Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition

Round : Round Five—In A Dimension Far, Far Away

Team : Puddlemere United

Position : Chaser 3

Chasing : (Pocket Dimension) Write about the things that could happen inside a 'space pocket' where the inside is bigger than the outside.

Quaffle : 1. [Word] Fire

12. [Last line] Gladly, I Succumbed.

13. [Painting] The Starry Night by Van Gogh

Word Count : 2416

I curse myself quietly as I rush to put out the fire I had decided to build a few minutes ago in the hopes of attracting an animal or two, not realizing where we were and thinking that we were safe. We weren't, of course. Nowhere is safe for us, really. Our idea of safe is just the delusion that we are less likely to be found out in some remote place far away from Britain than we are in, like say, Grimmauld Place or Ottery St. Catchpole. Or the Forbidden Forest. The sound of footsteps crunching ice coming from behind me is a few hundred meters off, but I can hear the rustling of leaves and the breaking of twigs reverberating in the eerily quiet forest.

The house—Ron's aunt Muriel's home—that has been serving as a hideout for the odd DA and Order members who survived the battle and managed to escape before they were caught and killed by the Death Eaters is about a mile off to my left. I wonder absently why the house brought us here, so near Hogwarts, when it could have gone anywhere in the entire world. The house travels to random locations about every seven hours, somehow. Luna says—and I agree with her on this—that this is probably a side effect of all of us having put so many spells on this ancient structure. Still, it's an added benefit—another layer of security—so no one's complaining.

I am contemplating if I should make my way back towards the house (which, according to my wrist watch, is some forty minutes away from relocating) when I get a chance to hear their voices. I stand shocked for a moment, then swallow hard. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. I look around helplessly for a single second, then look at the tree I'm sitting under. This would have to do. I cannot go back towards the house with Death Eaters this close, especially if the company includes Draco Malfoy, who had been charged with finding all those who had escaped a week after the battle. I shimmy up the tree as fast as I can and only stop when I am considerably high up. I can see the Death Eaters now—mere 50 feet away—and frown slightly, trying to figure out who Malfoy's companions are before I realize that things haven't changed so much in Malfoy's world after all. The two other men are Crabbe and Goyle.

My heart picks up its pace when they reach the base of my tree and stop. Malfoy stoops down to investigate something that I realize is the charred wood and ashes left from the fire I had built. I smack myself in my head. I should've vanished it. If not that, I should have at least chosen a tree other than the one at whose base I had built the fire. Malfoy stands back up and dusts his hands, scanning the parameters before turning towards Crabbe and Goyle.

"There was a fire built here, so at least that idiot Carrow got that right." He looks around again. "But who built it?"

He turns towards the fire again thoughtfully, and says, "Spread out and search the forest. They couldn't have gone far."

I stiffen. I can't let them wander towards the direction of the house, because although it is Disillusioned and protected by a Fidelius Charm, the house resides in a lot of magic. Magic which any wizard would undoubtedly be able to sense. I sit tense and contemplate what to do even as Crabbe wanders towards the general direction of the house. Could I send out a patronus? But what good would that do? They can't make the house move. It'd just give away my position to them. Malfoy is still standing at the base of my tree, watching his cronies work. Crabbe has now gone far enough in the direction of the house that I cannot see him from my position. I shift slightly, trying to see where he is, and in the process, I shake the snow off the bough of the branch I'm sitting on. I freeze for a moment, then go back to my original position which is more shielded from sight and curl up, hoping the canopy of the tree would keep me covered.

I hold my breath as Malfoy looks up into the tree suspiciously for a few minutes, trying to inspect its branches, and then, satisfied, turns back to the ground. I let out my breath slowly and turn away from Malfoy towards the horizon. The sun has just set over Hogsmeade village and the sky is pink turning into violet. The trees in the forest are clustered together, but not near enough for me to move from my position into another tree. I'm just about to shift a little to view my exit options from a different point when I get hit by a jet of red light and fall off the tree and crash into the icy ground at least twenty feet below.

"Well, well, well…" Malfoy's voice comes drawling as he strolls towards me leisurely, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face I'm not too sure I like.

"What do we have here? A filthy Mudblood, eh? You've taken to dropping off trees now, have you?" He sneers, then says, "And where is your blood traitor pal? And your precious Potter? Are they too afraid to come out of their hiding places or has the poor Mudblood lost her way?" He looks up into the trees again as if trying to see if Harry or Ron are up there. I take a little comfort in knowing that they're safely inside the house right now.

"Crabbe! Goyle! Get over here."

I hear a shuffling from two different directions in my stupefied state and within moments I sense the two near me.

"Did you find anything?" Malfoy asks, and I feel my heart hammering away in my chest, feeling as if it would pop out any moment.

"No," both of them reply and I let out a breath.

"Look around in these trees and see if you can find Potter and the blood traitor," says Draco. "Meanwhile, the Mudblood and I will see if she is as ready to answer questions as she was in Hogwarts."

I close my eyes shut tight and hear the two walking away as the stunner slowly slides off my body. I curl into a ball before Malfoy pulls me up roughly and does a brisk search for my wand until he finds it in my pants pocket. He pulls it out and stows it away in his own robes, then crouches down to my eye level

"Well, now that that is taken care of, how about we have a nice chat about you telling me the whereabouts of your merry band of devotees and what would happen if you happen to decide not to?" His eyes flash and for the first time in a long time I feel pain so excruciating I feel that I would pass out from the pain of it. I had only ever felt this curse being put on me by Bellatrix before, and that had been so long ago that Malfoy's Crucio makes it feel as bad as the first time. It takes every ounce of my energy not to scream. I crash to the ground again and wince. Every inch of my body is on fire, and I seem to have sprained my ankle. Malfoy laughs.

I concentrate on breathing while I think of what to do—Malfoy would definitely torture me to get me to tell him where everyone is hiding, but I won't do that, of course. Their lives—Harry's life—is a lot more important to our cause than mine. I lie quietly for a moment and come up with a plan. It's not a plan I like too much, especially since it's a plan which is almost definitely going to be the cause of my death, but some things you just have to do. I open my eyes and try to figure out what direction the house lies in, and where the quickest exit into Hogsmeade village is, which is considerably harder now that night has fallen. Malfoy has apparently joined Crabbe and Goyle in searching for Harry and Ron because he is not in my line of sight. I strain my ears to listen to any sound which might indicate their position, and I hear slight scuffing sounds from behind me. I approximate them to be about a few hundred feet behind me, and I pray to whoever is listening that I am right.

Getting up and standing is a battle in itself. Every part of my body screams in agony and I wince at the thought that I'll have to run in this weakened state. I look back only for a moment and realize that the three have now taken to climbing trees and searching them. Then, I begin to run. It's worse than I had imagined. It's a miracle I don't collapse at the first step. I force myself to keep going. One step after the other, until I feel my sore muscles begin to cooperate and think that maybe, just maybe, I might be able to escape. Maybe I won't have to execute my plan at all, which had only actually consisted of leading them away from the house and towards Hogsmeade instead.

"Look! She's running away!" Goyle's voice comes from behind me and I feel my heart rate quicken. Before I can even look behind, I get hit by another stunner and fall face first into the snow. I realize that I had been closer to Hogsmeade than I had thought, and that it would only have taken a few more minutes, just a descend down a small rising to enter the village. They reach me in a second and again, I rise up into the air with my body on fire and fall down into the snow hard. I grit my teeth. I've fallen on my bad ankle again.

"Send a patronus to the Ministry and ask for more people. We need to search Hogsmeade Village," Malfoy growls. That my attempted escape has at least diverted their attention from the forest is a small comfort. I curl up into a ball and Malfoy curses me again. I count three more times until he finally stops Crucio-ing me and stoops down in front of me in the snow and grabs my face and asks, "Now tell me, Mudblood, where is Potter?"

I look away from him and stare instead at the village. The moon is out now, and Hogsmeade is illuminated by a few odd lamps and the moon and the stars, which are glowing brighter than usual today, or has my vision been impaired? Everything is a little blurred. Malfoy lets go of my face and pulls out his wand again and I brace myself for the pain that is sure to come. I'm a little surprised when the word "Sectumsempra!" leaves his mouth instead of the Crucio I was expecting, but it's quickly replaced by mind numbing pain radiating from my arm. Malfoy's eyes have a maniacal look in them when he shouts, "Tell me, Granger, TELL ME, damn it!"

He grits his teeth and seems to calm down a little. "I'll make it quick, okay? I'll make your death as quick as possible if you tell me where they are. Just tell me." I look away again, towards the village. We had fun there back in Hogwarts. I have good memories of that village. My vision is still a little blurred but I can see the village looking as picturesque as it always has. The sky is unusually clear for a winter night with only a few clouds in sight. It reminds me of The Starry Night by Van Gogh. A beautiful village, a beautiful sky, and two people not at the best points of their life. This is a good way to die, I guess, looking at a place you love—a place with happy memories. I begin to feel a little dizzy looking at the scene, like I'm falling, but Malfoy pulls me back from my reverie.

"Granger," he begins, "you're already dying. You might as well tell me now. If you don't, I'll have the best healers in the world save you and make your life so miserable you'll beg me to kill you." His eyes flash dangerously. "You don't want to make this any harder for you. We'll find them sooner or later, and then they'll all regret it."

I don't know why, but I laugh at that. There is no way they'll be able to find the house, not when it moves around like it does. This only infuriates him further. I see Crabbe and Goyle approach him from behind him and tell him that the Aurors are here. He begins to get up, but then stops, a curious expression on his face. I realize in the next moment why. It washes over me like a wave—a tide of power and energy and magic that is originating from the house, not that Malfoy knows it. The house has shifted. They're gone. Relief like nothing begins to flood me and I begin to laugh again.

Malfoy springs to his feet and looks towards the forest and then towards me and curses. For some reason I laugh harder. Malfoy turns back towards me with fire in his eyes and pulls out his wand slowly. I'm expecting a Crucio again, but I feel my throat begin to tighten instead, as if someone was strangling me. I begin to choke, and the metallic taste in my mouth tells me I'm choking on my blood. Malfoy looks at me with an expression of disgust on his face, and something else too, which is unreadable. He advances towards me slowly, wand pointing towards my throat again, and whispers, "Sectumsempra."

I feel my throat being cut, and I can't make a sound. I think of Harry and Ron, of our cause, and wonder if I'm giving up too soon. More blood comes to my mouth. I've done what I could, I tell myself. I look at the sky now, and stop fighting it. This is good. This is relief. My eyes feel heavy, and it feels as if I'm spiralling into a vortex. Gladly, I succumb.