Transfixed: A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 29

Dumbledore laid where he fell, at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower. The following morning, after students woke up to the news, everyone convened around his body, no one sure of what to say. For our school, Dumbledore was the constant, fearless leader and protecter who seemed as invincible as any wizard could ever be. But now, we were without him.

After Harry chased after the Death Eaters that night, I ran back to the common room as fast as I could. I awoke Hermione, who bolted upright after she saw the expression on my face.

When I told her, she didn't believe me. But just as I tried to convince her, we saw a faint orange glow come from our window. Looking out, we were able to see that Hagrid's hut had been set ablaze, no doubt by one of the Death Eaters. We could see tiny dark figures running through the grass, and then we looked up to see the Dark Mark raging in the sky. We were both breathless and speechless, neither of us knowing what to do. We ended up waking the rest of the girls in their rooms and the boys in their's, and everyone sat in silence in the common room until morning. When the sun rose, Professor McGonagall came inside, startled by all of us turning to stare at her. She expected us to all be asleep, but she confirmed the news and brought us down to pay our respects.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I stood at the front of the large crowd. My breath had caught in my throat as I looked down. Dumbledore looked strikingly like my father did; not dead, but sleeping.

Harry slowly walked forward and knelt down by Dumbledore's side. Pressing his hand to Dumbledore's chest, he began to weep. I walked beside him and held him close, wishing desperately that there was something I could do to take the pain away.

One by one, every wand began to raise in the air, white light piercing the sky. I looked up in awe, once again transfixed by the same spell that was lit when my father passed away. But here out in the open, the light shot straight up to the heavens, obliterating the foul Dark Mark that still lingered in the clouds. The Dark Mark was strong, but our light was stronger.

...

In our final days at the school, Harry was silent and withdrawn. He spent most of his days wandering around the castle grounds alone, and none of us tried to interfere, especially me. I knew how he felt, as I had felt it myself so recently. I knew that everyone processed grief in their own way, in their own time. And I knew that all Harry wanted was space. So that was what I gave him.

Up until our final day, we hadn't spoken much. I spent most of my time with Ron and Hermione, or writing to my sister. She was doing OK, and the nightmares were slowly getting better, but I knew she desired nothing more than some company.

As the sun began to set on our final evening of sixth year, I decided to take a stroll around the castle. It was shadowy and quiet, since everyone was busy packing in their dorms. Without Dumbledore, the castle literally felt different. The sense of cheerfulness and warmth was evaporating, and I knew it would never be the same. Hogwarts had faced loss before, but never like this.

I walked by the Potions classroom and the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom and the Great Hall. I even walked into the infamous girls' bathroom to say goodbye to Moaning Myrtle. Finally, I went back to the Astronomy Tower, to pay my final respects to Dumbledore and see the view of the castle grounds.

As I ascended the final steps, I jumped to see Ron and Hermione already sitting there.

"Audrey!" Hermione cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just taking one final look around," I replied. "And you?"

"Same thing," Ron said.

I looked past Ron's shoulder to see Harry standing alone at the edge of the balcony, looking out over the horizon.