-Champagne Problems-
-she would've made such a lovely bride-
-what a shame she's stuck in her head-
Vena was dismissed from the Hospital Wing the following day. She spent the whole day with Draco, finishing up the Vanishing Cabinet.
It was long, and exhausting and repetitive, but it was almost complete. All year, they had worked for this, and the end was so near they could taste it. It reminded Vena of something that tasted bitter and melancholy.
But it also meant that she had to do something she had been dreading since the night her and Harry kissed. If only she weren't so impulsive that night.
If only she were thinking about the consequences, not only for herself, but for Harry as well. If only she weren't selfish. It seems that her most selfish decisions always have dire outcomes.
This would break him. This would break her.
She didn't want to end things with him. But she had to.
She spent the whole day in the Room of Hidden Things, procrastinating what she had to do. They were nearly done. Draco said that this would all go down in the next couple of days. He just needed to find the right time.
Vena didn't know when the right time would be. It seems that they both are procrastinating. Like brother like sister.
In the next couple of days, Draco would have either killed Dumbledore, or he wouldn't. And Vena's life was riding on his success.
Breaking up with Harry was the best option. Either she would die, or she would become a Death Eater, and both situations would destroy Harry. She couldn't be selfish any longer.
Sighing as she entered the common room, she saw Harry sitting on the sofa. His eyes brightened when he saw her, and Vena wished they didn't.
He had that look that he always did, and Vena wished it disappeared. She didn't want to see the moment on his face when she ended things.
He noticed the look on her face, and frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear.
She smiled regretfully at him. "Let's sit down. I need to speak to you."
Obeying, Harry sat down. He waited patiently for her to speak, whereas Vena was trying to put everything into words.
Vena was never good with words. Never good at speaking or writing a letter. She wished Harry knew Legilimency. She could handle him being in her mind.
Too bad that the meadow of forget-me-nots was still destroyed.
She took a deep breath. Nothing could prepare either of them for this conversation. "I want to end things."
Harry's look of sympathy changed to a look of confusion and subdued anger. "What?"
"Harry, you couldn't have seriously thought we could still be together. A war is brewing, and we're on opposite sides. Despite your optimism that the Order will protect me, I know that's not the case. We can't be together."
He stood up, pacing, biting his thumbnail. "I was going to say it, you know. I know we're technically not together, but I've never felt like this with anyone. I was going to say. Have been, for a while now."
His words didn't register at first. She didn't know what he meant. But he was looking at her expectantly, and even though he was angry, he had that look in his eyes.
The one that she hated all last term but now loved. The one that she had saw in his face that night of the Gryffindor Quidditch party, after beating Slytherin. The look that made her want to kiss him. The look that she thought meant that he wanted to kiss her.
This whole time she thought she knew what it meant. But she was wrong. So, so, wrong. Because it didn't mean that he wanted to kiss her.
It meant that he was in love with her.
"You're not saying this because of what happened in the bathroom, are you?" He asked, interrupting her epiphany.
She shook her head aggressively. "No, no. I have to do this. You'll hate me."
He's going to hate her. But he's in love with her. It's possible for a person to feel both.
He chuckled bitterly. He crouched to her level on the couch, and took her chin in his right hand.
He brushed his thumb over her cheek down to her lip, and flickered his eyes from her mouth to her eyes. "I don't care if you believe I will hate you. I don't hate you and I never will. In fact, I think I might love you."
Tears were falling down her face. She wanted to hide away from him and wipe away her tears, but she remembered what Harry had said to her before. She looked beautiful when she cried. Another realization hit Vena.
There was a reason why she always forgave Harry. Why she always saw things from his perspective too, and why she couldn't never be mad at him for too long. Why she had smelt him in her Amortentia, and why she loved pine trees now.
She had never felt this way before, and didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. But it was supposed to feel like this. Because to Vena's horror, she loved Harry too. And she has to break his heart.
"Please don't say it. Because I can't say it Harry. Please don't expect me to say it to you. I'm just going to break your heart in the end."
"Then break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyways."
Harry was crying now. She could see the hurt and anguish in his eyes. She could see the love in his eyes. Oh how she desperately wished things were different. She wished that she didn't have to do this.
He wiped away her tears, and grabbed her face with both of his hands. He kissed her forehead softly. He kissed her right cheek. Then her left.
He looked her in the eyes before he placed a soft kiss on her lips. He brought their foreheads together, and Vena inhaled the pine trees that consumed her sense.
"I love you," Harry whispered.
"I know."
____________
The next three days were a blur. Harry and Vena hadn't so much looked in the other's direction, and Vena wanted to cry. But she didn't. She had to keep calm, because Draco was a mess.
He was on the verge of a breakdown every thirty minutes, like clockwork. And every time, Vena would have to pour a calming draught down his throat in order to calm him down while she worked on the cabinet for him.
She didn't have time to cry.
But it was the final day. The cabinet was ready. It was nearing the end of the term, and they didn't have time to wait.
They had to do this now. There was no waiting. It was going to happen whether the twins were prepared or not.
After today, Vena would either be alive or dead.
And she was not going to go without saying everything she needed to say.
So she wrote a letter, expressing the words that she could not say aloud to Harry. She hoped it was better than last time. She was going to be vulnerable, and she was going to pour her heart out. She was going to tell him everything.
If she dies today, she would be at peace. She would be at peace that her brother was not a murderer. And she would be at peace that Harry knew what she had wanted to tell him for months now.
She was nearing the end of the letter when her hand faltered. She was a coward. She was selfish. And she was either going to die, or be a Death Eater.
Should she do it? Should she be cowardly and selfish and do it?
The coin that the twins used to communicate with Madam Rosemerta burned in her pocket. She pulled it out, squinting her eyes to read the inscription.
Dumbledore left with Harry. Now is the time.
Vena shuddered. She knew that Draco was reading it now too. This was it. No more time. She hastily finished off her letter, and put it in an envelope.
She rushed over to Harry's dormitory, and to her luck, no one was there. She put it on his bed, which she knew was his because of the chocolate frogs and the seeds of forget-me-nots on his bedside table.
Impulsively, she took of her bracelet that he had given her for Christmas, and put it on his pillow along with the letter.
She left immediately, not wanting to cry. She couldn't. Malfoy's didn't cry. She rushed to the Astronomy Tower, like her and Draco had planned months before.
Her heart was pounding in her ears as she went to the very top. Her breath was getting heavier with each step, and not because she was tired. Her hand shook as she pulled out her wand.
She muttered the words that she never thought would come out of her mouth. It tasted bitter and melancholy on her tongue. "Moresmorde."
The Dark Mark poured out of her wand and lit up the sky in green. The skull was impossible to ignore. For some reason, it was harder to cast than an Unforgivable Curse.
She tasted blood. She hadn't realized that she bit the side of her mouth due to the anxiety and stress. Ignoring the metallic taste, she ran back down the steps, heading to the Room of Hidden Things.
She needed to be there for Draco. She needed to be strong for him.
She paced back and forth three times, realizing that this was the last time she would be doing this. She didn't know if that was a relief or not.
She went through the maze of items, taking in everything for the last time. The pile of Quiddith broomsticks, the red sofa in the middle of a random pile, the diadem at the top of another. She made it to the Vanishing Cabinet for the last time.
As she stood beside Draco, with the Vanishing Cabinet looming over them, Vena thought of her letter. She hoped she remembered everything
. She knew it wasn't enough. She knew there was so much more she wanted to tell him about. If only they had time. If only she were strong enough to say it.
Draco muttered the spell one last time, his face looking paler than ever. Vena could feel the fear radiating off of her brother's body.
She knew that he had a lot riding on this if things didn't go according to plan. Vena would die if things didn't go according to plan.
They watched as the locks and hatches moved, letting black smoke flow through the opening. A blast of air came out from the cracks, leaving Vena colder than ever. This was it.
The black smoke meant that the Death Eaters were ready. They didn't need to lead the Death Eaters through the castle. If they left before the Death Eaters came through the cabinet, then that left them to destroy the castle however they pleased. And Draco had the time and privacy to kill Dumbledore.
The twins didn't want the Death Eaters there. Malfoy's couldn't cry and Malfoy's couldn't be weak. And they knew that when it came time, they would be both.
The coin burned in their pockets again. Dumbledore and Harry had come back. They exchanged solemn looks, and rushed to the Astronomy Tower.
She looked at every painting, every staircase, memorizing them. Every inch of this castle held a dear place in Vena's heart. This could possibly be the last time she will see this place.
The air was uncomfortably warm. One would think that a day as dreadful as this would be cold and biting. But it was warm. It made Vena sweat underneath her dress.
They reached the staircase leading up to the tower.
This was it.
"Keep watch, Vi. Only allow Death Eaters to come through," Draco whispered urgently.
She nodded, and her brother walked tensely up the staircase.
She could hear the quiet mutterings of her brother and Dumbledore. She could hear Draco's anxiety rolling off of his interrogations. She could hear Dumbledore's calm voice.
Vena heard the footsteps of the Death Eaters. Once she saw them rounding the corner, she fled up the stairs to Draco.
If she wasn't so focused on the situation, maybe she would have smelled the familiar scent of pine trees.
She ran up the final steps of the staircase, before slowly walking over to Draco. His wand was raised, and Vena could feel his fear.
As she stood behind her brother's right shoulder, she saw Dumbledore's wand rolled off to the side. But he didn't seem to mind that he was unarmed. If anything, this was the most peaceful Vena had ever seen him.
"Hello, Vena. It's kind of you to join us on this nice evening," Dumbledore said warmly.
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AN:
Only one more chapter left of halfblood prince you guys omg. Anyway, a while back I said that I was writing a chapter and champagne problems was playing and I cried cuz it was really sad. Well this is the chapter I was talking about and I feel like that line just fits so perfectly like it's a French kiss. I have the worst headache ever rn and today and school I have two periods of choir back to back and I was just so tired like my voice was so dead and I'm a soprano so it's even worse. Also I recorded my solo to be entered in a virtual competition for dance and it decides whether I get to compete my solo at nationals or not so I'm kinda nervy. Hope you loved this chapter!!!!
-M