firecracker ???

6-17

Dumbledore's expression didn't shift, but his voice turned quieter. "Sometimes, saving people isn't about being strong. It's about being brave."

Another silence.

Draco looked at him, jaw tight.

"I'm scared."

"I am too."

Draco blinked.

And then Dumbledore stepped forward—slow, deliberate—and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Whatever happens after tonight... you've already won."

Draco's breath hitched.

"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco closed his eyes.

Then nodded.

Bellatrix watched from the shadows, heart pounding in her throat.

She'd never been more alive.

Her nephew—her Draco—was finally doing it. Finally stepping into the legacy of the Malfoy name.

She had waited so long to see it.

Waited years.

And now—he raised his wand.

And with a trembling breath—he spoke.

"Avada Kedavra."

The spell missed.

Snape's silent spell struck at the same moment, perfectly choreographed.

But Bellatrix didn't notice. Draco had led him to a blind spot.

Dumbledore's body flung backward, robes billowing—

And crumpled to the stone.

Bellatrix screamed.

And then she laughed.

She launched forward, triumphant.

"He did it!" she shrieked. "He did it! He killed him!"

She laughed, unhinged and high-pitched, spinning in gleeful madness.

Harry—hidden below the stairwell—lurched forward, eyes wide.

But Regulus caught him by the shoulders. "No."

"He—he killed him!"

"No," Regulus said calmly. "He saved him."

Lyra stepped out of the shadows beside him. Her wand was raised, her voice flat. "It's done."

Harry looked between them, breathless. "But—"

"They're acting," Lyra whispered. "This is the plan. You have to trust us."

"I—" He turned back to the body. The crumpled robes. The stone slick with rain.

"I do."

Bellatrix grabbed Draco's hand, still manic. "Come. Come, darling, we have to show him. Let him see what our little Draco did."

Snape stepped into view. His face unreadable.

Draco looked once, just once, at Harry and Lyra—and then let Bellatrix pull him away and toward the Vanishing Cabinet.

Snape followed.

Harry surged forward—but Regulus blocked him.

"You can't," he said firmly. "Not yet."