A couple weeks later, I got called into Professor Dumbledore's office. I automatically assumed I was in trouble, even though there was virtually no reason why I would be in trouble-not that I could think of. I suppose you always assume that you're in trouble when you get called into the headmaster's office, even when the reality is that you're getting an award or something. (Not that I was) Fear is just inspired by the headmaster's office, in general.

When I got into the office, I was surprised to see Severus in there with Professor Dumbledore. "Severus? What are you doing in here?" I asked him.

"Take a seat, Victoria," Professor Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the big chair in front of his desk. I sat down, but I was on edge. Everything in this room put me on edge, even though I knew that Dumbledore was trying to be calming. But, I could sense the anxiety and the tension in the room. I would have had to be an idiot to not sense it. "Biscuit?" Dumbledore asked, offering up a tin of chocolate covered biscuits.

"No thanks. I'm not a big fan of chocolate," I said politely, forcing a weak smile on my face. "Am I in trouble or something?" I asked. Wasting time was not something I enjoyed doing. Might as well cut to the chase, especially if I wasn't going to like what I was going to hear.

"No, you aren't in trouble. I think it's time that we had a talk about something important," Dumbledore said. At first, I thought he was going to give me lecture about my life choices or something. It seemed like a lot of people were trying to do that around that time. I just didn't give a f*ck. Then, Professor Dumbledore said something that completely changed my look on the situation. "First, you must promise to tell nobody, not even your fiancé."

I was going to ask why I needed to promise, but my DADA professor cut me off. "Believe me, you want to promise. You need to know this-your life might end up depending on it," he said.

"Okay," I said, sighing. "I promise." I wasn't liking where this was heading, but I listened regardless.

"First of all, you know who saved you that night all those years ago, don't you?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

I nodded. "Severus told me a few months ago," I said.

"Draco was with you that night, which means that both of you survive the war. You didn't tell me too much about the future we are soon going to live in, except that you must trust yourself. You will have to make sacrifices soon, Victoria," Dumbledore explained. I nodded, even though it seemed very obvious to me that that was going to happen. "Voldemort is planning on using you as bait for your brother, as well as for Draco. In this war, you are one of the biggest bargaining tools."

I thought about that for a long time before responding. "I don't want to be bait for anyone. I want to fight in this war," I said, staring at both of the men directly in the eyes.

It wasn't the answer they were expecting. They expected me to be weak or complain or something. I'm not completely sure what they were thinking I'd say, but it wasn't that. They both hesitated, and thought about what to say. Eventually, Severus was the one who answered.

"You're going to have to fight from the inside, then. Try to corrupt the death eater clan. But, over all, you're going to have to be brave. There is no doubt in my mind that you are going to be tortured. You can't let them break you, no matter what. Don't ever give in-don't ever tell them anything."

"What if they use veritaserum on me? How am I going to resist then?" I asked.

"If someone is strong enough, and their heart is in the right place, they can resist the effects," Severus stated. I didn't know that was possible, but it made sense, I guess. Most magic wasn't dark-and being good and brave usually could overcome everything. "But, I doubt they're even going to try veritaserum. Voldemort prefers seeing his victims scream when he's interrogating them."

I nod. "There's something else you want to tell me. You wouldn't have told me to come all the way up here if you were just going to tell me things that I already knew," I said. They were surprised that I knew so much, but I wasn't wrong.

"I'm dying, Victoria. I also know that your fiancé was given the order to kill me, and that you will die if he doesn't complete his mission. But, don't let him kill me. Voldemort has to trust Severus completely, even though he is working for our side. And, I know that you don't want to see your fiancé become a murderer," Dumbledore said.

I wasn't surprised. Looking at Dumbledore's hand, I knew that something was wrong from the second school started. Nothing could survive long with a curse like that. But, this made me really happy. Draco wouldn't have to kill Dumbledore (in fact, he wasn't supposed to) and neither of us would die. The solution was perfect. Also, I always knew that Severus would be a double agent. It made sense to me, considering the fact that he was such a good man, but that he was also going to be sucked into the Death Eater world inevitably. "So, can I leave now?" I asked them, and I started getting up.

"Not quite yet," Severus said. I sat back down. "You aren't going to like this, I'm afraid," he said. What could be worse than what I just heard? Nothing, I thought. I was wrong.

"Okay, let's get this over with," I said.

Professor Dumbledore hesitated. "Are you sure we need to tell her?" he asked Severus. I was surprised that Severus was the one giving advice on this, and that he was the one who wanted me to hear it.

"She needs to know. She is going to find out eventually-might as well prepare her for it," Severus said. I didn't like at all where this was going. I kept trying to figure out what they were going to say. But, I couldn't. I had no clue what they were about to tell me, and it scared the death out of me. Normally, I at least had a little bit of a sense of what someone was going to say. This time, though, I was completely clueless.

Dumbledore took a deep breath before telling the story. "That night that you were saved and Harry somehow lived through the killing curse, something happened. When Voldemort killed your mother, a part of his soul latched onto the only living thing in the room, which was your brother," he said.

He stopped talking, waiting for me to figure out what was going on. "So Harry's a horcrux, then?" I asked.

"Yes, he is. You found out about the horcruxes thing?" Dumbledore asked me.

"Yeah. Harry's not exactly quiet when he talks to Hermione and Ron," I explained.

Dumbledore nodded, and didn't ask me to elaborate on how I knew. My explanation was good enough. He brought the subject to something I wasn't a huge fan of discussing. "So you do know what will have to happen if the end goal is to kill Voldemort, right?" he asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. The idea had entered my head, but it was too ridiculous for me to consider.

"I mean that horcruxes will keep Voldemort alive, no matter what happens to his physical being. The only way to kill Voldemort is by destroying all of the horcruxes," Dumbledore said, his voice growing sadder with each and every word.

I knew exactly what he was trying to say, and what the meaning behind it was. But, the thought was so ridiculous that I couldn't believe it. Eventually, though, I forced myself to accept the reality. "Harry's going to have to die," I said.

"Yes, he is. And Voldemort is going to have to kill him," Dumbledore said with a truly saddened voice.

I looked down at the ground, trying to keep my emotions from spilling out. I couldn't be weak, not now. I wasn't the one who was going to die-my brother was. Why was I so upset? I barely knew my brother, and the person that I did know wasn't someone I loved that much. But, he was still my brother. Despite all the crap that he had put me through in the past, I still loved him. He was still that hero that stopped the rise of Voldemort twice. He was there when I I got attacked in that graveyard.

Then, I thought about the graveyard incident, and what happened after. "Harry might still live. I was given the choice to go back, so why shouldn't he?" I asked.

"Victoria, almost nobody is given that choice. The only reason why you were given that choice was because you would have never lived past 2 if you didn't come back," Severus said.

"Maybe everyone's given that choice-everyone who has a good heart and good reason to live. Most people just probably don't take the opportunity," I said. I know I almost didn't. I wanted to move on and be rid of this pain that the world has brought me. But, I couldn't leave Draco. That's the only reason why I stayed. If he wasn't here, I wouldn't have cared about the consequences of dying before saving myself.

"Possibly, but don't get your hopes up. It is unlikely that it will happen-very unlikely," Dumbledore said.

"Thank you," I said, and I left. The hardest thing in the world would be keeping this from Draco, but I had to. Honestly, though, I wish that I never found out. It would have made my life so much easier.