Transfixed: A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 60

The ground began to shake beneath us, and I tightened my grip on Cassady's hand. It felt like an earthquake.

"I think it's working," I heard Cassady whisper. "Just keep going."

The energy was quickly draining out of me, and I could feel myself getting lightheaded.

The trembling got more and more violent, and I staggered, but then I felt Draco's arm slide around my waist.

"Keep going, darling," he said quietly. "You're almost there."

So my sister and I held on, focusing on the image in our minds: tunnel, then stairs. It was like I was walking through the passageway in my imagination, the trail appearing before me as I followed it. Once the passageway reached the castle, I barely had enough energy to stand. Next to me, Cassady let out a cry of exhaustion.

"It's too much!" she cried. "I can't!"

"Yes we can!" I cried louder. "Yes. We. Can."

Then, one by one, the stairs appeared, each one harder to imagine than the last. But we were doing it. We were almost at the end.

In my mind, I reached the top of the stairs, and then I saw the wall in front of me begin to open. I peered inside and saw the isolation wing, clear as day. The students were sleeping, nestled in their cots. We had done it. We had created a secret passageway.

The enchantment broke, and the vision disappeared from my mind in a flash. Both Cassady and I fell to the ground.

"We did it," she muttered.

I opened my mouth to reply, but could feel myself wanting to pass out. Draco knelt beside me and propped my head up on his lap, brushing my hair out of my face.

"You did it," he said as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. "You both did it."

My eyes fluttered open, and I looked up at him. His eyes were concerned, but he was smiling. I managed to sit up and saw Cassady lying on the ground beside me, Diego looking over her with a worried expression.

"You OK, Cass?" I called out. She opened her eyes and smiled weakly.

"I've been worse."

On the earth where we had aimed our wands, there was now a metal trap door. I stood up shakily, and Draco and I went over to it. He reached out and wrenched the door open. I expected it to open with a great creak, but it didn't. It was silent.

"Wow," he whispered as he peered down into the passageway. A small ladder led down into the darkness, and it actually looked a little menacing.

"Lumos." His wand illuminated the passageway below, but even with the light from his wand, it was extremely dark.

"Well, we'd better make sure it actually worked," I said. I looked back to Cassady and Diego.

"Are you strong enough to make the journey, sis?" I asked. She nodded.

The four of us descended into the darkness, using lumos on our wands. We could still only barely see in front of us, and I felt slightly claustrophobic from the darkness.

"Bloody hell, you two are amazing," I heard Diego say to Cassady and I. "You both could probably win this war on your own with your powers."

Cassady and I giggled. "I wish it were that simple," I replied. "But thank you, Diego."

We could tell we had reached the castle when the passageway turned into a set of stone steps. We ascended them slowly, then once we reached the top, we stared intently at the wall ahead, looking for a way in. In the center of the stone wall was an inconspicuous brass handle, and when Draco pulled at it, a section of the wall opened like a door. Timidly, we all peered inside. It was the isolation wing; there was no doubt about that. Students were sleeping, and for that moment, all of our hearts collectively stopped beating in anticipation.