It is dark. Tall, foreboding trees and bushes line the forest. I am standing close to the edge of a clearing. I slowly turn in a circle to assess my surroundings. When I look up, I gasp. In the sky is a black cloud in the shape of skull. Another cloud in the shape of a snake emerges from the mouth of the skull- the Dark Mark. I take a nervous step backwards. A presence is behind me and I turn around to see Lord Voldemort. The lightning bolt-shaped scar on the side of my forehead begins to burn terribly. I cry out in pain and press my fingers to my scar. Then, I see him stepping out from behind a tree. His white-blond hair glows in the moonlight.
"Draco!" I call. He does not answer me. I run to him and place my hand on his arm, but he does not acknowledge it. I realize, then, that I am invisible. Draco walks away from me to stand in front of Voldemort. Draco pulls back the sleeve of his left arm revealing a tattoo of a skull and snake.
"Yes, the time is close now!" says Voldemort. "Tonight is the night. The girl will come, and Harry will arrive to save the day. By the end of tonight, they will both be dead. Allison Potter, come to me!"
"Alli," Ashley called. "Alli, wake up!"
Alli jumped and sat up in bed. Warm blankets were twisted around her legs. Ashley stood by the edge of her bed with her hands on her hips.
"Bloody hell, Alli," Ashley grumbled. "What is wrong with you?" Alli glanced at the clock on her bedside table: 11:30pm.
"I have to go see Harry," said Alli frantically. She kicked her legs out from under the blankets and stepped out of bed. "I have to go see Harry," Alli repeated, talking to herself.
"Okay, you have to go see Harry, but you don't have to scream and wake me up for something stupid like that," Ashley told her.
"I had a nightmare," said Alli. "It's not stupid, okay?"
"Sure," Ashley said with a roll of her eyes.
"Okay, I'm leaving now," Alli told her. She spotted her light gray Slytherin robe on a chair in the corner of the room. She shrugged it on over her t-shirt and black sweatpants as quickly as she could. After grabbing her wand and slipping on black house shoes, Alli took off. She had only one thought: she needed to speak to Harry about their dream. If the dream was true, then something was going to happen that night- something bad. Alli got to the Entrance Hall and stopped in her tracks realizing she had no idea where Gryffindor Tower was located. She'd never been there. Alli jogged up the first staircase but was lost as she reached the next floor.
"Lumos."
With the lighted tip of her wand, she continued up another flight of stairs and suddenly had an idea. The paintings knew where everything was in the castle, right? Alli brought her glowing wand close to the nearest painting- an old wizard slumped over in a recliner with a book in his hands looking as if he had fallen asleep while reading. The wizard in the painting immediately woke up when Alli's wand neared his face.
"Put that light out, mind you. I'm trying to sleep here," the painting grumbled.
"I need your help with something," said Alli.
"Well, what is it? Go on, go on."
"Where is Gryffindor Tower?" Alli asked. The wizard let out a bellowing laugh. "Okay, there is nothing funny about what I just said," Alli snapped. "Where is it?"
"Why would a Slytherin want to know where Gryffindor Tower is? You got in a mess with someone up there?" the wizard chuckled.
"No, actually I just need to go to see my cousin, Harry," Alli told him. The painting gave her a blank stare. "Okay," Alli muttered to herself, "you're not helping me." She turned to the next painting on the wall. "Hey!" Alli whispered. The second painting awoke.
"Yes, yes?" the skinny witch in the painting asked.
"Can you tell me where Gryffindor Tower is? This other guy over here wouldn't help me," said Alli, glaring at the first painting.
"Sure, the portrait of the fat lady at the entrance is my sister," said the witch in the painting.
"The fat lady?" Alli snickered raising her eyebrows.
"She is rather large," the witch laughed along. Alli returned to her normal composure and crossed her arms.
"Okay, well, where is it?"
"Right, right," said the painting. "All you have to do is walk straight up this staircase, then take the next staircase on your left. You will turn the corner and see the fat lady there."
Alli repeated the directions to herself.
"Okay, thanks," said Alli. She took off so quickly that she didn't hear the painting's last words of: "But, there is a password!"
Alli found the portrait of the fat lady a few minutes later. The fat lady was asleep with her head leaning against the frame.
"Damn, she is fat," Alli muttered. This woke up the fat lady who looked at Alli with utter disgust.
"Whatever you were about to say I shall not answer now," the fat lady said haughtily. Alli rolled her eyes.
"I need to get into the Gryffindor Tower," Alli stated.
"Password?" the fat lady asked. Alli narrowed her eyes and was about to retort when the fat lady pointed a finger at Alli. "You are not a Gryffindor student," the fat lady declared. Alli looked down at the Slytherin crest embroidered on her robe and rolled her eyes.
"This is really super important," Alli told her.
"I am sorry, but you need to be a Gryffindor student to enter," she repeated, "and you need the password."
"Listen," said Alli, crossing her arms, "I'm not in the mood to deal with this stupid password shit, okay? I need to see Harry like right now."
"Well, you're in luck," the fat lady replied. The portrait swung open and Harry emerged from the portrait hole followed by Ron and Hermione. In Harry's hand, was a folded piece of parchment and draped over his arm was a shimmering purple and gold cloak.
"Harry!" said Alli. "Thank the Lord!"
"Alli," Harry said hurriedly. "We were coming to find you. I saw you leave the dungeons and-"
"Oh, my gosh," said Alli. "Your fat lady portrait is obnoxious." The fat lady swung closed. She folded her arms and disappeared from the frame. Then, Alli narrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, how did you know where I was?" Alli asked Harry. Harry held up the piece of parchment in his hand."
"The Maurader's Map," Harry replied matter-of-factly.
"That doesn't answer my question," said Alli.
"It's a map," said Ron. "You know, of Hogwarts. It shows you every person in the castle resembled by a name and a black dot. Harry had it open and saw that you had left your dormitory."
"That's sort of creepy," Alli replied.
"Alli, we need to talk about that dream," Harry began.
"I know. The one about the clearing in that scary forest and You-Know-Who was there. Then Draco stepped out from behind the tree. The Dark Mark was in the sky and-"
"Hold on," Harry stopped her. "That wasn't what happened in my dream."
"What?" Alli replied, shocked. "We always have the same dreams. What was yours about?"
"I was following Malfoy down a corridor and I had the map," said Harry. "Then, he vanished from the map. I don't remember what else happened after that. It's fuzzy."
"That's so weird. How does that happen? Unless..." Alli trailed off.
"Unless You-Know-Who made you see different things," Ron suggested.
"It is strange though, isn't it?" said Hermione.
"Actually, there is something I haven't shared with you yet," said Alli. "It's important."
"Go on, then," said Ron.
"I am, chill. British people are so impatient, I swear," Alli said. Harry rolled his eyes. "Okay, so the other day, I overheard Draco and Snape talking. I snuck away from the Quidditch match to go to the library and study and I saw them in the hallway. I stopped by the corner to listen and they were talking quietly so there must have been something going on that they didn't want anyone else to hear," said Alli. "They were talking about a mission Draco had been given. Snape said Draco wasn't doing what he was asked and that if he didn't go through with it, then Snape would intervene. Snape also said something else. He said he had made the Unbreakable Vow."
Hermione's lips parted and she made eye contact with Ron and Harry. Harry looked confused.
"So, what happens? You know, if you break an unbreakable vow?" Harry asked.
"You die," replied Ron. Hermione looked up suddenly, an expression of sudden revelation on her face.
"I think I know what Malfoy's mission is," Hermione told them. "I can't believe I didn't see this before. It's so obvious!" Hermione continued, now pacing around.
"Well, what is it?" Ron asked.
"Malfoy's mission," Hermione said. Then, she turned her attention to Alli. "He wants Alli," Hermione finished. Alli felt as if her heart had dropped into her stomach.
"No," said Alli under her breath. She looked from Hermione to Harry to Ron. "No, th-that can't be it."
"Hermione's right," Harry told her. "Draco's mission is…"
"To take you to Voldemort," Hermione finished.
"He wouldn't do that, though," said Alli. "He couldn't." Her voice trembled. Then, she narrowed her eyebrows. "Draco would never do that to me. Today, h-he said..." Ali paused and looked at the three of them. She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. "He said he loves me." Hermione shook her head slowly.
"He doesn't, Alli," said Hermione. "He's only saying what he needs to."
"That's not true," Alli argued. "He loves me!"
"D'you think he would rather die or tell you a lie that he loves you?" Ron asked.
"He said he doesn't want to lie anymore," said Alli. "I don't think you guys understand, okay. I'm in love with Draco."
"He said he doesn't want to lie," said Harry. "He didn't say he wouldn't." Alli shook her head and closed her eyes letting hot tears slowly roll down her face. Then, she opened her eyes and glared at them.
"This is bullshit," she said. She took a step towards them. "You think I don't know what's going on between me and Draco? Because I sure as hell know you don't."
"Alli," said Hermione.
"No, fuck you," Alli snapped. Then, she pushed her way past them and took off down the corridor.
"Where does she think she's going?" said Ron.
After turning into wrong hallways and getting lost several times, Alli found her way back to the Slytherin Common Room. When she entered, she jumped. Draco was standing on the stairs directly in front of her.
"Draco!" Alli ran into him and grabbed his shirt in her hands pressing her face against his chest. Draco wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Alli, what is it?" said Draco hurriedly. Alli shook her head. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening. "What's wrong?"
"Harry and Hermione and Ron..." cried Alli. "They said things about you and... and about me. It's not true though, right?"
"It's alright," Draco whispered. He wrapped his hands around her neck and lifted her face close to his. He kissed her lips. When he started to pull away, Alli held the back of his head forcing him to stay close.
"I still have something to show you," said Draco. "Are you alright to come with me?"
Alli wiped the corners of her eyes and nodded.
"Okay," Draco whispered. "Follow me."
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Harry touched his wand to the blank piece of parchment. Black lines inked and snaked across the surface and formed a perfectly scaled map of Hogwarts. Hundreds of black dots labeled with names appeared on the map. Most of them showing students in their dormitories. A few professors were in their offices and some prefects were patrolling the empty corridors.
"Find Alli," said Harry. Hermione immediately pointed to a square area towards the bottom of the map marked Slytherin Common Room. There she was. Allison Potter hovered above a dot- right beside a second dot labeled Draco Malfoy.
"She's with Malfoy," said Harry. "Come on!" Harry took off with Ron and Hermione trailing after him.
Alli held Draco's hand as he led her up a flight of stairs. She couldn't help smiling a bit at the thought of where Draco was taking her. As they walked, she tried to map out in her mind which corners they turned, which floors they were on, and which staircases they climbed, but after a while, she lost it. Everything looked the same. Draco suddenly stopped in front of a blank stone wall. Alli looked around awkwardly. Draco dropped her hand and began pacing in front of the wall. Alli crossed her arms and watched him.
"Draco," said Alli, "what the fuck are you doing?" She was beginning to get frustrated. But, then, Draco stopped and began staring at the wall again. "Okay, you're being super weird right now. Can we, um, go? I want to see what you were-" Alli stopped. An outline had slowly faded into view on the wall and then hardened to form a physical door complete with a chain-link handle. The door creaked open.
"Come on," said Draco, grabbing Alli's hand again. He pulled her through the entrance and the door slammed behind them. "Well," said Draco, "what do you think?
The room was cluttered and completely filled with what looked like a bunch of old junk. Alli viewed her surroundings and wrinkled her nose. This room was messy, dusty, and it smelled strange.
"It's a room full of a bunch of old shit," Alli stated plainly. "What the actual fuck, Draco?'
"It's the Room of Requirement," Draco announced.
"Okay, so?" said Alli.
"There's something in here that I want to show you," Draco told her. Alli wiped her finger along a small wooden box.
"What, dust?"
"It's over here," said Draco. He walked away from her stepping over and around tipped tables, bookshelves with old books, and glass lamps.
"Can you just bring it over here? I'm gonna like fall if I try to walk anywhere," Alli called. Draco waved his hand gesturing for her to follow. Alli crossed her arms and then something caught her eye. It was the back cover of a tattered purple textbook that looked like the binding was about to fall apart. She turned it over and recognized it as the Potions textbook she used in Slughorn's class, Advanced Potion Making. She opened the cover slowly and something written on the first page caught her eye: This book is property of the the Half-Blood Prince. Alli narrowed her eyes and flipped through the pages. Each page had small inked words that were scribbled around potions instructions and crammed into the edges and corners.
"What are you doing?"
Alli slammed the book closed and spun around to Draco, who had finally realized that Alli hadn't been following behind him.
"Nothing," she said quickly.
"Well, come on, then," said Draco. Alli groaned and finally followed him over to a large object that had a dusty sheet thrown over it to hide it from view.
"Um, okay," Alli said when Draco pulled her in front of it.
"Hold on," Draco said. He reached up and with one swift movement pulled the sheet off sending a wave of dust exploding into the air. Alli coughed and waved her hand in an attempt to dissipate the dust-clogged air. "Look."
A tall, black, wooden bureau reaching an extra three feet above her head with a door and a silver handle stood before her. Alli stepped closer, then turned to Draco.
"What is it?" she asked him.
"It's a Vanishing Cabinet," said Draco.