under Voldemort those things would be considered pathetic and weaknesses, but these past few months he had learned that those two things were probably the most important things in the world. For so long he had taken them for granted, or thought that he was better off without them; my how he was wrong. His friends may be dead, but he needed to fight for them. While they may have been on the wrong side, he needed to fight for the sake of friendship and for the sake of love. For something they wouldn't live any longer to experience. Draco took Leila's hands in his own hands and squeezed them tightly.
"Love and friendship," Draco whispered.
"What?" Leila asked confusedly.
"It's what we're fighting for," Draco responded.
"Just the friendship part between you and me," Ron smirked.
"Love you too, Ron," Draco said dryly.
Ron shook his head with a slight smile on his face. Even Hermione managed a chuckle. Suddenly, Harry began to pant really hard. He backed himself up against the wall and slid down. Harry's eyes closed tightly as he braced himself against the wall. Leila threw her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened at the sight of her brother. She then moved closer to her brother and placed a hand on his forehead in an attempt to keep him stable.
"It's his connection with Voldemort," Leila whispered.
"Not again," Hermione sighed.
"He can't control it, Hermione," Ron groaned.
"He could if he tried," Hermione said heatedly.
"Well getting mad at him right now isn't going to help matters," Leila said.
"You're right," Hermione muttered.
"Maybe they're not all bad. They have proved to be useful," Draco interrupted. "Last time he told us there was a Horcrux here at Hogwarts."
"Draco does have a point," Ron said.
"But fifth year…" Hermione began.
"Dumbledore said that Voldemort would never purposely use his connection with Harry again," Leila said.
"It's not like it matters much anyway; we're in the same bloody place," Ron added.
Hermione sighed as Ron protectively wrapped and arm around her waist. Draco still sat on the floor with his back against the wall only a few feet from Harry. Leila looked to him and offered him a weak smile; which he weakly returned. Leila could tell that his thoughts were still swimming about Zabini and Crabbe. She just hoped that he didn't work himself into a further depression that would debilitate him from helping. He really was proving to be a useful asset to the Light. Leila had known he was capable of this all along, but she knew that at any second he could crawl back into that hole that had become so comfortable. Hell, she knew that she herself was capable of the same thing. But looking at Harry made her realize all the more that she needed to stay brave. She needed it, Harry needed it, and maybe Draco needed an example to look to. Sometimes she probably should just listen to her own advice, rather than simply give it to others. Leila closed her eyes and slowly took a breath in when Harry started to cough. Her eyes immediately opened and locked with the eyes that were an exact match to her own. Leila gently combed her fingers through her brother's already messy hair.
"Harry," Leila breathed.
Harry continued to breathe heavily as Draco, Ron, and Hermione all walked to stand behind Leila who was still leaning over her brother. Leila tried to wipe a smudge off her brother's face but he pushed her hand away from his face.
"It's the snake," Harry breathed.
"What?" Leila questioned.
"She's the last one. She's the last Horcrux," Harry panted.
"Nagini?" Leila shuddered. "Always knew there was a reason I hated that snake."
"You do realize you're a Slytherin, right?" Ron furthered.
"The irony isn't lost to me, Ron," Leila said rolling her eyes.
"Hey, that thing creeps me out too," Draco added.
"Don't you realize what this means?" Hermione asked.
"That even Slytherins, don't like snakes?" Ron responded.
"Not even close to what I was thinking, Ron," Hermione groaned. "It means that if we can just get the snake…"
"If we can get the snake, Voldemort will be mortal once more," Leila finished. "And we can finally finish him."
"But the question becomes…" Hermione began.
On the opposite side of the corridor, Theodore Nott groaned in agony while his fingers moved to the blood trickling from his mouth. Ron motioned for Hermione to hold her thought for a moment. He pushed his sleeves up and walked over to where Theo lay on the floor.
"I probably should apologize, but I won't," Ron said.
"Apologize for what?" Theo asked in a daze.
"This," Ron said.
Theo looked up to Ron in confusion as Ron swung his left leg back. Ron's foot then made contact with Theo's head which met the brick wall. Theo was once again unconscious. Ron shrugged his shoulders and turned around to Hermione and Leila looking at him in horror.
"Ron!" Hermione gasped.
"What? Another few minutes can't hurt him," Ron responded.
"Now, about the snake," Draco said changing the subject back. "Where is it?"
"He knows that we're destroying the Horcruxes. If I was him…" Leila began.
"I'd keep it as close to me as possible," Draco finished.
"We find Voldemort, we find the snake," Ron summarized.
Hermione cringed at the thought. Leila looked up at Hermione before she turned to her brother. All eyes were on Harry. He was the way they were looking for.
"Hermione, I know you're not going to like this…" Leila began.
"You're right, I don't like this," Hermione sighed. "But..."
Leila turned her head from Hermione toward her brother and placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. Harry probably already knew what she was going to say; but it had to be said.
"Look inside him, Harry," Leila said. "If we can find him, we can find the snake. Then we can finally end this."
Harry began to breathe heavily again as Hermione knelt down beside Leila. Draco and Ron also knelt down to the ground; but the girls were closer to Harry. Harry looked to Hermione uncertainly which caused her to sigh.
"Go on, Harry," Hermione whispered. "It's the only way."
Harry roughly nodded his head and attempted to brace himself against the wall. He closed his eyes and went rigid. Leila turned her head away from her brother. She hated seeing him like this, even if he was doing it on purpose. Harry's breathing began to quicken before he started to hiss lowly. Most of what Harry hissed was unrecognizable; but one phrase flowed from his mouth clearly.
"How can you live with yourself, Lucius," Harry hissed.
Draco's face blanched. Leila looked back to him as he fell backwards and landed on his bottom.
"Is that, is—is it accurate," Draco stuttered.
"Yeah, it's a direct connection," Ron answered.
"Wherever Voldemort is, he's with your father," Leila said softly.
Draco once again looked conflicted. He looked over to Blaise's dead body and then to Leila once again. Absently, he raised his hand to his cheek where a faint scar still tainted his cheek. The scar from his father's Slytherin ring ripping into the flesh on his cheek. The thought of confronting his father once more scared him. He knew that it was bound to happen eventually; but he wanted nothing to do with the man who had disowned him. The man who from birth had manipulated him and taught him that he was better than anyone else; that his life meant more because he was a pure-blood. Harry began to pant and there was no more hissing. He rolled his head from shoulder to shoulder before his eyes flew open. As Harry breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath he looked between Leila, Draco, Hermione, and Ron until he had enough air to speak.
"I know where he is," Harry panted.
"With my father," Draco sneered.
"Not anymore, he's gone to get Snape," Harry breathed. "Voldemort's waiting, biding his time…"
"Where the bloody hell is he Harry?" Hermione snapped.
Hermione's eyes widened at her own boldness, which caused Leila to chuckle.
"Didn't know you had that in you," Leila said.
"Neither did I," Hermione responded.
"We need to go. We need to get there before Snape does," Harry rushed.
Ron reached out a hand for Harry to accept, which he did. Harry was soon on his feet and headed down the corridor when the walls began to shake. Leila could tell that already there was a large battle raging outside. She hoped that everyone was safe and sound; but she knew that was too much to ask. War was a nasty thing and rarely did it spare everyone. Looking down at Blaise's body was proof of that.
"What do we do with him?" Leila asked.
"Leave him; he's not going anywhere," Ron said.
"Ron, that's morbid," Hermione reprimanded.
"It's the truth Hermione," Ron stated. "We need to go."
Draco nodded his head in agreement; but Leila could tell inwardly he was torn by leaving his friend. Leila drew her wand and pointed it at Blaise. Suddenly, a white lily appeared across Blaise's chest. She had transfigured one of the buttons on Blaise's button-up shirt into the flower. A small tribute to the fallen. Leila looked to Hermione who wiped away a tear from her eye. While Blaise had always been one of the first people to torment Hermione, it still wasn't fair that he had died so young. Harry started to run down the corridor again. This time he was trailed by Leila, Draco, Hermione, and Ron. They were about to round a corner when Leila looked back to see Blaise's body lying in the corridor alone. Theodore Nott was nowhere to be seen. But the corner didn't slow Harry down at all, he kept plunging forward as the sounds of the battle grew closer and closer.
"You never even said where we're going!" Leila shouted.
"Keep up!" Harry shouted back.
"It's a simple question," Leila muttered.
Harry led them down another corridor and Leila gasped at the sight outside. The covered bridge was gone! Leila tugged at Draco's arm and pointed outside. She grinned at him, hoping that his plan had been successful. From the look of things, there still appeared to be a group gathered on the other end of where the bridge should be. Snatchers, clearly not bright enough to figure out that they could use their magic to get across. Soon they were at the Grand Staircase and they began to descend into the chaos of the battle. They further down they plunged the thicker the Death Eaters were. Countless spells were fired at them as they ran down the stairs. Most of the spells were easily deflected, but the spells weren't the only thing they had to look out for. Pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling and from the other staircases. Draco cast as Stunner at a Death Eater who was hiding on a staircase above them. The man fell from his flight of stairs to theirs. Hermione screamed and clung to Ron as the body fell right in front of them.
As they were stopped, a curse intended to hit Leila accidentally hit a large piece of ceiling that right in front of Leila. Leila's eyes widened at the mere inches she was away from death when Draco yanked her by the hand to continue down the stairs. Leila panted for breath as they continued to run. Suddenly, Harry had stopped, but Leila's momentum kept her going forward. Harry reached out his arm to stop her and thankfully just in time too because a green jet of light was headed right for them. Harry looked quickly around the corner and shot a spell at the incoming Death Eater. Curses were being thrown in every direction and there seemed to be no end to them. They were almost down the stairs when Leila slipped on a piece of rubble causing her to lose her balance and roll down the rest of the stairs. She continued to roll until something hard stopped her body from rolling. Leila opened her eyes to find that her body had slammed into a Death Eater's body that was dead and covered in blood. She screamed as the Death Eater's blood began to cover her own body. She tried to push herself away, but her hands kept sliding in the blood pooling around the body and her.
Draco reached his hand down which Leila accepted with her blood-covered hands. He helped her onto her feet; but she collapsed right away from a shooting pain in her ankle. Leila yelped in pain as Harry and Hermione deflected curses headed straight toward them. Draco tried once more to help her up; but she couldn't but any weight on her left ankle. But this time instead of falling into the blood again, she fell onto Draco and breathed heavily. Another curse hurtled toward them, which Ron deflected. Leila looked to Draco as tears began to stream down her face. She refused to be the reason one of them got killed.
"I think it's broken," Leila sobbed. "I'm just going to slow you down. Go on without me."
"We're not leaving you," Harry roared.
"We're in this together, remember?" Draco added.
"Get down!" Ron shouted.
Draco pushed Leila to the floor and practically lay on top of her and Harry, Ron, and Hermione huddled close using the dead Death Eater as somewhat of a human shield. Grime and sweat covered their faces as they looked up. Hermione stunned the Death Eater in front of them as Harry and Ron stood up to protect them from any other curses as Hermione and Draco looked at Leila's ankle. The battle continued to rage on with flashes of light being shot every direction. Hermione took one look at Leila's ankle and cringed.
"It's broken. We don't have time or a place to properly fix it," Hermione said. "Nowhere is safe."
"Just go on," Leila hissed. "I'll find a broom cupboard to hide in."
"No!" Harry and Draco shouted simultaneously.
"Well, you can't just stand around. You're losing time," Leila argued.
"Then we're just going to have to keep her with us until we can fix it," Ron said. "Harry, Hermione, you're closer to her height; keep Leila stable. Draco and I will deflect anything coming our way."
There wasn't even time for Hermione to look at Ron in surprise for his plan. Harry and Hermione both wrapped one of Leila's arms around their necks, while Draco and Ron led the way through to main corridor. The boys deflected unfriendly spells heading straight toward them as Hermione, Leila, and Harry moved as fast as they could down the final steps down onto the main floor. Leila wanted nothing more than to collapse and scream from the pain shooting up from her ankle; but they couldn't stop. Instead, she bit her bottom lip, which began to bleed, to keep her screams from escaping. They slowly walked past the Great Hall. The fighting was intense inside and bodies were strewn in front of it as the gems that kept track of the House points scattered out into the corridor. As Harry and Hermione carefully maneuvered an injured Leila over the scattered gems, a Death Eater came at them from behind. Ron and Draco were too slow to stun him. Leila was sure they were done for when a glass ball shattered on the Death Eater's head causing him to fall to the stone floor in a great thump.
"There's more where that came from!" Professor Trelawney shrieked.
For a split second, the five of them looked up to find Professor Trelawney practically hanging over the banister with another glass ball in her hand.
"Finally a good use for those bloody things," Leila muttered.
Professor Trelawney heaved another glass ball off the banister as Hermione and Harry led Leila out the front doors of the castle and into the courtyard where a giant swinging a large piece of metal that looked what once was one of the Quidditch hoops at them. Harry muttered some obscenity before he pushed Leila into the closest place to hide: a giant metal bell that had fallen from the bell tower sometime during the battle. Harry pushed Leila farther inside to make room for all five of them. With one swing the giant struck the bell, causing the inside of the bell to reverberate, but thankfully the bell did not shatter. Leila tried to grasp something to hold onto, the closest thing being her brother, to brace herself inside the bell. She closed her eyes tightly; but it still didn't seem to help.
The reverberation of the bell caused Leila to grow dizzy and eventually vomit. The giant must have thought he had finished them because he began swinging at others fighting. For a second Leila thought she'd be able to catch her breath until Hermione screamed. Through the gap in-between Ron and Harry's heads Leila could see why Hermione screamed: one of Aragog's descendants was headed straight for them. Apparently, the Acromantula's had decided to join in the fight; but clearly they weren't on their side. Ron and Harry shouted the familiar spell together. Their spells collided, causing the giant spider to be flung backwards. But getting rid of one Acromantula caused more of them to hurtle toward them.
"It's brought friends!" Harry shouted.
"Let's move, now!" Ron shouted.
"Leila, hop on my back," Harry commanded.
Leila knew better than to argue with Harry about this, so she flung her arms around her brother's neck and wrapped her legs around his middle as he carried her into the battle once more. Suddenly, with a great roar, Hagrid ran into the courtyard thrusting his umbrella in the air. He was bellowing not to hurt the Acromantula's; but it proved to backfire on him when the giant spiders diverted their attention from the gang of teenagers and tackled Hagrid to the ground. Hagrid fell hard against the cobbled stones causing the ground to shake around them. Hagrid seemed to vanish under the pile of spiders. For a moment, Harry seemed to run back toward Hagrid until the giant with the pole smashed one of the stained glass windows causing shards of glass to scatter across everyone in the courtyard. Leila felt useless as she clung to her brother as she could feel the shards of glass tearing into her cheek. Harry continued to throw Stunners at the Acromantula's attacking Hagrid until Draco yanked Harry by the arm.
"Run!" Draco shouted.
Once again the giant with the Quidditch hoop for a club was headed right toward them, clearly not showing any signs of mercy. Leila could tell Harry was contemplating continuing Hagrid's rescue; but Leila whispered Nagini's name into Harry's ear. As if his priorities had been sorted, he nodded his head and followed after Draco. Leila took one look back to see Hagrid's arm weakly attempting to fight the spiders off. She wished there was more they could do for Hagrid, hell for anyone fighting; but they had something they desperately needed to do if they wanted any chance of winning this. They quickly dodged underneath the oaf's legs and escaped into the corridor surrounding the courtyard where they were met once again by an Acromantula who thought to outsmart them and not attack Hagrid. Then there was a blow to the columns of the wall, causing another giant fighting in the courtyard to fall right on top of the Acromantula, squishing him. The Acromantula's legs squirmed a little; but soon they were as lifeless as the giant on top of it. They had to change their direction. Harry turned them around and the sight they faced was gruesome. Lavender Brown lay motionless on the ground as Fenrir Greyback lay on top of her, attempting to devour what he could. Hermione shouted at him and drew her wand. Greyback instantly raised his head and looked in their direction, but before Hermione could cast a spell at the werewolf, he was blown back into the stone wall.
"Stay the hell away from her!" Daphne shouted.
Daphne looked to Leila to give her a thumbs-up; but Leila was too focused on Daphne to notice Greyback lunging for her. Greyback tackled Daphne to the ground, the blonde girl screamed as the werewolf pinned her down. Leila screamed at the sight of her dear friend being attacked by Greyback. Leila tried to fight Harry to let her down so that she could go help her friend; but Harry kept his arms tightly gripped around Leila's legs. Hermione was about to shoot a spell at Greyback, when their favorite giant with a pole began to prod them through the window openings. They tried to duck out of the way as Daphne squirmed to get away from Greyback. They began to run as Greyback started his feast of Daphne. Leila couldn't accept that fate for her friend as she screamed for Daphne at the top of her lungs.
"That's my girlfriend you bastard!" a voice shouted out of nowhere.
Theodore Nott appeared out of nowhere with his face bloodied up. With one curse, he blasted Greyback through the stone wall and into the giant's path. For a second, the giant lost his attention with Harry, Leila, Hermione, Ron, and Draco as he began to bat at Greyback. He picked the werewolf up with his pole and flung him closer toward the castle. Leila continued to scream for Daphne as Theo carefully nuzzled Daphne close to him. From where Leila was, it looked like Daphne's fingers weakly wrapped around Theo's hand. Tears stung Leila's eyes as Harry carried her farther from her friend. There was little hope left for Daphne. She had been so brave. They continued to press through the rubble and explosions heading to get out of the courtyard. When they were at the entrance to the courtyard they came to a halt, causing Leila to fly from her brother's back. As she attempted to push herself into a sitting position to get back onto Harry's back, hundreds maybe even thousands of Dementors began to descend upon them. Leila could feel that they were feeing off her emotions. Hell, all of Hogwarts was probably some bloody feast of despair for them right now.
"Patronuses; c'mon!" Hermione shouted.
Hermione's silver otter burst from her wand and Ron's silver terrier burst from his wand. Leila sat clinging to Harry's leg, her wand arm shaking terribly and tears streaming down her face. She was in no fit state to produce a Patronus. Harry was in too much distress from his sister to produce his own Patronus. Hermione's and Ron's Patronuses held off a few Dementors; but hundreds more continued to glide right toward them. Draco looked down to Leila who was still a sobbing mess while her brother was attempting to console her best he could. She was strong for him earlier, now it was his chance for her.
"I can't," Leila cried.
"How the hell do you do that?" Draco hissed.
"Expecto Patronum…" Hermione began.
"I know the bloody incantation," Draco scoffed. "I've just never gotten it to work before."
"What's your happiest memory?" Ron asked.
"Why does it matter?" Draco questioned.
"Do you want to do this or not?" Ron hissed.
"When Leila and I were on the Astronomy Tower and she told me that she loved me back," Draco rushed.
"Just keep thinking of that and well you know the rest," Ron said.
Draco focused his thoughts back to that night when Leila had spoken the words he had only hoped she would say in his wildest dreams as he aimed his wand at the Dementors. He internalized that moment, picturing Leila standing before him on that star lit night, as he cast the charm. To his surprise only a thin silver mist appeared and it was quickly gone as a silver hare, boar, and fox joined the otter and terrier. While several of the Dementors were deflected, many more still continued to race toward them. Draco kicked the ground in frustration.
"It's your first time, what else did you expect?" Ron said.
"Try again," Leila whispered.
Draco looked over to the girl he loved. With Harry's help, Leila stood up and leaned heavily against her brother. Her face was covered in sweat, tears, blood, and grime; but Draco didn't miss the look of determination in her eyes. Harry kept his arm wrapped firmly around his sister's waist as Leila reached for Draco's hand with her non-wand hand. While leaning heavily against Harry, she drew her wand and released Draco's hand.
"On the count of three," Harry began. "One. Two. THREE!"
At that moment, Harry, Draco, Leila, and a group that had formed behind them comprising of Aberforth Dumbledore, Kingsley, and other former D.A. members shouted the spell at the top of their lungs. A silver stag erupted from Harry's wand while two small silver creatures ran down the stag's back. Draco's eyes widened in amazement as his silver ferret ran beside Leila's, launching themselves into the Dementors. The army of silver creatures attacked the Dementors, causing them to flee and be repelled backwards into the mountains. They watched for a moment, but the battle continued to rage on behind them in the courtyard, in the castle, and overhead in the skies.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted.
Harry nodded his head stiffly as Leila roughly returned to her position of being carried on his back. He then led them down a path to the right until they came to a long stairway which led to the Boat House. Leila groaned; she hated the place because it was right on the edge of the Black Lake. But Harry began to descend the stairs with Leila on his back; Draco, Ron, and Hermione following closely behind. They were halfway down the stairs when creatures Leila thought she'd never see again began to propel themselves toward the group of teenagers: Blast-Ended Skrewts, about a dozen of them. The things looked like giant scorpions, over ten feet long. The last time Leila had seen one of them was during the Maze of the Triwizard Tournament, which was nearly three years ago.
"I thought Dumbledore got rid of these things," Ron hissed.
"He probably had Hagrid take care of them," Leila said. "And we all know how Hagrid takes care of things."
"The Forbidden Forest," Hermione, Ron, and Harry muttered simultaneously.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Draco asked.
Sparks began to fly toward them and the Blast-Ended Skrewts drew closer. Leila clung closer to her brother, not wanting to fall off his back and roll down to her death.
"Leila what did we do last time?" Harry shouted.
"We immobilized them," Leila panted.
Ron cast as Impediment Jinx at them; but it only deflected off its hard shiny armor. Ron looked to Leila as if she was talking crazy.
"Their undersides," Leila continued. "It's their single weak spot."
"I swear I'm killing Hagrid if we live through this," Ron muttered.
The group shot multiple spells at the Blast-Ended Skrewts, trying to get them to flip onto their backs so they could have a better target at their undersides. Hermione managed to flip two of the Skrewts, which Draco then immobilized. The sounds of feet pounding against the pavement seemed to be drawing closer. Leila squinted her eyes to see that there was a herd of Centaurs coming from the edge of the forest near the lake. They were headed up the stone stairs, when an idea popped into Leila's head.
"Flip them, flip them!" Leila shouted.
If they could get them flipped and immobilized, then the Centaurs would be able to crush them. Hermione seemed to catch on, rapid-firing more spells. The boys just did as they were told, flipping the Skrewts over and immobilizing them. As the Centaurs continued to ascend the stairs they trampled over the first Blast-Ended Skrewt, crushing it against the pavement. Leila breathed a sigh of relief that her plan seemed to be working. She might not be able to do much actual fighting at the moment; but she could still use her intellect to come up with something to keep them alive for now. The Centaurs continued to trample the Blast-Ended Skrewts, the further up the stairs they climbed.
"Out of the way, Harry Potter!" Firenze shouted.
Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Ron instantly backed away to the stone wall that doubled as a railing. They jumped onto the wall just in time to watch a group of Centaurs led by Firenze charge forward. Leila knew this couldn't possibly be all the Centaurs; but she was thankful that a few of them had decided to fight with them. The breathed a sigh of relief the most of the Blast-Ended Skrewts were gone; but in the corner of her eyes, she saw one lone Skrewt retreating for the forest. Harry readjusted Leila on his back and continued to lead the group down the stone stairs. He carefully stepped around the flattened Skrewts, just in case one of them happened to revive itself. Who knew what those things were capable of.
Harry continued to lead the group down the stairs with Leila on his back; but she could tell that her weight was beginning to take a toll on him. As they drew closer to the Boat House, they could see two figures inside. Snape must have beaten them down to the Boat House. Hopefully they didn't take notice of the five young witches and wizards standing right outside. Harry set Leila down on the stone, behind a column attached to the Boat House which she leaned heavily against as she pulled her shoe from her foot. Her ankle was swollen and covered in bruises while her foot was facing in an unnatural direction because of the break. Hermione closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before she got down low to look at Leila's foot.
"I'm no Madam Pomfrey," Hermione whispered.
"Hermione, just do it," Leila groaned. "I don't know that I can take anymore of being useless."
Hermione then took out her wand and cast a Silencing Charm on Leila before she set to work on the ankle. Hermione quickly cast a healing spell, putting the broken bones back into place. Leila appeared to be screaming out in pain and panting, but no sound escaped her lips. Hermione then used Fernula to bind and splint Leila's ankle. When Leila looked like she had finally settled down, Hermione released her from the Silencing Charm. Leila's breathing began to normal; but the pain was evident in her face. Harry had waited to make sure Leila's condition wouldn't give them away before he began to crawl down low to the ground to get a better listen and look of what was going on inside the Boat House. Leila moved to crawl after her brother, but Draco held out his arm to hold her back before he crawled behind Harry. Leila, Hermione, and Ron stayed close to them but remained behind the column. Through the beveled glass they looked into the Boat House to see Snape, Voldemort, and most importantly Nagini. Leila had no idea what their plan was going to be. It wouldn't exactly be the smartest idea to walk right in on Snape and Voldemort. Only a fool would do that. So instead, they waited their time by listening to the conversation going on just on the other side of the glass.
"There is no wand more powerful," Snape drawled. "Tonight, when the twins come it will not fail you; I'm sure of it."
Leila's stomach fell. The twins. Both she and Harry. She would deliver Harry right into the Dark Lord's hands.
"It answers to you and you only," Snape continued.
"Does it?" Voldemort hissed.
"My Lord, let me go to the twins…" Snape began.
"Answer me, Severus. The wand, does it truly answer to me?" Voldemort continued. "Perhaps you already know it? You're a clever man, after all, Severus. Surely, you must know. Where does its true loyalty lie?"
"With you," Snape answered. "Of course, my Lord."
"You have been a good and faithful servant and I regret what must happen," Voldemort furthered.
"My Lord," Snape began.
"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed it's last owner," Voldemort continued. "You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine."
"My Lord," Snape repeated.
"Only I can live forever," Voldemort hissed.
Snape didn't get out another word when Voldemort swiped the air with the Elder Wand. For a moment, it looked like nothing had happened to Snape until he collapsed with a thud against the beveled glass. Leila's hands flew over her mouth as she looked to the others for their reactions. Harry began to breathe heavily, while Hermione buried her face against Ron's shoulder. Draco with his eyes wide couldn't tear his gaze away from inside the Boat House. Then Voldemort muttered something in Parseltongue.
"Harry, what'd he say?" Leila whispered.
But she didn't need an explanation because Nagini screamed and pierced her fangs into Snape's neck. Leila looked away because she could already begin to feel her stomach become more and more queasy.
"I regret it," Voldemort said coldly.
Leila thought that it would be safe to open her eyes, but she was proved wrong as Nagini once again lunged at Snape. Leila tried to close her eyes and cover her ears to keep the sound out; but every time Nagini lunged at Snape, her screams pierced through the shield Leila attempted to make. Knowing it was no use, Leila removed her hands from her ears and wrapped her arms tightly around her knees, rocking herself to find some comfort. While she had never been overly fond of Snape, he was still her Head of House and for reasons unknown to her, he had brought her to Hogwarts. Snape continued to gasp for air as Nagini slithered away toward her master after his call. With a popping noise, they knew that Voldemort and Nagini had Disapparated elsewhere. The group stood there silently, unsure of what to do next until Leila limped over to the door into the Boat House. The group followed after her.
With her wand drawn just in case, Leila walked into the Boat House and immediately limped to Professor Snape's side. He was gasping for his last breaths as Harry and Draco joined Leila on the floor beside Snape. Leila attempted to cover the wounds on the man's neck as tears began to stream down her cheek. Draco rested his hands on Leila's back as he began to shed his tears. Harry looked to Hermione to see if she had something in her beaded bag; but Hermione shook her head solemnly as she wiped away tears that were beginning to fall from her own face. Snape looked into Leila's eyes and then shifted his glace to Harry's eyes.
"Potter…" Snape gasped.
Wispy tears began to stream from Snape's eyes as his hand weakly moved to catch them.
"Take them," Snape said while keeping eye contact with Harry. "Take them. Please."
Harry once again looked to Hermione.
"Get me something quickly. A flask, anything," Harry rushed.
Hermione Accio'd a flask from her beaded bag and handed it to Harry who unstoppered it to collect the wispy tears flowing down Professor Snape's cheeks. Leila felt a pang of jealousy that Snape would bequest this to Harry. Hadn't she been the one he was closer to? Hadn't she been the one in Slytherin? Why Harry?
"Take them to the Penseive," Snape commanded with his soon to be last breaths.
Harry roughly nodded his head as Snape began to whisper Leila's name. Leila tried to look at the man who had attempted to guide her education for the past seven years through the tears; but the tears proved to be blinding. Suddenly, she could feel his ever-growing colder fingers weakly tapping her temples. One the third tap, his finger remained and it felt like a jolt of electricity rushing through her brain. Leila gasped at the sensation as her brain began to have flashbacks of memories she could hardly remember. Snape. Lily. Dumbledore. Harry. Leila. Draco. Love. Doe. Death. The images blurred together faster and faster which left her panting for breath. When Snape's finger slipped from her temple, she practically collapsed on the barely breathing man. That was her answer to why Harry. Leila already knew, or at least she had at one point known what his memories contained.
"Leila, look at me," Snape gasped.
Leila forced herself back up and wiped away the tears that had been blinding her as new ones began to form. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. Snape, someone they had always painted to be the villain since they got to Hogwarts, was probably one of the bravest people she had known. While his methods may have often been questionable, his intention had always been good. Her memories of Snape began to flash in her mind and looking back on it, Snape while still remaining a foul git, had always been far more lenient on her than he had with Harry. She had often asked herself why; but it wasn't a question anymore. Lily was the answer. Leila reached for Snape's hand and clutched it with both of hers.
"You remind me so much of your mother," Snape moaned.
The light in Snape's eyes began to fade. Leila squeezed Snape's hand as her sobs began to overtake her. But she continued to give the dying man his request. She kept her emerald eyes, the eyes she had inherited from her mother, focused solely on him.
"Professor," Leila softly cried.
"Lily," Snape breathed.
"No, it's Leila," Leila said tearfully.
"Lily," Snape muttered again.
"You'll be with her soon," Leila whispered. "I promise."
Leila placed a gentle kiss on her former Professor's hand as he gasped for his last breath. Then with a sharp sigh Snape's body collapsed once more against the beveled glass. He moved no more, he breathed no more. With a sob, Leila threw her arms around Draco began to sob. Harry leaned close into Leila as Ron and Hermione watched from a distance. The man who had risked everything for them was dead.
Author's note: And Snape is dead. Bawled my eyes out writing this chapter. Really took a lot of emotions out of me. Thanks for those of you who have read and reviewed. I'll admit it, I held out on you until I had a good number of reviews. Just in case you were curious, I have started posting spoilers for my GoF prequel on twitter.
RHatch89: Yeah, talk about gut-wrenching. So hard to write! I kept getting torn by what I was even writing…but I knew I had to keep plunging forward! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I really do appreciate it!
xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thanks for the review! I'm glad that you liked it and that I let Theo live. As far as Daphne/Theo that remains to be seen. Greyback did attack her…her chances don't look too good, do they? Fred's death…I've already got it mostly written out (for next chapter) I personally can't read it without bawling, but then again I love Fred. *sigh* But thanks for the encouragement for this story. It really means a lot to me!
Marlene: You're welcome for explaining things. I really appreciate the reviews. I hope this chapter was worth the wait and that you enjoyed it.
AbominableSnowman23: Yeah, Blaise's death added a little more grief for Draco. Yeah, but I think we saw in this chapter that even Draco can doubt his leadership skills, despite that he proved to be a good leader. Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
Hollis Annalise: I'm glad that you enjoyed it! I figured it would be realistic for him to mourn his friends. Just because he switched sides didn't mean he stopped considering them as 'friends'. Thanks for the reviews! They truly leave me flattered.
XxShadowhunterxX: I'm so happy that you enjoyed the chapter! Yes, action time and quite a bit of it! It tore at my heart to write it! I love Draco and I wanted to make him useful to the Light. I'm glad that you like him that way. And yeah, I kinda made Theo take Draco's place; but what side will Theo choose in the end?
Luli Cullen: Thanks for the review!
Alyssa103: I'm flattered that you enjoyed the chapter! As far as what I'm writing next…I'm doing both! I've started a GoF prequel and I plan on continuing with a sequel, but I can't guarantee the sequel will be any good. Lol.
TheEvilPinkCupcake: Yes, yes that is what I'm implying. But I think I do it some justice…at least, I cry everytime I work on it. I'm glad you loved the chapter! Thanks for the reviews!
xxxRena: I'm so glad that I loved it! I hope that I keep doing this story justice. Thanks for the reviews!
LeilaxDraco Fan: I'm glad that you liked the chapter! I hope you like this one as well too! I wanted Daphne to actually pick a side. She's been hedging; but because of Leila she chose a side. But did it prove to her benefit remains to be seen. I loved making Draco a leader. He really is capable of it. And as far as the Slytherins not evil thing, that's exactly what I'm going for! I do have an epilogue written, which will most likely be posted to the end of this story. It will also give me a place to go with the sequel, which I'm rather nervous about. Haha. The prequel seems to be coming a little easier to me than the sequel has been. I'm glad that you find Leila to be a relatable character. I really tried hard not to make her a Mary-Sue. Thanks for the reviews! I always look forward to them!
LilyLuna123: I've thought it was their shining moment as well. I'm flattered you got some ideas for your own stories. Like what kind of ideas do you have? Haha. Thanks for the review! Hope you liked this chapter!
LunaMalfoy81: Thanks for the review!
IfYouCouldOnlySee: Thanks for catching up with your reviews! Haha. I appreciate it! I hope you continue to read this story. Thanks for the reviews!
Guest: Here's an update! I hope that you loved this chapter and it quenched some of your curiosity! Thanks for the reviews!
Thelonglostpotter: Awww…your review really flattered me! I'm happy that you love my fic. (I hope you read We'll Be a Dream too) I'm rather fond of Draco/Leila myself….haha. I could always picture Harry being the overprotective brother, which was part of the motivation for this story…and because I always thought Draco could've made better choices if he had someone "good" influencing him. Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!
Please review! or else...haha :)
~Casey