I awoke with my face squashed against a crumpled shirt. Beneath it, the steady rhythm of a heartbeat thrummed pleasantly against my ear.

As arms tightened around me, I found myself wanting to smile, but then reality hit me like a cold, wet fish slapping me hard across the face.

"Morning, beautiful," Draco's voice murmured sleepily above my head. I tilted up my face to find silver eyes piercing into mine, the tenderness in them filling me with both warmth and sadness as he lovingly reached out to brush my hair behind my ear.

If I wake up with him again, I thought, my chest aching with a horrible tight feeling, then it will be nothing short of a miracle.

Harry's loud snores echoed around us, reverberating against the walls. He was passed out on the table, empty bottle of port next to his head, the pink guard nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the 'good morning' music blasted into the room. Thankfully, for the last fucking time.

"Wha-?!" Harry said blearily, quickly lifting his head off the table to reveal glasses sat askew on his face and a line of drool hanging down from his chin. "Is it time to put the bacon on?"

"Ugh, go back to sleep, Potter," Draco drawled, tiredly pushing a hand back through his hair so that it fell back down in a tousled mess. "You're ruining a perfectly delightful moment."

Yawning, I untangled myself from Draco's limbs and sat up, hugging myself, my mood - as usual - not in line with the upbeat tones of the music.

"Good morning, finalists! We hope you had a wonderful night's sleep. In just a short while, our guards will arrive with what we like to call a 'champion's breakfast'. We will also take this opportunity to wish you luck in your future endeavours, wherever the outcome of today may take you."

I shivered, and suddenly found I wanted my mother.

"Alia?" Draco's voice was like honey: soothing and sweet, and the most comforting sound in the world.

"I don't think I can eat," I murmured, pressing my fist against my mouth to stop me from crying, or simply just screaming out in frustration and fear.

A hand stroked my back. "Alia, you must. You need your strength to get through this."

"I don't think I have any left." I said in a small voice trying to ignore the dragging feeling in the pit of my stomach. "I just want to walk. I'll even go back to the sewers- anything but this."

Strong arms circled around me as Draco pulled me back against his chest, nuzzling his face in my hair. "You are going to walk. And you're going to leave with that money so that you never have to spend another night living in poverty. I promise you. You just need to trust me on this, okay?"

I began to shake from the force of my grief. I couldn't understand why it wasn't enough for him for both of us to live. Even if we were the poorest people in the world, we'd still have each other.

But I did not have the strength in me to ask him. Because he'd already chosen not to forfeit, and with Harry determined to see it through too, I had no choice but to fight against them for my life.

So, rubbing my face, I sniffed back my tears, refusing to go to my fate weakly, not when Luna, Neville, Parvati, Nico, Fred, George, Hermione, Dumbledore... amongst so many others, had shown true bravery in facing their demises.

A mouldy old banana was tossed carelessly into my lap by a passing guard.

Breakfast of champions, indeed.

*****

A loud belch broke into the silence as we trudged through the pastel coloured corridors for the final time.

"S'cuse me," Harry winced, punching a fist to his chest as he belched again. "That fucking banana keeps repeating on me."

"Sure it's nothing to do with the bottle of rum you inhaled last night?" Draco muttered dryly.

"I told them that bananas set off my IBS, but do they listen?" Harry droned on, ignoring him. "It's like they want me to suffer!"

I could sense Draco try to catch my eye as he strode by my side, but I stared straight ahead with a keep-me-out-of-it expression on my face.

However, when he reached out to grasp his fingers around mine, I did not not pull away, but instead twisted my hand around to press my heated palm against his.

We did not let go of one another until we reached the entrance to the game hall where we were greeted by a pink guard holding up a large cloth bag.

"Player 101, player 199, and player 218, welcome to the final game. Before we begin, we shall ask each of you in turn to reach into the bag and pick from it a pebble. On this pebble, a symbol will be shown, representing your weapon in the final game."

Draco reached in first, his pebble showing a circle.

I was next, my pebble showing a triangle.

And then Harry went last, picking out a pebble with a single line.

A circle, a triangle, a line.

"What does this mean?" I asked, confused.

"Oh wow, oh fucking wow!" Harry whooped, punching his fist into the air. "The Deathly Hallows! Of course!"

"The what?" I whispered, still none the wiser.

I glanced over at Draco, who was his usual deathly pale self, turning his pebble slowly over in his hand, meeting no one's eyes.

"The Deathly Hallows," Harry continued excitedly, jabbing a finger at the triangle on my pebble, "-the Cloak of Invisibility - my father's cloak. Malfoy got the Resurrection stone, and I-" he paused, his eyes glittering in awe as he lifted the pebble in his hand for us all to see. "-I've got the Unbeatable wand."

Well, fuck.

"Players, please step into the arena where you will be handed your weapons. Use them as you wish. The game ends when only one man left is standing."

The world tilted. Even though I could have guessed that was to be the case, it still felt like a punch in the gut upon hearing it confirmed.

I tried to swallow, but the lump in my throat would not budge.

As we walked slowly into the arena, with Harry leading the way, myself second, and Draco bringing up the rear, a voice whispered urgently behind me, "Whatever you do, stay hidden and stay silent."

I did not acknowledge that I had heard him. Instead, I silently draped the cloak over me the second the guard handed it to me, and felt free for the first time in a long time.

However, with Harry being handed this so-called Unbeatable wand, I did not think much of our chances. Especially as all Draco was handed to defend himself was some poxy stone.

"Players, ready when you are."

Harry lifted the wand without hesitation, fire in his eyes as he focused his fighting face upon Draco.

But Draco was quicker, and threw the stone down at his feet. From it, something extraordinary happened: figures appeared... ghosts.

Harry's wand arm froze in midair before he could begin to cast the deadly curse, his eyes bulging in horror as Luna and Blaise floated towards him.

"You killed me, Harry," Luna said in a disappointed, yet dreamy, voice. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do."

"Yeah man," Blaise drawled, sounding chiller than ever. "Not cool. How do you think my mother is gonna feel? I was her baby, dude."

"I- I-" Harry spluttered pathetically, the wand in his tight grip shaking as he took a frightened step back. "I didn't mean it-"

"Oh! He didn't mean it!" Blaise sang mockingly, looking towards Luna who was smiling dreamily back at him. "That okay with you, girl?"

"No," Luna sighed softly, shaking her head so that her radish earrings bobbed across her shoulders, "not really. Daddy will be upset that I haven't been able to get back and free him. Still, I suppose as long as Harry is alright."

Harry took another step back, looking petrified. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Draco edge towards him, his eyes never leaving the wand in Harry's trembling hand.

My breath was held, not knowing how this was going to go... not knowing how this would end between myself and Draco if Harry let go now.

But, seemingly getting himself together, Harry closed his eyes. "You're not real." He said firmly and loudly. "You are both dead."

And he raised the wand again, this time, when he opened his eyes, he looked right through the ghosts of Blaise and Luna, and straight into Draco's eyes again.

I wanted to scream, to tell him to stop, but before I could, two more ghostly figures rose up from the stone.

A man and a woman, both of whom looked no older than ourselves. A handsome man in glasses, and a beautiful woman with luscious long red hair.

"Mum... Dad?" Harry stuttered, once again lowering the wand.

"Son," the man, who was presumably Harry's dad, said. "This is not you. This is not who we wanted you to be."

"Too right," the woman tutted, "I didn't die for you just so that you could ruin your soul in a place like this!"

"I'm sorry, Mum," Harry wailed, tears filling his eyes. "I had to do what I could to survive so that your death wouldn't be in vain-"

"In vain?!" She shrieked, throwing her head back. "Don't make me laugh! Did you really think we wanted this for you? You're not a killer, Harry. Give it all up now and you can join us in peace."

"R-really?" Harry asked, looking so shaken and vulnerable, I almost wanted to give him a hug.

"Come to us, son," Harry's father spoke, holding out a hand, "and all will be forgiven."

"I'd take the deal," Blaise said, throwing in his two cents worth as he stood watching with his arms folded lazily across his his chest. "I mean, what's the point of all that money when you have no one to love you?"

"Ginny loves me!"

"Really?" Blaise gave a derisive snort. "After this? Every single one of her brothers died, man."

In the end, neither Draco nor I had to do a single thing. For Harry raised the wand and pointed it at his own head.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry Potter was dead before his body hit the ground, the ghosts immediately vanishing in his wake.

"Player 218, eliminated."

Breathing heavily, I tore the cloak from over my head, my eyes meeting Draco's just as the rain began to fall through the open roof.

We stared at one another, raindrops dripping down our faces.

And then, simultaneously, our eyes fell to the wand laying abandoned by Harry's fallen body.

A deadly beat.

And then we were both scrambling for it at the same time, feet skidding across the wet ground as we desperately rushed to dive for it.

My heart was in my throat, knowing exactly what he was going to do with it if he reached it first, and I couldn't, wouldn't, allow him to do that.

I was a fraction ahead of him, and for a hopeful, promising second, I knew I was going to beat him to it.

But then a hand clawed at my arm, pulling me violently back. I hit out, trying to wrangle myself free of Draco's hold. In the scuffle, we ended up falling to the ground together, wrestling one another in the fight for survival.

His survival.

"No-" I gasped as he reached out a hand, his fingers grasping around the Elder wand.

I hooked my leg over his back as he lay face down against the ground, climbing up his body, frantically trying to reach over and prise the stick from his hand.

"Damn it, Alia!" He shouted angrily, his face muffled against the ground, "you need to let me do this!"

"No!" I seethed, my fingers clawing the back of his hand. "I will not let you die for me!"

With great force, he flipped me over, pinning my back to the ground with his body. Tears sprang to my eyes, knowing I'd lost this fight, I'd lost him.

"I told you to trust me!" He yelled, his voice breaking as his eyes flashed down into mine. "I promised you, you'd get out of this alive, and fuck, I'll do anything to make sure that happens!"

"No," I begged, sobbing now as the rain on my face mingled with my salty tears. "I can't lose you, Draco. I love you."

His expression immediately softened, his grip slackening.

"I love you, too, which is why I'm going to do this."

"No! I surrender! Do you hear? I surrender!"

But he didn't listen, instead, raising the wand slowly to his temple, his regretful eyes never leaving mine.

However, before he could make the incantation, we were plunged into a darkness so thick, it felt as though someone had placed a blindfold over my eyes.

I cried out as hands grabbed my arms, dragging me forcefully away from Draco.

Yells filled the darkness, and I could hear scuffles all around me, before a deafening gunshot ripped through the air, silencing the shouts.

The sound of a body landed with a splashing thud on the ground, making my heart literally rip in two.

"Player 101, eliminated."

"DRACO!" I screamed before a painful blow to the back of my head plunged me into an even thicker darkness.

*****