Allison Potter was a dreamer. It had never been difficult for her to imagine a future for herself filled with not just success, but with love. She was a hopeless romantic; always daydreaming and imagining a perfect life. But, Alli never envisioned this. She could have never envisioned the emotional pain her heart felt as Draco Malfoy lay motionless on the ground. The boy she loved was forever gone.
"Stupefy!" sounded a voice from the edge of the clearing. A red light shot out from behind the trees towards Lucius Malfoy. Lucius quickly deflected the spell with a nasty snarl on his face.
"Harry Potter," Voldemort said turning to face the trees from which the red light had come. Harry stepped out into the clearing, holding his wand out in front of him.
"Expelliarmus!" Hermione called, turning her wand on Bellatrix Lestrange. The wand flew from Bellatrix's hand and Hermione caught it in mid-air.
"How dare you take my wand!" Bellatrix screeched. "You filthy mudblood."
The scene escalated quickly. Curses shot back and forth between Ron, Hermione, and the Death Eaters. Alli fell to the ground beside Draco's body. She wrapped her arms around him, closed her eyes, and tried to block out the sounds of curses and spells being screamed from both sides. Alli didn't see Hermione come towards her so she jumped when Hermione spoke.
"Get back to the Vanishing Cabinet," whispered Hermione.
"What?" Alli replied, looking up at her.
"Go," Hermione urged her. "It will take you back to Hogwarts."
"What about-" Alli paused and looked back down at Draco. But, Hermione grabbed her arm, helped her stand, and pushed her towards the Vanishing Cabinet, still standing at the edge of the forest.
"Go, now!" said Hermione. Alli kicked small clouds of dirt into the air around her feet as she ran. She was almost there - a few feet away. Then, she felt a strong force and red light hit her body. Alli crumpled to the ground and everything went black.
Alli, he's going to kill you," Draco tells me. "That was the whole plan. It was my mission. I was supposed to gain your trust and bring you here. My family was supposed to be rewarded greatly for it. I wasn't supposed to fall for you. But, I did. I'm so sorry, Alli." I whimper quietly. "You've got to get away," Draco whispers urgently. "Go to the Vanishing Cabinet. Get inside and it will transport you back to Hogwarts. When I tell you to, I want you to run. Get away. Live."
"What about you?" I whisper back.
"Don't worry," Draco tells me. He kisses me again, fiercely. Then, Draco leans his lips down to my ear. "I love you. Go!"
The fall felt as if she were rolling off a steep cliff. When Alli hit the hospital wing floor, she woke with her heart beating hard against her chest. She studied the dark room around her. Where am I? Alli wondered. She struggled to remember her frightening dreams from the night before but it was fuzzy. Madame Pomphrey rushed out to the main wing from around a corner.
"Miss Potter!" she exclaimed. She helped Alli to stand. Alli felt a terrible cramp in her neck and shoulders that shot a sharp pain down her back to her hips. Alli whimpered and sat down on the edge of the hospital wing bed. "Are you alright?"
"No," said Alli as she touched her left shoulder and cringed. She examined her body and noticed a scrape on her right elbow and left forearm as well as more scrapes and cuts on her knees and legs. "What happened to me?" asked Alli, nervously. Madame Pomphrey did not answer. Instead, she retrieved a bottle of pain medicine from the bedside table and handed two pills to Alli along with a cup of pumpkin juice.
"Take this," said Madame Pomphrey.
"Who are you?" Alli asked her.
"I'm the healer here at Hogwarts."
Alli decided that this was enough evidence to take the pills she was handed. Alli coughed when she tasted the bitterness of the dissolving medicine on her tongue.
Madame Pomphrey refilled Alli's glass with more pumpkin juice from a pitcher on the bedside table. Alli took the glass from her but did not drink it.
"What happened?" Alli repeated.
"Get some more sleep, Miss Potter. You've had a rough past couple of days."
"I've been here for the past couple of days?!" Alli exclaimed.
"Yes," said Madame Pomphrey. "This is your third night here."
"Wait, why? What happened to me?" Alli asked again. Madame Pomphrey gave Alli a weak smile.
"Get some rest," Madame Pomphrey instructed.
"Why are you avoiding my question?" Alli asked her, bluntly. But, Madame Pomphrey just shook her head and retreated back around the corner to her office. Alli let out a frustrated sigh and laid her head back down on her pillow. She stared at the ceiling until the drowsiness from the medicine found its way through her body causing her limbs to go limp and her eyelids to close.
"Is she awake?"
"Get away from her face, Ron."
"I was just checking to see if she was awake is all."
"Don't you think I would open my eyes if I was awake?" replied Alli. She opened her eyes to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing at the end of the bed. Hermione gave Alli a small smile and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I think she's awake, Ron," said Ginny plainly with a small smile on her lips.
"Shove off," Ron replied.
"How are you?" asked Hermione. Alli shrugged and winced from the small prickling feeling in her shoulder.
"What happened?" asked Alli.
"Dumbledore got to the forest and they all disapparated," said Hermione, "Voldemort and the Death Eaters."
"Wait," said Alli. "What forest? What happened? Where is Draco?"
Hermione exchanged glances with Ron and Harry. No one answered her.
"Harry," Hermione prompted. Harry nodded and traded with Hermione to sit down on the edge of Alli's bed. "We'll give you a moment," said Hermione. She gestured from Ron to follow her out of the hospital wing.
"Harry," said Alli, slowly, "What's going on? I'm super confused right now."
"What all do you remember from the other night?" Harry asked. "Anything?"
Alli looked away and narrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard. Memories flashed pictures in her mind. Forest. The Dark Mark. Draco- a Death Eater. Burning scar. Voldemort. Crucio. Spells Flying. Draco. The Vanishing Cabinet. A green light. Draco.
"T-There was a forest," Alli stuttered. She struggled to put her thoughts into words. "You-Know-Who was there. The Dark Mark was in the sky. My scar was bleeding and burning." Alli quickly touched her fingers to the side of her head, feeling a bandage over her scar. Alli looked Harry directly in the eye. "This wasn't a nightmare, was it?" Harry stayed silent.
"Harry, where is Draco?" Alli asked him in a trembling voice. The double doors of the hospital wing flew open. Dumbledore stood in the doorway. He walked swiftly over to Madame Pomphrey's office and muttered something to her. Then, he walked over to Alli's bedside.
"How are you, Allison?" Dumbledore asked.
"I-I don't know," said Alli, slowly. She looked down at her folded hands in her lap.
"Harry, you may leave us," instructed Dumbledore. "I need to speak to Allison privately, please." Harry nodded once at Alli and left them alone.
"Professor, what's going on?" Alli asked nervously.
"It would be best if-"
"No! I want to know what happened!" Alli blurted out feeling anger rising up inside her. "I know something's going on, but I don't understand why everyone is avoiding my questions and why no one can give me just a single, straight answer!"
"Allison," Dumbledore said softly. Alli's glare softened and her anger was quickly replaced with anxiety. Her head began to throb where her scar was bandaged up. She took a deep breath to mentally prepared herself for whatever Dumbledore was about to say.
"What happened?" Alli asked again, calmly this time.
"Draco Malfoy was killed the other night by Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. Alli stared blankly at Dumbledore's old, wise face as he continued to explain everything that had happened that night in the forest. But, Alli was unable to focus on anything he was saying. She felt far away from the scene as if she were looking in at herself through a dirty window and couldn't quite make out what was being said. "I'm sorry," Dumbledore finished.
Once Dumbledore finished speaking, Alli felt herself slowly return back to reality. Draco was gone. Alli looked down and felt tears pooling in her eyes. She tried to blink them away but all of her emotions rushed out. She laid down on the bed, curled up in a ball, and buried her face in her arms. She barely even noticed Dumbledore leaving the hospital wing. "You're not gone, Draco," Alli whispered to herself between sobs. "You're not dead!" Alli screamed into her pillow. Her shoulder shook uncontrollably with every sob and scream she made. When Alli's tears subsided, she fell asleep still curled up underneath the white sheets.
"Don't worry," Draco tells me. He kisses me again, fiercely. Then, Draco leans his lips down to my ear. "I love you. Go!"
When Draco lets me go, I take off towards the Vanishing Cabinet.
"Get her!" Voldemort yells.
"Crucio!" Draco yells, turning his wand on Voldemort. But, the Dark Lord is too fast, too cunning, and too skilled.
"Avada Kadevra!"
The green jet of light seems to move in slow motion as I spin around.
"NO!" I scream. The curse hits Draco and his lifeless body hits the forest floor. Draco is dead.
Alli screamed herself awake. The sheets were twisted around her legs and she struggled to move. Madame Pomphrey ran from her office to Alli's bedside.
"Miss Potter," said Madame Pomphrey. "It's alright, Miss Potter!"
"It's Draco," said Alli. "He died. He was killed. H-he's gone," she finished in a whisper.
"It's alright, Miss Potter," said Madame Pomphrey, sweetly. "You're o-"
"Don't say I'm okay," Alli growled. "I'm not okay. Nothing about this is okay!"
Madame Pomphrey was silent.
"I want to go home," said Alli.
"You'll stay here until you calm yourself," said Madame Pomphrey, sternly. "I'm not letting you out until you are mentally stable."
"I want to go to my own bed," Alli begged her. "Let me out!"
"I'm afraid I can't permit that. You need to stay under my watch. I will let you know when you can go back. But not now."
Alli sighed angrily. Then, she nodded defeated. Madame Pomphrey left her alone. Alli put her head back down on the pillow and pulled the sheets close to her face as Madame Pomphrey turned the corner into her office. Alli closed her eyes and tried to rest but she couldn't fall asleep. She waited. About one hour had passed when Alli made her decision. She was going to leave. Alli was sure that Madame Pomphrey was back asleep. She knew she had to be quiet as Madame Pomphrey seemed to be an extremely light sleeper. Any noise or sound out of the ordinary was sure to wake her. Alli winced as she slid her legs over the edge of the bed. Her muscles were still tense from the other night. Alli sucked in a deep breath as she made her way to the door that led out of the hospital wing. She turned the door handle slowly. It made a click when it unlatched. Alli closed her eyes as she pushed the door open silently. She glanced over her shoulder once before leaving and then stepped out closing the door behind her.
To Alli's luck, no teachers or prefects were patrolling the corridors leading down to the Slytherin Common Room. The brick entrance to the common room fell away when Alli stepped in front of it. The fireplace had not yet recognized her presence in the room when she entered so it was dark. Alli could barely see the outlines of the leather couches and chairs. She took care not to trip down the small black steps that were nearly invisible in the darkness. She watched her feet until she was on the main floor. Alli looked up and jumped. A figure stood in the middle of the room. It was the outline of a person, but the fire was not lit in the hearth. The fire always lit up when it sensed someone in the room. Alli wasn't very close yet so it hadn't registered her there. However, the figure was standing much closer to it.
"Hello?" Alli said just barely loud enough for the figure to hear. It did not respond. It didn't even move. It just stood there facing her. Alli was frozen, too afraid to move any closer. "Is someone in here?" she said a little louder. The figure still did not move. Alli shook her head and shut her eyes. Maybe the dark was playing tricks on her eyes. Alli carefully opened her eyes and looked to where the figure had been, but it was gone. Alli darted her eyes around the room. It was gone. Alli swallowed nervously.
"Calm down, Alli," Alli said to herself. "It's not real. There's nothing there." With this weak reassurance, Alli decided to head to her room. The fire sprung up when she neared it. The room was lit enough for her to see clearly now, but not enough to take away her fear. Alli let out a small scream when she saw it. The figure was sitting on the couch now. It was facing away from her and looking into the fire. The way the figure was sitting, the way it leaned forward with its back arched, and the way its arms were resting on its legs looked so familiar. Alli knew at once who it was. She walked quietly toward it and circled around the couch. Draco looked up. Alli's lips parted and she drew in a sharp breath.
"Draco?" Alli whispered. Draco smirked. His gray eyes looked into Alli's own dark brown ones. "You..." Alli began.
"I'm sorry, Alli," Draco said. He held out his hand to her. Alli was hesitant and didn't take it. Instead, she sat down beside him.
"But, you're dead. You can't be here," Alli told him. Draco moved his hands to rest on top of Alli's. The feeling was light and cold. Alli could barely feel his touch, but it was still there. "Are you a ghost now?" Alli asked him. Draco smiled and looked down. Then, he leaned his lips close to hers.
"I just had to see you one last time," Draco whispered in her ear. "I'll always be with you, Allison." Draco placed his hand on her chest. "Right here." Alli closed her eyes and felt a small cold touch of Draco's lips on her cheek. Alli breathed in deeply and smiled. She opened her eyes to take one last look at him, but Draco was gone. Alli smiled to herself and felt her tears coming again. Alli looked into the crackling fire whose flames danced projecting creepy shadows on the walls. She was alone.