This chapter contains major character death, along with violent actions, blood, emotional trauma, and other disturbing subjects. Please read with caution.

_____

''It was you.''

_____

Amelie strolled up the stairs in her house, walking up step by step not to trip over the dress she was wearing. That dress meant a lot to her. It was the very same piece of clothing Draco had gotten her for Christmas. It was the very first dress she owned that didn't cover up every single thing there was about her.

This dress allowed her to be her, with all the sinful scars and marks of demons. She never felt ashamed in it, and she had waited for what felt like forever to finally be able to use it, and now she could. She saved it for a special occasion, and nothing fitted that criteria better than this day.

The day her best friend was getting married.

''Teddy!'' She called out for her friend, reaching the top floor and taking aim for her and Draco's room. Malfoy thought it was a good idea for Theodore to get ready in here since he borrowed the brunet a tie for the navy blue suit he was wearing.

As a child, Amelie had a conversation with his mother, and she made her promise on her death bed, right before she fell into an oblivion of sleep — that she'd honor her wishes in getting Theo something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.

His mother knew, even if she was very young at the time of her passing — that she wouldn't be able to see her son grow up. She would never attend his wedding, cry as he walked down the altar, hug him as they would've said yes, throw flowers at him once they sprinted out, dance with him underneath the stars. His mother knew that. She understood that she'd be gone long before Theodore would have that and that Amelie wouldn't.

Amelie would be there. Amelie would stand beside him, and she made that little girl promise to give all of it to Theo once it was time. And that — that was a promise Amelie wouldn't break for the world.

Draco merely laughed at her as she worked on the details of this day because he didn't know just how important this was for her. This wasn't just for Teddy. This was for his mother too.

So Amelie did that. She worked and worked to make every last piece of this day perfect.

She made Narcissa get him a blue suit, something blue. She helped Atlas scrap together an adorable bracelet with thread and pearls Narcissa had given him, something new. She made sure that Draco borrowed him one of his favorite ties, something borrowed. And Amelie, she searched and searched to get him the one last perfect piece of Theodore Nott's puzzle, and just the other day, she found it. Their old Romeo and Juliet book, something old.

Perfect, she smiled to herself as she found him standing in front of their mirror. He looked more like a mess than she thought he would. He held a ghastly cloak that seemed to be breaking at any second, ''Teddy, what's wrong?''

''Am I an idiot?'' He choked out, turning to face her with dread-filled eyes, ''For doing this? I am nineteen, Amelie, and he's twenty. What the hell are we doing? A few months ago, we didn't even know each other, and before that, he beat the living hell out of me every chance he got, so tell me — am I an idiot for doing this?''

She swallowed. Her heart ached a beat for him as she let her hand rest on her stomach, and she felt a smile slightly form across her lips, ''Here,'' She said, walking closer without taking her sight off him.

Amelie took his hand in hers, and she placed it on the beautiful bump she carried. Draco didn't let anyone touch her belly when he was around. He protected that unborn child with his life already. Except for Atlas, he was allowed to nestle up to his sister, but no one else. 

''This is crazy. That this is happening is crazy, but you falling in love isn't crazy, Teddy. It's human, and it's wonderful, and I can't think of a person who deserves it more than you do. You've earned this, Teddy. It's your time to be happy and to find everything you've spent years giving to everyone else.''

''I just—'' Usually, Amelie's words would've soothed him, calmed his shaking nerves, but they didn't now. Teddy was on edge now more than ever, ''I didn't even speak to father. He doesn't know anything. I never told him—''

Amelie tugged at his arm, bringing herself closer to him as she leaned her forehead against his chest, ''Then do it, write your father a letter and see how it makes you feel. I can take it, and I can mail it for you when you're ready.''

He nodded, wrapping his arms around his best friend and hugging her so close, ''I love you,'' He said, quietly with a kiss as he pressed it into the top of her head, ''I never say it enough, but I love you, Amelie. I love you and our little girl.''

''I know you do,'' She arched her neck, looking up at one of the many loves in her life, ''We love you more.''

Amelie stretched her hands between them, fixing his tie and stroking his messy curls out of his eyes until she eagerly walked into her closet, dipping her hands down a drawer, and she brought up Draco's diary. She smiled to herself, finding the connection between it all more enjoyable than she should have.

''Here,'' She said, seeing how he sat down at the edge of her bed, ''There you go, handsome.''

His head snapped, looking right at her, ''Handsome, you say?'' He grinned cheekily, ''And to think you couldn't say things like that to me when I wasn't taken.''

''Funny!'' Amelie rolled her eyes, shaking her head, ''You're a funny guy, Teddy.''

He snickered, lowly to himself, looking down at the empty paper, and he wrote. He wrote for minutes, heedlessly.

' Father.

I know we haven't spoken in what feels like a long time, and perhaps it is. I let you down by leaving you behind, and whether you believe me or not, I would never do so if it wasn't for your safety. I wanted to protect you like I couldn't protect mother.

You deserve to be protected, father, and I can't speak for if it's the shame of leaving you or the need of you being safe that has caused me this long to reach out. Perhaps it's neither or a bit of both, but I am now. I am writing you now, father.

I am sorry.

With that said, I hope that you one day accept my apology and that I earn the chance to see you again, but if that isn't the case, I want you to know that I am alright.

I have done questionable things during the years away from you, but that's simply nothing Amelie hasn't saved me from.

Amelie... You should see her, father. She's nothing like that quiet girl you always thought she was. I presume you've heard of her, what she's done and who she has become. She's outstanding, astonishing.

She's pregnant, father. She's having a daughter. Amelie and Malfoy are having a child. We are having a baby. All of us. Perhaps the world isn't as cruel we think it is. At times like these, I wonder if any evil exists at all and if it does, where does it go when we're happy?

Happy. I am happy, father.

I fell in love. I found someone. I found a very special person, a boy. Someone that I today, out of all days, will promise to spend the rest of my life with. I think actual happiness exists. Not just in books, but out in the real world too. I hope it does. I feel like it does. I never thought it did, not after mother, not after the life I watched Amelie live through, but I think it does now.

I wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know that. That I am happy and that I think I will find peace, soon, very soon. It feels good. I like feeling what I feel now. So if this is the last you wish to hear from me, please know that I will be okay. I have Amelie. She's always right here. I have Adrian, Draco, Atlas, and Narcissa. And I will live happily. I hope you do too.

Thank you for being there for me, and forgive me for not returning the favor, but she needs me, father, and I need her. They need me. They all do, and I need them.

I love you.

- Theodore Nott. '

He penned each and every single emotion he carried until he slammed the book shut, pinching his lashes not to let the tears fall.

Theodore barely remembered the last time he saw his father. It was in school one day when he showed up, and Amelie joined them to visit his mother's grave. That was nearly two years ago now.

He plainly chose her. Theodore directly and unhesitantly chose Amelie above everyone, even his own father, and he would do so over and over again. He didn't regret the decisions he made back then for so a minute. He stood solid behind what he'd chosen. Of course, he felt for the man he had left behind, but not more than that. Amelie was all his reasons, and he would do it all again.

''Done already?'' She smiled, standing in the doorway to her bathroom, and he simply looked at her for what felt like minutes until he patted his lap, meaning for her to come to join him, and she did.

Amelie slipped onto his legs, holding her arms over his shoulders.

Teddy looked at her again. His eyes studied and scanned every beautiful inch of her there was, ''You know I'd give up anything for you, right?''

Her head tilted. She didn't show the ache that began to score inside. Confused and puzzled as she was, she mumbled, ''Teddy—''

''Because I would, Amelie.'' He leaned his forehead to hers, closing his eyes as he spoke, ''I would give my life for yours. You're everything to me.''

She tightened her grip on him, bringing him so close she possibly could, ''I love you, Teddy. You are more than everything to me.''

Oh, how the two of them loved each other. Sometimes, Amelie wondered if there was a love in this world that would ever compare to theirs. This wasn't like the love she carried for Draco. That love was complicated, heavy, chaotic, unbearable, deep, unmatched, everything. But this was light, bright, platonic. She knew she could never love anyone in the way she loved Teddy.

''I just love you. I just love you, and I just....'' He huffed out a chuckle, looking down at his tie, ''And I really need to learn how to tie these things.''

''Amelie!''

She could hear how Atlas tripping steps echoed up the stairs.

''You deserve this, Teddy.'' She pushed off him, taking strides into the bathroom to get them both a towel for the leaking tears before her little brother saw them. Taking the cloth in her hands, turning around as she kept speaking. She stopped out in the doorway, and she lifted her stare, ''If anyone deserves this day, it's—''

No.

No. No. No.

Her voice came to an unexpected break. Amelie couldn't breathe.

Dropping the towel, her eyes narrowed, ''You...''

It was so much hesitancy in her vocals, yet it crowded with force. She knew that face. She'd seen it before. She knew him, and he knew her.

The man standing in front of her, in her own bedroom, grinned, ''Well, well, well....'' He bent his arms out, putting himself on full display for her, ''Amelie Avery... We meet at last.''

And then she saw nothing but darkness.

_____

''Where is she?'' Draco roared, storming out on the front yard as he held his wand raised and ready, ''Where the hell—'' He took his father by his collar, sparing him no mercy, and he forced him back, making the man stumble, ''Where in the bloody hell is she—''

Malfoy reached for another attempt. This time to shove his father back so roughly that if he fell to the ground, no one believed that Lucius would be able to get back up, ''Where is she? Where's the kid? Where's Teddy? Where's my little—''

His chest felt like it would shatter at any minute, detonate in the complete missing of Amelie and his unborn daughter. Draco had sensed rage before, but this. This was something else. This wasn't just them anymore. She was pregnant. Amelie was carrying his child, and nothing could stop the wrath as it burnt within him.

Usually, it was a torch of anger. Something that ticked but this was everything but that. This was flames. This was a malevolence fire. This was him bursting into an agonizing fusion of flames and fire. Something not human. He turned feral.

''Where the fuck is she—''

''Malfoy.''

Adrian's voice hewed him off as he stood with his father's robe balled into one fist while the other hand was raised to the skies, ready to bring all that venomous fire down upon him. He froze. He looked straight at his father. Searching those cold eyes, he'd ever so despised his whole life.

''He's not worth anything to us if you kill him.''

His jaws were so sharp. His teeth had never been this gritted. He was going to throw that punch. All he wished to do was to cease that man of life for everything he'd done leading up to this moment. Amelie was taken, and he stood right there. He was there when she wasn't.

But the second Draco debated whether he indeed had the strength to let his fist collide with his father's jaw.

If he had the power to hurt his own blood in front of his mother. Suppose he could be that person now that he was going to be a father himself. If he could bring Lucius to the ground, he so well deserved to be knocked down onto. He wanted to. He wanted to be every piece of evil Amelie had convinced him he wasn't. He wished to rip every heart of every Death Eater that stood in his way now, his own father included. Raising his fist higher, he winced.

Malfoy flinched because Adrian's fist collided with Lucius's jaw instead. He threw that punch for him. Pucey understood how badly Draco wished to do what he'd done. To wrong his father for everything he'd ever done, but he needed Malfoy to focus, and to his better judgment, he had grown to care for the blond. So he did what he thought was the right thing, and he forced Lucius to the ground, leaving Draco with a clear conscience.

Narcissa broke out on a cry. Slamming her hands across her mouth at the blood as it splattered around them.

Malfoy held a hollow look, yet the rapid tip of his head was a thank you. He thanked Pucey in silence for what he'd done.

''The Avery residence—'' Lucius coughed out from the grass, hiding his face in the arch of his elbow, ''They took Athena there this morning, but Draco, he's strong. He's powerful, and he wants you to pay for what you've—''

''Pucey,'' Draco turned around, not even providing his father with as much as a glance as he marched by. His feet determined. His movements concise, ''Now.''

Adrian cocked his head, rolling his shoulders as he paced after Malfoy. Leveling him shoulder to shoulder as they reached the front of the house, and with a cold look exchanged between the two, they apparated.

Malfoy had waited for this. Ever since he was a dependent child, he had, somewhere in all that need for the Dark Lord's approval, seen through it. He'd waited, nearly longed for this day to come. Malfoy was going to end this.

He was going to be a father, and he would damn himself if he would ever even appraise the fact of raising a child in this world, and not any child. His daughter. He'd rather suffer the darkness of death and the flames of hell than let his little girl grow up in something so brutal. In a broken world, he hasn't had any hope in himself. He'd never do that to her.

He would never do that to Amelie. His Amelie.

This was the second time the Dark Lord had taken her from him. This time was the last time that ever happened. He would make sure of that, even if it meant he wouldn't walk out, still standing, even if it meant that he wouldn't walk out at all.

''So, how do we do this?'' Adrian looked right at the grim Manor. Death Eaters stood lined up as a barrier outside the stone facade, ''Distraction?''

''No,'' Draco straightened his shoulders, cracking his neck, ''You're supposed to be dead, remember?''

Adrian nodded, knowing there wasn't a point in arguing with the way Malfoy wanted this to end. It was his Amelie, their unborn child, her brother, and Teddy. He knew that Draco wouldn't risk their lives for so a second.

''I'll cause a fire when I need you.''

That was all Draco said before his eyes narrowed at the dozen and dozen men shielding her childhood home, and he calmly strode towards them.

It looked like nothing to Adrian as he was left behind, witnessing something he wouldn't think he'd ever see. Draco didn't even try. It came so naturally, so effortlessly.

He lifted his wand with one hand, as his fingers of his other hand stretched out, and with a steady act, he crushed every window coating the walls of the Manor, but the splinter of it didn't fall to the ground. It stayed floating in the air.

The Dead Eaters looked confused, every wand was aimed at the blond, but he merely grinned at what he did next. He rose the free hand higher up as the splinter of glass followed the movement. It looked surreal to Adrian from afar. He'd never seen anything like this.

He'd never seen someone with as much to lose as Draco had own so much control. He was balanced. Every breath measured, calculated. His mind fastened and moored. Simply the thirst of vengeance scarred through his veins. He held the most demonic mantle spread across his face.

And then, with a leveled breath as it came from his chest, Malfoy twisted his wrists, causing the sharp edges of the glass to seek every Death Eater standing in his way.

Inhumane. Remorseless. Unmerciful.

It was a blood bath. All the loyal servants of the Dark Lord dropped to the ground, their bodies torn and ripped apart by Draco's magic. He walked over the limbs of them like nothing had happened to begin with.

His Amelie. His Amelie. His Amelie. That was all he could think about.

Standing in front of the door to the fortress, he shot a swift look over his shoulder, nodding for Adrian to pursue shelter until he needed him.

The second he saw how Adrian vanished into the shadows behind him, Draco forced the doors open, and he stepped inside, and just as he did — he heard her scream.

_____

Her chest hurt. It hurt so much. She couldn't breathe. Not finding the oxygen she so desperately needed, Amelie began to move her limbs. Trying to free herself from the hard grip of metal that felt around her.

''Amelie...''

She thought she was dreaming, mystifying the soft tiny vocals that made her name.

''Amelie, our baby.''

Still not realizing, not grasping the opaque, blurred reality as it so clearly began to form around her. Her lashes felt heavy, the lids of her eyes weighted. It hurt to breathe again.

''Amelie, our baby!''

Shaking her head now, she freed herself from the hazy trance she'd woken up in, and her palms struck something hard, something cold. The ground. She was lying on the ground.

''Atlas...'' Amelie coughed out, her lower lip soared. Blood. She had blood running from it, leaking down the edge of her mouth. Metal. Her whole mouth tasted bitterly by the iron tang of her own blood, ''Atlas, are you okay—''

''Our baby!'' He whispered, his voice shook, terrifyingly, ''You have blood....''

Amelie felt it. She felt the tickling sensation of the crimson color as it rolled down her inner thighs. She didn't look. She didn't want to look. She simply shook her head, grasping at the edge of her dress to wipe it away.

She couldn't see it. She didn't want to. It would cause her to break. It would kill her to see the fact that she might lose something she never even had, but she didn't lose hope.

It was fine. It was fine. It was fine.

''It's okay,'' Amelie nodded, tears fell from her eyes, and she brushed her hair out of her face, ''It's alright, Atlas, she'll be fine. Our baby will be fine.''

''Where are we?'' The boy let out. His voice crowded in hesitancy. He was so scared, ''Where is Teddy?''

Amelie finally looked around, and she saw exactly where she was. She'd been there before. So many times, she'd been in the room she now laid in the middle of. Her body was worn, fragile. Her heart barely gave a beat as she tried to keep her focus locked on her little brother.

No matter what happened to her — Atlas needed to be safe. He carried a piece of the Dark Lord within. He couldn't be put at risk, ''He's coming soon,'' Amelie said, but she could see in the afraid glint he held in his eyes that he didn't believe her.

He wasn't foolish, and she exhaled, deeply, ''I don't know where he is, alright? I don't know where he is, and I don't know what will happen, Atlas, but I need you to promise me something.''

He didn't say anything. He just looked at her. His eyes filled with tears.

''They found you, the bad people mom tried to hide us from — they found us, Atlas, and I don't know what will happen now, but I'll do my best to keep you safe. I promise, but you need to promise me that if I tell you to run, you run. If Draco comes or Adrian, you go with them, alright? You will run, Atlas, and I will find you. Promise me.''

He didn't want to. Atlas didn't want to promise. She didn't want to put that responsibility upon a seven-year-old child, but she wasn't left with a choice. She needed him to promise.

Atlas didn't have much in life. He didn't have more than his mother, but then Amelie came, and she gave him a family. She gave him Draco, Teddy, and Adrian. She gave him Narcissa, and he understood, even if he wasn't more than a child, that this was real. Something bad was happening, and no matter how much he didn't want to give his word that he would leave her, a nod tipped his head, and he stuttered out the words she wished to hear.

''I love you,'' Amelie whispered, bringing her brother as close as she could, rising to rest on her knees, ''I love you, and I'll make this all go away. I promise.''

''Love, I was never much for love....''

Her breaths hitched in the back of her throat. Her sight snapped to where the voice came from. Him. It was him. The man that caused hell upon her life. She was quick to stand up, to pull her brother with her, and she shoved him slightly behind her, protecting him the best she could without magic.

''Love is a funny thing, isn't it?'' Voldemort rose a brow, raising his hands and the candles placed along the walls of the immense room lit on fire before he shifted around in his steps, peering over his shoulder to watch them drag their mother in. Two men stood by her side as they halted across the floor.

''Amelie—'' Athena shook her head, tears falling, ''No....''

''I didn't think I'd have the honors to meet you again, miss Avery....'' His voice was cold, frightening, ''Ever since I let you run out of my castle the first time, I thought the next time I saw you would be in a coffin.''

She stood as petrified in front of him, not able to move as he inched closer. Her hand gripping around Atlas's shoulders, and she held him so close. Feeling the evilness in the air around the man.

''But we can't always be that lucky now, can we?'' He grinned, moving around them, his steps certain, ''Of course I had other plans for you back then, such as turning your own love against you. So here we are....''

''Amelie, look at me,'' Her mother urged from where she was standing, guards holding her tightly, ''Don't look at him, look at me.''

She didn't. Amelie looked down at Atlas. His hand was placed over her stomach. Her heart broke.

''See...'' The Dark Lord chuckled, taunting all of them from his position, ''I told you she wouldn't care for you, witch.''

Athena swallowed, scared out of her mind for the sake of her children, ''It's going to be alright, Amelie. It's going to be more than alright.''

''Promises...'' He hissed, now facing the lady, ''That's something you failed to keep.''

Amelie held Altas so hard. Her arm turned numb, but she didn't let go, ''Don't look at him, Atlas. Close your eyes. I'm right here.'' She mumbled, ''You're safe.''

The boy was shaking. His limbs clinging onto her sister with all she had, and he did as told. He sealed his eyes, burying his face into her waist.

''You even turned my own blood against me,'' The man let out, looking at Athena with spite-filled eyes. Hatred radiated across the room, ''You took my legacy from me. My own damn flesh and blood.''

''Please—'' Athena yanked her arms, trying to free herself from the Death Eaters holding her, ''Let them go. Let them go, and I'll do anything.''

''You'll do anything? That wasn't what it looked like when you ruined her life by protecting another child. I think it's more than proven that you'll do that girl more harm, than good.'' He said, turning to face one of the men standing in the doorway, ''But that isn't why I brought you here tonight... Bring the boy in.''

Amelie froze, her veins icing as she watched them drag Theodore in. His face was bruised, his clothes ripped and blood-stained. The man tugged him all the way across the floor until he dropped him at the feet of the Dark Lord.

''Ahhh... Theodore...'' He grinned so viciously that Amelie had to look away, ''They took well care of you, I see.''

''Don't,'' Amelie breathed the instant Voldemort raised his wand towards him, ''Not him, please. Not him. I'll do anything you want but don't touch him. He has nothing to do with this—''

''Nothing to do with this, you say? Then who brought your abuser back to life? Who saved all the servants Malfoy slaughtered? Who empowered me?''

Her eyes fell to watch the ground, ''You didn't give him a choice.''

''I didn't, but if I were the one being in love with my best friend — I'd rather die than wrong them.'' The Dark Lord stared at her now. He never truly identified her before. She didn't look anything similar to the weak soul he believed her to be, ''And he didn't. Theodore Nott served me just like any other man in my force did. He's as guilty as I am.''

Amelie swallowed, ''He's nothing like you, and no matter how hard you try to make him a monster, he will never become one.''

''Oh dear,'' Voldemort stepped back, smiling devilishly at her with space between them now, ''We'll see about that.''

Amelie didn't truly comprehend what happened next, even if she saw it with her own eyes — it still didn't make sense to her. All she did was watch as the man slowly dragged his hands over his face, over his hair and what followed scared her more than anything had scared her before.

He turned. He shifted into something so horrifying. His skin was ashen now. His face was out of the ordinary. His clothes draped differently, ''I am the evil. I am the monster, and I'll do as I please with all of you... starting with that lying filth of mother you have.''

Her eyes flickered. She didn't know where to look, how to shape the words she meant to speak.

''You see, dear?'' He stretched his arms out in the air, looking at her as if he had something to prove, ''You'll never escape this. I'll hunt you beyond the grave, but for now... Now you have a choice to make.''

He nodded for the guards, and they marched with her mother across the ground, letting her down next to Theodore, ''You say he'll never become the monster I am, but what about you? What if I turn you into the monster you so gravely despise for him to be?''

Her lips parted, a shaking breath trembled from her chest, ''No.''

''Choose.'' He said, pointing at them both as they rested on their knees. The Death Eaters around them forced both Theodore and Athena so they'd be facing her, ''It's not like you haven't killed before, child. Don't you think for a second I would've forgotten about Azkaban?''

Amelie knew she took lives that night. She knew as she burnt the whole of it that souls would go with the flames. She'd be damned for the rest of this eternity because of it.

''No, please,'' She begged, hugging Atlas closer, ''Don't do this.''

She couldn't do this to Atlas. She couldn't choose Theodore over the one person keeping him safe, but at the same time — Amelie wouldn't be able to take another breath if her Teddy wasn't breathing with her. Even if it was a clear choice to her, she could in no reality make it. Not like this. Not ever.

''Choose.'' He said again, harder this time. Nearly shouting at her through the crowded room, ''Choose or they both die.''

For the first time since he was dragged in through those doors, Theodore lifted his chin, and he let their eyes meet, ''It's alright, Amelie.'' He whispered, calmly through the daggers ripping down his throat, ''Save them for me. Save them like you saved me.''

She was crying. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stepped back, stumbling with Atlas still attached to her body, ''No—''

''Amelie, look at me,'' He was crying too. Theodore was crying so silently, yet he let a smile be forced across his lips, giving her all the permission to do what he believed was right, ''I love you, Amelie. I love you, and we'll see each other again.''

''No,'' Amelie's whole body vibrated, her vision blurry. It was so hard to breathe again, ''No. I'm not choosing. I can't—''

The Dark Lord raised his hand, aiming his wand between both her mother and the boy who constantly gave his life for hers, ''If you don't choose, they both die.''

''Please—'' Clutching her stomach, Atlas slowly let go of her, ''Please, please—''

''One,''

''No, no, no—''

''Two.''

''Please! I'm begging you!'' She was tugging at her hair. Pinching her eyes shut, and it felt like her life was flashing before her eyes. Everything was put on view until she heard Theodore.

She heard the soft sound of birds chirping, and when she opened her eyes, they were lying on the grass. Her head on his lap, his hand playing with her fingers, and he read.

The sun glinted. The warmth breezed. He quietly read the same line over and over. The line he held so dear. She smiled. She smiled and kissed the spine of his hand before looking up at him. Her Teddy. Her Teddy. Her Teddy. It had always been him to her. Her reason. Her lifeline. Her savior. Always him.

He smiled down at her, brushing a strand of her hair out of her eyes, and he bent down, kissing her forehead. I love you, he said. I love you like they love each other in this book. I love you so much that I can't live without you.

She felt a tear in the corner of her eye, and then she closed them.

She was back.

Her heart hammered, the noise swelling in her ears. She could see her mother. She was crying. She was shouting and yelling, but Amelie didn't hear her. She couldn't hear anything but that one single line Teddy read her. Their line. Their favorite book. Them.

''What greater punishment is there than life when you've lost everything that made it worth living?''

That was how it felt. She couldn't live without him. There wouldn't be a day where her life wouldn't be the worst type of hell without Theodore Nott in it. Her Theodore. Her Teddy. Him.

His lips moved, but not a sound fled them. She saw the green light beginning to form around the Dark Lord's wand.

She was out of time.

Time.

Time was something Amelie wasn't allowed. Everyone was taken from her, and even if she wished for someone to step through those doors and save her from it — no one would come because they were all dead. Hermione, her friends, and their family, the students back at Hogwarts, the teachers, Pansy, Aimee, Blaise. Everyone was dead. Death. The consuming light of darkness as it came knocking on each and everyone's door. He had taken it all from her. No one was still standing.

Amelie swallowed. She swallowed so hard that it stung, and she saw that green light of death she'd seen so many times before. That wasn't what scared her. She wasn't afraid of death, but what followed.

Draco, he'd go with her. He wouldn't last a beat of his heart if hers weren't beating with it. Atlas wouldn't have his sister. Narcissa would be left alone with all of them. That scared her—the aftermath of what death brought.

If she left, perhaps she'd be able to see Pansy again. Perhaps she'd be able to reunite with her and Aimee. She'd feel Hermione's hugs. Hearing the laugher that ever so made her laugh. She'd see Blaise. She would be able to thank him properly.

All of her thoughts clouded. She couldn't think. She couldn't think. She couldn't think.

''Three!''

''No—''

''What about Teddy?'' She smiled, biting down her lower lip, uncertain, ''I like it.''

''Teddy?'' He frowned, shaking his head at her with a grin slowly taking over, ''It sounds like a stuffed animal.''

''It's adorable,'' She took his hand in hers, knitting their fingers together, ''And you kind of are my Teddy bear. You're the one I hug when I need it the most. The one I come to for comfort. You are a Teddy.''

''Teddy...'' He said again, more certain now, ''Say it again. It doesn't sound as bad when you say it.''

She laughed out, her voice sweet to his ears as she crawled up into his lap, ''Teddy, Teddy, Teddy. My Teddy.''

He gulped. He didn't respond to that, and it had her scowling, ''What?''

''Never leave me.'' He said, his voice was thin now, ''Promise me you'll never leave me. That no matter what happens, it's us.''

Her eyes softened. Her touch was so gentle. She hugged her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead, ''I'll never leave you, Teddy. It's us, no matter what happens.''

That was the promise she never broke because the next thing Amelie knew, she was hugging his neck. She was crawled up in his lap with her lips pushed into his head, ''Us, Teddy. No matter what. No matter what. No matter what.''

The Dark Lord looked down at them, and he nodded slowly. He didn't speak a word. She didn't realize what she'd done, what she'd chosen until the lids of her pooling eyes peeled open and the green light she was meant to fear struck her mother's chest.

''No!''

''You'll be fine, Amelie.'' She said, softly over the shell of her daughter's ear, ''It's going to be fine. I'm protecting you. I'm saving you from all of this. Just go to sleep. Fall asleep, Amelie, and it all will be fine when you wake up.''

The little girl was crying, gripping the shoulders of her mother's shirt, ''No, mom. Please don't go. Don't leave me with father.''

''You'll be fine. This is better for you. This is better for you than what will happen if I take you with me, Amelie. You need to understand that. You need to trust me.''

She was sobbing uncontrollably, and that sound she gave as she screamed and cried and whimpered into her mother's neck was the worst sound a parent would ever hear.

''Amelie, we'll see each other again when it's safe. I promise that you'll find me one day. You'll find me, and we'll be together again.'' She tried to pry the tiny arms off, but she wouldn't let go. She clung onto her mother like never before, ''Amelie, please.''

''No, no, no.'' She repeated, over and over, ''No, no, no, no.''

''It's not how it seems, Amelie. Nothing is what it seems. You'll be better now. You'll be safe.''

''He'll hurt me,'' She sobbed, shaking her head. The tiny voice ripped through the room, ''He'll hurt me when you're not here. He'll hurt me so much, mom.''

''You'll be safe. He can't touch you here. He doesn't know it's you. He thinks it's me, Amelie. You'll be safe.''

She lifted her wand behind her daughter's head, crying into her hair, ''I love you, Amelie. My sweet little girl. I love you, but I need you to be safe. Be safe for me. Be safe for me, and I'll come back for you.''

And then she whispered the magic to numb the little girl's body. Her limbs slackened into her mother's hold, and she fell asleep, ''I love you, Amelie. I love you so much... Obliviate.''

''Is she asleep?''

''She didn't want to let go.''

''Did you make her forget?''

''I did, Andrew.''

''Good, now get the hell out of my house.''

''Andrew, please—''

''No. I approved of this because I owed you. I promised I'd look after her, but you need to go before I bloody kill you. I don't want to see your face ever again.''

''Don't hurt her, please. This isn't her fault.''

''As said, I'll keep her hidden for as long as he doesn't find out, but the second he does, Athena. The instant he knows, I'm running.''

''Andrew—''

''Now go, before you drag the three of us down in your filthy mess.''

''I'm sorry.''

''You being sorry won't save her life. She's doomed. We all are. You killed us.''

Her life was put on display again, but this time from something she had never seen before. Something she'd never heard. Something that wasn't there before but was now. It was a memory. It was her memory — the memory her mother took the night she was leaving.

It was there again, what Draco searched for all long, the reason he was cursed into her life. It was there now. Clear and bright as the light of day.

''Mother...'' Amelie cried out, throwing herself at the ground, and she caught Athena's body before it struck the wood, ''No, no, no—''

''Amelie,'' She choked out, her skin paling. Her eyes drying. She couldn't move, ''I'm sorry—''

Her chest stilled, slowly, one breath at a time. Her lips shaded in blue.

''No—'' Amelie sobbed, yanking at her mother's shirt, shaking the nearly lifeless body, ''I'm the sorry one. I didn't mean to choose, please—''

Nothing had hurt as much as this did. She didn't see anything else than her mother, dying right there and then in her arms. Athena failed her so badly. She'd failed her in every last way possible, but Amelie didn't care because she kept Atlas safe.

She gave her that little boy back, and she would forgive her all over again if she had to, ''Please...'' Amelie's tone cracked. She couldn't speak. It hurt so much to speak, feeling her mother's body as it cooled in her grip, ''Don't go. He needs you. I need you—''

Athena's eyes were wide. Her pupils were blown as the world faded around them, ''It was—'' She barely breathed, ''Nothing is like it seems—''

Amelie sobbed out, and she brought her mother's hand up to her lips, kissing it, ''Mom....''

''It was never Atlas—'' Her head fell back over Amelie's lap, her fingers loosened from hers, finding her stomach for the briefest of moments. She knew. Athena didn't say anything, but she could feel that tiny little heart beating inside her daughter. ''It was always....'' She didn't find the air to breathe. She was dying. She was leaving, but it didn't hurt. It wasn't painful. It was peaceful.

Athena didn't cherish life as it surrounded her. She never lived a moment in peace, but she went in it.

Finally, after decade following decade on this planet, in this haunted life, she was able to rest. She could find peace, knowing that no one would take care of Atlas as Amelie and their little family would. She could rest in peace because this war was already won.

She knew it was. She made sure of it.

She played it that way ever since her daughter was born. Athena had been scheming, plotting, twisting, and turning for this day to come. She could go now.

''It was you.''

''No—'' Amelie's head fell to her mother's chest, her tears soaked the material of her shirt, ''No, no, no. He needs you. Atlas—'' She sobbed. She cried. She whimpered. Amelie had never felt a loss as she did now. At least, that was what she believed. Her mother was gone, and the world turned darker because of it.

Amelie didn't even notice how Theodore had thrown himself across the floor, wounded and bruised. He still wrapped his arms around Atlas, and he stood up. Hugging the crying little boy to his chest. She didn't notice how Draco had heard her scream the second he'd entered that home. She didn't see him run into that room. She didn't see the heartbreak in his eyes as he watched what happened.

His Amelie, she was sitting there with her mother's body in her arms, crying. His head snapped, looking at the brunet, standing with the little one's head buried into his shoulder. He was too late. Malfoy was too late, and now she lost yet another person.

That fire was back. Those malicious flames that torched a passioned blaze to alight within him were back. He couldn't hold the darkness back anymore. Amelie was crying, and his world eclipsed.

''This ends now,'' Draco growled, taking a step into the room, ''You don't get to do this anymore.''

It had the Dark Lord laughing. He evilly grinned at Malfoy's appearance, ''There he is,'' He taunted as the men around him began to circle, standing between Draco and Voldemort, ''How I have waited for you, son.''

Draco's eyes stayed on his heart, still kneeled to the ground with her mother in her arms, before he took his stare to Theodore, ''Take him out of here. Take him out of here, right now.''

Theodore tried. He meant to walk towards the doorway where Draco stood, but the instant he got close, Voldemort stormed forward. Not one person in the room had the chance to blink before Amelie was forced off the ground, his balled fist took a solid grip of her hair, and he bored his wand against her throat, ''If you leave, I'll kill this pathetic excuse of a witch, and that would be sad, wouldn't it? Considering she just picked your life over her own mother's.''

Draco's jaws clenched, ''Let go of her, right now.''

''How many times am I supposed to tell you, son? How many times am I meant to show you who's in charge because no matter how you play it — I always win.'' The Dark Lord smiled wickedly, ''On your knees.''

Malfoy tensed his fist around his wand harder. He couldn't lash out, not yet. He'd learned that from the man standing there himself. Voldemort taught him to take advantage of the element of surprise. So he stood steady on his spot, straightening his shoulders.

''I said, on your knees, son or this little witch along with your unborn child dies.''

It ignited again. Oh, how the rage shook him. He could barely hold a breath of cohesion as those words venomously rolled from his tongue. The Dark Lord knew about his daughter. He was more vulnerable now.

''Do you take me for a fool, son? Do you think a matter as a human growing inside this girl would go unnoticed?'' The men gathered around them, ''On your knees, or I'll kill both of them.''

''Don't you fucking—''

A spell was fired, and it hit his chest, but he stood. Draco didn't cave at first. He barely felt the daggers tearing through him from the inside. All he felt was her. She was so scared. He could tell. She was so scared for all of them.

''On your knees and beg me to spare their lives,'' He said, yanking Amelie forward by her hair, ''You have done nothing but steal from me, Malfoy. Death Eaters, guards, servants.'' He pointed the finger at himself, ''My people. You just took and took like there were no consequences to your actions, but let me tell you something about that... Your luck has run out, and if you don't kneel and beg for mercy — I'll take it all away from you, just like you took it from me.''

It stung. Every part of Malfoy's body ached so wildly out of the forbidden magic he was under, and he tried. He tried to stand against it, but he couldn't. He fell to his knees.

''Beg for my mercy,'' Voldemort shouted, forcing his wand so roughly into Amelie's neck that blood began to slip the wound, ''Plead for her life, and I might spare it for you.''

For moments, Draco's chest heaved. His insides brunt more than ever, and he smirked. He grinned with his chin tucked against his chest before he lifted it. He looked right through the Dark Lord, ''I'd rather die than to beg for your mercy.'' He said, and at that moment, Amelie couldn't grasp a thing anymore. She was thrown to the ground. Something hit her spine, and for minutes, it all turned dark.

It all faded. Her screams weren't heard. She couldn't hear them herself. All she did was hold her belly, protecting her child even if ruthless magic pounded through her body.

''Take the kid out of here right now!''

Theodore did. He hesitated at first, but he couldn't risk Atlas's life — so he ran. He ran as fast as he could out on the yard of the Manor until he saw two figures appearing at the end of the property line. Narcissa and Lucius. It had only been a short while since Draco and Adrian left their house, and they had come to help them.

Theo had to beg Narcissa to go back to the house. He had to plead for them to hide. He needed to save her. He needed to make sure Amelie would make it out of that house alive. He couldn't join them.

Atlas screamed and shouted as Narcissa took him in her arms. He cried and cried. He twisted, and he pulled. He tried to get back to his sister. Amelie was all he had left now. His mother had just died in front of him. He had to get to her, but Narcissa didn't let him. She hugged him, and she took him back to safety.

He was safe. Atlas was safe.

Amelie's mind couldn't stop. Even if she laid there in agonizing pain, her thoughts spiraled around the last thing her mother spoke, the memory she was given. It never made sense to her. Never had something been more out of place yet fitted the puzzle more quite than now.

The air almost tore from her lungs as she thought of it.

How her father beat her, why he hated her so much.

How she could see the memory of Draco killing her father when it was taken from him.

How her mother ran with Atlas, knowing who her father was at heart. Her father. Her father hated her. He despised her without reason, except the fact that he had a reason. He owned a reason in his own wicked mind to loath her.

It all made sense now.

Her father knew and approved of her mother falsifying her death. He didn't morn her because he knew. He knew why she fled. He helped her hide. He hid her. He took Amelie to the hospital Atlas was born at. He visited the doctor over and over. He knew. They all did. They all played a part in her mother's disappearance. Lucius, Dr. Brown, her father, they all knew.

''It was never Atlas. It was you.''

It was her. All along, it was her.

Her mother never showed a sign of life until Amelie died. She never let herself be found until her heart had stopped beating. She knew. She knew all along. She was hiding Amelie in plain sight. It was her. It all came down to her.

The battle around her escalated, yet she couldn't think. She couldn't form thought to what was happening because it was her. She was the one, all along.

She saw Draco. She saw how he battled. She saw how the Dark Lord hid behind his men. He didn't have the strength to fight. She knew that now.

Bodies dropped to the definite ground, again and again. Malfoy didn't spare an ounce of mercy because all he saw was her. She was hurt, injured, and blood slipped down her arms.

He couldn't control himself as he took the deepest breaths, and he shouted. He shouted so loudly that every candle covering the walls went out. The art hanging across the room ripped from its places, and every last Death Eater in that room ceased of life. She'd never seen magic like that. She'd never seen anyone perform the spell Draco did.

He killed them all, and he fell to his knees in the process. He'd taken curse following curse without falter because of her. Them. Amelie and their daughter. His body was so frail. He could barely breathe as his knees struck the ground. He did it. He ceased every last standing man of life.

Malfoy was the worst type of killer. He was hell in human shape when it came to her. He was a murderer that would take any life necessary for hers to stay unwounded. He would end every soul that tried to scratch hers. He had no grace when she was at stake. Her and her only. His Amelie.

The Dark Lord blinked, he blinked as his eyes went from him to her. Her.

Her sight flickered, her palms pushed into the ground as the breeze filled her lungs with air. Oxygen flooded through her vessels. Clutching her stomach, she raised to her feet.

It wasn't over yet. She knew it wasn't. He was still standing, and he had to fall.

They would never be free unless he fell.

''You...'' Amelie stumbled forward. Her voice was barely heard. The curse he'd thrown upon her still ached, but she didn't give in. She didn't cave. This started with them, and it was meant to end accordingly.

''You knew, didn't you?'' She breathed, lifting her chin and looking at the man, ''That's why you never dared to kill me because some part of you always knew.''

His lips pushed together. He didn't have as much hatred in his eyes.

''You knew it was me and never Atlas. You just weren't sure. You needed to see it for yourself, and you felt it, didn't you? The night I tried to kill myself, you felt my death, that's why you came to the house, that's why you saved Adrian. He was disposable to you, but you saved him because you needed to be sure that we weren't vowed anymore.''

He didn't speak. He just looked at her.

''Because if we weren't, that means that a part of you died with me.''

Draco coughed out, his head tilted back, ''Run, Amelie—''

The Dark Lord didn't spare him a glance. He simply twitched his wand, making chains appear around Draco's body. His mouth was locked shut.

''A part of you knew, you had to. Otherwise, you would've killed me a long time ago.'' Tears prickled in her eyes. Her knees were so close to caving. She was weak, so weak, ''But you didn't. You didn't kill me because you knew....''

''Say it,'' He spat, aiming his wand at her, ''Speak the words, child.''

Amelie took a breath, laced with courage, ''You knew I was your child too.''

''Say the words.''

Her tongue clicked in her mouth. She didn't want to. She didn't want to admit it because it would all be real when she did. Amelie wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to let all the secrets surrounding her life, in.

''Now or that boy dies.''

The chains around Draco's body tightened. Straining around his flexing muscles.

Amelie blinked, slowly and her arms fell to her sides, ''Daughter. I am your daughter.''

It turned absolutely silent for seconds. Seconds where Draco fought the chains, slipping them up over his arms so that his hand would be free. She didn't have a wand. She was completely exposed in front of the man that kept taking everything from him. He'd be damned if he took her too.

''You are,'' He said.

She tipped her head, ''That's why you don't fight, why you hide behind your men,'' Amelie gestured towards the dozen and dozen of Death Eaters that had fallen, ''You're too weak. When I died, the biggest part of you died too.''

''It did,'' Voldemort kept his wand sharp towards her, ''And that is why you are going to go with them. You took something from me when you drove that knife through your own chest and that you have to pay for.''

She knew that.

Somewhere in all the promises, Amelie had made. She knew she wouldn't be the one standing, and she had made her peace with that. They all were safe now.

Amelie Avery was ready to die, to fulfill her place on this earth and go with the world as it brightened. She wasn't before, but in that realization, her head clouded in, she was now. She was ready. They did it. They saved them. They saved the remaining pieces of the wizarding world, and no one would know. She was ready to do what she was supposed to all along, but then that tiny little piece of both her and Draco began to beat inside her. And it wasn't just her anymore.

It wasn't just her. It was them. All of them.

''Then kill me,'' She said, her voice braver now. She knew what she had to do. Atlas was safe. Draco would make it out. Theodore wasn't close enough to be harmed. ''You'll die too. You'll go with me because it will tear you apart, killing your own blood. I don't stand a chance, but neither do you.''

Draco wrestled his chains. She was standing there, offering to die, and he couldn't do a thing. Tears pearled in his eyes.

''You already took everyone from me, so do what you have to do. Kill me and die at the cost of it.'' Amelie held her hand over her stomach. She heard how Draco was trying to speak, to scream and curse for what she was doing, but she couldn't look at him. It would break her heart. She had to do this. She knew what to do.

The Dark Lord leveled his wand, and it struck her chest. He stood so close now.

''It would be worth it,'' Voldemort's hand shook, ''I would happily die if it means you'll do the same. I might not be alive, but Malfoy will live with the consequences of me taking both his heart and child from him in the process.''

''Then what are you waiting for?'' Amelie's lips stayed parted, her hands moving slowly over her stomach, ''Do what you brought me here to do, kill me, kill your daughter.''

She wasn't foolish. It might have been portrayed as she was, but Amelie Avery wasn't a mindless girl. She knew what Draco tried to do. She could hear his chains as they symmetrically rattled. He had his wand in his hand. She knew he did, and it didn't take more than a split second until she turned at him at the right moment, the instant she caught a trail of chains fall to the floor, he threw his wand at her.

Amelie stumbled back. Malfoy's weapon was held in her hand, and she matched Voldemort's doing.

Draco kept fighting the bonds. He kept trying to free his mouth, to tell her to set it all on fire like he knew she'd done in Azkaban. He knew Adrian would come when the fire stormed.

''You killed my mother....'' She let out, pointing the wand, ''You killed her in front of Atlas.''

She saw his lips moving, but she couldn't hear him. Amelie felt the same feeling in her chest as the night she'd blown Azkaban up in flames. That anger. That feeling of spite. It magnified within her. It soared. It burnt. It stung.

''You—'' She gasped and just like that, just like one second on a clock ticked. Just like a breath was taken. Just like an eye would blink — a fire was spreading around her.

The whole room was set on flames. Every wall. Every piece of shattered furniture. Every last thing except the man who stood in the middle of the room, knowing how defeated he was. He didn't stand a chance. He knew he didn't. Not now, but that didn't stop him from the attempt of taking her life with his own.

She was burning him down with her childhood home. Her mother's body would go with the flames of it, and so would he.

Voldemort took the opportunity as he watched the confusion in her eyes, and he shouted, ''Expelliamus!''

Draco's wand that she had used to torch it all snatched from her hand and brunt with the fire. She didn't know what was happening. She didn't realize a thing anymore. The air was so thick. The smoke-filled her lungs with every last inhale she took. It turned harder to breathe, harder than ever before.

''You'll go with me, child,'' The Dark Lord uttered weakly, ''If I die, so do you.''

His wand edged towards her again, and the green light fumed around him and just as it fired. Just as that light of death was about to trap her and cease her of life — two arms wrapped around her, and a spell was fired back, striking Voldemort before his magic harmed her.

Heavy. That's how it felt.

Something heavy struck her body. Something weighted began to feel around her, and before she could raise her gaze and see what made it all stop — she felt him.

Amelie felt his body as it hugged hers, ''No—'' She whispered. She had felt that exact body so many times before. With her. Against her. Hurting her. Saving her. Loving her. Hating her. She had felt all of it, but never had she felt it caving into her.

''No, no, no—'' She fell back. His body tangled with hers. Amelie's knees struck the floor as she held onto his shirt, fisting her hands around the edges of the material, ''No, no, no, please—''

Adrian.

Teddy's Adrian. Her Adrian. Their Adrian.

''Adrian, no—'' Amelie shook her head, covering his body, ''Please no—''

Her eyes found his wand, and she brought it up between them, whispering spell after spell. Tears leaked. Sobs shattered through the magic but nothing. He couldn't be saved.

''Amelie—'' He breathed so unsteadily that it broke her. She had never heard his voice so weakly before. His hand gripped hers, stopping her tries of saving him. Slowly, he shook his head at her.

Adrian knew. Adrian knew that there was nothing she could do for him. His time had finally come.

''No,'' Amelie broke out in a cry, the tips of her fingers grasped at his jaws, ''You don't get to do this, Adrian. You don't get to leave me again.'' Her hands found his hair, ''Why? Why would you do this—''

He smiled. Adrian let a frail, fragile smile arch across his numb lips as he placed his hand over the back of her head, bringing his face to hers.

He kissed her forehead slowly, ''I said I would protect her....'' The touch he had of her neck fell to her stomach, ''I promised you I'd protect her like I never protected you—''

''No...'' She had never cried this much in her life. She let out sounds that would follow him to his grave, ''You don't get to—''

''I wouldn't—'' His own tears rolled. He cried. He cried as his chest slowed, his eyes falling shut, ''I wouldn't wish to go any other way. He can live without me, but he can't live without you....''

''It was supposed to be us now....'' Amelie sobbed. The pearls of tears spilling from her eyes fell to his skin. He could still feel them, for so a minute, Adrian could feel her. It felt good, feeling her.

''You need to be with us, Adrian— please—''

''I told you—'' He was heaving, gasping for air. Dying. Adrian Pucey was dying, ''I told you to save the world, Amelie, and you did—''

His head fell back, but she caught it before it could hit the ground, ''You saved the world, Amelie. You saved me—''

''Don't go—'' She kissed his head, speaking into his hair, ''Please, please, please don't go. We need you—''

''It feels good....'' His lips didn't move much anymore. The tone of his skin fading, ''Being needed. Thank you for needing me.''

''I love you,'' She whispered, over and over. Again and again, ''I love you, Adrian. We all do. We love you so much—''

''I will wait for you. Promise me you'll find me when you're ready. Promise me I'll see you again....'' Adrian's hand dropped from her belly, and the last breath he'd ever take fled his lungs, ''Tell him, please —Teddy... Tell him...''

''I'll tell him,'' Amelie sobbed, her body on top of his as she buried her face into his neck, ''I promise, I will tell him. I will tell him all of it.''

His body cooled. He was leaving.

Adrian Pucey had indeed lived a life like no other. He had sinned. He had hurt, and he had wounded but never had a world seen the good in him as this one did. He redeemed himself.

Adrian Pucey faded for them to live. He'd done everything he could now. He was loved. He was needed. He was wanted, and he would be missed. He entered this life as a monster, someone so scarred and feared only to leave like one of them. He finally had a family. He finally earned a place on his earth. And at last, after what felt like a lifetime being haunted, he was free.

Adrian Pucey was free.

''We'll find you... I'll find you, Adrian. We'll see each other again, I promise. I promise. I promise. We'll find you when it's our time,'' Amelie kissed his cheek, feeling as his life went in her arms, ''He loves you, Adrian. He will find you. You can rest now. You're free now. They can't hurt you anymore. No one can hurt you anymore.''

Draco sat on his knees, his arms dropped to his sides, and he was free of his chains. He watched the dust of the Dark Lord's ruling fall to the ground. They did it. They won, yet it felt like they had lost. Even Malfoy felt that. He felt one of the gravest losses he ever had to feel.

It wasn't a win for him. It wasn't something to cherish or celebrate. It was one of the worst moments of his life.

''Amelie—''

Theodore was catching his breath in the doorway from leaving Atlas to Narcissa and Lucius. His hands gripping his knees as he swallowed, ''What—''

No.

No. No. No.

His gaze traveled to the ash splayed out on the ground. The Dark Lord had fallen. He was gone. He shifted his sight to Draco, kneeled to the ground in a pool of chains around him. He wasn't happy. He didn't look like he'd conquered. He sat there with tears in his eyes, his shoulders low, and his jaws clenched, staring blankly at the girl his heart rested with.

Amelie. Theodore looked at Amelie.

His heart stopped. His life ceased at what he was seeing, ''No, no, no....''

Amelie couldn't look at him. She gripped Adrian's chest harder, burying her face deeper. Nothing had hurt as much as this did. She had felt loss before. Amelie had seen death in all its shapes and forms, but this was different. She hurt Theodore too. She could feel it. Her heart was shattered.

''Amelie, please—'' Theodore stuttered, tripping forward in the smoke-filled air, over the ruins of the Dark Lord's downfall until he reached his arms out, ''Please—''

She still didn't look at him. All she did was loosening herself from Adrian to hide in Theodore's arms instead. He wanted her there. He needed her there. Oh, how Theodore Nott needed his Amelie at this moment.

The girl wrapped herself around his body, her head tightly pushed against his shoulder, and he fell to the ground with her in his lap, ''No, no, no....''

''I'm sorry—'' She sobbed, her fingers clawing at his neck, ''I tried. I tried to save him, but he— he couldn't, there wasn't— he loved you. He loved you, Teddy. He loved you.''

Theodore didn't say anything. He cried. Tears formed and fell as he hugged her. He drained her of all the comfort he could possibly need.

He just found someone. He found someone that was his. He fell in love. He loved. He loved that boy so deeply that it hurt at times. He was happy. Theodore Nott had never been happier than the times he earned with him.

It was them. It was supposed to be them. He was pardoned. He was free. He was his. He was Theodore's.

It was them, but not anymore.

Amelie tightened her hold of him, holding him in pieces as he fell apart. She'd never heard the sounds he gave. She'd never heard anyone mourn in the way Teddy was. His shouts. His screams. His cries, even his breathing tore blade following blade through her.

He looked away with tears in his eyes. Malfoy needed her. He needed her so much right now, but he knew that they needed each other more. Draco couldn't look at them anymore. It hurt too much.

It was painful. It was tragic. It was agonizing.

Teddy was happy, but he wasn't anymore. He had never felt pain as excruciating as this one. Stabbing, racking, raging. It hurt so much that he couldn't breathe. He didn't know where it all went so wrong. They managed. They fought. They did it. They won.

Still, had no one lost like they did, as he did.

Adrian Pucey died, and Theodore Nott would never be the same again.

_____