Deep within the forbidden forest, in an area that no one - not even Hagrid or the magical creatures who lived there - had ventured to, a gathering took place. Everyone there stood clad in head to toe black, not an inch of skin showing. Even their faces were covered - leaving only a mouth hole and sheer material over their eyes. One of the people, presumably the leader, stood at the head of them. Everyone else gathered in a half circle in front of him.
"Welcome, friends," he said, his voice deep and gravely from a voice distorter, "I see you all have taken the liberty to join us."
The man's body flickered, like he was a hologram.
"Although some have denied their invitation, rest assured, they will be punished . . . I'm sure you all have heard of the Blood Killer, as the media calls it. And I am happy to say that I am the maker of such a killer, pardon me Yes, my friends, plural. The burning faces, the hair removal, limb amputation; they are only one of the killers I have been grooming. Soon we will release more. In fact, we already have."
Chatter rose among the half circle. The volume rose louder and louder until the leader held up a hand.
"Now," he said, his mouth curving into a twisted smile, "I know you are all very excited to hear where our next kills will take place. Rest assured, they will all be mudbloods. And soon we will move onto the half bloods. We must make our kind pure again. And once we become pure and powerful again we will take on the muggles."
This time a round of cheers went around the people.
"And when we become the only people left," he said again, using a spell to raise his flickering form off the ground, "we will rule! And you all will remember me, your Dark Savior, your New Leader , your Blood Killer!"
As the people in the gathering exploded the flickering man slowly removed his mask. His wicked smile continued to grow, larger and larger until it enclosed everything into darkness.
Draco sat up quickly, gripping the edge of the surface he was on. He sat panting. staring at the wall. His eyes darted around the dark room, failing to adjust to the lack of light. He couldn't remember any part of his dream, but he knew it wasn't good.
"Lumos," Draco muttered, flicking one of his hands out.
A ball of light appeared dimly lit in the lamp right next to Draco. He scrunched his eyebrows together, thinking, before realizing he had been sleeping on his desk. Draco stood up and brushed any dirt off they may have been lingering on his clothes off. He turned around, prepared to light the entire room when he paused. Curled up in a ball in his desk chair, Hermione sat snoring quietly, all the worry gone from her face. Draco sighed and peeled off his jacket. He draped his jacket over her, making sure it was tucked around her so it wouldn't fall off. Draco chuckled. He never thought that he would one day he would be making sure Hermione Granger, Hermione Granger wasn't getting cold.
Draco then remembered her comment about his office being as warm as an oven. He stared in horror at the jacket he'd draped over her, wondering if he should take it back before Hermione woke up and noticed it. That would for sure make her bury Draco alive.
Draco was about to make his final decision about the jacket when the door to his office slammed open, rebounding against the wall. Harry Potter, who had started to come rushing in was hit in the face by the very same door he had flung open. Harry cursed, holding his nose.
"Dammit!" he all but screamed, moving his hands away to reveal a bleeding nose, "Why haven't you been answering your pages?"
"Uh, I think the battery's dead," Draco said, moving his hand towards his back pocket.
"Of course it is!" Harry shouted, throwing his hands into the air. His eyes darted to Hermione and then back to Draco. "Wake her up and let's go."
Harry turned to walk out the down at a sprint.
"Wait - Potter!" Draco called after him, "What's going on?"
Harry stopped and looked at Draco with a grim face. He said, darkly, "If you kept those batteries charged, you'd know. Hogwarts has just been attacked."
Harry, Draco, and Hermione went flying down the halls of Hogwarts, legs moving at a blinding speed. They tore through the first floor, past dozens of students. Most were coming out of their unconsciousness, some with cuts on their heads. Still, the three paid no attention. They called out people to go to the infirmary or to help others their.
When they arrived at the Great Hall, Harry through open the doors and froze. Hermione stopped next to him and brought her hands up to cover her face, leaving her eyes to peak over er fingertips. Draco caught up last, having stopped a few feet away to pop a students shoulder back into it's socket. He groaned aloud and looked up at the ceiling.
Lying in four or five rows, nearly twenty to a row, were the bodies of students, all unmoving. It was a mix of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw robes. All were bloodied around the same area. As they looked, Headmistress McGonagall made her way over. She stood next to Harry, not saying anything, tears silently leaking from her eyes.
"Why aren't there any Slytherins?" Hermione whispered.
"There are," Draco whispered back, "These people - these - they're muggleborns. There are Slytherin muggleborns. Not many, but they exist. We hide them, though. Lie about their status to everyone because of our parents. We keep the safe."
"If only that's how all the houses worked," McGonagall said curtly, "There are one hundred and twenty-eight muggleborns in Hogwarts. Only nine are alive now."
"Oh my god," Hermione muttered, "I'm going to vomit."
She turned and jogged away, to the nearest window.
"I got it," Draco muttered, turning to follow her.
As soon as the two were out of earshot, McGonagall said, "That's a change."
"They about killed each other on their first day," Harry said, "I never thought it would really work out. I was honestly just trying to find a front runner to pair with myself. But they're unstoppable. Took down Theodore Nott Sr within a month when the rumor he was trying to rebirth Voldemort started."
"I suppose that's good - you've got the best on this. But how am I supposed to tell all these parents. All these muggle parents who trusted me to take in their kids and help them learn something new and terrifying that was happening to them. How am I supposed to tell them they were murdered? And what if they go talking to the muggle news? Over a hundred sets of parents with dead kids who come claiming there's a wizard school here will not go ignored, Potter."
"I know," Harry said, "I know."
"McGonagall! We got a survivor over here!"
"Dramione, let's go!" Harry shouted over his shoulder. It was a habit he was slowly picking up, conjoining their names together when he needed to quickly get there attention.
Harry and McGonagall rushed over, halfway across the hall, to where a older student in Ravenclaw robes stained with blood, was tending to a student. It was a female, in her second year according to her robes, Hufflepuff. To the right of her chest, where the heart was located, was a gunshot would, bleeding heavily. The older student had his hands clamped over the wound, trying to stop the blood flow.