Chapter 19

The Darkest Day

"Raya?" asked Bill putting his hand on her shoulder.

She had been staring into the forest for about five minutes completely motionless.

"You okay?" asked Bill.

Raya took a deep sigh.

"Yes," she said finally, then slowly she turned around to face him. "You all go ahead. Its lunchtime. Ron's favorite subject. You wouldn't want to miss your parents either. Go ahead. I'll just be a moment."

She spoke slowly as though the words choked her on their way out.

"You sure?" asked Bill.

"Yes," she said. "Please. Go."

"Alright," said Bill and he and the others walked away.

Harry, however, stayed behind. She watched his sister from behind. Watching her school robes, stained with blood and the bottom caked with dirt, being tossed around by the wind. Her long blonde hair blew freely around her.

"It's not polite to stare," said Raya, and Harry jumped he didn't know she knew he was there.

"Sorry, it's just," Harry began.

"Don't be sorry," she said, "you have every right to stand exactly where you are. The right to never move, if that was your wish."

"My wish was to see to that you were alright," said Harry, "are you really alright?"

Raya turned and laughed.

"Harry I'm fine," said Raya, "just recollecting after the battle. Don't worry."

"Alright," said Harry smiling, "I'll see you at lunch."

"Alright," said Raya smiling after him.

But when he disappeared into the trees her smile quickly faded. She turned again to look deep into the forest. Something was going to happen. Not just a battle. Something greater was at work here.

She turned quickly and walked quickly towards Hogwarts. She walked out of the Forbidden Forest to an empty Care of Magical Creatures class. She turned around when she heard the sound of leaves being pushed aside.

Amaltheea and Bunny stood there. Raya led them to the stables and planted a kiss on each other their noses. Then she continued her walk to the school. When she entered she walked up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. She said the password, Phoenix Tears, and the portrait hole swung open. She walked to her dormitory and then to her bed.

There she opened the top of the small drawers of her bedside table. She took all the little trinkets out of it and placed them gently on her bed until the drawer was empty. She stared at the empty drawer and put her hand gently on the bottom and moved her hand around until she hit what she was looking for. A small notch in the wood at the far corner of the drawer. Raya pulled up and out and the bottom of the drawer was removed. Under was another bottom to the drawer, dusty and full of cobwebs and she placed her hand on the lone object inside. She pulled out part of Draco's Christmas gift to her. The green gem. The key to linking this world to Novia. She stared at it. The green gem seemed to sparkle in her touch. The placed her hand and trailed it down along the entire gem. Something big was going to happen.

Raya put the gem back into the drawer and placed the bottom back on. She placed all the trinkets back into the drawer and closed it. She stood up and walked out of the dormitory and out of the common room. She walked down the halls towards the staircase leading to the hall. She stopped right by the railing, looking out, lost in her own thoughts.

Then she felt a sudden sharp pain in her heart. Like someone had slammed a knife right into her chest. She gasped for breath. Her hand immediately went to her heart. She closed her eyes and opened them again. She usually could handle pain, any pain, no matter how great. But she felt as though she was dying and yet couldn't. As though she was experiencing the pain of death without anyone having done anything. She gasped and closed her eyes once more and she felt herself lean towards the side of the railing and go over. She fell. Fell down past all the stairs and landed on the marble floor, hard.

She kept her eyes closed and inhaled deeply and then her eyes went wide and she shot up into a sit.

"Something's happened to Draco!" she gasped and got to her feet.

She ran towards Dumbledore's office.

"Chocolate Frogs!" she cried and the stairs began to rotate. She knew it was rude, but she burst through the doors of the headmaster's office.

"What's happened to him?" asked Raya, "what happened to Draco?"

The headmaster looked up. Behind him stood Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick.

"How-?" Dumbledore started to ask.

"I felt it," said Raya, "I felt his pain. Tell me now."

"I just heard from one of our portraits," Dumbledore began to explain.

"What's happened!" said Raya.

"Draco," started Dumbledore slowly.

Raya stared at him. Her eyes seemed to darken from the usual brilliant blue.

"Draco is dead," said Dumbledore, finished sadly.

Raya seemed to turn to lifeless stone.

"Dead?" asked Raya.

Dumbledore nodded his head solemnly.

Her breathing was silent but heavy. She closed her eyes, as if to try and make it all go away. She turned her head and opened her eyes to look out the window at the high sun of noon. But the sun did not shine on her. She turned her head back to look at the dark stone floor of the headmaster's office. When she looked back at Dumbledore a lone tear fell down her cheek. And another. And then another. She could not control. Silently they fell down her face, she powerless to do anything about it.

"You lie," she whispered, "you are lying to me."

"No," said Dumbledore, pushing back his chair and standing up, "Draco is dead."

"Don't say that!" shouted Raya. "Just shut up!"

Dumbledore's face stayed motionless.

"Raya," said Dumbledore, "please. It is not easy to tell you this news. But it is news that you must accept."

"Never!" shouted Raya.

And her face was contorted with rage. She took a nearby table in her hands and turned it over.

"You lie to me!" said Raya the tears seemed to stain the ground about her.

"Please," said Dumbledore gently.

Professor McGonagall walked from behind the desk, followed by Professor Flitwick. They stood on either side of her and put a reassuring hand on each shoulder.

"He died like your Bogart envisioned," said Professor Flitwick, "his father killed him. Your Bogart was replicating his future death."

Raya looked at the stone floor her face still twisted with rage.

"And I did nothing," said Raya and she clenched her fists, "nothing."

"If you had gone his father would have killed you too," said Dumbledore.

"Then he would have done what I wanted him to do," said Raya, "to me there is no life with his death."

"Raya," started Dumbledore.

"No!" shouted Raya, "he can't be dead! He can't be dead! We never said good-bye!"

McGonagall dabbed her own tears with her sleeves.

Raya continued, "We are never without the other. We always survive together. We were supposed to be friends forever. I was so stupid! I never did anything to protect him. I should have been there beside him. I should have protected him as though he was my blood. I should have gone when I saw my Bogart. I should have written to him more often. I should have warned him of my Bogart. I should have contacted the ministry to add extra protection. I should have given him advice. I should have told him that I regretted myself anytime that we weren't together. I should have cared for him better. I should have held on to him a few moments longer. I should have, I should have."

She sobbed silently.

"I should have told him that I was in love with him."

With that she pulled herself from Professor McGonagall and Flitwick's gentle grasp and ran again from the room, as fast as she could. She ran past the doors of the Great Hall and then out of Hogwarts all together. She looked around and started to climb the stone wall of the school. She climbed higher and higher until she reached the top of the turret and stood there. Tears stained her face as she looked out onto to the sun. She stayed up there the rest of the day. Staring into nothing, caring about nothing. And wanting to die.

Dumbledore through the side down behind the staff table and into the Great Hall.

"Students!" he called their attention, they all grew silent, "I am afraid I must inform you of a very unfortunate event. A very brave student, Draco Malfoy, was just killed in the line of duty working to bring down the Death Eaters."

Harry couldn't believe what he just heard. Draco was dead. Last year he would have rejoiced at the news. But now the sorrow he felt matched that of when Sirius died. Draco had said an oath to protect him and it was that oath that led him on to his mission. To his death.

He looked around at his friends. There was Ginny, his beautiful fiancé, looking at her plate full of food and a shocked expression was plastered clearly across her face. Hermione was biting her bottom lip as her eyes were watering. Ron stared down confused and frowning at his plate. Luna had just her eyes closed. Neville had a tear stained face.

The other Weasley's looked sort of upset. But Harry understood. It would be hard to tear up about the death of someone you barely knew or recently hated. Mrs. Weasley took out her handkerchief and handed it to the now sobbing Hermione.

Dumbledore slowly got up and walked past the staff table. He walked to the group of astonished friends.

"The funeral will be in three hours," said Dumbledore, "you will miss the rest of the school say, everyone will. If you do not have proper funeral attire then you can take this time to ask some of the other students if they have anything. If they have nothing I will allow you to take a quick trip to Hogsmeade to buy a set of black robes. It is important that you attend."

They all nodded their heads and Dumbledore nodded and walked slowly back towards the staff table then turned and walked out the door to the left.

"Draco's dead!" said Hermione weeping.

Ron reached over and pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair as she cried on his shoulder.

"I can't believe this, just when he was becoming the sweetest man ever," said Luna, "how could he just leave us?"

"He didn't mean-," said Harry, "he didn't want to."

"Let's go," said Ron standing up slowly with Hermione still in his arms. "Let's go get ready."

He and Hermione walked out of the Great Hall.

"Everyone?" Ginny asked sobbing. "Do you want to stay for the funeral?"

"Do you want us to dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes," nodded Ginny.

"Then we'll be there, sweetie," said Mr. Weasley.

Ginny nodded and hugged her father.

"Thanks dad," said Ginny.

And she stood up and followed her brother and her friend out the Great Hall.

"See you all later," said Harry and he followed Ginny.

"Good-bye everyone," said Neville and Luna and they too followed everyone out of Great Hall.

Two hours later six of the friends stood in the common room by the fireplace, all in black robes or dresses.

"I wonder how Raya is doing," said Harry, "I should be with her."

"She probably wants to be alone right now, Harry," said Ginny, "probably needs solitude, especially with the funeral coming up and everyone telling her how sorry they are or asking her if she's okay."

"You're probably right," said Harry.

He sat down on the couch.

"Draco was pretty cool wasn't he," said Harry sighing.

"Yeah," said Ginny sitting next to Harry putting her head on his shoulder, "he was very cool."

Hermione smiled.

"Something I never thought I would agree with," said Hermione, "could you imagine us being this upset over Draco's death if this had happened in sixth year?"

"I'm glad it didn't," said Ron, "if he had died in sixth year we would have never known how cool he really was. We probably wouldn't have known about Raya. And all of the other magical things that happened in this year either wouldn't have happened or happened differently."

"Yes," said Hermione, "and this has been the best year at Hogwarts ever. Despite Voldemort and everything."

"Do you think other people are attending?" asked Harry looking at his friends, "from the other worlds they talked about. Do you think they know?"

"I don't know," said Neville, "I don't think Raya wrote to them, or however the communicate."

The portrait swung open and Professor Sprout walked inside.

"I've come to escort you dears," said Professor Sprout and then she added kindly, "I am very sorry for your loss."

"Thank You Professor," said Ginny.

The rest of the group murmured their thank yous as they followed her out of the room. They walked down the hall and outside. They walked around the school.

"You'll be the first ones there," said Professor Sprout, "except Raya of course, poor dear."

As they turned the corner they saw the gravestone. So cold and menacing it looked.

"So they already buried him?" asked Luna stopping and looking at it before they had fully turned the corner.

Everyone else stopped as well.

"They (she paused and grimaced) they retrieve his body," said Professor Sprout, "they know he is dead because there were more of our people there in case something went wrong. But they came in too late though. They barely got out alive after Mr. Malfoy attacked them, but not before they saw Draco lying on the floor."

Hermione bit her bottom lip and everyone finished walking around the corner. Then they saw Raya. Her head was down but they couldn't see it her very well. She wore a long black dress, with a black veil covering her face.

Harry slowly went up behind her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Raya?" asked Harry.

Raya slowly turned around. Though the veil was black and dark Harry could still make out the tears that poured down her face.

"Ray," said Harry, distressed to see his sister so.

"He's gone," said Raya so softly a whisper would have seemed like a scream in his ears. "Forever."

"Ray," said Harry again sighing.

Then they heard the rustle of students. Coming from all around. Raya turned around and rushed quickly to the gravestone, knelt in front of it. She put her fingers on where Draco's name was. Then she stood up and quickly muttered a spell and ran away, away from everyone and seemed to disappear. Harry looked back at the gravestone. There was a line drawn through Malfoy. Under that it now said "He was no Malfoy."

The rest of his friends came up from behind him.

"He really wasn't," said Harry.

The funeral was a short one. Each student was given a white rose and each one took turn passing by the grave and throwing his or her flower onto it. Afterwards, when everyone was gone, and the sun seemed low in the sky, the only people that remained were the Weasley family and the six friends.

"This day seems unreal," said Hermione, "like it's just a dream, and soon I'll wake up. At least that's what I want."

Ron hugged her, though he himself was having a hard time covering up the fact that he was crying.

"I'll never be able to play football without that bloke," said Ron.

"Come on," said Luna, "I can't stand to be here much longer."

Luna started to walk in Neville followed her.

"Luna," said Neville.

She turned and smiled weakly at him.

"It's been an upsetting day," said Neville, "I'll walk you to your room."

"Thanks," said Luna, smiling up at him.

They walked hand-in-hand in silence and when they reached the Ravenclaw portrait hole they shared a short kiss and said their goodnights.

"Thanks for staying, mum, dad, everyone," said Ginny wiping tears from her face with the handkerchief she had borrowed from Hermione.

"Oh sweetie," said Mrs. Weasley and she hugged her daughter tightly in her arms.

"I'm sorry about him," said George walking up to Ron, "from what you lot have said, he sounds like his turned into a great guy."

"He always was," said Ron, "we just never knew it."

"It almost makes me feel bad about beating his lights out during our seventh year," said George.

"If he was really as cool as you guys say he is," said Fred, "then he's okay in our books."

And with that the Weasley family aparated to Fred and George's Hogsmeade flat, with exception to Ginny and Ron.

Hermione made her way up to the seventh year girls' dormitories and when she opened the door. Just as she suspected, Raya wasn't there.

Hope it wasn't too predictable! Please comment!