SIX I'M HERE

     Xander received a letter for the first time in months. The owl flew in through one of the high windows in the Room of Requirement and dropped the envelope on Xander's lap just as he awoke before flying out of the room before Xander could even get the envelope in his grasp.

"Mail? Who's it from?" Seamus, who had pointed out the owl, asked as he walked over to where the dark-haired boy was still rubbing sleep from his eyes. His tan hands picked up the envelope as he observed it, looking for any sign of who it could have been from. The only signifier of whomever the sender could be was the black wax stamp that kept it sealed.

"Oi!" some seventh year Slytherin piped up, "That's the Malfoy family crest! What are you doin' getting mail from the Malfoys?"

Xander looked at the crest before he ripped open the envelope without a moment's hesitation, "No, there's no way. There's no way he wrote me."

"What's it say?" Neville joined the conversation as everyone crowded around him while he read.

Xander,

     I could get crucioed the moment anyone finds out I am writing to someone, let alone someone at Hogwarts so I hope you understand the risk I am taking to send this to you. I don't even know why I'm risking such a thing to help you, but perhaps I owe you. You tried to save me from my fate when no one else could, your belief in me meant more than anything and I wish you knew how sorry I am that things are happening this way. Me saving you last summer couldn't possibly be enough to repay your faith in me, so I am writing to you now. The Dark Lord has been using my manor as a meeting place of sorts, all traitors with information on the whereabouts of Harry Potter are being locked and tortured here. It's sick and I can only bear it for so much longer. I hope you will use this information in a way that I am too cowardly to do myself. For me, to go against the Dark Lord would be to go against my family, but it is not the same for you. You have the freedom to choose, to fight for what you think is right. I have the same choice, I know, but I am not brave enough to choose the right one. Please do what I cannot. The one you're looking for is here, do with that what you will. I am not asking you to risk your life for me, I owe you enough already, but I cannot save her for you.

Draco

"I need to go," Xander swallowed as he looked up at Neville. "I have to, I can't leave her there. I know there are others, they need help."

"Well, we're coming with you," Seamus commented.

Dean nodded, "You're not going alone, not somewhere so dangerous."

Xander shook his head, "I'll need your help and cover to get out of here, but I must go to the manor alone. If we all get caught or... or killed, there's no telling what's going to happen to everyone here. We're no use to the cause if we're all dead. I have to do this alone. I'm sorry."

His hands were shaking as he folded the letter back up, placing it in the pocket of his jacket that was resting on the floor next to him. He was going to remember the words on that paper for the rest of his life, no matter how long or short that would be. "Please do what I cannot."

"Fine, but we're helping you as long as you'll let us," Neville spoke matter-of-factly as he pulled out his wand, "We can go through the tunnel to Aberforth's and you can apparate to the manor from there."

Xander nodded and everyone watched as they went. Xander left his jacket with the letter in it on the floor, he knew he was going to come back to it. He didn't want it to get damaged in the crossfire should there be any. Neville, Ginny, Seamus, and Dean all insisted on coming with him and he was in no mood to stop them. It was odd to think how quickly they had grown close in just a few weeks, but Xander supposed trying to survive a war would have that effect on them. Everyone was silent as they walked; no one knew what to say. What could you say to alleviate the tension in a moment such as this?

When they arrived at the portrait they pushed through, but Aberforth was not present. It was the middle of the night, so it was likely he was asleep. Not wanting to alert the man who surely would not approve of his plan, they quietly snuck through the house and not the streets of Hogsmeade. The town had once been such a bright spot for the Hogwarts students -- a place for them to buy as much candy as they wanted, have snowball fights with friends, all sorts of happy memories lived here. However, now the town was dark, and fear filled the air with a stench.

"Alarms will go off as soon as you apparate," Neville explained, "They're trying to catch anyone coming or going, but we'll fight them off as best we can before getting back to the castle."

There was a sort of rustling from a distance, everyone's ears perked as Ginny looked towards the noise, "They already know we're here. Quick, go. We'll see you when you get back."

She spoke with such a fierce certainty he found himself believing her. He was going to come back. The first death eater appeared and Xander took that as his sign to go. With a flick of his wand, he left Hogsmeade and he found himself standing on a well-manicured lawn in pitch darkness. Malfoy Manor was a dark building, haunting in its glorious beauty. He could never imagine being the only child in a house like this. How lonely it must be.

He hadn't expected to face a house with no security, so when he saw two dark figures coming towards him, he was unsurprised. He fired off offensive spells as quickly as he could remember them, but a spell hit him before he could put up a defense. Being hit with stupefy was never fun, but it was worse now than it had ever been because he had no idea who was going to save him now. They apparated inside with him and thankfully, Xander did not come face to face with the Dark Lord or anything of the sort. Instead, he was in front of a locked door which the two death eaters (well, he guessed that's what they were) opened it and kicked him in. This was exactly what he expected. Who was he to think he could have done this alone? However, none of that mattered to him because he was alive and Diana was in this house somewhere.

"Xander? Is that you?" a gentle voice got his attention as the door was slammed behind him. Looking up, he saw someone that looked like his best friend. Diana's face was gaunt and pale, dark blood that had dried long ago was caked to her forehead and there was a slash on her cheek that looked fresher than the rest. There were bruises around her neck as if someone had choked her. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was battered and bruised, but it was Diana. His Diana.

"Diana!" Xander exclaimed as he pushed himself off of the floor and grabbed the girl. It was the fiercest hug they had ever shared and he knew he was crying, but he could feel the wet on his shoulder from her tears, too. "I thought I was never gonna see you again!"

"I'm here, I'm here," she muttered, her voice fragile, "How did you find me? Why did you come here?"

"I couldn't leave you," Xander cried, holding onto the girl as if she would fade away the moment he let go.

"How?" was all that left her lips.

He pulled away from her and held her face in his hands, a sly smile on his face as he told her, "Well, I'm sure you recall, Hufflepuff's are particularly good finders. And I may have had some help."

The girl rolled her eyes as a laugh broke through her choked cries, pulling him into another hug, "You're an idiot, now we're both stuck here."

"I don't care," he shook his head, "I don't care because you're here and you're alive and with me, that's all I care about. We're in this together now."