The Boy Who Lived
"Quit worrying, Tal! He'll be here!" Fred said, a little while later, when we were sitting in the Great Hall with the rest of the family. Thankfully, none of them had gotten killed. And I had hugged every single one of them for at least five minutes each. Even Percy, who had finally chosen a side.
"How do you know he's not lying somewhere in some random corridor, dead?" I said. I hadn't seen Draco in half an hour.
"Bloody hell, Talia, that was just plain depressing." George said, helping Fred trying to take my mind off of it. It wasn't working. I looked over at Ron and Hermione, who were sitting extremely close to each other, not saying anything, just sitting. They looked so good together, and I was still annoyed that it had taken them seven years to figure that out. I hated to interrupt them, but I had to ask them something.
"Hey, you guys, where'd Harry?" I asked. He hadn't come back with them.
"Well, he was heading up to the Headmaster's office, but we haven't seen him since." They had filled me in on everything about Snape. Hearing about his death gave me mixed emotions. I knew he had killed Dumbledore and all, but it was still sad. I had always had this feeling that there was more to him than we knew. And now, we would never know. When I heard the doors creak open, my thoughts were interrupted. I looked over to see Tonks and Lupin, with a very bloody, very hurt looking Draco Malfoy between them. They were both carrying him, and I ran over to them.
"Oh my God! Draco! What happened?" I said when I reached him, but Arthur Weasley talked before they could answer me.
"Get away from him, Talia. He's a Death Eater. You should've left him." He said that last part to Lupin, who was about to say something, but I got up and turned to Arthur. His wand was raised, as if waiting for Draco to jump up and attack everybody. I had no intensions of hurting Arthur, but I had to say something.
"Don't even think about laying a hand on him, Arthur. He's the only reason I'm still alive." I said, taking him by surprise. I turned back around and knelt in front of Draco, tipping his face up so I could see it. He was awake, but it looked like that was a challenge for him.
"Draco? Can you hear me?" I asked him, and he gave me a small smile.
"Loud and clear, love."
"Love?" Arthur said angrily, but Molly put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sush, Arthur. Look at them." She said, and he did just that. He looked down to see me and Draco, our faces inches away from each other, and my hands on either side of his face. There were tears rolling down both our faces, as we realized that we had almost lost each other. Lupin and Tonks lowered him down, so I was cradling his head in my lap. Lupin walked over to Arthur.
"Don't judge the boy too quickly, Arthur. He saved both the lives of me and my wife. He's the reason I'm here talking to you right now, and thanks to him our child will not have to grow up without parents." This surprised Arthur, and he looked back down to me. I turned my face to his, and when he looked into my eyes, he finally lowered his wand. He gave me a short nod, and a weight was lifted off my shoulders. He may not have been my real father, but he raised me as if I was his own child. Telling him about me and Draco had been one of my biggest fears, considering his history with the Malfoys.
Madame Pomfrey hurried over to us, checked out Draco, and gave him a little bit of a potion. His eyes instantly cleared, and he started to sit up.
"Just sit still, will you? You're not as good as new just yet." Madame Pomfrey nagged him, and I laughed. He smiled, and settled back down in my lap. She started to wipe the blood and dirt off his face, but I took the cloth from her to do it myself. She went away to tend to others, and the people around us dispersed to do other things, and we were alone.
"So, where did you go? I ditched my friends for you, dude." I said, but I wasn't really upset.
"I didn't try to leave. I was just so caught up in keeping the Death Eaters away from you, that I started to wander off a little… and then I found Lupin and Tonks having some trouble. So I helped them." He said.
"He was very brave." Tonks said from a few feet away, smiling at him.
"Thank you." Lupin said to him, and Draco looked a little sheepish. How cute.
"Tal was pretty brave, too!" George said from somewhere else, clearly eavesdropping.
"Yeah, tell them about that epic shit you did to Greyback!" Fred shouted, also eavesdropping. This made everyone else drop what they were doing and listen, and then it was my turn to be sheepish.
"Epic shit?" Draco asked, curious. I sighed.
"Yeah… I sort of… killed Fenrir Greyback." I said, and everyone started talking about how awesome it was. Draco looked half impressed, and half happy that the guy was finally gone.
"It was awesome! She didn't even have to use her wand! Her eyes were glowing green, and her hands had this green glow too, and she just sort of… pushed him back off the bridge! It was like she was a Jedi, using the Force!" Fred said, excited. No one but us knew that reference he made, and they all gave him confused looks. Well, except for Draco. He got it. "Come on. No one here has seen Star Wars?" He asked, and they still looked just as confused as before, if not more. "Whatever. You guys suck." He said, and George gave him a pat on the back.
"Those that matter got it, brother." I went back to cleaning up Draco. But after a few minutes, he stopped me, and grabbed my hand.
"Help me sit up." He said, so I did. When he was comfortably up, next to me, he leaned in and gave me what was possibly the most tender kiss we'd ever had. It wasn't all hot and heavy like it usually was, but it was just as good. These were the moments I loved him the most. He was sweet, and kind, and he loved me. When we broke the kiss, we rested our foreheads against each other for a second before we pulled away. I sensed someone watching us, and turned to see Hermione smiling at me. I was about to say something when I heard someone's footsteps outside the Great Hall. I gestured for Hermione and Ron to follow, and helped Draco up so he could come with.
"This is a switch from before, eh? You helping me get around." He said.
"Oh please. It's just for a few minutes, until you find your strength." I said, making fun of him. We made our way out into the entry way to find a very grim looking Harry, walking down the steps. We ran over to him, making him stop.
"Where have you been?" I asked.
"We thought you went to the forest." Ron said.
"I'm going there now." Harry said, and my jaw dropped. How could he?
"Are you mad? No!" Ron said, as Harry walked past us. We followed, intent on stopping him from making this huge mistake.
"You can't give yourself up to him!" I cried. Harry stopped.
"What is it, Harry? What is it you know?" Hermione said, but there was something about the way she said it. It was almost like she already knew. Harry turned around.
"There's a reason I can hear them… the Horcruxes. I think I've known for a while. And I think you have, too." He said to her, and she started to cry.
"I'll go with you." She said.
"No, kill the snake. Kill the snake, and then it's just him." He said. Hermione ran to him and threw her arms around him, and I wanted to do the same. I saw him look at Ron, and when I did the same, I saw tears running down Ron's cheeks. I ran over and hugged Harry too, and without a word he left. He didn't run, or hurry, he just calmly walked to his death. He wasn't afraid. I had always admired Harry, because he was so good at overcoming his fear and doing what he needed to do. But this time, he wasn't afraid. Just… resolved.
"Come on. Let's go back." This time it was Draco's turn to lead me into the Great Hall, and I went without a word. I didn't even check to see if the other two had followed. I sat there, and mourned my best friend. I looked around at the others in the room, some mourning their lost loved ones, some still getting cleaned and fixed up, and some who were completely oblivious to this feeling. And all of them, every single one of them, had no idea that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was now walking to his death so that they could live. I leaned my head on Draco's shoulder, and he put his arm around me. And we sat like that for a while, until I felt a rush of wind as Lupin ran past us. I got up to follow him, and Draco followed me. We followed him all the way to the doors, where we found Sirius Black, dragging himself along the floor.
"Sirius!" I exclaimed, as Lupin lifted him up and helped him over to where Madame Pomfrey was still helping people recover.
"Hey there, Talia."
"What the hell happened? I didn't even know you were here!"
"Are you kidding? You think I would actually miss a battle like this? And, I'm perfectly fine, just look a little curse to the knee. Nothing to worry about. I expect Poppy here can heal me up in no time." He said, giving a flirtatious smile to Madame Pomfrey, making her blush and come over to him.
"Some things never change, old friend." Lupin said, smiling. Sirius gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, and then turned back to me.
"By the way, Tal, I actually happened to see you take out Greyback. Your parents would be proud, that was some seriously epic shit right there."
"Yeah, it was!" Fred and George screamed together. Sirius laughed.
"About that…" I said.
"What?" Sirius said. I gestured to where my parents were standing, smiling at him. When he caught their eyes, he looked amazed, and they walked over to us. He turned his face to me.
"You were right, this whole time." He said.
"Yep." I said, smugly. When they reached us, they knelt down, and both hugged him at the same time.
"I can't believe it. I mean, it's obviously true, since you two are sitting here in front of me, but still. This is amazing." He said to them.
"Good to see you again." My dad said.
"We've missed you." My mum said. Sirius looked at them and smiled.
"I've missed you guys too. And, Melissa, you're looking as gorgeous as ever." He told her.
"Oh, shut up you big flirt." She said, but still blushed. He seemed to have that effect on people. As they caught up, I leaned back into Draco, and he stroked my hair. I fell back into my depressed state, wondering what had happened to Harry. My mind wandered to all sorts of terrible scenarios. When Sirius glanced over at me and saw how I was feeling, he stopped his conversation with my parents.
"What is it, Talia?" My mother asked, concerned for me.
"What's happened?" Sirius asked, more afraid of what I knew.
"It's Harry." I said. "He… he went into the forest to give himself up." I said, stumbling over the words. My eyes started to tear up again, and Draco wrapped his arms around me from behind. Sirius's eyes widened, and he turned his head away.
"Shit." He said under his breath, and I could tell he was just as heartbroken as I was. I looked out a window to see Neville limping around outside, and saw him pick up the Sorting Hat. And then, I saw his head pop up to look at something coming.
"Hey, everybody, I think Neville sees something outside." I said, getting up. Everyone started to make their ways outside.
"Do you need any help, Sirius?" I heard my dad ask.
"No, I think I've got this." He said, slowly making his way up. The entire way outside, Draco and I were hand in hand. When we got outside, we saw the army of Death Eaters making their way across the bridge, led by Voldemort. At the front, behind Voldemort, was Hagrid, carrying something in his arms.
"Who is it that Hagrid's carrying?" Ginny asked. "Neville, who is it?" Neville didn't answer her, and I knew why. It was too painful. Instead, we waited for Voldemort to speak.
"Harry Potter… is dead!" He shouted so everyone could hear.
"No! No!" Ginny screamed, and tried to run for him. Thankfully, Arthur got a hold on her before she could make that mistake.
"Silence! Stupid girl. Harry Potter is dead. From this day forth, you put your faith in me." I looked around at my friends' faces, and could tell they were all thinking the same thing I was. No chance in hell. "Harry Potter is dead!" This time, he shouted it to all his Death Eaters, and they laughed and cheered. "And now is the time to declare yourselves. Come forward and join us! Or die." He said to everyone, but no one moved.
"Draco." I heard Lucius Malfoy say. Draco's head dropped. "Draco." He said again, quieter this time. Draco turned his head to me.
"I'm not going." He said to me, and I put my hand on his cheek.
"You have to." I said.
"No. I'm staying here with you." He said stubbornly.
"No. Go with your parents, and get out of here." I said, sternly.
"But—" He started, but I cut him off with a single look. He knew I was right. He needed to be with his family, with his mother.
"Draco," Narcissa called to him, "Come." And with one more glance at me, he went to them. I watched him walk away from me with tears in my eyes, hoping that he would be alright. I wasn't angry, I just wanted him safe. I felt two people walk up on either side of me, and felt the Twins grab my hands.
"Ah. Well done, Draco. Well done." Voldemort said, and then for some strange reason gave him an incredibly awkward hug. Despite the horrible situation, I felt a sudden desire to laugh. But I resisted. As Draco stepped away from The Dark Lord and up to his parents, they made their way through the crowd and to the bridge. Good. They were getting out of here.
All of a sudden, Neville started to limp toward Voldemort, and my heart broke a little.
"Well, I must say I'd hoped for better." Voldemort said. There was no better than Neville Longbottom. The Death Eaters started to laugh at him, and I suddenly had the urge to kill them all right there. Those bastards. "And who might you be, young man?"
"Neville Longbottom." Neville said, and they started to laugh again. No doubt they were all aware of what Bellatrix had done to his parents.
"Well, Neville, I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ranks."
"I'd like to say something." Neville proclaimed, and I wondered what was going on in his mind. Voldemort did not like this, but he let him continue.
"Well, Neville, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear what you have to say." He said sarcastically. Who knew Voldemort knew what sarcasm was.
"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone—"
"Stand down, Neville." Seamus interrupted.
"People die every day! Friends, family. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us, in here. So's Fred... All of them. They didn't die in vain. But you will! Because you're wrong! Harry's heart did beat for us! For all of us! This is not over!" Neville shouted, and then many things happened at once. As Neville finished his speech, he pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat. Just as he did that, Harry's body fell out of Hagrid's arms. No, he jumped!
Harry was alive!
…
Draco POV
As I walked toward my mother and father at the other side of the courtyard, all I could think about was Talia. How could I just leave here there? There was no way I was helping these Death Eaters any longer. But, I went over to my parents anyway, hoping to get them out of here. Maybe I could trick them into leaving without me, and then I'd come back and fight with her… I didn't know. All I did know, was that this couldn't be the end. As I passed Voldemort, he grabbed me and pulled me into a cold, hard hug.
"Ah, well done, Draco. Well done." It may have ruined hugs for me for the rest of my life. Thoughts of Talia were replaced with thoughts of killing him once and for all, but I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough. When I reached my parents, I went straight for my mother, and we turned to walk away, leaving my father behind with the people he had chosen long ago.
"Thank you, Draco." My mother whispered to me, and I didn't answer. We were just stepping on to the bridge when there was a commotion in the crowd behind us. I turned around to see everyone scrambling around. When I glanced over at Hagrid, and saw that his arms were empty, I was confused, until I saw Harry Potter's very much alive figure running off. I couldn't believe it! I turned to my mother and grabbed her shoulders.
"I have to go back." I said.
"But… Draco," She said, wanting me to come with her still. But I couldn't.
"No, mother. I can't leave her there. Please, let me go." I said. I saw her eyes fill with tears as she nodded, and gave me a hug.
"Please, be careful." She said, and I nodded once before running back to Talia.
…
Talia POV
"Confringo!" Harry yelled, and a wave of fire shot out of his wand and straight at Nagini. The wave didn't harm the snake, but did knock a bunch of Death Eaters behind her off their feet. Harry dashed away from everyone, just as Voldemort sent a curse flying his way. Everyone immediately jumped back into action, and the Battle of Hogwarts continued. Ron, Hermione and I ran to meet up with Harry.
"I'll lure him into the castle. We have to kill the snake." Harry said to us, and we nodded.
"You'll need this!" Hermione said, and she threw him a basilisk fang. Just then, we saw Voldemort heading our way, and Neville ran up in front of us with the sword and tried to defend us. But Voldemort threw him back, and then disapparated with Nagini. When he was gone, I saw my white-haired boyfriend running toward me.
"Draco!" I shouted, and met up with him. "What are you doing here? I thought you left!"
"How many times do I have to remind you just how stuck with me you are?" He said, while throwing random jinxes at random Death Eaters. I smiled.
"At least once more, Miss Swan." I shouted, and he laughed. Together, we took out ten Death Eaters or so, and then we ran back inside to where the real fun was happening. I had lost my friends, but that didn't matter. They knew what they were doing. As I was moving around, I almost tripped over a horizontal Neville on the floor.
"Get off your ass, Neville!" I said, teasing him. He got up, grabbed the sword, and started fighting with us. "Neville, go find the snake! Help Ron and Hermione! We've got this!" I shouted, and heard some agreeing shouts from nearby friends. Neville nodded, and dashed away. Who would've thought that out of every student at Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom was the most bad ass there was? Just then, I noticed Bellatrix Lestrange in the corner, and went for her.
"Over here, you Crazy Bitch!" I shouted, and she searched for who had insulted her until her eyes rested on me. "I'll have this scar on my cheek for a long time, because of you!"
"How dare you talk to me like that?" She shouted, and started battling me. Draco was still near me, but dueling someone else. All of a sudden, I felt Ginny next to me, and we smiled at each other as we started ganging up on Bellatrix. I looked around, and all of the Weasleys were here with us. When Bellatrix sent a pretty nasty looking curse at Ginny, she blocked it. But then when Molly stepped in front of us, looking particularly pissed off, we backed off.
"Shit, your mum looks pissed." I said, and Ginny nodded.
"Bellatrix is so screwed." Fred said, and this time we all nodded. Even Arthur.
"Not my daughter, you bitch!" Molly said to her, and they went at each other. For a few seconds it looked like Bellatrix would win, but then Molly retaliated, stronger than ever. And then, out of nowhere, Molly sent a curse at Bellatrix that she failed to block, and she sort of just… dissolved into ashes. It was awesome. It was almost scary, the satisfaction it gave me. I looked over and saw Draco watching, and gave him a kind smile. I mean, she was still his aunt. But he didn't look upset. Instead, he looked almost as relieved as I felt, and he went back to kicking someone's ass. I loved him.
It went on for a while like that, us fighting. I didn't care. I just wanted to buy the others as much time as I could. As I disarmed a Death Eater, one I recognized from around the Manor, he picked up a knife and threw it at me. It missed, but not before giving me a pretty nasty scrape on my arm. I looked down at my blood, and felt something start to boil within me.
"Uh oh." I heard both the Twins say behind me.
"Talia?" Draco said, but I didn't listen. When I looked back up at the Death Eater, I saw the fear completely take over his face. He started to back up, but then I went all ninja on his ass. I knocked him on his back, and stood over him, eyes glowing green.
"That was mean." I said, and there was a faint buzz to my voice. I raised my hand directly to his face, but I didn't kill him. I was sick of all the dying. So, I just put him to sleep. And then I went berserk and did the same to at least twenty others. Pretty soon, the Great Hall was almost empty of death Eaters. There were just a few more being taken care of at the front. I walked over to Fred, George, and Draco. George and I fist-bumped, Fred and I chest-bumped, and when I got to Draco, his eyes were burning for me.
"That was hot." He said, giving me a very personal look.
"Bloody hell, guys," Fred said.
"Get a room!" George finished.
"Shut up, you prats." I said, not taking my eyes off Draco. And then we heard a bunch happening at the front of the room, so we all jogged over. Hermione and Ron had fallen over, and were cornered by the snake. I almost ran over to help them, but Neville beat me to it. With great big battle cry, he decapitated Nagini with one swing of the Sword of Gryffindor, turning her into smoke. It was so, so impressive. Everyone, and I mean everyone, even some nearby Death Eaters, were looking at him, just as impressed as I was.
"Neville, I gotta say… I never thought I'd be this attracted to you right now." I said, and he laughed. Everyone laughed, even Draco. But then we turned back to the courtyard, and saw both Harry and Voldemort, looking at each other. Voldemort had never looked so vulnerable. Everyone stopped to watch this final battle. They raised their wands at each other one last time, a jet of green light from Voldemort, and red from Harry. And this time, it wasn't even a challenge. Harry's red light immediately started to push back Voldemort's green one, until there wasn't any green left. And when The Elder Wand flew out of Voldemort's hand and into the air, Harry caught it. We all watched as Voldemort slowly faded away, until he was nothing but ashes floating up in the air.
Finally, Voldemort was gone.
…
"Okay, you guys, shut up and listen, because I'm only telling this story one last time. Got it?" I said later, as me and all my family and friends sat in a group in the great hall. People saw me and Draco kissing and holding hands, and immediately started attacking me with questions. I was sick and tired of it, so this was the last time. By the end of the story, everyone was up to speed with everything, and I was just left with my close friends and family. I was lounging up against Draco, my back to his stomach, while we played with each other's hands.
"Hey Talia, did I ever thank you for saving my life?" Fred asked me. I pretended to think hard about it.
"You know, I can't really remember. I guess you'll have to do it again." I said, smiling. For once, I was joking, and he was serious.
"Thank you." He said. I gave him a nod, and he smiled back, and then started roughing around with George. Just then, McLaggen walked by us.
"Looking good, Talia." He said, giving me a wink.
"Shut up, McLaggen." I said, but I smiled anyway. I was having a hard time believing that all the bad times were over. I mean, I definitely believed it, but it had such a surreal feel. Voldemort was gone. Bellatrix was dead. People in my family had beaten death, avoided death, and even come back from it. The remaining Death Eaters were being held until they could be escorted by Aurors to Azkaban. Everything was good.
"So, my Mum said that she'd leave my father if everything turned out the way we wanted today." Draco said to me, and I leaned my head against his shoulder.
"Are you okay with that?" I asked him. I felt him nod.
"I think so. Things were bad with him long before all this happened. And anyway, he'll be brought back to Azkaban, so we won't see him for a very long time." He said, and I could tell just how okay with this he was.
"Finally, we can live the way we want to. Not like before, when we were afraid of anyone finding out about us. Or like always, when we were afraid of the Dark Lord. Our lives are ours now." I said, closing my eyes and feeling amazingly good.
"Speaking of which…" He said, and pulled me up. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me out of the hall, where we were completely alone.
"What are you doing?" I asked. He smiled, and kept pulling me.
"You'll see." Was all he said as he led me outside. I looked back and saw my family start to follow.
"Where are you guys going?" Fred shouted.
"I'm being held hostage by Malfoy!" I shouted back. He laughed and started to follow, but both my parents grabbed his shoulders before he could move, keeping him back. Malfoy led me to the middle of the bridge, and then stopped. Off in the distance, I saw Harry and Ron and Hermione at the other end of the bridge, where they were talking. When Draco turned around, he was practically glowing.
"Talia—" He started, but I cut him off.
"Are you about to propose? Because, if so, then I like how it started. But I swear to God, if you get down on one knee and give me some crap about making you the happiest man alive, I will say no." I said, but he knew me. He knew that I wouldn't say no. And he saw the wetness in my eyes. He chuckled.
"Will you let me finish, please?" He asked. I nodded. He didn't down on one knee, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. It was beautiful. It was silver, with a blue sapphire right in the middle. It instantly reminded me of the necklace that he gave me, and my hand reached up to touch it. "When my mother saw the necklace I gave you, she gave me this. It's hers, but she wanted me to give it to you. When the time was right. And I've already talked to your parents… all of them. They're all okay with this. Hell, I even asked the Twins. And don't worry, I'm not going to get sappy on you. I'm going to keep it short and simple, just the way you like it. Will you marry me?" He finished, and I started to cry. It was perfect. Everything was perfect, he was perfect, the ring was perfect, all of it was just… right. I wiped my face with the back of my hand, smiling. He reached out and wiped away moisture that I had missed, also smiling. I opened my mouth to say yes, but then had another thought.
"Well, I suppose I'll have to check my schedule…" I said, and he smiled.
"Oh shut up." He said, and pulled me in for a long, wonderful kiss.
"Yes." I whispered against his lips, and kissed him once more. I was disappointed when my friends interrupted it.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked, when her and the boys came back from their walk. I looked at her with a big smile, about to tell her, when my other friends came from the other way. I turned again to see Ginny, Fred, George, Kayla, and Blaise.
"We saw you kissing, so we automatically assumed everything went alright." George said.
"Did you say yes?" Kayla asked, practically jumping up and down with excitement.
"Yes!" I shouted, and everyone swarmed around us. The girls pulled me away, while the boys started grilling Draco, probably all taking turns giving him the protective brother speech. But he wasn't fazed.
"This is going to be so awesome..." Ginny said.
"Of course we'll all be bride's maids, right?" Hermione asked.
"I can't wait to go shopping for what you'll wear on your wedding night…" Kayla said, wagging her eye brows at me. Typical Kay.
"You're going to look so beautiful in a white dress…" Hermione started, but I cut her off.
"Wait, wait, hold up a second. Why white?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips in a very stubborn fashion. I could sense that the boys were listening in. Hermione looked flabbergasted.
"Well… It's traditional…" She started, and I smiled at her.
"Oh, Hermione. Since when have I ever done anything in the traditional way?"
A.N. Check out my profile for the wedding outfits. I'm not going to write a wedding chapter, but you'll still be getting one last chapter to this story pretty soon.