Chapter 1
Random shouts of random Latin words and phrases drenched the air around Hogwarts. Spells flew everywhere, some hitting people, and others harmlessly crashing into the walls. A few severely injured or dead people lay on the ground. Hogwarts had turned into a small battle zone with the invasion of a group of Death Eaters.
But none of that mattered to Harry Potter. All the Chosen One cared about was finding the traitor, Severus Snape. The man who had killed his mentor moments earlier.
He shoved a skinny death eater out of his way and darted outside. Snape was almost past the boundaries of Hogwarts, and Harry still hadn't caught up to him. Harry wasn't close enough to use the Cruciatus curse he wanted to use.
The fact that Curciatus was one of the three unforgivable curses did not matter to Harry. It was slower, less efficient, and far more painful than the killing curse. And he thought Snape deserved to die the slow, painful death of a traitor.
"He trusted you!" Harry bellowed after Snape. It was unclear if he had heard him, for there was no response. Snape simply turned to a black – haired woman and gave her an order inaudible to Harry.
Bellatrix Lestrange disapparated to an unknown destination. Harry turned around, but for a while, saw nobody. He turned back around and saw that Snape had escaped, much to Harry's dismay. If we ever cross paths again, I'll make him suffer. He vowed just before he heard someone apparating.
He turned around and saw that Bellatrix had reappeared a few meters away. She was holding her wand to Ginny Weasley's throat. And she looked like she really wanted to use that wand.
"Give me your wand." Bellatrix ordered Harry. "Or the girl dies!" She cackled as Harry recoiled in dread.
"Don't do it, Harry!" Ginny said, pleading for Harry to not make any rash decisions.
Harry saw that he had to make a dreadful choice. Either he handed over his wand and surrendered himself to the Death Eaters, or he could keep his wand and let Ginny die. But she'll probably just kill Ginny either way. Harry thought. He realized that there was only one thing he could do – Fight.
He raised his wand and prepared to use the expelliarmus charm. With it, he could knock the wand out of Bellatrix's hand, effectively disarming her. Unless she also had a knife or some other muggle weapon, which was very unlikely, Bellatrix would not be able to kill Ginny. Unfortunately, she was faster than Harry.
"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix shouted the curse, and her wand channeled the curse and hit Ginny, killing her instantly.
"NO!" Harry shouted, but it was too late. Ginny's lifeless body hit the ground. Bellatrix cackled again, clearly enjoying the thrill of killing.
"Crucio!" Harry roared, pointing his wand at Bellatrix. The curse was blocked harmlessly.
"You don't mean it!" Bellatrix laughed. "You only think you want me to suffer. But you still can't use an unforgivable curse. Not even after I killed the girl!" With a last maniacal cackle, she disapparated, leaving Harry all alone.
Harry stood there in a state of shock for a moment. Then he saw Ginny lying on the ground, dead but with eyes wide open. Harry scrambled over to her and propped her head up with his hand. He closed her eyes and felt tears well up in his.
"I'm sorry, Ginny…" His voice was barely anything more than a whisper.
Harry heard footsteps approaching. He looked up and saw his friend, Ron Weasley, approaching. Ron crouched down when he arrived at the scene and saw that his sister was dead.
"No…This…This isn't happening." He said in a despaired voice. He breathed heavily and gave Harry a hateful stare. "You couldn't save her."
"Ron, I'm sorry! I tried to save her, but…"
"You saved her from You – Know – Who years ago, but couldn't save her from that mental woman!" Harry began to reply, when Ron continued with his tirade. "How is it that you can save her from You – Know – Who, but can't save her from that mental woman?"
"Ron, I tried…"
"YOU LET HER DIE, DIDN'T YOU?"
"No! I'd never just sit back and let any of your family die! Why do you think I would?"
But Ron had already started making his way back to the castle. Harry was left alone once again. He's right. He thought. It's my fault Ginny's dead. With those bitter thoughts, he fell to the ground sobbing.
Hermione had observed the exchange from a distance, but saw Ron leave before she could intervene. His head was hung down, and his breathing was heavy. "Ron, what happened?" She asked.
"My sister's dead." He replied in a stone – cold voice. "If you want details, ask him." He pointed in Harry's direction.
"Ron…"
"Just leave me alone!" He shouted. He saw Hermione step back, surprised at the sudden outburst. "Please…Just leave me alone." Ron left, leaving Hermione alone between the scene of the murder and the castle.
People were massed at the entrance, observing the scene from a distance. Nobody would let them leave the building. They knew something terrible had happened. They knew somebody had died, and it wasn't just Dumbledore. Hermione could not help but think that the students at the entrance were the lucky ones. They did not yet know that somebody's sister was dead. They were lucky they had not lost their sister or girlfriend themselves. They were lucky that their metaphorical bridges known as friendships hadn't been burned yet by the tragedy.
Yeah, this isn't the best writing I've done. But this is just a mini – project that popped into my head last night. Really extra practice for the really dark passages in my other writings. Hope you guys liked it. There should be one or two more chapters later.