We ran through the school and outside, heading to the Forbidden Forest. Hermione and Harry approached us without Umbridge.

"Where's Umbridge?" I asked.

"Centaurs."

"How did you escape?" Hermione said, looking at us and seeing that we were unharmed.

"Puking Pastilles!" Ron said happily.

"It was his idea, too!" Star added.

"That was clever, Ron," Hermione said. "Now, we need to get to the Ministry of Magic."

"How will we get to London?" Neville asked.

"We fly, of course!" Luna answered, speaking up for the first time. "The thestrals live in the forest. They're very friendly."

Luna began walking, and we followed her deeper into the forest. Once we were able to tame enough and mount them, we flew to London.

Two hours later, we arrived and quickly ran into the Ministry, working our way to the Department of Mysteries, where we had seen Sirius. When we found the black hallway, I ran to the door, yanking it open quickly. We went through room after room until we found the room with the orbs.

"Lumos!" we shouted together, and everyone's wands lit up.

"Harry, Y/n, look!" Neville said, pointing to the orb with our names on it. "It's a prophecy."

I reached for the orb, tucking it in the pocket of my robes while Harry ran through the aisles to find Sirius.

"He's not here!" Harry yelled, rejoining us.

A cackling laugh rang through the room and footsteps drew nearer to me and the others.

"Ah, yes. The Potters and their friends," Lucius Malfy said, his voice cold.

Bellatrix emerged from one of the dark hallways, angry. "Hand over the prophecies!"

Death Eaters began surrounding us from all sides. We turned around to face them, wands up.

"Ready?" Ginny whispered. "Three, two, one!"

"Stupefy!" we all shouted, Stunning a few Death Eaters.

Star went behind us, Luna and Neville to the right, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny to the left, and Harry and I ran forward.

"Give me the prophecy," Bellatrix screeched, appearing in front of us.

"No!"

"Then I'll make you hand it over!" Bellatrix shouted, and I knew something bad was about to happen. "Crucio!"

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled, catching Bellatrix off-guard. She fell backwards, and a memory came back to me: the Rennervate spell. That would be useful.

Another Death Eater lunged in front of me, and I panicked, shouting, "Levicorpus!" The Death Eater flew up and fell once again, crashing to the floor.

"Reducto!" Ginny yelled. Her spell hit one of the shelves, and they began falling inward, crashing against each other and shattering the orbs.

"To the door!" Harry screamed, and we all sprinted toward it.

While we ran, I glanced at Luna, whose lip was bleeding, as well as forehead. Star had a cut across her cheek, and, according to the sticky blood I felt on my eyebrow and hand, I was also scratched up.

Harry flung open the door, and instead of hitting more walkway, we fell into a pit, landing on a soft pillow thanks to Hermione's quick-thinking. Immediately, we stood up. Death Eaters were already filling the room, sending up black streaks, like smoke, as they Apparated. The room was foggy and pitch-black, but when a light appeared above us, I saw Luna, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Star all being held by a Death Eater.

Harry stood next to me, and Lucius Malfoy appeared in front of us.

"Hand over the prophecy," he demanded.

I looked around at the wands being held up to heads and necks, ready to curse whoever needed. I knew what needed to happen, and I walked up to Lucius.

"I thought you might be a good friend to my children," Lucius hissed as he wrenched the orb from my hand. "Now, Star's about to be killed because of you. You're a monster."

A puff on white smoke stole my attention, and the Death Eaters around the room disappeared into the smoke. When the cloud was gone, the Death Eaters were battling people from the Order of the Phoenix, including Tonks, Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, and Sirius. Harry and I quickly joined the fight as the others recovered.

"Stupefy," I screamed at Mr Malfoy. He fell backwards, letting the prophecy roll out of his hands and shatter against the ground.

I ran to help Star, who was fighting Bellatrix with Neville.

"Stupefy!" Bellatrix yelled, knocking Star backward.

I grabbed her body before she hit the ground and yelled, "Rennervate." She stood back up.

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, but Bellatrix dodged. She gave a little cackle and Apparated away.

Bellatrix then Apparated in front of Harry and Sirius while the battle raged on around them. Tonks and Lupin had managed to get rid of most of the Death Eaters, and now the only two remaining were Lucius and Bellatrix.

A bright, red light came from Bellatrix's wand, and Sirius fell backwards. I expected to see his body crash to the floor, but instead, he fell into a door that I just noticed. The door was murky, like a foggy void. Sirius's body went rigid, and he passed into the veil.

Harry began screaming, tears rolling down his cheeks without control. Lupin ran up to him, holding him back so he didn't run after Sirius.

Lucius Apparated away, and Bellatrix ran out of the door. Harry and I ran after her.

"I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black!" Bellatrix said in a sing-song voice.

"Crucio!" Harry screamed.

Bellatrix threw herself back, cackling. "You've got to mean it, boy!"

Suddenly, she went quiet, and Voldemort appeared next to her. Bellatrix sunk into one of the Floo Powder networks and was gone.

A loud pop alerted me that Dumbledore had appeared, too. Harry and I shielded ourselves from their spells as they fought. All of the windows shattered, and glass rained down on the room.

The battle ended, shortly, when Cornelius Fudge walked in through the doors. Voldemort disappeared.

"He's back," Fudge mumbled. He began to speak with Dumbledore, and the others ran into the room.

I stood near Harry, but we both collapsed to the ground as our scars seared with pain.

"You are not strong. You rely too much on your loved ones," Voldemort hissed into our minds.

"No, I pity you, because you have no loved ones," Harry and I said.

And like that, it was over. The pain completely stopped, and Voldemort was gone from our heads.

~~~

Bloody and exhausted, I stumbled into the Slytherin common room, Star slinking in next to me. According to my watch, it was half-past one in the morning, and it was apparent that the common room was empty. When I took a closer look around the room, I noticed the blonde-haired Draco slumped on the couch by the fire, breathing steadily. He was asleep.

I turned to Star, putting my finger to my lips. She nodded, moving slower to stay quiet.

"You should go to the dorm," I whispered, "and go to sleep. I'm going to get Draco into his room."

"Don't stay up too late," Star responded so quietly that I had to lean in to hear. She then tip-toed away, making sure she was as silent as possible.

Once she was gone, I walked over to Draco, sleeping peacefully on the couch. The green fire blazed in front of him, its light flickering on his face and casting strange shadows over him. I stood in front of the fire, looking down at Draco. He was still in his robes, and his hair was ruffled as if he had been running his hands through it repeatedly. He was curled up slightly, in a way that he could sit appear to be seated if he straightened his back a bit.

I felt a strong and sudden urge to sit next to him and fall asleep. I couldn't tell if it was exhaustion or something else, but, without further thought, I sat down and put my head on Draco's shoulder.

Draco stirred and I quickly removed my shoulder, guilty that I had woken him. He turned to look at me, eyes tired and heavy. When his eyes fell on me, he jumped up.

"Y/n!" he cried. "Thank goodness you're back, I was so worried that you were hurt or something because you just disappeared and you didn't come back and--"

I stood up, engulfing him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around me, and a feeling of peace and safety fell over me. I relaxed slightly.

"What happened?" he said quickly, pulling out of the hug and sitting back down. I joined him on the couch.

"Well--"

"Wait!" Draco added. "I'm sorry for interrupting you. Are you okay? You're bleeding."

I put my hand to my cut eyebrow and felt the dry blood there. "It's not that bad."

"No, your cheek, and your arms, too."

He was right. I was wearing the white button-up shirt I usually had under my robes, and the sleeves on it were torn and stained red with my dried blood. My arms were cut in multiple places from the glass that Dumbledore had exploded. My cheek was also bloody from a deep gash I hadn't noticed.

Draco used his wand to conjure a small, damp rag, and held it in his hands for a moment. "Do you want to do it?"

"Can you please? I can't see the cuts," I answered.

Gently, Draco cleaned the scratched on my cheek and eyebrow. His touch was delicate, as though he thought I might shatter if he pressed too hard. When he was done, he used his wand to close them and handed me the rag so I could clean up my arms.

"Thank you."

"Please continue your story," Draco said politely.

I nodded, smiling. I explained everything from Harry sending Umbridge with the centaurs to getting back with Star and seeing Draco asleep.

He was in awe. "You're really brave and strong," he said. "Star, too."

"Thank you," I answered. "Your sister is amazing."

"And you fought my dad?"

"I did."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry."

"He was easy to beat," I said, laughing. "It's okay."

Draco yawned and his eyes drooped down. He was exhausted.

"You should go to sleep," I suggested.

He looked up at me, yawning again. "I'm not tired," he said. "Well, maybe I'm a little tired. But I want to talk to you."

"We can talk tomorrow when you wake up."

"But that's so far away," he whined.

I fought the urge to smile, making me laugh instead. Draco was adorable when tired.

"Do you want to go to your dorm?"

"No," he said quietly, already half-asleep. "Will you stay down here with me?"

I agreed, cuddling up next to him as he quickly drifted to sleep. Feeling safe with Draco, it wasn't long before I was asleep too.

~~~

Finally, the last day of school arrived. As I walked through the emptying halls, Draco at my side, I looked around at the bustling students. Many of them wore happy, excited expressions; it was the last day of school, and Dumbledore had replaced Umbridge. Soon, they would be going home to see their families and Muggle friends.

Other students wore gloomier looks. They were scared. Voldemort's return had been confirmed by the Ministry of Magic, and that could result in many things. Muggles and wizards alike would be hurt, and it was sombering to think about the fact that Voldemort didn't care who got hurt.

Despite the fear even I felt, there were two things that I could count on. One, I would do everything in my power to protect Draco, Star, and Harry, even though he hated me. And two, I wouldn't stop until the war against Voldemort was won by the Light side.

I was pulled from my thoughts as I realised that Draco and I had reached the train platform. We boarded the train and took an empty compartment.

I already knew that I would actually have to go back to the Dursleys' house this summer, and I was not looking forward to it. The least I could do was prepare myself.