"Are-you-mental!" Ron shouted at Harry. His best friend staggered to his feet, panting. Ron was completely drenched, hiding the sword of Gryffindor in one hand and the Horcrux in the other. "Why the hell didn't you take this thing off before you dived in?" He shook the Horcrux around while he spoke. He always knew Harry could be an idiot, he just didn't know he was this stupid.
Harry was shaking with cold. He dragged himself over to his clothes and pulled them on. He was looking at Ron like he was a ghost, completely stunned at the sight of him. "It was y-you?" Harry finally said, his teeth chattering in the cold.
"Well, yeah," Ron murmured confused. There was no one else around, he was drenched, holding the sword and Horcrux who else could have saved him?
"Y-you cast the doe?"
"What? No, course not! I thought it was you doing it!" Harry shook his head.
"My Patronus is a stag."
"Oh yeah," Ron recalled. "Thought it looked different. No antlers." Harry fidgeted a while longer with his things before turning to Ron.
"How come you're here?" Honestly, Ron had heoped that this conversation would never happen. Ron sighed.
"Well, I've come back. If, you know, you still want me." He cleared his throat and looked at the things in his hand. He handed Harry the sword. "That's why you jumped in, right?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "But I don't understand. How did you get here? How did you find us?"
"Long story," Ron replied. "I've been looking for you for hours. It's a big forest, isn't it? And I was thinking I'd have to kip under a tree and wait for morning when I saw that deer coming and you following."
"You didn't see anyone else?" Ron glanced at two trees that were growing close together a few yards away. He explained how he had thought he had seen saw someone near there, but was too distracted by the fact that Harry was in a lake.
Harry ran over to where Ron was talking about. There was no sign of anyone, no footprints, nothing. "So, how did the sword get in the lake?"
"Whoever cast the Patronus must have put it there." They both stared at the sword.
"You reckon it's the real one?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged.
"One way to find out, isn't there?" Harry returned.
They placed the locket down on a stone. Harry gave Ron the sword, telling him he should be the one to destroy the locket. Ron shook his head. That accursed thing brought the worst out in him. "Me? Why?"
"Because you got the sword out of the pool," Harry explained. "I think it's supposed to be you."
Ron paled a little. He hated the locket. Harry was braver, stronger than him. He would mess it up somehow. But Harry was determined for Ron to do this. "I'm going to open it. You stab it. Straightaway, okay? Because whatever's in there will put up a fight. The bit of Riddle in the diary tried to kill me."
"How are you going to open it?" Ron asked, terrified.
"I'm going to ask it to open, using Parseltongue," Harry said. He didn't seem tired at all. Did he understand how terrified he was to do it? Harry took a step forward and opened his mouth.
"No!" Ron yelled. "No, don't open it! I'm serious!"
"Why not?" Harry asked, genuinely confused. "Let's get rid of the damn thing, it's been months-"
"I can't, Harry, I'm serious." He tried to give Harry the sword. "You do it!"
"But why?"
"That things not good for me!" Ron exclaimed, backing away from the locket. "I can't handle it! I'm not making excuses Harry, for what it was like, but it affects me worse than it affected you and Hermione, it made me think stuff. It made everything worse, I can't explain it. And then I'd take it off and I'd get my head on straight again. But then I'd have to put it on again-I can't do it, Harry."
He took another step back, dragging the sword by his side. "You can do it," Harry told him. "You've just got the sword. I know it's supposed to be you who uses it. Please, just get rid of it, Ron."
Ron took a deep breath and took a step forward to the cursed object. "Tell me when," he croaked, desperately scared.
"On three," Harry said. Ron stared at the locket as Harry counted down from three. Finally, Harry spoke in Parseltongue, opening the locket. "Stab!" Harry shouted.
Ron raised the sword in his hands, shaking. He could do this. He could destroy the Horcrux. Before he was able to stab the locket, a voice hissed from it. "I have seen your heart and it is mine."
"Don't listen!" Harry said. "Stab it!" But Ron was frozen.
"I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen your fears. All you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible."
"Stab!" Harry yelled. But Ron couldn't move.
"Lease loved by your mother, who craved a daughter...Least loved by the girl who prefers your enemy...Second best, always, eternally overshadowed."
Ron raised the sword higher. He knew the locket was wrong. Pansy didn't prefer Malfoy. She had told him so. But an imagine appeared from the locket. It was Pansy and Malfoy. They were laughing at him for actually believing Pansy cared for him. Malfoy quoted what Harry had said to him. "She was just using you. The whole time. They said he was nothing, utterly nothing.
"Do it, Ron!" bellowed Harry. Ron glanced over at Harry. Everything the locket was saying wasn't true, he had told remind himself.
Ron looked back at the locket. Down swing the sword, destroying the Horcrux. The sword fell to the ground. Ron, too, fell to the ground, stricken by what he had just seen.
Harry crammed the locket into his pocket. "I shouldn't have said that about Parkinson," Harry murmured apologetically. "I guess I didn't understand why you liked her...we used to say she was disgusting. I reckoned she'd cursed you somehow." Ron shrugged.
"I should have told you about it," Ron admitted. "I'm sorry I left. And I didn't mean what I said when I left."
"Me either," Harry said. Simultaneously, they insulted forward and hugged. "Now all we've got to do is find the tent again."
-----
Draco Malfoy didn't want to go home over Christmas break. The Dark Lord had taken up residence in his childhood home. Hogwarts, despite all of the horror this year held, felt so much safer than his home.
Narcissa was waiting for him on the platform when the train arrived. His mother looked like she had aged ten years in the past four months. Grey streaks had sprouted themselves in her hair. "Hello, dear," she said with a smile. He returned the smile easily and hugged his mother.
Together, they Apparated to Malfoy Manor. The mansion was drearier than Draco remembered. Certainly, the manor had never been a particularly cheerful place, but now, it was as if the house itself had succumbed to the darkness living within its walls. For as long as Draco could remember, his mother nurtured the manor's garden. And the yard he used to play in was healthy. But now the trees were dying and the flowers were a grey nothingness. The state of the house must have been killing his mother.
For the majority of his break, Draco stayed in or near his room. He could hear Greyback coming and out with his friends, bringing potential Harry Potter to his father. His father was desperate to regain his standing with the Dark Lord. Draco hated it.
One night, Lucius called his son down from from his room to determine whether or not someone was Hermione Granger. He had never felt as relieved as he did when he realized it wasn't her. He even made the mistake of showing his uplifted feelings on his face, which fueled Lucius' disappointment.
Lucius accused Draco of caring for the Mudblood. Draco wasn't dedicating himself to the Dark Lord's cause as he should have been Bellatrix took it upon herself to interject that Alecto had given him detention with Longbottom because they claimed to be friends.
Draco had only seen his father uncontrollably irate a very few times before. Yet, this seemed to be worse than ever before. "You took the Mark! You follow the Dark Lord!" spat Lucius.
"I took the Mark because of you!" Draco shouted back. "Because a fifteen year old boy got the better of you!" Lucius looked as though Draco had slapped him. Draco had never dared talk back to his father before. But the need to impress Lucius had long disappeared from Draco's life.
"Are you going to let your son to talk to you like that, Lucius?" Bellatrix wanted to know. "Are you going to let your son challenge you?"
Lucius hesitated, as though he didn't want to do as Bellatrix was suggesting, but he didn't feel as though he had a choice. "Don't do this, Lucius," Narcissa interjected, but the please for her son went unheard.
"Give me your wand, Narcissa," instructed Lucius, unable to look in his wife's eyes. Narcissa gave Lucius her wand reluctantly. Draco stared at his father uneasily. "Take out your wand, Draco."
They bowed to each other and took defensive poses. Draco was half-certain that the last formal duel he was a part of was during second year in Lockhart's stupid club. Nervously, he took a deep breath.
Lucius didn't spell when he sent the Stunning Curse at this son. It was the slight movement of Lucius' wand that alerted Draco. Quickly, Draco murmured, "Protego," to shield himself. Before his father had time to shoot another curse at him, Draco, nonverbally, sent he Confunded Curse at him. But he was too late. He barely had time to protect himself as a red streak came flying at him from the end of his mother's wand.
The duel lasted only a few minutes before Draco realized he wasn't going to be able to beat his father. He was throwing everything he had at his father and his father could easily protect himself. Finally, to put Draco out of his misery, Lucius shouted, "Expelliarmus," disarming his son. Draco's wand flew to Lucius' wand. Draco had lost.
"I've told you not to challenge me, Draco," his father said, seething. He threw Draco's wand to the floor before handing Narcissa her wand and walked swiftly out of the room.
"Is it my turn Cissy?" Bellatrix taunted. "I think I could get the lesson to stick in Draco's mind." Narcissa glanced at Draco's who was retrieving his wand from the floor.
"I think he understands well enough, Bellatrix," Narcissa said sternly. But Bellatrix found time later on Draco's break to show him how wrong he was. He could understand why the Longbottom went insane after feeling her Cruciatus Curse.
-----
Fred was tapping his foot anxiously. Currently, he and George stayed with with Kingsley in his cottage. After Voldemort had taken the Ministry, Kingsley went into hiding in a small Muggle community. He agreed to let Fred, George, and Lee use it for the time being, knowing he, too, would leave once they moved on. In exchange for them using his cottage, Kingsley would talk about Muggles on the show. He finally believed that the Wizarding World had misconstrued theories on Muggles. While they didn't have magic, they certainly knew something horrendous was happening around them.
In addition to Kingsley spending time on Potterwatch, Lee had asked Charlie Weasley to join them. Charlie had been helping anyone running from Death Eaters get out of the country.
Before the broadcast started, while they were still setting up, Kingsley asked Charlie about all of it. "It was mostly Christine's idea," he admitted, glancing at Fred and George while he spoke. "She wanted to help others get out of the country like she had been able to."
"She's the one we helped deliver to the Burrow?" Lee recalled. "The one with the redheaded kid?" Charlie nodded.
"Yeah, she's a Muggle-born. She'd grown up next to this guy, Robert. He was a Muggle. After Hogwarts, she moved back there. And they fell in love, apparently. Got married. She was taking her daughter out for ice cream one night. When she came back her husband was dead. She didn't want anyone else to go through something like that."
"She's very strong," Kingsley observed. "Well, I think it's amazing. What you're doing."
"Where do the people who escape go when they get out?" Fred wanted to know.
"They can't all be in Romania," George added.
"They go anywhere they can," Charlie told them. "They let us know once they're settled so that we can keep track of 'em. Tell 'em when it's safe to return. Christine's got a list somewhere."
"You'll want to keep that safe," Kingsley warned. "Wouldn't want that falling into the wrong hands."
Fred was briefly reminded of the time. Neville Longbottom kept a list of the Gryffindor passwords. As the time it was a good plan. And then that list fell into the hands of Sirius Black. Granted, Sirius wasn't actually after Harry, but the principle stood. It was never a good idea to house important things like this written down.
"We'll start in thirty seconds," Lee said. Fred and George sat down at the table beside one another.
"You reckon all that's true about Christine?" George asked him. Fred glanced over at Charlie to make sure he didn't hear what they were saying.
"Why would she lie about something like that?" Fred returned.
"Why indeed?" Fred frowned. He wasn't sure he agreed with Ginny and George's theories about Christine. And before he could contemplate it any longer, Lee started the show, pushing the thoughts of Christine from his mind.
-----
They were working on Patronuses when it happened. Neville had thought it would be a good idea, as they were living in such a dark time. The Patronuses forced them to look at the positives of their lives, instead of all the pain around them. That, and Neville really wanted to work on his Patronus. He was currently able to produce the silver, non-corporeal Patronus and he really wanted to see the Patronus take form.
Working on his Patronus reminded Neville of the last time the D.A. worked on it. He distinctly remembered and the Inquisitorial Squad destroying everything they had worked so hard on. It was different now. The room was filled with silvery animals dancing around the room.
Ginny's horse walked over to where Nevillel was standing, surveying the room. "I think you should..." The message stopped. Frowning, Neville glanced over to where Ginny was standing, a determined expression on her face. "I'm trying to send messages through my Patronus," she explained. "Like the Order does." Neville nodded understandingly.
As he walked around the room, he noticed that Hannah Abbott was struggling with her work. "You don't mind helping me, do you?" she asked him quietly. He shook his head and closed the distance between them.
"I haven't got it fully either," he stated, honestly. "Ginny's actually takes shape."
"That's okay," Hannah said hastily. "Do you mind explaining it again?" Neville told her exactly what Harry had said about the Patronuses. She needed the happiest memory she could think of. A moment she couldn't help but look back on without a smile coming to her face.
Determinedly, she tried again. This time, her wand produced a small, silver puff. Neville smiled at her, happy to have helped her. "Great job, really!" he told her excitedly.
Her face lit up with accomplishment. "Thank you, Neville," she said. He nodded. She tucked a hair behind her ear. "I'm going to try again." Like before, she was able to create a silvery, undefinable gleam. She still looked proud of herself, though. As she tried for a third time, Neville realized he had been standing, staring at her the whole time.
Neville started walking around the room again, helping when he could. He caught Ginny's knowing look from across the room. His cheeks reddened a little. He didn't need Ginny to tell him he liked Hannah, he already knew that.
As suspected, Ginny cornered him after the meeting. "I knew you two would be cute together," she stated excitedly as though this had all been a part of her master plan. "When are you going to tell her?"
"I'm not," Neville mumbled.
"Neville! She likes you, too! You have to tell her!" Still, Neville shook his head.
"The last time I did that, I looked like a fool. I reckon we'll both forget about it if I don't say anything."
"She's not Luna," Ginny said. "She does like you!"
"Doesn't matter, Ginny. Besides, we have more important things to think about." She nodded. She didn't like it, but she let it be. Neville just needed a little confidence. That was all.
-----
Pansy didn't say anything to Malfoy after he finished explaining how he had challenged his father over Christmas break. She had no sympathy for him. He was the one stupid enough to actually challenge his father. He deserved the humiliation he got. "So, it wasn't Potter and his friends, then?" she asked instead.
"No," he answered angrily. "That wasn't the point!"
"Draco, you challenged your father. You dueled him. You lost. Get over it." He glared at her. If he had wanted sympathy, he should have told a Hufflepuff.
Pansy and Draco were walking down the corridors to the library. The walls were still covered with the D.A.'s messages and Filch was doing a poor job covering it up. She had to admit that the Gryffindors did have guts, she wouldn't be so straightforward like this. She would choose a moment of public image to humiliate them.
She stopped walking.
"What?" Draco said when he realized she was no longer beside him.
"I have an idea," she declared. "These Gryffindors are getting too much attention. I think it's time we take that back." Draco glanced at the wall, then back at Pansy. She shrugged.
"Alright."
Her plan was simple. She waited until the middle of Dark Arts to start. Once Amycus began speaking about dark objects and their practical uses, she conjured a flock of birds. The birds soared around the classroom before ultimately attacking Amycus. They scratched his face pretty well. He tried everything he could to rid the birds, but nothing worked. Once the original birds vanished, ten more took their place. Amycus was forced to run from the classroom screaming.
Pansy didn't stop there. She managed to find the cornish pixies Lockhart had stupidly set loose in the middle of his class. She opened the cage before Alecto started her lecture on the stupidity of Muggles. The students ran from the room, destroying Alecto's control.
Amycus and Alecto never even suspected it was her. After this, Draco decided to help her in her endeavors. During Dark Arts, Draco nonverbally casted the Tongue-Tying Curse on Amycus. The man was unable to speak. It was immature, yet effective. And the entire class found it hysterical.
During the next Muggle Studies class, a charm was set on Alecto that caused to become uncontrollably clumsy. She fell numerous times and accidentally made a hole in the floor. Pansy and Draco would have liked to have taken credit for this incidence but it wasn't them. Draco was nearly certain it was Seamus Finnegan, who was laughing harder than anyone else over it.
Pansy was quite content in her wor. Not only for making the Carrows look like the fools they were, but because she gave Hogwarts what it need. Chaos.
Unfortunately, there was another side effect. The Carrows blamed those in the D.A. Anyone known to be in relation to the club was given detention. Instead of the Slytherins using the Cruciatus Curse on them. Alecto had them use it on one another. Anyone who didn't comply was chained to a dungeon wall for a day and a half. Unlike Pansy, the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs chose to chained up instead of practicing the curses on one another.
Things didn't get easier after that, either Amycus began having his students practice the curses in class to those who would receive detention. Neville Longbottom was paired with a first year student, who looked scared out of his mind. Neville refused to use the Cruciatus Curse on him. But Amycus could not handle anymore insubordination. Without warning the professor tok out the knife he kept in his desk and slammed it hard against Longbottom's head.
Neville cried out in surprise, but stood his ground. "You can't treat us like this!" he shouted back. Pansy could see the idea forming in Amycus' mind. He smiled viciously.
"I can. And you will listen to me. That is, if you want your grandmother to stay alive." Surprised, Neville said nothing. Feeling stronger, Amycus stared pacing around the room. "You'll all listen to me. After all, I'd hate for anyone's family to be visited by the Dark Lord's Death Eaters. Then again, I don't happen to care."
The fear was palpable. The D.A. was more than willing to sacrifice their own lives, but certainly not the lives of their families. Only Neville stood his ground, "You underestimate my Gran," he stated. But Amycus just laughed, still believing he had won.
"Clean yourself up, Longbottom," he said. "I'll be seeing you in detention."
-----
Draco had a strange feeling all day that something bad was going to happen. He was home for Easter break. He had wished his Aunt Bellatrix had lied about who was living in his basement. He had seen Luna Lovegood around school before. Truthfully, he had never thought much of her. But now she was constantly on his thoughts. How could he be a part of her being held there?
It was after supper when it happened. Draco was sitting with his father in the drawing room. They were not saying much to each other, as they hadn't since Christmas. His father, like his mother, had aged since the Dark Lord had taken over. And he had a constant weariness about him.
All of a sudden, Narcissa entered the room, bringing with her a few Snatchers and their prisoners. Draco recognized Hermione Granger immediately. Fear flooded him. He had hoped that the Dark Lord would never find Potter, Granger, and the Weasel. But here they were in front of him, his parents would surely recognize them and summon the Dark Lord.
His eyes glazed over to where Potter was standing. Had they been a school, he would have laughed outright. What on earth had happened to Potter's face? Granger must have jinxed Potter so they wouldn't be able to see that it was him.
"What is this?" Lucius demanded. While the Snatchers argued with Lucius and before Draco could fully assess what he was doing, he sent a hex at Granger and Weasley. Granger suddenly grew an inch, her hair quickly turning long and blonde. Her nose turned up a little. Weasley became a short, plump fellow, his hair becoming a dark brown color. All this happened quickly, before Lucius and Narcissa managed to notice them.
"Draco come here," Narcissa demanded coldly. He supposed she didn't care to have them here either. "Is it him?"
Summoning all his courage, Draco replied, "It's not him."
"But look carefully!" Lucius insisted excitedly. His salvation had come. Lucius could claim he wanted the best for their family, but Draco knew the truth. His father was nothing more than a coward seeking the Dark Lord's approval. "Look! Come closer!" Draco took a step towards Potter. "Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter to the Dark Lord-"
"It's not him, Father," Draco interrupted. "Potter's face was smaller. And he had a scar."
"Looks me like a Stinging Hex to me," Lucius stated, his eyes scanning Potter's forehead. "There's something there, it would be a scar, stretched tight..."
Draco's eyes met Potter's then. He wanted Potter to know he knew that it was him. He wanted Potter to remember forever that Draco had been the one to save his life.
"We had better be certain, Lucius," Narcissa said emotionlessly. "Completely sure that it is Potter, before we summon the Dark Lord...If we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord here for nothing....Remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?"
"What about the Mudblood, then?" Greyback growled. Narcissa frowned.
"She doesn't look much like Granger, does she, Draco?" Narcissa murmured. Her eyes flickered to Weasley. "And that can't be Weasley. Arthur's son has red hair." Weasley stupidly touched his hair in confusion.
The same dumbfounded expression was plastered to Greyback's face. "His hair was ginger, wasn't it? And she looked like the Granger girl!"
"A trick of the light?" Draco muttered. "Wishful thinking?" Greyback glared at him.
"Know what I saw." Draco glanced over to his mother, who was studying her son. A conflicted look sat on her face for only a moment before she looked to her husband.
"I don't think it's them, Lucius," Narcissa stated. "She doesn't look like Granger and he certainly isn't a Weasley. And that boy doesn't look like much of anything, least of all Potter. I think we should take them to the cellar."
"Yes, alright, Narcissa," Lucius agreed. "And if it is Potter, the Stinging Jinx won't be lasting much longer." Draco took a sigh of relief as the Snatchers began escorting them from the room. For now, Granger and her friends were safe. He'd figure out what to do about them later.
But then the drawing room door opened, emitting Bellatrix Lestrange. They were so close. Bellatrix sauntered into the room. "What is this?" she demanded. "What's happened Cissy?" Her eyes shot to Granger, as though sensing the Muggle-born in the room.
"Greyback thinks he's found Potter," Narcissa answered Bellatrix squinted, studying the faces before her. But then her eyes fell on the sword one of the scavengers was holding. She shrieked, demanding that they tell her where it had come from. When this didn't work, she sent Potter and Weasley to the cellar while she tried to loosen Granger's tongue.
Draco hesitated, contemplating what he should do. Potter's Stinging Jinx would only last a few minutes longer. And Granger's and Weasley's disguises would only hold so long. He had to find a way to them out of Malfoy Manor, that much was obvious to him. But how? And how without the notice of his parents?
While Draco was contemplating these things, Bellatrix was already beginning her work on Granger. The screams that emitted from Granger gave him shivers and Draco knew he would be hearing those cries for the rest of his life. The noise made him panic a little. He knew what he should do, he should help Granger and her friends. But he couldn't find it in him to move. The Dark Lord would certainly punish Lucius and Narcissa if Potter was here and got away. Especially, if Draco helped them.
He was conflicted.
When his father sent him down to retrieve Griphook, he was only too happy to comply. Watching Granger twitch and scream on the floor was the worst experience he ever had. He found the goblin quickly and brought him to his father.
After this, he crept back down to the cellar, wanting to hear whatever plan Potter was currently concocting. From a mirror, he was talking to a house-elf that would be taking Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, and Mr. Ollivander. Draco actually found this to be a relief. He hated living above a prison.
Potter and Weasley would be bursting up the stairs soon. With that knowledge, Draco returned to the drawing room where Bellatrix was interrogating Granger. He knew his spell had worn off the minute he saw her. The blonde streaks her fading now back into her brown bushy hair. Draco could only assume Weasley was back to the pathetic slug he had always been.
Draco only waited a few minutes before Potter and Weasley jumped out of their hiding to save Granger. With the Disarming Spell, Potter was able to steal Bellatrix's wand, Weasley tried to Stun Lucius, but Draco blocked the spell with the Shield Spell. Lucius grabbed the wand they had taken from Potter when he entered the Manor and held it defensively.
"STOP OR SHE DIES!" Only then did Draco notice Bellatrix holding a knife to Granger's throat. "Drop your wands," she ordered. "Drop them or we'll see exactly how filthy her blood is!" Potter and Weasley did as they were told. So much for that plan. "Good! Draco, pick them up!"
Draco stepped forward and grabbed the wands. As he did so, he glanced at Granger. She was his friend. She was his friend and his aunt was holding a knife to her throat. As he walked back to where he was standing, he crossed behind Bellatrix. Slowly, he raised his wand and said, "Confundo!" Surprised, Bellatrix dropped her knife.
Before anyone in the room could question what happened, the chandelier began to tremble. It was going to fall, Draco realized. Bellatrix threw herself out of the way. Being the closest to her, Draco raced forward and pulled Granger out of the way of the falling chandelier.
Draco quickly threw the wands he had taken from Potter back to him. Lucius, seeing that his chances of redemption were about to flee, stepped forward. Before them all, Potter and Lucius began to duel. Meanwhile, Weasley was holding his own against Greyback. Narcissa and Bellatrix were staring stunned at their old house-elf, Dobby, who had somehow known to appear.
During the chaos, Draco was trying to revive Granger. She had passed out and a little blood was trickling down her throat, where Bellatrix had pressed her knife. "C'mon, Granger," coaxed Draco. Finally, Granger eyes opened.
Through all the chaos, he wasn't sure how he heard it, the sound of a wand following to the floor. Draco looked up to see that Potter had defeated his father in the duel.
After that, everything moved quickly. Dobby shouted, "Dobby has no master! Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!" Potter grabbed Griphook while Weasley and Granger yanked Draco over to where Dobby was standing. The moment they were all touching the house-elf, they Disapparated.
Draco found himself standing on a shore with his old house-elf, his enemies, and a goblin. He thought about was the punishment his parents would receive because of him. Draco sighed. There was no going back now. He had joined Potter's side.
"So, Dobby," he said, trying to ease the tension inside of him, "I hear you're a free elf now."