Numb wasn't even the right word to describe how I felt as I made the long and lonely walk back to the dormitory.

A few paces ahead of me lumbered Goyle, his dragging arms swinging ungainly by his sides, giant hands brushing against robust thighs in an almost hypnotic fashion. Backwards, forwards. Backwards, forwards.

One of my sisters' would be dead. I tried not to think about the fates of the others... Luna... Nico... Draco.

"Alia!"

I froze at the all too familiar voice calling from behind me, but I did not dare look back.

"Alia, hold up!"

No. No, no, no.

I walked faster, ignoring the horrifying race of my heart. Because if I did not see him, then this would not be real, and Luna would still be alive.

"Alia!"

Go away, go away, GO AWAY!

I ran so fast that I nearly collided into Goyle's back.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder and, instinctively, I whirled around and connected my fist right into Harry's startled face. Clutching his nose, he staggered backwards, groaning.

"YOU BASTARD!" I screamed. "YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING BASTARD!"

Balling my hands, I lunged, and began to pound his chest, hitting him as hard as I could. I knew I was acting like a crazy person, but in that moment, I could not care less. Not when Harry Potter was alive and dear, sweet, innocent Luna Lovegood was dead.

"Quit making such a big deal out of it!" Harry bellowed as he caught hold of my wrists, gripping them tight in his fingers. "Like you yourself did not just con some crazy old man into giving up his marbles so that you could live?!"

"It wasn't like that!" I sobbed, sagging weakly against him. "I didn't want this. I didn't want any of this."

Harry let go of my wrists to stiffly pat my back. I found myself clinging my hands to the back of his tracksuit, too scared to ask him if he knew which one - if any - of my sisters came back.

"Luna wanted it this way," Harry's voice spoke quietly above my head. "If that helps? She died willingly, knowing I had so much more to give to this life than she ever could."

I froze, his words making me feel sick. Slowly lifting my head, I glared up at him, my voice shaking in anger. "How dare you suggest you are worth more than Luna. You should have died for her! That's what heroes do!"

Sighing heavily, Harry let his arms drop from around me, his green eyes dull and listless as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Look, Alia, we could stand here and argue about who deserved to die and who deserved to live, but the reality is, what's done is done. You think you've got it tough: losing a friend and a sister both of whom you haven't even been in touch with for years before now? Just put yourself in poor Ron's shoes, whose partner was his soulmate. Nah. You and me, we got it easy."

"But... weren't you three really close growing up?" I asked, staring bewilderedly up at him. "Surely it must be a horrific loss for you, too-?"

And, just as I said this, Ronald Weasley himself came hobbling into view along the corridor from the direction of the game hall, his entire posture stooped over, as though he wore the weight of the world upon his shoulders.

Harry turned his head to follow my gaze, his eyes widening before leaving my side to hurry towards his friend, his arms outstretched in a rather dramatic fashion. "Mate. Oh, mate, come here and give me some sugar."

Although, the only remaining Weasley boy seemed not to really notice as his best friend hugged him hard, his face an expression of someone who had lost everything.

Turning my back on the heartbreaking display, I continued up along the corridor, Goyle already having vanished up ahead into the waiting dormitory.

I was almost too scared to follow.

*****

"Padma!"

As my voice echoed in the now horrendously sparse dormitory, my sister slowly turned to face me. I tried not to think about the consequence of her being alive.

Her expression was oddly blank, I noted. She did not seem to show any of the relief I felt at seeing the other alive. Shock, I surmised, as I sprinted towards her and flung my arms around her neck, weeping into her hair.

Much like Harry did, she stiffly patted my back. And then, to add insult to injury, she immediately proceeded to prise me off her.

"You made it." She unnecessarily pointed out, her voice cold and devoid of emotion.

Fuck, I needed a proper hug so bad.

"Parvati?" I whispered, tears already blurring my vision, and, even though it was obvious, I still needed her to confirm it for it to be real to me.

"It was a mutual decision," Padma spoke, her eyes not quite meeting mine. "We agreed it was best this way."

A loud cough sounded behind her. I looked up towards the source of the noise, and I felt the heaviness in my heart lift ever so slightly as Draco stood a few feet away from us, very much alive.

However, my relief was short lived upon discovering his scowl, his piercing eyes almost venomous as they glared icily into the back of my sister's head.

Yet, his expression immediately softened the second I caught his eye, and I had the strongest desire to go to him, to feel his arms around mine and be comforted in the way that I so sorely craved.

But before I could move, a loud cackling laugh filled the room, drawing everyone's attention. It was Lavender Brown. The one no one wanted to partner up with.

She was lazing on one of the remaining seventeen beds, a small shocked crowd beginning to gather around her.

"Did you miss me, babe?" She sang in a mocking, high pitched voice at Cormac McLaggen, who was staring at her with a somewhat horrified expression. "So, poor Ben Copper... another person's back which became victim of your fucking knife."

"You're- you're alive?!" Cormac spluttered, taking a terrified step backwards.

"No! I'm a fucking ghost, Cormy. Of course I'm a-fucking-live. Turns out, being the weakest link worked in my favour. I've had a lovely peaceful half hour whilst you stupid idiots all fought each other for your lives. Just a shame it wasn't longer, I was having the most delicious dream about someone who doesn't have a tiny prick."

Everyone turned to stare at Cormac whose face went a brilliant shade of pink. "You little bitch!"

Lavender threw her head back and laughed as though she was living her best life.

Well. At least someone was.

I went to turn to Padma to ask her what she made of that little drama, only to find she'd already walked away. I looked around, wondering where she'd gone, when my eyes landed on one of the bunks where a lonely looking figure sat, hugging their knees in a despondent manner.

Nico.

"Hey," I murmured gently as I approached him and perched down tentatively on the edge of the mattress, "am I glad to see you back here in one piece."

He shrugged, not even lifting his head to look at me. "That makes one of us, then."

My heart gave a twist. "Nico, don't say that. Don't ever say that."

"Why not? Neville should be sitting here, not me. I've done nothing but fail miserably at life, and for what? I should have guessed he was going to throw the game, but instead I agreed to go first. I'm a fucking idiot!"

I felt momentarily stunned as I processed this information. The idea that Neville chose to die for someone he barely knew made him, in my eyes, a saint. "He- he let you live?"

Nico let out a loud snort, still looking down at his knees. "He reckoned I got more of a reason to get out of here. No pressure... huh?"

I went to reach out to place a hand on his arm, but he flinched away from me, as though he thought my touch would burn him.

"Nico-"

"Just leave me be, Alia," he snapped coldly, his green eyes now looking fiercely into mine. "I want to be alone."

Before I could respond, a shadow fell across the bed, and I looked up to see Draco standing over us, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as they roamed over Nico.

"Alia?" He asked firmly, pointedly refusing to look away from Nico. "Is everything alright here?"

"Of course it's not fucking alright, Malfoy!" Nico spat. "In case you hadn't noticed we've all got a death sentence hanging over our heads. Just because we survived the last game, doesn't mean we'll get out alive. It's very clear only one of us will, and it sure as hell isn't going to be anyone deserving. Not even your fucking father can save your cowardly backside this time. Because that is exactly what us remaining players are - cowards!"

Nico's words stung. But only because I knew they were true.

However, Draco, whose face was now a thunderous pink, wasn't taking it. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!" he demanded, shooting out a hand to grab the front of Nico's t-shirt, dragging him roughly across the bed towards him so that he could push his face menacingly into his. "You don't even fucking belong here!"

"Don't I, Malfoy?" Nico goaded as he glared defiantly back up at his ex-boyfriend, his chest rising and falling heavily. "Are you one hundred percent sure about that?"

There was a moment of silence as Draco looked at Nico in complete confusion. And then, slowly, his eyes began to widen as, at last, recognition hit him, a look of shock flitting across his face.

"Pansy?"

Nico's lips slowly twitched, a twisted sort of amusement flashing in his green eyes. "The name is Nico, now. Nicolas to you."

Draco quickly let go of him, taking a horrified step back, incomplete questions falling from his lips. "What have you-? How can you-? ...Why?"

"The problem with you, Drakie," Nico smirked, sitting up to straighten out his tracksuit, "is that you've always been so bloody narrow minded. Never seeing beyond your precious father's prejudiced views. Now tell me, will he be hearing about this one? Because if he does, please do make sure to send him my regards."

Draco's face went puce as his entire body seemed to vibrate.

"Nico," I said as tentatively as I could, "perhaps now is not the time-"

"Oh, just fuck off, Alia." Nico spat, his head snapping towards me, green eyes flashing venomously. "Stop trying to keep the peace. There is no peace. There never has been. And don't bother with the good girl act because let me tell you this for free: it never gets you fucking anywhere in life."

I sensed Draco about to break out in another rage, but I shot up a hand, silencing him.

"You can talk to me however you like, Nico," I said steadily, "but you will always have my friendship. Because I won't forget the boy who stayed with me that night in the church doorway. The boy who convinced me to come back here and face my fears. You and I, we had nothing to lose. Maybe that's not so true anymore, but we've got this far now and surely that's still worth fighting for?"

Nico glared at me, his look resolute. He would not back down. But so would not I. That was not what friendship was about.

And I'd already lost too much.

As we continued to stare one another out, Nico's body sagged slightly, his resolve clearly weakening.

"Very well," he muttered, nodding his head towards the pink guards who had just entered the dormitory laden with crates of food. "But if you want to prove your loyalty, kiddo, then you'll go and fetch me some dinner. I'm starving."

I raised my eyebrows, about to tell him to get off his own lazy arse, when, to both our surprise, Draco interrupted, his demeanour having completely changed.

"I'll get it," he muttered, having been stood in silence, watching baffled at our exchange. "You girls-" he paused, his eyes lingering on Nico, seeming to weigh up his mistake in his mind. "Sorry: you people, leave it to me."

We were too shocked to respond, our mouths falling open as the white-blond Slytherin turned on his heel and strode away, both of us staring at his arse.

"He may be a prejudiced blonde bimbo," Nico murmured, a small smirk twitching at his lips, "but you've got to give it to him, the guy still knows how to act fucking whipped."

And, despite all the horror that I'd just endured, the loss and all the heartache, I couldn't help but feel the tug of my own lips as we exchanged a wicked look.

"Come 'ere, kiddo," Nico sighed, draping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side.

I felt a warm glow radiate my body as we both wriggled down the mattress and snuggled against each other, arms curled and legs entwined. My head rested on his chest, I sighed contentedly as he soothingly wrung fingers through my hair.

It was the hug I had so desperately needed.

******