Heartbreak Warfare

Chapter 35

Draco settled into bed, disappointed that Harry wasn't there. Dumbledore had asked him to go on some sort of mission and Harry wasn't sure when he'd been back. It had been only a few weeks of this but Draco didn't want to sleep alone anymore.

His curtains were pulled open and he thought it was Harry but his hope was dashed when he saw it was Blaise instead. "What do you want?"

Blaise was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide. "Where's Harry?"

"On some sort of mission with Dumbledore. Why?"

"I just heard that Deatheaters found a way to break into Hogwarts. Please tell me that you didn't finish mending the Vanishing Cabinet."

Draco sat up, his heart leaping into his throat. "What? They're coming tonight?"

Blaise nodded. "That's what I heard."

He got to his feet quickly throwing on some clothes. "I need to warn Harry. Can you go and destroy the Vanishing Cabinet? Maybe we can stop them before they get here."

Blaise nodded and rushed out the door. Draco grabbed his wand and followed him out. He ran to Dumbledore's office, hoping to Merlin he wasn't too late. He stopped in front of the griffin statue and panted out the password. A staircase appeared and he bolted up them. Once he got up the stairs, he saw Dumbledore with his wand pointed. Out of instinct, Draco disarmed him.

"Where's Harry?" Draco asked, looking around the room.

"Safe, I assure you."

"He's hiding, which means you know. You know what I was asked to do."

"I am aware of your task, yes," Dumbledore said, leaning heavily on the support beam behind him. "I've known all year."

Draco's heart dropped. "You knew? Why didn't you stop me or expel me?"

"Your attempts were weak ones. It was obvious your heart wasn't in them which would mean that you were forced into it. You're not a killer, Draco."

"I—"

Before Draco could finish his sentence, people rushed up the stairs. Draco turned to see Bellatrix, Greyback, Snape and a few other Deatheaters he didn't recognize. His aunt grinned and walked over to him.

"Well done, Draco," she purred, circling around him. "Now, kill him."

Draco stiffened, his wand down by his side. His heart was hammering in his chest and he was suddenly unsure of what to do. He didn't want to kill Dumbledore. He had been right; he wasn't a killer. This morning he had been sure that he wasn't going to go through with the mission. He was going to run away with Harry. It was all going to work out. But, with Deatheaters surrounding him and an obviously unwell Dumbledore, he was losing his nerve. He had planned to run away before anyone found out that the task wasn't fulfilled. He was supposed to be off in some unknown location with Harry where no one could track him down. Now, if he doesn't kill Dumbledore, nothing will stop the Deatheaters from killing him too.