A/N: This is almost it guys! One more chapter (two at most, I haven't decided yet, but I'm leaning towards one).

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blahblahblahblah - thoughts/Flashback

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Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco tumbled through the floo only to land in a pile on the floor of Snape's personal chambers. Slowly they began to detangle themselves, no one speaking or so much as looking at each other. It was painfully obvious to all parties that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were as good as dead. No matter what help was sent, or how quickly, there was no hope. If by some miracle, aid arrived early enough to whisk the Malfoys away, where would they hide? What place was really safe enough that Voldemort wouldn't find them? The answer, as each of the students was stubbornly not bringing up, was no where. Draco's parents had just died to save him, and by proxy, them all.

"What on earth is going on?!" Snape stood at the now open door to what had to be his lab.

No one spoke. All at once, the trio members turned to gaze upon Draco's ashen and tear-streaked face. What could they say? Anything they managed would merely echo hollowly, resembling sentiments that should have been read out from a greeting card. No, they couldn't say anything. It wasn't their place. Draco alone had the right to explain. Once the words were spoken, once it was admitted aloud that Draco had just lost his parents, there would be no turning back. There would be no more skirting the truth or denying what had happened. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy would really be gone.

"Draco?" Snape questioned softly, kneeling in front of the boy and tilting his student's head up. "Draco, what has happened?" Draco hesitated a long while, but eventually met his professor's eyes. When the blond began speaking, it was as if from a distance, the pained sentences coming out of a mouth that could not belong to Draco; it just couldn't.

"I went to tell father about Harry, about our child. Father and I argued. But then-then Bellatrix rushed in. They had showed up and she hexed them," he indicated the stock-still trio members "but before she could do anything mother had cast a spell at her. Mother told father that she would not let anyone harm me, or my family and that she would die before she would let him. He finally saw things the way mother had, and ushered us all up to my fireplace so we could floo out of there."

Snape's composure didn't slip, if anything his face looked harder and more grave then normal. The words coming out of his mouth sounded foreign and harsh, more like a man confronting a hated rival than someone who had just lost two of his friends.

"They are dead then?" He directed at Draco. The boy nodded, seeming to collapse in on himself, only silent tears escaping the already bloodshot eyes.

"Or will be soon," he muttered.

Without stopping to offer his condolences or any sympathy whatsoever, Snape rose and practically flew to the door of his chambers.

"I must go talk to Dumbledore. Once Voldemort realizes their betrayal he will be seeking blood. And there is no way Bellatrix could have ignored Mr. Potter's condition. They will be on us soon, we must prepare. I suggest you all go get some rest before this battle truly begins in earnest." With that, he was gone. No words of comfort or reassurance; even the fake kind would have offered some sort of consolation.

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"Draco," Harry called quietly, unsure of what to say but terrified to say nothing. The Malfoy heir, upon the two of them going back to the Slytherin dungeons, had merely sank down at the end of his bed. The blond hadn't said a word; he just sat there, eyes unseeing. The tears had long ago dried up, but in their absence Draco seemed to be entirely devoid of all emotion. It scared Harry, more then he cared to admit.

"Draco," Harry tried again. "Draco please, say something. Anything."

"What do you want me to say," the blond mumbled haltingly, as if every syllable made his heart hurt just that much worse.

"I don't know," his boyfriend confessed. "But when you don't say anything I-I get scared."

"I can't believe it came to this," Draco whispered. "I suppose I knew it would, in the end. I guess all of us did. I just always assumed I would die with them. I never thought they would sacrifice themselves like this. I couldn't in my wildest dreams have imagined this, I-" he stopped, the emotions flooding back and choking him.

"Oh Draco." Harry scooted towards the blond and enveloped him from behind, kissing Draco's hair and squeezing him as tightly as the huge bump under his clothing would allow.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Not now, not so soon." Draco began to cry again in earnest, leaning back into Harry and clutching their hands together tightly.

Eventually the blond's sobs quieted and he allowed Harry to pull him down to the head of the bead. The Gryffindor held his boyfriend to his chest, whispering soothing words and petting Draco's hair. They had nearly fallen asleep when the door flew open to let in Pansy, Blaise, Seamus, Dean and Neville. They all rushed over the threshold, Pansy charming the door locked behind them.

"Harry! Malfoy! Thank Merlin you two are alright!" Seamus had a hand over his heart, panting loudly as if he had just run a mile. Dean was braced over his knees trying to catch his breath and Neville wheezed like a broken vacuum cleaner.

"What's going on? Did something happen?" Harry asked, choosing to ignore the squeak in his voice as it cracked.

"We overheard a bunch of Slytherins out by the lake. They were talking about how they had just received orders to go ahead and kill Malfoy! Except, they weren't sure what to do because they didn't seem to actually want to murder anybody." Seamus continued.

"What?!" Both Harry and Draco exclaimed.

"We didn't give them long enough to reach a verdict. We ran back as fast as we could and when you weren't in Gryffindor tower we figured you two would be here. We left them debating whether they actually were going to storm over here and kill you or not." When he was done speaking Seamus allowed himself to fall to the ground with a whoosh, clearly worn out from all the exertion as the adrenaline he had been functioning under the influence of wore off.

"What will you do?" Pansy asked, directing her question at Draco.

"Slytherin House has likely turned against you Draco, you aren't safe here." Blaise added.

As if on cue, there was a BANG and multiple fists began pounding on the door. Jinxes started flying and Pansy's locking charm was removed almost within two minutes of her arrival. The door flew open for the second time that night, this time only to reveal Crabbe and Goyle, their backs to the room, blocking the way.

"Let us in! Draco!" The voice of Millicent Bulstrode was recognizable. "We don't want to hurt him, you big oafs! We want to get him out of here before someone else does!"

"It's okay Vince, Greg. Let them in," said Draco, slowly rising from the bed.

"What if they're lying?" Goyle grunted as a wayward fist collided with his stomach.

"I don't think they are. It's okay." Draco repeated. "If they wanted to kill me they would have already. Last I checked, hexes can still go over the heads of you two, although I appreciate the effort."

As one, Crabbe and Goyle moved to the sides of the door, letting the damn break and the flood to commence. At first, everyone talked at once, completely jumbled, but eventually the crowd calmed down enough for actual discussion to take place.

It was declared that Slytherin House had decided to side with Draco, at least a large proportion had. The small percentage of students backing their families and the Dark Lord were easily cowed by their peers and posed no more danger. Any opposition had effectively been stifled over the course of a measly two hours since the reality of the Malfoy betrayal and reached Hogwarts. It was then that the information started bursting forth from various members of the assembly. It seemed that Voldemort had big plans for the Slytherins, losing them would truly be quite a blow to his campaign. Especially, as Blaise suggested with a huge grin on his face, if the Dark Lord didn't realize he had been deceived. If all the Slytherins continued communicating with their families and other pure blood friends outside of Hogwarts as if nothing had changed, they might actually be able to one-up those who wished to take siege to Hogwarts.

The snakes had shown their true colours.