The Mark of a Death Eater

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I ran quickly to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey stopped me in the doorway with a shout, but my expression must have said all because she turned away and let me go through.

At a bed that was hung on three sides with a sheet stood Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and surprisingly, Professor Snape. Or perhaps not so surprising, seeing as his charge had just been attacked.

Malfoy was buttoning up his shirt when I saw him. A thin white scar lined his chest and cheek. The visitors turned towards me as I neared, Pansy scowling magnificently.

"How bad is it?" I asked, upset with myself over how anxious I was about Draco.
Draco flexed slightly and turned to me. "Madam Pomfrey says the scars'll be gone by tomorrow."
"What happened?" I demanded.
Pansy rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly at Draco. "If you're not feeling well, she should probably get more rest, Draco."
"Im fine," he answered, not looking at her. "Potter hexed me," he explained to me.
I examined the scar on his face. "What spell did he use? I don't think I recognize it."
Draco began to answer but Professor Snape spoke.
"Potter used an old curse, one that no one uses anymore. It's a form of Dark magic."
I knew my mouth was hanging agape.
"How would-"
"I do not know how Harry Potter found the spell or if he cast it knowing what it would do, but I can assure you that he will be very severely punished," Professor Snape said. "I don't suggest you try anything on him, Miss Evergreen."
"I wasn't going to," I replied, offended. I was past the days of hexing people for fun and revenge. The girl who used Langlock on Hermione Granger months ago and the girl I saw in the mirror lately seemed like two completely different people.

Draco fixed me with a look that clearly said we needed to talk. My fingers automatically reached into my pocket, where I felt the parchment with the words I needed on it. I nodded subtly. A glance at Professor Snape told me that he hadn't missed the silent interaction between us.

Madam Pomfrey shuffled by, herding us towards the door.
"Alright, out you go. The boy needs his rest. He's just been through a nasty shock. Out, out. You'll see him tomorrow."
I reached down as if to give Draco a hug. His arms automatically went out to embrace me, and I felt a familiar sense of comfort. It seemed I couldn't hate Draco for very long, but I would certainly try.
"Be by the common room tomorrow night," I whispered into his ear.

I left the hospital wing with a feeling of dread settling in the bottom of my stomach.

An hour before curfew the next night, I went to the common room with my invisibility cloak over my arm. Draco was sitting upright in a chair, fully dressed and waiting. The remains of a fire in the fireplace reflected the dark water outside the windows closest to it.
The common room was full of people, and I felt nauseous when I remembered that any of them could die tonight.

Draco nodded in greeting and fixed me with his blue-grey eyes. "Emma," he began.
"No," I whispered. "I'm not going to forgive you so easily."
He searched my face for a minute, then sighed. "You think that I don't care about you, that I use you, but you're wrong."
I turned my face away from him. "We should go."
He got to his feet wearily and we left the room. He looked as worried as I felt, but there was also relief on his face. He wanted this over as much as I did.

There was no speaking as we walked to the seventh floor. We both had an unspoken question in our heads, but neither of us wanted to voice our opinions out loud.

The school at night, with it's deserted corridors and magical whispers had always felt comfortable to me. I couldn't count the times I'd snuck out at night, heading to the owlery, sneaking into the kitchen, or looking for a moonlit spot in an unused classroom to read a book.
Tonight, however, the deserted halls felt lonely, the whispers of the wind eery, and every shadow made me jump.

Tonight, I was setting out to betray Albus Dumbledore.
Tonight, I was setting out to betray Hogwarts.
Tonight, I was setting out to betray my home.

The great door of the Room of Requirement swung open silently, but it felt ominous to me.

We went in, without a word, walking towards the vanishing cabinet like two people walking to their death sentence.

We both stopped at the same time, pulling off the cloak and staring at the cabinet. To anyone else, it would have looked simply like a black and gold cabinet. To me, it looked dark and dangerous. It looked cold. It looked like a murder weapon.
This was going to be the end, one way or another.

Draco tore his eyes away from the cabinet to look at me.
"This is it. It's done. There's only the word that activates it."
I couldn't take my eyes off the black cabinet. This was the device that would transport the death eaters directly into Hogwarts. If anyone was hurt tonight, it would be my fault.
"Emma, I really am sorry. I know I've left you out of everything. I know it wasn't right of me, but I'm trying to fix it now. It's your call. Do you want to do it, or should I?"

My mindset was wrong, I would never be ready. I realized that what I thought was mentally preparing myself to kill Albus Dumbledore was nothing. I had been deluding myself all this time thinking I would be able to do it when the time came, but now I knew. Now it was time and I knew was unprepared. I would still believe I was a murderer. I didn't know if I would be able to do the spell. The unforgivable spell. I had done the Imperius Curse before. Madam Rosmerta from the Three Broomsticks was a subject of my doing. I had practiced the Cruciatus Curse because it was required of me. But would I have the ability to do the killing curse? Could I really kill a man?

"Emma?"

I tore my gaze away from the cabinet and looked into Draco's eyes, my heart pounding with fear. As I did, I recalled everything that had happened in the past few months.

From the beginning, when I found out that Draco replaced his father as a death eater, the worry throughout the days, as I wondered how I could help.
I always wanted to help, but I never expected it to be this way.
Then the night of my birthday, when Snape told me that I was to join Draco in his mission.
He was the one who convinced You-Know-Who to allow me to help Draco, instead of letting me die. As horrible as it sounded, I wondered if death would be easier than having to betray everyone you cared about for the most dangerous man in the world.
The slow work of trying to fix the Vanishing Cabinet, sending messages and threats to Borgin, and the other plans that we attempted to do when we were losing hope.
The plans that all went wrong every time.
My Christmas at the Malfoy mansion that caused me to be marked with the dark mark.
Holding Draco in the night as he cried himself to sleep.
Arguing with him as I felt his betrayal coursing through me.
Then my concern when I heard he had been injured.

And it all came to the piece of paper in my pocket, with the three words I memorized.
Right now, I needed to do what I always did before I cared. I needed to brace myself, and not care about the aftereffects.

"Emma!" Draco was still waiting.
"I'll do it," I said.

I stepped forward and raised my wand. I pointed it at he cupboard and said the unfamiliar words.

"Harmona Nectere Passus."