PRINCESS ➳ harry potter , draco malfoy (OLD VERSION)

111 || The Two Riddles

The dead lay on tables and cloths throughout the Great Hall. Ginny was sobbing into Katie's shoulder. Katie did not cry when Fred died: she just felt empty. She could not stop thinking that, despite fact that Katie wasn't really a Weasley, and despite the fact that a Slytherin, Fred had still treated her like a sister. The saddest part was that she never got the chance to know him as well as she would have liked.

George was kneeling by Fred's head; Mrs Weasley sobbed over her son's body as Mr Weasley stroked her hair. Ron stood nearby with Bill and Percy. They had their arms around each other.

As Katerina hugged Ginny, she stared despondently down at the two other bodies nearby. Remus Lupin and Tonks lay broken, side-by-side, their hands almost touching but not quite. Katie absent-mindedly reached up to touch the scar on her face — the scar that Remus had accidentally given her so many moons ago, the scar that she always thought was ugly but had grown used to it, and now she saw the scar as a gift. It would always be a reminder that Remus Lupin had lived, really lived, and made a difference in the world.

Ginny broke away from Katie to hug Hermione and Katie knelt down between Lupin and Tonks. She took their hands, which had grown cold in death, and intertwined them. Then she rubbed her eyes, for she was willing herself not to cry, stood up and walked over to Draco and Harry. The two boys were standing together, which certainly looked odd, but Katie was glad that they were finally making peace.

"You can't go into the Forest, Harry," Katie said firmly, for she knew that seeing all of the dead bodies made Harry feel guilty. "It's not your fault that they're dead. You can't give yourself over to him."

Ron and Hermione staggered over to join them. Both of them were pale with grief and clutching onto each other's arms.

"I'm going into the Forest." Katie announced and, at once, there was a roar of protest from her friends.

"No way!" Draco shouted. "You're not getting yourself killed!"

"He won't kill me," Katie reminded him. "Someone has to kill that snake and I'm the only one that can get close enough to do it."

"Katie—" Harry began, but she cut him off harshly.

"I'll be fine." she assured him, though she was really only trying to give convince herself.

"I'm going with you," Draco said flatly, and when Katie shook her head, he added, "Yes, I am! I'm not letting you go in there on your own, Rina!"

Katie grabbed his hands and forced him to look into her eyes. "There's a whole army of Death Eaters in there," she whispered. "They won't hurt me but I can't protect you."

"I don't care," Draco cupped her face, something that he had grown very accustomed to. "I'm going with you."

But Katie only took his hands and removed them from her face.

"They need you here," she told him softly. "You're a great Healer. I've seen you some of the Slytherins after they got injured in Quidditch games."

"I can't..." Draco's voice cracked. "I can't lose you, Rina."

She looked into his eyes, hoping that it would not be the last time she would ever do so.

"You won't." she promised.

Katerina wanted to kiss him, more than anything, but she knew that would only give her a reason not to join Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. So she hugged him instead and then asked him to help Madam Pomfrey tend to the wounded. She then turned to the others, took a deep, shaky breath, and finally allowed her tears to fall. Everything that she had bottled inside since she saw Fred lying lifeless on the castle floor came pouring out.