"Have you ever considered that you ask too much, that you take too much for granted?" Snape asks Dumbledore. "Has it crossed your brilliant mind that I don't want to do this anymore? That I don't want her to be a part of this anymore."

     "I can handle myself Severus." Ursa says.

     "It is getting too dangerous for a child."

     "I am 17. I am not a child. I am old enough to make these decisions for myself."

     "Enough!" Dumbledore exclaims. "Whether it has or hasn't is irrelevant. I will not negotiate with you Severus. You agreed. You both agreed. Nothing more to discuss." Snape and Ursa leave as Harry comes up the stairs. Snape stops the glare at Harry and Ursa rolls her eyes.

***

     Ursa is reading in the common room when Draco taps her on the shoulder. "It's time." He says. Ursa nods and follows him out of the common room.

     Draco and Ursa go up the stairs of the Astronomy tower where Dumbledore is standing. Both have their wands drawn and pointed at Dumbledore. "Good evening, Draco, Ursa." Dumbledore says. "What brings you here on this fine spring evening?"

     "Who else is here?" Draco asks. "I heard you talking."

     "I often talk aloud to myself. I find it extraordinarily useful." Ursa casts a Human-Presence revealing spell and finds Harry below them.

     "It's just us." Ursa lies. Dumbledore nods at Ursa and Ursa steps towards Dumbledore.

     "Ursa?" Draco questions. Ursa takes a deep breath and turns around, pointing her wand at Draco.

     "Dray you don't have to do this." Ursa says.

     "What? Are- are you with him?"

     "I'm just trying to survive. I'm sorry I lied."

     "Draco, you are no assassin." Dumbledore says.

     "How do you know what I am?" Draco asks. "I've done things that would shock you."

     "Oh, like cursing Katie Bell and hoping that in return she would bear a cursed necklace to me? Like having Ursa replace a bottle of mead with one lace with poison. Forgive me, Draco, I cannot help feel these actions are so weak that your... heart can't really have been in."

     "He trusts me. I was chosen." Draco pulls up his sleeve to show his Dark Mark.

     "I shall make it easy for you." Dumbledore raises his wand.

     "Expelliarmus!" Draco casts and Dumbledore's wand flies out of his hand.

     "Very good. Very good."

     "Draco please." Ursa pleads. The door to the Astronomy Tower loudly opens.

     "You're not alone. There are others. How?"

     "The Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement." Draco answers. "We've been mending it."

     "'We've?'" Dumbledore questions.

     "Sorry Professor." Ursa says. 

     "Let me guess it has a sister."

     "A twin. In Borgin and Burkes." Draco says.

     "They form a passage." Ursa says.

     "Ingenious." Dumbledore says. "Draco, years ago, I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please let me help you."

     "Draco please." Ursa pleads again. "Let us help you. Please don't make me do this."

     "What are you going to do?" Draco questions. "Kill me? I don't want your help. Don't you understand? I have to do this. I have to kill you. Or he's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill my family."

     "Draco we can protect you and Mother. We won't let him kill us. Please if you won't let Dumbledore help you, please let me. Please, I'm not ready to lose you. Just take my hand." Ursa holds her hand out as Bellatrix comes up the stairs.

     "Well look what we have here." Bellatrix says. "Well done Draco."

     "Draco look at me. Please I won't let him kill you or Mother."

     "Good evening Bellatrix." Dumbledore says. "I think introductions are in order."

     "Love to, Albus." Bellatrix says. "But I'm afraid we're on a bit of a tight schedule. Do it."

     "Draco please." Ursa says. "You don't have to do this. Let me help you. Take my hand."

     "Be quiet child. I knew you were with the old man."

     "Of course I am. It's where I am safe."

     "He doesn't have the stomach." Greyback says. "Like his father. Let me finish him. In my own way."

     "No! The Dark Lord was clear." Bellatrix says. "The boy's to do it." Ursa tries to grab Draco but Bellatrix grabs her first and restrains her. Ursa squirms, trying to fight Bellatrix

     "No!" Ursa yells. "Let go of me! Draco!"

     "Go on, Draco." Bellatrix snaps. "Now!"

     "Draco don't! Please! Let me go you psycho bitch." Bellatrix puts her hand over Ursa's mouth.

     "Shut up!" Ursa manages to get away from Bellatrix and grab Draco's open hand.

     "Please." Snape comes up the stairs and Draco lowers his wand.

     "No." Snape says before talking to Ursa through the connection. "Pretend you thought my loyalties were with the Order and that I am betraying your trust."

     "Severus..." Dumbledore says. "Severus... please."

     "Avada Kedavra."

     "No!" Ursa screams. "I trusted you!"

     "Greyback grab the girl." Bellatrix says. "We will take her with us. Let the Dark Lord deal with her treachery."

     "How about I just deal with her now?" Greyback asks with a dark smirk.

     "No." Snape says. "The Dark Lord will want her alive. He will want to kill her himself or break her and use her." Ursa is crying and trying to fight Greyback as they walk through the halls, her eyes still black. Draco keeps his head forward, knowing he'll try to help Ursa if he looks at her. Snape is glad he is leading as he is holding back tears himself. "I am sorry. I am so sorry. I love you. I hope you know that."

     "I do." Ursa replies. "We're just doing what we have to do to survive. If he kills me, take care of them. Please. And don't let my death be in vain."

     "I will."

***

     "Snape!" Harry yells. "He trusted you." Bellatrix sets Hagrid's hut on fire and laughs, jumping up and down in glee. Harry aims his wand at Greyback. "Petrificus Totalus!" Greyback's arms snap to his sides and he falls, dropping Ursa. Ursa stumbles as she starts to run and Draco grabs her arm.

     "I'm sorry Draco." Ursa says before ripping her arm from his grasp and running back towards the castle. Harry shoots a spell at Snape who just blocks it. Bellatrix sends a spell at Harry that knocks him to the ground.

     "No!" Snape growls. "He belongs to the Dark Lord." Bellatrix rolls her eyes and turns to Greyback and Draco.

     "What happened?!" Bellatrix asks as she releases Greyback from Harry's curse.

     "Potter hit him then Ursa escaped me." Draco says.

     "Sectumsempra!" Harry yells. Snape blocks it and then attacks back, knocking Harry to the ground again.

     "You dare use my own spells against me Potter." Snape says. "Yes, I am the Half-Blood Prince" Snape walks away and Ursa runs over to Harry.

     "Thank you." Ursa says. "Thank you." Ursa helps Harry up and hugs him tightly. "He would have killed me."

      "I was in the tower." Harry says. "I saw what happened."

     "I know you were there. Unlike Draco, I casted a human-presence spell."

     "That's what that was. Let's get back inside.

     "I've lost my family now."

***

     "Where is Ursa?" Narcissa asks after she hugs Draco.

     "Last I saw, running towards Potter after he used the Full-Body Binding Curse on Greyback who was holding her." Bellatrix says.

     "You left her?"

     "She tried to stop Draco! There was not time for us to get her again. The Aurors were coming."

     "You left my daughter! Oh Merlin what if they hurt her? You realize no one can pick her up after this right?"

     "They will not hurt her. She knows how to get here. Then we can let the Dark Lord deal with her betrayal. I told you she was with the Order but you would not believe me."

     "You have no proof that she is!"

     "She tried to stop Draco! She said 'let us help you' to Draco after the old man said 'let me help you.' She tried to physically stop him. Her best friends are Potter and his friends! I know you want to believe she is not with the Order but she is!" Tears come to Narcissa's eyes.

      "Narcissa, she's with the Order." Snape says. "She always has been. She's been a member since she turned 17. I know this for a fact. I'm sorry."

     "She cannot." Narcissa says. "She would not do that. She took the Dark Mark. She knows she would lose Draco and me if she did that. She- she cannot. She would not do that to us. She would not just leave us. She promised to protect us." Draco hugs Narcissa to try and comfort her.

     "Narcissa have you looked in Ursa's room since she went back after Christmas?" Bellatrix asks.

     "No, why would I need to? What does that have to do with this?"

     "There is not much in there. I assume everything important to her is gone. She took it with her. She knew she was never coming back."

     "No... no." Narcissa pulls away from Draco and runs up the stairs, Draco behind her. She slams open the doors of Ursa's room to see a lot of stuff missing. "No." Narcissa opens Ursa's vanity drawers to find them empty or with only a few items in it. Tears blur her vision as she opens Ursa's closet doors. All but Ursa's fancy clothes are gone. "No!" Narcissa collapses to the floor in tears. "She's gone. She's really gone." Draco gently picks Narcissa up from the floor and sets her on Ursa's bed. Narcissa buries her face in Ursa's pillow as she cries and Draco rubs her back. She composes herself after a few minutes and slowly sits up. "She promised... she broke her promise. She promised to stay and protect us. How could I have been so stupid? How could I not have seen this?"

     "She fooled us all Mother." Draco says. "It's not your fault. I had no idea either. I thought all of her hesitations were fear related. I did not know until she tried to stop me. She fooled the Dark Lord of all people. It's not your fault."

     "Why would she do this?"

     "I do not know. She's been pulling away and shutting me out since Christmas. I thought it was just her being depressed again." Draco looks around the room and takes in how empty it is. He notices an envelope on her desk. Draco gets up and goes over to the desk to find "To Mother and Draco" written on it. He goes back to Narcissa and hands her the envelope. She tears it open. The note is tear stained and Narcissa's tears add to it.

     "'By the time you can see this envelope, you will know I am not coming home.'" Narcissa reads. "'I am sorry. I promise I am just trying to protect us all. I am doing what I have to do to keep myself safe. I will miss you both so much. I love you with all my heart, Ursa.' She's really gone." Draco wraps an arm around Narcissa. "She's really gone. I have lost my daughter again."

***

     "Do you think he would have done it?" Hermione asks. "Draco."

     "No." Harry says. "No, he was lowering his wand. In the end it was Snape. It always was Snape. I did nothing."

     "There was nothing you could have done Harry." Ursa says. "It's not your fault. If I couldn't have stopped it, no one could. But yes, it was always going to be Severus."

     "Wait, how much of this did you know was going to happen?"

     "A lot more than I'd care to admit. I knew Snape would be the one to do it. My mother knew Draco wouldn't be able to do it. She knew the whole point was to punish my father by killing Draco for failing. And yes, I helped Draco repair the Vanishing Cabinet. I couldn't have him thinking I was with the Order until everything happened."

      "Who was Snape's vow with? Do you know?"

     "My mother. To protect Draco and do it when Draco couldn't... and if it came to it, stop me from doing it to protect Draco... if Severus hadn't come up when he did... I was almost..."

     "You lied about Draco being a Death Eater. You said you did it so he didn't have to."

     "Well, I did lie about that but I took it so that I could get information on what was going on. If I wasn't a Death Eater I wouldn't have known anything." Harry hands Hermione the locket.

     "It's fake." Harry says. "Open it." Hermione opens the locket and takes out the note. She opens it and reads it aloud.

     "'To the Dark Lord: I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it is I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.B.' R.A.B.?"

     "Don't know. But whoever they are, they have the real Horcrux. It means it was all a waste. All of it."

     "R.A.B." Ursa whispers to herself. "Why do those initials seem familiar?"

     "Ron's okay with you, you know. You and Ginny. If I were you, when he's around, I'd keep the snogging to a minimum."

     "I'm not coming back, Hermione. I got to finish whatever Dumbledore started. And I don't know where that'll leave me, but I'll let you, Ron, and Ursa know where I am, when I can."

     "I've always admired your courage Harry. But sometimes you can be real thick. You don't really think you're going to be able to find all those Horcruxes by yourself, do you?"

     "You need us Harry." Ursa says before walking to the other side of the tower. She leans against the railing and drops her walls. "How is she?"

     "Devastated and still a bit in denial." Snape replies.

     "I feel horrible. Like I betrayed them."

     "You are doing what you have to do in order to keep yourself safe."

     "What if I can't do this? It already hurts so much. I want to crawl back to the Dark Lord and beg for forgiveness so I can see them again. I feel so stupid for letting him manipulate me like this."

     "You have to do this Ursa. And he manipulated both of us. All of us."

     "I should be there. Protecting them."

     "You are protecting them. By keeping yourself alive. You must stay strong Ursa. I will be here if you need me. My walls are always down for you and the Dark Lord is still unaware of our connection. You know you can't change your mind now. You'll be killed. Potter needs you. I will watch over them."

     "But I need them."

     "I know, and you will see them again."

     "They won't want me back."

     "They love you so much. They'll always want you back." Hermione goes over to Ursa and puts an arm around her.

     "Everything will be okay." Hermione says.

     "I lost my family Hermione." Ursa says as she faces Hermione, crying. "I already miss them so much."

***

      "Everything alright Ursa?" Ginny asks on the train home. "You've been quiet."

     "Just trying to figure out what to do next." Ursa says. "I can't go home. His reach is growing. It's not safe for me to stay at any of the inns."

     "I'm almost certain my parents will let you stay with us."

      "Guess it's a good thing I packed everything I may need from my room into my backpack."

***

     "Dora!" Ursa says as she runs to Tonks. She drops her bag and Lyra and hugs Tonks tightly.

     "Hey Girly." Tonks says.

     "Mum can Ursa stay with us?" Ginny asks Mrs Weasley. "She can't go home."

     "Of course she can but why can't she go home?" Mrs Weasley asks.

     "They know I'm not really on their side. Going back is a literal death sentence."

     "Of course you can stay with us Ursa." Mr Weasley says. "The Order has already decided you need to be watched anyways because of Severus."

      "Understandable."

     "They're coming for you." Snape warns through the connection.

      "Shit." Ursa says. "We need to get out of here. They're com-" Black smoke surrounds and engulfs the group, causing everyone to cough. When the smoke clears, all that is left of Ursa is her bag and Lyra.

     "They took her!" Harry exclaims.

     "Who though?" Ron asks.

     "Obviously Death Eaters." Hermione replies.

     "They'll kill her." Harry says.

     "We need to help her." Ron says.

     "We don't know where they went and we are no match for Death Eaters." Hermione says. "We have to hope she escapes."

     "Molly, take her stuff home with you." Tonks says. "That's where she's most likely to go if she escapes."

     "Do you think she was about to say there were coming for her?" Hermione asks.

     "How would she know that though?" Harry asks.

     "Snape. He must have warned her. A little too late."

Next up Deathly Hallows
Might be a bit before I post it but it will be on a Sunday. I'll update here when the first chapter is posted for those who don't follow me