"I beg your pardon?" All her Purple Cloaks turned sharply to her at that statement.
Dahlia sent a prayer to Kalaraja that that was not a giant before gesturing for her Purple Cloaks to follow her. Their cloaks were now a dusty purple, rather than the vibrant color before, but there wasn't time to change that. They turned the corner and came face to face with half a dozen death eaters.
Adrian's breath hitched behind her, and a sinking feeling pooled in her gut. Whoever these Death Eaters were, her Purple Cloaks knew them.
"Dumbledore's brat!" One of them drew their wands, the mask and robes obscuring the man's identity from her. "The Dark Lord is looking for you."
"Tell him to look harder then," Dahlia answered coldly, wand twitching in her hand. She scanned the corridor past them, seeing the Order forces pushing the Death Eater forces out and into the courtyard.
The Death Eater found her comment comical, swinging around to his friends with a hollow chuckle, "He said she had a mouth on her, didn't he?"
"Wonder what else that mouth does," one of the other Death Eaters cackled evilly. Dahlia opened her mouth to retort, but before she could do anything Draco had yanked his hood down and stepped forward.
He gave the Death Eaters one second to process who he was before he struck, and Dahlia didn't think she'd ever seen such graceful violence in her entire life. His wand curved through the air, a golden spell striking the frontmost Death Eater. It struck him in the throat, slicing his neck.
Blood squirted from his throat all over the floor, splattering Dahlia's shoes. His body hadn't even hit the ground before Draco had spun around and struck two more with Killing Curses. One stepped forward to attack, and with a simple wave of his non-wand hand Draco snapped that man's neck.
The man who had made the vile comment turned on his heel and started to run, but Draco stunned him, watching him crash to the ground. The other Death Eater was cowering now, and Draco barely spared him a moment's notice. A green light flashed and the man fell to the ground lifeless.
The whole ordeal was over in a matter of five seconds, or so Dahlia thought. Draco trucked over to where his stunned captive had fallen. He kicked the wand roughly from the man's hand, unstunning him and dragging him up by his robes.
Draco gripped the man's face tightly in his hand, rearing back and punching him across the face. He buried the tip of the wand in the man's jugular, digging it into his flesh until he gargled for breath.
"Her mouth does godly things," Draco growled in the Death Eater's ear, "And it has no business being on your mind."
With that, he drew his wand across the Death Eater's throat like a knife. No blood spilled, rather it was like a ghostly, wispy form leaked from the man like Draco had drained the man of his life itself. The Death Eater collapsed on the ground, lifeless, and paler than a sheet as the dark milky substance dispersed into nothing.
Dahlia gaped at Draco as he stood, dusting his hands off and glancing back to her. Theo and Blaise were speechless, flanking Dahlia on either side. They watched Draco with wide eyes, and for a moment no one could speak.
And then Pansy said, "You think you could teach me that last spell?"
"Draco!" Dahlia gasped. Draco winced, anticipating a sharp remark to control his magic or that had been overkill for the comment. Her expression slowly changed, and what she said was so far off the mark from what he thought she was going to say that he could do nothing but gawk.
"Leave some for the rest of us next time."
Dahlia blew past him, but the lingering, longing look she gave him as she passed had him collecting his senses and scrambling after her.
What they found out in the courtyard banished any previous thoughts completely from his mind.
Hogwarts, the place that had been a home and sanctuary for so many, was in rubble. Stone statues clashed with Death Eaters, spells striking them and reigning their rubble down on the duelers. Acromantulas were prowling around, snatching Order and Death Eater members alike and dragging them back towards the forest. Hagrid was running interference, screaming at the spiders and smacking them over the heads with a tree trunk.
The coble stones were chipped and cracked from the force of crowds and spells. A giant stood a hundred yards away, nearly twenty feet tall and swinging his club into the side of the Clock Tower. Death Eater forces were pouring through the open gates, the enchantments around the castle slowly beginning to fade like the castle's life-force itself was dying.
This courtyard had once been a peaceful welcoming place, a scenic place of serenity that echoed with the call of birds and the thestrals in the forest. Now it was painted in blood and echoed with the cries of the dying.
"Dahlia!" Pansy gripped her hand, yanking her into action. Dahlia stumbled out of the way, narrowly avoiding a killing curse that struck the castle wall behind her.
That woke her up. Dahlia stiffened, cataloguing the situation with a trained eye as she rattled off orders, "Astoria, Adrian, and Daphne - defend the Order. Pansy, Cris, Ginny, Luna, stop the Death Eaters that keep coming in."
"And us?" Theo and Blaise turned to Dahlia expectantly, cocking a brow at her. Draco was eyeing her with apprehension as if he already knew exactly what she was going to say
Dahlia smirked, cracking her knuckles and straightening her shoulders. "I believe we have a giant to slay, gentlemen."
"Why do we always get the hard jobs?" Theo whined as he trotted after Dahlia through the fray. They eliminated as many Death Eaters as they could as they made their way across the courtyard, focused on the one thing capable of wiping all of them out.
Dahlia shot spells at the Giant's back as they waded towards him, her spell ricocheting and striking an Acromantula instead. Not what she'd wanted, but useful.
"How are we supposed to take it down when spells don't hurt it?" Draco bellowed, throwing several Killing Curses at the giant before having to duck and run to avoid the giant's club.
"I'm trying to figure that out!" Dahlia grunted as she threw herself behind a column just in time to avoid being batted against the wall.
"Incarcerous!" Theo screamed, dancing around the giant's ankles. The ropes threw the giant off balance for a second before snapping. Theo was forced to disapparate and reappear beside Dahlia to avoid being scooped into the giant's hand.
"Brilliant!" Dahlia screamed, pointing her wand at the Giant's ankles. Thick ropes snaked out of her wand, wrapping around the giant's ankles and snaking up to his knees. Draco followed suit, sending chains coiling around the giant's legs.
The giant abandoned them all together and began a full scale assault on the ropes and chains immobilizing his body. The giant had just fallen to his knees when a great bellow shook the trees around them and a childlike roar echoed in the deepest voice Dahlia had ever heard.
"Grawp beat giant. H'grid say Grawp fight giants!"
The ground shook so hard that Dahlia's teeth chattered, and she barely had time to look up in time to see a second, slightly smaller giant, pounding over towards them from the forest.
It was terrifying - his greyish, green face was furrowed in a scowl, his mossy, yellow teeth barred. The large, apparently friendly, giant was dressed in nothing but a loin cloth that did very little to shield him when one was standing directly underneath him.
"Put some pants on!" Theo cried as he retreated, dragging Dahlia with him. Draco was right beside them, backing up as quickly as they could before Grawp started pounding the fallen giant with his fists.
"He has a monster cock," Draco mumbled, shaking his head like he was trying to manually eject the memory from his mind.
Theo winced, "Can we not talk about -"
A spell hit the ground in front of them and sent them all flying backwards. A quick cushioning charm prevented their fall from being too painful, and all three of them were on their feet and on guard in an instant.
Dahlia recognized the Death Eater who had challenged them through the smoke and haze of the aftermath of the spell. Lucius Malfoy stood, proud and tall, flanked by two other Death Eaters she didn't recognize.
While Lucius's friends had opted to keep their masks, the Malfoy Head was maskless, his identity portrayed for all to see.
Lucius Malfoy wasted no time in engaging - he struck fast and hard, dark spells flying at her. Dahlia lifted her want to react, but Draco stepped in front of her and countered the spells. He attacked his father aggressively, stepping forward and pushing them back. He remained cloaked, disguised from his father as he attacked ruthlessly.
Blaise went with him, attacking the other two Death Eaters and drawing them away from Dahlia. Dahlia hesitated, torn between helping Draco and diving into the fight around them when the ground shook again, and a roar filled the air.
Theo and Dahlia exchanged a look, eyes automatically searching the skies for the source of the sound. Dahlia could see two more giants on another part of the castle demolishing one of the walls.
"How are we going to take down those two?" Theo pointed to the giants, clocking the source of the sound at the same time she did. "The friendly one is busy."
Indeed Grawp was - he'd just ripped an acromantula in two and punted it into the Black Lake. Dahlia shuddered at that sight and turned her attention back to the giants across the castle.
She knew she ought to go and handle them - who knew how much damage they were inflicting to the Order forces - but she was loath to leave Draco and her other Purple Cloaks here. Dahlia bit her lip, monitoring Draco's duel as she tried to come up with a plan.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept over them, and a horrible roar shook the skies again. Dahlia looked to the giants, expecting it to be them but the giants hadn't even swung their clubs again.
Dahlia looked directly above her, searching for an alternate source for the sound, and nearly fainted with shock. Theo screamed in terror as a whoop rose up from the battle.
"Fuck yeah Charlie!"
A dragon. There was a god damned dragon in the sky. Dahlia squinted, only to see Charlie Weasley sitting on the base of the dragon's neck, beaming like a fucking lunatic.
It took a lunatic to know a lunatic.
Dahlia glanced over to Theo with a smirk tugging on her lips, "Care for another ride on a dragon?"
Theo looked at her blankly before he broke out into the biggest grin, "Fuck yes."
They joined hands and took off into the skies. If Charlie was here, that meant Fleur was here. And that meant Fleur had done what Dahlia'd asked. Dahlia kept that in mind as she and Theo streaked through the air, approaching the Dragon from behind so as not to startle it. They landed on the Dragon's hide, directly between it's flapping wings.
"Charlie!" Dahlia cupped her mouth, screaming the Weasley's name as she inched closer to the Weasley. It'd been a while since she'd met him at Bill and Fleur's wedding; she wasn't sure he'd remember her.
He spun around immediately, dragon-tail earring swishing with his movement. His hair was braided, and he honestly reminded Dahlia a lot like Bill, except for the man bun and shaved sides of his head.
"Dahlia! Bloody hell - good to see you!" Charlie turned around and slid down the Dragon's back, sticking his hand out. "Good night to barbecue some blood purists!"
"Any chance you brought more dragons?" Dahlia asked immediately, skipping the small talk as she pumped his hand once. Charlie raised a brow, rubbing a hand over his neck as he eyed her suspiciously.
"If the Ministry asks, I brought no dragons. However, yes... I did bring a particularly feisty Ukrainian Ironbelly but she won't come until she's called..."
"Call her," Dahlia shared an excited look with Theo, who was clearly resisting the urge to bounce up and down excitedly. "I need to commandeer your dragon, Charlie."
Charlie immediately baulked. "Have you ever even ridden a dragon -"
"I rode your Peruvian Vipertooth when Bill brought me to Romania with him and Fleur during the summer after the Triwizard tournament," Dahlia answered immediately. Charlie looked unconvinced, but he placed his fingers into his mouth and gave a high pitched, sharp whistle. He waited a second before repeating the motion three more times.
"I'm going to have a word with Bill about bringing girls to visit my dragons," Charlie told Dahlia seriously as a faint roar pierced the skies and a large, black dragon shape could be seen soaring towards them. "Thought we settled that the first time, but apparently not."
"If it helps, your Hungarian Horntail nearly killed me in the Triwizard Tournament," Dahlia answered lightly as the second dragon flapped to a stop beside them. It was easily twice the size of the dragon Charlie was on, with two heads and large, plated underbelly. It's scales were dark ebony and greys all swirled together.
Dahlia and Theo scrambled onto the dragon's heads, situating themselves behind one each. The scales were warm to the touch and so thick Dahlia was fairly certain the dragon would have no idea if she were to suddenly be ejected from her seat.
"What do you need my dragon for anyways?" Charlie asked grumpily as he helped them adjust the saddles rigged around the dragon's necks.
"Some giants are causing some problems," Dahlia answered, pointing to the destruction they'd caused across the grounds.
"I plan on deep frying the Dark Lord," Theo answered cheekily.
Charlie didn't get the chance to respond before the dragon lurched forward at Dahlia's command, and they soared through the sky.
"Do you know how to talk to this thing?" Theo screamed as the dragon dive bombed to the ground, wings creating so much wind that it sent Death Eaters flying backwards as they poured from the forest.
"Kind of!" Dahlia answered. A pack of werewolves emerged from the forest in their half form, howling and sprinting for blood. Dahlia leaned forward, screaming the word she'd heard used for the dragons before, "Ustilo."
Immediately the dragon head Dahlia was sitting behind reared back and breathed white hot flames on the half men, half wolf creatures. They were turned to ash instantly, the ground around them incinerated and reduced to nothing.
Theo whooped in glee as the dragon soared upwards and back into the skies. She let it chase a few Death Eaters, cackling in glee when it caught them in one of it's large mouths. Sometimes it swallowed them whole, sometimes it bit them in half and then had to divebomb to the ground to catch the other half.
Dahlia and Theo took turns turning the edges of the Death Eater forces to crisps, slowly making their way through the battle to the giants.
"We can't burn the people near them!" Dahlia screamed above the wind to remind Theo. Theo pointed below them.
"What people?!"
He was right - everyone seemed to have run away from the giants in fear, and for good reason. The two giants continued to slam their clubs and fists into the walls of Hogwarts, pounding them into rubble.
"Ustilo!" Dahlia and Theo screamed as soon as their dragon halted over the giants. With a roar, both heads reared back, and twin tunnels of flames engulfed the giants.
The giants fought back, stumbling and falling to the ground with cries of pain that rocked the side of the castle. Ten seconds later and they were silent, their bodies nothing more than charred remains on the ground.
Cheers went up from the Order members slowly appearing from the castle, celebrating the small victory. The dragon roared again, and Dahlia turned it away before it accidentally toasted the Order.
"Let's take it back," Dahlia called to Theo. "I need to find Fleur!"
Theo nodded almost reluctantly, and the dragon followed her directions through the sky back to Charlie. They left him in charge of the dragon after he hugged them for their "brilliant use of my dragon".
Dahlia and Theo turned to smoke as they descended to the ground. They found the rest of their Purple Cloaks in the Courtyard where they'd left them; Draco was still dueling his father, Blaise was focused on the two Death Eater's who had been with him.
As soon as they touched the ground, Blaise landed a spell that cracked one of the Death Eater's masks. It crumbled to the ground, revealing a face that looked oddly familiar.
Theo drew in a sharp breath, and Dahlia suddenly realized why. That man had Theo's nose, and his mouth. It took Dahlia a moment to realize she was looking at Theo's father.
Theo strode forward the next second, leaving her side and attacking his father immediately. Dahlia spun around in the fight, looking for a target, a friend, anyone.
And then a familiar voice reached her ears, "Dahlia!"
She spun on her heels, searching for the person who called her name. Her eyes landed on Ron, Harry, and Hermione all fighting their way towards her. Dahlia started towards them immediately, blasting Death Eaters out of her way as she sprinted towards them.
"Harry!" Dahlia skidded to a halt in front of them, chest heaving. "Bloody hell I'm glad you're okay."
"The Order can't keep fighting like this," Harry gritted, latching on to her arm tightly. "This has to end soon - we can't keep this up."
"We have dragons, Harry," Dahlia answered crossly, frustrated as his willingness to give up when the battle was just beginning. "I believe we can keep this up as long as we need to."
"Where is Voldemort?" Hermione demanded, eyes scanning the battle like she expected him to appear suddenly. "You said a battle would draw him out - he's not here, and neither is the snake."
Dahlia bit her lip - besides Fleur, the Dark Lord and the snake were the only people she had yet to see in the fight. The only two people who needed to be seen in the fight.
"We'll have to draw him out then," Dahlia chewed her lip, desperately trying to come up with a plan. "We have to -"
"Or I go to him," Harry spoke up sullenly.
Dahlia rejected that almost as quickly as Hermione did. "No way - the snake isn't destroyed and we can't risk -"
"We don't have a choice, Dahlia! It's halfway through the night - there have been catastrophic damages. I can't keep letting people die for me -"
"Die for you?" Dahlia took a step back, looking like he'd slapped her across the face. "Are you seriously so self indulgent that you think those people are out there fighting for you?"
Harry gaped at her; even Ron and Hermione watched on in surprised silence.
"God, Harry - get your head out of your ass! No one here is fighting for you. Literally not a single person." Dahlia shook her head, gesturing to the duels that raged on around them. "You think they fight like this for you? They're fighting for their lives - and for the lives of their families, friends, and future generations. They're fighting to end this fucking tyrant, not for you!"
Harry's jaw snapped shut, and he grit his teeth. "We still need to find the snake."
"I agree," Dahlia snapped harshly, spinning on her heel. "Believe me when I say, I'm looking for it."
She dove back into the frey, mildly surprised when the Gryffindors followed her. Her anger fueled her magic, and it poured from her more deadly and dangerously than ever. Dahlia spun in a circle, deadly curses and dark hexes flying from her wand and striking every Death Eater within reach.
Her eyes landed on Adrian - he'd knocked the mask off of a Death Eater Dahlia didn't recognize, but judging by the furious way Adrian was fighting, he'd found his father.
A moment later, she watched as a powerful grey spell pulsed from Adrian's wand, striking his opponent and exploding the Death Eater where he stood.
She had a feeling she'd just witnessed their first patricide of the night.
Dahlia raged across the courtyard, cutting down any Death Eater that dared to step up and challenge her until a path of bloody, lifeless bodies riddled her path. She lost the Gryffindors somewhere in her mad rage; the next thing she consciously remembered was Pansy's hand on her sleeve jerking her sideways.
"We're falling back!" Pansy screamed, yanking Dahlia's hand towards the door. Order Members were flooding indoors, fighting and elbowing each other to get inside. Dahlia didn't understand why until she looked up into the sky.
Hundreds and hundreds and thousands of spells have been launched into the sky, and were slowly falling down onto the ground. The protection wards directly around the castle were still holding for outside attacks, but Dahlia knew they wouldn't last long. Not against a volley attack like that.
"Everybody get inside!" Dahlia screamed, spinning and fighting against the crowd in search of her Purple Cloaks. She brandished her wand, erecting a small, central protective charm around the immediate area.
Bodies pushed against her until Dahlia was thrown to the ground at the mercy of the stampeding feet and panicky fighters. Until a large hand wrapped around her arm and plucked her up off of the ground.
Draco's arms encompassed her, and he lifted her straight up and into his arms as he sprinted them inside. He deposited her safely on the ground directly next to the rest of their purple cloaks.
Dahlia's chest was heaving from nearly being trampled, but she took a second to scan her housemates for injury. Luna's hood had fallen down an hour ago, and it remained down. Her white hair was discolored with blood and dirt, a small cut trickling blood from her forehead. She was dirty and bruised, but otherwise seemed unharmed.
The rest of her Purple Cloaks remained anonymous and cloaked, but all seemed to be in good health. Dahlia had one second to bask in that, to relax back into Draco's arms and relish the fact that they were all still alive.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Katie Bell stepped through the door, pointing towards the end of the corridor, screaming, "The front courtyard has fallen - they need back up. Everyone fall back!"
"For fuck's sake," Pansy muttered as they all responded immediately, spinning on their heels and streaking down the hallway. The pounding of footsteps behind her told Dahlia that the Order wasn't far behind them.
"Can't they hold a position for one bloody minute?!" Cris whined as they sprinted through the half destroyed castle. Dahlia secretly had the same mindset, but it wouldn't do them any good now. They went where they were needed. She just hadn't anticipated being needed... everywhere.
The Front Atrium was a two minute run from where they were in the castle, but they made it in less than one. Dahlia thought the run was shorter than it should be, when she realized the battle was just closer than it should be.
The Death Eaters had penetrated the front courtyard and spilled into the front atrium. The Dining Hall and Great Hall were a battlefield, the corridors leading to and from them overrun with bodies. Death Eaters were making a break for the Grand Staircase when Dahlia and her Purple Cloaks burst into the main fray.
There wasn't any time to strategize, just a split second to take a breath. Then they were attacked, and the battle escalated.
Albus had always said Hogwarts would protect its own, but Dahlia never truly understood the meaning of that word until she saw the scene in front of her and realized she had misunderstood a critical part of that saying.
Hogwarts didn't refer to the castle; it referred to the students and inhabitants that gave it life. Dahlia realized that when she scanned the fight, and saw more Purple Cloaks than she had ever seen before. The Slytherin house - in the craziness of the past few hours, Dahlia had forgotten she had unleashed their rage.
Even in the Slytherins mad thirst for blood and vengeance on their families, they defended themselves and other valiantly. Dahlia watched as Marcus Flint tackled a Ravenclaw out of the way of curse. Julia Dolohov was uncloaked and fighting back to back with Cho Chang, making an impressive stand before the grand staircase.
The Houses were no more in this moment - it was Hogwarts against it's invaders, and Hogwarts would not fall. The Lestrange girl was fighting two Death Eaters at once single handedly, and winning. Even with her two opponents, she had the foresight in battle to throw a protection charm at the back of a younger Hufflepuff girl, deflecting what Dahlia recognized as a deadly strangulation hex. The Hufflepuff joined her after that, the two making a deadly, and unexpected partnership.
"Take that!" A large crystal ball came flying over the balcony above them and careening through the air. Dahlia hit the ground just in time to avoid getting beaned by the crystal ball as it soared past her. It hit the Death Eater Dahlia had been dueling in the stomach and knocked him clean through the window behind them.
Dahlia spun around, neck craning as she searched the balcony above her. Two more crystal balls were tossed over the balcony, giving Dahlia the briefest glimpse of a crazed Professor Trelawney.
Dahlia didn't have time to question it because the next second, a chanting, taunting voice began singing above them, "Wheeee! You're about to be slimyyyyyy!"
Dahlia looked up just in time to see Peeves sail in and begin raining small pods down on the heads of the Death Eaters. Immediately large, bulbing tubes sprouted on their heads, engulfing their entire faces.
Snargaluff pods. He must have struck a deal with Neville to get his hands on those. She couldn't say his strategy was effective; only five of the twenty pods landed on the heads of Death Eaters.
Thankfully, Dahlia had paid attention during at least one Herbology lesson and she remembered Professor Sprout saying how flammable Snargaluff pods were. Most plants needed water, but Snargaluff pods needed fire to grow.
"Peeves!" Dahlia screamed, trying to get the poltergeist's attention. He turned, searching for her in the crowd below him.
"Peeves!" Dahlia screeched again, brandishing her wand and striking one of the exploded Snargaluff pods. Immediately it ignited into flames, engulfing the Death Eater's head and face with it.
That got the ghosts' attention. He was leering eagerly at Dahlia, eyes glittering like he wanted her to do it again. Dahlia obliged him, rearing back and throwing another spark. The same thing happened, and she saw the connection spark in the trouble maker's eyes.
"Aim for their heads, Peeves!"
The poltergeist immediately obeyed her, swooping low to take careful aim. After her demonstration, he didn't miss a single pod. He'd toss them onto the Death Eater's head, and Dahlia would ignite it with a spark.
The poltergeist was having too much fun, so much so that Dahlia nearly forgot for a moment they were in the middle of a battle. Then, something that looked disturbingly like an ugly baby with a sprout coming out of it's head was lodged off the balcony above her and into the mass of Death Eater's swarming the door.
The sounds of battle drowned out whatever sounds of what happened, but almost immediately all the Death Eaters clambering through the front atrium fell over. Dahlia couldn't tell if they were dead, or unconscious, but she didn't care.
A tentacle was snaking down the balcony above her, swinging back and forth lazily until it latched onto the neck of a passing Death Eater and the Death Eater was shot upwards. Dahlia shivered, realizing Professor Sprout must have entered the fight with her collection of dangerous plants.
Dahlia was enthralled by the magical plants and their deadly effects until a werewolf in half form tore past her and tackled an Order Member from behind.
Dahlia abandoned the Snargaluff pods immediately, chasing after the monster. She got there too late - by the time she'd managed to kill it the Order Member had been bitten, a chunk of her arm bitten clean away. She didn't know what the consequences for a bite in partial form were, but she knew it wouldn't be good.
The witch looked at her mangled arm and winced. Dahlia didn't recognize her - no one from Hogwarts - she was possibly several years older than Dahlia herself. The blood and dirt from battle made age hard to decipher.
Slowly, the witch ripped off her cloak and fastened a sling and tourniquet. Dahlia immediately bent to help her, cleaning the wound quickly before wrapping it.
Dahlia pushed onto her feet, giving the witch a hesitant look, "I have to go back to the fight. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," The witch grunted, pushing up onto her feet. "I'm coming too."
Dahlia raised a brow, "You're coming?"
The witch nodded, "This will be a problem for tomorrow. Surviving until tomorrow is the problem right now."
Solid logic. Dahlia gave the witch a respectful glance before turning back and diving into the chaos. In her absence Seamus Finnigan had taken up her duties of exploding the Snargaluff pods, and it fit him perfectly.
The Death Eater in front of her exploded into tubes and slime, fire igniting the next second. The Death Eater fell to the ground with a muffle scream, flames engulfing his robes quickly. Dahlia sidestepped him, scanning the crowd for her Purple Cloaks.
She caught sight of Draco dueling not too far away from her, but she couldn't see who. Theo, Daphne, and Blaise were nearby with Luna and Ginny. The rest of her Slytherins were fighting back to back by the Dining Hall. Fleur was with Bill -
Dahlia did a double take. Fleur was with Bill? Fleur was here?
"Fleur!" Dahlia scrambled towards her, elbowing past Order Members and blasting Death Eaters out of her way. Fleur turned at the sound of her name, eyes locking onto Dahlia almost immediately. Their eyes locked across the battle, and Dahlia couldn't resist the smirk that formed across her face.
Fleur wore the Purple Cloak Dahlia had given her for their Beauxbatons mission. She'd abandoned the hood, letting her identity and presence be known as a Purple Cloak, and the Order rallied behind her still.
"Ari!" Fleur abandoned Bill's side and fought towards her, shredding the Death Eaters in her way with ease.
"Fleur!" Dahlia collided with her in the center of the battle, bodies pushing and falling around them. "Fleur, did you -"
"I did what you asked!" Fleur cut her off, spinning to the side and petrifying an incoming Death Eater nonverbally.
"You did it?" Dahlia's eyes shot open wide and she spun around in search. "Where? Where is -"
"He said he would wait for your summons in the common room you both share," Fleur's grey eyes poured into Dahlia solemnly. Dahlia processed her words with a quick nod, willing her pounding to calm down.
Patience was key tonight. It was still too soon. They hadn't gotten the snake.
Fucking hell, the snake. Nagini. Her prophecy. She was supposed to be the one to kill the snake tonight, and she hadn't even bothered spending a single second looking for it.
"Have you seen the snake?" Dahlia called to Fleur as the battle started to push them apart.
"No!" Fleur shook her head forcefully, having to shout to be heard over the battle now between them. "I saw -"
The rest of her words were drowned out as the battle pulsed, and Dahlia was thrown to the side. She ended up with Astoria and Adrian, who dueled a single Death Eater together. They didn't need her assistance, but Dahlia joined them anyway. She guarded their back, protecting them from the spells that rebounded their way.
That gave her time to glance around the battle and see the bloody truth for what it was. Despite her efforts, despite the valiant endeavors of her Purple Cloaks and the noble courage of the Order, they were falling more quickly than the Death Eaters.
Dahlia could see bodies under the rubble, could hear the screams of the mourning as they tried to continue the fight. Before her eyes, Order Members started losing. Their momentum for the battle had faded, and the Death Eaters began gaining ground.
"Fall back!" Dahlia turned to find Adrian and Astoria had killed their attacker and were now flanking Dahlia's sides, waiting for orders.
"Defend the Order," Dahlia commanded, and just like that Adrian and Astoria disappeared from her side. Dahlia began picking off Death Eaters as quickly and efficiently as possible as she pushed her way through the battle towards the Dining Hall.
The doors to the Dining Hall had been barricaded shut, and her Purple Cloaks were boldly defending it. Dahlia attacked from the other side, fighting her way until she stood between Pansy and Daphne.
"We have to fall back!" Dahlia screamed, summoning a gust of wind that blasted a group of charging Death Eaters back.
"We can't!" Pansy screamed, brandishing her wand and beheaded two Death Eaters who tried to curse Blaise.
"Why not?" Dahlia screamed, lurching to the side and throwing a protection spell around them as a wave of spells flew at them.
"They've set up a field hospital inside the Dining Hall!" Daphne screamed back, bracing herself against the magic flying at them and retaliating as strongly as she could.
Dahlia swallowed - all the injured and innocents would be in there. They couldn't let this door get breached. Suddenly, the line of Purple Cloaks in front of the door made sense.
The Death Eaters hounding them became almost overwhelming - Dahlia couldn't see anything through the haze and smoke of the battle. She fought blinding, pulling her magic back to restrain herself from throwing deadly spells lest she inadvertently kill someone.
Hands were grabbing out, screams so close and so overwhelming that Dahia couldn't gage where they were coming from. They might have been hers - they could have been Pansy's beside her. It was all lost in one, continuous, ear-shattering roar.
And then a shrill voice pierced the noise, "Attack! Kill the Death Eaters! For Mistress Dahlia!" And then a small stampeding sound, like hundreds of children were charging at them, echoed down the corridor.
Dahlia shoved a Death Eater off of her just in time to see a wave of house - elves overwhelm the edge of the Death Eaters. They were led by none other than Kreacher, the Black's old house elf. Milly was stampeding beside him, Dahlia's old wand clutched in her hand, and a crazed look on her ancient face.
"For my Mistress Dahlia!" Milly screamed, lifting her wand and firing a bright blue spell. There was an echo of shrill voice, and then the house elves attacked, their tiny bodies overwhelming the tightly packed Death Eaters, climbing their legs and clinging to their arms.
They were surprisingly quick, house elves climbing up over wizards and running on top of them, and as they got closer Dahlia realized that Milly wasn't the only house-elf who had armed herself. Some had gathered wands lost in fights from the ground, others wielded large knives and cutlery from the kitchen. They stabbed and screamed, creating so much chaos that the Death Eaters were forced to turn away from Dahlia and her Purple Cloaks to try to free themselves from the tsunami of house-elves.
"Is that Kreacher?!" Draco bellowed, gaping at the house-elves that were currently massacring the Death Eaters around them.
"Does that one have a wand?" Pansy echoed, pointing at Milly who was now on top of the house elf pile, cackling maniacally and shooting off hexes haphazardly into the crowd around her.
"Maybe that's why they aren't supposed to have wands," Theo pointed out as Milly went a little spell crazy, her magic bouncing uncontrollably around them until it found a target.
Dahlia couldn't help but laugh - it was brilliant. It was poetically, hysterically brilliant and astoundingly effective. Within a matter of minutes there wasn't much left for Dahlia to do - the Death Eaters who could flee had fled, and the others had succumbed to the crazed house-elfs.
All that was left was the sound of the house-elves in the hallway, stomping on the dead bodies of their old masters and shrieking insults. Others were whacking unconscious death eaters with whatever object they happened to have in their hands.
Milly was going around and blasting any survivor's wand hands off. Dahlia watched her blankly, knowing she should probably go control her elf, but found this karmic justice all too fitting.
"Mistress!" Kreacher came to stop in front of her, looking up at her with a worshipful look. "Mistress -"
"It was Kreacher!" Draco turned to the elf in shock. He looked like he barely recognized the elf, and Dahlia couldn't blame him. Kreacher looked a century younger than the last time she had seen him. His ears didn't drop to his waist anymore, and he'd left his little toga behind and opted for real pants, and a button down shirt similar to Dobby's.
"Kreacher - you're wearing clothes," it wasn't the most tactful thing to save after his timely rescue, but it was the only thing she could think of. Harry hated this elf - he didn't want anything to do with him. He wouldn't have given him clothes, or even told him to cover up. She couldn't understand how he had gotten clothes.
Kreacher beamed, looking down at his apparel with appreciation. "Dobby lent Kreacher clothes. Does Mistress like them?"
Dahlia blinked again - another elf calling her Mistress? She shared a confused look with Draco, but he seemed as baffled as she was. Dahlia turned back to Kreacher, "I - I love them; you look great. Kreacher - why do you keep calling me Mistress?"
Kreacher looked confused, glancing at Draco like he was concerned he'd spoken out of place. "I assumed that you were my Mistress because you're bonded to my Master so -"
"I'm your master?" Draco was looking down at the elf in blank shock. "I thought... I thought Potter got you. His godfather -"
"Mr. Potter got the estate and land," Kreacher corrected Draco. "The Black Title can only descend to those related by blood to the Black Family. House-elves are bound to the family, so therefore Mr. Potter is not Kreacher's master."
Dahlia exchanged a shocked look with Draco. His surprise told her he hadn't known that part of the law either.
"Kreacher was forgetting that part of our magical contract," Milly walked up, apparently having dismembered all the survivors and a few recently dead - just for good measure. "Milly had to remind him. And then she had to convince him that Milly's Mistress prefers her clothed, so Mistress would want Kreacher clothed as well."
Dahlia followed Milly's logic, but she was still hung up on acquiring another house-elf. Draco was just staring blankly down at Kreacher, "So... you're my house-elf, and by title you mean..."
"Master is the Head of the Black Family, and Mistress is his Lady," Kreacher glanced back and forth, "Did Master not know this?"
"I had no fucking idea," Draco turned to Theo and Adrian, "Did you guys know this?"
"You think we keep up with the Blacks?" Theo asked incredulously. "That's your mother, mate. Not mine."
Dahlia let the boys bicker as she turned back to her house elves. "Thank you both for coming to save us. Your timing was perfect."
Both elves preened, hands locked behind them as they waited for her next orders.
"Get yourselves to safety," Dahlia told them sternly. "I don't want either of you injured."
They didn't look pleased with that, but they snapped their fingers and disappeared with a pop. The rest of the house-elves had already elected a new leader, and were charging down the hallway in search of their next victims.
"No one ever told us that house-elves were violent!" Blaise looked nearly traumatized by what he'd just witnessed.
"You're telling me the same elf that raised me just decapitated a Death Eater right in front of me?" Daphne was blinking like she couldn't erase the memory from her mind. She turned to Astoria, "Please tell me you saw Reery too. I could have sworn -"
"I saw her," Astoria nodded, confirming Daphne's story with a wartorn gaze. "Oh, I saw her."
"Merlin's Beard," Cris ran a hand over his face, "The world's gone to shit. The house-elves are murderers, Draco's Head of the Noble House of Black, and the world's gone to shit."
They sat there in their revelations for a minute, before Dahlia became acutely aware that it was silent all around them. No sign of attackers, no sign of rushing Death Eaters. It was like the hallway had just been vacated.
She opened her mouth to voice her concern when a horrible voice echoed from the ceiling.
"This message goes out to Harry Potter and everyone who fights by his side."
Dahlia recognized Voldemort's voice immediately. She clenched her wand, poised for a fight as her head whipped up and down the hallway, expecting him to emerge from the dust any second.
"You have fought bravely. Nobly, even, but despite your efforts you are failing. I hate to watch the shed of unnecessary magical blood, so I have recalled my forces to me. Tend to your wounded, gather your dead with dignity. I will give you two hours."
Dahlia's heart constricted - Voldemort was retreating? Right now when they were at their lowest point, he was going to pull back? She sensed a trap, something dark underhand.
"The rest of this goes out to Harry Potter - you stand by and let so many others sacrifice themselves for you, and yet you do not challenge me. If you wish to spare your remaining friends further bloodshed, come find me in the Forbidden Forest before the time is up."
There was a pause, and Dahlia thought the Dark Lord's announcement was over until his voice echoed through the corridor once again, only in dark, twisted hisses.
"To Dahlia Dumbledore, remember my words. I eagerly await you."
Dahlia snarled, swiping her wand through the air like she could kill his voice. Nothing happened, of course, but his voice did vanish from the air permanently. Dahlia waved her wand and dismissed the dust lingering in the air only to find that the Dark Lord had spoken the truth.
Any Death Eater that wasn't dead was gone, leaving only shell shocked Order Members in their wake. Dahlia stumbled forward and away from the Dining Hall doors. Her Purple Cloaks followed suit.
A moment later, the doors to the Dining Hall creaked open, and Dahlia was looking into the eyes of Madam Pomfrey.
The witch had her no nonsense apron on - Dahlia knew this because it was already stained. Crisp, and starched clean, but stained. "Well?" The witch snapped, brandishing her fingers in front of Dahlia's face. "What are you waiting for? You heard the bastard. We have two hours."
Madam Pomfrey gestured Dahlia inside; she followed almost unconsciously, listening as the witch rattled on.
"We work off tags - red tag means immediate treatment. Those go to the triage section immediately. Yellow tags go over here, and green tags can walk or sit at one of the tables I set out. The burn center is over there and I've called in medi-witches from St. Mungos -"
"Poppy," Dahlia set her hand on the medi-witch's arm, silencing. "Thank you, Poppy, but I need something else. Have you seen Harry?"
Madam Pomfrey sobered immediately and shook her head. "No, I haven't, but typically in my line of work that's a good thing."
Dahlia bit her lip and gave the witch a thankful nod before turning away. She needed to find Harry. She knew him, and she knew what he was about to do. She broke out of the Dining Hall at a jog, bumping into Neville on her way out.
"Oi, Dahlia!"
"Sorry, Neville!" Dahlia stopped, turning to look at the boy. He looked rougher than he had when she'd first seen him tonight, but at this point any breathing body was a good body.
"Where're you off to?"
"I need to find Harry!"
"I just saw him. He was out in the courtyard with Ron and Hermione. They're helping with the wounded."
Dahlia thanked him and changed directions, jogging out into the courtyard where she found Harry kneeling over the lifeless body of a man. As Dahlia approached, her throat constricted and she realized who she was looking at.
Remus Lupin, pale and peaceful in death. One hand was crossed across his chest, the other buried under a pile of rubble. Dahlia stopped directly behind them, trying to respect their grief for a moment before speaking.
"I'll arrange to have his body brought inside," Dahlia murmured, reaching down to place a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You shouldn't have to do it."
"This is my fault." Harry grit his teeth, hands curling into fists as he pushed to his feet. Dahlia stopped him, shaking her head sharply.
"You and I know that isn't true, but let me prove it to you." Dahlia offered him her hand. She'd put off doing this for far too long, and that was entirely on her. But Harry deserved to know. He deserved to see the truth for himself, and he deserved to understand the way she did.
Hesitantly, Harry placed his hand in hers and Dahlia tugged him towards the castle. "Come with me."
She pulled him away so fast that Ron and Hermione didn't get the chance to follow them. She cut through a passageway that had only been partially demolished before being let out directly in front of the gargoyle to the headmaster's office.
"Why are we going to the Headmaster's office? We don't know the password," Harry yanked his hand from her in confusion, but Dahlia paid him no mind.
She stopped in front of the gargoyle, placing her hands behind her back and rocking forward as she placed a risky bet. "Lily Evans."
It would be incredibly stupid and naive for Snape to make that his personal password for his office, but it would seem the old Potions Master was growing lax in his old age. The spiral staircase descended to a gobsmacked Harry and a victorious Dahlia.
"You should start having some faith in me," Dahlia said sarcastically as she stepped onto the staircase. "I haven't gotten us killed yet."
"Yet being the operative word," Harry grumbled as he followed her up the stairs case. "What the fuck are we doing, anyways? What are you showing me?"
"I have a few memories you need to see before you go to the Forest," Dahlia answered tightly as she unlocked the door to the Headmaster's office and barged in.
She walked straight past the desk, refusing to even look at the chair her guardian had sat in as she made her way straight to the cabinet where the Pensieve was kept.
Every Headmaster at Hogwarts was given a Pensieve for their own personal keeping apun election of the position. Snape would have a new pensieve; sure enough, Dahlia opened the cabinet and the new pensieve sailed out and settled on a designated table a few feet away.
"How did you know -"
"I wasn't born yesterday, Harry," Dahlia cut him off with a sharp glance. She wasn't naive, and she knew how his Gryffindor mind worked. He was going to go into the forest whether or not it was the smart thing to do.
In hindsight, she supposed it didn't quite matter what order the horcruxes were destroyed in, as long as they were destroyed. Harry's being destroyed before or after the snake made no difference, as long as he came back.
"Fine," Harry huffed, throwing up his hands in defeat and stomping over to her and Pensieve. "What is it?"
"This is something you will probably want to do in private," Dahlia hesitated, reaching into one of her magically extended pockets until she pulled out three separate vials. "These are sealed, certified memories from Albus's pensieve. One holds Snape's memories, one is Dumbledore's. The other is mine."
She pressed the vials into Harry's hand, forcing his fingers to curl around them. She pulled another vial from her pocket and held it up for him. "This one is very, very important. Do you understand me?"
Harry nodded numbly, accepting that vial when she passed it to him. She rummaged around in her pocket one last time and withdrew a small, lumpy bundle. "That vial will explain this."
She held up the parchment bundle, no bigger than a large stone. Harry eyed it doubtfully, giving Dahlia a curious glance.
Dahlia returned his glance with a somber one, willing him to understand what had gone into this moment right here. "This is something that Albus thought you might need at the end."
"At the... at the end?" Harry's brow scrunched in confusion.
"For before you die," Dahlia answered quietly. This was what she needed to get across to him - she'd failed in her attempts before, but she couldn't fail now.
"Harry, I did something absolutely crazy and insane. I can't tell you about it, because then that breaks the deal I made, but I can tell you this," Dahlia squared her shoulders and leveled with him. "You have to die in order to kill the horcrux inside you, and the memories will explain why. After you die, I don't know where you go or who you will see, but I do know this."
Dahlia reached out and grasped Harry's free hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. "I could not buy you life, but I could buy you a choice. When you die, remember that you have a choice. Do not make the wrong one - don't leave us here to clean up this mess."
With that, Dahlia pressed the bulky package into his hand and disappeared from the room. She descended the stairs, emerging from the gargoyle and collapsing on the ground outside.
Her breaths came in sharp, quick gasps as her vision edged dark. For one split second everything came crashing down around her - everything she'd done, everything precaution she'd set in place, it all came down to this.
And she still hadn't killed the snake.
"Are you alright?" Suddenly hands were lifting her up onto her feet. Dahlia blinked, willing her vision to return as worried hands ran over her arms and hands, brushing her neck and cheeks for signs of injury under the layers of dirt and battle blood.
"I'm fine," Dahlia answered numbly, giving herself a mental shake. Her eyes focused and she found Draco hovering over her, hands lightly touching her everywhere all at once.
"Why were you on the ground then?" Draco grunted, hands settling around her waist as he pulled her against him.
"I had to give Harry the memories," Dahlia's hands tightened on Draco. "I... I gave him everything he should need. It's... it's all up to him now."
Draco's jaw tightened, his arms wrapping more protectively around her. She knew how he felt about this part of their plan - about trusting Harry to figure out his choice and make the correct one.
"Where are the others?" Dahlia drew a shaky breath, willing her nerves to settle and common sense to return.
"Daphne and Astoria are helping in the triage units. The others are helping with retrieving the injured and the dead."
Dahlia's stomach plummeted, eyes rolling closed in dread as she asked, "How many dead?"
"Too many to count," Draco sounded tired as he grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway.
Dahlia clung to him as she forced her next question past her throat, "Anyone we care about?"
Draco cut her a sharp, almost apprehensive glance before sighing and rattling off a list of names, thankfully none of which Dahlia recognized. "Dean Thomas is missing, and so is Lavender Brown, though I reported her dead. I saw her go down in the battle, but we haven't found her body yet. Some of them are unidentifiable, and others are just missing. We're trying to get a list of everyone who has survived, and search parties are out looking for certain people."
"Who?" Dahlia asked sharply, noticing how he danced around the topic.
"One of the Weasleys," Draco answered seriously. "I didn't catch which one."
Dahlia's heart skipped a beat. "Ginny -"
"Is safe. She's with Pansy and Cris on the West side retrieving bodies," Draco assured her soothingly. Dahlia heaved a sigh - she'd seen Ron only minutes ago, so he was accounted for. She said a silent prayer for Bill as she straightened her shoulders, forcing herself to ask more hard questions.
"The Slytherins?" Dahlia remembered the students she'd unleashed from the dungeons, and a nagging responsibility for them clogged her throat. She should have stayed closer to them in the battle, ensuring they'd all come through alive so far.
"As far as I know, they're all accounted for," Draco answered seriously. "A few are being treated by Madam Pomfrey, but Blaise said that no one was dead."
Dahlia heaved a sigh of relief - that was more than she'd hoped for. "Good, good."
"What are we going to do about the snake?" Draco's arm snaked around her shoulders, lips dropping down to place a chaste kiss on top of her head.
"I'm working on that," Dahlia mumbled into his shoulder as they rounded the corner and the entrance to the Dining Room gaped in front of them. Draco didn't remove his shoulder or his hood as they entered the makeshift hospital wing, weaving through stretchers and people moving back and forth.
Dahlia spotted Hermione almost immediately at the back of the room. The entire Weasley family was standing in a circle around something on the ground. Dahlia's stomach twisted as she approached, dragging Draco with her.
Vomit threatened to spew from her throat when she realized they were standing around the section of the room dedicated as a morgue. Bodies were splayed out on individual blankets, some covered, some undraped.
Dahlia pushed her way towards them, coming to a halt beside Hermione. Dahlia glanced to the side and saw Hermione's cheeks were drenched with silent tears. Ron's were wet too, his eyes ringed in red.
Dahlia drew her courage and forced herself to look down at the body they were all surrounding. Nymphadora Tonks, hair pink as always, lay peacefully on the ground. Her left hand fell from her blanket and onto the blanket next to hers.
Dahlia's heart caught when she recognized Remus's face, equally as tranquil as his wife's. Tears choked Dahlia's throat as she stared at their entwined hands. Even in death, they remained together.
"We found them like this," Hermione whispered, voice wobbly. "She was under the rubble, but he was holding her hand. I think..."
"She died first," Dahlia finished the sentence when Hermione's voice failed her. Judging by the state of Tonk's body, she'd taken the worst of the damage. "She was caught under the rubble, and Remus stayed to try to save her."
Hermione nodded tearfully. Ron sniffled, wiping his nose before speaking, "They just had a baby."
A tear did leak out of Dahlia's eye then when she remembered Harry's excitement when he'd told her. Remus had come to the while they'd been at Grimmauld Place, panicking about the pregnancy and Harry had sent him straight back to Tonks.
Remus had been ecstatic after that, and she'd heard nothing but glorious reports about the baby and his wife until she'd left the Gryffindors camp. She'd heard nothing in the past months, and while relief coursed through her to hear their baby had safely come, remorse filled that chasm inside her next knowing the baby would die not understanding the sacrifices it's parents made.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione sniffled, stepping back from the lines of bodies on the ground and pulling Dahlia with her.
"He's in the headmaster's office. He needed the pensieve," Dahlia explained casually. She hoped her lying skills were improved as she added, "He'll be down shortly. He needed a minute."
Hermione relaxed, nodding in relief. "Thank Merlin - I thought he'd have tried to high tail it to the Forbidden Forest by now."
"No, it's not quite time for that yet," Dahlia managed a nervous laugh, knowing that that was indeed exactly what Harry intended to do, and she had to intentions of stopping him.
They needed to draw out the Dark Lord in order to get the snake. The only way to draw him out might be to make him think he'd won.
"Lia!"
Dahlia turned to find one of her Purple Cloaks jogging up, waving her over frantically. Dahlia responded immediately, abandoning Hermione's side and hurrying to Daphne's side.
"What? What is it?" Dahlia fell into step beside Daphne as she followed the witch into the triage area.
"I need you to help me," Daphne pulled Dahlia behind a closed curtain, makeshift patient bed. One look at the patient, and Dahlia knew why she'd been summoned. The patient had been crushed under what Dahlia was willing to bet was either a giants club, or a huge pile of rubble.
The small wizard's collar bone had pierced through his skin, his right knee dislocated and twisted almost one hundred and eighty degrees in the wrong direction. The rest of his body was riddled with bruises and broken bones, his face unrecognizable underneath the swelling and discoloration.
"Who the hell is this?" Dahlia gasped, rushing to the bed and pulling her wand. A younger witch was already trying to work on him, but Dahlia dismissed her impatiently. She studied the broken body on the table in front of her grimly - this was either a very small man, or a young wizard. Younger than should have been allowed into the fight.
Daphne grit her teeth, glancing up, "The little Ravenclaw boy. The one who was good with radios."
Dahlia paled. "Tim?" She shook her head in denial, "No - no he's only a third year. He should have been evacuated -"
"He didn't evacuate, and he's not the only one," Daphne glanced over to where the pile of bodies was growing almost as fast as the line of injured. "I've seen a few underage Gryffindors come in."
Dahlia knew by her tone she didn't mean brought in for treatment. She pushed that devastating though from her mind, casting a diagnostic spell and setting to work. She couldn't do anything about the others, but she could try to save this little boy. She and Daphne worked feverishly for several long minutes, juggling blood loss with bone regrowth and nerve stimulation.
Finally, Dahlia sat back, convinced she'd helped as much as she could. She pocketed her wand, wiping her bloody hands on a semi-clean towel nearby. "Can you handle the rest? I need to meet with McGonagall and see what we can come up with."
Daphne said nothing, only nodded her agreement. Dahlia walked away, Draco falling into step beside her. "What's the plan?"
"I'm trying to figure that out," Dahlia grit back, searching for Minerva in the bustling Dining Hall. She spotted her up where the teachers table used to be, studying a map with Molly Weasley.
Dahlia beelined towards them, keeping Draco's hand in hers as she approached. "Molly."
Molly Weasley jerked up, her eyes settling on Dahlia for a split second. A flash of doubt flickered across her face, but then the next moment Molly was bustling forward, arms wide open.
She pulled Dahlia against her, exclaiming, "Oh, Dahlia! I'm so glad to see you're okay."
Molly pulled away, turning slightly to the Purple Cloak still firmly grasping Dahlia's hand. She studied him closely for a moment, suspicious but not judgmental before turning back to Dahlia with a strained but warm smile. "It's so good to see you again, dear."
"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley," Dahlia gave the woman a hesitant smile before turning to Minerva. "I have some concerns."
"You and me both," Minerva muttered, but gestured Dahlia to her side. Dahlia came willingly, Draco tailing behind her. She stood at Minerva's side, getting a look at the papers spread out on the table in front of them.
"These are the signatures of everyone who's come in here alive," Minerva handed Dahlia a roll of parchment. Dahlia scanned the names, half reading and half listening as Minerva continued.
"This is the list of the dead - or those we've been able to identify this far," Minerva thrust another parchment into her hands with a third following it. "This is the list of everyone who is unaccounted for. So far, we're missing nearly two hundred, with at least as many dead."
Dahlia continued to scan the lists, growing number and number with each name she read. "How many are left?"
"If we count the Beauxbatons students in with our numbers, then I'd say we have approximately six hundred still alive," Minerva said with a wince. Dahlia grimaced, knowing that was a significant hit to their numbers but she digressed.
"And how many are capable of returning into battle?" Dahlia knew the difference between being alive, and being capable of entering the battle.
Minerva didn't meet her eyes as she sighed, scanning the room of injured and dying around them. "Madam Pomfrey hasn't given me official numbers for that yet, but I anticipate no more than half of those being in fighting condition."
Dahlia finished scanning the lists and set them down. Those weren't great odds, but it was better than nothing. She glanced backwards to Draco, gesturing him up to the table. "Any suggestions?"
Minerva opened her mouth like she wanted to object, but promptly snapped it shut. She stepped to the side, offering her place at the table to Draco. He seemed surprised at her graciousness, but accepted it nonetheless.
He studied the maps of the castle laid out on the table, eyes scanning the lists Dahlia passed off to him. Minerva couldn't see beneath his hood, and neither could Dahlia anymore, but she could sense his mind churning and emotions working through plans in his mind.
"How much time do we have left?" His first question was practical, like he might have formulated a plan but wasn't sure they had the time to implicate it.
"A little under an hour," Minerva answered immediately. "What are you thinking?"
Draco turned to Dahlia, his face shadowed but visible under the hood. She saw the question in his eyes, the permission he was seeking and she nodded her approval.
He turned back to the maps on the table, bracing himself on the wood and pointing out locations as he started to speak. "We need to plan based on the fact that the Dark Lord is going to attack again."
Dahlia nodded her agreement - regardless of the outcome tonight, no matter what choice Harry made, there would be another fight. This battle might have come to a lull, but it was far from over.
"That means that there are going to be key points of the castle he's going to target," Draco continued, tapping his wand on the map and charming the ink. "If we can manipulate when and where he strikes, maybe we can inflict enough damage to buy time."
"What are you saying?" Minerva crossed over to the other side of the table so Draco could outline his thoughts in more detail. Dahlia managed to contain her smile at the sight of Slytherin's Prince and the Gryffindor Head collaborating and actually agreeing on a plan of action without any riled tempers.
They'd settled on a plan in a matter of moments, and Minerva disappeared through the room to find a few key players in Draco's plot. Dahlia watched her leave, reaching down to intertwine her fingers with Draco's.
"You think she'd be this cooperative if she knew it was me she was working with?" Draco asked with an amused smile.
Dahlia snorted, leaning her head against his shoulder as she looked over the Dining Hall. "You realize your plan revolves around one thing, right?"
Draco quirked a brow at Dahlia inquisitively, waiting for her to enlighten him.
"It depends on Harry choosing to come back."