IMPORTANT

Really? Did you really think I would post an update on April Fools Day? Anyway, happy belated April Fools, but on to more important stuff.

This is a long author's note but you'll want to see read it. A lot of you are in lockdown and looking for something to read. And one of the most common questions I get is — what are your favourite fanfictions? So I thought this would be a good place to recommend them.

First, a little context: I'm the generation that grew up with Fanfic.net — i.e. the heyday of Harry Potter fanfics before sites like Wattpad and AO3 became popular. I tend to read original fiction on Wattpad and fanfics on fanfic sites, because Wattpad's search for fanfics is super weird. Like, I swear, Draconian is tagged Dramione but I've literally never seen Draconian appear when I type 'dramione' or 'dracomalfoy' or 'hermionegranger' before. Have you...? It's like the ship has abandoned me.

Anyway, some of the following stories are available on Wattpad (as reposts by other authors), but please support the original author. It's the least you could do when all these are free to read. Without further ado, here are my top ten fanfics across the three big fandoms I read in:

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SHERLOLLY

Note: I'm not a huge fan of Sherlolly; I much prefer asexual!Sherlock. But sherlolly fanfics have some of the best writing I've seen. Here's my top two:

Fumbling Toward Ecstasy by sunken_standard

Post TFP; AO3. Pre-relationship with existing feelings. The gradual build-up to romance is perfectly done.

The Full House by emcee

Post Reichenbach; AO3. One of the most delightful reads in the fandom. Perfect story to curl up to after a horrible day.

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MARVEL

Note: Marvel is the trickiest fandom for me because many stories feature badass!heroines who're loud and unemotional. Finding OCs with heart has been difficult. The following are the ones with:

Hearts, Minds & Hard Lines by bigbandbombshell

Bucky x OC; post CA:TWS; AO3. Therapist and veteran trope, with unique avengers and x-men crossovers.

Where My Demons Hide by nyxetoile

Loki x OC; post Thor 2; AO3. A servant discovers that a false king is seated on the throne of Asgard. Loki riots.

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HARRY POTTER

Note: Like I said, I'm not a Dramione shipper. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good fanfic. And here are some great ones:

Isolation by bex-chan

Draco x Hermione; during DH; fanfic.net (wattpad version is not by the original author). The mother of all Dramione fanfics. Enough said.

Of Kings & Queens by galfoy

Draco x Hermione; post DH; fanfic.net. Fluffy angst, with one of the most unique takes on soulmates.

Three Steps Forward, One Step Back by musyc

Draco x Hermione; post DH; AO3. A series of vignettes spanning after the war through their relationship.

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OTHERS

Note: Some all-time favourites from 'out there' ships. Before you go "wtf Noelle???", try taking a leap of faith. I mean, you trusted me to tell you a good story with Draconian, right? Now trust me to recommend you the best stories:

A Study in Violet by Ally147

Theo x Hermione; post DH; fanfic.net. After the war, Theo hears and falls in love with a voice.

Sunshine & Tomatoes by colubrina

Theo x Luna; post DH; fanfic.net. For Theo x Luna shippers. Finite isn't coming back, so hopefully this satisfies your cravings for awhile.

An Unwritten Future by aurette

Severus x Hermione; post/pre(?) DH; fanfic.net. Hermione travels back to the past to meet a young man who's dead in her future.

Some of you have seen me recommend this on ask before and I'm recommending it again. An Unwritten Future is my all time favourite fanfic. Before you go all "wtf Noelle how can you ship Severus and Hermione?!?!?" on me, read it. Read. It. You probably still won't ship them after this story, but you'll be absolutely blown away by the story. And then you can come back here so that I can say 'I told you fucking so'.

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...and that's a wrap! I hope these will make your dreary days at home better. If you've read any of my recommendations, please leave comments above to let me know what you think.

Now back to the story. This is the PENULTIMATE chapter by the way. You'll weep when this is all over.

xo Noelle

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4 9

e x p e l l i a r m u s

Disarms opponent.

THE SILENCE THAT greeted him had never been louder before.

Draco looked down at the others. Apart from Hermione, everyone had been stunned speechless, including the other people who had overheard their conversation.

Harry shifted, delicately breaking the fragile silence and blinked at Draco. "You're the Master of the Elder Wand?"

"Do keep up, Potter." Draco frowned. "Yes, I'm the Master of the Elder Wand. Its allegiance has belonged to me for the past three years."

"Muffliato." Harry waved a hand to ensure that the conversation stayed within the group and turned back to Draco. "Sit down, Malfoy. And explain from the very beginning."

Draco narrowed his eyes, but sat down all the same. He felt Hermione thread her fingers through his and held on tight, glad that there was at least one person on his side.

He drew out the phials that hung around his neck and plucked one between his fingertips. "This phial was given to me by Snape, several days before he died. He wanted to have at least – someone, who knew what he went through, knew what he'd seen, knew what he had to do."

Ron's eyes widened. "He showed Harry his memories too. We collected them from him right before he died."

Draco was surprised to hear this but simply shrugged. "In the memories he gave me, I saw that Voldemort was on a quest for the Elder Wand, but it had all along been in the hands of Dumbledore. Until the night he died – because I had disarmed him."

An uncomfortable silence trailed in the wake of Draco's words. Some of them clearly remembered how Draco had intended to kill Dumbledore years ago. It was all in the past, but Draco could still sense their animosity, and he cleared his throat.

"Anyway, it occurred to me that I had become the Master of the Elder Wand by disarming Dumbledore. Then I remembered that you," he threw a half-hearted glare at Harry, "had disarmed me at the Malfoy Manor – "

"That's embarrassing," Theo mumbled, stifling a snigger. "Can't believe Potter beat you."

Draco rolled his eyes. " – so then the allegiance of the Wand had shifted to you. It didn't matter to me. By then, I was exhausted and the only reason I stayed with Voldemort was because he'd kill my parents if I didn't."

His hand tightened on Hermione's. Back then, he truly believed that staying would grant him and his parents full pardon. It didn't make a difference. Whether they stayed or left, the Malfoys were dispensable to Voldemort. Everyone was.

"On the day of the final battle, after Crabbe died in the Fiendfyre – " Pain crossed his face at the mention of his friend. It was over in a flash and he looked at Harry. "I trailed you and watched you get cornered by Dolohov in one of the hallways."

"Dolohov?" Harry frowned. "I was never cornered by Dolohov."

"That's because you don't remember it," Draco returned. "He cornered you and disarmed you. Then he Obliviated that portion of your memories, and I believe he also inserted a false one when he was done. That's why you have no recollection of it."

Harry shook his head, stunned by the turn of events. "I can't believe it."

"Shit," Blaise breathed. "Draco, does this mean that Dolohov had been wanting possession of the Deathly Hallows since the battle?"

"I believe he knew about the Deathly Hallows," Draco hedged, "I don't believe he actually wanted them until the battle was over. Because Dolohov was sent to disarm Harry on Voldemort's orders."

"How did he know that I was the Master of the Elder Wand in the first place?" Harry asked.

Draco shrugged. "You were an open book and you weren't skilled in Occlumency. I've no doubt that Voldemort managed to sift through your mind, find out that you knew that you were the Master of the Elder Wand. So he ordered Dolohov to disarm you."

Ginny raised a hand to stop Draco. "Why didn't he just disarm Harry himself?"

"Simple – he wanted Potter to fight him still believing that he had the wand's allegiance. Then Potter would face off with him without a single fucking clue as to what had happened, and wouldn't even know what hit him until he was lying dead on the ground."

"But Harry didn't die," Luna smiled, the only one apart from Hermione who remained unperturbed by the news.

"Correct." Draco nodded at her and smirked as he remembered what happened after that. "Because I disarmed Dolohov before he could return back to Voldemort. And then I Obliviated his memory and inserted a false one, just like what he did to Potter."

"Bloody Slytherin," Ron shook his head, his lips twitching in amusement.

"And then I watched Voldemort disarm Dolohov, thinking that he was now the Master of the Elder Wand."

"Hold on, let me get something straight." Pansy stopped him. "Are you saying that all these years, Voldemort's been waving the bloody Wand about, thinking that its allegiance belonged to him?"

"He's had fun, hasn't he?"

"Are you serious?" Theo broke out in a fit of laughter despite the tense atmosphere. Even the rest looked rather amused now. "Classic Malfoy!"

Draco allowed himself to grin, but he soon straightened his face as he focused on the matter at hand, turning back to Harry. "I was going to return Mastery of the Elder Wand to you," he said, his voice quieter now. "But then you were facing Voldemort before I could even find you. Neither of you had the Wand's allegiance, but Voldemort did have the Wand in his hand all along and so, naturally, he won."

The brevity of Draco's words sank into the silence. All of them were suddenly aware of the repercussions of his actions. Had Harry been the Master of the Elder Wand, the past three years would've panned out completely differently. The Order would still be in existence, Hermione would've never been captured, and there would be no war.

One crafty Slytherin, one disarming spell, one wand – and everything had changed.

"So all these years, you've been using another wand?" Neville asked, looking at the discarded wand near Draco's feet.

Draco picked it up, feeling a faint pang of nostalgia sweep through him as he studied it. "My mother's. I don't have to be using the Elder Wand to be the Master of it. But I'm certain that I am – it's the reason why I created the anti-disarming charm in the first place."

"You know," Harry mused, "I can't say that you were in the wrong, Malfoy." Draco met his gaze in surprise and he shrugged. "If you didn't take the Wand's allegiance from Dolohov, Voldemort would've taken it. And I would've been dead by now."

"I know."

"So," Harry's lips lifted in a grin. "Are you willing to give up ownership?"

Draco let go of Hermione's hand and dragged himself to his feet, silently removing the anti-disarming charms on himself. Charms that he had created so long ago to prevent anyone – even Voldemort himself – from disarming him, so that he could retain ownership of the Elder Wand, until the time came for the Boy Who Lived to win.

The time was now.

He squared his shoulders and loosened his grip on his mother's wand. "Go ahead."

Harry got to his feet, well aware that everyone in the Courtyard was watching the exchange between them. He took a deep breath and directed his wand at Draco.

"Expelliarmus!"

A blinding jet of light streaked out towards Draco. His grip on the wand loosened and flew out of his hand. Harry swiftly caught it in mid-air. All was silent as everyone realised the gravity of the situation.

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was finally the Master of the Elder Wand.

Harry didn't move as he studied Narcissa Malfoy's wand. "You know what's funny?" He said at last, tossing his own wand over to Draco. "That, I believe, belongs to you."

Draco's eyes widened as he recognised the familiar hawthorn-wood wand. This was the wand that had seen him through his teenage years. "How the hell do you still have this?"

"From the skirmish at the Malfoy Manor years ago. I grabbed your wand away, and I've been using it ever since, even to fight Voldemort during the previous battle. Funny how our fates keep intertwining, huh, Malfoy?"

"For Salazar's sake – "

A distant commotion cut Draco off. The group turned, only to see the Order getting to their feet. The atmosphere was tense now, like the imminent storm had finally arrived.

"They're here," Theo said. His eyes were trained in the distance. When Draco followed his line of vision, he saw what Theo had seen – the shield around the castle disintegrating into vaporised mist.

"Let's keep it simple." Draco said quietly. "Keep the Death-Eaters at bay, take down whoever you can. And Potter will face off Voldemort when he's ready."

The rest of them nodded in understanding, Neville in particular looking almost relieved that he wouldn't have to face Voldemort alone. There was a low hum of chatter, the shuffling of footsteps as the crowd around slowly prepared for what would be the final battle to end the terrifying war that had lasted for far too long.

Draco turned when he felt Hermione sidle up to him. She pushed herself up on the tips of her toes to seal a quick kiss to his lips. In spite of the dried tears or the faint bruises clouding her face, he thought she'd never looked more beautiful and alive before.

He couldn't help but think that there were repercussions of his actions three years ago, but within the mess he'd made, he had somehow found Hermione Granger – the light to his darkness, the angel to his inner demons, the pulse in his otherwise unfeeling heart.

She was all he could see, and her voice was all he could hear when she spoke. "Maybe, tomorrow, we'll finally be safe."

Maybe they would.

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The first spell came out of nowhere exactly one minute after the shield had been taken down.

It was far too quick for anyone to counter – Hermione was standing with her friends one moment, her fingers intertwined with Draco's; but the next moment, she found herself being pushed behind Draco as he cast a powerful shield to protect all ten of them.

He was swift enough to react, and they were far away enough to not take the brunt of the spell. Hermione watched in horror as the spell exploded into the crowd, sending several bodies and limbs flying. It was evidence that a Dark Spell had just been cast, the first of many more to come.

Then Shacklebolt was yelling for everyone to stand guard, while McGonagall was sending a spell back in the direction where it came from. And Hermione found herself thrust into the thick of war again as Death-Eaters flew overhead on brooms, hurling curses and hexes every which way. Draco and Theo were the first to snap into action, taking down Death-Eaters as swiftly as they appeared, and the rest soon joined in.

But Hermione felt herself frozen on the spot. Her head was thrumming with screams and yells, but the moment she saw Katie Bell flung back against the wall nearby, her lifeless form slumping onto the ground as Ginny let out a devastated cry, the oxygen was sucked out from her lungs again, a sickening emptiness churning in her stomach.

One down. She didn't think she could lose any more people today.

Blinking back the tears, she fired a spell at the Death-Eater who had killed Katie. Ginny joined her, and it wasn't long before their barrage of spells took him down in one fell swoop. Ginny went to help George after that, while Hermione found Luna battling a burly Death-Eater. She rushed forward and sent a stunning spell his way. The Death-Eater turned to her, only to be caught by Luna's spell.

"Levicorpus!"

Hermione trained her wand on the Death-Eater, who was now dangled in mid-air by an invisible rope. "Stupefy!"

The Death-Eater fell to the ground and Luna smiled at Hermione. "Thanks."

"No problem." Hermione waved her wand to fix Luna's bloodied nose, and pulled the blonde witch back into the thick of battle. "Come on."

She and Luna weaved their way past people, firing spells to help arbitrary Order and Rebellion members along the way. Midway through, Luna went to help Theo, while Hermione ran over to Neville, who was single-handedly duelling two Death-Eaters. She fired a disarming curse at one, and he swiftly stunned both of them, smiling at her once the Death-Eaters were unconscious on the ground.

"Nicely done, Hermione – " but the words were ripped from his throat as a Cruciatus hit him in the back, and he fell over with a torturous yell.

Hermione's breath caught.

The Death-Eater's voice had struck a chord in her memory. Her fingers tightened on her wand and, ignoring the others who came to provide Neville with reinforcements, she stepped forward.

"Flipendo!" The Death-Eater twisted out of the way to avoid her hex, but she shouted another before he had the chance to recover. "Incendio!"

In her peripherals, she noticed that her duel had drawn the attention of the people around them. The Death-Eater's mask fell off as he ducked, and her blood boiled as she came face to face with one of her captors.

Yaxley.

"Missed me, mudblood?" He sneered, drawing his wand on her. "Avada Kedavra!"

The spell missed her by a mere inch. She flung a spell back, a wordless Incarcerous that took him by surprise. Thick, black ropes wound around Yaxley's body and she dragged him across the rubble towards her, kicking his wand far out of reach.

"Going to kill me, mudblood?" He rasped.

Hermione stopped. At that moment, she realised how easy it was to disassociate herself from the situation. To let the three years of suffering morph into nothing but searing hatred, to let a simple curse slip past her lips. People like Yaxley were better off dead anyway. It was war – kill or be killed.

Avada Kedavra, Avada Kedavra, Avada Kedavra.

The words were almost mellifluous on her tongue.

"I can't." She whispered, digging her wand to his temple. The words refused to leave her lips, the magic for that curse refused to pulse through her veins. Shutting her eyes briefly, she pushed aside all the loathing she had for this pathetic excuse of a man in front of her.

And when she opened her eyes, the air was breathable again.

"Stupefy."

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The arrival of the next wave of Death-Eaters pushed Draco back into the thick of battle. He and Theo hammered spells to knock the Death-Eaters off their brooms. Pansy and Blaise soon joined in, dragging down three Death-Eaters in quick succession.

Blaise trained his wand on them. "Immobulus."

His spell froze the Death-Eaters and Draco fired a spell at the one on the left. "Confringo." He sent the first Death-Eater blasting back, just as Theo yelled a "Flipendo!" that sent the other Death-Eater hurtling back against a wall.

Pansy was quick to finish off the last Death-Eater. "Petrificus Totalus!" She watched in satisfaction as the man fell over and smiled. "Good to see we haven't lost our touch."

Draco froze as he saw another pack of Death-Eaters heading towards them. "Hold on to that thought, Parkinson."

Theo quickly assumed position beside him, with Pansy and Blaise on Draco's other side. And it wasn't long before the four were shooting spells and deflecting them with adroit moves and quick reflexes. Draco could practically feel his blood humming, ears buzzing as he aimed curses with great precision – his blasting spells a direct counterattack with Blaise's freezing ones, while Pansy's body-binding spells proved to be incredibly useful when Theo knocked back the opponents with jinxes.

"Hey, I have a question," Theo quipped, grinning as he fought the Death-Eaters off with wordless spells. "What're you guys doing tomorrow?"

"Shagging," Pansy replied sweetly. "If Blaise and I are still alive by then."

"Oh, Merlin, don't jinx it. I don't want to – Expulso! – have to go to your bloody funerals and write fucking eulogies and everything."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Do you have to be so morbid, Theo?"

"Come on, Blaise, where's your sense of humour?"

"It's morbid humour – "

"Which is the best kind of humour." Theo chuckled, pausing to cast a hex before continuing, "you think Daphne Greengrass will be up for a thank-fuck-we're-alive shag later?"

"Thank-fuck-we're-alive shag?" Pansy shot him a dubious glance.

"Yeah," drawled Draco, who had been listening to the exchange with vague amusement, but had mostly been duelling and fending off curses for Theo, who tended to be sloppy at times. "To complement the fuck-the-world's-ending shag he had with Susan Bones yesterday."

"Bloody hell, Theo." Blaise shook his head. "Are you sleeping your way through the D.A.?"

Draco smirked. "Apparently, he's also sleeping his way through Hufflepuff."

"What the hell?" yelped Theo, amidst laughter from Blaise and Pansy. "When did I – "

"Susan Bones is from Hufflepuff, you daft git."

"Shit – " Theo swore, before shrugging the matter away. "Oh well, she was great. There's this thing she did, with her – oh, fuck!" He stopped abruptly, bringing his hands up as a wayward spell flew his way, only to have it blocked by Draco.

Draco shot him an aggravated look. "You were this close to missing the opportunity to have thank-fuck-we're-alive sex with Greengrass."

"Oh, lighten up, Draco," he scoffed. Then his eyes widened as he noticed another spell darting towards them, too quick and lethal to block. "Incoming!"

Draco barely had time to weave out of the way before the curse blasted a trail across the ground, leaving a rim of fire in its wake. Pansy, Blaise and Theo had all scattered, but there were cries of pain as the people around them were flayed by the fire.

Draco knew exactly who had sent the spell. Bellatrix was flanked by several Death-Eaters as she hexed her way through the crowd.

"Draco, darling," Bellatrix grinned, flinging several people aside as she honed in on him. Theo, Pansy and Blaise were among them, and Draco watched furiously as she sent the three flying back with a frightening spell. "I've missed you."

Draco ducked past another spell and sent one hurtling right back at her. "I know, Auntie dearest. I could feel your filthy heart pining for me from miles away."

Bellatrix sneered. "You sicken me. Crucio!" Her voice rung loud and clear. Draco heard several gasps resonate around him as he rolled out of the way. The Unforgivables could never be blocked with a shield, and he hated how helpless he felt against them.

"Confringo!"

Bellatrix didn't even flinch as she blocked the spell. "Not an Avada?" She let out a harsh chuckle. "Such a pity, Draco. You've gone soft."

"Hardly." Draco returned. "There are many ways to kill without an Avada. This, for instance," he shot a Diffindo that she deflected, but he hammered spell after spell as he spoke. "And this." Explulso. "And this." Bombarda. "I prefer a wide variety, Auntie dearest."

"Oh, you really have to stop calling me that, Draco." Bellatrix flashed him a grin and cast several Crucios, which he easily evaded. "I know better than anyone else that you've never seen me as your Aunt. And the fact that you've so easily killed my husband and Rabastan tells me how much you disregard your bloodline. Except for, say – Andromeda?"

Draco flung a vicious hex at her without thinking. Red clouded his vision, and his heart was gripped with fear as he thought of Andromeda and Teddy back home. No – they were safe. Grus had sealed up the place, and they were hidden.

They were safe. They had to be, right?

Bellatrix cackled, delighted at having gotten a reaction out of him. "I've touched a nerve, haven't I, Draco? I didn't mind when your mother died years ago, and I don't think I'd mind seeing the death of another one of my sisters – "

"Stupefy!"

The spell had come from a different source and it took Bellatrix by surprise, even as she deflected it. Ginny stood a good distance behind Draco, her eyes flashing as she glared at Bellatrix.

"Oh, charming." Bellatrix laughed. "Potter's blood-traitor girlfriend. This should be fun."

"Go to hell," Ginny spat, firing another stunning hex at her.

"Not without you!" Bellatrix sang, before aiming, "Crucio!"

Ginny barely evaded the spell. With Ginny's help, Draco kept Bellatrix at bay with a barrage of spells. Luna and Pansy soon joined in, while Blaise, Theo and Neville fought off a group of Death-Eaters some distance away.

But Draco's mind was elsewhere. He'd noticed a sudden change in the weather. The air was still again. It was the second calm before another tempestuous storm. The fighting was still in full force around him, but now that Bellatrix was on the battlefield –

There he was.

Draco saw the figure in the horizon before anyone else did, leading a new wave of Death-Eaters in masks and robes. The man was a shade of ghastly grey amidst flyaway black robes as he strode towards the Courtyard. Voldemort and the rest of his army were still a fair distance away, but Draco knew that it was time.

He ducked away from Bellatrix's curse and held up his wand. "Periculum!"

Crimson flares shot straight into the air, high up enough for everyone in the vicinity to see it. There was a sudden flurry as people began to realise that Voldemort had finally joined the battle.

Draco ducked another of Bellatrix's spells. "Theo!" He yelled, catching the attention of his friend some distance away. "Find Potter!"

Theo nodded and disappeared into the crowd. Draco was had just turned back to the fight when he heard Pansy's shrill scream.

"Draco! Watch out!"

Bellatrix's spell rammed into him just as he put up a shield. The impact was deafening, blasting people left and right as his shield absorbed the brunt of the curse. He was flung across the Courtyard and his body slammed against the cobbled ground.

His ears were ringing as he coughed and blinked away the dust from his eyes. It took awhile for his disoriented senses to get back on track, and when he did, he realised the terrifying predicament he was in.

Voldemort was there – barely twenty-feet away from him.

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The Golden Trio had found themselves in quite a fix.

Hermione had found Harry and Ron minutes after defeating Yaxley. They were cornered cornered by several Death-Eaters in an alcove, and she'd promptly joined in the fight. It was another bout of stunning and disarming spells, twisting and ducking and weaving, a combination that left her gasping for breath, heart pounding and limbs aching.

"Flipendo!" She cast a knockback jinx on the nearest Death-Eater.

He stumbled back and his mask clattered to the ground. Her heart leapt to her throat as she recognised his face. His gaze locked onto hers and he smirked. "Crucio!"

Hermione yelped and barely scrambled out of the way, the spell whizzing by and grazing the tip of her ear. Beside her, Harry and Ron had paused in shock at the sudden use of an Unforgivable, and then their eyes narrowed as they noticed Walden MacNair standing several feet away from them.

With a furious look on his face, Harry cast a potent disarming spell. "Expelliarmus!"

MacNair's wand flew out of his hand and into Harry's; and Hermione directed a hex at the defenceless man. "Immobulus!"

MacNair froze in place, and Ron took the opportunity to finish him off. "Stupefy!" He yelled, watching in great satisfaction as the Death-Eater was flung back and collapsed in an unconscious heap.

The three worked to take down the remaining Death-Eaters. When they were done, she turned to Harry and Ron with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Are you kidding?" Ron grinned. "It was our pleasure."

"Yeah. I've been wanting to do that ever since I saw your memories," Harry added, before heading towards a hidden archway to check the wound on his leg.

Hermione brought out potions to heal him and Ron, smiling as latter grumbled away when she fixed his injuries. Harry, however, was silent throughout. Even Ron, who was usually oblivious, soon noticed. "Everything alright, mate?"

"Just – " Harry let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. " – terrified, I guess."

"It's okay to be scared," Hermione said quietly. "It's a war. It's okay to be scared all the time."

"You've got this, though," Ron interjected. "You're now the Master of the Elder Wand, Voldemort has no more Horcruxes left, there's nothing else standing in the way."

"I know. It's just – I already lost to him once. Just thinking about losing to him again is enough to drive me crazy."

Hermione reached into her satchel. "Maybe this'll help." She drew out a tiny phial, surreptitiously peeling off the label and placed the phial in Harry's hands. "Drink up."

"What is it?"

"Felix Felicis." She smiled when his eyes widened. "Better known as liquid luck."

Harry cast her an unsure glance. But when she nodded, he popped the lid on the phial. He downed it in a single gulp, his eyes bright with newfound determination. "Okay, let's go."

Hermione and Ron followed him out onto the battlefield again, but she lingered behind when Ron nudged her. "Was that – "

"Fake?" Her lips curled in a faint smile. "Absolutely. It's actually a blood-replenishing potion, but he doesn't need to know that."

Ron's eyes gleamed and he chuckled. "You know, Harry once tricked me into winning a Quidditch game by pretending to add Liquid Luck into my drink. And now, you're doing the same to him. Guess some things never change."

Hermione's smile widened. But it soon faded when Theo came stumbling up, his face streaked with grime and blood. "Potter! "Voldemort's here – " Harry's eyes widened, and so did Ron's and Hermione's. " – along with the rest of his army. It's time. Come on!"

Harry and Ron followed Theo, but Hermione faltered when she heard a sharp scream in the distance.

"Draco!" It was Pansy who had yelled a warning. "Watch out!"

Hermione's head whipped round, only to watch as a spell slammed right into Draco. He was flung far across the Courtyard and lay in a shaken heap on the ground, barely able to drag himself back up.

"Draco," she whispered. Her chest tightened. It felt like something had been ripped right out of her and she was left empty, bereft, without.

"One down," Hermione heard Bellatrix say, as the witch advanced towards Pansy, Ginny and Luna. "Three to go!"

Quick as thought, Hermione pulled the Cloak of Invisibility around her. True to her reputation, Bellatrix was a tremendously skilled duellist. The three girls missed their target again and again, and Hermione's heart was pounding as she neared Bellatrix. The raven-haired witch chuckled and, with a wave of her wand, sent Pansy slamming back on the ground.

"Two down!" Bellatrix sang. "Two to go – "

"Levicorpus!" Luna fired a spell at her, only to have it deflected, while Ginny shot another futile one. "Stupefy!"

"Is that the best you can do?" Bellatrix laughed. "How disappointing. Now you." She directed her wand at Luna. "Maybe after this, you'll really belong to St. Mungo's. Crucio!"

Luna was slow to evade and dropped to her knees, doubling up in sheer agony. Somewhere in the distance, Hermione heard Theo frantically shout Luna's name, and then he was pushing his way through the crowd in an effort to get to her.

"And as for you." Bellatrix grinned as she turned to Ginny, the last one standing. "Blood-traitor! How many Weasleys do you think will be left once this battle is over?"

Ginny was shaking with fury. "Stupefy!"

"You and the rest of your family will go out with a bang. Avada Kedavra!"

There was a chorus of gasps as Bellatrix's voice rung clear and loud amidst the chaos. Ginny had escaped the killing curse by a hairsbreadth, scraping her knees terribly in the process. There was a loud scream as Molly Weasley shoved her way through the crowd, her face a vibrant red that matched her hair.

"Not my daughter, you bitch!" Molly shrieked, flinging a fierce spell at Bellatrix. Several people stepped forward to help her, but she waved them away. "Stand back! She's mine!"

"Oh, now Mummy's joined the fight too!" Bellatrix cried in delight. "How wonderful!"

Harry had rushed over to pull Ginny away from the line of fire. But Hermione advanced steadily, heart thrumming in her ears and wand tight in her grasp.

"You will not hurt my family again!" Molly declared, hammering Bellatrix with a series of blasting spells that the other witch deflected. Hermione was forced to put up a shield to prevent herself from being flung back by the strength of Molly's magic.

"We'll see about that." Bellatrix returned, her black eyes flashing with amusement. "Avada Keda – "

But Molly hit her square in the chest before she could finish the spell. It was a spell that Hermione hadn't ever seen before – it turned her to stone, her face draining of all colour and her twisted robes curled and unmoving. Bellatrix wasn't even breathing; her eyes were wide and frozen, but completely devoid of emotion.

Hermione took the final step. She threw off the Cloak and held her wand to Bellatrix's back. This woman had had a far too important role in the war and countless people had died because of her. But here she was now. And Hermione realised that she couldn't let anyone add more red to their ledger for a woman who wasn't even worth it.

So add it to her own.

It was that thought alone that enabled her to whisper a single incantation under her breath. "Reducto."

And Bellatrix Lestrange splintered into a million fragments.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Everything else had drowned out when Draco's gaze locked with Voldemort's.

There was nothing else he could hear – not the screams, not the flurry of spells, not the blasts of explosions. All he heard was his mother's voice ringing in his ears:

I made my choice. I'm afraid, but this is what I have to do.

Only Harry could end this. But he needed to keep Voldemort distracted until then, so that no one else would die by his hand. The people around him were fighting off the new wave of Death-Eaters, but he could feel several eyes on him. McGonagall was duelling two Death-Eaters, watching him from the corner of her eyes in concern. So was Ron and his brother George, as they kept several Death-Eaters at bay with powerful spells.

Dragging in every bit of his strength, Draco pulled himself up. He spat out a mouthful of blood and mumbled a healing spell to snap his wrist back into place. Then he turned to face Voldemort.

"Draco." Voldemort's voice was chilling. His eyes were narrowed in serpentine slits, his face a greyish-pale that made him seem devoid of life, his skin almost translucent in the early rays of sunlight. "We meet again."

Draco smirked briefly, ignoring the blood that dribbled down his chin. "Missed me?"

"I must say I'm impressed. You've actually managed to deceive me for years. If you hadn't been so careless about attacking the Ministry, I never would've suspected you."

"You're getting sloppy, my lord," Draco sneered, bracing himself when Voldemort's thin lips pursed in evident fury. A terrifying green light flew straight at him as Voldemort fired a killing curse. But Draco had pre-empted it and spun out of the way in good time, his smirk widening as he escaped unscathed. "You're really getting sloppy."

"I see you've gotten rid of that curse in your arm," Voldemort remarked. He fired several more spells, forcing Draco to throw himself on the ground to avoid them.

Ignoring his bloody palms and gaping wounds, Draco cast a swift glance around – where the hell was Potter? – before climbing to his feet again. "Oh, yeah. That was a splendid connection we shared, by the way. Really felt your love for a moment there – "

Voldemort fired another barrage of spells at him. This time, a Dark spell caught him in the stomach and Draco felt two of his ribs snap. There were gasps from the onlookers. Ron, George and several others stepped forward to help, but a wide-ranged spell from Voldemort blasted them back.

Then the spells abruptly stopped. "Just like your father," Voldemort's voice was eerily calm. "Weak. That's why I had to kill him."

His words kicked the air out of Draco's lungs. "What?"

"Lucius was a disgrace on the battlefield. I knew his allegiance never fully lay with me – not even when he had killed your mother in front of me. So I had to get rid of him – the both of you – on a particular mission. The only reason why I kept you alive was because I thought you had managed to cut off any weak emotions you felt for your parents. Evidently, I was wrong – "

"Confringo!" Draco yelled. The blood roared in his ears and he felt a blinding hatred for the man standing in front of him. Both his parents – dead. By this man's hands. Onlookers be damned, Draco dragged himself up and fired another curse at him.

"You're a disappointment." Voldemort deflected his curse, sending another one back at him. "Weak." Another curse. "Pathetic." And another, which sent Draco tumbling back onto the ground. "I turned you into a lethal weapon, Draco, and you can't even utter a simple killing curse. Finishing you off would be so easy – "

Voldemort drew back his wand and sent another blinding Dark spell whizzing towards him. Draco braced himself, too weak to deflect anything else.

"Protego Totalum!"

The spell crashed in a blistering light against the powerful protective shield. Hermione. He recognised her voice no matter where she was, but when he feebly raised his head to look for her, she was nowhere in sight.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. With another silent spell, Draco heard Hermione scream as she was flung several feet away from him. She collapsed in a bloody heap, the Cloak of Invisibility falling off, making her vulnerable to his next attack.

"Hermione!" Her name was ripped from his throat in an agonising cry.

Merlin, he was terrified.

This was what fear really felt like. It was having Hermione Granger, the one person that mattered the most to him, being taken away. It was watching her struggle to inhale a next breath that would or would not come. It was reaching out for her, his fingers clawing against the rubble beneath him as he tried to drag himself over, knowing all the while that he could never reach her in time.

"Love makes people weak." Voldemort turned away from Draco. He stepped towards Hermione, who was being hastily dragged away by Ron. "Avada – "

"Riddle!"

Harry's voice was a furious roar above the frightened screams and muffled whimpers of the crowd. The crowd instinctively parted for him. Harry's eyes were flashing in anger as he held his wand out, his gaze darting first to Hermione's battered form and then to Draco's bloodied one. His jaw clenched in determination, shoulders squaring with a kind of bravery that he never once lacked.

"Ah, Harry Potter." Voldemort's thin lips curved as he saw his old nemesis. "Have you come to be defeated by my hand once more?"

"It's just you and me again, Riddle," Harry said calmly, but only those who knew him well could hear the tremble in his voice. "And this time, the war will end at your demise."

Voldemort seemed amused as he circled Harry, like a predator eyeing its prey, ever ready to pounce and rip to shreds. The crowd was deathly silent – Death-Eaters and Order members and Rebellion alike were all watching the exchange with breathless fixation. Draco felt Theo haul him over where Blaise and Pansy were. Opposite, Hermione was leaning against McGonagall, with Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville and the rest of the D.A. members. There was nothing but the sound of Harry and Voldemort's voices, the scuffing of rubble beneath their feet and the timid whimper of the wind.

"Tell me, boy," Voldemort's voice was a vacant sort of quiet, the kind that sent shivers down one's spine. "How will you attempt to end me this time?"

"You're all alone, Riddle," said Harry. "Your army is outnumbered. Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott have left your army to join the side of light. Your top Death-Eater, Draco Malfoy, has played you like a fool – " Voldemort's eyes flashed at that, but Harry calmly continued. " – Bellatrix Lestrange is dead. And the Death-Eaters you've trusted the most have been plotting against you for three years."

A ripple of surprise swept through the crowd. Even Voldemort looked surprised, and Harry's gaze sharpened as he noticed the fleeting second of human emotion in the other man.

"Shall I spell it out for you, Riddle?" Harry took a step forward. "For three years, a group called the Peverells have been searching for the Deathly Hallows. They found the Resurrection Stone. They almost stole the Cloak of Invisibility. And the last – the Elder Wand – was never far. I believe it's in your hands as we speak. They would've killed you eventually, Riddle, to gain Mastery of the Elder Wand."

Voldemort's eyes swept across the crowd and, after a few seconds, landed on a tall man standing at the edge of the crowd. The last member of the Peverells. Antonin Dolohov paled as his eyes met Voldemort's. Then he wrenched away, almost tripping over himself in an attempt to escape.

Before anyone else could react, Draco sent a blasting spell hurtling at Dolohov. The Death-Eater slammed back against the wall as the flames scorched his robes. He was promptly incarcerated by Shacklebolt and several other members of the Order.

Draco smirked when he noticed Harry's amused gaze and Voldemort's angry one on him. "You're welcome."

Harry shook his head in silent mirth and turned back. "Do you see it now, Riddle? You're all alone. With no horcruxes left, you're just a man. You are weak, just like the rest of us."

"We shall see about that," Voldemort returned evenly, directing his wand at Harry. "When you are lying a shattered corpse on the floor, then we shall see which of us wields more power. You were fortunate to have people sacrifice their lives for you three years ago, Harry Potter. You were fortunate to have survived. Not this time."

"That's where you're wrong. Once again, you mistakenly believe that you are the Master of the Elder Wand."

Voldemort laughed; a distorted, inhuman sound that terrified everyone around him. "I believe that mistake was yours, Harry Potter, you foolish boy."

"Yes, that was my mistake when I went to fight you the first time," Harry's voice was quiet now, a hushed mellow against the echoes of Voldemort's grating laughter. "You see – I thought that I was the Master, and therefore, I thought there was no reason for me to lose. I didn't know that you had read my mind, and had gotten Antonin Dolohov to disarm me, before disarming him yourself so that you could be its Master. But what you didn't know was that Draco Malfoy had disarmed Dolohov before you could. The truth is – Draco Malfoy was the true Master of the Elder Wand since the previous battle, and he has remained the Master ever since!"

A startled murmur rippled through the crowd and Draco suddenly felt hundreds of eyes on him. Voldemort's gaze was furious, his silted nostrils flaring with wrath, his lips flattened in a vengeful line.

"But his Mastery has since ended," Harry's words sliced through the hushed whispers, making everyone fall silent once more. "Because I disarmed him several hours ago. So it all comes down to this – " His voice had dropped to a whisper; only those close enough could hear it. "I am the new Master of the Elder Wand."

Voldemort did not wait one moment longer. With a furious roar, he drew the Elder Wand back, pointing it right at Harry Potter. "Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!" Harry held Narcissa Malfoy's wand out to deflect the spell, a newfound power surging within him as his disarming spell collided with Voldemort's killing curse.

The green and red jet of lights clashed in a vibrant, terrifying display of magic. The impact was drowning, the blast like a cannon bang that reverberated across the ruined walls. Draco put up a wordless shield to protect himself and the others behind him from the frightful flares emanating from the spells; while several other people did the same to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.

Then, amidst the whirl of golden flames that exploded and enveloped them, the green light abruptly ceased as the Elder Wand flew out of Voldemort's hand and towards Harry. Reaching out with one swift hand, Harry caught the Elder Wand deftly, just as Voldemort swayed on his feet for a full second before falling backwards. His thin, grotesque body collapsed onto the floor, his slit-like eyes vacant and empty, his skin translucent with the pallid colour of death in the early rising sun, his robes fluttering about in the dry wind.

Tom Riddle was dead.

And Harry Potter had won.

The silence that followed was deafening. Everyone stared at Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, standing several feet away from Voldemort's corpse. Harry was breathing hard, his eyes wide as he registered the magnitude of what he had just done. Then he blinked. That action alone triggered the crowd into action, a bubble of disbelief and happiness with the knowledge that the war was finally over.

Ron dragged Hermione towards Harry, but Ginny was the first to reach him, flinging her arms around her boyfriend. And then Ron yelled excitedly as he hugged Harry. Hermione was breathless with relieved tears and smiles as she wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. There were congratulatory pats and thankful yells and ecstatic cheers, a wonderful medley that Hermione simply couldn't get enough of.

The war was over.

She was safe. Draco was safe. They were all safe.

Safe.

Choking back a happy sob, she brushed her hand across her teary cheeks and lifted her head. Draco was standing a good distance away from the rest, with the other Slytherins beside him. They all looked satisfied with the victory but careful to stay apart from the overall merriment.

Across the crowd, above the noise, Draco's gaze locked on hers. And she smiled.