A.N: I can't even begin to describe how much I've loved your reviews. I want to thank everyone who reviewed this story.

About this chapter: I found that it was easier than I though to write this. First I thought it would be hard to write down all of those feelings but as it turned out, it wasn't. I apologize for any grammar mistakes, and I hope that you like this chapter. So: here it is!

Disclaimer: I own nothing


Again, a few days passed. Astoria didn't see or talk to Draco. She didn't even want to hear his name. She no longer cared. Why would she? It seemed that no matter what she did, he'd still find a way to get someone killed, or at least almost killed. 'So far he hasn't killed anyone' Astoria kept reminding herself.

During these few passing days, Astoria had tried to focus on other things.

She was now absolutely certain that Daphne had left Blaise. Was it because of Astoria's words or for a reason she wasn't aware of? She didn't know. But in the end, she was happy that she had helped Theodore. It also seemed that Daphne had not only broken up with Blaise but also, Daphne was already in another relationship. With Theodore Nott.

This was something that the Slytherins talked about every day. How Daphne Greengrass, the daughter of Death Eater and a known supporter of St. Mungo's hospital, Michael Greengrass, was now dating the son of another Death Eater. Whenever Astoria heard these words it felt like everywhere she looked, stood at least one Death Eater.

Her father, her sister's new boyfriend's father and possibly the boyfriend himself and then there was Malfoy. But like said before, Astoria was not thinking about him.

It was rather late one evening when Astoria was sitting in the Slytherin common room. To be precise, every Slytherin was sitting in the common room, well, except for the first years. Just a moment ago, they'd all heard something. A scream perhaps. A sound of people fighting. They all sat there like frozen. Especially Astoria.

She had a bad feeling about the fight sounds. Why would someone be fighting in Hogwarts? At this hour? And it sounded like there was more than two people fighting. Then suddenly, everyone fell silent. They were all looking at the person who came in to the room. It was a girl. A third year or a fourth year, maybe, Astoria wasn't sure. The girl looked very pale. Almost like the ghosts.

The girl stuttered something very quietly, so that only the people near the door were able to hear her. Those who heard, gasped. "What did she say?" Astoria heard Blaise yell from the other side of the room. He was standing with Crabbe and Goyle.

One of the seventh year students who'd heard the little girl's words, stood up. "She says," the seventh year kept a pause as if she was uncertain of what would happen if she'd speak, "She says that Dumbledore is dead and that the Mark is in the sky above the Astronomy Tower."

The whole room exploded into gasps, yells, talk and screams. But Astoria felt like she couldn't hear anything. Dumbledore was dead. No. That wasn't possible. Who would've been so...?

Then it hit Astoria like a cruciatus curse. Draco. He'd been planning something. Had that been the plan? To kill Dumbledore? But he couldn't have possibly tried to kill Dumbledore on his own, had he? Even he wasn't that foolish. So had he managed to summon Death Eaters in to Hogwarts? Astoria asked herself. Had Draco managed to make the place they all felt safe in, a place where they should all be afraid?

Astoria shook her head and got up from her seat. She had to see it for herself. She wouldn't believe that Dumbledore was dead before she saw his dead body.

Astoria felt numb as she walked out of the common room. Without her really even noticing it, people followed her. Apparently, some the Slytherins had the same way of thinking. They wouldn't believe it before they saw it.

Soon enough the Slytherins reached the place just under the Astronomy Tower. There was a crowd there. They were all staring at something and Astoria could see that some of them were crying. Without listening to anything that anyone said, Astoria walked through the crowd.

She stopped walking the second she saw it. Dumbledore. Dead. It was real. Dumbledore was really dead. He'd killed Dumbledore. Draco had killed Dumbledore. Astoria felt how a tear slowly fell down her cheek. She didn't know why she was crying. Because Dumbledore was dead or because she felt guilty.

"I knew," Astoria whispered to herself. She had known. She had known that Malfoy had the Dark Mark but she hadn't tried to stop him. She'd even gone to see him when he was in the hospital wing.

More tears rolled down Astoria's face as she watched how Harry Potter knelt down next to Dumbledore and how Ginny, Potter's new girlfriend, went to help him up. Astoria and Ginny stared at each other for a fraction of a second before Ginny nodded to her and turned back to Harry. Astoria didn't stay to see what happened next.

Astoria ran to the common room as fast as she could, hoping that it would take her mind off of Dumbledore. However, when Astoria entered the common room, she found that there were some people still there. They all stared at Astoria, but Astoria couldn't bring herself to look back.

"Is it true?" Astoria heard Grace, the girl who slept in the same dormitory as her, ask. Astoria nodded.

"Yes," she whispered. Then, clearing her throat, she announced more loudly, "Yes. It's true. Dumbledore's dead."

This time the common room was taken over by a silence. Astoria didn't want to explain anything to anyone, so she continued her way to her dormitory. Once there, she searched her quill, some ink and a piece of parchment and started writing.

Draco,

I have no idea why I am writing this, but I feel that I have to. I feel that someone has to.

How could you? How could you do something like that? Why betray all of us? Because that is exactly what you've done. Betrayed everyone. It would better if it would've been you instead of Dumbledore. It would have been better if we had lost a useless coward like you instead of a brave and wise man. I hope you remember that.

Indeed, I hope that you remember my words. No one will ever love you. No one will ever forgive you for this. I know I won't. And believe me when I say that I have forgiven a lot of things in my life, but this, this is something that I can not forgive.

And I also hope that you regret this. I hope that the regret is so great that it will consume you and you will have the courage to kill yourself instead of innocent people.

And the last thing that I hope and wish with all my heart, is that when you go to sleep, tonight or any night, you will remember the words I said so many days ago. 'For every frozen heart, there is a flame bright enough to melt it'. Except for you. Because I, like so many others will, believe you have no heart. Or if you do, it will be made of stone and ice that will never melt before the day that that damned piece of stone stops beating.

With everything but love,

Astoria G.

Hours later, Draco Malfoy stood in his room with a letter in his hands. There was nothing he could say, yet there were so many things he wanted to say. He slowly sat onto his bed while still looking at the letter. His thumb moved slowly over the last few words. 'With everything but love' , the ink was smudged like a drop of water had fallen on to it. It didn't take a genius to figure out where it had come from. Astoria had cried. Because of him.

For the first time in his entire life, Draco felt something. Like a stab in the heart. Not quite guilt but something else. A pain of some sort. Draco was willing to do anything to make that horrible feeling stop, so he almost ran to his desk and with a tear falling down his cheek, started writing.


You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out exactly what Draco wrote. Sorry, but again, thanks for reading.