Dare - Draco Malfoy

Chapter 47: The first battle

Maeve:

I crawl back inside the common room, My lungs still aching, my throat now swelling, I walk up the stairs to the dorms and carefully open the door and slither back in.

It's still quiet, nothing changed. Of course everything has changed.

I slide in bed, under the covers careful not to make a sound. I try to calm my breathing. Heart thumping so hard it could wake the girls.

My eyes wide open, fixed on the bed ceiling.

Realisation strikes me now. My hands reaches my front pocket to feel the hard glass vial still there, intact. So small and feeling so insignificant now. I let my hand inside, to feel it.

I take it out to look at it.

A white smoke dancing inside of it. Floating serenely, oblivious of its value or the risk it had put me through.

Like many other things inside Dumbledore's office, this smoke, this feeble substance, seems to think for itself. It's alive.

Then my eyes begin to droop. I clutch the vial and place it back in my pocket, turn to the side and close my eyes.

The weight of a mountain lifted from my chest, just for an other to take its place. But I am tired. I fall asleep.

-

I wake. A bubbled noise. Far away thuds. I jolt upright. The walls of the dorms vibrating.

I check my watch. It's 5 am and it's still dark outside.

An other bang and a far away explosion wake the other girls. I turn to Aria, her face marked by the pillow. Her hair messy.

"What is going on?"

Her croaky voice speaks confused as Pansy turns on the light on her bed side table.

Isy mumbles in her sleep, still laying, eyes closed.

"Isy wake up!" Aria speaks more clearly now, pulling a hoodie on herself.

An other bang and voices now clearly sounding from somewhere outside. I stand, still dressed from earlier.

I stand up, walk to the door and open it. Aria following in my steps. I put out an arm as she approaches. Students are flooding the common room now. A surreal scene.

The rest of the girls follow me down the stairs, Isy too, though slower than the rest.

The knowledge of what is going on outside allows me to keep my mind focused. The rest of the students, tortured by the unknown. I search for Draco, but I can't see him.

Aria grabs my arm as we reach the bottom of the stairs. I freeze. I have always been so preoccupied about myself and Draco that I never really thought about how to keep them safe. Aria, Blaise, Isy, even Nott is in my mind right now. I scan the room, slowly filling with mumbling students. I see the boys next to each other.

More loud bangs coming from outside. She suddenly pushes me to the side and races to the common room door to exit. I run after her.

"Aria what are you doing?" I bellow.

"Something is not right, I want to know what it is"

"Are you mad?"

I grab her by the arm and pull her back.

"Are you? Something is going on for god's sake, I am not gonna stand here and do nothing"

Her eyes wide in fear.