Because I Love You (D.M)

Chapter 19: Falling Has A Different Meaning

Ernie's jaw about hit the table after the last eight words left my mouth. I blushed deeply and fiddled with my goblet of water.

"What was it like?" He asked curiously.

"It lasted a grand total of about five seconds, but it was soft and gentle and tasted like mint toothpaste," I confessed blushing harder.

"Mint toothpaste!" Ernie cried out gleefully.

"Shut up, Macmillan!" I hissed trying to hide the laughter bubbling up in my throat.

"Malfoy uses mint toothpaste!" He was laughing hard now.

"Ernest, shush!" I tried to get him to stop but his laughter was contagious and soon we were both laughing.

"You finally got to kiss the man of your dreams, how do you feel?" Ernie asked winking.

I did not think it was possible to blush any harder but I covered my face with my fingers and glared at him from between my fingers.

"I'm going to continue to give you shit about this until the day you die, I hope you know. I have a serious question, what was the something Malfoy has to do today? I'm guessing he told you or was he too busy shoving his tongue—?"

"I swear, Macmillan, you are going to regret ever opening your mouth about that night," I said as the color of my face returned to normal.

Ernie held up his hands in mock surrender and grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and then thought about what Malfoy had to do today.

"Seriously, Davis, what's he up to? I'm only prying this much because I've lost two friends this year and I'm not about to lose you to Malfoy. What's his game plan today?" He asked. 

"I'll tell you when we aren't in such an open place in case someone overhears," I says glancing around the Hall. My eyes landed on Dumbledore and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.

"Understood," Ernie said with a nod.

The remainder of the day was a blur of N. E. W. T. preparation and too many review worksheets. After dinner, our familiar study group of Susan, Justin, Leanne, Wayne, Ernie, and I met in the library to prepare ourselves more. While we were minding our own business with our noses buried deep in today's assortment of notes, Madam Pince dropped by to talk to me about last night. She told me that Professor Sprout had cleared everything up and that it had all been one large misunderstanding. I thanked her multiple times and returned to my studies. Ernie winked at me and I sent him a jovial glare back. The evening passed pleasantly and I was rather glad to discover I had my Astronomy notes practically memorized. At least that exam would be a breeze. Even the others seemed to have accomplished something academically which brought out a sense of pride in us all.

As we were meandering back lazily to the Common Room, Ernie nudged my shoulder lightly. I glanced up inquisitively at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you tell me now what Malfoy told you last night? I'm dying to know," he pleaded.

I looked over my shoulder and then scanned the others ahead of us in the hallway. They seemed to be engaged in a deep conversation so I nodded.

"You already know what Malfoy's task is and how he plans to go about setting it into action. Well, he said last night that tonight will be the time of executing the plan," I breathed.

Ernie exhaled slowly and blinked several times.

"He won't though, will he? He's rather weak after this year," His voice trailed off into nothing.

I shrugged, not really knowing what else to say. If Draco was going to commit a murder tonight, did he have everything planned out just right? Were there actual Death Eaters coming from Borgin and Burkes by Vanishing Cabinet to back him up? Was the Headmaster of Hogwarts going to die tonight? I shuddered at the thought as our study group entered our Common Room and dispersed throughout the remaining available over stuffed-armchairs. Plopping down next to Ernie, I observed my younger brother and his best friend Gwen idly chatting by a large potted fern. He seemed so innocent, smiling at her with his rosy cheeks and bright eyes. The two of them were bother blissfully unaware of what may or may not occur tonight. I envied both Johnny and Gwen momentarily. Not long after sitting down, I felt sleep take hold of my like a comforting hug. Ernie had to shake me out of my sleepy daze in order for me to get to bed.

"Davis?" He asked. "You think anything will actually happen tonight?"

"No, Ernie, I don't. I think we're all perfectly safe. As you said, Malfoy's weak and we all know that Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world. Even if he is attacked, he's got tons of years of experience on Malfoy. He'll be fine, we'll be fine. I'll see you in the morning," I yawned. We both departed to our beds and fell soundly asleep.

It had to be around 4:30am when I was rudely awakened by a nervous looking Susan. I grumbled as she tugged my quilt off of me and begged that I get out of bed. I had never known Susan to ever talk to me much but this sounded urgent so I grabbed my glasses, wand, and slippers and followed her and an anxious Leanne out to the Common Room. It appeared as though every member of the Hufflepuff House had crammed themselves into the Common Room and all were chattering quietly. I could barely discern what I heard people talking about, but everyone seemed to be moving towards the Common Room exit. One by one, my fellow housemates and I crammed ourselves through the barrel, out through the kitchens, and into the adjoining hallway. I got pushed towards the back of the group and ended up right next to an old faded tapestry. Leaning against it, I craned my neck in order to get a glimpse of Ernie or Johnny or even Zach. I briefly saw a sluggish Zach rubbing his eyes to help wake himself up and noticed Johnny was safely immersed in the middle of the crowd along with Gwen. Where was Ernie?

About to start pushing through people to try and locate him, the tapestry pushed me into an unsuspecting girl next me and revealed Harry Potter? What was he doing here and when had there been secret passage installed behind this giant tapestry? I apologized to the girl and simply gawked at Harry. His hair was a mess, glasses askew, sweater torn, a few cuts and bruises around his face, and blood on his sneakers.

"Harry!" A voice rang through the confused clamor of Hufflepuff students. Oh, there Ernie was! "Harry, we all heard a noise and there's rumor going around about a Dark Mark—" Ernie began.

"Out of the way!" Harry barked and pushed through people manically.

I wanted to run after him for some reason, but my conscience kicked in and I stuck close to Ernie with my eyes on Johnny the whole time. Once Harry had disappeared down the hall, it was very hard fo ignore the bloody imprints his shoes had stained the floor with. I took my eyes off Johnny long enough to meet Ernie's concerned brown ones and it was in the instant, we both knew. Dumbledore was dead and it was Malfoy's fault. How could I have brought myself to have a silly crush on him? All this time I had overlooked everything while clinging to the idea that there was some good in him. I was wrong. I was so wrong to think about him like that after this.

By now, the surge of Hufflepuff's had migrated down the hallway, into the Great Hall, and out the oaken front doors. Other students from Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin alike were also on their way out. Though I had zero idea where we were going, something told me it was to Dumbledore. The frigid early morning air pierced through my pajamas and the dew drops dripped into my slippers. The murmuring mass of students had positioned themselves around the foot of the Astronomy Tower where I saw some were crying. I gripped Ernie's sleeve tightly as we approached. There, at the bottom of the Tower, lay the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. His grey beard and long hair spilled over the dewy grass as did his billowing robes. His eyes were closed and his half moon spectacles were missing from his crooked nose. To the casual passerby, Dumbledore looked no more than a sleeping man in the grass, but there were no casual passers by this site. I stared in complete and utter shock at this vision of him lying dead at our feet. It was then I realized Harry Potter was sobbing into the chest of the flaming red head Ginny Weasley. She was trying to comfort him as he took heaving breaths and kept shaking his head. The two were intwined at the feet of the deceased Headmaster and were the only source of measurable noise save for the sniffles heard all over the students.

Professor McGonagall, from were she was standing near the hysterical Harry, drew out her wand and raised it to the sky. A simple light shone from the tip and soon everyone with a wand was sending this small bead of light upward. I looked up into the morning sky to witness a creepy cloud over the Astronomy Tower: a skull with a snake slithering in and out of its mouth. Ernie had been right, there was indeed a Dark Mark. It seemed after a few minutes of holding our lighted wands at the Mark, the skull faded and the overcast sky broke up to reveal the morning sunrise. Even with the sun peaking over the smaller towers of the castle, everything seemed to be wearing a shroud mourning for Dumbledore. It hit me hard right then that he was actually dead and gone. It was entirely Draco Malfoy's fault, too.