Draco Malfoy and the Deathly Hallows (BOOK 7 of 7)

Chapter 38-Do You Understand?

"I do not need to seek the boy. Before the night is out, he will come to me, do you understand?"

Draco fell back against the wall as he watched Voldemort march to Rabastan Lestrange and slap him.

"Look at me!" the Dark Lord commanded. "Is there anything of value you would like to contribute? Or do you wish to remain useless?"

"M-my Lord," Rabastan whimpered. As he attempted to collect his thoughts before his master, Draco took in the scene, attempting to determine where they were. The building seemed to be made of wood. Nagini was slithering on the ground by a door. But Draco could not make out the location by the time Rabastan had found something to say.

"My Lord, what about Malfoy?" the Death Eater asked. "Allow me to find him and destroy him as a service to you."

"A service?" Voldemort roared. "You believe it would be a service to hand out justice to a boy who betrayed me?"

"No! No, my Lord, I—"

"As it happens, Draco Malfoy is the least of my worries. If the boy knows what is best for him, he will not interfere with the battle. He won't stand a chance with both sides against him."

"But my Lord, he helped Potter escape."

Voldemort shook his head. "I pity you are not more intelligent like your brother. Draco Malfoy only helped Potter so he himself could escape. After his parents abandoned out cause, why would he not do the same?"

Rabastan had no answer.

"Perhaps you still have some use," Voldemort said. "Go fetch Severus for me. I must speak with him immediately."

Rabastan bowed and quickly ran out of the room. The scene evaporated in Draco's mind as the image in front of him came into focus.

"Mate, you alright?" Theo asked.

Draco nodded. "I have to go. Something's come up." Without a second glance, he sprinted down the corridor and made his way all the way down to the first floor. If he'd seen Voldemort, then Potter must have as well. Draco needed to find the Gryffindor and figure out where Snape was headed, other than to his doom. Why else would the Dark Lord require his services in the middle of a battle?

He found the fake sickle in his pocket and messaged Hermione. Where are you? No reply. He pocketed the coin and raced down to the bridge at the back entrance, only to find Death Eaters pouring in. He turned around and made for the courtyard. Acromantulas were running all around, trolls were causing chaos, and Death Eaters stormed in by the hundreds. Draco spotted Hermione ducking behind a bell as a troll swung his club at her. Not far behind her were Potter and Ron Weasley, who must have left his brothers and Theo after Draco did.

Dementors started flooding towards them from all around when suddenly, a bright white light shoved them all away. Draco turned to see that Aberforth had joined the battle.

As soon as they were clear, the three Gryffindors took off, Draco in pursuit. He didn't dare call out to them, though, in case a Death Eater heard.

Out of nowhere, Rabastan Lestrange flew into Draco, knocking him to the ground.

"Look what we've got here!" he exclaimed. "The Dark Lord's very own traitor!"

"Didn't he warn you to stay away from me?" Draco said, taking the older man by surprise.

Rabastan simply retaliated with a curse, which Draco easily deflected.

"Don't try me, Lestrange. I haven't got time for the likes of you."

"Yeah? And what about your parents? Where are those bloody cowards?"

As Draco tried to keep Hermione in his sight, he failed to hit Rabastan with his Sectumsempra. He ran towards the Trio, who were headed towards the Whomping Willow.

"That's right, run away, Malfoy! It's what you do best! Flipendo!"

Draco deflected the jinx and shot him with a Stun, which caught Rabastan square in the chest. Satisfied, Draco kept running as Hermione slid into the Whomping Willow. He caught up just in time to slide down into the tunnel before the tree went back to normal.

He couldn't see Hermione and had no idea where he was, so he simply lit his wand and followed the path. Before long, he saw a light. He wrapped the Invisibility Cloak around himself and emerged on the other side. It was a small hallway, similar to the one he had seen. He could now see the Golden Trio hiding behind a large wooden structure near a room with frosted glass windows. Draco quietly walked forward and peered into the room.

Snape stood against the window while Voldemort and Nagini stood in the middle of the room.

"While you live," the Dark Lord was saying, "the Elder Wand truly cannot be mine. I may not possess the wand, but soon, I will be its master."

Draco frowned. Surely Voldemort was not naive enough to believe Snape was the master of the Elder Wand. After all, everyone saw Draco disarm Dumbledore.

"You've been a good and faithful servant, Severus, but only I can live forever."

With a flick of his wand, Voldemort slit Snape's throat and vaporized out of the room with his snake.

Instantly, Draco rushed to his godfather and began healing him, but before he could do much, Potter and the others stumbled into the room. The Boy Who Kept Living While Others Died knelt by Snape and placed his hands around the throat to stop the bleeding, to no avail.

Draco wondered why no one was acknowledging him, but he kept trying to heal Snape, starting with repairing the vein in his neck.

A tear slipped out of Snape's left eye. "Take it," the man urged Potter.

Potter turned around and said, "Hermione, a flask. Quickly!"

Hermione rummaged in her bag and handed Potter a vial. He grabbed it and held it up to Snape's face, allowing the tear to fall in.

"Take it to the Pensieve in the headmaster's office," Snape instructed. Potter made to leave, but Snape held him back. "Look at me. You have your mother's eyes."

Draco could feel Snape losing consciousness so he Imperiused Potter to leave. When they were gone, Draco dropped down, the Invisibility Cloak slipping off his back. He'd forgotten he had it on.

"Professor!" he exclaimed. As fast as he could, he kept Snape conscious while stopping the blood flow. The man who taught him the power of healing now sat in front of him, slowly fading into nothingness. But if Draco let that happen, he would have failed his former teacher.

"Draco," Snape spoke softly while the boy worked on saving him. "Do you understand while I had to kill Dumbledore?"

Draco nodded. "The curse from Marvolo Gaunt's ring. Luna Lovegood told me. And also so I wouldn't have to kill someone."

"Now you must also understand that Potter will die."

"What?" Draco was confused, but maintained focus as he moved on from Episkey to Vulnera Santentur.

"I've given him my memories. He will learn and accept his fate, but then he must go to the Dark Lord. It's the only way the Dark Lord can be vanquished."

"But why?"

"You will later learn. Now you must let me go."

Draco shook his head. He had used every other healing spell in the book until Snape was finally in a suitable condition for transport.

"I refuse." He apparated them to St. Mungo's and got the attention of a healer. "His throat was slit, but I've managed to do as much as I can," he explained. As the healer nodded and brought out a stretcher, Draco told his godfather, "Dumbledore never lost faith in you, and neither will I."

As soon as the healer wheeled Snape out of Draco's sight, the Slytherin boy apparated back to Hogsmeade and ran towards his burning school.

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