Draco and his goons were nowhere to be found and Snape wasn't more suspicious than he usually was despite Ron's suggestions as we went towards the Dungeon.
"He keeps pacing," Ron pointed at the tiny footprints that followed Snape's dot.
"Maybe he's nervous," Hermione proposed.
"He's planning something!" Ron accused, raising his voice.
"Quiet down," I shushed him.
We were currently on the stairs towards the dungeon, watching the map.
"Oh, this is pointless!" I groaned. "There's nothing interesting."
"Fine," Ron stood up from his step and matched up the stairs. "Let's go back to the common room, we can—"
We were cut off by the sounds of screaming coming from above. The four of us looked and each other and booked it up the stairs. Looking at the map, new names popped up, including those of Death Eaters.
"What's going on?" Ginny shouted as we ran through the corridor.
"Death Eaters," I yelled, pulling her towards the Gryffindor Tower.
Tower. Death Eaters. Dumbledore.
The realization hit me of what was happening. Draco Malfoy had let in Death Eaters to murder Dumbledore.
"Go to the common room and hide!" I shouted to the group before running off towards the Astronomy Tower.
Over the shouts and cries of the students around me, I fought my way up the stairs and to the tower. I had no way of knowing who was around me because I had shoved the Map in Ginny's hands.
The tower was empty, but the echoes of everyone's bellowing could be heard. The spiral staircase seemed longer than I previously thought it was. Adrenaline raced through my body with fear at the thought that I'd been too late.
At the door, I pushed it opened to see Dumbledore laying on the ground.
"Where's Harry?" I shouted up at Dumbledore.
He didn't respond, but I was pulled from my spot and a hand clamped over my mouth. I calmed down once I realized it was Harry; we were under the Invisibility Cloak.
I pushed Harry's hand off my mouth, "someone is coming here to kill Dumbledore. We have to—"
From our spot near the door, footsteps could be heard coming close. Harry grabbed my arm and dragged me up the stairs, just in time for the door to burst open and someone shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Harry put his hand over my mouth once more when we saw who it was: Draco Malfoy.
"Good evening, Draco," Dumbledore said, smiling at us. "What brings you out on such a fine spring evening? Or is it Summer?"
Draco stood in front of me with his wand extended. My eyes darted around the room.
"Who else is here? I heard talking," he said forcefully.
"I often talk aloud to myself," he sighed. "I find it extraordinarily useful. That which sounds sane at a whisper can seem utterly mad when said for all the world to hear. Haven't been whispering to yourself, have you?"
Draco looked at Dumbledore with uneasy eyes and said, "are you alone?"
"A question I might ask you. Or are you acting alone?"
"No," he said. "We've got backup. There are Death Eaters here in your school tonight."
"Well, well," said Dumbledore, as though I was showing him an ambitious homework project. "Very good indeed. You found a way to let them in, did you?"
"Yeah," Draco said, panting. "Right under your nose and you never realized!"
"Ingenious," said Dumbledore. "Yet... forgive me... where are they now? You seem unsupported."
"They met some of your guards. They're having a fight down below. They won't be long... We came on ahead. I - I've got a job to do."
There was silence. Harry stood with his hand over my mouth, preventing me from saying anything as my ears strained to hear sounds of the Death Eaters' distant fight. In front of me, Draco did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore, who, incredibly, smiled. Dumbledore sighed as if their conversation was tedious work, "You are not an assassin, Draco."
"How do you know what we are? We've done things that would shock you," Draco sneered.
"You almost killed Katie Bell and Ronald Weasley. You have been trying, with increasing desperation, to kill me all year. Forgive me, Draco, but they have been feeble attempts," Dumbledore said mildly.
"He trusts us! We were chosen for this," I cried out.
At his words, Draco thrust his arm and pulled back his sleeve, showing Dumbledore his Dark Mark.
"I'm not afraid!" snarled Draco, though he still made no move to hurt Dumbledore. "It's you who should be scared!"
"But why? I don't think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent may believe."
Draco said nothing but glare at Dumbledore.
"If you don't mind me asking," Dumbledore started, "how did you get your helpers here?"
Stepping forward slightly, Draco puffed out his chest, "the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement."
"That cabinet has been broken for years."
"I've been mending it."
"Ingenious. Let me guess," Dumbledore mused. "It has a sister. A twin."
"In Borgin and Burkes," he scoffed. "They form —"
"—A passage, yes. Very good." Dumbledore looked from Draco to me and back to Draco.
"Yeah, well, you still didn't realize who was behind that stuff, did you?" sneered Draco, as Dumbledore slid a little down the ramparts, the strength in his legs apparently fading, and I struggled fruitlessly, mutely, against Harry's hold.
"As a matter of fact, I did," said Dumbledore. "I was sure it was you."
"Why didn't you stop me, then?" Draco demanded.
"I tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders —"
"He hasn't been doing your orders, he promised my mother —"
"Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but —"
"He's a double agent, you stupid old man, he isn't working for you, you just think he is!"
"We must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape —"
"Well, you're losing your grip, then!" I sneered. "He's been offering us plenty of help — wanting all the glory for himself— wanting a bit of the action — Claiming to be protecting us, but wanting to be in the Dark Lord's good graces— This'll all be over and he won't be the Dark Lord's favourite anymore!"
I struggled against Harry and finally untangled myself from his hold. He wouldn't object to me jumping out from under the cloak or he would see seen.
"Draco!" I shouted, running up the stairs.
Draco and Dumbledore both looked at me; Draco looked afraid and confused, Dumbledore looked sad.
"What are you— How did you get up here?" Draco pointed his wand to me.
If I made a move to pull my wand from my sleeve, Draco would take the moment to strike me.
"Please," I pleaded, "don't do it."
Draco's mouth contorted involuntarily, as though he had tasted something very bitter.
"Stay back— I-I don't want to hurt you," he said.
"Okay, okay, my hands are up," I placed my hands up by my head. "Just don't—"
"I have orders!"
"Yes," Dumbledore started, "but as for being about to kill me, Draco, you have had several long minutes now, we are quite alone, I am more defenceless than you can have dreamed of finding me, and still you have not acted."
"We decided to put the Dark Mark over the tower and get you to hurry up here, to see who'd been killed," said Draco. "And it worked!"
"Well, yes and no," said Dumbledore. "But am I to take it, then, that nobody has been murdered?"
"Someone's dead," said Draco, and his voice seemed to go up an octave as he said it. "One of your people — I don't know who, it was dark. I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way."
"Yes, they do that," said Dumbledore.
"D-Draco, who died?" I stuttered.
There was a bang and shouts from below, louder than ever; it sounded as though people were fighting on the actual spiral staircase that led to where Dumbledore, Draco, Harry, and I stood.
"There is little time, one way or another," said Dumbledore. "So let us discuss your options, Draco."
"My options!" said Draco loudly. "I'm standing here with a wand — I'm about to kill you —"
"My dear boy, let us have no more pretence about that. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it when you first disarmed me, you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means."
"Draco, you don't have to do this. You have a choice—"
"I haven't got any options or choices!" said Draco, and he was suddenly white as Dumbledore. "I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!"
"I appreciate the difficulty of your position," said Dumbledore. "Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realized that I suspected you."
Draco winced at the sound of the name.
"Draco, I once knew a boy years ago who made all the wrong choices. Let me help you."
"I don't want your help! I don't need it. Don't you see? I have to do it— I have to!" Draco shouted and I felt my heart shatter, I was truly scared for him.
"Draco, you are not a killer! Put down your wand and we can go hide o-or—"
"No, Charlotte," Draco narrowed his eyes at me, his wand still pointed at Dumbledore.
"You're not a Death Eater!" I shouted at him. "You're barely seventeen, not a cultist in—"
But suddenly footsteps were thundering up the stairs, and a second later Draco was buffeted out of the way as four people in black robes burst through the door onto the ramparts; all their wands pointed at me. It seemed the Death Eaters had won the fight below.
My Felix Felicis has run out...
A lumpy-looking man with an odd lopsided leer gave a wheezy giggle.
"Dumbledore cornered!" he said, and he turned to a stocky little woman who looked as though she could be his sister and who was grinning eagerly. "This girl wandless, Dumbledore wandless! Well done, Draco, well done!"
"Let's just kill her," the man sneered at me.
"N-no! It's okay, just Dumbledore," Draco stuttered.
"Good evening, Amycus," said Dumbledore calmly, as though welcoming the man to a tea party, pulling their attention away from me. "And you've brought Alecto, too. Charming..."
The woman gave an angry little titter. "Think your little jokes'll help you on your deathbed then?" she jeered.
"Jokes? No, no, these are manners," replied Dumbledore.
"Do it," said the stranger standing nearest to me.
"Is that you, Fenrir?" asked Dumbledore.
"That's right," rasped the other. "Pleased to see me, Dumbledore?"
"No, I cannot say that I am."
Greyback grinned, showing pointed teeth. Blood trickled down his chin and he licked his lips slowly, obscenely.
He looked over to me with a menacing glint in his eyes, "but you know how much I like kids, Dumbledore."
And he raised a yellow fingernail and picked at his front teeth, leering at Dumbledore. "I could do you for afters, Dumbledore."
"No," said the fourth Death Eater sharply. He had a heavy, brutal-looking face. "We've got orders. Draco's got to do it. Now, Draco, and quickly."
"Draco! Please don't do it—"
"Silencio!" Draco pointed to me. My voice caught in my throat, nothing coming out.
But Draco was showing less resolution than ever. He looked terrified as he stared into Dumbledore's face. But at that moment there were renewed sounds of scuffling from below and a voice shouted, "They've blocked the stairs — Reducto! REDUCTO!"
My heart leapt in my chest: So these four had not eliminated all opposition, but merely broken through the fight to the top of the tower, and, by the sound of it, created a barrier behind them —
"Now, Draco, quickly!" said the brutal-faced man angrily.
But Draco's hand was shaking so badly that he could barely aim.
"Draco, do it or stand aside so one of us —" screeched the woman, but at that precise moment, the door to the ramparts burst open once more and there stood Snape, his wand clutched in his hand as his black eyes swept the scene, from Dumbledore slumped against the wall, to the four Death Eaters, including the enraged werewolf, and Draco.
"We've got a problem, Snape," said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand was fixed alike upon Dumbledore, "the boy doesn't seem able —"
My throat felt like it had been released from its constriction. Either the jinx wore off or Harry had done a countercurse.
"Dad," I cried.
Snape's head turned to face me, shocked and confused.
"Severus..."
The sound frightened me beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.
"Severus... please..."
Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Dad, no!"
A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. I screamed in horror as I watched my father kill Dumbledore, blasting him into the air.
"Charlotte, get out of here, now!" he commanded.
But I didn't move. I couldn't.
"Out of here, quickly," said Snape.
He seized Draco by the scruff of the neck and grabbed onto my arm, forcing us through the door ahead of the rest; Harry under his Invisibility Cloak, protected from everyone.
"Petrificus Totalus!" I heard Harry shout.
Snape paid no attention to Harry while he dragged Draco and me away from the scene. I thrashed against Snape's hold and tried to pull away. Anger took over and I quickly jammed my elbow into his rib, getting away.
"Protego," I thought, grabbing my wand, as I shielded myself from Snape's Imperius Curse.
From the corner of my eye, I saw red hair flying like flames: Ginny was locked in combat with the lumpy Death Eater, Amycus, who was throwing hex after hex at her while she dodged them: Amycus was giggling, enjoying the sport: "Crucio — Crucio — you can't dance forever, pretty —"
"Impedimenta!" yelled Harry, hitting Amycus in the chest.
Ron, Professor McGonagall, and Remus, each of whom was battling a separate Death Eater. Beyond them, I saw Sirius fighting an enormous blond wizard who was sending curses flying in all directions, so that they ricocheted off the walls around them, cracking stone, shattering the nearest window —
"Neville, are you— ?" I heard Harry say.
"M'all right," muttered Neville, who was clutching his stomach, "Snape 'n' Malfoy... ran past—"
"I know, I'm on it!" said Harry, aiming a hex from the floor at the enormous blond Death Eater who was causing most of the chaos.
"I'm coming with you," I said to Harry, who nodded and ran towards the brother and sister.
Remembering to leap the vanishing step halfway down the concealed staircase, I burst through a tapestry at the bottom and out into a corridor where a number of bewildered and pyjama-clad Hufflepuffs stood.
Running across the entrance hall and out into the dark grounds, I could just make out three figures racing across the lawn, heading for the gates beyond which they could Disapparate — by the looks of them, the huge blond Death Eater and, some way ahead of me, Snape and Draco.
"I'm going after them!" I told Harry, breaking off to the left while he ran towards Hagrid's burning cabin.
The cold night air ripped at my lungs as I tore after them; I saw a flash of light in the distance that momentarily silhouetted his quarry. I did not know what it was but continued to run, not yet near enough to get a good aim with a curse—
I quickly looked back to see Harry running towards me, Hagrid's cabin out, aiming for the Death Eater's in front of us. Pushing my legs forward, I run my hardest towards Snape and Draco, who was still running; they would soon be beyond the gates, able to Disapparate —
"Stupefy!" I yelled, aiming at Snape's head.
I missed, again; the jet of red light soared past Snape's head; Snape shouted, "Run, Draco!" and turned. Twenty yards apart, I looked up at Snape, who looked torn; regardless, he raised his wand and I raised mine.
"Cruc—"
But Snape parried the curse, knocking me backwards off my feet before I could complete it.
"Cruc —" I heard Harry yell from behind me, but Snape blocked the spell again.
"No Unforgivable Curses from you, Potter!" he shouted over the rushing of the flames, Hagrid's yells, and the wild yelping of the trapped Fang. "You haven't got the nerve or the ability —"
"Incarc —" Harry roared, but Snape deflected the spell with an almost lazy flick of his arm.
"Fight back!" Harry screamed at him. "Fight back, you cowardly —"
"Coward, did you call me, Potter?" shouted Snape. "Your father would never attack me unless it was four on one, what would you call him, I wonder?"
"Stupe —"
"Blocked again and again and again until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed, Potter!" sneered Snape, deflecting the curse once more. "Charlie, come with me!" he shouted at me from in front of Harry. Quickly I scrambled up from my spot.
But before I could jinx him, I fell in excruciating pain; I keeled over in the grass. Someone was screaming, probably me. It felt worse than when Draco hit me in the boys' bathroom —
"No!" roared Snape's voice and the pain stopped as suddenly as it had started. "Leave her and forget Potter. Have you forgotten our orders? She means nothing to the Dark Lord— Leave Potter for him! Go! Go!"
Pushing myself to my feet, I staggered blindly towards Snape, "Daddy?"
I slowly made my way to Snape, trying to catch him off guard. For a split second, I could see Snape slowly let his guard down, but it quickly went away.
"Sectum —!"
Snape flicked his wand and Harry's curse was repelled. Snape's face clearly at last: He was no longer sneering or jeering; he was full of rage and betrayal.
"No, Potter!" screamed Snape. There was a loud BANG and Harry was soaring backwards, hitting the ground hard again, and this time his wand flew out of his hand. Hagrid was yelling and Fang was howling as Snape passed me and looked down on Harry where he lay.
"Stupefy!" I aimed at Snape, but he deflected it.
"You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them — I, the Half-Blood Prince! And you'd turn my inventions on me, like your filthy father, would you? I don't think so... no!"
Harry dove for his wand, but Snape hexed at it and it flew feet away into the darkness. Thinking of every hex I could think of, I raised my wand, anger humming through my veins, and thought, "Levicorpus!"
Snape flew into the air, by his ankles, ten feet above Harry. With all my force, I whipped my wand, throwing Snape a few feet away from Harry.
"Charlotte!" Harry shouted, running to me.
"Accio Harry's—"
Before I could summon Harry's wand, I was thrown back by an invisible force; not the same that I'd used on Snape. I groaned looking up at Snape who marched over to me.
"I underestimated you, Charlie," Snape said.
With my hand out, I Summoned Harry's wand and threw it to him.
"Impedi—" Harry tried for the fourth time to jinx Snape, but failed; Snape lazily flicked his wand at Harry, tossing him to the side.
"Of course you've underestimated me. You still think me being a shy little girl who cries over her father not wanting her," I spat.
"You're on the wrong side," said Snape. He flicked his wand again, stunning Harry. "Come with me."
"As if I'd ever be a filthy death eater like yourself!" I shouted from my spot on the ground. "You constantly shout at Harry for how his father treated you, but you are worse! You're a coward—"
"DON'T—" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in pain, "CALL ME COWARD!"
"WHAT? ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME? YOUR OWN DAUGHTER?" I sneered. "I call you as you are: COW—"
Snape slashed the air: I felt a white-hot, whiplike something hit me across the face and was slammed backwards into the ground. Spots of light burst in front of my eyes and for a moment all the breath seemed to have gone from my body, then I heard a rush of wings above me and something enormous obscured the stars. Buckbeak had flown at Snape, who staggered backwards as the razor-sharp claws slashed at him.
"Rennervate," I breathed, pointing at a Stunned Harry.
Sitting up from the ground, my head swam from the contact with the ground, I saw Snape running as hard as he could, the enormous beast flapping behind him and screeching as I'd never heard him screech.
I struggled to my feet, looking around groggily for Harry. I looked up to see the hippogriff circling the gates. Snape had managed to Disapparate just beyond the school's boundaries.
"Harry?" I muttered. "HARRY?"
"I'm here," he said, coming up behind me.
Limping over to Hagrid's burning hut, I laid on the cool glass as Hagrid and Harry put out the fire. Hagrid ran over to us, Fang's following, and sat me down in the grass.
"Yeh all righ', Harry? Yeh all righ'? Charlotte? Speak ter me."
"Yeah," I croaked. "Your hut."
"S'not too bad," said Hagrid hopefully a few minutes later, looking at the smoking wreck. "Nothin' Dumbledore won' be able to put righ'."
"Hagrid..." Harry trailed off.
"I was bindin' up a couple o' bowtruckle legs when I heard 'em comin'," said Hagrid sadly, still staring at his wrecked cabin. "They'll've bin burnt ter twigs, poor little things..."
"Hagrid..."
"But what happened, Harry? I jus' saw them Death Eaters runnin' down from the castle, but what the ruddy hell was Snape doin' with 'em? Where's he gone — was he chasin' them?"
"He—" Harry cleared his throat. "Hagrid, he killed..."
"Killed?" said Hagrid loudly, staring down at Harry. "Snape killed? What're yeh on abou', Harry?"
"Hagrid," I spoke up, my voice quivering, "m-my dad killed Dumbledore."
Hagrid simply looked from me to Harry, the little of his face that could be seen completely blank, uncomprehending.
"Dumbledore wha'... Harry?"
"He's dead. Snape killed him..."
"Don' say that," said Hagrid roughly. "Snape kill Dumbledore — don' be stupid. Wha's made yeh say tha'?"
"We saw it happen," I whispered.
"Yeh couldn' have."
"I saw it, Hagrid," I raised my voice. "Snape, my supposed father, killed Dumbledore."
Hagrid shook his head; his expression was disbelieving but sympathetic, and I knew that Hagrid thought I had sustained a blow to the head, that I was confused, perhaps by the after-effects of a jinx.
"What musta happened was, Dumbledore musta told Snape ter go with them Death Eaters," Hagrid said confidently. "I suppose he's gotta keep his cover. Look, let's get yeh back up ter the school. Come on, Harry, Charlotte."
"C-Can one of you p-please heal me?" I coughed. "I-I can't do it myself... It's not Sectumsempra, I think it was Diffindo."
Harry lifted his wand and healed my chest, a thrill of energy course through my body; the pain stopped and so did my shaking. Carefully, we made out way towards the school. The oak front doors stood open ahead of them, light flooding out onto the drive and the lawn. My eyes were fixated upon the ground at the foot of the tallest tower.
"What're they all lookin' at?" said Hagrid, as he, Harry, and I approached the castle front, Fang keeping as close as he could to our ankles. "Wha's tha', lyin' on the grass?" Hagrid added sharply, heading now toward the foot of the Astronomy Tower, where a small crowd was congregating. "See it, Harry? Righ' at the foot o' the tower? Under where the Mark... Blimey... yeh don' think someone got thrown — ?"
Hagrid fell silent, the thought apparently too horrible to express aloud. Harry walked alongside me, looking at the crowd of people huddled around Dumbledore's body. I walked slowly forward until I reached the place where Dumbledore lay and crouched down beside him. Tears fell down my face as I stared at him. Though he wasn't my favourite person in the world, his death still hurt. Harry came up beside me and put his arm over my shoulders.
Dumbledore's eyes were closed; but for the strange angle of his arms and legs, he might have been sleeping. Harry reached out, straightened the half-moon spectacles upon the crooked nose, and wiped a trickle of blood from the mouth with his own sleeve.
My heart broke at the cries of the people around us. Harry reached out and touched the Horcrux that he and Dumbledore had gone to get. He shoved the paper in my hands and sniffled; it was fake– the Horcrux never worked.
Guilt ate at my soul... I had forgotten... And I had remembered too late for Dumbledore lay on the ground with no intention of getting up. I crumpled the parchment in my hand and turned to hug Harry, whose tears had finally fallen, as behind us Fang began to howl.