𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 \\ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗷. 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝐿𝑋𝑋𝑋𝐼𝑉.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙮-𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

CAROLINE KNEW, IN the back of her mind, that when the Death Eaters came to Hogwarts and set the Dark Mark over the castle they would have someone she loved in their filthy grasp. They took over the school. Snape betrayed the Order, and he opened the doors for the Death Eaters to fill the corridors and the grounds. Bellatrix destroyed the Great Hall. They took to Hagrid's hut, setting it on fire. And Harry was nowhere to be found, when the entire school found Dumbledore's body.

        Caroline didn't know how she felt, watching Dumbledore, waiting for him to open his eyes, but he never did. Caroline didn't always like Dumbledore, didn't always agree with him, but he gave her a home. Hogwarts was her home, because of him. What Caroline didn't know that evening was that Dumbledore didn't care about her.

        He had raised her like an animal for slaughter since she was a child, hoping she remained innocent and didn't ask the right questions. Because the Prophecy was about her, just as much as it was about Harry. Without Caroline, Voldemort could never be defeated. Caroline was just a player in Dumbledore's game of chess, nothing more.

        Students cried loudly as they stood around Dumbledore's body. Then, a pushing from the crowd, and Harry was there. He was alright, safe. Caroline exhaled when he passed her, relieved that he wasn't who the Death Eaters had stolen from her that night. Harry walked up to Dumbledore's body, lowering to his knees in front of the man.

        Caroline was there when the first cry left his mouth, walking away from Dean, Seamus, Ginny and Professor Mcgonagall. She knelt beside him, one hand around his neck, holding his shoulder. Her other framed his face as he leant into her, sobbing into her shirt while she held him. Caroline shushed him gently, his hands gripping her clothes. She was there, and that was what mattered. She would always be there.

        Professor Mcgonagall raised her wand first, up towards the sky where the Dark Mark was set. Then Madam Pomfrey, and Luna, and soon, every student and teacher in Hogwarts held their wands up for Dumbledore. When Caroline looked at the sight, she frowned. There were no stars in the sky that evening. That wasn't right. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

        Caroline stood up, away from Harry, holding her wand. Her light was by far the strongest, as she helped rid the Dark Mark from the sky. Once it was gone, Caroline took it a step further. Harry was the moon, Caroline was the stars, and together, they made the night sky.

        Caroline pushed clouds away with her wand, inviting the stars and the shining moon to grace the sky once more. "'And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me'." Caroline whispered the quote once the courtyard was illuminated with proper light again. She reached Harry once more, and he placed his head on her shoulder, crying. And she held him, the way she was supposed to.

        What Caroline didn't realise until much later, was who the Death Eaters stole from her that evening. It wasn't someone she prayed for, loved, and cared for every day, like she thought it would be. It was an enemy, who wasn't supposed to be an enemy. The Death Eaters had stolen Draco Malfoy. But Caroline would get him back. She hated him, and he hated her, but he wasn't a Death Eater. That wasn't how his story was supposed to end.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

AFTER DUMBLEDORE'S DEATH, Harry was distant, as to be expected. He had to leave Caroline behind him, and he didn't want to. Dumbledore's journey was too dangerous for Caroline, so she couldn't go with him. But she didn't know that. Caroline kept a quiet eye on Harry the next few days. She was there, but not there. That was the way he wanted it.