Together

Sunlight was finally breaking. Like fog, dust and debris hung in the air in the rubbled school. Veronique Messina dabbed the torn part of her robes on her bloody lip and kept her eyes scanning for Draco Malfoy. It had been hours since she seen him, at a time when every second was the difference between life and death.

Neville Longbottom stepped into the Great Hall, which was littered with corpses and the writhing, moaning bodies of those still clinging to life.

“What’s going on now?” Veronique whispered to Neville, who shook his head solemnly.

“It’s been quiet for too long,” he replied. “I imagine we’ll be hearing something any minute.”

He was right, for moments later Voldemort’s voice rang through the grand room with the volume and shrillness of a screechsnap.

“Harry Potter is dead,” he said- sending shots of panic and dread through Veronique’s blood. “Step outside and see the proof that your hero has fallen. Surrender to us and there will be no more spilt blood tonight. Join us and together we will finally move forward into the future. Surrender to us. Join Us. But defy us once more... And prepare to face the consequences...”

And just like that, a strange magic fell over the room. Every person still capable of walking felt their legs being dragged against their wills to the ruins of the courtyard- where Voldemort stood waiting, flanked by his Death Eaters and the lifeless body of Harry Potter. Finally, she spotted Draco’s white mane of hair. He was toward the middle of the pack, she’d have to charge through the hundreds to reach him.

Her voice was the only one audible as the rest marched on in frightened silence. “Draco? Draco!” Still, he didn’t turn.

The sound of a terrible scream from Ginny Weasley confirmed Veronique’s worst fear- Harry was truly dead. The biggest battle she would ever fight was over- and she was on the losing end.

Her calls became more desperate, “Draco!”

But soon, she was met with a malicious laugh and a powerful silencing charm. All her shouts were dried like sand in her throat. The best she could do now was continue to push forward till she was standing behind him. Voldemort was professing his success before them.

“Yes, see it with your own eyes! The boy who lived was nothing more than that... A boy. A piece of flesh that met his pathetic death while running away in fear. Join me!” He roared. “You have nothing left to fight for!”

Veronique got sight of the scene for the first time. The Dark Lord, the slimy snake he was, stood like a predator over his conquered prey, with Harry’s body lying lifeless before him. He gluttonously, elatedly, looked back and forward between it and his onlookers.

“See what foolishness you possess? To place your trust in a child? Come to me, make me your leader and you will see how magically powerful our world can truly be!”

Nobody moved an inch. Students, professors, members of the Order... They stood their ground firmly, if not solemnly. Voldemort laughed once more. “I expected this much... Avada Kedavra!” Veronique flinched against the sound of the evil, shimmering curse hitting someone no more then fifteen meters from her. The sound of a body thumping against the ground, followed by a number of short screams and gasps, forced Veronique to shudder. She didn’t dare look at who had fallen now, instead focusing all her energy and attention on the back of Draco’s shoulders.

“See the danger your pride has left you in?” Voldemort angrily called. “Step forward! Accept your Fate and join your Lord!” Draco’s foot flicked forward a bit, and Veronique reached forward to graze his hand with hers.

“It’s me,” she whispered. Draco, without turning or acknowledging Veronique’s presence, returned to his stoic position. And then, the thing Veronique feared most happened- the Dark Lord fixated his red, slitted eyes on Draco Malfoy.

“Ahh, Draco, my boy...” his toned changed dramatically and he offered his slender arm, “You have proved most useful these past few months. Come. Your deeds to the Dark Lord will not go unrewarded.”

“Draco,” Veronique breathed the smallest whisper. “Stay. Don’t give in to him. Stay here. With me.”

When Draco didn’t immediately cross the gap to join the fleet of Death Eaters, Voldemort’s face contorted into a strange smirk. His eye twitched.

“Don’t be afraid, my boy,” he repeated the pet name. “Anyone who so much flinches their wand hand will be met with the... appropriate... punishment.” Veronique could see the fear welling inside of Draco in the way his body no longer moved steadily with his breathing.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “Draco, you are stronger than a mindless pawn. Be the man I know you are.” She once again moved her hand to eliminate the minuscule distance between their skin. “I love you,” she whispered into the back of his neck.

“I love you too,” he breathed. “But he’ll kill me.”

“Then we die together. We go down as heroes instead of cowards.”

“Draco!” Voldemort now growled, reaching for the wand he stole from Dumbledore. “Do not hide behind your whispers. Speak to your Lord!”

“You are not my Lord!” Draco erupted, evoking shock and dismay from the entire crowd. “And I will not do your bidding... Never again...” He snarled and pulled out his wand, knowing this would be a losing battle but accepting it nonetheless. Veronique shut her eyes to prevent the tears from spilling over. She reached for her wand too.

And then a giant commotion broke out.

Neville stepped forward with the sword of Godric Gryffindor, yelling the cry of Dumbledore’s army as he sliced the head off Voldemort’s giant snake Nagini. Ginny, Kingsley Shacklebolt, among others began sprinting over the rubble to take on the Death Eaters once more. Spells began shooting from either side of the courtyard. Miraculously, the sight of Harry Potter suddenly coming to life in the middle of the chaos wasn’t enough to hold Veronique’s attention. As rushing bodies bumped her from every direction, she ran forward and hugged Draco.

“Veronique,” he said as he breathed into her hair and held her like there was no tomorrow, which was very much a possibility. “I love you. Oh, I love you so much.”

“I love you too. You were so brave,” Veronique responded just as a powerful hex hit a pillar and they had to dive out of the way to escape the wreckage.

“He’s going to want to find me. He’ll want me dead.” Draco said as he locked his green eyes on Veronique’s violet ones.

“We won’t let him,” Veronique answered sternly as their world crashed all around them. “We can run away. Together.”