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sua_layAuthor: Rimau Sua Lay
Rating: overall NC-17, Angst, Drama, Action/Adventure, First Time
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairings: Harry/Snape, Ron/Draco, (Sirius/Remus)
Date: December 2002 - May 2007
Disclaimers: Not mine, borrowed without permission, am not making any money. Please don't sue. Sherbet Lemon?
Summary for Book Five: - It's time to try to save the world. Fools and idiots may be the wizards' only hope. Revenge does indeed taste strange. Kinda furry.
Warning: This part contains deaths, gore, total stupidity, explicit sex between men, disturbing themes and angst.
The earlier parts of the fic can be found here.
"Harry."
"Harry Potter!"
Nodding to everyone who called out his name, Harry walked to the small group standing with their brooms ready. The gesture was instinctive and needed no extra thought.
This time the greetings and the attention weren't unfounded; they were really standing here as his army and he was going to lead them into battle. No matter how many people called out his name, he acknowledged them and then moved on.
Draco Malfoy grinned at him, his expression strangely feral. "Harry." There was the slightest incline of his head.
Harry responded in kind. "Draco." He stopped for a moment to clasp the offered hand, needing this brief moment of contact.
He spent a similar moment with everyone in his group of the 'wizarding air force', saying back names no matter how he was called. Most of the people called him Harry or Potter, but to the Gryffindors, he was 'captain'. The smiles accompanying the title were just as feral as Draco's had been.
The smile on Harry's lips was probably the same.
Stepping in front of George who was adjusting the gloves the same way both he and his twin had always fussed with them before a game, he nodded at him in greeting before saying quietly, "Be careful out there. No unnecessary heroics."
"Wouldn't dream of anything like that." The smirk on George's face was full of mischief. "No, sir!"
Harry shook his head, clasping his hand on George's shoulder. "I mean it. No stupid stunts out there, guys. Both of you." Seeing the way George's eyes widened at that, he added. "Do I make myself clear?"
Not even bothering to hide his amazement, George nodded. "Yeah. We'll be careful. You got my word for it. Wouldn't want to disappoint mum by killing us both."
"Good." Squeezing slightly with his hand before letting go of his friend, Harry turned his back to George and then moved to exchange a few words with Oliver Wood.
When they were finished with the final greetings, Harry made a small gesture, and they all mounted their brooms. Without really thinking about it, they had already taken the group formation on the ground, ready to start flying together.
Without a word, Harry kicked himself up in the air.
Everything was so much more coherent from up high, and Harry could see clearly the different parts of the army moving around the grounds. Those who were still lingering close to the castle stared at him, and he wondered if they expected him to say something. Maybe give a speech of the importance of this day of all days and remind them of what they were fighting for.
Act like their great hero and cheer them all.
As much as he thought that they all deserved to have a good leader, someone who could inspire them to do great things, there were no words. He couldn't think of anything uplifting or heroic to say. Didn't know how to take away peoples' fear for he was scared as hell himself.
Harry looked at his airborne taskforce, meeting somber gazes and knowing they felt just like he did. "Let's make sure this really is the final battle."
He wasn't prepared with the way his voice thundered with the force of a sonorus, just as he wasn't prepared for the strong gust of wind that lifted him higher in the sky than he'd planned to fly. For a moment he raised above Hogwarts, circling the Gryffindor Tower before retaking his position as the leader of their flying squadron.
His robes fluttered wildly in the wind like a banner.
Down on the ground, people cheered at the sight, calling out his name and waving their wands in the air.
Ignoring the slight annoyance he felt at the clearly magical wind and the old man who had so obviously conjured it up, Harry set his gaze on the horizon and then started the journey towards the gates as if he'd just spotted the Snitch there.
Determined, with nothing else in the whole world to distract him from his goal.
They were so used to the waiting, it was almost unreal when Madam Hooch called out, "I think I can see them!"
Even after Blaise's prophetic words and the assurances that Voldemort would indeed have no choice but to attack, Harry had to swallow as he saw the Death Eaters in the horizon.
Wiping her sweaty palms on her robes one by one, Angelina stared into the distance. "I didn't realize there'd be so many of them..."
Harry kept his gaze on the horizon as well, knowing that it was no illusion. The Death Eaters were really a small army now, their number probably about as great as the joined forces standing against them. Even more, the masks and the robes and the occasional scythe he could see even from here gave the Death Eaters the advance of fear.
"All right then. Let's head back. Break the formation!" Harry called out, his hand repeating his orders in the silent gestures as if this was indeed a game.
His troops followed his order immediately.
Hermione raised a handkerchief to her face, trying to keep from coughing even as the acrid smoke made her eyes burn.
"Are you all right?"
Nodding at Remus' question, she finished with her incantation and released yet another charm at the warehouse filled with jars and bundles of dead creatures. The place was somewhat fire resistant, and it took all her concentration to make the fire charms work.
She was just glad she'd been appointed to this task instead of actually going after the living creatures.
There had been relatively little actual fighting, with only a few wizards left to defend the compound. Most had been getting ready with carts and carriages filled with barrels full of something that had exploded with the first fire charms, leaving only one masked Death Eater to try to ward the Order away.
Hermione had been there to see him fall.
Some of the huge pens had been empty, but there were still dark creatures caged in the compound, and Hermione didn't ask Remus what was happening to them. She knew some of them were at least half sentient, and no matter how she told herself this was war, she didn't want to know.
"We're almost finished here," Sirius yelled as he approached them, coughing at the smoke. It was fairly obvious why he wasn't in his Animagus form.
Remus wiped a hand over his sooty brow and nodded. "Yes. After we're certain we've destroyed everything, we should get back to Hogwarts!"
Muttering out another fire charm, ignoring the high pitched squeal that came from somewhere inside one of the warehouses, Hermione tried not to think about the fact that this was only the beginning.
Now that the waiting was finally over, it was all too clear what they would do.
Harry swept over the yard, dismayed by the completely inappropriate exhilaration that always accompanied him when he was flying. The familiar landmarks could almost make this feel like a Quidditch match, though now his gaze was trained on larger targets than the snitch, the silent figure next to him an ally and not an adversary.
It was strange; three Seekers in the air together, forming a small group that was followed by others. He kept his gaze down on the ground, trying to concentrate on the fight even as his instincts were screaming to him about Draco hovering somewhere to his left and Laura Madley flying right behind him.
There had been a moment of hesitation, an oppressive feeling in the very air he was soaring through, as the first attack had come, aimed at the protective barriers guarding the school.
Then it had become easier to breathe again, as the wards around Hogwarts grounds had failed, Voldemort's first victory won hard enough to actually seem like real work instead of Dumbledore letting go and then allowing the dark robed masses to swarm through the gates.
Green sparks erupted here and there below, as the most eager Death Eaters flung the death curse without hesitations. Most of the Order members seemed to work on less malevolent curses, but there were those who were answering darkness with darkness, and they weren't all older Aurors who had already seen too much death.
Standing next to the main entrance of Hogwarts, side by side with the Headmaster, professor McGonagall was holding her ground, her blue gaze burning with rage as she aimed curses at the small group of Death Eaters who had somehow managed to get past all the wards and were now trying to invade the castle itself.
Harry shivered as he saw her fling the familiar hex at the approaching Death Eater, dropping the masked figure with two simple words.
He remembered what Snape had said about rescuing her from the Malfoy Mansion and how she had used non lethal force to subdue her torturers. There was no sign of such consideration now.
"Avada Kedavra!" Her voice rang cool over the distance, as if she was chastising a student who was late from class.
Harry couldn't really blame her.
Seeing that everything was going more or less as planned, he flew higher, dodging a few stray curses flung at him. He couldn't get involved with the fighting yet, no matter how a part of him was screaming at him to get down there and do something. His job was to aid and assist if he could and keep an eye on the Death Eaters so he could find his real foe.
It would be so much easier if he still had his Invisibility Cloak and he could just fly around as he pleased and try to target Voldemort without the risk of being killed. Then the stray thought was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
He'd totally forgotten about the whole cloak, and it was now too late to do anything about it. He couldn't focus on what he couldn't change right now. Gaze sweeping over the mayhem down below, he tried to spot Voldemort, hoping it would all be over soon.
That would be the real battle, even though the larger one was probably just as important for the safety of their world. But him facing Voldemort would be the chance to end this all for good, that was his part in all this, like it was for some to stand firm on the ground and for others to destroy the Dark Lord's strongholds.
No matter what happened afterwards, that wouldn't be of his concern. This was the fight he intended to win, and the rest was someone else's problem.
Swooping down in a graceful arch, he almost laughed out loud. How insane was it to think of something like that right now?
Then again, there were probably more insane things in the world.
Since most of the people on his team were members of the Order, Snape had no problems ordering them to spread out across the Mansion. His curt words about secret cupboards and vaults weren't questioned; even the few Aurors went where he directed.
It was highly satisfying.
They had to hurry to secure the place, for who knew just when the first Death Eaters tucked tail and ran from the battlefield. Snape sent the least experienced witches and wizards to herd out the house elves and some of the Aurors to place Narcissa Malfoy under arrest. He didn't want to be forced to kill Draco's mother, remembering how she had never been an enemy, not during their school years, or the dark nightmare following them.
Waving the young Order members who were hovering behind him to go and check the library and the huge ballroom, Snape took a detour to the small sitting room before he could go to see the place he knew the best.
Some things were too private to be handed to others. Snape had to fight the urge to look over his shoulder as he walked to the chest hidden in plain sight and then poured acidic potion over the documents inside without bothering to take a look.
He was destroying the evidence of a past he wished he could evaporate as easily, not hesitating for a moment. Nothing good would come to those who might survive and even repent their actions if the parchments were ever found by the Ministry.
It wasn't merely self defense; he was protecting his Slytherins as well.
A soft whisper of a sound from the doorway made Snape retreat to the shadows. The heavy velvet curtains offered a good place to hide.
He watched quietly as a barely visible human form slipped into the room with only a soft rustling of expensive robes heralding its approach.
There had been a time when he had known every single person who might have appeared in this house from the way they walked, the tilt of the head, the scent. Small gestures under the hooded robes and the masks screamed out identities better than anything.
Sense memory kicked in as the newcomer closed the door, the gust of air sending a hint of a familiar fragrance towards Snape. One of his old concoctions, the expensive ingredients a proof it was made for only one person, the function of the potion no more sinister than a simple perfume.
He held his wand tighter and stepped away from the shadows. He knew exactly who this was and couldn't hex her from behind.
"Narcissa." Snape greeted the blond woman with a curt nod.
The robed figure wavered for a moment before stilling. Turning around, Narcissa Malfoy smiled coldly. "I should have known they would send you here." Her posture was tense, but she wasn't holding her wand.
Snape remembered how she had always been the one to plot behind the scenes at school, using her mind to push others forward and then watch events unfold. If only Lucius and Voldemort hadn't been so eager to consider most women as a mere necessity to breed, Narcissa would have made a far more formidable enemy than her husband ever had.
"Have you come to kill me then?" Still not showing any sign of fear, Narcissa spread her arms a little. "Go ahead. We both know you will never take me alive to Azkaban."
"I'm not here for that. We came here for the house and you're simply a bonus." Snape didn't believe the faint shock spreading to Narcissa's face, the expression almost as calculated as that on Draco's face sometimes. "Don't. Don't force me to destroy both you and that portkey you're so innocently reaching for."
Narcissa stilled completely, her hand still too far from the vase she was trying to grab. "You always were too clever for your own good, Severus." Her gaze was cold. "What are you waiting for? I said you'll never take me alive."
There was a moment of silence as Snape stared at her. Then he shook his head. "I don't want to kill you, Narcissa."
It didn't convince her. "Oh really?" She squinted her eyes and searched his face for any signs of deception. Seeing he actually meant what he was saying, she let out an amused laughter. "Dear Merlin! Sentimentality always was your greatest flaw, Severus. You would spare me for old times' sake?"
"No. But I will spare you for the sake of your son. Remember him, Narcissa?"
Snape's words made her stop laughing.
There was a hint of regret on Narcissa Malfoy's face that disappeared a moment later. She nodded ever so slightly, as if really trying to remember the existence of her only child. "Like I said, Severus. You're a sentimental fool."
Snape knew what would happen next, but he made no movement to stop her. Keeping his wand pointed at her, he watched her spin around and grab the glass vase perched on the shelf.
He never knew if the sound of Draco's name he heard really came from Narcissa as she disappeared through the portkey or if it was simply a figment of his own imagination. He preferred thinking she had said it herself. It would be the one good memory he could ever offer the boy. If they both survived this.
Not bothering to stay for longer, Snape turned back to the door.
"Everything all right?" Arabella panted as she hurried towards Snape with a small group of the Order members in tow. "I thought I heard voices here."
Snape didn't have to think about it twice. "Just a house elf." The sneer on his face was perfectly formed. "There's nothing in here that would interest us. We should move on."
"Good. Let's go."
The small group of witches and wizards spread out, sneaking through the corridor with their wands drawn.
Floor by floor they searched through the Mansion. The Aurors concentrated on the vault they had found on the ground floor, others inspecting the upper floors.
Snape waited long enough to see that there would be no real problems facing the team and then went down to the basement. The two wizards and the witch following him seemed to almost swoon as they entered the dark corridor, feeling the dark magic all around them. He ignored the familiar feeling.
They still had a lot to do here.
Watching with satisfaction as the people following him actually recognized most of the wards around him, Snape left the three to work with the storage areas and went on alone. He knew what lay ahead and company would only hinder him now.
"Lumos." Not apprehensive about the dark, he still preferred lots of light around him in this place of all places where memories of death and suffering echoed in every footstep and his own past was tangible all around him. It was appropriate that this would be his part in this battle, and he was more than ready to destroy the evil that lingered here and make sure no one else would ever again have to face it.
Focusing a little too strongly on the people down below, Draco allowed himself to be drawn to a fight that had erupted between a group of some of the younger Order members and Death Eaters, noting only too late that his decision had pulled him away from the safety of the flying group.
He tried to fly away as soon as it was clear that their people could hold well against the Death Eaters, but then there had been others, stronger in magic, and he'd been forced to concentrate all his attention on staying alive.
"Fuck!" Apparently Weasley's crude vocabulary had rubbed off on Draco after all. He fought hard to hold his broom steady as the masked figure down below aimed more hexes at him.
Swearing didn't really help, but it did make him feel a bit better as his broom bucked as if it was alive and resented the one riding it.
Draco squeezed his thighs tighter together around the broom, his right hand trying to aim his wand even though it was almost impossible to really focus in the assault. The Death Eater down below was skilled, maybe too powerful for him.
Grinding his teeth together, Draco forced his broom to obey him, managing just barely to aim the next hex.
Before he could fling a curse at the masked man, the Death Eater pushed back his hood, revealing a shock of silver-blond hair with an arrogant practiced gesture.
"No..." It was just a whisper. Draco didn't let go of his wand, but he felt utterly nerveless anyway.
He had known this would happen. In his nightmares, he had faced the man on the battlefield over and over again. All those dreams had left him completely empty.
It felt even worse in reality.
His whole existence had been based on his family, the Malfoys, who had sent their sons to the first class taught by Salazar Slytherin when he and the other three had founded Hogwarts. Their blood had remained nearly pure throughout the centuries, dictating the traditions they followed with pride.
Nothing had ever mattered to him more than the family line; the unbroken chain uniting the first Malfoys to him. The line which would one day bind his children to the traditions as well. That was what had been taught to him, and he still believed in those teachings.
Blood meant everything.
Lucius Malfoy yelled, "Come on down, Draco. It's useless to fight." His tone was as haughty as ever.
Not bothering to reply, Draco flicked his wand and sent a well aimed cruciatus at his father. Whatever hesitation he'd felt earlier was now gone; his father had chosen his path, and so had he. His dreams had been filled with foolish emotionalism and subconscious memories from his childhood.
He wasn't that child anymore.
He was a Malfoy, proud of it. And he was not going to listen to someone who killed other purebloods because an insane Mudblood ordered him to.
Holding onto the anger that had been simmering inside ever since he'd fought Aurors who thought his name described sinister insanity, he pointed his wand at his father again.
The curse didn't make Lucius even flinch. He muttered something, the air around him shimmering. Then he raised his wand.
Draco knew what would come next. His father wouldn't waste his time now. Any other time, there would have been curses of pain and humiliation, the two lesser Unforgivables flung at him for hours until death came as a relief. This time, there would be two words and green sparks and with shock, Draco realized it was quite possible he wouldn't survive the next few seconds.
"Malfoy!"
Before he could curse his son, Lucius heard his name yelled at him. He turned around, smiling behind his mask as he saw who was calling out for him. Even though cold rage had replaced the vacant look in the man's eyes, he'd recognize the second hand robes and the carrot top anywhere. "Weasley."
Mouth going dry, Draco watched Arthur Weasley approach with his wand drawn. The usually so mild mannered man looked completely mad with rage.
He didn't hesitate for a second. "Crucio!" He pointed the curse at his father, not surprised when it didn't hit. But at least his actions were buying Weasley time. He cursed again, this time almost hitting the man below, forcing him to jump to the side. The polished mask fell from his face, making no sound as it landed on the grass.
Lucius Malfoy looked up, irritation clear on his face. "Draco!"
"Go to hell!" It felt so good to say that out loud, Draco yelled it again, accenting it with yet another curse.
From behind Lucius, a large man was running towards them, his robes askew and the mask on his face looking like it was going to fall any minute. "Lord Malfoy!" Agitated, he rushed towards his master.
Draco would have recognized Vince's father even without hearing his voice. The man had been following his father forever, like his son had shadowed him.
The duel between Arthur Weasley and his father was now raging fully, so Draco turned his attention to Crabbe, wondering if he would have to face his old friend next. Pushing away every thought of old friendships and regrets, he grabbed the handle of his broom tighter and focused on this new threat.
Hoping that rage and grief would win over arrogance in the fight between his father and Weasley's.
No real ghosts lingered in the Malfoy Mansion, but the shadows the small light cast on the walls seemed to paint the horrors from ages past for everyone to see.
Snape didn't spare one look at them, muttering out charms and sprinkling potions on the stone floor.
Clearing the basement was taking longer than he'd thought. Lucius had clearly moved some of his precious mementos from the vault to down here; to be used in obscure Death Eater rituals or to be kept safe.
No matter how long this took, Snape was determined to make certain he found every cache here. There would be no place for the surviving dark wizards to flee to.
The walls were trembling, as if the ancient mansion was trying to fight him away on its own. Snape walked faster, needing to get to the dungeon as fast as he could. He could feel the strength of the magic here, and knew it was probably only a matter of time before the whole building collapsed on him.
He didn't want to be here in the basement when that happened.
This was the last place to search. The Aurors and Figg were probably finished with the vault already. He would check out the last of the cells and then they would be on their way.
Water was dripping down from somewhere, the sound making it feel like there was someone here with him. Snape ignored the feeling, continuing his way down the corridor. The magical light from his wand didn't reach far, but there was plenty of light here anyway; the walls themselves glowed sickly green.
Snape saw the doorway where the remnants of the door still hung on the hinges, the splintered wood looking scarred. For a flash of a second he could remember walking out of the room with Minerva clinging to him, the smell of blood everywhere, the tingle from dark curses still hanging around him like a cloak. He pushed the memory away. That was all in the past, as were the other horrors he'd witnessed down here.
He would never have to come back here after this. No one would have to suffer here. With that firmly in mind, he hurried towards the end of the corridor.
Something made him glance at a closed doorway on his left. It was just a feeling, for there was no other sound but the dripping water.
There was someone there. He could feel it in his bones. A flick of his wand confirmed the feeling. There was definitely someone locked in the small room.
Not hesitating, Snape pushed at the door. When it didn't budge, he muttered out the charm to open it.
With a groaning protest, the door swung slowly open, revealing a small dark room. The air seemed to shimmer with malice and pain. Eyes already adjusting to the new darkness, Snape could see that there was indeed someone shackled to the wall.
Someone who was not moving, but as Snape stood there, he could hear a muffled sound of pain escaping the prisoner. Whoever it was, they were still alive.
He took a step closer, crossing the threshold.
The Mansion rumbled as if it truly was a living creature, the sound as frightening as a dragon's roar. Then the heavy stones came crumbling down, burying everything beneath them.
Remus let out a muffled curse as he stared at the edge of the forest. They had come back to Hogwarts grounds just in time to see the Death Eaters launch their main attack.
There were no troops here, just a few Aurors trying to keep everyone out of the Forbidden Forest, and it was quickly becoming clear that defending the place would fall to him and Sirius.
He could see Hermione grasp the idea as well, and no matter how much she had always disliked the training with real curses, there was no hesitation in her now.
Remus only wished he could find that strength inside as well.
"Look!" Hermione pointed at the group of Death Eaters battling with the Aurors. "I think they're going to run."
It was a relief of sorts. Remus didn't think it would be their job hunt every dark wizard down and kill them.
Then Sirius yelled out, "I can't believe it!" His voice was gravelly with a note of triumph in it.
Watching in horror, Remus realized that one of the men running towards the trees was familiar to him, his face hidden behind his hood but the almost cringing movements identifying him better than anything.
As the man looked behind to see if anyone was chasing them, Remus caught the look on his blotchy face, a part of his mind calmly assessing the horrified expression.
The sound coming from next to him wasn't even a curse anymore; it was way beyond any enraged exclamation or an outlet for magic. What started out as a call for the man they had once called a friend, a brother, turned into a bloodthirsty growl as Sirius morphed into his canine form.
Hackles raised, the dark black dog loped after the Death Eaters.
"Sirius, no!" Squeezing his hand into a fist, Remus swallowed the rest of the worried words clawing their way up his throat. He knew that there was nothing he could say that would make Snuffles listen, for there was no power in the whole world that could stop him now.
He shivered with horror as a small part of him cried out for blood as well and wished he could turn into the wolf right now and join the hunt.
The human in him gagged at the mere thought.
Holding his wand tighter, he took a few steps towards the woods. Even if he couldn't follow Sirius as fast as he might want to, he knew he'd have to go after him and keep the promise he'd made at James and Lily's funeral. Their killer would die right here, right now.
"Remus!" Hermione's shrill scream jolted him out of the red haze. "Look!"
Remus turned to see a swarm of darkness approaching from the flank. For just a second his mind froze with terror as the sight made him remember the army of Dementors that had circled around Hogwarts years ago. Then reason won over the panic. There were no Dementors left here.
"Lethifolds! They're Lethifolds!" So they hadn't been able to destroy all the dark creatures after all. "Do you know how to kill them?"
He was certain she would. She had once been his best student after all.
"Of course," Hermione muttered, even as she reached for her wand again. "They should be easy to defeat in the light of day, when they're out of their element. We use the Patronus charm and then finish them with a..."
Blocking out the rest of her rambling, Remus nodded. "Good. Now let's get to it!" There was no time to waste.
Wand raised, he turned to meet the lethifolds, pushing all other thoughts out of his mind. Sirius was already too far gone for him to catch up with him, and he couldn't leave Hermione and their little group to defeat this without him.
Sirius would have to avenge their friends alone.
It was getting easier after a while.
Draco didn't think as he flung another curse, concentrating only on making the Death Eaters stop. He used everything he knew, even casting expelliarmus at the large man who seemed to stumble onto his robes, but most of the curses were not as benign.
He didn't know where the rest of their air force was, the formations long gone by now. None of them could just observe and try to locate certain Death Eaters anymore, the battle was a frantic blur of curses and dark figures running here and there and everyone was needed here.
Some of Voldemort's people had lost their masks, and it was impossible not to recognize a few of them. Draco tried not to cast the killing curse at his former classmates or their parents, but survival instinct won over sentimentality pretty soon.
He did what he needed to live.
Right now, he was trying to dodge the imperius Marcus Flint was throwing at him, keeping his wand pointed at a group that had ran up to help Flint when they'd realized who he was up against.
And it had all gone so well until now.
Instead of attacking him, the other Death Eaters were aiming at his broom. The charms and curses came flying towards him faster than he could steer his broom, and he knew he couldn't shield from them all, especially with Flint still throwing the imperius at him, showing the similar tenacity as he had in the Quidditch pitch years ago.
Draco threw a curse at Flint. He had never liked the bastard anyway.
He knew he wasn't going to be able to hold on much longer. It was already too late to escape, and once he was on the ground, his former housemates would overwhelm him in seconds. From the yells and the furious looks on the unmasked faces, he could tell that his ending wouldn't be as easy as a simple Avada Kedavra. They would torture him to death and enjoy every moment of it.
The charms he'd used on his broom had been excellent, but nothing could hold on against this. Draco bit his lip but couldn't suffocate the infuriated scream that escaped him as the broom started to dissolve beneath him.
"Hold on!"
Looking up, Draco saw Harry speeding down towards him. "Go back, you idiot Gryffindor!" he barked, even though it was clear that Harry wouldn't listen to him.
Not that he'd actually thought he would.
He cast a charm down below, not one of the curses that could maim or kill, but a rather harmless explosive charm that raised dust in the air. Then he shoved his wand back under his robes, knowing that this wasn't the time for magic. No charm could save him from the group on the ground.
Draco twisted his body to the side, bracing himself with his legs. He'd never done this in a real life situation, but he was certain he could do it now.
"Now!" Harry held out a hand, keeping his descent as steady as possible.
Reaching out, Draco clasped Harry's wrist as the last of his broom dissolved from under him. The fall was brief, but the jolt almost dislocated his shoulder as the tight grip around his wrist stopped the fall.
Enraged yells came from below, where the Death Eaters were showered with splinters and twigs.
Flying like this was definitely unpleasant, not to mention dangerous, and Draco was glad when Harry steered his broom downwards. He could see red hair tousled in the wind where they were heading to. It was quite amazing how that sight could make him feel better.
"Can you manage on your own from here?" Harry let go of his hand, looking eager of continuing his search.
"Yes." Stepping next to Bill Weasley, Draco nodded. "I'll be fine. Go and kill Voldemort!" His smile looked probably insane, but he didn't care.
The answering grin on Harry's lips was as mad as his was. With a small nod, the hero of their world lifted up again.
Draco only had a moment to try to catch his bearings before Bill Weasley yelled out, "Here they come!" Then his world narrowed down again into the frantic blur of dark figures running towards him and the curses he both cast and dodged.
