The Lightning-struck tower
As days flew past, Draco continued to work on the vanishing cabinet with vigor. He tried to send a bird through it, but it came back dead unable to make the journey to the twin cabinet at Borgin & Burkes. Draco’s resolve was hanging by a thread; he wrote numerous letters to Borgin only to receive the same response in every letter. ‘The spell has to work’, it said. ‘That slimy git!’ he cursed.
As the weather outside grew warmer, Draco started losing sleep again. He spent all his time in the Room of Requirement now. With Crabbe and Goyle in detention, he continued on his mission alone. He paced around the room, eyeing the cabinet with mounting frustration. He muttered the incantation under his breath, fingers trembling as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the other hand.
“The spell is Harmonia Nectere Passus, but it is more complex than a simple reparo. You must focus on the magic of the twin set to get it right” were Borgin words.
The wizard had warned him that it would be easier to repair the pair if both the cabinets were in the same room, but Draco did not have that option. He had to find something else, all his other attempts had not worked. The book which had this incantation had a reference to another one, it prescribed using a transfiguration method to repair. He decided to try it out since he was running out of other options.
*******
Draco lounged on the chaise in the common room, biding his time for the other students to disperse so he could sneak off to the restricted section of the library to research the additional spell. Pansy sat in a nearby chair, casting him suspicious glances while engrossed in a conversation with Daphne Greengrass. The two girls were drawing cards from a pack and laying them out in a pattern, consulting a textbook sprawled open across from them.
“I’ve drawn the Lightning Struck Tower, the reversed Old Wizard, and the Star-crossed Lovers. Merlin, what does that mean?” said Pansy, her eyes wide with confusion. Daphne flipped through the pages of the textbook, furrowing her brow. “It says here: calamity and disaster are on the way, along with loneliness. But it could lead to a new partnership, perhaps even new love.”
“So, I’m doomed to disaster and loneliness, but love is around the corner?” Pansy mused, her attention drifting back to Draco in the corner. The girls scribbled their thoughts down, weighing whether the reading was enough to earn a passing grade for the essay. Draco snorted quietly to himself, finding their concerns utterly ridiculous. Divination, what a waste of a subject, taught by an equally loony professor.
As the last of the Slytherins made their way to the dormitories, he seized the moment to slip out of the common room and head toward the library.
It was nearly closing time, and Madam Pince sat at her desk, trying to charm books back to their original shelves. She shot Draco a skeptical glance, but he brushed it off, his mind focused on the book. The only other occupant of the library was Granger—how predictable, he thought. She was hunched over a stack of old Prophet articles, cross-referencing them for what seemed like an essay. But since when did class essays need references from newspaper articles? Was she gathering intel for Potter? No, he couldn’t afford to get involved in that. He swept this thought to the back of his mind and with silent resolve, he made his way toward the restricted section.
As he slipped through the gate, his heart raced with a mix of adrenaline and determination. Snape would have given him a permission slip easily, but he preferred to keep the professor out of this. Tall dark shadows flickered around the towering shelves as he navigated to the Transfiguration section. Draco whispered “Lumos,” illuminating the darkened area as he scanned the thick tomes, searching for the one referenced in his book.
Suddenly, he heard the shuffling of chairs and guessed it was Granger leaving the library; This meant that Madam Pince would be on him any second. There was no time to lose, he didn't have the time to read the book. He quickly tucked the book into his robes and exited the restricted section. The library was now deserted, save for the librarian, who glared at him with her arms crossed across her chest.
“I didn’t find what I was looking for. Good night, Madam Pince,” he purred, giving her a slight smile as he made his way toward the dungeons, hoping to avoid Peeves, Filch, and Snape along the way.
The only respite he had that week was a letter from his mother informing him of his father’s return to the manor. It simply read ‘The thunderbird has landed in his nest’ but Draco knew it referred to his father. The Dark Lord had executed a breakout of the Death Eaters from Azkaban, the Ministry had downplayed the entire affair. There was no news about it in the Daily Prophet, and everyone around him was oblivious to the breakout from the prison. It meant that the Dementors had switched sides and were now loyal to the Dark Lord, he thought.
*******
Far away in central London, Shacklebolt was summoned to the Minister of Magic's office, where he was briefed on the Azkaban breakout. The Ministry aimed to keep this news tightly under wraps; Scrimgeour wanted to maintain a façade of peace. The Auror department was swiftly deployed to track down the escaped prisoners while ensuring that word of the incident did not leak. Shacklebolt recognized the growing influence of the Dark Lord and with Lucius Malfoy back from prison, it was time to remove the vaults and Ministry influence of the Malfoys from the mix. He acted urgently and summoned the young heir for a meeting.
By evening, Draco received an owl with a brief message: "Same place, same room, tomorrow at 1 PM." He suspected it was from Shacklebolt. Hope surged in his chest—had the wizard found a safehouse already? Perhaps he could abandon his murderous plot and escape this nightmare. With a sense of urgency, he scribbled a quick reply confirming the meeting.
Under the guise of an appointment at St. Mungo's, Draco left the castle and arrived at the Crooked Wand ten minutes before their scheduled meeting. To his surprise, he found Shacklebolt already seated in the rickety chair. “I’ve located a safe place for you and your family to hide out,” the older wizard said, cutting straight to the chase. “It’s an unconventional location, out of the country, but it’s secure and suitable for your family.”
“And where is this place?” asked Draco only to be shut down by the older wizard. “I will assign a protector to you, an Order member who will take you to the place. Only the protector and I know of the safehouse location and it shall remain so.” Shacklebolt proceeded to remove a handkerchief concealed in his robes. “This is a portkey to the house in London, it is owned by the protector. The portkey will be activated by a portus spell, be careful to not activate it before the agreed date. I will meet you and your parents there and brief you about the plan, however I need to know the date in advance.”
“You expect me to trust your vague promises without any concrete details?” Draco snapped. “How am I supposed to convince my parents without knowing where we’re headed or who we’ll be traveling with? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
Shacklebolt remained unfazed and simply started at the young wizard. “You don’t have many options, young Malfoy. You can either accept my terms or continue to search for alternatives that may not exist,” he replied coolly. The Malfoys were clearly out of options, and Draco’s willingness to approach a known Order sympathizer—let alone an active member—spoke volumes about his desperation.
In that moment, Shacklebolt understood the stakes. He needed the Malfoys’ influence if he were to survive the war and aspire to the position of Minister of Magic in the post war world. But the Malfoys needed him for their survival in the upcoming war.
“Alright, hand over the portkey” sighed Draco. Shacklebolt carefully handed over the old rusty nail which was wrapped in a bundle of cloth. “We shall meet in the last week of June. I cannot confirm the date and time right now, but I am sure you can make it work either way” replied Draco. Draco handed over a fake galleon and explained that he will send a message using the galleon informing him of the date of the meeting. The two wizards shook hands on this and parted with equal uncertainty about their plan.
*******
June was almost over; Draco was losing his focus and strength to repair the broken vanishing cabinet. He had earmarked two spells to try out that night. In the dimly lit room of requirement, Draco loosened his tie and flung it over a dusty diadem that sat on a stand nearby.
With steady hands he examined the cabinet, flicked his wand and whispered the incantation ‘Coniungo’ with focus, over and over again. The air suddenly crackled with magic, and the broken pieces aligned, the cabinet simmered to life, revealing its fading gold lining. He let out a whoop of delight and a sly smile crossed his lips.
He reached for a yellow canary, which he had hidden in the cage above, the bird struggled in his grip. He tied a message to the leg and placed it in the cabinet. He waited for several minutes and then he heard soft distant chirping emanating from the cabinet. The bird had a note attached to its leg; the note was a reply scribbled by Borgin who had received his message.
He had done it! A glimmer of hope had ignited in his dark world, perhaps all was not lost he thought.
He picked up his wand from the floor and that is when he heard noises, he panicked. “Who is it?” asked the intruder. He quickly threw some Peruvian instant darkness powder and pushed the intruder out of the room. He waited patiently for the coast to be clear, and proceeded to the dungeons.
Later that night, the galleon in his pocket turned hot, Rosmerta had sent him a message. The headmaster was out of the castle, this was his chance. Draco looked at the velvet box on his dresser which had the portkey hidden in it, he contemplated his plan. Perhaps he can let the Death Eaters in and then escape, or maybe carry it with him tonight as insurance if things went wrong. The room started to spin, and Draco rushed to the sink in the bathroom.
Zabini woke up to find Draco throwing up in the loo, “You don’t seem to be doing good; do you want to go me to take you to the hospital wing” he asked. Zabini was dressed in silk shorts, he rubbed sleep from his eyes, the other dorm mates were happily snoring away.
He groaned, “Ughh I feel like all my insides are going to come out. Will you pass me a glass of water.”
Zabini conjured a glass and poured cool water into it from the tip of his wand. Draco coughed and gulped the water, spilling water on his pajamas. Zabini sniggered, “Very funny, If I die, I am haunting you for the rest of your life” warned Draco.
“Well, I will send a nice bouquet for your grave, perhaps some pansies and a bottle of Odgen’s finest firewhiskey.”
Draco attempted to throw the glass at his amused friend, but he vanished it with a lazy flick of his hand.
“Stay indoors tonight ok, don’t leave the dungeons,” said Draco. Zabini raised an eyebrow but knew better to not ask for more details, he nodded at his friend and went back to bed.
He hurriedly put on his robes, and paced to the Room of Requirement, he summoned his occlumency shields, this was not a time for doubts he thought. Perhaps he could murder the headmaster and all will end well, the Dark Lord will reward him for his success. He will be the most favored Death Eater, his family’s prestige would be restored, and things will go back to the way they were.
He conjured a blue bird and sent it through the cabinet. In a moment’s time, a witch dressed in long black robes emerged from the cabinet. He recognized her maniacal laugh “Oh well done nephew, well done. The others are joining the party” said Bellatrix and playfully pinched Draco’s cheek.
Death Eaters started emerging from the cabinet one after the other, until he spotted Greyback. “You brought him?” he angrily questioned his aunt. “Of course, he wanted to play with the little young things.”
Draco did not have time to spare, he quickly reached out for his hand of glory to check if the coast was clear. He spotted few students lurking in the corridor and threw some Peruvian instant darkness powder and guided the Death Eaters out. In matter of minutes, as they headed towards the Astronomy tower, they met with unexpected company.
He hadn’t expected a guard tonight least of all members of the Order of Phoenix. Fuck, he was out of the darkness powder. Spells and curses started flying everywhere, Draco ducked behind a tapestry, and at an opportune moment he took cover behind Gibbons and rushed towards the stairs.
He quickly made the climb and he heard noises on the other side of the door. Had the headmaster already made it back to the castle? Had Gibbons cast the Dark Mark?
He ran on the last few stairs and burst the door open and shouted ‘Expelliarmus’. His wand was pointed at the headmaster, and the disarmed headmaster stood leaning against the ramparts, his wand scattered in the corner.
“Good evening, Draco” replied Dumbledore coolly. Draco stepped forward and examined the room, he spotted a second broom. “Who else is there? Answer me!” demanded Draco.
Dumbledore ignored his question and glanced at the greenish glare of the mark and said “Well Well… you managed to find a way to get them in, didn’t you? Ingenious… pray where are they now? You seem unsupported at the moment?”
“They met with some of the Order members. But they won’t be long…I came ahead as I’ve got a job to do.” He stood in silence; the disarmed headmaster was staring back at him. He gathered his courage, however meagre but nothing happened. His wand was raised but he couldn’t cast the spell.
“Draco, my dear boy you are not a killer” replied Dumbledore softy. Draco seemed to be fighting the urge to either shout or vomit. He kept glancing back at the door, waiting for the other Death Eaters to join him. He took several deep breaths, his wand pointed straight at the headmaster’s heart.
“Draco, my offer still stands. We can hide you, and I can send someone to fetch your mother. Come to the right-side Draco, you are not a killer.”
“I haven’t got that option. I’ve got to do it, I can do it,” said Draco. His wand faltered a bit, if he murdered his headmaster, he would be rewarded beyond measure by the Dark Lord. He had come this far, he had the headmaster corned, wandless.
He decided in that moment to make this option work, it would just be one simple spell. Draco stared at Dumbledore still unable to say the incantation, his hand was now trembling.
But suddenly footsteps were thundering up the stairs and seconds later four people in dark robes entered through the door. They surveyed the room and upon seeing the headmaster cornered and wandless, they let out a laugh. Draco’s hand was shaking uncontrollably, his wand barely aimed at the headmaster who slumped further down the rampart wall.
He had to do it now, there was no better time. Before he could think of it, Snape had entered the room, his dark eyes swept the scene and spotted Draco with this wand raised at the headmaster. Snape raised his own wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
‘Avada Kedavra’
A jet stream of green light emerged from the wand, followed by a whistling sound and struck Dumbledore squarely in the chest. The headmaster’s body fell down from the tower like a old stuffed doll.
Snape seized Draco by the scruff of the neck and forced him through the door ahead of the rest.
What had just happened? Fuck, Snape had murdered the headmaster. This was his mission; he had failed his mission! Draco was shaking uncontrollably now, and Snape was casting spells left and center. He was being hurried down the stairs, Snape almost pushing him ahead all while keeping a firm grip on his robes. Was he going to be punished? Perhaps not, the headmaster was dead after all. That’s what the Dark Lord wanted wasn’t it?
Cold sweat ran down his spine, and he remembered the Dark Lord’s words- ‘If you show weakness, you will face the same fate as your father or perhaps…worse.’ He was going to die, his master was going to kill him. He was going to tear through his mind, the Dark Lord was after all a very powerful Leglimens. He will discover his secret meeting with Shacklebolt or even Snape’s offer from the Order, he is going to suspect him of being a spy and then throw him as a snack for his serpent.
They had almost made it to the grounds when a jet of red light soared past Snape’s head. “Run Draco” yelled Snape and turned back to face the attacker. Draco spared no time to turn around and ran as fast as he could towards the castle gate. When he reached the large ornate metal gate, he glanced back to see Snape dueling Potter.