Surprising turn - a turn for the better? Or into madness ... (Draco Ff)

Chapter 55 ~ He who fights can lose. Who does not fight has already lost.

Victoria's Pov.

The castle was repeatedly plagued by violent shocks.
It was getting harder and harder to stand up.
My lungs burned and blood pounded in my ears.
I felt dazed, but kept running, dodging curses that would otherwise have hit me.
I jumped over non-moving bodies and tried to keep track, which at that moment seemed impossible.
I kept running, turning into different corridors.
Tried to elude Hogwarts forces and not run into them.
I ran up a flight of stairs and almost stepped on a trick step.
I took a mighty leap and skipped that step.
At some point I got up one floor and continued walking aimlessly through the corridors.
I didn't know what I was actually doing here.
I didn't fight for the Dark Lord, nor for Hogwarts.
I didn't attack the students, teachers, and Aurors, nor did I finish off the Death Eaters.
I fought only for myself.
Just ran through the corridors and dodged the colorful flashes of light that were thrown around non-stop.
The corridor I was in at the moment seemed extremely quiet.
No combatants, no explosions and no curses flew through the air.
But out of nowhere came a rattling noise from the corridor.
Followed by many excited voices.
I took deliberate steps in the direction of the voices and raised my wand a little higher as I rounded the corner.
Then they stood in front of me.
Potter, Granger, and Weasley turned around in a flash upon noticing my presence and drew their wands.
I knew they recognized me.
They knew exactly who they were dealing with under the mask and Death Eater cloak.
I didn't know what to do and just stood there, unable to move.
Actually, I should have dragged the chosen one to the dark lord, but something in me fought against it.
And so we just stood face to face.
I could tell from their faces that they expected me to do something about them, but I had no intention of doing so.
I slowly lowered my wand and could see pure horror and a questioning expression on their faces.
I dangled my hand, which was tightly gripping my wand, at my side and eyed the golden trio standing in front of me, still pointing their wands at me.
"Have you seen Draco...?" I asked, my voice shaking from the effort.
Potter cocked his head and pointed his finger in the direction they had just come from.
I gave the slightest nod and stepped past them.
I frantically ran in the direction Potter pointed out and turned down another corridor.
And then I saw him.
He sat huddled over a lifeless body, his chest heaving frantically and erratically.
I took a deliberate step towards the Ice Prince and realized that a pale Gregory Goyle was lying on his lap.
Unknowingly, I crouched down in front of young Malfoy.
He had stripped off his Death Eater cloak and was now sitting in front of me in his black suit, which already showed some signs of battle.
He had also taken off his mask and so I realized that half his face was covered with soot.
I lifted his chin with one finger and forced him to turn away from his dead friend.
He lifted his head in agony and a tear rolled down his cheek.
Recognizing me, he lazily rose and threw his arms around me.
He hugged me tightly.  Meanwhile, Hogwarts was shaken violently again and again and more and more sounds of battle penetrated my ears.
When the Ice Prince broke away from me, he pushed my mask aside and kissed my lips lightly.
I covered my face again and started to move when I heard screams behind me.
"Come on, we have to get out of here!" I said to Draco and turned down another hallway.
Peering around the corner, I saw some members of the Order dueling masked Death Eaters.
Colorful flashes of light repeatedly bounced against the cool stone walls and caused huge cracks.
There was an electrifying tension in the air as I saw green lightning flash through the air.
I tried to turn away from the colored lights, dragging Draco with me.
"What happened in there?" I asked him, pointing behind my back as I continued down the corridors with brisk strides.
"I should find the Ravenclaw tiara and bring it to Voldemort..." the Ice Prince spoke, but was interrupted by a loud explosion.
The wall directly behind us blew up, creating a tremendous blast.
Draco reacted immediately and pulled me into an alcove.
All the dust that was on the ground was stirred up and a gray haze now lay in the air, making it difficult to see.
I waited a moment and peered out from the alcove.
When I couldn't see anything, I continued on my way and Draco continued to talk.
"I was in the Room of Requirement with Crabbe and Goyle wanting to find the diadem, but as the Dark Lord predicted, Potter and his entourage had the same plan.
We dueled until Crabbe summoned demon fire and set the whole room on fire.
As we tried to climb a pile of junk to safety, Crabbe fell.
I struggled to hold the unconscious Goyle as the fire engulfed us beneath us.
I really thought it was over as the mountain we were standing on was about to collapse..."
He paused and took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Potter and his friends came back on broomsticks and got me and Goyle out of there.
Potter saved my life...." the Ice Prince finished, gasping for air, painfully clutching his right side as he ran on.
"Where's your wand?" I asked, horrified, realizing he wasn't carrying one.
"Lost somewhere in the Room of Requirement..." he gasped, shocked at the extent of the war.
I rummaged in my robes and pulled out a wand I'd picked up off the floor in one of the corridors earlier.
"Better than nothing," I said, shrugging and holding out the wand with the handle.
He took it carefully and nodded curtly.
"Let's survive this battle..." I said with renewed strength and looked into the inner courtyard, in which colorful flashes of light were constantly being shot through the air.