Eve
Lucius wrote back to Draco that same night, telling him that the other Death Eaters would be entering the castle two nights from then.
I'd like to say that I held myself together perfectly the morning before it was going to happen, but I would be lying. Draco and I were walking alone through the empty school grounds when I vomited up what little I'd eaten for breakfast.
Draco held my hair back as I retched into the grass, my chest heaving and my lungs feeling as though they were about to be coughed up onto the ground. "It's okay," he told me quietly when I tried to apologize with my hands still resting on my knees, my skin pale and a sheen of sweat covering my face. "Don't be embarrassed, Eve, it's just me."
He helped me straighten back up and I hastily wiped the back of my hand across my mouth, hating that he had to see me like this. But Draco didn't even seem to mind as he brushed the strands of hair away from my sticky forehead, and he looked me over carefully with his hands warm against my shoulders. My hands were shaking badly and it was like my entire body was trembling, but Draco was pretending not to notice—for which I was very grateful.
"Sorry," I repeated, swallowing hard and not allowing him to interrupt again to say that I didn't need to be sorry. "I'm just—I'm...yeah."
He seemed to know exactly what I meant. Draco squeezed my shoulders and admitted, "It's alright. I didn't sleep at all last night, I was so nervous."
Nervous probably didn't even begin to describe the way we were both feeling right now. My skin felt hot and cold all at once, and my chest was so tight that I could barely breathe. I hadn't slept much last night either; I'd tossed and turned for hours before finally giving up, rolling out of bed and then pacing quietly on my side of the dormitory until the sun rose. All I could think about was what was going to happen tonight, but the worst part was that I didn't know what was going to happen. Draco had told me what the plan was, but with the Death Eaters coming into the castle, there was a good chance that people were going to get hurt—and that scared me more than anything.
"Do you feel okay now?" Draco asked worriedly, still looking at me seriously like he thought I was going to be sick again.
"Yeah," I replied quietly, my voice scratchy against my throat. I reached for his hand and he grabbed it immediately, like he needed the pressure of my palm against his just as much as I did. "Can we stay outside for a bit? I don't want to go back in yet."
He nodded, and it was clear he knew exactly what I was thinking. Going back into the castle meant possibly seeing Dumbledore, and just the thought of being face to face with the headmaster while knowing what we had to do tonight was enough to make my stomach turn in on itself.
So we stayed outside for the rest of the afternoon, but more people began to leave the castle when the sun came out and we both just wanted to be alone. Draco and I went back into the castle and stayed inside the common room for a long time, sitting in the corner away from any other Slytherins. We waited as long as we possibly could, but eventually the sun started to sink towards the trees and we knew it was time.
There was still a group of fifth years sitting near the fireplace, so Draco and I stood without a word and exited the common room together. Nervous adrenaline was already burning underneath my skin as the portrait door shut behind us, my fingers pinching the lump of my wand inside my pants pocket. Draco held my hand tighter than he ever had before as we started for the stairs, the dull evening light leaking through the windows around us. It was late now and most people were probably finishing up dinner, but we knew the Death Eaters would be coming through the cabinet any time now.
"Doing okay?" Draco asked me, but his own voice shook and he refused to look me in the eye as we walked hurriedly through the hallways toward the Astronomy tower.
I licked my lips and turned my face to the left when a small group of girls emerged from the hallway on my right, but they were heading in the opposite direction and their laughter quickly faded away. My voice came out much stronger than I felt as I lied, "Yeah. I'm alright."
I was far from alright, but the last thing I wanted was for Draco to worry about me.
Neither of us said anything more as we made our way to the Astronomy tower. My head was spinning as I realized it was really happening; the night I'd been dreading for months now was finally here. I glanced at Draco out of the corner of my eye, but his expression was carefully blank and his lips were pressed together so tightly that his jaw line jutted out. Forcing my legs to keep walking, I squared my jaw and told myself to keep it together.
Draco took out his wand the moment the entrance to the staircase appeared, and I automatically followed suit, my hand clutching the smooth wood so tightly that my palm hurt. The Death Eaters had to be inside the castle by now—it was nearly dark outside.
The castle had been almost silent, but as soon as we were starting for the stairs, a number of hurried footsteps could be heard heading our way. Draco froze and I grabbed his arm as a reflex, asking in a rushed voice, "Is that them?"
"No, it can't be," he told me, his eyes wide as he watched the empty hallway for the approaching group of people. "It's too soon—he must've been tipped off, that has to be the Order—"
I didn't have time to ask what the Order was, because Draco was pulling me away from the staircase and gripping my shoulders tightly. "The others will be here soon to back you up, okay? They're probably right behind them, I've got to go upstairs—"
"I know, I'll hold them off until they get here—" I said quickly, starting to push Draco towards the stairs. My body was shaking from the adrenaline and fear of being separated from him, but this had been the plan anyway—I just had no idea who was going to be rounding that corner into this hallway. "Go, I've got it. I'll put up a barricade and then come up to you—but you've got to wait for me."
He knew exactly what I meant—I wasn't going to let him be alone when we killed Dumbledore. I was going to be the one to do it, if it came down to it. Draco didn't have time to protest; the footsteps were closer, and whoever it was would be entering the hallway any second now. His eyes were wide with fear, but he gave my hand one last squeeze as he turned for the stairs. The last thing he said to me was, "Stay safe. Please."
Then I could hear the footsteps and rushed voices behind me, and I turned away from Draco as he sprinted up the steps, my shoulders pushed back and my wand held tight in my hand.
Nothing could have prepared me to see Ginny and Neville running down the hallway towards me.
They were with two other men that I didn't recognize, but my heart sunk into the soles of my shoes as I realized all four of them had their wands out. The fear was clouding my vision and making it difficult to focus my gaze on the approaching people, but I kept my face carefully blank as I stood in front of the staircase to the Astronomy tower.
"Eve?"
It was Ginny, her face twisted in confusion as the four people began to slow when they got closer to me. My heart was pounding against the inside of my chest, but my voice sounded clear and strong as I said, "Don't come any closer."
The look on Neville's face made my knees nearly buckle. "What are you doing? Eve, we need to get by—"
"Just let us past," the man to Neville's right interrupted in annoyance, starting towards me. "We don't have much time, get out of our way."
My wand was up before I could allow myself to back away from him. "Please don't. I can't let you go up there."
Ginny's face paled and she raised her wand slightly, as though she suddenly knew exactly what was going on. Then the man was starting towards me again, and I realized I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let anyone past me.
I slashed my wand upwards and the jet of red light shot towards the man, catching him under his right arm just as he was beginning to lift his wand higher. He was blasted away from me, but I didn't have time to feel guilty—the second man had shouted some curse and I was producing a shield charm before I could even think, the spell ricocheting away from me and exploding against the stone wall to our left. As Neville ducked to avoid the concrete shards, I could see out of the corner of my eye that Ginny and the second man were both firing separate spells straight for me. The force of the combined jets of light was difficult to block and I stumbled backwards, nearly losing my footing as I attempted to send another curse in their direction.
The orange ball of light vanished down the hallway as Ginny quickly stepped to the side, and the look of complete betrayal on her face was enough to make me freeze, my wand still hanging suspended in the air. I had just lowered my wand half an inch when Neville's curse caught my shoulder, my feet leaving the ground as my body spun painfully to the right. I hit the floor hard, the left side of my forehead striking the stone and my face only missing the sharp edge of the first stair by centimeters. I'd just managed to roll onto one shoulder when I saw that Neville and the second man were sprinting for the stairs, and the breath caught in my throat as I realized they were about to get past me up to Draco.
"Impedimenta!" I shouted, blindly praying that the curse would hit the second man and prevent him from reaching the stairs. But the red light missed the man completely and slammed into Neville instead, sending him flying away from the entrance to the Astronomy tower.
I didn't even have time to think—the man was trying to step over my body towards the staircase, but I grabbed his pant leg and tugged so hard that he fell forward. I was tangled in his legs as he struggled to kick me, the heel of his boot narrowly missing my jaw.
He was just starting to get to his feet—and I was just starting to realize there was no way I could possibly hold all four of them back—when a jet of red light slammed into the man standing over me, sending him tumbling away from the staircase. My head snapped to the left as I struggled to stand, seeing a group of Death Eaters dressed in black starting down the hallway towards us. I couldn't decide if I was relieved or terrified to see them, but my heart definitely jumped into my throat when Ginny just barely ducked in time to avoid the ball of flame Amycus Carrow had sent.
The hallway was now a crowded mass of confusion, because the Death Eaters weren't alone—other members of the Order must have come too, and spells were being fired so continuously that my head was spinning. Neville, Ginny, and the other man had now completely forgotten about me, turning away from the staircase to defend themselves from the Death Eaters. I scrambled to my feet in an instant and automatically started for the stairs, shielding my face from flying glass shards as a deflected curse hit a nearby window.
I pressed myself against the wall halfway up the steps, hastily producing the large shield charm that would serve as a barrier across the entrance to the staircase. Draco had told me that it probably wouldn't hold for long, but anything would help right now. I never thought this many people would have shown up to defend Dumbledore—least of all Ginny and Neville, and my gut was still twisting inside me because of what had just happened.
But I couldn't feel guilty over it now; the barrier was up, and I needed to get upstairs to Draco. My heart pounding painfully against my ribs, I turned away from the fighting in the hallway below and ran up the steps as quickly as I could.
~*~
Draco
"Are you alone?"
I'd meant for my voice to come out strong and emotionless, but it still wavered slightly. My wand was pointing straight at Dumbledore as he slouched somewhat painfully against the railing near the edge of the Astronomy tower, and I was doing everything I could to hide that fact that my entire body was shaking.
I'd never been so terrified in my life.
"Yes, Draco, I'm quite alone," Dumbledore told me. "But forgive me, I'm still a little fuzzy on the details as to how you managed to get Death Eaters into the castle."
"The Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement," I said shortly, tightening my grip on the wand. "It's got a twin. At Borgin and Burkes."
"Fascinating," the headmaster replied, and he nodded as though this was very impressive. It was getting difficult to keep his image straight in front of me, because my head was spinning so badly that I could barely see. I wanted nothing more than to get this over with, but my body was suddenly frozen and I was close to panicking—now that I was finally here, it was becoming more and more evident that there was no way I could actually do this.
"But tell me, it seems unlikely that you were able to do all this on your own," Dumbledore continued. "I realize now that you were responsible for what happened to Katie Bell, but you must have had an accomplice. One person couldn't possibly have done all of that on their own."
He didn't miss the way I automatically tensed up, and my expression probably betrayed exactly what I was thinking. I watched as his face relaxed in understanding, and his voice was soft as he said, "Of course. Evelyn's been helping you, hasn't she? Was it by Voldemort's orders or your own?"
"The Dark Lord's, obviously, do you really think I'd force her to—?" I broke off, breathing heavily and trying to control myself. Dumbledore's tone wasn't patronizing, but the fact that he viewed me as someone who would drag Eve into this on purpose made me furious.
There were suddenly muffled shouts and bangs coming from below, and I automatically froze and twisted to glance at the door. My heart was pounding in my throat and making it difficult to breathe—I had to get back downstairs.
"Is she down there?" Dumbledore asked. "Helping to hold off the Order from coming upstairs?"
"Yeah," I replied sharply, anger disguising my fear well. Tightening my grip on my wand, I pressed my lips together and tried to get my breathing back under control. I needed to just do it, I had to do it now—
Dumbledore was watching me carefully, his feet sliding out slightly from under him as though something was weakening him by the second. His voice was quiet and strained as he said, "You aren't a killer, Draco."
"How would you know?" I snapped angrily. "He gave this task to us, what makes you think—?"
"We've been alone for a while now. You could have killed me the second you got here."
I was opening my mouth to retort when muffled thumps could be heard against the door farther inside the tower, and my stomach turned over. Eve was trying to get inside; I was supposed to have done it by now—
"Why did you lock the door?" Dumbledore asked, easily reading my expression. "I thought Evelyn was supposed to assist you in killing me."
"I—I didn't want her to see," I confessed, and it was then that my voice wavered and betrayed how scared I was. "I used Dark Magic so she wouldn't be able to unlock the door. I'm going to be the one to do it, not her."
Dumbledore was quiet for a moment, the far-off sounds of the fighting getting louder by the second. As though I needed to distract myself, I shakily forced out, "I've got to do this. You know that, right? I've got to kill you, or he's going to kill Eve and my entire family."
"But you don't have to," he told me urgently, continuing before I could interrupt him. "We could hide you, more extensively than you ever could have imagined. Voldemort wouldn't be surprised to hear that you and Evelyn died tonight—in fact, he probably expects it. We could hide your family and he would never even look for you."
I was shaking now, and I was sure Dumbledore could see how scared I was. My head was pounding and I didn't even know what to think anymore, the idea of not killing the headmaster sounding like the best thing I'd heard in weeks. Dumbledore's voice was soft as he continued, "We could protect her, Draco. Voldemort would never be able to find her again."
My wand had just lowered by a fraction of an inch when the door behind us was suddenly blasted open, and I whirled around to see Snape striding into the tower. Eve was right behind him, and my knees nearly turned to water at the sight of her; there was blood running down the side of her face from a cut on her forehead, a layer of dirt and dust covering her clothes.
There was a small group of Death Eaters entering the tower then, and Fenrir Greyback pushed past Eve so roughly that the anger flared up hot in my chest. Snape was pushing me out of the way and I stumbled backwards, losing sight of Dumbledore as the Death Eaters gathered around him. Eve grabbed my arm to keep me from falling, and as Amycus jeered an insult at the headmaster, I asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"
Eve nodded quickly, looking me over as though she needed to make sure I hadn't been hurt. Her grip was tight on my arm as I turned to see Dumbledore was saying something to Snape, and it took me a second to realize that he was pleading with him.
Then Snape was raising his wand, and his voice was cold as he hissed, "Avada Kedavra."
I watched in horror as Dumbledore's body tilted backwards over the railing, the light in his blue eyes fading as the life left him. Eve's sharp inhale of breath could be heard close behind me, but I was completely frozen as Dumbledore tumbled away from the tower, disappearing into the night air.
Everything happened at once: the Death Eaters were already starting back for the door, and Snape was telling me we needed to leave immediately, roughly pushing us towards the exit. Eve's hand was clasped over her mouth to hide how terrified she was, but I gripped her free hand tight as I numbly led her towards the stairs after the rest of the Death Eaters.
We hurried back down the steps, the entire world spinning around me. I felt like vomiting as we passed the destruction in the hallway below, the Death Eaters firing curses at any members of the Order still nearby. Eve cried out when she stumbled past Longbottom's stunned body, but none of the others seemed to hear her. I whispered to her that we had to keep moving, tugging her away from Longbottom when she started to turn to him.
We were on the school grounds then, the blackness of the night pressing against us as we hurried towards the gates to Disapparate. My skin turned cold when I looked to the left and saw Bellatrix sending Hagrid's hut alight with fire, pulling Eve close to me as we walked quickly across the grass.
Eve stumbled suddenly and nearly fell when a spell raced past her head, and I caught her shoulders to keep her upright. I turned furiously to see that Potter was racing down the hill after us, his wand slashing upwards to send another curse at us.
I blocked it easily, pushing Eve behind me as I lifted my own wand to send a spell his way. I could see the fury in Potter's eyes as he looked between the two of us, like he wanted nothing more than to curse us both for what had just happened. But Snape was pushing me out of the way before I could fire a spell at Potter, making me stumble backwards. "Get out of here, Malfoy. Leave."
So I grabbed Eve and turned back for the gates, holding her close to me and practically running through the grass. I could hear Potter screaming at Snape behind me, and my chest twisted with the guilt for what had happened to Dumbledore - and for what I had almost done to him.
But then we were beyond the gates and I was spinning with Eve to Disapparate, leaving the castle and the sounds of the fighting behind with a loud crack.