Draco stood in front of the Vanishing Cabinet, a feeling of almost disbelieving happiness overwhelming him. He had done it… after all this time in the Room of Requirement, he had finally fixed the Cabinet. Draco couldn’t help but whoop gleefully, celebrating what he had been spending all year on.

There was a loud clink of bottles and Draco started. He crept cautiously over to a high stack of old textbooks and peered over at the door. Professor Trewlaney stood in the doorway, clutching her shawls tightly around her and looking bewildered. ‘Who’s there?’ she called out, looking around the room.

Draco, thinking fast, grabbed a fistful of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from his pocket and threw it into the air. The Room went dark instantly and he flicked his wand, muttering a spell under his breath. Trewlaney was thrown head-first from the Room and landed outside with a thud. The door slammed closed behind her and Draco stood stock-still, listening intently for any further sounds.

After a moment or so, he heard footsteps racing down the corridor and stop outside the door. He crept a little closer to the door and strained to hear any voices. To his surprise, Harry’s voice wafted through the wall to him. Draco screwed up his face concentrating to hear what they were saying.

Harry had asked Trelawney what had happened and she explained that she had heard a whooping from inside the Room. Then he heard Harry say, ‘I think you’d better tell Professor Dumbledore. He ought to know Malfoy’s celebrating – I mean, that someone threw you out of the Room.’

Draco cursed under her breath. He had always figured Harry might suspect him, but hearing this for himself was worse than he could fathom. And he wanted to tell Dumbledore. Surely they would return in a few minutes to search the Room of Requirement, and then they would find him standing there.

His spirits rose when Professor Trelawney denied Harry’s offer, but then sunk again when she finally agreed. Their voices slowly moved down the corridor and soon enough the air was silent.

Draco didn’t want to take his chances, so he felt his way through the darkness towards the door and, after checking once more that there were no sounds beyond, slipped through the door. He hurried back down to the Slytherin Common Room, where everyone was milling around the fire and finishing homework.

‘Where were you, Draco? I’ve been looking for you,’ Pansy said, rushing up to him.

‘Not now, Pansy,’ he replied. Ignoring her confused look, he joined Crabbe and Goyle at a table away from everyone else. Checking that no one was paying attention, he leaned forwards and whispered, ‘I’ve done it.’

Crabbe gaped at him. ‘You fixed the Vanish –’

‘Quiet, you idiot,’ Draco cut across. Honestly, sometimes he couldn’t understand his stupidity. ‘Yes, I did.’

‘So when are you going to… you know?’ Goyle whispered.

‘Well, Trelawney came into the room so I had to hurl her outside. Potter found her and they’re going up to Dumbledore’s office now to tell him what happened.’ He scowled. ‘I’ll be lucky if I do it tonight, but I bet Dumbledore will want to check it out.’

The three of them fell into a thoughtful silence, before Crabbe eventually broke it. ‘Well I have to finish my Potions essay.’

‘Right,’ Draco said. It felt strange that people were worrying about homework when – if everything went well – he wouldn’t even be here tomorrow. However, Draco didn’t want to think about what he would have to do in a few hours time, so he scrounged through his bag for his essay.

An hour later, Crabbe and Goyle were nearly half way through the assignment, while all Draco had managed to write was the title, The Polyjuice Potion and It’s Properties.

Draco gave up on trying to finish the homework and stuffed it bag into his bag. Instead, he glanced at his watch. Over an hour had passed since Trelawney had stumbled into the Room of Requirement. He wondered if he should chance it. Students didn’t have to return to their Common Rooms for several hours now, so he figured he could always claim to be heading for the Owlery.

However, no one was near the Room and Draco – clutching his Hand of Glory and his whole supply of Darkness Powder in his pocket – was able to slip inside unseen. He hurried past the Cabinet and stopped in front of an old cupboard where a chipped bust of an ugly old warlock sat with a dusty wig and a tarnished tiara perched on its head. Draco placed the Hand of Glory on top of an old copy of Advanced Potion-Making and stood back. He surely couldn’t forget that he had hidden the Hand here; the warlock was too distinctive.

He rushed back to the Vanishing Cabinet and stood in front of it. This was it. The moment of truth. Draco had spent all year fixing this Cabinet and if it didn’t work now, he didn’t know what would work. And what if he got trapped in the Cabinet and couldn’t get out? Well, that was just a chance he would have to take.

Taking a deep breath, Draco stepped into the Cabinet. The Room vanished behind him and all he could see was darkness. It pressed in on his eyes, which he opened to their fullest extent. His stomach squirmed uncomfortably as he began to spin. This oddly reminded him of using Floo Powder, but the sensation in his stomach reminded him of Apparating.

And as suddenly as it began, the spinning stopped. Draco stumbled forward from the Cabinet and caught himself before he hit the ground. He looked around the room and found himself in Borgin and Burkes. He felt himself grinning. It had worked. He had finally done it.

‘Mr Malfoy,’ a curt voice behind him called out.

Draco turned to see Borgin rushing towards him, a look of fright and surprise mingled on his wrinkled face.

‘Mr Borgin,’ Draco responded coldly, wiping the grin from his face. He dusted off his robes and held his chin high. ‘I see you held up your end of the deal.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Borgin said quickly. ‘I kept the Cabinet open for you –’

‘Very good,’ Draco cut across. ‘Now, I believe you are in contact with my dear family friend, Amycus?’ When Borgin nodded, Draco pressed on. ‘Good. Will you please contact him for me? He will know what it concerns.’

Borgin nodded and scurried away through a door to the back room.

Draco looked around the small shop and his gaze fell upon an ornate opal necklace encased by a glass display case at the front. It was an exact replica of the necklace he had purchased from here and given to Madam Rosmerta, who handed it off to Katie Bell.

Next to the necklace was a human skull fully in tact. It was covered in a layer of a thick, peeling, scabby, dark grey rock crystal. Draco leaned forwards to read the tag. Skull of the Waking Dead – If placed next to a bed, the sleeper will never wake from their sleep and will dream horrible nightmares for all of eternity.

Borgin’s scurrying footsteps made Draco look up. ‘They’re on their way,’ he informed him.

Draco merely nodded. His insides were now twisting and squirming from nerves.

‘Ah, I see you’re interested in the Skull of the Waking Dead,’ Borgin said when he noticed Draco’s gaze. ‘Yes, very interesting discovery. I found this skull myself, you know. In the Sahara Desert. Well worth my journey, though, I do say –’

There was a sudden pop pop pop outside the shop and five hooded figures appeared out of thin air. The bell tinkled as they entered the store and, spotting Draco and Borgin, made their way over to them.

‘It is true, then?’ came an excited voice from the squat, lumpy wizard closest to Draco. ‘You fixed the Vanishing Cabinet?’

‘Yes, Amycus,’ Draco nodded.

Alecto, the short and heavy witch who quite resembled Amycus admired the Cabinet. ‘I’m impressed.’

Draco didn’t respond, but pressed on. ‘We don’t have much time. We must go now.’ The hooded Death Eaters nodded. ‘After me, then.’ Draco stepped into the Cabinet and once again the wooden back of the Cabinet disappeared to be replaced by an inescapable darkness. He began to spin, picking up speed, and then suddenly stopped.

Stumbling out of the Cabinet, Draco quickly straightened up and looked around the room. It was exactly as it had been prior to him leaving. As he was fetching his Hand of Glory from the cupboard, he heard the Death Eaters stumbling out of the Cabinet behind him.

‘We’re really in Hogwarts now?’ Fenrir Greyback asked greedily, peering around the high-vaulted room. ‘Where are the children?’

‘Greyback?’ Draco asked suspiciously. He peered beneath the hood and Fenrir flash pointed yellow teeth. ‘I didn’t know you were bringing him,’ Draco said to Amycus.

Amycus opened his mouth to respond, but Fenrir cut across. ‘Did you really expect me to deny a trip to Hogwarts?’

Draco surveyed him. He doubted that he could tell Greyback not to come, especially now that they were in Hogwarts. Instead, he decided to ignore him and continued. ‘Now, we need a plan. Dumbledore has left the castle, but he should be returning soon. Madam Rosmerta – in Hogsmeade – will contact me when he returns –’

‘Madam Rosmerta?’ Gibbons asked blankly. ‘But surely she wouldn’t assist –’

‘Of course she wouldn’t, you idiot,’ Draco said impatiently. ‘I have her under the Imperius curse.’ He took a deep breath and then pressed on. ‘We need to go up to the Astronomy Tower now and set off the Dark Mark. Dumbledore will hurry back here despite any injuries he may have –’

‘The good are so easy to manipulate,’ Fenrir murmured.

‘And we will be ready for him on the Tower,’ Draco said, ignoring Greyback. ‘I doubt we will, but if there is anyone in our path I will use my Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and lead you through with my Hand of Glory.’ He held up the shriveled Hand. ‘Any questions?’ When no one spoke, Draco nodded. ‘Good, let’s go.’

The Death Eaters – led by Draco – crept silently towards the door. He pressed his ear against the door, but heard no sounds. He slowly opened the door and peered out. He couldn’t see anyone so he slipped outside. At the far end of the corridor, he spotted Ron, Ginny, and Neville, all we looked up at the sound of his echoing footsteps. ‘There he is!’ Neville called, raising his wand.

Draco grabbed all of his Darkness Powder and threw it into the air. Everything went instantly dark, but he held up his Hand of Glory and was able to see clearly. He grabbed Alecto’s sleeve and tugged. Getting the idea, Alecto grabbed onto Amycus’ sleeve, and soon they had formed a train. Draco crept as quietly as he could down the corridor to the next corridor.

‘Lumos,’ Ginny muttered, feeling her way slowly along the wall. Nothing happened.

‘Incendio,’ Ron said, but again nothing happened. He tried it again. ‘Nothing’s happening!’ he called out frustrated.

Draco passed them and appeared in the next corridor, which was fully lit. He released Alecto’s robes and ushered them forwards. They hurried down the corridor and down another. Several minutes later, footsteps came sprinting down a corridor on their left and suddenly Ron, Ginny and Neville appeared with Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, a woman with mousy brown hair, Professor Lupin – Draco’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in his third year – and a young wizard with long, red hair in tow.

‘There they are!’ Professor Flitwick squeeked.

The two parties lunged at each other, firing off spells. Draco felt inside his pocket for Darkness Powder, but he had used his whole supply.

A jet of red light narrowly missed Draco’s ear and he spun around to find Ron’s wand pointed at him. ‘Crucio!’ Draco cried, but the spell missed Ron by inches.

‘Stupefy,’ Ron roared. This time Draco was prepared for it and he ducked. The spell flew past him and shattered a glass vase.

Draco saw Gibbon break free from the fight and scurry up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower.

A few minutes later, the massive blond Death Eater shouted ‘Avada Kedavra!’ his wand pointed at Ron. Ron dodged it and it flew past him, where it hit Gibbon – who was running down the stairs – squarely in the chest.

One down, four to go, Draco thought. Luckily, Neville had been knocked out and the wizard with the long, red ponytail had been mauled by Greyback. No one seemed to be paying him any attention, so Draco took the chance to hurry up the Tower, stepping over the man savaged by Greyback.

Outside, the air had a bitter cold to it, despite the fact that it was June. High above the Tower, the Dark Mark glittered, casting a dull green light over the grounds. Only feet away from him, Dumbledore rested heavily against the ramparts, extremely pale-faced. ‘Good evening, Draco,’ he greeted him.

Draco’s gaze landed upon the two brooms lying on the ground. ‘Who else is here?’

‘A question I might ask you. Or are you acting alone?’

Dumbledore spoke to him calmly as if they were long-lost friends. He seemed to be buying time, trying to distract Draco by asking him how he managed to get Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Draco was almost thankful, though, that he could keep talking. He didn’t want to do what he knew he had to do. The idea of the mission had been so glorious and glitzy when he first heard, but now that he had the old man in the palm of his hand, he couldn’t muster enough courage to do it.

‘No, Draco,’ Dumbledore murmured. ‘It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters.’

Draco opened his mouth to speak but could think of nothing to say. His wand hand was trembling and suddenly the sound of footsteps came up the stairs. Four Death Eaters burst out onto the Tower, knocking Draco out of the way.

‘Dumbledore cornered!’ Amycus leered with a wheezy giggle. Dumbledore greeted each Death Eater in turn, not showing any trace of fright on his still pale face.

‘Come on, Draco, do it!’ one of them urged him.

Draco didn’t have to respond because there was a sudden shout from below. ‘They’ve blocked the stairs – Reducto! REDUCTO!’

‘Now, Draco, quickly!’ the heavy, brutal-looking wizard said.

Draco raised his wand, but his hand was now shaking so badly that he couldn’t aim.

‘I’ll do it,’ Greyback snapped, approaching Dumbledore as if readying to pounce on his prey.

‘I said no!’ called the brutal-faced man, who pointed his wand at the werewolf. There was a flash of light and Greyback was thrown back.

‘Draco, do it, or stand aside so one of us –’ Alecto said impatiently.

She was cut off, though, because the door burst open once again and Snape rushed towards them, his wand held tightly in his hand.

‘We’ve got a problem, Snape,’ Amycus said, ‘the boy doesn’t seem able –’

‘Severus…’ wheezed a weakened voice. Draco turned back to Dumbledore, who said again, ‘Severus…please…’

Snape stalked over to him, hatred etched in every line of his greasy face. He pointed his wand at Dumbledore with a steady hand.

‘Avada Kedavra!’

Green light shot towards Dumbledore, hitting him in the chest. A look of shock was plastered on the old man’s face and for a moment Draco didn’t think it had worked. However, slowly, he keeled backwards and fell limply from the Tower.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment as Draco stood rooted to the spot. Snape had killed Dumbledore for him because he couldn’t do it… the Dark Lord would be furious.

Snape’s voice brought Draco back to the present. ‘Out of here, quickly!’

He stumbled down the stairs when Snape threw him by the scruff of the next and ran down the stairs. The curse blocking the Order from the Tower must have broken, because they came half way up the stairs just as Draco and Snape were sprinting down. They followed them down to the bottom of the stairs, where they waited for the Death Eaters to approach.

Seconds later, the four Death Eaters hurried down the stairs and leapt into the battle willingly. Curses once again were shot everywhere, smashing statues and burning paintings.

Snape stopped for a moment to look over the scene. ‘It’s over!’ he called and tore down the corridor with Draco at his heels.

They sprinted down the corridor, along another, and down the marble staircase. They passed curious students in their pajamas that had crept out of their dormitories to see what the commotion was about.

Draco broke through the massive doors in the Entrance Hall and tore across the dewy grass. Hagrid had emerged from his cabin and was rushing towards them. Suddenly, a jet of red light soared past Snape and narrowly missed Draco.

‘Run, Draco!’ Snape yelled and spun around to face Harry.

Draco didn’t need telling twice. He sprinted full out towards the gate. He was nearly there… not long now. All he needed to do was reach the gates and he could Disapparate.

‘Cruc–’ Harry’s out-of-breath voice rang out in the still air.

Draco had finally reached the gates. He spun around to face Hogwarts for the last time in his life. The scene was of complete chaos; Snape stood thirty feet from him with twenty yards between himself and Harry. Beyond them, Hagrid was running back to his cabin, which resembled a cube of great dancing orange flames.

With one last fleeting glance at the castle, Draco stepped forward, spun on the spot, and Hogwarts instantly disappeared.