"Petrificus Totalus!" I yelled as I jumped over a piece of rock that had fallen down. I had arrived right in time as Death Eaters slowly started apparating into the school. I had to find some friends to fight with. I wasn't safe on my own.

I ducked in a hallway as a curse soared past my ear and quickly ran up the stairs, three steps at a time.

"Stupefy", I yelled at a Death Eater before jumping into another corridor, running through it before turning another corner.

"Ellie?"

I looked up, surprised to be met by Draco's silver eyes. Behind him was Blaise, Potter, Weasley and Granger.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were evacuating?" I shouted at him, putting a hand on his cheek to check if he was alright.

"Trying to boycott us, that's what the git was doing", Weasley sneered. I looked at Draco, but he avoided my gaze, signaling that they were right.

"Reducto!" Granger called out. I looked behind me to see the Death Eater being blown away.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?" I asked her, gripping my wand. "I'm here to help." Granger smiled at me shortly, wiping some blood from her cheek. She then looked at Harry, who was as white as a ghost.

"We need to go to the Shrieking Shack, right now", he mumbled out of breath.

"Just help us get there, okay?" Hermione said. "Fight them off, clear our path. Harry is the only one who can stop this war." I nodded and then looked at Draco.

"Get yourself somewhere safe, Draco. I'm staying and I'm helping them, you can't change my mind about it', I said with a sad smile. I didn't like leaving him behind, but if he just tried to mess with Potter and his friends, he wasn't really helping.

"I'm not leaving you", Draco said, stepping in front of me.

"I made my choice, Draco, now it's your turn." I looked to Granger, who nodded at me. I took a deep breath. This was it.

And then I felt Draco's hand in mine and when I looked back, he seemed determined, jaw clenched and a glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Fuck it", he smiled. "If I die tonight, at least it'll be with you."

"We're not going to die, Draco, we're going to kick some Death Eater arse", I winked. He grinned and quickly kissed me before we ran back out onto the battlefield.

"Duck!" I yelled and Draco did what I said as I blasted a curse over his head to the Death Eater that had apparated in the corner. Potter, Weasley and Granger were close behind us, trying not to get hurt or killed.

"Confringo", Potter shouted, keeping another Death Eater at bay.

"Bloody spiders!" Weasley murmured as a group of spiders made their way up the stairs.

"This way!" I shouted as I led them away from them, jumping over another pile of rubble.

"Ron!" we heard. At the other end of the hallway, one of the Weasley twins and another one of their brothers were fighting off their own set of Voldemort supporters.

"Fred, Percey!" Ron laughed, joining them. We formed a circle, blocking Death Eaters from every angle.

"Long time no see, Selwyn. No ex-boyfriends to make fun of this time?" Fred grinned.

"You know Eleanor Selwyn?" Ron frowned. He really didn't like me whatsoever.

"Yeah, she's cool", Fred shrugged, casting a spell at a last Death Eater that tried to sneak up on us.

"Let's move down, there are none left here", Granger said, scanning the empty hallway. We heard voices from the other side of the wall, immediately upping our guard again.

"Watch out!" Draco yelled and pushed Fred and I onto the ground. Not a second later, the wall behind us exploded. I covered my head as pieces of stone rained down on me, closing my eyes tightly.

"Ellie, Ellie are you okay?" Draco yelled. I removed my hands and slowly stood up again, the explosion still ringing in my ears.

"I'm fine", I mumbled, feeling a little dazed as Draco helped me up.

"Fred, are you good?" I asked as I noticed the wound on the side of Fred's face where a piece of rock had cut him.

"Just peachy", he grinned.

"Confringo!" The older Weasley brother yelled, casting away a Death Eater I recognised as Augustus Rookwood. We had to get out of here.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" I yelled. Another explosion sounded and half the roof collapsed, ripping me away from Draco. I hissed as a piece of rock cut open my arm. I looked back to see that the collapsed roof made me unable to reach Draco again. Fred and the other Weasley brother were also trapped on the other side.

"Eleanor, we have to go!" Granger shouted. I heard Draco cast a curse on the other side of the rubble.

"We'll hold them off. Go now, I'll find you later, Ellie!" Draco yelled. "I promise, don't worry!" I hated myself for agreeing, but there was not much I could do, so I promised myself to find Draco later and ran off with the three others.

The more we descended, the more Death Eaters appeared. I got out all offensive spells I had learned over the years, trusting these three people I barely knew to watch my back.

We ran onto the Courtyard, where the heat of the battle was. I was shocked by the amount of unconscious bodies on the ground. Many people I didn't recognise, but so many I did.

"Watch it!" Potter yelled as he blasted a spell over my head. I looked back to see a spider collapse to the ground just a few yards away from me.

We made our way to the other side of the Courtyard, where the three could access the path to the Whomping Willow, which would lead to the Shrieking Shack.

"Bombarda! I yelled at a Death Eater that apparated nearby. The pillar close to him exploded, taking the man to his death. In just a couple of hours, I would realise that I had killed people, but right now all I wanted was to survive and to find Draco.

"Deprimo! I shouted as another Death Eater appeared, but other ones were quick to replace them.

"Just go! I'll hold them off long enough, run!" I screamed at the three before turning back to the battlefield in front of me. I hissed as a spell soared past my leg, cutting into my flesh.

"Eleanor, watch it!" Granger was at my side. "Expelliarmus!" She disarmed the attacking Death Eater before blasting a fatal spell at him.

"Just go, Granger! I'll manage myself!" I pushed her towards Potter and Weasley. Granger looked at me for a little while, before nodding.

"Be careful, Eleanor!" she yelled and then she ran off.

"Protego", I cast as a green light soared my way, blocking whatever spell that was. I slid into a hallway so I couldn't be attacked from all four sides. I could take a breath for a short while until another Death Eater apparated into that hallway.

I shot a nonverbal offensive spell at the new opponent, but they reflected it easily. I tried again and again, but the Death Eater seemed to know what I was going to do before I knew it myself. I took a couple steps back, hoping no one was on the other side of the hallway, ready to attack me in the back.

"That's no way to greet your mother, Eleanor", the cloaked attacker then said. I stopped attacking, my lips parting slightly in surprise. The Death Eater took off their hood, revealing the face of my mother. I just stared at her for a while in complete disbelief.

"I have to say, I knew you were a disappointment, but to actively attack your own side, that even I hadn't expected of you", she said.

"Your side is not my side", I spat narrowing my eyes, keeping my wand up again. She cast a spell at me, which I blocked with much effort.

"You're a stupid child, Eleanor. You could have had everything you wanted if you weren't so stupid. You could marry Draco, be close to the Dark Lord and own the Selwyn reputation. But you messed that up and now you're going to die, just like all your stupid little Hogwarts friends."

I shot another spell at her in anger, but my heart wrenched. I didn't consider this woman my mother anymore, it was too late for that, but her opinion still broke something inside of me. All a kid ever wanted was validation from their parents and I knew that I would never get that from either of mine.

"You're no Selwyn, pathetic", she laughed. She cast another nonverbal spell and I couldn't reflect it this time. I felt my body being blown back as if an invisible fist had slammed itself in my stomach. I struggled to breath as my back hit a wall, pushing all the air from my lungs. My feet couldn't carry the rest of my body and I slid down, my head spinning.

This would be the climax of my life, being killed by my own mother. My whole life had been short moments of happiness before being interrupted by a dramatic event. Becoming a prefect, then Draco hurting me badly, growing closer to him eventually, Adrian's bet, dating Draco shortly before he was ripped away from me again, for months. Voldemort's task, then Tracey and Daphne pulling me out of my misery, keeping my head above the water. Getting Draco back before learning that my father was in Azkaban because of me. Finding support in Draco before learning that my mother didn't want me as her daughter anymore.

In all that, Draco was almost always the reason for my happiness. What if I would die here? I couldn't even remember what my last words to him were. What did I tell him? Did I tell him that I loved him?

"Stand up, you coward", my mum said, pointing her wand at me. I was no coward. My head was spinning dangerously and my lungs were on fire, trying to find oxygen again, but I pushed myself up regardless, holding onto the wall for support.

"I want to look you in the eyes when I remove the stain from the Selwyn bloodline", she said. How could someone become so cruel? What had that woman gone through to make her so vicious?

"I'm no coward", I forced out, holding up my wand again. She cast another spell, but I was able to deflect it. I shot one at her, but she seemed to have no trouble blocking it. I was weaker than her, I knew I was. She was thriving on hatred, a strong emotion. I was filled with worry. Worry about how Draco was doing, how Daphne and Tracey were doing, if my last words to them were good enough.

"Stupefy", I yelled, which missed her by half an inch.

"Expelliarmus!" my mother yelled and then I lost my wand. I watched as it was blasted away, way beyond my reach. I stared at it for a while and I knew that I was lost. I hadn't mastered wandless magic. Draco was so good at it, I should have asked him to teach me, but I didn't. I was completely lost.

"Look at that", mother chuckled, stepping closer. I had never noticed how terrifying she actually looked with her sharp facial features and her short bob.

"Just do it quickly, please", I said, trying to remain calm. Tense muscles would only make the pain worse. "And tell Draco I love him. I don't know if I did, so please just tell him that I love him." I knew she wouldn't. Of course she wouldn't, she just wanted me dead, but I needed to know that I had tried to get the message across.

I took a last deep breath and stood up straight, looking her right in the eyes. I wanted her to look me in the eyes when she killed me. I wanted her to stare at her daughter before she didn't have one anymore. I wanted my eyes to haunt her during every night that would follow in her miserable life.

"Do it", I spat at her. She didn't seem fazed. She twirled her wand around once before she gripped it tightly and flicked it for the final spell I would ever experience in my life.

"Brachiabindo!"

I blinked a few times when I noticed it was not me who was affected by the spell. My mother got blasted away from me, her body bound together by ropes. He wand rolled out of her hand, towards my feet.

"You can tell Draco that yourself." I looked around to see Benjamin run up to me, Seamus Finnigan on his heel."

"Thank Merlin, I thought I was going to die", I said and pulled Benji into a hug.

"Not yet at least", he joked. He looked rough with deep purple bruising on his arm and his hair stuck together with dirt, but he still wore that same affectionate smile. I promised myself that if the both of us got out of this war alive, I would fully restore my friendship with him. He was far too important for me to let it go to waste. We hadn't been proper friends for two years and still, I felt so much love and affection towards him.

"Is she family of Draco or something?" Seamus asked, wiping some blood from his lip. I looked back at my mother, who was struggling against the ropes. I cast the Brachiabindo spell again so she would not be able to escape a second set of ropes.

"No, she's my mother actually", I said and looked at Benjamin's friend. His eyes grew wide, blinking a few times.

"Oh bloody hell, I just attacked your mother", Benjamin gasped, looking at the woman that was struggling against the ropes. I smiled sadly. In any other case that would have been disastrous, but not for me. My own mother was going to murder me, so I was very happy when Benjamin attacked her. It saddened me to feel happy about such things, but I just wasn't destined to feel the love of a real family.

I didn't feel love for her either, because I didn't consider her my mother anymore.

"Don't be sorry. She kicked me out of the house and tried to kill me, so I don't think I should consider her my mother anymore", I shrugged. It was quiet for a while, apart from the raging battle in the background. Then Benjamin took my hand and smiled at me.

"What do you want to do with her? It's your choice", he said. I looked back at the woman on the floor and was torn.

The choice was clear for every decent person. I had to render her unconscious. A simple "Stupefy" would do. If our side - I called it my side now, Potter's side - won, then she'd be sent to Azkaban for life, where she'd spend the rest of her miserable days in a cell next to my dad's. If their side won the war, then I probably wouldn't be alive to know what she'd make of herself, but knowing my mother, it would be more of the same. Sulking whilst trying to climb to the top, not caring about who she pushed down on her way there. She'd never truly reach that top. Either way, she'd have a miserable life, like she had always had.

But I wasn't a decent person. I got out my wand and pointed it at my mother.

"Expulso", I said and the blue light that erupted from the tip of my wand took her to her death.

I watched as most of her body disintegrated at once, leaving behind a black stain of burned stone as a few particles of ash drifted in the sky after the explosion, slowly making their way down to the floor again. She was gone.

I had killed my own mother and I didn't regret it.

"And you wonder why I'm scared of you", Seamus said. I looked at him and smiled sadly. He didn't seem very scared, though, more sympathetic.

"What do you say we go kill some more?" I asked. Benjamin grinned.

"Let's go."