[trigger warning: gore, death, war]
ELARA WATCHED FIONA DIE.
She'd plunged straight into the heat of the battle, locking away the urge to climb back up to the Astronomy Tower and kiss Draco one last time.
She remembered the helpless look in his eye, the way he'd clutched the railing with white knuckles as if he wanted to throw himself over it.
But then a green spell came spiralling at her and she jumped out of the way, the breath leaving her, swiftly, and sent one back, sending the Death Eater spiralling into one of the arches of the courtyard.
"Confringo!"
It was Luna's voice and Elara swerved to find the blond witch, standing behind her, having hexed a Death Eater who had been closing in.
The Ravenclaw witch was bruised and bloody, one eye purple, a gash on her lip.
She gave Elara a flashing smile anyway and turned to shoot a spell at a Death Eater cornering Ernie Macmillan.
Elara coughed through the dust and scanned the courtyard, taking in the cloaked figures of the Death Eaters dueling with the Hogwarts students - who were managing to hold their own.
Elara noticed most of the students left standing were part of the DA. But it was a losing fight - for every Death Eater that went down, another took their place.
She sensed him before she saw him and whirled to face a short, squat Death Eater emerging from the rubble of a decimated wall.
"Stup -" The words died in her throat.
The spell hit her straight in the back and she crumbled, the breath leaving her lungs, as she felt a large gash open across her shoulder, the skin ripping open.
She screamed as the pain tore through her body, feeling blood pour down her back, and her palms pressed hard into floor beneath her, the rocks cutting into her palms.
Out of the corner of her vision, she saw another spell spiral towards her and forced her muscles to move, twisting out of the way and gasping in agony at the pain in her shoulder.
One of the Death Eaters laughed - she couldn't tell if it was the short one in front of her or whoever had hit her in the back. She could hear them both stalking closer, predators hunting prey.
She'd die here. She'd die in this courtyard at the hands of one of them. Maybe they'd take pity and make it quick -
"Stupefy!"
The Death Eater behind her suddenly careened past Elara, slamming into the rubble that the short one had just emerged from and Elara took the opportunity to raise her wand and send a Confringo.
The squat Death Eater dodged it and advanced, casting spells over her at Fiona who had just saved her life.
Elara couldn't see her but she recognised her voice. The same voice that met her during early Quidditch practices with a bright smile and the same voice that comforted them whenever they lost. She'd brought butterscotch cookies for them a few times - they'd shared it sitting in the grass of the Quidditch pitch.
The blood was hot and sticky against Elara's back and she gritted her teeth, trying to lift her wand arm again and failing, the pain almost blinding.
Fiona was keeping the Death Eater preoccupied - Elara could make out her petite frame now, appearing in the corner of her vision, ducking as a spell went barrelling over her head.
Again, Elara summoned her strength but her head swam and she was collapsing onto the stones, the large gash in the back of her shoulder widening with each movement as she heaved for breath.
The skin was ripped from one end of her shoulder diagonally down to the middle of her back - she could feel the blood cascading down her skin, sticky and hot, and vaguely registered that she would die from loss of blood soon.
But Fiona -
Elara forced herself onto her palms again, a loud sob ripping from her throat at the agony that shot through her back and raised her head.
"Avada kedavra!"
"No!" Elara shrieked, her wand arm coming up by reflex, the gash opening wider on her back, blood spurting from it, and a ragged gasp left her lips as she stunned the squat Death Eater.
But not before Fiona's body fell with a thud to the right of Elara, the sound the first of many that would haunt her dreams.
"Fiona -" Elara's throat closed up so violently, she felt she was going to suffocate. She dragged herself over to the fourth year Ravenclaw, reached for her limp hand. "Fiona."
But her friend's eyes were open and unseeing, her mouth parted with her last breath, dark skin gleaming with sweat.
A sob wracked Elara's chest and her tears fell onto Fiona's face as she bent her head, the stabbing pain in her back making her lungs constrict.
She just wanted to lay there - just lie down there, next to Fiona, and wait for death to take her so the aching in her heart and her back would stop -
A hand gripped her shoulder and she gasped, her fight or flight instinct kicking in and twisted to point her wand straight at Stuart's face.
He was yelling something, panicked, but Elara couldn't even hear him through her daze, her body desperately wanting to sink to the ground and pass out.
The pain was making her dizzy now and she gasped out a breath, swaying on her knees but Stuart steadied her, grasping her elbows and yanking her up, shooting a spell over her shoulder at a Death Eater.
No - No.
She couldn't lose consciousness - she had to get her sisters out, give her friends a fighting chance.
She stumbled to her feet, muffling a scream at the pain, and sent two consecutive spells at a Death Eater dueling with Paul Flint behind Stuart.
"Come on," Stuart was saying in her ear, half-hauling her towards the nearest exit of the courtyard. "Come on, Elara - you have to -"
"Stupefy!" Luna was by Elara's other side, knocking aside a Death Eater who had just appeared in the archway they were heading towards.
Elara felt both her friends slip their arms through hers, dragging her the rest of the way.
Her vision dipped in and out, her head drooping forward, her shirt soaked with blood now, the wound on her shoulder opening wider with every breath.
"Here!"
She heard Stuart exclaim and their direction changed.
"Bloody hell - what the fuck happened?"
It was Cho's voice and then Elara was being laid down and her shirt was being removed by Luna's deft fingers.
She lay there, gasping in her own blood as it pooled around her, her breaths staggered and heavy.
"Stuart, it's too dangerous to heal her here -"
"She'll die -"
"We have to take her to the infirmary - Madam Pomfrey -"
"The infirmary is destroyed - I don't even know if Madam Pomfrey is alive -"
"She is." That was Luna. "I saw her dueling with Snape at the wooden bridge -"
"Cho - do it. I'll keep watch."
Elara heard Cho inhale, deeply. The stickiness faded on her back.
"What is it like?" Stuart sounded further away now like he was facing the other direction. The concern in his voice was evident.
"Deep - but I can -"
Elara felt the tip of a wand at her shoulder, heard Cho mutter something under her breath.
Immediately, an icy feeling washed over her, making her inhale, sharply, as the injury began to seal, the pain of muscles mending and skin stitching enough to make Elara black out again.
She came to a minute later and found Luna and Cho helping her into a sitting position, slipping on her newly cleaned shirt over her head.
Stuart finally turned as Elara's vision cleared and his hazel eyes immediately morphed into relief as he saw her alive and breathing.
He dropped to his knees in front of her, grasped her good shoulder. "Alright?"
She nodded, knowing there was no time to waste. Every second cost a life from their side.
"Stuart," she forced out, gritting her teeth at the pain. "Freya - Amelia -"
"They're safe," he reassured her and she nearly sobbed in relief but pushed on.
"Get them out," she told him, trying to get to her feet but faltering at the ache in her shoulder.
"We can't," Cho said, despaired. "All the exits are blocked -"
"Dungeon corridor. Behind the tapestry. Next to the Slytherin -" She hissed as she finally rose to her feet, Cho and Luna supporting her on either side. "Slytherin common room. It leads to Hogsmeade and it's - safe."
She desperately hoped Draco hadn't been lying.
Stuart's expression immediately morphed from worried to determined. "I'll get them out."
Elara straightened, slightly, letting go of Cho and Luna and trying not to sway on her feet. "Take Indigo and Tracy. Take as many as you can."
"I'll help." Cho reached out to grab Stuart's hand and Elara saw him squeeze it once.
"Elara - come with us," Stuart pleaded but Elara shook her head, realising with an ache that this would probably be the last time she saw them.
"No," she replied, firmly, surprised her voice was that strong. "Go. We don't have time."
Stuart hesitated but Cho was quick and was already pulling him out of the deserted corridor they'd brought Elara into to heal her.
Elara watched her friends go, silently hoping they'd get out alive.
"Luna." She turned to face the dreamy-eyed witch who now looked worn out and haggard. "Luna - find Hermione. Tell her to find Lucy White - she knows who she is - and meet me by the Great Hall in half an hour."
Luna didn't question it, much to Elara's relief.
She gave her one last hug and then retreated, giving her a soft, encouraging smile and then disappeared down the corridor.
Elara took a deep breath, clutched her wand tighter in her hand and exhaled.
Then, she began to move, stumbling the first few steps due to the throbbing pain in her back. She regained her balance and tried again, steadying herself with her free hand on the wall.
Fiona's dead eyes burned into the front of her mind. Elara choked back a sob and pulled herself along the wall, gaining strength with each step she put down.
Finding Snape wasn't difficult. She made a straight beeline for the Wooden Bridge, thankfully not encountering any Death Eaters head on, although she did stun two who were dueling with two seventh years Elara recognised from Freya's group of friends.
By the time she reached the end of the Wooden Bridge, it was eerily calm.
This seemed to be the only place the Death Eaters hadn't reached yet - they seemed to be busy ravaging the castle and the screams erupted from behind her as she hobbled forward and down the steps where the stone monuments were.
Snape's cape billowed around him as he hurried down the steps carved into the hillside, heading in the direction of Hagrid's hut.
Elara gritted her teeth, stumbling down the first few steps, the cool night air stinging her cheeks and the spell she aimed hit him straight in the back, his wand flying out of his hands.
He whirled, the moonlight illuminating his hooked nose and beady black eyes and stared up at Elara as she descended the steps towards him.
His expression was blank as he watched her, his upper lip curling. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Jacobs?"
Elara lifted her wand again, kept it aimed at his chest. "You killed him."
Snape's eyes flickered as he stood below her, the wind picking up his cape and it spread out like bat wings around him.
"You killed Dumbledore," she repeated, trying not to wince as her shoulder ached from the position of her arm. "You're a Death Eater."
Snape stayed silent, pallid and haggard.
Elara took another step down, still keeping her wand steady. She realised her hands were caked in her own blood and swallowed the urge to hurl.
"But you're a double agent."
Snape's lip curled further.
"I heard the conversation in your office," she went on, her Ravenclaw mind working overtime to bring all the pieces that had been coming together since Harry had told her Dumbledore had died. "Between you and Dumbledore. He was telling you you had to kill him. Why?"
Snape's eyes flicked to his wand, lying a few metres away on the grassy incline.
Elara hissed. "Don't fucking try it, Professor. Your little pawn has been teaching me a lot more than you know."
Snape's eyes bore into hers once again, two obsidian pits. "So that Ravenclaw brain of yours figured it out."
"Of course I figured it out," Elara bit out, barely restraining herself from hexing him. "Tell me why. Why did Dumbledore have to die?"
Snape surveyed her like a hawk, not even flinching when a loud explosion rocked the ground beneath them, coming from somewhere deep in the castle.
Elara prayed her sisters and friends had gotten out by now.
"He was going to die anyway," Snape finally drawled, eyes dark. "It had to be me."
"To appease Voldemort."
He eyed her, warily. "Yes."
Elara inhaled, deeply, slowly lowering her wand. "Dumbledore trusted you."
"With his life."
"And you took it."
"There was no other way."
Elara swallowed, thickly, glanced up at the moon high above them, casting ghastly shadows around them. "I'm getting really fucking tired of hearing that sentence."
Snape narrowed his eyes at her, moving for his wand, and she let him take it, watching him, warily.
"Why are you here, Jacobs?" he demanded, glancing towards the castle as another explosion emanated from it.
"To warn you," Elara said, quietly, feeling her heart grow heavier in her chest. Fiona's lifeless hand flashed in front of her eyes and she shoved the memory away. "Get Draco and get out of the castle."
Snape blinked at her, looking confused for the first time. "I beg your -"
"Is Narcissa Malfoy here?"
Snape fell silent, seemingly stunned by the authoritative edge to her voice.
"Professor, is Narcissa Malfoy here?" Elara demanded, harshly, her head reeling.
"No."
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Get Draco." Her voice was firm and deadly when she spoke, still unable to see Snape as anything but Dumbledore's murderer. "Get Draco and get out. If you don't, you'll both die."
Snape stiffened, glaring at her, looking alot like he did when she spoke out of line in class. "What -"
"I'm going to kill everybody with a Dark Mark in this castle," she cut him off once again, knowing she couldn't waste any more time. "Are there any other double agents I need to know about?"
Snape stared at her, his mouth moving over nothing, no words coming out.
"Snape," she snapped, her eyes flashing. "Are there any other -"
"No," he ground out, rage flashing across his face at her tone. "No."
"Then you have twenty minutes," she shot back, steeling herself to begin the journey back to the castle. The wind picked up strands of her hair, dried with blood. "Last I saw him, Draco was at the Astronomy Tower. Get him and leave."
She turned and took one step back up, hissing under her breath at the pain. "If you don't - I will not be responsible for either of your deaths."
Elara forced her muscles to move, taking the next few steps, despite the way they screamed for rest.
When Snape spoke, it was quiet but the wind carried it to her. "After everything he did?"
Elara froze, her heart pounding a rhythm against her ribs, her mind dragging itself to a far away place.
Silver eyes and wicked smiles. Gentle caresses and the electric touch of his skin against hers -
No.
Helplessness in his eyes. Despair carved into every feature of his face. Black ink and mangled skin, rivers of blood running down his forearm.
That was Draco Malfoy.
And after everything he did, she was still trying to save him.
Elara looked over her shoulder at her teacher for the past six years, at the face that had tormented young students for as long as she could remember.
For Lily.
It had been the last words she'd heard Dumbledore say. Snape had done this all - for Lily Potter.
It was maddening - to think Elara Jacobs and Severus Snape shared something in common.
Love was a treacherous thing.
"Always," she said over her shoulder. "Wouldn't you do the same for Lily?"
She saw the emotion flash on Snape's face at her words and she swallowed hard at the rare sight of him looking like she'd cursed him.
She turned away, focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
"Always." She heard Snape mutter under his breath. "How pathetic."
The bored tone was back - the double agent, Dumbledore's murderer sliding back into place. She thought he was a good spy.
Wincing at the agony shooting up her back, Elara called back, "Send me a Patronus once you're out. Twenty minutes, Severus. That's all you have."
She plunged back into the castle, her pulse thumping, wildly.
She focused on the task ahead of her.
Hermione. Lucy.
Elara picked up her pace, jogging down an empty hallway, veering right into a familiar corridor that she'd traipsed down with her friends countless times.
The Potions classroom was unlocked. She shoved the door open and shut it behind her with a click, inhaling a deep breath to calm her nerves.
She was a Ravenclaw. Using her brain was her speciality.
She shut her eyes, conjuring the memory of a huge, dusty book, sprawled open before Hermione and her in the library.
It had been late at night, the moonlight shining in through the windows, the lantern illuminating the fragile pages.
Powdered root of Asphodel.
Elara moved towards the large cabinet behind Slughorn's desk. Her shaking fingers opened the cupboard, rummaged through vials and jars to find the ingredient.
Unicorn blood.
Her hands found the vial of silvery blood.
Essence of Daisyroot.
Easy to find, right at the front.
Baneberry.
The small, red berries glared up at her as she snagged some off the stalks.
Fluxweed. Foxglove.
Hemlock. Mandrake Root. Moondew.
Her mind scrambled for the words she'd poured over with Hermione during all those sleepless nights. They didn't even know if it would work -
But this was their best shot. Elara knew Hogwarts would fall if she didn't do this. They were severely outnumbered and completely inexperienced.
Granian hair. Basilisk venom.
Elara dropped all the ingredients onto the table where she usually worked in classes - where Draco had been paired up with her. Where he'd taken her - not so long ago - after discovering she liked pain.
He'd had the Dark Mark the entire time.
She forced down the bile that rose in her throat and started brewing.
She didn't need a lot of any of the ingredients, she remembered. Half a cup of basilisk venom, quarter cup unicorn blood. Sprig of Fluxweed, chopped into four equal sized pieces, Mandrake root ground to a fine powder.
The potion smelled strongly metallic when it was done fifteen minutes later and she poured it all into a vial, finding that her memory had served her well.
It looked exactly like it was supposed to - before the last ingredient was added. There would be just enough space to add it in when she got it.
Elara steadied her fingers and placed the vial into the rack, taking one last look at the violet liquid before racing out the door.
Her footsteps echoed down the hallway, her mind racing.
She needed to find Hermione. She silently prayed that she was alright - no one else could help her do this.
Her thoughts drifted to her sisters and she felt tears hit the back of her eyes. She would never even get to say goodbye.
Elara held back the sob and braced herself. This was not the time. She didn't have time to pity herself - she had to do this and save her home -
Her feet carried her around the corner and her heart stopped in her chest.
Because on the opposite side of the corridor, there was a flash of white-blond hair and she almost collapsed in despair.
No - no -
She couldn't see Draco right now. Or ever again. If she did -
If she did, she was terrified she'd never be able to go through with her plan.
Because he would look at her with haunted eyes and she would want to save him. She would want to wrap him in her arms and kiss him and -
Her breath stilled in her chest, her eyes widening at the figure across the corridor - who had now turned to face her.
Her heart faltered and she nearly stumbled.
He didn't recognise her - of course, he didn't. They'd never met.
No, it was impossible -
Because on the other side of the corridor, meeting her eyes with a murderous gleam in his - was none other than Lucius Malfoy.