Here is Chapter 4 of Secrets and Allegiances. I eagerly await your feedback!
Small disclaimer: As I explained in the other chapter, I did not create the story or the characters. I only included one character of my own invention. Therefore, for the sake of the story, there will be large passages that are copied and pasted from the book! You're reading this fanfiction knowing that!
Small disclaimer #2: There is a same-sex couple as a secondary couple. If you're not comfortable with that, please don't read!
I'd like to remind you that English is not my native language at all. If there are any mistakes, please don't hesitate to let me know!
No matter how much I proofread, there are always some errors left. Please feel free to point them out if you spot any! Thank you.
Happy reading!
Chapter 4
The young Weasley snapped out of her stupor. She rushed to the door but stopped short. Did she really want to see what was happening downstairs? And what could she do? Defend the Order? That would destroy her cover if it hadn't been blown already! How could she fight on the right side without revealing herself?
She began descending the stairs. The spiral staircase made her head spin even more. When she reached the bottom, she barely caught sight of Harry rushing toward the entrance hall. She started to follow him, stepping over Amycus's body, paying no attention to her sister Ginny or her brother Ron, who were fighting alongside McGonagall, Lupin, and Tonks.
– Neville, what's... The round-faced young man was sprawled on the ground.
– 'M fine, muttered Neville, his hands clutching his stomach. Harry... Snape and Malfoy... They got past...
– I know, I'm trying to catch them! said Harry, still on the ground.
He quickly got to his feet, firing a spell at a blond Death Eater, and resumed running toward the hall, indifferent to the explosions echoing behind him, to the screams of others shouting for him to come back, to the silent plea of the figures lying motionless on the floor whose fate he ignored... He skidded as he rounded the corner, his trainers slipping on the blood that had stuck to their soles. Harry sprinted across the hall and out into the grounds. He caught sight of three figures running across the lawn toward the gates, beyond which they could Disapparate... He saw a towering blond Death Eater and, a little farther ahead, Snape and Malfoy... The cold night air tore at his lungs as he leapt after them. In the distance, a flash of light briefly outlined the fugitives' forms.
Mio watched the scene, frozen in fear, unable to move. Harry was trying to use the Cruciatus Curse on Professor Snape, who effortlessly deflected the student's attacks. Draco, meanwhile, was fleeing.
– Crucio..., Harry shouted for the second time, aiming at the silhouette illuminated by the fire, but Snape blocked the curse again.
Mio saw him sneer.
– You wouldn't dare use Unforgivable Curses, Potter! Snape exclaimed, his voice rising above the roar of flames consuming the gamekeeper's hut nearby, the cries of Hagrid, and the frantic barking of Fang, trapped in the burning hut. You don't have the nerve or the ability.
– Incarc..., growled Harry, but Snape deflected the spell with a wave of his arm, almost nonchalant.
– Fight back! Harry yelled. Fight back, you coward...
– Did you just call me a coward, Potter? Snape roared. When your father attacked me, it was always four against one, so I wonder, what would you call that?
Mio's head was spinning. She couldn't focus on the voices anymore; she still heard them, but they seemed distant, incomprehensible. Snape and Harry kept shouting all the hatred they held for each other; Snape deflected Harry's attacks again and again, driving him into a rage.
– No, Potter! shouted Snape.
There was a loud BANG, and Harry was violently thrown backward, hitting the ground again. This time, his wand flew out of his hand. He heard Hagrid bellowing and Fang howling as Snape loomed over him, staring down with an expression of pure disdain. Harry lay on the ground, wandless and defenseless, just as Dumbledore had been. Snape's pale face, illuminated by the burning hut, was twisted with the same hatred he had displayed before striking Dumbledore down.
– You dare attack me with my own spells, Potter? I invented them—me, the Half-Blood Prince! And you think you can turn my own creations against me, just like your vile father did, don't you? I don't think so... No!
Harry had dived toward his wand, but Snape cast a hex, sending it flying several meters away, lost in the darkness.
– Then kill me, Harry said, his voice ragged.
There was no fear in him, only rage and contempt. These words hit Mio like a whip, and she rushed toward the young man on the ground.
– Kill me like you killed him, you coward…
– DON'T CALL ME A COWARD! Snape roared. His face twisted suddenly, wild and inhuman, as if he was feeling the same pain as the dog trapped in Hagrid's burning hut, barking and whimpering in agony.
For a moment, the black-haired professor froze. His gaze locked with Mio's as she knelt by Harry's side. There was a flicker in his eyes that Mio couldn't quite decipher.
– Professor Snape… Severus… she called softly, almost doubting he could hear her.
Snape raised his wand and slashed the air.
– NO! cried the blonde.
Harry felt something hot, like a burning whip, strike his face, slamming him brutally to the ground and sending Mio sprawling backward again. Then they heard the flapping of wings above them and saw a massive shape darken the stars: Buckbeak dove toward Snape, who staggered back under the assault of razor-sharp talons aiming to tear him apart.
When Mio pushed herself up, sitting on the grass with her head spinning from the last impact, she saw Snape fleeing at full speed, the giant creature flapping its wings behind him, shrieking like never before.
Barely having time to rise to their feet, they saw the hippogriff circling above the gates: Snape had managed to Apparate just beyond the school grounds.
– Mio, you have to follow them! You can't leave Draco alone with them! He didn't kill Dumbledore! Harry said urgently. His voice cracked on the last sentence.
– Harry… Mio began, trying to stop him.
– He didn't kill him, it was Snape! Voldemort will be furious! He'll punish him, he'll… kill him.
– No, Harry, he won't do anything. He'll be too focused on celebrating the victory of eliminating his greatest enemy. And besides, there's no guarantee he'll find Draco.
– But his mother is still at the Manor with the Death Eaters! He'll never leave her behind! After all, he did everything to protect his parents!
– Harry, you can't stop him.
– I know! I know I'm powerless, and I hate it! But you still have your cover! You can still get him out of there!
Meanwhile, Hagrid had approached. Throwing a final glance at Harry in agreement, Mio turned and quickly made her way toward the gates. Images of Dumbledore, the battle, and Snape's gaze swirled in her mind.
Months ago, Harry had made the same request: protect Draco. It hadn't truly surprised her. She had noticed Harry's behavior toward the blond Slytherin. Obsessed with Draco's every move, Harry no longer sought to harm him. Draco had let him watch, pretending to ignore him, too absorbed in his mission. Until that fateful day when Harry found Draco crying in the girls' bathroom.
The violent fight that followed had resulted in weekly detentions supervised by rotating professors. At first, Draco was ice-cold toward the Gryffindor, but his anger and shame eventually resurfaced, and their shouting matches echoed during every detention. Gradually, week by week, the arguments gave way to explanations.
By the end, their detentions had allowed Draco to open up a little to Harry—just a little at first, but much more later. So much that they began spending time together outside of detention, in secret. The closer Draco got to finishing the Vanishing Cabinet, the closer he and Harry became. It was that friendship that had driven Harry to ask Mio to protect Draco.
Lost in her thoughts, Mio had walked beyond the gates. Where could Draco have gone? How was she supposed to keep him from meeting his doom?