The sound of a terrible cry pulled at my insides.

I desperately tried to sit up from where I had been half-buried beneath stone and wood. I couldn't think straight, realising only that the corridor we had been standing in had been subjected to a terrible attack, cold air telling me the side of the castle had been blown away and a hot stickiness on my cheek telling me I was bleeding copiously.

But at this point I felt no pain... just fear. Pure, and utter fear at what was causing the cry of terror.

I struggled to my feet, blinking as the dust around me settled in the semi-darkness. I could see no one, yet I could hear their anguish.

A hand slipped in mine, and I looked up to see Harry, his glasses cracked, but other than that, he appeared to be unbroken.

In silence we tripped and fell over the wreckage, stumbling towards the group of sobbing redheads who had appeared into view.

"No- no- no!" someone was shouting. "No! Fred! No!"

And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.

"The fuck this isn't happening," Harry muttered beside me. "Tell me this isn't happening, Hermione."

But I couldn't answer, for when I opened my mouth, no words came out. The fact that Fred was lying there and looking deader than a piece of driftwood was not fully comprehending in my brain.

I supposed I was in shock. Something I was soon to discover just how crazy my mind worked to protect me when dealing with such a scenario.

We continued to stumble forwards, keeping a respectful distance behind them as Percy and Ron sobbed and howled over their dead brother, clearly shock having no effect on them whatsoever.

I briefly wondered where Draco had got to in the blast, but felt it wasn't quite pertinent to ask at this time.

It was only when a giant spider started climbing in through the gaping hole of the castle did I clear my throat and gently suggest that maybe we scram on out of there.

"IT BROUGHT FRIENDS!" Harry wailed dramatically next to me as though this were simply a party that they were gatecrashing, looking for a good time.

It got the living Weasleys attention, though, and everyone bar Fred jumped to their feet in a bid to get rid of the hairy arachnids.

Jets of light lit the dilapidated corridor as hexes and curses flew over our heads. Ron grabbed my hand and led me back to where we'd been before the blast happened as Percy and Harry dragged Fred off somewhere.

Neither Draco nor Goyle were there, and I felt confusion hit me, wondering where they could possibly have gotten to. Draco had been standing right next to me when the air exploded and Goyle had been unconscious.

But I was distracted when Percy came bounding past me, his face contorted in rage as he held his wand aloft, his eyes fixed murderously on a tall black cloaked figure ahead of us chasing a couple of frightened students.

"ROOKWOOD!" He roared, and went on charging after him like a bull.

Ron attempted to go on after him, but I restrained him and pushed him behind a tapestry still hanging on the wall.

"We've got to kill the snake!" I reminded him, shaking the front of his robes when he tearfully sobbed that all he wanted to do was kill Death Eaters.

"Hermione's right," Harry panted as he joined us. "None of this is over whilst Nagini is still alive. And I know exactly where to find him."

"Where?" I asked, gasping in awe at Harry's brilliant mind.

"To the Shrieking Shack!"

Random, but why not?

Instead of destroying the snake, however, we sat and watched it kill Professor Snape. So, that was mission very much unaccomplished.

"Better get these blasted tears up to Dumbledore's office I suppose," Harry muttered tiredly, looking ultra pissed off at having yet another task added to his to do list.

"What about the snake?" I whispered, my voice trembling fearfully.

"Pah, I'll just get someone else to do it." Harry shrugged. "It's not like I've got enough on my fucking plate. Bloody Snape."

"You can say that again," Ron chuckled as our eyes all swivelled to our ex-Potions Master's ravaged neck.

Voldemort chose that moment to announce that he had gotten his army to retreat, and was going to hang out in the Forest for the next hour where he hoped Harry would join him.

"Come on," Harry sighed, looking dead in the eyes already, "let's go and see who else has died for me, then."

Ron and I exchanged a look as Harry morosely sloped out of the shack.

"Do you think he's alright?" I whispered in Ron's ear as we followed him up the tunnel which led back to the grounds.

"Dunno," Ron said, scratching his head. "Best we keep a close eye on him from now on."

Two seconds after stepping back into the castle, we lost him.

But we were too busy mourning the dead to notice, horrified at discovering the corpses of Lupin and Tonks.

"Oh, god," I choked, tears streaming down my face as I sank down by their side.

I was crying so much that I hadn't notice a hand go to my shoulder until a familiar voice spoke my name.

"Hermione-"

I looked up sharply to see Draco's anguished face as he knelt down behind me and gathered me in his arms, rocking me whilst I cried for poor orphan Teddy.

When my tears dried up, I wiped my face and looked back up at him. "You're here," I stated, my voice cracked and hoarse from crying. "Why?"

His eyebrows knitted. "I wasn't going to go anywhere without you."

"You were when you tried to turn Harry in."

He closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. "I'm sorry, I saw you and Weasley, and I really thought- I mean... the way it looked. I was angry... and scared. And I know it sounds pathetic, but I really just wanted to see my mother again."

"I love you!" I breathed, "not Ron- you. You've got my heart, Draco. You've always got it. Even when you erased my memories it was still yours."

"I know, I know that now," he said fiercely, cupping my face. "And that's why I'm still here. For you."

"You should want to be on this side even without my love, Draco," I said quietly, glancing sadly back down at the dead bodies of Tonks and Lupin. "You should want to be on this side because you know it's the right thing to do."

He dropped his hands and clung at my upper arms, his fingers digging ardently into my flesh. "I am committed to this side. I promise. You have to believe me."

"I'm so tired," I sobbed, and he pulled me against him, holding me tight as I cried.

I felt drained, emotional and bereft. And it hadn't even occurred to me that Harry had been gone and the hour was almost up until I noticed it was getting light again outside.

It had been almost twenty four hours since Draco and I had risen inside the tent pitched out the front of Shell Cottage, ready to break into Gringotts. And neither of us had had any sleep since.

"Where's Harry," I asked, wiping my face as I looked around the Great Hall.

Ron was over with his family, all of them still weeping over Fred's body. I let out a startled cry when I noticed the corpse next to them, lying there on his own with not a single person to cry over him.

Colin Creevey.

Draco held me tighter as I sobbed yet again, his shirt bunched between my fingers as I clasped onto him for dear life, pressing my face against his neck, the tiredness and emotion really getting to me.

He said nothing, just let me cry as he soothingly rubbed my back. And I was so grateful he was there, so relieved to have someone to hold onto at that exact moment in time.

"When this is over," he murmured in my ear once my sobs had subsided, "we're going to bring your parents home, and then you and me, if you'll still have me after I've behaved so damned foolishly, we're going to start our lives together."

I nodded without lifting my head, wanting to hold onto that dream, but with all the dead around us, it was difficult to believe it could ever happen. A life, a future, a happy future.

And then, just as I didn't think things could get any worse, the unthinkable happened.

"Harry Potter is dead!"

Holy Cricket.

*****

Draco held onto her a fraction tighter after they had risen to their feet, the occupants of the Great Hall gasping and wailing around them.

No, he thought. Stupid Potter had got himself killed!

Okay, so only hours before he was going to hand Potter in himself, but that was when he thought he had lost Hermione.

Draco's mind raced, wondering what to do. He couldn't go back to them, not without betraying Hermione. But if he went on the run with her, he risked never seeing his mother ever again.

He was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place, the thought of either option breaking his heart.

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes wide and frightened.

"What are we going to do?" she trembled. "There's no hope... not now he's- not now he's..."

She tailed off, her words choking her and rendering her incapable of speech. Draco didn't have the answer for her. He felt just as lost and frightened as the people around them. All he could think to do was follow them all outside, clasping Hermione's hand tightly in his, trying to stay strong for the brave Gryffindor who had all but lost her fight.

At least he still had his wand, he thought, clasping his shaking fingers around it. And even though he couldn't Apparate Hermione and himself to safety, he could still defend them.

He felt his chest tighten with fear upon seeing the sea of Death Eaters stood facing the castle. Voldemort stood tall and menacing in front of them as, next to him, Potter lay dead in the arms of the giant oaf.

"No-" Hermione gasped at the exact same time that a loud, ear-splitting scream pierced the air.

It was the Weasley girl. Draco couldn't help but feel a knot of horror, her reaction to seeing the person she loved dead making him pull Hermione that little bit closer to his side.

And he knew Hermione would be next if he didn't do something... anything to get them out of this situation.

"Draco!"

He froze at the sound of his father's voice.

"Draco! Come here!"

No. No, no, no.

His parents were there amongst the Death Eaters, calling him over. His mother looked so pained and he suddenly longed to go to her. But he could not do so without leaving Hermione.

Voldemort looked between them curiously, his cold, red eyes making Draco physically blanch.

"I understand, Draco," Voldemort spoke, "that you have been... shall we say- confused, lately."

Low murmurs and jeers rose from the sea of black cloaks. Draco could feel sweat prick at his palm as he clasped Hermione's hand tighter.

"I am a reasonable man, Draco," Voldemort continued, flashing him a cruel smile. "I know that young men like you are often driven by certain urges. So, with that in mind, I shall welcome you back into the fold without punishment if you willingly step forward now and admit your mistake."

He was frozen to the spot, terror at being addressed by Voldemort.

"Go," Hermione whispered in his ear. "He'll kill you if you don't."

"I'm not leaving you," he gritted through clenched teeth, trying not to move his lips. "I love you."

"And I love you, which is why I want you to go and save yourself."

"Come on, Draco," Voldemort said loudly, impatiently. "We haven't got all day, I've got Mudbloods to kill."

And that's when he saw it, a movement out of the corner of his eye - it was small and he may have even imagined it, but Draco knew that any amount of hope, no matter how small, was better than nothing.

So, when his mother called to him, he slowly slipped his hand out of Hermione's and whispered as quietly as he could, "Trust me".

Without looking back, he walked away. Blood roared in his ears and his heart was in his throat as he clutched his wand even tighter, barely registering the mutterings of 'coward' and 'traitor' as he pushed his way past the survivors, leaving them behind.

He tried but failed not to flinch as Voldemort embraced him, calling him a good boy. The Death Eaters all cheered, the survivors booed.

And then he was reunited with his mother, and as she pulled her arms around him, and hugged him fiercely, he was suddenly tempted to abandon his plan and just go home with her.

But no, he couldn't and wouldn't do that to Hermione. She wanted proof that he was really on her side, and she was about to get it.

With Voldemort distracted by Longbottom making sushi of his snake, Draco decided it was the time.

"I love you, Mother," he said, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

As he pulled back, a frightened startled look fluttered across her face as she realised what he was about to do. "Draco, no-"

But he'd already made up his mind. His wand still in his hand, he took a deep breath, and before he could talk himself out if it, he shouted, "POTTER!" at the top of his lungs, flinging his wand towards the not-so-dead-after-all Gryffindor, breaking into a run back towards the castle, back towards his girl.

*****