~Year: 2009
You began to practice for the night the Death Eaters would invade the castle. The Dark Lord had assigned Draco to carry out the actual murder, while you, Bellatrix, and the others were to hold up the hallways that lead to entrances and passageways. You and Draco spent nearly all your spare time in the room of requirement, practicing jinxes and curses.
"Come on, Celia," Draco coaxed one night. You close your eyes. He was around the corner of the room, his back to you. You were practicing sending message by Patronus, which is how you would notify the Death Eaters. "You've almost got it."
You open your mouth, sigh, and raise your wand. You draw a memory of you and Draco from the back of your mind, from your childhood, when you and Draco sat close to each other in the tall grasses, laughing, occasionally knocking a leg against each other. You think of this when you say: "Expecto Patronum."
A panther explodes from the tip of your wand, slinks across the floor towards Draco, it's tail swinging dangerously. It leaps to Draco's side. You hear the ghost of what sounds like your voice, and then the panther disappears.
"Perfect," Draco says, turning to smile at you. You smile back.
"Come on," you say. "Show me what you've got now." Draco's smile fades instantly. He takes a deep breath and you come to his side. He raises a shaking arm, and you place your hand on his wrist, steadying him. He clears his throat.
"A-Avada Kedavra," he whispers. The green stream of light hits the wall opposite, burning a hole straight through the stone.
"Maybe you should practice on something live," you suggest gently. You wave your wand silently, and a bird appears, twittering as it flies above your heads. You wave your wand again and it's paused in mid-air.
Draco looks away from the bird, as if it's dangerous.
"You have to make sure," you tell him quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder. He covers your fingers with his own, and then drops your hand.
"Avada Kedavra," he says. The flash of green hits the little bird right in the chest, and it falls to the floor with a finite thump. You wave your wand so it's body disappears. In a way, you feel that the body of the bird represented your future. As Draco places his arms around your waist and you bury your face in his neck, you wonder what will happen next. Will your future be cut as abruptly as that bird's life? What if you fail? But then Draco kisses you, and you tell yourself that you can't fail. You look up into his eyes and know that he depends on you and vice versa. Neither one of you is going to let the other down.
The day arrives five days later. You and Draco are in the Slytherin common room, sitting on the couch. Draco is playing with a fanged Frisbee he stole from a first year, and your looking over old potion notes. The doors to the room open and Snape, hunched over and greasier than usual enters, his hook nose protruding horribly.
"Miss Validus, Draco," he calls, beckoning the two of you forward. You exchange a nervous glance with Draco, and then push yourself off the couch. Slowly, you take your steps towards Snape, your heart heavier than lead. "The time has come," he tells you. "Dumbledore has just told me he intends to leave the castle in ten minutes time. You need to prepare, now." He nods once, and then leaves, returning, no doubt, to his private quarters.
"Are you ready?" You ask Draco, your hands shaking. You feel a sense of terror well up inside you, causing you to stumble over your words.
"No," he says truthfully, but stands taller. "Not at all. But I have to be, don't I?" He leans in and presses his lips to your forehead. More than anything, you just want to wrap your arms around his neck and stay like that.
"What if it doesn't go right?" You ask, your voice shaking as you reach out to straighten his collar. "What if we can't…?"
"We have to," Draco insists, his voice sharp.
"You're right," you relent. "I…I'll go. Prepare." Draco suddenly seizes you, presses his lips to yours, tugs lightly on your hair, and then is gone. Your legs shaking, you raise your wand in the air, thinking of him, his kiss, and then whisper the charm. "Expecto Patronum." You see the panther whiz by, and know it has worked. Without another thought, you sprint from the room and up the stairs, towards the Great Hall. In your hurry, you nearly bump into some one.
"Oh, excuse me," you say. And then you feel the nervous pit in your stomach explode. You almost just collided with Dumbledore.
"Hello, Miss Validus," he says, looking down at you over his spectacles, which are balanced precariously on the tip of his crooked nose. "I trust your evening is going well?"
"Oh…yes, Sir. Very much so."
"Good, good." He replies. Dumbledore pats his beard. "I do trust you will be successful in your…ah…studies, tonight."
These words cause you to freeze up. Your mouth drops open, and you feel yourself shake your head. Is it possible Dumbledore knew? All along? Was he planning to leave and never come back, so that your mission would fail?
"Erm. Yes," you hear yourself spit out. "I hope so."
"We all do, Miss Validus." He smiles. "Good night, now. I must be going." He waits for a moment longer before turning and heading out the doors, nearly taking three normal steps at a time. You shake your head, your fears, away, and then run up the Grand Staircase, towards the Room of Requirement. The Death Eaters had already arrived when you entered the Room, you could hear them entering the cabinet, one by one.
"She should be here," you hear Bellatrix grumble. "For fuck's sake, Rowle, just push open the doors already." But you beat him to it, pulling open the doors so abruptly that the Death Eaters tumble out, falling all over each other. Bellatrix is the first to stand, her frizzy hair nearly inches taller than you.
"Celia, my dear," she beams, as if she was greeting you on your wedding day, rather then the day you were assigned to commit the most meaningful murder in wizarding history. "You remember Rowle, Dolhov, The Carrows, and Fenrir." You shudder slightly at the appearance of the last man, who's skin is scaly and nails are sharpened to a knife-like tip.
"Right," you say. "Here's the plan. Draco believes that setting the Dark Mark over the Astronomy Tower will draw Dumbledore there first thing."
"Smart boy," Bellatrix says with a laugh. She takes something from her pocket, and you recognize her silver knife. She picks between her teeth with it.
"We need to block off that corridor so only we can reach it. That is, those of us with dark marks. The teachers and students cannot be allowed up there."
Fenrir picks at his fingernails, and lets out an excited breath, which reeks of sullied flesh.
"Right," you continue, distracted. "Erm. We think that Harry Potter might know what we're up to, that he warned others. Something he said to Draco…I don't know." You remember what he knows about you, and pray to God that Harry's not smart enough to piece two and two together. "Just…watch out. Okay?" You check your watch. It's nearly ten minutes to eleven.
"Come on, everyone," Bellatrix whispers in her rapsy voice. She begins to leave the room, the Death Eaters trailing behind. As soon as the door opens, you spot Draco, holding his hand of Glory, the shriveled hand his father gave him as a birthday present nearly five years ago.
"I spotted the mudblood Granger and others on their way up," he says, his eyes wide.
"I've got this," Bellatrix says, delighted, drawing her wand.
"No," you insist, holding out a hand. "We can't draw suspicion. Here." You reach in your pocket and find what you're looking for; a handful of glittering black powder. You link arms with Draco, and Bellatrix on your other side, and then wait. As you see Granger's bushy hair round the corner, you throw it into the air, blinding you all.
Immediately, you hear screams and a moan. Granger brought friends. But you have no time to waste. Draco pulls you forward, steering carefully around the blundering Gryffindors. You hear Belatrix hiss at Neville Longbottom, who jumps a foot in the air.
"This way," he urges you all quietly. You run up a narrow staircase, which leads to the astronomy tower. Half-way there, you stop.
"We need you to stay here," Draco commands of the group. "Keep watch and set up the barrier. We'll be down soon. It won't take long." He extends his hand to you. You look back at the rather frightening group of people looking back at you. These were people my parents trusted, you tell yourself. And then you slip your hand into his. Draco pulls you up the stairs and through a set of glittering gold doors. Night has completely fallen now, and the only sounds come from the soft swooshing of owl's wings as the fly by, and the hum of the Death Eater's voices as they begin to cast protective enchantments.
"Cast the mark, then," you tell him.
"Thought you should do the honors," he says quietly.
"What a gentleman," you reply lightly, in contrast with the morose mood. You raise your wand above your head. "Mordsamore." The entwined skull and snake shoot into the sky, casting an eerie green glow onto the tip of the trees. Seconds later, you can faintly see a figure rise into the air.
"That'll be him," you say. "Come on, let's hide below until he arrives. I think it might blow our cover if we were just waiting here." You and Draco quickly run down to the half-way point of the staircase, where you sit quietly, your bodies shaking with nerves. Finally, you hear the sound of footsteps above your head. The Golden Doors open, and then you and Draco spring, shooting out onto the tower. Draco disarms Dumbledore, who leans against the side of the castle, looking weak.
"Who else is here?" You ask immediately. Two brooms float above the ground. Draco trains his wand on Dumbledore, and you kick Dumbledore's wand aside.
"Very good, Draco, Celia," Dumbledore says, nodding. He slips a little, and then regains his balance.
"We have to kill you," Draco says, his wand trained on Dumbledore.
"You have to kill me," Dumbledore corrects.
"No," you say, your voice loud. "We. Both of us, together."
Dumbledore looks at you and smiles sadly. "This is not what your parents would have wanted, Celia. It is not what you want." You glance at Draco's profile.
"Yes, it is."
"Your parents were good people," Dumbledore continues. "Yes, I knew them. They came to me years before they died. They gave me valuable information on Voldemort."
"N-No." You refuse to believe it. He's stalling, is all. "They wouldn't. They were loyal."
"They gave me information they would later use to try to have Regulus Black killed," Dumbledore continues. "They did it to protect you. You were ever so dear to them."
You turn away from him, feeling suddenly sick to your stomach. It makes sense now, why Regulus wanted revenge.
"But what?" You ask. "What did they know?"
Dumbledore looks blankly at you. "Voldemort's innermost secrets, shared only by his most faithful followers."
Draco tightens his grip on his wand. "I don't believe it."
"You don't have to," Dumbledore says. He turns his gaze to Draco. "Now, now, Draco. Be rational. You are not a killer."
"How do you know?" Draco says, and you nod. "I've killed things before. I'm capable."
Dumbledore smiles softly. "Forgive my arrogance, but you've tried to kill me twice this year, and twice, you failed. I had to wonder if your heart was in it, really and truly."
"It is," Draco insists. "I've worked hour after hour on this. I have to…" he looks sideways at you. "I have to do this, or he'll kill everyone I love."
"I-"
"Everyone!" Draco roars. "My family, and Celia. He'll take everything from me."
"We can offer you protection, Draco. Protection no one else can provide. We can keep your mother and father safe, and of course, Miss Validus here." Draco looks at you again, and you see his eyes soften. He opens his mouth, and slackens his grip.
And then the doors to the tower open again, revealing Bellatrix, Fenrir, the Carrows, and Rowle.
"Hello, Dumbledore," Bellatrix leers. "Nice night for eternal sleep, don't you think?"