The Secrets of The Sighted (Golden Trio Era) {3}

No Choice

"So you decided to spring a trap for me?" Dumbledore inquired after Draco revealed how they had breach Hogwarts. How he repaired the Vanishing Cabinet which was a twin of the one sitting in Borgin and Burkes, giving the Death Eaters easy passage inside of Hogwarts. How even when he was doubtful that the Cabinet would work, he was using an imperiused Madam Rosmerta to carry out his other methods in an attempt to take Dumbledore's life. Dumbledore claiming he didn't believe that Draco's heart was really in his murdering attempts, making Draco argue with the old man about just how far he was willing to go to complete his mission.

"Exactly. We decided to put the Dark Mark over the Tower so that you'd hurry up here so you could see who had been killed. And it worked too!" Draco claimed his words screaming with the confidence his whole body lacked. "Well... yes and no..." Dumbledore spoke diplomatically, not wanting to give too much away just yet, "but am I to take it, then, that nobody has been murdered?" Dumbledore questioned, hoping that Draco's next words would ease Harry's spiralling mind.

"Someone's dead," Malfoy responded quickly, his voice raising an octave as he spoke, he looked uncomfortable about the conversation topic, a shiver running down his spine as he thought back to what he has witnessed in the corridor below. "One of your people. I don't know who, it was dark when I stepped over the body. I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way..." Dumbledore nodded his head with a grave look on his face as he looked at the pale sixteen year old in front of him, "yes, they tend to do that."

Half of Brian's pinkie and ring fingers on his wand hand fell to the ground, the curse Bellatrix had thrown cut his fingers in half as that was were the curse had hit him. Brian let out a thunderous yell, pain contorting his face as blood spluttered from where the fingers had been cut off from. Mikayla quickly threw up a rebound shield surrounding them as she fished through her bag for CC, pouring it down Brian's throat which stopped the bleeding. Unfortunately his fingers can't be mended, there's no way he could or want to reattach them as the dark curse has already rotted them thoroughly. Brian realising just how lucky it was that he took the curse, because had it hit Mikayla, she'd be dead right now.

Mikayla stumbled slightly, as she took a step back ending her Evasion ability, tripping over an unconscious Flitwick. The blonde silently wondering to herself how long the Charms Professor was lying there before turning back to Brian, "fuck Brian, I'm so sorry!" She loudly blurted out, "I'm not. Rather my hand than your head." Brian responded bluntly, leaving Mikayla in awe that he had somehow composed himself after all that so quickly. Mikayla opened her mouth to argue but Brian quickly stopped her, "ah ah, we've got more pressing matters to attend to rather than argue over you having no need to be sorry. It's not your fault, now stop distracting me, we've got a fight to win." Mikayla and Brian move to the staircase leading up to the Astronomy Tower after spotting a handful of Death Eaters trying to sneak away from the fight. 

Unfortunately, their friends were all preoccupied with fighting the Death Eaters that were staying. Meaning it was Brian and Mikayla, versus Bellatrix, Amycus, Alecto and newly healed and very angry, Greyback. "Bombarda!" Mikayla yelled, nonverbal magic being completely forgotten as they were all just ttrying to cause the most amount of damage. She aimed the spell to hit the ceiling above them, causing a bit of it to collapse over the Death Eaters heads, but the Death Eaters quickly rush up a step or two to avoid the rubble. While they were distracted, Brian hit Amycus Carrow with the Furnunculus curse, causing painful boils and pimples to bubble on his skin. 

"Impetus Multa!" Mikayla interjected as Amycus yelled in pain, his sister trying to remember the counter curse, before they all tumble backwards onto the stairs behind them from Mikayla's blasting curse. Greyback lunged at Mikayla, despite Bellatrix's protests telling him to attack the boy instead, Mikayla throws up a shield charm that scorches Greyback when he tries to get past it. It's filthy ancient dark magic that she had read about years ago when she first researched Werewolves, and prayed that she would never have to use it. Right now, she's just hoping that Remus is too distracted by duelling to see what she just did, as a shiver of disgust runs down her own back at the feeling of the Dark Magic coursing through her as the shield slowly fades away.

For a moment, Dumbledore and Malfoy were silent. They could now hear bangs and shouts from below them louder than ever. It sounded as though people were fighting on the actual spiral staircase that led to where Dumbledore, Malfoy and Harry stood. Harry's heart thundered unheard in his invisible chest, someone was dead, someone he love killed under his order, but who's body did Malfoy step over? "There is little time, one way or another. So let us discuss your options, Draco." Dumbledore spoke trying to block out the screams, that sounded so familiar in his ears. 

"My options!" Draco let out loudly, sounding absolutely exasperated over Dumbledore's seeming acceptance of his fate. "I'm standing here with a wand, I'm about to kill you-" Dumbledore cut the young boy off, "my dear boy, let us have no more pretence about that. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it when you first disarmed me, you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means." Malfoy knew that Dumbledore was right, and his mask, hiding just how afraid he is, slips as he exclaims loudly to Dumbledore, and unknowing to Harry, that he doesn't have any options.

And for the first time in years, Harry genuinely recognised the pain behind Malfoy's malevolence, just how broken his fellow sixteen year old boy was. Draco was as white as a ghost, his entire body shaking with unfallen tears that were pooling in his silver eyes, "I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!" Draco croaked out, and for the first Harry felt sorry for Draco, he could've been in his position had things turned out differently, had it not been for his friends being positive forces in his development. "I appreciate the difficulty of your position. Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realised that I suspected you." 

Malfoy winced at the sound of the name coming from Dumbledore's mouth, but the Headmaster continued to speak, "I did not dare speak to you of the mission with which I knew you had been entrusted, in case he used Legilimency against you, even after Miss Black's built a mental block in your mind from him during last summer." Harry's mind halted at the mention Mikayla's name, she had been helping Draco this whole time, he couldn't believe she let him obsess over what the blond boy was up to and made no move to calm his spiralling mind.

Dumbledore seemed to noticed Harry's mind shift, "I was even pushed to force Miss Black to make a unbreakable vow with me, to keep any information relating to what she had predicted to happen tonight between the pair of us, to protect not only you, but the future." Malfoy's head shot up at Dumbledore's words, "but she told me that she knew back before Christmas. She offered me help, a choice, that if I ever wanted an out that she would be there to take me in. Was all that under your orders?" Malfoy looked upset by the thought, he wanted her offer to be real, to be from her. 

"No, Miss Black doesn't take orders from me, she does what she believes to be right. She did tell me that she didn't want you or your mother to be destroyed by your father's mistakes, and that she would actively try to save you from that pain." Dumbledore told Draco, who seemed the be comforted that Mikayla had truly cared for his wellbeing, that it wasn't just a hero complex, but understanding, from a child from a broken home to another. "But now at last we can speak plainly to each other... no harm has been done, you have hurt nobody, though you are very lucky that your unintentional victims survived... I can help you, Draco." Dumbledore tries but Malfoy mask returns as the fear of the battle below them getting louder and louder.