Transfixed: A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 74

"He's back..." everyone whispered to each other in shock. None of us could believe it. The time had come for Harry Potter to return to Hogwarts.

I turned to Draco, and we gave each other a knowing look. If Harry Potter was coming back, then Voldemort would be close behind, and he would attack. The war was coming.

"Alright, everyone, calm down," Cassady said, her voice booming into the hushed silence. "You have all prepared for this, and you are all ready. Someone needs to go alert the others."

"I'll go," Ginny said immediately. "I'll make sure everyone else knows."

"OK," Cassady replied. "Thank you. Be careful."

Ginny nodded, and then she was gone.

"Alright, as for everyone else, no one is to leave, otherwise there is a greater chance of the Carrows finding us. The Room of Requirement has given us everything we need, so we will stay put as long as we can. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"OK, good. Now, someone needs to go get Harry and bring him back here."

There was silence as everyone looked around the room at each other. Draco and I waited to see who would volunteer, but then Neville's eyes locked with mine.

"I think Audrey should go," he said. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"He still thinks I'm a Death Eater," I replied.

"All the more reason for you to go," Neville said. "He needs to know the truth."

I felt myself grow nervous again as I looked down at my feet and nodded. I was so worn out from everything that had just happened, but once Harry knew my secret, everything could come full circle. My isolation from everyone I truly cared about would be over, once and for all.

"It's OK, Audrey," my sister said quietly. "Neville's right. You should go."

I made my way to the portrait, and smiled softly at the girl in the frame. The portrait creaked open, revealing the dark stone passageway. As I prepared to enter, hushed voices began to chatter behind me.

"You seem awfully calm about everything that happened," I heard Diego say to Cassady. "Weren't you afraid that Ginny was going to kill her?"

"No," my sister said. "I knew that I didn't train you all to be killers. I never had any doubts."

...

"Lumos."

With the light from my wand as my guide, I made my way through the passageway. Part of me worried that the trio would curse me before I could even say a word, but I tried to hold onto faith that they would hear me out. Maybe, just maybe, I would finally get my friends back. It seemed too good to be true.

The passageway seemed to go on forever, as it was a decent walk to get to Hogsmeade from Hogwarts. The only sound was the echo of my own footsteps, as the noise bounced around the tunnel.

Eventually, I made it to the end, and the wall creaked open. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the brightness, and then I saw Harry, Ron and Hermione. They stared at me with their mouths agape, eyes wide.

"No way," Ron said breathlessly. "Audrey?"

I tried to think of something cool to say, but I failed. "Hi," I said as a wide grin spread across my face. "Fancy seeing you here."

Suddenly, Harry grabbed his wand and aimed it at me. "What are you doing here?" he snarled. "Come to snatch us and take us to Voldemort?"

I raised my hands in the air. "Listen, you don't understand..."