Chapter 22- An End?

Elphias Dodge and Dedalus Diggle watched as Dumbledore himself greeted their entrance into the school. They moved with diligence up into his office without even a word of recognition.

"Sit down, sit down," Dumbledore said through a smile. "Can I get either of you a cup of tea? I must say that I'm inclined to have one myself."

"No thank you Headmaster. We have to be off soon," replied Dodge.

"Ah, I understand. The Moxley girl's safety is of top priority. I'm not so sure any of us really understand how dangerous of a weapon she could be if used against us."

Suddenly the door to Dumbledore's study burst open only to reveal a frantic Severus Snape. Just to his left was an even more distraught Professor McGonagall.

"Aliana, she's gone," Snape managed to spit out. "And, and Draco is gone as well. I'm worried, well they might have gone through with the plan after all."

"Didn't you tell Aliana about our plan for tonight Severus. I'm sure there must be a mistake. She wanted the protection, hadn't she?" Dumbledore replied not allowing anything to interrupt his calming voice.

"Well yes, I told her. And she had agreed to it as well. She seemed… relieved."

"Well, I suppose, we cannot take any chances. Severus I would like you to go to Hogsmead and see if they are following Voldemort's plans. Minerva, Dodge, Dedalus if you could help me search the castle. It may be that the two went out on one last midnight excursion."

With Dumbledore's command Snape headed off quickly towards the Entrance Hall. He stumbled down the stairs and headed briskly down towards the gate, where he could finally apparate. Little did he know, Draco had arranged to meet Alecto an hour earlier and him and Aliana were already long gone.

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The Malfoy Manor was standing in front of them. As they walked towards the gate together it finally set in: this was her decision, and it could be completely wrong. But at the moment she didn't seem to care a bit.

Alecto responded to a patronus that greeted them at the gate and silently they were all welcomed inside. Slamming shut upon their entry the heavy gate proved to them that there was no turning back. Aliana set her gaze on the eerie manor before her. She could see a huge difference between the scary cave that it represented now compared to the haven it had become over Christmas holidays.

As they reached the door she could see something moving through the front window. When the door was opened she realized the movement was coming from a thick and long snake, Voldemort's pet Nagini. She almost jumped out of her skin. Had it not have been for Draco she would have easily fainted on the spot. Luckily his firm but comforting grasp on her arm kept her calm.

He guided her into the dining room. Seated at the head of the table was the Dark Lord. His inhuman face was glowing in the candlelight and his eyes were fixated on her.

"Well, Miss Moxley. Nice of you to join us," his voice rose high in the silent room. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to get straight to business. I'm sure you understand that you have great powers; powers I could put to good use…"

She waited calmly and allowed him to speak. She allowed him to explain her other option; the option she had already ruled out. Her powers had already hurt too many people, some innocent and some not so much. She had hurt friends, family, strangers and herself. She was done with hurting, she was done with pain. Voldemort would just have to accept that she wasn't picking sides in this war. She didn't want to interfere anymore; she simply wanted to stay out of the way. So she waited for Voldemort to finish speaking and for her plan to come into action. She didn't expect him to be too happy with her decision, of course. But unfortunately for him this was one decision he couldn't make and couldn't stop her from making; in reality it was already made. She couldn't go back now; all she could do was wait.

She could feel it in her toes first a rush of heat almost like adrenaline pumping through her veins. It was working its way quickly up her legs and shooting through her torso. This wasn't painful in any way. Euphoric was a way to describe it. With her head held high she laughed. A sweet cascade of notes spilled from her throat as she allowed herself to sink in this one last pleasure. Her eyes met Draco's and she laced her hand into his, a perfect fit. As her eyes closed Draco lowered her onto the ground blanketed by his strong arms. He sobbed a sweet goodbye her laughter still ringing through his ears. He did all of this, but not before pocketing the bottle she had slipped into his hand, the bottle whose contents had taken her away from him.

Aliana was gone, and with her a question was answered. There were no more what if's because in ending her life she closed it off from editing. No one could change what she did or where she was going they just had to be satisfied with where she left off.

A/N: Only one more to go… so sad. But this is basically the end of the story the next chapter is an Epilogue. I would love to know what you thought of the chapter or the story as a whole!! Keep checking back for the ending and keep reviewing!!