𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 '𝟗𝟔 ; 𝐝. 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 ✓

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

4:46 am
May 2, 1998

The Prefects Bathroom.

Glancing at the staircase that conducted to the bathroom, I grumbled as I watched hundreds of panicked students flocking around the scarce area.

There had to be another way.

Then, I recalled the way I used to smuggle myself in there while I was in first year, playing hide-and-seek as an innocent young girl, never expecting I'd have to use this place as a hiding mechanism for an upcoming war. There was an external staircase that connected to a paved courtyard, that led to the more secretive corridor, which had another stout staircase, with the Prefect's Bathroom at the very top. That was the direction I had placed all my trust in.

When I knew the time had been right, I booked it, right out of the castle, not even bothering to look back and see if anyone had noticed. My legs pumped as fast as they could go. The rough, cold wind violently crashed into my face, making the tear stains burn even more. I painstakingly eyed the crumbling pillars aside from me, my heart shattering even more as the place that felt as if it were a secondary home to me, crumbling before my eyes. Suddenly, I heard a huge burst and an eruption of screams, and I couldn't bare to not look.

Shit. No, no, no, no.

A Death Eater had entered. And another, and another, and another. The black clouds of smoke trailed closer and closer to the front of the castle. The distant shrieks intensified while the deadly clouds had entered the barrier, no protection left. My tears poured out more rapidly, in severe distress and hope that my friends would be alright.

I focused back ahead of me and put all trust in my legs, which accelerated me quicker and quicker as the barrier that McGonagall and Molly had set in place began to crack as more and more Death Eaters entered. The choppy wind pushed me back a bit, feeling like a cyclone as it seemed to beat me down. Finally, I entered the reserve paved courtyard, relieved to find that there were no students swarming the area. My shaky fingers gripped the railing as I marched swiftly up the stairs leading to the corridor. The violent wind and cold air abruptly stopped after I closed the heavy door. I made my final sprint, straight through the corridor and up the stairs, into the quiet bathroom, away from all the chaos.

I sealed both entrances to the Prefect's Bathroom as soon as I arrived safely inside. The audible wails of agony on the other side of the right entrance caused me to wince, recognizing some of the screams. I trekked through the shallow water that rested in the bottom of the bathtub, and perched on an edge and sobbed.

I should've went back and found Blaise, Pansy, and Goyle.

My head sunk into my arms in regret, and my whole body violently rattled in grief. Crashing noises blared from outside of the bathroom, erupting in terrified screams and the sound of intense footsteps echoed throughout what I figured was the Great Hall. The stone walls outside that held me in this safe place I was masking in began to crumble. I heard the eerie and spine-chilling sound of the once sturdy stones crashing into the ground.

I just wanted Pansy, Blaise, and Goyle.

Bringing myself to a shaky stance, I peered out the stained glass window. Death Eaters were practically mobbing the grounds surrounding what I thought was my safe school. I clenched my hand over my mouth to block my screams from wailing out.

Suddenly, I saw another intimidating black cloud of smoke struggling to break through the barrier. This stray one had been separated from the other thousands of wicked Death Eaters. Soon enough, it bursted through the weak barrier. My mouth wailed out an aghast cry as I realized that the vicious black cloud of smoke was coming straight for my hiding spot.

My small body slowly descended down the limestone walls that were keeping me alive. I didn't even try to muffle my lamenting sobs, as I knew that this was probably the end.

I was about to die.

My shrieks ricocheted along the walls, growing more and more deafening and blood-curdling as I was in knowledge that the Death Eater was getting nearer and nearer. More horrific crumbling sounds were heard from the opposing side of the door, and I heard the stones crash as they hit the ground, more screams being heard as every second flew by. I was so distracted by the bone-chilling noises I had heard, that I didn't even notice the black cloud lurking at the exterior of my hiding spot. My breath hitched as I faced the window, only to see this horrific sight on the opposite side of the stained-glass.

I let out a blood-curdling scream as the glass that kept the Death Eater out completely demolished. Glass shards blew everywhere, into the water, past the tub, and a few pierced into my leg, blood beginning to trickle out. The black cloak of darkness drifted into the bathroom, causing me to shriek and cry even more. The dreaded cloud morphed back into its original form, a malicious Death Eater, which stood before me. It's eerie mask seemed to stare into my horrified face. The tall cloaked and hooded figure stood before me, and I sat ahead of it, helpless.

The veiny and large hand reached for a wand in the pocket of the hooded cloak, and gripped it tightly.

This was it.

I was about to die.

"JUST KILL ME!" I wailed, squeezing my burning eyes shut and cringing, clutching onto the edge of the perch I sat on. "Just do it. I know you want to. They're probably dead anyways, I have nothing left to live for. Just kill me."

The anonymous cloaked figure raised their wand a bit higher, about to their shoulders. I winced and screamed, as I knew I was about to pass.

"Oculus Repario." The cold voice boomed, launching the spell at the shattered window, the dozens of glass shards floating back to it like a magnet.

I was appalled that the Death Eater didn't brutally murder me like they were known for doing best. My hands clutched the still bloody side of my face where a glass shard was once buried, and I gazed back at the terrifying sight of the Death Eater standing in front of me.

"W-Who are you, and why didn't you kill me?!" I shrieked, curling into a tiny ball to shield myself.

The figure softly sighed, and raised its veiny, shaky hands up to the pointed hood that rested on their head. Shakily and hesitatingly, they pulled it off their head, revealing their platinum blond hair.

Only one boy had hair as blond as that.

He detached his mask and it fell into the shallow and bloody water beneath with a subtle splash, revealing exactly who I predicted it would be.

Draco.