She folded the parchment and sealed it with her Gryffindor seal. She tucked the seal into the pocket of her robe, to be turned in with her letter. She carefully wiped her eyes and stepped out into the halls. She tried to ignore the looks students gave her in passing. Tried to ignore the feeling of failure that surrounded her when she looked out a window and saw the Forbidden Forest. She tried so hard, but once again she failed. She cringed each time a student backed away from her. She felt a tear drop every time a group of students stopped talking when she walked by. Never had she thought her teaching career would culminate like this. She was more feared than Severus Snape. She finally reached Albus' office door. With shaking hands, she placed the seal and letter in the gargoyles mouth. He would find them on his desk after dinner. She turned to leave but was stopped by the sound of the gargoyle moving. She turned back around to come face to face with Albus Dumbledore.
The pity shining in his eyes was too much for her to take. She ran from him. This time, she didn't notice the students' reactions to her. All she could think about was how stupid she had been to let her personal dislike for a student get in the way of her logic. She flashed back to the day when she had made the worst mistake of her life….
"Detention!" she had screamed in Draco Malfoy's face. "With Hagrid. In the Forbidden Forest. Tonight!" She hadn't been thinking straight. Hadn't remembered that Hagrid wasn't on the grounds anymore. She had been too wrapped up in her anger and dislike. She had forgotten about the incident until morning, when Draco's body was found. He had gone out to meet Hagrid and wandered too far into the forest. He had been attacked and was barely hanging on to life. Albus had been furious and interrogated every teacher. When he found out it was her…the look he had given her. Full of sorrow and mistrust.
With a sob, she collapsed against the wall outside her bedroom. Never again would she make that mistake. Never again would she trust herself to care for somebody else's life.
A/N: I have no clue where I'm going with this. Draco isn't gonna die though. At least, I think he isn't. I guess I'm gonna continue this…Maybe.