Edited 4/24/23
Thanks to RabidCommentarian for beta work. And bam2305 for alpha-ing.
Here it is... The Battle of Hogwarts...
Friday, May 1 - Saturday, May 2, 1998
It was a nightmare really. Despite their attempts, things somehow ended up being worse. Sure they'd saved Fred, but Thorfinn had died. They'd managed to get out most of the younger students but Theo had been outed. This was not how she expected things to go. Her head was resting on his chest as they both cried.
"He's coming back," Theo whispered. "Draco is coming back, he'll live this time."
Draco
It was all eerily similar to the first time. Everything went almost exactly the same until they arrived in front of the Room of Requirement to find the Diadem. Draco stood with Theo outside the doors, Diadem in hand.
Potter ripped out his wand and held it out threateningly at them, "You traitor!" he shouted at Theo. "Hermione trusted you!" He looked to Hermione and Ron, expecting backup. "He's a liar!"
"Or maybe I'm the spy that Granger has been meeting up with, ever think of that, Potter?" Theo sneered back.
"I- What?" Potter said, looking between the other four.
"Why'd you think I was so upset?" The Weasel asked, shrugging "I hate the Ferret."
He just rolled his eyes, he did not have good memories of his time as a Mustelid. He'd broken almost ever rib and had a dislocated shoulder after he'd be Transfigured back. But he saw Hermione's jaw clench and felt Theo stiffen beside him, and felt slightly validated by their response. "Here you go, Potter," Draco said, handing him the diadem wrapped in a monogrammed handkerchief.
Potter was not handling the turn of events well, in a different context he might have found his shock humorous.
"I think it's your turn, Theo," Hermione said as she handed a fang to Theo, who gulped. He hovered over the diadem and when they saw the wisps wrapping around him, he reached out and put his hand on Theo's shoulder.
"Draco and I are here, Theo," Hermione said. He couldn't help the way he jerked to look at her. It was the first time she'd ever called him by name
"We've got you, brother," Draco rumbled, his hand on Theo's shoulder.
"It's lying," Hermione said. "Whatever it's telling you, it's not true. You can do this, Theo!"
He heaved in a breath and lifted the fang, finally shoving it into the diadem. Hermione wrapped her arms around him. "THEO! I'm so proud of you! You did it!"
"You promise that it was lying?" he whispered.
"I promise. What did it say?" she asked softly.
"That you two would leave me behind. That you'd strand me somewhere… in time," he finished in a whisper.
"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried," she said grinning and raising her eyebrow at Draco.
"I'm here, Theo. You know how the past few years have been. I'd come back from the grave for you. Of course I'm not leaving you," he said with a chuckle.
Potter and Weasley watched them uncomfortably. Hermione looked up at them and Draco swore that he felt her sadness at the distance spread between them.
They heard the distinct sounds of shouts and the telltale flashes of magic coming from down the corridor. The five of them began to run towards the sounds. Hermione grasped Draco's hand, pulling him to a stop.
"You can't be seen with us-" she said quickly.
"I bloody well know that, Granger but I'm not letting you two run around witho-"
"Sorry," she cringed. "Stupify." He slumped to the floor and she levitated him towards the wall. "I have on the necklace," she whispered. "We'll come back."
Hermione
She ran to catch up with the other three hoping beyond hope that no one would come upon him.
Fred and Percy had just backed into view, both of them dueling masked and hooded men.
(They) ran forward to help: Jets of light flew in every direction and the man dueling PErcy backed off, fast: Then his hood slipped and they saw a high forehead and streaked hair -
"Hello, Minister!" bellowed Percy, sending a neat jinx straight at Thicknesse, who dropped his wand and clawed at the front of his robes, apparently in awful discomfort. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"
"You're joking, Perce!" shouted Fred as the Death Eater he was battling collapsed under the wight of three separate Stunning Spells…. "You actually are joking, Perce… I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-"
The air exploded. THey had been grouped together… and in that fragment of a moment, when danger seemed temporarily at bay, the world was rent apart.
(TDH pg. 636)
Hermione didn't even look at Theo. They each had their roles. Theo slowed the speed of the falling wall and Hermione cushioned Fred's fall. Cold air rushed through the hallway, from the hole in the wall that had appeared. Hermione looked over to see Harry blinking awake, face covered in blood.
She sighed in relief as she heard Fred's laugh boom through the hall. He was alive, she'd fulfilled her promise to George.
Before she knew it they were standing over Severus Snape. He pushed the tears towards Harry and reached for his pocket.
"Antid-" he gasped, looking at Hermione. She jumped into action, pulling the vial out of his robes and pushing it down his throat.
She watched as the colour returned to his face as he slumped backwards. "You need to get to the pensieve, Harry," she said. "I think he should be fine, I'll have Theo check on him, he's always been the best at hearing spells."
"Expecto Patronum," she uttered and gasped when a large Catalonian Fireball Dragon exploded from her wand. "S-Severus needs you in the Shrieking Shack."
Hermione squeezed Severus' hand and then chased after Harry and Ron who were already loping towards the castle.
Theo
Theo stood over Severus who was slumped against the wall, but breathing deeply. He ran a diagnostic over him. He'd cracked a few ribs and had a very slow internal bleeding in his abdomen. He stopped the bleeding and carefully laid him down flat on his back. He pulled out a vial of Skele-Gro out and poured it down Sev's throat, massaging his neck to get the liquid down.
When he was sure that Severus was resting and recovering, called an Elf to bring him to Headquarters and turned to go back towards the Battle to find Draco or Mia.
What felt like moments later, Theo found himself standing amongst his classmates facing Tom and his Death Eaters. Before he could blink, a few things happened in quick succession. Potter rolled out of Hagrid's arms, Nev cut off Nagini's head, and Bellatrix cast a spell towards Hermione. In a blur, he launched himself towards her and pulled her into a roll along the stone. He grunted as he landed on his back, with Hermione sprawled on top of him at the bottom of a newly formed trench.
His head shot up as she heard Voldemort shouting, "Traitor!" followed by a green light that went straight into Narcissa's chest.
Theo felt his own heart shattering as the closest thing to a mother he had since his own had died fell in a heavy heap to the ground. He watched in horror as Lucius, like one of Hermione's Muggle rubber bands snapping, began to scream, slinging curses at everyone within reach, not taking into account whose side they were on. Finally, someone cast a simple cutting jinx across his throat, and Hermione and Theo watched him bleed out at the edge of the trench they'd landed in .
Draco, who he hadn't seen for at least an hour, was running through the crowd, looking around frantically. When he spotted them, he glared at Hermione before casting a curse at Dolohov who was creeping up behind them.
When he approached them, he dragged Hermione behind a broken wall, "You bloody insufferable witch," he shouted.
Theo stood in front of them, keeping watch, grimacing at Draco's tone. With a huff he decided that he'd done enough to help Draco along and if he wanted to dig his own grave he was welcome to.
"Malf-" Hermione started, before Theo heard a scuffle occur behind him.
"No. You listen here, Granger. You drive me fucking mental with your fucking Muggle jeans and your curls and that bloody brain. You don't stun your soulmate and leave him for dead. If you two would hav-"
"You weren't going to die, Draco!" she shouted. "And neither were we. We ran all the calculations! I needed you to be safe. I needed…"
"Just so you know," he hissed. "I want to kiss you so fucking badly right now, but I refuse to do that for the first time when I'm so angry with you. You. Are. Mine." Theo cringed at the whimper he heard from her. Why did he have to be here for this? He had enough problems without witnessing his siblings foreplay. "Mine to protect," Draco continued in a growl, "mine to kiss, do you hear me? I won't have you wasting our chance on foolishness!"
"As Mia said, we ran all the calculations, mate," Theo called, "now if you're quite finished we have a Dark Lord to defeat."
Draco shouldered past him. "If either of you are hurt I'll bring you back just to kill you again," he growled, before stalking off, throwing curses left and right.
He felt Hermione step up next to him and looked over towards him as she chewed on her bottom lip. "He's so confident," she murmured.
Theo rolled his eyes and dragged her to the Great Hall. Theo wasn't sure where to look. He saw Draco exchanging non-lethal curses with his cousin. She was taunting him in a way that from the outside looked mean, but he could see that the two of them were having fun.
He saw a flash of long blond hair, spinning to catch sight of Thorfinn. He began to step towards him, he let out a shout when he watched Dolohov, who must have been revived, throw an Avada at his back. Thorfinn fell down, his eyes connecting with Theo, and Theo could see his Finn, recognizing him through his Imperius. He collapsed onto his knees, feeling Hermione crouching over him, protecting him from flying curses.
Suddenly, a large shadow stepped in front of him. Theo looked up to see his own Father standing in front of him. "I always knew you were a spineless, little boy," he sneered.
Theo looked at his Father and felt Hermione grip his hand. "Ah, so you really are a little Blood Traitor, I always thought you were just a pouffe, but find out tha-" suddenly, he collapsed, and Theo looked up to see Tonks' wand pointed at him, his father silent and still on the floor.
"Well, Lord Nott," Hermione said in an attempt at lightness, "looks like we'll have to claim your Family Title and Magic again."
Theo groaned, but nodded, he didn't have time to think about that. He watched as Bellatrix came up, cackling next to Draco. "Allow me nephew, let's get rid of this atrocity once and for all." She began to rapidly fling curses at Tonks, who looked like she was holding her own, until she heard Remus shout, losing her focus. Theo watched in horror as Tonks fell down, silently hit with an Avada.
Remus, who had been fighting with someone that Theo didn't recognize, howled. The Death Eater in front of fell and Theo watched as Remus launched himself at Greyback who was hovering over Lavender Brown.
Remus looked around frantically, Theo, realising that he needed to go check on his classmate pulled Hermione over while Remus bounded over towards Tonks.
Theo crouched over Lavender Brown while Hermione guarded his back. He ran a diagnostic and saw the Lycanthropy seeping into her bloodstream. He hadn't heard of a werewolf being able to change someone outside of the Full Moon, but if anyone could figure it out, it would be the Dark Lord and Greyback.
Theo closed the wounds and stopped her bleeding, lifting her to put her in an alcove. He gave her a large vial of Skele-Gro followed by a small dose of Dreamless Sleep. He called another Elf. When she appeared, he directed her to take Lavender to Headquarters, with the rest of the injured.
Draco
Draco watched in horror as Bellatrix cut down his cousin and then spun to find another victim. He stood frozen for a few seconds before he took a step towards her. He was pushed aside by a sobbing Remus Lupin, who hovered over her body, howling.
He took a second to take in all that had happened. Within the span of a few hours, he was orphaned and his cousin was dead. His mother. The only real reason that he'd agreed to the charade of being a Death Eater was gone. He wanted to leave it all behind and it seemed as though things were going their way, finally. Maybe he'd really be free and get to take Granger wherever she wanted to go.
He looked around searching for the witch in question. He saw her and Theo tending to someone who looked like Lavender Brown. His attention was drawn to a shrieking Molly Weasley.
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"
Mrs. Weasley threw off her cloak as she ran, freeing her arms. Bellatrix spun on the spot, roaring with laughter at the sight of her new challenger.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" shouted Mrs. Weasley to the…girls, and with a swipe of her wand she began to duel. (Draco) watched with terror and elation as Molly Weasley's wand slashed and twirled, and Bellatrix's smile faltered and became a snarl. Jets of light flew from both wands, the floor around the witches feet became hot and cracked: both women were fighting to kill.
"No!" Mrs. Weasley cried as a few students ran forward, trying to come to her aid. "Get back! Get back! She is mine!"
Hundreds of people now lined the walls, watching the two fights, (Tom) and his three opponents (and) Bellatrix and Molly…
"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses danced around her. "When Mummy's gone…"
"You - will - never - touch - our - children - again!" screamed Mrs. Weasley….
Molly's curse soared beneath Bellatrix's outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest…
(Deathly Hallows pg. 736)
Draco gasped, as he saw his Aunt's spell hit Molly Weasley at the same moment. Both witches toppled over, eyes unseeing. This definitely hadn't happened last time, although he couldn't find it in himself to feel all that bad. Both women left a lot to be desired.
(Potter) pulled off the Invisibility Cloak at last.
The yell of shock, the cheers, the screams on every side of "Harry!" "HE'S ALIVE!" were stifled at once. The crowd was afraid, and silence fell abruptly and completely as (Tom) and (Potter) looked at each other, and began at the same moment to circle each other.
"I don't want anyone else to try to help," (Potter) said loudly, and in the total silence, his voice carried like a trumpet call. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."
(Tom) hissed.
"Potter doesn't mean that," he said, his red eyes wide. "That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"
"Nobody," said (Potter) simply. "There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good…"
"One of us?" jeered (Tom), and his whole body was taut and his red eyes stared, a snake that was about to strike. "You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"
"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" asked (Potter). They were still moving sideways, both of them, in that perfect circle, maintaining the same distance from each other… "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident that I didn't defend myself tonight and still surv-"
(TDH pg. 737-738))
"Avada Kedavra!" Tom sneered. Draco felt his stomach drop as Harry Potter fell to the ground, still. In the ensuing silence, Tom Riddle glided over to the prone form on the ground and kicked him harshly. "I've killed Harry Potter, once and for all!"
The silence in the Great Hall was deafening. Voldemort cackled madly, and grasped the limp form at his feet, "Kill our enemies, and take your prisoners, my servants," he hissed as he apparated away. The stillness continued for a moment before chaos broke out again.
Theo
"Retreat!" came the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. All around him, he heard the pops of Apparition. He looked to Hermione and quickly caught Draco's eye, who gave him a small nod.
Hermione gripped his hand and they apparated to Granger Cabin. After the allotted time, she sent a patronus message to Andromeda, who was their rallying point.
Moments later they got a message back from Kingsley's lynx. "Shelter in place, updated numbers and next steps will be forthcoming," it boomed.
He sank onto the couch, thinking about all that had happened around them. The numbers had looked drastically different from the last battle. They'd saved Fred and Lavender, but so many other people had died. He dropped his head against the back of the couch
Hermione fell next to him on the couch moments later. He could feel when the realisation that Potter's body was in Tom's clutches hit her. Sobs began to wrack her body and she curled into Theo's side. He held her sobbing form close to him and made soft noises, trying to bring her any peace he could.
They sat in silence for hours, waiting until they received a message back from the Order. His role as unofficial spy was done. He'd been outed to all the people that mattered. He saw Neville's bowtruckle Patronus ambled into the room, silently.
Theo tried not to jostle Hermione who had just fallen into a fitful sleep. As gently as he could, he extricated himself from her and threw a blanket over her form. He went to his room and cast his own Patronus. The undefined blue cloud floated before him. "Mia and I are safe. Are you at the View?"
He sent the Patronus away and waited for the response. The bowtruckle returned, "Gran and I are, yeah. Heard about your Father, Gran wants to start the ceremony as soon as we get the okay to move. No need for a response, we'll follow up as soon as we're able."
Theo sunk onto the edge of his bed. He didn't want to think about all the death he'd seen. Losing Narcissa was sure to affect Draco pretty dramatically. He didn't even want to consider how his brother was feeling at that moment.
Hermione
Hermione woke to the crack of Apparition in the front yard. She shot out off the couch, wand at the ready and ran to the door, prepared for battle. With a gasp she saw him. Draco was back, he was here. She sprinted out the door to the clearing outside the cabin and ran to him. She threw herself at him and pressed her lips to his, feeling her wand drop to the ground as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. He stiffened at first and then pulled her in closer to him, kissing her back.
She'd thought that kisses couldn't be magical, all previous experience made her believe that it was just lips, but this, this was awe-inspiring. She tried to deepen the kiss and pushed her fingers into the back of his hair when he winced and pushed her away. "Fuck, Granger, I-" his eyes rolled back and then he started to fall. Hermione pulled him towards her so that he would collapse on top of her instead of backwards onto the hard ground.
"THEO!" she shrieked, "I need you! Draco is hurt!"
so so so so so so sorry...
SURPRISED?
thanks as always to bam2305 for supporting my in all my writing avoidance and being such a good cheerleader!