Here it is. The chapter that made me write the previous five. I loved writing it, so I obviously hope you guys enjoy reading it! Warning: It's a bit on the longer side...
Disclaimer: What am I going to do when the eighth movie is released? Hell if I know. JK ROWLING WRITE ANOTHER SERIES DAMN IT!
Chapter 25
I slipped onto the train just as it pulled out of the station, keeping an eye out for death eaters. They weren't usually too difficult to spot; they had an evil look in their eyes, like they wanted to kill a baby, or torture small animals. I pulled my baseball hat down so I could cover my eyes if I wanted to. There were quite a lot of tourists on this train, and my attempt at a British accent was horrible. I might as well be a Yankees fan. I had also dyed my hair dark brown and put contacts in my eyes. I knew I stuck out as one of Voldemort's primary targets, so I worked hard to be as inconspicuous as possible. The spring air was perfect for my baggy hoodie, and I dug a paperback mystery from my backpack, flipping it open to a random page as I looked around. As the train picked up speed, I turned to a backpacker sitting behind me. She had a guidebook firmly in hand. Her shirt was from some high school in Ohio.
"I'm Cindy," I said, smiling brightly.
She grinned. "Sarah. Good to meet a fellow American."
I slipped into the seat next to her and glanced at the guidebook. "You know, I've never read through one of those. I just started my trip last week."
"Wow. Bold. I read this three times before even booking my flight."
"Cool! You know, I heard there's a few epic bridges we cross on this ride."
Her eyebrows knit together. "Nope. Just one."
Lucky me. I stretched and glanced out the window. "Well, I really need a nap but I don't want to miss that view. Do you know when we're going to reach it?"
She flipped through the book. "Two hours after we leave the station, according to the guide."
I let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks Sarah." I stood up, setting my watch to count down.
She frowned. "Where are you going?"
"I have to find my boyfriend, but see you around."
My hand wrapped around the handle of my wand as I made my way to the front of the train, palms sweating in the pocket of my hoodie. I sat in the first car for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. Yet again, I'd ventured out of Hogwarts into a dangerous situation… without a plan. The idiocy of my actions hit me just as I heard three distinct yet muffled pops.
Three people had apparated into the car in front of me. It must have been the engine room or its modern equivalent. I pulled my hat further down and gripped my wand with all my might as three normal looking adults walked into the car. My chest was tight as they glanced around, but still, I had the upper hand. The only woman sat with one of the men, while the other man sat alone in the back of the car.
For a moment I felt relief. I could deal with three death eaters. But then, I only knew about the car I was in. What if some had gotten on the train the normal way? What if more had apparated into bathrooms or the storage cars? Or into private, empty bunks? I had to figure out how they were going to blow up the train, which meant I had to scan the entire train for them.
I stood up as the passenger next to me did, linking my arm in his. He glanced at me in confusion, but I smiled and started telling a joke. God bless him, he nodded at one part as we passed the death eaters. As soon as we switched cars, I sped up, leaving the other passenger behind. There were so many people; some couples snored on each other's shoulders, some groups talked loudly, a few businessmen yelled on their phones about things that were "absolutely unacceptable."
If I wanted to blow up a train with magic, how would I do it? There were spells, of course, but the easiest way would be a potion. There were many volatile potions, but they were all difficult to make. I slid my wand up my sleeve, holding it close to the tip so I could cast spells inconspicuously. I hoped desperately that no one would notice me muttering. I searched the whole train for potions, but found nothing but muggle liquids. I only had an hour left, so I sat down in the back of the car to clear my thoughts.
I stared out the window a while, trying to think. If they were going to use potion, then being on the train now would be completely unnecessary, right? But an explosion would be quick. Possibly painless.
Fear and chaos. That's how Voldemort operated. It was the atmosphere in which he liked his victims to die. Potions wouldn't even enter his mind. Bodies would probably start to pile up long before the explosion.
"Oh my god," I muttered, glancing behind me at all of the empty track. There were so many unsuspecting families. Realization crashed over me; the only way I could have saved them was stopping the train from leaving the station, but I couldn't watch them die.
"I can't decide if you're fond of being the center of attention, or if you simply have a death wish."
I turned back around to see Lucius Malfoy sitting across from me wearing his typical smirk. He was dressed in sleek black robes, too. Two death eaters sat in the front of the car, not bothering to wear muggle clothes. They were watching me with undisguised amusement.
"Tell me, Katarina, did you come on this train because you thought you could actually stop us, or did you hope to bump into me?" His smirk turned into an outright grin.
My stomach twisted as the meaning of his words settled in my mind. The train picked up speed. A few heads turned, a few conversations paused.
"And usually you're quite talkative," Lucius said. He moved next to me, blocking any exit. I could feel the heat of his body as he leaned in. "You see, I don't usually find heroics endearing, but your presence is absolutely adorable, if a tad bit useless."
"Call me adorable again," I muttered, hand tight around my wand.
He placed a hand on my knee. I jolted away. He chuckled. "Now don't do anything rash, Katarina. You don't want to miss the show."
I followed his gaze to the front of the car, where the other death eaters stood up. One flicked his wand and in a shot of green light, a man slouched in his seat. A few people screamed, but most didn't understand what had happened. I tensed in my seat, and Lucius' hand closed into a grip around my leg.
It made me cringe, but decided to try something anyways. "This train is surrounded by the Order," I said. "They'll be inside any minute. If you're not a complete idiot, you'll leave. Unless you want to enjoy the hospitality of Azkaban. I'm sure it's a treat, even without dementors roaming around."
Lucius cocked an eyebrow. "I don't think the Order is around here. I don't think the Order will arrive until this train is on fire at the bottom of the valley. In fact, I think you came here alone, and you didn't tell a soul. It's the sort of brave idiocy I would expect from you."
He was calling my bluff, and I could tell that the conversation had taken a turn from me saving the train to me getting out alive. The probability of things turning out my way had gone down considerably.
"You don't believe me?" I said, wrenching my knee away from him and standing up. "Fine." He smiled as I inched past him to the aisle. "But when you're dining on unidentifiable mush in Azkaban this summer, remember this moment."
He stood up and followed me, but he made no move to stop me as we approached the other death eaters. "It's a shame you cut our time short," he said. "I was quite enjoying it. If you try anything, just know that there will be plenty of blood on your hands. I promise you that."
The death eaters parted to let us through to the next car, and I tried to stay calm. I had no element of surprise, I had no escape plan, and I was alone. I sped up to a brisk walk to create some distance from Lucius. He stopped altogether, watching me with grey eyes.
When I got to the middle of the next car, a little girl got out of her seat to face me. Her blond hair sat in pigtails on her head, and she wore blue overalls with a Disney t-shirt. I stopped in my tracks, breathing heavily.
"Are you ok?" I said.
As far as I could tell, there were no death eaters in this car. I started to cast protective spells as quietly as I could.
"You need to sit down," I said to her.
She stood still.
I tried again. "You should go by your parents. I'm sure they miss you."
She nodded and took my hand, leading me a few rows down to her parents. One read while the other slept. She sat down between them and pulled out a knife, smiling sweetly at me. It was only then that I noticed her eyes, glazed over and distant.
I leapt at her, but slammed into an invisible barrier. She stabbed her mother in the stomach, then her sleeping father. Blood gushed through the wounds as she turned the knife on herself, crying out in pain as the imperious curse wore off. Slowly, she slouched over, dead. I let out a few shocked cries, banging my fists against invisible walls. The other passengers finally realized something was wrong. A few tried to stand, but they seemed stuck in their seats. My head protested with the noise of their screaming.
Bellatrix Lestrange sauntered in, grinning wickedly at me. "When the Dark Lord suggested this little trip, I was quite excited. But you too? I almost can't bear it. Too much fun!"
She raised her wand and I threw a curse at her, turning to run, straight into Lucius' arms. He whipped me around to face the witch. She smiled wide.
"Now, how did you find out about us, Kitten?"
I struggled in Lucius' grip.
Bella stepped toward me, placing her wand on my collarbone. It burned through my sweater. "Tell me."
I spit in her face. "Go fuck yourself, Lestrange!"
She frowned. "Well that's not polite at all." The cruciatus curse made my entire body convulse, and Lucius held me up as I screamed.
When it stopped, it took a moment for my breathing to kick in again, thick gasps that crowded each other on their way out. Sweat dripped down my forehead.
"Ready to tell us what you know, Kitten?"
I coughed, then looked up at her. "I'm not, telling you, anything."
"Yes, sweetheart, you will." She raised her wand again.
Lucius cleared his throat. "She's always in the dungeons. She probably snooped through Snape's things."
Bella's eyes widened. "Lucius!"
"Oh, I'm sure she knows Severus works for us. She's not a fool."
I panicked. "No!" I said, trying to look surprised. "He's not a death eater!"
Bella's anger dissolved into amusement. "Oh yes he is. Remember the night you met the Dark Lord? Snape was there. He played a little trick on your mind. He works for us. Pity you weren't smart enough to join in on the fun."
I writhed around again. I didn't have to work too hard to make tears fall down. "You're lying!" I shouted.
Bella grinned. "I'm not, and that's what makes it so fun. Now, who shall I make her kill first, Lucius?"
I braced myself for the imperious curse, but there was nothing I could do to prepare for the euphoria running through my body. It replaced every ounce of fear with happiness. I knew I ought to be afraid, but I felt like I was floating, high on the best drug imaginable.
Kill the muggle trash next to you.
I glanced at who Bellatrix pointed at, only to see the girl from before; Sarah. She was crying, her guidebook abandoned on the floor. I walked towards her, my wand in my hand, warm and tingling with energy. Bellatrix shook her head.
No, with the knife.
"I don't have a knife," I heard myself say.
Grab it from the little one.
I took hold of the bloody handle and pulled it from the little girl's stomach. Blood gurgled from her mouth and a small voice in the back of my head finally spoke up: This is wrong.
But my body didn't listen.
Bella came close to me as I stood in front of Sarah.
"Please, please don't," she said, eyes glued to the knife in my hands.
Bella laughed.
I hesitated.
Do it!
My hand rose above my body, but then stopped. I don't want to. I can't.
You can, and you will! Do it now!
"She's strong, Bella," Lucius said. "You'll need more power."
"She's not that strong," Bella said, but I felt the floating happiness intensify. "You're blinded by her lineage and her beauty. Don't think I can't see where your eyes go."
Lucius glared. "You're paranoid."
"I'll only warn you once: keep your eyes on my sister."
"We'll finish this later."
She growled, then turned back to me. Do it NOW!
Sarah looked straight into my eyes as the knife arced towards her.
No, I thought, and I thrust the knife straight into Bella's shoulder. She moaned in pain as my euphoria died, and I fell to the ground as gravity worked tenfold on my body. Lucius threw a curse at me, but I dodged just in time.
Then I was back.
Lucius grabbed me and I elbowed him in the nose, hard. He swore at me, blood streaming down his face, but I dodged his curse easily and sprinted to the door. Lucius ran after me as Bella healed herself, and I saw her shoot the killing curse at Sarah. There was no time to cry as three more death eaters raised their wands, standing at the front of the car.
I took out two of them, ducking down as Lucius threw yet another curse. It hit the death eater square in the chest and I ran to the next car. There was only one death eater in it, but he had killed most of the passengers. The train gained speed then, and I saw the bridge far off in the distance as we rounded a curve I checked my watch. Ten minutes. I took out the death eater as he tortured a little girl and her brother. I felt fury rise in me and levitated his body. Then I threw a curse that smashed his body out through the window.
"Shit," I muttered, looking around. "Are you ok?" I asked the kids. They cried harder.
I grabbed them in each arm and ran to the next car, taking out three death eaters with a fresh wave of energy. The passengers were mostly alive, though nearly paralyzed from shock. I smashed the window closest to me and levitated a few of them out together, adding a cushioning charm so they wouldn't get hurt. Then I levitated the kids.
Lucius burst into the car as I tried to levitate an older couple out. He disarmed me before I could finish, and their bodies fell from the train with too much speed.
"No!" I screamed. I ran to the door, but it burned my hands when I tried to open it. I turned to face him as he walked up to me, wand pointed at my heart.
"I've killed for less," he said, all amusement gone from his face. His nose was healed, but blood smeared up his robes. I backed away, but stopped when I heard the door behind me open. Seven death eaters trailed into the car, fanning out with their wands up.
I felt energy building up inside of me, a familiar magic that hadn't built up since that summer. I tried to control it.
"You can't stop us," he said. "All you've done is prove yourself a nuisance. Now. Sit. Down," a curse threw me back into a bloody seat, "and let us finish."
Bellatrix ran in then, and fury was etched in her face. The cruciatus curse came again, and I shrieked. White hot burning erupted all over my body, but even through the blinding pain, I could tell that it was worst in my shoulder. Where I'd stabbed her.
It stopped shortly, but I couldn't stop crying. Lucius held Bella's wand down as she swore at me.
"The Dark Lord wants her in good condition," he said.
"She'll survive," she said, glaring at me. "After all, Lucius, isn't she supposed to be strong?"
"A few more minutes of that and her mind will be gone, Bella. Now behave."
"We have work to do," another death eater said.
"Fine," Bella snarled. "But when it's done, we're taking her straight to the Dark Lord." Then she walked up to me, leaning down so she was inches from my face. "Perhaps I'll let Lucius play with you a bit first, Kitten." She grabbed my arm and placed the tip of her wand on it. The moment it made contact, I cried out in pain. It felt exactly like the cruciatus, but concentrated on one point of my body. Dimly, I realized she was writing something. When she was done, she smiled. "So you don't forget," she whispered in my ear. Then she stalked off, barking orders to the other death eaters. The last one tried to follow them.
"Not you, Dolohov," she said, glancing at me. "You've made a mess of this train."
He looked around. "I like blood." The end of the sentence was heavy. Russian.
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. You're a brute."
"Blood makes them afraid." He looked at me then, smiling to reveal yellow teeth. "See? Even The Great Dumbledore's little one is afraid."
Bella cackled. "She's afraid of me, Dolohov. Don't flatter yourself. Now stay and watch her. No magic unless she tries to get away."
He didn't look pleased, and kept his wand raised at me. Distant screams erupted as I raised my forearm.
Property of the Dark Lord.
The words were raised burns, pure black on my pale skin. My bottom lip trembled. I traced the letters with my fingers, ignoring the tingling pain.
Dolohov glanced at my arm. "It was only a matter of time," he said, sitting across from me. A dying woman slouched in her seat next to him. It didn't seem to bother him.
I sat back in my seat and tried not to think about the burns. I had bigger things to worry about. Like not getting an audience with Voldemort.
"The one you threw through the window," he said, "he was my friend."
"Wow," I said. "I didn't know you were capable of basic human emotion. I'm sorry for your loss."
He slapped me, hard. My cheek burned, but I felt the magic again. Instead of controlling it, I tried to make it grow. I tried to let it out.
He pulled out my wand. "I should break this. You won't get to use it when the Dark Lord is done with you."
The magic grew inside, until it filled up my body. When it became too much to handle, I chanted the spell in my mind. Expelliarmus. Expelliarmus. Expelliarmus.
Nothing.
I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. Expelliarmus. Expelliarmus. "Expelliarmus." Oops.
"Oy!" he said, "What are you doing?"
"Expelliarmus. Expelli—"
His wand and mine flew toward me, and I stupefied him as quick as I could. He didn't even make a sound. I stood up slowly, glancing to the next car. Nothing moved, though blood was spattered across most of the windows. I ignored the bile that rose from my stomach and muttered a quick charm. The window next to me disappeared, and I leaned out.
The train was going much faster than before. I hesitated, then swore as a death eater ran into my car. He disarmed me, calling the others. The magic came quick then, and I felt it collect in my hand. I threw it at him, sending him crashing out of the window opposite me. As the other death eaters ran into the car next to us, I jumped from the window.
I concentrated again with the magic as I fell to the ground. Slower! I thought. SLOWER! But I crashed into the ground with too much force, and I felt my arm snap in two. I howled, rolling to a stop. I knew that the magic had worked, at least a little; the fall should have killed me. Accio wand! I thought. It zoomed out of the window and dropped on the ground next to me.
A few moments later, the train erupted in flames. I saw the bridge, an angry gap in its middle, and the train fell into the valley below. Plumes of smoke rose up from the wreck, and I knew that if Lucius and Bella had left anyone alive on the train, they were dead now.
OOO
So? Comments? Reviews?
Pretty Please leave a review :)
As always, thanks so much for reading! I'm eternally grateful!