dragonfly || d.m. [✔]

the war,

The next morning, Madeline woke me up with a slight smirk. The grass felt soft and breathy, not at all coarse and rough as one might expect it to feel, which was when I realised that I was not lying on grass at all - sleep had made its way to me on Draco's chest. 

I jumped up, my head screaming. Draco's eyelashes fluttered and a natural smirk made its way to his face. Madeline immediately walked away, probably to give us the space we didn't need.

"You fell asleep on my chest," Draco stated, as if it was an achievement.

"Couldn't care less," I said, shrugging it off. Draco leaned back on his hands, the first button of his shirt popping off, "Bet you could."

My heart is running a race right now.

"Hello," I said, entering the tent.

Potter immediately responded, "Malfoy is up?"

"Yes," Madeline answered for me.

"Well then, you'd better get going ..."

Even Weasley looked shocked at this show of rudeness. Potter looked around and said, "What? We can't trust them! They're probably Death Eaters!"

"We're not," Draco said as he came up behind me. "Trust us."

"No! You're going to mess this up!"

"Isn't it messed up already though?" Hermione asked. Potter huffed, "Fine then, but don't come crying to me when they turn out to be traitors."

I didn't even want to stay there anymore, my pride didn't allow it. But that was how it went. Potter, Weasley and Hermione started packing up. Soon there was only grassy, green land where the tent once stood.

"We are going to Hogwarts," Potter announced when we got to the Apparition Point. Only that we couldn't quite apparate into Hogwarts so we had to apparate into Hogsmeade. A sudden fear came over me, what if I lose Draco or Madeline in this war? Well, it isn't going to happen, not while I'm there.

I made a quiet promise in the light of the setting sun in the snowy village of Hogsmeade: Everything beautiful seems so far away now, chaos wrecks this world of magic, but I will not let go of the two things I have in this world. Not yet, not ever.

And only then did I accept it, I love you, Draco Malfoy. I'm in love with you terribly and I am  consumed by everything you have given me. And I'm not letting you go.

But before I could say it to him, Dementors crowded around us. Potter and Weasley seemed too dizzy to make a Patronus, and everyone else had wisps of Patronuses. "Expecto Patronum! " I screamed, a dragon bounding out of my wand. The warmth radiated towards us, and the huge beast fended the Dementors off.

Draco's eyes widen, and he finds my already staring eyes. A dragon. A Draco. I was in this deep. He, however, smiled, a large, goofy grin and some of my fear dissipated. 

Someone ushered us into a hut. I looked around, nothing interesting, except a portrait of a very pretty girl - Ariana Dumbledore, my namesake. My aunt was obsessed with this girl's tragic death at the point of changing my name to 'Aria'. God, I finally get to see her. She was much prettier than me; plump lips, cascading curls, a general aura of spring around her. 

I know the old man who's place this is too: Aberforth Dumbledore. Ariana's older brother. Aberforth smiled at me - "Are you Aria Stunnings? I knew your aunt. Pity she died."

Straightforward, but I really appreciated this closure. "I know."

"She would have fought on the right side too - if there was one." Potter wrinkled his eyebrows. "But in war, there is no right or wrong side. Everyone is right and wrong. The "dark" side has their reasons too - but no one ever sees it, not quite. The "light" side is violent, kills the dark side. How is there ever a winner? Who decides the winner? The survivors. The dead never win, even after fighting loyally for their own side. Sure, morals come into play over here - but they aren't the only thing that comes into play."

Potter and Weasley were looking confused; Hermione and Madeline had tears in their eyes, and Hermione also looked like she'd like to take a few notes; Draco just wore a small smile on his face and me? I was simply looking at the portrait. If only there were more Aberforth Dumbledores in this world.

After a few minutes of silence, we were climbing into the portrait of Ariana, who was smiling and nodding her head softly. We arrived in a room full of Hogwart's students, the Room of Requirement, they called it. Draco seemed terrified of this room, he had grit his teeth and tears were glistening in his eyes. I touched his arm slightly, and he looked down at me, seemingly comforted. 

Students gathered in the Great Hall, frightened eyes finding each other in the hallways. If only. Voldemort's voice boomed across the hall, "Hand over Harry Potter and I will not touch this school or its students. Hand over Harry Potter and you shall be saved from misery." 

Pansy Parkinson screamed, "He's right there! Take him!" Hogwarts teachers dragged her away, but I only noticed Madeline's heartbroken face and how betrayed she looked. I touched her arm and said, "It'll be alright." She only nodded, a single tear falling to the floor, pearly and warm.

But no one will ever remember the millions of tears that flowed throughout and after the battle, a sacrifice of purity, only the sacrifices of bravery.

That night, under a million stars, the Battle of Hogwarts took place. People ran around, spells flew around, dangerously green. Students screamed and cried as they tried to fight for their families. First-years with absolutely no experience in magic tried to save people, sometimes resorting to hand-to-hand combat. Thousands died, and millions survived - scarred for life. I threw spells, trying to save the younger ones, trying to keep everything together.

But as the Sorting Hat said in the beginning, I wasn't enough.

If only.

People ran away, but they weren't cowardly - only wise. People fought, but they weren't brave - only wise. Wisdom bends all ways.

"Harry Potter is dead!" came Voldemort's voice admist the chaos. Eerie silence spread over the battlefield, spells stopped, breaths were lost. 

"No!" a chilling scream came from none other than Ginny Weasley. No words. She ran into the open before her mother pulled her shaking body back.

"Bow to me now," Voldemort said. "Any new followers? You shall be treated well."

"Draco ..." His mother called to him. "Come here, son." Draco took a step forward and I pulled him back immediately.

"Trust me," he said. 

"How can I?" I asked, a question of absolute helplessness.

He took my chin and made me face him, and looking right into my eyes said, "Because I love you." When I don't say anything, his eyes sadden, and he says, "You don't have to say it back."

And with a peck on my lips, he is gone. He tasted of dust and ashes with apples. Bring him back, bring him back, bring him back-

And Potter is leaping out of Hagrid's arms, and he is running towards Voldemort, absolutely defenceless. 

Then comes a shout, "POTTER!"

Draco Malfoy just threw Harry Potter's wand to its owner. Potter caught it. Before Voldemort could turn around and kill him, Draco is running, his eyes on mine. Running, running, running. 

But I see it, a green light shoots out of Voldemort's wand and right towards Draco's retreating back. 

I find myself in panther form, rushing towards him, and there is a sudden jolt as the light hits me. 

But I don't want to die, not anymore - I want to tell Draco that I love him, I want to hug Madeline once more, I want to see Draco smile once more, his hair shimmer, his goofy smile, his lips on mine.

Only as I go do I realise that I may not have been born just to die: maybe I had a purpose in life.

I can hear Draco whispering right as I fall into his arms, in human form, "My dragonfly."

I gently leant into his arms and whispered, "Your dragonfly, always."

His dragonfly, always.

— —

[A/N: there is something more for y'all. i hope you cry :")]