The Boy Who

Seventeen

Time had passed and Professor Snape, as a result of what he'd done to Malfoy, gave Harry detention every Saturday for the rest of the year. He missed to final Quidditch game, however, Gryffindor still one. He even kissed Ginny after the victory which has stirred up some new tension. Malfoy was let out of the Hospital Wing, but Harry has been watching him like a hawk since. He gave Hermione, Ron, and I the Marauder's Map to keep an eye out for him while he helped Dumbledore with finding horcruxes. He mentioned that Professor Trelawney heard someone in the Room of Requirement, talking excitedly, and he was sure it was Malfoy.

I supposed nobody mentioned to Draco about my visit while he was asleep, I was glad they kept it quiet. Every now and then I'd catch him looking at me in class or we'd walk past each other in the corridors and it was so strange. There were times it seemed like he wanted to talk to me, but couldn't build up the courage to do so. One day, I asked Moaning Myrtle about the boy who'd cry to her, and she wasn't very happy to see me either, revealing it was certainly Malfoy who had been going to her. She seemed angry with me, probably because I ended things with Draco, her new best friend. Luckily, I was starting to feel a bit better about everything. I stopped skipping dinner, stopped crying, stopped obsessing over what he was doing. I was finally starting to feel like myself again and everyone was noticing it too.

Tonight, Harry explained to us that he was going to be helping Dumbledore. He had packed his things and said that he had a bad feeling about tonight. Something about Draco being all happy and cheery in the Room of Requirement didn't sit right with him and he simply told us to be cautious and keep our eyes open. That night, I found it hard to fall asleep. I had my things packed, everyone was pretty much fast asleep, but I couldn't get my mind to shut down. Harry's bad feeling was starting to catch on to me and I didn't want to sleep without knowing if he and Dumbledore were okay.

After many failed attempts, I decided to get out of bed. I quietly walked out of the dorm room, grabbing a sweater to put over me. I walked out of the common room and was careful when walking through the corridors. Unsure where to go, I headed towards the Astronomy Tower, the one place I always felt comforted in. I thought about waiting outside of the Gryffindor Common Room instead, but continued to the tower anyway. It felt as though I needed to go there. The halls of Hogwarts were dark and empty, and I was possibly the only person awake and walking through them. I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked.

Once I got close enough to the tower, I could see a bit of light coming into the corridors. It hadn't hit me that I had stayed up all night and that the sun would just starting to come up. I heard noises and voices coming from end of the hall where the tower was. I stopped in my tracks, seeing a line of people walking towards Astronomy Tower, one of them I immediately recognized to be Bellatrix Lestrange. I brought myself to the wall a bit, not wanting to be seen, but walked faster towards the tower.

Not too long after, Professor Snape ran up the stairs to the top of the tower. He was in too much of a hurry to have seen me and once I was close enough, I noticed a figure on the platform just under the tower. I took a step forward, realizing it was Harry and quietly walked to his side, hearing the commotion of the death eaters above us. Harry looked at me, he seemed worried and as I looked up, I could see a fearful Dumbledore on one side. I looked around, seeing Draco across from him with his wand up. His eyes were full of tears as Snape rushed up beside him.

I flashed a worrisome look at Harry. We had to do something, but what? I took my wand out and he grabbed my wrist, shaking his head. Snape was there, and even though we weren't very trusting of him, we believed he wouldn't ever hurt Dumbledore. I put my wand away, watching and listening intently at the conversation above us. I held my breath, feeling absolutely helpless. Moments passed and Snape lifted his wand to Dumbledore and the most unexpected words fled from his mouth. I felt the world stop as my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach. We watched Dumbledore's body fly back, falling off the tower. I put both my hands over my mouth, wanting to let out a scream, but unable to. Harry's eyes filled with water as he watched in complete horror. My knees became weak and I felt uneasy. The world was quickly beginning to spin as I tried to grasp what just happened. As though the wind was knocked out of me, I could feel my chest burn as I searched for air to breath.

I heard footsteps walking away and Harry looked mortified. He turned pale as he rushed out after them. My stomach was in a knot as I gasped for air. No tears could form in my eyes, it was just intense pain all throughout my body as the scene replayed in my head. I brought myself to run out as noises were heard throughout the school. I tried to rush back to my common room, calling for Hermione on my bracelet, but barely anything came out of my mouth. I knew she didn't hear me. I stood in the middle of a corridor, wanting to throw up everything in my system. Everything was hitting me all at once, and I couldn't seem to take it all in. Your job was to kill Dumbledore.. My knee gave in and I tripped to the ground, landing on all fours.

I brought myself to sit up on my knees as someone came around the corner in front of me. It was starting to get brighter in the halls and they clearly could see me from where I was. I brought my sight to them and there he was, staring at me, completely starstruck. His eyes didn't look the same anymore, his hair looked different, even his posture. As if I didn't know who was standing a few feet ahead of me. His jaw dropped open as he appeared to search for the right words to say. He took a step toward me and I found the strength to jump to my feet. He held his hand up in front of him as he continued to take another step.

"How.." I said in a sharp exhale, regaining my breath. "How could you?"

His icy eyes were of a boy I hadn't met before. He wanted to say something, but was almost too embarrassed to. He came closer and I jumped back.

"Don't you dare come near me," My voice turned cold and stern. I grabbed my wand and pointed it at him, "You've ruined everything."

He stopped once he saw my wand and held both his hands up in a surrender motion.

"Get away from me.. Go!" I shouted.

Within moments, he was out of sight and I let out a gasp, shutting my eyes tightly. I covered my mouth again, running to find anyone. I looked around for Professor McGonagall to inform her on what was going on. I needed to find somebody. I called into my bracelet for Hermione again, unsure where Harry was and if he was in danger or not as well. The sun began to pour in and eventually all the students of Hogwarts had awakened to the chaos. Hermione and Ron ran to me and I practically fell into their arms as we hugged tightly. We left outside where a crowd of students were, Harry included. We all looked at our Head Master's lifeless body, frightened of what was to come. Hermione squeezed my hand as tears slipped from her eyes. I looked as everyone raised their wands to the sky. Tonight marked the beginning of the war we feared of. It was time to fight. I closed my eyes, trying to push the thousands of thoughts out of my mind. Whatever came next was not going to be easy, and we all had to brace ourselves for it.

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Author's Note:

I know Dumbledore's death is different in the books, but for the sake of the story, I went by the movie. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Comment, vote, and share if you'd like. Feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading! :))