"Have you seen Draco at all today?"

"No, have you?"

"Would I be asking if I had? Honestly Blaise, sometimes you can be pretty dull."

"Shut up Pansy. I've got a lot on my mind."

"Liar, you were thinking about Weasley, weren't you?"

"I said shut up."

"Have you guys seen Draco at all today?"

"I don't think anyone has, Potter."

"Should we be worried about it?"

"No, I'm sure he's-"

"Guys, Nott's gone too!" Hermione said running up to the three, Ron trailing behind her. He shared a small smile with Blaise, before Harry interrupted.

"Her lovebirds, if you don't mind, we kinda have to find Draco, so can you do all that lovey stuff later?"

"Do you think he's alright? What if he's hurt? Oh, Merlin, what if he's dead? Are we positive Theo took him?"

"Pansy, calm down. He'll be fine, let's go to Theo's room and see if we can find anything," Hermione said, trying to calm her girlfriend's nerves. Pansy nodded, and the five went off to Theo's room.

When they got there, the searched the room thoroughly. Hermione found a note on Theo's pillow, but she quickly shoved it in her pocket before anyone else could read it. "I know where he is." Everyone turned to look at her. "He's in the Shrieking Shack."

"How do you know?"

"I hardly think that's of any importance. Harry, maybe you should sit this one out and let the rest of us go."

"What? No way, I'm coming and you can't stop me."

"But-"

"No Hermione, I'm going." Hermione sighed, knowing it was useless.

" Fine. Harry grab the map and your cloak, and everyone grab your wand if you don't have it with you already. We'll meet in the common room in five minutes. Any later, and we'll leave without you." They all nodded and broke off.

Moments later, they had set off towards the shack. When they reached the Whomping Willow, they stopped.

"Why'd we stop here?" Blaise asked, carefully watching the tree that was now thrashing it's branches around freely.

""It's a shortcut," Harry said, before grabbing a long branch and poking a knob on the trunk. The tree immediately froze, and the five moved on. As they got closer, they could hear the cries of pain coming from the old shack. Harry instantly picked up the pace, the cloak falling off in his hurry. Now in a full on sprint, the five reached the entrance in minutes, Harry in the lead.

They ran up the stairs, which creaked and wobbled a bit, then into the only closed door, where the sounds were coming from. There was Draco, chained and gagged, screaming into the cloth as he got his with spell after spell. Harry ran forward and removed the gag, allowing the other boy to speak.

"You shouldn't have come. She'll kill you. Run," was what he told the raven-haired boy before he passed out on the ground. Harry turned around, and there she was, right next to Theodore, the pink and lace alone making Harry's eyes hurt. That stupid, evil toad was back.

"Ah, Harry. I see you got Mr. Nott's note."

"Note? What note?" Hermione slowly reached into her pocket, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Sh handed it to Harry, and he quickly read through it.

Harry,

If you ever wish to see Draco again, come to the Shrieking Shack, unarmed and alone, in the next twenty-four hours. A friend of mine has unfinished business with you, as do I. And don't expect to come back alive either. The longer you wait, the longer your stupid Slytherin boyfriend gets hurt. Don't show, and he dies.

-Theodore Nott

"You had this the entire time, Hermione!"

"Well, yes, but you have to understand that I tried to stop you from coming, you just wouldn't listen!"

"I'm not mad about that. But you let everyone else come too, putting the rest of you in danger. I could have just gone alone, and you'd all be safe."

"But you'd be dead, Harry! Is that what you want? Don't act like you'd have wanted that instead of a little extra help from us all."

"I would have. I don't bloody care what happens to me! It's you, and Ron, and Blaise, and Pansy, and Draco."

"He-hem." The two turned to face Umbridge, disgust on both of their faces. "Since Mr. Potter has failed to meet the requirements of our meeting, I'm afraid-"

"Oh shut up, you old toad," Ron yelled.

"Stupefy!" Theo yelled, pointing his wand at Ron.

"Protego!" Harry said, blocking the spell. And that had started the duel. Spell after spell was cast, some hitting the targets, some missing, some blocked. There was no serious harm done, not until Theo said those two awful words, and the green light shot form his wand.

Harry was to busy throwing a hex at Umbridge to notice it. But Ron did, he saw it.

"Harry!" This got his attention, and he looked up to see the flash of green headed his way. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, he just stared at it. That is, until he felt himself get shoved, and he fell to the ground. Harry looked up just in time to watch the Unforgivable hit Ron square in the chest.

Ron took his last breath, and with that, he was gone. He fell to the floor carelessly, landing in a position that couldn't have been comfortable. But it didn't matter, did it? Because he was dead, he couldn't feel pain anymore. But it didn't feel like he was dead. It felt like he would get back up, and start laughing with Harry about the dumbest things. Because he wasn't dead, he couldn't be.

A crack, and Theo and Umbridge were gone, leaving the others alone in the shack. Hermione broke down in tears, clutching Pansy like her life depended on it. Pansy didn't know Ron well enough, but she couldn't help but shed a tear or two herself. Blaise just stared, as well as Harry.

It was his fault, he knew it was. If he'd just seen it sooner, or moved out of the way, he could have saved him. Or if he'd just died instead of Ron. Ron had too many people who cared about him. Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, George, Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Blaise, maybe even Percy and Pansy. It was unfair, and cruel, and it hurt too much to even bare. Because this time, unlike all the others, it was directly Harry's fault.

Ronald Bilius Weasley was dead, and it was all Harry's fault.

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