A/N: Hey guys! I've posted another story since my last update! Thanks to all those who checked it out! Sorry for taking so long to update, but school sucks. Blame it.
Important: This is my second to last chapter::Gasp:: But don't worry, it will have a sequel. The only thing is, before I post the sequel, I'm going to re-edit the entire fic. Hopefully it won't take too long. By the way, because One Last Hope is a trilogy (did I mention that?), I'm going to be changing the name of this fic from One Last Hope to One Last Hope: Dumbledore's Army. Don't worry, though: the story will be the same.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, for the last time! Or the second last, anyway…:)
Dedication: To all those who reviewed The Death Eater Club. You guys rock!
Enjoy!
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One Last Hope
Chapter 20: Winging It
Amy waited quietly and tried to be patient as she fiddled with the corner of her pillow, which she held between her chest and her legs that she hugged close to her body. She had already thrown the covers to the end of the bed in agitation, and now she listened with all her might for the one sound she so desperately wanted to hear.
She had almost made a hole from fiddling with her pillowcase when she heard it: the sound of a foghorn. How Erin had managed to get her hands on one, Amy didn't know, but didn't much care as suddenly she shot a Reducto curse at a bedside table on the opposite side of room, using it as a diversion to leap out of bed and escape Madame Pomfrey's watchful eye.
Once out of the Hospital Wing, Amy sprinted down the hall to Professor McGonagall's office. As soon as she was inside, Erin shut the door behind her and Nick was saying, "We don't have much time, Peeves doesn't keep McGonagall occupied for very long these days." Nick had finally agreed to help Amy and Erin with their "plan" to go to the Ministry when they had threatened to go without him.
"Right," said Amy. "Floo Powder…Does anyone see it?"
"Here," replied Erin, taking a vase from the mantelpiece and sniffing it. "Found it."
Nick gave Erin a disdainful look for smelling the powder before turning to Amy. "You realise the Network is being watched. Ministry workers will probably know we're breaking rules by coming as soon as we get there."
"Which means we'll be able to find someone and explain the situation much more quickly," commented Erin.
"Besides, it's too risky trying to get back to Umbridge's office. Madame Pomfrey will be looking for us."
"Which is why we have to hurry," said Nick, taking a pinch of Floo Powder.
"Where do you think we'll end up in the Ministry building?" asked Amy, also taking a pinch.
"Don't know," he replied. "I've never tried this before."
"Let's find out then," said Amy, trying to keep her voice calm and stepping in front of the fireplace. She took a deep breath, threw her powder into the crackling flames, stepped inside them, and, bracing herself, shouted, "Ministry of Magic!"
Next thing she knew, Amy was spinning out of control through green flames and past glimpses of rooms beyond other fireplaces. She had never actually used Floo Powder before, but she remembered the instructions Jeremy had given her when he had come to tell her she was a witch all those months ago. Now, although she had known exactly what to do and had entered the Floo Network properly, she found herself completely unprepared for dizziness so severe that when she finally fell out of the fireplace and landed on a floor, she thought she was on the ceiling. Her confusion increased as Erin landed beside her, shook her head a few times, got up, and pulled Amy out of the way so that she wouldn't be flattened by Nick, who came shooting out next.
It took a minute or two for Amy's world to stop spinning, but when it did she took a look at where she was. It appeared that she was in a long hall, with a dark polished wooden floor, and a high blue ceiling with moving gold symbols on it. The walls were also made of a shiny wood, and held a great number of fireplaces on each side of the hall, presumably for Floo-ing to and from the Ministry, just as they had done. What caught Amy's eye was the huge fountain in the middle of the hall, in which stood the golden statues of a witch, a wizard, a goblin, a centaur and a house-elf, all with water shooting out of their wands, ears, hats or arrows, making the only noise in the entire hall that of the water splashing.
"So…now what?" asked Erin, voicing the obvious question.
"Maybe we should find Harry," suggested Amy tentatively, hoping they would agree. She just wanted to find her cousin and warn him.
Her hopes were squashed when Nick said, "We already know that's not a good idea. We should just stick to the plan."
"I'd hardly call it a plan," remarked Erin, rolling her eyes. "But we have to find someone who could help. Now, who would be here at this hour?"
"Oh, I don't know!" replied Amy nervously. She was starting to panic again. "Maybe we should just wander around until we find someone."
"Some people are bound to be working late," reasoned Nick.
He started down the hall, and the girls followed. They were almost at the other end when Erin stopped them by putting out her arm. "Don't move," she warned.
All three of them looked over at a wizard sleeping at his desk, underneath a sign saying Security, with a copy of the Evening Prophet still in his hands.
"Should we wake him up?" asked Nick.
"No," said Amy. "He might not help. He's probably here to stop people like us from intruding."
"I thought they'd have magical charms and stuff for that," he replied.
"Well, yes," answered Erin. "But we came in by Floo Powder, and that's aloud." She looked over the things around the desk. "We're probably just supposed to sign in here, or something, so they know exactly who's here at all times…. He might not let us go get help."
Silently they crept past the snoring wizard until they reached a set of golden gates, which they slipped through. On the other side was a smaller hall with what seemed to be a bunch of elevators with golden grills along the walls.
"Come, on," said Erin, waving them over towards one of these. "Let's find the Auror department, they're probably our best bet."
Without further ado Erin strode into an elevator and waited while Amy and Nick followed cautiously after. The grill closed behind them and the lift began to climb slowly upwards. Amy jumped as she heard a cool female voice say, "Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office," just as the doors opened out onto a view of an untidy corridor, adorned with several Quidditch, and even Gobstones posters on the walls, hanging lopsidedly.
This is where René's mother must work, thought Amy, remembering the time her friend had told her that her mum worked in the British Quidditch League Headquarters.
No one got on the lift, as no one was in the corridor. The place was eerily silent. Soon, however, the doors closed and the lift ascended once more.
The three friends rode the elevator quietly for the next few seconds, before Amy burst out, no longer able to hold in the question that had been bothering her for some time now, "Why don't you think Harry told us about Sirius?"
Erin and Nick glanced at each other briefly before turning to her.
"He can't tell you everything, you said so yourself," Nick pointed out.
"But this is really important!"
"Which is probably why he didn't tell you," concluded Erin. "You know what he's like, he doesn't want you involved in this sort of thing."
"Why not?" sighed Amy, frustrated.
"Most likely so we wouldn't do something like this," Nick commented.
Erin nodded. "Still," she said slowly, "Since Sirius Black is an escaped convict, you'd think he'd at least give us a head's up."
"Exactly!" exclaimed Amy. "I know he can't tell me everything, but knowing why he's such good friends with the man who supposedly betrayed his parents is kind of crucial!"
"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beasts, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau."
"So you don't think Sirius betrayed Harry's parents then?" asked Nick.
"I don't know! That's why I'd like to!"
"…. Do you think anyone else knows…like Ron and Hermione?" Nick wondered aloud.
"Well," said Erin. "I'd think so, Harry hardly has any adventures without them."
"Wait…. Wasn't Black supposed to have entered Hogwarts somehow a few years ago?" asked Amy.
"Yeah…" agreed Nick. "You're right."
Suddenly Erin's eyes went wide and she hurriedly bit her lip.
"What's up?" asked Amy quickly.
"Huh?" Erin looked slightly startled. "Oh…nothing…"
Both Amy and Nick raised their eyebrows at her.
"Well, it's not important right now," she said impatiently with a wave of her hand. "I'll tell you later."
They continued to look at her strangely while the cool female voice announced, "Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services."
"This is us," announced Erin, dragging the other two out of the elevator, ignoring their sideways glances in her direction.
They walked cautiously down the corridor, wincing at the sharp sound their shoes made against the floor.
"Which way now?" asked Amy nervously, deciding to disregard what Erin wasn't telling them for the moment. None of them had ever been to the Auror department.
"They really should have signs," commented Erin, "For situations such as this."
"I highly doubt anyone at the Ministry would think of such an absurd situation as this."
"Absurd? You need a brighter outlook on things, I've always said this."
"Erin," said Amy, beginning to get exasperated. "As much as you may be right, this really isn't the time-"
"This way," interrupted Erin, pointing to the right, and walking towards a set of oak doors.
"How do you know?" inquired Nick.
"I don't," the brunette replied. "I just think it would be a good place to start looking. You know, Amy, this would be a really great time for one of your handy-dandy dream-things."
"I can't control the dreams I get," answered Amy, annoyed. "Now, if you wanted to know how to get to a creepy cathedral place through this door down a really dark hallway, that wouldn't be such a problem."
"Hmmm," Erin replied. "Unfortunately, that would be a rather dangerous venture."
"This is a rather dangerous venture," Nick pointed out.
"Oh, look," said Erin as they reached the end of the hall and she opened the doors, "I was right."
She pulled them open wider and Amy and Nick looked inside as well. Before them stretched a huge expanse of cubicles, the closest of which bore the sign "Auror Department".
"How did you do that?" asked Nick incredulously, but Erin put a finger to her lips and followed as Amy led the way through the deadly quiet room.
Suddenly she stopped and swayed on the spot. Pictures flashed through her mind: Harry opening the mysterious door; Ron and Hermione running after him down an isle, the scene from her dream with the smashing orbs…
"Amy, are you okay?" asked Erin worriedly, as Nick grabbed Amy's shoulder to steady her.
"Wha- oh, it's nothing…" muttered Amy, looking at the concerned faces of her friends. "Just a mild vision, or something." Her stomach twisted itself into a painful knot as she realised that her dream could be coming true this very second. "Come on, we – we should hurry."
Her friends nodded and they tiptoed through the rows of cubicles, keeping their heads low and checking each one for someone to talk to for about two minutes, but found no one. Eventually, Erin gave an exasperated sigh and stood up straight. "We're just wasting time this way," she said impatiently.
"That's why I said we should go to the Department of Mys-" whispered Amy, but Nick cut her off.
"We all know why that's not a good idea-"
"Hello?" shouted Erin quite suddenly into the otherwise silent room, making the other two jump. "Is anyone here? Hello? We need help!"
"Erin!" said Nick, a look of panic on his face, as several footsteps made their way towards them.
"We wanted to find someone, and this is the quickest way," she explained calmly.
"But what will we tell them?"
"Hey! Hey, you three, are you supposed to be here?" said a voice coming quickly towards them.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Erin.
"It's late, are you here with someone?" said another voice from just behind them.
"Oh, no," moaned Amy, realizing they were surrounded.
"How did you three get here?" asked a man with thick, mane-like hair that reminded Amy of a lion. He sounded genuinely concerned, if not a little accusatory.
"Is one of your parents working late?" asked the woman with extremely long brown hair to their right, looking at them curiously.
Before the third Auror, a young man with blue eyes and a scare across his left cheek, could open his mouth to say something similar, Erin said loudly, "Actually, there's a bit of a situation downstairs that we may need your help with. It's kind of an emergency."
"An emergency?" asked the first man.
"Um, yes," stammered Amy. "There are people, uh, downstairs, who might be in a lot of trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"The dangerous kind," answered Nick, looking as though he was trying to sound braver than he felt.
"Downstairs?" asked the woman. "You mean, in the Atrium?"
"Um, no," said Amy. "Uh, in, um…the Department of Mysteries." She said the last part very fast so as not to lose her nerve.
Amy knew immediately that it had not been a good thing to say. Suddenly, all three adults were looking at them strangely, as though they could not possibly have heard her correctly.
"The Department of Mysteries?" asked the first man again, the one who seemed to be in charge. "Why would you say such a thing?"
As Amy and Nick tried to think of something that would explain their predicament in a way three adults who did not believe Voldemort was back would understand, Erin sighed drastically.
"Because Voldemort and his Death Eaters set a trap down there and her cousin Harry Potter is headed straight into it," she said, pointing at Amy.
As Amy and Nick whirled around to look at Erin accusingly, the younger man and woman suddenly burst out laughing, only to stop abruptly with a sharp look from the man who was presumably their boss.
"Come with me," he said, very solemnly, letting the first years know they were in deep trouble.
"Where are we going?" chirped Erin as the younger man and woman began herding them in the direction their boss was walking.
"To see the Minister for Magic."
"Really?" asked Amy, shocked, as Nick's mouth dropped open.
"Oh, excellent!" exclaimed Erin. This awarded her strange looks from all those around, but she seemed unfazed.
"Mr. Scrimgeour…" began the younger man tentatively. "I-is it really necessary to take them to-"
"I'm supposed to take anyone in the Ministry who believes that He Who Must Not Be Named is alive to see the Minister himself," replied the man called Scrimgeour curtly.
"But surely…they're just children…"
"My instructions come from the Minister himself," said Scrimgeour in a tone that indicated the discussion was over.
"Why is getting sent to see the Minister excellent?" Amy whispered to Erin, terrified.
"We're making a fuss," she replied. "If we make enough of a fuss, especially for the Minister, they'll have to do something."
"Like kick us out?" suggested Nick bluntly.
"Erin, we're running out of time…this wasn't part of the plan-"
"I thought we were just winging it," said Erin, smirking.
Amy just looked back at her friend, dumbfounded, amazed that she could be so calm in this kind of situation. She was sure Nick wasn't handling it nearly as well, because aside from the fact that his face had drained of all colour and his hands were balled into fists, he would usually have had a comeback for Erin.
The rest of the walk to the Minister's office was a sort of hazy blur for Amy, who found herself in a bit of a daze. They walked back to the elevator and went up to "Level One, Minister for Magic and Support Staff" and walked down a huge, seemingly never-ending hallway with doors set at equal intervals on each side as far as she could see, until suddenly, out of nowhere, Amy found herself facing a door.
Scrimgeour walked through it, leaving his younger associates to wait nervously outside with the first years. Amy could tell they thought the situation was ridiculous, and probably would like nothing more than to send the three of them straight back to Hogwarts.
She turned to them. "How did you find us so fast? The second Erin called out you had us surrounded. Was that because you watch the fireplaces?"
The man nodded, looking uncomfortable at being addressed by the young redhead, but the woman smiled nervously and said, "Yes, but as so many Ministry employees travel to and from here by the Floo Network, we weren't alerted. We were working late and heard your friend's voice. When we looked over and saw you three, we wondered what was going on and came over."
"You came over real fast," commented Amy.
The woman smiled again and shrugged. "We're trained to."
After that there was silence except for the voices on the other side of the door. Amy could tell what Erin was thinking: if only their guards would walk away so she could use the Extendable Ears that were undoubtedly stuffed in the pockets of her robes. However, the conversation did not last long, and soon there was complete silence. For a long while the odd group waited outside that large, intimidating oak wood door, looking extremely out of place, before at last, a man they had not seen before with a large nose and almost no hair opened the door a crack and stuck his head out. "The Minister will see you now," he announced, looking curiously at the three first years in front of him.
Suddenly Amy gasped and clapped a hand to the searing pain in her forehead. She saw Ron get hit with a curse, Ginny fall (she even heard a loud crack, which she was sure was Ginny's ankle braking), Luna shooting some spell or another at an unseen figure, Hermione getting hit with some kind of purple flame…
When the pictures stopped playing through her head as if on a movie screen, Amy realised she was still in front of the large oak door, and was bent double with her head in her hands. Erin and Nick each had a strong grip on one of her arms.
"Er – are…are you all right?" asked the man in the doorway as Amy stood up. The young Aurors behind her looked worried, too.
"I-I'm fine…" said Amy weakly, rubbing her forehead. When she realized what she was doing, she snatched her hand away. "I'm fine," she said more forcefully, looking around at everyone.
"Yes, well…in you come," said the man at the doors nervously.
He stepped out and ushered them all into the room, which was much more cramped than Amy had expected it to be, but soon found out why. They were in what appeared to be a secretary's office. There was a small wooden desk just in front of them with filing cabinets behind it along the walls on either side, an extremely worn rug on the floor, and a few paintings of landscapes adorning the bits of wall with no piece of paper, plaque, or framed newspaper headline stuck to it. Further behind the desk were magnificent cherry oak double doors that were so highly polished they made the rest of the room seem dim despite the lamp that was swinging gently from the ceiling.
"This way please," said the secretary, leading them past the desk and towards the highly polished double doors, which somehow Amy suddenly found very intimidating. The man knocked on the door and a voice answered, "Yes, yes, are they here yet?" rather rudely, but the man before them simply opened the door and shoved Amy, Erin and Nick into the room before snapping the door shut behind them.
The room, it appeared, was the Minister for Magic's office, and was more what Amy had been expecting: huge, with a grand dark wood desk, a fireplace you could have fit through on piggy-back, an elaborate rug on the hardwood floor, a large tapestry on the wall facing them, behind the desk, and a surly looking Fudge (who seemed to be much shorter and portlier than Amy had thought he would be) sitting in front of it, wearing his pyjamas and looking quite as though he would still like to be in bed.
For a moment there was silence except for the merrily crackling fire, which ironically seemed to be achieving exactly the opposite of mirroring the room's atmosphere.
Finally, because it seemed she couldn't stand the silence any longer, Erin spoke. "So…nice place you got here," she commented casually.
Nick looked as though he might faint.
Fudge clenched his fists. "Now don't you be smart with me, miss…er – miss-"
"Christopher," Erin lied unblinkingly.
"Well, miss Christopher, it would appear that you and your friends are in somewhat of a pickle."
"Seems so," Erin replied calmly, with a shrug of her shoulders to show her lack of concern.
It was right about then that Amy noticed that it bugged her very much how arrogant and pompous the Minister was being, and how smugly Scrimgeour, who was standing beside the desk, was looking at them.
"Yes," agreed the Minister. "Because for some reason, instead of being at school, where you belong, you are coming to the Ministry, bothering the employees and trying to get us to believe that You-Know-Who is back and attacking more students within the building." He chuckled darkly. "I'm afraid that whether this is a prank or not, you three are facing expulsion."
At that, Nick bit his lip so hard Amy was sure it was going to bleed before she was attacked with a fresh set of visions, accompanied by a blinding headache. There was what seemed to be a battle; Harry and Neville were trying to get out of the way as Death Eaters and people she had only seen in dreams shot curses at one another. This time, however, she made her best effort possible to stay standing, instead of keeling over.
"Yes, a bit of a shock, I presume," continued the Minister, mistaking Amy's blinking and staggering for fear.
"Actually, that's not really the pickle we're worried about," Erin went on smoothly. "You see, right now, we're more worried about all the Death Eaters down in the Department of Mysteries."
"Now that's going to far," said Scrimgeour angrily. Apparently, he thought lying to the Minister was simply unforgivable.
Amy was sure Erin would have laughed at the look on his face if it weren't for the fact that they weren't lying at all.
"Ah!" Amy cried out loud, no longer able to hold out against the images that were making her vision blur. The world seemed to fall away, and all that existed was the man from her dreams falling slowly, ever so slowly and painfully through a black curtain, and the splitting pain in her forehead that seemed to be coming from her scar. Then Amy jolted back to her surroundings as a realization hit her: she didn't have a scar.
As the world came rushing back, Amy saw that she was on the floor; how she had gotten there, she neither knew nor cared. All she cared about was getting to Harry.
"We have to go!" she screamed at no one in particular, or perhaps at everyone. "It's getting worse, we have to go now!"
"What – what's wrong with this girl?" Fudge, who was now standing in front of them, asked Erin and Nick, seemingly unable to focus on anything else.
"Don't be silly!" shot Scrimgeour, who, unlike his boss, seemed quite set on the subject at hand. "That's enough of your jokes, you're already facing expulsion and having your parents come here to-"
"Well, then it's a good thing I don't have any that would come!" Amy spat back, jumping angrily to her feet. "This isn't something we can discuss, people are in danger-"
"No one is in danger," Fudge said calmly, but defiantly as the red slowly drained from Scrimgeour's face, "You-Know-Who is dead, he-"
"No he's not," said Nick, stepping forward and glaring at the Minister. Perhaps it was this that made Fudge stop and consider the seriousness of the situation for a second. He wasn't being screamed at by an angry girl, or being calmly informed by an indifferent girl, but being told in a voice that removed all doubt by a shy, quiet boy who looked absolutely terrified that Lord Voldemort was back, and that seemed to make him realize for the first time that it wasn't a prank, that what he might have always known in the back of his mind was true, and that his world could very well be crumbling around him.
But then he seemed to shake himself and said. "No…no – it couldn't possibly be-"
But he was cut short by an enormous boom that thundered up to them from below, shaking the very floor and vibrating through them.
"You sure about that?" asked Erin.
Before the others could answer her, another vibration was sent through the building, although it was much more like a jolt than a thundering boom, and with this one came a blinding pain in Amy's head, as blurred visions flashed so fast through her mind that she couldn't make any of them out.
"What was that?" asked Scrimgeour sharply.
"That's your dead Voldemort trying to blow the place up," said Erin darkly.
"It is no such-" spluttered Fudge, before the Auror interrupted him.
"We need to check it out," he said, looking at the Minister. "I'll call some backup Aurors, and we'll get down there." He strode towards the door, then looked back, saying, "Please stay here," to Fudge in a tone that made it clear that he wasn't asking at all, only he couldn't give the Minister orders.
Fudge looked quite indignant at being told what to do, but clearly thought it wasn't worth the risk to go down to see what was going on.
"Uhhhh…" groaned Amy, as the pain in her head reduced to a persistent throbbing ache.
"Er – is she going to be…what's wrong with her?" asked Fudge awkwardly, indicating to Amy.
"Um…well, we're not quite sure…" answered Nick nervously.
"Harry!" screamed Amy suddenly.
"What is it?" asked Erin, stepping over to Amy and grabbing both her hands. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," answered Amy, gasping for a reason she didn't understand. "I couldn't see properly, but he's in trouble," she finished, knowing Erin's question had referred to what was going on downstairs, and not why Amy's head suddenly hurt.
Erin took a deep breath. "Alright," she said, determined. "We're going. Nick, come on." She reached out for his arm to pull him to the door only to find he was already there. Raising her eyebrows in surprise, she took Amy's wrist instead and pulled her through the double doors that Nick was holding open.
"Now – now wait just one minute!" spluttered Fudge, hobbling angrily after them. "You'll stay here if I say s – hey! Wait up!" And he trudged, frustrated, after the three first years, as they continued to head through the next room and down the corridor, ignoring him completely.
They ran towards the elevator and got in, waiting patiently for it to start its decent. Fudge, however, made it into the elevator after them just before the doors closed.
"You could have just stayed there, this could be dangerous," Erin told the Minister.
"Well, I couldn't just let you three get away, you have to be punished!" shouted an irritated Fudge, waving his hands about.
His only answer was an unwavering death glare from Erin. An awkward silence descended on the group. Amy could see that Fudge was worrying about what he was going to do when the doors opened. Then suddenly she snapped her eyes shut as the pain in her head heightened again.
"Are you going to be okay?" Nick whispered worriedly next to her, keeping an eye on Erin from his place in between the two girls.
"I…I think so…" Amy whispered back, her fists clenched against the pain. She staggered against the elevator wall.
"We don't know what's going to be out there," Nick continued. "Are you going to be able to look out for yourself or should we stay in here?"
"We're going out!" Amy said determinedly. "I'll be fine."
"Actually, all three of you will be staying in the elevator with me when we reach the Atrium, and then we're going back up to the first floor where we'll be safe," said Fudge, glaring significantly at them.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," replied Erin indifferently, with a wave of her hand.
"The Atrium," announced the female voice just then.
The elevator doors opened and they heard shouts from beyond the golden gates. Without hesitation Amy rushed out into the hall, Erin and Nick right after her, despite the Minister's best efforts.
The scene that met their eyes when they passed the gates was one none of them would ever forget, and one that would haunt Amy's nightmares for many years to come. Harry was lying screaming on the floor, his face twisted in agony, with Dumbledore standing protectively over him, looking scarier than Amy had ever thought he could be, Death Eaters were watching in awe and glee from the sides, and Voldemort, his own face contorted in either pain or rage, or perhaps both, was standing in the middle of it all. And them it hit Amy: that was Voldemort. He was standing not twenty feet from her, and could easily kill her in a heartbeat.
But before she could feel anything but shock, blinding, searing pain in her head, worse than anything she could have imagined, overtook her. She collapsed to the floor, or at least, that's what she thought was happening, because suddenly her side hurt as well. And then there wasn't room to think anymore, only pain. More visions flashed through her mind. A giant snake curled around Harry, chocking him; Voldemort rising from a huge cauldron; constant flashes of green light; maniacal laughter…
She tried to fight it, tried to open her eyes and pushed herself up onto her elbows. She only just managed to lift her eyes when they met a pair of red ones. Voldemort looked right at her, into her eyes.
Right at that instant, before she could call out Harry's name, or see her friends rushing towards her, or the beam of green light that just barely missed her, Amy's world went black.
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A/N: If you didn't read the (important!) author's note at the top, go do that. It's important. Really!
Wheeeeeee! One more chappie! Aren't you excited? You could tell me in a review, you know, if you wanted to…
Anyway, this is my longest chapter yet, ending in yet another cliffhanger. I hope it was exciting enough. I know Amy didn't really get to be in the battle, but that's part of the point, and an issue that will be brought up later…. And I know there wasn't a security person there in the books, but Amy, Erin and Nick showed up some time later than Harry.
And sorry again for the slow updating, but I've been busy, and getting lots of homework. :(