@drarrymicrofic - switch
As the last ward collapses, Draco rises before his ailing mother without hesitation, shaking and whimpering.
An eternity passes before the shed door creaks ajar, a thin line of light cutting across his face. He lifts his wand with trembling fingers, ready for one final fight.
The door bursts wide. Blinding light floods the space.
“Petrifi—” His wand flies out of his hands. “—cus Totalus!”
Despair crushes his chest. So this is the end. He turns back toward Mother, to say the last goodbye.
He has no regrets. Betraying the Dark Lord was worth the time it’d bought for Mother. They should have sought help after Father’s death, but fear and grief had hollowed them. And he was c—no matter, it is the end.
Then—Mother gasps. “Draco, darling. Look.”
He whirls.
Harry Potter fills the doorway, breath ragged, two wands clenched in his hands.
Relief washes over Draco like water. A miracle.
Potter extends his hand, “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”