Daphne didn't stop her enraged pace until Pansy finally caught up with her outside the school. The Slytherins were all heading in a pack towards Hogsmeade, where they were all 'expected' to travel by Floo Powder home. In reality, everyone knew that no Slytherin family would be home tonight... they were all here.
"How dare you call me a cow, you little bitch! I said just what everyone was thinking back there!" Pansy shouted as she grabbed Daphne's arm and spun her around the face her.
"No, Pansy, you didn't!" Daphne snarled angrily. "What you did do was sentence the lot of us to be the targets of everyone who's still inside that school! Now, even if we wanted to go back and pretend to be on their side, we can't! Now they all know we're out to get Potter because YOU had to open that great, gaping hole in your face that you frequently stuff food into!" she ranted.
Pansy stood there and stared at her as if she had just hit her in the face with a broomstick. Annoyed with her stupidity, Daphne ripped her arm out of Pansy's grip and continued down the hillside.
There was a similarly bitter mood from all the Slytherins as they were just about to pass through the gates of Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade. But suddenly, Draco let out a sharp hiss in pain, his right hand clapping over his left arm. Hearing his pain, the 7th years all slowed and moved off to the side to see what was the matter.
"We have to go back," he hissed through his clenched jaw. He clawed at his arm where the dark mark was like it was a festering wound.
"What if we're caught?" Tracey asked quietly. Pansy and Blaise gave her looks of complete shock. "What? You think I want to follow all the others and leave you lot to have all the fun?" she asked with a crooked smile. "But if Slughorn sees us taking off for the forest, he'll warn all the other teachers and students," she nodded her head towards their Head of House, who was slowly catching up to them with the first years in tow.
"Then we just have to make sure that he doesn't see," Draco added flatly. "He's going to go find reinforcements in Hogsmeade; he'll be distracted."
"What if we pretend that we're being delayed by something..." Blaise said quietly, cautiously looking over his shoulder. He gave Draco a small smirk and then threw himself on the ground, shouting and swearing at the top of his lungs and gripping his stomach.
"Perfect Blaise," Draco smiled widely before he changed his expression and turned back towards the crowd that was moving steadily past them. "Can someone tell Slughorn to fetch a bubotuber!" Draco shouted angrily to the crowd. Almost as if on cue, the others all instantly began to take on similar characters; Pansy began to pace in front of Blaise like she was worried, while Daphne, Theodore, and Tracey instantly knelt down and pretended to aide him. Millicent, Crabbe, and Goyle were mumbling and shouting random things, but no one did a better acting job than Blaise, who was working up a sweat and genuinely looked like he was in severe pain.
"My goodness Blaise, I'd say that you have a career in acting ahead of you," Tracey chuckled quietly to those who were near her. Blaise, as if to reassure them, broke character for a moment and winked.
The crowd did not stop to assist Blaise. Instead, they just continued to hurry down the hills, and Slughorn either didn't notice the commotion, or he ignored them. Once the last student was far enough away to not hear them, Draco stopped pretending and looked to his cohorts.
"Alright, I'm about to rip my skin off my arm; who's coming with me?" he barked, his hand once again rubbing his arm.
"I'm expected to go," Theodore muttered as he stood up.
"Well, if you wanted to change allegiance, then now is the time Nott." Draco snapped.
Theodore laughed and pushed his overgrown, shaggy brown hair out of his face. "Despite what you think, Draco, I'm not that stupid." He smirked, "Why would I choose tonight, of all nights, when the Dark Lord is here, to piss off on him?"
"Not that you wouldn't miss a fight like this for anything, eh Theo?" Tracey added with a wide smirk.
"Exactly." Theodore agreed, locking eyes with Draco, practically daring him to challenge his statement. Although Theodore was never fond of Voldemort (and they all knew that), they also knew that Theodore had the same cold, calm, and collected ability to perform any and every curse on anyone; he could probably kill someone without a second thought. They all knew this, and whether Draco wanted to admit it, they all respected and somewhat feared him for it.
"Alright, so Theodore's in; who else?" Draco changed the subject. Crabbe and Goyle raised their hands but didn't utter a word (as usual).
"Well, I'm not going to let all you boys have all the fun," Tracey announced, pulling her wand out of her pocket and twirling it around her fingers. "Someone needs to keep you all in line."
"And even though I thought that I just did my part... not to mention getting myself dirty in the process..." Blaise sighed, climbing off the ground and trying to rub the mud off his pants. "I guess I'll come along for the ride as well." Draco nodded his head curtly and looked around and the remaining girls. Pansy and Millicent looked terrified, but someone intrigued or interested in the offer.
Daphne, although momentarily distracted by Blaise fervently rubbing the stain on his clothes, was considering the idea. It would be the chance to prove to people that she was indeed intelligent and skilled at magic.
But if you're killed, or worse yet, CAUGHT, then that's the end of your freedom! She debated in her head. But then again... if Voldemort wins... then I'll be celebrated as a hero... just like everyone else tonight...
Daphne's focus was distracted by Blaise again, and in annoyance, she flicked her wand at his pants and made the stain disappear.
"Thanks," Blaise nodded appreciatively.
"Daphne, you know that we need your skills," Draco stated flatly like it was an obvious fact floating in front of her face.
"Me? But all I'm good at is charms." Daphne sniffed a quick laugh but felt her cheeks turn slightly pink at the compliment.
"And what's better than charms in a battle?" Draco pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, you float them in the air, and we kill them." Blaise laughed.
"So what do you think? Tracey and Theodore are coming too," Draco said, locking his grey eyes with hers. The thought that this could potentially be the last time she ever see's those steel coloured eyes again hit her, and she instantly felt that she would follow him anywhere.
"I'm in," she replied quietly, still staring right into his eyes.
"Well, then we're in, too!" Pansy added sharply, grabbing Millicent's arm and pulling her into the circle of Slytherins. Millicent looked at her best friend like perhaps she was insane, but didn't say anything to defy her.
"Don't make me your reason for probably getting yourself killed," Daphne remarked smartly, giving her a glance over her shoulder, then turning her head back and smirking at Draco.
"I'm not coming because of you!" she hissed. "I just don't want to be the only Slytherin that is of age down in Hogsmeade!"
"Sure..." Tracey added with a wicked smile, then looking deliberately at Draco and Daphne, attracting Pansy's attention to the situation as well.
There was a loud noise from the school, and Draco looked at Crabbe and Goyle. "OK, let's get inside and see if we can find Potter or someone." He turned and looked at the rest of them "Remember, don't kill Potter! The Dark Lord will want him for himself."
"Alright, so we'll go to the school and stir up some trouble," Theodore smirked to Blaise. "I bet Blaise has some people he wants to pick off."
"Don't pretend you don't too, Nott." Blaise laughed.
"We'll go with them," Daphne added, putting her hand on Tracey's shoulder. "Make sure they keep their heads in the game."
"Alright good," Draco said as there was another loud crash from the direction of Hogwarts. "Let's just get back up there!"
The school was in absolute chaos. Everywhere they looked, there were curses whizzing past the heads of wizards and witches in every direction. Theodore and Blaise stood in front of Tracey and Daphne, who had somehow found themselves wedged up against a wall as they all tried to avoid a stray curse cast by Flitwick.
"Let's go up to the top floors and chase them all down," Theodore shouted to Blaise. He nodded, and the four of them ran to up the 9 flights of stairs to the top of the enchanted staircase.
"North and East," Theodore commanded under his breath to Blaise. He nodded his head and grabbed Tracey's arm, pulling her towards the North and East wings of the school on the 9th floor. "We'll take South and West," he said, taking Daphne's arm and running down the nearest hallway.
They scanned the entire floor and met back in the centre before they moved down to the next level. But, Theodore and Blaise thought that it was taking too long.
"We need to split up and take a wing each," Blaise said, panting out of breath. "We all know how to defend ourselves; it's not like anyone's going to jump out of the shadows anyways."
"That's the reason we're up here, Blaise!" Theodore shook his head in disbelief at him.
A loud bang rang from below them; the lights that were flooding into the room from the staircase that led to the Great hall was the colour of every curse known to wizard kind. "Alright, fine!" Theodore agreed spitefully. "Blaise, take North; Tracey, take East." They ran off and went to scan their sections of the 5th floor. "Can you take West?" Theodore asked Daphne, who gave him an odd look.
"Are you asking or telling me?" she remarked in confusion.
"We don't have much time, Daphne. Just be careful, ok?" he said as he started to back away, then turned and started a full speed run down the Southern wing.
West wing it is then... She thought as she turned from the staircases and ran down the dark hallway of the 5th floor.
As she ran, Daphne couldn't help but remember the last time she was up here. It was this past December when she and Draco had their fight in the Prefect bathroom.
Oh God, I hope he's alright! She thought frantically, causing her pace to quicken. He could be dead right now... NO! Don't think like that! Concentrate Daphne! You have to help!
She was just about to the end of the circle that the hallway made. She could see the room with all the staircases in it, it's flashing light from all the curses lighting the way for her to run. But just as she set off to a full-speed run, she felt yanked back, falling onto the stone floor like she had been hit by a troll.
"Well well, what do we have here?" a man's raspy voice laughed. He reached down and yanked her into the light by her hair, causing her to scream in pain. "That's what I thought; a blood traitor in the flesh."
"Blood traitor! I'm a pure-blo-" the man yanked hard on her hair again and she let out another screech.
"Don't try and feed me your lies, girl! I'd recognize you anywhere!" the man shouted, giving her a firm kick in the stomach that made pain roll over her consciousness and almost slip her into the unconscious. She threw herself out of his grip, down to the floor, and lifted her head to see a blurry shadow standing in the light at the end of the hallway.
Theodore! She thought in desperation and opened her mouth to scream, but another kick to her side silenced her.
Suddenly, everything seemed all too familiar. As she could see Theodore running towards her, hexing a younger student out of his way, it hit her with a cold wave of fear. This was her dream she had over a year ago... the dream where she died.
Oh my God... I'm going to die...
Almost as if everything was happening in slow motion, the man picked her up by her hair, tipping her head towards the ceiling. She caught a brief glimpse of his face in the light of a curse that flew over them. He was a Death Eater, someone who her family was friends with...
What is his name! Damn it, what is his name! Her mind tried so hard to remember, but the panic of her dream was still ringing in her mind, paralyzing all her senses.
"Tell me, girlie; what colour is the blood of a blood traitor? Is it as muddy as that of a mudblood?" he laughed evilly. Daphne tried to say something to him again, but she felt a sharp, cold blade now pressed against her throat, and she understood the question "Well, we're about to find out..."
Like she was in a dark tunnel, or 20 feet underwater, everything seemed to echo in her head. She could hear someone yelling, and she strained her eyes to see who it was. It was Theodore, still running to save her. But just as she had dreamt, he wasn't going to make it in time.
This is it. Goodbye Draco. She mind mourned as she closed her eyes, trying to save her from the last brutal image she would ever see. And at that moment, she felt the blade press harder into her skin, sending a momentary sharp pain to her helpless sense.
The next thing she felt was the cold stone floor. But she wasn't dead... she wasn't even bleeding! As she slowly came to attention, her hand flew up to her throat and felt no gaping wound or warm fluids pouring out of her.
Oh, my God, I'm alive! She thought in disbelief. There was a loud crack behind her, then a loud swear that made her spin on the spot where she lay. She saw Theodore, standing over the man, giving him 2 swift kicks to the chest in anger.
"You fool! Trying looking before you slit someone's throat!" he shouted at him.
"Jesus Christ is that you Nott!?" the man groaned in pain, grabbing his face, which was pouring blood out of what was most likely his nose.
"Yes, here to deliver you a wake-up call." he said, taking two steps back and grabbing Daphne's sweater and pointing to it with the light at the end of his wand "She's in Slytherin, you dumbass! Don't you even look before you start killing people?!" he said, poking her house crescent on her shirt to make his point.
"What!? She looks like that blood traitor girl... what's her name again... God, I can hardly think! I think you broke my nose, Nott!"
"You deserve it." He said flatly, releasing Daphne's shirt and walking back towards the man. "And what blood traitor are you disillusioned into believing looks like a Greengrass?"
"That Weasley girl... what's her name..." he mumbled to himself. Daphne felt a single emotion of insult break through the wall of paralyzing confusion.
GINNY!? He thinks I'm Ginny Weasley!
"I look NOTHING like the Weasley girl!" Daphne shouted at the man, swinging her feet around and kicking him in the ankle.
"I was told look for a red hair girl about your size!" he shouted in pain. "What can I say!? It's dark!"
"Dolohov, you're an idiot." Theodore sighed. "Now get out of here; the Dark Lord wants us to kill the enemies, not our own allies!"
The man stood off the floor and cracked his nose back into place, letting out a single loud swear as he did. Then, giving Theodore one last glare of malcontent, he rushed past him, visibly limping on the ankle that Daphne kicked.
As she watched her potential murderer walk away, she felt the shock and relief all kick in at once, and suddenly began to shake.
"Daphne, are you alright!?" Theodore breathed, rushing forward, taking her arms in his hands and turning her towards him. He looked at her neck and gave her a small smile "Just a small scratch." He reassured her. She sighed in deep relief and threw her arms around him.
"Oh God, Theodore! I thought you weren't going to make it!" she said shakily, trying very hard not to break down into tears for the fear she just had.
"I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life..." He said, sighing a little. Daphne could feel his lungs expanding and contracting very quickly against her, and she understood that he must have been waiting for her in the stairwell, and when he heard her scream, instantly knew something was wrong.
"Thank you so much, Theodore..." she whispered quietly, repeating it in a loop several times as if it was the only thing that she knew how to say.
"It's alright Daphne." He soothed, rubbing her back gently "You've got to be more careful..." he practically sighed. Daphne lifted her head from his shoulder slowly, smiling in admiration. But he was staring at her with a much different emotion, and for a brief moment, she felt her heart skip a beat.
He saved your life; you owe him at least this. Her mind told her. So, with this reasoning, she tilted her head up and kissed him.
Their lips had barely touched, however, when they were interrupted by the loud, booming voice of Lord Voldemort. At the sound of his voice, which rang like nails on a chalkboard in Daphne's head, they parted and stared off into the distance as they listened.
"...If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one." His voice echoed in the dark halls. All around them, the battle appeared to have stopped. The entire castle waited with baited breath to see what would happen next, what the Dark Lord would do or say next could change everything now.
At the end of the hallway, Blaise and Tracey appeared. Tracey was visibly injured, and Blaise was holding her up.
"C'mon, let's get out of here!" Blaise shouted down to them.
"I command my forces to retreat immediately!" Voldemort's voice commanded. Theodore stood and helped Daphne up. While Voldemort still carried on with his speech, Theodore and Daphne ran forward to rejoin their friends.
"What happened?!" Daphne demanded as she came close enough to see that Tracey's leg looked like something had attempted to devour it.
"Someone released a Redcap in the school... bloody thing tried to eat my leg before I managed to stab it with my wand." Tracey winced in pain as she tried to put weight on her leg.
"Can we apparate yet?" Blaise asked, turning to Daphne. She closed her eyes and tried, but didn't move.
"No, the shield's still up."
"Can you take it down?" Blaise asked anxiously.
"Do I look like Dumbledore!?" Daphne snapped back sharply.
"It's fine, we'll just carry her," Theodore said, stepping between them and helping Tracey support herself on her other side. "C'mon, let's just get out to the Forest... our families are no doubt waiting for us."
The atmosphere of the forest where Voldermort supporters were operating out of was very edgy. By the time they got there, helping Tracey the whole way, the hour was practically up. Everyone had turned their heads anxiously when they heard the noise they were making, and let out deep breaths of annoyance when it wasn't Potter, as they expected."Daphne, over here." Her father called unenthusiastically from the right side of the clearing. She gave her friends a brief look, but they nodded and headed in the same direction as their families (Tracey following Theodore). She walked slowly, carefully adjusting her hair so that it covered the mark that Dolohov's knife had made.
"You're fighting?!" Astoria asked in disbelief.
"As I was told by Draco, my skills are useful in battle... whether any of you choose to acknowledge it or not, I could care less," Daphne remarked as she sat down on a log a few feet away from them.
"And did you kill anyone?" her mother asked in a strange tone like she wasn't sure if she would be proud or horrified by the answer.
Daphne chuckled and shook her head "No, no one." She answered with a small smirk. "Why, should I have? Theodore thought that our duty would be best carried out forcing people down into the battle."
"Do you always listen to Nott?" Lennox remarked with a subtly sharp tone. "And the only reason we ask is being we want to be able to claim the bodies. It is a great honour to have killed in battle in order to further the right cause."
"As is, I suppose, dying." She remarked smartly.
Lennox had opened his mouth to scold her for having such a sharp tongue, but Voldermort interrupted them. He remarked that he had expected Harry to come, and that apparently he was mistaken about him... but then, Harry Potter appeared. All the supporters, including Daphne, stood from their relaxation and moved forward to see the confrontation. She was way at the back of the circle of supporters, and she could barely see what was going on, but when she saw the flash of green, Daphne understood that Potter was dead.
There was silence for a few minutes, then Voldermort hissed something at someone to go check on him. Daphne pushed forward to see Potter's body, just in time to see Narcissa checking the body.
Where is Draco? She thought suddenly, her heart taken by surprise with the panic. Oh my God, he's not here! Oh God, he can't be- She cut herself off as she looked around the crowd frantically for him.
"He is dead," Narcissa called out. Then, all at once, the supporters of the Dark Lord burst out it cheers, shooting up sparks into the sky like fireworks.
"About bloody time... can we go home yet?" Medea remarked sourly under her breath. Lennox gripped her arm hard to shut her up and continued to cheer with the others.
Daphne ran over to Theodore, Blaise, and Tracey, who were all standing on the other side of the clearing."Have you seen Draco?!" she demanded Blaise, grabbing his shirt and pulling him away from the others.
"Ok, try not to strangle me, Daph!" Blaise growled, yanking himself out of her grip. "And no, I haven't seen Draco. He must be in the castle with Crabbe and Goyle; I don't see them either."
No no no! He must be here somewhere!? She thought frantically, looking around once again in desperation for that familiar head of white-blonde hair. This can't be happening!
"Daphne!" called Theodore from across the field. She hadn't even noticed that the crowds were moving, following the silhouette of Hagrid. "C'mon, we'll look for him in the castle." He called to her reassuringly. She slowly nodded her head and ran to catch up to him. Tracey was standing beside him, her leg now healed by one of the Death Eaters, and she looked as worried for Daphne as Daphne felt for Draco.
"He's fine Daphne." She whispered quietly, taking her hand and walking with her. "He's a Death Eater; that's got to say something about the amount of skill he has."
"He's also running around in a school filled with people that know he's a Death Eater." She said absently, her mind somewhere else completely. "He was just as big a target as Potter was..."Tracey looked at Theodore for some sort of reassurance, but he just stared back at her, unable to think of anything.
Up ahead, in the crowds of people, Daphne could see what looked like Neville Longbottom standing still as a hat burned on top of his head.
"Wow, finally Neville has done something useful! He-" Tracey's witty banter was cut off by the sudden commotion that erupted from all around them. From the direction of Hogsmeade, hundreds of people were running up the slope at them. The giants were fighting each other again on the other side of the clearing, and centaurs came running in right behind them, firing their arrows.
"Let's get inside!" Theodore called, narrowly ducking an arrow that flew past his head "Before these graceful things pummel us into the ground!" The all agreed and began to run, but Daphne didn't get far.
"Daphne, where's Astoria!?" her mother screamed at her. Daphne couldn't help but freeze and stop running towards the castle with her friends.
"I don't know mother! I saw her running towards the lake!" she called to her in the confusion, narrowly missing an arrow from a centaur.
"Find her! Find her and keep her safe!" her mother demanded with a high screech. Daphne opened her mouth and started to protest, but before she could even get a word out against her, a club of one of the giants fell between them, almost hitting her mother. "GO!" she screamed at her, then pulled out her wand and ran towards the crowd where her husband was fighting.
Helplessly, Daphne looked towards her friends, who were waiting a few meters away. She wanted so badly to follow them, but what little family ties were holding her back "Forget about it! She's got to be inside!" Tracey shouted. Daphne stared but wasn't convinced.
"She's right, Daphne! Astoria isn't stupid enough to stay out here! She'll have gone inside!" Blaise also shouted to her.
Go with them to safety or rescue my possibly endangered sister... She thought, standing in the middle of the battlefield thinking. If I save her, my family might start treating me like a human being... she debated. But if I don't save her and she's killed... my life will be hell!
She looked up at her friends once more, trying for a moment to convince herself that following them would be better... that she had to get inside and find Draco. But if her family punished her for not helping her sister (which they surely would), then she would never get to see Draco, or anyone, ever again... that was assuming he was still alive... The thought of never seeing Draco again was all it took, and she turned and ran in the direction she last saw her sister going. She could hear Tracey shouting at her, as was Theodore, but she ignored them.
Daphne didn't have to travel far to find the head of blonde ringlets, swaying back and forward as she and her friend had a two-on-two duel with Colin Creevey and Lavender Brown.
"ASTORIA!" Daphne shouted at her. Her blonde sister turned her head with a look of shock on her face, breaking her focus for a moment. A curse, fired by Lavender, narrowly missed her, and she turned back to the fight, sending Crucio at the girl, but missed. "Stop it! Mother wants you to go back to Hogsmeade!" Daphne shouted as she ran forward and grabbed her sister.
"Does it look like I want to go down there!?" she demanded, ripping her arm out of her grip and turning back to the fight.
"I don't care what you want! GET DOWN THERE NOW!" Daphne shouted in frustration, pulling out her own wand and stunning Lavender for a moment so she would stop shooting at them.
"NO!" her sister screamed, pushing Daphne away from her. "You just want me to go away so that you get all the glory from mother and father!" she accused her evil glare reflecting the fact that she was not ready to give up her title of family favourite to her.
"Are you joking!?" Daphne shouted, grabbing her sister and pushing her to the ground. "I'M DOWN HERE BECAUSE MOTHER TOLD ME TO COME AND GET YOU!"
"She's in Slytherin! Get her!" another girl shouted, whom she soon recognized as Padma Patil. She hexed Astoria's friend, leaving just Daphne to face all 4 of them... not to mention restrain her sister.
"Oh, this has turned to a fair fight..." she said quietly, grabbing her sister by the hair to prevent her from running away, and standing on her wand so she couldn't pick it up.
"Well, let your slutty sister go and she can fight with you," Pavarti remarked with a smirk, now standing beside her sister and best friend.
"I don't need my sister to take on a bunch of nitwits like you!" Daphne laughed, then sent a hex that blasted the three girls back 15 feet. Right as she lowered her wand to turn back to her sister, a stream of green light flew right past her nose, causing her to fall backward in shock. When she looked in the direction that it was headed, she saw Colin Creevey, looking anything but alive, roll his eyes back into his head and fell flat onto his face.
Astoria and Daphne froze, staring at the corpse of what was Colin. The girl whom they had been fighting all sat up and also saw that Colin was now dead. They immediately looked at Daphne, who stared right back at them, wide-eyed and confused like them. She started to profess her innocence, but lucky for her, another green jet flew over her head and hit the ground in front of Lavender. There was no way that someone could have that bad of aim, and it was no doubt an empty threat to scare them off. It worked, and the 3 girls that were in Daphne's year all got up and ran away scrambling, occasionally turning back and shouting things.
Now concerned herself as to who had killed the Creevey boy, Daphne whirled around and saw nothing but the forest behind them. But then, as soon as she started to imagine the thought of someone with a disillusionment charm hiding out in the trees, her eyes caught movement behind a tree.
"Show yourself!" She shouted, pointing her wand and the tree.
Out from behind the tree stepped the familiar silhouette of Theodore, twirling his wand absently around his fingers. He walked calmly towards then, but his face was serious and composed.
"I sure hope this little brat is capable of showing gratitude." He said, staring down at Astoria as he approached. "Colin Creevey had his wand pointed right at you two; lucky he wasn't expecting a shot from nowhere."
"Theodore!... Again!" Daphne sighed with relief "You certainly are my saviour tonight, aren't you?"
"Is he dead?!" Astoria breathed in panic, finally pulling her hair out of her sister's grip.
"Well duh, Astoria! Theodore just saved your ass!" Daphne remarked smartly. Her sister stared at the body of the dead boy, and she scrambled to her feet and looked at Theodore like he was Voldemort himself.
"And you killed him!" she whispered in fear.
"Yeah, I did." He replied shortly. "And if you don't get your underage ass down to Hogsmeade like your sister told you, I might kill you too."
Astoria let out a small scream and pushed her sister over onto the ground, releasing her wand from under her foot. She picked it up, looked back at Theodore once more with absolute fear in her eyes, and then ran away in the direction of Hogsmeade.
"If only my death threats worked like that..." Daphne muttered, pulling herself off the ground.
"Threats are only threats until you act on them..." Theodore said quietly, looking over at the body of Colin.
"Why did you do that?! Now they're going to target you!"
"No one knows that I did it, do they?" he remarked with a small smirk "Besides, that kid always annoyed me... carrying around his stupid camera and following around Potter like a bad stench."
Daphne shook her head and started to walk back towards the castle. "If you keep saving my life, I don't know how I'm going to repay you."
"How about you stop putting yourself in danger? That would suit me just fine." He teased, taking her hand gently "We have to hurry. I left Blaise and Tracey by the front door to chase after you; Lord knows that chaos Blaise has caused..."
Theodore and Daphne caught up with Tracey and Blaise just as they incapacitated a centaur, who from the looks of the bruises on Tracey's face, had been kicking and bucking like crazy.
"Fucking pony..." Tracey muttered, rubbing her cheekbone and wincing sharply.
"C'mon, let's get inside already," Blaise said, leading Tracey with one arm and nodding to Theodore with his head.
All four of them entered the Entrance Hall just in time to see legions of House-elves pouring out of the kitchens. One of them stabbed a knife right into Blaise's foot, which he kicked off and continued to limp along with them.
"I am NEVER having a house elf!" he shouted in rage as he beat a few more off with a curse Daphne didn't hear.
"Where should we go now?" Daphne shouted to Theodore, who couldn't hear her.
"GET DOWN!" Tracey shouted, pushing the boys across the hallway, narrowly saving them from a curse that flew just over their heads. Daphne looked down the hallway to see Pansy, trying to duel with Katie Bell.
YOU! Daphne thought angrily, her rage finally reaching the point where she could no longer contain it. They had yet to find Draco, and as far as she knew, he was dead! Her life would have been so much easier had it not been for Pansy Parkinson!
Well, then I'm going to make the rest of my life, no matter how short or long it is, just THAT much easier.
She turned sharply, facing away from Tracey and the others, who as far as Daphne knew were preoccupied fighting their own battles. She raised her wand, took aim, and shouted
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" in her direction, and watched the green jet miss her by mere centimetres.
"Daphne!?" Tracey breathed in pleasant surprise. "Are you having fun without me?" she smirked before she stood beside her best friend and fired the same curse at Pansy, also missing. "Apparently our aim isn't that great."
"WHO KEEPS SHOOTING AT ME!?" she screamed, having incapacitated Katie Bell at last. She turned around in a circle like a lion kept in a cage that was too small for it. When she saw Daphne and Tracey both standing down the hall from her, both holding their wands up and staring directly at her, her face went white with shock and surprise.
"God Pansy, you look awful," Tracey called devilishly to her, firing a hex at her. Pansy dodged it, but her face looked even more horrified now. She raised her wand to defend herself but was bumped out of the way and into a wall by a centaur, knocking her out cold. "Well... not nearly the same effect, but it shut her up." Tracey smiled.
There was a large bang like an explosion went off. Theodore called for Tracey and Daphne to follow, and they ran into the Great Hall, wands drawn. Someone shouted something, and then they saw it, standing in the centre of the hall, circling with the Dark Lord, was Harry Potter.
"What the hell!? I thought he was dead!" Tracey hissed to the others. They all just stared, completely dumbfounded by what was happening. They all watched and listened to the story that Harry Potter was painting, all about Snape, his love for Harry's mother, and how he possessed something called the Elder Wand.
"What the hell is he talking about!?" Blaise whispered quietly, watching Harry and Voldemort with the same anticipation as the rest of the hall. Then, as the sun rose, reflecting red light into the Great Hall as it tolled morning, Harry and Voldemort finally had their last duel. And after a loud bang that nearly knocked Daphne over, she looked back at the centre of the room and saw Voldermort's body hit the floor.
There was a loud, deafening cheer from all around them, and in the confusion, Theodore and Blaise grabbed the two girls and pulled them out of the hall.
"What are you doing!?" Tracey demanded, practically shouting over all the noise.
"We have to get out of here! Voldemort is dead, which means we all have cells in Azkaban waiting for us!" Theodore hissed across to her. "We have to get down to Hogsmeade and apparate out of here."
Daphne saw the logic in his statement and stopped trying to turn around to watch the activity. He had a very valid point; the last thing she wanted was to end up in Azkaban. Just as they were about to exit the Great Hall, possibly getting away unscathed, a sharp hand came down on Daphne's shoulder.
"Daphne, come with us." The familiar booming voice of her father commanded. Theodore froze and gave Lennox a very concerned but defiant look. "Get yourselves out of here, now!" he hissed at them. Theodore gave Daphne a look of helplessness; she knew the last thing he would want to do is fight her father. He nodded his head and continued on with Tracey and Blaise.
"Father, we should follow them. We have to get out of here before-"
"We won't need to," He growled down at her, dragging her over into a corner of the Great Hall. "We're switching sides."
"What, now!? It's a little late, father!" Daphne hissed angrily.
"Did you kill anyone, Daphne?" he demanded, shaking her a little.
"No!" she answered immediately.
"Did you cast any Unforgivable Curses?" he demanded again. Daphne froze as she thought about that. She did cast one, and it was directed towards Pansy. She nodded her head slowly. "Give me your wand." He demanded, ripping it out of her hand before she could even respond. With one of his strong hands, he snapped it in half and threw it into the crowd.
"Father, what-" Daphne started, her mouth open in shock as she stared at her snapped wand flying through the air, landing somewhere in the pile of Potter supporters.
"Before the end of the battle, when Narcissa told Lucius and I that Harry Potter was indeed alive, we switched sides," he whispered to her. "Now, had we been able to find you and your sister, we would have told you this sooner, so that is why I had to throw away your wand; they may check our wands if there is suspicion towards us. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"So... we're on their side? Once we understood that Harry Potter, who was righteous and clearly fighting for the right cause since he was not killed by Voldemort, we decided that it was a sign that we were fighting for the wrong side, and changed our allegiance." She said aloud, practicing her speech that she would no doubt have to repeat before a Wizengamot court.
"Very good Daphne." He said with a small smile "I believe I may have underestimated you."
Her father led her over to the table where she saw her mother and sister sitting, across from Lucius and Narcissa. And there, beside his mother, who was tending to his injuries, was Draco. As if she had always been with him, like he was the only love she would ever have, she ran forward, calling his name nearly in tears. Draco saw her coming and stood up from the bench, smiling weakly at her. She ran forward and practically leapt into his arms, planting a big, passionate kiss on his lips, which he returned after a moment of shock.
"Oh God Draco, I was so worried! Where were you!? What happened to you!? Oh, thank God you're ok!" Daphne cried hysterically, hugging him so close that he was having trouble breathing.
"I'll tell you later, Daphne," He chuckled quietly. "In the meantime, we have to convince everyone in this room that we are on their side... it will be hard, but I think we can do it." He whispered quietly as he took his seat beside his mother.
"You're right... we'll talk later." She sighed, staring back into the grey eyes she almost thought she would never see again, and then took a seat beside him on the bench. Under the table, he reached over to her and took her hand, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance.
Across the hall, at the door, Pansy Parkinson appeared, looking clearly dazed and confused. She took 10 steps forward, saw Voldemort's body, and back up towards the door in fear. She caught Draco's eye and saw that he was sitting with Daphne; her eyes widened even more, and she ran out of the Great Hall in a full-speed run."What's the matter with her?" Draco asked, looking at Daphne with curious eyes. She looked back at him and smirked very slightly.
"I haven't a clue." She replied lightly, giving his hand a small squeeze. The sun had now almost completely risen, and the light in the hall was making Draco's hair practically glow like a halo.
I would have killed her for you... she thought peacefully, I would have killed anyone for you... I love you so much, Draco Malfoy... and now I finally have the chance to prove it.