Draco watched in horror as she was somehow wrenched from his hand.

People all around them were desperately trying to get into the castle, it was utter chaos, and Astrid was being dragged away from him and swallowed up by the sea of bodies.

He tried to follow her in, pushing people aside, not caring who he hurt.

And then he was in the Great Hall and there she was. Standing next to Potter, which confused Draco to no end. Wasn't he dead?

"Astrid!" He cried out, just as Potter shouted some taunt over to Voldemort.

As Voldemort lifted his wand, Astrid glanced sadly back at him. And horror struck him as he suddenly understood what was happening.

No, no, no, no! He thought frantically, as she turned away from him, and stepped in front of Potter's path. The very path that her father had just sent the Killing Curse.

Draco skidded across the Hall, roaring her name as the green light struck her, making her crumple to the floor.

Draco dived to the ground, scooping her lifeless body up into his lap, sobbing into her hair as her glassy blue eyes stared into nothingness.

His beautiful, precious Astrid had gone.

"KILL ME!" He cried, his heartbroken voice bellowing around the hall, "SOMEBODY KILL ME NOW! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!"

...

I was somewhere that was not quite there.

It looked real, but it didn't feel real.

A beautiful silence surrounded me. I felt... peaceful. Free. It was a feeling like I've had never before. As though nothing could hurt me anymore.

White mist surrounded me and, as I looked down at my hands, I saw I was no longer gilded in the dirt and blood caused by the battle, but instead I was clean, my skin pale and unblemished. And all the aches and pains caused by the many cuts and bruises, had vanished.

Dressed in a long, white, ethereal dress, I tentatively walked forwards as the white mist swirled serenely around me.

A set of empty swings came into view, the seats gently swinging as if a breeze had just disturbed them, and yet the air was still.

It seemed like the most natural thing to do; to sit down on the far end seat - my swing. As I sat there, a strange familiar feeling came over me, as if I should be waiting for someone. But I couldn't remember who.

"May I sit?"

I looked up into the black glinting eyes of my uncle and smiled. "Of course, Severus. It's good to see you again."

He took the swing next to me, his movements surprisingly graceful.

"Am I dead?" I asked simply. Because I knew he was.

"You tell me."

"I- I don't know. I'm not really sure I remember why I'm here."

"Because of that thing over there," Snape said lifting a black cloaked arm and pointing to a spot on the ground a few feet in front of us. There lay what looked like a dead foetus wrapped in blankets. It hadn't been there only a second ago. Or was it longer? I didn't know - time didn't seem to make sense here.

"What is it?" I asked, trying not to look directly at the horrifying sight.

"The piece that your father placed inside of you. Voldemort's soul."

"Is it- is it..."

"Dead, yes that is correct. You are free from him now, Astrid. Your soul is now completely your own again." Snape looked down at me, a sad look upon his face. "I pray that one day you will forgive me, child, for being an absent uncle in your early years, for not telling you who you really were."

"I already have, uncle," I said, lightly touching my fingers to his own which were curled around the chain of his swing.

He didn't say anything, but just gazed sadly down at me as a stray tear rolled down his cheek.

"I'll miss you," I breathed, "I wish we could have had more time."

"It really is quite remarkable," Snape murmured softly, "how much I see your mother in you."

"Have you seen her," I asked, trembling slightly, "since you... arrived?"

My uncle nodded slowly, a spark flashing in his black eyes.

"Does she- does she... miss me?" I asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed by how childish my question sounded.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Snape said, lifting his arm once again, this time towards the swirling white mist.

A figure slowly appeared, wearing an identical white dress to mine. Trembling, I stood up, staring in awe at the woman who looked just like me.

"Mummy?"

"Astrid, darling," she smiled, holding her arms out to me.

Without thinking, I ran to her, crashing against her soft body which I remembered so vividly. I sighed in the delight of being in my mother's arms again.

Tears cascaded down my cheeks as I clung to her, never having believed I'd be able to do this again.

"It's not your time yet, love," she whispered, stroking my hair. "You've still got so much life to live, so much love left to give."

And as she said these words, a white-blond haired boy flashed in my mind. Draco.

How could I have forgotten? My love, my life, my everything.

I needed to go back to him.

...

It was the oddest sensation. One moment I felt light and free, and the next my body felt heavy and painful - but very much alive.

Someone was holding me, I tried desperately to see but couldn't make my eyes work. It was as though I was coming back bit by bit at a time.

"I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!"

No, it was my Draco's voice. I tried desperately to rouse myself now, to let him know I was still here. But I couldn't make my mouth or eyes work.

And then all of a sudden there he was, sobbing above me, his face full of anguished pain as he clutched me to him.

"Draco," I gasped, managing to take a gulp of air.

And then he looked at me, his grey eyes widening as realisation hit him that I was here. Alive.

"Astrid?"

And it was at that moment when Pansy Parkinson's Killing Curse hit him square in the back.

Draco's body gave a violent jolt, and a look of startled surprise filled his silver grey eyes.

And then a silent scream stuck in my throat, as his body slumped down on top of me.