With a particularly loud snore, the girl's hazel eyes snapped open and she looked around in alarm. The dormitory had emptied and the sun was streaming dimly through the windows, illuminating a universe of dust motes in the air. She ran a hand through her hair and looked around at the clock near the door. "Shit!" She was late.
Mariah shot out of bed and quickly threw on the deep purple robes she had set at the foot of her bed. She took one last hurried glance around the room as she frantically brushed her hair. She might have felt sad if she wasn't so panicked. It was her last day at Hogwarts, after all.
The common room was deserted, and Mariah broke into a run once on the other side of the portrait hole. Her footfalls echoed off the walls, matching her heart beating in her ears as she sprinted towards the stairs. It was only as she reached the Entrance Hall that she began to hear voices.
"Fuck meee, fuck meeee," she breathed as she pushed out through the doors onto the grounds.
The sun was low, nearly setting behind the Forbidden Forest, and two hundred chairs stood facing the edge of the lake, filled with figures in black school robes. Lined up at the back was a mass of students in dark purple robes, and in front of them all was Dumbledore, apparently making a speech. Mariah's eyes raked the purple robed students until she saw the red of Lily's hair and made a beeline for it.
"Dammit," she heard Sirius mutter, followed by a, "That's fifteen sickles to me," from James.
"Where were you!" Lily exclaimed as Mariah reached them, wheezing.
"Where were you? I overslept!" protested Mariah. Lily rolled her eyes.
"I was with James – I thought the others would wake you."
"Alice was… with Frank. Gwenog and Corvenia… were with their boyfriends. There were no others!" Mariah breathed between gasps.
"Sorry," said Lily again, "I didn't think you would sleep so long, you went to take a nap at like noon." She grimaced as Mariah broke into a loud fit of coughing.
"Calm down, you're here now, aren't you? All's well that ends well," said Sirius, clapping her hard on the back a few times, nearly knocking her over. "Nice bra," he added in a whisper, leaning closer, and Mariah's hands shot to the nape of her neck where her robes were clearly unclasped.
"Shit," she hissed, her fingers scrambling over her shoulder blades, but Sirius was already zipping her up.
"No worries, Jaeger, I've got your back." He grinned, his hand remaining in its place on her shoulder, and Mariah smiled despite herself.
"Can barely hear anything," James groaned. "Is it time yet?"
"What, you so eager to leave?" asked Peter.
"Eager to crack open his graduation gifts more like," Lily answered, rolling her eyes, and James smiled guiltily.
"Shut up, I'm trying to hear," said Remus, rising on his toes to see over the heads of the other students ahead of them.
"You don't need to hear. I'll fill you in," said Sirius, clearing his throat and putting on a wavering, dry imitation of Dumbledore. "We are gathered here today to witness the graduation of the finest class of witch and wizard ever seen at this school... except for Remus Lupin." Remus rolled his eyes, but Sirius continued, undeterred. "They have all shown exemplary courage, cunning, wisdom, and… more. Today we see them take their first steps into adulthood by symbolically riding unstable, three-hundred-year-old rowboats across a dangerous lake into a world full of murderers and political upheaval."
"Sounds about right," James agreed.
Remus smiled thinly. "Somehow I'm not quite sure that's the wording he's using."
Sirius elbowed the ginger standing on his other side. "Oy, Mansfield, back me up."
"What? Is it time?" Geoff asked, jumping and looking around as though realizing for the first time where he was.
"Where's your head, Mansfield? You've been staring at the lake for the past half hour and missed what might have been my best jokes of the day." Sirius adopted a look of mock-hurt.
"If that's your best, Sirius, you're losing your touch," Geoff said, earning a snort from Mariah and a scandalized look from Sirius, but his mind was elsewhere as he looked back toward the lake, where the line of other soon-to-be-graduates snaked to an end, the cluster of Ravenclaws just ahead of the Slytherins, who brought up the tail of the line.
"Cuffe is moving," Remus said, leaning around the side of the line to see. "This might be it."
James straightened his robe, adjusting the way his pointed hat sat atop his unruly dark hair. "Alright, everyone, act casual. No pressure, but if you fuck up, there are six years' worth of students watching who could very easily make you into a living legend." He turned to Sirius. "Ready, Padfoot?"
"Always ready to be a legend, Prongs."
Lily hesitated as the line began to move, eyeing the two boys suspiciously, and Mariah immediately took a step away from Sirius to put some extra distance between them. "What, exactly, does that mean, 'ready to be a leg–'?"
"Oh no," Remus groaned, dragging a hand down the side of his face. "Not Good Heavens."
"Yes, Good Heavens. Good Heavens go!" said Sirius, flicking his wand in tandem with James, and at that moment, every single student's pointed black hat transformed into a pure white dove and took flight, just as huge, pearlescent feathered wings sprouted from the backs of James Potter and Sirius Black, lifting them several feet off of the ground to drift along through the air with the rest of the line.
Remus, Mariah, Lily, Geoff, and Peter continued sheepishly forward as groups of students cheered from the audience. Geoff tried to ignore James's foot, which kept lightly kicking him in the small of his back.
Mariah could see where they were headed now. At the front of the line, next to the lake's edge, were Professor McGonagall and the other heads of houses standing with Dumbledore and the Minister for Magic. She straightened up, and tried not to think about the floating boys with angel wings upstaging the entire graduation behind her.
"Sirius Black," Dumbledore's voice rang out, and Sirius glided forward, arms outspread and palms raised, as his white angelic wings waved gracefully through the air. Dumbledore reached upward with an amused smile to shake Sirius's hand while McGonagall massaged her temple beside him.
"Lily Evans," said Dumbledore, followed by a swift pop as McGonagall vanished Sirius's wings, returning him to the ground before shaking his hand. Lily stepped forward as Sirius shook McGonagall's hand, and the Minister's, and ignited his wandtip before proceeding to the edge of the lake. Mariah waiting anxiously for her turn.
"Fuck, this is real," said Mariah, glancing at Geoff beside her as they shuffled into alphabetical order. "We're really graduating."
"And then it's goodbye Hogwarts, and hello… whatever comes next," said Geoff.
"Are you ready for it?" Mariah asked, grimacing.
Geoff shot her a sideways look, giving her a rueful smile. "Suppose we'll have to figure it out as we go."
Mariah felt her fingers tingling. Seven years of experience summed up to this single moment. Had she done everything she could? Everything she was meant to? And then Dumbledore's voice was saying her name, "Mariah Jaeger," and she gave another glance back at Geoff, who gave her a reassuring nod, and she stepped forward to be received. She barely felt herself taking the few steps forward to meet Dumbledore.
He smiled at her from behind his half-moon spectacles as she shook his hand. "Congratulations, Miss Jaeger, Hogwarts graduate." Still clutching her hand in his, he tipped his long, crooked nose forward to look at her over the rims of his spectacles. "I hope you will learn to hold your own counsel above that of all others in whatever challenges you might encounter out in the world."
"Thank you… sir," she said, her grin faltering a bit under Dumbledore's sharp gaze. She ignited her wand and moved on to shake the hands of the Minister and Professor McGonagall before continuing to the lake's edge where the others stood with their wands alight.
"Did Dumbledore say anything spooky and wise to you?" she muttered to Lily as she reached her.
"He told me he liked my socks," said Sirius, leaning over to cut across Lily before she could answer.
Mariah shook her head. "Nevermind," she said as Gwenog Jones joined them, her wand ignited, Geoff a few paces behind her, followed by James.
"And that's it, last prank of our school career. I hope you all enjoyed it," he said as he joined them, his feet firmly back on the ground.
"I think I'm confused more than anything," said Mariah.
"Don't worry yourself, it was probably too highbrow for you," Sirius said, grinning at James.
"As in, our brows were too high," James answered, grinning back at Sirius.
Remus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, looking tired. "This isn't making it better."
Mariah glanced at Geoff, who was shifting his weight as he held his lit wand upright. The Ravenclaws were making good time, and as Mariah looked back at where the Slytherin end of the line snaked its way closer, she could see Emilie leading the familiar group with Kurt, Rosier, and Snape not far behind.
James and Sirius quieted down only once all of the students had finished the procession and Dumbledore and the audience turned to face them, beaming.
"I now present to you, the newest additions to the Wizarding World," he proclaimed, and the crowd broke into applause as they raised their wands high and as one unit shot shimmering gold jets of sparks into the sky where they burst into multi-colored fireworks.
As their sparks flickered and died beneath the distant stars set into the deep purple evening sky, ripples from the other side of the lake distorted the image in the black, shining surface of the water.
"Here they come," said Peter.
"Fuck," said Sirius suddenly, "I forgot to give the house elves my forwarding address."
"You can cook fine on your own," said Mariah.
The ripples widened, and soon the dark shapes of the boats came clearly sailing across the water towards them. Mariah looked around at the castle, her eyes roving over every last golden window in the failing light. She felt a wrenching soreness as she remembered that she had no home to return to. Hogwarts had become her home, and she was leaving it.
She glanced around to see Sirius looking at the castle as well. Something clicked, and she realized that Hogwarts had been the last home for him, too. Sirius had lost his home with his family long before she had. She touched his hand, and he took it and he smiled at her.
"Get a room," muttered James beside them. Mariah blushed.
"Shut up," growled Sirius, but his grin widened. Mariah felt his thumb trace her knuckle.
Mariah looked around. Lily had her head resting on James's shoulder, and he rested his head on hers, their arms entwined. Peter was pointing at something and talking to Remus, while Geoff stood silently next to them, glancing back down the edge of the lake. Following his gaze, Mariah saw Emilie standing further along the bank equally silent, her eyes on the boats. Snape stood beside her, his hunched shoulders somehow straighter than usual, as if he were standing tall. She saw Kurt standing on his other side, his eyes on the boats as well. His arms were crossed, and he was shifting his weight impatiently. Mariah felt a flicker of annoyance.
When the boats reached them, they mounted them in groups of six. James, Sirius, Lily, Mariah, Remus, and Peter took a boat for themselves while Geoff joined Frank and Alice with a few other Gryffindors in the neighboring boat. They stood rocking a bit on the bank as the boats waited for all of the students to find their place before taking off. Mariah and Sirius took the seats at the back of the boat as it slowly moved away from the ground and out over the open water.
The students on the shore stood and waved as they slowly sailed away from the school, until both they and the teachers faded into the blackness of the lawn in the dark.
The boats moved silently, and a hush seemed to have fallen over the graduates as they looked back on the fading view of the castle. James and Lily had their arms around each other, and Remus looked glassy-eyed. Mariah's own eyes were welling up, and she felt Sirius's arm snake hesitantly around her waist.
"Don't be sad," he said softly, leaning in to her ear.
"Fuck off, I'll be as sad as I like," said Mariah, wiping her eyes.
"My offer still stands, by the way," he whispered, pulling her closer. "If you need a place to stay."
"Might take you up on that."
They were entering the trees now, and in a few moments filled only by the sound of the lapping of the water against the boats, the branches had obscured the castle from view.
"Hello, adulthood," said Sirius. "Quite dark, isn't it?" The others snorted.
"Welcome to the real world," said James.
There was a sudden splash, and their boat heaved sharply sideways. Mariah felt Sirius's arm squeeze tighter as his other hand gripped the rim of the boat.
"What the fuck was that?"
"Peter fell in," said Remus. They could barely see him in the shadows beneath the trees, but the boat rocked and they could tell he was standing. "I don't see him…"
Mariah looked behind them, but Peter was nowhere to be seen in the water as they propelled forward. "Can he swim?" she asked, but Remus had gone strangely quiet.
"GRAB YOUR WANDS! NOW!" he shouted suddenly, shattering the silence over the boats. Before Mariah could react, she felt a heavy jerk from her robes as her wand shot out of her inner pocket and away into the dark.
The next moment, the trees exploded.
Their boat was upended, spilling them all into the water. Mariah felt Sirius's arm whip away as they were thrown into the air just before she plunged into the lake. For a moment, tumbling, she couldn't tell which way was up. She just started moving her arms against the water, her graduation robes weighing her down. She kicked hard, at one point impacting what felt like another body. But she kept kicking.
Her head broke the surface and she took a deep gasping breath, reaching out for something, anything to hold onto. Her hand hit wood. She was beneath the overturned boat.
"Sirius!" she cried. "Lily! Remus!" The water bucked beneath her and she accidentally swallowed a mouthful of lake. Coughing, she called again. "Sirius!"
The muffled sound of screams reached her through the hull, and she heard more explosions, and the rushing sound of spellcasting. There were more voices, deeper, scathing voices, yelling. Her breath quickened. She didn't have her wand.
There were more screams, louder this time, and an unmistakable high, cold cry that made her blood run cold.
"Avada Kedavra!"
They were killing students.
Mariah's breathing sped up, and she felt suddenly starved for oxygen. They were killing students. She had no wand – she was trapped beneath a boat. Even if she left, could she swim to safety? She felt light headed, was she running out of air? It was only a matter of time before she lost the will to swim under this boat or they found her…
In a split-second decision, Mariah took a deep breath and submerged herself into the lake. She reemerged and clung to the side of the boat, keeping her head low. As she looked around wildly, she saw a body floating face down several feet away, graduation robes fluttering in the water like a shroud. She looked away sharply and closed her eyes hard, but it was too late. She had recognized the long, cornsilk hair as Corvenia Parsett's.
A jet of red light hit a tree behind her and burst into a shower of sparks that rained into the water around her. Mariah ducked closer to the boat and shook her head. She had to find her wand. A wand. Anything. She glanced back at Corvenia's body. Was there a chance she'd held onto her wand?
Another jet of light, green this time, hit the water just a few feet from her. Mariah hooked one hand around the rim of the boat and began kicking towards Corvenia, using the boat as a shield. She hoped the movement of the boat looked natural enough not to make her a target.
There was another explosion, and another scream. But there was shouting. More voices were shouting spells and curses, and Mariah heard impact sounds from the bank of the lake where they had been heading. That meant that someone on their side was fighting back.
"Fuck – please, for the love of Merlin, please–" Mariah took hold of the floating fabric and pulled Corvenia closer to her, bunching the robes, feeling for a wand. She tried not to look at her as she searched.
Mariah let out a dry sob and held her head against the boat, taking a deep breath. Something caught her attention when she reopened her eyes. Corvenia's leg, where a wand was very clearly sticking out of her stocking. Mariah grabbed it, and trepidatiously tore her gaze from Corvenia's ghostly body to face the battle at hand.
Another explosion illuminated the area, and Mariah began to kick, swimming forward, pushing the boat in front of her. They were not far from the docks, which was not far from the border of the Hogwarts grounds. Once there, she could Disapparate. Mariah saw another body floating nearby and forced herself not to look for identifying traits. She needed to focus.
The boat stopped suddenly, and Mariah peered around the corner to see that it had hit another boat and jammed. She was trying to figure out the next step when her boat was hit by a spell and burst apart forcefully. Mariah ducked under the water and swam forward, but felt a sting on her face where a large board had clipped her. She re-emerged and wiped the water from her eyes to see, just as a jet of flames shot over her head towards the attackers.
"Incendio!" shrieked Alice Prewett, standing on the surface of the water. She dodged a retaliatory jet of red light and sent another jet of flames in their direction. Behind her, Frank Longbottom was also shooting off spells. Mariah looked around and saw a third jet of light barrelling towards Frank.
"Protego!" she screamed, thrusting Corvenia's wand in the air, and the light bounced away from Frank, who looked shaken. He looked around and saw her.
"Mariah! Thank Merlin!" He looked over his other shoulder where Mariah couldn't see. "Alice! Over here!"
The boat Mariah was holding onto suddenly flipped into the air, knocking her back. She splashed back into the water, but felt a hand grab her arm and pull her up. Someone shouted a spell and she found her footing against the surface of the water.
"Get down!" someone shouted, and Mariah and her savior both dropped to a crouch.
"Who's shooting at us?" asked Mariah, grimacing as more jets of light shot at where they had just been standing.
"Death Eaters!" said Frank. "Fucking ambush. Listen, if you make for the trees you can follow the bank around to the land. I don't know if they're waiting there for you, but with the tree cover it's the best way out of here."
"What about you? Where's Sirius?" asked Mariah.
"Fight or flight," said Frank, and with that he stood back up, firing off a spell that ricochet a jet of light headed for Alice. Mariah looked at the bank. It was within a short distance, but there was no cover.
The fight in Hogsmeade had spared her. The duel at the lake house had missed her. At every turn it seemed, she had been passed over, spared, and now it seemed was her time to make a choice. Death Eaters were upon them.
Something flashed through her mind. The image of dark, hooded figures in her kitchen, shooting off jets of light. Her father, hit with a spell that sliced him to ribbons.
"Fight or flight," she muttered to herself through gritted teeth.
In one fluid movement, Mariah whirled to her feet and cast a shield charm. It was dark, but she could see figures on broomsticks at the far end of the cove, illuminated by every spell. They wore masks with the faces of skulls, and dark hoods.
"Descendo!" she shouted, waving her wand at one of the Death Eaters on broomsticks, and he sank sharply through the surface of the water. Several jets of light shot towards her, and she deflected one, but the other two broke her shield charm. More jets of light shot towards the Death Eaters who had shot spells at her, one of them successfully knocking another off of his broom.
Mariah looked around and could see she was not alone. Frank and Alice were shooting spells from afar, but Mariah could see duels taking place on the bank of the forest, and with a great heave of relief recognized Lily's firey hair next to James's tall figure. There were more bodies in the water, but now she could see that a majority of the students were clambering onto the banks or bobbing helplessly in the water, trying to cling to the boats as she had been. Mariah spotted a hand break the surface before pulling under and she ran towards it, plunging her arm into the water to grab them.
"Come on!" she cried, pulling the sputtering figure out of the water. It was Barnabus Cuffe.
"I can't swim!" he cried between mouthfuls of air. Mariah pulled him towards a boat and he clung to it.
"The bank of the lake is that way! Swim slowly so they don't notice!" she said. Barnabus Cuffe nodded vigorously.
"H-how do I do that?"
"Kick your legs and don't stop!" said Mariah. Cuffe didn't need telling twice.
Mariah turned and found the next flailing person, pulling them to a boat. Then the next. A Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, Dorcas Meadowes, Wendy Slinkhard. She spotted Gwenog Jones pulling herself out of the water and running to join the fight. Every floating corpse she saw, she prayed, not him, please not him.
There was a tremendous sound of waves, and a sharp tide broke through the trees behind them. It was Dumbledore, flying so close and fast over the lake that it caused a jetstream.
"Yes! Finally!" she heard Frank yelling from across the clearing.
Dumbledore waved his wand, his mouth moving quickly though she could not hear his words, and the wind picked up over the water, creating a cyclone that moved towards the Death Eaters on broomsticks. Mariah took advantage of the distraction to make a sprint across the water to where her friends were fighting in the forest.
The fighting had moved since she had last spotted a glimpse of Lily and James, and she had to stop and listen for sounds of duelling to maintain direction. She had just rounded a large oak tree when a jet of green light hit the trunk just inches from her, and she felt the heat of the curse across her arm.
"Crucio!" shouted a deep, male voice, and Mariah leapt out of the way, tripped, and fell to the ground, scrambling for footing. The jet of light hit the ground where she had stood.
"Expelliarmus!" cried Mariah, but the Death Eater managed to hold onto his wand. He stood with his arms out, fingers moving eagerly over the handle of his wand, ready for battle.
"Ah, the Jaeger brat, so hard to kill," he drawled. "I'll fix that. Avada –"
"Petrificus Totalus!" Mariah yelled, and the Death Eater dropped like a stone, his killing curse shooting upwards instead of at Mariah. Mariah stepped slowly towards him, her wand at the ready. She looked down into his glassy gaze as she reached him.
"Were you the one who killed my father?" she asked, staring down at him with her wand pointed at his face. The man didn't answer, only stared up at her through his skull mask with his frozen eyes.
A cry of pain in the distance brought her back to the moment, and she kicked the man once before running towards it.
"Lumos," she whispered between breaths as she jumped over roots and dodged trees. The wandlight illuminated her path, and she skidded to a halt on the leaves as she saw a figure on the ground.
"Remus!" she cried, dropping to her knees. He was bleeding from the head, leaned up against a tree trunk. There was a body not far from him, lying still.
"He's just unconscious," said Remus as Mariah leaned his head to the side. "I stunned him."
"Are you okay?" asked Mariah. Remus nodded blearily. Mariah muttered a spell to stop the bleeding from his forehead, and his skin knit itself back together. "Where is everyone else?"
"Fighting? Sirius and Geoff ran after the Slytherins and we were intercepted when we tried to follow him. This asshole caught me in the back with the Cruciatus curse." He coughed. "They had the bell. Stopped time and disarmed us before the ambush."
Mariah remembered Kurt waiting impatiently to board the boats and felt her stomach lurch. "Oh my god," she breathed.
"We can't stay here. He'll be up again soon," said Remus, gesturing at the body.
"Can you stand?" asked Mariah. Remus nodded, and she helped him to his feet.
"You need to get yourself past the barrier to Disapparate, Mariah," said Remus. "I'll try to get you as close as I can, but you'll have to run."
"What, and leave you all behind?"
"We signed up for this!" shouted Remus. "But if you need to run, you run, Mariah."
"I'm not running!"
Mariah was breathing hard. Remus bit his lip, but said nothing else.
"Which way did they go?" asked Mariah, quieter. Remus indicated the way. "Come on." Remus nodded, Mariah held out her lit wand, and they both ran deeper into the forest.
Geoff had managed to grab hold of his wand just before the boat had exploded, throwing him clear across the water. He had resurfaced, gasping, his eyes searing with the bursts of red and green light shooting like fireworks around the cove, illuminating the terrified faces and open screams of the other students still flailing in the water. Beside him, Sirius had reemerged, spitting water.
"Fucking fucks!" he screamed. "You fucking murderous cunts! You fucking–" He disappeared under the water and resurfaced spluttering again. "I'll rip your arms out! I'll fucking curse your cocks until they slough off of your wasted fucking–" He slipped under the water again. Geoff reached under and grabbed his arm, pulling as he paddled for shore.
Geoff dragged them to the edge of the water, throwing Sirius up on the bank before climbing up himself. Behind them, a jet of light hit one of the rowboats, which burst apart, causing more screams. Sirius coughed up more water, but Geoff was on his feet, pulling him by the robes.
"Cover, Sirius! They're shooting!"
Sirius stumbled after him, still retching, and they threw their backs against the thick tree trunks.
"Mansfield, did you see the others?" asked Sirius, regaining his breath. Geoff shook his head. Sirius cursed, looking around the tree. "Can't see fuckall!" He ran his hands over his robes, reaching into his sleeve and pulling out his wand. "Caught in my sleeve. You didn't see that coming, did you, you cunts!" He shot several jets of light towards the other end of the cove, but Geoff grabbed him and pulled him back behind the tree.
"Sirius, they're going to fucking kill you, stop!" he said, and he heard the a hard note of panic in his own voice.
"James!" yelled Sirius, fighting Geoff's grip to look around the tree again, his eyes wildly searching the water. "Remus! Mariah! Fuck!" He got to his feet. "I'm going to fucking kill them."
"Sirius, stop! Don't be an idiot!" shouted Geoff, careful to stay hidden, but maintaining his grip on Sirius.
"James!" Sirius screamed. "Mariah!" He sank down to Geoff's level. "Remus!"
Geoff let his grip loosen on Sirius's collar as he stopped resisting, but his own head was spinning. His first thoughts went to Emilie, in her own boat near the back on the far side of the cove. If he slipped back into the water he'd be a sitting duck, but if he could swim to the other side he could make his way around and see if she had… if she was… He cut himself off before he could think too far.
"James!" Sirius cried out again, his voice ragged. "James! Mariah! Mariahhh!"
An explosion rocked the trees again, illuminating the cove, and Geoff's eyes widened.
"Emilie," he breathed, spotting a familiar figure in the trees.
"What?" snapped Sirius. Geoff tried to grab him again, but he was already on his feet. "Where do they think they're going?"
"Sirius–" started Geoff, but Sirius had taken off. "Sirius, no!" Geoff staggered to his feet and took off at a run after Sirius, jumping over tree roots. He avoided illuminating his wand as jets of light still swarmed the cove. As such he nearly smacked into Sirius when he stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the water.
"Remus!" Sirius shouted as Geoff skidded on the grass behind him. Sirius threw himself at the figure scrambling at the edge of the water, pulling him onto the land.
"Oh, thank Merlin," groaned Remus, coughing. "You're alive." Sirius grabbed him into a hug, sending Remus into a storm of more coughing.
"Did you see anyone else? James? Mariah?" asked Sirius sharply.
Remus shook his head, coughed again. "It was the Slytherins, Sirius. They had the Bell – I saw it right before the ambush – in their boat. They must have disarmed us right before they blew everything up," he said.
Sirius started to laugh very suddenly, sending an uneasy feeling up Geoff's spine. "Kurt Fucking Lovell," he wheezed. "Oh I fucking knew it. I'll kill him yet."
"Sirius…" started Geoff cautiously, but Sirius was already running again. "Fuck! Come on!" Geoff pulled Remus to his feet and they scrambled after him. "Do you have a wand?" he asked Remus as they sprinted towards the forest. Remus buried his hand in his robes and pulled out his wand in response. "I have a feeling you'll need it."
The lake disappeared into the distance as they entered the forest. The screams faded but they could still hear the booming explosions and crackling of sparks. As the forest grew blacker the deeper they ran, they ignited their wands to illuminate the path. Sirius was ahead of them, but faster.
"Wait up!" called Geoff, panting as he nearly tripped over yet another root. He could barely see Sirius in the darkness ahead. "Sirius! Slow down!"
A jet of light ripped the darkness apart suddenly, searing Geoff's vision as he skidded to a stop. Up ahead, he saw Sirius fall to the ground, his lit wand blocked slightly by roots and leaves as it rolled across the ground.
"Sirius!" shrieked Remus, but another jet of light tore through the forest, blasting a patch of bark off of a tree very close to them. Geoff cast a shield charm while Remus threw himself to the ground, extinguishing his lit wand and crawling forward towards where Sirius had fallen.
A jet of red light illuminated the darkness and Geoff quickly shot off a spell in the direction of its caster, sidestepping closer to Sirius. "Remus!"
"He's okay," said Remus in the dark.
More jets of light shot towards them and Geoff ducked, taking to all fours to avoid more spells. He spotted figures running towards them. "We have to move," he said hurriedly. "They're getting closer."
"Sirius…" Remus shook Sirius, who seemed to be unconscious.
"Move," said Geoff, leaning over. "Ennervate."
Sirius's eyes shot open just as footsteps grew audible. Remus threw himself away from the other two on the ground and shot off a spell in the Death Eater's direction, catching him in the chest with a jet of red light. Another jet of light shot out of the trees further east, and Remus deflected it at the last minute, staggering backwards a bit, barely preparing himself before another spell shot at him from the same direction. He deflected that as well, and took off at a run in the direction of the Death Eater, deflecting another spell as he dodged the trees.
Sirius got to his feet slowly, and Geoff heard the sound of leaves as the first Death Eater got to his feet. He shot off three spells in the general direction of the sound, but the Death Eater was already running. A cry of Crucio! reached his ears just as another jet of light came out of nowhere, catching him in the chest.
A pain like nothing Geoff had yet experienced twisted through him, and he fell to the ground, convulsing. He heard screaming, and realized it was coming from his own mouth. The spell stopped as suddenly as it had begun, and he rolled over, his body throbbing, his mind blank. There was the sound of a scuffle, more spells, and he saw Sirius wrestling the Death Eater in the distance, his arm around the man's throat. There was a loud bang and a yell, and Geoff looked up to see Sirius on the ground, the Death Eater walking towards him. He tried to stand, but his legs were shaking, still in shock from the curse. He saw the Death Eater put his hand to Sirius's throat and push him sharply against the trunk of the tree, his wand at his face.
"The blood-traitor Black. I've been looking forward to this one," he heard the Death Eater say in a low, rasping voice.
Several jets of red light streaked through the dark, catching the Death Eater in his side, and he let Sirius fall to the ground. Geoff spotted people running and soon Lily's vibrant red hair stood out against the dark as more jets of light tore through the clearing. Geoff crawled slowly towards where Sirius lay, his wand in his fist. Remus and the other Death Eater had vanished into the dark.
"Are you alright?" he asked, and he heard his voice shaking. Sirius was rubbing his neck.
"Speak for yourself," he said, squinting at Geoff's lit wand, shaking in his grip.
There was a loud sound that echoed through the trees, then, and a loud crack like a firework, and suddenly the trees were flooded with a green light from the sky. Sirius and Geoff looked up to see a large, smokey skull, a snake emerging from its open mouth standing starkly against the night sky, obstructing the stars and glaring down at them with a deadly emerald gaze.
"That came from the Hogsmeade border," said Sirius, and Geoff looked at him only to see that he was getting to his feet. "Come on."
Geoff scrambled to his own feet as Sirius took off again, leaving the fight behind.
"What about the others?" asked Geoff as they ran.
"They can take care of themselves, we have to take care of this!"
They emerged onto an empty road where Hogwarts officially ended and Hogsmeade began, and Sirius took off running westward towards the train station. Geoff followed, his wand sweaty in his grasp as he pumped his arms and his breath reverberated in his ears.
The Dark Mark stared down at them with stark intensity now that their tree cover was gone, illuminating everything around them with an eerie green glow. They extinguished their wands, and took to the grass so that they would not be heard. The station was deserted when it finally grew into view, and Sirius led Geoff around the back of the train, wand at the ready, looking for any sign of movement. The Dark Mark was so clearly centered over this spot that they knew there was only one place they could have hidden.
Geoff climbed aboard the caboose of the Hogwarts Express first, unlocking the back door and slipping inside as Sirius joined him. The last carriage of the train was empty, but they did not speak, nor did they lower their wands. The numerous patrols Dumbledore had sent them on for the Order had given them a kind of unspoken bond that now showed itself in the way they silently moved around each other, only the slightest gesture indicating to one another who should move, and where.
Geoff had never seen the Hogwarts Express this empty. The once bright and bustling train was like a ghost town, with the green light of the Dark Mark in the sky casting eerie long shadows across the compartments and filling the hall with an otherworldly half-darkness, as though the entire train were underwater. There was quiet, save for the occasional distant blast from the battle still raging on the lakefront.
A new feeling permeated Geoff's thumping heart as they crept closer and closer towards the front of the train – worry. Not for what they were going to meet, but for what he would do if Emilie was among them. The skull in the sky had brought back a vivid mental image of the dark red tattoo on Emilie's arm, and his heart ached with anxiety.
They were in the fourth carriage from the front, now. Both of them moved fluidly through the hall, wands out, stepping lightly on the carpet so that their feet barely made a sound. Sirius took the handle of the door at the end of the carriage and tilted it fully before sliding the door open, maintaining almost total silence.
It was because of that silence that the sounds reached them, the muffled voices from the next carriage. Sirius and Geoff advanced through the next cabin, but rather than opening the next door, they pressed their ears flat to the door's edges.
The voices were too muffled by the door and the wind outside to distinguish at first, but Geoff felt his stomach plummet when he heard Emilie's voice, unmistakable amongst the deeper voices of the Death Eaters she was with. He saw triumph in Sirius's eyes as the boy moved his wand hand to the ready.
Geoff grabbed Sirius's wrist, but Sirius met his eyes with a severe look and Geoff retracted his grip. Breathing hard, he readied his own wand, and Sirius held up three fingers.
Three… two… one!
"BOMBARDA!" cried Sirius just as Geoff yelled, "REDUCTO!" and the door exploded off of its hinges and into the next compartment. Someone caught directly by the projectile door screamed, followed by a crash as it threw them back into the aisle and pinned them against the floor. Geoff barely had the time to count five others in the carriage before they had sprung into action. Geoff dove to the floor, shooting a shield charm above him while Sirius blasted the door off a compartment and ducked inside for cover.
Geoff shot a few spells that ricocheted around the cabin while he crawled into the compartment opposite Sirius's and he continued shooting from there.
Two of the Death Eaters went down in the first moments of fire, one hit by one of Geoff's ricochets and one caught in the chest by a Stunning spell from Sirius. Someone levitated the door and sent it shooting towards Geoff and Sirius, who dove apart just in time, but the door wedged itself in the hallway and Geoff found himself pinned inside his compartment. After a few moments trying to free himself he ran to the window and opened that instead, leaning out to see his chances of climbing out. A jet of light nearly hit him in the face and he ducked back inside only to hear someone say his name. He peeked out of the window slowly, and then in earnest as he saw her.
Emilie was leaning out of the window of the next compartment, her eyes wide, her expression more vulnerable than he had ever seen, an almost sickly pallor in the light of the Dark Mark high above their heads. Geoff felt such an overwhelming relief in seeing that it was her then that he laughed, and for a moment he saw her expression clear, some of her own worry slipping away.
The train jerked suddenly forward, then began to move slowly along the tracks. Geoff hit the back of his head on the windowsill and looked around in alarm until he saw white smoke billowing from the train's engine. Emilie's dark hair was whipping around her face as they picked up speed. She looked back at Geoff, her smile gone.
"I don't want to hurt you," she called. "But I can't save you."
"Me neither," shouted Geoff over the sound of the train, and he laughed again, this time with futility. The rift that had grown and ebbed between them for so long hinged directly on the thing that held them both at wandpoint now, but Geoff did not feel rage like Sirius did. He felt scared, scared that he might lose yet another person he loved. The chaos and disorientation that had rooted him in a mental fog since the attack seemed to clear as he saw Emilie reach for him from where she hung out of the open train window. He reached for her, and their fingers brushed.
Someone must have shouted in Emilie's compartment, because she turned suddenly to look back into the window she was hanging from, and addressed someone Geoff could not see.
"Come with me!" he cried suddenly, and she looked back at him, brows furrowed. "Forget this! Come with me, and let's go!"
Emilie bit her lip, hesitating–
There was a sudden explosion that rocked the carriage and both of them grasped the windows for stability. Geoff caught a sickening view of how fast they were moving as his eyes landed on the tracks, but he wrenched himself back into a stable position. But when he looked back at the window where Emilie had been, she was gone.
There was a yell, and Geoff looked up in time to see a body fly from the train. Sirius's head appeared over the side a moment later, his long hair whipping around his ears.
"Geoff!"
"Sirius! Why are you on the roof?"
"Why aren't you? Come on!" Sirius extended his hand. Geoff took it, and Sirius groaned as he pulled the other boy up to join him.
Geoff rolled onto all fours but watched anxiously as Sirius got to his feet, facing the wind. The roof was slippery, but halfway down the carriage the metal had been gouged and singed by an explosion, leaving the carriage open to the elements. Four hooded figures stood in the carriage below, one of them Emilie with her hood blown down and her long hair loose in the wind. One of the figures waved his wand and shot up to the roof, but Sirius shot a spell at him, knocking him back down to the carriage floor.
"Come out, Lovell! I know you're there!" he shouted down at them. The figures didn't respond. One of them shot a spell that Sirius ducked, only to be hit by another shot by the figure in the back. He screamed as his arm erupted in bloodied cuts, and lost his footing, falling back onto the roof. All of the figures ascended in his moment of weakness and Geoff quickly threw himself over Sirius, shooting two of them back down and casting yet another shield charm.
"Crucio!" the remaining hooded figure shouted in a voice that sounded a lot like Rosier's as he managed to gain footing on the roof, and Geoff braced himself, but the majority of the curse was deflected by the shield, which broke.
"Imperio!" shouted the figure, and Geoff suddenly felt his aches vanish and his mind wipe blank. The next thing he knew he was standing, his wand loose in his hand as he walked towards the edge of the train. They were speeding along at a clip that turned the bushes below into a blur, and the tracks were slowly sloping upwards as they mounted a bridge over a large ravine.
"I hoped I'd be the one to catch you, Mansfield," said a deep voice somewhere behind Geoff has he stared off the train in a daze. "I'm going to enjoy this."
"Wait!" said a voice so far away that Geoff wondered vaguely if he had imagined it.
"Oh, for the love of Merlin, Delacroix – he dies now!"
Geoff saw his own foot lift from the edge of the roof, dangling over the edge, framed against the distant, distant ground.
"Confundus!"
And suddenly he was back. A wave of nausea and vertigo shook him and he fell backwards onto the roof, chills running up and down his spine. He looked around to see Emilie with her wand out, but it was pointed at the hooded figure whose hood had fallen, revealing Rosier sporting a blank expression.
"Emilie!"
"Obliviate!" hissed Emilie, and an even blanker look melted across Rosier's features as he stood there. Emilie waved her wand with a final flourish, and Rosier's body crumpled to the ground.
"Emilie," Geoff repeated, softer, the wind around them whipping his voice away, but even still, Emilie looked back at him.
"You need to get out of here, Geoff. Go, while you have the chance!" she said earnestly. "I'll make sure he's alright," she added, nodding at where Sirius lay, clutching his bleeding arm.
"Not without you," said Geoff.
"They'll kill you, Geoff, I can't protect you anymore," said Emilie. "And you can't protect me."
"Emilie…"
"Geoff, you need to go," said Emilie again. She held out her wand at him. "Go before I make you go."
Geoff clambered to his feet, carefully making his way toward her, eyes on her eyes, ignoring the wand pointed at his chest. "I won't leave without you," he said.
Emilie's eyes shone as her dark hair flew wildly around her pale face. "Geoff–"
He took another step towards her.
"I–I lost it," she said haltingly, her voice catching in her throat. "I lost the baby. There's no reason for you to stay."
Geoff froze as he took in her words. Slowly, he took another step forward. "I've lost everyone I love," he said. "I can't lose you, too." He took the last few steps forward, reaching past Emilie's wand to take her outstretched wrist and pull her into a close embrace. He buried his face into her shoulder. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she answered, and he felt her shoulders fall, her arms wrapping themselves around him. "I don't want to fight anymore. This war – the Dark Lord – I don't want any of it. I just want you."
Geoff felt like he was floating again. For a moment he wondered if he'd been hit with the Imperius Curse, but after a moment he realized he was just insurmountably, unexpectedly happy despite everything around them – despite the battle raging at the lake, despite his aching bones, despite the heavy dread that had filled him nearly the entire year. He held her tighter, one hand finding the back of her head, his fingers winding themselves into her long hair.
And then they broke apart and Geoff blanched.
"Sirius," he said, as he remembered, and whirled around wide-eyed, but Sirius was sitting up, his wand outstretched, and pointed at the both of them.
"Mansfield, I swear," he growled through gritted teeth. Emilie moved to raise her own wand, but Geoff held her arm, shaking his head. He stepped slowly in front of her, staring Sirius down evenly. Sirius dropped his arm, panting, still glaring. Geoff let out his breath.
Emilie took Geoff's hand and led him to the edge of the train, a bridge thundering below them as the train barreled across it. Geoff gripped her hand tighter, and he felt her squeeze back; there was so much uncertainty around them, but this felt right, even as they stood, perched on the edge of a speeding train over a deep ravine – this was right, and this was where he belonged, with Emilie at his side.
"You're sure?" she asked beside him.
"Surer than I've ever been," he answered.
"Oi!" They turned to see Sirius pointing at them with his good arm. "Sirius Orion Mansfield."
"Maybe," said Geoff, and Emilie shook her head, but smiled in thanks.
She raised her wand above her head, and as her sleeve slipped back from her wrist Geoff's eyes caught the faint outline of the skull and snake standing out starkly against her pale forearm in the eerie green light of the sky. "Ready?"
"Ready," Geoff said, raising his own wand. Fingers interlaced, they leapt off the side of the train and into the ravine, casting floating charms at the same time, and together, they drifted away from the train, the school, and the battle raging behind them, disappearing into the night.
Sirius was outnumbered, but his rage helped him fight, and he had rage to spare. All of the frustration and anger and hatred that had flowed through him the entire year had not left, but instead hardened into a core that fueled him now as he fought against the pain in his left arm, as he staggeringly picked himself off of the train roof, chasing the two remaining Death Eaters who had retreated into the engine room.
"Two on one is hardly fair, gentlemen," said Sirius as he sent one of the figures sprawling.
"You're one to talk, Black. How are you handling yourself without your boyfriend Potter?" hissed the other figure, his wand expelling flames that Sirius blocked.
"You tell me if you need me to slow down for you," he laughed. But his laughing cut off harshly as the fallen Death Eater hit him with the Cruciatus curse. He fell to the ground writhing, his teeth clenched against a scream. The other Death Eater joined in, and Sirius screamed again, his body bucking and shaking.
The door buckled inward and the two Death Eaters were knocked aside. Remus and Mariah leapt inside, the rattling of the train's wheels filling the carriage with sound. Before they could cast any spells, the Death Eaters were back on their feet, shooting curses of their own. Remus deflected them, and moved to take on one Death Eater while Mariah dueled the other.
Sparks ricochet about the carriage, and eventually Mariah and the Death Eater she was dueling leapt back out of the door into the second carriage, which lay in ruins with half the roof blown out and Rosier lying unconscious half draped over the edge of the destroyed ceiling.
"Stupefy! Reducto! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Mariah shot off spell after spell that the Death Eater expertly deflected. He landed a spell that caused Mariah to fly backwards into the wall. She coughed, the wind knocked out of her, but managed nonverbal defense as he moved on the attack. He sent spell after spell towards her, which she barely managed to keep up with before he was nose to nose with her. His hand took her wand hand and he pinned her against the wall, writhing under his grip.
"I warned you," he said, and Mariah realized it was Kurt under the mask. "I warned you that I couldn't protect you if you left."
"I don't want protection from you if this is what you stand for," said Mariah, fury coursing through her. A burst of energy exploded from Corvenia Parsett's wand and Kurt was thrown back, hitting the wall opposite. Mariah pointed Corvenia's wand at him, energized.
"Expelliarmus!" she cried, and his wand flew out of his hands before he could point it at her again. "You took my family from me. You and the rest of them. You killed students. Give me one reason I shouldn't end you right now."
"I really do love you, Mariah," said Kurt. "But you're no match for him, and I don't want to die, said Kurt simply. He withdrew his hand from his robes and Mariah's eyes caught a glimmer of silver. She jerked Corvenia's wand sharply.
"Accio Bell!" she cried in alarm, and Kurt dove sidelong for his wand where it had landed, Disapparating with a loud crack and leaving Mariah standing alone. She opened her hand where she had caught the bell. It had shattered, its silver dome in fragments, the hammer loose in her hand, glinting green in the light from the sky, its magic broken.
Mariah didn't know what to do to help the Bell, so she shoved it into her pocket and leapt back into the engine carriage. She shot a spell at the Death Eater Remus was fighting to help, but the Death Eater upon seeing her enter waved his own wand and Disapparated with another loud crack, leaving them alone.
"Are there more?" asked Remus. Mariah's head was spinning.
"Rosier, knocked out, in the next carriage," she said.
"Look after Sirius," said Remus, disappearing through the door. Mariah knelt by Sirius, who was conscious, but moaning.
"Jesus," hissed Mariah as she rolled up Sirius's sleeve and saw the lacerations. She stopped rolling his sleeve up and resorted to cutting it off entirely, her wand tracing the bloodied, purple robes as she severed them. Mariah did not know advanced medical magic. She took Corvenia's wand and ran it over Sirius's arm, muttering every skin-knitting spell she could remember in the hopes that they would hold.
"Bastard…" muttered Sirius. Mariah kept muttering spells, which were working on the smaller cuts but missing the larger, deeper cuts entirely. She was getting nervous, and quickly tied the torn fabric from Sirius's sleeve into a tourniquet at his upper arm. "Mariah," muttered Sirius again.
"You'd better shut up, you're lucky this just got your arm, Sirius, I don't know if I can fix this," said Mariah distractedly. She heard her voice wavering, and muttered faster, focusing on one deep cut at a time now. She didn't notice as Sirius raised his other arm, and it wasn't until his good hand touched the side of her face that she realized he was looking at her. Remus reappeared in the doorway.
"He's gone. Disapparated or jumped from the train I don't know, but he's not here anymore," he said, striding past them and taking his wand out at the engine. "We need to stop this train…"
"You're alright," breathed Sirius, and Mariah was shocked to see that he looked about to cry.
"Sirius…" she said, her voice full of concern. His hand cradled her face as his eyes welled up. Mariah lifted her hand and cupped his hand where it held her face.
"I thought you were dead with the rest of them," said Sirius haltingly. Mariah stared at him with wide eyes.
"I'm okay," she said. Sirius closed his eyes and retracted his hand from her face to cover his face with his arm. Mariah looked away and continued her work on his arm, attempting to close the bigger gashes. The train screeched sharply and they pitched forward as Remus managed to stop the train.
"How is he?" asked Remus, kneeling beside Mariah.
"Not great, I can't close these cuts, they're cursed," said Mariah. She fumbled in her pocket and handed Remus the remains of the Bell. "At least we don't have to worry about this anymore."
"I suppose one less thing," said Remus. He sounded exhausted. He stood and walked to the door of the carriage, looking back in the direction of Hogwarts. "The Mark is gone! Out of the sky!" he said sharply, turning back towards them. "Stay here with him. I'm going to go find help," he said.
"Hurry," said Mariah, and Remus nodded, Disapparating.
Mariah applied pressure to the wounds, trying as hard as she could to remember the few medical spells she had looked up in her studies leading up to N.E.W.T. week. Sirius was pale, but conscious, staring at her.
"Don't leave me alone," he said shortly.
"I'm not going anywhere," said Mariah, gripping him tighter. She felt his hand cover her hands, the warmth of them easing her nerves, and they said nothing further.
They held each other minute to minute as they waited in the dark, for the arrival of help, dawn, or death, certain only of two things: the inevitable arrival of one of them, and the ever-present comfort of a newer, stronger force between them.