Draco

            I witnessed the Dark Lord completely lose control about two weeks before the holidays.

            I still wasn't sure why, because he'd called my parents, Bellatrix, and me into the drawing room one Saturday afternoon to interrogate the goblins from Gringotts; I'd been quietly standing in the background, keeping out of the way, as he and Bellatrix demanded answers from the goblins about the sword of Gryffindor. I had been looking at the floor and flinching whenever one of them cried out in pain, when the Dark Lord suddenly snapped.

            The walls had flashed with green as he screamed a Killing Curse, followed by another, and another. The goblins that were unlucky enough to be in his way had been thrown backwards, his wand slashing furiously through the air as their blood sprayed onto the wood floors and couch cushions. Lucius was pushing my mother and me towards the door when the Dark Lord finally lowered his wand, every single goblin lying dead at his feet.

            The entire drawing room was silent except for my family's panicked breathing, even Bellatrix crouched fearfully in the corner. My heart was pounding against my chest because I'd never seen him just lose it like that, and I was terrified he was going to lift his wand again at any moment to kill the rest of us.

            The Dark Lord's feet were stained red as he paced smoothly past the bodies, his expression hidden from me since I couldn't see well around my father's shoulders. Nagini slid across the bloody flooring towards him, its head lifting up to meet his extended hand.

            Without a single word, the Dark Lord Disapparated in a cloud of black smoke.

            My mother was crying. She was doing everything she could to hide it, but she was crying. My eyes were wide as I looked down at the dead goblins, finding it hard to breathe and trying to hold back the bile that was rising in the back of my throat. Bellatrix, for once, looked just as terrified as the rest of us, and she was staring blankly at the bodies as though she couldn't believe what had just happened.

            And then I realized I couldn't stand to be in that drawing room a second longer—not with an awful silence only interrupted by Narcissa's muffled crying and the smell of blood in the air. I turned and bolted from the room, not even pausing when the door slammed against the back wall and Lucius looked to see where I was going.

            This is bad, I thought as I tripped up the stairs in a panic, leaving the drawing room far behind but not being able to erase the image of dead goblins covered in blood. This is very, very bad.

            Any one of us could have just been killed. It was clear that the Dark Lord had been in such a rage that he wouldn't have hesitated to turn his wand on me and my parents—even Bellatrix had nearly been struck down, and that meant that no one was safe. Things had changed even more drastically than before; the Dark Lord was clearly spinning out of control, and he was losing his grip on who was against him and who was his enemy. There was no denying that no one would be safe in his presence now.

            As much as it killed me to admit it, there was no way I could let Eve come back here for Christmas break. Not after the Dark Lord had just killed nearly seven goblins without any warning or reason—not when something like that could happen while Eve was there and could get hurt.

            I loved her too much to allow her to stay at the Manor even for just a week. No matter how badly I needed to see her, I wasn't selfish enough to put her in danger.

            My entire body was shaking as I stumbled into my bedroom, my heart feeling like it was seconds away from bursting through my ribcage. I tripped over sneakers and dirty t-shirts as I reached my desk, throwing open the top drawer to find parchment and ink. If I didn't do this now, I would never work up the courage.

            I nearly knocked over the pot of ink as I dipped the quill in, and my fingers trembled so badly when I wrote out Eve's name that it blotted onto the paper. Taking in an uneven breath, I steadied my right hand and began to write one of the most difficult letters of my life.

            I had to place my words carefully, since I knew the post was always being monitored thoroughly by the Death Eater-controlled Ministry. I couldn't say what I really needed to without rising suspicion against either of us, so it was difficult to stress how unstable the Dark Lord had become without sounding like I wasn't a loyal Death Eater. I prayed Eve would at least understand that I was only trying to protect her.

            There was a lump in my throat by the time I wrote the last few sentences, shakily scratching out the words, 'Please don't hate me.  I love you, and I just want you to be safe, okay?'

            I would never admit that my eyes were tearing up as I sealed the letter, and I would never admit that I had to wipe under my eyes as the owl disappeared into the evening sky with the letter attached to its leg. Once the owl was just a dot in the distance, I sat on my bed and held my head in my hands.

            It felt as though everything was falling apart, but I knew that things were only about to get even worse.

~*~

Eve

            I was walking into the Entrance Hall after dinner, heading towards the Slytherin common room after a long day of hard classes, when I accidentally bumped into Ginny.

            As in, I literally rounded the corner and smacked straight into her.

            We stumbled back from each other in the doorway, and as I realized who it was, I automatically opened my mouth to apologize. "Oh—I'm sorry. Sorry."

            A third apology was on my tongue—this time probably for a lot more than just bumping into her—when Ginny gave me a cold look that made me forget anything I'd wanted to say. Without a word, she moved to walk around me through the doorway, probably on her way to dinner before curfew. But this was the only time all year I'd managed to get myself alone with her, so before I could lose my nerve, I spun on the spot and called after her. "Wait, Ginny—"

            She turned reluctantly, her arms crossed defensively as she asked icily, "What do you want?"

            I opened and closed my mouth uselessly for half a second, because now that she was glaring at me from less than a foot away, I had no idea what I could possibly say to make her forgive me. The last time I'd spoken to her had been the night Dumbledore died, so the last encounter we had, I'd been attacking her to keep her from getting up to the Astronomy tower. Looking at it from her perspective, I could see why Ginny had done nothing but glare heatedly at me ever since.

            "Listen," I said quickly, my voice rushed because I could tell she was seconds away from turning back around and leaving. "I have to explain what—um, what happened. I can explain everything."

            Ginny rolled her eyes, telling me in annoyance, "Really, really not in the mood, Eve."

            "But just—please just hear me out," I begged. The sounds of people talking and eating in the Great Hall just twenty feet away were merely static in the background, but I kept my voice down anyway. "I never meant for any of it to happen, I honestly didn't. Draco and I only did what we did that night because You Know Who would have—"

            "Would have what?" she cut me off fiercely. "Killed him? So you helped to kill Dumbledore instead. Better him than Malfoy, right?"

            "That's unfair, please—"

            "I don't know how you expect me to forgive you," Ginny continued hotly, shaking her head and looking down at me as though she didn't even recognize me anymore. "Especially after what happened in that hallway. You're definitely not who I thought you were, and I dunno why I ever bothered in the first place."

            I was opening and closing my mouth uselessly, because all I wanted to do was run from her accusing glare and heated tone. After a second I choked out, "I'm so sorry. For everything that happened. I really am, but—"

            "You don't have to pretend, you know," Ginny said, her voice turning quieter. "You keep trying to act like you're on our side, but you're not. Eve, you're helping Malfoy—you're on the wrong side, the bad side."

            The words, 'But I'm not on the bad side', got tangled up in my throat and never made it to my lips, because the black skull and snake inked into my left forearm said differently. I was sure my expression gave away exactly how I felt, but Ginny didn't appear to feel guilty.

            "You're bad news, Eve," she said softly. "I saw you attack Zabini last month in Herbology. If the Carrows weren't running the school, you'd have been expelled."

            I finally found my voice as I forced out, "You didn't hear what he said to me. You would have done the same if—"

            "No, I wouldn't have," Ginny interrupted. "You were screaming that you were going to kill him, and I honestly thought you were going to."

            My stomach dropped and I froze. My voice was barely above a whisper as I repeated, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I'd never—"

            "Save it," she said bitterly, starting to turn away from me. Over her shoulder, she added, "And don't try to talk to Neville, either. Leave him alone. Leave us all alone."

            Ginny was starting away from me, and I was realizing that I hadn't been able to explain myself even a little. That was my one chance to apologize and make her understand, and it hadn't worked—at all.

            She was nearing the doors to the Great Hall when I called after her desperately, "I'm sorry Harry and the others are on the run. I really am, I'm so sorry."

            Ginny kept her back to me, but I still heard every word as she snapped, "Don't say things you don't mean, Eve."

            I watched her disappear into the dining hall with my heart on the floor, because there was nothing I could say to her to ever make her understand. Draco had told me that one day they would understand, but right now, it felt like no one would ever forgive us for helping the Dark Lord.

            There was nothing more for me to do except turn and continue down to the Slytherin common room, my insides feeling as though Ginny had ripped them out and stomped on them. I didn't blame her for hating me, but why couldn't she at least let me try to explain?

            A bad night got significantly worse when I read Draco's letter.

            I hadn't seen it lying on my bed until I pulled back the covers to crawl in late at night, Millicent and Pansy having already snuffed out their candles and gone to bed. I had felt a little happier when I saw it, because he hadn't Owled me in a few days—but the feeling quickly disappeared as soon as I read it.

            Things are bad, Eve...please, stay at Hogwarts for the holidays...

            I read through the letter as he tried desperately to explain why I couldn't come home to him, but I didn't realize I was starting to cry until a droplet splashed onto the parchment and bled into some of the ink at the bottom.

            Don't worry about me, I'll be okay...it isn't safe for you here. I'll be at the train station at the end of term to get you...I swear, I'll be there for you...

            My hands were shaking as I reached the end of the letter, my fingers trembling so badly that the parchment shook and made it difficult to read. I was biting down on the sleeve of my sweater, and the tear drops had dripped onto the very last line, smudging his already messy handwriting.

            Love, Draco.

            "...Eve? Are you okay?"

            It was Pansy. The dormitory was dark so I knew she couldn't see my expression, and she had sat up in her bed as though she knew I was crying. But I choked out a laugh and quickly wiped my eyes, folding the letter hastily and saying, "Yeah, yeah I'm good. Night, Pansy."

            I blew out the candle beside my bed as she carefully said goodnight, and I shakily drew my curtains shut since I knew she hadn't believed me. Holding the letter in both my hands and crawling under the covers, I pressed the parchment to my lips and felt the lump in my throat grow so big that it was difficult to breathe. Alone in the dark, I allowed myself to cry as quietly as possible. My tears ran onto my knuckles and stained the pillow, even slipping onto Draco's letter clutched in my trembling hands.

           I shook under the covers as I cried in silence, because the world was ending and there was nothing I could do to stop it.