A/N : Sorry for taking so long to update! Holidays and all, but we do hope you enjoy!
Song reccommendation is 'The Red' - Chevelle
The heat of the impending summer had drawn a sweat upon Draco's brow. He stood outside, taking in a deep, labored, breath of fresh air. As he stared into the twilight, he knew things would be different soon. Very different.
Today was the day.
Draco had been occupying his time since Theo's hospitalization by resuming work toward his ever-looming deadline given by Lord Voldemort. Getting caught up in Granger had been a distraction. An escape...but now he was back on track. He was hardened and as ready as he possibly could be. Today he had finally finished mending the Vanishing Cabinet and he had actually celebrated. He relished in the momentary bliss and small victory of no longer worrying for his life at Voldemort's wand. This all came to a halt when he realized now he only had to kill someone, let alone the greatest wizard alive. He shuddered at the thought.
While conflicted about it all, he knew what he had to do. There was simply no other choice. If not to save his own skin, he would do it for Hermione. Despite knowing she would probably never forgive him for it, his mind was set.
He exhaled slowly and turned to head back into the castle. He walked absentmindedly to the Slytherin dormitories. As he entered the common room he took in one last reminiscent breath of musk and smoked cedar. He looked down grudgingly at his feet and carried on to his dorm.
He gently lowered himself for the last time to the surface of his bed. He would have to hurry if he wanted to make it back to the Room of Requirement undetected and without too a significant delay from Theo.
Theodore Nott was being released from the hospital wing this afternoon by the healing team that had come to monitor him from St. Mungo's.
Thankfully Dumbledore had pulled some strings when Theo's damned father decided against transferring his son to the recommended hospital for his mystery illness to be properly treated. They still had no answers but he seemed stable enough that they were willing to let him go back to a normal life, or whatever normal was at this point.
Draco reached for his bedside table and tapped it three times with his wand, unlocking and opening the cabinet beneath it. He started placing various trinkets into his pockets and shrinking other, larger things, to hide those away within his clothing as well, taking extra care with his pensieve. He took his trunk from the foot of his bed and filled it with the remainder of his belongings, before closing it and swiftly casting a disillusionment charm upon it.
Draco turned toward the door at the sound of approaching footsteps, when Theo appeared. The sight broke Draco from his thoughts as he strutted forward to embrace his friend.
"It's about time you decided to get out of bed, mate!" he said, now smiling ear to ear.
"Yeah, yeah! But you can't deny that all that beauty sleep served me well, eh?" Theo replied, winking per usual. "Where were you at dinner? I made quite the entrance. Apparently some of the first years think I'm a werewolf now, so that was something." he sniggered, plopping down on his own bed.
"I wasn't hungry," Draco said simply, "But that sounds like quite the experience."
"You know me! I'm already trying to plot how to use this to my advantage. It's a shame really that first years wouldn't be able to do my homework." The two shared a chuckle.
"Well, I'm afraid I must be off. I've got to…check something." Draco said shortly, silently levitating his trunk toward the door.
"Alright. Fancy a drink when you get back?"
Draco paused. He would not be coming back. "Really, Theo? You think that best for your condition?"
"Drinking helps every condition." he retorted with a shrug, extracting a flask from his pocket.
Draco stepped forward, pointing his wand at Theo. "Relashio!"
A jet of fiery purple shot at Theo's right hand. The flask was released from his grip and fell, spilling it's contents all over his robes and bed. His face scrunched into a grimace.
"You know, Draco, you could have just said no." Theo said flatly. He then pulled out his wand and cleaned all trace of the liquor from his clothing and bedding. "That firewhisky was older than the both of us combined!"
"Just relax! You need your rest." Draco said desperately.
"I've done my resting! A bloody month of it! If you're ditching me on my first night out, I suppose I'll be off to the library." Theo said haughtily.
"As you wish. Watch out for Granger though, will you?" Draco said, leaving Theo to 'read between he lines' as he liked to say.
"Are you daft? She's why I'd be going to the library. Honestly mate, sometimes I wonder about you." Theo said with a perked eyebrow and a shake of his head before muttering something about hair gel affecting Draco's brainwaves.
"Just do it." Draco sighed and rolled his eyes before tapping the doorway hesitantly with his knuckles on his way out. He hovered his trunk ahead of him, taking care to leave his childhood safely behind him.
Theo leaned back onto his pillows and shut his eyes in relief. Pretending to be okay was hard work. One thing was for certain, he did not have the energy to find Hermione tonight.
XXX
Draco made his way, in a blur, to the sixth floor. He set his trunk down and paced in a trance-like state in front of the entrance to the Room of Requirement. The door appeared like clockwork and he moved slowly toward it. There was no going back now.
He took another deep breath, removed the disillusionment charm on his trunk, and drug it through the door, finally releasing his breath as the wood closed behind him. He walked the usual trail to the familiar cabinet, not wasting any time to open it and push his trunk inside to send it on its way home.
It was done.
He stood before the Vanishing Cabinet in anticipation as Death Eaters filed out before him, gazing menacingly about the room.
"No going back now," he repeated to himself as a mantra.
Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Yaxley, Rowle, Gibbon, Fenrir Greyback, and Bellatrix Lestrange now stood menacingly in the school that had been Draco's home for six years.
In an effort to get the proverbial show on the road, he peeked out into the corridor to find Ron and Ginny Weasley, along with Neville Longbottom, waiting, as if standing guard. Damned Potter. This would not be easy but as luck would have it, he came prepared.
Draco reached into his cloak pocket at pulled out some of the Weasley Twins' Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. He tossed it into the corridor, a dark cloud of blackness erupting around them all. His hands wound their way into another of his pockets and extracted the Hand of Glory.
If only his father could see now that this was actually a fine purchase! When Draco had wanted it when he was twelve, Lucius scoffed over it. He alleged it was only for thieves, yet here Draco was, using it to escape the Room of Requirement unseen, leading a team of Death Eaters in to Hogwarts to kill Dumbledore and fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes.
Hopefully those twats would just assume he had not wanted to deal with them or some other, lesser dramatic reason than the truth. Was it so hard not to be so bloody Gryffindor for once? He really did not want to bring death to Hermione's friends if he could help it.
It seemed his silent pleading had paid off because the three ran from the corridor. Draco and company were heading for the Astronomy Tower as quickly as he could lead them.
As they got closer to their intended location, it became evident that the two Weasley's and Longbottom did not just run off as Draco had hoped, but they instead had gone to alert on-site members of the Order of the Phoenix who were waiting for them above.
A skirmish broke out between the two sides, and in the chaos, Gibbon quickly fled up the stairs to ensure the Dark Mark would hover over the tower as planned.
Thorfinn Rowle was particularly careless, tossing Avada Kedavra's in every which way, rubble flying about as stray curses bounded into the walls.
Gibbon reappeared. Idiot…
Draco had already assumed Gibbon would not do as he was supposed to, which was wait for Dumbledore to come to the tower. Knowing he would have to do it himself, Draco headed for the stairs.
It was in that moment that a flash of green light, one could only assume was intended for Remus Lupin, instead hit Gibbon.
"Fucking Rowle!" Draco exclaimed bewilderedly, tossing his hands into the air and sprinting up the stairs.
As he neared the top of the stairs, he could have sworn he heard two sets of voices. This was not the plan. Dumbledore always came and went alone.
"No turning back now." he repeated to himself, taking on the last of the stairs. He made sure to cast Expelliarmus when he reached the landing, just in case. Albus Dumbledore's wand came obediently flying to Draco's hand. Somewhere hidden in the room, Harry Potter leaned rigidly, cursed, against a wall, covered by his invisibility cloak.
"Ah, Mister Malfoy." Dumbledore announced simply.
"Good evening." Draco said awkwardly, immediately inwardly scolding himself.
"Something tells me you might have something to do with the Dark Mark floating over my school."
"I let them in." Draco said honestly.
Dumbledore let out an amused chuckle, as if someone had just told him a joke at a party after he had consumed too much sherry. Draco stared back at him, perplexed.
"How did you possibly manage that?"
"The Vanishing Cabinet…In the Room of Requirement." he answered. As awful as it sounded, he was actually somewhat proud to have outsmarted a wizard such as Dumbledore. Dumbledore only chuckled once more.
"What is so funny?" Draco demanded, growing panicked.
"It's just rather ironic, my dear boy. Some years ago, those cabinets were used to escape Death Eaters, and alas, here we are!" he paused. "On the topic of where we are, where are your friends? Leave you, did they?"
"They're just downstairs dealing with your friends. I assure you, they'll be joining us soon." Draco said spitefully.
"You know you don't have to do this." said Dumbledore, suddenly serious once more.
"I do!" Draco said desperately, his panic rising in his chest.
"We can help you, Draco."
"No you cant!" Draco shouted back abruptly. He could feel his resolve crumbling.
"But we can." Dumbledore gently reaffirmed, "You, your mother."
Draco pondered this. It was an easy out, and Dumbledore could be right. However, who knew how this would mess up things in the grand timeline for Hermione. He could not waver on this.
"Don't you understand? I have to do this." his bottom lip trembled. "I have to do this or he's going to kill me...he'll kill her."
"You are not a murderer, Draco."
"How do you know what I am?" he childishly demanded. Upon hearing his own words, his voice grew stronger again. "You know nothing about me, nothing about what I've done!"
"Are you referring to the feeble attempts you've made on my life this term?"
Draco glanced past Dumbledore's head and out toward the starry sky, swallowing the nerves he had shaking through his veins. His eyes moved rapidly back to the elder wizards face and stared.
"I got this far didn't I?" the blonde said slowly. "They thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here... And you're in my power... I'm the one with the wand... You're at my mercy..."
"No Draco," Dumbledore said quietly. "It is my mercy, and not yours that matters now."
Draco didn't speak. His mouth was open, his wand hand still trembling.
Beneath the steps Harry thought he had seen him drop the wand.
Suddenly footsteps were thundering up the stairs. A second later, Malfoy was buffeted out of the way as four people dressed in black robes burst through the door and onto the ramparts.
Harry gazed in terror upon the four vile strangers. It seemed the Death Eaters had won the fight below.
A nasty, warm breath invaded Draco's ear, "Well done Draco, well done." Bellatrix grinned eagerly.
"Dumbledore wand-less, Dumbledore alone!" a hard voice called.
"Good evening, Amycus," Dumbledore said calmly, as if he was welcoming him to a tea party. "And you've brought Alecto too...charming as always, I see."
The woman gave an angry little titter. "Think your little jokes'll help you on your deathbed then?" she jeered.
"Jokes? No, no. These are simply manners." replied Dumbledore.
"Do it!" said the stranger standing closest to Harry; a big gangly man with matted gray hair and whiskers, whose robes looked uncomfortably tight. He had a voice like none that Harry had ever heard; a rasping bark of a voice. He smelled of blood and dirt.
"Ah, is that you, Fenrir?" asked Dumbledore.
"Thas right, pleased to see me?"
"No, cannot say that I am."
Greyback grinned, showing off his pointed teeth.
"I am quite surprised that Draco invited you, of all people, into the home where all of his dear friends live."
"I didn't," breathed Malfoy. "I didn't know he was going to come..."
"I wouldn't miss the grand chance of ripping out young throats." growled Greyback.
"Enough with the chit-chat! Kill him, Draco!" Bellatrix yelled.
Draco held up his wand once more, slowly and shakily.
"Do it Draco! Do it! On with it!"
Draco's hand was shaking so badly that he could barely aim. He began to lower it.
"I'll bloody do it!" snarled Fenrir, moving toward the eldest wizard.
Suddenly a flash of light blasted Greyback out of the way.
Harry's heart was hammering against his invisible chest. He wanted so badly to cast aside the Death Eaters, but he was imprisoned by Dumbledore's spell.
The doors of the ramparts opened once more, and there stood Snape, his wand clutched in his hand as his black eyes swept over the scene.
"We've got a problem, Snape." Amycus said, eyes fixed upon Dumbledore.
"Seems the boy isn't able to-"
"Just like his father, this one."
"Severus..." the voice sad and low, for the first time, as if pleading.
Snape said nothing as he pushed Malfoy out of the way roughly into his aunt.
"Severus...please..."
Snape raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore directly in the chest. Slowly, Dumbledore staggered back, and Draco watched as his soul left his body. The old wizard fell like a rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight. It was done. The Death Eaters fled back down the stairs, followed closely by a maddened Harry Potter, released from Dumbledore's curse as the light left his eyes.
Draco had not previously considered the walk from the deed. He had been so hung up on actually carrying everything out. Now that it was over he felt ashamed, and a guilt he never thought possible.
The world around him grew silent. He could see the chaos developing as Bellatrix unleashed a trail of destruction on their way out of the castle, but he heard no noise. Not a single window breaking, nor one exploding statue. That is, until they were outside in the cool, dark night.
Somehow the actual silence of the darkness was deafeningly loud, ringing in Draco's ears, and then, all at once, the world was full of the sounds of the turmoil his mind had been ignoring. When Hagrid made to stop them, Thorfinn Rowle ignited his hut without hesitation, causing Rubeus to rush inside to save his beloved dog. As Draco stared blankly at this exchange, he heard another noise hunting them, growing nearer and louder by the second.
He spun around to see a vengeful Harry Potter charging, wand in hand, toward them. Draco stood frozen.
"YOU COWARD!" Harry shouted through gritted teeth.
Snape turned to face him as The Boy Who Lived began slinging spells at them haphazardly. Harry grew increasingly annoyed when each curse he chose was blocked but not countered. Potter wanted a duel.
"Fight BACK!" he yelled in agonizing frustration. "And YOU!" he spat, his fiery, bespectacled eyes now trained on Draco's newly-widened ones.
The blonde's heart began to race as he prayed to every God all at once that the ever-impulsive Potter would not say something he shouldn't.
"You think I don't see how you look at her? Just know that she will never forgive you." Harry said, releasing a twisted chortle. In that moment Draco's usual pale face grew at least ten shades more ghostly.
"What is he talking about? Draco, what is he talking about?" Bellatrix, suddenly interested in the conversation, questioned in manic curiosity.
"I wouldn't know." Draco sneered. "I believe the Chosen One is speaking out of his arse as he often does."
Bellatrix Lestrange guffawed malevolently. The other Death Eaters, aside from Draco and Severus, followed suit, echoing her strange laughter. Harry quickly returned to trying to curse Snape, who ordered they leave before the Ministry sent the Auror's Office. Bellatrix then skipped away, guiding Draco by the arm to reluctantly follow her away from Hogwarts and the life he was leaving behind.