Chapter 11- Means of Escape

Hermione

"Freedom… Help me escape and come with me. You can join us!" I tried to convince him.

He gave a short laugh. "You don't really believe that do you." He said. "I can't switch sides in the middle of the battle, it's going to get me killed. If I was to join your group Alpin would never rest."

The dark shadows under his eyes suddenly seemed to accentuate themselves as his gave me a sad look. "Please Ernie. I can tell you know what I said is true though. He's going to kill you." I begged.

After minutes of his pacing back and forth he finally turned and answered me. "Okay."

Seamus

"Come on." I shook Claire gently awake. "We'd better get a head start."

She grumbled something unintelligible and rolled over before standing up.

"Look." Claire whispered later as we reached the border of the forest. "Someone didn't cover up their tracks." She smirked slightly as she pointed to two long lines leading into the forest, messily covered with pine needles.

"He wants us to find him." I muttered as we began following the tracks. We had packed up our bags and decided to hide Hermione's inside mine, since it was so much smaller. We put them to the side as we saw movement coming from a cave.

That had to be where Hermione was. "So what's the plan?" I asked Claire beside me.

She gave me a bewildered look before answering. "You're the plan guy on this one."

With one glare she gave a small chuckle and said, "I don't know. Rush in with weapons in hand and demand her back?"

"Take one of Hermione's knifes." I pulled it out of my belt and took out my own sword. "Watch for Alpin's scythe, that thing is bloody wicked."

She nodded in agreement. Just as we were about to charge in the cave in demand of Hermione back, a figure dashed towards us so fast I couldn't even recognize them.

When I caught the person in my arms they squirmed and screamed just before I saw the huge brown eyes of Hermione looking up at me in fear.

Hermione

"Okay." Ernie turned around, his eyes darting to the mouth of the cave, expecting Alpin to return at any moment. "I'll help you… He's always been so horrid and," He paused awkwardly. "I may as well save someone worth saving." He blushed slightly before beginning to untie me again.

I sighed in relief and nervously bit my lip as he untied me, as if the action would will him to move faster. "There!" He finally breathed as I felt my bonds loosen.

In an instant I was up and running out of the cave. "Come on!" I urged him. He hesitated nervously and I didn't wait for him. He was either coming or not.

When I ran into the forest I ran straight into someone's arms. I screamed and struggled in the person's grasp, thinking it was Alpin, but when I looked up it wasn't Alpin. It was Seamus. I almost cried in relief to see a friendly face.

I heard a shout from back in the direction of the cave and saw Alpin raising his scythe above Ernie's head. "We have to help him!" I breathed to Seamus. "Please!" I begged at him questioning look. "He saved me, we have to save him!"

He didn't respond to me, so I wrenched myself from his grasp at seeing my bag half concealed on the ground. Running over to it I heard the clang of metal against metal. Looking over my shoulders it was Ernie with his two curved daggers meeting Alpin's scythe blade.

I rummaged in my bag even quicker, my hands shaking with the pressure of the situation before finally finding the two throwing knifes with the kunai.

As I dashed by Seamus and Claire I saw them exchange one glance before reluctantly running after me.

Charging down the slope of the hill, Alpin saw us all and hissed in anger. "I'll kill you later!" He hissed at Ernie before kicking him in the stomach and sending him sprawling on the ground before kicking him in the head again. "You're going to pay for this betrayal!" He screamed as his crumpled form.

Ernie appeared to still be conscious but unable to get up as Alpin turned to the rest of us. With a scream like a warrior going into battle, he charged at us, swinging his scythe in deadly slashes though the air.

"Split up." Claire murmured as we faced him with our weapons ready.

In an instant we all dashed in different directions, Seamus and Claire going to the sides while I charged towards Alpin. I let out my own warrior cry as we collided and I used my kunai to repeatedly deflect his blade. I understand why Seamus and Claire combined couldn't kill him, he was a ferocious opponent and obviously very skilled.

Just as I thought my arms were going to give out from the pressure of his swings, Seamus jumped in with his sword, which was able to handle the pressure much more than I could.

I took a swing at Alpin's exposed back and managed to cut him a bit. It wasn't enough though; he was still fighting like an animal on steroids with rabies. Ick…

I raced over to Ernie on the ground as Claire jumped into the battle. "Are you okay?" I asked, gently lifting his head.

He groaned in response. "You guys need to go, he's going to kill us all if some don't escape."

"Come with us!" I pleaded again.

"No can do." He panted. "I already chose my fate when I helped you. Just please tell my friends that they were fantastic, and my family that I love them."

With two suddenscreamsI turned my head in fear to see whom they belonged to. With a scream coming from me, I saw Claire's body crumple to the ground. Another warrior scream sounded, and it wasn't from me, but from Seamus. He had begun to go at Alpin with full force as Claire lay bleeding out on the ground.

I sprinted over and her body had been stabbed through right at the heart. It was a curved and uneven wound, and Alpin must have used the tip of his scythe to stab her through.

She looked up at me and smiled slightly. "Thanks for being a true friend." Was all she said before a drop of blood began to dribble down the side of her mouth.

"No Claire! No! Not you too!" I screamed at my dying friend. "Don't go! Please!" I was begging as she closed her eyes. BOOM.

I sobbed at the loss, but soon remembered we weren't out of this yet. With a grunt of effort I saw Seamus push Alpin away and sprint back over to me.

"She's dead." I groaned. "Dead because of me!"

He was about to say something else before we heard a shaky voice speak from to side of us. As we looked over we saw Alpin grabbing Ernie by his hair and pulling his head up so his neck was exposed. He had picked up Claire's lost knife and held it to his throat.

Alpin was bleeding from a wound in his side, where either Seamus or Claire had stabbed him.

"Go." Ernie croaked. "Before it's too late."

"Er-" I began to say but Alpin cut me off.

"It's already too late." He growled, and in front of my very eyes he slit Ernie's throat. BOOM.

I wanted to scream, cry, destroy. Anything. We had lost two to Alpin in one battle. I wanted to go and demolish Alpin's very being, but Seamus was roughly grabbing my arm and forcing me through the forest.

Alpin's laughter followed us as if he was running after us, just a mere three feet away. But when I looked back he wasn't, he just let Ernie drop and smiled devilishly at the two bodies. "I'll get you both soon." His voice echoed around us and sent shivers down my spine.

I screamed in frustration and pumped my arms harder, running even ahead of Seamus. Whether to let out my anger or just to get away I don't know. Maybe both.

When we finally figured we were safe we slowed to a steady walk. "I can't believe I caused two more deaths." I whispered as I felt tears threaten to spill out of my eyes.

"Ernie's death was inevitable." Seamus patted me awkwardly on the back.

"Even so, Claire could have been saved!" I shouted at him. "If I wasn't such a moron she'd be walking with us right now." I sobbed.

We were in a grassy field, and it would have been beautiful if I really looked at it, but I didn't. I was too busy wallowing in my guilt. "There's just four left…" I muttered.

"Where's Chico?" Seamus wondered aloud.

Chico

I was breathing hard as my feet carried me across a cobble stone courtyard in the town. I slowed to a stop when I heard the boom of a cannon. About a minute later another one sounded, ringing in my ears.

"Wonder who it was." I muttered aloud to myself.

Looking around at the buildings, trying to decide my next place of hiding I murmured to myself. See, I'm a Durmstrang and most expect me to be ruthless and aggressive like the rest of my fellows were. I can be that, but I choose to go more on strategy.

I continued walking for another half hour maybe, exercising my body and mind until I heard something curious. A voice.

"Help." It croaked.

The voice was deep and sounded familiar. One of my fellow Durmstrang tributes. Loyalty took over me and I walked over to the corner of one of the buildings and saw Alpin lying on the street. "Alpin." I said, rushing over to his side.

"Chico?" He looked up and smiled at seeing me. "Nice to finally see a familiar face." He grunted as he sat up.

"What happened?" I questioned as I examined him. He had a slash in his back and a deep wound on his side.

"Those Hogwarts tributes and the one French girl attacked me." He growled. "But I managed to kill the French girl and one of the Hogwarts boys. The blond haired one."

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought. "The Macmillian kid?" I asked after a while.

"Yes." He grunted. "I was just trying to find a new shelter and they all attacked me out of nowhere!"

"Here, I'll help you." I slung one of his arms over my shoulders to help him stand. "We can take them down." I growled.

'I guess they weren't as good as I thought.' I thought bitterly.

Author's Note- Longer chapter and also, two deaths! I'm very sorry that Claire and Ernie were killed off, but you know. Everyone's going to go at some point!

Anyways, my constant reviewers from the beginning, obsessivegirl73 and Arcticmist.

Also thanks to my new reviewers HarryPotterFanGirl (semi-new), the pen my sword, and MsSaharaJalicelover!

Review! :D