Hero

Harry made his way with unfaltering steps back to the entrance hall, stopping only to pull the bunched up invisibility cloak from his robe pocket and toss it over his body. As he rounded the corner he saw Neville and Oliver carrying a small, limp form into the building. Harry\'s heart clenched again, seeing the young face of Colin rest against Oliver\'s shoulder, after he took the body from Neville. The former Quidditch captain carried the young boy away as Neville leaned against the door frame, mopping his face with the sleeve of his singed robe. After the prophecy had been made and shared with the dark haired teen, he had come to the conclusion that despite all the hardship he\'d faced over the years, he was glad that Voldemort had chosen him and not the other boy born the same month. Neville, by no means, deserved the life Harry had. He deserved more.



He made up his mind that instant. If he was the boy the prophecy referred to, he would do his part. But he\'d give Neville his chance to be a \'hero\' as well, as he so nearly had become seventeen years prior.



"Neville..." Harry whispered, pulling the boy outside the big double doors.



Neville yelped softly before Harry thought to take the cloak off.



"Harry! You nearly gave me heart failure, mate!" The boy proclaimed, patting his chest over his heart in firm thumps.



"I\'m sorry, Nev. But look, I\'m going to need your help. I\'m going to be fighting him, but I can\'t kill him unless that giant snake of his is dead." Harry said quietly so that the others making their way in and out of the castle didn\'t startle at his words.



"The snake? You want me to kill it?"



"Yeah. No matter what happens, that snake has to die so that bastard can die as well." Harry said grimly.



He looked into the tired but determined face of his fellow Gryffindor and found what he had hoped was there. Neville seemed to have found it as well, and stiffened. Harry smiled at Neville, who smiled back, the tough core that was buried beneath shyness and reserve finally coming to the surface.



"You can count on it Harry!" He whispered fervently. "We\'ll win. We won\'t give up the fight!"



Harry nodded and clapped him on the shoulder like the loyal comrade he was.



"You get on in there. I\'ve got to go...check...something." Harry said, hoping Neville didn\'t hear the fake nonchalance in his voice. He apparently didn\'t because he gave Harry one last smile and headed back through the doors.



"Goodbye mate...make Gryffindor proud." He intoned quietly, tossing the cloak back over his body before slowly making his way towards the forest, somehow drawn to the site of his soon-to-be death like a moth to a candle.



*~*~*



Draco remained on his knees for minutes after Harry\'s departure, until he found the strength in his legs to stand. He felt hollow, a husk of his former, broken self as he replayed Harry\'s words over in his mind. Each word of the Gryffindor\'s death confession scraped over his emptied soul, leaving deep, bleeding score-marks in their wake. He stumbled out of the door, down the corridor and into the front hall like an Infiri, dead eyes and limp arms. He didn\'t notice Neville stop just before the great hall and give him a strange look.



"Malfoy?" Came the other boys voice, but not strong enough to banish Harry\'s words from his mind. He stumbled on until he collapsed on the stairs beside the house point counter.



"Malfoy!" Neville cried, others in the hall looking up in fear, thinking the patriarch of the pureblood family had come to call, wand blazing. When they saw it was just the boy, they all gave a collective glare before turning away. Neville, however, rushed to the broken boys side. Even if he was a Slytherin, Neville couldn\'t, in good conscience, walk away if he was hurt.



"Malfoy, are you alright?" Came Neville\'s voice again, the Gryffindor kneeling down bedside him. Once he got closer, he saw the tear tracks down his cheeks and the lack of spark in the usually condescending gaze.



"Harry...He left." Draco choked, bowing his head to rest against the edge of the step.



"What do you mean, left? He just went outside to check..." Neville said, brow furrowed in confusion. He gasped softly when he realized his obliviousness.



"No...He went now? Alone? He can\'t face him alone now! He\'ll die!" Neville exclaimed.



Draco gave a dry sob, body quivering. "He knows. That\'s his plan."



*~*~*



Harry made his way across the grounds in silence, threading his way through blasted chunks of stone that had been torn by magic from his school. He heard a familiar voice, then an answering one just as familiar. Ginny. Ginny and Dean. They were kneeling at the side of a dying Hufflepuff girl, soothing her last moments. He had a fleeting moment of regret for what they had and what they lost. But a glance at Dean\'s face told him Ginny would be fine. Ginny would be cared for and loved after he was gone.



And he, he just walked away from someone that loved him, and belatedly confessed such in the lull of fighting. Harry\'s breathing grew labored with emotion as he reached the fringe of forest, thinking back to the conversation with Draco.



\'I loved you.\'



He heard in his mind, the Slytherin\'s voice just as choked and desperate as it was when he first said it. Harry was momentarily shocked at how easy it was to translate seven years of hate and animosity into reciprocal feelings towards the blonde. His life at Hogwarts wouldn\'t have been the same without Draco. And now his life was going to end, to give him and everyone else a chance to live, a chance to love.



His heart hammered in his chest as what he was about to do came crashing into him. His heart beat and fluttered, like the snitch he and Draco constantly battled over in the chance to win and gloat. The snitch...



Harry stopped and leaned against the trunk of a tree, vines hanging down from the tortured limbs like a green waterfall. He scrabbled for the pouch Hagrid had given him, shaking fingers removing the first snitch he ever caught. He brought it to his lips and whispered: "I\'m going to die."



The snitch broke open and nestled inside was the cracked stone from Marvolo\'s ring, the Peverell coat of arms and sign of the Hallows still visible. He knew what this was... He silently thanked Dumbledore for the opportunity. He closed the snitch back up and pressed his lips to it in a mockery of a kiss. "Go to Draco Malfoy." He ordered, and let the little golden ball flit away, seeking its owner\'s target. The stone felt cold in his hand, as cold as the chill that ran down his spine. He turned it thrice, hoping with all his might that the snitch would find Draco alive, and the stone wouldn\'t drag his shade before him. He sighed with a mixture of happiness and despair, seeing four figures coalesce in the dark, dank of the forest.



"Mum...dad..."



*~*~*



Neville was sitting in pained shock with Draco, his warm hand pressed against the Slytherin\'s back and rubbing in short, jerky circles. It took a moment for the brown haired boy to hear the gentle thrum but with a glance he caught his breath.



"Malfoy...look." He said, pushing a little on the blondes back. Draco lifted his head and stared at the fluttering golden ball for a moment before he focused enough to really see it. The snitch bobbed and weaved, then soared down to land in his open palm.



"Where did it come from?" Neville asked, knitting his brows together.



Draco knew. There was only one person the snitch would have come from, if it came to him.



"Harry... it\'s Harry\'s snitch." Draco mumbled, closing his hand over the chilled metal, drawing his hand to his chest and pressing it to his heart.



"Oh Harry..." He sobbed.





A/N: the next chapter will be the sacrifice. This was just filler...lol. thanks for reading, hope the next chapter will be to your liking.