~Year: 2009
"Hello, Bellatrix," Dumbledore says politely, as if making light conversation at a garden party. "Ah, you've brought Alecto, Amycus, and Fenrir along. Charming, charming."
"That's your problem, Dumbledore," Amycus wheezes. "Always talking, doing nothing."
"My downfall, I'm sure," Dumbledore replies, inclining his head. "Glad these two caught it in time." He nods towards you and Draco. You gulp and slide into Draco's shadow, scared and uncertain of what's about to happen. Draco clears his throat and presents his wand, holding it like a gun.
"Come on, Draco," Bellatrix urges him. She licks her lips, like a rabid dog. "Get it over with."
"Do let me have some fun first," Fenrir says, using his yellow thumbnail to clean out a gap in his teeth. "I'm starving."
Dumbledore makes a slight movement, and every one whips around to keep an eye on him. At the same moment, you hear a sound from below, a shout, and what sounds like a tussle.
"Hurry, Draco," Bellatrix pants.
"Draco…" you whisper. You're not encouraging him, but not telling him to stop, either. You're far too cowardly for that. There's another outburst down the stairs, and the sound of some one falling. Fenrir licks his lips.
"Delicious, delicious," he says aloud, looking tauntingly at Dumbledore, who slips a few more inches down the wall. "So many throats to rip out. I fear I may be getting greedy, Dumbledore."
"I'm surprised Draco and Celia invited you into the castle, Fenrir." Dumbledore glances at the two of you. "With all their friends downstairs." You glance fearfully at Draco, thinking of Daphne and Pansy, who are probably sitting in the common room right now, or lying down. Draco's jaw twitches, and you can tell he's thinking of Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini.
"I didn't…" Draco says, looking around.
"Relax," Fenrir growls. "No slytherin blood will be spilled."
Draco's form relaxes the smallest bit, but you're still tense. There should only be one murder committed tonight, no more, and no less. The thought of fellow students dying scares you, and the thought of killing a defenseless Dumbledore saddens you, makes you feel guilty and hopeless. Were you to be trapped for the rest of your life? Is this how things were supposed to be? Following plans blindly, without a regard for human life?
"Let Celia do it," Bellatrix snarls suddenly, losing patience with Draco, who seems unable to do the spell.
"No," he insists, his voice suddenly stronger. He turns to look at you, and for a moment, it looks as if there's a sparkle of a tear in his eye. "I can't let her do that." He turns away from you, and raises the wand, and opens his mouth. There's a loud crash, and Snape bursts into the room. Draco lowers his wand, a look of relief creeping onto his features.
"Severus," Dumbledore says, sounding, for the first time, scared. Almost as if he's pleading. You close your eyes, afraid to watch. There's an excited utterance, and then something whooshes past you, and you hear it hit something solid. Draco exhales deeply, his breath whistling between his teeth. He quickly wraps an arm around your shoulders and steers you away, your eyes still closed.
"Snape," you hear Bellatrix begin.
"Enough, Bella," he snaps. "We will be found out soon. Miss Validus, open your eyes for godssake."
"Don't tell her what to do," Draco says, sounding defiant, but you gently squeeze his
arm and he relents, turning his forehead into your hair. You can feel his pulse, running faster than usual, and his body is shaking lightly. The group quickly runs down the spiraling staircase, and through an invisible barrier, you and Draco in the middle, Bellatrix on one side, Alecto on the other. As you come down from the tower, spells begin to fly in the midst.
"The order," you hear Bellatrix say with a derisive laugh. She raises her wand and brings it down like a knife, and the people standing at the bottom of the stair are thrown back.
"Wait," Snape says, throwing his arm out to stop you and Draco. "Let them clear the way." Bellatrix beckons to the other death eaters, who quickly take off after her.
"Where's Rowle?" You ask, noticing his absence. As if on cue, you hear a loud thump overhead, as if some one has been stunned.
"Go," Snape urges, looking over his shoulder, and you and Draco hurry out through the barrier. There are spells in the midst, but none of them are directed at you. Draco takes your hand, and the two of you slip through the crowd, under the protection of being Hogwarts students. Snape leads the way, shunting others aside in his hurry.
"Snape!" You hear some one bellow. You look behind you to see Harry, his wand raised in the air, shooting stunning spells over Snape's head. One nearly hits Draco, and you retaliate, shooting more spells at Harry. He is forced to dive out of the way, and Draco pulls you behind a tapestry and down a passageway, down a chute, which leads into the Great Hall.
A loud noise greets you when you enter. You look up to see the stained glass window over the doors shatter into a million pieces, glass raining down like fatal raindrops. Draco shouts a protection spell, and you're immediately safe; the glass bounces away from your head and hits the wall opposite. You glance up the Grand Staircase to see Bellatrix, shooting spells over her shoulder as members of the order converge closer.
Snape opens the doors and pushes you and Draco through, ignoring the large groups of students who have emerged from the dungeons to see the source of the noise. In the crowd, you see Daphne, her pale face standing out from the others.
"Celia!" She yells, her hand raised. You want to shout back, tell her it's all okay, you'll be back, but you're not sure you can. You swallow, and look away. Draco, hearing your sniffles, pulls you through the doors as quick as he can, entwines his fingers with yours, and begins to run as fast as he can, pulling you along like a rag doll. Your feet move, but your heart longs to stay. You wish you could just slip back into the common room, fall asleep in your bed, but you know it's too late for that now.
"Snape!" In the darkness, you hear Harry's voice ring out again. A stunning spell rushes past you, shooting off into the night. You pause, and turn around. Draco stops too, watching Snape and Bellatrix, who have stopped to battle Harry.
"Go," Snape suddenly says, turning around. Bellatrix raises her wand, there's a bang, and then Harry is lying on the ground, convulsing. You make a sudden movement. Horrible as he is, selfish as he is, he doesn't deserve the cruciatus curse. You look at his poor, trembling form, and you're reminded of your parents. Were the subjected to that before they died? "GO," Snape roars. "Leave him, Bella! Leave him for the Dark Lord." Bellatrix turns away, a smirk on her thin face. She rushes to you and Draco.
"Come on," she says roughly. The three of you exit through the front gates of the school. Bellatrix evaporates on the spot. You turn to look at Hogwarts one last time. Night has completely fallen, and small handfuls of stars speckle the sky. The castle itself is completely lit up, light spilling from the windows and the doors. In the background, you can see the forbidden forest, and in the foreground, Hagrid's hut, which appears to be up in flames.
"We're never coming back, are we?" You ask Draco. He bows his head.
"I don't think so. Not after this. I think…we'll be lucky if we live," he says. "I'm sorry, Celia. I failed you."
"You didn't. He's dead, isn't he? The task was carried out."
A tear drips down his straight nose, and he wraps his arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug. He buries his face in your hair.
"Thank you for being here," he tells you simply. And then he lets you go. You place a hand on his shoulder, looking at his profile, silhouetted in the darkness. He places a hand on your shoulder, and then apparates. You're jerked into darkness, your hand pressed against Draco, the only solid thing in the world, the only thing keeping you grounded. And then, with a stomach turning stop, you fall to the gravel, your hands molding against the sharp texture of granite pebbles. You get to your feet and brush the blood and crumbles of rocks from your palms. Draco coughs and rolls over onto all fours. Bellatrix is waiting for you, standing against the iron gate, her long legs crossed.
"He's waiting for you."
"Who is?" You ask, knowing the answer full-well, but hoping that it's not true.
"The Dark Lord. He needs to hear everything."
Draco rises, his head hovering inches from yours. He looks ahead, his eyes blank, his mouth slack. When Bellatrix turns away, you reach up and kiss him on the cheek. You close your eyes and try to memorize his features, captured in the moment, just in case you never see him again.