Chapter 12: Halloween
September quickly turned to October, and even that quickly past. Trinity spent most of her time either absorbed in her studies or out on the Quidditch pitch, practicing for Ravenclaw's first match at the end of November. As the air was growing more and more chilly, she started wearing her scarf more and more, becoming frazzled when she discovered that she was allergic to wool and had to go to the Hospital Wing one late October afternoon to get an ointment to put on her neck.
When she was not in class or in Quidditch practice, she was in the library, studying. Anthony was with her most of these days, set on helping her get through her classes as best he could. She had not spoken to Mercy much since receiving her Firebolt 3 as Mercy had not forgiven her when she learned that it had been a gift from her mother.
Very soon, it was Halloween, and Trinity woke that morning to find the castle properly decorated. Much of the girls' dormitory was filled with cobwebs, as was much of the common room. Trinity grinned as she walked out onto the marble staircase with Rose, Sorcha, and Ian. She was only half-listening to their chattering. Ian had his nose pressed firmly against his History of Magic Notes, as they had a test that day.
"Has Mercy forgiven you yet?" Rose asked Trinity as they descended the marble staircase.
"No," grunted Trinity, frowning sourly. The only words she had exchanged with Mercy were in regards to their regular Quidditch practices.
"Maybe you should talk to her," urged Rose.
"No," said Trinity firmly, glowering at Rose.
"Trinity—I can tell that it's got you distressed!"
She really did not want to talk about her argument with Mercy, especially when it wasn't her fault that Lynne had sent her a high-end broomstick. Her jaw was set as she stopped. It was a moment before her friends stopped to look back at her, all of them with confused gazes aimed at her. Even Ian had pried his nose away from his notes.
"I forgot my wand," she said, turning back toward the common room. She hurried back up the staircase, not slowing until she was out of sight.
She jumped as the door to the common room opened, and Mercy stepped out. They stared at one another for a moment before promptly turning away.
"Quidditch practice is cancelled tonight," informed Mercy curtly. "Gryffindor asked for the pitch to have some last minute practice for their match against Slytherin Saturday."
"Right," Trinity grunted, stepping past Mercy to get into the empty common room.
She spent the usual breakfast hour alone in the common room, pacing back and forth. She wished that Lynne had not sent her the Firebolt 3, if that had cost her Mercy's friendship. She had gotten used to Mercy's help on homework, and though Anthony had been so kind to help her, he was sometimes absent. During these absences, Trinity had searched the Hospital Wing for him, but he had not been there.
She groaned when she heard the bell ring, and went down to Double Herbollogy, grabbing her book on her way out. She showed up two minutes late and flushed when Professor Longbottom took ten points from Ravenclaw for her tardiness.
"Where were you?" Ian hissed when she sat down next to him.
She shook her head, not wanting to explain that she had hid away in the common room during breakfast. She took out parchment and her quill and ink as quietly as she could. They were still going over Devil's Snare, which suited her quite well.
She spent the double period taking fast notes. She could not help but allow Professor Longbottom's enthusiasm to rub off on her about the subject, at least after she had forgiven him for taking points away.
When the bell rang, she gathered her things into her bag. She glanced around at her friends, who all appeared to be waiting for her. "You guys go on ahead," she told them. "I'll catch up." She forced a reassuring smile as she watched them leave. She dug in her bag for her Herbollogy essay, which was now past due. She clutched it tightly as she walked up to Professor Longbottom. "Here, sir."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Jones, but I do not accept late work," Professor Longbottom told her in what she supposed was a stern tone.
"Please, sir—at least have a look at it," Trinity begged him, sounding a little desperate. "I can do without the grade. I just want to know that it's right for exam time. And if it's not, I want to know now rather than later." She was breathless when she finished.
"Alright." He took the essay from her. "Off you go then."
Trinity forced a polite smile before turning on her heel and hurrying out of the Herbollogy classroom, nearly bumping into the second year boy she had seen occasionally hanging around with Anthony. He was humming as he skipped into the empty classroom.
"Odd," mumbled Trinity, shaking her head. She still did not know the boy's name, as apparently, he had asked people not to tell her. Even when she tried asking Anthony, the older boy had laughed at her, telling her that some things are better left a mystery.
She shook the thoughts away before hurrying off to the History of Magic classroom. She barely got there in time, and took her usual seat next to Sorcha as Professor Rankin handed out their exams.
Trinity quickly scribbled down her answers when he told them all to begin. She ended up leaving several blank, as she could not remember ever having gone over these bits of information in class. She glared up at Professor Rankin whenever she came across these questions, only to find that he was grading something from another class. She took most of the allotted time to complete her exam, and she had to use several extra sheets of parchment. She was still among the first to hand in her exam, and she waited outside for Rose, Sorcha, and Ian to finish.
"How'd you think you did?" asked Ian, who was the first to exit the classroom, just before the bell rang.
"Alright." Trinity shrugged as she backed away from the flood of students now entering the corridor. "There were a few that I didn't remember him covering in class."
"That's because they were in the book," said Ian as Rose and Sorcha joined them.
"I still don't think I did half bad," Trinity continued as they walked down to the Entrance Hall for their break before lunch. "What about you two?" She turned to Rose and Sorcha.
"I know I missed a few," said Rose quickly. "Then I got a few names mixed up. But dad says that it's a useless subject."
Sorcha shrugged. "I probably failed. But I agree with Rose's dad. I don't think any of us will need History of Magic after Hogwarts."
Trinity frowned. "I find the subject quite fascinating, actually. And at least we don't have to memorize spells or potion ingredients."
"That's because you're so odd," snickered Sorcha.
Trinity made a face that feigned disgust at Sorcha's comment as they came into the Entrance Hall, where other students were waiting for the start of lunch. She stopped when she spotted Mercy, surrounded by Molly, James, and a couple fifth year Ravenclaw boys.
"She misses you, you know," Anthony whispered in her ear from behind.
"So why doesn't she just drop it?" grumbled Trinity, barely moving her lips. She shot a nasty glare at Mercy before turning to Anthony.
"Pride, I suppose." He shrugged.
Trinity glowered sourly. She crossed her arms over her chest before pointedly looking away from Mercy and over at Anthony. "And I suppose you've been talking to her, telling her what a prat you think I am." Some of her ire toward Mercy was switching over to him with every word she spoke.
"No!" said Anthony, aghast. "No, look, we've hardly mentioned you. And the only time I did was to ask why you two weren't talking to each other. And if you want my honest opinion, I think you're both being silly about this whole thing."
"That's what I've been saying," Trinity heard Rose whisper. She ignored her.
"I never asked for your opinion," grunted Trinity.
"Fine then!" Anthony raised his arms above his head in defeat. "I'll just go join Mercy then, if that's how you're going to be." And with that, he walked over to Mercy.
"You know he was trying to help, right?" said Rose in a low whisper. She was frowning disapprovingly.
"I really don't want to talk about it right now, Rose," Trinity groaned, having slipped back into the dreadful mood she had been in that morning. "C'mon, lets get some lunch." She skirted her way through the crowd of students now entering the Great Hall. She sat on the far side of her small group of friends, and she remained silent as she ate her lunch.
"Did Mercy cancel Quidditch practice again?" Rose asked Trinity before taking a bite of her Sheppard's pie.
"Yeah—why?" replied Trinity, eying Rose suspiciously over her mashed potatoes.
"Now you can get your Astronomy chart done," said Rose.
"Or I can just take a break tonight," replied Trinity.
"It's due tomorrow," hissed Rose.
"And I have all day tomorrow to work on it."
"Not if Mercy decides that you guys are going to have Quidditch practice."
"Last I heard Slytherin has the pitch booked." Trinity shrugged nonchalantly. She finished eating in silence. "See you guys in Charms." With that, she got up to leave the Great Hall.
"Trinity!"
She groaned, turning around to find Mercy rushing up to her. "Did you change your mind about Quidditch practice tonight?" she asked tersely.
"No—could we talk?" Mercy stood a few feet away, shifting uncomfortably.
Trinity stared at her, thinking. She could just walk away from Mercy, but curiosity won her over. "What about?" Her eyes narrowed at the older girl.
"Look—I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you when mum bought you that Firebolt 3."
"Did Anthony put you up to this?"
"What?—No!"
Trinity balled her hands into fists. "So you'll stop treating me like I'm gum to be picked off of your shoe?" Her voice shook slightly as she was on the verge of tears, though she would not admit that fact to Mercy.
"Where'd you get that analogy?" asked Mercy, cracking an amused grin.
"Albus Potter," answered Trinity curtly.
"Trinity—you're my friend. Friends squabble. So—am I forgiven?"
"Yeah—I s'pose."
"Were you heading up to the common room?"
Trinity frowned. "Yeah. I have a free period before Charms. I figured I'd go and read my Transfiguration book." She blushed as she realized how ridiculous her plans sounded.
"Right—well, I forgot my Defense Against the Dark Arts book, so I guess I'll go up with you." Mercy forced a grin as she walked alongside Trinity up the marble staircase to the Ravenclaw common room.
"I heard you're dating that Garth Joran bloke," said Trinity after an uncomfortable silence.
"Oh, yeah—he's nice."
"Is he in our house?"
"No, he's a Gryffindor. On the Quidditch team, too. He is their Keeper."
"What's he like?" Trinity asked awkwardly.
"Doesn't talk too much, really—well, except for about Quidditch. This is his first year on the team, so he's really excited. He's a fourth year. Anthony thinks he's rubbish." She laughed heartedly.
"Why's that?" Trinity cracked a slight grin.
"Garth put a nasty boil hex on Freda Jannis last year when Anthony was dating her," answered Mercy, rolling her eyes. "In Garth's defense, Freda was cheating on Anthony with James Potter. Really put a strain on Anthony's and James's friendship there for a while until they realized that Freda wasn't worth either of their efforts."
Trinity was not sure of what to think of this information. She supposed that as people got older, their sense of reality got short-circuited in their brains.
"You'll understand once you get older." Mercy snickered. "Give it a few years."
"I'd rather not turn out like that," Trinity decided aloud. "I don't think dating's for me." She got a disgusted look on her face, to which Mercy laughed.
"I've heard that you've gotten quite friendly with both Ian Furguson and Albus Potter." Mercy ruffled Trinity's hair playfully before they came to the eagle head doorknocker. Trinity batted Mercy away, and she did not get a chance to hear either the riddle, or Mercy's answer, but the door opened, and they stepped inside the common room.
Mercy walked over to the cushioned armchair next to the fireplace, and grimaced as she picked up that morning's Daily Prophet. "Bullocks!" she snarled.
"What is it?" asked Trinity, who had not seen the paper as none of her friends subscribed to it. Instead, they read the Quibbler, which she found to be utter rubbish.
"Nothing," growled Mercy, who chucked the paper in the fire. "Don't worry about it." She forced a smile before climbing the staircase to her dormitory.
Trinity waited until Mercy was out of sight before rushing to the fire and kneeling to get a better look at the paper. A photo of a witch stared up at her, smirking smugly. Her brown eyes looked very familiar to her, but she could not place where she had seen them before. The quickly burning headline read: Suspected Supporter of He-Who… Trinity did not know why, but the headline disturbed her. She quickly backed away when she heard Mercy's footsteps.
"Stay out of trouble, won't you?" said Mercy, biting her bottom lip nervously.
"Why wouldn't I?" asked Trinity, confused.
"Look—wait outside for Anthony before you go to Charms. I'll explain everything tonight. I promise." With that, she ducked out of the common room just as Rose, Sorcha, and Ian walked in.
"What was that all about?" asked Sorcha, shooting an apprehensive glance back at where Mercy had just been.
"No idea." Trinity shrugged. "Have any of you read the Daily Prophet today?"
"No," the three of them answered simultaneously.
"Albus did say something about Kathryn being spotted outside Glasgow this morning," said Rose.
"So?" But Trinity's heart pounded against her chest. "What's so important about her?"
"She claims that Voldemort was right," explained Sorcha gravely. "A few years ago, she murdered a bunch of muggles before mysteriously disappearing eleven years ago."
The free period that the first year Ravenclaws enjoyed was filled with silent tension, as it seemed that the news of Kathryn had spread like wildfire by then. Trinity got up to leave with the rest of them, to find that Anthony was waiting outside the common room door for her.
"Ooh, Jones has a boyfriend," she heard Kyla Seabrook whisper to Maeve Hughes, and they both squealed with dark delight.
Trinity reached into her robes for her wand, but stopped when she felt Anthony's hand on her shoulder. "Ignore them." And she did.
"Something wrong, Trinity?" asked Anthony after a long while of silence between them.
"It's nothing," replied Trinity with a forced smile.
"So I heard you and Mercy finally stopped fighting," said Anthony when Rose shot him a stern glare that told him not to continue pressing the subject on Trinity.
"Yeah. She finally came 'round."
"Glad to hear it!" Anthony's grin spread to his ears. "Well—here you are." He waved as Trinity was swept into the Charms classroom.
She took her usual seat between Rose and Ian and took out her book and wand before Professor Flitwik climbed onto the pile of books that he used so that students could see him.
"Does everyone have their feathers?" he asked as soon as he took role.
Trinity's heart skipped a beat as she panicked. She had completely forgotten that Professor Flitwik had asked them to bring feathers into class for their next lesson.
"Relax—I grabbed yours," Rose whispered in her ear, passing a black owl feather to Trinity.
"Thanks," Trinity whispered back, blushing a bright shade of red before returning her attention to Professor Flitwik, who was having them practice the swish and flick wand movements that he had been having them work on for the last month of class.
"Today, you will be practicing the levitation charm. Wingardium Leviosa. Go on, give it a try."
Trinity took up her wand, watching out of the corner of her eye as the rest of the class attempted the lesson without much success. Ian's feather rotated feebly before becoming still again. Rose's floated a couple centimeters before shaking and falling back to the desk.
"Wingardium Leviosa," said Trinity calmly. She jumped and shrieked when her feather exploded into flames.
"Oh dear," squeaked Professor Flitwik as he put the flames out with a flick of his wand. "Try again, Ms. Jones." He summoned a second feather out of thin air.
Trinity wiped away the soot from her face with the back of her hand. She tightened her grip on her wand before repeating the spell. Instead of levitating the feather, the pile of books Professor Flitwik was standing on toppled over. He landed with a crash and a howl of pain.
"Professor Flitwik!" Trinity cried, getting to her feet and rushing to him. "Are you ok?"
He groaned before opening his eyes to find Trinity kneeling over him. "What—oh, yes, I'm fine, Ms. Jones." He winced as he struggled to sit up.
"I think you should go to the Hospital Wing, Professor," said Trinity softly. She looked around for help, but no one approached her. No, it seemed to her that everyone in the class was avoiding even looking at her, which annoyed her. "Can you stand, sir?" she asked, doing her best to ignore the silence of the classroom.
"Yes—thank you, Ms. Jones. I think I will go to the Hospital Wing. Class dismissed!"
Trinity stayed behind, feeling all the more guilty for causing this the longer she waited with Professor Flitwik for the class to leave. She helped him to his feet and led him up to the Hospital Wing.
"I really am sorry, sir," Trinity said for what felt like the hundredth time since leaving the classroom.
"You've got nothing to worry about. It was an honest mistake." He looked up at her incredulously. "You know, I had a student very much like you once. Well—he had a natural talent for blowing stuff up in class."
Trinity blushed a bright shade of scarlet at the mention of her first attempt to use the levitation charm. "Oh really?" She feigned interest.
"Oh yes. Seamus Finnegan was his name."
"What happened, Fillius?" Madam Pomfrey asked the moment they walked into the Hospital Wing.
"It was my fault, ma'am," said Trinity.
"Nonsense. The books just toppled over and I fell."
Trinity could not be gladder when Madam Pomfrey dismissed her. She quickly strode down the corridor away from the Hospital Wing, walking as fast as she could without breaking into a run, making her way back to the Charms classroom where she had left her belongings.
"Ms. Jones!" called the stern voice of Professor McGonagall from behind her.
She whipped around, cringing with panic. "Professor!" she squeaked.
"What are you doing out of class?"
"Well—you see—I accidently made the books Professor Flitwik was standing on topple over in Charms today, and so I took him to the Hospital Wing," she explained quickly.
"Very well, but where are Ms. Weasley, Ms. Muir, and Mr. Ferguson?"
Trinity blushed at the mention of her three classmates whom she had spent a great deal of time surrounded in their company. "I imagine they went back up to the Ravenclaw common room with the rest of the class."
"Shouldn't you be up there as well?" Professor McGonagall eyed her with a sternness that made Trinity wish she could disappear.
"Erm—I left my stuff in the Charms classroom, Professor." She looked down at her feet.
"Carry on then." Professor McGonagall walked down an adjacent corridor, leaving Trinity very much relieved.
Trinity broke into a sprint and skidded to a halt outside the Charms classroom. She walked to her seat, panting heavily as she gathered her book into her bag. She took a more comfortable stroll up to the Ravenclaw common room. The door opened as she came to the landing. Russel Everton and Alfred Odwolfe, two seventh years on the Quidditch team, stepped out.
Russel was one of the Beaters on the team. He had broad shoulders. His dark hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck. His narrow face gave him the appearance of having tasted something sour at all times of the day. He towered over Trinity, but he was much shorter than Alfred, who had to duck to get out of the common room.
Alfred, though taller, had a much more lanky build than Russel. He played as Keeper. His masculine jaw was set as he listened to Russel complain about some Transfiguration essay that Professor Fara had set them. His blonde hair was a bit shaggy, and as he walked by Trinity, he stroked it back with his fingers.
Trinity quickly entered the common room before the door could shut again. She found the common room full of first years and a few sixth and seventh years that had free afternoons. Everyone's eyes shifted to her, making her blush a bright shade of scarlet. She hurried up to the dormitory before anyone could say anything to her.
She found the dormitory was not empty as she entered. Rose and Sorcha were sitting on Rose's bed, huddled together, whispering. They jumped when they noticed Trinity.
"How's Professor Flitwik?" asked Rose breathlessly. "Is he going to be alright?"
"He'll be fine," answered Trinity warily. "Madam Pomfrey reckons that he just bruised some bones."
"Yeah—but at his age, a fall like that can't be good," added Sorcha.
"Look—I don't want to talk about it right now," said Trinity firmly. She fell to her bed, bouncing slightly on the mattress. She closed her eyes, willing her overly taut muscles to relax. Never in her eleven years had she had such an eventful day—or weeks, as she could not recall a single day since discovering that she was a witch having a peaceful day. She was left wondering if it would always be this way.
A while later, she felt someone shaking her shoulder. She groaned, but did not move.
"C'mon, you don't want to be late to the feast," said Sorcha.
"'M not 'ungry," Trinity grunted stubbornly.
"Your stomach's been rumbling for the last forty-five minutes," replied Sorcha patiently.
"Trinity, if you don't get up, I'll take your Firebolt 3 for a spin," threatened Rose darkly.
She jumped up at this. "You wouldn't."
"I would." Rose grinned, satisfied. "But I got you up, didn't I?" Her expression turned smug. "Now, hurry up. I don't want to be late for the feast."
"You could've left without me," grumbled Trinity, crossing her arms over her chest as she followed Rose and Sorcha out of the common room.
When they got down to the common room, Mercy was waiting for them. Trinity could not help but to beam at the sight of her best friend, for that had become how she viewed Mercy over the last couple months.
"What took you lot so long?" asked Mercy with a frown, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Someone thought she'd get away with sleeping through the feast," answered Rose with a pointed glare at Trinity.
"Should've known," Mercy sighed, shaking her head. "It was damn near impossible to get her up the morning we had to get on the Hogwarts Express."
"Are we going to go down to the feast, or what?" grumbled Trinity. "I could just go back to bed."
"Not a chance!" said Rose, stopping Trinity from turning around and going back up to the dormitory.
She grumbled under her breath as she followed them out of the common room. On the other side of the door, waiting were Anthony, James, Albus, Ian, and the Hufflepuff boy Trinity kept seeing, but she still did not know his name.
"About time!" said James. "I was considering leaving without you girls."
"Sorry 'bout that, James," said Mercy. "Trinity thought that she'd sleep through the feast."
"Why would someone do that?" asked the Hufflepuff boy.
"Because I was tired," Trinity grumbled under her breath irritably. "And I was having a good dream." She shot a glare at Rose.
"You're welcome," said Rose with a dignified nod.
"Sleeping through the Halloween feast should be considered a sin," declared James.
"Yes, it should," agreed the Hufflepuff boy, grinning.
"By the way, what is your name?" Trinity asked him as they descended the marble staircase.
"I already told you, names hold power," he replied with a hint of impatience. "My stance on that has not changed."
"Don't mind him," said Anthony, ruffling the boy's hair playfully. "He's like this to everyone he meets."
Trinity was not convinced, but she did not pursue the subject of the boy's name. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone let it slip.
As they drew closer to the Great Hall, the corridors were more and more crowded as students filed in, hoping to get good seats at their respective table. Trinity followed Rose, Sorcha, and Mercy to the Ravenclaw table after saying a quick good-bye to Anthony.
Above the heads of the students now filling the Great Hall were floating Jack-o-lanterns. The enchanted sky showed a nearly full moon with clouds circling around it. A bat fluttered around the four student tables before landing somewhere over at the Hufflepuff table.
"He really shouldn't be letting that bat fly around like that," said Mercy, frowning.
"Who?" asked Trinity. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she frowned.
"It's not important," muttered Mercy, shaking her head. "Just try and enjoy tonight," she added with a wink.
Trinity was hardly convinced, but she kept her mouth shut on the subject. She remained silent, half-listening to Rose and Sorcha debating over their most recent Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment that required them to distinguish between the difference of a full body jinx and some spell that Professor Diederich had used on several students that bound them with ropes. Trinity knew all too well the effects of that jinx, and she knew that she never wanted to have to experience it again.
"Relax," Mercy insisted in a low whisper to Trinity.
She jumped, noticing for the first time that the Great Hall had filled with students and that there was now food in front of them. She smiled briefly before taking some chicken legs, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and pumpkin juice, and digging into her food.
"I heard Kathryn was spotted outside Hogsmead this afternoon," said Lauren Wells loud enough so that Trinity could hear, though she sat a few seats down with the rest of the Quidditch team. "And that the aurors are looking into every possible persons who could aid Kathryn."
Trinity watched as Mercy's jaw hardened, but nothing else happened, so she did not ask about it. She did her best to ignore Lauren, but something told her that it would be a good idea to listen, so she tuned out her friends, who were in a discussion about the upcoming Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match.
"I also heard from my mum who works for the Minister that they're sending aurors to Hogwarts tomorrow to investigate any possible leads," continued Lauren. "And I think they should start with that Jones girl," she added in a whisper just barely audible enough for Trinity to hear.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" snapped Trinity, setting her fork down. She glared at Lauren, ignoring Mercy and Rose's insistence to not do anything rash.
"It means that they're exploring everything, Jones," sneered Lauren.
"Trinity, don't," Mercy hissed, grabbing Trinity's arm to keep the young girl in her seat. "Lauren—keep quiet about things you don't know what you're talking about." She glared at Lauren, still fighting to keep Trinity seated.
"Let me go!" snarled Trinity, who had taken her wand out and was fighting to get away from Mercy without much success.
"Trinity! Do you really want to get yourself into trouble over this?"
"I don't care!" snapped Trinity in a low hiss.
"If you do anythin' stupid, you might find that Professor McGonagall will have you removed from the Quidditch team," said Mercy earnestly.
Trinity shot her a pained glare. She quit struggling and returned to her food, slowly but surely calming down. She ate her meal in silence, still fuming over what Lauren had said.
When it was time for bed, she got up with the rest of the students, but detoured halfway to the Ravenclaw common room to use the lavatory. She came out when the corridors were completely empty, relieved to be left alone to her thoughts. She took her time to get back to the common room, knowing that she still had a few minutes before her curfew.
Several loud thuds down at the end of the third floor corridor, near where the Charms classroom was located, made her stop. Her heart pounded against her chest. She fumbled for her wand, just in case something was wrong.
She slowly inched forward, keeping as quiet as she good. She barely breathed, as she got closer to the Charms classroom. The closer she got, however, the easier it was to see the large shadow on the wall. She stopped when the source of the shadow came out of the classroom. It was then that she noticed that the door was knocked down. Standing in the doorway was something very large, and vaguely humanoid as best as she could tell. Its arms were long and as round as medium sized tree trunks. Its legs were chunky, but long. A small head compared to the rest of the body sat on its head, small beady eyes squinting down at her before it roared and swung a large club down at her.
She screamed before diving out of the way. She landed with a grunt and struggled to scramble away.
"TRINITY!" a familiar voice screamed, but she had no time to figure out to whom the voice belonged to. "STUPEFY!" A jet of red light shot past Trinity's face and hit the giant. She screamed as the club crashed down, missing her by inches. A pair of hands helped her to her feet.
"Run." It was Mercy. She faced the giant, getting between it and Trinity, her wand held up, ready to strike again.
"Mercy—I," Trinity stammered before the giant shook away its brief moment of confusion and brought its club up again for another swing.
"Dammit, Trinity!" snarled Mercy, pushing Trinity away, but getting hit over the head in the process. She fell to the floor, lifeless and blood coming from her head.
"MERCY!" cried Trinity, her eyes wide as she stared at her lifeless friend. She ran a couple paces forward before she remembered the giant. She withdrew her wand, her arm shaking wildly. "Stup—stupefy!" she said, recalling the spell that Mercy had used. Red sparks fluttered weakly from her wand, but they faded out before they could hit the giant.
Its hand reached out for her. She stumbled backwards as fast as she could, but was not fast enough. She cringed painfully as the giant's fingers wrapped around her. She struggled, but with no hope of being released any time soon. It was not long before she felt her vision blur from the lack of air.
She fought to raise her wand, pointing it at the giant's club, but thinking to herself that this was going to be her end. "Wingardium Leviosa!" she gasped. That was the last thing she remembered, as she blacked out.
"Trinity! Help me, Hagrid!"
The voice was very familiar to her. The woman's voice was crisp and full of authority, but there was something wrong. She sounded worried, on the edge of hysteria.
She groaned when the weight was lifted from her. She opened her eyes, but all she saw was the blurred outline of two figures and torchlight. "Mercy!" she coughed. Something warm and liquid came up from her throat.
"Easy, Trinity," said a second familiar male voice.
She felt a large pair of arms lift her off the ground. She groaned, holding back a scream, as her entire body jolted with pain. "No—Mercy." She lost consciousness before she could hear the fate of her friend.