It was in Snape's office.
Ginny had come sprinting up to me in the hallway, frantically whispering.
It was in Snape's office.
There was no way we could leave it there. It was rightfully Harry's. Dumbledore had left it to Harry in his will.
It was in Snape's bloody office.
"So, how exactly do we plan to steal the sword of Gryffindor? From Dumbledore's office? That's now Snape's office? The same Snape that killed Dumbledore and would probably kill each of us for sport?" Neville asked, his voice raising an octave at each question.
Luna, Neville, Ginny and I had snuck out of our common rooms at 4 in the morning, tiptoed to the empty Transfiguration classroom, and were huddled in a corner discussing strategy.
"I-I don't know. I just know that we have to." Ginny said, determined.
"And how exactly are we going to get it to Harry? Don't think I'm disagreeing with you, Ginny. Just for...clarity." Luna whispered, her wide eyes blinking slowly.
"I don't know that either." Ginny admitted, looking at her fingernails.
We all sat, counting the ticks of the clock. It had seemed like a good idea, when we said it in the calm evening sun. Break into the office, steal the sword, get out quickly. Send it to Harry, he can use it if he needs it. Stab You-Know-Who or something poetic. War wone. Celebration. Everyone's happy.
In the early hours of the morning, the plan was not so easy.
"What if we...we try to distract Snape? Draw him out of the office?" I offered, and Ginny shook her head.
"Too risky. We have the Carrows, still." She said, lowly.
"What if we would...go in while he was sleeping? Like at this time?" I asked again, and Ginny shook her head once more.
"The wards in the office would wake him up. We'd be caught before we could even reach the desk." She said, angrily.
Another long pause filled the room. Suddenly, a plan was forming in my head. It was risky, sure. It was much better than anything we could come up with, though.
"No, Ginny, you're wrong. A distraction would work...it just has to be big enough to distract Snape and the Carrows. It has to be big enough to distract everyone." I said, slowly. I clicked my tongue against my teeth and looking down.
"Whatever you're thinking, Lizzie, the answer is no." Neville said, his voice strong. This was the first time I had heard Neville have some sort of resolution in his voice.
"Always the brave Gryffindor, Longbottom. Unfortunately, you underestimate my ambition." I whispered, a wicked grin pulling at my lips. My heart was stuttering out of rhythm, but my face didn't give it away. I turned back to Ginny.
"I'm going to raise hell, regardless. I suggest you use it to your advantage, so that whatever I do isn't in vain." I said, earnestly. I grabbed Ginny's wrist tightly as she studied my expression. Finally, she sighed.
"There's no talking you out of this, is there?" She asked. I shook my head rapidly.
"Fine. At breakfast. What will be the signal?" She asked, looking at me. I looked around the group and thought.
"I'll stumble. I'll drop all of my books in the Great Hall. That'll let you know that my distraction is coming, and to be ready to go." I said after a long moment. All three of them nodded. Ginny sighed audibly.
"Please, please don't get yourself hurt." Ginny almost begged, leaning closer to me.
"I'll do my best. C'mon. Let's get some sleep before this morning." I whispered, and we all stood up. Carefully, we all walked to the staircase and paused. I was going down, and they were going up. There was a silent, unspoken word between all of us.
"See you guys at 8." Neville said, awkwardly. We all hummed in agreement, and parted for our common rooms. I entered the common room, feeling quite unable to sleep. I sighed and turned toward the stairs, when a quiet voice rang out from behind me.
"Should be a detention, you know." I jumped as Draco's husky whisper reached my ears.
I didn't say anything as I turned, eyeing him warily. He was sitting on the couch nearest the fire, clad in joggers and a long sleeve tee shirt. I had never seen him in clothes that were not neatly pressed, or school robes. He looked absolutely edible, but I swallowed hard.
"Where were you?" He asked quietly, his eyes never leaving the fire. I cleared my throat.
"Taking a walk. Getting some air." I said, quietly.
"Liar." He said, tearing his eyes from the fire and looking at me. I blinked quickly.
"Why are you awake then?" I demanded, trying desperately to shift the attention off of me. Draco scoffed, sitting upright.
"Waiting for you. I'm Head Boy, it's my job to know where students are." He scoffed. Suddenly, he winced and sucked in a breath between his teeth. I saw his hand float absentmindedly over to his left arm.
"It's hurting, isn't it?" I asked, leaning up against a chair near the door. Draco looked at me suspiciously.
"Your...Mark. It hurts." I said, pointing to his arm. He pulled his hand away from it and clasped his hands together. Finally, he nodded so slightly I thought I imagined it.
"Good. I'm glad." I said, jutting my chin up.
"I bet you are. Go back to bed, Clarke. Before I actually do give you detention." Draco warned, his voice icy. I walked toward the stairs without another word.
Once I was in bed, sleep evaded me. I lay awake for hours, watching as the room became lighter and lighter with the rising sun. I had no idea what I was going to do to cause chaos, but I was afraid. The Carrows were not the people you wanted to purposefully piss off.
----------------------------------------------
Walking into the Great Hall, I was a mess of nerves. I still hadn't decided what it was that I was going to do, but it had to be big and it had to be grand. I was determined to give Neville, Ginny and Luna as much time as humanly possible to get the sword out of Snape's office undetected.
As I was walking along side the Gryffindor table, I noticed Neville watching me from the corner of his eye. He, Ginny and Luna were strategically placed so that they were no less than 2 meters from the door. I knew it was time. I tripped, dropping one of my textbooks on the ground and cursing.
"You alright?" Blaise asked, looking over his shoulder. I stood up, gathering my books and placing them on a table.
"Fine. Ugh, grits again? This is disgusting!" I said, turning to look at the head table. Snape was there, speaking carefully to Amycus. I took a deep breath, trying to control my pulse, and marched toward the head table.
"What are you doing?" I heard Draco hiss as I passed him, but I made no indication that I heard him. Snape watched me approach the table with a calculated, cold stare.
"This breakfast is disgusting." I said, trying not to show my fear.
"Miss Clarke. Take a seat, if you please." He said, evenly. Amycus watched from behind him. I took a deep breath to steady myself, and continued.
"No. The breakfast is shit. All the food is shit in this joke of a school." I said, loudly. Suddenly, the whispers died down into silence. I got the pressing feeling that everyone was watching me.
"Miss Clarke, I don't know why you suddenly believe that you are above anyone here, but I suggest you hold your tongue and stop acting like a spoiled, good for nothing." Snape sneered through his teeth.
Here goes nothing. It was now or never. Time to up the ante.
"Oh, I don't think I'm above anyone, Professor. I am just here to remind you that you and your pets over here can't run a fucking organization if you had a bloody manual sitting under your big nose!" I yelled, and grabbed his plate. Before I had the chance to stop myself, I had thrown the plate halfway across the room, watching as it shattered.
Dear Merlin, if you're listening, I hope they got out and into Snape's office by now. I'm about to be murdered on spot. Yours truly, Elizabeth V. Clarke
I felt a hand come down on the back of my neck, tightly. Nails pierced through my skin, causing blood to shoot to the surface.
"Amycus. Alecto. Perhaps a morning in detention may calm Miss Clarke down." Snape said, casually. He had risen out of his seat, looking down at me. Suddenly, he smiled evilly.
"I have some business to tend to in my office. See to it that she...learns." Snape said, coldly. My blood went icy. It wasn't enough time. Ginny, Neville and Luna hadn't had nearly enough time to get the sword. Snape was going, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. I hung my head.
"C'mon, girly. Let's go have a chat, shall we?" Alecto hissed in my ear, steering me toward the door. As I passed the Slytherin table, Draco jumped up.
"I'll help." he said, gruffly.
"Hardly need you, Draco-"
"I said, I'll help. Got a personal vendetta against this one." Draco said, lowly. I heard Amycus laugh evilly as we passed through the doors. Alecto lead me behind the staircase, to an office with the name "A. Carrow" on the door. She flung the door open and shoved me down, causing me to land painfully on my hands and knees.
"Now, Miss Clarke, class is in session." Alecto smiled, walking slowly over to her desk. She reached in a drawer and grinned in triumph as she pulled out a shiny, sleek blade. My heart almost stopped in my chest.
"Tell me. Why on Earth would a child such as yourself be so disrespectful to your beloved headmaster, hmm?" Alecto asked, circling around her desk.
"The food was bad." I answered, fighting to keep my teeth from chattering in fear.
"Food was bad, eh? I don't believe that. Do you, Amycus?" She asked, looking over my head. Her brother tutted behind me.
"Not a bit, Lec. Maybe you out to loosen her tongue." He offered.
Suddenly, Alecto was kneeling beside me. She grabbed my chin in her bony fingers, roughly tilting my head up to meet her eyes.
"Pin her, Amycus." She said, and I heard Amycus mutter a spell. As if I was being squeezed by a thousand pythons, I couldn't move. It was all I could to keep my chest expanding and contracting.
"Now, I'll ask again, Miss Clarke. Why did you feel the need to be disruptive?" She asked, pressing the sharp tip of the blade to my cheek. A quick flash of pain overcame me as I felt the warm trickle of blood roll down my cheek. Suddenly, she flicked her wrist quickly, and a sharp gash marred my face. I sucked in a breath through my nose, unable to groan in pain. My cheek felt white hot.
"Oh, no! What happened to that pretty little face? Does it hurt, Miss Clarke? Oh, that's right...you can't even speak." Alecto laughed, her face pulling into a mean snarl. "Let her go, Amycus, I wanna hear this one scream."
Suddenly, the invisible binds that were holding me fell. I felt my voice come back to me in a rush, and I dropped forward onto my hands. A low, pained moan ripped its way through my vocal cords and out of my lips. I sucked in another breath and fought a second groan of pain that threatened to escape me.
"What's on your mind, pretty one? Malfoy, pick it apart." Alecto demanded, and a vague sense of confusion washed over me. Draco? They were going to make Draco interrogate me?
The pain was white hot. I suddenly felt like spikes were being driven into my head. I could feel his presence as Draco slipped effortlessly into my mind. Almost as if I were watching a movie with him, my thoughts came to the forefront.
He saw my discussion with Ginny, Neville and Luna. He heard our plan, he knew that they were after the sword of Gryffindor. He could see that I was the distraction, and he felt my terror when I was taken away by the Carrows.
Still, Draco dug deeper. He was looking for something specific.
I broke into a cold sweat, and vaguely I could hear a ringing. No, it was a screaming, and it was coming from me.
Our first kiss. Draco was reliving that. He felt the flutter in my chest as he pinned me against the wall. He felt the feeling of his lips on mine. He heard my inner thoughts, of how I would never forget that moment.
The night I lost my virginity. Draco looked at himself, who was staring at me. I could feel the wonder emitting from him at the thoughts I had during sex. I felt Draco wince as he experienced the burn I had felt. He glowed as he felt the love I had felt. I wished so badly to shove him out of my head.
The night of Dumbledore's death. He watched himself running away, and felt the white hot fury of me chasing him. He could feel the conflict I had in me, the anger toward him and the hatred that I still loved him with everything inside of me. I loved him more than anything. More than air, more than sunlight, more than my own fucking self.
He felt it all.
The loneliness over the summer, how I had dyed my hair and picked up a bad alcohol addiction just to forget the feeling of his lips on my neck-
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I heard myself scream, as if it were years away. Like a rubber band snapping, Draco pulled back from my brain. For a moment, the absence of his presence in my mind was so relieving that I wanted to shake.
"And?" Alecto prompted, and I pulled my eyes open. Through tears, I saw Draco looking down at me. His face was a mixture of agony and regret as he stared at me.
"Nothing. Just a stupid bitch trying to act tough for her friends." He answered finally, and I wanted to cry. He had kept my secret. He didn't rat out Ginny. He wouldn't get them hurt.
"Pity. I was hoping for something...poetic. Now, what next? The other cheek, to match? Or should we go for the throat?" Alecto asked, circling me like a predator with its prey.
"No." Draco's voice said lowly. Alecto looked up at him, disgust written on her face.
"No? No, Malfoy? Is that your call?" Amycus asked, angrily.
"No, it's Snape's. No physical injury to a Slytherin more than once weekly. I'll take her back to the common room and make her scrub toilets until her fingers bleed. The Dark Lord doesn't want to create tension among the Slytherin house." Draco explained, his voice both calm and urgent.
Alecto paused for a long moment, as I pressed my hand painfully to my cheek. I knew I needed to stop the surprisingly large amount of blood that was seeping from behind my fingers. Head wounds bleed more, but damn this would be easier if I could heal it with magic.
"Fine. Get her out of my fucking office." Alecto snapped. Before I could look up, rough hands were seizing me under my arms and hauling me to my feet.
"Come on." Draco said, speaking through his teeth. A quick glance let me see that his face was full of anger as he narrowed his eyes at me. He was yanking me out the door quickly, hardly letting my feet move. As soon as we were far enough away, he spun me around and pressed me up against the stone wall.
When he looked at me again, his expression was softer. He was no longer angry. His face was pulled into a look of...concern? No, it couldn't be. There was no way.
"Let me see." He said. His voice didn't give away any emotion, but his eyes were speaking on their own. They searched my face as he wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled my hand from my injured cheek. A warm gush of blood followed quickly as the pressure was taken away.
"I can see bone. Fucking hell, Clarke, you're so stupid." He said, tilting his head and leaning closer. I wasn't sure if it was the blood loss or his stupid cologne-and-smoke smell, but I was feeling dizzy. His cool breath washed over my face with ever syllable he spoke. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and pressed the tip to the edge of the cut. The pain was blinding and I instantly tried to pull away, but Draco growled a "No," through his teeth and latched his hand to the back of my head. He held me still as he traced the laceration with his wand, muttering healing spells.
"Draco, I'm dizzy." I said, not liking the feeling that was overcoming me. I felt like his voice was kilometers away, and like I was about to fall into a deep sleep.
"Don't fucking faint on me, Clarke." he warned. Without warning, I felt my legs be knocked out from underneath me. I thought I was falling, but falling was hard and strong. I dragged my eyes open and looked up. Draco's was looking down at me, and I was situated in his arms. My head was leaning against his broad shoulder.
"I can walk." I mumbled, hardly believing myself.
"Shut up, Clarke." He said, starting his descent down the stairs.
"Seriously, Draco. You can't carry-
"Elizabeth. I'm stronger than you are giving me credit for. Just stop fucking talking and close your eyes or something." He said, looking down at me nervously. Immediately, my eyes fell shut.
"'S my cheek better?" I asked, my voice coming out slow.
"Yes, it's better. Seriously, stop talking." He said, and I closed my mouth. I tried to focus on the feeling of consciousness as I felt myself being rocked every step he took.
"You with me, Clarke?" Draco asked, after a few silent minutes.
"Yep." I responded, dragging my eyes open again. My eyes met Draco's, which were hard but very concerned.
"We're here. I'm gonna...put you down on the couch." He said, lowering me down. Suddenly, my body hit pillows and I sighed with relief.
"Which toilets do I start with?" I asked, trying to sit up. Draco's firm hand on my shoulder pushed me back down.
"I just said that so Alecto didn't turn you into ribbons. One cut went down to the bone, imagine 10 of those." he said, and I grimaced automatically. My one cut hurt enough.
"Well...thanks." I mumbled, awkwardly.
"You're a bloody fool." Draco said, collapsing into a nearby chair.
"You would know, hmm? Did you enjoy skipping through my fucking memories?" I demanded, seething. Draco refused to meet my eyes.
"You need to learn to control that. Keep me out." He said softly.
"Fuck you, Malfoy. I hope it fucking hurt, seeing how badly I hate you." I said, coldly. Draco looked at the sleeve of his sweater for a long time, refusing to answer. Finally, he shook his head.
"It was fun, actually. Seeing you act like a bloody 15 year old school girl over me." he said, smirking. My body was numb with anger.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled, stomping away.
"It's better this way, Clarke. For you to hate me. Believe me, it's better." Draco called as I stomped toward the stairs. If I had even half a brain cell, I would turn around and hex him until he was bleeding out of his belly button.
I couldn't though. I wanted to kill him almost as badly as I wanted to be his again.
And I couldn't figure out what side of the razor blade I'm dancing on.
a/n: So sorry for the long wait. It's currently November 9, 2020, and in 2 weeks I'll be graduating Uni. It's exam time, so it's pretty busy! Hope you like this chapter! -J