BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
094 ━━━━ ❛ weasleys' fireworks show ❜

"Wait, so Hagrid has a giant living in the Forbidden Forest?" Olivia asked, confused, as she and Harry walked down the corridor—eight inches apart, of course. It was the rules after all. They were going to the Great Hall, needing to get there so that they could take their OWLs. It was finally the day, and Olivia was nervous yet somewhat excited. She quite liked exams, unlike most of her peers.

Harry nodded with a confirming hum.

The boy had been filling her in on what Hagrid had assigned him and the other two members of the Golden Trio to do, which apparently involved a giant. "And Hagrid is related to this giant?" She raised her brows, that fact being even more shocking to her. "I mean, I thought he was a half-giant, given how tall he is. But still, even I am surprised," she admitted, keeping her voice low and looking forward.

"Yep. His name is Grawp," Harry added, smiling.

Olivia just shook her head in amusement at the boy's smile and the name of the giant in the woods, who had taken a liking to Hermione, according to Harry. She didn't blame him for that. Hermione was quite pretty once one looked past her need to be a know-it-all. But then again, Olivia could be that way as well, so who was she to judge?

"Well, I hope it all goes well," she told him after a moment, with a kind smile.

"Thanks," he replied as they came to the Great Hall doors.

About fifty or so minutes later, they were sitting in their seats, and the OWLs were in progress. They actually weren't as bad as Olivia had thought they'd be. Her focus was solely on her parchment as the time ticked away. The one they were currently taking was Theory of Charms, and it was going quite well for Olivia. The fifth-year students sat at separate desks that sat in four columns (separated by houses) and twenty rows. Olivia was sitting behind Draco and in front of Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle were ahead of Draco, while Blaise and Theodore were behind Pansy. Umbridge stood at the front of the room, looking out at all of the hard-at-work and stressed students. The room was silent besides the sound of the clock.

Then suddenly, a loud thud boomed from outside of the room. Everyone looked up from their parchment and back at the closed double doors, confused about what the noise was. Then it was heard again and again. Olivia knitted her brows, focusing on Umbridge, who looked like she was about to lose it. Not really caring, Olivia focused back on her work, needing to finish her answers and pass this exam. But before she could, another loud thud (this time louder than the other ones) was heard, and she looked at the doors again, along with her classmates.

Umbridge, trying to keep a brave face, began walking towards the doors, her heels annoyingly clicking against the stone floors, while some murmured around them. Another thud boomed just as the woman closed in on the doors. Chatter was all around them as everyone watched the Headmistress come to a stop and open the doors. She walked into the corridor, looking around for whatever was making the racket, and then a spark came flying towards her. She watched it as it flew in front of her face, and then it zipped past her and into the Great Hall, exploding in the air as a blue firework. Whipping back around, she stepped further into the corridor, and from what Olivia could see, the witch tilted her head, looking at something to her left with utter confusion.

And the next thing they knew, the Weasley twins were rushing past Umbridge on their brooms and flying straight into the Great Hall. Waving their wands, all of the parchment on each of the desks was tossed into the air, and Olivia stressfully rubbed the back of her neck with both of her hands.

Why did they have to go for the exams of all things?

She could feel Draco's eyes on her as she followed the twins with her eyes. She watched as they flew around the room on their brooms, cheering and waving their wands to set off more fireworks. Other students cheered as well, and she could help but let the small smile on her face. Fireworks in all different colors exploded in the air, making popping and crackling sounds as Umbridge stayed in the entrance of the Great Hall, looking at the scene with furrowed brows and a gobsmacked expression. Students stood from their seats, smiling as fireworks danced in front of them in pretty colors.

Umbridge made her way further into the room, seeming like she couldn't believe what was happening, like it was so shocking that someone would actually go against her and her rules. Even Draco looked amused, but that didn't last long because a spark came towards the group, landing right on Goyle's nose. They all backed away from the boy as he screamed like it had burned him and swatted at it. It flew over to Crabbe next, and Olivia's focus couldn't help but fall on Daphne, who stood behind him. She had almost entirely forgotten about the girl, having not seen or heard from her in quite some time. She certainly wasn't complaining about that fact. Putting the thought out of her mind, she faced Crabbe again, who turned to run away. But the spark followed him, hitting right on the bottom, and Olivia and Pansy laughed, while Theodore and Blaise smirked, clearly entertained.

The spark then made its way over to Draco, who had backed himself up against the wall. It almost hit him in the face as he scaredly shouted, "Ahh!" and moved out of the way, causing Olivia to laugh even harder. The spark hit the wall, its bits forming Draco's terrified face on the wood.

"That's for upsetting the Slytherin princess!" Fred and George called out in unison.

Olivia found the gesture weirdly kind as Draco ran to her side. She continued to laugh as the fireworks continued to explode around the room, Umbridge looked completely stressed, and Filch entered the room with his usual nasty look. She looked up at the twins, just as one of them pulled something from his pocket. It was lit on one end as he shook it in his hand. "Ready when you are!" she heard him say to his brother, excitement on their faces. Then he tossed the explosive up in the air, causing it to explode into a multitude of fireworks, and in those sparks, a fire dragon was formed.

Umbridge's shocked and frightened face was priceless as Olivia wiped away the tears that had formed from laughing so hard. She hadn't felt this much fun in ages. The dragon had sharp, fire teeth as it made its way directly for the Headmistress, who in turn ran in the opposite direction. Everyone just watched as she ran towards the doors, but unfortunately for her, she didn't quite make it.

The dragon clamped down on the professor just as she reached the doors, exploding into more sparks and fireworks, which flew around and hit each of the witch's encased rules that were hung on the wall. The sound of glass shattering was music to Olivia's ears. Then fire-caught and torn-apart parchment fell to the ground, and a second later, the sound of all of the frames falling was heard as well.

Before Umbridge, who was now covered in soot, could even get a moment to take in what had just happened, the twins blew past her once more, causing her to scream, and went out into the courtyard. All of the students cheered as they rushed past the Headmistress and followed the twins. They watched as the flying pair fired more fireworks once they entered the courtyard, and some other students and professors joined in as well, all cheering loudly, though the professors were a little more reserved in their joy. Applause and shouts were heard all around as they looked up at a giant "W" made of the fire-sparks in the sky, telling who exactly was responsible for the show.

One second Olivia was cheering, and the next, she didn't feel well, just as she did the night of the World Cup and the night in the common room. She stumbled back a few steps as her ears began to ring and the noise of the crowd slowly faded away. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to catch her breath, feeling like she couldn't breathe. Then her eyes rolled back, and she fainted, only seconds from hitting the ground when Draco caught her.

"Olivia," he said urgently, lowering to the ground with her still in his arms. He tapped her cheek with his hand, trying to get her to come-to like he had done in the common room. Their friends stood behind them, looking down at her with worry. Lucas pushed through the crowd a second later, coming to his sister's side as Draco continued to tap her face, sounding panicked as he repeated, "Olivia."

Slowly, she opened her eyes, regaining consciousness. She began coughing, though, luckily, no black sludge formed in her mouth as Draco sat her up. His hand rubbed her back as she tried to calm her coughs, and he looked at her with worry, along with the others. Students around them were still cheering as they watched the Weasley twins continue to fly around in the air. Olivia just rested her head on Draco's chest as she coughed a few more times.

What was happening to her?

Before she could even think of an answer to that question or before anyone could ask whether she was okay or not, the Golden Trio rushed over to them, searching for Olivia. Harry's voice caught her ears as he said her name, and Olivia turned to focus on him. His eyes flickered over her, resting in Draco's hold, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, as Weasley and Hermione stood at his sides, he told her, "We need to talk to you," seeming anxious about something.

She knew whatever he needed was important, so she nodded. She began to stand up, and so did Draco and Lucas. Not even sending a glance in her friends' direction or acknowledging that she had just fainted, she started walking away. But Draco's hand caught her wrist, and she turned around, giving him a questioning look.

He gently pulled her back towards him, looking at her pointedly as he leaned down and brought his face closer to hers. Before he could speak, however, she said, her tone quiet, "Draco, let me go and don't ask questions."

He ignored her request. "Whatever you're going to do with them"—he glanced at the trio, his tone low, before looking at her again—"is going to get you killed."

She knitted her brows. "You don't trust that I can take care of myself."

"That's not what I mean," he replied, clearly frustrated that she was no doubt about to run off into danger again. She always seemed to.

"Olivia," Harry chimed in, causing her to turn her head over her shoulder but not meet his gaze as she listened to him speak. "It's urgent."

Breathing out through her nose, she turned back to Draco, finding his gaze immediately. "Trust me," she told him, a pleading look on her face. "Please."

He just continued to stare at her, and for a moment, she didn't think he'd give up, but eventually he did. Sighing, Draco said, "Fine," and his grip slipped from her wrist. He went to take a step back, but Olivia, not wanting to possibly run into danger and die (because, of course, she was about to run into danger—the Golden Trio was involved after all) without kissing him one last time, placed her hand on the back of his neck and brought his lips to hers.

The kiss was short and sweet, and she could feel the eyes of the ones around her on her as she pulled back. She offered him a soft smile and could tell that the kiss made him want to let her go even less. However, he did not stop her, as she turned around and began walking away. Then a feeling overcame her, and she spun around again, pointing her finger at Lucas, who had just started following her. "No, Lucas, you stay."

He looked offended. "I am not a dog."

"Stay," she ordered him, despite his retort, and dropped her hand to her side. He didn't argue, so she turned back around, beginning to walk off with the trio as her friends, Draco, and her brother watched her with worry.

As they made their way to the Gryffindor common room, Harry explained everything he'd seen. His vision had been of Sirius in the Hall of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries being tortured by Voldemort and of Lucius standing outside of it, speaking with someone. It made Olivia's stomach churn uncomfortably as they rushed up the moving staircase.

"Harry, are you sure?" Hermione asked urgently.

"I saw it," he replied quickly as they continued up the stairs. "It's just like with Mr. Weasley," he added, reminding them of the vision he'd had of the man being injured. "It's the same door I've been dreaming about for months. Only, I couldn't remember where I'd seen it before." They turned up the second set of stairs as the first connected, with Harry making it hard for the other three to keep up with his fast pace. "Sirius said Voldemort was after something. Something he didn't have the last time, and it's in the Department of Mysteries."

"Harry, please, just listen," Hermione pleaded, slightly out of breath from the pace they'd been going. They all came to a stop as Harry turned to face her, all of them breathing heavily. The staircase they were on was turning as it made its way to another. "What if Voldemort meant for you to see this?" She paused, a troubled expression on her face as she stared at him. She did make a good point, Olivia believed. "What if he's only hurting Sirius because he's trying to get to you?"

"What if he is?" Harry countered. "I'm supposed to just let him die?" He took a few deep breaths as he looked at his best friend. "Hermione, he's the only family I've got left."

Olivia's brow furrowed pitifully as Weasley and Granger exchanged glances, then they turned to face her as she looked at them. It was only another second before Weasley focused on Harry. "What do we do?" he asked as the staircase finally connected with the other.

Harry just turned around and began climbing the stairs again. "We'll have to use the Floo Network," he answered as they quickly followed him.

"But Umbridge has the chimneys under surveillance," Hermione reminded him.

"Not all of them."

What had Olivia gotten herself into?

Better question: why wasn't she regretting getting herself into it?

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

"Alohomora," Harry cast, pointing his wand at the lock of Umbridge's office door, and then opened it. He, Olivia, Hermione, and Weasley, now dressed in normal clothing and out of their robes, though Olivia's attire was still similar to her uniform with her skirt and jumper, entered the room. The sounds of cats meowing echoed all around them, the noise coming from the decorative plates that lined the walls. Weasley closed the door behind them after inspecting the room with furrowed brows and an almost disgusted expression because of all of the pink and cats.

The four of them walked over to the fireplace, which came alive with green flames almost instantly. "Alert the Order if you can," Harry told them, squatting down in front of the fireplace.

Olivia looked around, noticing the pile of "W"-marked boxes in the corner of the room. She supposed those were ones that Umbridge had confiscated from the twins and other students.

"Are you mental? We're coming with you," Weasley countered.

For once, Olivia was inclined to agree with him.

"It's too dangerous," Harry retorted, causing Olivia to roll her eyes.

When was it not dangerous when he was involved?

Hermione fell to the floor, sitting at Harry's side, as she gave him a pointed look. "When are you going to get it into your head?" she asked sharply. "We're in this together."

"That you are," the familiarly squeaky and stern voice rang in their ears as it enunciated every word, clearly upset. They all turned around quickly. Their eyes landed on Umbridge standing in the doorway of her office, still slightly covered in a bit of soot, with her hair falling flatter than it usually was.

Not a moment later, part of Umbridge's squad, including Crabbe and Goyle, had come into the room, grabbing hold of Olivia, Hermione, and Weasley. The witch did the honors of hauling Harry to a chair, tying his hands and ankles to the arms and legs of it with a flick of her wand so that he couldn't escape as she questioned him.

Then, as Olivia, Hermione, Weasley, Luna, and Ginny (the last two who'd been helping them) stood at the back of the room, Draco walked in, and Olivia's eyes immediately narrowed on him. She should've suspected he was going to be there. He was a part of the bloody squad, after all, but it was still frustrating.

"Caught this one trying to help the Weasley girl," he told Umbridge as he drew Neville into the room, grasping the back of his shirt and digging his wand into the boy's back. He pushed the Gryffindor boy to the back of the room, where he joined Olivia. His gaze narrowed on her as she raised her chin proudly and offered a blank expression. She was being held by Crabbe, who was also holding Hermione, but this did not dampen her spirits.

"Je continue à vous faire confiance, et vous continuez à me décevoir," she muttered under her breath, loud enough for him to hear because she knew he'd understand her. It was true, after all. She did continue to trust him, and he did continue to disappoint her.

His eyes snapped over to her, his amusement fading as he looked away from the scene in front of them, but she didn't meet his gaze, focusing solely on Umbridge and Harry. The witch leaned closer to Harry, placing her hands gently on the front of her skirt. "You were going to Dumbledore, weren't you?"

She was completely wrong, and Olivia rolled her eyes.

"No," Harry replied quietly.

Then Umbridge smacked him across the face, causing everyone to flinch. Even Draco. "Liar."

Harry was breathing heavily as he found the Headmistress's heated gaze again. Snape appeared in the doorway, asking, "You sent for me, Headmistress?" His monotone voice caused Olivia's focus to move to him in an instant, seeing his blank expression and his folded hands.

Umbridge stood up quickly. "Snape, yes." Her voice returned to his usual high pitch as the man's eyes glanced over at Olivia for just an unnoticed second. "The time has come for answers, whether he wants to give them to me or not." Snape glanced at the boy she was speaking of. "Have you brought the Veritaserum?" she inquired, causing Olivia's brows to furrow.

She couldn't use that on students. She couldn't use that on anyone unless granted special permission from the Ministry, which Olivia was certain she was not due to it being rarely given, no matter how close she and the Minister were. Though she supposed the woman didn't care much for rules that weren't hers.

"I'm afraid you've used up all my stores interrogating students," Snape replied flatly. "The last of it on Miss Chang."

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut as the information settled with her. She felt like a bitch now, having believed Cho willingly gave up Dumbledore's Army. When she opened her eyes, she saw Harry glancing over at her, Hermione, and Weasley, who all seemed to be having the same feelings.

"Unless you wish to poison him," Snape continued, "and I assure you, I would have the greatest sympathy if you did"—he paused for a dramatic second—"I cannot help you." Then he turned to leave without another word.

"He's got Padfoot," Harry said quickly before the professor could exit the office, knowing that the man was a part of the Order and knew who exactly Padfoot was. Snape stopped in his tracks, keeping his back facing everyone. "He—he's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden."

"Padfoot?" Umbridge asked, focusing back on Snape. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What is he talking about, Snape?" Her questions were rapid, and her confusion was quite clear in her tone.

Snape turned around, his eyes falling on Harry before moving to the older witch.

"No idea."

Umbridge seemed disheartened by the man's words as he walked out of the office. "Very well," she said, turning around to her desk, which was in between Harry and the others. "You give me no choice, Potter." She fell silent for a moment as her eyes stared at nothing in particular on her desk. "As this is an issue of Ministry security, you leave me with... no alternative." Olivia knitted her brows, wondering what the woman was getting at. "The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue."

Olivia flinched at her words, remembering back to when she was cursed. What it felt like. How painful it was. She looked around, seeing even Crabbe and Goyle shaken by the suggestion of using one of the Unforgivables. And then she felt someone grab her hand, and she realized it was Draco. When she looked down at where his hand held her, she watched as he tightened his grip reassuringly. Glancing up, she met his eyes, seeing the sorrowful look he was giving her. She just looked away from him, focusing back on Umbridge, but didn't let go of his hand.

"That's illegal," Hermione exasperated.

"What Cornelius doesn't know"—Umbridge grabbed the frame that the photograph of the Minister was held in and flipped it so it was face down on her desk—"won't hurt him." The photograph made Olivia wonder just how close the Minister and his little lap cat were. She didn't have time to question her about it because the Headmistress grabbed her wand and turned to Harry before pointing it at him while the others struggled against the hold of the squad. They watched as she opened her mouth to speak the curse.

"Tell her, Harry!" Hermione shouted, her tone pleading.

Umbridge looked over at her quickly, and so did Harry. "Tell me what?"

Hermione huffed out a few frustrated breaths. "Well, if you won't tell her where it is... I will," she stated, and even Olivia was confused on what the girl was talking about. She didn't know if she was talking about anything actually or if she was just coming up with a distraction so that her best friend wouldn't be tortured.

"Where what is?" Umbridge seemed to be growing more impatient by the second.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, probably mentally cursing herself for not thinking of an answer to that question sooner, and then she focused on the professor again. "Dumbledore's secret weapon," she told her.

Umbridge looked delighted upon hearing this.

After that, Harry was untied from the chair, and he, Umbridge, and Hermione left the office, with the older witch holding her wand to the backs of the two students. In the classroom remained Olivia, Weasley, Ginny, Luna, and Neville, as well as the squad members.

Olivia knew that she and the others were sure to give them hell.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

They ran down the bridge, seeing Hermione and Harry and coming to meet them halfway. The two no longer had the Headmistress by their side, behind them, or even in sight, and that made Olivia curious as to what happened to her.

"How'd you get away?" Hermione asked as they slowed down into a walk.

"Puking Pastilles," Ginny admitted, appearing amused by the memory. Olivia was sure she was because she quite felt that way herself, even though she had to look away from Draco during it to avoid losing all attraction and feelings for him. "It wasn't pretty."

"Told them I was hungry, wanted some sweets," Weasley added, handing Harry and Hermione their wands. "Olivia told me about the pile of Fred and George's boxes in the corner. Of course, they told me to bugger off and ate the lot themselves," he explained.

"That was clever, Ron," Hermione said, her tone seeming genuine yet surprised.

"Has been known to happen," he replied.

"Rarely," Olivia muttered, biting back a smirk as Weasley looked over at her with a bored expression, and Ginny snickered quietly, only to see her looking out to the sky as though she hadn't spoken at all.

"It was brilliant," Neville said, prompting everyone to glance at him from where he stood behind Weasley and Ginny. Then they all focused on Harry and Hermione.

"What happened to Umbridge?" Olivia asked curiously.

"She was taken by centaurs," Harry answered.

"Oh," Olivia mumbled, knowing exactly what was to be said about what centaurs do after kidnapping a woman. As much as she hated the professor, no one deserved that. Though perhaps not all centaurs were like that, meaning the ones that had gotten Umbridge. It was wishful thinking, and Olivia didn't voice any more of what was running through her mind.

"So, how are we getting to London?" Neville inquired, almost seeming excited.

Harry's face fell as he took a step back. "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate everything you've done, all of you... but I've got you into enough trouble as it is." He brushed past them, beginning to walk down the bridge.

"Harry," Olivia said pointedly as she turned around to face him. He looked over his shoulder at her before turning his whole body toward her. "I did not go through all of this just to go back to the Slytherin common room and chat with my friends while you go to the Department of Mysteries alone. It would be a deathtrap for you without anyone to help."

Neville turned to face him as well, as did the others. "Yeah, Dumbledore's Army's supposed to be about doing something real." He paused as Harry focused on him. "Or was that all just words to you?"

Weasley stepped forward a bit. "Maybe you don't have to do this all by yourself, mate."

Harry seemed to hesitate, but then his eyes roamed over the six that were waiting and willing to go into danger with him. Then he opened his mouth and asked, "So how are we going to get to London?"

Olivia smiled, and so did Luna.

"We fly, of course," the blonde said in her usual soft voice, as if that had been obvious.

And with that, they went to the woods, found the spot where the thestrals were, and each got their own, beginning to fly to London. The sun was setting, so when they were finally overhead in London, the sky had gone from warmth to blues, and the thunderstorm rolled in.

But they had made it.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
first off, rest in peace maggie smith </33
she was such a talent, and it breaks my heart knowing that she's no longer with us.

now, buckle up! bc the next chapter is definitely a rollercoaster of emotions and events, and i'm nervously excited to publish it!

also, i recently replanned (bc i wasn't too happy with original version) and continued prewriting act six, and a little forewarning: it's definitely going to be chaotic, to say the least, but i'm still thrilled for it and can't wait to share some of the ideas i've had for literal YEARS with y'all!

i really hope you enjoyed this chapter!!

make sure to comment and vote 🫶🏻

kisses.

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

word count: 4582.   written: 7.15-16.24.   published: 9.28.24.