𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 '𝟗𝟔 ; 𝐝. 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 ✓

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

The occurrences that happened on September 6, was only a minor vision of how the remainder of my sixth and seventh years went. I was harassed daily, by Crabbe and his new evil sidekick, Ron. The rascals would taunt me, physically harm me, and humiliate me in front of loads of divergent cliques, turning them all against me. I was forsaken. The only people I relied on now were Pansy, Blaise, and Goyle as they would be the only three to cherish me anymore. Both hellholes of years, I was dispirited. For my deep yearn for Draco still lingered in my heart. Numerous guys asked me to do different things with them. Such as attending their Quidditch games, or getting tea with them in Hogsmeade, or even becoming their girlfriend. I cold-heartedly declined every request that I was given to do anything with another man, for I couldn't do that to Draco, I had promised to never forget him. And a promise is a promise.

Yet in the events that took place nearing the end of seventh year, I believe that's when I needed him the most.

•••••••••

4:03 am
May 2, 1998
A year and a half later

"Estelle, wake up. Please."

Pansy and Blaise stood before me, both with panicked grimaces on both their faces. In the background, I heard hasty footsteps and wails from the Slytherin common room, just left of my dorm.

Why was everyone so panicked?

"Pansy, Blaise. It's... it's 4:03 in the morning. What's the matter?" I groaned, rubbing the fatigue out of my groggy blue eyes.

"They're here." Pansy whimpered shakily, "The Death Eaters, Estelle."

My heart promptly flew to my stomach, giving me a seasick feeling as my jaw dropped in terror.

The Death Eaters. Lord Voldermort's Army of filthy, evil jackasses. That malicious committee wanted nothing positive for us innocent witches and wizards. They wanted bloody war, and that's what they had arrived for.

"Why are they here?" I demanded, scrambling out of my bed.

"They're trying to end Potter, once and for all. So Voldermort can become the most powerful wizard. Rumor has it that he has the Elder Wand. There's no way we can defeat him and his evil forces if he has that source." Blaise screeched frantically, searching through my drawers for any defensive mechanisms that could protect us.

"Blaise!" I nudged him, also searching for any possible weapons, "You can't think like that, or else he will defeat us. Do you want him to win?"

"N-No," Blaise responded.

"Then don't fucking say that. We're gonna fight against them, with everything we've got. Dumbledore didn't fail us, we have so many powerful witches and wizards here. Everything is going to be okay."

Blaise, Pansy, and I clutched hands and spoke a few soft words of wisdom, with the intensifying shrieking coming from outside the doors. There wasn't a time in my seventeen years of life that I had more of an eerie, uncertain feeling that I felt in this moment. I looked into Blaises brown eyes, Pansy's green, and gave them a stern nod.

"If we go down, we go down together. And if we go down, we go down fighting."

After these words escaped my lips, the three of us thrusted through the narrow opening of my dorm's exit, with the sight of pure havoc breaking out throughout the Slytherin common room. Students were hectically pacing throughout the hallways of the dorms, clinging to each other and wailing out cries of utter terror. It crushed me to see the people that stood by my side throughout all these years bawling and sprinting for their life's, fearful of the unknown. We spotted Goyle who fearfully loitered by the grand bookshelves.

"Goyle, stay with us!" I shouted, grabbing his forearm and pulling him into our small crowd, away from all of the chaos.

The four of us shoved through the swarming mobs of people, and booked it out of the common room, only to come to realize that the hallways weren't any better than what was happening within the common room. The Grand Staircase flooded with students, whose only hope was to flee Hogwarts. The panicked expressions on the students faces caused my eyes to water, because it was so tragic to see everyone in such raw fear. Blaise, Goyle, Pansy and I shuffled down the crowded staircases, about getting bucked off a couple of times by the selfish students who rammed through everyone. After the crowds had died down and we reached the bottom of the lengthy stairs, we made it to the Great Hall, which held an incredible amount of students, still frolicking in terror.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Blaise swore, as we maneuvered through the swarming crowds of students.

Before our eyes, Professor McGonagall and Molly Weasley stood bravely in front of the castle, their wands raised with pride and bravery. They casted a sacred spell that created a semi-protective barrier around the castle.

As I observed in awe, suddenly, a few fourth-year Ravenclaw boys, about 5'9 each, plowed through me carelessly, knocking me down into the cold, stone floor.

"What the fuck, man!" I swore, attempting to stand up.

I broke into a cold sweat as I tried to search around for my group, but I had been disconnected so far away from them, that I couldn't even see them through the tall and thick crowds, full of screaming people.

"Pansy!" I howled, my voice barely being heard among the shrieks. "Blaise!! Goyle!?"

I grew anxious and preoccupied, as I had no group, no one to stick with. No one to fight with. My best bet was to hide, because Blaise had been right all along. There's no way I could do this all by myself. I hunted for a secluded hiding spot, where no one might've thought to check. Maybe if I hid, I'd survive. Then I remembered the perfect spot, where I always hid while playing hide-and-seek tag with Pansy and Blaise, back when life was simpler.

The Prefect's Bathroom.