In The Shadows² ★ Draco Malfoy

*A New Day

The Great Hall stood silent after Voldemort fell. No one could seem to believe what had happened. They had done it. They had won. It was finally over.

The shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke as the screamsand the cheers and the roars of the watchers rent the air. Hundreds of people flooded towards Harry in joy, but Briar had something else to do first

Her eyes scanned the crowded hall and they settled on a pale-blonde boy, whose grey eyes were already on hers. Her feet carried her to him without control from her brain, and once she was within arms reach she looped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug

Draco's arms circled her waist and they held onto each other tightly, both in disbelief that they were alive, and had won. They stood there for a while, for several minutes, as if scared it was a dream

"We did it," Draco muttered against her shoulder

"We did," Briar nodded and squeezed him tighter. Over his shoulder she spotted a family of red-heads gathered together celebrating, and Briar decided she should go be with them. So she released her hold on Draco and headed towards the Weasleys

Ginny spotted her coming, and with a near-sob, she threw herself into Briar's arms. The pair were probably the youngest in the whole room, and they had been through so much together since their first year. The Chamber of secrets, Sirius Black's escape, a Death Eater infiltrating Hogwarts, Professor Umbridge's torture, the Department of Mysteries, Death Eaters attacking Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore's death, and now this. And somehow they had both come out of it okay

Briar also hugged the rest of the Weasleys, and then Harry, Ron, and Hermione, before she decided to take a moment to herself and sit outside. The courtyard had mostly been destroyed, but there was one stone bench left, facing the sunrise, so she sat down on it

The sun was rising in all its brilliant and blazing glory, and something about the warmth it was casting over her gave her a sense of comfort. This battle had been going for 50 years and they had lost a lot of people on the way. James, Lily, their friends, her mother, Sirius, Dumbledore, Moody, Lavender, Fred, Tonks, and her dad. So many people had given their lives for this war and looking at the bright orange sun made Briar feel like they were celebrating from above with them. It hadn't all been in vain. They had died so that the wizarding world could live to see another day. And Briar intended to make every second worth it.

She decided to head inside and see what was left of the castle. The corridors were now mostly empty as everyone was in the Hall. And the damage each corridor had sustained varied from a cracked window pane to whole ceilings missing. Her feet seemed to lead her to the bottom of the Gryffindor tower, and she decided to head up.

The Fat Lady swung open without a word and Briar was amazed to find that the common room was practically untouched. Somehow Hogwarts always found a way to feel like home. Speaking of home, Briar let her feet carry her up the girl's staircase, all the way to the 6th years dormitory which she would have been in this year

Inside 5 of the 6 beds were as messy as always, except the 3rd bed from the left was untouched. Since their first year that had always been her bed, and she was comforted by seeing her friends had left a space for her

The door creaked open behind her, and she expected it to be one of the girls, so she was surprised when a deep voice said "Briar"

She whirled on her heel and found herself face-to-face with Henry, who looked close to tears "What the hell do you want?" She scoffed "Here to finish me off?"

He cast his eyes down to his shoes "I wanted to say I'm sorry," he said quietly

Briar's eyes drifted to Ginny's pinboard of photos, and one photo in particular stood out. It was of her, Henry, and Ginny during their third year, sitting by the Black Lake, with smiles on their faces as they laughed