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(So as you can see I'm publishing the next few chapters in (mildly) quick succession , since I'll probably drive everyone mad if I don't 💚)
"We need to get you to the hospital wing, sir... Madame Pomphrey-" I say quickly, helping Harry walk Dumbledore across the Astronomy tower and sit him down. Dumbledore shakes his head,
"Severus, I need Severus..." He mutters, "Wake him, tell him what happened, speak to no one else."
I go to argue but decide against it. Harry and I silently agree that Harry will go and get Snape while I remain with Dumbledore. For a moment, we catch our breaths, and I see how dark it has gotten. I was not back in time for dinner. God knows how worried Draco will be.
Suddenly, I hear a door opening below us. Dumbledore begins to stand.
"Hide yourselves below. Do not speak or be seen by anybody without my permission," Dumbledore murmurs, and I look back at Harry, not sure whether I should follow his orders, "Whatever happens, it's imperative you stay below." I look back at Dumbledore, my eyes meeting his, and he nods, "Do as I say. Trust me."
Harry grabs my sleeve, and we hurry down the stairs. Harry pulls me to the side, behind one of the large columns underneath the top of the astronomy tower as a dark figure climbs the last flight of stares. I frown at Harry, and we share a look of confusion and worry. I step out from underneath the floor, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever it is.
"Good evening Draco, what brings you here on this fine spring evening?" Dumbledore asks in such a gentle, quiet voice, despite what his words entail.
I falter, turning to Harry who grabs my arm, but I pull away from him, walking towards the stairs. Whatever this is, I am going to stop it. Harry goes to pull me back, but I yank my arm away, hearing Draco's voice,
"Who else is here? I heard talking." He says, his voice strained and rushed,
"I often talk aloud to myself, I find it extraordinarily useful. Have you been whispering to yourself, Draco?" Dumbledore says, his voice calm. I step forward so I can see up where they stand, seeing how Draco has his wand pointed directly at Dumbledore. His hand is shaking violently and I falter.
"Draco, you are no assassin-"
"How do you know what I am?! I've done things that would shock you!" Draco yells, and I can see how close he is to tears. Harry frowns,
"What like cursing Katy Bell and hoping that in return she would bare a cursed necklace to me?" Harry takes a deep breath, "Like replacing a bottle of mead with one laced with poison? Forgive me, Draco, but I cannot help feeling these actions are so weak your heart can't really have been in them."
Harry looks over at me as if to ask if I knew. We make eye contact. Yes, I did.
"He trusts me! I was chosen-" Draco pulls up his sleeve to reveal the dark mark and I bite my lip. I see how scared he is, how desperate the tone of his voice is. I can't let him do this.
Dumbledore pauses, and then raises his wand, "Then I shall make it easy for you."
Draco immediately disarms Dumbledore, and I hear Dumbledore's wand clatter to the ground. hear the noise of people beginning to climb the tower below.
"There are others. How?"
"The vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement. I've been mending it." Draco says quickly, and I start to inch towards the stairs behind me.
"Let me guess, it has a sister, a twin?"
Harry begins to back up against one of the large stone columns, his eyes darting around the shadows. I don't move far, keeping my eyes on Draco.
"In Borgin and Burkes, they form a passage."
The bird. That cabinet. All so he could kill Dumbledore. I start to walk towards the staircase slowly, and Harry turns to me wide eyed. He shakes his head, but I ignore him.
"Ingenious," Dumbledore murmurs, "Draco, once, I knew a boy, who made all the wrong choices. Let me help you-"
Harry grabs at my sleeves but I pull away, turning and darting silently up the stairs,
"I don't want your help! Don't you understand? I have to do this. I have to kill you. Or he's going to kill me."
I step out into the late afternoon air, and the cloudy sky shrowds the sunlight painting the air grey. Draco falters, not lowering his wand,
"Don't do this, Draco." I say slowly, walking towards him, "Don't, you don't have to."
He blinks away tears, "Yes, I do."
"Clara you must leave, please-" Dumbledore argues quickly, reaching his hand towards me but I shake my head,
"No, no I don't. I am staying here and for once in your life, Albus," I croak, walking over to him and taking his outstretched hand gently, "Trust me."
I turn back to Draco, now standing between them. Draco's wand is pointed directly at me.
"Draco, please, if you do this you will go to Azkaban. You will never live a normal life. You will be remembered as the boy who killed Dumbledore and-"
"I don't have a choice, Clara! Please, just go-"
I step forward, shaking my head as tears begin to stream down my cheeks. Draco. The boy I care about endlessly, my best friend- If he can do this, then I don't know him. If Draco can kill Dumbledore, then he isn't the boy I know.
"I love you, Draco, but if you can do this, if you can kill him, then you aren't the boy I know." I whisper, and Draco opens his mouth to argue but I cut him off, "If you can kill Dumbledore, then you can kill me too."
I hold out my arms, centring myself between the two of them. Dumbledore desperately opens his mouth to argue, but I shake my head. "No, no if you do this, if you kill him, you won't be the gentle, loving, kind boy I know. You'll be the boy that killed Dumbledore and I-" My voice wavers as the lump in my throat rises, "That would be as bad as watching you die."
Draco bites his lip, "He'll kill me, Clara, he'll-"
He jumps, hearing people climbing the tower, the noise of clattering metal echoing through the still night air. I falter, realising the reality of what is happening. I no longer have time to escape. I'm about to die. I take a step forward, looking Draco directly in the eye,
"Clara..." Dumbledore murmurs, and I turn to him, speaking to both of them,
"This is as brave, as I know how to be. I know it's going to hurt you, but please, be a little proud of me," I murmur, and Dumbledore steps back, lacking the energy to fight me. I turn to Draco, whose cheeks are damp with tears, his face scrunched up in agony.
"If you feel bad about this for one minute I-" My voice cracks and I shake my head, no, if this is the last thing I say to him I need it not to be angry, "You... You listen to me. You're going to be furious, and you're going to be sad, but listen to me, don't let this change you." I glance over at the staircase, "Whatever happens next, wherever he is sending you, don't be a warrior. Promise me."
"Clara, no, please I-"
"You can't let this turn you into a monster so, I'm not asking for a promise, I'm giving you an order. Don't fight in this war, Draco. Please." I sob, and shakes his head, looking at the ground.
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The Storm | The Sister book #3 | A Harry Potter Fanfiction
Fanfiction(Book Trailer First Chapter) Clara struggled through a summer with the Weasley's, doing her best to recover from her ordeals at the hands of Umbridge. She tried her best to forgive her friends and move on, though she finds it hard to look past what...
