Benjamin, Seamus and I had made our way to the other side of the Courtyard to defend the bridge which was sending more and more dark side supporters to the school.

"Incendio!" I yelled at a group of Snatchers that ran up to us. Benjamin struck them with an explosion charm at the same time, killing most of them in one go.

"Blimey, that's supposed to be my job", Seamus blinked a few times. I chuckled as we had a moment of rest.

"Oh no", Benjamin suddenly gasped, looking in the distance. Behind the quidditch pitch, a black cloud doomed upon Hogwarts. It didn't take long for me to realise that it was no cloud, but a group of Dementors.

I broke out into a sprint, jumping over the broken bannister, ducking to avoid a curse sent my way by a Death Eater. Seamus stunned the cloaked man as the two followed close behind me. We ran around the Courtyard, then jumping through one of the openings onto the Hogwarts grounds.

"That was Lavender Brown", Seamus yelled at Benjamin. "She's dead." I didn't know Lavender very well. I don't think I ever even talked to her at all, but somehow her death pained me. She was a seventeen-year old-girl, and now she was gone. Her parents would have to mourn for her death. No parents should have to go through something like that.

We approached the quidditch field where the group of dementors was already arriving. We noticed a few students already casting their patronus. I noticed Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang and another one of Benji's friends whose name I didn't know.

"Expecto Patronum!" I yelled and pointed my wand at the cloaked creatures, mouths agape to steal the lives of innocent children.

I closed my eyes as the tip of my wand slowly lit up, casting a blue light upon its environment. I thought of Draco. I hadn't seen him in so long, what if he got hurt? I had to look for him once these Dementors were defeated. I had to know if he was okay.

"There are more of them, we can't hold them!" Benji yelled. I opened my eyes to see at least a dozen more Death Eaters joining the others.

"Yes we can", I shouted, grabbing my wand with both hands. Happy thoughts, they don't like happy thoughts. So I thought of Draco, and of Tracey and Daphne. I thought of Daphne's face when she told me about Felix and about Tracey and Blaise flirting in the common room. I thought of Seamus's face when Benji introduced us two years ago and of dress shopping with Narcissa.

Narcissa, was she okay? My mother was gone, but she had always been more of a mother to me. I hoped that she was okay, even though she wasn't on our side. I hoped she'd forgive me for choosing a different path and I hoped that she wouldn't be angry at Draco. If anything, she could be mad at me for influencing Draco so much, but I knew that after all of this, he'd need the support of his mother. She just had to be okay.

"We can't do this for much longer", Seamus shouted, hands shaking as his fox tried to fend off the dementors, but there were too many. I looked around to see everyone struggling. We needed more help. I quickly broke my Patronus to cast the Periculum charm, sending a flash of red light towards the school. When I looked back, a Dementor was staring me right in the eyes.

I gasped and fell backwards onto the damp grass. I quickly grabbed my wand as the intense cold the Dementor brought with them sent chills down my spine.

"Expecto Patronum", I muttered and a soft blue light swirled upward, towards the Dementor that was hovering over me. I felt unwell, as if I could pass out at any second, but I knew it was simply because of the presence of a Dementor. I had read enough about them over the past years.

I brought my second hand up to my wand and closed my eyes, imagining the day in the summer, with Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, Theo, Benji and Draco. How everything seemed just fine. The weather was nice and all my friends were there and it was a nice break from the sadness at Malfoy Manor. I was completely happy.

I felt the coldness lessen slightly as I pulled strength from that memory. I amplified it, thought of nothing else as I rose to my feet again. In the corners of my eyes, all I could see were Dementors everywhere, but also fierce students and proud Patronuses fighting them off. Maybe we wouldn't win, but at least we'd lose together, proud to defend the place we all grew up in, defend the people we love.

And then I stared in awe as another Patronus appeared, a little brighter and a little bigger than all the other ones. A large dragon was soaring through the sky, blinding the Dementors.

I looked around shocked to see Draco standing there, firmly holding his wand as he produced his Patronus. Draco was producing his Patronus, better than he had before, despite the Dark Mark.

It gave me a new sense of hope. It gave all of us a new sense of hope as we continued focusing on the powerful magic that was being created in our midst. I couldn't help but smile, even though the situation was far from cheerful. I smiled because of him and because of all of us. I smiled because there was hope and there hadn't been for a very long time.

And we cast them away.

"Oh Merlin, I'm so glad you're okay!" I threw myself into Draco's arms, hugging him tighter than I ever had before. He was fine. We were fine. "I love you, okay? I almost died like three times and I was scared that I hadn't told you I loved you before we separated. I love you, okay?" I pressed my lips on his, pulling him impossibly closer.

"I love you too", he smiled as he pulled back just enough to catch a breath.

"You produced your Patronus again", I said out of breath, putting my hands on either side of his face. "What? How?"

"I guess I'm just really happy that you're still alive", he smiled before kissing me again. We heard some shouts, so we broke apart, realising we were still in the middle of a war.

"Blaise is hurt. I'm going to see if I can help. You stay right here, okay? That Hufflepuff seems hurt too. I'll be back soon." He gave me a quick kiss before running off towards Blaise. He was one of the very few Slytherins who came back to fight and presumably, Tracey had something to do with that. She really was good for him. We were good for each other.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked the Hufflepuff that sat down in the grass, healing a wound that was difficult to reach. "Let me help you with that." She smiled and nodded. Hufflepuffs didn't often smile at me as most of them were a little scared of me. I traced my wand over the cut on the back of her arm, closing it up again.

"Thanks", she smiled before running off to a fellow Hufflepuff. I scanned the Quidditch pitch and gasped as my eyes landed on a horrific scene behind the Gryffindor stands. Not all Dementors had been cast away as one of them was eating off the happy memories of an unconscious person in the grass, possibly a student. I broke out into a sprint, pulling my wand from my pocket.

"Expecto Patronum!" I yelled loudly for the dozenth time that night, casting the blue light towards the Death Eater, hovering over the unconscious girl. My black swan appeared very shortly before deterring the Death Eater. I ran towards the girl to see if she was okay.

And then I saw the golden locks, the pale complexion and the Slytherin robes. Tracey.

I fell on my knees next to my best friend, panic soaring through my veins like hot acid.

"Tracey? Tracey?!" I yelled, putting both my hands on either side of her face. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't blinking. Her lips were cracked and covered in dried up blood. Was she stunned, what was wrong?

"Finite", I said, my wand shaking in my hand. Nothing happened. Tracey laid, there, completely still, eyes open, but not seeing.

"Come on, Trace, what did they do to you?" I said, but almost no noise was coming out of my throat as a loud sob was blocking it. I grabbed her wrist and put my finger on her artery, making sure she still had a pulse.

And there was none.

"Tracey?" Tracey!" I yelled, shaking the girl by her shoulder. Her blue eyes remained open, not blinking. "No, no, Tracey, don't do this to me!" I yelled at her as tears started to blur my vision.

Together and forever, that's what we said!" I screamed. "We were not going to die! I promised you that we'd all be okay!" I held her face, looking at the beautiful freckles that littered her beautiful face. My best friend, the laugh when no one else was laughing, the courage when everyone else was a coward.

She'd never laugh anymore. She'd never be bold anymore.

"Tracey, just wake up!" I yelled at her. I folded my hands together and started giving her compressions, my arms shaking dangerously.

"You're not dying, Trace! I don't allow you to! You're my best friend, you have to stay with me!" I cried. "It's Daphne, you and I! It can't be different!"

I tried to hold in the tears as they were making my arms weak and kept pushing on her chest, but nothing happened. Nothing happened and nothing would happen anymore, ever. She was gone.

I put my head on her stomach as I cried uncontrollably, the sobs tearing through my body like knives. I held her hand, but she didn't hold mine. Her body didn't do anything.

"Don't do this to me, Trace", I cried. "Please don't do this to me. I can't lose you, not you too." Tears stained her shirt as the warmth slowly left her body. I screamed loudly, not caring who heard before clutching onto Tracey's hand again.

"I need you, Tracey. I need you to calm me down whenever I'm having a breakdown again. I- I ... I need you to joke when I'm ... when I'm having a bad day. I need- I ... I need you to be here Tracey!" I started giving her compressions again, but her eyes still stared up at the sky without seeing the stars. They'd always stare. No glint in her eyes when she saw Blaise, no frown anymore when Potter walked past.

"Don't leave me, Tracey, please don't leave me", I cried. All my limbs started shaking and I collapsed next to her, crying loudly. My throat burned as the sobs tore through it. Tracey was dead. My best friend was dead.

"T-tracey?" I heard. I looked up to see a stunned Blaise, Daphne right behind him, which only caused a new stream of fresh tears.

"I'm so sorry", I sobbed. "I was too late, I'm so sorry!" I wrapped my arms around my knees as I dug my fingernails into the skin of my legs. "I'm so sorry", I muttered as I rocked back and forth.

Blaise fell onto his knees next to Tracey's body, eyes wide and empty. He grabbed her hand like I had done, and she didn't hold his back. Blaise's hands started shaking as a single tear ran over his cheek. He didn't say anything, but it was clear that he was slowly breaking inside, as if someone had pulled the lever on a bomb in his heart, tearing him to pieces.

Daphne had fallen to her knees besides me, sobbing loudly.

"I'm sorry, I was too late", I muttered again. I pressed my hands on my temples as if that could block out the dark mist that was entering, making me feel worse than I ever had in my miserable life.

This was my life. Short moments of happiness before being interrupted by a dramatic event.

Tracey was dead and I had been too late to save her. I bit on my hand to stop my teeth from chattering as Daphne's loud sobs stabbed me in the heart every single time. Tracey was gone. Beautiful, beautiful Tracey was gone.

I felt two arms around me and when I looked up, Draco was holding me, his eyes fixated on Tracey's body, tears running down his cheeks too. I buried my head between my legs again, wanting to disintegrate into nothing. I felt like I was drowning, like my lifeline was gone. Tracey was my lifeline, keeping my head above the water. And now she was gone.

I felt a rage take over my body as my nails tore into my skin , drawing blood. I pushed myself out of Draco's arms and stood up. I sprinted towards the Courtyard again. They had to die. All of them had to die.

"Bombarda!" I yelled and exploded a wall near an unsuspecting Death Eater. Tears were staining my vision, but all I cared about was that these people suffered. They had to suffer just as much as Tracey suffered because of them, if not more.

"Expulso!" I yelled, sending another Death Eater towards its death. I was in the middle of the battle field and death was all around me. Dead students, dead Death Eaters, dead spiders, dead giants, dead Centaurs. Maybe I would die soon, but never in my life had I longed for death so much, as long as I could bring all of these people with me.

All my life they had hurt me and they continued to hurt me. They forced me to be someone I wasn't, they kept me away from Draco and put my father in prison. And now they had killed my best friend. Tracey was dead because of them.

"Crucio!" I yelled as another Death Eater appeared. I hadn't ever performed the spell before, but I wanted them to hurt. I wanted all of them to suffer. I sobbed loudly as the Death Eater cried in pain. Maybe Tracey felt like that too right before she died.

The Death Eater fell to his knees as his body grew limb. He was dead, just like Tracey.

All adrenaline was leaving my body as images of lifeless Tracey entered my mind again. She was dead. She wasn't here anymore. She'd never be with me anymore. I'd never get to hug her again, to tell her how wonderful she was and I'd never get to experience her amazing personality anymore. She was gone, ripped away from me.

My legs collapsed from under me as two arms caught me, pulling me into their chest. The noises seemed to die down as the world around me turned black. All I heard was his voice.

"It's going to be okay, Ellie. Just stay with me. It's going to be fine. I'm so sorry. I love you."

I gently brushed the hair out of Ellie's face as I stared at Tracey's body, laying next to the other fallen of the Wizarding War. Blaise still sat next to her, holding her lifeless hand, crying softly. Daphne sat in a corner, staring into nothing, an empty shell.

Tracey was the last person that deserved to die out of all of us. She was the kindest out of all of us, the most right, the fairest, the most loving and the most loved.

Ellie stirred underneath my arm, so I stopped my motions to check up on her. She blinked a few times before sitting up. Her eyes found Tracey's body on the cold floor of the Great Hall and her lips parted slightly. She didn't cry. She just sat there, staring at her best friend.

I saw something break inside of her as she ran back onto that battlefield. I saw something break that I knew could never be repaired anymore. Something inside of her was destroyed and she'd never be the same anymore because of it. At that moment, she was perfectly content with dying, I saw it in her eyes before she passed out. I saw fire.

Not the usual fire she had, the fierce attitude and the snappy remarks, but I saw a wildfire. A wildfire that she produced, just to attack herself. She was punishing these people for killing her best friend whilst also trying to hurt herself. A part of her wanted to die when she stepped onto that battlefield.

And maybe she would have if Voldemort hadn't pulled back his troops. We probably both would have because at that moment, all I cared about was to be with her, alive or dead.

That was the moment I made my choice. Whoever would win this war, I would stay by her side, despite the outcome and despite my parents. Not because it was a brave thing to do, no, I was no hero. A hero would give up the person they love to save the whole world. I was the villain. I would give up the whole world to save the person I love.

And I was perfectly content being a villain if it meant that she was safe, if it meant that she was with me. I would give up my whole world for her, because all I needed was her. She would be my whole world.

I looked up as people started moving towards the exit, whispers breaking through the eerie silence.

They're back, Voldemort is back.

I frowned as more people started to leave the Great Hall. Eleanor looked up too, no emotion on her face.

"We can stay", I whispered, but she shook her head and stood up. I quickly walked over to Blaise and put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up, a broken look in his eyes that pained me deeply.

"Something is going on", I said. He looked up and nodded, looking at Tracey one last time before standing up. Eleanor was talking to Daphne, but the latter seemed not to respond to any of her words. Eventually Eleanor gave up and walked back.

"She's not coming", she said, her voice hoarse. I grabbed her hand and we walked out, Blaise following us, looking completely out of it.

"From this day forth, you will put your faith in me." We stopped right outside of the entrance of the school, watching the scene in front of us. Voldemort had returned, currently addressing the Weasley girl. I didn't know why, until I saw Hagrid behind the Dark Lord, an unconscious Potter in his arms. The tears on the girl's face told me that he wasn't just unconscious.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort yelled, earning some response from his supporters. My parents weren't among them. My father was incarcerated and my mother was dead. I had killed her. I had killed so many people today, but I didn't regret it. They killed Tracey. A cold crept over me, chilling me to the bone.

Voldemort had killed Harry Potter, meaning that we had lost the war. Tracey's death had been for nothing. All of those deaths had been for nothing. I wanted to clutch onto Draco's hand, but a hard-hitting realisation stopped me from doing so.

They were going to kill us. They might let some people live, they needed people to put at the bottom of their regime but we wouldn't even be among those. We were traitors, we had defected to the other side. They would kill us. They would kill Draco.

I spotted Narcissa in the crowd, next to Lucius. Both of them were still alive. Draco had both of his parents on that side still.

"And now it is time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us, or die."

I felt a hand grab my left hand and when I looked down, I saw Blaise by my side, lonely tears streaming down his face. I squeezed his hand tightly, needing him to know that I felt it too, the pain. There was so much pain.

"They killed her", he whispered. "They killed her." His bottom lip quivered as a darkness entered his eyes. He was not going to surrender.

"You're staying, even though we'll die?" I asked. He looked at me and nodded firmly.

"It's what Tracey would have done", he said, his voice breaking.

"Draco", I heard. I looked away from Blaise to see that Lucius had stepped forward, gesturing Draco to come join them. Draco would be safe there. He'd be safe with his parents. Maybe he wouldn't be happy, but at least he wouldn't be dead.

"Draco", Narcissa called for him. I could feel his eyes burn on my skin. I was going to die today, I was sure of that, but I was at peace with it. I would never step over to that side again, even if they offered me the nicest house and the best position. They had taken everything from me.

And now I needed them to take the last thing I had. I needed them to take Draco away from me.

If I didn't have anything left, I couldn't drag anyone with me. You can't hurt a person who has nothing to lose.