Author Note: I do not own the Harry Potter series. Yes, much of the conversation in the following chapter is right from the book, but I don't own that either. Alright, moving on.

Alright, three updates in, what, less than a week? We're on a roll my friends! Enjoy!

Without further ado...

Chapter 16

Draco POV

The time was set. The plan was in motion. All I could think as I prepared myself for that coming evening was that I wasn't ready. I didn't want to do any of this. I pushed Blaise away when he came around, sensing something was wrong and prodding me about it. "Just stay in the dorm tonight, alright?" was all I said as I practically shoved him from my room. While I knew nobody would go out of their way to harm someone who was potentially on our side of this whole thing, which Blaise wasn't officially but if it came down to it he probably would be, that didn't mean he might not be hurt in the coming mayhem.

I felt like I was going to be sick, but I'd come this far already. I couldn't back out now. There was no way to. The plan was already in motion. With or without me, it would still happen. That was unless I sabotaged it before it could begin, sealing off the vanishing cabinet in order to thwart the coming attack. That was useless however. It would be like signing my own death warrant. As soon as I left the safety of Hogwarts after that I'd be dead.

Of course, if anything went wrong, I'd probably be dead after tonight or locked away in Azkaban for the rest of my life. I had no out this time, no way to avoid participating. I was backed into a corner with no way of escaping the consequences of my actions, whatever they may be. Then there was the simple fact I'd been tasked with killing Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard alive. Even the Dark Lord was afraid of him, and he feared nothing. Even with the aid of the others, how was he to succeed?

Tonight, of all nights, was the best to do it. Dumbledore had left earlier in the evening and the halls were being patrolled by members of the Order of the Phoenix. If we were going to get Death Eaters in the castle, it had to be while Dumbledore was gone. And after he returned I was supposed to kill him.

I knew that even as I paced his room, waiting, the others were already in motion. Madam Rosmerta would be under the imperious curse so when Dumbledore returned she'd send them right where they wanted him. Everyone else that was coming, seven in total including my aunt Bellatrix, were gathering in Nocturn Alley to file through the vanishing cabinet.

My biggest concern, despite all that plagued me however, was not for myself. It was for Ginny. I hadn't spoken to her in months, though I was always aware of her. The feelings that she'd awoken in me earlier that year had not gone away. It caused me endless anguish anytime she would glare my way or avoid me. Even worse was later when she didn't even seem to notice me. At least when she hated me it showed some emotion towards him. When even the glares stopped, I felt like she was slipping further away.

This night would seal my fate. No amount of explaining or proclamations of love would make her forgive me after tonight. What I'd already done was horrible, but what I was going to do tonight would be unforgivable. And worse than everything, I would be putting her in direct danger. I knew Ginny too well to think she would sit back when the fighting broke out. Her family and friends were here and she was courageous to the point of recklessness when those she cared about were in danger. She would not sit back, safe in her bed, and let others fight this fight.

Fear that something would happen to her was almost enough to make me change my mind, despite the consequences that would follow. I couldn't do it however, despite how much I hated myself for it. When the time finally came to do my part, I pocketed some instant darkness powder and grabbed the Hand of Glory and headed out into the hall, my heart pounding in my chest.

I made my way quickly but quietly through the halls and to the room where everything was hidden. I'd had to sneak past a few patrolling the halls, but nobody caught me. I watched as one by one everyone filed out. Alecto and Amycus Carrow were first, quickly followed by Yaxley, Thorfinn Rowle, Gibbon, Aunt Bellatrix and finally, Fenrir Greyback.

Somber faced, hiding the fear I felt, I lead the group out of the room and into the hall. There I saw her, only for an instant. Ginny was at the end of the hall with her brother and Longbottom. My heart leapt to my throat and wanted to scream at her to run, to get far away. My eyes met hers for the barest of seconds before I threw a handful of the darkness powder and obscured the hall.

The look in her eyes would probably always haunt me, that look of disbelief and accusation. She knew, maybe not the whole plan, but she knew I was about to do something very bad. She knew, maybe affirming what she suspected already, that I was truly as bad as everyone said I was. I pushed her from my mind, or tried to, as I lead the others through the dark hall.

I split off from the others once out of the blackness. One went to place the mark in the sky, right above my destination, that would act as a lure. We would make Dumbledore come right where we wanted him. I took a short cut on the way to the Astronomy Tower and beat the others there. And there he was, Dumbledore.

"Expelliarmus!" I cried, disarming the old man, much to my surprise. His wand soared away, out of his hand.

When his eyes met mine, they were full of calm tranquility. Did nothing phase this old man? Even his impending doom?

"Good evening, Draco," he said, his voice sounding worn but even. He looked haggard, like he'd already had a hard night.

I glanced around, checking to see if we were still alone. My eyes fell upon a broom, or rather two of them. "Who else is here?" I demanded, my wand held tightly in my grasp as my eyes swept the tower.

"A question one might ask you. Or are you acting alone?" Dumbledore asked in return, not bothering to answer my question.

"No," I said, trying to sound less scared than I felt. I was sure my careful mask of control was slipping. "I've got back-up. There are Death Eaters here in your school tonight." I didn't think anyone had truly believed I'd make it this far. I'd accomplished something nobody else had ever been able to do. It was something to be proud of, under different circumstances. I didn't feel proud though.

"Well, well," Dumbledore said, his tone that of a teacher to a student who'd accomplished something hard instead of the anger I'd expected. "Very good indeed. You found a way to let them in, did you?"

"Yes," I said, knowing I should stop talking and just kill him, but unable to make myself. "Right under your nose and you never realized!"

"Ingenious, yet, forgive me, where are they now? You seem unsupported." His tone was still light, almost curious.

"They met some of your guard. They're having a fight down below. They won't be long. I came on ahead," I said, my thoughts flashing to Ginny, who was surely fighting downstairs too. "I-I've got a job to do." A job I didn't want to do.

"Well, then, you must get on and do it, my dear boy," said Dumbledore, his voice still even.

I stood there in silence, unable to make myself say the killing curse that would end all of this. I just couldn't do it! I tightened the grip on my wand, pointed at his chest, but still did not speak.

A small smile formed on the Headmaster's lips. "Draco, Draco, you are not a killer." His words were soft and I wanted nothing more than to keep them true. I wasn't one yet.

"How do you know?" I asked, pushing away those feelings and mustering up a sneer. "You don't know what I'm capable of. You don't know what I've done!" I thought back to the two that almost died because of me. Katie Bell. Ron Weasley. Almost dead because of me.

"Oh yes I do," Dumbledore replied, surprising me. "You almost killed Katie bell and Ronald Weasley. You have been trying, with increasing desperation, to kill me all year. Forgive me, Draco, but they have been feeble attempts, so feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has really been in it."

Even as I defended myself, trying to make him realize that I'd meant all of what I did, I knew he was right. My heart wasn't in this, it couldn't be. My heart had been with Ginny all year. How could I put my whole heart into something that could hurt her? He was right, but I couldn't let him know that. Instead I tightened my grip on my wand, keeping it pointed at his chest as we spoke.

I'd had plenty of time to kill him, even as I told him how I managed to sneak Death Eaters into the school and how I'd managed those failed attempts on his life. As I stood there, Dumbledore seeming to weaken and sink lower against the wall as the minutes passed, I couldn't help but listen to the sounds of the battle below us. Screams split the night air, muffled by the distance but still distinguishable. What if it was Ginny screaming? The sound was coming closer, as if the fighting was on the staircase up the tower.

"There is little time, one way or the other," Dumbledore said. "So let us discuss your options, Draco."

"My options!" I shouted, my voice nearing hysteria. "I'm standing here with a wand. I'm about to kill you."

"My dear boy, let us have no more pretense about that," he said, cutting me off before I could continue. "If you were going to kill me you would have done it when you first disarmed me, you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means."

He was right and we both knew it. I didn't have it in me to kill him. I never did. "I haven't got any options," I spat at him, feeling like I was going to be sick. "I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!" I could feel tears prick in my eyes but I forced them back.

"I appreciate the difficulty of your position," Dumbledore said calmly. "Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would be murdered if Lord Voldemort realized that I suspected you."

I winced at his words, realizing how foolish I'd been all year.

Dumbledore continued. "I did not dare speak to you of the mission with which you had been entrusted, in case he used Legilimency against you. But now at last we can speak plainly to each other. No harm has been done, you have hurt nobody, though you are very lucky that your unintentional victims survived. I can help you, Draco."

"No you can't," I said, my voice a little higher and my hand shaking. "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'd kill me. I've got no choice."

"Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban. When the time comes we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco. You are not a killer."

I stared at him, wanting to believe his words. Was it possible? "But I've come this far, didn't I?" I said slowly. "They thought I'd die in the attempt but I'm here. And you're in my power. I'm the one with the wand. You're at my mercy."

"No, Draco," Dumbledore said, his voice softer now. "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now."

I swallowed hard, unable to speak. Could he be speaking the truth? Would his Order be able to protect my family? Were they that powerful? My wand lowered an inch. I could say yes. I could let him live and accept his offer. I wanted to, oh how I wanted to.

Just then the door burst open and four of the Death Eaters I'd brought poured in. The rest passed in a blur. Even with their taunts and threats and prodding, I still could not bring myself to kill the man in front of me. The situation was ideal as it could possible get, but still I could not bring myself to become a killer. I wanted a way out, but now there was none.

Then Snape killed him, two soft words spoken in a calm voice. And then it was done. The old man's body toppled, falling the great distance to the grounds below. I stared, frozen, at the empty space where he had been even as Potter appeared from nowhere. It took Snape grabbing my collar to get me moving.

I jogged mindlessly alongside the others as we raced for the gate. Dodging spells, I dared not send any of my own out for fear I'd hit Ginny. I didn't see her, but I glanced red hair a few times. It could be any number of her family members. Just as we reached the gates, the others turning to disapparate, I finally caught a glimpse of her in the distance. Her eyes locked with mine for the second time that night before I turned on my heel and vanished into the night.

Alright, before everyone tears into me about the TOTAL lack of Draco/Ginny contact, bear with me. It's coming!

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