We Didn't Have a Choice

62 - We Have a Choice

The ringing in my ears continued, and I could not feel or see anything. It was like I was basically dead. However, the ringing soon perished into a soft bell noise and a bright light filled my vision. Suddenly, I shot up, gasping for air and coughing.

When my vision came back, I saw a bewildered Draco sat in front of me, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

"Holy shit!" I cried as I threw my arms around him and started to cry.

"Blair, w-what?" he spluttered. It took him a minute to realize the moment was real, but then he embraced me back.

Draco ran his hands through my hair, soothing me and making my cries cease. I peered up at him and he cupped my face. He wiped the final few tears from my eyes before planting the kiss on my lips that we did not get to share earlier.

"How?" he asked, seeming to be at a near loss for words.

"The horcrux, that's what was killed. I-I had a choice to come back. I couldn't leave you."

He smiled a tearful smile and tightened his embrace. "I love you so much. I was so worried. I—"

"He's here!" Seamus cried.

Panic set in immediately. No more information was needed to know who 'he' was.

"Draco, what do we do?" I asked.

He looked around at everyone standing up and beginning to make their way out of the hall, preparing themselves for whatever was about to happen.

"We should go. We have nothing to lose at this point. If things go wrong, we can just escape. We'll run away, take Cordelia with us, and find somewhere far, far away to live. It's exactly what we have dreamt of."

And for once, that seemed possible. Voldemort no longer has anything against me and we have our families' fortunes to fall back on. Things seemed like they could finally work out.

"We stick together, no matter what," said Draco as we walked into the courtyard.

We found places next to Luna and watched as the Dark Side flowed in. Our parents, Bellatrix, and Voldemort stood at the front.

Everyone went silent as the Dark Side came to a stop. I found myself trying to cower out of Voldmort's sight since he seemed to be scanning our side. Finally, a look of triumph formed onto his face and he announced, "Harry Potter is dead!"

Harry lay motionless in Hagrid's arms, except there was no way because Harry chose to come back. He should be alive.

Cheers erupted from the Dark Side while everyone on our side seemed to lose hope. Some began to cry, while others held it together quite well. Even Draco seemed defeated.

When the cries of triumph from the other side stopped, everything went silent again, except for someone trying to whisper discreetly, and to my dismay, it was Lucius Malfoy calling out to Draco and me.

All attention was on us and my head shot up to look up at Draco who was frozen up.

"Draco, Blair, come on," my father added.

Voldemort's eyes landed upon us and that's when I wanted to perish. "Why, Blair! I thought I told you to stay at the manor!" he cried. "How did you end up here?"

I stood there absolutely dumbfounded while my mouth opened and closed, trying to find something to say.

"Never mind that. Come on over. These people only want to kill you after all!"

However, I stayed put. If I came back to life, surely Harry would too any minute now. I was not about to lose whatever trust I had built up from the side of Hogwarts. I finally felt like I belonged.

"Blair, what do we do?" whispered Draco from beside me.

I took his hand and squeezed it. "We need to stay. Remember our plan," I murmured.

"Bu—"

"Look at where we stand. It's much better than what we were put through when we stood on that side."

He sighed and squeezed my hand back before turning back to face the Dark Side. Both our fathers were obviously pissed, but our mothers gave us small nods. They were sad nods, but they seemed supportive of our choice.

"Love. How pathetic and weak! This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. It's why I married the two of you off . . . but look where that puts us!" Voldemort cried.

He began to belittle us and other people that stood around us, but I made sure to stand strong because I knew we had made the right choice.

Except as he went on, Harry had still not awakened from where he laid in Hagrid's arms, which only worried me. It was only a matter of time before time ran out and it would be impossible to escape.

"Blair, I think we should get out of here. This is not safe," Draco murmured as Neville stepped up to take a stand.

"He'll wake up," I responded, trying not to let my worry get the best of me.

And I was right. Gasps of shock, but hope, filled the air as Harry fell from the arms of Hagrid. From the other side, gasps of anger could be heard. Before I could even process what to do, Draco had gone from my side and was sprinting towards Harry. I watched as he tossed his wand to Harry before retreating back to me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the safety of the corridors.