Everything around me moves quickly. People race around the castle looking for some way to prepare for what is coming. I lost Dean in the Great Hall when everyone scattered after Snape left. I feel my heart beating fast, my hand sweating, and my legs weak.
It seems as though my vision is moving in slow motion. This is it. The war that we have been preparing for.
I snap my mind back in reality trying to focus on my surroundings. Focus Olivia. I need to find Dean.
My feet start to move and I race around the castle looking to a sign of anyone I know. Other students race around looking for either places to hide or fight.
"Lancing!" I jerk my head behind me to find Fred running towards me. I can see the beads of sweat falling from his forehead.
"Fred! Have you seen Dean anywhere?" I quickly ask. Hopefully he knows where my other friends are so I can be directed.
He shakes his head, "I haven't seen him. Have you seen George anywhere?"
"No.." I say in defeat. Where is everyone? Why can't I find any other Gryffindors?
Suddenly a loud grenade like sound echoes through the castle. Everyone who was once running stops in their place to look up and outside. It sounds as if something is crumbling around us.
Freds eyes meet mine. I feel my heart skipping beats as I realise it is all happening. Fred rests his hand on my shoulder staring at me, "Olivia, find Dean. He will protect you."
"Fred.." I whimper out, "Please be safe." I almost beg. Tears swell in my eyes as I look at him. He lets out a soft sign and quickly pulls me into his arms. His head rests on the top of mine. I feel his heart beating just as fast as mine through his chest.
When we pull away our eyes meet one last time before Fred motions for me to find Dean. I nod at him and race off. As I continue running throughout the castle I take a brief moment to look at everyone as they race past me.
These are my friends. I may never see some of these people again. Everything is about to change. My heart hurts as I think about Hermione, Seamus, Ron,...Dean. I don't know what I would do if something happened to one of them.
I shake the thought and continue to run. More sounds of crumbling come from above and around the castle. I quickly look through one of the windows in the corridor to see spells hitting the protection shield.
I get to the Gryffindor common room and bust through the doors. I feel air fill my lungs as I see Hermione, Dean, and Ginny standing talking in a hurry.
"Olivia!" Dean yells running over to me with a hug. I embrace him and feel relief fill my body.
"What do we do now?" I ask Hermione hoping she may have some answers for me. Hermione's eyes are wide and I can tell she is thinking a hundred miles per minute.
"We need someone to watch the Slytherin dungeons. We can't have any of them getting released." Hermione looks at me.
"I thought I was handling that." I look to the other side of the common room to see Pansy sitting at one of the study tables twisting her hair with her finger. Shock runs across my face as I look back at my three friends.
"She told us she wanted to help." Ginny says shrugging. I am at loss for words at Pansy actually wanting to be on our side.
"You must be mad to trust her?" I say to my friends thinking about how bad this idea is.
"You know I am sitting right here, right?" Pansy snarks.
"We don't..fully trust her. You go with her and make sure she doesn't do something stupid." Dean requests. I shake my head "no" at their idea.
"I need to be with everyone else. I need to fight with you all. I will not hide in the dungeons waiting for you all to sacrifice yourselves!" I fight back. I will not be alone with Pansy just hearing the battle above me.
Dean edges closer to me, "Olivia, we need you to do this." Dean's eyes lower, "I need you to be safe or I won't even be able to fight."
I roll my eyes but agree. I turn my head to Pansy as she stands alone looking at our conversation.
"No offense but hopefully this place gets destroyed because it could really use some work." She says looking around the common room with disgusted eyes.
I turn my attention back to my friends, "You have to be joking.." They all shrug and wave me off.
"Wait!" I yell at them. I pull them close to me so they can hear. "Please be safe." They all nod, then I direct my attention to Dean. "Please don't get killed." My voice is low as I look into his eyes.
"Oliv-"
"No Dean, I'm serious." Tears fill my eyes as I continue, "You cannot get killed. I-I," My voice starts to break as I speak.
"Shhh shhh.." Dean pulls me into his body.. His arms wrap around my neck as he tries to comfort my emotions. "I'm not going anywhere Olivia."
I look up at him trying to memorize every detail on his face, just in case. "Forever?" I whisper.
"Forever." He gives me a small smile and I nod. He pulls away from my body giving me one last look before exiting the common room. The moment his touch left mine I felt a sudden coldness to my skin.
Before Ginny exits she paces towards me pulling me in slightly, "Liv?"
I look at her, "Yes?"
Her face becomes red and I can see her swallow with discomfort as her eyes move from Pansy to me, "Have you by chance seen, um..." she lowers her voice to a whisper, "Theo Nott?"
My mouth parts slightly, "I haven't, is everything alright?"
She shakes her head violently, "Yes! No worries, just curious is all." She pulls a fake smile, "Stay safe." She says before taking me hand and giving it a squeeze.
I look up and remember that I am now stuck with Pansy.
"Don't look at me for a hug." Her tone sassy as she rolls her eyes. I let out a deep sign and motioned her to follow me.
We leave the common room and start running down to the dungeons. I look up and see the paintings racing around as frantic as everyone else. Pansy trails behind me as we quickly move down the never ending staircases.
As we near the dungeons I can hear students yelling. I turn to Pansy in confusion of the noise. She doesn't even glance at me as she continues towards the sound. I follow behind her annoyed.
We walk up to see all the Slytherin students locked inside the dungeons yelling out for someone to release them. They all see us and get louder screaming "Let us out!" or "Get Potter".
"Fuck, shut up! You all are giving me a fucking headache!" Pansy yells across the crowd of them. I turned towards her in shock of her yelling to her friends. They all grow quiet for a moment until they eventually continue the begging.
Pansy rolls her eyes and turns her back from them, "Well, I might as well get comfortable if we are going to be here for a while." She says sitting down on the floor against the wall. I look down at her and sit a couple feet away.
The sounds of the castle crumbling, Slytherin pleads, and my heart beating echo through my ears. I shouldn't be here. I should be with Hermione, Dean, and Ginny fighting with them. I feel like a coward hiding down here playing babysitter over Pansy.
The minutes pass slowly as I torcher my own thoughts of guilt.
"So is it true?" I hear next to me. I turn to see Pansy looking.
"Is what true?" I ask.
"You don't remember Draco Malfoy?" She asks as she picks at her nails buds.
"Um, yeah I guess." I say confused as to how she knew about that.
I guess she could read my confusion because she then answers my question, "Blaise told me. Malfoy is one of my close friends." I nod in understanding remaining quiet.
"Why can't someone just give them back to you?" She asks yet another question.
"Apparently only the person who took them can give them back." I say remembering the information Ginny had told me a couple days after getting back to Hogwarts. Pansy purses her lips.
We remain silent for a few more minutes. Thoughts of my friends casting and dodging spells fill my mind.
"Ever play Rummy 500?" Pansy asks.
I roll my eyes and grunt in annoyance, "Why do you keep asking me questions?"
"Because Lancing if you look around, its pretty fucking boring down here."
"You are distracting me." I moan out.
"From what?" She laughs a little.
"From trying to think of a way to help my friends." I say rubbing my temples. Pansy doesn't respond but I can hear her eyes rolling from several feet away.
I let out a deep sigh, "No I have never played Rummy 500."
"You should learn."
I feel my mind being torn apart thinking of my friends, I could maybe use something to keep my mind off of it all. "Can you teach me?" I look over to her.
Pansy turns to me giving me a look I can't decipher, "Sure." We scoot a little closer to each other as she starts to talk about the rules of Rummy 500.
We spend the next few minutes breaking down the game, "Well what if I have a ten, jack, and queen, can you put a king down on your side and get extra points?" I question trying to understand the rules.
"Precisely. That's what you should do if you don't have any more points in your hand." She says nodding up at me.
I am broken out of my trance as I hear murderous screams coming from up the staircases. My eyes widen and I look at Pansy. The Death Eaters have entered the castle.
"Lancing!" Pansy yells to me to divert my attention back to her, "Repeat the rules to me." She demands. I shake my head trying to focus on her and Rummy 500.
"Um..each player starts with..." I stumble on my words as my mind keeps shifting back to the stairs.
"Starts with what Lancing? Focus on me, not them." She spits with force.
"Eleven cards." I turn my attention back to her. "They have to either have a matching set with the same number or a run. The more sets you have the more points you get when you place them down." I repeat back to her.
Pansy nods at me as I continue, "You can steal points from the other player by continuing their set or run. First player to 500 points wins." I finish.
"Good job Gryffindor." She says looking me up and down as she purses her lips.
Pansy continues to talk about some different cheats to the game but I can barely focus. She may have helped distract myself from the screams, but I can't get my mind off of what is happening above me.
"I'm sorry Pansy. I need to go." I say standing from the floor. Pansy stops talking and looks up at me.
"And what if I let all my friends out once you leave?" She asks with questioning eyes.
"You won't." I say with somewhat of confidence.
"Go get your little boyfriend Lancing." Pansy rolls her eyes and focuses her attention to her nail buds.
I ignore her little comment about Dean and run down the corridor to the stairs. As I start to climb up the steps, the screams become louder and louder. I focus my attention down to my feet trying not to stumble on any of the steps.
I then feel myself fall down a little as I collide with a hard body.
"Shit." I stumble out trying to regain my balance.
"Out of my fucking way." A deep male voice says above me. I look up to see a tall boy with white hair and a black suit. His eyes then meet mine and immediately soften.
"Sorry." I say standing and running back up the steps quickly.
"Olivia!" I hear the same voice yell out after me. I turn quickly in confusion of how he knows my name. He races up towards me and looks at me with admiration. His hands softy grab mine as he hovers over me. "Are you alright? You need to get out of here." His voice is quick and concerned.
I feel uncomfortable with this boy being so close to me. Although I do recognize him from somewhere but I can't quite place it. Those eyes....where have I seen them before? "Oh, You must be Draco Malfoy." I say remembering from the yearbook Dean showed me.
His face immediately falls. I see a grey color come to his cheeks as he looks down at me. "Listen, I have to go find my friends. I am fine, thanks." I see something come over his eyes and I can tell he wants to say something but I haven't got the time for it. I pull my hands from his and turn away to run up the stairs.
I have no desire to talk to a forgotten memory of a boy that used to date me for his own pleasure and is now a Death Eater. All I know of him are stories Dean has tried to describe to me. From those stories, it seems as though I need to stay far away from him.
I draw my wand and finish climbing the stairs. I stumble upon A Death Eater and three students casting spells at one another quickly. I duck and head towards the Great Hall. I need to find Dean or Hermione.
As I run I try and duck behind different pillars to hide from the enemies. The smoke and dust is thick in the air. I see different parts of the walls collapsing around me as I try and run in a straight line.
Screams and spells surround me as I focus on finding my friends. I stumble onto a corridor to find a tall man in all black standing alone. His hair is jet black and his eyes are darker than the night sky. I feel my heart stop because I am alone with him. I raise my wand as I move back.
He turns to me with a smirk forming on his face, "Ava-"
"Stupefy!" I quickly cast towards him. His body falls to the floor limp. A smile grows on my face feeling proud of myself. I shake the pride and start running to the Great Hall again. As I get near, I look around each corner to make sure I don't have to duel another enemy.
I look around the corner of a corridor towards the Great Hall. I feel my oxygen leave my lungs as I see bodies filing down across the floor. I slowly come out from hiding to walk down, I see different students laying ..lifeless.
I feel my legs become weak below me as I continue to see the students I would sit near in different lessons. As I continue walking I see a face I recognize.
My body falls to the floor next to the small boy I had grown to adore, Samuel.
My blood runs cold and my hands start to shake looking at his body. His hand still gripping the base of his wand. I feel tears pour from my eyes as I look at him. He was too young to die. He was too young for war. My mind flashes to winter break fourth year to remember his smile.
I let out a small sob feeling an overwhelming amount of grief. I take his hands, pull them to his body and place his wand in his arms so no one can trample over him.
I give him a kiss on the cheek and wipe my tears. With that, I quickly stand and run. My body still shaking from seeing Samuel unresponsive in the corridor of the castle.
As I continue I come across Theo Nott racing around the castle looking around alone. I have never spent much time with him in school so I do not know where his loyalties lie.
"Lancing!" He yells as he notices my presence, "Have you seen Ginny Weasley?" He asks in a hurry. I am caught off guard by the question and just why he would be looking for her?
"No." I answer. I do not know if he is looking for her for a particular reason , but because I do not know him well, I choose to leave out that I am looking for her as well. With no response he races off in the opposite direction of me.
I shake my head and ignore the interaction I had just had with the Slytherin. I move down the halls quickly looking for others.
I become hopeless, I should have been up here since the start. Fighting along the sides of my friends. I turn the corner into the Great Hall to see bright hair.
"Olivia!" I see Luna fighting off three Death Eaters with Blaise by her side. I run over casting spells in the direction of the men in black.
"Stupefy!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The spells scream throughout the Hall. I look over to Blaise protectively taking control over Luna. One spell gets so close to hitting her that I let out a small gasp.
"Go fuck yourself." Blaise growls at the two men left standing.
"Confringo!" he yells blasting the two men into the air. Blaise waltzes over to the two bodies and speaks in a low deep whisper, "Crucio."
I run over to him with Luna following behind me. The two men start screaming in pain, one of the mens veins starts popping from under their skin from being in so much agony.
"Blaise! Blaise that's enough! Stop!" Luna begs him. I have never seen a student use an unforgivable curse before. But this is war, I shouldn't be surprised.
Blaise breaks from the men and turns to Luna, "Are you alright? Did he fucking touch you?"
"I'm alright. Please let's go." She says holding his arm. He nods at her and they both look at me. "Thank you." Luna says before running out with Blaise on her arm.
"Wait Blaise!" I yell before he fully exits. He stops and turns towards me, "I saw Draco. He is here."
"Do you remem-"
"No, I don't remember him still." I cut him off, "Dean just had told me you two were close."
Blaise nods his head, "Thanks Lancing." I smile up at him and they disappear.
Suddenly I hear sharp electric noise in my eardrums
"You have fought," Voldemort's voice radiates through my mind, "valiantly. Yet you have sustained heavy loses. If you continue to resist me, you will die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste." My heart quickens at his words.
"I am merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured." My hands start to sweat as I continue to listen.
"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, I shall find you, and I shall find every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
My mind becomes hazy. There is no way Harry won't go to the forest. I need to find him, I need to stop him. My feet start moving quicker than before. I focus my eyes on what's in front of me to try and blur out the bodies I pass next to me.
I enter the center of the castle to find a couple students fighting off the last of the Death Eaters in Hogwarts. I dodge the spells being flown across the atrium and cross over to another hall.
My eyes look to every person that runs past me hoping to see any of my friends. I make my way towards the south wing of the castle, still no luck. My breath is catching up with me as I pant loudly.
I hear voices coming from around the corner and I quickly recognize one of them being Ginny's. I shove down my panting and continue to run to find her.
She stands casting spells towards three men and one woman. I look to see Dean and Seamus next to her fighting just as hard. My heart grows seeing Dean's tall stature so close in front of me.
"Dean!" I yell. My feet run forward and my wand raises as I start fighting next to him. His face is covered in ash and blood. He turns to me with a confused look but then shakes it off giving me a smug smile.
The four of us continue to scream spells at the Death Eaters with vengeance. Although they fight back hard. They are much better at dueling than the one I had to face earlier alone in the corridor on the other side of the castle.
Seamus is suddenly knocked over by a spell and falls to the floor. Dean turns his head to make sure he is alright and then-
"Avada Kedavra!"
The green light shoots in the air hitting Dean's chest. His body flys hitting the ground with force.
"Dean!" My voice screams. My eyes land on his body making no movement. I feel my blood turn to fire. My body feels like it is a thousand degrees. I turn towards the enemies in black, my feet move fast. My body strong. I raise my wand at them "Confringo!", I turn to the other two, "Confringo!" The four of them fly through the air and hit the floor. I run to them and quickly yell "Stupefy!" So they are immoblie.
I turn and run to Deans body, he hasn't moved. I kneel next to him and let out a sob so painful that I couldn't control my body. My mind becomes numb, my body shaking, all oxygen has disappeared.
I take Dean's hands to feel them, ice cold. I feel my face start to tingle as my vision is blurry from the amount of tears pouring from my eyes. My chest is too tight, I can't breathe.
"Olivia, Olivia, breathe. You need to breathe." I hear Ginny say next to me.
"Shut up! Shut up!" I yell through my sobs. "Dean, Dean please! I am here, I made it to you!" I take his head and rest it in my lap as I look down at him. "Dean I told you I wouldn't let you fight alone! I told you I would be okay! Please hear me!" I yell to him waiting for his eyes to open and him to hug me.
"Dean please! I need you! I need you with me, I can't do this on my own!" I beg for him to answer me. Ginny and Seamus remain silent as I lose control. "I thought I was going to be okay after Cedric and my Mother because YOU were with me! You can't leave me!" I contine.
"You said forever! You said you would be with me forever!," My voice chokes on my sobs, "YOU FUCKING TOLD ME YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE ME!" I scream out everything left in my vocal chords.
I hear footsteps come around the corner but choose not to look up. My eyes never leaving Dean, praying he wakes up.
"Get the fuck out of here Malfoy." Seamus says in a weak voice. I look up to see Draco, Blaise and Luna standing staring at the scene in front of them.
My body grows with rage looking at Draco wearing the clothes of a Death Eater.
"Olivia, I-" Luna starts to speak.
"You, you..." I start to stand from the floor. My body is fueling with rage as I walk towards Draco. "This is your fucking fault!" I yell at him. "You killed the only good thing in my life! You killed the only person I love!" I push him with all the power in my body. He falls back only an inch as my hands get in contact with him. He towers over me but doesn't flinch at my anger. "Fuck you!! Get out of my face!" I yell before collapsing to the floor.
Draco looks down at me but doesn't speak. The only noise left in the hall are my sobs. I feel my body completely give out. I look up to see Draco still standing staring at me with his mouth open about to speak.
"I said fucking leave!" I yell through my teeth one last time. I hear footsteps walking further and further away from me. I turn my attention back to my best friend.
My body wraps around his and my head sits on his head holding him close to me. My cries slowly become more controlled the more of them I let out.
I feel a hand on my back slowly rubbing it in circles, I look to see Luna next to me with tears on the brim of spilling over. I then direct my attention to Seamus whose face is red from his silence sobs. Ginny remains composed, but I can tell she isn't okay.
"I didn't get to tell him goodbye. I wasn't ready." I choke out lightly.
"He is still with you Olivia, I promise." Luna's soft voice speaks from behind me.
I can feel the tears on my cheeks falling now that the tingling has disappeared, "He said forever..." I end. The next few minutes are spent holding Dean as I continue my cries.
I slowly try to wipe the tears away and look up from my best friend. I remind myself of everything else happening around me, "Ginny where is Harry?"
"I don't know, we were on the way to find him before we were met with the Death Eaters." She says looking at me.
More footsteps come from around the corner, the five of us look towards the corner of the hall to see Hermione and Ron standing holding each other with red eyes.
Hermione gasps loudly looking at Dean in my arms. She runs towards me and wraps her arms tightly around me. I let out a final sob while she holds me.
"I tried Hermione, I tried to save him." I cry into her shoulder.
"I know, I know you did." She comforts me. When I pull away she gently wipes my tears with her thumb.
"Harry has gone to the forest." Ron says with a shaky voice. We all look at him with shock.
"W-What..?" Ginny stutters out. Ron just nods silently. We all sit with silence wrapped around us. Harry has given himself to Voldemort. There is no way this is over. I refuse to have this end like this.
"How many Horcruxes are left?" I break the silence asking.
"One." Hermione answers. I wipe my tears and nod at her.
"Let's go kill it." I say standing from the floor.
"It's Nagini, she is in the forest with Voldemort right now." She says in a defeated tone.
"Well I refuse to let him win, we need to do something" I speak trying to remain strong. "We take Dean's body to the others, then we make a plan." I say to the group. They slowly stand with me and agree.
Blaise, Ron, and Seamus carefully lift Dean's body and move towards the entrance of the castle. We all walk in silence as I try to keep my thoughts from going dark. As we walk, we pass countless more bodies on the floor.
When we get to the entrance of the castle, I see bodies laying in a line. My feet move to them to see who else I have lost. Ginny and Ron run past me toward their mother sobbing in George's arms. Oh no.
Ginny and Ron both look down to see Fred lying lifeless on the floor. They both break down into sobs as I approach them. Hermione grabs my hand and puts her head in my shoulder releasing small cries. I feel my eyes fill with tears, but nothing comes out.
After a few moments, Hermione releases herself from me. I leave her with Ron and his family as I make a lap around the room to see others. As I pass all the bodies I see Lavender Brown. My heart is struck with pain but I keep moving. Another to add the list being the small Ravenclaw boy I tended to in the infirmary the night the Death Eaters entered the castle. I then see Samuel again, but this time he isn't alone on the floor. His wand still tucked in his arm.
I hear a deep sob come from the back of the room, I look to see Daphne standing over Dean's body. She falls to her knees holding his hands. I feel my heart fall to the floor looking at her, knowing the exact pain. It feels almost as though I am looking at myself and Cedric.
I walk over kneeling beside her grabbing her and wrapping my arms around her. She cries into for a while before calming down.
"O-Olivia...I-I'm so sorry." she stumbles out between trying to catch her breath.
"I'm sorry too Daphne." I say gently. We share one last embrace before I leave her to have alone time with him.
I walk towards the opening in the castle to get some fresh air from everything happening inside. I place myself on some rubble breathing in the summer air. Feeling... empty.
I look up to see a group of black figures walking towards the castle. My heart starts to quicken as I see one figure taller and darker than the rest. Voldemort. I quickly gather myself and run back inside the castle.
"He's back! Voldemort's back!" I yell to the crowd growing inside the castle. Hermione and Ron run towards me as the rest of the students and professors come outside behind us.
I look behind me to see Luna and Blaise sharing an embrace before he quickly disappears further into the castle. Where is he going?
Luna then comes out to join the rest of us outside. I turn back to see the Death Eaters coming closer and closer. Hermione and Ron both grab a hand on either side of me. Their embrace brings comfort to my body as I watch Voldemort come.
"Harry Potter is Dead!" I hear his dark voice echo to us. Our hands untie from each other. Hermione brings hers to her mouth and gasps.
"No!!" Ginny sobs out in pain. Hagrid walks close to us, Harry's body. He is dead. Harry Potter is dead. Our last hope.
"Don't worry Mudblood! I gave him one last killing curse for good measure." The woman I have now learned as Bellatrix spits out laughing at Hermione.
Hermione falls to the ground trying to hide her sobs in her hands. Ron runs to her as they both hold each other.
My blood runs cold at the thought of the future. We have failed. We didn't win. I look across from me to see the boy with silver hair staring directly at me. I hold his eye contact and feel weak under it. I know Dean told me I loved him, but how could I have ever loved a man that would do this.
I feel vile in my stomach as I continue to hold eye contact with him.
"Harry is still with us! His spirit will never leave us! We fight till we all die!" I turn and see Neville limping as he yells out. "We rather die than have you as our Dark Lord!" I look around to find the other students raising their wands ready to fight.
Ron and Hermione stand from the ground wiping their tears. I see Seamus standing tall lifting his wand, Ginny doing the same.
Voldemort looks at us and lets out a devilish laugh, "So be it. You all die today." he raises his wand and directs the Death Eaters to attack.
Suddenly spells are being cast through the air. I race to hide behind a large piece of stone rubble. My wand is drawn as I try and turn my body to look at the attacks. I cast a few spells behind the stone at some of the men in black, yet none of them hit.
Bodies soar through the air as different colors fly through wands across the front of the castle. As I look at the mess in front of me I remember Samuel, I remember Lavender, I remember Fred, I remember Dean..an explosion of heat flames inside me as I run into the chaos. I fall in front of a man in black towering over me. His smile is grim and his hair is dark and long.
"Stupefy!" I yell, he dodges easily. As he raises his wand my eyes meet a tall boy with silver hair standing behind him staring me in the eyes.
"Expulso!"
My body jumps through the air. I feel a numbness rush through me. I feel my head hit the floor of the concrete and my body slowly melts away into the ground. I feel paralized as I stare up to the sky. My eyes slowly shut. The only thing on my mind is my own death.