And if we dream - Draco Malfoy/ OC
Chapter 31 -
Summary: Like some magnetic force, like some unbreakable bond she was drawn back to him again and again. And now, staying away was an inconceivable notion. "Always." she murmured, one hand finding his, the other tangling into his platinum hair, "Always."
-….-
Why do you all stick by me and my terrible update timing,
I am so sorry, not to make excuses but its been hectic, my sister had an unexpected baby (long story) but they are both fine and my neice is beautiful though a handful and will she sleep when you want her to? Hell no!
My grandad was diagnosed with lung cancer and is undergoing treatment and we're a close family so we've all be rallying round. Then there was Christmas and working and doing extra marketing work for my old uni. I kind of forgot what my laptop looked like in all the craziness. I feel weird typing and my fingers don't like it haha! Sorry again!
(Even as I wrote this my ten month old pug decided to try and pull down the Christmas tree.)
Alas it took me two months to even finish the chapter I started at Christmas. I suck
A/N I feel a little like this story is just coasting so I'm going to time jump a little! Hope it works!
Enjoy the chapter!
-….-
"Goodbye Draco!" Avery laughed as the blonde pawed at her waist, "I have to go!"
"No," Draco smirked, nuzzling into her hair as he pulled her closer towards him, "You don't."
"I promised Hermione I would study with her." She giggled as he squeezed her even tighter, "What is with you tonight?"
"I'm happy, can't I just be happy?" He replied. Avery grinned, he did look happy tonight, happier than she had seen him in a long while, maybe since their return to Hogwarts this year.
"You're not happy very often." she said seriously, "What's going on?"
"Nothing." he said, sober now, "Nothing. Go and study with your brainbox friend."
"Draco-" He cut her off with a brief kiss, smiling again, thankfully.
"Go. Before I hex you!" he joked.
"Like you could." she scoffed as she turned to leave.
"Goodbye Red." he drawled, elongating the words. She laughed and left him.
Avery continued to smile as she meandered her way through the hall, ignoring the odd looks from other students who passed her by. Things with Draco had been... good.
They didn't talk about the important things, not Voldemort or Draco's big secret, not Harry or her other friends. But things were as good as they could be.
There hadn't been much happening on the Voldemort front either and Avery and her friends had found themselves relaxing more and more over time. Harry had gotten rid of the Half Blood Princes' book, no one knew where and as far as anyone knew there was no way of getting it back. It was for the best, even if Harry had fallen a few steps from his pedestal in Slughorn's eyes as well as his grades.
The Gryffindor common room appeared before her, it would be relatively busy she knew despite the late hour, Gryffindors after all were renown for leaving their homework until the night before. Then again it was Sunday tomorrow so it might be empty after all, not everybody had a friend called Granger to whip them into studying on a weekend.
She muttered the password and stepped through the entrance only to be accosted by a wobbly looking Harry. "Hi Avery!" he chirped, "Bye Avery!"
"Bye... Harry." She frowned, as she moved closer to Hermione and Ron who stared dumbfounded after their friend.
"Where is he going?" Avery asked.
"Hagrids apparently." Ron answered.
"Is he drunk?" Avery asked, still standing before her other two friends.
"No." Hermione answered.
"Right. So why is he going to Hagrids?"
"To get Slughorn's memory of course!" Hermione answered, there was a few seconds of confused silence before her eyes widened in realization, "Oh dear."
Avery flinched, "Slughorn? What memory?" Ron cringed as he took a seat on the nearest sofa, "What's going on?"
"Avery- there has been some... developments." Hermione said, "You see, Professor Slughorn taught Voldermort when he was a student here, back when he was just Tom Riddle. He had this memory of him that Dumbledore thinks is important, only when Dumbledore saw it he realized that it had been tampered with. Something was wrong. Harry is using his Liquid Luck to get the memory off of Professor Slughorn."
Avery stared, having barely taken in the information that Hermione had offered up, she could feel the hurt bubbling up in her chest and hot tears stinging at her eyes.
"How long have you guys known about this?" She choked out.
"Weeks." Ron said bluntly, "Harry hasn't had any luck in getting it out of him."
"Weeks?" Avery squeaked, "Why did no one tell me?"
"Avery-" Hermione started only for Avery to interrupt her, "Why did no one tell me about this extremely important development?"
"It wasn't like that Ave-"
"Wasn't it?!" she shouted, "So it wasn't that there has been something important happening for weeks now, something I could have helped with but nobody told me..." Her breath caught in her throat, "You still don't trust me."
"Of course we do Ave!" Hermione responded quickly.
"No you don't! We've been through this! You didn't tell me about the prophecy or Harry's meetings with Dumbledore. You didn't even tell me about Bill and Fluers engagement!"
"People are staring Avery!" Hermione hissed.
"I don't care!" Avery growled. "Right now I am realizing that I've never been good enough for you three! I never know anything! I'm only needed if I'm running around as bait!"
"That's not true!" Hermione shouted.
"Yes it is. Ron said himself, you could never tell me anything when I lived with my mum and you still don't now! I'm not a Deatheater! I'm not bad! I'm the same as both of you but I have never been needed."
"Avery-"
"You're always leaving me behind!"
Silence, louder than their argument took hold of the common room. Avery was well aware of the other Gryffindors staring in shock at the impenetrable friends. Three members of a four member group who had been friends since the moment they had met on the Hogwarts Express, who had faced extreme odds and faced off with death numerous times only to come out stronger at the other end.
Only now there seemed to be cracks, the three older students who had been almost like heroes to their younger house members were arguing. Well two, Ron sat staring much the same as the other students, in shock.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked icily.
"Third year with the time turner. You left me behind and went to save the day. You only spoke to me on the Hogwarts Express in first year because you felt sorry for me! I only came to the Ministry last year because I overheard Ron talking about it. I -"
"Avery."
"Haven't I proved myself over and over?" she whispered.
"Avery-" Hermione hesitated
"Forget it. I was right last time, you're afraid I'll betray you. That's never going to change." Avery exclaimed before she turned on her heel and left.
Once the entrance to the common room had closed behind her Avery broke into a run, towards the only place she really felt at home these days. There may have been students who saw her, she couldn't be sure and didn't really care all that much. She had no doubt her melt down would be common knowledge by this time tomorrow. Tomorrow was a Saturday anyway so she could hide out if need be.
She increased her pace as the entrance to the Astrology tower came into view and burst through the door, startling the sole occupant.
"Red?"
"Draco? What are you still doing here?" Avery asked, standing still at the door.
"You've been gone less than twenty minutes, I hadn't left yet. " The blonde stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." she sobbed, "It's just that they still don't trust me. After everything."
"Well, you are sneaking around with me, Greenwood." he said as he stroked the back of her hair gently. Avery just continued to cry, eventually her sobs ran out though and she stood huddled against his warmth in silence feeling exhaustion sweep over her.
"I assume you don't want to go back to your dorm?" Draco asked, noticing her fatigue.
Avery choked out a laugh the sounded more like a sob, "No."
"Come with me then. Quietly. It's too cold to stay here." He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist.
"Where are we going?"
"My dorm. Everyone will be asleep, don't worry."
"On a saturday?"
"Slytherins Avery." He replied as if that explained everything. She decided to trust him, he wouldn't take a Gryfindor, especially one of Harry Potter's closest friends back to his dorm if he thought he was goign to be caught.
They moved quickly and it was all a sort of blur to Avery, she couldn't even remember the Slytherin password seconds after it had been said. She did remember the guarding portrait snarling at her but no comment was made. The common room was dark and much less welcoming than her own, deserted. No fire warmed the room but that was more than likely due to the late hour.
"Come on." Draco said, pulling her up some stairs, she vaguely noted that there was no hex here to stop a different gender from entering the rooms and wondered what it said about her own house that it was necessary.
Draco stopped at a door and pressed his index finger to his lips in a shushing motion and slowly pressed the door open. Avery was met with the sound of loud snoring and stepped over the threshold. If figured that Draco's sleeping area would be on the far side of the room against a wall. The dorm was tidy though and no obstacles stood in their path and they tip toed towards the bed. Avery did grimace though as she caught sight of Goyle drooling onto his pillow.
"Here" Draco said motioning her towards his soft sheets. She climbed on, watching through tired eyes as he pulled the curtain around his bed and muffled a charm.
"What did you just do?" Avery asked.
"No one will be able to hear us, or open the curtain and see you here."
"Right." She held back a blush as she watched him change, pulling on pajama bottoms over his underwear.
"I don't wear a top."
"That's okay." she replied eyes tracing the only slightly red scars on his chest, the reminder of Harry's curse.
"Are you going to be comfortable?" Draco asked awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah" Avery nodded, glancing down at her clothes "No. I'll live."
"You sure?"
"Yeah" Avery laughed, "Are there any jinxes on the girls stairway?" She asked trying to dispense the awkwardness that had overtaken the room.
"Sorry?"
"It's just in the Gryffindor common room if a boy tries to get into the girls room the stairs turn into a slide. It's kind of funny. We can go into the boys room though. So it's kind of useless in that sense."
"Okay" Draco said, drawing out the 'O' with a wry smile "Ours aren't jinxed, guess it's just you Gryffindors they don't trust."
They found a comfortable position rather quickly, surprisingly easy just like the rest of the components of their relationship. Draco pulled her close, a tight arm wrapped around her middle.
"Good night, Draco" Avery whispered as she felt herself slip into sleep.
-...-
They woke early the next morning, long before any of the other members of Draco's dorm became conscious the waking world.
She kissed Draco goodbye with a smile, despite the early Sunday morning hour and promised to meet him again that night.
The halls were obviously deserted and she didn't take too much care to stay hidden, it was viable that a student might be awake at this time, though unusual. Her thoughts meant nothing though as she met nobody else on her journey back to the common room.
"Avery!" she heard as she approached the opening. Avery felt her smile abruptly drop from her lips as she spotted Hermione, looking more harried than usual stood outside of the portal "Where have you been?"
Avery frowned, "Were you waiting for me?" Hermione stood her ground before the doorway with an expression to match her own.
"Yes I was. Avery you didn't come back last night! I was worried."
"Were you really." Avery deadpanned with a snort, "Can I get past please?"
"You can't stay out all night Ave, no matter what's happened here!"
"I was with friends Hermione" Avery replied, taking advantage of Hermiones movement as she stepped around her, "I do have other friends."
"Who?" Hermione asked as they stepped through into the empty common room.
"Are you seriously asking me that? I don't have to tell you anything Hermione, since no one seems to be able to tell me anything."
"Avery-" Hermione began but was interrupted by two things, the first was Ron stumbling into the common room with a yawn and the second was Harry, stumbling through the portrait in much the same manner.
"Harry!" Avery and Hermione cried in unison.
"You're back mate!" Ron said, wide awake now, "What happened?"
Harry looked grave and exhausted and flopped into a comfy chair by the fire, his friends followed suit as Harry began to speak.
"It's worse than we thought. We can't just use the killing curse on Voldemort or beat him in a fair fight. He thought ahead."
"What are you talking about?" Avery asked.
"Slughorns memory. When he taught here, Voldemort was just Tom Riddle, a student he asked him about this thing called Horcruxes, it's where you split your soul in to a number of pieces and place it into different objects."
"He did that?" Ron asked
"Apparently so." Harry said, "I think we've already found one. We're pretty sure that the diary we found in the Chamber of secrets was one. But there is seven. As long as the Horcruxes are out there we can't fully kill Voldemort, we can kill his physical form but his soul will still be out there, fragmented but alive."
"He can put himself back together." Hermione mused.
"Yeah." Harry said gravely. "Dumbledore thinks he knows where one is. We're going tonight. We have to make a start right."
"You have to be careful Harry. Go upstairs and get some sleep. Have a good meal before hand." Hermione fretted, though it fell on deaf ears for Avery who remained rooted in her seat, she lifted her eyes to Ron and could see that he was thinking the same thing as he chewed on a finger nail.
They had always known it was going to be difficult, if not almost impossible to destroy the dark lord, but they had had no idea it seemed. This made things so much more difficult. Even as the dark lord's forces grew in number and power the good guys seemed to be taking more and more steps backwards. Avery felt a sickness pooling in her stomach. They could never kill Voldemort, not with the Horcruxes.
"Ave." Harry's voice cut through her rapidly darkening thoughts, "You okay?"
"I should be asking you that Harry." she smiled gently, "I'm not the one who has to go through all of this, are you okay?"
"As well as I can be." Harry grinned, his glasses skewed on his face.
"You're a good guy Harry," Avery smiled as she straightened them out on his nose, "just be careful."
"I'll be with Dumbledore." Harry said, "I couldn't be safer."
Avery didn't tell him that she didn't completely agree. Silently she grieved for Harry, her best friend who had lost so much at such a young age and had never had a chance at a normal, safe life. She had a choice, as had Ron and Hermione, they had chosen to be Harry's friend, to accompany him and protect him, their names were famous because of their choice, Harry hadn't been given a choice.
"I just wanted to talk to you a minute." Harry said, glancing over to Ron, who at some point had joined Hermione over the other side of the deserted common room without Avery noticing.
"Of course." Avery replied.
"I wanted to say I was sorry. For not telling you about all of this. I realized that you weren't happy as I left, but liquid luck and all I couldn't really stay. I realize that we weren't exactly telling you everything, everything has just been so hectic."
"It's alright Harry." Avery said, swallowing the lump in her throat and pulling her dark haired friend into a tight hug. "Don't worry about it." she said even as she caught Hermione's eye across the room and felt guilt pool in her stomach.
It wasn't her friends fault she had not been completely in the know, everything had been hectic, for all of them and for Avery it wasn't just lessons and preparing for exams and being part of the Golden trio of students who was best friends with the Harry Potter or doing extra bloody Herbology lessons. No for Avery it was also that she was constantly sneaking off with Draco bloody Malfoy, someone who had been considered their enemy since first year. She was lying to her friends and sneaking off and barely spent any time with them for them to be able to tell her anything in the first place.
Of course it still hurt that they still sometimes considered her untrustworthy because of her blood line and childhood upbringing but she wasn't just the victim here.
She wouldn't meet Draco tonight, he would understand, she would stay here with her friends and wait for Harry's safe return and she would be worthy of their friendships.
She would just tell Draco-
"-Malfoy."
"Sorry?" she asked, pulling away from the hug, breaking out of her thoughts, "What did you say?"
"Just that I've seen Draco Malfoy in the Astronomy tower- on the Maurauders map- I've seen him around there when you've been there."
"I haven't seen him-" she stammered, "I mean I have- he just tries to piss me off sometimes but nothing major. He's easy enough to ignore."
"Just be careful Ave."
"You be careful!" she laughed, "Go and get cleaned up and get some sleep. You stink!"
"Gee thanks!" Harry laughed as he moved towards the boys dorm.
Avery, unwilling to face Hermione quite yet, grabbed a single piece of parchment off of one of the side tables, checked it was blank and scribbled a single note to Draco.
Draco,
I can't meet you tonight, something has come up.
I'm sorry.
Avery x
"Are we going to breakfast then?" Ron asked. "Might as well now we're all up. Also - no one will have touched the bacon yet."
Avery nodded, still avoiding Hermione's eyes. "I'll join you both in a minute."
She entered the great hall, having attached her note to one of Hogwart's own owls, just in time to see the creature drop the note before Draco, who had obviously stayed awake and joined a few early rising Slytherins for breakfast. As she walked towards her own table and Ron's bright red head she watched the blondes reaction as he read. Draco didn't meet her eye as he calmly folded the note into his pocket a shooed the owl away, Avery swallowed. She would talk to Draco as soon as she could and explain herself properly. She had to be with her friends tonight.
"Nice of you to join us." Ron said through a mouthful of bacon.
Avery laughed and helped herself to breakfast, "I'm here now." she said, knowing Hermione was desperate to question her again.
"And I'm sorry for last night." she said quickly, "I'm still hurt but I know I overreacted. I know as well that I haven't exactly been around all the time, so I'm sorry."
Ron shrugged and continued eating and Hermione silently reached over the table to take Avery's hand. "Me too." Hermione said quietly with a small smile though Avery could tell that her friends mind was still reeling with questions.
Breakfast moved slowly, in fact most of the day moved slowly, Harry joined them for dinner, eating more than his fair share, quiet and contemplative.
The four of them returned to the common room earlier than their house mates and bid Harry a long goodbye.
"Be safe Harry. Do everything Dumbledore tells you." Hermione said.
"Wish we were coming with you mate." Ron said, Avery nodded in agreement.
"See you soon guys." Harry said as he stepped out of the common room, heading in to possible danger once again.
The hours slid by even slower once Harry had left with Dumbledore, the friends sitting in their own little area, worrying over their friend. Ginny soon joined them and if anyone else noticed that there was palpable worry in the air and Harry was nowhere to be found they didn't mention it.
By late that night they were beginning to feel the effects of their long day. Though they hadn't done much at all physically, worry could often be more exhausting than physical labor.
Ginny headed to bed first, though Avery and the others followed not long after, Avery's brow furrowed as she moved towards her bed, perched on the window was the owl that Draco used to send messages and parcels, Avery wasn't sure that Hermione knew that thought she was acutely aware of her friend watching as she moved towards the bird.
"Hey you- what you got for me?"
She untied the parchment from the owls foot and sent it away with a thank you and a stroke down the back.
"Whose owl is that?" she heard Hermione ask as she unfurled the parchment, though she was unable to reply to her friend as she felt her heart flutter as she read the words scrawled across it.
Red,
I was more than willing to accept that you weren't coming tonight whatever your reasons, however, something has come up on my end too.
Something unavoidable and something quite terrible.
I need you to come tonight. I need to see you before-
I just need to see you. Please.
I'll be at the usual place. I'll wait.
It was the 'please' that did it. Draco was many things, many of them awful, but he was not someone who would deem himself to beg, especially not to a Gryffindor. Avery couldn't even be sure that Draco had ever said please to her in the entire time they had known each other. Something was wrong. She was dragging her warmer jacket on even as she thought it.
"Where are you going now Ave? What's wrong?"
"I have to- Look 'Mione- I'll explain everything - I promise. I just have to go."
She was out of the door and stumbling down the stairs before she had even realized that she'd left the note on her bed, not had she seen Hermione pick it up, or heard her shocked friends voice gasp "Red?".
Avery ran as fast as she possibly could towards the Astronomy tower, once again ignoring any students staring her way, vaguely thinking that this was becoming a common occurrence for her, running through the halls like someone who belonged in St Mungos.
She burst through the heavy door into the Astronomy tower and immediately felt herself pushed roughly against the stone wall a mouth pushing insistently against hers. She kissed back feverishly once she had gotten over the small moment of shock but pushed him away long before she wanted to.
"I got your note. What's going on?"
Her blonde suitor simply shook his head and pulled her body tighter against his own, kissing her again. She let him for a minute or two before realization hit her like a crucio curse.
She pressed her hands against Draco's shoulders and pushed, desperately avoiding looking at his swollen lips and kissing him again. She swallowed, "Draco, why does this feel like goodbye?"
The blonde hesitated, "Because it is."
Avery bit her lip, "It's tonight isn't it? Whatever you're doing, whatever you feel like you have to do, whatever is keeping you so tired and scared, it's happening tonight."
At Draco's widening eyes she sighed, "I knew you were up to something Draco, you know I did. But I never asked and I'm still not going to. I don't want to know, I can't. Not in my position."
"I know." Draco whispered, leaning is forehead against hers his green Slytherin scarf whipping lightly in the wind behind him.
"Just- Draco are you going to get hurt?"
Avery felt her stomach jump into her throat as she saw the raw fear slip into Draco's eyes, instead of waiting for an answer she wasn't sure he could give she pulled his mouth towards hers again, determined to remember the feel of him if this were to be the last time she got to do this. She kept her eyes open, taking him in.
He moved his hands up to her head, fingers tangling into her hair and it was in the moment with her eyes wide open that she noticed. A thick dark line peeking out of the small gap where his white shirt buttoned up at the wrist.
Draco pulled away as Avery let out a strangled sound, "What?" he asked, following her eye line, when he realized he immediately pilled away. She snapped her hands forward and caught his arm. "Draco?" she said, unbuttoning the button at his wrist swiftly and rolling up his sleeve.
The tattoo met her with a deafening silence, the dark thick lines depicting the dark mark. Avery felt tears prick in her eyes as she stared at the moving imagine seared into Draco's arm. "You're a Deatheater?"
Her only response was a slow nod.
"Harry was right." she whispered as she stepped past him towards the railing, needing to have a small amount of space between the two of them. "Merlin, he was right."
She turned towards him, he hadn't moved an inch, his shirt sleeve still rolled up to his elbow, "That's why you're so scared." Avery whispered shakily, pressing a hand against her mouth.
"I'm not scared." Draco finally spoke.
"Yes you are." Avery shot back, still in hushed tones, "Yes you are, since we returned after the holidays all you've done is glance over your shoulder. You're running as if you have something to hide. Which clearly you do." She moved back towards him and gently took his hand in hers, moving his arm closer to her, looking closely at the dark mark. Softly she ran her index finger over the tail leading towards his surprisingly delicate wrist. She gently pressed her lips to the skin just below. Reluctant to actually touch the symbol with her lips.
"I had a mission."
"Draco-"
"I know," he said, stroking her cheek gently with his other hand, "I'm not telling you everything - but this - I need to tell you. It was a small part of the mission but you need to know." Avery felt the tears threaten to spill again seeing Draco stammer and hesitate.
"I had a mission and you were part of it." That wasn't what she was expecting.
"What?" she asked.
"I had to befriend you." Avery dropped his hand and took a step back. Draco continued, "They considered you to be the weak link in your group of friends, because of your mother and all of that. You said it yourself that they don't always trust you with everything. I was supposed to find out anything they did tell you though and pass it on to the dark lord. They never suspected you'd be a bloody vault though. I could never get anything out of you." Avery thought back, from the beginning to now, she couldn't recall any specific time that Draco had tried to get information from her, but then maybe had had just been so good at hiding it in between all the kissing and -
"Why all this then?" she spat, gesturing between them, "Why all the sneaking around and making me care?! You could have just talked to me! Why all of this?"
"I was supposed to befriend you. I wasn't supposed to care!" He argued. "I was just supposed to be nice to you and make you think that I wasn't all bad and that your friends weren't trusting you or treating you right. But you threw that out the window when you kissed me that night."
"You were so sad and scared." Avery whispered, "I didn't think. You kissed me first though, before the holidays."
"Yes well, I was already in too deep by then and after the holidays I couldn't stop myself. I already cared about you."
Avery thought that had she been hearing this any other time it would make her happy but now- in this moment- she could barely breathe let alone take in any information or declarations. "I could report you right now!" she cried, pulling her wand from her pocket and aiming it at his face, I should, they'd question you and stop whatever you're planning. I could do it."
"It's too late." he responded. "But go ahead, if that's what you need to do."
She felt herself sink to the floor, back against the freezing stone wall, reminding her that this was all real and not some horrifying dream. She kept her wand clutched in her hand though.
"How do I know that any of what happened was real? You lied to me this whole time Draco. I don't even know how I expected anything different." she said sadly.
They stood in silence for a while. "I knew you were up to something bad Draco," Avery said, "But I never imagined."
It seemed like hours before Draco spoke again, though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, "Do you still care about me, Avery?" His voice had never sounded so thin, he had never seemed so weak in her eyes.
She felt the tears spill over onto her cheeks as she stared at him.
And she knew, like some magnetic force, like some unbreakable bond she was drawn back to him again and again. And now, staying away was an inconceivable notion. Even with everything, with the horrid dark mark blighting anything they could have had and did have between them there was no going back. She was utterly gone on him.
She rose from her position on the floor and moved towards him, "Always." she murmured, one hand finding his, the other tangling into his platinum hair, "Always."
Her eyes roamed over his drawn face and she wondered how she hadn't known. He looked so tired, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, he was like Harry in that way.
"But-" she said, "We have to stop this Draco. Us. I can't be with and know this. Because when it comes down with it I'll always chose Harry and my friends. I'll always chose the light. I'm sorry."
"I know." He replied, and he obviously had all along. She felt him wipe a tear from her eye.
"Does it hurt?" she asked, referring to the mark that he had recovered at some point.
"Yes. It burns."
"You have to go don't you?" She asked, noticing him fidgeting.
"Yes." he replied, "I do."
"Stay safe Draco. Please." Avery said though a new wave of tears, leaving the words 'for me' unspoken.
"I'll try." Draco responded, "And you too Red, don't get involved in this, pack your things and run, go somewhere safe."
"You know I won't."
"Yeah," Draco laughed, "It was worth a try though."
He kissed her again, long and deep and surprisingly gentle, a goodbye.
He stepped back and as he moved to leave Avery lurched forward grabbing at whatever she could reach, her hand closing around his scarf that slipped easily from his neck.
"Draco!" she called clutching the fabric in her hands, "You don't have to do this!"
Without a glance back the blonde shook his head and left. Avery felt more tears spill over her face and let herself drop to the floor again, crying openly now.
She wasn't sure how long she had been there crying before she heard the entrance to the tower creak open again, she didn't look up, she knew it wouldn't be Draco.
"Ave?" She heard Hermione's voice say from above her.
"Please don't Hermione." Avery replied, "Don't say anything or question me, please don't."
"I heard everything." Hermione said, sinking down beside her, "I'm sorry for spying."
"It's okay."
"I won't say I'm not surprised or even a little bit angry. I don't understand why you would ever want to be with that monstrous boy-"
"He's not-"
"But," she continued as if Avery hadn't spoken, "Obviously for some reason you do and I wont make judgement without knowing the whole story. Despite what you seem to think Avery I do trust you and I trust your judgement too."
"I'll tell you." Avery said, needing to talk to explain, "I'll tell you everything. Just not here."
They moved slowly from the tower and found themselves in the massive library, thankfully empty.
"Now tell me." Hermione said.
So she did, huddled in the cool library with Hermione, the tears on her cheeks cooling as she told her friend everything, including Ginny's discovery before the holidays. Hermione was true to her word and didn't judge, she just accepted everything with the ease that a best friend would. "After all," she said, "I know the head can't overrule the heart."
Avery supposed Hermione was right.
"What am I going to do Hermione?" she asked.
"I don't know Ave-" her friend started only to be interrupted by a piercing shriek that seemed to echo around the entire building.
"Oh no." Avery said as they simultaneously jumped up from their seats heading fearlessly towards the emotionally wrought noise. As she ran, wand clutched in her hand, Avery could feel her heart pounding loudly in her ears a sinking feeling pooling in her as she prayed to Merlin in her mind that Draco hadn't been the cause of whatever was happening right now.
Please, please don't let someone be hurt, she thought.
Her hopes were shattered however as they burst their way into the courtyard to be met with the loud sound of crying. So much crying.
"Move!" Avery cried as she pushed her way through the crowd to the front, only to be met with a sight that made her knees buckle. The astronomy tower she had been in previously loomed before her and at the bottom, with Harry Potter sobbing above him led Dumbledore. Dead.
"No." Hermione gasped beside her, gripping tightly to Averys arm.
Draco did this, Avery thought, Oh Merlin, this was his mission. She couldn't look at Hermione, knowing her friend probably thought the same thing. She couldn't tear her eyes from the form of the dead headmaster. Harry's distraught sobs echoed across the courtyard. Cries of fear drove her eyes from the image in front of her, to the sky where a horrifying formation moved above them, a 3D cloud formation of the dark mark she had seen only a few hours before on Draco's forearm.
Horror seemed to hang over everyone in the yard, a tiny percentage of the students and faculty present, who stared in fearful awe at the sky.
Avery felt that she couldn't breathe. Not only had they just found out about the Horcruxes and how much harder it would be to kill Voldemort but now Dumbledore, poor, sweet, wonderful Dumbledore was dead, their source of information and fount of knowledge and wisdom was gone. What were they going to do now?
One by one, people began to raise their wands towards the sky, Avery and Hermione followed suit. Slowly, the mark began to disperse from the sky, a small sign of solidarity and strength amongst the grief stricken.
-...-
"He didn't kill him." Harry explained, the next morning, staring out over the silent school grounds, nothing moved, event the giant squid stayed submerged, the whomping willow having not moved a branch the whole time they had been there, everyone and everything grieved. "Snape did."
"That bastard." Ron mumbled from where he sat on the stone steps.
"Do you think he would have done it? Draco?" Hermione asked. Avery squeezed her eyes shut. Harry's reply "No, he was lowering his wand." did nothing to quell the unimaginable hurt that had seemed to have overtaken her entire body since the night before.
"I did nothing." Harry said, self hatred pouring from every word. From the corner of her eye Avery saw him hand the locket, the horcrux that he and Dumbledore had found to Hermione. "It's fake."
Avery watched as Hermione opened and read aloud from the note. A note left to the dark lord from a person called R.A.B who had found out about horcruxes long before any of them had. R.A.B had stolen and ultimately kept or hidden the real locket, he was presumably dead now if his letter were anything to go by, they had even less of a chance of finding it now, that is to say if he hadn't succeeded in destroying it in the first place.
"So who's R.A.B?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. But whoever they are they have the real horcrux," Harry said as if reading her mind, "which means the entire thing was a waste. All of it."
There was more silence, a meaningful glance between Ron and Harry, "He's okay with it you know." Hermione said, "With you and Ginny."
Avery remembered Ginny breaking away from the pack, pulling Harry towards her, burying his face in her neck. A sense of familiarity no one could miss. Not even Ron.
"Though maybe when he's around keep the snogging to a minimum." She joked though her joke mainly fell flat.
Then Avery saw it, the face Harry pulled when he was determined to do something, and he said. "I'm not coming back Hermione, I've got to finish whatever Dumbledore started and I don't know where that will lead me but I'll let you and Ron and Ave know where I am whenever I can."
Avery snorted even as Hermione said, with no small amount of sarcasm, "I've always admired your courage Harry, but sometimes you can be really thick. You don't really think you're going to be able to find all of those Horcruxes by yourself do you?" She paused, "You need us Harry." Avery saw Harry grasp her hand in a silent thank you.
"I never realised how beautiful this place was." Harry murmured staring at the view.
We never do, not until it's time to say goodbye, Avery thought even as Fawkes soared across the sky above them, his wings red and magnificent.
They moved, the four of them towards the other side of the bridge, staring out across the mountains, the beautiful grounds that had been home to so many of them for so long. This felt like a grief all of its own, like another loss they had to face, maybe they would never see this place again.
"I'm coming with you Harry." Hermione stated, as if Harry did not already know.
"Me too, mate, whatever it takes." Ron agreed.
Avery met Hermione's eyes, her silent question.
She breathed deeply. She thought of Draco, she wondered what he was doing now, if he was safe and unharmed, she wondered what Voldemorts next move was, she wondered about the fate of everybody in the school around them, of Neville and Ginny and Dean and Seamus and all of her friends, she thought of Amanda and Lexi in Herbology and of little David Boyd. She thought of Matilda and all of the people who could and would suffer. She took Harry's hand in hers and she answered Hermione's silent question.
"Of course I am."
-...-
What do you think?
Hope this momentous chapter made up for the wait. We're heading into Deathly Hallows territory here.
Thanks for reading! More up soon.
