The Other Side

Chapter Twenty Three

A major thank you to all my wonderful readers. Y'all deserve the entire world!

The color was drained out of his face. It did take him a while to recover from the initial shock, and dread settled in him. He would've been under the cloak for hours, processing the entire situation. Unfortunately, he did not get that privilege. Zabini walked into the room, and he seemed worn out. He pointed his wand at Draco, and glared at Dumbledore.

Harry let go of his cloak, and it fell against the floor like molten silver. Zabini jerked his head in surprise, and frowned. "Move away, Zabini."

"No," He said, in an almost confident voice that sent chills down Harry's spine. "Run off while you can, Potter or I will not hesitate to kill Malfoy."

His lips curved into a sneer, as her stared at Zabini. To say that he was startled, would've been an understatement. He glanced at the Headmaster, and he could see the worry lines on his forehead.

"Kill him, Malfoy." Zabini said, his voice unsure. "Or I might just use another unforgivable curse on you, if you don't oblige."

"Another unf – You've put him under the imperius curse, haven't you?" Harry gasped, as realization dawned on him, and it just clicked. "On that day, in Hogsmeade, you put him under the curse, because he was an easy target. Draco, unknowingly, used the imperius curse on Katie to deliver the necklace to –

His voice trailed. He stared fixedly at Draco, but the blond didn't show much emotion. He reached for another piece of memory. Nott. He had stunned Draco in Hogsmeade, but Harry had been too distracted to ask. Nott knew that he was under the imperius curse, and he knew that it wasn't the last time. That was exactly the reason he'd asked him to get away from the castle with Draco. "It was the plan all along – To kill the Headmaster. Is that the task Voldemort set?"

"I have a job to do, Potter. Stay out of my way."

"He does, Mr. Potter. You can step aside now and let him finish it off."

Blaise's eyebrows rose, and in that moment, Harry could sense that he was insanely terrified. Terrified that Dumbledore was welcoming his own death without hesitation. Or maybe he knew. He knew that Zabini wouldn't kill him. And if his defenses were wearing thin, then Draco could be drawn out of the curse as well.

But the castle was overrunning with death eaters, and if he wasn't clever enough, they would die. All of them. The unmistakable voice of Draco Malfoy cut through the night. "Move aside, Harry."

It was almost demanding, but there was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. It was working. Blaise's defenses were wearing thin. Yet, he couldn't wait. Tentatively, he raised his wand and pointed it at Zabini. "Don't make me hex you Zabini, and move away from him."

He heard a loud crash, and Blaise flinched. It dawned on him, that Zabini didn't want to kill Dumbledore. That he was forced into this, and he never was given a choice. "You don't want to do this, do you? You don't want the blood on your hands, and you want Draco to finish it off."

"That's absurd." He said, and laughed in a high pitched, unhinged voice. "I can do it myself, but you can kill me without hesitation. Are you willing to kill him to save your precious headmaster, Potter?"

"My dear boy," Dumbledore said in an eerily calm voice. "I've known for a while, that you've been given the task to kill me –

"Y-You knew?"

"Of course, I knew." Dumbledore said, in a soft voice. Harry didn't understand the headmaster, but he didn't have a lot of time to process the situation. "You're not a bad person, Mr. Zabini. Please, let me help you."