Chapter 16: Cody's Battle
"RUN!" Harry cried, and they all bolted for it. Cody ran as fast as he could, ducking between two Death Eaters, and again thanking whatever powers there were that he was small. He felt someone grab his robe, but used his wand to rip the fabric, and he got away.
He was not as fast as the others, but Neville paused for a split second and seized Cody's hand once more, pulling him along. Cody had to run as fast as he could to keep from getting dragged along.
As soon as Cody and Neville had burst through the door, Hermione pointed her wand at it and cried, "Colloportus!" and the door sealed itself off.
"Thanks," Cody whispered to Neville, who smiled weakly back and nodded.
"Where - where're the others?" Harry gasped.
Cody looked around and gasped; Ginny, Luna, and Ron were not there with them.
"They must've gone the wrong way!" said Hermione.
"There's gotta be other ways out of that room though, right?" Cody asked.
"Listen!" Neville whispered.
Lucius Malfoy was giving orders. "Leave Nott - leave him, I say!" Nott...Theodore Nott was a boy in Cody's year in Slytherin, another whose father was a Death Eater. "The Dark Lord will not care for Nott's injuries as much as losing that prophecy! Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until you've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary."
And as Malfoy began telling them where to go, Cody had an idea. "Harry!" he said as loudly as he could. "Give me the prophecy, I'll carry it in my pocket!" He put a finger to his lips as Harry started to say something, and quickly whispered so only Harry, Neville, and Hermione could hear, "If he doesn't know who has it, maybe they won't just try an' kill the rest of us!" He did know if it would work or if the Death Eaters even heard, but it was worth a try.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Good idea!"
"Neville, here!" Cody called.
Getting the idea, Hermione said, "No, give it here!"
"Who's got it?" Harry said. "Okay, good, let's go!" And with Harry still holding the orb, they ran away from the door.
Behind them, someone collided with the door that Hermione had sealed, and Cody giggled shrilly. He was more scared than he had ever been in his life.
"Stand aside!" growled a man's voice. "Alohomora!"
The door blasted open, and everyone dove underneath the desks in the clock room, except Cody, was small enough to fit behind a grandfather clock. He clenched his teeth against a whimper of fear, not sure what he would do if he saw one of his friends get killed.
"They might have run straight through to the hall," said one man.
"Check under the desks," said a second. They were both men, and ones whose voices Cody did not recognize. He bit his lip, hard, and hoped that the others could handle it. He risked a peek out from under his clock, and saw the two men stooping to check under the desks.
"STUPEFY!" came Harry's voice from under one of the desks, and the Death Eater flew backward, hitting Cody's clock, which knocked him back into the wall, and then fell over. Cody yelled in pain and staggered, his hand to his face. He felt his eye swelling and hissed; that was going to be a heck of a shiner.
The second Death Eater had spun to face Hermione, who was standing up to get a better aim with her wand. The man pointed his own wand and snarled, "Avada -"
Cody gasped, and Harry tackled the man around the knees. Neville overturned the desk he was hiding under and pointed his wand at the struggling pair. "Expelliarmus!" he cried, and both Harry and the Death Eater lost their wands.
The fighters ran for the end of the room for them, but Cody was closer, and if the Death Eater didn't have his wand, he couldn't curse them! As Neville yelled for Harry to get out of his way, Cody darted out and grabbed both wands, and then sprinted for cover. Neville called the Stunning Spell, but missed, and hit the shelf right next to Cody instead. He ducked and ran for Harry and the others, as the Death Eater lunged for him. Cody paused just long enough to take the Death Eater's wand and snap it over his knee. The man snarled.
Cody would have been caught then, but Hermione sent her own Stunning Spell at the Death Eater, and hit him square in the chest. He fell, his head heading right for a collision with the glass jar that contained the little hummingbird egg.
Shaking, Cody went over and handed Harry his wand.
"Thanks," he said.
"S-sure."
"Look out!" Neville cried, pointing. He had a look of revulsion on his face.
The Death Eater's head had not broken the jar, in fact had gone through it as if it weren't solid. And it was beginning to get smaller, and look younger...until a baby's head sat on the man's burly shoulder.
"It's time..." whispered Hermione. "Time..." Time? Time was in that jar? How did that work?
A crash and a scream from a nearby room caught their attention, and Harry called loudly for the missing ones of their party. Were they all right? Had they already been hurt...or worse?
The now baby-headed Death Eater had woken and was failing around the room, paying no attention to the people within. The four youths sprinted for the door at the end of the room, the one that lead into the main hallway, but before they got there the door burst open once more and two others burst in. Having lagged behind again once more, Cody screamed and ducked behind one of the other grandfather clocks, while the other three ducked into one of the doors along the sides of the room. He heard one Death Eater burst into that room, but could hear the other still in this one, chuckling. "Ah, cornered, are y -" he began to say, but at that moment, Cody shoved the clock as hard as he could, toppling it on the man. And then he ran. He didn't think that he could possibly think fast enough at the moment to try any kind of spell; he had to get somewhere and collect his thoughts.
The way to the hallway was blocked, as the Death Eater angrily shoved the clock off of him, and so Cody sprinted back through the door that led into the prophecy chamber, hoping that the rest of the Death Eaters there were gone. He burst through the door, spun, and repeated the incantation Hermione had used to seal off the doors. "Colloportus!" he cried, and to his amazement, it worked! He heard a commotion from somewhere inside, and hoped the others were all right. He heard the Death Eater collide with the door then, and decided it was time to run. He took off down the aisle. He hoped desperately that the injured Nott was not still here, or if he was, that he was incapacitated.
The place was deserted once more, and Cody ran along the wall, peeking at each row as he passed them. There had to be thousands of prophecies! He only had a couple of seconds to be fascinated before he heard the Death Eater growl, "Alohomora!" and the door opened. Cody caught a glimpse of him looking both ways, spotting Cody, and raising his wand. Cody gasped, and ducked into one of the aisles, not bothering to run too much farther in. He knew there was no way he could outrun a fully grown man, and so he raised his wand, ready to fight. 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die,' he thought frantically.
"Dolohov!" shouted a voice from in the time room. "Get in here, we need help!"
"But one of them's in here, the Slytherin!"
"I don't care, we've got Potter in here, he's the one we have to worry about!"
Dolohov growled, and Cody heard the door slam again, and Cody slumped against a shelf, shaking with relief. He wiped his eyes, not having realized until now that he was crying, and took in a big breath. I'm alone, he thought. That could either be good, or bad. It possibly meant that he wouldn't run into anyone, as they were busy with the others. But then if he did meet anyone, he would have no backup, and would be outnumbered at least two to one.
After a few moments, he listened carefully, and then headed for the opposite side of the prophecy room. He had been right in assuming it had several other doors, and he cautiously tried one of them. It was open, and the room beyond was empty for the moment. He stepped in and closed the door, sealing it as he had sealed the first one. "Lumos," he whispered, and frowned when his wand did not light. "Lumos!" But again, it did not light. Wondering if perhaps his wand had somehow been damaged, he took a step forward, and cried out in startlement as he was suddenly floating around. It was then that he realized that he was looking not at simple blackness, but at stars, and as he drifted farther into the room, he also saw tiny planets. He was in a room of simulated outer space, and even with what was going on that night, he stared in wonder for several minutes.
It was not completely like space, Cody realized, else he would not be able to breathe. But it might explain why his wandlight could not be seen. There must be something here in the magic that created the vast room that interfered with it.
It took about a minute for Cody to be able to float to the other end of the room, and when he bumped gently into the wall, he felt around for a door. Finding one, he wrenched it open and pulled himself out. He fell immediately to the floor and took a big breath, orienting himself.
He was in another hallway, and he looked around, his wand up and ready. By now, however, he was completely lost, with no idea where anyone else might be.
He carefully opened a door and stepped inside. It was not dark in here, but lit by a dozen warm candles. It was eerie in the room, for while there was a great deal of noise going on, there seemed to be an unnatural silence underneath it. He looked around in fascination.
In one corner was a model of the earth, about three feet wide, hovering in the air. As Cody watched, captivated, he saw the water moving, and the clouds drifting, and when he touched an ocean, his hand came away wet. "Neeeat!" Despite the seriousness of the situation, Cody found that the working models delighted him.
Next to the earth was a planet about the same size, and Cody saw that the land masses were sort of familiar, but it had a red haze around it, and tiny volcanoes erupted all around it. Was this the beginning of Earth? Or Earth sometime in the past?
On one wall was what looked like a chart showing how man might have changed from the apes. For several moments he watched the poster-sized picture, which was really just an animated, magical evolutionary scale.
Another planet Cody recognized was Jupiter, with all of its moons orbiting it, and next to it a large moving model of Io, one of Jupiter's moons. It was in a state much like the reddish Earth. Cody glanced at a piece of paper on a nearby desk, and it was full of sloppy cursive. The word on the top read "Creation". Another paper was written in neat print, and was titled "Origins of Man".
That's what the Department of Mysteries is, Cody thought in wonder. All of the questions of mankind, the mysteries of the world, were there for study. Wizards and witches who were called Unspeakables by the rest of the Ministry worked on trying to solve and understand those questions. Time, Space, Prophecy, the human Mind... Cody suspected that the black veil and the stone archway might have been a room in which to study Death. What other wonders were in this place?
Lost in wonder, Cody was very badly startled when the door was slammed open and two figures entered, looking grimly around. Neither was hooded, and for the briefest of moments, Cody thought it was Ron and Harry, as neither was all that big and one was redheaded. But half a second later he recognized one of them, the Slytherin with the red hair. Eyes widening, Cody raised his wand. "Stupefy!" he cried, and was rewarded when a jet of red light hit the bigger one. Taken by surprise, the man was flung backwards and collapsed, half in and half out of the doorway.
But the Slytherin now spotted Cody and raised his own wand. "Stupefy!" he cried, and Cody yelled, "Protego!" The Stunner struck what seemed like an invisible shield and flew back at the Slytherin, who ducked it. He narrowed his eyes. "Not bad, DeDannan," he said.
"Yeah, thanks," Cody said with some degree of sarcasm, backing away as the boy walked forward. "I always thought you'd end up a Death Eater."
The boy smiled. "I am highly complimented."
Cody snorted.
"Lucius rather thinks that you're a traitor, DeDannan. Said that no self-respecting Slytherin would ally himself with a lot of high-minded Gryffindors."
"Oh yeah? Well I always wondered why the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin. I woulda rather been in Gryffindor."
"Obviously you haven't the courage."
"I'm here, aren't I?"
The redhead nodded slowly. "I suppose you are."
"Who are you, anyway?"
The redhead smiled. "I supposed there's no reason not to tell you. My name is Dustin Tiller."
Cody blinked. "You're Kyle Tiller's brother?" he asked in tones of the utmost surprise. "Why didn't he tell me?"
At this, Tiller laughed aloud. "Did you honestly expect the righteous fool to admit that someone such as myself was related to him? He preferred to pretend that he had no brother, and truth to tell, I was quite happy to play along. I wanted to claim him no more than he wanted to claim me."
Cody only stared, too shocked by this to say anything.
Tiller continued. "Nott was right, you know. You do look a great deal like Mallory Gregor. She your mum?"
Cody blinked, and kept his wand up in a defensive position, just in case the young Death Eater tried a surprise attack. "My mom's adopted, she's a Muggle."
"I know that, I meant your birth mother, DeDannan. Do you know nothing of her?"
"No, the orphanage didn't have any records," said Cody warily. "So...so who is Mallory Gregor?"
He shrugged. "I never met her, but I've seen pictures. She was a Death Eater that was killed in the service of the Dark Lord."
Cody's eyes widened, partly in indignation. "Then she's not my mom! Not even my first one, it couldn't be her. She wouldn't've served Voldemort!"
Tiller hissed like an angry cobra, and raised his wand, his eyes narrowing. "I told you not to say the Dark Lord's name! You are not worthy to speak the name of so great a wizard!"
"He can't be all that great," Cody scoffed. "If he was even too scared to come here himself." This was not something he would have dared say within Voldemort's earshot, but Voldemort was not there, and it was worth it to see the look on Tiller's face. It was contorted with sudden wrath.
"You DARE!" he snarled. "STUPEFY!"
With a yell, Cody ducked, feeling the searing of the Stunning Spell fly past his face. He darted behind a desk, narrowly avoiding another Stunner. He knew that if he got himself knocked out, that he'd be dead, if Tiller so chose it.
"I shall tell the Dark Lord what you dared to say of him!"
Yeah, great, Cody thought. He popped out from under the desk, and grabbed Tiller's leg, sinking his teeth into it. Not expecting a non-magical attack at all, much less such a feral attack, Tiller yelled and shook Cody off, retreating several steps. This gave Cody a chance to take cover behind Jupiter and send a Disarming Spell at his adversary, but it went wild and knocked a pretty little glass model of a dinosaur off of a shelf, where it shattered. A few shards flew past his face, but he hardly noticed the small cuts they left. Cody found himself very grateful he was not fighting a full grown Death Eater. He had the idea that Tiller was a bit more inexperienced than the others, else Cody would not have had a chance alone.
"Impedimenta!" Tiller cried, and the jinx caught Cody in the chest, knocking him backwards into the wall. He slumped, stunned for a moment, and saw Tiller's feet running at him. He rolled to one side as a Stunner came at him once more. He stood desperately, snatching a little moon from around the working model of Jupiter. He hurled the moon (Ganymede) at Tiller, who knocked it out of the way with a Banishing Spell.
And then Tiller cried a curse that Cody did not recognize.
Not able to duck in time, Cody howled in pain as he was knocked asprawl on the floor, a searing, bloody line opened from his shoulder to his wrist. He dropped his wand and lay for a moment, stunned, and then clenched his teeth against a sob. Blood was soaking the tattered sleeve of his robes, which sent a shock of panic through his mind, and it hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. Letting a strangled sounding cry, he staggered to his feet and grabbed his wand with his left hand, as Tiller approached.
"Give up yet, traitor?" the Death Eater snarled, glaring at Cody from behind Europa. He batted the little moon out of his way.
"No way," Cody growled through clenched teeth, tears streaming down his face. "Do you?"
Tiller laughed derisively. "Hardly. But I am finished playing around. Avada Ke-"
Cody screamed in alarm, and for the briefest of moments, intended to try a desperate Shield Charm, but then the memory of something "Professor Moody" had said during their first lesson came to him.
"Not nice," Moody had said. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it."
The Killing Curse could not be blocked. Cody dove for cover once more, as a jet of green light issued from Tiller's wand and hit the wall behind him. The Killing Curse. Tiller had tried to kill him. A boy with whom he had shared a common room, whom Cody had seen doing homework, and practicing spells, just like him, had tried to kill him. The shocking seriousness of that nearly set Cody's mind numb.
Tiller raised his wand once more, and Cody pointed his own. His left hand felt awkward and clumsy. "Accio wand!" Cody yelled.
"Protego!" The wand, which had twitched a bit in Cody's direction, returned to Tiller's hand.
Cody ducked down, trying the Summoning Spell once more, but it failed. It was nearly impossible to perform his spells with his left hand!
Cody might have died that night had it not been for a single stroke of luck. The second Death Eater, whom Cody had Stunned when they first entered the room, groaned. Distracted, Tiller spun around, and Cody took full advantage of the opportunity. "STUPEFY!"
A red jet of light hit Tiller right in the back, and he dropped. Cody cried the Stunning Spell once more, hitting the other Death Eater, and as he was only half conscious he could do little to avoid it.
Panting for breath, Cody watched the two for a moment, making sure that they did not stir; then he ran from the room, clutching his arm. He had to find the others, and get his arm tended. He knew he'd been badly hurt.
Cody wandered for only a few moments before finding the time room, which was now empty. The time room led back into the first dark hallway, and that led to the lift, and the main room. He hoped fervently that Harry or one of the others would be there.
The problem was, Hermione's red X's had faded, and Cody had no clue which was the right door. Well, no choice but to try them all. But first, he used Hermione's spell, "Flagrate!" to put an X on a door. Now that the urgency of impending death was not present, it was a little easier to use his left hand. He tried the marked door, leaving a smear of blood on the knob. It ended up being the locked one.
He did this for three more doors, before finding one that led to the lift. He ran into it, and pushed the button for the main floor, wincing as the cage-lift rattled alarmingly. "Silencio!" he growled, pointing his wand at it, and to his amazement, it worked. The lift now ran silently up until finally it stopped.
Taking a big breath, Cody ran into the main room.
Harry Potter was there, but so was Bellatrix Lestrange. They seemed to be facing off. "You've got it, Potter!" she was shrieking. "And you will give it to me! Accio Prophecy! Accio Prophecy!"
Harry laughed, and as it did not sound quite sane, Cody was a little worried. "Nothing there!" Harry cried. "Nothing to summon! It smashed, and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that!"
"NO!" she shrieked. "It isn't true, you're lying! Master, I tried, I tried! Do not punish me!"
"Don't waste your breath!" Harry yelled, his eyes narrowed, his fists clenched. "He can't hear you from here!"
A terrifying voice answered Harry, a voice that made Cody whimper in fear. "Can't I, Potter?" it asked.
Harry's eyes opened wide as a figure appeared in the middle of the room, his wand pointed at Harry's chest. Harry did not move, only stared in horror.
Voldemort.
And he was not happy.
