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The silence was overpowering. This was Hogwarts Memorial Cemetery; the final resting place for all those at the school who had died during the war. Row upon row of headstones dotted the shallow hillside. There were too many, far too many. The war had just ended, but this graveyard would serve as a reminder of the brave young men and women who had fought and died to keep their way of life intact for generations to come.
The crunch of footsteps on freshly fallen leaves shattered the silence and brought all back to the present. Two people slowly walked through the crisp fall sunrise to stop in front of a grave marker. Their backs were to me, but the female had fiery red hair and she shook slightly from the sobs wracking her body. The male had blond hair, and stood a few feet back, giving the female her space, but still showing respect for the body contained in front of the grave marker.
I knew why they were here. This was the grave of the one who was supposed to have been the savior. The one who was to have been the hero. The salvation of the Wizarding World. He was supposed to be all of those things and more. But he had failed. He had failed and because of that failure, this was the first time in a year they’d been able to visit this grave. It was the first time since the funeral, just three days after that fateful night…
Draco Malfoy could barely believe what he was seeing. Just moments ago, their camp had been a peaceful gathering of friends relaxing before a day of battle. Now, it was chaos. There was no silence here, only the shouts of spells being cast, the crack of curses through the air, and the screams of the injured and dying.
He knew this was his fault. He knew that Voldemort and the Death Eaters were looking for him. But he hadn’t expected this, the ferocity of the attack, the surprise of it. The fact that he hadn’t heard anything about this meant either this was only the highest of Voldemort’s inner circle attacking, or his informant was dead. Either way, Draco had bigger things to worry about at the moment.
“Gin, get down!” He yelled, pushing the crimson haired beauty to the ground as he fired a jinx over her head at her attacker. He didn’t bother to see whether it hit or not as he dragged her behind a large tree, making sure to shield her as much as he could with his body.
“Where’s Potter? Gin, where’s Potter?” He yelled above the noise to make himself heard. Ginny merely shook her head. She hadn’t seen him. Cursing something about Potter always making himself scarce at the worst times, Draco told the redhead to stay put. Peeking out from behind the tree, he sprinted towards what had been the center of the camp.
I watched over them as the girl cried, tears gushing from her like a waterfall. I found it amazing that even while crying like this, she was still the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She sat abruptly, pulling her knees up to her chest and rocking back and forth slowly. I wanted to reach out, reach out and touch her, tell her I was fine and everything was okay, but I didn’t try to. I knew the effort would be wasted, that it wasn’t possible now.
The blond haired boy merely stared. His face was worn, tired, and taut after years of fighting. Much of the air and swagger he used to carry was gone, replaced by the tired eyes of an old man trapped in a young man’s body. He had comforted her that night, protected her. Watching over him now, I couldn’t understand why he didn’t do the same. Slowly, the blond haired boy slid his hands into his pockets as his eyes continued to shift sadly back and forth between the marker and the girl.
Sliding to a stop behind a large rock, Draco scanned the battlefield. The members of the Order were beginning to be pushed back into a circle and surrounded. They still hadn’t fully recovered from the surprise of the attack. Frowning and wiping sweat and dirt from his brow, Draco squinted and saw the glint of glasses and black hair that he was looking for.
He sprinted again, breath burning in his lungs. He saw spells and curses shoot past him going in both directions, but at the moment all he was focused on was a pair of round glasses, unruly black hair, and a barely visible lightning scar. He reached the Boy Who Lived and dragged him to the ground as a number of spells rocketed over his head.
“Keep your bloody head down, Potter.” Draco hissed, firing off a few spells before looking at Harry again. “Did you get a message off to the rest of the Order?”
“Ron and Hermione left just after the attack started. I figured they could fend off the odd attack on the way there if they were followed. We couldn’t spare any more than that.” Harry said, ducking down as a spell struck the ground less than a foot from him. Brushing a strand of blond hair from his eyes, Draco looked out over the advancing enemies.
“Here, I have an idea,” he said, pointing his wand at Potter’s head.
“What in the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” Harry asked, trying to push Draco’s wand away. Draco batted his hand away effortlessly.
“Keep still, you git. They are looking for me right now, not you. Now hang on.” Draco mumbled a spell to change someone’s hair color, just maybe adding words to make it last longer than it should to the end of it, before moving his wand to Harry’s glasses and mumbling a temporary invisibility charm. “There, that’ll pass casual glances during battle. Now go, we have to split up.” Draco watched for a split second as the now blond Harry Potter bolted in the opposite direction.
Draco stood to yell something after him when two flashes of red caught his eye. Without thinking, he fired off spells as he leapt towards her, tackling her to the ground. He felt a burning sensation in his abdomen, which wore off just as fast as it had come. His eyes watering slightly, he smiled at her as she sat up a little. “I told you to keep your head down, Gin,” he said, smiling.
Slowly, the girl regained her composure. Her eyes, though red-rimmed, still shone beautifully. For a few long seconds, she just stared at the name on the tombstone, and then stared at the ground. Just when it seemed like she would never move again, the blond haired boy spoke.
“Come on, Gin. We have to go,” he said, offering her a hand. She looked up at him blankly for a moment before accepting his hand and rising to her feet. As the boy turned to leave, Ginny Weasley stood in front of the marker.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t visit sooner. I hope you can rest peacefully now. May angels lead you in, love.” Her voice cracked on the last line and she turned to walk away quickly.
I had been watching this entire time, of course. I tried to follow as they left, but only a few feet from the marker it felt like I’d hit an invisible wall. No matter how hard I pushed, I couldn’t break through. I watched them walk away slowly until they disappeared down the hillside. Turning back towards the grave marker, I slowly read the name etched into the marble across the top.
The End.
Loveable Punk is the author of 6 other stories.
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This story is a favorite of 4 members. Members who liked May Angels Lead You In also liked 1078 other stories.
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