Draco was awoken by the sound of foot steps on the stairs. Sitting up, he instantly felt his stomach twist. The previous night, Hagrid had brought him a bottle of firewhisky from the kitchen, and he hadn't been able to stop himself from downing the whole thing. Now he regretted that decision. His head pounded like a battering ram. As he leaned over, he heaved the previous night's dinner back into the bowl it came in. Strangely, he thought he heard his mother's voice gasp, but it was just wishful thinking. Slowly, a cloaked figure made its way towards his cell, holding a quivering candle. Shaking slightly, he inched back to the corner. He couldn't survive another round of torture. His arms and legs still felt like jelly from the last. When they were finally at the barred door, the figure pulled back their hood; Bellatrix. A shout escaped Draco's lips, causing more bile to rise in his throat. Gripping the bowl, he upchucked again, though nothing came out of his mouth.

"Oh son..." His mother's voice, thick with tears, whispered again.

"Who-?" Suddenly frightened, he held tightly to the wall.

"I used Polyjuice Potion. I needed to tell you something. Oh my sweet boy..." Tears flowed down Bellatrix's face.

"Mum?"

She nodded.

Rising shakily to his feet, he stumbled to her, and caught her hands through the bars. "Please forgive me! Father's dead because of me-"

"Now, stop talking right now. Your father didn't die because of you. He died for you. And I would've done the same."

Bowing his head, Draco kissed his mother's hands. "I'm..."

"Hush. Now, I can't stay, as much as I wish I could. But, I have something for you." With shaking fingers, she drew a piece of cloth from of her bag.

"What is-"

"Patience." Slowly, she shook out the fabric and he saw what it was she'd brought: a cloak. Then, she threw it around her shoulders and promptly disappeared.

"Mother!"

"I'm here." She reappeared, as if a translucent curtain was pulled away from her. "This belonged to Harry Potter. It was in his robes. It's an invisibility cloak of some sort. Now I-"

"Mum, please! Use it yourself and leave-"

"I'm not going to do that, Draco." Her voice was calm and final. "When the time is right, you are going to put on the cloak and...and find Hagrid. He'll know what to do from there. I've already spoken with him."

"Mum-"

"No arguing-"

"It's not that... It's just...I'm so sorry. If I could go back and..."

"I know."

"I love you."

Pressing her lips into a tight line, Narcissa's eyes filled with shining tears. She put her arms through the bars and pulled her son into a tight hug. And, placing a kiss on his cheek, she pressed the cloak into his hands.

"Now take it. And promise me you won't come to try and save me. It will be too obvious if we both leave-"

"But he'll kill you-"

"I believe he won't. He will keep me alive to try and lure you back. Do not let him. But, if I do die, I will join my husband..." She stared wistfully at her son's face. "I've been gone too long. I have to go." And with that, she pulled on her hood and briskly walked up the steps.

With a shaky breath, Draco watched her until she disappeared above the stairs. Then, sliding his back down the wall to the floor, he examined the cloak in his hands. It was quite unremarkable in appearance, but there was something about the aura surrounding it... He felt almost unworthy to hold it in his hands. But, pushing aside his unease, he hid it under the bench in his cell. And when he heard the real Bellatrix cackling out his name, he stood confidently and walked to the door. It would be the last Cruciatus Curse he ever felt. Tomorrow, he would be gone.

Neville sat alone in one of the make-shift tents. It was really just a bed-sheet which they had enlarged and fireproofed using charms, tied between two trees and nailed into the dirt floor with sticks and rocks. It wasn't perfect, but it had to do. Rubbing his forehead, Neville turned the dial on his personal radio. A fuzzy, sharp beeping came through, followed by a muffled voice.

"Potterwatch. River and Prefect here. No good news. Today's casualties include: Twenty eight muggles, names unknown. All killed in a massacre, led by three masked Death Eater." The voice of Lee Jordan faded in and out as Neville's pencil scratched across paper. He added twenty eight to the list. Then, Percy Weasley's voice started, "Six Wizards: Eliza Newt, muggle-born, executed. Alec Watercress, muggle-born, executed. Don Calaway, unknown experiment, body not yet recovered. Mara Kettleburn, unknown experiment, body not yet recovered. Joseph Rosenthal, unknown experiment, body not yet recovered. Cho Chang, unknown experiment, body not yet recovered. That concluded today's casualties."

A shiver ran down his spine as he added Cho's name to the list. Her's wasn't the first name he knew to be proclaimed dead on the radio show, but she was the only person so far that he had known personally.

"As for the unknown experimentation," Lee continued, "we will know more once Prefect is able to gather...Ministry...double..." The radio began to break up, turning into a strange mixture of sports commentary and Lee's melancholy reporting. Rubbing the back of his neck, Neville hit the side of the radio.

"...a lighter note, all of the patient at St. Mungo's have been successfully relocated to...location...Potterwatch. I'm River, he's Prefect...will talk to...tomorrow."

Turning off the broadcast, a smile grew on Neville's face. His parents were safe. A large weight lifted off of his chest.

"Hello Neville! Any good news?" Ginny's voice asked, startling him. Turning, he grinned. Ginny had Teddy on her hip; the tiny toddler pulling gently on her red hair.

"St. Mungo's has been successfully evacuated." He told her, taking Teddy out of her arms. Gurgling happily, the baby began chewing on Neville's wand.

"That's wonderful news! Who do you think evacuated it?"

"Bill said he was going to try. He's got a group of people that he leads around, so they probably helped too."

"Fleur go with him?" Ginny asked as her eyes skimmed the list of casualties.

"I think so."

"Good. Who else?

Well, um, I think it was Fleur, Gabriel Truman, you know, the Hufflepuff prefect, a few of his friends from work, Victor-"

"Krum?" She asked suddenly, taken back.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Poor Ron." Ginny laughed wryly.

"Does Ron not like Victor?" Neville asked, rocking Teddy.

"Well, Ron's a jealousy type, you know. He's a nightmare around Krum."

Giving her what he hoped was a sympathetic cringe, Neville carried the now-sleeping Teddy to the corner and laid him atop several folded blankets. Then, he sat down at his desk and unrolled a map.

"You're working too much, Neville. You should let someone help you." Ginny lectured.

"Yeah, but if I don't, I feel useless." He smiled warily. "I was always useless back in school, I feel like I need to make up for it now."

"Neville, you're the leader if a rebellion against the Dark Lord. I'd hardly call you useless." She lifted an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

Shrugging, he touched the tip of his wand to the paper and muttered a spell. The place which read, "St. Mungo's" changed to say, "Evacuated."

"You know, Luna thinks your working too hard too."

"Luna's wonderful..." He mumbled, concentrating deeply on his project.

"She's very pretty too..." Ginny added, grinning.

"Yeah...she's beautiful..." Neville spoke absently changing another place on the map.

"Neville Longbottom, how long have you been in love with Luna for?"

Instantly, he flinched and whipped his head around, eyes wide. "Wha- I haven't...I mean, I think she's..."

"You're head over heels for her."

"No! Honestly, Ginny, she's just... We're just like Hermione and Ron..."

Lifting her eyebrow, Ginny snorted, "You're just as unobservant as my brothers."

"Wait... Are he and... They're not-?" his mouth fell open.

"For over a bloody year now. They'll catch you up on everything at supper." She rolled her eyes and walked towards the door, "And for the record," She added, "I think you and Luna would make a lovely couple"

A/N Hey! So, question: have all y'all's accounts on this website been working okay? Because for a solid week I wasn't able to update my story, review, follow, or favorite stories, or send PMs. It's working alright now, though. Do you know if the site was updating or something? I'm not very tech-savvy, so any explanation would be awesome. Anyway, I feel terrible that I wasn't able to respond to very many reviews before the website crashed. Know that I love and appreciate you all!

A special thanks to: AllHellBrokeLoose666, notsing, DaOneInDaCorner, RAGAnne, Flyawayfree ( I'll make sure Ron sends you those Galleons)and ElsaElphieGinny. You guys have no idea how happy you make me with your reviews! (Or maybe you do because I blab about in in my author's note every update XD)

Remember to follow, favorite and... you guessed it...REVIEW! And happy late-Labor Day! Hope you did something fun with your day off.