Requisite - Draco Malfoy

4.9

*this was originally meant to be one chapter but it was verging on 10,000 words so I had to split it into two, enjoy the cliffhanger I guess

It all happened so quickly.

One moment we were standing in a mesmerised trance, watching the once-hopeful barricade fall, the next we were running for our lives.

In a strange sense, it was oddly reminiscent of that night in the forest, the barrier catching alight in the same way the burning leaves did, fluttering obliviously on their dangerous decent of destruction.

Neville's hand gripped onto the side of my jumper as we ran, forcing my eyes to tear away from where Draco stood masked behind the Dark Lord.

It was a frantic fumble, tripping and ripping up the ground as we ran, screams and cries beginning to fill the air as the realisation hit that this was the start of the end.

A loud bang suddenly sounded from behind us, watching as an endless stream of death eaters apparated into the grounds, bright flashes of dark magic exploding all around.

There was no escaping this now.

"Fuck, fuck - get inside the castle!"

Neville grabbed onto me and Luna, pushing us onwards infront of him and into the cover of the building. He grunted as he quickly deflected a cruciatus curse from behind, sending it into a nearby wall which caused it to crumble immediately.

My eyes widened as another awful crack came from inside the castle, hearing a deafening scream before a deathly silence filled the hallway.

I watched as the body of a fifth year Ravenclaw girl went clattering into one of the windows, blood beginning to seep out onto the dusty floor as her body hung through the smashed pane, twitching with the aftershocks of the killing curse.

Luna gasped, clearly having recognised the girl as she stumbled back a few steps into me, at the exact moment a death eater reared around the corner.

"Stupefy!" The spell screamed from my lungs before I could even register what I was saying, propelling the dark wizard into the air and smashing back down with a cracking thud.

"Nice one, Ives." Neville breathed out from behind me, nodding briefly before grabbing a hold of Luna and beginning to dart towards the stairs.

I bolted behind him, my wand drawn up to my chest as I frantically looked around for any death eaters on our pursuit.

Screams and cries of fighting students filled the air as we raced up the stairs, smoke and dust making it harder to see from the constant flow of magic and breaking of the castle.

As we reached the top of the stairs, the sight I saw would stay with me forever. Students' bodies were scattered amongst the rubble, already having lost their lives when the battle had only just begun.

Friends cried over them, shaking and desperately pleading for them to wake up. But just as they were beginning to mourn, the unforgiving death eaters rounded the corner, causing them to cry out in mercy as they frantically tried to pry each other way and run for cover.

In an instant we began attacking, the three of us closing in on the few death eaters that still lingered within the hall. To begin with, we had the upper hand, our trio pushing them back and rendering a few unconscious.

We worked together, deflecting as many spells as we could, but when another group of them came round the corner, the realisation soon became apparent. We were overpowered.

I cried out as one of the spells grazed past my arm, causing me to clutch at it as I stumbled back and cowered behind one of the pillars, my wand trembling between my fingers.