I hope you guys like this chapter. I don't really like it, but it really gives you the chance to see what Darcy is thinking. I know that in the books and whatnot Harry is a character who really thinks a lot and keeps to his thoughts more often than not, but Darcy, I didn't want her to be like that. I wanted her character to be defined more by her actions than her thoughts and that's why I don't really write a lot as to what Darcy is thinking. Got it? Probably not. I'm horrible at explaining things…
BETRAYAL.
Harry and I arrived at the Astronomy Tower a little past nine and my thoughts were focused on Lupin. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't thinking about what I was going to say, if I was going to say anything at all. When Dumbledore met us, he was staring out at the grounds, oddly silent. He waited a few moments before speaking to us.
"You have the Invisibility Cloak?"
Harry pulled it out of his pocket.
"No one knows of this except for your friends, Harry?"
"Just Hermione and Ron, sir," he said hesitantly.
"Good," Dumbledore turned to face me. "You understand the plan, Darcy? You will wait here for us to return. I'm sure we'll return before the morning. Perhaps before midnight. Is that okay with you, Miss Potter?"
"Yes, sir," I said, not entirely sure of myself. "What if someone finds me up here?"
"I doubt anyone will come up here." Dumbledore seemed sure of himself.
I nodded. Within five minutes, Dumbledore had Harry by his side, underneath the Invisibility Cloak and they swept through the door. The door shut loudly and I sat down, watching down at the grounds. I found Dumbledore walking quickly towards Hogsmeade and when he out of sight, I sighed and laid back, putting my hands behind my head and staring up at the stars.
I felt truly alone at that moment. I was being isolated from Lupin, the one person who loved me unconditionally and the one person who made me beyond doubt happy. It wasn't like Harry didn't make me happy – he did – but he didn't love me the way that Lupin did. When you loved someone and when you were in a relationship, you were supposed to tell each other everything, weren't you? I was genuinely hurt by the fact that I wasn't allowed to tell Lupin what was going on. I trusted him with my life – why couldn't Harry? Why couldn't Dumbledore?
I had no idea who else to turn to. I didn't know who to go to. Who was I supposed to talk to if I couldn't talk to Lupin? I supposed I would have to make friends with Hermione and Ron, but they would never understand me like Lupin.
Then I thought of it. I couldn't tell him everything – but he'd understand. The only other person who knew everything about me. The only other person who would listen to me without putting in their opinions when it wasn't necessary. I jumped to my feet and ran out the door, slamming it behind me. I sprinted down the moving staircases and woke up several portraits on my way down the castle floors.
By the time I reached the bottom floor of Hogwarts, I was panting and out of breath and when I reached the door I was looking for, I leaned on it and caught my breath. I didn't knock; I walked into the familiar room and looked around.
"Professor?" I gasped. "Professor!"
"What?" Snape appeared before his desk. He had been hunched over, picking up books that were scattered on the floor. He seemed surprised to see me and I stood in the doorway for a minute or two, grasping at my chest and heaving. "What are you doing here?"
It frightened me a bit to hear the tone he spoke to me in. His voice was dangerous and cold and I paused before taking a step towards him. "I just – I –" What was I even supposed to say to him? I was so used to going to Snape with my problems. I hadn't thought ahead. Was I allowed to tell Snape? He was, after all, Dumbledore's right hand man. Would Dumbledore care? "I – uh…"
"Well? Spit it out!"
"Dumbledore wanted me to tell you that he won't be here for the night," I said quickly, still trying to catch my breath. Snape scrunched his hook nose and narrowed his black eyes at me. "And that's it. I was – that's what he – I had to tell you. That's what Dumbledore wanted you to know."
"When will he be back?" asked Snape.
"I – I don't know. He didn't say. He didn't know."
Snape stepped closer to me and looked down at me, looking strangely conflicted.
I shrugged and Snape nodded. "Out. Away with you, Miss Potter."
"But – Professor!"
"Out!"
"Professor!"
"For God's sake, Darcy, I'm not your father! What do you want from me?"
Those words hurt me more than anything. The way he said them. The way he looked at me when he spoke them. I thought that I had found a friend in Snape, but after hearing that, I felt crushed. I felt that everything I told him before meant nothing. He hadn't really listened. He had just pretended. Just pretended to care because Dumbledore made him do it. It wasn't Snape's choice to protect me – it all came down to Dumbledore.
"Don't you remember who I am sometimes?" Snape hissed in my face. I looked away from him and crossed my arms, retreating back into my shell. "I am not here to father you, Miss Potter. I am not here to look after you and love you and make sure you grow up all right. I'm not here to listen to your complaining and I'm not here to make all your problems go away. Understand? Now tell me what it is you want from me and be on your way!"
I had nothing else to say to him. I would have been perfectly content simply sitting in his presence. I just felt safe around Snape, even knowing only a bit of his past with the Death Eaters. There was something about him that made me believe he'd protect me if something bad were to happen. Without Lupin, I was weak. Without Snape, I was weak. I couldn't be weak, though. I had to be strong.
I closed my eyes and took a step back.
"Nevermind, then," I whispered and I looked him in the eyes once more. I turned my back on him, but felt his hand come down on my shoulder and grip it tight. He spun me around to face him and I jumped when his fingers dug into my shoulder. He let go and raised an eyebrow slightly. "I do know who you are. I know that you care for pretty much no one but yourself, but I really thought that you listened to me. I've grown up without a father figure and you gave me advice and listened and that's what fathers are supposed to do right? I know that you'll never replace my father and you'll never be as great as he was – he sacrificed his life for me, you know. For me and my brother. But I just need someone. Anyone. And you happened to be that someone and now – now I've got no one. So thank you. Really, thank you."
I backed up and this time, Snape didn't try to stop me. He let me keep walking and he mumbled something incoherent under his breath. I started my trek back up to the Astronomy Tower and arrived a little before eleven. I sat back down, confused, with the spring breeze blowing on me. I tucked my hair behind my ears and stared down at the wooden floor.
Thoughts about Harry now swarmed my brain. What was the Horcrux going to be? Where was it hidden? How was Dumbledore going to destroy it? Did Harry have to destroy it or could it be anyone? And what would happen? Would Voldemort know that a Horcrux was destroyed? It was a piece of his soul – Voldemort would have to know that a part of his soul was being killed.
Then there was the awful thought – the one that lingered in the back of my mind and didn't go away no matter what. If Harry and I did end up dead before all the Horcruxes were destroyed, could others destroy them and then Voldemort? Or did it have to Harry to defeat Voldemort? I wondered what the world would be like with Voldemort as the Supreme Ruler. The Minster for Magic. That thought terrified me, but I knew that as long as Harry and I lived, that wouldn't happen and if it did happen, Harry and I would be dead, so there wouldn't be much to worry about.
However, death terrified me beyond belief. The thought that not only Harry, but that me, Hermione, and Ron were risking their lives because of some guesses that Dumbledore made – how could he be sure? How sure was Dumbledore in the first place? Did Dumbledore know exactly the risks that we were going to be taking? Of course, he'd be a little more open to the possible outcome of death. Dumbledore was old. He lived his life. He wouldn't mind dying a year or two early. Harry and I had our whole lives ahead of us. Was that why Dumbledore was doing this? Did he really care about dying? He wanted us to die instead?
No, I thought. Dumbledore cared about us.
I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. I was ready to wait for Harry and Dumbledore to return. I waited patiently.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There was a loud crack! that woke me up. Dumbledore and Harry had Apparated right in the Astronomy Tower, right in front of me. I jumped up and saw that Dumbledore blinked for a long time, groaning quietly. Harry was holding him up.
"Darcy!" Harry seemed panicked. "A – a potion – he drank – Go down and get Madam Pomfrey"
"Severus," Dumbledore rasped, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Go get Severus and bring him here, Darcy. Severus."
I nodded tentatively and backed away. Before I could reach the staircase down to the door out of the tower, I heard it open and I froze. I turned back to Dumbledore and he pushed Harry towards me.
"Hide yourself below," he whispered. "Do not be seen or heard. Go!"
I tugged on Harry's hand and did as Dumbledore said. We quietly went down below the floor Dumbledore was standing on and I took the Cloak from Harry's hands and threw it over his head. Harry was silent and I held onto a piece of the Cloak, my breath shaky.
Footsteps ran up towards Dumbledore. I don't know who I expected it to be – I half expected Ron or Hermione, but it was Draco Malfoy, who had his wand pointed at Dumbledore. I held my breath. "Good evening, Draco," Dumbledore said calmly as ever. "What brings you here on this fine, spring evening?"
"Who else is here?" Malfoy responded quickly and sharply. "I heard you talking."
"Oh, I often talk out loud to myself. I find it extraordinarily useful." He paused and I looked up through the holes in the floor. "Have you been whispering to yourself, Draco?" Malfoy was silent, but kept his wand straight. "Draco, you are no assassin."
Malfoy retorted quickly yet again. "How do you know what I am? I've done things that would shock you!"
"What? Like cursing Katie Bell in hoping that in return she'd bear a cursed necklace to me?" asked Dumbledore, his hands behind his back. "Like replacing a bottle of mead with one laced with poison? Forgive me, Draco, I cannot help feeling these actions are so weak that your heart can't really have been in them."
"He trusts me!" Malfoy protested. "I was chosen!"
And then he rolled up his left sleeve. Branded on his forearm was the Dark Mark. I closed my eyes and sighed. Harry and I had been right all along. I felt my hand trembling violently. He was going to kill Dumbledore and it was going to happen right in front of us. Dumbledore only seemed half surprised. "I shall make it easy for you," Dumbledore said, holding up his hands, holding his wand in his right.
"Expelliarmus!" Malfoy said and Dumbledore's wand flew from his hand, dropping a few feet away on the ground. I took my wand out of my pocket and pointed it up towards Malfoy's feet. I glanced in the direction of Harry, but couldn't see him under the Cloak.
"Very good, very good," Dumbledore continued.
The door opened again and I held my breath, trying not to breathe loudly.
"You're not alone," Dumbledore said, his eyebrows raised. The door closed. "There are others." Dumbledore took a slight step towards Malfoy, whose arm was shaking almost as badly as mine. He looked to be crying. "How?"
"The Vanishing Cabinet in the room of Requirement," Malfoy answered. I closed my eyes again. That's what he was looking at in Borgin and Burkes. "I've been mending it."
I took a step back, trying to get out of the way of the others who had entered and were going to walk up the stairs any moment to join Malfoy and Dumbledore. My wand was still raised, but I had let go of Harry's cloak and didn't know where he was.
"Let me guess," Dumbledore seemed to be piecing it together, as well. "It has a sister! A twin!"
"In Borgin and Burkes," Malfoy explained. I thought he was stalling. "They form a passage."
"Ingenious!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Draco, years ago, I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please, let me help you…"
"I don't want your help!" Draco shouted, his eyes red. "Don't you understand? I have to do this. I have to kill you… or he's going to kill me…"
The footsteps got louder and louder and suddenly, they were right on top of me. Bellatrix grinned, leading Fenir Greyback and two other Death Eaters to Malfoy. "Well," Bellatrix nodded to Dumbledore. "Look what we have here. Well done, Draco."
"Good evening, Bellatrix," Dumbledore said somewhat cheerfully. "I think introductions are in order, don't you?"
"Love to, Albus," she sighed. "But I'm afraid we're on a bit of a tight schedule. Do it!"
Malfoy didn't move or speak. "He doesn't have the stomach," Fenir chuckled darkly. "Just like his father." Malfoy frowned. "Let me finish him in my own way."
"No!" Bellatrix snapped.
I backed up and felt an arm snake around me and cover my mouth. My first thought was Harry, but the hand was bigger and rough… I whimpered quietly, trying to find Harry, but I had no idea where he was. I looked to my right to see an arm outstretched, holding a wand, with a black sleeve.
Dumbledore was saved! "Shh," Snape breathed very, very quietly.
"The Dark Lord was clear the boy is to do it!" Bellatrix said. I lowered my wand. "This is your moment… do it… Go on, Draco! Now!"
Malfoy didn't speak. Snape's hand retracted from my mouth and he brushed past me, silently moving up the stairs, his wand at his side. "No," he said firmly. He walked over to Malfoy, face to face with Dumbledore. Malfoy jumped and turned to look at Snape, whose face wasn't as cold as it normally was… He had a hard time meeting Dumbledore's eyes.
I stared up at Snape; his black eyes flicked to mine and then Dumbledore's did the same. With wide eyes and a trembling body, I was frozen to the spot. "Severus," Dumbledore pleaded. Snape's eyes moved from mine to Dumbledore's. There was a long pause. "Please."
There was a moment's hesitation and then Snape drew his wand from his pocket and spoke flatly. "Avada Kedavra." A jet of green light and Dumbledore fell back – back off the Astronomy Tower.
I covered my mouth and felt tears rush to my eyes. I sobbed into my hand, trying to keep quiet. I bit down on my knuckles and drew blood. I reached around for Harry and he grabbed my arm, trying to calm me down, but it was no use. Snape killed Dumbledore. Dumbledore was dead. That's why Snape was acting so cold towards me for a while. He knew it was coming. He had betrayed my trust. It was too late. Snape was already ushering everyone else of the Astronomy Tower.
