Harry let out a gasp staring bug-eyed at the scene before him, the man who had killed his parents, who was supposedly gone and dead right before his eyes, preparing to kill again.
He jumped up ready to do something, what he had no idea. What could he do after all? This was Voldemort, someone who had killed so many wizards and witches far more powerful than he.
Hermione glanced up at Harry and grasped hold of his sleeve, holding on for dear life, begging Harry with this one action to use his head for once and not just go and attack the most powerful dark wizard of the time, possibly ever.
The thunderstruck expression plastered across Ron's face would have been priceless, hilarious even, had the situation not been so serious.
Voldemort seemed to realize where he was and let out a high pitched laugh, somewhere between a banshee screech and the hiss of a snake, throwing his head back with mirth. With a flick of his wand a green light seemed to envelope the hall, and Harry found himself being forced back down into his seat, and permanently sealed there as though under some kind of body-bind curse.
Glancing around as best he could it seemed like everyone else in the hall had been hit with the same curse including the teachers, and Dumbledore. They were definitely doomed now; there was nobody to save them. Voldemort would murder the girl and then the rest of them, except maybe the Slitherins and possibly Snape.
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but found that no sound came out. It seemed Voldemort had cast some kind of silencing charm as well.
He fought as best he could against the curse, but it felt like a thousand lead weights were pressing down upon his chest, his brain going a bit fuzzy in the process.
Voldemort returned his attention to the girl who was still crouched ready for his oncoming attack. He pulled his wand back a bit and thrust it forward shouting, "INCENDIO!" a ball of fire spurting out and headed directly for her.
But she was quick, despite her injuries, and rolled out of the way just in time, quickly regaining her footing and facing Voldemort once again.
Seeming even more enraged by this action Voldemort pointed his wand directly at her, eyes blazing, and shouted, "Crucio!"
The girl was instantly flat on her back writhing on the table as if in immense pain, but Harry couldn't see the cause. It was as though the curse he had just uttered was torturing her, burning her alive. It was terrible to watch, one of the worst sights Harry had ever seen. Briefly he wondered whether Voldemort had done this to his parents but quickly dismissed the thought, choosing to focus back on the scene before him.
The girl let out a muffled screech, as if trying to contain her agony but only just failing entirely to do so. Voldemort smiled sadistically at her, a terrible look of joy in his eyes. Then something remarkable happened.
Despite the pain she seemed to slightly recover herself, and with great effort lifted her arms and pushed up slightly. She bent her legs, as if trying to regain her fighting position but doing so while tied down by concrete bricks.
Struggling she managed to right herself, and still crouched low to the ground, her whole body trembling, racked with spasms, pointed her wand directly at Voldemort. A flash of red light erupted from her wand and sped directly at Voldemort.
Surprised he only just managed to deflect it in time, staggering back a few steps and in the process releasing the girl from his curse.
She stood up gasping, still trembling from her obviously torturous experience and looked at Voldemort with a look of utter loathing and defiance. She flicked her wand at him again, another burst of red light, and once again he deflected it, this time countering with his own wave of green light.
She waved her wand in her right hand while holding up her left as if to shield herself, and indeed an invisible barrier seemed to expand between her and Voldemort, bouncing the spell back at him and forcing him to dodge out of the way.
Voldemort's gaze appraised the students around him, until he noticed Harry not far from the girl's position. Gleefully he sent another burst of green directly at Harry, who was utterly defenseless and unable to move out of the way.
The girl noticed where his most recent spell was headed and gasped a bit, running and leaping in front of Harry all while waving her wand furiously, creating a strong protection in front of them.
"Oh no you don't." She whispered under her breath, so low that Harry was not sure he had made it out quite right.
Now in some kind of mad furry she began waving her wand madly sending burst after burst of red and gold sparks at Voldemort, forcing him onto the defensive, unable to find time in between her attacks to do anything but defend.
Suddenly, the impossible happened, a small spark of gold hit Voldemort square in the chest, perhaps not injuring him much, but certainly startling him. He hissed loudly and with one final attempt to curse her disappeared into the black smoke creature once more, and disappeared from the hall shattering another window in the process.
The lights suddenly brightened, the ceiling going back to the bright night sky, the green light disappearing and students and teachers alike regaining their ability to move and speak.
Loud whispered filled the hall. Dumbledore rose once more and skirted around the teachers table to make his way to the girl. Snape stared at her in utter disbelief, an emotion shared by many of the students though perhaps not for the same reason.
The girl stood there on the table still in front of Harry gasping, blood pooling down her face. The adrenaline seemed to be wearing off and she swayed slightly, collapsing. Harry leapt up leaning over to here, not sure at all what to do, still too shocked about the whole situation to truly comprehend what was going on.
Dumbledore reached Harry's side and looked down at the girl as well, curiously. His hands moved to her head quickly brushing over the matted blood just above her forehead and shook his head slightly. Then he turned to Hagrid who was making his way down as well, probably to check on Harry and said, "We'd better get this girl to the hospital wing and get Madam Pomfrey to have a look at her."
Hagrid gingerly gathered her up in his massive arms and trudged out of the hall, Dumbledore leading the way.
