BORN TO DIE    ╱    DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
092 ━━━━━━━ ❛ caught red-handed ❜

Being back at Hogwarts for the few weeks that they'd been was just as it was before they all had left for holiday. Umbridge was still a nasty witch, trying to take over the school, emplacing more and more rules each day. Draco was still a part of the Inquisitorial Squad. Dumbledore's Army's training had picked up where it left off. All the while, Olivia and Draco were seemingly at odds (but not really; they were pretending for the sake of image).

No one in Dumbledore's Army could know that they were... together? Olivia wasn't exactly sure what they were, but she knew they weren't just friends. And none of the other members of that bloody squad could know either, especially Umbridge, for much of the same reason. Meaning they were pretending to be angry with one another, even around their friends.

So, as they sat in the Great Hall, eating breakfast, the tension between the group was strong, even though there were no actual hard feelings among any of them. Olivia's eyes were trained on her book that she was reading as she ate, and Draco's were on his plate. She could feel Pansy's eyes flickering between them and could tell that the girl wanted to say something, but she didn't look up and acknowledge her in her panicked state. Blaise, Lucas, and Theodore were also focused on their plates, unaware of Pansy's fighting thoughts.

"When are you two going to get over this little spat?" Pansy finally blurted out, leaning in closer and keeping her voice hushed so that she wouldn't get in trouble for talking too loud since their lunch was being used for study hall as everyone, besides Olivia and Draco, whose focus remained on their food and her book, looked up at her. Her eyes went between Draco and Olivia with a stressed expression.

"It's not a spat," Olivia began, her tone careless. "It's how it is."

"Well, it's bloody annoying," Pansy added. "I despise it when you two fight."

Did Olivia feel slightly bad for not telling the others, specifically Pansy, that she and Draco were just fine because it stressed them out greatly? Yes. But it was for the best. She couldn't have people find out—it would ruin everything. She would no longer be trusted; Harry had practically said as much himself after Draco had kissed Olivia in the Great Hall that one day. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Looking at her best friend, Olivia sighed. "I'll tell you, Pans. If Draco learns how not to be an insufferable twat, then I will forget all of our issues, and we'll no longer be fighting," she explained sarcastically, with a tight smile.

"Yeah, I'm the one that has to learn," Draco muttered under his breath.

Olivia just glared at him, faking her annoyance. Then she stood up from her seat. "I can't focus in here," she told them with an irritated smile, truly needing a quieter place to read. She was no longer hungry either. She gathered her things and didn't wait for them to say anything before she walked away, going towards the double doors of the Great Hall.

Just as she reached the doors, someone called her name a few times. She didn't recognize the voice at first, so she planned on ignoring them, but when she heard their clampering steps come to a stop behind her and them still saying her name, she turned around to face them. It was Nigel, and suddenly the voice was familiar since she now knew who it was. He was holding the Daily Prophet and heaving in breaths, probably from the fact that he sprinted over to her from the Gryffindor table. She raised her brows just as he held it up for her to take. "You might want to read this," he said in huffs, still trying to catch his breath.

She took the paper from him and scanned her eyes over the front-page headline. Mass Breakout From Azkaban, it read in big letters. Then she read over the article, seeing that ten prisoners, including Bellatrix Lestrange, had escaped. She quickly flipped to the next page and read that the Minister was blaming Sirius for the escape since he "had experience" and was the cousin of Bellatrix. Olivia wished she could just tell everyone that Sirius wasn't the man that they all thought he was, but she knew that would ruin everything.

Looking up from the paper as she folded it closed again, she realized that the chatter around the room was all about what she had just read. Her gaze then fell onto Nigel, who had calmed his breathing and was staring at her with a wide-eyed look. "Thank you, Nigel," she told him, offering a thin smile before storming her way back over to the Slytherin table.

She came up behind Draco, who was still eating and ignoring the glances sent in his direction, no doubt because his aunt had escaped from Azkaban and, a couple of years before, his cousin. She then tossed the paper down in front of him and leaned down, placing her head beside his as she rested her weight on the hand that she had planted on the table. Was what she was about to say necessary? No, but it sold the we-are-not-on-good-terms act that she and Draco had going on.

"It looks like there's going to be a family reunion soon," she whispered to him snarkily, though their friends could hear. He looked over at her with a blank expression, meeting her gaze as she smirked at him. She leaned a bit closer. "I do hope you have fun." Then she walked away, leaving the Prophet with him, and began back towards the Great Hall doors.

The Golden Trio walked in just as she was about to walk out. She stopped in her tracks, giving Harry a knowing look, to which he returned. The three of them walked a little closer to her, and Harry opened his mouth to ask, "Did you—"

But before he could finish, Seamus Finnigan stood up from the Gryffindor table. "Harry. Olivia," he said rather eagerly, causing them all to face him. Some others looked over at him as well, curious as to what he had to say to them since he'd been one of the main ones to not believe either of them about Voldemort being back and what happened in the graveyard. Olivia thought back to when he alluded to her being "the real murderer" in Umbridge's first class of the year. "I, uh, I wanted to apologize... to both of you," he admitted, sounding unsure of where he was going with this. "Now, even me mum says the Prophet's version of things don't add up. So, what I'm really trying to say is that I believe you."

"Meaning you no longer think I'm a murderer?" Olivia asked bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her brows.

Shame came across Finnigan's face as he looked down at his shoes for a second. "Yeah, I suppose I don't." He found Olivia's eyes, looking sincere with his words as he fiddled with his fingers nervously, like he was scared they wouldn't forgive him. "I'm sorry."

Olivia and Harry glanced at one another, speaking through their eyes without even uttering a word, as Hermione, Weasley, Finnigan, and some others, including Olivia's friends, still sitting at the Slytherin table, watched them. Then they focused back on the boy. "It's all right," said Harry, speaking for both of them.

Olivia sighed, rolling her eyes. "I suppose."

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Later that day, Olivia was walking down the corridor alone when she heard someone call her name from behind her. She turned around right away, and her eyes landed on none other than Draco, who was walking towards her. She put a stern look on her face as she crossed her arms and looked around the corridor, behind her, beside her, and behind him. There was no one in sight, so her expression relaxed a bit but not fully, in case someone suddenly appeared.

"What do you want, Draco?" she asked, raising her brows as he came to a stop in front of her.

He, too, glanced all around the corridor, making sure they were indeed alone before he focused back on her and smirked. He didn't give her an answer as he grabbed her wrist, pulling her with him as he went past her and pulled her toward the storage cupboard just a bit down the corridor. Opening the door, he entered, continuing to drag her with him. Then he closed the door once they were inside.

"Why are we in a storage cupboard?" Her tone was full of confusion, but it also had a bit of amusement in it.

He just shrugged carelessly, taking a step closer as her back brushed against the shelves behind her. His gaze fell to her lips as hers went over his face before falling on his lips as well. "Because I can't do this out in the open." And then he grabbed the sides of her face and kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him closer, pushing their bodies against each other as she kissed him back. But after only a moment, she gently pushed him away, not by much, still wanting him to be close but just enough to break their kiss. "As much as this is fun," she began, "I have somewhere to be."

His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed, giving her a suspicious look. "You always seem to have somewhere to be," he told her, thinking back to all the times he'd heard those same exact words from her during that year alone. He knew she was up to something and that it probably had to do with what Umbridge thought Potter was up to, but he didn't know exactly what the "something" was. He had an idea—they all did—but nothing was confirmed because they could never get close enough to actually see anything. The group was always a step ahead. He had a feeling Olivia was to do with that, being as brilliant and clever as she was.

She didn't acknowledge the suspicious gaze he had. All she said was, "I'll see you later, Draco." Then she stood taller, placing a small kiss on his cheek before bringing her face in front of his, so that their noses were only an inch or two apart, and sweetly smiled as her gaze flickered between both of his cloudy eyes. After that, she turned to the door and peeked her head out to make sure the coast was clear before leaving and going to where she had to go.

Draco just stayed in the storage cupboard for a moment, letting out a sigh, and then he copied her actions as he made sure no one was going to see him walking out. Then he went in the opposite direction Olivia had.

Olivia had gone to a D.A. meeting after that. And that was how her days went for the following two months—her and Draco sneaking around, keeping whatever they were secret from everyone for good reason, them going to classes, and her going to meetings. And it was only those three things when she wasn't studying or with her friends since Umbridge said that she was no longer allowed to have meetings with Snape, which had proved to be something Olivia missed more than she thought she would.

Over the course of those two months, her and Draco's secret relationship came close to being discovered by their friends several times. When she laughed at something he said, or when they were seen smiling at each other, or when they didn't make snarky remarks in times they usually would while being annoyed with each other, or other minor infractions. It was quite obvious that Pansy was suspicious of them, but she never actually accused them of anything. Still, she certainly had her eye on them.

Keeping with her routine, Olivia was standing in the Room of Requirement, next to Harry and in front of the other members. They had finally gotten to patronuses, and Olivia was quite excited. It wasn't every day that she got to practice casting her patronus, after all.

"Make it a powerful memory, the happiest you can remember," Harry instructed as he walked forward, passing between two girls, who had their wands at the ready. Olivia made her way over to some others, ready to inspect their casting abilities and help where needed. "Allow it to fill you up." He glanced over his shoulder at Finnigan, who was now a part of Dumbledore's Army, since he'd come to his senses about Olivia and Harry. "Keep trying, Seamus." Then he turned to the twins, pointing at one of them. "George, your turn now."

"Expecto Patronum!" George cast, staring up at where the patronus was slightly formed.

"A full-bodied patronus is the most difficult to produce," Harry explained, continuing to make his way around the room as Olivia did the same on the other side. "But shield forms can also be equally useful against a variety of opponents." He passed by Ginny just as she cast her patronus, the blue glowing light forming a horse in the air. "Fantastic, Ginny!" Harry praised her excitedly, a bright smile on his face. "Just remember, your patronus can only protect you for as long as you can stay focused."

Olivia came to a stop beside Lucas and his friends as her brother effortlessly cast his patronus—a large Borzoi, glowing bright blue as it ran through the air. It clearly wasn't his first time doing so, and Olivia knew that too well, remembering how Theodore had informed her of Lucas casting his patronus when she'd been attacked by a Dementor on the train at the start of her third year. She also remembered all the times they had practiced before ever attending Hogwarts.

"All right, all right. Stop being a show-off," Akeno teased, playfully smacking Lucas's chest with the back of his hand, with an equally playful smile on his face. His cheeks dimpled, and his brown eyes sparkled. "We get it, Luke. You can cast a patronus."

The smug smirk on Lucas's face—again, reminding Olivia of Theodore a little too much—just deepened as he carelessly shrugged. "Never hurts to practice, Akeno."

"You are absolutely right, Lucas," Olivia chimed in, causing the group to look over at her. Her arms were behind her back, one hand holding onto the wrist of her other arm, and she had a small smirk on her lips. "Akeno, why don't you give it a try?" She suggested as she lifted an offering hand. "As Harry said, think of your happiest memory. Focus on it."

"This is really advanced stuff, guys," Harry went on, standing in the middle of the room as he looked around at everyone. He seemed quite excited, wishing success for all of them. "You're doing so well."

Akeno looked skeptical at first as he focused on Olivia, like he wasn't sure if he could do it or not. But then a wave of confidence seemed to hit him as he rolled his shoulders and shook away some nerves, under the gaze of all of his friends and Olivia. He drew his wand and pointed it towards the ceiling. And with a clear of his throat, he seemed to gather his memory and focus on it. It only took another second before he cast, "Expecto Patronum!"

A glowing Great Grey Owl appeared from his wand, soaring around the air. His and the rest of their faces brightened up as they watched the owl. Then he had a heap of excited and pleased smiles focused on him to go with his soft one.

"Akeno! You did it!" Evelyn beamed, giving him a quick hug.

Lucas dropped his hand on the boy's shoulder after Evelyn pulled away, causing Akeno to look at him. "That was brilliant, Akeno. An owl fits you well—strong, free-spirited, charismatic, friendly, bold, fierce protector."

"Thank you, Luke," Akeno replied, smiling with a slight pink tint to his cheeks.

After that, each of them took turns trying to cast their patronuses as the others watched closely and the rest of Dumbledore's Army continued practicing their own. Evelyn went after Akeno, conjuring a white swan after a few tries. White swans symbolized beauty and grace, and their casters were meant to be emotional, sensitive, kind, strong due to their intense feelings, and ambitious. It was quite right for Evelyn, Olivia thought, even in the short time she'd actually known and been around her.

Next was Luna, who cast a hare, which, in the air, hopped all around the room. The caster was meant to be intelligent, patient, and underestimated, which was very much a good way to describe Luna Lovegood.

Then it was time for the boy—Finley Bancroft was his name—to go. Olivia had first recognized him to be the one that Akeno had gone to the Yule Ball with, and she knew he was still friends with the rest of them, despite him and Akeno taking nothing further than their one date to the ball. He lifted his wand, readying himself to cast his patronus. He said the spell, and a blue light came from his wand in the shape of an Ibizan hound. She didn't know Finley very well, but Olivia knew that this patronus meant that the caster was highly likable, sociable, intelligent, active, extremely loyal, and also somewhat stubborn. That sounded much like a Gryffindor, which Finley was.

Once each of them had cast their patronus, Olivia praised them on a job well done and went to walk away to see if any of the others needed her assistance. She heard her brother say something about wishing someone named Eloise was there, but she had no idea who Eloise was, so she didn't listen to the conversation quite closely as the others agreed with Lucas. Before she could get too far away, however, Evelyn's chipper voice rang in her ears.

"Olivia," the girl said quickly, causing Olivia to turn around and look at her curiously. "Uhm, I was wondering what your patronus was. Lucas has never told us, despite how much he's bragged about you." She let out a soft laugh, showing off a genuinely kind smile.

Olivia smiled back. She never would turn down an invitation to show off her patronus—she did have one of the rarest ones, after all. "I'll show you," she told the girl, moving back over to them. Some others glanced over at her with curiosity, no doubt having heard Evelyn's words. She drew out her wand and twirled it between her fingers as she thought of her happiest memory. It had always been a childhood memory of her and Lucas enjoying their time with Bobbin and Trinky, but this time was different.

This time, as she closed her eyes, she thought about a particular blonde boy and the letters that had been exchanged between them over the summer—how they made her feel—and how she felt when she saw him again at the beginning of the year and had kissed him in front of everyone. That past summer had truly been one of her happiest because of him, despite all of the intruding thoughts she'd had about Cedric, Voldemort, and what was to come now that the Dark Lord was back.

When her eyes opened again, the memory and her feelings being the only things on her mind, she lifted her wand. "Expecto Patronum!" She cast the spell with power, and from the tip of her wand, a dragon appeared, flying around the room. A Hebridean Black, to be exact. Her favorite type of dragon.

Everyone else watched with fascination as it flew around, and she smiled. There were some gasps from around the room as Hermione stepped forward, looking amazed. "Olivia," she practically gasped, causing the girl's eyes to focus on her as the patronus flew around her head and then landed on her shoulder. "You are aware that a dragon is one of the rarest patronuses, aren't you?"

Olivia's smile turned into more of a knowing smirk, and then she carelessly shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't to her, really, since she had grown quite used to her patronus. One of the many perks of being able to cast it for so long.

"Of bloody course your patronus is a dragon," Weasley muttered, shaking his head in disbelief, though there was a tad bit of amusement at the fact in his features.

Everyone's excitement then suddenly turned to confusion when the sound of rumbling caught in their ears. All of the patronuses quickly disappeared, including Olivia's dragon, as they looked around curiously, wondering what the noise was. Another rumble and shake of the room followed, and then the lights went out for a second before returning. The loud sound was coming from where the entrance usually was, though the wall was lined with old mirrors. The chandelier began to shake with each thud and rumble that followed, and the lights went in and out as well. The others watched, perplexed, as Harry and Nigel creeped closer to the wall. Olivia was just a few feet behind them. Then the mirrors began to crack and shatter, causing shards to fall to the floor and revealing the stone wall behind them.

Fred and George raised their wands slightly as Olivia clutched hers tightly in her hand. Her gut was churning with the thought that they had been discovered, finally unveiled by Umbridge and her bloody squad. There was a hole in the stone, and Harry and Nigel moved a little closer to it. Olivia followed them.

"I'll make short work of this," Umbridge's annoying voice rang in their ears, causing Olivia to sigh and that pit in her stomach to deepen as they looked through the hole and saw the pink-wearing professor and a bit of her squad.

They'd been caught.

Umbridge lifted her wand, and Harry quickly grabbed Olivia and Nigel, pulling them back and away from the wall, as the witch said, "Bombarda Maxima!"

The stone wall exploded into giant pieces, throwing themselves inside the room with the force of the spell. Luckily, Harry, Nigel, and Olivia had made it back to the others before they could be hit with anything.

Everyone was breathing heavily as they watched Umbridge and her squad move closer. Then Draco stepped into view, dragging... Cho Chang? with him, a smirk on his face. She looked guilty, but Olivia didn't notice because her eyes were solely focused on Draco, who was staring at her as well. She'd known he was a part of the squad, and he'd known she was up to something, but still, seeing each other at that moment shook something in them that neither wanted to think about.

They were on opposite sides, and they always would be.

Umbridge's pride was quite apparent as she took in the group of wide-eyed students. And when her eyes landed on Olivia's, she sneered in disgust before turning her chin over her shoulder in the direction of Draco, whose smirk had disappeared. "It looks like your girlfriend chose her side, Malfoy," she told him with no sorrow in her tone. Her eyes found Olivia again. "Pity."

Some looked over at Olivia, but she was narrowing her eyes at the witch. "I am not his girlfriend or anything of the sort, nor will I ever be," Olivia told her through gritted teeth. She had to keep up the act, of course. But, right then, she wasn't sure if it was an act anymore. "And you're mental. You could've killed us with your little exploding wall act."

Umbridge just shrugged, as if the thought was nothing. "Collateral damage."

Olivia didn't miss how Draco's eyes snapped to the woman, giving her an unreadable look. It was almost like he wasn't pleased with her words, and that made Olivia curious. She knew he cared about her, but even over their victory?

Before anyone could say anything else, Umbridge hissed, "Get them."

The squad moved into the room, and immediately Draco, no longer holding onto Cho, went to grab Olivia, but she looked up at him with a glare. "Touch me and die," she told him, and he quickly backed off and let someone else take her.

Afterwards, she, Harry, and Cho were dragged to Dumbledore's office.

"I've been watching them for weeks," Umbridge admitted to the Minister, sounding quite excited as they entered the Headmaster's office. She was clutching onto the list of names of the ones a part of D.A. as she walked alongside the man. Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish, two Ministry workers, stood behind them. "And see, Dumbledore's Army"—she handed the list to Fudge—"proof of what I've been telling you right from the beginning, Cornelius," she explained, as if she had made some grand discovery.

Olivia and Harry were being held by Percy Weasley, who the girl had always known was a twat since the moment she met him when he was attending Hogwarts and one of Gryffindor's prefects and who was also now a Ministry worker. Cho just followed closely behind them, bowing her head in guilt and studying her shoes.

"All your fear-mongering about You-Know-Who never fooled us for a minute," Umbridge continued, now focused on Dumbledore, who was sitting against the front of his desk with his hands clasped together in his lap. "We saw your lies for what they were—a smokescreen for your bid to seize control of the Ministry."

Olivia rolled her eyes at how unhinged the woman sounded.

"Naturally," Dumbledore replied boredly.

"No, professor," Harry said quickly, trying to get Dumbledore to stop. Then he turned to the others. "He had nothing to do with it. It was me."

"Most noble of you, Harry, to shield me, but as has been pointed out, the parchment clearly says Dumbledore's Army, not Potter's," he reminded the boy, and Olivia mentally cursed herself for them coming up with such a ridiculous name when Dumbledore wasn't even involved. Not that she cared about the professor being removed or not (well, she did a bit because he was much better than Umbridge, who was no doubt next in line for the Head's seat). "I instructed Harry to form this organization and enlist Olivia's help. And I, and I alone, am responsible for its activities."

"Dispatch an owl to the Daily Prophet," Fudge ordered, and Olivia looked over at him as if he were daft. All he cared about was writing about what happened to the Prophet? Some Minister he was. "If we hurry, we should still make the morning edition." He inhaled deeply as he stared at the ground. "Dawlish, Shacklebolt, you will escort Dumbledore"—he looked up at the Headmaster—"to Azkaban to await trial for conspiracy and sedition."

Olivia's eyes widened upon hearing this. Azkaban was a tad extreme for a secret organization that taught students how to defend themselves, was it not? Then again, they also thought Dumbledore was trying to take Fudge's place (someone needed to) and that he lied about Voldemort being back to help do so, which made no sense at all, but once more, nothing Umbridge or Fudge cooked up together or alone made any sense.

"Ah." Dumbledore stood up from his desk as they creeped closer, holding up a finger. "I thought we might hit this little snag." He turned and rounded his desk as Shacklebolt looked at Olivia and Harry for a long moment, causing Olivia to knit her brows. "You seem to be laboring under the delusion that I'm going to... What was the phrase?" He raised his brows. "Come quietly." He watched as Umbridge and Dawlish went up a step. "Well, I can tell you this... I have no intention of going to Azkaban," he said calmly.

"Enough of this," Umbridge said sharply. "Take him!"

But before any of them could move another step, Fawkes screeched as he came flying towards them. Olivia's eyes caught onto the phoenix just before he went above Dumbledore's head. The man lifted his hands, clamping them on the tail feathers of the red bird, and they burst into flames, like a phoenix did when it was time to be reborn.

The force of the fire sent Umbridge, Fudge, Shacklebolt, and Dawlish flying backwards since they were the closest, falling on their backs with grunts. Olivia, Harry, Cho, and Percy turned their heads away from the heat of the fire, though it didn't feel quite that hot to Olivia, before it calmed down. Olivia and Harry quickly focused back on where Dumbledore and Fawkes had been, seeing just the remnants of fire in the air before it completely burned out with a snap. Then, slowly, the ones on the ground got up, out of breath, and focused on where the old wizard had been.

"Well, you may not like him, Minister," Shacklebolt began, looking down at his boss. "But you can't deny"—he looked back at where Dumbledore had disappeared from—"Dumbledore's got style." He sounded as if he were quite impressed with the exit, and Olivia would be lying if she said she hadn't been too.

Fudge just looked over at him with a bewildered look.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Once Olivia had finally been released from the clutches of Umbridge since she and Harry couldn't technically be punished for Dumbledore's Army, seeing as though Dumbledore had taken full blame for all of it, she made her way back to the common room.

Immediately, as she entered, she received nasty looks from her housemates, though she did not pay them or the whispers fluttering around the room any mind. She had no earthly idea how gossip traveled so fast around the school, but, Merlin, it was quite annoying.

Olivia just made her way over to the couches, where her friends, not including Draco and Lucas, who weren't there, were sitting. They looked careless and clueless to the stares they were also receiving, probably for simply being associated with her, but she knew better.

They were well aware of them. It wasn't the first time.

As she came to a stop, Olivia placed her hand on her hips and raised her brows.

Goyle was the first to open his mouth to speak, but without even looking at him, she lifted her finger to get him to stop while he was ahead. "I'll deal with you and Crabbe later," she told him, focusing her gaze on Pansy. Her hand fell to her side as the boy snapped his mouth shut. "Where's Draco? In his room?"

Pansy nodded, and that was all Olivia needed.

She began walking away without saying another word, going to the right staircase.

"Don't kill him, please," her best friend pleaded.

"Not making any promises," Olivia replied, not even glancing over her shoulder. She went up the stairs, still ignoring the whispers floating all around the common room that seemed to pick up with her departure, and she went straight to Draco's room. Right as she reached the door, without knocking, she opened the door and entered. Her eyes fell on Draco instantly, who turned to her quickly at the sound of his door opening and closing.

He sighed, sitting down on the end of his bed as he focused on her, seeing her stern look and crossed arms. "You're actually upset with me, aren't you?" He asked, knowing the look on her face too well.

She exhaled, her expression relaxing as she dropped her arms to her sides. "I'm not upset, even though I should be. I am just disappointed," she confessed, moving closer to the bed and sitting down next to him. Their shoulders brushed as she looked over at him, and he found her gaze. "We had a good thing going on with Dumbledore's Army, and that stupid witch and your bloody squad ruined it. And now Dumbledore's gone." She let out a sigh, and then her face twisted in disgust with her next thought. "And Umbridge is no doubt going to become Headmistress, and Potter and I are back to being the outcasts of the school, not that that really matters to me at all."

"To be fair, you knew I was a part of the bloody squad, so don't be disappointed with me. You had to know that something was going to happen sooner or later," he told her, stating the obvious, but it was what she needed to hear.

Another sigh fell from her lips, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Her hand found his, and she entangled their fingers. "I know," she muttered, closing her eyes as she relaxed.

And she did know.

She felt him rest his head against hers, and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Things are just going to get worse from here on," she whispered, knowing the things to come once Umbridge was running the school.

She wasn't looking forward to it in the slightest.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
welp, dumbledore's army was fun while it lasted 😔 don't have much to say besides that it'll be missed, and thank you for 34K and 35K on this fic!!

make sure to comment and vote 🫶🏻

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,      sep 2024

word count: 5528. written: 7.11-14.24. published: 9.20.24.