Chapter forty three; The Battle of Hogwarts, Part Three

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A blond head of hair appeared in Olivia's hazy line of vision and she narrowed her eyes to make out the figure it belonged to. She felt separated from the world and underneath the static noise in her ears the person was calling out to her, over and over again.

"Olivia-Olivia, come on!"

Draco Malfoy shook Olivia's shoulder while looking down at her with wide and panicked eyes. He'd never seen her in a state like this before and in a panic he looked up to her three companions for help, "What's wrong with her?!"

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were watching Harry carefully as he sat on the floor, leaning against the wall for support. At his panicked words, the two looked over to him and Hermione left Harry's side to rush over.

She leant over Olivia's side, next to Draco and Blaise while looking her over carefully, "I-I think she's in shock." She stuttered, "She's burnt pretty badly, the shock of Alexis and her mums death's probably caught up on her."

Draco looked up to Hermione, "Will she be alright?"

Hermione met Draco's pleading gaze and clenched her jaw, "It's hard to say, she should snap out of it pretty soon but her arm.." She looked at the burnt skin, "She needs healing."

Freakishly, at the same time, Olivia and Harry snapped from their separate dazes with deep inhales of breath. Olivia gripped onto the hand that was resting on her left shoulder while breathing deeply until she relaxed against the stone floor again.

All at once, the emotional and physical pain swept over her and tears welled in her eyes. She blinked to try and push them back, but all it did was force them out. She heaved and when she could see clearer she could make out Draco and Hermione hovering above her and the arm she was still clutching on to belonged to Draco.

"It's okay—" She heard, "It's okay, love."

"No—" She cried, trying to sit up. A burning sting consumed her entire right shoulder and arm and more tears spilled from her eyes, "—Ow."

Hermione knelt down as Draco scooped Olivia up into his arms, holding her protectively, "Just stay as still as you can Olivia."

Olivia nodded while crying into Draco's chest, clutching to his shirt.

Hermione looked over to Ron and Harry, seeing the two getting to their feet and watched them walk over. Harry eyed Draco cautiously before looking down to Olivia and sighing, "Liv?" He asked quietly, seeing her turn to him, "The snake is the last one."

Her teary eyes widened, "The last Horcrux?" When Harry nodded she exhaled deeply, "Harry, I don't know if we can—"

Harry shook his head, "—What you need right now is to heal." He interrupted, "We can manage fine on our own, I know where he is—"

"—No, Harry I'm supposed to be helping you."

"And you have." Harry told her, "More than what you think you have, Olivia." She shook her head, not convinced but Harry continued, "You've saved our arses so many times, you've helped us more than ever. For now, you need to be healed and then when the time comes you can help me."

Harry gave her hand one last squeeze, rising to his feet and preparing to leave when Olivia remembered one last thing, "Harry, wait! I-I can't, I won't be able to—"

He turned around and nodded his head, "—I know." He said before leaving her with Draco and Blaise.

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Between Olivia and Draco, neither of them wanted to move. Despite Olivia's severe discomfort in her arm and shoulder she felt safe in Draco's arms. The part of the castle they had been in wasn't being used in the battle and so as much as Olivia wanted to help, they decided to wait before making any moves.

Scooped up in the comfort of Draco's embrace as he sat with her in his lap, it had completely crossed her mind that this was the first time see was seeing him since they escaped from Malfoy Manor three months ago. She had either been too focused on the pain or trying to escape from a psychotic fire.

Although when the thought came to her she sat up straight in his arms and looked to him directly.

Her sudden movement caused Draco to loosen his hold on her as her glossy and red-rimmed eyes locked with his. Her left hand rose slowly to rest on his cheek as he brushed her hair out of her face.

For a moment, Blaise had disappeared, the battle had disappeared, the war had disappeared and it was just them. After almost a year of being apart, except two occasions, they were finally reuniting and nothing in the world felt better.

A very faint grin appeared on Olivia's lips and tears prickled in her eyes again as she looked at Draco lovingly. "Hi—"

She was interrupted by Draco placing his lips on hers desperately and kissing her.

It was the first time they had kissed in so long and Olivia truly felt as if she was melting away. The tingling of her skin and the way her stomach was fluttering reminded her of their first kiss on the Astronomy Tower in their fourth year.

As their lips moved in sync, Olivia savoured the taste of Draco's lips, she remembered how he kissed in case it was the last time.

She knew what she had to do, and she knew there was a slim chance of survival.

Olivia didn't want to pull away but she knew they'd have to break for air at some point, so when they did she rested her forehead against Draco's. She kept her eyes closed still and ignored the burning in her left arm, the stinging over her right shoulder and the cracking of her heart.

"I love you." She whispered into the air.

"I love you."

Hearing Draco's voice brought more tears to rise to her eyes. The more she spent around him, the more she spoke to him, hugged him, loved him, kissed him, the more she didn't want to leave him. But she knew if she didn't, she wouldn't stand a chance at survival. At least this way, there was a chance for her to make it to the end of the tunnel.

After some minutes of the three just sitting in silence his voice scraped off the walls once more and sent shivers down Olivia's spine.

"You've fought valiantly, but in vain." Olivia pulled away from Draco and looked around, "I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat.
In their absence, dispose your dead with dignity. Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you. On this night, you have allowed your friends to die for you, rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonor. Join me in the Forbidden Forrest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man,
woman and child who tries to conceal you from me."

Voldemort's voice echoed off the walls, even when he had stopped talking and Olivia let out an uneven breath. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet, "We should head down, I already feel bad for missing out on the fight."

Blaise stepped forward, "You shouldn't feel bad."

"Well I do.. and I need healing, so come on."

She left the two and started walking back towards the centre of the castle. Lost in her thoughts while chewing her lip. The Dark Lord would be waiting for Harry in the Forbidden Forrest and no doubt Harry would turn himself in by the end of the night. All she had to do was get there just before Harry.

It was easy enough to form her plan in the deserted corridors with rubble all over the place. However the silence in this case was chilling, the thought of everyone left alive in the castle were disposing of their lost ones made her feel sick to the core.

Olivia wasn't heeding much attention to anything until she stumbled to the side, tripping over her foot. It was very out of the blue and then all of a sudden she felt her head throbbing painfully, as if someone was bashing her skull in. Her vision was twisted and everything in front of her moved in spirals.

All too much to handle, she had no choice but to collapse down to her knees and cradle her head as she cried.

Everything started to flicker and her vision changed from swirls to complete darkness until finally everything flashed before her.

"Nagini.. Kill."

Severus Snape was lying on the floor of the boathouse, his back resting against the wall as he covered his neck with his hand. Blood surrounded him and a stray tear fell from his eye.

"The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Dumbledore, Severus. While you live, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine."

White light flashed before her and she found herself stood before Snape and Professor Dumbledore in his office.

"You must be the one to kill me, Severus." Dumbledore told him, "It is the only way. Only then, will the Dark Lord trust you completely."

".. a part of Voldemort's soul latched itself onto the only living thing it could find...
Harry himself."

"So, when the time comes...the boy must die?"

"Yes. He must die, and Voldemort himself must do it."

The scene changed into the darkness of the Forbidden Forrest where Olivia saw Harry appear from the trees.

"So you've come to join your friend? Harry Potter has come here to die."

A blinding green light flashed before Olivia's eyes.

"Avada Kedavra."

All her nightmares were coming true, the vision she'd had the night they'd been ambushed while moving Harry was actually happening. Although there was some new information in there, the news of Harry and Professors Snape's apparent death wasn't something she'd seen before.

Regardless, when she could see clearly again and saw Blaise and Draco's concerned faces in front of her she couldn't speak for the life of her. Her voice was almost paralysed and instead all she could do was stand up and force her shaking legs forward.

With each step, Draco and Blaise ran three to keep up with her, "Olivia, what's going on?"

"Did you have a vision?"

She shook her head, "I-I need to see Harry."

"Potter?" Draco asked in disbelief, "Really?"

Olivia nodded while walking, "Half of the damn thing was about him."

Blaise stopped in front of her and forced her to stop moving, "What did you see?"

She shook her head, "It was weird, it was like four in one—"

"—Olivia." He snapped sternly while holding her left shoulder, "What did you see?"

She gulped, "I think.. I think Snape's dead."

"W-why would Snape be dead?" Draco stuttered.

Olivia looked to him and remembered the conversation she'd shared with Ollivander, "Voldemort remains under the impression that the whoever killed the last master of The Elder Wand will automatically become its new master."

Blaise drew his brows in, "Is that not how it works?"

Olivia shook her head nervously while looking to Draco, "Winning the wand is like winning any other wand. The persons opponent must be disarmed in an adult duel—"

She felt Draco freeze beside her, "—Y-you mean—?"

"—You disarmed Dumbledore on The Astronomy Tower." She told him, watching his face pale, "but Harry disarmed you in the Manor."

"So Harry owns the Elder Wand?"

"Technically," Olivia nodded, "Yes."

Draco sighed, "What else did you see?"

"The Killing Curse."

The two boys glanced at each other nervously, "Aimed at who?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I heard the words 'So you've come to join your friend, Harry Potter has come here to die' but the curse was aimed wherever I was standing."

Draco walked away from the two while Blaise continued, "Who cast the curse?"

"Voldemort."

Blaise's face never altered but Draco's cry of frustration echoed around them. Her best friend looked over her shoulder before meeting her eyes again, "So he's going to kill you?"

"I don't know." She told him, "It could be Harry, I could've just been there in the moment. I've had visions like that before."

Blaise nodded, "This is why you need to see Harry."

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The further the three got to the centre of the castle, the more damage was done. Olivia had to face where the very place where her best friend had lost her life not even an hour ago and held onto Draco for dear life the entire time.

What panicked Olivia the most was the lack of people around. The castle was impossibly quiet but as they made their way to the Great Hall cries could be heard behind the doors. They figured out it was where those who had already lost their lives were being laid to rest for the time being, although the thought made Olivia sick to her stomach.

Blaise seemed hesitant to step foot past the threshold of the door but at the same time he wanted to see his girlfriend one last time. As much as Draco didn't want to leave Olivia on her own in her fragile state, he wanted to offer his support to his own best friend.

He held on to her hands tightly, "Are you sure—?"

She sallowed hard and nodded her head, peering into the Great Hall before meeting Draco's eyes, "—Positive. I-I need to see Harry."

Draco nodded and looked down to her burns with a frown. He moved the singed clothing about gently to examine the extent and severity of the wound, "You should let me heal you."

"After all this time you turn around and tell me you could've healed me in the first place."

Draco met her eyes quickly, "I wasn't—"

She silenced him with a soft smile while holding her finger to his lips, "—I know, I'm only teasing you." Olivia looked over his shoulder to Blaise and nodded, "Go, I'll follow you in soon."

Draco too looked to Blaise and nodded, "Okay." He told her before leaning in and kissing her forehead lightly.

She watched as he left her space and shivered in the sudden cold air. Draco guided Blaise into the Great Hall and away from Olivia while she waited outside.

She took to pacing back and forth while waiting for Harry to return from wherever he had ran off to when black lines caught her eye. Stopping in the middle of her tracks she noticed how the little lines had progressed into her fingers and bit her lip nervously. If this was an indication of her time left, it wasn't as long as what she had been hoping for.

Eventually Harry, Ron and Hermione retuned with crestfallen looks on their dirty faces and Olivia rushed over to them.

"Harry! What happened?"

Harry's eyes snapped to meet Olivia's as she stood, unhealed, in front of him. He could only stutter in shock, "I-I— what are you doing here?"

"I've been waiting for you, I had a vision—"

Hermione stepped forwards when Olivia faulted on her words, "What about?"

She swallowed nervously, "Is he—? Professor Snape, is he—?"

Ron nodded and placed a hand on Olivia's shoulder, "Yeah."

She breathed out in disbelief, "Holy shit."

Just then, Ron looked over her shoulder, "Where is everyone? I thought you were supposed to be with Malfoy and Zabini?"

She nodded, "Yeah they're in there, seeing—" She didn't have the heart to say that they were visiting Alexis' body and the three seemed to understand as they started to walk into the Great Hall together.

Hermione looked to Olivia's arm, "We should probably get you healed."

Olivia nodded, looking away from Hermione to the scene before her, "Yeah—"

Olivia butted the back of Ron's shoulder as she walked, bringing her to a halt and ending what she intended to say. Instead, she looked up to the Weasley with curious eyes, questioning why he had frozen in the first place.

Emitting from somewhere in the Great Hall was a series of cries. All belonging to separate people and all expressing agony.

When Olivia followed the direction Ron was looking in her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. He rushed forwards towards the scene of his family gathered around someone whilst crying and she wasn't that far behind.

She walked quickly, scanning the members of the Weasley family standing around and counting over and over again. There was one missing. Molly and Arthur were there, Ginny was there, Percy, Bill and George..

Where was Fred?

She halted when she felt her stomach twist and bile crept to the back of her throat. The sheer thought of it being Fred, the thing the family were crowding around, brought tears to her eyes instantly.

"Oh, please no." She whispered under her breath, "Not Fred."

Running the rest of the way, Olivia stood besides George when she reached the family and looked down. Ronald Weasley was on his knees, leaning over Fred's body while shaking him by the shoulders.

Pain rippled through Olivia's body like a wave and a mangled cry of despair left her mouth as her knees finally gave in. She was falling to the ground at the feet of Fred, a boy who had helped her through so much it was almost unbelievable. A person with a heart of gold despite his mischievous nature who, in her own opinion, helped to save Olivia and her life.

But just like that he was gone.

Tears leaked from her eyes without hesitation and although she could remember falling, she couldn't remember actually hitting the ground. At the final second someone's arms latched around her torso and held her up, stopping her knees from smashing into the stone flooring.

Looking up, Olivia met the sorrowful gaze belonging to Charlie Weasley as he brought her to sit down gently. He held her tightly, his arms wrapped around her as she cried into his chest.

Alissa stood next to the family, sobbing over a separate person who Olivia couldn't see. Through her tears she could only really see their blurred person on the ground and wiped her eyes to venture forwards, although it was an instant regret.

It topped it off for Olivia, seeing the person Alissa had been crying over was Tonks and laid to rest besides her was her husband and she covered her mouth with her trembling hands.

In a state of complete and utter disbelief, Olivia fell back into Charlie again. Within the matter of hours she had lost her mother, her best friend, someone of a brother to her, a family member and her godfather and it was too much to handle.

She held in a sob and pushed herself out of Charlie's embrace, forcing her legs forwards and out of the Great Hall. She exited the open doors of the castle and stumbled down the stairs, collapsing down at the bottom of them and wrapping her arms around herself tightly.

She lent forwards and curled over releasing a loud sob before screaming, thunder rumbling in the distance as it began downpour around her.

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