And so it is down to this.
Him, her, and a deserted corridor.
There are shouts and cries in the distance, but none of them matter now. All that matters is her twitching body draped over cold stone, showing the effects of a recently endured Cruciatus Curse, and his beating heart as he is still unable to believe that his father died by his hands.
No one ever used that stupid spell, but he had just decided to. He knew the reason why everyone said not to use that blasted spell. Because if you say it wrong, you will be doing the exact opposite of what you want to do to the person you are trying to heal.
But unfortunately, it is the only healing spell that he could think of at the time, in his desperation – Abra Kedabra.
One would think that someone created that spell as some sort of cruel, twisted joke. But as it turns out, the spell was indeed one of the very first spells. And, as luck would have it, one of the only spells that even Muggles seem to be familiar with, if that isn't clue enough to the popularity of the spell.
The cruel and twisted joke had come in the form of the Killing Curse.
It isn't even his fault, really, that the spell had come out all wrong; as he said the spell, a blast of power that he knew was the actual death of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named threw him away from his father and against the wall. Naturally, being blown up out of a desperate kneeling position can make one quite a bit surprised to say the least.
Some part of him had actually wanted his father to die, but he really was trying to heal the man. But with such close range, he was fucked anyway, so who cares if even a microscopic part of him had wanted it? Close range fucked up the chances of Lucius' survival of Draco's screw-up.
The incantation had popped out of his mouth, and what with all the external shit like Fate and powerful gusts of dead Voldy-spirit, he should have known that it was a bad idea. But he had said it anyway.
And that had screwed him over.
So, when it comes down to it, he can easily blame that Potter kid for his father's death, for killing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at that exact inopportune moment. And he can also blame He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for not succumbing to death like a good little villain when he had tried to kill the Potter kid when little Potty boy was a baby. And why didn't Potter just die anyway? He's like a damn cockroach!
So really, He-Who-
Ah, hell. Who cares anymore? Voldemort.
So while Voldemort had been plotting, Potter had been doing all he could to figure out how to take the dark wizard down.
And what had Draco done the entire time?
He had hidden, like the little shit that he was. Afraid of what Harry Potter and Voldemort would do to him if he were to be found by them. Under the wing of Snape, the traitor.
But Draco has absolutely no room to talk, for he was reduced to traitorous scum by both sides.
Ah, but now, Potter will owe him. And Draco loves the feeling.
Because he spots Potter's little mudblood friend twitching on the floor. Like the pathetic muggleborn that she is.
The Great Harry Potter will owe him, Draco Malfoy, because everyone else is on the other side of the castle and there is no one around to check to see if the girl is even alive. Only him.
And she is alive, though barely.
He walks over to her. There is a million emotions flowing through him at once – pity for the wounded animal, hatred for the stuck-up bitch, anger towards Potter for not figuring out how to kill Voldemort until the exact inopportune moment that he had – and Draco doesn't know which emotion to succumb to.
And of course, everything is always inopportune for Draco. Fate always wants to muck up his life.
And so, as Fate is a stupid asshole, Fate decides to let the girl speak. At that exact inopportune moment.
"Malfoy… help me… value human life…"
'What, value your pathetic life? Not in a million years, mudblood,' is what he should say.
But yes, of course he will help her. Because he is a little delirious from killing his own father and realizing that the resistance had actually won. Because he wants The Great Harry Potter to owe him.
Because, unlike what many people think, Draco Malfoy actually has a conscience. Yes, it might have almost ended his life the year before, but heck, he should have listened to it a while before anyway. Somewhere deep in his gut, he had known that the good side would win. He had just been kidding himself.
So, yes, he does Wingardium Leviosa her up in the air and walks off with her floating like a newly dead spirit beside him.
And he does take her outside. He walks, of course, for there is no rush at all. She can deal with a little pain.
And once he walks out of Hogwarts and past the gate, he, instead of leaving the bitch there, in the mud, like he really should …
… Apparates them to St. Mungo's.
