𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ☾ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

Fall from Grace ☾ 6-10

☾ Big chapter ahead, brace yourselves for emotions. :(

I awoke in the hospital bed fully dressed, now wearing a casual outfit of leggings and a sweater. I assumed Luna or someone from my room had come delivered them while I was asleep, but I was grateful to no longer be dressed in a torn and soaking wet uniform. I stood up from the bed and stretched, before realizing that nothing hurt anymore. I wasn't even woozy. Looking around the room, it was dark and empty, the light from the pale moon the only illumination across the cold stone. I took a step and realized I wasn't wearing shoes, so I sat back down on the edge of the bed to pull on some sneakers that had been left by the side table. The thunder booming outside alerted me of the dark storm brewing in the sunken clouds.

I snuck quietly out of the hospital wing, making sure to leave Madam Pomfrey a note, just in case she came back in to find me gone. I stepped silently through the corridors and hallways before coming upon another familiar hallway. It was the one that had led to the Room of Requirement, and Draco. I looked down the hallway in unsure memory before halting in surprise. I watched as Draco's tall and lean form stalked down the hallway and into the large door of the Room of Requirement. Without hesitation, I began to follow.

In the room, Draco once again pulled a large cloth covering from the Vanishing Cabinet. He stared at it for a few moments before stepping backward with his wand at the ready. I patted where my pocket would be before realizing I had no wand. Fairly hidden and safe behind a large stack of furniture, I was semi-confident that I shouldn't need it. Draco was also there, if the situation was dire enough for me to reveal my hiding place.

The cabinet began to tick, almost like a clock, or some kind of locking-mechanism unraveling from within. I had researched vanishing cabinets since the last time I'd seen him, in hopes to perhaps understand what he had been doing these past months. They were essentially doorways between two faraway places to transport anything you could possibly need. This one perfectly resembled the one we had seen in Borgin and Burkes, so I put two and two together. I didn't like, however, that a twin to this cabinet resided in one of the sketchiest and criminal-prone alleys of London. Draco inhaled sharply, and the handle began to turn ever so slowly. Draco blew out his breath, and the door opened revealing a large plume of black smoke. A familiar and dark whispering echoed from inside the cabinet, and Draco stepped back as his guests arrived.

I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to cover the gasp as Bellatrix Lestrange, Fenrir Greyback, and two other masked Death Eaters stepped readily out of the cabinet. Bellatrix gave a sickening smile as they took in their surroundings. Draco quickly took off for the door, leaving his sinister friends behind in search for something else. I quickly and quietly followed him, not wanting to be caught up anywhere near that group.

Draco eventually and unknowingly led me to the astronomy tower, and I waited for a moment as he climbed the steps. I could hear whisperings of hushed voices at the top, but Draco continued anyways. I followed and hid in the storage space between floors, and I watched through the spaces in the floor as Draco approached Dumbledore. He had his wand raised in his fist and a grim and terrified look on his face. My heart broke to see his conflict so obviously written on his face. My focus was broken however, and I almost screamed as I felt a hand grasp my wrist. I was turned around to be face to face with Harry. I opened my mouth to ask him what the bloody hell he thought he was doing here, but the conversation above took my interest once again. We both peered through the gap in the 'ceiling'.

"Good evening, Draco." Dumbledore said calmly. "What brings you here on this fine spring evening?"

"Who else is here? I heard you talking." Draco asked harshly. Dumbledore paced above.

"I often talk aloud to myself. I find it extraordinarily useful. Have you been whispering to yourself, Draco?" Draco's face fell in confusion and he grasped his wand with both hands. "Draco, you are no assassin." Dumbledore concluded. I bit my lip and balled my hands into fists. This was a far more desperate situation than I anticipated. Harry took a few steps forward toward the middle support beam, out of sight from anywhere but where I was currently stood.