p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I was violently awoken by another Slytherin girl. I looked around and Willow wasn't in bed. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. People were rushing to get outside, there was a panic. Everyone was frantic. I was still groggy from sleep./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Ebony, wake up!" She said, still shaking me./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""All right, come off it! What's going on?" I hissed./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""It's… Well, it's Professor Dumbledore."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""What does the headmaster want with us?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""No, Ebony… He's dead."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I was so half-asleep it that I didn't register it at first. But slowly, I felt my chest tighten and then I felt my heart sink into my shoes. Dumbledore, who fought for me to stay in school, who kept watch over me, who fought the darkness… He was dead./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"It felt unreal./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"It took a couple moments for me to shake off my disbelief. The girl who woke me stood there empathetically for a second, but then began to rush to get dressed herself./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""And worse, there are death eaters in the castle. We're all supposed to gather with the teachers, near where Dumbledore fell. You should get dressed."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""How did this happen?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""No one knows, except that Professor Snape had something to do with it."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Where… Where is Willow…?" I looked around, but her bed was empty. Actually, all of her stuff was gone. I started to get worried./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""She left before everything happened. If she's trying to get out of Hogwarts, she might still be in the castle."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Thanks." I said, and got up./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I did the laces on my shoes and put on a jumper, and started heading out. I didn't spot Willow in the common room, the girl's bathroom. I went out into the halls, which seemed to buzz with activity./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I whipped my head frantically as I searched for her. Willow… She had to be around here somewhere, she couldn't just have left without saying goodbye./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"Then a group of Death Eaters entered from above and shot spells out at us./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"We all began running, but I pretty much immediately knew they were after me./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I ran towards the grounds. They'd chased me through the halls, their spells colliding with the walls, and I was afraid that this time they really had me. I didn't know where anyone was, I didn't know where Willow was, my friend, my Slytherin Sister./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"We were being attacked and she was nowhere to be found./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"We burst out of the castle and onto the grounds./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"Out the corner of my eye I saw Harry Potter in the distance, and he was running after Professor Snape but I couldn't really afford to divert my attention. Someone had lit Hagrid's hut on fire, and the warm glow of the flames lit up everything up./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"The spells slowed. Something was wrong./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I was at the edge of The Forbidden Forest. And everything was quiet. I could hear someone coming towards me and I raised my wand to defend myself, but then I recognized the figure./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"It was Willow./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Come on out, it's time." She said, and then several death eaters apparated to her side./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Ebony, wake up!" She said, still shaking me./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""All right, come off it! What's going on?" I hissed./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""It's… Well, it's Professor Dumbledore."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""What does the headmaster want with us?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""No, Ebony… He's dead."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I was so half-asleep it that I didn't register it at first. But slowly, I felt my chest tighten and then I felt my heart sink into my shoes. Dumbledore, who fought for me to stay in school, who kept watch over me, who fought the darkness… He was dead./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"It felt unreal./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"It took a couple moments for me to shake off my disbelief. The girl who woke me stood there empathetically for a second, but then began to rush to get dressed herself./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""And worse, there are death eaters in the castle. We're all supposed to gather with the teachers, near where Dumbledore fell. You should get dressed."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""How did this happen?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""No one knows, except that Professor Snape had something to do with it."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Where… Where is Willow…?" I looked around, but her bed was empty. Actually, all of her stuff was gone. I started to get worried./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""She left before everything happened. If she's trying to get out of Hogwarts, she might still be in the castle."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Thanks." I said, and got up./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I did the laces on my shoes and put on a jumper, and started heading out. I didn't spot Willow in the common room, the girl's bathroom. I went out into the halls, which seemed to buzz with activity./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I whipped my head frantically as I searched for her. Willow… She had to be around here somewhere, she couldn't just have left without saying goodbye./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"Then a group of Death Eaters entered from above and shot spells out at us./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"We all began running, but I pretty much immediately knew they were after me./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I ran towards the grounds. They'd chased me through the halls, their spells colliding with the walls, and I was afraid that this time they really had me. I didn't know where anyone was, I didn't know where Willow was, my friend, my Slytherin Sister./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"We were being attacked and she was nowhere to be found./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"We burst out of the castle and onto the grounds./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"Out the corner of my eye I saw Harry Potter in the distance, and he was running after Professor Snape but I couldn't really afford to divert my attention. Someone had lit Hagrid's hut on fire, and the warm glow of the flames lit up everything up./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"The spells slowed. Something was wrong./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"I was at the edge of The Forbidden Forest. And everything was quiet. I could hear someone coming towards me and I raised my wand to defend myself, but then I recognized the figure./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;"It was Willow./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.35cm;""Come on out, it's time." She said, and then several death eaters apparated to her side./p