Draco would never be able to forgive himself if he found out that he'd been the cause of Potter's death. Was the jerk an insufferable attention hog? Yes. Did he have everything Draco wanted? Yes. Did he have designs on the girl in Slytherin that Draco also liked? He was sure of it. But he didn't want Potter to die. He was supposed to defeat Voldemort after all, and he had done it multiple times before already. No, having the entire wizarding world mad at him over killing Harry Potter just wouldn't do. He'd barely slept in the last five days since Potter had disappeared into the darkness and Professor Snape had gone after him.

Sitting up from where he'd been laying on his back on Harry Potter's own bed in Gryffindor tower and punching the pile of red blankets, he felt useless in all of this not knowing how to swim. If someone had bothered to take the time to teach him to swim then Potter wouldn't have had to stay behind to help him. He hated being so helpless.

Looking around at the dormitory full of restless students, Draco got up and left, restless himself. If Potter was alive, then it was his job to repay the debt he'd incurred letting Potter save him, wasn't it? His father wouldn't be pleased, but how pleased would he be to find out that his son owed Harry Potter of all people, his life?

The Gryffindor common room was full of Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Slytherins as he came down the stairs. House boundaries no longer existed since two of the houses had been flooded out. There was very little of the castle left that was still accessible, and while the Ravenclaw's still had a tower to call home, with no classes to go to they were restless and had been welcomed into Gryffindor tower with open arms. Some of the Gryffindors weren't too keen on having Slytherins in their tower, but most of them seemed to realize the severity of the situation, and had said nothing of it. As his eyes roamed the tall circular room, he saw a depressed looking Hermione Granger studying with Blaise Zabini, Teddy Knott and several Ravenlaw girls, and several first years from all four houses playing a board game by the fire.

No one stopped him as he left through the portrait hole which now had no password. He wasn't even sure where to look for Crabbe and Goyle at this point. Crabbe had been staying in Ravenclaw tower, but every time he went there to look for him, he wasn't to be found, and he'd heard that Goyle had taken up residence near the restricted section in the library with some older Slytherins, who had strung sheets up between the bookcases for privacy, but he had no desire to go back there. The crowd Goyle had fallen in with lately were what they called death eaters in training. Some of them had even taken a pre-pledge to Voldemort and been given a fledgling brand. His father had wanted him to take the brand too, but his mother had convinced him that Draco would be of more use as a spy if he wasn't branded until after school. He was thankful, but it put him in an odd position, fitting in neither here nor there.

Going down a floor and a half from Gryffindor tower, Draco was stopped by water halfway up a staircase. He came down here twice a day trying to decide what to do. If he waded into the water, no one would be there to pull him out this time.

Iris was down there somewhere, still alive he hoped. She was a year ahead of him in Slytherin, the girl that Potter also liked. Draco sneered at the thought. As if a Slytherin would date a Gryffindor. He was forcefully reminded that Slytherins and Gryffindors were just above his head getting along at this very moment however. With a low growl he ran back up the stairs, the water making him feel uncomfortable, and headed for the top of the astronomy tower, his other haunt, where he could just stare out over the endless open water.

A cool breeze whipped through his hair and across his face as he finally made the top of the tower. The sun was just setting, and if the situation wasn't so dire, he would have said it was a beautiful sight. Professor Sinistra, one of Draco's favorite professors, was one of the ones that was missing, and he thought about her now there on the top of her tower. All in all, counting Sinistra, Iris, Potter and Professor Snape, there were 17 people missing. Hagrid and Filch were also amongst the list of missing, and so were Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom. Draco knew that if they had been in Gryffindor tower he would have been forced to sleep in the Library or Ravenclaw.

From his view on the Astronomy Tower, Draco could see the island that was the North Tower of the castle, though it was inaccessible because the lower floors were all flooded. He wondered if any of the missing students and staff were there and if they had food.

As the sun finally disappeared over the mountains, Draco had made up his mind. It wasn't right, none of this was. He would find a way to save somebody, and if he just happened to find Potter along the way, then so be it. He couldn't stand just sitting around any longer, and he was surprised that none of the staff were out looking for survivors, even if they did have their hands full.

While the rest of the castle's inhabitants settled down to sleep that night, Draco snuck into the Library with a backpack with a heavy cushioning charm, and began to load up on medical supplies and fruit. He kept a watchful eye for Dumbledore, McGonagall or Pomfrey, and hurried out of the Library like a shadow. He had a plan to get to North Tower.

* * *

Armed with a Transfiguration book, Draco stood at the top of the Astronomy tower, backpack secure over his shoulders, and wand at the ready. He'd already cast a long rope and tied it around one of the battlements, letting it dangle over the side and all the way down to the icy water below. He knew he could climb down, it was getting back up that would be an issue. Another spell had tied knots up the rope in intervals, as he waited for one of the school boats to come to him from his Accio. He hoped there was still one around somewhere, and shined his wand down as far as the light would go, trying to see if the boat had floated over to him yet. It was nearing midnight when he finally heard a distant sound that seemed like wood clunking against stone. He couldn't be sure because he couldn't see, but he was unwilling to wait around any longer for someone to report him missing.

Nervously Draco climbed over the ramparts and gripped the rope tightly. His father was going to kill him for this, he thought, that was, if he survived. Slowly, a foot at a time, he lowered himself down the side of the tall tower, feeling deeply relieved when his feet met the wood of the rocking boat instead of dark water.

"Great," he muttered when he realized there were no paddles. He flipped through the book by wand light looking for any useful transfiguration spell that could turn something into a paddle, but there was nothing, and in the end he settled for using his foot to stomp on one of the bench seats and breaking it off. This would have to do.

Knowing the general direction of the North tower, Draco paddled off into the night, knowing that he had finally gone crazy.

* * *

As the sunlight broke over the horizon again, Draco cursed under his breath. Perhaps he hadn't thought his plan out so well after all. He could conjure a rope easily enough, but there was no way to throw one thirty or more feet up to a window, and he had nothing to transfigure into a ladder. He'd circled the North tower several times now, and there were only three windows still above water, all of them very high up.

Not knowing what to do, Draco began to shout to anyone who might be inside who might hear.

"Anybody there? Wake up! Look out the window! You up there wake the bloody hell up!"

He didn't think it would work, but was surprised when a face appeared at one of the windows high up and then promptly disappeared again.

"HEY! I'm down here you know!" he shouted up angrily. That was just like other students to ignore a rescuer he thought, irritated, but in the next second a book flew through the closed window, shattering it, and a red head popped out through it.

"Weasley, is that you?" he shouted up.

"What are you doing down there?" Ron shouted down.

"Is Potter up there with you?" he asked, cupping his hands around his mouth to get more volume.

"Pott- you mean Harry? No!"

"Who else is up there with you?"

"Professor Sinistra, Allison Cromby and Hagrid! Why are you looking for Harry? Is he missing?"

"17 people are missing!" Draco shouted up, "Including you four!" Allison Cromby was a first year Slytherin, and he knew that her older brother who was a fourth year was having a fit not knowing where she was.

"If you can conjure a rope, you can come down and I'll row you back to the castle."

"Yeah right Malfoy. You'll leave us stranded on the side of the castle."

"It's your choice Weasley," he shouted up, hands on his hips now as he stood in the rocking boat. "But there's food in the Library and medicine!"

Ron's head disappeared briefly, and Draco considered just leaving. The jerk was just as inconsiderate as Potter. Moments later Professor Sinistra's head appeared however, and she looked happier to see him than the Gryffindor did.

"We're making a rope right now Draco. Are you alone?"

"Yes!"

"Is there room in the boat for all of us?"

He looked around. It would be a tight squeeze with the half giant, but he thought they could manage, though he hoped desperately that they wouldn't dump him into the water rocking the boat as they got in.

"I think so!" he said.

He waited patiently, using his seat bench paddle to keep the boat in place as they prepared the rope. It was a few minutes before he ducked as the rope came down and dropped right into the water. He grabbed onto it and tied it to one of the oar rings, conjuring another rope after that and tying it to an oar ring on the other side and then up to the dangling rope. This he hoped, would keep them from toppling over.

Ron came down first, looking none the worse for wear, and giving Draco a stiff nod, followed by Allison Cromby, and then Professor Sinistra.

"Hagrid will be down shortly," she said, lifting her wand up into the air. "We'll lighten him on the way down with a feather light charm."

Ron and Draco lifted their wands to help, and Hagrid lumbered out the window.

"Are yeh ready fer me?"

"Yes Professor Hagrid!" Sinistra called up. "Come down nice and slowly!"

Draco didn't think the man would make it, but after an agonizing wait, he did, and they untied the ropes. Sinistra transformed the piece of bench into a proper oar along with one of her earrings into a second one, and Draco and Ron rowed back towards the Astronomy tower.

"Go to the other side Draco, if you would please. There's a secret entrance right about at water level."

"Why would you need a secret entrance in midair?" Draco asked curiously. Sinistra was one of the few professors that didn't look down their noses at Slytherin, even though she had been a Ravenclaw herself, and he liked how patient she was in explaining things to him.

"There used to be a viewing deck attached, but after an unfortunate accident with a rogue dragon, it was destroyed. The door looks like a bare patch of wall... ah, here we are." She said a password and the wall swung open four feet above their boat. After another rope was conjured and Ron had climbed in, Draco's other passengers were able to get inside with help, Hagrid being the last one in. He didn't wait for them to ask him in however, and rowed off around the side of the tower before Sinistra had a chance to turn around. He heard her calling his name in the distance, but satisfaction and determination were driving him now, and he didn't answer back.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sat with steepled fingers in his new small office just outside of the Library, in an old independent study classroom. The six student desks had been cleared away now, and all that was left was an old mahogany desk and chair, which he'd turned bright purple in an attempt to brighten up the dreary, windowless room.

It had been a trying few days, and some of the students were determined not to make things easy on the staff. With the entire student body crammed into a few spaces, there were bound to be fights, but with the added stress of their dire situation, and the dwindling food stores, tensions had grown high and he'd had to see several groups of students for fighting already. It wasn't just the students though, his staff had been finding themselves stepping on each other's toes as well. In such confined quarters, no one had much space, and they constantly found themselves overturning another teacher's disciplinary decisions without even realizing it.

His aging blue eyes scanned down the list of missing students and staff again. They had been on his mind frequently, especially with the mysterious return of Sinistra, Hagrid, Ronald Weasley and the Cromby girl. Draco Malfoy, it appeared, was one of the students who had determined himself to make things difficult. While Albus had had the pleasure of crossing off four names from his missing list, he'd had to add Draco's to the bottom. Apparently the child was bent on rescuing survivors, and Albus wondered if it had anything to do with his head of house, or perhaps another student that the boy cared about. He'd had to post guards around several ‘escape' routes now to deter other students from wandering off to look for their missing friends as well, especially the Weasley children and Hermione Granger, who were restless and incensed that they could not go and look for Harry.

Albus had a soft spot for Harry Potter, and he knew several other staff did as well. The child had been through so much already, and yet he remained loyal and kind. It pained him to know that the child might be dead now, or perhaps trapped somewhere far away, carried away by the flood and now facing starvation and the elements. His name was at the top of the list along with Severus', the first two to be reported missing.

There were not many times in his life where he could remember being so frustrated as he was now. His hands were tied and there wasn't much he could do. He himself would be out looking for his missing children and staff but he was needed there to keep order. While the owlery was cut off, he'd already sent Madam Hooch by broom to retrieve several owls so he could send pleas for help to the Ministry of Magic, but no replies had come back to him, and no rescue had arrived. He was forced to wonder just how far the flood had stretched and if the Ministry was already busy saving other stranded people, though his mind often strayed to more sinister conclusions, such as an attack by Voldemort, or some sort of Muggle conflict that had cut them off from the Ministry. One thing was for certain, if help didn't come soon then he would be forced to come up with a plan to evacuate the students himself, because they were running out of food. As it was they were already on rations, and if they continued to ration they could last possibly another week or week and a half. Clean water wasn't an issue because they could conjure that, but food was hard to come by.

There was a knock on his office door, and he bade whoever it was to enter, surprised to find Dean Thomas, Trent Wildwood a Hufflepuff, and Micah Temple a Ravenclaw there on the other side. All three were Muggleborn, and as far as he knew, they had no association with each other until the flood had hit.

"Sir," Dean said with a grin, holding up a thin rope with a fish on the end. "We found a way to get food."

He raised his brows. "You've been fishing gentlemen?"

"Yes sir," Trent said, bringing out a handmade pole from behind his back. "We made hooks and everything."

"I trust you haven't been sneaking past the guards to catch your prize?" Albus asked with a smile, pleased that his students had taken the initiative to solve a desperate problem on their own.

"No sir," Dean said. "We caught this one in the stairwell on the other side of the library. If we could be allowed to go out on the roof somewhere, we could get more. We can teach other people how."

Albus nodded. "100 points to each of your houses gentlemen," he said with a warm smile. "Go to Professor August and tell him that you have my permission to take students out onto the roof, and tell him you need help organizing others to make fishing poles and tackle."

The boys grinned, and thanking him, they hurried off. Thinking that he ought to award all acts of bravery or smart behavior, he also awarded Draco 100 house points, before standing to find Minerva. If they were going to survive this disaster, they had a lot of work to do yet.