1 Chapter 15 – The Great Escape
'There! I see them!' Came the shouts of a death-eater. Soon a handful of them came into view along with the green flashes. Karen and Snape turned and looked.
'Argh,' Snape grumbled and they both made a run for it again.
'What's the other side of the forest?' Karen asked panting.
'The muggle world,' Snape said.
'D'you think we're far from it?'
'Don't know, I've never been the other side of the forest,'
Still they ran, jumping roots and stumps, ducking under branches then without warning… they appeared in an open field. The rain suddenly pounded down on them again. Snape looked up into the rain and Karen looked around; it was hard to make anything out in the dark. Then what looked like a gate became visible to their left.
'C'mon, through that gate!' Karen said.
They sprinted across the field, getting mud everywhere, and as they reached the gate the death-eaters began to emerge from the forest. Karen vaulted the gate (no time to open it) and she saw a farmhouse in front of her. Snape had a bit of trouble traversing the gate; his robes were getting caught up. Suddenly flashes of green darted past them. Karen spun around as she saw something green miss her ear by an inch.
'C'mon Sev!' Karen rushed to him. He was stuck. She leant over the gate and started tugging at his robes.
'ARRRRRGH!'
Snape let out a roar of pain and fell off the gate. He was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. He shuddered violently in a heap on the floor.
'Severus!' Karen shouted. Luckily Snape landed Karen's side of the gate, she ripped the robes that were still hooked on the gate and dragged him behind a wall. She turned to the farmhouse, it was useless trying to get help from there, but she did see a car. An old grey Ford Escort sat outside. She quickly ran up to it and whacked the driver side window with a rock. 'Sorry 'bout this,' she said under her breath looking at the house. She opened the door and jumped into the drivers' seat, the sound of the rain beating down on the roof filled her ears. Being the daughter of a mechanic she knew how to hotwire a car and the engine came to life. She sped up to Snape and threw the back door open. She hopped out and bent down over Snape.
'C'mon Severus. I need you to get in the car,'
Snape was almost unconscious. Karen grabbed him under the arms and pulled him to the open door. She looked behind her and saw a few death-eaters, they were quite far away but it wouldn't be long until they were spotted. Karen jumped onto the back seat of the car making it all muddy and grabbed handfuls of Snapes robes and pulled as hard as she could. She managed to get his head and shoulders into the car but Karen was tired and Snape was very heavy. She clambered over him and tried to push him in. Her feet were slipping as the mud made it hard to get any grip but she got him moving, but very slowly. Karen sat back on her heels and wiped her brow the constant rain wasn't helping. Just then what she didn't need came hurtling past her; a green curse from a death-eater hit the wall behind her.
'Arrgh! C'mon Sev!' Karen grabbed his hips and lunged forward, his head hit the inside of the other door.
'Ouch,' Snape let out weakly. Karen smiled.
'Get your legs in!' She pushed his feet and Snape helped to pull his legs into the car. Another green flash just missed Karen. She got up, booted the door shut and jumped back in the drivers seat. She switched the headlights on, reversed the car a bit and then lined it up with the gate. 'Goodbye death-eaters!' She shouted, laughing a little.
'Don't kill them,' came the weak voice from behind her.
'What? Why not?' She asked.
'You'll go to Azkaban,'
The death-eaters were showering them with curses but they were bouncing off the car.
'They better move then!' Karen said as she revved the engine up. She slammed her foot on the accelerator; the wheels spun in the mud and then the car sped forward. The gate sprang open and the death-eaters dived out of the way. They were back in the field when Karen suddenly stopped the car and looked around.
'Where's the forest?' She said a little panicked. She put the windowscreen wipers on to get a better view. She remembered leaving the forest and seeing the gate to her left but where the forest should be was nothing but more open fields, and she didn't feel like going that way.
'The forest is in front of you,' Snape said.
'No it's not,' Karen said looking between the swishes of the wipers.
'Yes it is. It has a muggle repelling charm on it. You can't see it. Just go forward, hurry!'
'Ok,' Karen said. 'Don't you worry, as long as the windows are intact they can't touch us,' Then Karen remembered she broke open the window to her right.
CRASH! There was a shattering sound from behind them. The death-eaters were throwing rocks at the windows. The back window had smashed and rain was pouring in. Karen looked back at the damage; when the windowscreen was next to go. She was covered in the sudden gush of water, she turned the wipers off (as they were pointless) and said 'Let's go!'
Once again she slammed the accelerator to the floor and they were at full speed ahead. Karen leant as far back in her seat as possible. Her arms and legs tensed up and she squinted as if waiting for a brick wall to appear in front of her. She turned her head slightly to the side when all of a sudden it was as if they had driven through a force field. The open field she was driving through became twisted and distorted then all of a sudden a huge tree appeared in front of her. Karen swerved to miss it and the countless other trees. They were back in the forest.
'You still with me back there?' Karen asked while being whacked in the face by branches through the open windows.
'Mmm…' Snape was drifting out of consciousness again.
Karen continued to weave through the maze of trees when they became fewer and further between.
'Nearly there,' she reassured Snape.
Then, after a while, the glorious sight of Hogwarts Castle came into view. Karen slowed and stopped the car under the cover of the Whomping Willow. She took a deep relieved breath. She turned and checked on Snape; he was still curled up on the back seat. He wasn't shuddering anymore. Karen smiled at him. 'Let's get you back,' she said and turned back to face Hogwarts. But her path was blocked. In the glare of the headlights stood Lord Voldemort. He raised his wand.
A smile tugged on the corner of Karen's mouth. 'Azkaban or not, you're gonna die Voldemort!' She revved up the car and flew at him. As she sped forward Voldemort yelled.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!'
With one hand on the wheel Karen ripped the mirror off from above her, as if it were a bat and the curse a ball she whacked it with the mirror. The green sparkle hit Voldemort in the chest and before he hit the ground the car drove right into him. He bounced off the bonnet, over the roof and lay on the ground behind. Karen skidded the car to a stop and very, very slowly turned around in her seat. Through the broken back window she saw Voldemort's body lying lifeless in the grass, then she looked at Snape, he was very damp but peacefully asleep, she smiled down at him and turned back. Muddy, soaked to the skin, bruised, battered, and bloody she folded her arms over the steering wheel and rested her head on it, the rain was still flooding through the open windows and trickled down the back of her neck. She drifted away into thought about Amber. Not the death-eater that was going to kill her. Not the evil servant of Lord Voldemort. But her friend. The friend she laughed with, the friend she got drunk with, the fun they had together. She thought about the chats they had in the Great Hall, the times Amber helped her when she needed it and the times Amber's know-it-all attitude annoyed her. She would miss her friend, dearly. A tear filled up in her eye, she blinked and it rolled down her cheek. She sighed a very heavy sigh and raised her head up. And there, standing in front of the car, bringing an end to the whole fiasco was Dumbledore. Karen knew that it was all over. Dumbledore smiled at Karen and she managed a smile back.
There you are… My first ever story. I told you it gets better towards the end, didn't I? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thankyou
Karen xxx
'There! I see them!' Came the shouts of a death-eater. Soon a handful of them came into view along with the green flashes. Karen and Snape turned and looked.
'Argh,' Snape grumbled and they both made a run for it again.
'What's the other side of the forest?' Karen asked panting.
'The muggle world,' Snape said.
'D'you think we're far from it?'
'Don't know, I've never been the other side of the forest,'
Still they ran, jumping roots and stumps, ducking under branches then without warning… they appeared in an open field. The rain suddenly pounded down on them again. Snape looked up into the rain and Karen looked around; it was hard to make anything out in the dark. Then what looked like a gate became visible to their left.
'C'mon, through that gate!' Karen said.
They sprinted across the field, getting mud everywhere, and as they reached the gate the death-eaters began to emerge from the forest. Karen vaulted the gate (no time to open it) and she saw a farmhouse in front of her. Snape had a bit of trouble traversing the gate; his robes were getting caught up. Suddenly flashes of green darted past them. Karen spun around as she saw something green miss her ear by an inch.
'C'mon Sev!' Karen rushed to him. He was stuck. She leant over the gate and started tugging at his robes.
'ARRRRRGH!'
Snape let out a roar of pain and fell off the gate. He was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. He shuddered violently in a heap on the floor.
'Severus!' Karen shouted. Luckily Snape landed Karen's side of the gate, she ripped the robes that were still hooked on the gate and dragged him behind a wall. She turned to the farmhouse, it was useless trying to get help from there, but she did see a car. An old grey Ford Escort sat outside. She quickly ran up to it and whacked the driver side window with a rock. 'Sorry 'bout this,' she said under her breath looking at the house. She opened the door and jumped into the drivers' seat, the sound of the rain beating down on the roof filled her ears. Being the daughter of a mechanic she knew how to hotwire a car and the engine came to life. She sped up to Snape and threw the back door open. She hopped out and bent down over Snape.
'C'mon Severus. I need you to get in the car,'
Snape was almost unconscious. Karen grabbed him under the arms and pulled him to the open door. She looked behind her and saw a few death-eaters, they were quite far away but it wouldn't be long until they were spotted. Karen jumped onto the back seat of the car making it all muddy and grabbed handfuls of Snapes robes and pulled as hard as she could. She managed to get his head and shoulders into the car but Karen was tired and Snape was very heavy. She clambered over him and tried to push him in. Her feet were slipping as the mud made it hard to get any grip but she got him moving, but very slowly. Karen sat back on her heels and wiped her brow the constant rain wasn't helping. Just then what she didn't need came hurtling past her; a green curse from a death-eater hit the wall behind her.
'Arrgh! C'mon Sev!' Karen grabbed his hips and lunged forward, his head hit the inside of the other door.
'Ouch,' Snape let out weakly. Karen smiled.
'Get your legs in!' She pushed his feet and Snape helped to pull his legs into the car. Another green flash just missed Karen. She got up, booted the door shut and jumped back in the drivers seat. She switched the headlights on, reversed the car a bit and then lined it up with the gate. 'Goodbye death-eaters!' She shouted, laughing a little.
'Don't kill them,' came the weak voice from behind her.
'What? Why not?' She asked.
'You'll go to Azkaban,'
The death-eaters were showering them with curses but they were bouncing off the car.
'They better move then!' Karen said as she revved the engine up. She slammed her foot on the accelerator; the wheels spun in the mud and then the car sped forward. The gate sprang open and the death-eaters dived out of the way. They were back in the field when Karen suddenly stopped the car and looked around.
'Where's the forest?' She said a little panicked. She put the windowscreen wipers on to get a better view. She remembered leaving the forest and seeing the gate to her left but where the forest should be was nothing but more open fields, and she didn't feel like going that way.
'The forest is in front of you,' Snape said.
'No it's not,' Karen said looking between the swishes of the wipers.
'Yes it is. It has a muggle repelling charm on it. You can't see it. Just go forward, hurry!'
'Ok,' Karen said. 'Don't you worry, as long as the windows are intact they can't touch us,' Then Karen remembered she broke open the window to her right.
CRASH! There was a shattering sound from behind them. The death-eaters were throwing rocks at the windows. The back window had smashed and rain was pouring in. Karen looked back at the damage; when the windowscreen was next to go. She was covered in the sudden gush of water, she turned the wipers off (as they were pointless) and said 'Let's go!'
Once again she slammed the accelerator to the floor and they were at full speed ahead. Karen leant as far back in her seat as possible. Her arms and legs tensed up and she squinted as if waiting for a brick wall to appear in front of her. She turned her head slightly to the side when all of a sudden it was as if they had driven through a force field. The open field she was driving through became twisted and distorted then all of a sudden a huge tree appeared in front of her. Karen swerved to miss it and the countless other trees. They were back in the forest.
'You still with me back there?' Karen asked while being whacked in the face by branches through the open windows.
'Mmm…' Snape was drifting out of consciousness again.
Karen continued to weave through the maze of trees when they became fewer and further between.
'Nearly there,' she reassured Snape.
Then, after a while, the glorious sight of Hogwarts Castle came into view. Karen slowed and stopped the car under the cover of the Whomping Willow. She took a deep relieved breath. She turned and checked on Snape; he was still curled up on the back seat. He wasn't shuddering anymore. Karen smiled at him. 'Let's get you back,' she said and turned back to face Hogwarts. But her path was blocked. In the glare of the headlights stood Lord Voldemort. He raised his wand.
A smile tugged on the corner of Karen's mouth. 'Azkaban or not, you're gonna die Voldemort!' She revved up the car and flew at him. As she sped forward Voldemort yelled.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!'
With one hand on the wheel Karen ripped the mirror off from above her, as if it were a bat and the curse a ball she whacked it with the mirror. The green sparkle hit Voldemort in the chest and before he hit the ground the car drove right into him. He bounced off the bonnet, over the roof and lay on the ground behind. Karen skidded the car to a stop and very, very slowly turned around in her seat. Through the broken back window she saw Voldemort's body lying lifeless in the grass, then she looked at Snape, he was very damp but peacefully asleep, she smiled down at him and turned back. Muddy, soaked to the skin, bruised, battered, and bloody she folded her arms over the steering wheel and rested her head on it, the rain was still flooding through the open windows and trickled down the back of her neck. She drifted away into thought about Amber. Not the death-eater that was going to kill her. Not the evil servant of Lord Voldemort. But her friend. The friend she laughed with, the friend she got drunk with, the fun they had together. She thought about the chats they had in the Great Hall, the times Amber helped her when she needed it and the times Amber's know-it-all attitude annoyed her. She would miss her friend, dearly. A tear filled up in her eye, she blinked and it rolled down her cheek. She sighed a very heavy sigh and raised her head up. And there, standing in front of the car, bringing an end to the whole fiasco was Dumbledore. Karen knew that it was all over. Dumbledore smiled at Karen and she managed a smile back.
There you are… My first ever story. I told you it gets better towards the end, didn't I? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thankyou
Karen xxx