T W E N T Y F O U R

Eclaire strained her neck to stare at the face of Rosalind Creevey and her perfectly manicured hand digging her wand into Eclaire's back.

"Hers. It was her wheelchair prints that were a match." Eclaire whispered, to no one in particular.

"Who?" The silver haired wizard said with pure confusion.

Angry green eyes glared at the man in front of her. Clad in a red dress that flowed to the ground, hiding her feet propped up on a wheelchair she bit out, "Wife of the man you just subjected to horrific treatment-"

"Just to set things straight, your man was the one trying to kill me." Draco grit out feeling his pockets for his wand, only to realise he'd willingly thrown it away in his attempt to punch the deranged husband. Shit.

"WITH GOOD REASON!" She bellowed. Great. The wife's deranged too. Draco thought. "If it wasn't for you I would still have the ability to walk! If the likes of you had not brought in the deatheaters inside the school, I would not have been crippled! My husband would still have his brother! You caused it! You and your group of minions!"

"It was the death-eaters who did that. You cannot blame and frame teenagers for being responsible for the crimes actual criminals committed! They have been punished-" Eclaire began only to be cut off abruptly.

"Punished?! Then why does he and his friends get to have the happy endings that we did not?!" Rose said digging her wand furthermore, making Eclaire feel the sharp pain of being prodded with a magically infused object.

"Why do we suffer while they- oh no you do not!" Rose exclaimed as she saw Eclaire trying to reach for her wand. She snatched it out of Eclaire's boots and threw it accross the room. Rosalind quickly muttered a spell under her breath and Eclaire felt her feet freeze, unmoving."Think you're smart, do you? How does it feel not being able to use your feet? Does it feel helpless? " The green-eyed witch mewled, digging her wand in deeper, drawing blood making the brown eyed witch wince.

Eclaire tried moving her feet but to no avail, they wouldn't budge. If only she had her wand; she looked accross the room to where it lay. Even if she could move her legs, she would be dead meat before she could take two steps forward.

"It is me you want, is it not?" Rose heard the silver haired wizard say. "Then I am yours to take. Eclaire has nothing to do with this, release her and let her go." Draco said calmly.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "And why should I? She sealed her fate the moment she decided to get defiled by joining your side. And she has been the biggest nuisance in all of my plans! If it wasn't for her, Dennis and I would have got away with our plan unscathed-but now that we've been uncovered anyway, it matters not how many I take down as I go."

Draco's eyes hardened. "She hasn't done anything wrong-"

"And neither have you!" Eclaire screamed from where she stood, horrified at what her lover was suggesting. She wanted to speak more but his unwavering gaze quieted her.

"It was the deatheaters you wanted from the beginning wasn't it? I stand before you-the last of the lot that isn't dead or imprisoned and I will willingly offer myself up if you let her go."

"And how would that be any more beneficial than killing you both?" Rosalind glared.

"I will take responsibility for all the murders and clear both Dennis and your name. You can have your revenge and get away without a blotch on your names." Draco's words resounded through the delapidated building as both Eclaire's and Rose's eyes widened at his suggestion. One with excitement and the other with horror.

"Draco no-" Eclaire sputtered out with a mix of horror and disbelief. "You absolutely will do no such thing-" But her lover would not look at her.

"And how do I know you are not lying?" Rose and Draco both ignored the histerical witch being held captive by the green-eyed witch.

Green eyes clashed with icy blues.

"I will sign my confession and send it to the Ministry right before your eyes. Given my background, it would not take much convincing at all." Draco said, his eyes showing no emotion.

"And what of the commotion with Dennis that everyone witnessed? He confessed to everything before them." Rosalind bit out, her eyes calculating.

Draco replied without a beat. "He was under the Imperius curse."

Eclaire let out a gasp. "Draco Lucius Malfoy you will do no such thing! I forbid you to do anything of the sort!" Eclaire said flailing her arms, willing her legs to move but they wouldn't oblige when suddenly her body was filled with pain so excruciating she had never felt it in all her years of existence. She thought she heard the word Crucio but she couldn't be sure as all she heard was the terrible ringing in her head as everything else faded.

"Stop it! Stop the curse!" Draco said urgently as he saw the brown haired witch writhing in pain on the ground. "I told you I would confess so let her go!"

"No..." Eclaire whispered from the ground, her eyes finally meeting her lover's, her face contorted in pain. "They'll have...you..executed..no...you canno-" Her voice was cut off as a scream ripped out of her.

"Quiet! Did I ask you to speak?!" Rosalind said as she sent wave after wave of the torture curse and watched as Eclaire writhed and screamed in pain.

"Stop! I'll do what you want so stop!" Draco cried out as he knelt to the ground. "Stop. I beg you." He felt his eyes sting at the small form of the woman he loved curled up in pain, watched as her frail body shook with the tremors of pain. My fault. My fault she's in this position. The woman who deserves nothing but all that is good, crying for her life on the ground. Because of me.

As if on cue, her eyes found his as if to deny all his terrible thoughts. As if she knew what he'd been thinking. As if to say 'it's not your fault' as she always did. She shook her head ever so slightly, too drained out to do anything else as if to confirm her thoughts. Her skin was slick with her own sweat and the grime of the floor, her short strands of hair sticking to her forehead drenched in her sweat, her eyes haunted and tears flowing freely out of them. But whether it was because of her pain or what he was about to do remained a mystery to the silver haired wizard.

"It wasn't my intention to let him go anyway, girl. I will be his retribution, not some bloody old fools sitting at the Ministry. I will be revered as a hero for slaying a monster as I rightly should be!" Rosalind smirked as she looked at Eclaire on the ground.

"The only...monster here...is..you." Eclaire hissed out from the ground, her mud brown eyes burning with fury.

"You-" Rose raised her wand to cast another torture spell when she was cut off.

"No more! You will harm her no more! Swear the unbreakable vow that as soon as I sign the confession you will not harm a hair on her head and you will let her go!" Draco grit out, his eyes levelling the green-eyed witch as she felt a shiver go past her at the iciness in his eyes.

She huffed. "Fine." She supposed she could do that for her and Dennis' name to be cleared. She reached her hand out as Draco gripped it in a vicelike grip.

Eclaire watched it unfold before her eyes helplessly as she tried to move. Her entire being was riddled with pain yet she tried to get up, only to fail. Her wand lay on the other side of the room taunting her. She felt tears of frustration flow freely out of her eyes as she watched the vow be completed.

She tried to crawl to where her wand lay, dragging her frozen feet with her hands but she was much too weak as she fell flat on her face. Eclaire did not even try to hide her sobs as she watched Rosalind bring out a magically written confession. Eclaire watched as Draco brought out a pen, the pen she had given him to sign the confession. She watched as he finished signing it and finally raised his gaze to meet hers.

I love you.

He mouthed finally as Eclaire saw him put his pen back into his pocket. He had carried it ever since Eclaire had given it to him. He gave her a final smile as he turned around. He did not want to her watch as the life faded from his eyes. He could not subject her to that scene.

"I will make it swift, though you do not deserve it." He heard Rosalind bite out.

Eclaire wiped her eyes of the remaining tears as she willed herself to stop. This is not the time to be wasting. She thought. She watched as Rosalind raised her wand. Eclaire frantically looked around, her gaze settling on her wand, she willed it to come to her but it lay unmoving. Eclaire's blood froze as she heard Rosalind mutter the forbidden spell.

"Avada..."

Draco braced for impact. He wondered what death would feel like. He wondered if he would feel any pain or would it just feel numb? Atleast my Kitten would be safe. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate. But the impact never came.

He slowly turned around as his gaze fell to the wand lying on the ground. As his gaze moved upward it finally to came to rest on Rosalind. With a dagger to her neck. He watched as her eyes were still wide with shock and her mouth agape. He watched the life drain out of her like the blood that drained out of her neck.

His gaze then fell to his woman who still lay a good distance away from them, sitting upright with a shocked look on her face. Eclaire looked up at Draco as he ran to cradle her in her arms.

"I had to do it...I had to do it, Draco or she would've killed you." Eclaire said looking up at Draco. "My-my wand- I didn't have my wand-I only had this Kunai t-that Yuko had given m-me for self-defence s-since I kept loosing my wand b-but I never thought I would have to use it. I h-had to throw t-the K-kunai at her...I had to kill or her or she would've killed you." Eclaire said crying as Draco wiped the tears off her eyes and kissed her.

"I know, my love, I know." Draco said hugging her sobbing form.

"Then why couldn't Eclaire pass the Auror Training Exam five times in a row when she's that good?" Draco had asked.

"Because there's a catch." Yuko had said. "At the end of the maze, you are met with the final obstacle-Killing. The details change every year but the essence is the same- you have to kill a person that poses a threat to the wizarding kind." Yuko said grimly. "I assume you know why she couldn't do that."

Draco had nodded. Eclaire risked her neck every weekend to save a random creature she saw, she could never willingly take any life regardless of who it belonged to. He had thought to himself.

Yet, she had killed. For him. And despite her hystericals, as he looked into her eyes, he knew she would do it all over again.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

A/N: Aaaand that's a wrap guys 💜

I almost didn't finish this story. Almost. But Draco and Eclaire deserved an ending and specifically a happy one!

All that's left is an Epilogue and a few extras (maybe, if you guys want). Thank you for being a part of this journey and to those who have been here from the start- I love you 💟

P.s. I can't believe y'all thought Ron was the murderer 😹😹 It was so funny reading all your comments collectively deeming him the culprit 😹 Like I know he's a brat but a killer? Damn.

Adios

Stay safe ♥