Bouquet of Knives Book One

Chapter Twelve

Draco's POV

I've been in this forest for three days. Three. I've found nothing, not a single damned thing. I was getting worried, thinking the worst. What if he was killed in battle? What if he got eaten by some beast? What if he got injured and lost? What if the witch used the Unforgivable spell to make him do her dirty deeds? What if she sent him back to Hogwarts to finish what she started?

"Stop thinking like that," I tell myself as I climb over a fallen tree stump. It looked like it's been lying there for longer than I've been alive. I look down as I climb, watching my step. I sigh, looking around the forest. Certainly there was something I missed? I look around before I realize that the leaves here were all over the place. Not like how they naturally are but in a way that shows there must have been people or animals here. By the looks of some of the leaves, I would say it was the fight Harry must've had with the witch.

I look around, making sure there wasn't a witch after me and check out the spots. One of the spots seemed like it was dripped with blood, small red splotches here and there. I could feel my heart sink as I take in the scene, searching further into the forest but remaining around the area. Some of the trees had broken branches hanging limply from the trunk. I start to get a sickening feeling as I feel the air become heavier, the scene showing that the fight must've gotten physical. I walk towards a tree that seemed to be a place where someone sat. As I walk over, my heart drops.

Harry's wand was lying on the ground beside the tree. I stand, frozen and unable to react. The emotions in my head were fighting over each other, my heart feeling like it would just stop beating. I kneel down, picking up a stick and pushing the wand over to see blood. My breath is ripped from my lungs, a cold shiver going over my body. I don't think this fight was in our favour. I swallow the lump and pick the wand up, my breathing becoming jagged. I could feel the tears burn in my eyes but I push them away, needing to find Harry. If he was even still alive. He had to be.

I continue walking around, trying to pay attention to detail in case I had missed something. I walk near the stump from earlier and my eyes catch sight of something hidden beside it. I walk towards it and see that it was Harry's bag. I hurry towards it, snatching it up and looking inside to see all the food still inside. Untouched. The fight must've happened the same day he left... If that's the case then... No, no... That can't happen. Not to Harry. I frantically look around for any signs of him being here but nothing showed a single sign of life. Well, of the life that I'm looking for.

I hold the bag tight in my fist and the wand in the other. I clench my jaw tight, still unwilling to let myself believe that he was actually... I shake my head and hold the items to me as I climb over the log. I walk towards the line of trees where it looked like something was dragged. Please no, I slowly walk towards the edge of the cliff. Something catches the light and I take a closer look. Harry's broken glasses. I suck in a sharp breath, cold air hitting my lungs like concrete. I could feel my throat close up as I kneel down, picking the glasses up.

"Harry..." I mumble as I feel my lip quiver. I fall to my knees, looking out into the valley below. I couldn't believe this was actually real, that Harry Potter was... dead. There was no way. I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't. I grip the glasses tight in my hand before angrily throwing them out into the valley, hot tears dripping down my face. "You bloody twit! I told you not to get killed!" I yelled into the empty valley, choking on the sobs as I held even tighter on the wand in my hand. I scream, the loudest I can, and fall to my side as I cry.

The bag opened and the contents spilled out, rolling out onto the cliff, some falling over. Inside his bag was something that sent me over the edge. I picked the item up, screaming as I cried and yelled at him for dying. I yelled at him for leaving without hearing me apologize. I yelled at him for being an idiot and fighting the witch. I yelled at him for being a sentimental fool. For being as brave and strong as he was, as caring. Because of those things, he left to defeat the witch. But because of those things, he let the witch win. The selfish prick.

"Of course you would have this note tucked in here," I choke out as I look at the note. It was the note I had wrote to him when he first kissed me. I thought he would've thrown the damned thing away. Instead, the love-sick idiot kept it. I held it in my hand, the paper crinkling from the grasp. I take a deep breath and shakily stand up, looking out at the valley. "Wherever you rest, Potter. Wherever it is that you lie, I want you to know that you're the bravest man I knew. And that scared me but also inspired me. I'm sorry I'm telling you so late..." I drop the bag and begin to walk back to Hogwarts.

As I stepped over fallen logs and crunched twigs, the paper and wand in my hand were becoming too sharp to hold. It was like the longer I held them, the more cuts I could feel tearing open my heart. Even as the daytime slowly changed to night, I could still feel the daggers of the wand and paper in my hand just cutting away at me. Every time I looked at them I could feel my body turn to ice, my heart break off into pieces. And every time I couldn't stop looking at them. Like I couldn't believe it was true, that he was dead. I couldn't help but to blame myself for this a little bit.

I look up at Hogwarts, the walls repaired and the students walking about. I wasn't sure if I could face anyone. I knew they'd ask me if I had found Harry or why he wasn't walking with me. I knew that his friends, most of all, would be upset by the news I bear. They might hit me or they might go completely silent, in respect for Harry. Either way, I wasn't sure if I could handle the reactions. But it's not like I could hide outside the perimeters of Hogwarts and keep the truth to myself.

I walk in, students looking at me and gasping. I knew who I had to see first but their reactions would probably break me most of all. I walk towards the library, where they'd usually be during this time. I stand in the doorway, seeing the two sitting on the couch and reading. They looked peaceful. Until they looked up and saw me, their eyes hopeful. Searching. When they didn't find what they were looking for, they became panicked. I slowly walk over to them, the wand in my hands. I had tucked the note away in my pocket for myself, not wanting anyone else to lay their eyes upon something only Potter had seen.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asks as her eyes continue searching. I feel my lip quiver as I hold the wand out to them, their sharp inhale of breath simultaneous. "That's not possible! Harry can't be..."

"All the signs pointed to it..." I mumble out. It was becoming harder and harder to speak until I felt my legs weakening. I slowly fall to my knees, dropping my head into my hands as I sobbed. "I should have done more to stop him," I cry out as I hold tightly onto the wand. I didn't want to let go of it. A hand clamps on my shoulder and I look up to see Snape. He had a look of sorrow in his eyes but his face hid it well.

"Let me see the wand," he says carefully, holding out his hand. I look down at the wand, unsure if I could pry my hands off of it.

"What are you going to do with it?" Hermione asks.

"I'm going to keep it safe," he states. My trembling hands slowly hand the wand over, an icy coldness washing over me once the wood leaves my fingers. My body trembled, emotions taking over my body. I laid there, sobbing into the ground as I realized that Harry Potter, the man whom I fell in love with, was dead. Never to return. I laid there, my heart breaking with every passing minute as Hermione's voice is drowned out by my cries. Today would be the worst day of my life.