A Deed from the Devil

I rubbed my sweaty palms on my robes as I ran up the stairs to the tower.

"I hope I'm not too late now. I hadn't counted on them finding out so quickly," I thought as I approached the door at the top of the stairs, pulling my wand out of my pocket again. I stopped outside of the door and took a quick second to compose myself. I said the spell and the door flew off it's hinges. Between the debris, I caught a glance of Dumbledore instantly against the wall directly across from me, and Disarmed him before he knew what had happened. I saw him look directly at me, his face very pale.

"Good evening, Draco," he greeted me. I stepped out of the shadows of the stairwell and into the sickly pale light of the Mark hovering in the sky above the tower. My eyes darted around the tower, making sure it was only the two of us. I spotted two brooms with the old man and questioned him on it. He stupidly asked whether I was alone or if I had help with the night's events.

My eyes fell back on Dumbledore. "No, I've got back-up. There are Death Eaters in your school tonight." I felt confident enough in the moment, though I was alone for the time.

"Well, well, very good indeed. You found a way to let them in, did you?" he said. I could almost sense an air of satisfaction in his voice. I was overcome by pride for a moment and I panted out how he had foolishly never realized what had been done. He questioned their whereabouts, almost lazily.

"They met some of your guard. They're having a fight down below. They won't be long... I came on ahead. I - I've got a job to do," I explained, realizing too late that I had sounded somewhat nervous.

Dumbledore looked at me with soft eyes. "Well, then, you must get on and do it, my dear boy," he said quietly. I swallowed hard and just stared at the Headmaster. "Draco, Draco, you are not a killer," he told me with a smile. I shouted at him, asked him how he knew and instantly regretted it, knowing how childish I had sounded. I felt my cheeks grow hot as a flush grewin my face.

"You don't know what I'm capable of, you don't know what I've done!" I shouted at him. He began to lecture me, tell me all of my plans I'd tried so far, told me all of it had been feeble and wondered if my heart was in it at all. I spat out in my anger, that I had been working tirelessly all year, for tonight to become a success. I was stopped in the middle as someone yelled from within the castle. I glanced over my shoulder, nervously.

"Somebody is putting up a good fight," Dumbledore observed with an air of new calm. "But you were saying... yes, you have managed to introduce Death Eaters into my school which, I admit, I thought impossible." He asked me how I managed it. I vaguely heard him as I listened to the noises coming from below us. I couldn't seem to move for a moment as my ears took in every little sound that could be heard through the stone floor, my eyes fixed on Dumbledore. The frail looking man told me I should get on with my job, tried to convince me to do it now while he was wandless. I just continued to stare at him.

"I see," he said kindly. "You are afraid to act until they join you."

"I'm not afraid!" I snarled. "It's you who should be scared!" Dumbledore continued to ramble now, about how he knew I wouldn't kill him, asking me again how I got the Death Eaters into the school. I had the sudden urge to be sick. I did my best to cover it up, make it look like I was angry. I took a few deep breaths, never taking my eyes off of the Headmaster, my wand pointed at him. Then, I suddenly couldn't seem to contain myself and I told Dumbledore how I managed to get the Death Eaters into the school. I explained about the Vanishing Cabinets as I watched Dumbledore close his eyes, groan, slide ever so slightly down the wall he was leaning against. He explained that he knew I had tried other attempts on his life before this, and that he knew all along it was me. I was angry now. I demanded to know why he had never tried to stop me.

"I tried, Draco, "he explained, "Professor Snape has been keeping a watch over you on my orders-"

"He hasn't been doing your orders, he promised my mother-" I was at a bit of a loss, unprepared. I panicked slightly. He tried to convince me that Snape would obviously be telling me he was working on my mother's actions only.

"He's a double-agent, you stupid old man, he isn't working for you, you just think he is!" I shouted. Dumbledore disagreed with me, trying to tell me how much he trusted Snape when I told Dumbledore all about what Snape had said to me, making sure my every move was planned out carefully. I threw in that I'd never told Snape about tonight's plans. The Headmaster seemed to be teasing me, saying how gratifying it was to appreciate your own work, but that I must have had some kind of help in Hogsmead before he closed his eyes and nodded.

"... of course ... Rosmerta. How long has she been under the Imperius Curse?" he asked.

"Got there at last, have you?" I taunted, doing my best to show the Professor I was unafraid, despite the sick feeling I had in my stomach still. There was another, louder, yell from below and I glanced over my shoulder, doing my best to not show the growing nervousness in my chest. He continued to weave his theories on Rosmerta to me, exactly as they had happened. He asked me how I had stayed in communication with her. I told him about the enchanted coins I had used.

"Isn't that the secret method of communication the group that called themselves Dumbledore's Army used last year?" he asked, in an almost mocking tone. I saw him slide slightly down the wall.

"Yeah, I got the idea from them," I said with a smile. "I got the idea of poisoning the mead from the Mudblood Granger, as well, I heard her talking in the library about Filch not recognizing potions ..."

"Please do not use that offensive word in front of me," he said with anger in his voice. I laughed at him and asked why he cared about me using Mudblood as I stood there, preparing to kill him. He told me he did care, and pointed out that I'd had several minutes and no actual attempts to kill him. We conversed how I'd known he'd left the school and how I had come up with a brilliant plan to get him up on the Tower by putting the Dark Mark over the Tower so he may come to see who had been murdered. He asked if anyone had in fact been murdered.

"Someone's dead," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "One of your people ... I don't know who, it was dark ... I stepped over the body ... I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way ..."

"Yes, they do that," he said with a faint smile. There were more shouts and bangs from below, even more louder. They seemed to be coming from the staircase just below. Dumbledore suggested we talk about my options, as I pointed out I was standing in front of him with my wand pointed at him, about to kill him. The old man pointed out, again, that I would have done so long ago when I had first disarmed him if I'd had actual intentions of killing him.

"I haven't got any options!" I shouted suddenly, feeling every last drop of blood drain form my face. "I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!" The Headmaster explained that he knew, otherwise he would have come to me sooner. He told me of how he would not speak to me of my mission, in case the Dark Lord had used Legilmency against me, but we could speak plainly as he tried to tell me he could help me.

"No, you can't," I said, barely noticing my wand was shaking obviously. "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'd kill me. I've got no choice." He asked me to come over to the right side, telling me of how they could hide me so well, and he could send members of his Order to get my mother before the night was even over, and he explained of how my father was safe in Azkaban for now.

"... come over to the right side, Draco ... you are not a killer ..." I just stared at him.

"But I got this far, didn't I? They thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here ... and you're in my power ... I'm the one with the wand ... you're at my mercy ..." I said, slowly.

"No, Draco," he said quietly. "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now." I opened my mouth to speak, but lost the sentence before it had even made it past my lips. I felt tears form slightly in the corners of my eyes, but blinked them back quickly. My hand was trembling still and I slowly began to drop my wand when footsteps came thundering up the staircase. I was pushed back out of the way by a flurry of black robes as the door was thrown open. I watched three of the Death Eaters taunt and tease Dumbledore, so pale and sickly looking now, my wand still frozen half down in mid-air.

"Do it," came a voice just to my left. I didn't need to see who it was, I knew just from the sound of his voice and the smell coming off of him. It smelled of dirt, sweat and blood. I refused to look at him, he turned my own stomach. He and Dumbledore were now talking and I watched as Dumbledore turned a shade of green as Fenrir talked of his need for flesh even without the full moon. The werewolf joked of having a bite of Dumbledore once they'd finished with the school, but one of the others protested.

"No," the Death Eater protested. "We've got orders. Draco's got to do it. Now, Draco, and quickly." I was terrified and I knew I looked it as I stared at Dumbledore's pale face. The other three Death Eaters taunted Dumbledore more before voices came from just below the Tower.

"Now, Draco, quickly!" one of the Death Eaters told me. My hand was shaking uncontrollably now, so bad I could barely aim.

"I'll do it," Greyback snarled as he headed for Dumbledore, his hands outstretched, his ugly yellow teeth bared. There was protest from the other three and he was blasted out of the way. He staggered, looking furiously at the other three.

"Draco, do it, or stand aside so one of us -" one began, but was interrupted as the door blew open again, this time showing Snape standing in the doorway, his black eyes sweeping the Tower scene. One of the Death Eaters began to explain how I was unable to kill Dumbledore, as I struggled to find my voice to protest, when a whisper was heard throughout the whole Tower that made my blood run cold.

"Severus ..." Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said noting, but I was pushed out of the way as he walked forward, towards the Headmaster. Snape stared at Dumbledore, hatred clearly read across is face.

"Severus ... please ..." Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The jet of green light hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. He was blasted in the air for a split second, beneath the glow of the Mark, before he fell, like a rag doll, over the edge and out of sight. I remember very little that happened that night after Snape uttered the curse. What little I do remember, was of me feeling very sick, every face a blur, being dragged around and pushed here and there. It took me a long time to grasp that Dumbledore, the only real father figure that never talked down to me or belittled me, was gone.