Set Fire to Rain

Harry

“You can’t be serious Harry!” Hermione yelled at me, eyes wide with fear and confusion. She stood in the room of requirement, looking down at the unconscious Reagan. Ron stood next to her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looking at her with a nasty glare.
“Hermione please!” I begged, “She asked me to save her! Something isn’t right here, we can’t take her to the hospital wing, not only will they see the mark but they’ll know something is out of place.”

Hermione looked furious but shoved me aside, waving her wand over certain wounds on my sister, quietly saying spells. I watched, holding Reagan’s hand. It was cold. Hermione paused in her incantations and I looked to see why. She had come across Reagan’s left arm, where her Dark Mark was, but that’s not what she looked at. There were words carved into her skin and bleeding, as if done by a knife. They read: I am a Potter. I am a Disgrace. I will not defy my Lord. Her dark mark also suffered from some sort of burn.
“Bloody hell,” Ron murmured. “She’s lucky she didn’t bleed to death. Who could have done this?”
I swallowed my rage. “Voldemort. She defied him, in something. She crossed him, some how.”

Suddenly without warning Reagan shot straight up, making Hermione fall backwards. She looked confused and scooted away from us, hands then going to her left arm that Hermione had yet to heal. Her face looked pained as she looked down at the words, her fingers slowly touching the wound before she pulled out her wand, pointing it to the wound and whispering, “Episky.”

“Reagan,” I said softly. She looked up, as if she had forgotten we were there. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t answer right away. “Yes. In much better condition than I should be. Draco’s right-“ she looked at Hermione. “-you are brilliant.”
“He said that?” Hermione asked, sounded like she wasn’t sure if she should be offended.
Reagan ignored it saying, “Thank you”
“Who did this to you, Ray?” I asked, urging her with my eyes. she looked like she didn’t want to answer, like she was uncomfortable.
“I think you know who, Harry.”
“But why?” Ron asked. She looked up at him and frowned.
“Because I said no. Because I refused to do something that no one should have to do, but I don’t know how I’m not going to. The consequences… I cannot let him die.”
“Draco. He threatened to kill Draco, didn’t he? If you didn’t do something?”
She nodded. “I will not let him touch Draco, Harry. I will burn down everything in this world, if it prevented him from touching Draco… but I cannot. No I cannot do it.”
“What was it?” Hermione asked her tentatively. It surprised me that Hermione seemed sympathetic suddenly. “What was it he asked you to do?”
Tears were in my sisters eyes. “What was it like, growing up without a mother?”
Harry seemed confused. “Don’t you know?”
I shook my head. “Narcissa- Draco’s mother- she treated me like her own. Always made sure that I had the love I needed, that I was loved because I had no one. And now he wants me to… to get rid of that? I won’t do it. I will not murder her. I don’t want to be a murderer. Anymore.”

“Anymore?” Ron asked.
Regan looked at him with an expression suggesting how stupid his comments were. “Don’t act so surprised that I’ve killed someone, Ronald Weasley. By the time this war between the good and the evil are over, you will have killed someone too. That’s what we have in common. We kill to protect those we love. That’s all I was doing.”
“Why does he want you to kill Narcissa Malfoy?” I asked her, hoping I didn’t sound like I was pushing for information.
She looked up at me. “Because she’s in the way.”
Reagan looked away for a long time, and I could see that she was thinking long and hard about something. Conflict crossed her face and she absently traced the dark mark on her left arm.
“I’m sorry, Harry,” she whispered finally, looking at me right in the eyes. “I have to protect those that I love, and I’m going to do just that. But I am going to give every ounce of myself to see to it that you killed Voldemort. He will not harm those that I love.” She looked at all three of us. “I will remain with him, keep up appearances. But I am no longer a follower.”
*
Reagan

If I learned anything about my brother, it was that he was far to trusting from the get go. I had renounced my claim five seconds ago, and he was already sure that my intentions were so pure. Hermione was not so ready to trust me, though. I could see in her face that she was not sure what my intentions were, and that it would take a lot on my part to for her to trust me. I didn’t care. I wasn’t here to please her. I was only here because Draco’s life was on the line.

Harry walked me back to the common room in silence. I had the feeling that he wanted to ask a million questions, but I was glad that he didn’t, because my mind was going at a million miles per hour. All I could think about is how strange it was, that he cared. It was like Draco… but it was different. He was willing to save me.

Never in my life had I ever considered going against Voldemort. Ever. It was the most terrifying idea that I had ever had, but it was not as terrifying as the idea of killing the only mother I ever had, or losing Draco. If Draco were to ever… it was unthinkable.
I walked quietly into the common room, looking down at my bloody clothes. The torture had been so painful, so fierce. But it had not scared me so much that I would do what he wanted. Nothing in the world could make me do that.

I was so in thought that I hadn’t seen the figure on the couch until the last moment. I flinched, seeing Draco stand, looking at me with an unreadable expression. I stopped, looking at him silently. I wasn’t sure if we were still mad at each other. Maybe he wouldn’t be mad if he knew the sacrifices I was making. But maybe he would be mad if he knew I was turning on him, on our people…

“Why is there blood on you?” he asked quietly, looking at me with soft eyes. He walked over to me, touching a newly heeled scratch on my cheek. I shivered under the light, tender touch. He smelled faintly of aftershave of some sort.
“It’s quite a long story, actually. In short, I should have just listened.”
Rather than ask me what I meant he said, “I’m sorry about the things I said to you, Reagan. I was so upset you weren’t being honest with me…”
I looked down. “I should have just told you… would you like to tell me now?”
He stepped forward, chest to chest, so close that I didn’t dare move. He lifted my chin up. “If you wish it.”

I could barely look into his icy blue eyes when I whispered, “I killed his father. I killed his father, because Voldemort threatened to move me away from you.”
Tears escaped and he wiped them with his thumb. “You did what you had to do, Reagan. We all have had to. Is that who did this to you?”
“No. Voldemort did. I refused to kill someone else.”
Draco’s face hardened. “Why did you refuse, Reagan? And why do you not call him the Dark Lord?”
“He wanted me to… I cannot speak of it Draco. But I said no to save someone that did not deserve to die… Draco. Do you ever think that maybe we’re wrong? That maybe we’re on the wrong side?”
Draco stepped away from me and I suddenly feared that I had angered him, that he would be disgusted by my words. “It was my mother, wasn’t it? He wanted you to kill my mother?”

I cried freely then, nodding my head and shutting my eyes. I felt his strong arms go around me, protecting me from harm. I felt safe suddenly, and I never wanted him to let go. This was different from how Harry comforted me, this didn’t feel brotherly like I had used to think. No, this was more than that. Draco kissed my forehead softly.
“He wants me to kill Dumbledore,” Draco said softly. “He will kill my family if I don’t do it.”
“What do we do?” I whispered.
“I don’t know,” he murmured into my hair. “I don’t know.”
*

The movement of my roommates woke me up the next morning. I stretched, wincing slightly at the soreness that still plagued my body. Recaps of the night before made me close my eyes in pain and I tried to shut them out. Today was the first trip to Hogsmede. It was meant to be fun, and relaxing. I could spend time with Draco without having to worry about our messed up lives.

I got up, taking care to move slowly as to not hurt myself. My roommates said hello as they usually did before leaving the common room together. That’s how it often was; they stayed out of my way, but not rudely. I took a hot shower, relishing how the warm water made my skin feel so much better. My muscles relaxed under the water and I could have stayed in the water forever, if I didn’t have to be downstairs soon to make the trip.

After getting out of the shower, I got dressed in a long sleeved shirt with a tree going up the front, a warm, light pink leather jacket with jeans and fuzzy, pink uggs. I also clasped the beautiful watch Narcissa had gotten me last Christmas. Christmas. I had to come up with some excuse not to fallow through with Voldemorts plan during the holidays. But I would not think about that today.

I went down to the common room and smiled to see Blaise and Draco waiting for me. Draco laced his fingers lightly in mine, which was strange behavior for him, but I didn’t mind. Blaise glanced downwards at our linked fingers, but said nothing. I felt happy, despite all of the things I worried about. Gregory Bane’s blue eyes from across the common room was the only thing that put me ill at ease.

I still hadn’t told Draco that he needed my help, and what he needed my help for. But I wasn’t completely sure how much I understood what Gregory wanted myself. All he told me was that I spoke the language he needed. Why he needed to get into the Chamber of Secrets, I had no idea. All I knew is that he needed a parselmouth, and I was one.

We walked to Hogsmede and I marveled at the little town. I had never been there before, but they told me about the candy shop called Honey Dukes and Zonkos the joke shop. I couldn’t wait to try them out, and I immediately wanted to go to the joke shop. Draco said he would meet us at Zonko’s because he had to run into the Three Broom Sticks to ask Professor Slughorn about an assignment. I was so excited to be in Hogsmede, I didn’t think anything of it.

Zonkos was colorful and filled with toys and things that I didn’t even understand. Blaise showed me some of his favorite things and we laughed together in the store.
“So, you and Draco?” Blaise asked absently, as if it was just a random thought. I knew it wasn’t.
“What do you mean?”
“You guys just seem different.”
“We’ve gotten through some issues, is all.”
“Sure, issues.”

Blaise and I walked out of Zonko’s, laughing and walking down the street. Just as we made our way to Honey Duke’s shop, a high pitched screamed was carried over the town through the wind. Everyone in the town stopped, looking around to see where the source of the scream came. Something kicked in inside of me and I took off into a run, fallowing where the scream had came. I almost slipped in the snow several times.

I saw Harry, Ron and Hermione gathered around something on the ground, and saw the giant Hagrid carrying a girl. I bent down next to Harry, whoc began to reach his hand up to pick up the necklace. I had a bad feeling about the necklace and caught his hand, giving him a warning glare.
“Don’t touch that. Whatever it’s cursed with is meant to kill.”
“How do you know that?” Hermione asked, looking at me skeptically.
“Lets just say dark magic is my forte.”
“I take her word for it,” Ron said, nodding.
“You should.”

All I could think about what how I was supposed to make sure no one traced this back to Draco. Because it was very clear to me, that Harry already knew it was him.