Cuts Run Deep

The Duel

~Draco's POV~

"To kill Harry Potter."

My heart drops as he says these words. He brought us here so that he can kill Harry. It feels like I've taken a blow to the gut. I can see the figure clearly now that they aren't hiding in the shadows. His stare is cold and hard, but his features are charming. Nothing about the boy screamed 'evil'. I glance to see what he's wearing. Hogwarts robes. He's a Hufflepuff for God's sake! What the bloody hell happened to make him like this? 

His cold expression turns to a maniac grin.

"And it's going to happen tonight at seven! I just know he'll come because when it comes down to it, he'll always choose to save his friend's lives over his own. Pathetic if I do say so myself." The Hufflepuff says rolling his eyes. I grit my teeth.

 "Why do you want to kill Harry?" I ask in a hushed tone. I can barely keep my voice from cracking, but I manage. I won't let a Hufflepuff, however evil they might be, see me break.

"Simple. He ruined my life." The guy shrugs while turning away. Where have I heard that before? It's not often that you hear someone say they hate Harry. Even I didn't hate him and we were enemies! Emphasis on were. The realization suddenly hits me.

"You're the guy that wrote him that letter." I spat. He faces us again and smirks.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asks looking between the two of us. She had been awfully quiet for the past couple of minutes. I could hear Ron starting to stir beside her. I open my mouth to explain but the guy cuts me off.

"A while ago, I slipped a note into dear Harry Potter's pockets. It was quite a nasty note, but it was truthful! Yes, VERY truthful. I told him what he did to me. I told him how I felt about him. It felt so nice to get it out on paper!" The Hufflepuff gives a cruel smile. I try to hold back the anger that boiled up inside me while he was talking. "I hope he got a taste of what I feel from tha-"

"You bastard!" I snap. "Do you have any idea what he's been through?! He cut himself for God's sake! He was getting better until you sent that note. He would have probably killed himself if I wasn't there!" I scream at him, hot streams of tears running down my face. Hermione looks stunned, angry, worried and confused. 

I hear the Hufflepuff fire a curse at me. 

Everything goes black again.

~

~Harry's POV~

As soon as we're out of the Common Room, I hand Pansy the cloak. 

"So we all know what the plan is?" I ask. Everyone nods grimly. 

"Pansy follows you, under the cloak, and we stay down the hall waiting to either catch this guy or warn a teacher." Blaise recounts with mock excitement. Pansy rolls her eyes at him and Neville laughs a bit.

"Sounds about right. Thank you guys for doing this, really." I say earnestly. Pansy gives me a small smile.

"We'll get them back." She says softly. I bite my lip and nod, glad to have them with me. 

"Let's go then." Neville says nervously. I can't help but notice his hand interlocked with Blaise's. I smile sadly and long for Draco. Without another word, we head to our 'positions'.

~

I stand in the sixth floor corridor in front of the Room of Requirement. It's as deserted as ever. I know that Pansy is just a few feet away, but I feel more alone than ever. What if they're dead? What if this person kills me? I have no idea who they are or what they're capable of. I'll never have the chance to say goodbye to any of them.