The Astronomy Tower < #wattys2016 >

Battle of Hogwarts

1:20 am May 27th 1997

Draco could hardly comprehend what he had just witnessed. Not Crabbe... Draco remembered the boy who he had grown up with, the boy who was practically his brother, up until the end. They had known each other since their crib days. How could he be wrong.

Draco walked through the chaos of the castle with no real destination, although he knew were his feet were leading him as he walked down flights of stairs, going deeper, and deeper into the castle. He walked through the doors that lead into the Slytherin Common Room. The only place where he had truly felt at home. He stopped in front of one of the black, leather couches.

What was he doing in here? Wasn't all of the action outside of this deserted room? He couldn't help it, he needed these few moments to recompose himself. So he sat. He thought back to his run in with Harry and Hermione in the Room of Requirement. Crabbe had tried to kill Hermione. She had been mere inches away from death himself. Anger coursed through him.

He thought about the disappointed look on her face when she had seen is wand pointed at Harry's heart. What was wrong with him?

Draco got up form his spot on the couch. He could no longer stand sitting in the empty shell of a past life.

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(Harry has just witnessed Snape's memories, and he has been sucked into the pensive.)

"Harry! Harry! Ron, He's gone!" Hermione yelled.

"He- he just... fell through!" Ron stuttered.

"What now?" Hermione shrieked. "Oh Harry."

"We'd better get back to the castle. Maybe he landed up there."

"Good idea."

They stumbled out of the Shrieking shack, and made their way up to the castle. Hermione was stopped by a tall, lanky death eater along the edge of the lake.

"Stupefy!" He yelled at her.

She easily deflected his curse. "Petrificus Totalus!"

The man deflected her curse just as easily. She looked to her right, and saw Ron battling another man.

"Avada Kedavra!" she heard. She spun around and ducked just in time for the second killing curse that was thrown at her that night, dodging death by mere inches. Now she was mad, she needed something that would hurt.

"Sectumsempra!" She recalled the curse harry had used on Draco. The man went flying backwards, blood spraying everywhere. His body still twitched on the ground, and he cried out in pain. Hermione immediately felt guilty.

She stared at his bloody figure. She had nearly killed him. He could've been good, like Draco, somewhat. Hermione finally snapped out of her daze when another pair of rought hands grabbed her shoulders.

She spun around so quickly she was dizzy, she raised her wand right in the face of the man who grabbed her. she good not see him, due to her spinning head.

"Woah!" cried Ron, hands up in surrender. Her vision slowly came back, and she saw his eyebrows raised so high that they almost met his hairline.

She relaxed. "Sorry Ron. I'm just a little jumpy."

"No worries." Ron assured her. "We'd better get moving again. We need to find Harry, and that dammed snake.

She nodded, Ron was right. Just then she felt a hand clamp on her upper arm, and stick a wand in her throat, she froze, so did Ron, unsure of which move to make. Why hadn't they seen him coming? Her captures hand was wet, she looked down and saw blood.