Today was the day. The vanishing cabinet had been fixed and the plan had been made foolproof. Today was the day Draco Malfoy would murder the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. And Draco was terrified. Fear was an emotion that had haunted Draco throughout the entire year but never had it been so strong.

But he would go through with the order. He had been chosen. It was an honour. A privilege.

So why did he wish that time would stop?

Sat alone in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Draco knew that the question had so many answers, he could never pick a single one.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked towards the mirrors. He looked deep into the eyes of the thin, sleep deprived face he saw looking back at him and forced himself to feel cold, to feel strong and powerful but no matter how hard he gripped the sink in front of him, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking.

'Draco?'

The ice he had been forming in his heart melted as he heard her voice and he hated himself for it. How had she found him?
For so long she had given him what he truly wanted. She had kept him human and stopped him from going even more crazy than he already was.

But now he didn't need her. No. He didn't want her. Because in his heart, Draco knew he needed Luna Lovegood and there was a difference between want and need. His time with her had taught him that much.

'Leave me alone.'

His voice obviously sounded more scared than he thought because Luna ignored his request, marching towards him with a determination she very rarely expressed so openly. She had known this day would come, however much she had prayed that it wouldn't and she was ready to fight until the end.

'Draco, let me help you.'

She reached out to touch his shoulder but at the contact, Draco turned, lashing out and hitting Luna so hard that tears sprang to her eyes. The haunted look in his eyes had returned and he seemed to stare at his shaking hand as though it didn't belong to him.

'It's too late, I'm beyond helping.'

'No you're not, no-one is beyond helping. You just need to accept help when it's offered.'

The Irish lilt in Luna's voice was more prominent in her emotion as her hands encircled his neck, forcing him to look her in the eye.

'Please let me help you.'

'There's nothing you can do, Loony. We fight on different sides, remember?' He tried to remove her hands but their grip remained steadfast. She was scared, everything she had worked towards was crumbling before her eyes.

'Sides don't matter when...' She gulped back her words as Draco slammed her back into one of the walls, his arms blocking her exit and his forehead almost touching her own. It was a scene which in another setting could have almost been romantic. Draco struggled to contain his anger and frustration as his words came through gritted teeth.

'For the love of Merlin, Luna. Are you genuinely stupid? Of course sides matter. They've always mattered. Which is why this whole situation is impossible. YOU are impossible.'

Luna watched as his eyes darted distractedly around the room and when his expression didn't change, she started to look concerned.

'Draco. It's going happen isn't it? But it doesn't have to. There must be another way?'

As the questions streamed like a never-ending whirlpool, Draco closed his eyes and forced himself to block her out. She touched the side of him that made him weak and he needed to be strong.

Hate her. You need to hate her. Imagine she's Granger. Imagine she's...

He opened his eyes and felt his knees buckle. He couldn't cry, he didn't have the energy left. Luna watched him silently before sinking to her knees and wrapping her arms around Draco's neck. For once she was at a loss for words.

'I'm going to do something bad, Luna.' Draco's voice was hoarse as he spoke and Luna struggled to hear him. He was so childlike, Luna found herself instinctively stroking his hair in an attempt to sooth him.

'No you're not. I believe in you Draco.'

Taking a deep breath, Draco gripped her wrists and pulled her hands away from him. It took all his strength but he managed to stop his voice shaking.

'You always did believe in stupid things.'

He uttered a spell, pointing his wand at her. Luna didn't even react as her hands were frozen to her sides, she just stared. Because of course, Luna Lovegood was too happy-go-lucky to ever let anyone break her heart before now. And if Draco had looked, her expression would have torn his hardening heart in two.
But he didn't look.

'You're not a killer, Draco.' Luna gasped through the growing pain in her chest. Draco ignored her and turned to leave, taking and dropping her wand a few feet away. Not too far, but enough to make it difficult for her to reach it. He couldn't bring himself to completely extinguish the hope that she might still be able to save him.

'But I am a death-eater.'

Not looking back, he closed the door and marched towards the astronomy tower, the thought that had caused his actions still spinning round his mind.

If she's locked up, she can't fight. If she can't fight, she can't die.

He was going to kill at least one person that night. He was not going to be responsible for her dying too.

And with that, I finish the Half Blood prince. I hope you've enjoyed this section of their story. I hope to be able to get the start of the next part up within the next two weeks but I'm going to have to do some planning to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Thank you to all my lovely followers/reviewers/reader for sticking with this for so long and putting up with my terrible time keeping skills!