Nic shook as she neared the castle, spotting the Dark Mark in the sky. Shaking her head, she apparated onto the Astronomy Tower. Harry and Dumbledore stood there all ready. "Dumbledore!" Nic cried, rushing towards him and helping Harry support him.
"Go and wake Severus," Dumbledore ordered, looking at Harry. "Tell him what has happened and bring him to me. Do nothing else, speak to no one else, and Harry leave your cloak on. I shall wait here with Nicole."
"But-"
"You swore to obey me, Harry - go!" Pounding footsteps reached their ears before Dumbledore shot a spell at Harry, keeping him in place. "You know what needs to happen," Dumbledore whispered. The door burst open and Draco instantly disarmed Dumbledore while Tyriq disarmed Nic. "Good evening, Draco," Dumbledore said. "Tyriq."
"Who else is here?" Draco demanded.
"A question I might ask you," Dumbledore replied. "Or are the two of you acting alone?"
"No," Malfoy said. "I've got backup. There are Death Eaters in your school tonight."
Nic paled while Dumbledore replied, "Well, well, very good indeed. You found a way to let them in, did you?"
"Yeah," Draco replied, almost breathlessly. "Right under your nose and you never realized." Turning to Nic, he scoffed, "You still think I can be saved?"
"Yeah," Nic admitted quietly.
Ignoring this, the headmaster remarked, "Ingenious, yet...forgive me, where are they now? You seem unsupported."
"They met some of your guards," Tyriq explained quietly. "They're having a fight down below. They won't be long...we came on ahead."
"I-I've got a job to do," Draco finished.
"Well then, you must get on and do it, my dear boy," Dumbledore replied. Nic shook as he resumed, "Draco, Draco, you are not a killer."
"How do you know?" Malfoy snapped instantly. "You don't know what I'm capable of!"
"Oh yes I do," Dumbledore countered. "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...So feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has really be in it."
"It has been in it!" Draco yelled as Nic desperately avoided eye contact with Tyriq. "I've been working on it all year, and tonight-" He was cut off by a strangled scream. Nic paled in fear.
"Somebody is putting up a good fight," Dumbledore said calmly. "But you were saying...yes, you have managed to introduce Death Eaters into my school, which, I admit, I thought impossible...How did you do it?"
When he made no answer, Nic said gently, "Draco, you don't have to do this."
"Yes I do!" he screamed, pointing his wand at her.
"Draco-" she began in the same soft, almost pitying voice.
"Shut up!" he shouted, taking a step forward. "Tyriq, handle her!"
"Handle?" Tyriq repeated, raising his eyebrows.
"Just, shut her up," he clarified. Nic stepped shakily away from Dumbledore, finally looking her boyfriend in the eye. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was scared. Scared for Dumbledore, scared for Harry if he was discovered, scared for what Tyriq might be forced to do. Her eyes reflected the green of the Dark Mark in the sky as they filled with tears. She was shaking as she faced him.
"I got the idea of poisoning the mead from the Mudblood Granger as well," Draco was saying as Tyriq stared at Nic. "I heard her talking in the library about Filch not recognizing potions."
"Please do not use that offensive work in front of me," Dumbledore replied.
Malfoy let out a harsh laugh, scoffing, "You care about me saying 'Mudblood' when I'm about to kill you."
"Yes, I do," Dumbledore replied.
"You won't kill him," Nic said, finally looking away from Tyriq and turning to Draco. "There is good in you, Draco. You don't have it in you for this."
"I told you to shut her up!" Draco shouted, his own eyes filling with tears.
"Is that really smart?" Tyriq countered, looking at her fearfully.
"What? You suddenly go soft?" Draco scoffed.
"Ty," Nic whispered shakily. "Do what you have to do."
"Nic-" he began softly. Her heart felt like it was being torn in pieces as she looked at her boyfriend, the man she loved, with the Dark Mark seared into his skin. He may be on her side, but seeing him stand with them made her feel sick. She was shaking so bad and had grown so nauseous that she suddenly dashed over to the edge of the tower, hurling over the side. Her hand shakily wiped her mouth before she turned to face them again, this time sitting.
Dumbledore was trying to convince Draco to come to their side while Tyriq watched Nic, seeming to fight ever impulse he had to protect and help her. She tried to get to her feet, but was shaking too bad. Footsteps pounded on the stairs before the door burst open. Four Death Eaters ran in in black robes as Nic's heart hammered in her chest. "Dumbledore cornered!" one shouted gleefully. "Dumbledore wandless, Dumbledore alone! Well done, Draco, well done!"
"And what's this," Bellatrix said, stepping towards where Nic was still on the ground, shaking. "Little Potter wandless as well." She crouched down by Nic and pointed her wand at her throat before tilting her chin up. Nic's breaths were coming out shakily as she looked over at Tyriq. He seemed to be fighting with himself. "Want a little replay of last time, princess? Oh sorry, I believe that the name Sirius called you was 'little phoenix'?"
"You bitch!" Nic screamed, punching Bellatrix in the face and pinning her to the ground, her wand kicked away. Before she could do any more damage, another Death Eater and shoved her against the wall, his hand around her throat. A growl left the lips of Fenrir Greyback as he moved closer to her, breathing in her scent. Nic made eye contact with Tyriq, shaking her head slightly.
"I do love kids," he growled.
"You disgust me," Nic hissed. He snarled in her ear as he moved towards her neck. He moved his hand from her neck and put his hands on either side of her head.
"That sounds like a good enough reason to tear your throat out," he snarled.
"Oh, no," Bellatrix laughed. "You can scrape her up a bit, but she's mine."
"I thought we were just here to kill Dumbledore," Tyriq hissed, taking a step towards him and trying his best to contain his rage at Fenrir's proximity to his girlfriend.
"Lighten up, Puff," Bellatrix cackled. "We can have some fun too. Fenrir, why don't you take Potter out of the tower, we'll handle this." Fenrir let out a pleased growl before grabbing hold of her and dragging her towards the door. Tyriq bumped into her and she felt him slip something into her pocket before he muttered and apology and she was dragged away. Outside the door, Fenrir made to bite at her neck before she reached for what Tyriq had given her. It was her wand. Instantly she shot a spell at him, knocking him back.
Angrily, he slashed at her, only managing to get her arm before she backed up, falling down the stairs. She instantly began to scramble away, her arm burning terribly. Everything around her was muffled as she scrambled along the floor. Spells bounced around her as she struggled back into a wall. Soon a group of people rushed from the tower. Tyriq was among them, scanning the room desperately for her. He didn't seem to find her before he was dragged away by Snape.