As the days passed, my morning sickness gradually worsened. It developed in a way that lasted longer and felt ten times worse. If I'd known it would feel this bad, I might've considered making Draco use a condom. Too late now, I thought as I woke up at the brink of dawn that morning, my head dunked in a toilet.
Draco dropped in minutes later, finding me too weak to move as the stale scent of sick filled my nose. He'd always be up and out of bed the second he felt me stir. Every morning was just the same. He would wake up, walk into the bathroom and find me half-conscious.
Helping ease my head out of the toilet, Draco crouched down and gathered me in his arms, a grinding pain throbbing along the base of my skull. I was tired, so, so tired. Only a minute later, I ended up weeping in his arms as he muttered a faint cleaning charm under his breath, removing all of the excess sick from my soiled bed-shirt.
Still I wept, a wet cloth in Draco's right hand as he wiped around my mouth. When he was finished, my head rolled forward and ended up on his shoulder. He didn't protest. Instead, he slowly brought a hand to the back of my head and supported me against him.
He stayed, and that was all I needed. For him to stay.
When I did however manage to make it back into bed, Draco kept close. He would stop at the side of the bed and take a seat besides me, looking down at the little ball that had become of my body. We never had to say a word during these moments. His presence was enough.
Our days spent in actual lessons decreased dramatically, and even when I did feel okay, he was still hesitant to go. All he wanted was to stay with me.
Fortunately, it wasn't all bad. Some mornings I managed to wake up without any sickness. I may have been tired but I was well, and that was all that mattered.
On these days Draco would crawl over me and cradle my face in his hands. He littered feathery kisses everywhere he could reach, his hands slowly sneaking down to my waist. Then, when the time was right he would slowly but surely lower my pyjama bottoms, bury his head in between my legs and end up with my hands tangled in his hair.
On the best days, Draco would take things a step further. For the first few weeks, he was still pretty rough when he wanted to be. But as the weeks dragged on, the word rough became a thing of the past as he began to treat me like glass.
He would take a strand of hair in between his fingers and move it out of my face, his touch as soft as a feather. Or he'd grab my hands and lace our fingers together, always wanting to be intertwined. And if I did decide to venture beyond our room to the library, Draco wouldn't even allow me to lift a book he deemed too heavy.
But that was hardly even the start of it.
One trip to St Mungo's later, Draco didn't know how to act. Although six— nearly seven weeks into pregnancy wasn't much, he sought it to be a big deal. He hardly felt he had the time to spare a blink.
Especially now. A few weeks have passed since Draco's birthday and the end of the year was approaching. And it was approaching fast.
So that morning when my eyes lazily peeled themselves open, I was surprised to find the room around me still dark. Usually for this time of year, rays of sunlight blasted through the windows with its golden glow, but this morning the glass panes were blocked over with a cloud of gloom.
One slow stretch of my arms later, I prop myself against the bed with my elbows, my eyes directed towards the window. There was a light bout of rain thrumming against the glass, the sun blocked from sight.
A lazy yawn found its way out from between my lips, and before I could even notice, a cold hand slid towards my stomach. Draco slowly lifted his head up, eyes blinking into near-slits.
"Morning, darling... you okay?" He mumbled drowsily, his hand settled on top of my still-flat stomach.
"Better than ever." I whisper jokingly, looking over to see him rolled onto his side, his face already drowning in adoration. He heaved himself onto his own elbows, that way his face was inches away from mine.
"How's the tummy?" He asked softly, cradling the side of my face in his large palms.
"Just a few cramps here and there, nothing too bad yet." I whisper against him, my lips brushing lightly over his. He used that as an opportunity to press a gentle kiss on my mouth.
"Tell me when it hurts, okay?" He whispered, his lips trailing down my neck. "Mhm," I manage to hum through my content moans, a hand coming up to grab the hair at the back of his head.
Unfortunately, his shower of loving kisses came to a halt as he pulled back to turn on the lamp beside us. Even with the help of the light, our room was still pretty dark. The cloud was painted with dark, heavy clouds— looking as though they were about to cry their sin across the shadowy land.
"I'm gonna make us some tea, you stay put." Draco said, pulling a wooly jumper over his head which pulled my gaze away from the windows. "Okay..." I murmur, grabbing ahold of the teddy Draco had bought for me to snuggle in his absence.
His quiet humming filled the room as he started the kettle, meanwhile my eyes traced the outline of silhouette, adoring every inch of him. From the second either of us woke up, Draco was quick to jump out of bed and do anything he'd consider soothing to me. Making my favourite tea was one of those things.
Moments later he returned with a mug in hand, steam leaking over the side of the cup. "Thank you, love." I whisper softly, carefully accepting the warm china into my own hands. "Not a problem." He cooed, pressing a gentle kiss against my temple which made my cheeks flush.
After he grabbed his own mug, Draco laid down on his back and kept it propped against his chest, his head in my lap. I got the hint and ran my fingers through his hair, the two of us enjoying each other's silent company.
"Draco...?" I finally spoke after a moment.
"Mhm?" Draco hummed, showing he was listening.
"Does something feel... off to you?" I ask softly. Draco tilted his back, that way his eyes locked with mine. "What do you mean?" He asked, sounding concerned. When I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't find the right words, he sat up and set his mug down, increasingly worried.
"What feels off, sweetheart?" He asked, hooking an arm around my waist to pull me further into him. "Is it your body? You feel like it's the baby?"
I shake my head, latching onto him with a hand on each shoulder.
"You sure?" He asked, placing a hand in the small of my back, making it arch a little.
"I don't know, Draco... something just doesn't feel right..."
Draco seemed to contemplate this for a second, but settled with saying— "I'm sure it's just pregnancy hormones, darling. C'mere." He cooed, pulling me in so we were chest to chest, my forehead pressed against his.
"Let me take care of you..." He whispered, "And if you're feeling up to it, we can take a little stroll around the castle and spend an hour or two up in the Astronomy Tower... that sound good, hm?"
"Mhm..." I mumbled, trying not to giggle when he nudged my face upwards with his nose, making his mouth graze over mine. Only a second later, we ended up with lips on lips, and hands travelling up and down each other's warm spines.
~
Draco sat on the bed, patiently waiting for me to finish getting dressed as he adjusted the cuffs of his long, black sleeves. "Are you ready to go yet, darling?" He asks, his eyes meeting mine in our mirror's reflections. I brush my hoodie down one last time and nod.
By the time I spun on my heels to face him, Draco had risen from the bed and held an extended hand towards me. An inevitable smile made its way across my face, my hand finding home in his.
For some reason, when we walked out of the room into the stairwell, my mind took me back to our third year when we'd been given our private room as a way for us to "learn to get along" with each other. It started off with countless taunts, and the occasional push down the stairs or two. But here I was, three years later, hand in hand with the same man. When I put it into perspective, everything about it felt so surreal.
My thoughts were soon broken when we arrived in the Slytherin common room, seeing none other than Blaise Zabini with his wand in hand. Dark rings circled his heavy eyes, and he seemed to be pacing all the while he muttered quietly to himself.
Neither of us made an effort to announce our arrivals because only moments later, Blaise noticed himself. His eyes hardly locked with my own when his face dropped. He spun on his heels and rushed out of the common room in a heartbeat.
"The fuck was that about..." I murmur, looking up at Draco. Draco rolled his tongue along his front teeth with a shrug. "Dunno, let's just forget about it." he grumbled, pulling me forward with him.
"Don't you think maybe we should check—,"
"Y/N." Draco cut me off sharply. "You are not going to try involving yourself in any funny business, m'kay? We have nothing to do with Blaise, so let's keep it that way."
"What if he's—,"
"No." Draco said in a, don't ask again, tone. "Tonight is just gonna be some nice you and me time, okay? Stressing yourself over other things isn't good for you." He added, his eyes flickering down to my stomach. "Or them."
"Right..." I whisper, drawing a small deep breath in through my nose. "Perspective."
Draco smiled and proceeded to pull me out of the common room, both of our hands still intertwined. As we walked through the castle, we could hear the faint singing of the Hogwarts choir coming from the Hall. It'd grown progressively colder as well, even for the summer months of June. With every window we passed, the clouds outside seemed to darken over the lake and the mountains, consuming Hogwarts in its shadows.
We couldn't have chosen an eerier, chillier day to come out. There was a faint growl of thunder rumbling in the distance, and even I noticed Draco wince at the sound. "We can turn around if you'd like..." I whisper.
"No, it's okay." Draco said, "A little bit of thunder won't hurt..."
Just on queue, the hallway lit up as a flash of white panelled through the dark. In only a second, darkness fell upon us and the corridor returned to silence.
"Okay, thunder might not hurt us but lightning will..." I murmur, clutching his hand a little tighter. Draco shook his head, "It's fine, we'll be undercover in the Astronomy Tower. I'll conjure some blankets once we get up there."
"I think we'll definitely need them." I add, poking my head out into the open courtyard where rain began to lightly fall down onto the earth. The choir drifted faintly on the night air. A tiny droplet fell on my head and rolled slowly along my temple. The rain was cold— like ice on the skin.
What a miserable, gloomy day. I thought as I withdrew my head, hearing the faint clicking of heels coming in our direction. Professor McGonagall had been staring up at the sky, a curious expression on her face, but then spied a pair of first years straggling across the courtyard, then us.
"Go to your houses!" Professor McGonagall called, her dark robes billowing in the wind. "No dawdling!"
Draco sighed and pulled me along the outside corridor with him. "Come on, we best make it quick." He murmured, the first years scuttling off, meanwhile McGonagall looked back to the sky.
We both snuck off into the direction opposite of our common room. The temporary relief of being back inside soon faded when I realised inside the castle was just as cold as the outside had been.
The choir echoes eerily through the halls. A few other sixth years, a little more than shadows, were hanging out and giggling in dark corners. Draco and I quietly glide by, unnoticed.
"I'm telling you, Draco... something about today... it just feels off." When he turned to look at me, his mouth opened, I cut him off before he could speak. "And no, I don't think it's the baby."
Draco closed his mouth, exhaling deeply through his nose. "I can feel it too..." He finally admits. A blast of cold air blasted both of our faces as we opened the door leading to the Astronomy Tower. "And I don't think it's the baby either."
I look up at him and nod slowly. "Draco... I think you were right."
"About?" Draco asked, looking down at me with raised brows. "Leaving Hogwarts..." I whisper softly, "As much as I trust Dumbledore, I'm not sure I want to be in the same castle as him and Harry with You-Know-Who on the rise. There's been too many risks over the years with the pair of them around. I'm just— I'm not so sure I want to be apart of it for the sake of our little one."
Draco kept quiet, watching me look down and place a gentle hand on my stomach as we climbed the stairs. "I want him or her to be safe." I whisper, finally raising my gaze to meet his. "Let's settle down, Draco... find somewhere for just the two of us. We can wait until the worst has passed."
"Okay..." Draco whispered softly, giving a slow nod of his head. "We can do that." He smiled at me, gently running one of his hands along the damp, stone walls of the castle. As the Astronomy Tower began to flatten out into the ring we were oh so used to, we began to hear voices.
"We need to get you to the hospital wing, sir— to Madam Pomfrey—,"
Both Draco and I exchanged the same look between each other, recognising Harry's voice at once. Speak of the devil, I thought, slowly but surely climbing the last few steps.
"No... Severus, Severus is who I need." Dumbledore's voice followed. "Wake him. Tell him what happened. Speak to no one else. Severus, Harry."
When the tower flattened out, we saw the headmaster slouched against the wall nearest him, Harry crouched just beyond. "Oh—," I accidentally squeaked, my eyes wide. "Should we— should we go fetch someone?" I ask, not exactly sure as to what was happening.
The sound of the Astronomy Tower's doors opening reverberated from the stairwell. "Hide yourself below, Harry. Don't speak or be seen by anybody without my permission. Whatever happens, it's imperative you and the others stay below." Dumbledore said, his voice hoarse.
More doors opened down the stairs, my breath catching slightly in my throat. "We came at the wrong time didn't we..." I murmur.
"Yep..." Draco murmured.
"Is it too late to turn around?" I ask, watching as Harry hesitated to move.
"Harry, do as I say."
Footsteps ascended the stairs.
"Definitely." Draco murmured, tightening his grip on my hand. He pulled me down the stairs towards a hideout under the floorboards, only a few feet away from the actual stairwell.
"Trust me." Dumbledore said from above. "Trust me."
Moments later, the rapid thrum of footsteps came towards us and Harry emerged. He looked faint, almost as though he'd just seen a ghost.
"Harry, can you tell me what the hell is going on?" I hissed quietly, hearing a few floorboards creak as he crouched down a foot away from us.
"We were hunting Horcruxes." Harry whispered breathlessly.
"Horcruxes?" I echo. "Harry, what's a Horcrux?"
"Not the time to explain—," Harry started when Draco pulled me back against the wall. "Shh!" He hissed, his eyes glued to where a dark silhouette was creeping along the stairwell only feet away from us.
"Good evening, Blaise." Dumbledore's voice echoed from above. Every trickle of blood through my veins suddenly ran cold. Excuse me, what? I thought, looking through the slim gaps in the planks above. "What brings you here on this fine spring evening? Or is it summer?"
Blaise stands poised, wand in hand, eyes darting about. "Who else is here? I heard you
talking."
"I often talk aloud to myself." Dumbledore spoke with fine collection. "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, Blaise?"
Blaise eyed Dumbledore with unease, his hand shaking.
"Blaise, you are no assassin."
"How do you know what I am? I've done things that would shock you." Blaise spat.
"Like cursing Katie Bell and hoping she would, in turn, bear a cursed necklace to me? Like replacing a bottle of mead with one laced with poison? Forgive me, Blaise, but these are attempts so feeble I cannot help but question if your heart has been really in them." said Dumbledore, slowly lowering his voice. "I'm curious. When Voldemort gave you this task, when he asked you to kill me, was it in a whisper?"
Draco clutched my hand tighter. Blaise from above looked humiliated.
"He trusts me! I was chosen!" Blaise snapped. He thrusted out his arm and pulled back his sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark. Dumbledore barely looked at it, meanwhile Draco protectively wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling my body flush with his.
"Then I shall make it easy for you." Dumbledore slowly and without intent, drew his wand with open arms. Instantly Blaise raised his own.
"Expelliarumus!"
I watched in horror as Dumbledore's wand flew free from his grip, falling across the grid above with a clatter. Blaise watched it roll to a stop, mostly in a curious mixture of fear and awe at his own actions. Dumbledore eyed the wand, then Blaise.
"Well done, Blaise. But I warn you. Killing is not nearly as easy."
Harry slowly raised his wand to the floorboards above. Draco held me tighter, and Blaise's fingers shook vigorously around his wand. His Adam's apple visibly pulsated as he looked into Dumbledore's eyes.
Suddenly, there was more ruckus from the stairwell down below. Blaise and Dumbledore both glance to the sky at the gathering clouds, all of which were twisting darkly, then back to the stairwell.
"You're not alone, are you?" Dumbledore raised a white brow. "There
are others. How?"
For the first time all night, a slightly proud, sneering smile played over Blaise's lips. "The Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement."
"That cabinet has been broken for years." Dumbledore gazed at him curiously.
"I've been mending it." Blaise admitted, his voice still slightly shaken.
"Ingenious. Let me guess. It has a sister. A twin."
"In Borgin & Burkes. They form a passage." Blaise explained.
"Ingenious!" Dumbledore said again. "Blaise, years ago, I once knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please, let me help you."
"I don't want your help! Don't you understand? I have to do this! I have to kill you!" Blaise's voice lowered to a quivering whisper. "Or he's gonna kill me."
Dumbledore stared at him pitifully. "Say that again, Blaise. But aloud this time."
Blaise looked deep into Dumbledore's eyes. His hand trembled uncontrollably around his wand, his bottom lip puffed out as though he wanted to whimper and give up with a cry.
Then finally, Blaise slowly began to lower his wand.
Footsteps echoed from the distance, and seconds later the door flew open. Bellatrix, Greyback, and a few other Death Eaters emerged.
A low gasp escaped my lips, and Draco quickly had to clap his palm around my mouth. My heart pounded against my chest as I struggled to grasp the magnitude of the situation, and Harry's eyes raced, raising his wand higher.
Draco slowly slid his hand away from my mouth towards his back pocket, reaching for his own wand.
"Well, look what we have here!" Bellatrix gasped, her black curls blowing in the cold breeze. "Dumbledore. Wandless and alone." She whispered breathlessly, slowly circling her way around Blaise. "Cornered in his own castle. Well done, Blaise."
Harry's eyes flashed angrily at the sound of Bellatrix's voice.
"If only it had been my dear nephew who'd done the job. What an honour that would've been..." She added. Draco immediately tensed behind me.
He was her nephew.
"Good evening, Bellatrix. I think introductions are in order, don't you?"
"Love to, Albus. But I'm afraid we're on a bit of a tight schedule." Bellatrix sighed, sounding exasperated before she lousily tipped her head towards Blaise and hissed. "Do it!"
Blaise thrusted his arm into the air and raised his wand once again. Harry raised his own higher, aiming through the grid, poised. Just then, a shadow splintered through the columns to the right of the three of us.
Snape, as quiet as a ghost, slowly approached us with a finger to his lips. "Shh..." He barely whispered, drawing his wand from his black robes, peering upward. Then, without another word, he drifted towards the stairwell.
"He doesn't have the stomach. Just like the other boy." Greyback sneered, once again making Draco tense angrily. "Let me finish him in my own way."
"No! The Dark Lord was clear. The boy's to do it." Bellatrix hissed, turning back to Blaise with even less patience. "Go on, Blaise. Now!"
Blaise rose his wand even higher, his hand trembling. The veins in Draco's hands around my waist were pulsating.
"No." Snape wordlessly drifted into view. Blaise immediately dropped his wand and took the opportunity to back away from the scene.
"Severus..." Dumbledore breathed.
"Well, look who's here. Hogwarts' own Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Come to see the slaughter?" Bellatrix joked, twirling her wand tauntingly around her curls.
"Severus... please." Dumbledore pleaded, his silvery eyes glinting through the dark.
My eyes frantically darted back and forth, from person to person, trying to make sense of the scene playing out above.
Snape lingered back and hesitated, but then his arm rose. "Avada Kedavra," The words left his mouth like a kiss. A jet of green light blasted from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest.
Dumbledore hung, suspended upon the ramparts, only for half of a second before he fell back where the night swallowed him. Thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning flooded through the dark clouds. His eyes were wide open, but no life remained in them.
An audible gasp left my mouth and Draco had to cover my mouth with his palm for the second time, making sure to muffle any screams that threatened to tear from my throat.
Bellatrix cackled. She skipped childishly to the edges of the tower and gripped the railing with one hand, raising her wand to the sky with another. Harry, who'd stepped back in shock, only just caught up with reality and let an agonising scream rip from his soul. A deafening blast shook the castle, thankfully masking Harry's cry.
The dark clouds exploded with grim light. "Yeah!" Bellatrix whooped, the clouds mutating into the form of that oh so known skull. The one known to wizard kind as a sign of death. Now, the Dark Mark sat above Hogwarts, letting Great Britain know the headmaster has fallen.
The Death Eaters began to flee from the Astronomy Tower, all laughing, while Snape's arm dropped limp to his side. "You can no longer stay here." He said, turning his sharp gaze to Blaise.
Blaise, stunned, continued to stare at the empty place where Dumbledore stood only seconds before. Offering him help. Promising to free him of his hellish situation. But then Snape reached forward and took Blaise by the scruff of the neck, forcing him through the door before following through himself.
The second they were gone, Harry scrambled up the stairs and lurched to the ramparts. Still standing unresponsive, Draco pulled me forward and kept me close as he followed. We both crept up behind Harry, peering down. Agony wrecked each of our faces, and we had to steady ourselves. Dumbledore's silhouette was hardly visible from the highest point of Hogwarts.
Then, my gaze turned to look up at the leering skull above. The one I'd only ever seen once before, back at the Quidditch World Cup of summer '94. Rage filled Harry's eyes from beside us, and before we knew it, he flung himself backwards to chase after the Death Eaters.
"Harry— Harry, wait!" I call before foolishly following, forgetting my promise to Draco.
Snape led the other Death Eaters on, his face a mask as he rounded a corner. Students in pajamas and robes began to emerge, peering at the emerald sky before turning to stare curiously at their teacher and his companions. Snape swept past wordlessly, and Blaise averted his eyes.
Bellatrix leered at a tiny first year. She leaned close and— "Boo."
Upon hearing the footsteps of approaching Death Eaters, an Auror turned, and was immediately blasted off his feet as Snape and the others passed. Bellatrix lagged behind and decided to step towards the towering doors of the Great Hall.
Bellatrix took a moment to peer upward, past the floating candles to the vaulted ceiling, which was solemn as a church. Without a word, she raised her wand and sent a fiery bolt toward the grand window opposite herself. As it exploded into tiny shards of glass, a blast of cold air swept through the room, extinguishing the candle-lit flames.
Blaise watched his childhood fall apart in mere-seconds, his eyes haunted at the sight. The blast of cold swept past his face which made him flinch. Snape turned to look back at the two. Bellatrix simply grinned like a mad child, then reached for Blaise's wrist, and dragged him on.
Filch, who was on guard, looked up, and watched as shards of glass spilled from the window like jewels. He stood transfixed as the sharp fragments lashed his face, drawing blood. He slowly drew a finger across his cheek, looking at his blood-stained finger, and simply blinked away his tears.
Harry however, raced on with Draco and I only feet behind. I stole a glance out a window and saw Snape and the others racing across a lower courtyard. The whole castle was starting to come to life as more students and teachers peered curiously into the halls, devastation all around.
Blaise slowed when he got outside and glanced upward, watching students come to the windows and peer out at the emerald sky. They looked like ghosts in their nightclothes.
"Blaise!" Bellatrix called.
Blaise turned his gaze and caught sight of myself and Draco watching him through the window. His two best friends through the years.
"Blaise!"
Blaise turned while Draco and I disappeared from sight.
"They'll kill you if you stay." Bellatrix hissed.
On the other side of the castle, Hermione and Ron pushed through the other students, who were all confused and crying. McGonagall appeared. She met Ron and Hermione's glance briefly before she continued on.
The Death Eaters began to approach Hagrid's hut, Hogwarts in the horizon. Greyback, Bellatrix, Blaise and Snape were all oblivious to Harry as he burst through the entrance doors, wand in hand.
"Damnit, Harry!" I hissed under my breath, feeling the night's cold air spike the back of my throat. The grounds shimmered eerily under the Dark Marks green glow. The simplicity of it made me blink a few tears out my eyes before continuing on.
Snape and the others raced closer to the edge of the grounds. "Hagrid, hellooo?" Bellatrix cooed, snooping around the outside of Hagrid's Hut.
"Snape!" Harry shouted. Snape pulled himself to a halt, looking over his shoulder to see Harry and the others sprinting toward him. Blaise, looking on edge, stopped to watch too. "He trusted you!
A giant fireball erupted into the night sky before Snape could react. Both he and Blaise wheeled to face where Bellatrix and the others were silhouetted against the flames. She'd set Hagrid's hut ablaze, and was now jumping up and down, hooting in front of the fire.
A horrified gasp escaped my lips. Ash floated into the air as Hagrid's hut was swallowed by the flames, the wooden planks turning black. Blaise stood paralysed, the warmth of the flame reflecting from his face.
Snape glanced over at Blaise and snapped, "Go on!"
Blaise didn't protest. He wheeled and stumbled towards the woods without a word.
Harry bolted forth with his wand in hand, vengeance his eyes. Aside from his ghost-like face, Snape's tall, black figure stood like a stoic silhouette against the raging fire. Harry pointed his wand, and fired a jet of red light. "Incarcerous!"
Snape didn't even have to budge. He merely let the jet of red light streak by his head. Harry stopped feet ahead of us, chest heaving, and his hands on his knees. Right before we could fully catch up, he recovered and took aim again.
"Cruciatus!" Harry screamed, tears in his eyes.
Snape raised his wand and parried the curse with ease.
"Incacerata!"
Once again, Snape deflected the spell.
"Impedimenta!"
Another lazy flick of the arm, another curse defeated. Harry dropped his arm in frustration, a full flood of tears now streaming down his face.
"Fight back!" Harry bellowed, his throat hoarse and his voice positively broken. "Fight back, you coward! Fight back!
With staggering quickness, Snape whipped his wand forth and Harry was off his heels and flying back through the air. He crashed to the earth only feet away from myself.
"Harry!" I gasped, about to run towards him when two pairs of strong arms wrapped me from behind. Feeling my back crash back into Draco's chest, he pulled back hard and kept me tight in his grip.
"Don't ever associate that word and my name again." Snape scowled. Harry used one knee to stagger himself up onto the ground— about to point his wand at Snape for the millionth time when—
A stream of red light sent Harry crashing back into the grass, followed by a hysterical fit of giggles. "Harry!" I gasp, lurching forward with enough force to throw myself out of Draco's grip. Bellatrix stood behind Snape, her tongue tauntingly hung out.
"No!" Snape snapped. "He belongs to the Dark Lord!"
Bellatrix eyed Snape levelly. After a brief stare off, she pouted and rolled her eyes before turning to trot off. Draco managed to catch himself up with me in mere seconds, threw his arms around my waist, and wrenched me back hard.
"Are you fucking mad?" Draco snapped when I fought against his grip, Harry still unmoving on the ground.
"Are you?" I snap back, freeing myself from his grip to turn and face him. We both stared down at each other, breathing heavily as the flame from Hagrid's hut reflected from our eyes.
"It's like you've forgotten everything you'd said to me only half an hour ago!" Draco snapped, his voice filled with fire. When he took a step closer, I scoffed and placed both of my hands on his chest, pushing him away. "The second you get your eyes on the itsiest bit of danger you go running straight towards it! It's fucking mad!"
"Don't fucking talk to me like that, Malfoy!" I snapped back, pushing him away again when he took another step closer. "Then fucking listen!" Draco bellowed, grabbing my wrists and pulling me flush against him, his face inches away from my own.
"This isn't just about you! Okay?" Draco panted, his voice still shaking with anger. "It just isn't! This is about us!"
"But—,"
"No!" Draco cut me off. "Listen to me, Y/N! You're fucking pregnant and your chasing after Harry fucking Potter and bunch of Death Eaters! Do you realise how fucking insane that is?"
Staring at Draco, I was at a loss for words. He let out a deep breath and loosened his grip on my wrist. "You can't do that to me—," He said helplessly. "That baby is a Malfoy just as much as it is a L/N. You may be carrying it, but it's still my blood running through that baby. My DNA, my genes. It's fucking mine."
"Draco..." I whisper, giving up the fight with a deep sigh. "I'm sorry..."
Draco didn't bother to respond. He just thrust his arms around me and pulled me tight into his chest. I accepted the embrace without protest, feeling the heat of his breath pant along the inside of my neck.
"I just want to keep you guys safe..." He whispered softly in my ear. "I know..." I murmur against his clavicles, running a hand through his fluffed white-blond hair.
"Sectumsempra!" Split through the air, and Draco pulled back at once. Especially when it was Harry's voice. We both turned on queue to see Harry flying onto his back. Draco clutched me tighter into his arms, both watching as Snape slowly walked up the hill to where Harry stared at the barely visible stars.
"You dare use my own spells against me, Potter?" Snape asked. Harry went completely still. His eyes shifted and met Snape's dark, bottomless ones.
"You may have gotten your mother's eyes, but you're as dim as your father." Snape scoffed when everyone lifted their heads in realisation. "Yes. I'm the Half-Blood Prince."
He looked down to Harry one last time and kicked his wand aside before he turned, joining Blaise and the other Death Eaters where they'd ran beyond the flaming ruins of Hagrid's Hut.
The faint silhouettes headed for the darkness of the treeline, and without a sound, they all vanished. Harry pounded his fist into the ground, groaning and screaming through his teeth in a mixture of pain and frustration. But then, he suddenly stopped.
"Hagrid..." Harry whispered under his breath, craning his neck to look at Hagrid's burning hut. "HAGRID!"
With the Death Eaters out of sight, Draco loosened his grip around me and moved his hand to link with mine. Harry raced toward the hut, Draco letting us follow him down.
Half-way down the grassy slope, the door flew off its hinges. Seconds later, Hagrid stumbled out, his crazed beard smoking.
"Hagrid! You alright?" Harry asked, sounding panicked.
"Take more'n tha' ter finish me off." Hagrid reassured him, carrying Fang in his large arms. When he was a safe distance from his hut, he swivelled to get a good look at the flames that consumed it. "Not sure about me 'ouse, tho'. But if anybody can put it righ', Dumbledore can."
"Hagrid..." I murmured softly, both of my arms crossed around my chest when we came up beside him. Draco averted his gaze and kept his lips shut in a thin, sealed line.
"Hagrid, Dumbledore—," Harry started but Hagrid cut him off.
"Only thing I can't reckon is wha' Snape was doin' with tha' lot." Hagrid sounded puzzled before he turned, seeing the huge throng of students and staff assembled outside of the castle. "An' wha's this wi' the Dark Mar'?" He said, looking to the sky. "Who's been killed?"
Hagrid suddenly stopped as the cold realization hit him.
"Where's Dumbledore, 'arry?" Hagrid asked, looking crazed as he turned to us. "Where's Dumbledore!!"
Harry tried to speak, but every word he tried to utter ended up making him mute. Hagrid went still.
There was one thing I knew for sure as the Dark Mark set reign upon Hogwarts. The lot of us were doomed.
(A/N: June 5th again? wow okay, swear I remember writing this same authors note last year. well, here's another very happy birthday to draco malfoy, loving you apparently never gets boring <3 05/06/22)