School Exchange (Drarry) ✓

Chapter 17

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort announced with glee, both hands lifted in triumph while the band of death eaters behind him guffawed in laughter. Hagrid let out a loud wail, hands trembling around Harry's motionless body.

The other side of the courtyard was eerily silent. Neville should've known what Harry was about to do after his solemn instructions to kill the snake. Hermione opened her mouth, but no sound escaped. Ron grabbed her hand and squeezed, letting her dig her nails into his sweaty palm.

Draco's eyes were only fixated on Harry's body. He couldn't think properly, he couldn't speak. His mother hugged him, his father put a hand around him. Nothing really felt right. Draco wished he could scream and lash out at something, at someone, but his body stayed still. Instead, his nails clawed at the back of his hands, hard enough to leave red marks on his pale skin. And the whole time, Voldemort was mocking them for their defeat, telling them to surrender now so he would spare their lives.

Draco was handling the situation quietly, but minutes had ticked by and Voldemort wouldn't stop detailing over Harry's death. His Harry, who was too kind and innocent to let this world corrupt him. His one and only boy who he loved so much and never failed to make him smile. Draco should've known better, that Harry would have given up his life the second Voldemort made that announcement. Because Harry would never risk anyone getting hurt, much less dying for him.

Before he could comprehend, tears were running down his cheeks. Like a child, he clung onto his father's coat as they stained the fabric an even darker shade of black. Draco's chest felt so tight, and it was as if someone had forced a dozen stones down his windpipe to suffocate him, so each breath he took sounded like painful gasps.

"Lucius..." Voldemort hissed, somewhat done with his victory speech. "You were one of my wisest followers, yet you have betrayed me." The air felt so heavy, yet Lucius was calm, unmoving. "You will be the first to die. And I will make your son and wife watch."

"What a pleasure, my lord." For a moment Draco thinks that he could hear his father's thoughts, plain with sarcasm yet polite-sounding. It took him an embarrassingly long time to realise that the whole courtyard had heard it. A second of idiotic, Gryffindor defiance, that he didn't know his father would possess. Or perhaps it was more Slytherin than he thought.

Draco doesn't hear Voldemort's reply to it. It was more likely that the dark lord wouldn't reply, of course. But thinking of his father's death, right after Harry's, was a little too much pain to handle. Draco pulls out of his father's grasp, shooting the first spell that comes to mind. The ground shakes as the bricks start to buckle, dangerously close beneath Voldemort's feet. Where the impact truly lay, however, was the couple of death eaters who were right behind him, most losing their balance and a handful unconscious. Voldemort seethes, his blinding red eyes filled with anger. "You stupid boy." He rasped.

"We'll join you when hell freezes over!" A voice shouted over the crowd. Neville stumbles forward due to his broken ankle. "Harry didn't die in vain, but you will, because you're wrong! Harry's heart beat for us, for all of us! It's not over!" Nagini lashes forward, fangs aimed directly for Neville's throat. From the dirty, worn hat, he pulls out the sword of Gryffindor, and slices her head off in a clean swoop.

Snake blood covers his jacket and Neville wipes some more off his cheek. Voldemort readies his wand, about to shoot, just when an unsuspecting silhouette of a messy-haired boy with piercing green eyes sprinted across the courtyard. "Confringo!" A spell that wasn't aimed at anything in particular, but managed to ruin the flooring even further. Voldemort chases Harry's shadow with multiple explosive spells, except that the boy had been trained to run and avoid them like he's been doing so for months.

Both sides of the courtyard erupted into absolute chaos. Death eaters fled left and right, Bellatrix Lestrange being one of the few who tried to coerce people into staying. Professors led students back into castles, putting up thick shielding wards as they ran. Narcissa grabbed both her son and husband and they sprinted to the nearest entrance of the castle.

Those death eaters who chose to stay were more ruthless than ever. The only problem was that every spell they cast at them seemed to bounce off and fizzle onto the ground. Draco guessed correctly it had something to do with Harry's protection, and his parents caught on quickly to that fact as well. Students teamed up in groups, taking them out one by one. Bellatrix's taunting stance and menacing cackle didn't seem to dull even as her side was losing. She shot curses at Ginny, which did nothing but further anger Molly Weasley.

"Bella." Narcissa said, quiet but firm. "Don't. Don't do it." And Narcissa knew she was being stupid, standing in the middle of the crossfire between one angered mother and her mentally unstable sister.

"Cissy, move." Bellatrix demanded. Her eyes were blazing with rage, but her voice was surprisingly soft. Andromeda watched quietly, worry written all over her face. "Move!" She screamed again, her hands waving wildly, nearly hitting Narcissa who doesn't even bother dodging.

"It's not too late, you can turn back..." She pleaded. "The 3 of us. We can still be together, you and me and Andy..."

"We won't be, will never be. And Andromeda ruined everything." Bellatrix snapped, cold. Narcissa, on the other hand, threw herself at the older woman, her arms tightly hugging Bellatrix and pinning hers to her sides. Right then and there, Narcissa buries her face into her sister's tangled curls. And even from afar, Draco could see his mother's shoulders, involuntarily shaking. And Bellatrix doesn't do anything but stand perfectly, painfully still.

***

"We don't need to kill each other. As long as you repent, and apologise, we wouldn't need to." Harry tried to reason.

"You won't stop me, Harry Potter. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it." Voldemort circled the courtyard like Harry did.

"Let's finish this the way we started it, Tom." In a second, both wands were whipped out. Red met green, clashing in the middle with bright sparks. Voldemort gritted his teeth, but the force of Harry's magic was greater, the red slowly and consistently inching closer towards him.

Voldemort tumbled to the ground, in a collapsed heap. Tom Riddle was dead.

The aurors collect the remaining death eaters, dead or alive. Bellatrix was placed in handcuffs and only then did Narcissa let go. Lucius kept an arm around her waist, providing a type of silent comfort that even their son didn't understand why it worked so well.

In the middle, right where the corridors were the widest, 2 boys ran towards each other and met with a crushing hug. Draco was still digesting the events that happened, and seemed to lose complete control over his crying. Yet Harry was patient, drying the tears on his flannel jacket, his arms strong but touch gentle.

"I love you." Of course Draco knew that, but Harry wanted him to hear it as well.

"I love you too, Harry." He whispered back. Draco could feel Harry's radiant beaming against his neck. "I love you. So, so much." He said again. And Harry kisses him, ignoring the hundreds of students and professors and whoever else. Ignoring the coos and weird, high-pitched squealing that came afterward.

"Will you marry me?" Harry said, against his lips.

"Are you proposing?" Draco asked, at first thinking it was just another one of Harry's weird questions. But Harry nods, and the next moment he knew Harry was on one knee, somehow already conjuring a full bouquet of flowers. Narcissus flowers, and snow-white lilies.

"I knew you were the one for me since the first day you walked into the Great Hall in fourth year." Harry said with the brightest smile, holding both of his hands. "So. Draco Malfoy, will you marry me?" Not able to speak, Draco barely manages to nod. Harry smiles impossibly brighter, both hands on Draco's hips as he stood, calmly bridging the gap between them.

And Draco couldn't be happier.