"Draco, come," Narcissa called softly.
Draco couldn't hesitate any longer.
He felt the silent attention focused on him deepen with each step he took; it was excruciating. He could join his parents and just walk away now. That was the easy route. Or he could take matters into his own hands and join the ones he knew were watching and judging him.
His hand slipped into his pocket, gripping the smooth hilt of the dagger he had stolen from the Room Of Requirement. Neither option was likely to end well for him, but he knew which choice was right.
His steps were painfully slow, the conflicting thoughts wrestling in his mind, whispering for him to choose them. It was an eternity before he reached the Dark Lord, but his decision was made. He went stiff as Voldemort pulled him into his arms.
This was his one chance to redeem himself.
And he took it, ripping the dagger from his pocket and shoving it deep into Voldemort's abdomen, pulling a pained gasp from the man. He grimaced as blood covered his hand; it was as cold as the dagger's blade against his skin.
Voldemort shoved him away, and his hand slipped off the slick hilt of the dagger, leaving it still stuck in the other wizard. He caught his balance before he fell and reached for his wand, but Voldemort had already drawn his.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort screamed, and Draco's world went black as he was thrown backwards. The last thing he heard was his parents screaming his name.
Draco blinked, and the grey clouds far above slowly came into focus. Confused, he looked down and saw his blood stained body lying abandoned reddened blade sat a few feet from his body. The courtyard had emptied; he was alone.
Maybe that wasn't the right choice.
It took him a moment to figure out how to descend, and he sighed softly as his feet met the ground. At least that was as hard and unyielding as it had been when he was alive. He reached for the dagger, but his hand passed through it.
Apparently that was to be the end of his helpfulness.
He jumped back as Harry and Voldemort crashed next to him, forgetting they couldn't hurt him now. "Potter?!" he exclaimed; they didn't seem to be able to hear him. "Well, of course you got to come back to life..."
He wandered into the castle, hoping to find something he could help with. He jumped as Ron and Hermione ran through him, Voldemort's snake -Nagini- close behind. "Alright, Draco, that's what you can do. Stop the snake."
He leapt onto Nagini's back, but crashed to the ground through her.
So he dashed further into the castle to find someone he could get to help; certainly there was someone that could see him. He skidded to a stop, eyes widening at the sight of the dead and wounded scattered through the room. He spotted Neville only a few yards away, unconscious. He walked to his side, and crouched down next to him. The unconscious mind was a gateway, maybe he could see him. He touched his arm; his hand passed through, but his surroundings disintegrated into a blue-white void.
Neville stared at him. "Draco?! Am I dead?" he asked.
"No," Draco responded. "But you have to wake up, Hogwarts needs you."
"How can I wake up if I'm dead?!"
"You're not dead!" Draco sighed. He should have made a plan first.
"Then how are you here?"
"I'm a ghost. You're unconscious so I'm able to appear in your dream."
Neville stare blankly at him.
"Well, I think that's how this works. But the point is you need to wake up." Draco pointed behind him. "There's a killer snake chasing your friends. You need to wake up and help them."
"Why do you care? Weren't you a Death Eater?"
"I- I'm not as evil as people think I am. I never wanted any of this."
Neville nodded slowly, then disappeared. The room materialized around him again, and Draco found himself staring down at Neville pulling himself to his feet and reaching for the sword of Gryffindor.
Draco grinned; something he did worked right, at least. He slipped out, closing his eyes against the devastation surrounding him. A few minutes later cheers erupted behind him, marking what he assumed was the end of the battle.
Three months later
"Malfoy?"
Draco's head snapped around at the sound of his name, but he quickly regained his composure and turned around to face his visitor. "Potter. What brings you here?"
"I'm here to see you. They told me what happened."
"You're three months late."
"I know. I'm sorry, I wanted to visit earlier but things have been... hectic."
Draco scoffed. "Hectic. That's your best excuse?"
Harry just shrugged.
Draco sighed, turning away again. "Well, why wouldn't you be busy? You're the saviour of the bloody world, of course you have something better than to visit the ghost of your old rival. Why are you visiting? Certainly you have a better reason than just that."
"I see dying didn't change your personality any," Harry chuckled, taking a seat next to Draco.
"Nor has it yours."
Harry rolled his eyes. "They told me what you did, but I don't understand why. You could have just walked away, why didn't you? You must have known stabbing him wasn't going to kill him."
Draco stared at the wall, remaining silent long enough for Harry to assume he wouldn't answer and move to stand up.
"I didn't want to do any of it, you know," Draco whispered. "I didn't really want to be a Death Eater-" he scratched at the dark mark tattooed on his forearm "-but they forced me to. I guess I just didn't want to be their puppet anymore."
"Forced? You mean the Imperius Curse?"
"...Father had... other ways of control."
Harry tilted his head in silent question.
"I don't want to talk about it." Draco's head dropped. "I had my revenge, and I paid for it. Was there anything else you wanted to know, Chosen One?"
"You didn't see it as a way to redeem yourself?"
Draco turned to Harry with a frown, but didn't answer.
"Surely the thought must have crossed your mind at some point."
"Just because I didn't want to do what I did doesn't make me any less guilty, Potter. The thought of redemption was tempting, yes, but unrealistic."
Harry stared at the blond, before blinking hard. "You can't believe that."
"What's so unbelievable about it? I'm responsible for multiple deaths, Potter, do you not understand that?"
"You never killed anyone. I saw you, that day in the Astronomy Tower-" Draco winced "-you were lowering your wand. You're not responsible for what Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore already had planned."
"Just because I didn't do it with my own hands doesn't mean it's not my fault!" Draco snapped. "Wait, did you say 'planned'?"
"He was already dying, Draco. What happened was always part of his plan."
Draco blinked in confusion.
"The plan was always for Dumbledore to die so Voldemort would trust Snape; you just happened to be the one caught in the crossfire.
"Clearing the way for the Death Eaters doesn't automatically put the blood they spilled on your hands; as far as I know you didn't even actively help aside from letting them in. Besides, you lied to your aunt when my friends and I were at the Manor, and you turned on Voldemort in the end. Neville said it was you who told him he needed to stop the snake. The fact that your loyalties were never to them shows."
"I... Thank you, Potter."
"Call me Harry." Harry awkwardly patted Draco's back, his hand passing through his body. "We've forgiven you; do you think you can forgive yourself?"
Draco hesitated. "Yeah. I mean, when you put it that way it wasn't horrible was it?"
"No. Not good but not horrible either. Either way you didn't deserve to die."
Draco scoffed. "Of course I didn't!"
Harry rolled his eyes again.
"Oh, don't look at me like that, Po- Harry."
Harry smirked. "And we're officially friends now."
"What makes you think that?"
"You used my real name for the first time in seven years."
"Because you told me to!"
"We're still friends whether you like it or not!"
Draco sighed. "I guess I can live with that."
"No you can't; you're a ghost."
"Potter, if I could slap you I would."