In The End

Chapter 26 - Ms Burbage

Draco sat between Eliza and his mother as they attended yet another deatheater meeting in Riddle Manor. He had Eliza's hand firmly grasped under the table, in order to stop her from shaking too noticeably.

A woman floated above the table, unconscious, and apparently injured. Bellatrix had hexed her a few times earlier, no doubt.

The black double doors opened to reveal Snape. He looked around seriously, seemingly startled by the woman floating there.

"Severus, I was beginning to worry you had lost your way. Come, we saved you a seat." Lord Voldemort said calmly, gesturing to the empty seat.

Snape sat down in silence.

"You bring news, I trust." He continued.

"It will happen Saturday next, at nightfall." Snape said.

"I've heard differently, my Lord. The Auror, Arfis, has let slip that the Potter boy will not be moved until the thirtieth of this month, the day before he turns 17." Yaxley interjected.

"This is a false trail, the Auror Arfis no longer plays any part in the protection of Harry Potter. Those closest to him believe we have infiltrated the ministry." Snape replied.

A deatheater at the other end of the table let out a chuckle.

"They've got that right, haven't they?" He asked, being succeeded by many other chuckles.

Draco and Eliza stayed silent.

"What say you, Pious?" Voldemort asked.

The man from the ministry looked nervously as Nagini stared at him with hungry eyes.

"One hears many things, my Lord. Whether the truth is among them is not clear." He said.

Voldemort laughed.

"Spoken like a true politician. You will, I think, prove most useful, Pious."

Voldemort continued to discuss his plans for Harry Potter, as Eliza began to feel queasy. She didn't like Harry much after what he did to Draco, but she still felt sorry for him. He didn't seem like a bad person, and she didn't feel like he deserved to be killed for disagreeing with Voldemort's twisted views.

Draco felt deeply uncomfortable as he watched Voldemort ask his father for his wand. Lucius was shaking in fear, and Draco couldn't help but fear for him.

Once he was happy with Lucius's wand, Lord Voldemort used it to bring the floating woman closer to him.

"For those who do not know, we are joined tonight by Ms Charity Burbage, who until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her speciality was Muggle Studies." Voldemort said as a few deatheaters began to laugh.

Eliza and Draco both felt a jolt in their stomachs as they recognised the teacher.

"It is Ms Burbage's belief that muggles are not so different from us. She would, given her way, have us mate with them." He continued disbelievingly.

The deatheaters let out another chuckle. Eliza went visibly pale, and Draco squeezed her hand harder.

"To her, the mixture of magical and muggle blood is not an abomination, but something to be encouraged."

"S-s-Severus. Severus, please. We're friends." Ms Burbage begged.

"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort killed her, and she fell abruptly to the table.

Draco and Eliza both jumped from fright. Eliza had to clench her jaw shut in order to stop herself from crying or screaming. They were both terrified.

"Nagini, dinner." Voldemort stroked his colossal pet, as it slithered to the dead woman.

Eliza and Draco flinched as it launched itself onto the woman and took a great bite out of her. They spent the last few minutes of the meeting looking down at the table.

Eliza had to hold in a scream of terror as blood ran across the table and dripped slowly onto her robes.

When the meeting ended, Eliza wasted no time in marching upstairs to her room and shutting the door before collapsing on her bed and crying. It wasn't long until she heard a soft knock on her door.

When she didn't answer, Draco slowly opened her door, shut it behind him and went to sit beside her on her bed. He rested a hand on her shoulders which heaved up and down as she sobbed.

"H-her blood got on me." She whimpered in between sobs.

Draco put his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"I know it was terrible Eliza. We shouldn't have had to witness that." He whispered into her ear.

She hugged him close to her, and looked up at him with red eyes.

"He killed her because she supported muggles, and fed her to that... thing. My dad's a muggle, Draco. My mom was a muggle. They are good people. Why do purebloods have to be so judgemental and prejudice?" She asked sadly, still looking at him.

"I don't know, angel. I don't know." He said softly.

They sat there together, in each other's arms, until they were called down to dinner. Eliza couldn't eat anything, and Draco barely took a bite of his own food.

There was so much wrong with Lord Voldemort's views. Even Draco could see that now. All it took was one very special muggle born to do it.