Draco stumbled on the stairs, catching himself on the wall so he didn’t fall, as a sharp pain exploded in his chest. He leaned against the wall, knocking into empty paintings, gasping in pain and his hand clutching at his chest around his wand. Bill and Fleur stopped with him, looking at him in concern.

“Draco?” Bill said.

“Some…something’s wrong,” Draco said, cringing at what felt like a knife carving inside him. “Something’s happened to Harry.”

Bill grabbed the railing and Fleur the wall as well as Draco’s arm to help him stay standing when the castle began shaking. Blank paintings fell from the wall around them, clattering down the stairs. Dust rained from above and the sound of shattering stone echoed in the Grand Staircase. Stone crashing into stone pulled their attention upwards and they watched in horror as a staircase came falling down, hitting platforms and other stairs as it went. Luckily, it missed them, disappearing below with the chunks of stone following. Finally, the shaking stopped.

“I…I have to go,” Draco said. “I have to find Harry.”

“No, Draco!” Bill said, grabbing his arm before he could take off. “We have to get the rest of the students.”

“But—”

“I know you’re worried, I am too, but we have to just hope he’s okay,” Bill said. “We have to keep going. You need to keep going.”

“We ‘ave to finish this,” Fleur said imploringly.

Draco looked at them, pained, knowing they were right. The fear over his father and brother was overwhelming, and all he wanted was to find them. Yet, he knew Bill and Fleur were right, and he had to finish his task. They had to stop Dumbledore. So, despite the pain in his chest telling him to go find Harry, he nodded at Bill and Fleur, and they continued on their way to the final common room: Gryffindor Tower. It was made difficult due to the destroyed stairs and collapsed corridors, but they managed to scramble their way up. Soon, they were hurrying up the final stairs to Gryffindor Tower, finding an empty, torn, and scorched portrait that once held the Fat Lady.

“Look out!”

Draco found himself getting yanked to the floor as Bill shouted. Green light flew over their heads and hit the wall beside the empty frame, cracking and burning the stone. Draco looked over his shoulder and found a group of students, all from different houses, at the bottom of the stairs. Their eyes were distant and hazy.

“They’re under Dumbledore’s Imperius,” Draco said. “He must have done it before we finished the core restoration.”

“Or Hogwarts’ magic is weakening again,” Bill said.

Draco’s eyes widened in realization. “Harry.”

“Get this common room open,” Bill said. “We’ll deal with the students.”

“Hurry, Hero,” Ravenclaw said as she appeared next to Draco.

“Is he right? Is your magic failing?” Draco asked, watching as Bill and Fleur began battling the group of a dozen or so students.

“Yes, a link has grown weak,” Ravenclaw said and Draco grabbed his chest again as the pain continued. “It is weakened, but not yet gone.”

Knowing it was the best hope he would get, Draco turned to the Gryffindor common room entrance. As he did with the others, he raised Ravenclaw’s sword vertically in front of himself and focused on the power coursing through it and himself, felt the bond that had been created. As he did, Ravenclaw raised her hands to the portrait. After a few seconds, a weave of gold and silver threads appeared, covering the Fat Lady’s portrait. It pulsed, growing brighter and dimmer as magic washed through it. Draco brought the sword down, touching the center of the weave with the tip of the sword. The weave loosened, some threads beginning to wrap around and snake up the blade. The sword began to glow brightly as it connected with the ward, and Draco quickly raised and dropped the sword, slicing through the ward. It broke apart and the threads fizzled away, the portrait swinging open.

“Come on, kid!”

Draco turned at the voice and pulling on his arm. Charlie was there, hair wild and face bloody. Draco gaped at him.

“What the hell happened?” Draco asked.

“Fight with Emmeline and Sinistra,” Charlie said. “I got separated from my father. Emmeline is dead.”

Draco’s eyes widened again. “Wait, where’s Bill and Fleur?”

“They’re still dealing with all those students,” Charlie said. “They told me to get you to the Entrance Hall. So, let’s go!”

Draco nodded and they were hurrying down the stairs when the stone under their feet exploded. They both went flying, crashing to the platform at the bottom of the stairs. Draco groaned as his head hit the railing while Charlie tumbled down a connected staircase and the sword fell from Draco’s hand. With spots in his vision, Draco brought a hand shakily to his temple, warm blood immediately coating his fingers. He looked up and found about ten Gryffindors standing at the top of the stairs, wands pointed down at him. He could hear Charlie groaning from somewhere to his right and it seemed as soon as the Gryffindors heard him, they moved.

He rolled to avoid the Killing Curse sent at him by Parvati Patil only for it to hit Ravenclaw’s sword. It didn’t appear to damage the sword, but it did send the sword clattering down the stairs to his left. Draco threw himself at the falling sword, hitting the edges of the steps painfully hard, but managing to just grab the sword before it fell out of reach. He swung it around just in time to deflect a Cutting Curse, slashing his wand at the same time to send a Stunning Spell at Lavender Brown.

He had a split second to claim victory when he managed to successfully stun one of the Gryffindors, only to have to shield against a double Blasting Curse and to hear Charlie scream. Draco scrambled to his feet, using Ravenclaw’s sword to deflect another Killing Curse, watching it burn and destroy an empty painting nearby. He hissed as two Cutting Curses landed—one on his neck and one on his arm—and sent a Disarming Spell, hitting the student instead of their wand and sending them flying into the stone railing.

On his feet, he dashed up the stairs he had fallen part-way down, ducking and shielding the curses cast his way and responding with his own. He was still fighting Parvati, Lavender, and two other Gryffindors as he finally got to the landing.

“Depulso!” he shouted, sending the four Gryffindors tumbling away from him, though they were quickly getting back to their feet.

He turned away from them and headed down the other stairs to find Charlie who let out another piercing scream. Just like before, he didn’t get far as the stairs exploded under him. However, instead of being propelled down the stairs, he fell, crashing to a broken staircase below. He cried out as he hit the steps, feeling bruises form, skin break, and ribs crack. He wrapped his arm around his waist and tears sprang to his eyes, breaths coming in painful gasps.

“Draco!”

Draco looked up at where he’d fallen from to see Charlie peering down over the edge of the landing he was on. The redhead seemed to be mostly okay aside from a bloody cut on his cheek and tremours periodically wracking his body. He watched as Charlie climbed over the edge of the landing, dangled, and then let go, teetering precariously on the stairs above Draco’s head.

“Are you alright?” Charlie asked.

“Where are the Gryffindors?” Draco asked instead, trying to ignore the excruciating pain in his side.

“Unconscious or restrained,” Charlie said, waving his wand over Draco. “Broken ribs.”

“Yeah, I’d guessed,” Draco muttered.

“Best I can do is wrap them,” Charlie said, conjuring white bandages.

“Do it,” Draco said. “We need to go.”

Charlie nodded and was about to start applying the bandages when voices echoed from above them.

“Avada Kedavra!”

Despite the pain, Draco swung Ravenclaw’s sword and deflected one of the two Killing Curses flying towards them while Charlie cast a Stunning Spell. Draco watched in horror as the events unfolded around him. The deflected Killing Curse followed its same path back and hit Lavender square in the chest. She went still and tumbled over the landing’s edge, landing in a heap above Draco and Charlie. Parvati was hit by Charlie’s Stunner and she also fell from her perch only, instead of landing on the same stairs as the rest of them, she fell to the side and disappeared through the destroyed Grand Staircase. Finally, the second Killing Curse found a target in Charlie whose face froze in shock. Draco stared, eyes wide and filling with tears, as, after several long seconds where everything seemed to freeze, Charlie slowly fell backwards.

“No!” Draco cried, scrambling to try and grab Charlie, to do something, but hardly able to move in his pain and shock. He reached out desperately, fingertips brushing Charlie’s hand before he fell out of reach, falling from their destroyed staircase to another landing far below. “Charlie!”

At the same time Vector and Hooch hit the corridor walls and crumpled to the floor unconscious, a wave of magic washed over Tom and Slughorn, making the air around them burst briefly with electricity.

“The wards around Hogwarts are gone,” Slytherin said, and Tom and Slughorn looked at him.

“All of them?” Slughorn said and Slytherin nodded.

“How?” Tom asked.

“It would seem Draco expelled much magic and Rowena used it to dismantle all the wards,” Slytherin said.

“Something is happening,” Tom said. “Severus is growing weak, something has happened to Harry, and Draco is in pain.”

“Hello, Tom.”

Tom whipped around, glaring, and raising his wand and Slytherin’s sword at Dumbledore.

“It seems all your efforts will be for nothing,” Dumbledore said. “The heroes can’t fight when only one remains.”

“They are still alive,” Tom said stiffly.

“For now,” Dumbledore said lightly, “though, are you sure?”

Tom’s eyes narrowed even as he realized something was very wrong with Harry. He felt dread settle in his stomach and heart.

“You are done,” Tom ground out. “This ends tonight.”

“Does it?” Dumbledore said. “What can a single hero do?”

“More than you think,” Tom said firmly.

“And you forget, Albus, he is no longer alone,” Slughorn said and Tom watched Dumbledore’s eyes snap to the man.

“Horace, Horace,” Dumbledore said, almost sounding like he wanted to shake his head and click his tongue in disappointment. “If only you’d done what you were supposed to.”

Tom became on guard, hearing something dangerous in Dumbledore’s voice. He and Slughorn turned, following Dumbledore as the man slowly, almost casually circled them.

“I know what you did,” Dumbledore said. “I know you told Harry about Tom, told him the truth. I know you let him break the rules.”

“You would have had me help them destroy each other,” Slughorn said.

“Exactly!” Dumbledore said, almost excitedly.

“Why?” Tom said. “Why me? It all started with me, so tell me why.”

“Because you were broken,” Dumbledore said easily and pain encompassed Tom’s heart. “I like things that are broken because no one else will ever care about them.”

“But you were wrong,” Slughorn said. “He found someone to care, they all did.”

Dumbledore heaved a dramatic sigh and nodded. “Indeed, they did, but it was so easy to get rid of them, don’t you think so?”

Dumbledore cast Tom an innocently curious look, making the attack happen quicker than Tom could comprehend, preventing a response. He was thrown into the air where he slammed into the ceiling before falling hard to the floor. He looked up through dazed eyes just in time to see blood spurt from Slughorn’s throat, the man’s eyes wide in shock.

“No!” Tom cried, watching his dear mentor and friend collapse to the floor, blood pooling dark around him and flooding the stone. Tears in his eyes, Tom glared up at Dumbledore. “I’ll kill you.”

“No, I don’t think you will,” Dumbledore said, an air of confidence in his tone, and Tom was nearly too late in deflecting the Cutting Curse aimed at his throat.

Tom grabbed Slytherin’s sword, feeling its power rush through him, and cast his own Killing Curse. It was larger and brighter than normal, and exploded the wall it hit as Dumbledore easily flicked it away.

“How terribly ironic that you got the gift of enhanced power,” Dumbledore said, sending a string of curses that Tom just managed to block or dodge. “You always were so very weak.”

Tom shouted in rage and threw a blast of pure magic at Dumbledore who managed to dodge, but received a cut on his cheek from the magic grazing him. Their fight exploded from there, the darkest spells being pulled out and cast with vicious ferocity. Curses missing their marks destroyed stone and doors. Statues exploded and paintings burned.

Tom was desperate to destroy the man who had stolen his life, desperate to dispel the world of hate Dumbledore had created.

Two curses collided mid-air, throwing the both of them backwards just as the castle began to shake violently. Dust rained down as did little chips of stone. The building groaned and screamed, and then the ceiling collapsed just behind Tom. He covered his head with his arms in protection as the corridor filled with blocks and chunks and boulders. It seemed never-ending, as though the castle would fall on top of them.

It did end eventually, leaving a thick cloud of dust that made Tom cough and choke. He searched blindly for his wand and Slytherin’s sword, just managing to grasp the hilt before a hand suddenly wrapped around his throat. He was dragged up and slammed into a wall, pinned. He glowered at Dumbledore whose face and eyes had grown hard.

“What do you hope to get from this?” Dumbledore said. “You are a monster. This world will never accept you. Only I can give you life.”

“You took my life,” Tom snapped and swung the sword around, awkwardly slicing Dumbledore’s arm.

The headmaster cried out, releasing him, but blazing blue eyes found him again.

“What would you be without me?” Dumbledore sneered. “Nothing. You would have rotted away in that orphanage, forgotten.”

Tom blocked one curse with the sword, but screamed when a Cruciatus hit him.

“I made you,” Dumbledore said, a Blasting Curse hitting the wall near Tom’s head. “Why fight when you have nothing? When you are nothing?”

Tom could do nothing but block, his wand still lost in the rubble. However, he couldn’t help but notice Dumbledore seemed to be getting desperate, both in his voice and attacks.

“This world will never want you,” Dumbledore said. “Such a shame because you were my pride and joy, my first.”

Tom glowered.

“Goodbye, Tom. You could have had a far more glorious end.”

And everything went dark.

Severus cringed at the sound of stone scraping steel as his sword collided with that of one of the stone knights controlled by McGonagall. He hissed as, while he was occupied with the knight, McGonagall hit his shoulder with a deep Cutting Curse. He slashed his wand at her in an attempt to stun while swinging Hufflepuff’s sword around to break the impasse with the knight. He didn’t want to hurt McGonagall, but he was beginning to lose hope he could avoid doing so. He’d been fighting her and her knights for nearly forty minutes, and he was growing exhausted. McGonagall was a formidable opponent, even more so when under Dumbledore’s control. He’d never thought he would ever have to fight her, nor did he ever want to. He’d also felt the sharp pain of something happening to Harry and the draining of something happening to Draco. The fear that he could lose his sons was overwhelming.

He sent a strong Blasting Curse at the knights, sending them flying away from him though with little damage aside from one now missing a chunk from its side. They were seemingly nearly indestructible. He trapped them behind an invisible barrier and threw a powerful shield around himself, enhanced by Hufflepuff’s sword, to block an Electrocution Hex that McGonagall held, clearly determined to break his shield.

All his spells were broken when pain pulsed in his chest, sending him suddenly to his knees. Something had happened to Tom. McGonagall’s Electrocution Hex tore through him and was quickly followed by a Gouging Curse. He cried out as it hit his side, flesh falling and blood pouring from his body.

He threw Hufflepuff’s sword up, blocking two knights’ swords as they swung down at him. He pushed as much power as he could into his Blasting Curse, exploding one knight into pieces and sending another through the wall. A giant hole to the outside was left behind and Severus found himself drenched immediately as the rain pouring outside came into the corridor.

When McGonagall sent a Killing Curse at him, he deflected it with the sword and made it hit one of the two remaining knights. He forced himself back to his feet and cast multiple Stunning and Binding Spells. He needed to end this and find the others, find his sons.

He ducked, dodged, and blocked, getting cut and burned and grazed. McGonagall hardly reacted to any injuries Severus inflicted on her and it only made him more desperate, more willing to harm her. Stone and windows exploded around them as they became more aggressive, sending more and more dangerous and destructive spells. As a window was blown out by a Killing Curse deflected by Severus with Hufflepuff’s sword, he gathered the glass and sent it to swirl around McGonagall like a vicious tornado. He followed the tornado with an Incarcerous that wrapped around her legs, climbing up her body, and then a strong Stupefy. She fell to the floor, unconscious, and Severus ended the flying glass.

Severus dropped his arms tiredly, breathing hard and wincing at the pain he could feel radiating through his body. He stumbled as the castle began to shake and breaking stone screamed out. He made his way to the gaping hole in the wall and looked out into the rain, his eyes widening as the top of Ravenclaw Tower broke off and fell, crashing through the castle below where, far below the ground, he knew the Slytherin common room lay and destroying part of the Quad Courtyard.

“Draco needs you,” Hufflepuff said, suddenly appearing next to him.

“Harry,” Severus said, shaking his head. “Something’s happened.”

Hufflepuff nodded. “Yes, but we are helping him. You can do nothing for him right now, but you can help Draco.”

“Will Harry be alright?”

Hufflepuff’s face grew grave and Severus’ chest tightened. “We hope so. Go now, Hero.”

“Where is he?” Severus asked, fighting through his conflict.

“Gryffindor Tower,” Hufflepuff said. “Hurry,” and she disappeared.

Thus, even though every fibre of his being was screaming at him to find Harry—because what could the Founders’ ghosts possibly do to help him?—and it killed him to choose one son over the other, he left the Headmaster’s Tower and made for Gryffindor Tower. He hurried through the school, climbing over rubble and hearing the muffled sounds of fighting down adjoining corridors.

He came to a halt as he spotted figures on the floor and his heart clenched as he recognized a group of six students, Sprout, and Andromeda, all eyes empty and bodies half buried under a collapsed ceiling.

Heartbroken, but filled with more resolve, he continued on, soon clambering up very destroyed stairs leading to Gryffindor Tower. He ran faster when he began to hear the tortured screams of Draco. He looked around desperately, trying to spot his son. He finally did, finding him on a mostly destroyed set of stairs, contorting as Crabbe a platform above held him under a clearly extended Cruciatus. Severus slashed his wand through the air and Crabbe crumpled. He hurried up to Draco, dropping down onto the stairs and recognizing the dead body of Lavender Brown laying above. He turned from her and helped Draco.

“Dad, Charlie…I…I couldn’t…” Draco choked out.

Severus looked over the edge, finding the second eldest Weasley down below. He sighed sadly and pulled Draco against his chest, selfishly relieved that, amongst the death, one of his sons, at least, was alright.

“Dad, something happened to Harry,” Draco said, pulling back.

“I know, I felt it too,” Severus said. “Same with Tom.”

“But, I don’t feel Harry at all anymore,” Draco said.

“Is this the best the Heroes of Hogwarts can do?” Dumbledore’s voice echoed, taunting. “Accept your end for you cannot succeed with Harry dead.”

Severus’ heart dropped and he looked down at Draco whose eyes had grown wide.

“Come face me and earn a hero’s end.”