This was madness, pure madness. Thankfully, most of us had survived the opening battle on the school. Thankfully, Lord Voldemort called off his Death Eaters to give us a break, to give us time to recover and—and to find those we lost who fought for the cause. However, Lord Voldemort wanted Harry Potter, and he was determined to kill anybody in his path to get to Harry.

I shuddered, recalling the chilling voice that made me cower in fear. Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you. On this night, you have allowed your friends to die for you...rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonor. Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me.

As if enough people on our side hadn't died already...

It was the middle of the night at Hogwarts. Instead of being in the Great Hall like everybody else, I was curled into a ball in what was left of the courtyard. The dull reminders of giants roaring, battle cries, and yells echoed in my head.

Nobody had bothered to see me since I was hidden by the darkness. Those on our side had come to collect our dead, leaving our enemies to rot on our grounds. They deserved to lie there on the ground for what they did to us.

I was afraid to go into the Great Hall, afraid to find people I knew dead. It was obvious Harry wasn't dead since Voldemort wanted him still. Really, over my seven years at Hogwarts, Harry was the only person I became close with—other than Ginny Weasley, Cho Chang, and Luna Lovegood. Who was to say that a Ravenclaw couldn't make friends with students from other Houses?

I popped my dirty head up; strings of dark blonde hair fell in front of my eyes. I was covered in dirt, and my arms and legs ached. I had never wanted to know what it felt like to be in the heat of battle. This was just the calm before the second storm, whenever it would hit.

Slowly, I forced myself to stand on my wobbly legs. I felt okay, minus the aches coursing throughout my body. I inhaled, looking at the Great Hall doors, pondering whether or not I should even bother making the journey in there.

A figure stepping into the courtyard made me jump. With weary light blue eyes, I tried to home in on the person's features.

They looked battle-worn, like me, though not as dirty. They had a tired look about their body stature. It was hard to tell whether his hair was actually dark or not, since there was no light to help me see him better. He took his time, wading through the practically demolished courtyard, completely unaware that I was watching him.

When I heard him speak, I knew exactly who it was.

"There's no other choice," he muttered to himself. "It's got to be done..."

Harry. What was he doing out here? There was no way he came out here for some alone time...

There's no other choice. It's got to be done. I blanched, Harry's words clicking together in my head.

He was going to the Forbidden Forest to confront Voldemort.

My heart dropped into my stomach. I felt like fainting. How could Harry want to go confront the madman who was the reason his parents—and fellow schoolmates—were dead? Did he want to die?

I finally unglued my feet from the bricks they stood on and ghosted behind Harry as he made his way across the Viaduct. I felt like I had to do something, like I had to stop him from going. I wasn't sure whether or not it was because it was for the good of everyone, or just because I didn't want him to go.

Harry never suspected he was being followed. Ahead, I heard—and saw—Death Eaters Disapparating high above in the night, their dark shadow figures darker than the night sky. They had to be watching Harry, wondering what he was doing, and why I was stalking behind him.

"You can't go," I finally voiced, stopping.

Harry stopped in his tracks, whirling around, wand pointed at me. Once he saw it was me, he lowered his wand, green eyes rather furious. "Did you come here to stop me?"

"I came to try and reason with you."

"That's sort of the same thing, isn't it?"

"Like that matters," I scoffed, walking to him. "Harry, you shouldn't give into him."

"What other choice do I have, Sienna? If I don't, more people will die. I've already had more than enough people sacrifice themselves on my behalf, especially tonight."

"You don't know that the murders will stop," I whimpered. "You can't trust anything he says, Harry."

"What are you doing out here? Did you follow me out of the Great Hall?"

"I was never there to begin with. I've been stuck out in the courtyard all this time since the fighting stopped," I explained, shifting my weight a fraction. "I guess there's no point in reasoning with you, is there?"

"No. Nothing you say or do will change my mind."

Well, that might not be entirely true, I wanted to say. If only Harry knew how much I loved him. I knew he loved Ginny, and I respected him for that. I couldn't be jealous of the fact that he fancied one of my best friends over me. As long as he was happy, I was. But now...knowing that he was walking himself to his death, I wondered if it was the best time to bring up something I had always wanted to tell him but never could.

I mean, it's now or never at this point, isn't it? Harry won't be around to see the aftermath of him surrendering to Voldemort.

I nearly collapsed myself into him to hug him one last time. Even though he smelled of burnt clothing, hair, and blood, I held him tight. Harry's grip on me seemed equally—if not more—tight.

"Everything's going to be okay," Harry murmured in my ear. "You'll see."

"How can you be so sure? You can't predict the future," I grumbled.

"But I have hope, which is something you need to have."

"You were always one of the bravest people I'd ever come to know, Harry." I pulled away, but we still held each other, like it'd hurt us both if we let go. "You don't have to be brave about this. It's okay if you're scared."

"I'm not."

"Aren't you?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

"I'm mostly not."

"That sounds more realistic," I teased. "If you want, I could go with you—"

"No," he said sharply. I flinched at his tone. "Sorry." His tone was somewhat gentler. "You don't need to be there to see it happen. You shouldn't have to see more than you already have. Please, Sienna, don't follow me."

"But Harry—"

"Listen to me," he said softly, his eyes flickering up to the skies once. He probably noticed the Death Eaters hovering above like I had. "Go back and keep yourself safe. Don't make a stupid decision that you'll never be able to take back. Promise me you won't be stupid."

"Harry—"

"Do you promise?" he pushed.

I sighed, defeated. "I promise."

"Thank you." Harry's eyes flickered up again. "I have to go."

"Wait, I've got one more thing to say," I blurted.

"What's that?"

"I've always loved you." My voice was almost inaudible, but I knew Harry could hear me. "Whether you've known it or not, I have." I looked down at my feet. "I figured since you're walking yourself to your doom, I might as well tell you. I figured it was better than not letting you ever know." I blushed.

"I got the feeling you had felt that way," Harry said slowly. He put a hand on my shoulder. "But you know I'm with Ginny."

I bobbed my head. "You're happy with her, and she's happy with you. I love you both enough to push aside my jealousy—no matter how much it hurts."

It seemed that my confession stunned Harry. Had he not expected me to speak straight from the heart like that? Usually when I told deep, personal things, I spoke the honest truth.

"Now, I shouldn't delay you any longer." I wiggled out of Harry's arms, my feet backpedaling for the castle. I threw him a farewell, sad smile. "Go on. Nobody's stopping you."

"Sienna..."

"Go, Harry. Like you said, it'll be okay."

He nodded. "Goodbye, Sienna."

"Goodbye, Harry," I murmured to his back as he turned the other way, towards the Forbidden Forest. A tear escaped my eye. "I love you."

Whether he heard those words or not, I'd never know.