And Gryffindor Rebels
Chapter 13: Flight from Death Eaters
Charlie saw the man who spoke to them was Professor Blackwell's brother, Alex, the Death Eater who worked at the Dragon Reserve of Wales. His face was contorted into a wicked sneer, as if suggesting he would murder his own brother plus the four students.
Hermione inched closer to Charlie and grabbed his hand. The room was still dazzling with the bright lights of all of the clocks on the wall as the yellow bird continued its endless circle of life in the tank placed against a far wall.
Two other shadows emerged after Alex, masks obscuring their faces, wands drawn and pointed at Professor Blackwell, Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh.
"So, brother, are you going to enlighten me on how you knew about my plans to venture into the Time Room," Alex questioned, his head cocked slightly to one side.
Charlie looked at Professor Blackwell's impassive face as he replied, "I had my ways of finding out what trouble you were up to. We also know of your plans to steal a time-turner and try to prevent the fall of You-Know-Who."
Alex's eyes darted swiftly over the students as they stared up in terror at their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's brother. "And you brought your students? Do they know they face death tonight? Have you told them there is no getting out of here alive?" Alex's voice rang around the Time Room, no trace hint of humor or wit.
Professor Blackwell looked back at his students with uncertainty, his eyebrows pulled together as he gulped. "You would harm young students, would you? Are you all so depraved that the murder of underage witches and wizards excites you?"
"I have nothing against these students, Blackwell, however, I know someone who does," said Alex. Charlie for a split second how he thought it was strange Alex called his own brother by their last names, when he was distracted when Alex looked over his shoulder and one of the two figures stepped forward.
He waved his wand over his face and his Death Eater mask dissipated in a wisp of black smoke. Charlie and Hermione gasped as they now faced Paul, the dragon reserve worker from the previous year who unsuccessfully tried to capture Ailsa from the Forbidden Forest.
"How have you been, my two dear Gryffindors," he asked, he voice shaking with suppressed rage. "I kid you not, Azkaban was not kind to me. And I will not be kind to you."
Charlie instinctively stepped in front of Hermione at which Paul threw his head back and laughed a bitter hoot.
"So you think a sixth-year can stop me? You foolish boy, I am a servant of the Dark Lord, a name which you all fear to speak! A little red-haired blood traitor is no match for my power," snarled Paul.
"You say no sixth-years can stop you? Then how is it that two fifth-years stopped not only you but your whole hoard of dragon reserve workers last year in the Forbidden Forest," Charlie shot back, not knowing where his sudden courageousness was coming from.
Charlie thought for sure Paul was going to raise his wand and start firing spells at him but instead, he laughed. "I know who you are, Charlie Weasley. I ran into your dad at the ministry the day of my hearing. He was so proud of you and your heroic rescue mission of that filthy dragon. I wonder if he will be proud as he cowers over your lifeless body."
Fear surged through Charlie and his eyes grew wide with terror. But before anything further could happen, Professor Blackwell cut in.
"Enough! You dare to speak like that to underage wizards, you filthy scum? Here I was thinking you weren't cut out for the Dark Arts, Paul," taunted Professor Blackwell.
Paul turned his gaze over to their professor; his black eyes seeming to bore through their professor's form; Charlie felt Hermione shaking behind him.
"Why did you choose this path, Alex? What made you so sinister? Why did you choose the path of the dark arts," Professor Blackwell asked his brother.
Alex's gaze turned downward, looking at the ground to his left side. With any other man, Charlie would have assumed Alex was starting to feel guilty for studying the dark arts, however, since Alex had just threatened them with death mere moments before, he doubted Alex was feeling anything but hatred.
"Mum and dad; they are the ones who pushed me into the dark arts," Alex replied quietly.
"Mum and dad? They made you study the dark arts," Professor Blackwell asked, his voice uncertain.
"Mum and dad's lies to me and to you…that's what pushed me into darkness."
"What lies are you talking about?"
"So you don't know?" Alex laughed without humor. "Well my dear brother, let me enlighten you. You and I are not blood-brothers. You see, I was adopted."
Silence filled the tense air in the Time Room. Alex's eyes were focused directly on his brother, unblinking and unmoving.
"You were adopted?" Professor Blackwell's mouth was hanging open, horror filling his eyes.
"Yes, I was adopted. You see, I had already become a Death Eater. I was six months into studying the dark arts. I came home one night; it was thundering and lightning and the rain was coming down in buckets. I entered our house, soaking wet yet glad to be home. I found mum and dad sitting at the kitchen table, the lines around their eyes more pronounced than I had ever seen them.
"They had two mugs clasped in between each of their hands; not one word was uttered as I walked into the kitchen. I thought death had struck the family; I was worried. However, they both turned their heads to look at me and for the first time in my life, I looked directly into both of their eyes and saw shame cross over their features.
"I asked them what was wrong. Mum looked over to dad. He stood up from his chair and placed both hands on my shoulders and said, 'You were adopted.'"
Charlie was studying Alex's face as he told his story, entranced by what really pushed him into madness and to become a servant of You-Know-Who.
"I was stunned; I couldn't believe they would keep a secret like this from me for twenty-five years. I asked them why they did so and they replied by telling me I wasn't ready for the truth. You see, I'm from a family of Muggles. I am a Mudblood.
"I was so infuriated that I stormed up to my room and slammed my door shut, trying to absorb what I had just been told. I realized that twenty-five years of my life were a complete lie! I scoffed to myself, a mudblood, a servant of the Dark Lord? Surely he would kill me once he found out. I decided that I had to do something drastic in order to keep my favor within the Dark Lord's ranks.
"After mum and dad had gone up to bed, I snuck into their room and murdered them in their sleep. I saw their bodies silhouetted against the lightning that flashed through their bedroom window."
Sickness flooded through Charlie; how could someone do something so cruel and so full of malice and talk about it as if he was proud that he had murdered two people?
"You killed our parents," Professor Blackwell asked, his eyes filling with tears.
"Incorrect, brother. I murdered your parents," Alex replied, a nasty smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You must understand that becoming a servant of the Dark Lord is not easy and winning the favor of his Death Eater purebloods is even harder. Murdering in the dark is easy and simplistic."
"You're a coward. You claim murdering is easy and simplistic yet you didn't have the boldness to face my parents like a real man. I had always vouched for you, telling everyone that didn't murder my parents. How wrong I was," Professor Blackwell replied, his voice a deathly even.
Charlie looked over at Adam and Josh; they looked pale against the brightly-lit clocks on the opposite wall. Charlie thought it was only a matter of time before Professor Blackwell and Alex engaged in a duel in which he was sure with their mounting emotions, the entire room they were now standing in would be obliterated.
"Call me what you wish but I'm actually glad you came here tonight. For now, I get to finish off your blood-line. Afterwards, we will then take care of your students which you brought here tonight," Alex threatened, raising his wand.
"We won't go down without a fight, Alex. And I can assure you, my blood-line will not end tonight, especially at your cowardly hands."
Alex's face twisted in fury as he raised his wand and yelled, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" A jet of green light shot out of Alex's wand as Professor Blackwell dove out of the way, tackling Adam and Josh to the ground.
Charlie looked from Professor Blackwell to Alex whose face was reddening in anger at being called a coward.
Paul then turned his gaze back towards Charlie and Hermione; the two stared each other for a moment before he shot a jet of red light at them.
"PROTEGO," Charlie yelled. Charlie then grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her towards the first door he saw. Professor Blackwell was pulling up both Adam and Josh by the scruffs of their necks and pushed them in the opposite direction.
Charlie heard rather than saw his professor yell, "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" As Charlie shoved Hermione through the door, he heard a massive explosion behind him.
Charlie ran with Hermione into a new room; Charlie looked around and saw rows and rows of shelves with ceilings as high as a cathedral in the room they were now running through. Charlie could barely make up small glass orbs that adorned each shelf in this large space.
Hermione then tugged Charlie suddenly so that they were now running in between the shelves of the room. Hermione stopped, placing her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Charlie looked around him to find blackness; the only light this room provided was the slightly-blue glassed balls that decorated each of the high shelves.
"Did Professor Blackwell follow you," Hermione asked, trying to locate their professor and friends in the blackness behind Charlie.
"No, he didn't. I saw him run in the opposite direction," Charlie said, looking directly into Hermione's eyes.
"Oh what are we going to do, Charlie," Hermione cried, her eyes wide with fear.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way out of here and get back to Hogwarts with the others," Charlie replied, trying to calm both him and Hermione down. "Right now, we need to find our way back to the spinning room. I have no idea where we are right now, though."
"I think this is the Hall of Prophecy," Hermione said, looking around. "This is the place where prophecies are made and are placed here. I read it in the book from the library," Hermione continued, seeing the blank expression on Charlie's face.
"Oh, um, right," Charlie stuttered. Suddenly, Charlie heard movement behind him. He turned and saw a jet of red light soar at both him and Hermione.
"DUCK!" Charlie pulled Hermione down to the ground as the jet of red light blasted several shelves. The glassed orbs burst apart with the force of the spell as Charlie and Hermione saw blue figures rise into the air, away from the newly-broken glassed orbs, their mouths moving with words Charlie couldn't hear.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS," Hermione yelled, her wand pointed at their advancing adversary. Instantly, the Death Eater's arms snapped to his side as he fell backward onto the floor.
Charlie helped Hermione up to her feet as they walked over the body of the still-masked Death Eater.
"Charlie, do you think there are more than three Death Eaters here in the Department of Mysteries," Hermione asked.
Charlie looked back down at the fallen Death Eater, Hermione unknowingly confirming his deepest fears. "Yes, Hermione, I think there are more Death Eaters here."
He took her hand in his again and set off, running through the row they were in and finding a lane that ran the length of the shelves in the Hall of Prophecy. They ran past shelf after shelf, Charlie looking down each one of them at nothing in particular. Charlie was trying to find the way back to the door so they could get out of this hall.
Charlie looked down another row they passed and saw to his horror, a black-cloaked figure running down the row from them, passing the shelves they were passing. Charlie formed a plan in his head and suddenly stopped Hermione.
Charlie couldn't hear any footsteps but he peeked around another shelf to see if he could see the cloaked Death Eater. He didn't see any movement and for a brief moment, he thought they had lost the Death Eater.
Not a second later, both Charlie and Hermione were blasted off of their feet, both of their bodies slamming into a wall. They groaned in pain and saw another masked Death Eater advancing toward them.
"INCARCEROUS," Charlie yelled and ropes flew out of the tip of Charlie's wand and they wound its way over the Death Eater's body, effectively tying him up.
Charlie turned and saw blood trickling down Hermione's cheek. She smiled softly at him and said, "Let's keep going, Charlie."
He nodded his head, surprised yet proud at the tenacity his girlfriend was showing in their time of desperation.
Charlie and Hermione continued to jog through the Hall of Prophecy; Charlie soon noticed the shelves they were passing all had numbers; he noted they had just passed row ninety-seven.
Charlie was huffing, trying to catch his breath and his hand had slipped out of Hermione's. He looked back and saw her point her wand at something behind him and yelled, "STUPEFY!"
The jet of red light flew out of the tip of Hermione's wand and soared over Charlie's shoulder. He turned as the spell flew past him and saw another Death Eater block it with a wave of his wand.
The Death Eater shot a jet of purple light over at them but Charlie yelled, "PROTEGO!"
Hermione pointed her wand again and yelled, "LEVICORPUS!" Instantly, the Death Eater was hoisted upside down, hanging in mid-air by his ankles.
"Good spell, Hermione," Charlie commented, smiling at the flailing Death Eater. The next moment however, Charlie's smile faded.
The Death Eater had made a strange motion with his wand and the following second, a great fire in the form of a large bear had burst forth, the fire-bear roaring and charging at Charlie and Hermione.
Charlie wondered as the bear charged them if any of them would make it out of the Ministry of Magic alive.
Well, I hoped you enjoyed Chapter 13 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" This was a challenging chapter to write but fun nonetheless. Chapter 14 is a work-in-progress and I hope to have it posted by the end of tonight; if not, it will be posted tomorrow afternoon. Don't forget to read, review, and share with those who might enjoy my story!