Draco Malfoy's Famous Last Words

EVELYN'S P.O.V.

Dinner seemed to last for hours in my sleep-deprived state. Exhaustion was slowly, but surely, taking over my body. However, sleeping was the last thing on my agenda. Instead, I am being forced to go to the Headmaster's office for private lessons of how to weaken Hogwarts. Fabulous.

I arrive in Snape's office right on time, at exactly eight o'clock.

"You're late," he states. Snape is seated at his desk with his upper lip curled and his eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

I glance at the clock in his office. It reads eight o'clock on the dot.

"No, I'm not," I protest, "The clock says eight."

"Correction, Ms. Zabini. The clock read eight hours and 27 seconds when you arrived."

I roll my eyes. How exactly is this relevant to my cause?

"Your first lesson is recollection and punctuality. You must always memorize directions down to the very last detail, and then follow them precisely. In addition to this, you must also be able to recall countless details at any given moment."

He reaches under his desk and pulls out a large book. It has to be at least three thousand pages. It put even the "A History of Magic" book to shame, and that one was a chunker. Snape lets the book fall on his desk with a loud thud.

"This," he begins, "Is the book of spells, enchantments, and other magical devices placed around Hogwarts. It also contains every counter curse, jinx, and dark magical rendering necessary to disarm Hogwarts. You are to read this book and memorize it. Then, we shall perform the necessary magic to disarm the castle and the grounds."

"Are you insane? This book is gigantic! You cannot possibly expect me to memorize the entire thing, and do all of my school work," I complain.

"This is not my decision, Evelyn. The Dark Lord wishes for this mission to be completed as such. However, luckily for you, I also can see how this ordeal is rather challenging. Therefore, I have decided to assist you. You are to read this book still, and remember all you can. Yet I will help you in performing the actual magic. Sound fair?"

I sigh and nod my head. I'm fortunate that Snape is being so merciful. It's not in his nature to act as such.

"Good," Snape says, rising from his chair, "Now let's begin. We have a lot to cover in just one night."

"What do you mean, Severus?"

"We have to start by the gate, tonight. It is most crucial that Death Eaters can apparate into the grounds. If they can get just inside the gate, that is good enough."

"So we're already working on the mission? Tonight? Bloody hell, Severus. What about studying your precious book?" I groan.

"Stop complaining, Evelyn," he demands, storming out of the office in a brisk walk. I nearly have to jog to keep up with him.

"Severus! Slow down!" He doesn't listen.

---

The rest of the night is painstakingly slow. We spent hours disarming the gate and placing counter-curses against the protection charms. When finally I arrive back in the common room, it is nearly two o'clock in the morning. At the very most, I will only be able to catch about four hours of sleep.

Monty and Sophie are asleep on one of the couches in the common room. They look so adorable together that I don't have the heart to wake them. I placeda blanket over them and go upstairs to my dorm.

To my surprise, Marissa is awake when I enter the room. She is on her bed, reading one of the many vampire novels I read last year during my separation from Draco.

"Hey. What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. Sophie went to hang out with Monty, and you were gone on your mission. So I just started reading to get my mind off of things."

Next to her bed lie a dozen or so crumpled tissues.

"You really miss Blaise, don't you?" I ask her, crawling into bed next to her. She places the book on her night stand and hugs me tightly around the neck.

"Oh Evie," she sobs, "I miss him so much. I'm so worried about him. Giants are nasty, horrid creatures. What if they kill him?"

I rubher back to try and calm her down. Her entire body is trembling. It's all I can do not to cry myself. After all, Blaise is my brother, and I'm terrified for him as well. The only difference between Marissa and I is that I have people to stay strong for, like her and my son.

"Don't worry, Marissa," I whisper, holding back the quiver in my voice, "Blaise is fine. I know he is. And Draco is going to go get him and bring him back. Then you'll be with him again, and you can go meet my son, and everything will be fine. Okay?"

She nods and wipes her eyes. Her mascara has smudged, leaving black streaks down her cheeks.

"Do you honestly think he's okay?" Marissa asks me once she has stopped crying.

"Of course he is," I state reassuringly, "Hell, I bet he and Draco and even Steven are sitting around a campfire right now. I bet they're drinking some firewhiskey and talking about the two of us."

Oh how wrong I was.