Cordelia Lyra Malfoy had always been different from the rest of her family. Her family were blood-supremacists who tried to teach their views to their children. Cordelia never believed with their views and would be punished for it.
She never felt a...
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Madam Pomfrey and Cordelia waited in the Great Hall alone. They knew the fighting had begun the second they heard loud noises that sounded like pieces of the building falling apart, followed by people running and yelling as the loud noises penetrated the loud double doors.
Cordelia carefully opened the Great Hall's double doors, slipping through them before closing them behind her. She ran into the entrance hall and hid behind a pillar, looking for anyone who would need any assistance. She didn't know where to keep her focus, as the Hall was loud and people were running around in all different directions. Spells were being thrown every which way, causing bright lights to cover her sight. She saw many people dueling and fighting, but they seemed to be holding their own.
She continued to move in hiding, running from one pillar to the next, when she heard a scream. She mentally prepared herself before running down a corridor toward the scream, where she saw Mulciber dueling a 7th year male Ravenclaw. The boy looked panicked, as he was losing the duel. Blood was seeping from his forehead as he backed onto a wall. Cordelia took her bag off of her shoulder and dropped it onto the floor. She threw a disarming charm at Mulciber. He turned his attention to her, allowing the boy to lean against the wall and slump to the floor in relief.
The man stepped towards her with an evil smile on his face, his eyes dark and full of determination. They stared at each other for a moment, their wands pointed at the other, as they waited for the other to strike first. He shot a silent curse at her, which she quickly blocked.
He shot another non-verbal spell soon after the first curse. His expression showed determination, causing her to step back and block it again. She shot a non-verbal hex at him, which he blocked. For the first time since their first encounter two years ago, neither of them spoke a word, keeping their focus on the fight.
Unlike their previous duel, there was no dancing around each other. Cordelia stood with her feet planted, only moving to dodge curses coming her way. Mulciber didn't make many movements, himself, as he remained rigid in his actions.
The two enemies continued to send curses and hexes back and forth for a while and Cordelia seemed to be doing well. She was able to block or dodge what was coming her way, and she was able to send spells and hexes right back at him. But Cordelia was not a fighter; her strengths were in solving problems with peaceful resolutions and in healing. She was no match for an older, more experienced duelist. This duel felt like hours to Cordelia, though it was only minutes. She was growing tired and her spell work was becoming sloppy.
The young adult could feel herself backing up as she deflected spell after spell until he had her backed into a corner. Cordelia continued to fight with her back against the cold stone wall, refusing to let the man win. But after a while of this, she heard another scream coming from down the corridor, causing her to lose her focus. She turned her head in the direction of the scream for a split second before returning her focus to the man in front of her. But this was enough time for Mulciber to get the upper hand.
"AVADA KED-" was all Cordelia had heard the man shout before she squeezed her eyes shut. She prepared for death to take her away as she slumped to the floor.
Cordelia didn't fear death. Her only regret with dying at the moment was leaving Fred to mourn her. She didn't know what people saw or heard when they died. She never put much thought into it, as she always tried to live in the moment. Maybe there would be a tunnel with a bright light at the end. Maybe she would wake up in a vast emptiness. Maybe Cedric would be waiting to greet her. Maybe there would be nothing at all.
She; however, didn't see any of those things. She instead heard a loud "THUMP" in front of her as something big hit the ground.
When Cordelia opened her eyes and looked toward the sound in confusion, she saw Mulciber's unconscious body laying on the ground. Standing next to Mulciber was Draco, who was towering over the man with his wand pointed downward, looking down with intense hatred and disdain etched on his face.
Draco heard Cordelia sigh loudly in relief and looked in her direction. The two siblings stared back at each other for a moment. Cordelia's eyes were wide and her mouth was open in shock. She couldn't find the right words to say to the blonde boy who just saved her life. Draco's eyes were dark, his jaw clenched, and his expression stern. He wore a black suit that now looked brown due to all of the dirt and dust.
Draco broke eye contact first, glancing down at the unconscious body in front of him. He tapped the man's shoulder with his foot.
"He's not dead... Just unconscious," he said, his angry gaze fixed on the man. "He doesn't deserve death... He deserves to rot in Azkaban for the rest of his life."
Cordelia didn't respond. Her eyes were still locked on her brother. Her mind was busy ias it fought to process what had just happened. She was brought out of her shocked state when Draco's hands grabbed onto hers. She accepted her brother's hands and allowed him to help her onto her feet. Her eyes remained glued on Draco, fearing it was just a dream and that he would vanish. When he let go of her hands, she felt the undeniable feeling of emptiness at the lack of contact.
"Y-You s-saved my life," she breathed out as she dusted off her front. "Thank you, Draco."
Draco didn't say anything to his sister. He simply nodded and walked away at a determined pace.
"Draco!" she called out, her voice reaching deaf ears, though he must have heard her. He didn't stop or look back at her as he continued to walk away with purpose.
Cordelia shook her head before returning her attention to the Ravenclaw. He was still there, sitting on the floor, his back leaning against a wall with his hand covering his wound. She picked up her discarded bag and rested the strap on her shoulder before turning back to the student. She helped him up and allowed the taller boy to lean on her small frame as they walked into the Great Hall.
Once they were safe, Cordelia helped the boy sit down on the ground before she pulled out some Essence of Dittany from her bag and began to rub it on his wound. Once the bleeding had stopped and the remaining blood was cleaned up with a spell, she looked around to see a few others who were injured. Madam Pomfrey was scurrying between them. She helped heal the injured as well before she threw the strap from her bag over her shoulder and left the Great Hall in search of more people who would be in need of some aid.
This time, she was running through the corridors instead of hiding. She threw spells at Death Eaters who were fighting students and Order members. She occasionally saw someone slumped against a wall or pillar, stopping to use a healing spell or give them a potion, before continuing on her journey.
Her breath hitched in fear when she heard an all too familiar voice yell from the seventh floor corridor. Her mind went blank as her feet instinctively ran up the stairs.
