Draco and I were sitting in one of the many living rooms in Malfoy Manor, just sitting and waiting for the Dark Lord to call, signalling that the war was about to begin. We thought we might as well sit in the living room though instead of the bedroom since everyone now knows I was here, plus I just needed to get out of that room after spending way too much time in there or sneaking around the manor trying not to get caught.

Neither of us got even a wink of sleep last night, we were both up just worrying about today and what was to come. We didn't know what to expect at all, we just knew that whatever it was, it's not going to be good in the slightest. And there was no doubt that too many innocent lives are going to be lost, just for the sake of the Dark Lord. And to think that nobody else, apart from us and the Death Eaters, know that today is the day of the war. They're probably just continuing on as though it was another normal day, not knowing what was in store for them. Especially Harry.

We decided to say our final goodbye to Indie this morning, and Anna, because we knew that if we were in a room with her when the Dark Lord called, we'd never be able to leave her. Saying goodbye to her was hands down the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I absolutely hated the thought of not knowing whether Draco and I were going to make it out of this battle and it broke my heart to think of my Indie growing up without one of her parents, or even both. I did try my best not to think about that, and look on the bright side and be optimistic, but it was just too hard and almost everything I looked at or thought about gave me a memory of her.

"I love you", Draco said out of the blue.

"And I love you too. So, so much", I said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek since his face was still looking forward and not to me.

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this, it's all my fault", he placed his elbow on his knee and leaned his head onto his hand.

"Hey! How many times do I have to tell you not to apologise about this? Stop blaming everything on yourself Draco because, believe it or not, not everything is your fault", I said, slightly referring to his dad.

He hasn't talked to or even seen his father, if he'll even still call him that, since yesterday's argument after the meeting, and I can tell he is very glad about that. He told me how long he's wanted to do the for, and how relieved he is to finally be rid of him.

"Thank you Lilah", he said as he swivelled round on the expensive sofa we were sitting on to face me.

"What for?" I asked, curious as to why he was thanking me. As far as I was concerned, I don't think I've done anything recently worth being thanked for.

"For everything. You've changed me, a lot, changed me for the better. Before I got to know you, and Indie, I was broken, incredibly broken. I didn't know what I wanted in life or what I was even doing with my life. All I knew was that I had to spend all my time on that fucking Vanishing Cabinet in order to save my life, but it didn't feel like I was doing it to protect me. Because, instead of feeling relieved when I finally fixed it like I thought I would, I felt even more broken. It was pretty much killing me knowing what I was doing, rather than saving me. I'd probably even go as far to say that I was depressed, so fucking depressed, and I didn't feel as though my life had a purpose."

"But then, I met you and Indie", he continued. "You guys saved my life. You made me feel like I was worth something and showed me that my life was worth living. I know this is really cheesy but you two really were the light at the end of the tunnel. You've made me feel so much happier than I thought was ever possible, and you've done so much for me, more than I truly deserve. So thank you for showing me the meaning of life."

Hearing this made my heart fill with so much love. And I didn't think it was possible to love this man more than I already did.

"Draco-", I started to reply, but I was stopped when he clutched onto his left forearm and doubled over, wincing in pain.

After the pain stopped slightly, he looked up at me with a look in his eyes that I could only explain to be pure fear. We shared a look, not knowing what was about to happen.

"Stay safe my love, promise?" he said as he stood up and prepared to leave.

"I promise, and you?" I asked.

"Promise, I love you", he spoke, before leaning in to give me a long lasting kiss as though it was our last. I prayed that it wouldn't be our last though.

"I love you too", I whispered once we pulled back from the kiss, a bit breathless.

"See you on the other side darling", he said as he apparated away to whatever the Dark Lord had in store for him, leaving me alone in the manor.

I waited a couple of minutes, taking deep breaths, preparing myself for what was to come. "Right, here goes", I breathed when I was finally ready, as I apparated away to Hogwarts.

Once the world stopped spinning around me, I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in the Ravenclaw Common Room which, to my surprise, was completely empty. I walked out into the corridor and was shocked my what I saw.

It was deserted, not a single soul in sight, but the area was completely destroyed. There was rubble all over the floor and dust particles were visibly floating round the air. It must've already started, I thought to myself.

Wand in hand, I carefully made my way towards the Great Hall, looking round every corner just in case anything was going to jump out at me.

As I started nearing the Great Hall, I began seeing more and more people. They were all dodging spells sent by other people, who I'm assuming were Death Eaters, and I even had to dodge a few myself.

Luckily, when I was staying in the manor, Draco taught me many defensive spells to keep myself safe just in case he wasn't around to help save me, so dodging the spells wasn't too hard. He also told me the types of spells they were most likely to use so that I was prepared for them.

The closer I got to the Great Hall, the more destroyed the place got. There was even more rubble and debris smashed across the hallways, making it almost impossible to walk without stumbling.

Suddenly, my body crashed into someone. I grabbed my wand even tighter and pointed it towards them, getting ready to shoot a spell at them if they were a Death Eater. But, my eyes widened as soon as I saw who it was I had bumped into.

"Lilah?" he asked, hardly being able to believe what he was seeing.

"Grayson!" I shouted excitedly as I wrapped him into a hug.

I had missed him, and Ash, so much over the past almost year and not being able to have any contact with them was so hard, much harder than I thought it would have been. There have been so many times that I've been tempted to write to them or try and find them to visit them, but hadn't because it would've been too dangerous.

As excited as I was too see him though, I was upset that they were under these horrible circumstances. "Quick, come here", I said after we unwrapped our arms from one another. I dragged him over to an empty classroom, in hopes that we would be safer in there, away from all the chaos.

"I'm so happy you're alive!" he said as soon as we entered safety.

"I can say the same about you! I've missed you so much", I spoke.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

"Just a couple of minutes ago, I've been staying at the manor ever since Dumbledore was killed so that's why I couldn't owl you anymore", I told him.

"The manor? As in... Malfoy Manor?" he questioned, looking concerned that I possibly just spent the past year in the Death Eater headquarters.

"Yes, buts it's okay because Draco looked after Indie and I", I reassured him.

He was about to say something, but before he could a Death Eater stormed into the room, casting spells our way.

Thanks to Draco's lessons, I was easily able to direct them away from us and back to the Death Eater, causing him to go flying into the nearest wall.

"Holy shit!" Gray gasped, "Where'd you learn that?!"

"Draco taught me", I answered.

"Impressive", he nodded slightly.

"Where's Ash?" I asked, I wondered why she wasn't with him when I crashed into him.

"I'm not sure, I was just looking for her when I bumped into to you", he said, as we started running towards the Great Hall avoiding spells that were being thrown towards us.

"Look! There she is!" I shouted as soon as I saw her running past us in front of the doors to the Great Hall. She turned around, hearing my voice, and saw me. A huge smile crossed her face and she started running towards us we starting running towards her.

But suddenly, a flash of light hit her and sent her flying into the Great Hall.

"NO!" Grayson and I screamed at the same time as we ran over to her, not believing what we possibly just witnessed. As we reached her, we saw that she was just laying there, not moving.

Her body was lifeless.

I had just witnessed my best friend's death.

+++++

Author's Note:

I'm so sorry for doing this guys!

What are your opinions of this chapter? Let me know xx