Youngblood: Retrieval {Year 5, Book 3}

= Chapter 19 =

The previous patronus' vanished as the wall began to crumble. Harry and the rest of Dumbledore's Army stood alert, some frightened and others ready to fight.

"Aspen, take this and run!" Harry slipped the piece of paper with the signatures into Aspen's hand.

"Why me!?" Aspen shrieked as the attacks from outside grew more and more fierce.

"Because I trust you, take charge, now go!" Harry's words sparked something inside her heart.

A Slytherin like herself were known to be untrustworthy and selfish, but Harry trusted her with a huge secret. As soon as she began to sprint, the wall blasted forward, knocking her to the ground. She looked up to see Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad, dragging Cho along with them. Dove's eyes narrowed at the sight. Harry had cheated on her for a traitor?

"Miss Hale, is that you?" Umbridge asked, looking down at the fallen girl.

"Uhhh... toodles?" Aspen said animatedly, before snatching the paper from the floor and racing off.

"How dare she! Betray me! Malfoy, McClain, get after her!" She screamed as a portion of the Inquisitorial Squad sprinted after Aspen.

Aspen dodged and blocked their attacks, just like Harry had taught her. They continued throwing disarming jinxes at her. 

"No!" Aspen raged as the staircase just moved before she got to it, leaving her with the other route, leading her up to the astronomy tower.

She was trapped - the squad hadn't followed her up... yet, but she was sure they would. Her green eyes dashed around the open room, looking for some kind of escape. She eyed the railing, furrowing her brows and giving a high pitched whistle as she began to climb the railing.

"There's no escape." Draco's voice sang as she froze, completely on the other side of the railing.

"Don't do something stupid..." Ember said, worry etched on her face.

"Might want to define stupid..." Aspen began, but as soon as she started to let go, she felt a rush of wind and then a particularly cold hand on her own, holding her in place.

"Don't do this." Draco commanded, his voice barely above a whisper, still intense, but his eyes pleading.

Aspen grabbed the blue vial from her pocket, prying his hand off her's and placing the vial in his hand. He looked down at it, then up at her, his eyes asking many questions.

"Trust me..." Then she, letting go and plummeted down the tower.

Spreading her arms and legs to her sides, she emitted another shrill-whistle, followed by a moving, cushioned surface breaking her fall. She scrambled onto the furry creature and let her fingers tangle in the silky feathers of Stormswift's neck.

"Good girl!" Aspen rewarded, giving her a friendly slappy-pat on her shoulder.

'Rawrk! Rawk!' Stormswift called as she began to fly faster.

Aspen looked back to Draco, watching him stare intently at the bottle before popping the lid and drinking the whole thing, not even leaving a drop.

"Courtyard, please." Aspen whispered in Stormswift's ear, then laid back on her rump, gasping for breath.

The snow white hippogriff hovered over the ground for a second before landing, Aspen didn't even have time to dismount before Crabbe and Goyle snatched her, attempting to drag her away. Stormswift cried out, rearing frantically.

"Go! I'll be alright!" Aspen commanded, shooing the hippogriff away, but before she did so, she broke out of Crabbe and Goyle's grasp and handed her the parchment she had in her pocket.

Stormswift looked back at Aspen, squawked loudly, then raced off with the paper in her mouth, taking flight with her enormous, feathered wings.

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With a strong force, Crabbe and Goyle shoved Aspen into Umbridge's office along with other members of Dumbledore's Army, who had been 'captured' due to the break in.

"Aspen, are you alright!?" Lillian came forward from the crowd of interrogations, wrapping her friend in a hug.

"Yeah, I will be." Aspen hugged her back as she searched the army for Harry.

"He went with Umbridge to unveil 'Dumbledore's biggest secret'." Dove scoffed as Aspen nodded, being led back into the group by Lillian.

"It's horrible! That witch has arrested Dumbledore!" Mya cut in.

Minutes of silence passed, awkward silence for that matter. Only a few brave souls even dared to couch or mutter things to themselves and the only sound was the ticking of the clock and the mewing of the china kittens.

"Crabbe, Goyle! I think that Umbridge needs some help. She hasn't been back for a while. Go check it out." Draco's demanding voice commanded as Aspen's hope sank.

Crabbe and Goyle nodded, leaving Ember and Draco. Aspen looked back into Draco's silver eyes. The corner of his lips curled into a smile.

"You're free to go." He said as Ember looked at him in shock.

"Draco, what are you doing?" She asked, glaring at him with her hand grasping at her wand.

"How dare you question me! Umbridge put me in charge... I'm just doing the right thing." He snapped and looked at Aspen, smiling sorrowfully.

"Aspen, you coming?" Fred asked, glancing at Aspen as Dumbledore's Army piled out of the room.

"Yeah, I just ...need to talk." Aspen nodded, watching as Ember and Fred left the room, leaving it deserted except for herself and Draco.

Draco looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face as she stumbled forward and wrapped her arms around his chest, embracing him tightly.

"I'm so so-sorry..."

"You have nothing to apologize for." He cooed into her ear.

"But I do. I was so focused on saving you from Pansy and so angry about how manipulative and selfish she was to keep you trapped in the curse that I never even thought about how selfish I was for giving you that cure. I thought that I was healing you, when really I was just healing my own heart." Aspen cried.

"Why would you need to heal your heart; You've obviously moved on with that Weaselbee boy - I see you and him and you look... happy. So why did I hurt you so much?" He asked as Aspen turned away from him, walking towards the door.

"Because I love you, you idiot!"