Black Rose (Draco Malfoy)

Freedom

  "Don't you give up on me
You're everything I need
This is how it feels when you take your life back
This is how it feels when you fight back

No, not gonna die tonight
We're gonna stand and fight forever
(Don't close your eyes)
No, not gonna die tonight
We're gonna fight for us together"

– "Not Gonna Die" by Skillet

Chapter 81: Freedom

I could hardly breathe. Before I could come up with a plan, Harry let go off me and took out his wand. Hermione whispered his name, but he was already lifting up the crate that blocked the door. He pulled himself into the room, and I quickly followed.

My heart caught in my throat as I saw Severus lying up against the wall, dying. There was a gaping, bloody wound on his neck that he was holding with his hands. My mind felt numb, and I stood back as Harry took off his cloak to stare at him. Severus seized the front of his robes and pulled him close.

A terrible rasping, gurgling noise issued from Severus' throat. "Take...it...Take...it..." Moving forward, I saw that more than blood was leaking from Severus. Silvery blue, neither gas nor liquid, it gushed form his mouth and his ears and his eyes. A flask, conjured from thin air, was thrust into Harry's by Hermione. Harry lifted the silvery substance into it with his wand.

Upon seeing the flask, something clicked in my brain, and I sprang back to life. My hands shaking, I searched my bag for the only thing I knew could help me now. The trio turned to look at me as I pulled it out: a vile of phoenix tears, capable of healing any wound.

My hands were shaking as I uncorked the bottle. And knelt down on the floor. Just as I raised it above Severus, Harry grabbed my wrist, stopping me. I had not considered that would still not trust my judgment, and I had no time to argue with him. I looked at him and pleaded him with my eyes. "Please," I said softly.

Harry stared into my eyes for what seemed like forever. Finally, he slowly retracted his hand. Immediately turned back to Severus and poured the contents of the bottle over his wound. He now had his eyes closed, but it appeared that the wound was stitching together and blood was no longer flowing. I brought my hand to his chest just to make sure he was still alive. I let out a breath of relief as I stood up and put the empty bottle away.

"W-well?" Hermione asked timidly. She too seemed unsure whether my actions had been good or bad.

"He's passed out from the blood loss, but he'll be fine now," I said. The phoenix tears had come in real handy. It was almost as if Dumbledore had known I would be needing them, but that was impossible, right?

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but then the high, cold voice of Voldemort echoed throughout the room, bouncing off all the walls. He must have been using magic to speak to everyone in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.

"You have fought," said the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."