Never said I love you┃D.M.

Chapter twenty

At last, the day came when Draco was released from the hospital ward. He should have been overjoyed that he would get to walk Y/n to class again– and he would get to finally feed himself, but he wasn't. Since he was now in proper condition, there was no stalling his last task.

Draco tossed and turned in bed thinking about the look of betrayal he would receive from his headmaster.

✵

The Sunday before his last task would become a reality, Draco spent the entire day with Y/n. In the morning he took her to the astronomy tower to watch the sunrise. During the day, they explored Hogsmeade, eating ice cream, and talking about their weird fetishes again.

"I think my new thing is forearm tattoos" Y/n said while licking her ice cream.

"Yours is really hot"

Draco blushed and reverted his eyes to the ground.

"Are you blushing?" The girl teased.

"No."

"I was just thinking about how mine is now girls licking ice cream." He smirked causing Y/n to turn the same shade of pink.

Draco laughed at the girls flushed expression and leaned in licking away a bit of ice cream on the corner of her mouth, to make her blush more.

"Who are you? Pansy?" Y/n giggled, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

The couple fell asleep staring at the stars in the astronomy tower that night, Y/n tightly wrapped in Draco's embrace.

Knowing that this would be the last time he'd hold her before he left for God knows how long, he made sure to grasp her firmly, scared of letting go.

✵

The next day proceeded normally for every student at Hogwarts.

Students went to class, lunch, then dinner.

Y/n had barely seen Draco, besides when he went to pick her up for class and when he gave her a long kiss goodbye before heading to his dorm to sleep.

He seemed emotionally absent throughout the day, which was strange considering that they had just had the best day together the night before.

What Y/n didn't know, was that after she went into the Ravenclaw common room, Draco had enchanted the door with a series of protection spells and ran to the astronomy tower shortly after.

With every step the boy took, he felt his heart sinking more and more, until he finally faced the old wizard he was scheduled to assassinate.

"Good evening Draco, what brings you here this fine Spring evening?" Dumbledore asked casually.

"Who else is here? I heard you talking," Draco demanded, his wand pointed at the man.

"I often talk out loud to myself. I find it...extraordinarily useful" He replied simply, knowing very well 'the boy who lived' was watching this scene from below.

"Have you been whispering to yourself, Draco?" He continued.

"Draco, you are no assassin."

"How do you know what I am? I've done things that would shock you!" Draco fumed.

"Like cursing Katie Bell and hoping that in return she'd bear a cursed necklace to me?"

"Like replacing a bottle of Meade with one laced with poison? Forgive me Draco, but I can not help feeling that these actions are so weak that your heart can't really have been in them."

"He trusts me! I was chosen!" Draco hissed, lifting his sleeve to display his mark.

"I shall make it easy for you" Dumbledore replied pulling his wand out of his pocket.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco yelled instantly.

"Very good. Very good." The old wizard murmured.

Upon seeing this, Harry aimed his wand at Draco through the wooden floor, when suddenly the door creaked open.

"There are others?" Dumbledore inquired.

"How?"

Draco let out a heavy breath, the task he was said to complete was actually occurring at the very moment.

"The vanishing cabinet in the room of requirements. I've been mending it." He said with a shaky voice.

"Let me guess. It has a sister, a twin?" Dumbledore stalled.

"Borgins and Burkes. They form a passage." He answered, his voice becoming steady once again.

"Ingenious!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"Draco, years ago I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please, let me help you." The wizard pleaded.

"I don't want your help! Don't you understand?" The trembling boy yelled.

"I have to do this."

"I have to kill you."

"Or he's going to kill me."

His last sentence nothing but a whisper.

Deatheaters began rushing up the stairs to where Draco stood.

"Well look what we have here" Bellatrix snarled at the sight of Dumbledore.

"Well done Draco" The proud aunt breathed into her nephew's ear.

"Good evening Bellatrix. I think introductions are in order, don't you?" The headmaster spoke firmly.

"Love to Albus, I'm afraid we're on a bit of tight schedule." The woman sneered.

"Do it!" She ordered turning to her quivering nephew.

"He doesn't have the stomach for it. Just like his father...let me finish him"

"No! The Dark Lord was clear the boy is to do it!" Bellatrix snapped.

"This is your moment. Do it!" 

"Go on Draco, NOW!" She demanded loudly, causing the boy to flinch ever so slightly.

"No." Severus Snape interrupted.

"Severus" Dumbledore muttered his voice trembling.

"Please."

The last words spoken by the dear headmaster before tumbling to his death.

While it may seem as though Dumbledore was begging his companion to spare him, I can tell you that is not the case. The old wizard had every intention of dying that night, in fact he had spent the entire year, preparing for this very moment.

He had seen the fate of poor Tom Riddle and had decided that he would prevent any possibility of another child falling into the hands of the Dark arts.

Draco wasn't an evil boy, Albus Dumbledore believed he had as much goodness within him as he had within himself.

Draco needed a second chance.