Draco-

Of course, everyone heard the horrible, ground shaking, magically magnified voice of the Dark Lord, demanding Potter to meet him in the Forbidden Forest before the hour was out. The words reverberated in my ears as He promised to come forth into the battle himself, should Potter fail to present himself before the allotted hour was up. He was going to kill everyone- and Ginny was one of those still in the castle, still determined to fight.

I knew she would, even as I stood hidden by a Disillusionment charm at the door of the Great Hall, watching my fellow students being brought in and lined up alongside the other dead, even as I saw her sobbing over the body of one of her brothers, I knew she would not give up. She would not run. She would stay and fight, for her brother. I had no hopes of her finding safety. I would have to hope she stayed out of the way of the more serious Death Eaters, the more dangerous threats, because I knew Potter's surrender would not lead to a cease fire. It would only be the beginning.

Of course, Potter would surrender. Everyone who knew him knew what a 'hero complex' the Boy Who Lived had. He had saved the Philosopher's Stone in our first year, saved Ginny in our second, the phony murderer Black and the beast Hippogriff in our third- the list goes on. He was always out to save someone or other from a mess he invariably became entangled in. That was just who he was.

The thought of this made me feel sick to my stomach. I had never sacrificed anything for anyone. What was so different between us that he was a hero and I a villain? The boy had been raised under a staircase, his family murdered, his friends always put on the line for him. Yet he seemed so selfless, always trying to save people instead of saving himself. I knew which I would have preferred to do, but it suddenly seemed cowardly.

As I stood watching in the doorway, Ginny stood suddenly, and, moving as though unsure of her limbs, she left the Hall. I followed her out into the grounds, wondering why she was leaving her family, only to see her move towards a young girl she had spotted sitting on the ground with her head in her hands.

"It's going to be ok," Ginny murmured as she sat down next to her and placed a comforting arm around the girl's shaking shoulders.

"I don't want to fight anymore!" sobbed the girl, who I judged couldn't have been more than 16. "I want to go home!"

"I know," said Ginny, and I heard, for one terrible moment, the despair she was feeling as her voice broke.

Something rustled in the hedges behind me, and I spun around, wand drawn. Ginny looked towards the sound too, but evidently she couldn't see anything more than I could. She returned her attentions to the crying girl.

"Come on," she said quietly. "Let's get you inside."

"I can't go in there!" cried the girl, refusing to stand. "There's so many d-dead in there!"

"We won't go into the Hall if you don't want to," said Ginny soothingly, and eventually she succeeded in persuading the girl to stand and accompany her into the castle, keeping her arm around her at all times as though for support.

At the door, Ginny turned her head towards where I was standing, and I thought for a moment she knew I was there, but in a second she had looked away, and was continuing into the castle.

It felt like a lifetime, that hour. No one knew where Potter had disappeared to, although his friends, Weasley and Granger, looked so grief stricken that it hardly took a genius to figure out where he was. Sure enough, before the hour had passed, the forest suddenly glowed with an ominous green light. Less than 15 minutes later, we saw them on the edge. The Death Eaters.

They were jubilant. They were following the Dark Lord out of the forest, laughing and dancing, and in front of them all stumbled the half-giant Hagrid. The people in the castle were streaming onto the front lawn now, trying to see what Hagrid was holding, what he was carrying back to the castle-

"NO!" someone screamed suddenly, and I saw with a shock that it was McGonagall who had made the terrible screech, for she had seen who Hagrid was carrying.

Harry Potter was dead.

The Dark Lord was laughing now as well as he beheld the devastated witches and wizards in front of him. I watched, my heart in my mouth, as he commanded Hagrid to place Potter at his feet.

"Draco!" He proclaimed suddenly, and I did not hesitate to remove my Disillusionment Charm.

"Draco! Come!" commanded my father, seeing me standing amongst the enemy side.

They saw me now, all of the Hogwarts defenders, and I saw on each of their faces a mixture of pity and disgust. All but one. Ginny was looking at me, her brown eyes wide and pleading, and I knew she wanted me to stay with their side, to renounce my Death Eater title. Of course I would, I would stay with her always, I would protect her, I would-

"Draco," hissed my father, and I walked forwards and away from the Hogwarts crowd, who moved aside for me to pass and averted their eyes.

I couldn't look at Ginny, but I knew her eyes would be blazing and she would be glaring at me with as much hatred as she could muster. I continued walking, like a puppet on a string, towards the Death Eaters, some of whom were looking at me with as much disgust as the Hogwarts defenders where, some of whom were looking upon me with something close to admiration. My mother stood just behind the Dark Lord, my father keeping a restraining hand on her shoulder. As I reached the Dark Lord, he held out his arms, and embraced me.

"Good, Draco!" he proclaimed, "Excellent! Welcome back!"

I stood, cold and stiff, until he finally dropped his arms and gave me a stern push towards my parents, who grabbed hold of me and pulled me away from the bulk of people, from our master and his followers.

And then it happened. Neville was talking, Bellatrix and the others were laughing at him, and no one seemed to notice, except for me, for I had not moved my eyes from his body since I had re-joined my parents- Potter was breathing. He opened his eyes. And in a flurry of movement, he swept his hand under his top, pulled something out, and disappeared.

The courtyard was suddenly in pandemonium as everyone screamed, shouted and began firing curses into the opposing crowd. Everyone was running in all directions, the Death Eaters were pushing back on the Hogwarts defenders, pushing them into the entrance hall, and He was blazing, casting down anyone in his way, be they of Hogwarts or otherwise, such was his fury at Potter still being alive.

I made to follow after the crowds as I saw Ginny retreating into the castle, her face alive with determination, but my parents held me back.

"Draco, we must leave!" hissed my father.

"Come along, Draco, now!" whispered my mother into my ear, her hand a pincer grip upon my shoulder.

I turned and started to follow them as they moved swiftly out of the courtyard, heading for the edge of the castle grounds so as to disapparate, but then I stopped.

"No," I said quietly, pulling myself firmly from my mother's grasp.

They stared at me, my mother with open mouthed horror, my father with rage burning in his cold, grey eyes.

"I won't go with you," I said, turning around and making to head back to the castle.

"It's because of that Mudblood, isn't it?" shouted my father suddenly.

"No Draco!" cried my mother, but I was already out of her grasp, already racing back to the castle.

I heard my father shouting behind me.

"She'll never choose you, Draco! You're a fool! You are running to your death!"

I ignored him, and continued running until I reached the entrance hall, where all hell seemed to have broken loose.

The Centaurs had joined the fight, there were House Elves running around stabbing people with carving knives, there was hardly enough room to move, but I had to make it to the Great Hall, where the flashes of light seemed to be denser than those in the hall outside. I pushed my way through, deflecting a curse as it came beaming towards my head, and finally shoved through into the Great Hall.

The Dark Lord was fighting three ministry wizards at once and- my heart stopped- Bellatrix was battling three students at one, one of whom was Ginny. Bellatrix shot a curse that missed Ginny by mere inches, and I started to shout a counter curse, when I was pushed out of the way by the Weasley mother.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" she screamed, her wand at the ready.

Bellatrix let out a shriek of manic laughter, and as the three students fell back, the two women began to duel. The light shooting from their wands was almost blinding, but before the duel had raged 10 minutes, a bolt of light hit Bellatrix square in the chest. Her face, which had been contorted into a leering grin, froze, and she fell backwards, her wand falling from her hand, her eyes blank. She was dead.

Ginny-

I stared in horror at the dead body of Bellatrix Lestrange, and then turned my gaze on my mother, who now found herself backing away from You-Know-Who.

His face was bone white with anger, his red eyes livid and burning in their deep sockets, he aimed a curse at my mum, and I screamed, racing towards her as though I were able to save her-

The curse did not hit the mark. It came straight for her, and then bounced away, ricocheting off of an invisible barrier in front of her. She was alive! But how?

The room became very quiet. A ring of sorts had formed around You-Know-Who, who stood, bewildered and snarling, in the middle. And then Harry ripped off his cloak, and stood, for everyone to see, with his wand pointed directly at You Know Who, who glared at him with a mixture of fury and, strangely, triumph, etched onto his snake-like face.

I would have screamed if I could. I was so overjoyed that Harry was alive, so terrified because now he faced You-Know-Who once again, but my voice was lost.

Standing not far behind where Harry stood was Draco, but he wasn't watching the pair in the middle as they now started to circle one another. He was watching me. His eyes never left mine, and I was the first to break the gaze, to turn my attention to Harry and You-Know-Who, who were now having, bizarrely, a conversation about why Harry had, once again, failed to die.

"Snape was never your man, Tom," taunted Harry. "He was Dumbledore's from the moment you set out to murder my mother, because he loved her from when they were children. Dumbledore's death was not your doing- he and Snape had planned in all, months before Draco got there!"

"Lies," hissed You-Know-Who. "Severus Snape was a Death Eater, he desired your mother, nothing more. He killed Dumbledore, and the Elder Wand belonged to him- but I killed Snape earlier tonight, and now it is mine!"

"You're wrong, Tom!" laughed Harry, "That wand was never Snape's in the first place! Draco disarmed Dumbledore in the tower that night, the wand recognised a new owner even though he never laid his hands upon it- but I disarmed Draco at the Manor a few months ago. I took his wand. The wand was never Snape's, Tom-"

"You LIE!" screamed You-Know-Who, "The wand is MINE!"

"The wand is mine, Tom," said Harry calmly, and at the exact moment You-Know-Who screamed "Avada Kedavra!", Harry shouted "Expelliarmus!"

You-Know-Who's wand flew out of his hand and into Harry's, the killing curse he had shot at Harry now pointed at him- and hit him, directly above the heart. His face froze. He looked much as Lestrange had done when my mother's curse hit her. Then he fell.

No one moved. We all just stared in amazement. And then the reality hit- he was dead! The Hall erupted with sound, and everyone suddenly converged on Harry, but I pushed through, I reached his side before half of the people in the Hall even knew what was going on. Harry stared at me and smiled, pulling me into his arms as he held me to his chest, ignoring the mass of people bearing down upon us, and I sobbed.

I sobbed for relief. I sobbed for Fred, for Tonks and Lupin. I sobbed because Harry was alive. And I sobbed because I knew I had to tell him what I had done, what had happened with Draco, and I knew how upset he would be because of it.

All that would have to wait however. There was no moment to get so much as a word in. We were surrounded by people and noise, and although there was celebration, there was so much grief as well. It would have to wait.

A/N:

This is a bit of artistic license, shall we say, because I decided not to follow the battle exactly as it happened, and put my own words in here and there, mainly for copyright and because I know everyone will have read the actual battle loads of times and won't want to read it again in a fanfiction. As always, I hope you enjoy it, and please do review!

Love,

Beccari

xxx