Week Seven

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The first thing Draco thought when he regained consciousness was, I feel like I just had the sky fall on me. It took him a few minutes to remember that that was very nearly what had actually happened. When his headache receded a little and his vision became less blurry, the young boy liked around as best he could, trying to assess the situation. From what he could remember, he had been on his way out of the cinema when he heard voices shouting curses. He vaguely remembered the ceiling giving an almighty groan, and then nothing. A Death Eater attack, he thought, as he looked around at the damage. A small shaft of light penetrated the otherwise dark area, allowing him to make out the extent of the devastation. He was surrounded by huge piles of rubble, which reached all the way up to what was left of the ceiling. Water was dripping from somewhere, freezing the lower half of his body. People were lying everywhere, most of whom were beneath piles of concrete. The sight made the young wizard slightly nauseous, and he had to breathe heavily for a few minutes before his stomach settled enough for him to move. When he did, he let out a groan of pain as agony burst through his head. Gingerly touching his forehead, he pulled his hand away and looked at the congealed blood on his fingers. Something must have hit me, he thought, looking at the gore, but at least I'm better off than most.

After a few minutes of collecting himself, he gingerly sat up and looked around. It suddenly occurred to him that Evelyn and her family was nowhere to be found. Panicking slightly, he frantically started to shift the debris off of the people lying dead and unconscious, seeking a familiar face. He groaned in frustration when he realised that he wouldn't be able to move anything with magic. That sudden thought prompted him to remove his wand from his trouser pocket, and he let out a sigh of relief when he found it to be unbroken. With a groan of frustration, and little else to do as he had moved all he could manually, he pointed the wand at the nearest rock and muttered to himself.

“ Well, it's not like it'll do anything, but Wingardium Leviosa.”

Much to his surprise, the small chunk of concrete wobbled a few times before unsteadily lifting off the floor slightly. Draco was so surprised that he let out a small yelp and the rock fell to the floor once more. The young wizard looked at his wand in disbelief, before shakily pointing it at a larger chunk and repeating the spell. This time, the concrete shuddered violently and levitated slightly, but not as much as the other had. Deciding to give it one last try, Draco aimed at a large boulder covering a young woman, and said the spell in a strong voice. The debris vibrated slightly, but nothing else happened.

“ Great,” he murmured in frustration, “ My magic's starting to come back, but it's too weak to be of any use.”

Slightly disheartened, Draco tried a few more spells to see what he could do, soon realising that he could perform some of the first year, low level spells, but to a limited extent. His most successful was the Lumos spell, which enabled him to conduct a more thorough search of the area in the hopes of finding his friend. He eventually located her not too far from where he had woken up. She had a large cut of her head, much like he did, but other than that she seemed unharmed. Rushing over, he knelt next to the small girl and brushed matted hair out of her face, and laid her down more comfortably before trying an Enervate spell. She seemed to stir at first, but then drifted back to unconsciousness. After a few more tries of the spell, Draco managed to wake her with a light shake. Groaning, she pushed herself into a sitting position and took in her surroundings, looking at Draco with a small frown creasing her forehead.

“ What happened?”

“ The roof collapsed. We're stuck in here.”

“ Why did the roof collapse?”

There was a question Draco really didn't want to answer. If he told her the truth, she wouldn't believe him, and if he lied to her, and she later discovered the truth, she wouldn't be happy with him. Telling her the truth was a bad idea as well, though, as Draco knew how people's minds worked. If he told her that wizards had attacked them, and revealed that he too was a wizard, she might hate him for it. He knew he was being irrational, but she was his first real friend, and he didn't want to risk losing her. He settled for telling her a half truth.

“ Some…bad men came, and attacked the cinema. They made the roof collapse, and we're stuck down here until someone comes to help.”

“ Oh,” came the defeated reply.

Draco then realised how helpless he really was. Here he was, stuck under a mound of concrete with a load of dead and injured people, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt helpless because he couldn't move the rocks. He felt helpless because he couldn't signal for help. He felt helpless because he couldn't try to heal the hurt, and he felt helpless because he couldn't defend himself against a Death Eater attack. It was as if a switch had been flipped in his head. For the first time in his life, he truly understood what it was like to be a Muggle. Over the past six weeks, he had experienced a life without the convenience of magic, and had seen the wonders of the Muggle world, but underneath, he had still felt like a wizard. Of course, he couldn't cast spells, but then he wasn't constantly casting spells in the wizarding world either. Now, though, in a situation he couldn't control, he was completely at the mercy of the world around him. A piece of the roof could fall and crush him. A Death Eater could find his way inside and kill him. He could die from hypothermia from the water on the floor and the cold weather. For the first time in his life, he was completely helpless, and he didn't like it one bit. He was pulled from his thoughts by a cold, clammy hand being placed on his arm.

“ Draco? Draco, where are my Mam and Dad?”

“ I don't know,” the blond told her, “ I haven't been able to find them yet. It took me long enough to find you.”

“ We need to find them,” the girl cried in a trembling voice. Draco quickly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, whispering comforting words to her.

“ We will, Evie, we will.”

As soon as the girl had calmed down, the pair began a thorough search of the air pocket they found themselves in. Evie was disturbed by the dead people, but her concern for her parents drove her on. Several minutes later, Draco heard a heart stopping cry from the other end of their prison, and he quickly ran over to the sobbing girl. Looking down at what she had found, he saw Mr. McCarthy buried under a large piece of the ceiling. Kneeling down, he pressed his fingers to his neck, searching in vain for a pulse. A moment later, he stood up again and pulled the trembling girl into his arms once more.

“ I'm sorry, Evie,” he whispered, a lump in his throat, “ He's dead.”

Draco was rather shocked when the child in his arms let out a long, resounding wail of despair. It wasn't the sound that disturbed him, though; it was the vibrations that rocked the small prison. The ground trembled, and the walls of debris on either side of them started to fall backwards away from them. By the time Evie quieted down, much of the rubble had shifted away from them considerably, revealing the people who had previously been buried. Draco stood in shock as he took in the implications of such an event. Evelyn was a witch. She had just performed accidental magic.

He didn't even know why he was surprised. After all, her great aunt had been a witch, and some Muggle families had a few Muggleborn witches and wizards crop up over the years. The fact that Evie could perform magic gave him hope, though. If he could show her a few simple things with his wand, they may still get out of the whole fiasco alive. He looked over at the girl, who was now crumpled at her father's side, holding his cold hand and sobbing uncontrollably. With a sigh, Draco decided he had better look for Mrs. McCarthy. It didn't take him long to find her, and when he did he let out a huge sigh of relief. She was still alive, but unconscious. Her whole lower body had been crushed under a boulder, which had now been moved by Evelyn's show of accidental magic. He quickly checked the woman over, making sure she wouldn't come to any more harm, and stopping the blood slowly seeping out of several gashes. Once he was sure he had done all he could, he tried a few low level healing spells he had come across before, most of which didn't work. One to stop her bleeding did, though, but he wasn't sure how long it would last with the little amount of power he had been able to put into it. With luck, though, it would hold until he could get help. Thinking of help, he looked back over to his distressed friend and called out to her.

“ Evie, you need to come over here. Your mother's hurt.”

The girl looked up at him with bloodshot eyes filled with grief, and her blank stare indicated that she didn't understand what he was telling her.

“ Evie,” he repeated, “ I need you to come over here. Your mother needs help.”

“ Sh-she's alive?” she said in a trembling voice.

“ Yes, she is,” Draco reassured her, “ But she won't be if we don't go and get some help.”

Evelyn understood this time, and scrambled over to where her mother lay. Resting her small hand on the woman's burning forehead, she let out a sob of relief and fell into Draco's arms for a third time. Once her sobs had subsided, Draco turned her to face him and grasped her face tightly in both hands, forcing her to look at him.

“ Evie, I need you to listen to me. What I'm about to tell you may seem strange, but I just need you to accept it for the moment, alright?”

When she nodded slightly, her eyes clouded in confusion, he soldiered on.

“ Evie, I'm not going to explain it all now, because it will take too long, but what I'm telling you is the absolute truth. Magic is real, Evie. We were attacked by a group of Dark wizards known as Death Eaters. They're intent on destroying non-magical people. There are also good wizards, though, who try to fight them whenever they can. Are you with me so far?”

Evelyn nodded, her eyes wide with a hint of skepticism in their depths. Draco heaved a sigh and lifted his wand. With a muttered Lumos, the end of the wand lit up, making the girl in front of him jump in surprise.

“ H-how did you do that?” she asked in disbelief.

“ With magic. I'm one of them, a wizard that is, but I'm not a bad one. I won't hurt you, I promise. You need to do what I tell you, though. Your mother needs medical attention, so we need to go outside and try to find help. If any of the Death Eaters are still out there, we have to try and avoid them at all costs, understand?”

Again, she nodded in acceptance, still wide eyed.

“ Good. Now, there's one more thing I need to tell you. Do you remember what happened a minute ago when the earth vibrated and the rocks moved?”

“ That was you. You performed some accidental magic, which tells me that you are what is known as a Muggleborn witch. A magical person born of non-magical parents. Don't panic!” he said, as he saw the alarm in her eyes, “ It's nothing to worry about. It just means that I need you to do some things for me. You see, when I left my school, I had a spell cast on me that took away my magic for eight weeks, which is why I'm here. My ability is just starting to come back, but it's not strong enough to do anything of use. This is why I need you to perform some spells for me.”

“ B-but it can't be real! Magic isn't real!”

“ It is, Evie, all of it. Now, will you help me?”

“ I don't know any magic, or spells, and I don't have one of those wands that you have…”

“ You can use my wand. It's not like I can do anything useful with it. And I'll tell you the spells. In fact, the first thing I want you to do is cast some healing spells on your mother.”

“ A-alright,” she said, highly disturbed by everything she had just heard. She didn't know what to believe about the whole thing. Draco had asked her to trust him, so she was going to do just that. He was her friend, after all, and had managed to light up the end of his wand. With a sigh, she turned to the battered form of her mother and raised the wand she had just been handed. Draco told her how to wave it and what to say. After a few tries, she was amazed when a soft glow emanated from the piece of wood, and some of the more superficial wounds began to heal right before her eyes.

Once Draco was sure Evelyn had done all she could with her mother, he dragged her to her feet and tightly clasped her hand before leading her out of a recently created gap in the rubble. After a large amount of climbing, they finally made it to the street, where he was pleased to see the Death Eater attack was dying down. Most of the buildings in the street were in ruins, and some were on fire. Most of the Muggles seemed to be either dead, injured, or had managed to run away. There were only a few of the most evil Death Eaters left, who were still enjoying torturing some unfortunate Muggles. Draco squeezed Evelyn's hand tightly.

“ We need to get to a phone. I have to contact Heather so she can call the Aurors. We need to avoid the men in black robes, but if we run into any of them, point my wand and say `Stupefy'. Hopefully it'll knock whoever it hits unconscious. Come on.”

Tugging gently on the witch's hand, he led her around the corner and down the street, trying to keep hidden in the shadows and behind piles of bricks. They were almost at a phone box when a chillingly familiar voice sounded behind them.

“ Well, well, well, what do we have here?” the sneering voice said, “ A couple of Muggles trying to escape.”

Draco whirled around and looked in horror at the masked Death Eater in front of him. Thinking quickly, he pushed a terrified and confused Evelyn behind him to protect her in any way he could. As soon as he turned around, Draco knew that the man in front of him was in shock. The aura of power he had been giving off changed dramatically.

“ Draco,” the black clad figure stated in disbelief.

“ Hello Father,” the younger blond replied defiantly. Evie gasped at this revelation, but Draco remained perfectly still, waiting for his father to collect his thoughts.

“ Son, what are you doing here?” Lucius Malfoy hissed, rage filling his voice.

“ I was at the cinema until you and your band of merry men came along and dropped a roof on me!” Draco spat, rage filling him as he looked at the man who was responsible for the suffering of countless Muggles, “ I just managed to escape with my life!”

“ What I meant, Draco, is what are you doing here? You should be at Hogwarts, not prancing around the Muggle world! And with a filthy Mudblood as well!”

“ Don't call her that!” Draco yelled in a rage. Having seen now first hand what Death Eaters did, Draco had made up his mind once and for all. Having experienced life as a Muggle for six weeks, and having learned first hand how they suffered from the attacks, there was no way Draco would add to their suffering by joining Voldemort. People he cared about had been hurt, and that made it wrong for the young Slytherin on a very personal level.

“ I will call it what it is, Draco. Now, step aside. We will discuss this later.”

“ No, I won't move, and we won't discuss this later,” Draco spat, “ Her name is Evelyn and she's my friend. You won't hurt her. I won't let you”

Lucius' eyes narrowed dangerously as he watched his wayward heir defend the small girl cowering behind him.

“ So be it. Have it your way. Crucio!”

As the curse hit the younger wizard, Evelyn let out a scream of rage, pointing the wand in her hand at the masked man in front of her. Lucius laughed at her, but the smirk was wiped from his face when she hit him with an incredibly powerful stunning curse. As the elder Malfoy crumpled to the floor, Evie moved over to a shuddering Draco and smoothed the hair from his forehead as he gasped, slowly recovering from the intense pain. Before he lost consciousness, he handed Evie a ten pence piece and told her to call Heather. With a final groan of pain, he let the darkness encompass him.