PRINCESS ➳ harry potter , draco malfoy (OLD VERSION)

91 || Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice

Katerina climbed out of Draco's bed and, still being fully clothed, had to only slip on her shoes before making for the door. She had just placed her hand on the doorknob when she froze and cast her eyes back over her shoulder. Her wand was sat on Draco's bedside table... but surely she wouldn't need it? What could Draco be doing at this hour that would be dangerous?

"Better to be safe than sorry." she muttered to herself. In the few seconds that she had taken to contemplate whether or not she should take her wand, Draco had left the Slytherin common room and was no where in sight when Katie stepped out of the common room. She thought hard about where Draco would be going at this time of the night. The library would be closed, the front doors locked — meaning that he could not get into the grounds. Then the only rational thought struck her.

The Room of Requirement, perhaps? But what would he be doing there?

Katie hurried up the marble stairs, through the corridors, desperately trying to get to the seventh floor as quickly as possible. Panting heavily, she turned a corner and, to her horror, she found a battle being fought before her. Members of the Order of the Phoenix were issuing bursts of light from their wands, fiercely firing spells at — Katie let out an audible gasp — Death Eaters.

"Katie!" Tonks yelled. "What are you doing here?"

One of the Death Eaters spun around and Katie saw, with a horrible stab of panic, that it was Bellatrix Lestrange. A deranged smile split across her face and she raised her wand, twirling it through her strangled hair.

"Ah, there she is." Bellatrix drawled darkly. She had begun to walk towards Katie, who was frozen in perilous fear, when a second Death Eater halted her.

"We mustn't take her!" the masked Death Eater called. "The Dark Lord has his own plans for her."

Bellatrix snarled. She was wearing the livid expression of someone who had just been robbed of a great treat and, with a loud growl and baring of her teeth, she wheeled around and fired a curse at Tonks, which narrowly missed the Auror and smashed an oil lamp behind her.

The creaking of a nearby door caught Katie's attention. She turned to see the door that she knew to lead to the stairwell of the Astronomy Tower and, like he had slipped ominously through his dormitory door, Draco Malfoy disappeared into the tower. Katie's heart was beating very fast. Draco sneaking off to the Astronomy Tower? Death Eaters in the school? What was going on?

Katie made the quick decision to follow Draco. After checking that no Death Eaters were watching and were avidly engaged in battle, she too slipped inside the Astronomy Tower door and hurried up the stairs, her wand aloft. Draco was already at the top of the stairs when she began ascending them, so there was no use in her calling out his name — he would not hear.

As Katie drew closer to the top of the stairs, she heard the faint but indistinguishable sounds of voices and she slowed her pace, straining her ears to hear what they were saying. However, the voices were too quiet and she could not make out the words. She emerged onto the platform beneath the top of the Astronomy Tower and listened. Now, she could hear the voices from above quite clearly, but someone else spoke — someone that was right next to her.

"Katie?"

She jumped around. Harry Potter, his clothes torn, his face white and his eyes wide, was standing only feet away from her, his wand pointing at a crack in the ceiling.

"Harry," Katie breathed. "What's going on?"

A heavy frown set on Harry's face.

"I'm so sorry..." he said quietly. "I warned you..."

This statement did not give Katie any sense of reassurance whatsoever. If anything, it only raised more questions. She was growing very anxious now.

"What do you mean?" she asked desperately, but Harry shook his head slowly and jabbed his wand towards the ceiling, which was the floor for the people standing above, and Katie understood that he was indicating for her to listen.