The Unthinkable

Traitors And Heroes

Harry

He had a bad feeling. Oh yes, he could feel that something big was going to happen, as he and the others ran closer to the Forbidden Forest and it wasn't exactly something good. It was ironical how life could twist things, want it or not. Dumbledore had kept many secrets from them, before his inevitable demise changed his mind about sharing them and now he too carried a secret he wasn't willing to share with Hermione, nor Ron, Ginny or any other person close to him, although he wasn't sure if Malfoy was aware or not about what could happen to him. About what his future had in store for him at the end.

So far, it seemed that Snape had not denied Draco of anything he had come to know, whatever from his own experiences or Dumbledore's, which only meant that Snape and Draco had come to have a closer relationship than the one he and Dumbledore had shared. He was having some troubles picturing Snape as a trustworthy ally, mostly because of the many years he believed he was an active supporter of Voldemort, but he was glad that he had been wrong about him and that he had helped Malfoy when he needed it the most.

It was a little weird rejoicing over a change of fate from a former enemy, but Draco Malfoy was now an important part of his group and probably something more (perhaps a close friend) as the relationship between him and Hermione began to deepen. When Draco first appeared in their tent, he never imagined that their lives would change so drastically and to the point where he would entrust Draco his life and Hermione's. Well, Hermione's life at least, since his life would probably be out of Malfoy's reach. Of that, he was almost certain now.

How could he be so certain of it? Well, there were some clues here and there written in Dumbledore's diary, but he found nothing explicit to confirm his theory. However, it was evident by two things. First, he had not forgotten what Draco had said the first time he'd entered their tent, since he'd been very clear about his intentions. 

'I came here Granger, to save you from a certain death at the hands of my aunt', those had been his words and he had certainly done everything he could to keep Hermione alive again and again. He was glad Draco was there to protect her, but it was hard not to notice that Draco never said anything about saving him as well. The Weasleys? Yes, they could be saved. Those at Hogwarts? Of course, their fate could be altered. His? That was impossible, no matter what kind of future they created, he was going to die anyway, because he could see it in the eyes of his parents.

Yes, he could see his parents, now that they were entering the Forbidden Forest and that was his second reason to believe he would not make it out alive. He had read it in Dumbledore's diary (when Hermione and Malfoy left him alone inside the tent, a little before they fought to rescue Luna), what he had put inside the golden snitch he inherited. Dumbledore had clearly written to him that the Stone of Resurrection resided within the snitch and although he had not explained more about the purpose of the stone, the implication was crystal clear.

"Harry, what do we do now? The Carrows and Ginny can be anywhere inside this forest." Neville asked Harry, bringing him back to reality, stopping his advance once inside the forest. Harry glanced at the ghostly figure of his parents and they pointed to a certain direction in the woods and he knew he would find Ginny there, but also Voldemort and a good number of real Death Eaters as well. The last thing he wanted was to expose others to a greater danger, so he needed to send as many of the DA members as possible, as far as he could from Voldemort. So far, he didn't think this event was about the so-called battle at Hogwarts, as they had fought only Slytherin students and repelled some Dementors on their way to the forest, not facing a full war with the Death Eaters and Voldemort.

There were many things that were missing on the current stage to even call it a war, but perhaps they had already altered the future enough to change everything that was supposed to happen before. That of course, could leave to an unknown future where another set of events could take place or maybe the battle was going to strike somewhere else or perhaps, never happen in the first place.