I. Fight and Fall
"Stupefy! Stupefy! PROTEGO!!"
Her voice was growing hoarse from the repetition of spells. Two Death Eaters glided towards her, their masks torn and revealing their malicious smirks. Her hand shook badly as she fired a Body-Binding Curse at the first; the curse missed its mark. Lavender Brown backed up slowly, desperately looking for a way to escape. There was no way she could take two trained Death Eaters by herself. Lavender bit her lip and forced her arm to steady. She couldn't give up just yet, not when she worked so hard the whole year to prepare!
"Tarantallegra!" she cried out desperately. A beam of orange light shot out from her wand and, to her utmost relief, hit one of the Death Eaters. His feet began to twist into an insane dance. The expression on his face was murderous, and his companion drew closer. Lavender, frozen in terror, watched him murmur a spell under his breath. Never in her life had imagined herself at the heart of any battle. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she and brought up a shield. The petite Gryffindor stumbled backwards with the impact of the spell, painfully hitting the banister behind her. Nowhere to run. Lavender started to shake, unable to form an appropriate spell. "Expelliarmus!" She uttered weakly. The Death Eaters were too fast, however, and already had blocked it. Shockingly, their shield reflected the spell back at her. Her eyes widened as she watched her wand was wrenched from her hand. It clattered helplessly onto the floor. She was too slow… Lavender grabbed the banister with her free arm, as if hoping the stone support would lend her the strength she needed.
"REDUCTO!" the dancing Death Eater shrieked gleefully, eager to get his revenge. He knew the girl had nowhere else to turn. Lavender clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable. 'Please don't hurt, please don't hurt,' she echoed in her mind. She heard the clattering of footsteps coming towards her. Was it help? Lavender dared not to hope. A heavy force slammed into her side, but there was, strangely, none of the pain she expected, just perhaps a shortness of breath from the impact. Lavender tentatively opened her eyes, preparing herself for the worst. However, no matter how she steeled herself, Lavender Brown didn't expect to see the person now in front of her.
"Seamus?" she whispered. His face was badly scratched and bruised, a trickle of blood dripping from a cut on his lips. The sandy-haired boy mustered a quick smile and stood up, offering Lavender a hand as he did. 'Seamus has certainly changed a lot this year,' she mused, accepting his help. Seamus opened his mouth to speak. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he grabbed Lavender to his body protectively, as if bracing himself.
"Sectumsempra!"
"Crucio!"
They had let their guards down too soon. As the attacks hit them, Lavender heard Seamus scream loudly, almost like the banshees he feared in their third year. Then there was quiet, and Lavender thought no more as everything dissolved into a blur of colours and searing pain.
-
Lavender was falling.
She had the vague sensation of nothingness surrounding her. Slowly, as her senses regained their functions, Lavender felt air whipping past her. Maybe she was flying. The Gryffindor watched the colours dance in her eyes. It hurt too much to check. What had happened? Death Eaters. The colours finally began to coalesce into a picture; the shattered banister was moving father and farther away from her. Shock barely registered over the pain. No, she was still falling.
The sounds of war drifted to her. Spells were shouted and screams pierced the air. Almost idly, Lavender wondered where Parvati was fighting. Her friend was a tough one, for all the girlish airs with which she generally carried herself. Lavender observed her somewhat long, brown hair whip around her face like streamers.
And suddenly her body stopped. She felt the comforting hardness of the floor against her back. Lavender attempted to sit up, but immediately fell back to the ground. It felt like there was a dagger running up and down her spine and a boulder pounding her skull. Lavender stared at the Hogwarts ceiling, the sky dark and mutinous. 'It's almost as if Hogwarts knows what is happening,' she thought. Once again, the sharp buzz of pain drew her from her thoughts. Something wet trickled into her mouth. Blood. She spat it out, disgusted and frightened. She hoped it wasn't someone else's blood, but at least her own.
Seamus. Her chest tightened as she thought about how he shielded her, taking the brunt of the two curses. Oh, she had to look for him… make sure he was alright… Lavender stirred feebly, trying to shift herself into a position where she could look for her saviour. It was difficult to ignore the pain.
Lavender became aware of the bloodshed around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Professor Flitwick taking down two Death Eaters. Cho Chang shuddered in front of her, hit by a nasty-looking curse that sent her back a few paces. On the peripheral of her vision, she saw a large figure bounding into view. Who – or what – was it?
There was no time to even think, let alone act. Not that it would have made a difference; Lavender was both wandless and incapacitated. She felt the creature's hot breath against her skin. Lavender squirmed, attempting to escape its iron grasp. The girl fell limp, staring helplessly at the malicious red eyes above her. Lavender choked on her own vomit, seeing all the blood matting the werewolf's fur. It was all over now.
The last thing Lavender remembered was the dangerous flash of white teeth, a gnawing pain in her side, and the creature's growl of pleasure.
-
Author's Note: I distinctly remember that scene from Deathly Hallows – the one where Hermione sees two figures fall over the banister and Fenrir Greyback darts to the fallen, only to be blasted away. A reviewer just mentioned that Lupin was not in wolf form, yet in the book Rowling does mention Greyback was sinking his teeth into the fallen victims. Does that mean he was necessarily in werewolf form? I guess not. This is solely my interpretation of Rowling's work, and maybe it's incorrect:) This piece, hopefully, will become multi-chaptered. In any case, I haven't delved into the world of Harry Potter fanfiction in a while. Any constructive (not cutting!) criticism is greatly appreciated. :)