Here we go. More Ron because Astoria.

x Noelle

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Gets rid of boggarts.

in the middle of the night. Draco, who awoke at the slightest sound, was the first one up. Hermione raced down the stairs after him, followed by Andromeda who seemed fraught with worry. He pulled open the door, but lowered his wand when he saw the person on the front porch.

Hermione peeked out behind him. "Professor?"

"Minerva," Andromeda greeted, pulling the door open to usher the old witch in. "Is anything the matter?"

McGonagall swept into the living room, but she politely refused the chair that Hermione offered her. She turned to Draco, a grave expression on her face. "Neville's missing," she informed him bluntly, amidst horrified gasps from Andromeda and Hermione. "I need you and your team to locate him. There's been a siege in one of our other bases and the rest of the Order's trying to save whoever they can. Seamus told us that he last saw Neville in the Forest of Dean, so that's where he probably is."

"Probably captured by Snatchers," Draco muttered. He yawned and raked a hand through his hair, then leaned back against the sofa. "There's a Snatcher camp there."

"Mr Malfoy – "

"Lighten up, Professor," he drawled, his lips curling up in a tired smirk, "it's no wonder I had such a shite time in school, considering your sense of humour – or lack thereof."

Andromeda frowned. "Draco!"

"It's quite alright, Andromeda," McGonagall returned evenly. "I'm used to Mr Malfoy and his bad manners, considering I had the misfortune to have him in several of my classes at Hogwarts."

"Pleasure's all mine, Professor."

She shot him an unamused look. "Now I really don't have time for such nonsense. Gather your team and find Neville."

"Fine." Draco rolled his eyes and nudged Hermione, who immediately ran up the stairs to wake the others. Moments later, Luna appeared and Draco turned to her. "Get Potter and the Weaselette."

Luna nodded, but paused to smile at McGonagall. "Oh, hello, Professor," she greeted pleasantly, before she apparated off.

McGonagall's eyebrows shot up. "Potter? Harry Potter?"

"Well, you know," Draco shrugged. "Keep your friends close, enemies closer – "

"How in Merlin's name did you get Harry Potter to fight in the war, let alone join your team?"

"I Imperiused him, of course – " Draco trailed off when Andromeda shot him a warning look, and the sardonic smirk on his face quickly faded as he added, more seriously now, "he joined for Hermione."

McGonagall shook her head in disbelief, but her features softened as she looked at Draco. "Well, whatever the case, I would like to thank you. There are still some of us who think the world of Harry and would like to see him finish what he started."

Draco shrugged, a little uncomfortable with the older witch's gratitude. "I don't think much of Potter. In fact, I still think he's a bloody wank – " He hissed in pain when Andromeda elbowed him, and met McGonagall's gaze squarely. "But I do think that Potter's the Chosen One."

"Not Longbottom?"

"Longbottom got himself lost in a bloody forest in the middle of the night, while Potter's in bed with his girlfriend. I think it's pretty obvious which of them possesses the brains and self-preservation to destroy the Dark Lord."

McGonagall's lips twitched. But before she could say anything more, Theo rushed down the stairs. He looked alert and ready for battle, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night. Blaise and Pansy soon followed, mumbling polite but awkward greetings to McGonagall.

Draco glanced round the room. "Where's Granger?"

"Here," something brushed up against him, and then Hermione was pulling the Cloak of Invisibility off herself, stuffing it into her satchel. She grinned up at him and pushed herself on the tips of her toes to press her lips against his.

"Might want to look away, Professor," Blaise chuckled when McGonagall's eyes widened.

But Hermione kept the kiss brief. She soon pulled back and placed a phial in his hands. "This is yours," she told him, before handing out more phials to the other Slytherins. "And you guys forgot about these."

"Numbing potions," Draco said casually, when McGonagall frowned at the way the four of them downed the liquids without batting an eyelid. Realisation flickered in her eyes as she quickly deciphered the purpose, but even though her eyes narrowed in disapproval, she wisely chose not to say a word.

Faint pops of apparition sounded behind them as Harry, Ginny and Luna appeared. Harry looked surprised to see McGonagall. "Professor? What're you doing here?"

"I came to deliver a new mission to Draco." The Gryffindor head stepped up to him with a smile on her face. "It's good to see you again, Potter."

"You too, Professor."

Harry exchanged a quick hug with the older witch, and Ginny did the same. McGonagall left after that, along with Andromeda who had offered to provide medical help, leaving the rest of them behind.

Draco felt the weight of their expectant stares on him and quickly wracked his brains for a plan. After a few seconds, he came up with one. It was slipshod, but it would have to do. "We'll split into two groups," he said calmly. "Zabini, Parkinson, Nott, Lovegood – the four of you, you start from the east of the Forest and make your way through. There's a Snatcher camp, Parkinson, you know where it is, right?"

Pansy nodded.

"Okay, you'll lead the way, see if they've got Longbottom tied up at the camp. The four of us," he gestured to the remaining members, "we'll start from the west and try to locate Longbottom. It's dark out, so it's not really necessary to use Disillusionment charms, but keep your eyes open and ears peeled at all times."

The others nodded. Theo was the first to apparate off, and the rest quickly followed. Hermione held onto Ginny to side-along apparate with her. But Pansy lingered behind, and Draco raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you going?"

"I'm about to," she strode into the kitchen and grabbed another bottle of numbing potion from the shelf, downing its contents in one gulp. "Maybe tonight I'll have my revenge," she added, her eyes gleaming with a strange sort of excitement of the deviant kind.

"Pansy," Draco's voice was quiet. She looked at him. "Don't underestimate him."

A flash of raw pain crossed her face. All at once, Draco felt pulled back into the past again. Watching as his friend deteriorated into a shell of herself – so terrified that she could barely breathe, let alone survive.

"I did once," she whispered, and she dragged in a deep breath, gripping her wand tight. "Never again."

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By the time he apparated into the Forest, he found Hermione, Harry and Ginny already waiting for him. Harry and Ginny turned to leave, but he stopped them. "One second," he said, and muttered incantations under his breath to place charms on them. "Let's go. Lumos."

He led the way with his lit wand, and Hermione smiled at her friends, who were staring after him with matching expressions of confusion. "It's an anti-disarming charm. That way, no one can take your wand from you."

"That's pretty clever," Ginny remarked, and grinned when Draco threw her a glance over his shoulder. "Don't look so surprised, Malfoy. I can be nice too."

"Don't break the trend, Weaselette. Weasleys are never nice to Malfoys and vice versa."

"Malfoys are never nice to anyone," Harry deadpanned.

"That is actually very accurate, Potter. Perhaps you possess more brain cells than the previous one cell I assumed you had."

"You just proved my point – "

"Shut up for a second, Potter." Draco stopped the group, pushing Hermione behind him instinctively. "Nox." The light from his wand flickered off and the four of them hid behind a tree, Draco scanning their surroundings with sharp eyes.

"See anything?" Ginny whispered after awhile. "Because I don't – "

Draco swore under his breath and shushed her. "I hear something." He pointed his wand in an random direction. "Homenum Revelio."

Instantly, the soft shimmer of magic in the distance seemed to evaporate, and Hermione's eyes widened as she saw a figure some distance away, struggling against the ropes that bound him to a tree. "That's Neville!" Harry and Ginny started to head forward but she quickly stopped them. "Don't – there might be a trap."

"Stay here," Draco murmured. He stepped back and apparated away from them. Moments later, a flock of conjured birds flew out from behind a distant tree. The birds shot past Neville but were completely unharmed.

"It should be fine now – " The words had just left Ginny's mouth when a sudden pop sounded behind them.

It's not Draco – were the first thought that came to Hermione's mind. The apparition was too loud. Too clumsy. Fear shot through her when the stranger advanced towards them.

Harry was the first to react, striking the Death-Eater before the man could even lift his wand. "Stupefy!" The man was flung back with the strong spell, and collapsed on the ground, completely unconscious.

But just as the Snatcher was taken down, two more apparated nearby – one on the left and the other on the right. And Hermione was reacting without even having to think. "Protego!" The shield momentarily protected the three of them, but the Snatcher on the left was ready the moment the spell's effects ended, and he reacted far quicker than any of them could.

"Crucio!"

Hermione shoved Ginny behind her just as the spell hit her square in the chest, and then there was excruciating pain as she crumpled up onto the ground, like hot knives digging into her skin, a feeling she was far too familiar with.

"Hermione!" Ginny turned her wand on the man angrily. "Expelliarmus!"

The wand flew out from the Snatcher's hand, and then Hermione saw someone apparate next to the man. The look on Draco's face was murderous, and his wand was pointed at the man's throat in the blink of an eye. "Avada – "

"Draco," Hermione rasped weakly, and he quickly glanced over at her, the coldness in his grey eyes fading away when she shook her head.

He stilled, then dragged his hand up to the man's throat, preventing him from saying a word. "Legilimens," he said instead, so smoothly it seemed like he had done this a million times before. And Hermione supposed he had. After Draco had extracted the man's memories, he drew a quick tiny circle with his wand. "Obliviate."

Then with a wordless spell, the man's eyes fell shut as he slumped onto the ground, unconscious. Harry stepped up, having taken down the other Snatcher with a succession of stunning spells, and helped Draco to pull Hermione to her feet. The four of them headed some way off, hiding behind a thicket of bushes.

"Hermione." Draco was by her side in an instant, looping his arms tightly around her waist when she leaned heavily into him. There was an almost frantic desperation in his eyes as he murmured a healing incantation to soothe the ache in her chest.

"I'm fine," she assured him, as the pain begin to ebb away. She hugged him back briefly, feeling the terror in her heart quickly dissipate at the sight of him. "Let's go."

"You're not going anywhere. Weaselette, take Granger back home, and Potter, apparate to the other end of the forest. I think Zabini and the others might need reinforcements."

"I'm not going back!" Hermione glared at him. "I'm fine, Draco, I'll just take a numbing potion and I'll be fine! Blaise needs help and I have to go."

His eyes narrowed. "No bloody way – "

"If you drag me home, I'll just apparate here again."

"You don't fucking know how to apparate, Granger."

"Then I'll get Grus to apparate me. Or I'll travel on foot all the way to the forest."

"Okay, are the both of you going to just stand here arguing?" Ginny rolled her eyes. "I mean, while this does bring back fond memories of the two of you bickering your way through the years back at Hogwarts, we're kind of in a situation here, and it isn't safe."

"I'm half expecting Hermione to punch him in the face at any moment now," Harry chuckled.

Hermione laughed and looked up at Draco, whose lips were twitching in reluctant amusement. "Fine," he muttered, with a resigned sigh. "Just stick close to Potter and Weaselette. And use the Cloak if necessary."

Her smile widened and she pressed her lips to his briefly, feeling a delicious shiver gloss her spine when he boldly kissed her back. "I adore you," she mused, elbowing Harry when he made a gagging noise beside her.

"You should go," Draco said quietly, brushing his thumb against her cheek gently before pulling back. "Before more Death-Eaters come."

"Don't worry, Malfoy, I'll keep her safe," Harry said, as Hermione looped her arm through his and Ginny's, in preparation for side-along apparition.

"Please, Harry, I'm perfectly capable of keeping myself safe," came Hermione's dry retort before the three of them apparated out of sight.

Draco stared at the empty spot in the middle of the forest where Hermione had been just mere seconds ago. It seemed that Hermione had taken all the light away when she vanished, and now the night grew colder, the shadows grew darker, and the war was finally the way it had always been.

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It had been war from the moment they apparated into the forest.

Theo was the first to spot some Snatchers nearby, far away from the actual campsite. They were patrolling the place in small groups, hardly aware of the presence of three defected Death-Eaters and one Order member nearby.

They were defenceless, and it would be so easy to destroy all of them. With Fiendfyre, maybe. Except none of them knew how to control one – apart from Draco, who practically loathed that spell with every fibre of his being, after having lost a friend to it years ago.

"What should we do?" Luna asked Blaise, who was always second-in-command whenever Draco was not around.

"They have Neville," Blaise quickly deduced. "The Snatchers are patrolling, so it obviously means that they're expecting the Order to show up on a rescue mission. Let's just take down whoever we can. Thin out the herd. Don't go near the campsite, or we'll be outnumbered. Pansy, you and I will use Legilimency to find out where Neville is."

The four of them quickly dispersed to hide among the tall trees. A trio of Snatchers soon came their way, and Theo was the first to react. "Stupefy!"

The red light hit one of them and the man promptly collapsed. But the sound was enough to alert two other Snatchers, who immediately headed over to investigate. Blaise peeked out from his hiding position to glare at Theo, who was always thrived on making as much noise as possible.

Theo grinned, and raised his wand, sending another spell right towards Blaise. The spell missed him by mere inches, honing in on the Snatcher who was a good distance away. When the man fell over, Blaise rolled his eyes at Theo, who winked. "Saved your life."

"Bloody show-off," Blaise muttered and whirled around to stun the other Snatcher on his own. He knew that Theo enjoyed the thrill of being back on the battlefield again and, to a certain extent, Blaise felt the same way. It was fun fighting alongside his friends, and now it made sense because they were fighting on the Order's side.

The next group of Snatchers were close enough, and Theo and Blaise quickly took two down in rapid succession. The third was hit by Pansy with a similar stunning spell, but the last, who was niftier on his feet, managed to escape the barrage of spells by ducking and twisting his way through.

Then Luna caught him with an unexpected spell that hardly any of them ever used. "Levicorpus!"

The man was immediately lifted in mid-air, his body dangling upside-down. Theo took the opportunity to hit him with a spell. "Expulso!" The man was blasted backwards by an overwhelming surge of pressure and fell to the ground in a heap. Theo grinned at Luna. "Good work."

She smiled, evidently pleased by his compliment, and returned back to her hiding spot. The four of them held their ground for the next few minutes, the three Slytherins being well-trained fighters and Luna being relatively skilled at duelling. But as more and more Snatchers began to converge, Blaise quickly called for a retreat.

"Neville's on the other side of the forest," he told them, after having used Legilimency on several of the fallen Snatchers. The four of them were now running through the woods, Theo sending blasting spells every so often to deter the Snatchers from catching up with them. "The other group will find Neville," Blaise continued, pausing as he waited for Theo to help Luna over a log. "In the meantime, we'll just keep the Snatchers at bay until we're outnumbered."

"What about the camp?" Pansy asked unexpectedly. She had been silent all this while, looking unusually focused on her mission. Blaise could vaguely guess the reason, but he hadn't wanted to call her out on it.

"We can't possibly take it down without getting ourselves killed – "

"Well." Pansy came to an abrupt halt now, a look of vicious intent on her face. She pulled back, untangling her fingers from Blaise and glanced at him briefly with apology in her eyes. "One of us has to try."

And before any of them could stop her, she apparated out of sight.

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The other end of the forest was deathly silent.

Draco kept his ears peeled for any abnormalities, but after hearing nothing for a good thirty seconds, he cast a Disillusionment charm on himself and slowly made his way towards Neville. On his trek over, he dragged up the sleeve of his jacket, grimacing at the amount of blood trickling down his arm.

"Tergeo," he mumbled, clearing off some of the crimson with a wave of his wand, and pulled his sleeve back down. His Dark Mark had been bleeding for awhile now, but while the pain was excruciating, he'd been able to ward off the worst of it with the numbing potion he'd taken earlier. Now he was just hoping to get through this mission without losing too much blood.

Once Draco was close enough, he removed the Disillusionment charm and smirked at the astonished look on Neville's face. "Evening, Longbottom," he deadpanned.

"Ma – Malfoy?"

"I do believe that's my surname, yes."

"What're you doing here?"

Draco shot him an aggravated look and started to lift the magical charms on the ropes that trapped Neville to the tree. "Midnight stroll, apparently," he said sardonically. "The forest is fucking lovely at night."

"Are you alone – "

"I think I heard a rabbit somewhere in the distance."

" – because I thought I heard Ginny scream earlier."

"Yeah, Weaselette was eaten by the rabbit."

"Are you and your team on a mission?"

Draco finally lifted his head and tapped his wand to Neville's throat. "Longbottom, I have a hex that will make your surname become a reality. And I will not hesitate to use it if you say one more bloody word."