Draco knew somewhere in the recesses of his mind that there were a lot of things that he needed to do, but he forced all of that away so that he could focus.

He had no comprehension of how his father had suddenly appeared, not at all weak or confused, but tall and powerful and just in time to save Hermione from Greyback's jaws. Regretfully he did comprehend that he now needed to move quickly to conceal his body. There were too many here who had brutalized him while he was alive and would love the opportunity to do so again now that he was . . . Draco couldn't even make himself think the word. He would deal with all of that later.

"Master?" He heard Nappy's soft whisper and turned, but she was apparently disillusioned.

"Nappy?"

"Master, I be hiding big Master. Master no worry. Master be needed."

Why hadn't he even thought of asking her for help? This was perfect.

"Nappy - can you make sure that no one . . . no one bothers him."

"Yes, Master no worry."

He wanted to hug the elf, but he had no time. Besides that, he couldn't even see her. She was as good as her word and, with a slight silvery shimmer, his father's body disappeared. He would just have to trust her to take care of things from here.

He turned to see where Hermione had gone, and was surprised to find that it was much easier to see across the cave than it had been before.

Potter and the Dark Lord were still encased in the strange golden dome that was preventing anyone else from interfering in their duel. Their wands remained joined by a golden thread of magic, with the strange ball of magic still moving along the thread, now towards Harry then back towards the Dark Lord, although its movements were much more restricted now.

It seemed that the two were at an impasse, neither able to gain much advantage over the other, but now there were others, a group on each side, gathered and trying to help their respective champions, both of whom seemed to need the help.

Draco's eyes went to the Dark Lord and he was shocked to see how little of the human remained in him. His skin was an eerie grey with morbid tinges of green in it. The skin on his noseless face was stretched so tight that it was shiny and looked hideously reptilian. His wand arm stretched toward Potter but something was off about the angle, or maybe his arm was just unnaturally long. Either way, Draco had to repress a shudder because his posture wasn't quite human.

And he was trembling. The tremors were small, tight, but the strain of maintaining his grasp on his wand, and resisting whatever strange force was contained in the connection with Potter, was unmistakable. All of the Ugly One's being gave the impression of a balloon about to burst, containing an increasing pressure, which could, at any moment, be too much to withstand.

But then Draco's eyes moved to Harry. Harry was looking all too human. The strain was obvious in him also, although in a completely different way.

He was sweating profusely, his face a vivid red-pink that made Draco wonder how strong Potter's heart was. He was obviously exerting himself, his labored breathing visible from where Draco stood on the other side of the cave. His arm was shaking too, but instead of the tight tremors of Voldemort's wand, Harry's was vibrating so violently that it seemed difficult for him to hold on to it, a bucking bull which he was fighting to control so that it couldn't escape.

All in all, Malfoy was not at all sure which of the two was going to be able to hold out the longest. Fear of the outcome of this momentous battle gripped him.

Around them, there were a few small skirmishes, but most of the remaining combatants were huddled behind their challengers, helplessly waiting to see who would prevail.

Draco hurried over to the Order's side. There was at least some relief in ending the facade. No need to conceal his true loyalties any more. Now he could openly join those whose cause he had joined long ago. His progress toward them was slowed by the many fallen bodies that he needed to step over and around. Some of the bodies were bloodless, apparent victims of the Avada Kevadra while others were torn apart, bled out after slashing or exploding curses.

With a start he recognized his aunt's wild hair, spread out on the floor, while she lay, lifeless, on her face. Someone must have taken her out with an Avada. What a sad waste her life had been, but it was better for all of them that she was dead.

Hermione was huddled with Ron, Ginny, Luna, Kingsley and two others Draco didn't know. He went to join them. He wished that he could throw his arms around Hermione, hold her, talk to her, make sure that she had forgiven him, but this was not the time nor the place.

As he walked up he heard Ron say " . . . nothing more dangerous than a Lumos and none of them seem to affect their magic bubble at all."

Hermione asked "What about helping Harry? Can anything good get through to him?"

Luna smiled dreamily, while Ron answered "I've been shooting Vigorato's in at him every once in a while and they seem to help, but maybe they are too much. He seems to be, I don't know, about to lose control. I don't know if . . . ." His sentence hung, unfinished, but Draco couldn't help but agree. More energy might not be the right solution.

"There has to be a better way to help him," Ginny said, her eyes never leaving Harry.

Luna added "It seems some on the other side have found some way to help their Master too." As if to illustrate her point, the flash of an orange spell showed behind the Dark Lord and his grimace became more of a menacing snarl. Some spell, something Draco didn't know, had helped him.

That wasn't good. A few more of those and he would overpower Harry.

Hermione moved aside a bit and made room for Draco to join the discussion.

"You alright there, mate?" Ron asked, by way of a greeting.

"I'm good. Hermione managed to heal me up very well." He gave her a smile, but she looked down and wouldn't meet his eyes. Maybe she wanted to avoid any public display of affection right now. It was hard to know. Draco was still just so glad to see her alive and whole. He had been so sure that she was doomed, that there was nothing that he could do to protect her. Seeing her standing strong and competent was so much more than he had hoped for. She had known that his father was . . . not weak. How? Later. He would ask her later.

That reminded him, the only weapon he had been able to come up with earlier was the unbroken Amorita that was still in his pocket. Maybe that could be useful against the Ugly One.

"Wait - I have something we could try." He brought it out and could see that Hermione understood immediately, although the others were a bit puzzled.

"It's Amorita. I have reason to believe it might be harmful to . . . Old Ugly, but it wouldn't hurt Potter."

"Is that the love stuff that you, uh, gave Hermione?" Ron asked, his face turning even more red as he asked the question.

Draco nodded. "It isn't harmful to anyone normal, but apparently Snake Face is so inhuman that it hurt him to drink it."

"There's no reason not to try it," said Luna, with surprisingly sound logic.

He stared down at the vial. How exactly would he do this?

Hermione placed a reluctant hand on his arm. "Do you know Aspergo? It would spray it all over him. Assuming we can't force him to drink it, that would be best."

Draco nodded. He did know that spell. Strangely enough, his mother had shown it to him for gardening purposes.

He took a deep breath. This could be it. Potter just needed the slightest weakness. They were so evenly matched; he just needed a small advantage. Draco uncapped the Amorita, then tilted the vial so that he could direct his wand down its neck.

"Aspergo," he said and, as the liquid came up out of the bottle he quickly moved his wand, aiming it at the Dark Lord's forehead.

The glowing blue potion sprayed all over the Dark Lord, but he didn't react at all. After a moment, the spray dripped down and it became obvious that something had shielded the Evil One. None of the precious blue liquid had touched him at all.

Draco's attempt had failed.

His shoulders dropped. That was all he had. What else could they do?

Then Ron tapped his elbow.

"Wait. Look at Harry."

Draco's head popped up. He studied Potter. There was something different. His arm was more controlled. He was standing more firmly. Most importantly, the magic had shifted and was now moving towards the Dark Lord. The momentum was now on Potter's side.

"What . . . ?" Draco was confused.

"Some of the Amorita splashed on him. It perked him up," Luna stated, matter-of-factly.

"Malfoy, who was that brewed for? Who was it brewed by?" asked Ginny.

"My mother made it for me," he answered.

"Do you know the ingredients - at least the active ones?" she asked.

Hermione saw where she was going with this. "A spell version, one for Harry specifically, would help him even more. We could do several of them."

Draco started to answer "It's made from Jobberknoll feathers, powdered moonstone, dried pomegranate arils, powdered unicorn horn, ginger root, valerian and, well, tears."

"The tears can be replicated by your emotions, like when you cast a Patronus. Think of a time when you felt a strong affection for Harry, if there were tears involved it will help."

Ginny stepped up to her. "Do you know the motions for those ingredients?"

Luna nodded. "Think of your strongest memory of affection for Harry, then do this." She moved slowly, with Ginny mimicking her and the others around them, also copying her motions, but in a more contained fashion.

They ran through a surprisingly fluid series of motions, Ron correcting Ginny at some point when her anxiety caused her to overplay a wand lift. After three tries, Ginny took a slow deep breath and said "I think I'm ready."

"Okay, this time direct it at Harry, and focus. The worst thing that can happen is nothing, so don't hold back." Luna again led Ginny as she cast the spell.

Draco wasn't so sure that nothing was the worst possible outcome, but it was their only hope. And as soon as he saw the gleaming blue of the spell that shot out of Ginny's wand toward Harry he knew she had gotten it right. It was exactly the color of the Jobberknoll feathers, the same color as the gleaming under Hermione's skin had been. The spell didn't fade, but held, as a luminescent blue line connecting Ginny to Harry.

The effect on Harry was immediate. He seemed stronger. His hand reined in the power flowing through his wand and strength pulsed through him and into the golden thread causing the ball of magic power to surge toward Voldemort. A panicked gasp from behind Voldemort suggested that his followers had seen it too.

"Hermione, Ron, your turn." Luna seemed unperturbed as she turned to Harry's closest friends. "Do you have a strong memory ready?" They both nodded. "Let's practice once."

Draco couldn't believe that she was so calm. The rational side of his mind knew that it was better if they were ready, if they cast the spell right the first time, but every second seemed precious. Time to finish this.

Luna was quietly coaching them, tweaking their wand motions. "Okay, let's do this," she finally said. Draco's heart was pounding as two more blue streaks flowed to Harry. He almost seemed to grow in height as they met him, his wand arm not shaking at all now, his face fierce and confident. Ginny, Ron and Hermione all stood, now bound to Harry by the blue light of their deep connection to him.

Then, more flashes of orange and the magic orb stopped its motion, although now it was significantly closer to Voldemort. This time their spells were different, sustained, and the glowing orange stayed as the spells flowed continuously into him.

The magic was now crackling in the air as it hummed and pressed between them. The ionic scent of magic was everywhere.

"Your turn," Luna said to Draco. He turned to her with a start.

"I don't think I . . . I don't have any memories of affection for him. Maybe just when I stopped . . . ."

"Not for Harry, for Hermione. You and I will strengthen the others as they help him."

Of course, that was brilliant. And that he could do. What memory to use? When he woke up, healed and free from hideous pain, to see her acting as his saving angel? No, the emotion was too unformed then, better later.

Their kiss. The most electrifying and blissful thing he had ever felt. But it was strange, hard to clearly remember with no visual image. Was there another memory?

There was. When she had turned to him with a sly smile and said "Let's just kill him," and he knew they were completely aligned, standing together and determined to end this mad man. That was the moment. He could feel it in his chest.

He nodded at Luna to let her know that he was ready. Again, she made him run through the motions once. He forced his concentration onto his own spell casting, away from whatever else was happening in the cave. Nothing else was as important. He was vaguely aware that the others had turned their backs to he and Luna, their wands out, giving them the space to ignore the rest of the cave.

Then he was ready. He felt the magic pool in his arm as he followed Luna's strange spell dance. He focused on his memory and felt it catch the magic. What an unusual feeling. The blue spell shot out of his wand, a visible caress that caught Hermione in the small of her back. He heard her gasp, her eyes widened with a surprise that she shouldn't have felt. She should have known, but he couldn't worry about that. He had to hold his thought, control his mind. He saw her shoulders relax; he saw the power surge through her, into her wand, to Harry and the ball of magic, which had begun to move toward the Dark Lord, surged. Draco gripped his wand as tightly as he could. He didn't know if he had ever felt such power surging through him and he wondered if he was shaking like Potter had been.

But it was working. They were unstoppable. They were united and they were taking him down. Draco's heart pulsed with hope, then certainty. He watched the golden ball speed toward Voldemort whose eyes widened with fear until at last the snake man reflexively threw both of his hands up, guarding his face, dropping his wand, and the golden ball flew . . . .

A flash of pain shot through Draco as something speared him in the shoulder and then all was darkness. All of his healed injuries throbbed with pain again - his head, his shoulder. Everything hurt.

But he was still gripping his wand. He forced his energy to flow into his right arm, into his wand and out - out to Hermione. She needed him and he wasn't going to let the connection break.

He opened his eyes, then shut them again quickly. The bright light was like knives stabbing into his eyes. He would keep them closed and just hold the connection. Maybe he was going to die. But he'd thought that before. No point in worrying about it. Just hold the connection.

"Draco?" He heard a voice. Not Hermione. Maybe the Luna girl. "Hold on. Don't let the connection break."

He didn't know what was happening. His head, his shoulder were pounding. He wasn't sure how long he could hold on, but he was connected to Hermione. He was helping her and he wasn't going to let go.

Sorry for the world's slowest writing pace, but life has been . . . busy. Here's the next chapter. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.