8 - The Truth Part 2

                                    

                                          
Harry's POV 
                          
This couldn't be real. Dumbledore couldn't be dead. 
                          
I had cried over his body all night, with Ginny by my side. I hated her seeing me like this, but I didn't even process anything that was happening until Hailey's voice finally got through to me. 
                          
"This is all my fault, Hailey." I cried to her. I should have drank the potion, then Dumbledore would have had enough strength to fight back. She shook her head. 
                          
"No, Harry, it's not. It's mine. Come, I have something to tell you." She said, extending to her hand to me. I took it, confused. A thought then crossed my mind as I thought about Draco's role in all this. This hadn't been why she was talking to Draco earlier, was it? She bit her lip, a nervous trait of hers. 
                          
Mcgonagall thanked Hailey and patted my back gently a few times. Hagrid, who had also been crying, pulled Hailey and I into a quick hug at the same time, before him, Mcgonagall and a few other professors stayed back to deal with Dumbledore's body. 
                          
Ginny, Hailey and I all walked back to Gryffindor tower. Hailey came in with us, but didn't sit. 
                          
"It's not safe to say any of this here, especially now. Find Ron and Hermione and meet me in the Room of Requirement in 30 minutes." She told me quickly, leaving the common room before I could reply. 
                          
Ginny and I did as told, going up to the Gryffindor rooms and getting Ron and Hermione. I didn't bother grabbing the invisibility cloak, knowing Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris weren't too concerned with students out of bed right now, most likely helping the other professors. 
                          
We all made our way to the Room of Requirement, entering it. It resembled our Gryffindor common room, but with silver and green colours instead. It was the Slytherin common room. I knew Hailey was a Slytherin, but I clenched my teeth thinking about a specific Slytherin prefect. What a coward. 
                          
I looked further into the room, seeing Hailey, Blaise and Pansy all sitting on the couch. We all sat on the other couch and the floor as Hailey stood. 
                          
"Alright, guys. I know this is gonna sound insane, but you all deserve to know the truth. We had to talk here because it's still too unsafe to mention out there, especially now. As some of you now know, Draco was involved in what happened tonight." Hailey started, looking at me. 
                          
Blaise held Pansy as she cried out, obviously hearing the rumours that had already started, Hailey's words confirming them. People had quickly realized Draco was gone and put two and two together, and I was glad. 
                          
He deserved to suffer the consequences for what he did. 
                          
"Well, it's not exactly what you think. Let's go back to last summer, when Draco broke up with me. The truth is, his father found out we were dating and gave him an ultimatum he couldn't refuse; Break up with me, become a Deatheater and fulfill a special mission directly from Voldemort, or I die." She said. Hermione and Pansy gasped. 
                          
I stood, ready to fight him, but then realized I couldn't and quickly sat back down. "Draco broke up with me to protect me. All year he didn't talk to me and flirted with all these other Slytherin girls to try and get me to forget about him which obviously didn't work. Well, as you now know, this mission was to kill Dumbledore. He told me last night, in this exact place the truth about everything, but not the truth about the mission, knowing I would stop him. I'm sure you're all having mixed feelings about this and about him, as am I, but he wanted you all to know the truth, especially you, Pans." Hailey was crying now, looking at Pansy, who was hysterical. Blaise was trying to comfort her, muffling her cries with his chest, but by the way her shoulders were heaving, I knew it would take more than that to calm the Slytherin.