The Ways Of Fate

Draco

Hogsmaede was no different from a battlefield. Once they appear inside the Hog's Head, all they hear were spells and screams. They already knew that the majority of the members of the Order, as well as a good number of members of the ministry, were fighting against the Death Eaters to safeguard the lives of as many people as possible. The small town closer to Hogwarts was especially crowded on both sides, given the fact that Voldemort himself was there and the lives of many children were at stake.

Draco went to a window and although the place had been adequately protected before by Dumbledore himself when he decided to change things, the cold coming from the nearby Dementors made him tremble to the bone. From the window, he could see the many spell lights flying to the right and left, as well as many Patronus chasing their targets. In spite of not having been the one who had initiated the chain of changes, somehow he felt guilty for any unforeseen victim in their new reality.

Changing destiny was always complicated and while it can save the lives of those who were condemned to fall in one way or another, it was perhaps inevitable that others could die in their place. However, those who fought outside were fully adult, committed to a cause they believed in and aware of the risks involved. However, the students never asked or deserved to be involved in a war that they were not prepared to fight.

"Draco ... come here, it's not good for us, if the Death Eaters see you standing there," Hermione whispered, taking his hand to keep him away from the window, but he just stood there while holding her hand. It was darker than usual for a morning, due to the enchanted clouds, but the chaos outside was hard to miss.

"It's all right, Hermione. This place is as safe as mine, so no one will notice we're here. Did you pass the message on to the others, that we have the Horcrux, and are we ready to enter the castle?" He asked, still looking out.

"Yes, I just did it, Kragkor will be here soon, right?" She asked, pulling her hand away from his to catch a lock of still wet hair from a side of his head, gently brushing his skin. The action was an excuse to check if he had a fever, because he seemed paler than normal or at least that's what she thought. His gaze was still focused outside, as if he were trying to find something or if there was something bothering him.

"Sure... the others will join us soon too..." He said turning to look at her, momentarily staggering and Hermione came closer.

"You're exhausted... can you keep up?" She asked with concern.

"I have to... we're almost done with all this madness, just a little more..." Suddenly, she hastily turned him around, so that she could reach his back and, in a quick movement, she took off his black jacket and was in the process of lifting his shirt.

"Hey, wait... Hermione, what are you doing?" Draco protested.

"The wound, I need to see the wound and you need a little more of the elixir that Snape left for you to continue doing magic, you too Harry..." She looked back, however, what she saw was that her best friend was barely standing, holding his head with one hand, right where the lightning scar that distinguished him from any other wizard was. Draco followed her gaze after hearing her choked cry and understanding hit him instantly.

"Oh, no, no, no... Potter, do not let him in, or we'll all die!" Draco yelled as Harry felt a great wave of dizziness that made him fall forward. Despite the distance, Draco somehow managed to catch him before hitting the floor and Harry clung to him as he fought the intense pain that had suddenly assaulted him. It had happened before, of course, but this time, it was as if something was trying to pierce his brain without worrying about the pain inflicted on him.

"Harry!" Her screaming only intensified his headache, but he understood her concern or more like their concerns, especially Draco's. If he could not block Voldemort's intrusion, he was going to make all their plans known to him and put everyone in great danger. He needed to keep Voldemort out of his mind, no matter what, but just like before, it was not an easy task.

"Damn it, drive him out, you have too..." Draco yelled, worried that Lord Voldemort already knew about the destruction of his Horcruxes and what was left of his plan. It was precisely because of the unexpected development that the word destiny, had so much power. The power to save, the power to destroy, the power to heal, the power to bring death, the power to keep you walking on the straight path or completely change your path, as well as the power to change lives for better or worse. He had never thought of the word before, but now the word meant more than he could ever had imagined.

"I know, I'm trying..." Harry said hoarsely. The headache alone was painful enough to make him want to puke and crawl in pain on the floor. Still, there were lives at stake, including the lives of those he cared and loved the most.

"Please Harry, do your best... please..." Hermione whispered, rubbing his back lightly. His concentration, however, was already focused on keeping the intrusion at bay. He knew that Voldemort already expected them to appear soon and, in a way, it was better if he did not try to correct him, because there were too many important people at Hogwarts who could be used to bring him back if he proved Voldemort wrong, like what he did when he arrived on school grounds the first time. It had been a close call for Ginny at the time, not to mention Hermione and Draco, so he deliberately left the Dark Lord to believe both, he and Draco would be there soon. It was not exactly a lie anyway, because as soon as the pain passed they would go back to Hogwarts. Everything else, he needed to block it.

"Draco, can we help him somehow?" Hermione asked with a mixture of fear and concern. Harry was visibly in pain and if it were not for Draco's grip on him, he could be tearing up the ground for what they know.

"I know how to keep my mind protected from the Dark Lord, because in a way, all Death Eaters needs to excel in Occlumency if they want to live long enough under his rule, but I cannot stop Vo... him, from reaching Harry. They are linked in such a way that whatever I try to help keep him out will not do much... "

"What do you mean by that? How are they linked?" Hermione asked, and Draco realized that he had made a mistake, but not one he could not corrected. He had promised Harry not to tell the others that he was a living Horcrux. Only Neville knew the truth of their link.

"I mean… he left the lighting scar on him and all, there must be a connection…" He whispered, hoping she would take the bait.

"Right… Wait, was this supposed to happen? Did you see this while in the living stone?" She asked with a hopeful look that shattered at the moment she saw doubts in his face.

"Not exactly… I saw many ways that reached the end we seek, the paths however changes as we make our choices. It's not set in stone… There is always the possibility for all of us to fail at the end." Yet, he has hoped, oh how he hoped for a happy ending instead of a tragedy. Luckily for them, at that moment a small figure appeared next to him and Kragkor smiled at him with satisfaction.

"Master Draco, we are ready to…" He begins.

"We have a problem right now, the Lord is trying to enter Potter's mind…" He said, but the little brave elf simply moved and touched Harry's head. A greenish light flashed over his forehead for a second and then, Harry felt that the process of blocking Voldemort out had become easier as the pain and the burning of his scar diminished considerably.

"Worry not, Master Draco and Madam Granger. The Dark Lord will only see from Potter what he wishes to see, he will not see what have been done. Of that, I will make sure…" Kragkor assured them and both Hermione and Draco sighed in relief.

"You know… elf magic is so amazing… why did your kind let wizards treat you like slaves?" Hermione asked as Harry begin to relax and let the elf help him with Voldemort. Kragkor was not exactly intruding inside his mind, just guarding it from the Dark Lord's touch, so with each second, the pain diminished. However, as he didn't need to empty his mind to keep Voldemort from seen what were they up too, he began to see things that Voldemort had not cared to hide.

"Humans feared that which was out of their control, so they tried their hardest to keep magical creatures of all kind under their rule, including Dementors. We house elves have a kind of magic wizards will never had, yet our kind was easily scared (for which I'm shameful) and because of that, we became slaves. All house elves have a magical contract with their masters, which restrain our magic when in service. However, once free of the binding contract, we regain our full magic."

"Dobby was the first to be free and defy Lord Malfoy for the greater good, which make the rest of us a bit braver. Lucius Malfoy, treat all of us badly, so most elves wanted to be free as well. My loyalty had always been with young Master Malfoy, because when still a child, he treated me and all house elves in the Manor with respect and most of us still remember he was a fair Master before his parents make him change his mind. Even after he grew up, he treated us better than his father, so we follow him now, to show our gratitude for free us." Kragkor said, still helping Harry while he debated on whatever he should trust what he was seen from Voldemort. Harry was getting images of the things Voldemort had done while they had struggle to escape from the vault, and he was beginning to worry. Just like in a movie, many things coming from Voldemort, flowed to his mind whatever false or real.

The first one that had his full attention was the one who showed Snape. The house elves under Malfoy's trust wanted to bring his body to the mansion, so that their Master could properly burry him later and gave him his final farewell. However, those elves that carefully looked for the body inside the forest never found him and now he knew why. Voldemort had taken away many things from Snape in the past, beginning with the life of the woman he loved and so on, but now he had even denied the man a proper funeral, as he had seen him burn his body to aches right where he had been killed. There was nothing left of him, only a bit of aches here and there that the wind itself had dispersed on the earth.

"I'm sorry Draco…" He mentally said to his now friend. Still, there was more… perhaps Voldemort was expecting Draco to come back for the body, because unexpectedly he had transfigured his snake with the shape of Snape body. If Draco ever tried to retrieve him from the Forbidden Forest, he would go to get bitten, like Arthur Weasley had before.

There were other alarming things that kept his attention too. He was sure that he saw Crabbe and Goyle as well as other Slytherin students receiving instructions of some sort and then rushed out of what he imagined was the Slytherin common room. The fact that those two were still on the hunt, somehow gave him a bad feeling, but once he recovered from his current predicament, he will make sure to pass the message to the others to keep an eye for them. It was possible that they were order to look for them everywhere and perhaps that included watching the room of requirement, which could meant troubles for them.

Then, his heart raced like crazy as he watched what he knew were none other than Ginny and Neville presenting themselves in front of Voldemort as the Carrow siblings. He knew it was going to happen and that it was necessary for them to succeed, however he could not stop worrying that something may go wrong and they will be discover. Nonetheless, he trusted Ginny to hold her own, the same as Neville and he could tell that Voldemort himself wasn't paying them too much attention, perhaps because his focus was somewhere else, he wasn't exactly sure.

As Kragkor gave Voldemort the illusions he so desire, he felt Voldemort's confidence grow and grow some more in huge waves. He was pleased at how things were turning out, he was sure he was going to succeed in killing both him and Draco today, and have his ambition fulfilled and perhaps that, could work in their favor if they use the information well, assuming it was real. Then and as sudden as it had come, the link between them begin to fade.

"He's gone now." Kragkor assure them.

"Yeah…" Harry whisper, sitting in the cold floor, earning a concerned look from both of his companions.

"Harry, are you okay? Did he find out about us?" Hermione asked but Harry shocked his head.

"No. I'm sure he didn't saw anything other than what Kragkor let him see. Thanks, by the way… It would have been a close call on my own." Harry said looking at the pleased house elf.

"Anything to help Master Draco's friends." The little one said and Draco couldn't help but feel a bit proud that in such a short amount of time, he had accomplish more than he had in his entire life. True friendship and love that would last longer than he thought possible.

"However… Draco… I just saw a few things that I don't know how real they are but it could mean either problems or great opportunities… or maybe both of them." Harry said as he stood up.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked a bit concerned.

"Crabbe and Goyle… I think they are going for the room of requirement. Also… I know were the snake is and is not inside the castle." This make Draco frown.

"Draco?" She was beginning to know him and that frown meant troubles for them. She was sure of it.

"Is it inside the Forbidden Forest?" Draco asked, hoping that was not the case, but Harry's surprised expression say it all. Damn it! And here I was imagining a better future…

"Just how did you…?" Harry begin, but Draco halted him half way, raising his hand.

"When I was inside the living stone I saw more than one path, this one however, it's not exactly the one I was hoping to use. We need to change plans. Hermione, use the coin and send a message. Tell Ron Weasley and Luna that they will meet company soon, then write Neville to come meet me at the Forbidden Forest. Harry, you and Hermione go to the castle as planned and as soon as you can, reunite with Ron's group." He hastily said.

"Wait Draco, what's going on here? Why will the snake be inside the forest? What's purpose could it had away from its master? It has always being close to… well you-know-who."

"It's… it's a..." Harry looked at Draco's eyes and he knew that Malfoy knew what he was trying to say.

"It's a trap made for me and me only. You see it right Harry, Snape body is gone and the snake is taking his place in order to kill me. The Lord knows that Snape means a lot to me. It was plain obvious for anyone who hear me yell last night and it's also obvious I will go searching for his body, so he replace it with a deadly one."

"What do you mean by Snape body is gone? Did that thing eat it?" She asked with a mix of horror and disgust.

"No Hermione, Vo… you-know-who incinerate it. I'm really sorry Draco… I know you wanted to at least give him a proper resting place."

"It doesn't matter now, the good news about it, is that the Lord really haven't figure out about the hunting of the Horcruxes yet and he was kind enough to send me the last one in a silver platter. This is our best chance to get them all at the same time, so go on and do what you were destine to do, both of you. Neville and I will do our part, as planned."

"But why go to the forest with only Neville? Certainly, you most know that the forest is crowded with Death Eaters waiting for you to show up and…"

"Hermione, of all the possible ways to get all the Horcruxes at the same time, this is the second best, although it may turn badly latter, it's the faster way. I don't know what we did to change the path I was initially following, or maybe it wasn't us, but him… either way, it's what we have now. Right now he is expecting me to go search for Snape's body, while distracting the Death Eaters at the same time, so you and Harry could sneak in, undetected. He is going to set trap for all of us, but we can still turn this into our favor." Well, at least your favor… he mentally added, when remembering how his chances of surviving as a traitor were low from the start.

"Don't worry, the plan doesn't change that much, only that I will not go with the two of you. I had been part of your group for a short period of time. I don't exactly fit in the Golden Trio thing you will be known off. We part ways here, an elf will keep you update of what's going on with each group and tell you what changes to make, if there is the need to proceed differently. Now, warn Ron's group that they will end up fighting Slytherin students very soon, so they could ready themselves for the fight. This will also be the perfect time for the Weasley team distraction. Let the group know is their time to shine. Neville and I will handle the snake. That much I can assure you… Kragkor, we need to go to the forest now…" He said turning, yet Hermione held him and turn him back, so he will face her instead.

"Draco Malfoy, if you think I will let you go on your own a second time, you are badly mistaken." She said with something close to rage.

"I will not be alone, Hermione. I have Kragkor and other house elves to help me as well as Neville. We can handle this."

"The forest is too dangerous for you! Have you forgotten? You have become a traitor to all Death Eaters and they will do everything in their power to get you one way or another. Just one wrong move and they will kill you without hesitation! Hell, they have already tried it!"

"Ahhhh, Hermione… it's the same for you and Harry as well! Dealing with the Dark Lord when we had less experience than him, will always be dangerous for all of us no matter where we go or with who we are! I know you are a talented witch way ahead in magic than most of the students our age, probably the best among us and that's why you need to be where you are most needed. Stay with Harry and destroy the Horcrux when the time comes and this may end well for you..."

"For me, Draco? What about Harry, Ron and the others? What about you? What about YOU?!" She repeated at the border of tears. She had a bad feeling about letting Draco out of her sight a second time.

"I will be fine…"

"Liar! I can tell, you are hiding something! I'm sure that if you go to the Forbidden Forest, you will not come back to me again!" She yelled while hugging him. It was then, that Harry saw what he knew it meant that his time had come, as both of his parents were standing with a solemn expression on their faces, right behind the embraced couple.

"Draco, we will go with you. I think I have to be there too. Remember Dumbledore's journal? He wrote something like this to me, I just remember it. This is where we need to go, both you and me and it can't be avoided." Draco looked at Harry even more seriously that his own parents and he knew that Draco understood his meaning. It had been him who have confirm his suspicions about his own death, yet he wasn't expecting to see a hint of sadness in Draco's eyes.

"All right then, pass the message to the others that we will meet at the forest to end this fight. The Weasley group will take care of those still at Hogwarts. Then we leave." He looked down at Hermione who looked confused for a second and gave her a slight kiss. "Don't ask me now, we don't have much time and please… Don't be too brave, if things go wrong, we escape…"

"Okay, but I will not make you a promise not to put myself in danger for all of your sakes…" She added, because she knew that there was something big, both Harry and Draco were keeping it from her, but regardless of what it was, she was going to make sure no one else die. Draco sighed in resignation and he hoped that Kragkor and the rest of his elves will keep her safe in case he didn't make it.

"Fine then, Harry, the message, we need to go now."

"Okay, just a minute…" He took out his coin and did as Draco had asked and pass the new plan to the others and right after, they were gone.

Ron

"All be damn, you did it!" Seamus said happily. He had come running when he hear the noise of falling things and right after, the sparks Ron had cast as his signal. Luna and the others who had come with them also rushed to meet with them too.

"Yeah and right on time too. Harry had already find his Horcrux, so we are ready to leave now." Ron said with inner satisfaction. He had finally completed his task right where was needed. "Let's go out and regroup with the others and wait for the right time to destroy the Horcrux." He added while turning to walk back toward the entrance, although he wasn't too sure of which way was it.

"Hum, Ron… aren't you are going the wrong way?" Luna asked, making him almost blush in embarrassment.

"Oh, really? Hey Dobby… you lead the way and don't get us lost." Ron order and the house-elf gladly comply walking in the right direction. However, just after a short walk toward the exit a blasting spell hit a nearby shelf, shattering it instantly, while sending its contents all over them. All of them throw themselves to the floor in time to avoid another blasting spell. In the fall, Ron almost let go of his wand, but mange to keep it in his hand without braking it. He had more than enough of broke wands and backfire spells.

Luna was the first one to react after the initial attack and stood up while already casting a protective spell for them, then fighting back their opponents without holding back. Ron was glad to have someone similar to Hermione in his group. Luna was odd in many ways, but she was smart, brave and also quick to react when in danger.

"Get them!" Crabbe yelled to his small group of Slytherin's companions while countering Luna's spells and a rush of anger flared inside Ron's body, while he too casted his own spells.

"Descendo!" Crabbe shouted and Ron counteracted accordingly. Many lines of different colors flashed all around, as spells were cast one after another in both sides. Ron had fight with them before and he was expecting that their fight to be easier than it was proven to be. The damn Slytherin guys were always in their way, although their indisputable leader had already become a traitor to join them and they were getting harder to defeat. Crabbe specially, was acting almost out of control, trying to use even the Crucio curse, which only make him angrier. He had hit one of his own with it and although he didn't have the time to inflict real pain to his Ravenclaw companion, it was still hard to believe that the big guy he always thought as stupid, was able to dare cursing someone else that heartlessly.

Shortly after their little war begin, Ron felt his coin getting hotter, however he was too busy keeping himself and his friends in one piece, so he didn't have the time to see what was the message. Luna, by the other hand had defeated the one who had tried to get her with a stunning spell and had a quick look at it.

"What is it?" Ron shouted, running close to her, avoiding a spell. Luckily for them, Dobby was blocking the deadliest spell away from them.

"Harry is warning us that we may encounter a bunch of Slytherin idiots, among other things!" She shouted back.

"Hey, I hear that you loony! Who's the idiot here? You will not pass us, bunch of losers!" Crabbe yelled, directing a spell her way, but she easily dodge it.

"Us, losers? You are the ones who lose your leader. Last time I check, Draco Malfoy was helping us instead! I bet he got sick of being around cowards like yourselves." Seamus intervene, almost blasting Goyle with a spell. However, mentioning Draco had been a big mistake, as Crabbe was now seriously enraged.

"Don't mention that traitor! He is the biggest coward of all!" What followed next, was something none of them were prepare to face, as both Crabbe and Goyle begin casting dark magic left and right, including the killing curse. Luna, being the daughter of writer and researcher, and also an avid reader herself, knew well they were dealing with very dangerous stuff. She seriously doubted those idiots knew dark magic well enough or for long enough to fully control it and it was getting harder to block.

"Take this and we will see who the coward here is!" Then it happen. A column of fire emerged from Crabbe's wand, taking the form of a fiery beast, consuming everything in its path. Instinct took over in all of them, and naturally, they run away from the out of control fire. Luna was beyond surprised that Crabbe, who was never a top student and had troubles mastering simpler spells, could cast such a high level spell and a vicious one no less.

"Fiendfyre of all things?! Did he lose it?! We need to get out of here now! Hurry!" Luna shouted while looking for a way out. The flames chased after them fiercely, barely delayed by the mass of object it was consuming and although Ron had tried to use Aguamanti on it, she knew it was all useless. There was nothing they could use to extinguish those cursed flames. Nothing at all.

"Hey, over here!" Luna called, after taking a fast turn. She had seen a bunch of broomsticks lying in the floor and flying was faster than running.

"Damn it! What kind of thing is that fire?" Dean asked, losing no time in getting a broom.

"It's only bad news to us. Let's get out!" As there wasn't enough brooms and the fire was getting truly closer, the mounted in pairs. However, as they took off the ground, the flames also chased them and because of the smoke, it was hard to see the exit. If it wasn't for Dobby, they would had not find their way out at all.

"There! It's there!" Dobby pointed, while holding on to Luna.

"Tell me again why you can't transport us out of here?!" Ron asked a bit annoyed.

"The magic of this room, affect everything that's inside, human or not. Dobby can't go out by magical means." The little elf said, very tempted to look for something to hit himself.

"Never mind, we are almost out!" Luna said, failing to see a coming figure. A few Slytherin's had caught up to them also in heavy brooms.

"Luna, watch out!" Seamus yelled, noticing Crabbe and Goyle closing on her. She barely had time to react, dodging the coming spell, but the sudden move make her lose control and her balance over the broom.

"I got you now!" The stunning spell meant for her was intercepted by Dobby who fall from the broom more for the impact of the spell than for the effect of it, the moment it hit him. Luckily for the little elf, Dean had been flying a bit lower and was able to catch him before hitting the ground, who was close to be consumed by the fire.

Ron had acted unconsciously, turning to aid the girl who was now hanging on the broom with only her hands and in the verge of falling. By fate, he had been flying alone, but just when he was going to hold her, a nearby blast make them both fall atop a tall tower of pilled old books. Luna's broom fell inside the fire a few meters below, but Ron had manage to get a hold on his by a miracle. Still, the fire was now getting higher.

"Avada Kedavra!" Shouted Crabbe, seen the opportunity to kill them both. Nonetheless, the spell was redirected halfway by Dobby's shielding magic, the stunning spell had a less effect on him that it would on a regular human. Ron lose no time in getting on his broom, closely followed by Luna and they rose, just seconds before the fire consume their pile of books. Unfortunately, a huge Chimera emerged from the fire, as well as a serpent. Ron rose higher as fast as he could, avoiding the snake by inches, but Crabbe who had been too busy casting spells to notice, was caught by the Chimera that raised below him.

"Crabbe!" Goyle yelled, yet he knew it was already too late for his friend. The only thing he could do was watch in horror as his body was lost inside the sea of hot flames of his own spell and was gone, for good. His horror what of such magnitude that even when the others Slytherin's headed toward the exit, he stayed above the fire as if paralyze and he would had share the same fate as him friend if it wasn't for a girls screaming his name.

"Goyle! Goyle, you idiot! Do you want to die too?! Let's get out now! Goyle!" Luna yelled to Goyle, who was too shocked to act. Nonetheless, the girl's yell woke him long enough to make him follow them despite feeling numb. Once out, Goyle fall down to his knees and begin crying. That was it for him, he didn't care about Voldemort's rising or pointless glory anymore. He had watch his best friend die right in front on his eyes and for no real reason. What was the point in chasing Ron Weasley to the death? It wasn't worthy.

Luna coughed a bit falling down too, yet she could not help herself but look at the poor guy in front of her as he broke down. She remained herself that in war, lives were lost and she had been blessed enough not to be one of those who lost. Ron came closer and help her stood again, as they needed to keep on. He was no fan of Crabbe, nor Goyle, but he felt sorry for the guy, despite what he intended to do with them.

"Let's go Luna… we need to keep moving. It's not over yet." Ron whisper in such a low tone that she barely hear him. As they walked away from the still crying Goyle, she felt her eyes water with coming tears too and she wonder who could be next. At her side Ron coughed a bit too, unconsciously checking for the tiara inside his pants pocket and sighed in relief. It was still there.

"We need to go to the Forbidden Forest. There, is where this all will end." Luna said, while holding her wand with more force than needed. She was determine not to watch someone else die ever again, especially not those she cared about the most.

AN: Thanks for reading.