Ara is a Southern constellation, intersecting the Milky Way. Meaning 'the altar' in Latin, it references the altar at which the gods made offerings and formed a pact before they battled the Titans.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

🖤

Draco stood at the edge of the precipice, flanked by his parents. Behind him, hordes of death eaters hooted and stamped their feet with excitement.

From here, he could see the castle in its entirety. It still shone in its grandeur under the pale glowing dome that protected it - the place he'd spent half his childhood. Homesickness gnawed at him. Angel was somewhere in there, and he hoped to Merlin she wasn't anywhere near Harry Potter. 

Bellatrix's giggle turned into a cackling laughter. "Pathetic," she grinned, looking at the Dark Lord for permission to attack.

"They never learn," Voldemort drawled, sending chills down Draco's spine. "Begin."

In unison, they raised their wands, and a thousand balls of lights whizzed through the air soundlessly. Draco thought, just for a moment, how much they looked like stars in the night sky.

But when they seemed to almost touch the inky blue, they fell back down, crashing against the shield. The explosions in the distance grumbled like thunder, and he could feel the ground trembling beneath his feet.

With a blood-curdling scream, Voldemort shot a stream of blue light from his wand, and slowly but surely, the dome began to weaken and crumble.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

🤍

Angel stood fast beside Hannah and Susan, their wands pointed and at the ready. She tried to steady her breaths as they watched the burning blue embers drifting lazily onto the ground. 

The courtyard was dotted with students and professors who had stayed to fight. They were no longer Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, or Slytherin. They were Hogwarts.

The enchanted statues and suits of armor had begun marching forward, their footsteps matching the rhythm of her heartbeat.

And then the final bits of protection collapsed, and the bridge erupted into a bleating discordance of monstrous roars.

"Trolls..." Susan shuffled backwards in fear, her voice barely a whisper.

"Steady, Suze..." Angel hoped her tone sounded assuring, but like Susan, she was terrified.

The cacophony of bellowing and shrieking grew louder as they approached, and she wanted to cry or run away. Zach Smith already had. He was a coward and he knew nothing. But then, neither did she. The only thing she was certain of was that her parents would have wanted her to be brave, to stay and fight. If she were to die tonight, at least she would see them again. Death isn't so lonely when you've got love with you.

Hannah was laser-focused at the incoming chaos. "Come on, you fuckers," she muttered under her breath, holding her wand tighter.

Death eaters taking their forms of large black clouds whistled past overhead, faster than their eyes could follow. They left explosions and fire in their wake as bursts of green and red light lit up the black sky like fireworks.

Voldemort was here.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

🖤

Draco pushed past the frantic mass of students in the lower levels of the castle. Find Potter, his dad had instructed. But instead, he found himself looking at every one bearing a yellow crest on their chest.

They were all too young. In fact, there were barely any last years here. He hurried back up the staircase, grasping the railings as another explosion shook the castle and bits of stone came hailing down.

The sounds around him were disorienting. Spells shot back and forth as people fell around him. Bodies lay strewn on the floor, some petrified, some dead. Their eyes stared coldly into nothingness. Some wore red and blue robes, and some wore yellow.

He began to fear the worst. Angel was lying somewhere on the broken stone, her arms strewn out, her body cold. He felt his chest constrict as he desperately scanned the carnage. He couldn't call her name now, it would draw attention.

He'd searched most of the first three floors, but the fighting carried on even at the roof. Curses flew around him as blood pounded in his head, so much so that he almost didn't hear the small voice that called his name from behind.

"Draco?"

Angel stood on the steps, her face covered with dirt and cuts. Her hair was pulled back and away from her face; her features were turned downwards with exhaustion and relief. A light - he did not know what from - shone in through the broken ceiling, bathing her in a glow.

They raced toward each other, their bodies coming together like jigsaw pieces. "You're alive..." He pressed his cheek to her head, savouring her presence and the way she felt in his embrace.

"I'm here. I'm right here." She buried her face in his chest, and like every time he was with her, the world slowed to a halt. The sounds of battle dulled, like the noise of a party coming from a room far away.

But he quickly remembered where he was, and pulled himself away. "I don't have much time," he said hurriedly. "I have to go. I have to find Potter."

"What?"

"Angel," he said, taking her by the shoulders. "I've spent many nights listening to you, so you listen to me now. This might be the last time I ever see you, alright?"

"No, wait, I-"

"Listen!" he pleaded, shaking her. "Remember that night, when you asked me what I wanted?" She nodded.

"I told you I didn't know, but I do. I've always known. I want you, Angel. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. With you, I can be whoever I want to be. And I want to be good. With you, I am good."

"Then stay with me!" she begged. He knew she was giving him a chance to redeem himself, to show that he had truly changed, but he shook his head. "Potter is the key to stopping all this. You know where he is, but I know you won't tell me, and I won't ask you to. But I have to find him."

Her disappointment seemed to dim the light that had glowed from above previously. "So you're just going to catch and offer him up like a sacrificial pig, then?" She moved to push him, but he caught her arm. "You told me you didn't want this!" she cried.

"I don't. But it's the only way to put a stop to all this. Don't you understand?"

She glared at him through her tears, shouting now - "He's my friend, Draco! My friend! Does that mean anything to you at all? Do you know what would happen if he got Harry? Is that the world you want to live in? The world you want us to live in?"

He didn't know how to answer her. Everything he thought he knew was different now, and his only priority was to keep his family and Angel safe.

He thumbed the dirt from her cheek. "I'll find you again if I can," he said gently. "If not... Just know this: I'm here with you. Always."

Was this goodbye? He didn't know, but he needed to kiss her one last time. Their lips almost touched when a voice called out from behind. "Get away from her, Malfoy!"

Cedric Diggory's wand was pointed squarely at him as he hurried down the steps towards them.

"No, Ced, he's not-"

Draco tore her grasp from him and backed away. "Stay with Diggory." The words scratched at his throat in protest.

Before he disappeared around the corner, he turned for one last look. She stood watching him leave, her face contorted with despair as Cedric put a protective arm around her.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

A/N:

Draco's redemption is comingggg!!! 

Also, I love the song for this chapter - I think it fits the scene perfectly. I wish I had video editing skills so I could create an MV for it.