𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

chapter forty

"Out of here. Quickly," Snape demanded, grabbing Draco and Star by their shirt collars and dragging them through the door. The other Death Eaters followed, celebrating Dumbledore's death.

Harry and I were sitting against the wall, still hidden by the Invisibility cloak, shocked. Suddenly, realisation hit me and I stood up, nudging Harry and pulling out my wand as I did. My brother quickly followed and we ran down the stairs, casting spells at the Death Eaters ahead of us.

"Stupefy!" I screamed, causing Alecto Carrow to topple over and tumble down the stairs.

Amycus, Alecto's brother, jumped and turned around to face me.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry yelled. Amycus went stiff as a board and fell on top of his sister.

Harry and I took off running down the stairs, trying to stop the Death Eaters before they could cause any other damage.

I also needed to talk to Draco and Star.

We leapt over the remaining steps and stopped as soon as we reached the floor. The corridor we had landed in was utter chaos: the ceiling was caving in, dust hung in the air everywhere I looked, and a battle was in full swing in front of me.

"It's over, time to go!" Snape screeched, and I bolted toward the sound of his voice. Harry fell behind, shooting spells at some of the Death Eaters who had collected to join the fight.

I ran as fast as I could, the sound of my feet slamming against the floor mixing in with the sound of the battle raging behind me. Snape had a bit of a head start, but as long as I could see him, I could reach him. He was running surprisingly quickly for someone practically dragging two teenagers behind him; nevertheless, I couldn't risk slowing down.

Students were filling the hallways as they were awoken by the noises. Over the worried chatter of the Hufflepuffs I passed, I heard a large, metallic crash come from behind me.

I took a second to look around my shoulder and saw none other than my brother, laying on the ground, covered with armor from a knight previously perched against the wall.

He got up quickly and we continued chasing after Snape. By now, Draco and Star had started running, and their pace had nearly doubled. The grand doors in the entrance hall were wide open, and the trio burst through them.

I followed out the door, the cold night air burning my lungs. Even though every movement hurt from running the entire length of the school, I kept going. I had to get to Draco.

He and Star were so close to leaving Voldemort's side. If only we'd had one second longer, they could have joined us in the fight. Maybe if I could talk to them I could bring them into the Order of the Phoenix.

I just needed to get to them.

Bright flashes of light slowed down my run for a moment. I looked around for their source and saw Hagrid, who was firing anything he could at the Death Eaters around him.

Harry sent a spell towards Snape, but it missed. Snape pushed Draco and Star forward, told them to keep running, and turned to fight Harry. I kept running.

Draco had slowed down without Snape to push him. Star was pulling on his arm to drag him forward, but he turned around instead, maybe trying to get a last look at the castle before leaving. However, I was blocking his view of the castle.

"Draco!" I yelled, tears welling in my eyes due to both him and the cold wind blowing in my face. I ignored everything other than Draco--I was here, and now I could convince him to come to the Order. He didn't need to go with Voldemort.

"No," he said quietly. "No." His hands flew to his eyes, wiping away his sudden tears. "I'm sorry, Y/n, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen--"

I approached him, slowly putting a hand on his shoulder.