Chapter 5
The camera pans upwards, and through a window in the stairway we see Lavender and Ron kiss. Even further upwards, we spot Draco staring out, a pensive expression on his face.
It’s now the next day; the hallways of Hogwarts are packed with students trying to get to their next class.
RON: Look, I can’t help it if she’s got her knickers in a twist. What Lav and I have, well, let’s just say there’s no stopping it. It’s chemical. Will it last? Who knows? Point is, I’m a free agent.
Mary frowned, annoyed. “If he’s with Lavender, than he’s not a ‘free agent.’”
“Boys,” Marlene sighed.
We quickly switch the library.
HERMIONE: He is at perfect liberty to kiss whoever he likes. I really couldn’t care less.
“Really?” James smirks. “Didn’t seem like it.”
Was I under the impression he and I would be attending Slughorn’s Christmas party together? Yes. Now, given the circumstances, I’ve had to make other arrangements.
HARRY: Have you?
HERMIONE: Yes. Why?
HARRY: Well, I just thought, seeing as neither of us can go with who we’d really like to, we should go together, as friends.
HERMIONE: Why didn’t I think of that?
HARRY: Who are you going with?
HERMIONE: Um, it’s a surprise. Anyway, it’s you we got to worry about. You can’t just take anyone. See that girl over there? Harry tries to discreetly glance over. That’s Romilda Vane. Apparently she’s trying to smuggle you a love potion.
HARRY: Really? Hermione frowns, and snaps her fingers in front of Harry’s face.
HERMIONE: Hey! She’s only interested in you because she thinks you’re the Chosen One.
HARRY: But I am the Chosen One. Hermione hits him over the head with a pamphlet. Okay, sorry. Um, kidding.
Lily laughed. “He is sort of like you, James.”
“Is that a compliment?” James grins.
She squints her eyes, considering. “Well…”
HARRY: I’ll ask someone I like. Someone cool.
We pan over to the start of the dance, and there Luna is waiting.
“Luna!” Remus cheered.
Harry rounds the corner, and they walk in together.
LUNA: I’ve never been to this part of the castle. At least not while awake. I sleepwalk, you see. That’s why I wear shoes to bed. Luna and Harry pass Draco, who’s waiting in the corner of the room.
Draco walks out, and pulls a cloth off a box. He sets a green apple on a desk, and closes the door.
DRACO: Harmonia Nectere Passus. When he reopens the door, the apple is gone.
“What is he doing?” James muttered.
Draco shuts the door with a small smile.
DRACO: Harmonia Nectere Passus. Harmonia Nectere Passus. He opens the door again, and the apple has reappeared. This time, a bite was taken out of it.
“Did he… send the apple somewhere?” Frank questioned.
We cut to the party; Harry and Slughorn pose for a picture before Slughorn walks away.
NEVILLE: Drink?
HARRY: Neville!
“Neville!” Alice smiles.
NEVILLE: I didn’t get into the Slug Club. It’s okay, though. He’s got Belby handing out towels in the loo.
“Oh,” Frank paused. “Well, he's not missing out. The Slug Club doesn’t look fun anyways.”
HARRY: Oh, well, I’m fine, mate. Thanks.
NEVILLE: Okay. Harry spots Hermione hiding behind a curtain and furrows his brows.
HARRY: Hermione? What are you doing? And what happened to you?
HERMIONE: No, I’ve just escaped. I mean, I left Cormac under the mistletoe.
HARRY: Cormac? That’s who you invited?
HERMIONE: I thought it would annoy Ron the most.
SLUGHORN: (obscured by the curtain) Thank you very much, I’ll catch up with you later.
HERMIONE: He’s got more tentacles than a Snarfalump plant. A server steps in.
SERVER: Dragon tartare?
HERMIONE: No, I’m fine. Thank you.
SERVER: Just as well. They give one horribly bad breath.
HERMIONE: On second thought… Hermione grabbed a few. Might keep Cormac at bay.
Mary chuckled. “That’s funny, actually.”
HERMIONE: Oh, God, here he comes. Hermione escapes through the curtain just as Cormac enters.
HARRY: I think she just went to powder her nose.
CORMAC: Slippery little minx, your friend. Likes to work her mouth too, doesn’t she?
Sirius grimaced. “Ew.”
HARRY: Yeah.
CORMAC: Yeah, yeah. He grabs something off of Harry’s plate. What is this I’m eating, by the way?
HARRY: Dragon balls.
Snape opens the curtains just as Cormac throws up.
James absolutely cackled.
SNAPE: You just bought yourself a month’s detention, McLaggen. Harry tries to escape through the curtain as well. Not so quick, Potter.
HARRY: Sir, I really think I should rejoin the party. My date–
SNAPE: Can surely survive with your absence for another minute or two. Besides, I only wish to convey a message.
HARRY: A message?
SNAPE: From Professor Dumbledore. He asked me to give you his best, and he hopes you enjoy your holiday. You see, he’s traveling, and he won’t return until term resumes.
“Dumbledore just has the best timing, doesn’t he?” Lily snarked under her breath.
HARRY: Traveling where? Snape just walks away. As Snape departs, Draco enters, being brought along by Flich.
DRACO: Ah! Take your hands off me you filthy squib!
FILCH: Professor Slughorn, sir. I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party.
DRACO: Okay, okay. I was gatecrashing! Happy?
SNAPE: I’ll escort him out. Filch lets go of him and Draco glares at Snape. It seems that there’s a second conversation happening with only their eyes.
DRACO: Certainly, Professor. They walk out.
SLUGHORN: Alright everyone, carry on, carry on!
We cut to a corridor.
DRACO: Maybe I did hex that Bell girl. Maybe I didn’t. What’s it to you?
“So he did do it!” Lily exclaimed triumphantly.
SNAPE: I swore to protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow.
DRACO: I don’t need protection. I was chosen for this. Out of all others. Me. And I won’t fail him.
“Chosen for what?” Remus wondered.
“To sow discord within Hogwarts?” James answered, equally curious.
SNAPE: You’re afraid, Draco. You attempt to conceal it, but it’s obvious. Let me assist you. Slowly, the camera perspective starts to shift through a wall.
DRACO: No! I was chosen! This is my moment! Harry is listening. He breathes, still and silent.
The scene abruptly changes, and the trio are on the train covered in the snow.
RON: Unbreakable Vow? You’re sure that’s what Snape said?
HARRY: Positive. Why?
RON: Well, it’s just that you can’t break an Unbreakable Vow.
“Astute,” Severus mumbled, and looked away.
HARRY: I’d worked that out for myself, funnily enough.
RON: You don’t understand. He tenses, seeing someone approach. Oh, Bloody Hell.
It’s Lavender; she breathes warm air and draws a heart containing the letters: R + L.
“Oh,” James paused. “That’s certainly something.”
LAVENDER: (muffled by the glass) I miss you. Ron grimaces as she walks away.
HARRY: Lovely.
RON: All she wants to do is snog me. My lips are getting chapped. Look! He leans in.
HARRY: I’ll take your word for it. Hermione walks up, about to enter. She sees the heart drawn on the doorway, and swiftly exits. The boys are awkwardly silent. So, what happens to you? What happens when you break an Unbreakable Vow?
RON: You die.
The scene cuts to a cake, with an enchanted figurine skating around it like an ice rink. Various Weasley members are laughing and playing. In the background, a group of Lupin, Tonks, Harry, and Mr. Weasley are in deep discussion.
LUPIN: Voldemort has chosen Draco Malfoy for a mission?
HARRY: I know it sounds mad.
“Not really,” Frank pondered. “When you really think about it, it makes sense that Voldemort would need someone in Hogwarts. For observation and recruiting.”
LUPIN: Has it occurred to you, Harry, that Snape was simply pretending to offer Draco help so he could find out what he was up to?
HARRY: That’s not what it sounded like.
TONKS: Perhaps Harry’s right, Remus. To make an Unbreakable Vow, it’s–
LUPIN: It comes down to whether or not your trust Dumbledore’s judgment. Dumbledore trusts Snape, therefore I do.
“That’s a good point,” Ted agrees. “And if you can’t trust Dumbledore, then who can you trust?”
HARRY: Dumbledore can make mistakes, he said so himself.
“That’s a good point,” Lily pointed out. “Nobody is perfect.”
LUPIN: You’re blinded by hatred.
HARRY: I’m not.
LUPIN: Yes, you are. People are disappearing, Harry, daily. We can only place our trust in a handful of people. If we start fighting amongst ourselves, we’re doomed.
"Little harsh there, eh, Remus?" Sirius jokes, uncomfortable.
"Not really; what future me said was right," Remus frowned, and glanced at Severus. "They can suspect Draco without suspecting Snape."
There’s a tense silence as Tonks gets up, then Lupin. Ginny walks in bearing cookies, and then sits down. Perhaps sensing a moment, Mr. Weasley stands up and leaves them alone. Ginny lifts a cookie.
GINNY: Open up, you. Don’t you trust me? She feeds him a cookie.
James cringes. “That’s…”
“Cute!” Lily finishes, elbowing James.
HARRY: It’s good. Ron walks in, and starts to sit down in the middle of them. He holds a platter of pies.
RON: (awkwardly) Pie?
HARRY: Not for me, no. Ron nods, and then snacks on one.
The camera perspective changes for a moment, resting outside the Weasleys’ house. It’s foreboding. Then, we’re back in the house. This time, it seems the basement; where dust covers every surface and the air is infested with must.
MR. WEASLEY: You’ll have to forgive Remus. It takes its toll, his condition.
HARRY: Are you alright, Mr. Weasley?
MR. WEASLEY: We’re being followed, all of us. Most days, Molly doesn’t leave the house. It’s not been easy.
HARRY: Did you get my owl?
MR. WEASLEY: Yes! I did. If Dumbledore is traveling, then that’s news to the Ministry, but perhaps that’s the way Dumbledore wants it. As for Draco Malfoy, I know a bit more.
HARRY: Go on.
MR. WEASLEY: I sent an agent to Borgin and Burkes. I think, from what you’ve described, what you and Ron saw at the end of the summer, the object that Draco is so interested in is a vanishing cabinet.
Remus raised an eyebrow. “A vanishing cabinet? For what? They’ll be no war at Hogwarts.”
HARRY: A vanishing cabinet?
MR. WEASLEY: They were all the rage when Voldemirst first rose to power. You can see the appeal. Should Death Eaters come knocking, one simply had to slip inside and disappear for an hour or two. They can transport you practically anywhere. Tricky contraptions though, very temperamental.
HARRY: What happened to it? The one at Borgin and Burkes?
MR. WEASLEY: Nothing. It’s still there.
“Really?” Andromeda frowned. “I thought we saw it previously.”
We cut back to the mysterious perspective of outside the home. Lupin and Tonks are leaving.
TONKS: (from afar) It was delicious, Molly. Really.
MRS. WEASLEY: Are you sure you won’t stay?
TONKS: No, we should go. (whispers) The first night of the cycle’s always the worst.
MR. WEASLEY: Remus? Lupin is watching, something’s off in the grass.
TONKS: Sweetheart?
“Bud, whatcha staring at?” Sirius asked nervously.
Harry is above, watching on the steps. Ginny steps up; she’s in her robe.
GINNY: Has Ron gone to bed?
HARRY: Um… not yet. No. She looks him up and down.
GINNY: Shoelace. She kneels down and ties it for him. She stands back up. Merry Christmas, Harry.
HARRY: Merry Christmas.
“Breaking bro-code,” Peter mentioned. “Kissing his best friend’s girl.”
“Breaking bro-code, you say?” Sirius glowered. Peter gulped.
They’re about to kiss when fire springs from the sky sets align the grass.
“Merlin’s beard!” Ted exclaimed.
The fire forms a circle, and a dark cloud falls from the heavens and reveals herself. It is Bellatrix. Tonks and Lupin take out their wands, and she sprints away. Before either can give chase, Harry runs after her.
MRS. WEASLEY: Harry, no! Lupin takes after Harry.
TONKS: Remus! She follows Lupin. The fire opens as Harry sprints through it, but closes before Lupin or Tonks could follow.
“My son,” James mumbled to himself, slightly hysterical.
Tonks, using her wand, tries to manage the fire. Ginny runs out of the house.
MRS. WEASLEY: Ginny! Ginny is able to leap through the fire using the hole that Tonks made.
Harry runs through the tall grass, fruitlessly searching.
BELLATRIX: I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black! It echoes in his ears, pounding each and every crevice. I killed Sirius Black! You coming to get me?
All seething eyes lock onto Bellatrix, who mockingly draws a hand to her chest and grins.
Her mad cackle overtakes the sound of his labored breathing. Harry, can you get me? You coming to get me? Ginny runs too, chasing.
Harry stops, he can’t hear her anymore. He comes to a realization: he’s lost, and Bellatrix has the advantage. Harry picks a random direction and keeps running. Ginny too pauses, lost in the maze. Something is slinking through the grass.
GINNY: Harry? She nervously backs away. A figure emerges: Fenrir Greyback.
Remus draws in a deep breath, and holds it in. Seeing Greyback bothers him, more than he thought it would. He barely even remembers the attack, just a ball of grey fur spiraling towards him and then pain… pain so intense he only feels it again during the terrible embrace of the full moon.
Harry runs into the open area and covers her.
HARRY: Stupefy! Greyback blocks it, and then vanishes into the cloud of black smoke. There’s noises all around them, as Harry and Ginny point their wands. The ground is wet and muddy; every noise of trampling grass is menacing.
“How many of them even are there?” Frank exclaims.
The camera perspective changes: we’re in the grass. There is a strand of messy hair, and Bellatrix watches Harry and Ginny.
MR. WEASLEY: Harry! She turns.
Lupin and Tonks are lost in the maze, until they hear the sound of spells firing. Ginny and Harry are blocking curses from each direction.
MR. WEASLEY: Ginny!
Ginny and Harry successfully hold off the Death Eaters, as Mr. Weasley, Lupin, and Tonks join and reinforce their ranks. Bellatrix and Greyback vanish, along with another. They fly into the house, setting the Burrow ablaze.
“Oh, god!” Lily gasps.
“Is anyone still in the house?” James worries.
“Good riddance,” Bellatrix whispers towards Narcissa. “It was hideous anyways.”
“It was an ancestral home of purebloods,” Narcissa responded with a frown. “Even if it’s the Weasleys. It’s unfortunateit got burned.”
MR. WEASLEY: Molly. He runs. They reach back in time to see Molly, the Twins, and Ron watch in horror as their house burns to ashes.