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chapter forty four | the final battle
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Stella Mason thought that losing her parents was the last straw. She had always said that she was 'used to loss' and that loss was no stranger, but an old friend. However, she wasn't used to losing someone like Harry Potter.
Harry Potter, unknowingly, changed her life. She used to be this quiet girl who always had her head in a book, pushing away the world and people around her. Then, she met Harry. He offered to be her friend, and she would never regret saying yes. She would never regret all the times she had fought alongside him. She would never regret kissing him—loving him. He was her first love, and always will be.
The Mason stayed to herself for the rest of the night. The three remaining friends had so much on their minds and knew they needed time alone to process it all. Though, Stella didn't know if she could ever process the past 24 hours alone. the sun starting to rise on the ruins of the castle. She helped the wounded and sung the young first years caught in the middle of the battle to sleep. It wasn't until she saw her fellow classmates move out to the court yard did she find Hermione and Ron and follow them. There, she saw Neville in front, the Sorting Hat in hand, with an army of Death Eaters walking to meet them. A familiar chill shot up her spine at the sight of Voldemort. She would always be hesitant to say his name, but from now on, he wasn't the Dark Lord or Voldemort, he was the one who murdered Harry Potter.
"Harry Potter... is dead!"
Stella Mason fell into Ron as he caught her from falling to her knees. She held onto the smallest bit of hope he would make it out alive—now she had proof of why that hope dwindled. Hermione and Ron held onto their best friend as they all looked on with tears—yet fight in their eyes.
"Harry Potter is dead," the Dark Lord repeated to the group in front of him, "from this day forth, you put your faith in me," he looked back at his followers, "Harry Potter is dead," his Death Eaters laughed as he gleefully chuckled before facing the other side of the war, "and now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us. Or die."
"Draco."
Everyone turned to the boy, who looked just as devastated as the rest of them as his father called for him on the other side.
Lucius swayed on his feet, "oh, Draco."
Seeing that he wasn't budging, Narcissa stepped forward, "Draco, come."
Stella watched from Ron's shoulder as Draco slowly moved to the other side, getting an unexpected hug from Voldemort. The next person to step forward, or rather limp forward, took everyone by surprise.
