Witness
No one moved. We were waiting, watching and waiting for the Dark Lord to strike, waiting for him to do the thing he had failed to do every time the boy fell into his grasp, waiting for Lord Voldemort to finally kill the Boy-Who-Lived.
I willed for the boy not to be there, I couldn't stop imagining Draco in his place, stood between the Dark Lord and the dark forest, seeing his death written on the twisted, humourless smile of a lipless mouth. I couldn't stop imagining a lifeless Draco spread out on the forest floor with wide, scared open eyes that saw nothing. Why did the boy come? He was sure to die; the Dark Lord was not one for being merciful.
Bellatrix was practically jumping with excitement, grinning from ear to ear behind Lord Voldemort. I looked around and saw a few more eager grins, Lucius wasn't smiling though. He was merely staring ahead at the situation like it was a completely normal occurrence. It probably was for him, knowing what the Dark Lord had had Lucius do at various times during both wars…
Dear Bella had been a different person since her escape from Azkaban, she had been enthusiastic before, but her love for the Dark Lord had grown to sickening heights since her return, she was more determined than ever to prove that she was his most loyal servant. She wore the Dark Mark with pride. I had once worn the Dark Mark with something close to pride, I had once been proud that Lucius, my husband, was once one of the Dark Lord's most trusted servants. Lord Voldemort had lost me as a servant the moment he put my Draco in danger. I was only there out of fear for the lives of my husband, my son and myself.
We were all stood in the clearing of the forest watching and waiting for something to happen.
The Dark Lord raised his wand. His head was tilted to one side curiously. The boy did nothing; he made no move to defend himself, no move to reach for his wand, no move to run… His hands were trembling slightly though no sign of fear ever reflected on his face. Then he struck. Lord Voldemort's soft but dangerous "Avada Kedavra" echoed slightly through the surrounding trees as the flash of green light illuminated the area…and then Harry Potter stiffened and fell to the ground.
No one moved, afraid to do anything in case it wasn't to the Dark Lord's liking, but then we all heard a second soft thump on the ground and we steered our attentions away from Potter and towards Voldemort himself, as he had fallen to the ground in a heap of dark black robes and ghostly pale skin. Before anyone could announce their confusion or move towards anything, Bellatrix had stepped forward.
I could hear the sobs of the giant just on the edge of the clearing, tied to a tree he was. He was close to the boy, I could tell straight away even though Lucius had told me himself that the giant gamekeeper at Hogwarts had formed a dangerous bond with Harry Potter. Any bond with Harry Potter was a dangerous one. Voldemort was likely to kill you if he found out your allegiances lay with his enemy.
"My Lord?" Bella had asked uncertainly, I could tell she was unsure of what to do - we hadn't exactly anticipated Lord Voldemort to collapse when he killed the boy. Bella was hesitant to touch him as she dropped down to kneel by his side. Several other Death Eaters stepped forwards to hover round Voldemort's body. I stayed where I'd been standing for a while, watching and waiting, hoping for something to happen so that Voldemort would be gone and my family and I could live in peace. I didn't care who won this war anymore.
"What's happened?" Dolohov had asked, he straightened up and looked round the rest of the group, "What's going on?"
"Does it look like any of us know, Dolohov?" Greyback growled back. He looked every inch the monster he became once a month that night; his yellow teeth gleamed through the darkness, highlighted by the fire we had set up in the middle of the clearing.
"No" Dolohov replied somewhat shakily. I could tell he was scared of Greyback, we all were.
"What shall we do?" Lucius asked. I knew that question was only for appearances sake, I knew he didn't really care as long as our family made it out of this war alive, all three of us.
"Someone help him" Bellatrix hissed, her eyes bulged out of their sockets as if she'd been told the Dark Lord despised her.
"And just how the hell are we going to 'help him' Bellatrix? Do you have anything in mind? This wasn't supposed to happen!" Yaxley retorted angrily. He began to pace up and down the clearing but I doubt it did him any good.
"Harry!" The giant had wailed. I hadn't realized until that moment that giants actually have feelings. Though by all accounts Hagrid was only half-giant so I don't suppose he counts really. I looked over to the boy and was almost sickened by the odd angle his arm was sticking out at, his mouth was open widely, as if he'd tried to scream but died too soon.
Bellatrix shot up suddenly and began to pace the length of the Dark Lord's body, adding her own mumblings to the worried whispers of the other Death Eater's. "My Lord, My Lord, My Lord-"
"That will do"
Bella dropped to her knees as soon as she heard the words. People rushed back to their original places like school children being caught out of line as Lord Voldemort got to his feet, Bella got to her feet though she stayed where she was. Anyone else would have thought she was too scared to move, I, however, knew she stayed there to prove she was loyal to the Dark Lord even more so than the others.
Bellatrix had held her hand out to Lord Voldemort, "My Lord, let me-" she had insisted. She was brushed away by the cold "I do not need assistance". She almost looked like she'd been forced to stand in a bucket of ice.
The Dark Lord's attention had turned towards the boy. "The boy…is he dead?" No one moved, they didn't dare. Head simultaneously turned to look at the boy's dead body lying on the forest floor. "You" Lord Voldemort said and our heads turned to see who he was looking at. My heart skipped a beat and jumped up into my throat when I found it was me his eyes had met. He sent a spark from his wand at me; it hit my leg and stung it for a few seconds. I yelped and rushed forward. "Examine him. Tell me whether he is dead" were my orders.
I went towards the body, my heart was thudding against my chest and the palm of my hands started to sweat. It was one thing to kill somebody but going to examine their body was another. I knelt down next to the boy and put my hand on his face. I opened an eyelid, not really knowing what I was looking for but making it seem like I was. I pulled my hand away from his face and put it under his shirt. His heart was beating.
I didn't know what to do, this boy was alive but if I told the rest of them they'd kill him…if they found out I'd lied they'd kill me…
Suddenly a vision of Draco flooded my mind and I had an idea. I tilted my head so that my hair covered the boys face. "Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?" I whispered near his ear. My heart stopped as I waited for an answer.
"Yes" came the boy's reply. My hand tightened on his chest and I pulled it away, sitting up.
"He is dead!" I called to the others, hoping for my life and my son's life that they wouldn't come and check. My prayers were answered when they started to cheer and shoot lights up into the air with their wands.
As Voldemort made his victorious statement to his followers, I was barely aware of getting to my feet and joining them again.
My boy was alive.