Draco stood in the chaos, out of sight, yet in the center. He was a shadow in the sunlight. It was impossible to describe; the cloak made him feel nonexistent. As Death Eaters hurried about, speaking in hushed tones so as not to let on the Dark Lord, the subject of their frantic whispers was standing among them.
"Malfoy's kid was in his cell this morning! I swear by it!" Alocasia spit, glaring around the hall.
"Yes, that's all very well, but he's not there now, is he?" A tall woman hissed at him. "Should've just killed the boy."
"He must still be in the castle. Has anyone seen Narcissa? I wouldn't put it past that traitorous woman to break her spawn outta the cellar."
"I've already alerted the Dark Lord of the escape and escorted Mrs. Malfoy to the Dark Lord's chamber." Pansy Parkinson walked up to them, her voice thick with superiority. Draco's stomach dropped and he felt a sudden urge to pull her thick braid.
"Yeah? What's he plannin' on doing with her?" Alocasia crossed his arms, cruel delight glinting in his eyes.
"That is for the Dark Lord to decide, not me." She lifted her eyebrows. "Though, I assure you, if he decides that she did, in fact, aid in the escape of her son, the crime is easily punishable by death. Even then, he may not need a reason to dispose of the little minx." A self satisfied smile spread onto her face.
The other Death Eaters grinned at one another.
"Oh, I wouldn't be smiling if I were you." She went on, "The Dark Lord would be completely within his rights to execute anyone charged with guarding Malfoy's cell. So, that would be, well, you two."
Their grins were replaced with looks of horror.
"Mhm. I thought so. Cowards. If I failed the Dark Lord, I would own up to it." Tossing her hair, Pansy continued down the hall. "I assume you're going to run now?"
"Like hell." The tall witch breathed. Together, she and Alocasia disapparated.
A cold, quick laugh escaped Pansy's lips as she glanced behind her. The others in the hallway smirked and then, calling out the places they would be searching, disapparated.
From beneath the cloak, Draco was shaking with anger. Pansy, the girl who had once been more than just his friend, was attempting to get his mother killed. Not only that, but reveling in it. Without thinking twice, he strode to her side and plastered a hand over her mouth.
A muffled scream began to emerge from her lips. Frantically, Draco's other hand reached into the pocket of his robes, forgetting that he didn't have the foggiest idea where his wand was.
"Damn it." He muttered, pulling Pansy into the closet.
"Draco?" She gasped, scratching his hand with her fingernails.
"Scream and you're good as dead." He whispered hoarsely into her ear.
"Where...where are..." She tried to turn her head, but his grip remained strong. Slowly, panicked tears began to flow from her cheeks, pooling around Draco's hand.
"You are going to go to the Dark Lord and..." He noticed her hand inching towards her wand. Instinctively, he ripped it out of her pocket before she could. A stream of muffled curse words escaped her mouth.
"As I was saying," he held the wand to her throat, "you are going to go to the Dark Lord and tell him that you saw Bellatrix Lestrange enter Draco's cell and give him something. Then, you are going to tell him that Narcissa Malfoy wasn't-"
Suddenly, the door burst open. Bellatrix stood, a deranged look on her face. Without hesitation, Draco released Pansy and concealed his hands, still clutching the wand, beneath the cloak.
"Miss Lestrange! It's Malfoy...He's behind me...He tried to-" Pansy breathed heavily, dashing out of the closet.
"Draco? You'd best show yourself... Cissy is going to be in trouble if you don't-" Bellatrix sang, drawing her wand. But Draco never heard the rest. He was already halfway down the hall, cursing himself for not following the plan. Hagrid would be waiting with a dragon and expecting an explanation for why he was late.
"Narcissa..." Voldemort breathed, touching the windowpane lightly. His back was to her, but he could feel her anxiety radiating; he reveled in it. "I believe you know the reason why you are here."
Narcissa held her head up and straitened her back, trying to appear confidant in the tall chair where she sat. "My Lord, I know very little of the situation. If I may-"
"I have a vile of Veritaserum in my hand." Silently, he held out the bottle, shaking it slightly. The sound of the liquid splashing rang out. "I believe you are going to talk. Though, it does not matter what you say." Turning, he walked to her chair, drew his wand, and hissed a spell. Instantly, Narcissa wasn't able to move. "I'm going to kill you, whether you set your traitorous spawn loose, or not. But won't it be delightful if your last words are you telling me how he escaped." Grabbing her jaw, he poured the potion into her mouth.
Slowly, the color began to drain from Narcissa's face. She could feel a sudden desire to start speaking but bit down on her cheeks to stop herself.
"Did you set your son free?" Voldemort asked, hollow eyes boring into her.
"...No." A streak of crimson blood escaped the corner of her lips.
"Ah, my mistake. Did you help break your son out of his cell?"
She remained silent. The longer she resisted, the longer Draco had to escape. "...Not...Exactly..." Her breath was ragged. The knowledge that, within the hour, she would never breath again hung over her like a corpse in the ceiling.
"What did you do to aid in you son's escape." His voice was slowly growing more annoyed.
"I...gave my son...a gift..."
"And what was that gift?"
"A...cloak...and..."
"And what?"
Narcissa glanced out of the window. A dragon was lifting off the ground in the distance.
"And what else did you give your damn son?" Slamming a fits on the table, Voldemort seethed.
"Time to escape."
Instantly, a poisonous hatred filled his eyes. Turning, Voldemort looked out of the window, just in time to see a huge man, flying by on the back of a dragon.
"Thank you, Hagrid." Narcissa whispered. Her eyes rested on an empty spot, just behind the half-giant. It was the last time she would ever lay eyes on her son. It didn't matter that he wasn't visible. He was there. She just hoped he would forgive her, when he finds out that she lied to him. For, in truth, she never once believed that the Dark Lord would let her live. But, if she would have told him that, he would've stayed. "Burn in hell, my Lord." She whispered, tears of relief trickling down her cheeks.
And, like a snake striking, Voldemort drew his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
As Draco flew on the dragon, the wind roaring in his ears, he glanced back at the mansion one last time. In a window, toward the top of the house, there was a flash if green light. Instantly, his stomach dropped.
"Hagrid-?" He asked, over the wind.
"Wait a bit, Malfoy!" Grabbing his arm, Hagrid pulled him closer. "I need you to apparate somewhere far away." He shouted. "Can you do that?"
"I need to ask-"
"Just do it! Now!"
Pushing away his fear for a moment, Draco squeezed his eyes shut and apparated to the first place he could think of; the forest where Ron and Hermione first found him. After the dizzying sensation faded away, he opened his eyes again. Calming trees and silence surrounded him.
"Well done, Malfoy!" Hagrid grinned, patting him on the shoulder. "Now when the Death Eaters try an' look fer us, all they'll see is a dragon with no riders."
"Hagrid..." Draco's heart beat began to quicken. "I-I saw a green light..."
"Oh! Well, oh..."
"My mother..." Draco covered his mouth and his stomach turned.
Tears welled up in Hagrid's eyes. "Listen, Draco. Yer mum did what she-"
"No..."
"Narcissa asked me to tell you tha' she loved you very much-"
"No!" Draco began to shake. His hands ran through his hair frantically, and his knees grew weak. "No, she...she...I spoke with my mother yesterday! She..."
Hagrid shook his head, slowly.
"No!" Staggering forward, Draco steadied himself on a tree, his breath ragged. "She promised me...I wouldn't have left-"
"An' that's why she didn't tell you! She wanted you to-"
"Please...please, stop..." He choked hoarsely, resting his forehead on the tree. He felt his knuckles bleed as he punched the bark, but he didn't care. In that moment, he would have given anything to trade places with his mother. She didn't deserve to die, but he did.
"Try an' calm down-" Hagrid said after a moment. Draco felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Don' think fer a second tha' you could've changed her mind. The fact that you're alive right now...it means she did the right thing."
Draco let out a dry sob. His shoulder heaved as he painfully sucked in breath. Then, he felt Hagrid pulling him into a hug. He didn't protest.
"You should be proud of yer parents. They both died opposing You-Know-Who."
Draco nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. His mind was screaming at him with a thousand different words, but his voice was dead in his throat.
"C'mon, let's find a place to stay. I dare say you could use a proper rest." Hagrid sighed.
"And then what?" Draco rasped, rubbing his eye.
"An' then, we find out who all's alive. Another war is upon us, I fear. We need all the help we can get."
"...an all time high in casualties this week, at almost 160." Lee Jordan's voice came shakily through the radio. Neville rubbed his forehead and poised his quill. "Eleven muggle born witches, all under the age of sixteen, were caught attempting to smuggle a group of students out of the school. The witches were killed on the spot, while the twenty eight students were taken away to be used in the unknown experimentation. An estimate of forty two muggleborns were executed and roughly seventy six muggle were slaughtered."
"I should inform you all that the numbers have not been this high since the First Wizarding War." Percy chimed in. "It should be taken as a call to action. We cannot wait. As we sit, the enemy murders out allies by the hundreds. The time to fight is upon us."
There was a moment of silence. With a sigh, Neville reached out to turn off the radio.
"Just in! I hold in my hand a report containing some very positive news." Percy suddenly exclaimed. "This morning, an entire muggle hospital was cleared only fifteen minutes before it was burned to the ground. I am told that the person behind rescuing some 215 muggles is none other than-"
"Minerva McGonagall!" Lee cut in. "Also known as the most bad a-"
"Professor McGonagall, Jordan." Percy hissed. "Ahem. Anyway, she and several others knew of the attack because a witch called Maura Fitzsimmons had been posing as a Death Eater for a full year now. Regrettably, she was executed today."
"I raise a glass of Butterbeer in her honor. Let her sacrifice inspire us to take a stand. Until next week, I'm River, he's Prefect, and you've been listening to Potterwatch."
Neville turned off the radio and wrote down the casualties, with a anxious pain in his chest.
It was time to finally finish the war.
A/N: Hey guys! Don't hate me! School is kicking my rear this year. Chemistry will be the death of me. Also, there is this lovely little thing called anxiety that has been making it hard for me to focus on writing. This chapter is not my best, but I've got an 8 page research paper due, so that's been my top priority. But anyway, I'm super excited to start writing more action!
Also, if you are looking for another fic to read and want something super different, may I suggest "Hogwarts: Marauding the Timeline" on the account of Hplover4ever3, co-written by the wonderful DaOneInDaCorner. I've been reading it and it is really exciting and well written. (It's a Draco Malfoy time-travel story) So go check it out!
Special thanks to DaOneInDaCorner, notsing, Flyawayfree, RAGAnne, Iris Stardust, AllHellBrokeLoose666, Skye, ElsaElphieGinny, and artemisa twin. You guys are completely amazing! Thank you so much for reviewing. :)
Review, follow, favorite, and all that jazz. And stay fabulous. Bye!