Everything Has Changed

Everything Has Changed ~ Chapter 34

I sprinted as fast as I could, hoping that I could catch Draco in time. It would be a close thing, and I had no time to waste, taking every shortcut I knew of. In an impressive few minutes I had reached the Room of Requirement, and as I rounded the last corner I breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was still open – or, at least, the door was still there. I stopped dead in my tracks though when I saw Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley huddled outside it, looking very focused and secretive and conspiring. I stood uncertainly, because they didn’t look like they wanted to be disturbed. I had hesitatingly started to step out into the corridor to greet them when they suddenly seemed to come to a decision and went into the Room. I was once more stopped dead in my tracks when I caught sight of the Room through a sliver of the open door. It looked nothing like the Room I was used to. Then the door shut and I was left with no idea what to do.

From the opposite end of the corridor, three figures materialised out of nowhere, making me jump and sending me hiding behind the corner. I peeked around and my heart dropped when I saw Draco with two of his Slytherin friends – Crabbe and Goyle.

“What’s a die-dum?” one of them grunted – Goyle, I think.

“They said diadem,” Draco snapped back, pronouncing the word slowly to his friend. I winced. This wasn’t the Draco I’d come looking for. This was more like the Draco Malfoy of old.

“Don’t matter,” Goyle scowled at his blonde friend. “Let’s just go in and kill ‘im.”

Before I could really process what I was doing, I had jumped out from my hiding place and drawn my wand on the Slytherins. “Not so fast.”

A blank look of panic crossed Draco’s face when he saw me. “What are you doing here?”

“Who’re you?” Crabbe demanded.

I didn’t answer him, but sent three rapid Stunning spells. Unfortunately, all three managed to dodge them. “I am not going to let you kill Harry Potter.”

“How you gonna stop us?” Goyle laughed, retaliating at me with Crabbe. Draco was standing silently, not taking either side. So, I ignored him and focused on his cronies. Them, I could handle. If Draco decided to join them, though, I could be in some trouble.

As it was, Tweedledum and Tweedledee were not easy victories as I’d expected. Clearly, they’d been learning a lot of the Dark Arts from the Carrows. While I was mainly sending Stunning Spells, Full Body-Binds and the like, I was dodging actual Killing Curses – Avada Kedavra, the real and very deadly thing. I was trying not to think about it too much. Another one shot past me, whizzing over my shoulder with not even a centimetre to spare. My heart skipped a beat out of pure fear, but I raised my wand to keep soldiering on, when I saw a flash come from behind me – Draco, whom I’d turned my back to because I thought he wouldn’t hurt me.

Then the spell hit, and I fell to the floor. Vaguely, I registered that my limbs were all tightly pressed together and I couldn’t move them for the life of me. The Full Body-Bind Curse. As Crabbe and Goyle whooped in victory, I wish he’d Stunned me, so I wouldn’t have to be aware of how useless I was right then.

 “Who wants to finish her off?” Crabbe said in a tone that clearly stated he wanted to do it.

“There’s no time, you idiot,” Draco snarled. “We have to get Potter.”

Crabbe looked livid, but Goyle reluctantly showed some sense. “Yeah, we gotta get Potter before he gets away. Deal with her later.”

The three disappeared into the Room of Requirement, leaving me struggling futilely to move again. About ten minutes later, I regained control of my body. Draco must have cast a fairly weak spell for me to have recovered so soon. I took a moment to stretch out again before marching to the door. I could still help Harry, Ron and Hermione, if I wasn’t too late.