Set Fire to Rain

Things were moving quicker than I could process them. I found myself putting on my black robes of a death eater, quickly pulling the hood over my face. Bellatrix was fingering the banners that hung over my bed, spun of slytherin emerald and silver. She didn’t look particularly fond of the place, and I was surprised when we left that she had not set it a blaze.
We moved through the common room quickly, only pausing when a noise sounded behind us. We turned and I watched as a first year girl moved down the steps, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She was a pretty little thing, to innocent looking to be anything but a first year. She looked up at us and froze, and I could see a scream building in her throat.
I threw up my wand shouting, “Petrificus totalus!” The girl froze and hit the floor like a rock, lying unmoving. I moved over to her, gliding on the floor and pointed my wand at her again, silently apologizing. “Obliviate.”
“That’s a girl,” Bellatrix purred. “Come along, Lioness.”
I moved quickly away from the body, trying to shove the anxiety building in my chest. I was not fearful, they would not her me. but… I did not want this to happen, and the hurt in my heart was so incredible that I was still amazed that I was breathing. Draco had betrayed me, and I was beginning to wonder if he had done so in return for trying to save Harry.
There were several death eaters in the castle, and I fought to ask where Draco was. He wasn’t in our small procession of black cloaks and hatred. We were silent, predators of the night moving down the stone halls with ease and purpose. My hand began trembling and I gripped my wand so hard I was beginning to think that it would snap in half.
I followed my elders to the astronomy tower stairs, my heart beating all the way and my mind whirling in a million different directions like a twister. I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I had to assume that Voldemort would be in the tower for whatever reason. I had no inclination of this plan, no warning, no purpose. I had been cast out like a street rat.
I heard his voice before I saw him. Draco was yelling something at Dumbledore, and he sounded absolutely terrified. Without thinking I pushed past the other and thundered up the steps, running out onto the platform, stopping in the silver light of the moon, taking in the scene.
Dumbledore stood against the railing, disarmed and fearful. His wise blue eyes looked over to me, but there was no sign of emotion in them other than sadness. Draco looked at me, his hand outstretched, shaking. His face was about to fall apart, he was on the verge of breaking. My heart shattered in my chest as I saw the pain and indecision in his eyes.
“Hello, Dumbledore,” Bellatrix sneered, walking into the room with the others.
“Draco,” I whispered, edging towards him.
He backed away. “You can’t help me.”
“What are you waiting for?!” Bellatrix finally bellowed at her nephew, causing him to flinch. The anger filling me up was incredible and it took everything I had not to launch myself at Bellatrix, pulling that infernal black hair from her head.
My scar began to tingle slowly, and for a moment I feared that Voldemort was approaching for this glorious moment. But I turned my head to the side as Bellatrix yelled and shouted at Draco, telling him to fulfill his glory. A single pair of green eyes glittered in the moonlight under the steps. They were gone as soon as they were there, and if I had not known whom they belonged to, I would have thought I was crazy.
I’m sorry, I mouthed to my brother before turning and looking at Draco, face set grimly. “Do it, Draco.” He looked at me, shocked. “Get this infernal task over with, and come home with me.”
“No,” a dark voice called in the silence. I spun to see Snape walk in and I growled at him, pointing my wand at him. I did not trust him suddenly.
“It is Draco’s task-“
“No longer,” he cut me off in that slow way of his. He cast his eyes past me, raising his wand at Dumbledore.
“Severus,” the old wizard pleaded.
The words sounded beyond wrong in my ears. This man, the greatest wizard of all time should never have had to beg for his life. The pleading, the softness, the desperation about threw me over the edge and I turned my back on the legend as Snape shouted the words. I did not watch as the green flash around us, as Dumbledore’s body fell hundreds of feet, robbing ripping in the wind.
I took in a sharp breath of air as I heard him go over the rail. I felt like my lungs were pinched, or that I had been kicked with a metal foot in the ribcage. Dumbledore was gone. Everything I had planned, everything I wanted to do was over. Draco and I would never escape this darkness, would never get out of the clutches of the wretched man.
Tears threatened to spill over as Snape grabbed me by the arm, ripping my away from the scenery. I didn’t fight it. He pulled me along, my feet fumbling and dragging along as if I were a puppet. I was numb, and my mind went blank, and I couldn’t process anything. I replayed the green flash over and over, the breath leaving Dumbledore’s lungs. Voldemort had won.
I heard a bellicose cry and I blinked my eyes, coming back to reality. Bellatrix jumped on the table, cackling and screaming with a madness that surfaced rarely. She was her true self, as she caused the windows to explode, sending shards of glass glittering like stars in the night sky around the great hall. She kicked the things off the table and destroyed anything she could get her hands on. Every kick, every ruin, I felt as if a piece of my heart was ripped away, leaving holes.
Snape pulled me along again, causing me to trip and fall. He ripped me up by the back of my collar, half carrying half throwing me down the steps of the front of the school. The smell of dew hit me and I realized we were outside, walking quickly to the dark forest where we could leave. Orange caught my eye and I looked up in a drunken haze to see that Hagrid’s hut was up in flames, the orange and licking hungrily at the giant’s home. Everything he had ever known was burning now, as if taking the one man he loved away wasn’t enough.
The destruction we were leaving behind us was equal to the destruction in my heart and I felt a tear spill over. I wiped it away savagely and ripped my arm out of Snape’s grasp. My rage was spilling over, and I knew that his grip would leave nasty bruises in the morning. He grabbed for me again but I smacked his hand away, pointing my wand at him in the most threatening manner that I could must. “Don’t touch me.”
“Snape!” a scream echoed across the ground. I turned to see my brother running at us, heartbreak written all over his face. “You coward! Fight back!”
“Harry-“ I said but Snape threw me back, countering Harry’s curse and tossing him on the ground. He murmured something to Harry, but I couldn’t make out the words as I scrambled to my feet. Snape turned and walked towards me, snatching me once again.
“Harry!” I yelled but he stood there, looking at me and shook his head. I broke. I didn’t understand. Was he letting me go? Or was he shunning me, never to trust me again?
I scrabbled into the dark forest after my fellow death eaters, still trying to comprehend the simple shake of his head. I swung my head from side to side, feeling as if I were drugged. My eyes found Draco and I approached him, not sure if I was so overridden with anger that I wanted to punch him, or if I was so struck by grief that I wanted to collapse in his arms.
His eyes were hollow and dead, the color draining out of them and leaving them pale, lifeless silver. His face was haggard and I considered that maybe he hadn’t expected this either. I had to hope that he hadn’t really lied to me, that maybe this was all a giant misunderstanding and chaotic mess.
I turned my eyes up to the sky, where the dark mark began to vanish and a new light began to take over. I stared at the change clouds for a long time, until the light in the sky was so bright and so pure that I had to shield my eyes from it. Even after it was gone, I stared up at the sky, knowing the students of Hogwarts must have done it.
My fingers reached for Draco and intertwined with his cold ones. We were alone and I knew that from this moment on, the war had begun. Our love would either break or become strong in the upcoming times of destruction, hatred and darkness. Bonds would be tested... and the world would set fire to rain.