A/N: Holy cows finally chapter 20 is here. I've been writing for three consequent days, and my head hurts. I'm 100% honest when I tell you I want this finished by tomorrow but that's impossible. So I'm estimating that the final chapter will be on the end of September. Fingers crossed, I'll do my best. Until next time!
Draco looked up at his parents. A few thestrals trotted in the distance, plucking at some grass peeking out of the snow. Lucius touches Narcissa's face, speaking in a quiet yet soft voice. Narcissa leaned into his hand.
"Mother. Father."
Their son shivered in front of them, holding a galleon in his hand. His face was pure marble, nearly as pale as the snow around him."I'm going to the castle."He said quietly."I want you to come with me."
"Is this an order from the Dark Lord?" Narcissa asked puzzled. She hadn't heard any orders.
"No. Quite the opposite actually."
Lucius looked confused.
The coin burned. Draco glanced down.
Two minutes.
"Make a choice." Draco said quickly.
Lucius stood up, towering above his son. Narcissa looked up at them, eyes moving from husband to child. "Do you have any idea of what you are doing?" he asked, his lips barely moving from the cold.
Draco nodded sharply, keeping his eyes locked with his father's, Lucius held out his hand, dragging Narcissa to her feet. Draco turned on his heel and swept quickly across the snow. His parents followed.
Parkinson Zabini Greengrass On The Move
The Malfoys hurried through the trees. Draco's robes slithered behind his heels, snagging on roots and twigs. Narcissa clutched her husband's arm, her wand out. Lucius strode after his son, powerful feet flattening the snow. Two hooded figures, stepped out from behind a bush. The three halted, Narcissa's wand jerking up.
"What's this? A family meeting?" Bellatrix whispered as she lowered her hood.
"If it were such, you and uncle Rodolphous would've been invited."Draco said evenly.
Rodolphous reached Lucius."The Dark Lord wishes to see you."
"I believe he wants to borrow your wand."Bellatrix smirked."You should be proud."
The Malfoys were silent. The cold air crackled with magic.
Draco's heart beat against his chest as if it would like to leap out and run away. Bellatrix peered at them all curiously."What's going on, Cissy?"
"What do you mean Bella?"
Stringy hair bobbing, Bellatrix stalked closer."I mean you three are acting very oddly."
Bellatrix passed Draco, staring at her sister."Expelliarmus!" Draco yelled.
The witch stumbled back."Stupefy!"
"Protego!" Lucius countered, defending his son.
A Slicing hex caught Draco's shoulder. Red blood sprayed onto the white snow. Rodolphous crashed backwards into a giant boulder.
"Mother, run!" Draco shouted as he clutched his left arm in pain."Find Pansy and go with her!"
"Treachery!" Bellatrix shrieked in ungodly anger. She attempted to Stun her own sister as she pulled Lucius out of the snow.
"Protego!"Lucius panted, defending his wife from her sister.
"Draco!"Bellatrix cried.
Draco's feet flew over the snow, away from his aunt and uncle. Ahead of him, his father tumbled to his knees, yelling in pain through greeted teeth.
"The Dark Lord is calling me!" Lucius huffed.
Draco pulled his father up by the arm. "Not anymore!" Movement to the left caught his eye. Pansy and Blaise Zabini darted down the forest path parallel to the Malfoys. "Where's Theodore?" Draco called?
Pansy couldn't respond- instead, she flung a hex over her shoulder, at the hippogriff snarling at her heels.
"Traitorssssss!"The trees trembled under the Dark Lord's echoing scream.
"Let's go!" Draco panicked, dragging his father by the arm.
.
Ginny and Madam Hooch swooped low to grab Professor Sinistra and Professor Wrinkle. Somehow they had managed to find themselves trapped around Death Eaters.
Ginny yelled."Expelliarmus!"
Alecto's wand stuttered in her hand.
The astronomy professor cried."Avada Kedavra!" Alecto Carrow fell before she could sneak up on Rolanda.
"Stupefy!"
"Impedimenta!"
"Crucio!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
White snow turned into red slush. Madam Hooch fell to the ground. A bald-headed man stomped her on her chest and face. Her blood sprinkled like rubies in the snow. Aurora tried to Stun him- he batted it away, never stopping his assault on the Quidditch referee.
"Rolanda!" Aurora shouted as she ran forward. Slashes ripped open along her stomach. Black hair tumbled around her shoulders as she stuttered to a halt. Blood gushed over her hands. The teacher coughed up a line of crimson, spitting it in the snow at her feet. Malcolm, a man she had gone to school with, pointed his wand at her once more.
"Avada Kedavra!"
.
Pansy screamed. Draco veered off from his parents, towards his friend.
"Draco!" Lucius yelled.
"Keep going!" He yelled back. The Slytherin jumped onto Pansy's path.
Pansy looked behind her and stumbled, but kept running. A vampire was mauling a Death Eater's flesh, gripping his spine between his teeth.
"Draco!" Narcissa cried desperately, begging him to run away before the monster turned on him.
Dark Marks exploded with pain, needles bursting through skin cells. Draco clutched his arm as he ran to his parents, urging them towards the castle through clenched teeth.
.
Screams and bangs ricocheted, jumping over hills and towards the castle. A single word cut through the din: Draco.
Severus pushed the broken door open and sprinted down the stairs. "Severus!" Ember yelled, chasing after him. "Severus, no!"
"Stay there!" he yelled over his shoulder.
Neville somewhere in the distance yelled."Hermione don't go after them!"
Hermione barely heard Neville, and she didn't hear Ember yelling at her to go back in. She kept her eyes on Snape's back, trying to catch up with him. Order members leapt out of safety, thinking that Snape was leading a charge. Death Eaters rushed towards them. Hermione slid in the snow, stopping herself behind some rumbles. The edges crumbled beneath her hand.
A flash of light passed in front of her eyes-she ducked without thinking, flinging back an Expelliarmus.
Draco led his parents out of the trees, his robes in tatters. Pansy nearly tripped on Mrs. Malfoy's cloak. Lucius and Narcissa stopped when they saw Severus running towards them. They could see his black eyes blazing. Behind him Professor Potter swung curses with her wand to cover him, her eyes flaming red.
"Crucio!"
The Malfoys cringed, holding the other tight. But the curse didn't land on them- it flew over their heads, felling a wizard behind them. As the man rocketed to the ground, Draco whipped around and bound the Death Eater with chains. The silver mask slid off his face-it was Avery.
Pansy ran to Professor Snape-he pushed her to the castle, pointing to Professor Weasley.
"Snape-Come on!"
The Malfoys saw Granger screaming to Severus, crouching beside stones as curses splashed against the blood-stained rumbles.
They bolted towards the castle.
Ember peered over, she and Hermione covering the Malfoys. As Parkinson raced closer, Death Eaters tried to pick her off. Ember summoned the snow, shielding Pansy in a tunnel.
"Traitors! Get'em!"
"The Malfoys!"
Dirt and snow exploded, falling all around. Aurors and Death Eaters, students and adults, screaming and bleeding.
"Watch out!" Ember screamed, pointing to the ground.
Severus swerved, avoiding the only landmine that hadn't exploded. A bubble, shimmering like the mist in a Pensieve, formed in the snow, covering the explosion; Lucius tripped over it. Granger kept the shield up as the group covered the last few metres between them.
Pansy sprinted past Ember Potter, darting between dead bodies. Hermione removed her shield charm, standing up, waiting for her Professor so they could run back to the castle. A bolt of blue lightning cut through the snow, right towards the landmine.
An explosion, TNT turned into a wall of snow spilling upwards, split the ground open. Hermione and Ember ducked behind the stone barrier-shockwaves poured around them. "Damnit!" Ember bounded towards the chasm, towards Lady Malfoy's cries.
"Draco! Lucius!"
"Fractura!"
Hermione shrieked and toppled into snow, curling like a pill bug to grab her broken ankle.
"Incarcerous!" Ex-Professor Alejandro screamed.
"Imperio!" Yelled Lilith McAllister to the girl.
Hermione was strapped with ropes, unable to think or move. Her left ankle was shattered and on top of all she was Imperiused. Alejandro gathered the girl into his arms. "Tsk, tsk. Such potential." He said, voice lower than a whisper. He whisked off towards the trees, black robes swinging behind him. Hermione couldn't move or speak.
Harry ran behind them in an act of pure rage. All this time he was fighting Lecel, a Death Eater, and didn't notice the havoc that was happening in the entrance hall.
"Hermione, No!"Anger started building up inside him. He saw Lilith McAllister running behind Alejandro. He clenched his wand. "Crucio!" shot through Harry's wand, hitting the woman who instantly fell on the ground screaming in agony and pain.
Hot tears fell down Harry's messed up face."Hermione!" Hagrid lumbered up to Harry, snatching him like a Snitch. Harry kicked and tried to claw his way towards Hermione.
"Hermione!"
.
Lee Jordan set down his microphone, signing off to eavesdrop. Lavender, Parvati, Padma and Sybil watched over the top of the tower for the slightest movement, but nothing. The Death Eaters had retreated. A light snow was falling on the roof, falling on the group of people gathered at the Top of the Board. They tried to listen to the discussion. Lavender wiped her eyes- Hermione was the only one not present as the Order discussed her fate. Ron's ratty-gloved hands clenched the map of Hogwarts. It pained Lavender to see her boyfriend in suck anguish.
Harry had his back to everyone. Parvati could read the scars clearly on the back of the hand clutching the Sword of Gryffindor. Dumbledore, stern and wrinkled, stood beside the Boy-Who-Lived. Ember stood in a corner, her eyes shut. They had yet changed; they remained that blood-red color instead of deep blue. She was angry with herself for letting this happen. If Hermione hadn't followed them, she would've been safe on top of the roof.
Dora had left the Infirmary in the care of the Serpents. Minerva paced in front of the ancient stone battlements. She constantly passed in front of Neville who sat hunched over in a rickety chair next to the rickety tea table.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood near Dora and Remus. George sat alone with his back against Ron's command table. A few minutes ago Fred was found dead and broken on a corridor near the entrance of the Room of Requirement.
Ginny tended to Draco's shoulder wound. Lord and Lady Malfoy hovered awkwardly at their son's side. Behind them sat Severus Snape.
The birds had gone silent. The wind had stopped blowing. The creatures stopped mewling. The fighting had paused. Flowers and vines roasted, tossing their mingling fragrances into the sun-tinged air.
Hooch and Fleur continued to pick up the injured. Bill and his Army crew rested behind their snow fort, charming it back to full strength and tending to their wounds. A man Bill had never seen before sat covered in dirt and Death Eater blood, clutching his wand in one hand, and a picture of his family in the other. The printed children waved at him and smiled.
The dead still littered the ground. Snow had already covered some of them in a glittering white blanket.
.
Voldemort lounged in a throne made of stumps, watching the mudblood lay still. Perhaps she might be making a snow angel, if her chest hadn't been heaving, and blood wasn't pouring from her cheek.
Panicked voices leaked from her walkie-talkie in a torrential wave. Avery scratched the stubble on his face as he ripped the box from her belt.
"Granger captured!"
"What do we do?"
"Serpents still coming in!"
Avery held the mysterious rectangle gingerly by the antenna. "What kind of sorcery is this?"
"It's a Muggle device!" Alejandro spat. "They've been using all sorts of that trash against us.
Rodolphous Lestrange rummaged through Hermione's pockets. "She has a coin that keeps changing!" he declared.
Ron to Hermione:Where the hell are you?
Harry to Hermione: Can you respond?
Alejandro banished the snow away from Hermione's shivering figure."What shall we do with her, my lord?"
"We will figure out something."Voldemort sighed as he stroked Nagini's head. "She is much more valuable alive."
Bellatrix and Lilith grinned maliciously at the brown-haired girl at their feet.
Hermione remained resigned and accepting of her fate, looking away from the two women towering above her. These bitches would torture her for her past transgressions.
"Crucio!"
.
Screams cut through the cold, winter air like daggers. Everyone stilled. Even those few people hiding out in Hogsmeade heard cries. Harry's spine stiffened. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight, but he didn't turn around. Ember left out a soft sigh, resisting from opening her eyes, knowing what terror and fear that eye color produced.
"We have to save her!" Ron yelled through clenched teeth.
Dumbledore tried to quash that plan but was met with and yells from everyone. Neville stood up, fist raised in anger. Draco began wildly gesticulating from his place on the floor. Even Luna glared and raised her voice.
Minerva's old hands formed claws and she nearly hissed like her catty alter-ego as she screamed at her employer.
The cacophony on the roof blocked Hermione's desperate screams from their ears. Ron watched Harry's face contort and change. One hand gripped the sword of Gryffindor firmly, while the other supported his weight against the door frame. Harry was falling apart.
George was snarling. Arthur's face turned red as he bellowed louder than the rest. Molly held his arm to keep him from getting in the old man's face.
Ember nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her back. Judging by the move it was Gellert. She then felt him edging closer towards her ear.
"You have to do something. I know it's difficult but you have to."
She nodded slightly, her left hand still on the bridge of her nose. She opened her eyes. No one was paying attention to her. Everyone was yelling at Dumbledore.
"Everyone shut up! I'm trying to think!"
Their attention span was drawn onto her as they glared at her. While looking at her comrades most of them looked the other way in fear. Those red fiery eyes could scare everyone. Her eyes fell upon a walkie-talkie strapped around Harry's waist.
"Give me that." Ember commanded. As Harry handed over the machine he spoke."There is only me, him and the snake." Ember nodded firmly.
She pressed the little red button.
"Riddle."
.
Voldemort used one long bony finger to rub his temples."Even I grow tired of screams, ladies." He admonished.
Bellatrix continued to carve out her masterpiece. Spittle rained down on Hermione's face. Bellatrix dug the cursed knife into Hermione's soft arm.
The girl screamed as her muscles were chunked away to be flung into the snow. Steam rose from the sinews tangling like worms. Lilith smirked at Hermione.
Hermione's throat bled from all the screaming and crying.
"Lilith will you do the honors?" Bellatrix asked with a grin on her face.
Hermione closed her eyes knowing what was going to happen next.
"Crucio!"
Hermione threw her head back. Her jaws split apart. Air gathered in her lungs but she didn't scream. Lilith frowned while Bellatrix cleaned off her knife.
"Crucio!" The girl would not scream. Ragged air scratched in and out of her throat, but nothing louder than a whisper."Crucio!" Her thrashing in the wet snow was louder."She's starting to bore me…"Lilith pouted. "Anyone else want a turn?"
Rodolphous leaned against a tree staring at the walkie-talkie as if it would reveal the mysteries of life to him, even though it had stopped squawking five minutes ago. Dozens of Death Eaters had found the clearing. Some watched the silent walkie-talkie eagerly. A majority of them cast healing charms to one another.
"Riddle."
Voldemort's pasty white hand stopped mid-stroke. Lilith and Bellatrix froze. The Death Eaters fell silent.
"I know you can hear me cousin."
Roddolphous's hand shook as he passed the crackling walkie-talkie to his master.
It pained Hermione's cheeks but she couldn't contain the grin. Muggle-hater Tom Riddle was using a walkie-talkie. If she made it out of this alive, she would remember this sight forever.
"Potter." Voldemort said lightly, holding down the red button. "Is that you?"
.
"Depends on who you ask, Tom." Ember spat. The head of the order of the blue rose spun around and began to pace the rooftop of the school. Everyone else watched in fearful anticipation. "You give me Hermione."
Voldemort's quiet laugh crackled faintly through the speakers of every walkie-talkie the Army owned. Everyone in the Entrance Hall gathered close to Fleur, Kingsley, and Ginny to listen.
"I propose a trade Ember. I will give back the Mudblood when you and Potter come to me."
Just seconds before Ember pressed the button to talk she heard Severus talk from the back of the room. "Don't you dare." Red eyes locked with pitch black. They both knew there was no other way.
During these moments Harry snatched the walkie-talkie from his aunt. "Well I propose I fucking kill you and then take Hermione back!" Harry snarled viciously. Molly closed her eyes- she had never heard sweet little harry talk in such a way! Ember sighed.
"I will kill the Mudblood if you continue to speak that way to the Dark Lord, Potter!" Bellatrix yelled shrilly into the walkie-talkie in Voldemort's hand.
"If you kill Hermione, I will kill myself." Harry threatened.
"Harry no!" Ember said horrified. Voldemort stilled. Harry didn't listen to her.
"That's right."Harry said. "I will kill myself-and you know what that means. Only two more Hocruxes left- you and the snake." Harry began to pace, just like Ember did."Can you even imagine how weak you will be once I'm dead Riddle? You and I have shared power for seventeen years now. Do you think you can get out of this battle without my power aiding you?"
Voldemort waved his free hand over Nagini's curled, scaly form. A floating, silver bubble encased the serpent. "I have grown tired of your games, Potters." The disfigured man declared into the walkie-talkie. "No more hiding, no more tricks."
The defenders stood in tense silence on the snowy rooftop and in the packed Entrance Hall.
"My men will come out of the woods and your men will stop hiding in the castle. We will stand face to face, fight face to face, properly. In one hour. On the lawn. Do you agree to my terms?"
Harry looked grimly to Ember, then to Ginny and Draco, then Ron. George, Dora and Remus looked at him with disheartened determination. The Malfoys looked nervous. Snape wore that expressionless façade of his.
Bill held his dented walkie-talkie in his scarred hands. Everyone in the Entrance Hall held their breath.
"Harry…please don't do this." Ember gave him a devastated look.
Harry depressed the red button. "One hour."