Disclaimer: I own nothing, don't sue!
Rated: PG-13 for content and themes.
Summary: He was grabbing my shirt, pushing me into the shadows, my choice of residence.
A/N: Another installment of the 'Brave Girl' series, you don't need to read the other parts to understand this one as usual, but I would suggest reading them if you like this one. Sorry this took so long to get up, it took me a while to really feel Draco's personality, but I think I got it pretty well. I tried really hard not to make him someone different, but to keep him the way J.K. wrote him. Hope you like!
The Door in the Shadows
"Draco, perhaps try some Eye of Newt," Snape drawled under his breath as he passed me, I glanced over at Granger's potion that was bubbling orange, then back at mine that was now spitting purple. I poured in the Eye of Newt slowly, glancing at Snape every now and then as he was still watching my potion. "That's enough, Draco." He snarled walking on to Longbottom whose potion looked as though it was trying to strangle him. I stirred my potion, which was now slowly turning an orange color that was almost indistinguishable from Granger's.
Happy that my potion would get me a passing grade, I turned my attention to Potter who was adding the wrong ingredient for the fifth time that lesson. Granger whispered something in his ear, pointing to the Wolfsbane. I watched him pour it in his potion, as it started to boil.
"Miss Granger, if you insist on being an intolerable know-it-all and must adopt Potters potion as your own, I would please ask you to do it on your own time. Five points from Gryffindor." I choked back a laugh as Granger leaned back in her chair, her cheeks glowing pink. "Add in your last ingredients and bottle a flask of it to bring up to my desk when I dismiss you." Snape said walking down the aisles. I added in my last few ingredients and was very proud of it's calm green that was just a bit paler that Granger's. I was pouring it into my flask when Snape came walking back up to my desk.
"Everyone note Mr. Malfoy's beautiful potion that is almost completely perfect. I see he was the only one who understood this lesson." Snape sneered, I smiled maliciously as Granger pursed her lips tightly knowing her potion had been better than mine. "Five points to Slytherin." He said, as Granger jammed her books into her bag harshly.
I followed the wonder trio into the hall, slowly, thinking of something crude to say, but was surprised to see Potter rushing off down a hallway opposite the one Granger and Weasley were taking. He was already around the corner before they noticed he was gone.
"I'll meet you at dinner in a bit," I said to Crabbe and Goyle. "I have some business that I need to take care of." It seemed like it was going to take awhile for them to process this information so I started walking down the hallway Potter had just taken, letting them stand there, stupidly.
I followed Potter for a while, staying a ways behind him and making sure not to make very much noise. I had to dodge behind suits of armor and fall back into the shadows as Potter kept looking behind himself anxiously. Finally he opened a door, looking behind him one last time as he walked in and closed it slowly. Sneaking behind I got a quick glimpse of long crimson hair through the crack in the door before Potter closed it the rest of the way.
"So, the Weasel's dream is finally coming true." I said to myself, softly under my breath, but something about Potter's suspicious actions told me there was something more to it. My breath hitched in my chest as some scrawny second year student walked past.
"Bloody hell," I hissed, leaning back into a heavily shadowed corner to conceal myself. It was a matter of seconds before I heard a loud bang.
The wall was cool against my back, as if it had never seen sunlight. I slid, slowly, down the wall until I was sitting, bathed in shadows, my choice of residence. I sat there for a long while, waiting for some hint as to what it was they were doing. Occasionally I would hear a bang, or the sound of a chair falling, but for the most part it was quiet.
I held my breath trying to make out the words of their conversation, but the walls were too thick and I couldn't figure out what they were saying. People started coming out of their classes, heading towards dinner. I stood up, acting as though I was getting out of a class myself.
Once the halls had cleared, the door Potter had gone through started to open, slowly, and I watched as a ginger head stuck its way out of the door and looked around, I pushed myself up against the wall tensely, hiding in the shadows. After the red-head had decided the halls were deserted, she and Potter walked out. Weasley was leaning on Potter heavily, as though she had sprained her ankle. I could see a bruise forming on her face as she glanced back behind her, reassuring herself that they were alone.
After I was sure they were a good distance away, I peered into the room. The tables and chairs were all pushed to the walls as though someone were taking dancing lessons. I laughed out loud at the thought of Potter taking dance lessons from Weasley. "No wonder she was so bruised." I muttered softly under my breath laughing at my own joke.
"Where were you Draco?" Pansy asked me silkily as I slid into the seat next to her, pushing Millicent to the side.
"Oh, that I cannot tell you," I said smiling at her and snatching the last roll from under some first years bacteria covered hand.
Pansy smiled at me, picking casually at her mashed potatoes "Well, you missed a great scene." She told me smirking, "Weasley looked pretty upset at Potter and that little red-headed girl." She finally threw her fork down, apparently full, though it did not seem she had eaten anything off her plate. "What do you think that could be about? Looks like she finally convinced Potter that she was the best he was going to get."
"That's what I thought at first too." I smirked watching Pansy's surprised face as she realized I must have known already.
"You already knew? So that's what made you late to dinner. Spying on our two love-birds?" Pansy asked me combing her fingers through her slick black hair.
"Don't you think I have better things to do?" I raised my eyebrows at her, she smiled fakely, looking back at her untouched plate.
"Of course Draco, how foolish of me."
It went on like that for a while, they always met at the same time in the same empty classroom, two times a week. I never found out much though, what they talked about in the hall was always pointless drabble about what excuse's they would use next about the bumps and bruises she got doing whatever it was they were doing in there.
"I think we may have over used the quidditch one," The little Weasley was saying one day. "Ron checked out on the field one week when I used it."
"Well, what else can we use? It seems we've come up with every excuse there is." Potter replied, running his hand through his hair.
"If only I could get inside Fred and George's brain, then I'm sure we'd have thousand's of excuses." Weasley said smiling.
"Yeah," Potter agreed stupidly, "Maybe we should just tell them." Potter suggested, slowly, "If they find out, we're sure to have a big scene, you know Ron's temper."
"I guess your right," the girl agreed reluctantly, "But lets not tell them yet, lets wait, I don't think he's at his breaking point just yet." she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Alright, but you really shouldn't keep your hair behind your ear like that," Potter said, reaching over and releasing the crimson hair from behind Weasley's pointy ear. "Occlumency's been kinda brutal to you lately," he watched as the hair fell over a nasty bruise on her cheek.
I doubled back, making my way to the dungeons and then to the Slytherin common rooms. Lucky for me the common rooms where empty because everyone was at dinner, I ran to my dormitory searching through my stuff until I finally found what I was looking for.
"Lucious Malfoy," I said into the mirror enchanted with floo powder, as I pulled it out of my trunk. My father had given it to me at the beginning of this year, telling me that if anything suspicious happened to tell him, as the end was most likely to come this year.
"What is it son? I'm in an important meeting right now." My father's sneering face said through the mirror.
"Well, father," I said, watching my father glare at me as I made him wait. "It appears that Potter is teaching Ginny Weasley occlumency," I said slowly.
"What do you mean, appears?" He asked, all of the sudden completely interested in what I had to say.
"Well, I'm not sure the exact definition, and I don't have a dictionary on me at the moment, but I'd say that it means that it looks like it, but it's not completely definite," I said watching my father sneer with impatience "But I did hear them talking about it in the hallway."
"Well, they must be catching on finally, dumb mudblood supporters," he muttered more to himself than to me. "I have to go, I'm in a very important meeting." He said, my mirror went blank and then reflected my astonishing face. I looked at myself for a while, admiring my new hair cut, but then shoved it back in my truck and rushed out of my dormitory hoping I didn't miss dinner. I had worked up quite an appetite.
I avoided the other Slytherins on my way to dinner, most of them were already returning to the common room as I was leaving. I wanted to be alone, to think. Ginevra Weasley needed oclumency lessons, this was interesting.
"Oh, Draco, where were you tonight." Pansy asked me walking over to where I was and grabbing my tie, as I entered the common room, full from food, and still full of thought.
"I was busy," I said walking over to the best chair by the fireplace, making Pansy either strangle me or drop my tie. Thankfully she did the latter.
"You're always busy these days Draco." She said poutily, as though I would actually fall for her just because her bottom lip was sticking out. I tipped the black leather lounge chair forward making some second year fall out and I sat down in it.
"What can I say? I'm a busy man." I replied, coughing back a laugh as I watched the kid get up glaring at me.
"You're so mean," She said laughing and sitting down on my lap. "If you weren't so handsome I don't know if I could stand you." She said fixing my tie. "So, what were you really doing? You missed a very nice show tonight."
"Well I can't tell you what I was doing. It's confidential." I added, raising my eyebrows.
"That's what I like about you, your mysterious," She said pushing my hair back behind my ear, though it just fell back a second later.
"Oh, do you?" I said, letting her lean in closer and think she had a chance before breaking it. "So, you mentioned something about a nice show?" I asked turning my head, though I wish I could have seen the expression she had on her face.
"Oh yes," She said, a bit coldly. "Weasley completely blew up at Potter and his little sister, apparently he thought they were doing something that involved his little sister getting hurt in, I can only imagine what that was, and Potter and the Weasley girl kept saying they were just practicing quidditch, but I have a feeling they were doing a bit more than quidditch if you get what I mean." She said, getting into her gossip. She kept going on about this girls new clothes, and that guys acne problems.
That was one thing I have actually learned from Pansy's insistent talking, if you get her to start gossiping she'll go on forever, and it's something you really don't have to listen to as long as you nod now and then.
"Let me through," I snarled, pushing my way through the crowd that was forming quickly. "Bloody first years," I drawled, pushing through a group of them, "No respect for their elders," I stifled a laugh as I made my way to the front of the crowd and saw Luna Lovegood, laying on the floor, blue and twisted.
"Madam Pomfrey, someone fetch Madam Pomfrey right away," McGonagal said urgently, I turned the laugh that had escaped through my lips into a cough as she turned and glared at me. "If anyone knows anything about this I would suggest you inform a professor immediately, otherwise you can face the consequences once we have found out who or what did this." McGonalgal said as Pomfrey came rushing through the crowd, and picked up Lovegood to bring her to the hospital wing. I turned on an innocent face looking actually concerned, there was no doubt that the wonder trio would try to pin this on me.
I looked over at them, huddled in a corner talking anxiously. I made my way over to them, careful not to draw to much attention to myself.
"Malfoy, I bet you it was Malfoy," Weasley was saying, clenching his fist into little balls.
"Now Ron, you can't jump to conclusions," Granger said, "Although when he saw Luna's body he didn't look very surprised, or innocent."
"Does he ever look innocent?" Potter asked, "Do you think, I mean, I don't actually think she did it, necessarily, but do you think maybe… Well, he might have made her do it?" I watched Weasley's face turn on Potter.
"Are you saying my sister is a murderer?" He asked, looking as though he would like to kill Potter right now.
"No," Potter said quickly, "But if he made her…" Weasley still looked mad at Potter, but he unclenched his fist slightly.
"Everybody, to your common rooms immediately, there is nothing to see here, move along." I turned around to see Dumbledore now standing in the middle of the crowd.
"So, who do you think did it, Draco?" Pansy asked me silkily, sliding down onto the couch next to me.
"I have more important things to do than worry about Lovegood's death," I said harshly. She forced a fake smile nodding as if she agreed, then got up and went over to talk to Millicent.
"Have a nice conversation with your lovely Pansy?" Theodore asked me as he walked over, his long weed like body making it's way through the crowded room.
"My 'lovely' Pansy? I not sure if that really describes her well," I snarled, looking at her unnaturally skinny body from across the room, "Anorexic whore,"
"Yeah, I guess that might better describe her," Theodore laughed, "So, have you any clue who killed Loony Lovegood? People are saying that it was the Weasley girl,"
"Yes, that is the rumor, isn't it?"
By the next day it was common knowledge that Weasley killed Lovegood. And in less then twenty-four hours she went from the red-headed, popular, quidditch-playing girl, to hell on earth, when she went walking through the hallways, it was like the parting of the red seas. Everyone seemed to be afraid of her. It was funny for the first few hours until I was slammed into the wall by some walrus-like fifth year, as he dodged out of her way. They all stuck to the walls like they were afraid to get the black plague or something.
"So, what's it like to be the most feared person in the school," I asked her, falling back to match her pace.
"I wouldn't know," She said plainly.
"Let me rephrase that, what's it like being the most hated person in the school?"
"Why don't you tell me," she said, stopping in the middle of the hallway and turning to look at me. Her lips were pursed with fury and her face was pale, gaunt and sleep deprived, a shadow of a bruise still showed on her cheek.
"Calm down, calm down," I said smirking, "I don't want to be the next one on your hit list," I laughed as I watched her slim body rushing off down the hall, people clearing her a pathway.
"Playing nice, Draco?" Snape asked, coming up behind me.
"Of course, professor." I smirked at him as people started to fill back into the hallway.
Dumbledore came around us all, interrogating us about Ginny Weasley since she was now the main suspect. Apparently she had made a run for it, off into the forbidden forest, and we were to tell them if we knew of any evidence, or found out anything about her whereabouts. I could tell that the wonder trio knew were she was, they were probably the ones hiding her, but they acted innocent and Dumbledore fell for it, or at least he pretended to. There was a room in the dungeons that people thought she was in, Weasley was often seen sitting by the door, and some people swore they had heard a muttering coming from inside the room, but no one dared to go near it. It was rumored that there was some kind of spell on it that made it impossible to open, but for all I knew no one had tried opening it yet.
"Mr. Malfoy," Snape drawled from behind me as I looked up at the tall door, throwing a shadow over me. "Your father would like to speak with you," I looked at him questioningly but didn't say anything, I just followed him to his office. I jumped seeing my father's head in his fireplace that was glowing green.
"Severus, some privacy." My father snapped. Snape backed out slowly, a menacing look on his face. Once Snape was out of the room and the door closed, my father started to talk.
"Draco, you have to get Weasley out of that room," He said urgently.
"So the rumors are true then?"
"Get the door open, but wait until the time comes," My father said, ignoring my question.
"When the time comes?" I asked raising my eyebrows. "How am I supposed to know when that time has come?"
"You'll know," And with that my father's head disappeared, not saying farewell or anything.
I walked out of the room, ignoring whatever Snape was saying and making my way back over to the tall door that held a ginger haired victim prisoner. Weasley was sitting in front of it, his eyes were glazed over and his head tilted off to one side, he did not even realize I was there.
"Missing your darling sister?" I asked, but Weasley didn't move. "It's a shame she had to murder Lovegood, but I guess someone had to."
"My sister is not a murderer," Weasley said, he looked straightforward even though I was off to the side.
"Well that's not what Dumbledore is saying, has your precious leader betrayed you?"
"My sister is not a murderer." Weasley said louder his eyes narrowing.
"It's a shame she has to be locked up in that room," I said motioning towards the door. "Maybe she could have killed some other DA members."
"MY SISTER IS NOT A MURDERER!" Weasley roared, standing up and swinging at my face. His fist connected just as Snape came rushing down the hall.
"Mr. Weasley, contain yourself." Snape said, grabbing Weasley's arm as he started to swing it at me again. I touched my lip and drew back my hand, I could taste the blood in my mouth as I looked at the red liquid on my finger. I rubbed the thin liquid between my fingers, clenching my fist.
"I expect to see you in my office at 7:00 tonight!" Snape said letting go of Weasley's arm and stocking off, back to his office.
"Ron, what did you do?" Granger asked as she came down the hall, looking at my bloody lip. I pushed past her making her step back, and rushed off to the library, a place I rarely spend any time in. I'll be ready I thought, as I could feel the blood pumping to my lip I'll be ready to let free the demon, the red-haired demon, so she can kill her own bloody brother so I don't have to get my hands dirty.
I spent a fair amount of time in the library looking up all the different spells and curses I could use to open the door. I looked longingly at the forbidden section, sure that that was were I would find the spell I needed, but none of the professors would give me a permission slip, not even Snape, the bloody trader.
"You'll know" My father had said, "You'll know" and I did, I did know. I was in a transfiguration lesson when it happened. Suddenly there was a loud explosion, and the entire castle seemed to fly into fits of chaos, I grinned, leaning back in my chair and watching as bodies hit the ground.
"Everyone, remain seated," McGonagall said as she rushed out of the classroom to see what was happening, but no one heard what she said, or maybe they just didn't care to listen. Screams echoed as people jumped from their seats, diving into the hallways and running, running as if they could escape, the thought just made me laugh. I walked casually into the hallway stepping around fallen bodies and casually dodging streaks of green light that seemed to be coming from everywhere.
"Draco, where are you going?" Pansy grabbed on my arm, running to keep up with my long strides
"Bugger off," I sneered at her, ripping my arm out of her grip. I could feel her body standing there, her beady eyes, staring at me.
"Help me," A third year said, grabbing on to my robes and spitting blood. I pushed him off, staring for a second at the blood he had coughed onto me, as it seeped through my shirt. I was racing down stairs, through corridors, pushing people aside, and trampling fallen bodies, until I was there.
The dungeons that had always been fallen in the shadows were now filled with day-light. It seeped through broken walls, and cracked ceilings. I made my way to the door, the only thing left in the dungeons that was still covered in shadows. I threw every spell I had memorized, every curse, every jinx. But the door remained closed, I pulled on the handle, tried to kick it in, but it didn't budge. I jumped as I heard something resounding from the other side of the door. I let go of the door as if it were poisonous, listening closely, I pushed my ear up next to the door and let my head be engulfed in shadows. Someone was saying something, it was like an insane muttering, a constant ringing.
"I'm a brave girl, a brave girl, a brave girl."
It was getting louder
"A brave girl, a brave girl."
And then it stopped, suddenly, it just stopped. I pushed my head closer to the door, and thought I heard a whisper.
"Oh Ginevra, have you given up so easily? Ginevra, come out to play with me. Oh little Ginevra, there's a boy outside this door, waiting to free you," I jumped back, surprised that whatever was in there with Weasley knew about me, knew that I was at that very moment trying to get into that room. I pushed myself back up to the door, urgent to hear what the cold voice had to say. "Won't you tell him how, Ginevra?" And then it started again, the insane muttering, so loud this time I didn't need to have my ear next to the door to hear it, I could have been all the way down the hall, and still the words would have been clear as day.
"I'm a brave girl, a brave girl, a brave girl!"
"Draco, what are you doing down here?" Snape sneered, the insane muttering from the shadowed door softened slightly as he came closer, it kept on getting quieter until it was nothing but a whisper. It rang in my head, possessing my mind.
I jumped, feeling Snape's cold hand on my arm, piercing my porcelain skin, making my hand drop my wand with shock.
"Let go of me, you…" Snape cut me off, stopping me from saying the crude word that was gleaming on the tip of my tongue.
"You're going to die down here," He hissed grabbing my arm again and pulling me up through a large crack.
"Then I'll bloody well die," I said struggling to grab my wand, but Snape was amazingly stronger than me, he pulled us out of the dungeons, through a gaping hole in one of the destroyed walls, I watched my wand disappear in the ruins of the once tall castle, Hogwarts.
I brushed myself off, wiping the black ash from my clothes. You would have thought that technology would have advanced floo powder enough to keep it from blowing ashes on your clothes. I looked down in disgust at my dirty robes as I walked into the Malfoy Mansion. I walked through the rooms, looking for any sign of life. I found it, entering the kitchen, my mother hiding her face in her hands as her shoulders shuddered quietly.
I noisily made my entrance, sneering at her, I tried to look for traces of the tears it appeared she was spilling, but she hid them well.
"Oh, Draco darling, what are you doing home?" She asked, acting oblivious to everything that was going on.
"You bloody well know," I sneered, watching her wince at the foul word. I watched as she tried to slip a piece of parchment into her pocket. I walked up to her, grabbing her frail wrist, the sharp bones felt like they were going to tear through her skin.
"What's this?" I asked as I crushed her wrist in my hand painfully, watching the parchment drop slowly from her weak hand. I caught it skillfully with my free hand, it was a letter. I turned it over to see who it was from, "Saint Mungos, eh?" I said smirking, "Father finally decided to admit you?" I laughed as I let go of her arm to open the letter. It was already open, a small slit ran across the top. Taking the letter out of its envelope, I opened it still laughing at my joke.
Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy,
We are sorry to inform you that your husband, Lucious Malfoy, was found dead on the 27th of January. We please ask you to come at no later than the 20th of February to arrange a date for the disposal of his body. We're sorry for your loss.
The Staff of Saint Mungo's Magical Maladies
I felt the smirk on my face disappear, as I pocketed the letter. I didn't say anything, I just left, going to my father's old office, the only spot in the house my father would allow floo powder. I looked around the room slowly, thinking of all the times I had heard him in here talking to fellow death eaters or even the Dark Lord himself. I was about to throw the green powder into the tall, stone fireplace, I was fingering it gingerly, thinking of a good spot in Hogwarts, a spot that might still be standing.
"Where are you going Draco?" A smooth but strict voice asked me, I hadn't heard the door open. I tore my eyes from the spitting fire, looking at the shadow of my mother's thin figure on the wall.
"It's none of your bloody business, now is it?" I asked her, the words felt cold on my tongue, not turning to look at her I raised my hand in the air and practically mouthed the words, but she interrupted me again.
"I wouldn't be going so soon, darling, we have your fathers funeral to think about." She said, still standing in the doorway. Her voice so demanding, it was a tone I had never heard her use, so sure of herself.
"Well, you don't get to decide when or where I go anywhere, now do you? I'm the only one left in this house with a wand." I said, adding the little white lie about my wand on the end. I had lost it when Snape pulled me out of Hogwarts, but I didn't want my mother thinking she had any control over me. I turned around, facing her sickly small body. Her eyes reflected the flames that the fire spat in the fireplace.
"You are only to wrong, darling," My mother said, pointing a long skinny wand at me, her hand had blood oozing slowly from long scratches that discolored the once flawless hands. I looked up at the glass box that my father had displayed so proudly. It had displayed my mother's wand since my father didn't think it fit for her to carry one, he felt very strongly that the man should wear the robes in the family, and the wife was merely there to have children and take care of the home. The box was smashed, and the wand gone. The jagged edges of the box seemed to laugh at me, at how stupid I was to think that after my father had died she would actually leave her wand there. My parents didn't love each other, my mother was always just a trophy to my father, to be displayed like her wand, high on a shelf where it could gather dust. My mother wasn't crying when I had entered, she was laughing, or else she was trying to appear as though she were crying.
I was forced to stay at the Malfoy Mansion for what seemed like months, only allowed to go out for my fathers funeral where my mother was crying fakely, she didn't care he was dead. No one cared he was dead except for me, which meant I was the one that was going to be responsible for the revenge he deserved.
It was one month and two weeks exactly when I found my chance. My mother was starting to let down her guard, letting me go longer and longer without her prying eyes and wand on me, she had even begun to let me sleep without a guard in my room to make sure I didn't run for it in the night. She had discovered I had lost my wand so I suppose I must have appeared to be no threat to her, but she forgot that I was a Malfoy, and a Malfoy never loses.
I grabbed a knife from the kitchen, smirking at it gleefully, knowing that it was through this gleaming object that I was to free myself from the prison Mafoy Mansion had turned into. She was sitting on one of the black leather couches that decorated the cold stone library. Her wand was on the side table next to her, cast aside carelessly. I crept up slowly, walking softly so that my shoes didn't make that clicking noise. I grabbed her, slinging the knife around her neck so that she could see it. She was choking as I tightened my grip, her long dexterous fingers groping for her wand. I kicked the side table over, laughing at the pain I was causing her
"Draco, Draco darling," My mother choked out, and then she stopped, she just stopped. I looked down at my hand, her blood was running over it, cool and thin. I dropped her and the knife, shocked at what I'd done, I looked at her limp body, she had fallen in a twisted position, mirroring my memory of Luna Lovegood's dead body. I picked her up, her body was surprisingly light, I set her down carefully on the couch, wiping my hands dry of her blood on my robes. I shook myself lightly, glaring at my mother, trying to regain my usual self. I picked up her wand, spinning it around in my fingers, but for some reason I couldn't take it. There was something about, like she was haunting the wand, her soul drifting from her motionless body and into the wand. I set the side table back up, picking up the pieces of a lamp that had been on it, one of the jagged edges piercing my finger. I watched the drop of blood slowly fall onto my late mother, mixing with the blood that still seemed to be drifting slowly from her lifeless body. I set the wand down next to the lamp, backing out of the room slowly, my eyes glued to the cold body of my deceased mother. I closed the door leaning against the wall to regain my composure for a second.
I went back to my father's office, flames burst into the fireplace the second I opened the door, a clever jinx my father had put on it. I went straight to the floo powder, without hesitating I threw it into the fire and jumped in, shouting my destination.
I jumped out of the fireplace, wiping ashes off my robes again. I looked around at the dark room. I could barely recognize it, but the eerie feel of the room told me I was in the right place. Snape's office had been the closest room I could think of clearly in my mind, but it didn't look like what I had remembered. Everything had fallen off the shelves, all the potions that had been stacked up and many pieces of the walls were crumbled and broken. I looked back over at the fireplace, remembering the time my father's head had appeared in it, telling me to get the door open.
"I'll get it open this time," I said to myself, breaking the paranormal silence.
I ran out of his office, looking around at all the little patches of light coming in from large cracks in the ceiling. Jumping over rubble I made my way over to the door, the dungeons looking so different from normal, as light was now filling the corridor. I pulled on the door, thinking stupidly enough that perhaps I could just open it. I kicked myself mentally as I tugged on the tall door, I should have just taken my mothers wand, but I had been stupid enough to think it haunted. I looked around, begging my wand to appear to me.
"Accio wand…" I said stupidly under my breath, I jumped as I saw something twitching jaggedly out of the corner of my eye. I long piece of slender wood was lying right under an enormous chunk of what used to be a wall, engulfed in shadows, it reminded me of the insane muttering I had heard that night "I'm a brave girl, a brave girl," I could almost hear the words, slowly at first, then getting louder and faster "I'm a brave girl, a brave girl," I shook myself, pushing the voice to the back of my mind and focusing back on the wand, it was still twitching insanely. After several minutes of pushing and pulling I managed to drag the wall just enough that it was off of my wand, leaving only a slender crack where the rough stone had rested. I grabbed it, turning it over slowly in my hand. It wasn't my wand, but it was one that I had seen often. I walked back over to the door, it was the only thing left in the dungeons that was taking residence in shadows.
I started throwing all the spells and jinxes I could remember from all my times in the library. I stopped suddenly, as I listened to the sound of a door, slowly creaking behind me. I jumped around, holding the wand in front of me, finally feeling a sense of security.
"Whoever you are, you bloody well come out!" I said, more to break the eerie silence than to scare the intruder.
"Draco?" A small head poked out of a doorway, her hair looked similar to a rats nest, and her face once delicate and porcelain was now raw and scratched. The chunk of fallen wall had trapped her, and now I had moved it just enough to give her a slender crack to slide her anorexic body through.
"Draco!" The tall thin figure squealed with delight as she hobbled over to me, dragging one leg strangely, and clung to my arm. There was a dark bruise on the side of her face, similar to the one Weasley had sported. "You came back for me!"
"Get off me, you whore," I sneered pushing her to the ground. I looked down at her, my eyes taking in her disgraceful appearance.
"Draco?" Pansy said again, but this time her voice was not that of utter delight, "Draco, why do you have my wand?" She asked me looking at my hand that was still held up in the air. "You are here to rescue me, aren't you?" she said slowly still sitting down, but now she was looking into my eyes.
"You never did get it, did you?" I asked her smiling madly, "I never liked you, all you are to me is a plaything something to manipulate and hurt," Tears started to well up in her eyes, "All I ever wanted to do was hurt you," I said.
"Draco…"
"And now, now your here, at my feet as you should be." I said, "And I, I am going to cause you the worst pain that you will ever feel to revenge my father as it should be," I started to laugh as tears raced each other down her cheeks.
"Draco…"
"I couldn't get the Weasel," I said, the laughter in my voice dying, I looked down at her pitifully, making her think she had a chance one more time. "I guess I will just have to substitute the whore." The words seemed foreign even to my own ears, but they were right. I watched her eyes change from their big round innocence to terror in a matter of a few seconds.
I laughed, letting everything out as I uttered the most foul curse I knew, "Avavda Kedavra"
She flew across the room, her thin, frail body being tossed to the wall. Her head hit the wall, making a loud banging noise that echoed, as though it were chasing itself around the room.
The wall she hit crumbled over her, crushing her body beneath it. It seemed to set off a chain reaction. It was so loud, the already crumbled castle now falling apart even more. I looked around, trying to find a safe way out, someone was screaming, it felt like they were right next to my ear, driving me insane. I looked back up at the tall door. It was still covered in shadows, as though some sort of shield stood around it, guarding its inhabitants.
I ran, searching for a chance to get out. My legs collapsed under me as I felt something come down on top me, entrapping my body. And everything was fading, as I gratefully fell asleep.
I opened my eyes, sucking in a ragged breath, only to have a terrible stench fill my nose. I coughed I could feel blood trying to come up filling my mouth, but I would swallow it, determined not to look a total disgrace when they found my body.
"Maybe we were just hearing things-" A voice started, I held my breath trying to hear what they were saying, I recognized the voice, but couldn't quite place who it was.
"All of us, hearing things? At exactly the same time?" Another voice spoke, it was a girl, her voice know-it-all like, and bossy. The voices stopped, the only thing left was the quiet noise of the speakers' breath. Then, out of nowhere, the bodies of Weasley, Granger, and Potter appeared. No doubt to save the insane mumbler.
"Potter?" I choked out, my laugh turned into a coughing fit and I felt the thick liquid trying to make its way up my throat. I swallowed painfully.
"Over here," Weasley barked, leaning over me. I watched as his face turned to hatred, and smiled at the thought that I must have caused so much pain in his life, but not enough. I was here to give him one last blow, to repay him for the blood he made come out of my lip, I was here to tell him his sister was dead, and that she died, insane.
Granger came over and rolled away the boulder that was resting on my body with her wand, I took in a sharp, painful breathe, the boulder was the only thing keeping my body together, and now I would fall apart, but not before I get my last shot at Weasley. Granger let out a strangled yelp, and I realized then how terrible my broken body must have looked, the once handsome figure, now deflated and flat.
"She's dead," I hissed, smiling at Weasley's furious face, "I came back to get her, we all knew she was in there, but she's dead-" I coughed and felt the thick liquid finally winning the battle, forcing its way through my mouth. The cold drops landing on my face.
"Malfoy?" Weasley croaked out, my eyes went blurry as I tried to control the muscles that moved them, finally focusing them again.
"Only he could…" I stopped, refocusing my eyes, "Save her but she said…" I coughed again, pain rushing to every limb I could still feel "No…. Because of you…" I looked over at Harry, happy to see all their disgusted faces "She didn't have to die. But you killed-" My voice caught in my throat, I was no longer able to talk. The world was spinning violently, and Potter's face was getting closer to mine, he was grabbing my shirt, pushing me into the shadows, my choice of residence.
A/N Continued: Sorry that was super long, but this one starts from the beginning and goes almost to the end, so I just had a lot to write. I think this one really starts to bring all of them pieces of the series together. Also, you may be thinking, "when is this series going to end?" Well it's a 7 part series, sorta like J.K. Rowling's books, so yeah, don't stop reading them because you think they'll never end, because I promise they will! Remember, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!
