Disclaimer: I do not own the plot, the world, the characters, or any other aspect of the series Harry Potter written by J.K. Rowling. I do copy exact words from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and I admit I do not own the text.
This plotline was original but it falls in line with the plot line of the sixth book.
Chapter Twelve
The Lightning-Struck Tower
Draco had told Sophia to be careful. She didn't know what he meant, but she figured that he must know something. Sophia had been waiting for something bad to happen to Hogwarts all year long. Days had gone by where Sophia knew danger was just around the corner. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back and her whole sixth year at Hogwarts had been nerve racking. Anything could happen at anytime and danger was everywhere. Mistrust flooded the school and almost every place in the wizarding community. So it was to no surprise when she woke with a start at the moment Luna Lovegood had exited the Raveclaw common room.
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Sophia abruptly sat up in on the couch and stared at the door seeing a dark figure. When she had heard the door creaking open she thought someone was coming into the room, but luckily it was someone leaving; but who?
She had been sleeping out in the common room because she was having a hard time sleeping. She didn't know why, but she found it impossible to fall asleep tonight.
Her curiosity overpowered her fear of putting her life in jeopardy. Over the past few months she began feeling more like a courageous Gryffindor rather than a clever Ravenclaw. Draco Malfoy had some influence in this sensation, because he made her feel like she could do anything. She was confident that she was intelligent enough to keep herself out of trouble. She decided that is was neither smart nor stupid to follow her fellow peer out of the room. She came to think it was the sense of living on the edge and bettering herself if she came in contact with danger. She knew her brilliance about spells and protection could save her.
The common room was dark but Sophia's eyes were already adjusted and she could still see the silhouette near the exit. Sophia then realized that this person would not like it very much if someone was following them. They obviously didn't want anyone following them if they were being so quiet. She racked her brain to try and remember the charm that Maggie had taught her a few weeks ago, and she pulled out her wand to cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself. It felt as though someone had poured cold water over her, and she felt a trickling of water down her whole body. She immediately blended in with her surroundings and fumbled around to make sure her satchel was slung across her shoulder. She felt it and got off of the couch without making a sound and slinked out into the murky hallway.
She made less noise than the other student and guessed it was because they had been in a hurry to get somewhere. Sophia's curiosity heightened and thought that she, too, should hasten in her pace to keep up with the unknown person.
The figure was striding down the hallway quickly and Sophia struggled to keep up without being heard. She was still too far way to decipher who exactly this person was, not to mention the darkness that engulfed them. Finally, they stepped foot into a hallway that was lit with candles hanging from the walls. Sophia stared at the figure trying to determine who it was. She saw blonde hair and a wand behind the ear. It was none other than the Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw.
Why in the world was she out this late at night? Sophia couldn't make sense of it. There must be something terribly wrong…
After minutes of trailing Luna, Sophia realized where they were headed. Luna's destination was the dungeons. She stopped right in front of the entrance to Snape's office and Sophia couldn't make sense of it. What would Luna be doing outside Snape's office at this time of the night? A few minutes later Hermione Granger joined Luna.
"Okay. Ron, Neville, and Ginny are waiting outside the Room Of Requirement seeing if he'll come out," Hermione informed Luna. Hermione was breathing heavily, and Sophia noted that she too was in a rush.
"I believe that something is going to happen tonight…I trust Harry and what he senses…and if he's out with Dumbledore tonight…" Luna's voice said shakily.
"It's alright. Harry left us the potion, we'll have all the luck we need and if he's not back in time then we have Lupin, Tonks, and the rest of them," Hermione comforted.
"I feel disconnected from Ron and the rest of them…they're up on the seventh floor and we're all the way down here…" Luna said nervously. Sophia didn't stand around to hear more, she had heard enough. She knew that something was being planned tonight, or that's what Harry Potter had believed true.
Sophia sprinted through the school from the depths of the dungeons to the seventh floor. She glanced around anxiously for two red heads and a head of brown hair. It was lighter up here because of all the windows and the moonlight shined through. That's when she realized the moon wasn't the only source of light…
Ron, Ginny, and Neville were no where to be found and the Dark Mark stood there in the sky above the astronomy tower. Sophia's whole body shivered and without second thoughts and doubts she dashed towards the astronomy tower. As she got closer, she could hear frantic yelling and crashes. This only made her run faster. She peered into the room that held the spiral staircase that led up to the tower. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Her old professor, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, a tall red headed man that seemed to resemble Ron, Ginny Weasley, Professor McGonagall, and many others were casting spells in every direction. Large masked creatures did the same, and she quickly realized they were Death Eaters. One man was abnormally large and moved around as though he was some sort of wild creature. He stared at people as though he were hungry. Sophia's stomach did a double flip.
She watched in amazement as Neville charged at the spiral staircase but rebounded and was thrown onto his back. There must have been some sort of barrier.
"I believe only Death Eaters can get through," she overheard Lupin explain in a murmur to a girl with bright pink hair. Sophia stood still for a few seconds while trying to come up with a way to get through. Obviously if the others wanted to get through then there was something up there. Suddenly it hit her. She unsnapped the bag that lay across her chest and took out a small bottle. The bottle that contained the Polyjuice Potion Draco had given to her as a thank you. There was only a small fraction that would last about ten minutes, because that was all Draco had to give; but it would do.
A Death Eater had collapsed a few feet away from her and she took this as her chance. She grabbed a tuft of hair and dropped it into the flask and watched it bubble. She gulped it down in half a second and could already feel herself transforming. Her legs, torso, and arms extended only a couple inches, and her hair shortened so that it fell neatly above her shoulders. It was an odd sensation because she could not see what she had turned into. She ran across the room trying to avoid being hit by curses and jinxes, and muttered some herself. There was so much commotion no one even noticed that an extra Death Eater or two had been stupefied by some unknown source.
She stopped dead in front of the stairway and extended her arm. She slowly forced herself to push her arm forward. She felt nothing. It worked. The jinx couldn't recognize whether a real or fake Death Eater went through. Joy surged through her body and she stepped onto the stairwell. She was frightened at what she might encounter up atop the tower. She sauntered up the spiral staircase, and as she reached the top she heard two familiar voices.
"There is little time, one way or another," said Dumbledore. "So let us discuss your options, Draco."
Draco? Draco Malfoy? No…it couldn't be…
"My options! I'm standing here with a wand – I'm about to kill you –"
It was him. She would recognize his voice anywhere. But his voice was quivering, and she could hear his sense of fear.
"My dear boy, let us have no more pretense about that. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it when you first disarmed me, you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means."
Kill? Kill Dumbledore? Draco could never kill! Would never kill!
"I haven't got any options! I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!"
He? Who is He?
"I appreciate the difficulty of your position. Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realized that I suspected you." Draco winced.
Voldemort? Kill Draco and his family? But why? Since when? He had never mentioned this problem before….
"I did not dare speak to you of the mission with which I knew you had been entrusted, in case he used Legilimency against you." Dumbledore continued on, "But now at last we can speak plainly to each other…No harm has been done, you have hurt nobody, though you are very lucky that your unintentional victims survived…I can help you, Draco."
Was this a joke?
"No, you can't. Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."
Sophia gaped at Draco. His wand was shaking violently because his hand was trembling. She couldn't believe what was happening…
"He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in your attempt to kill me – forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had captured and killed your mother – it is what they would do themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban…When the time comes, we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco…you are not a killer…"
No. He isn't. He never will be.
"But I got this far, didn't I? They thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here…and you're in my power…I'm the one with the wand…You're at my mercy…"
No! Draco! What are you saying? Go with Dumbledore! Trust him! Why do you want respect and honor from those disgusting people? What is wrong with you? Sophia's head was exploding. She strode up behind Draco with her head above his left shoulder. She felt as though her body was involuntary. She whispered into his ear.
"Please…" a voice spoke.
"No, Draco," said Dumbledore quietly. A pair of arms wrapped around Draco's chest.
"Don't kill Dumbledore…" the voice pleaded.
"It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now."
Draco's mouth hung open and couldn't make sense of the two voices that were speaking to him, both familiar, both kind.
"I love you…" the voice whimpered. Draco's wand dropped a small amount and his shoulder started to feel wet…like someone was crying…like he had before…the first time he met…
Four Death Eaters erupted through the door and knocked Draco aside and Sophia went flying across the floor. Her body and head hit the rock floor simultaneously and she groaned, though no one could hear because the Death Eaters talked loudly to one another as soon as they had appeared.
The next five minutes were blurred and Sophia only caught some of the banter. Her hearing was becoming stifled and her eyes were hazy. She heard parts of conversation but the voices were muffled.
"Dumbledore cornered…Well done, Draco, well done!"
"And, yes, I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live…"
"I didn't….I didn't know he was going to come…"
"He's not long for this world anyway, if you ask me!"
"Always the same, weren't yeh, Dumby, talking and doing nothing, nothing…Come on, Draco, do it!"
"REDUCTO!" screamed numerous voices from below.
"Now, Draco, quickly!"
"I'll do it."
"I said no!"
A flash of light.
"…or stand aside so one of us…"
More footsteps from the stairs.
"…please…" a voice groaned.
A flash of green light.
Sophia's head was whirling and her eyes could no longer stay in focus. They shut, and her ears gave up. Her mind went blank.
She lay unconscious.
