* * * *
Parvati jumped uneasily when the tortured scream pierced the dark of the Malfoy's front hall. It echoed loudly in the cavernous room, bouncing off the stone walls and coming back at them again. Thankfully, that scream had covered up the noise they made when entering the front door and they were still alone in the front hall.
"Now what?" Ron whispered, his eyes darting uncertainly from the stairs winding up before them, to the stairs that went down on their right, to the long hall on their left. "Where do you think they're keeping Snape?"
"That was his scream," Kendra murmured, then pointed to their left. "That way."
A deep laugh came out of the shadows of the hall and Parvati let out the tiniest squeak, before Hermione put her hand over her mouth. A moment later Draco Malfoy emerged, grinning maliciously at them. He was dressed in a black robe, the hood puddled around his neck and his fingers twitched impatiently around his wand. He looked taller than he had at Hogwarts, his broad shoulders filled out the robe to its capacity and the wider his smile grew, the more threatening his presence became.
"So, you made it this far, did you?" he asked, still smiling. "Well, too bad you're not going to get any further. Last time we met up I'm pretty sure I won."
Kendra stepped forward, glaring at him. "Last time we met up Malfoy, I'm pretty sure you were the only one with a wand." Her hand were trembling, but she stood her ground, staring defiantly at the Death Eater before her.
"Seems to be the case once again," Draco said, then held out his hand and called, "Accio wand."
Kendra's wand was torn from her hand and it soared over to Draco. He closed his fist around it and grinned. "You really need to work on keeping your wand in your hand Rayne." He shook his head. "What would Professor Snape think of you now?"
"Who knows, but it's probably better than what he thinks of you," Kendra retorted, staring at him angrily.
"This is where it ends," he drawled. "Everyone here knows that, don't they? You took a chance on a bitter old man and look at what it brought you." Draco gestured with the two wands he held. "Death in the main hall of my home . . . your families won't even recognize your bodies when we're done with you." He raised an eyebrow in Hermione's direction. "I might be persuaded to keep you around for awhile Granger. I've always wondered what it would take to make a pretty little school girl like you scream."
Hermione's fists clenched tightly at her sides and Ron started forward protectively. He stopped when Hermione grabbed his elbow and held tightly.
"Of course, Weasley has to protect his little girlfriend's good name, doesn't he?" Draco asked.
"Stalling Malfoy?" Harry asked suddenly, taking his wand from his robes. "Are you so afraid that you have to stall until backup arrives?"
With blazing eyes, Draco smiled again then he raised his wand and pointed it at Kendra's chest. The words were out of his mouth before she had a chance to react and she heard someone beside her scream, "Avada Kedavra!"
Something hit her hard and she was thrown to the side, slamming into the stone wall of the castle. Her head was rocked backward and it hit the wall as well, pain exploding in her left temple and down the left side of her body. The green light rushed past her and she heard someone howl in pain near her ear. Kendra cringed and tried to make herself smaller, she tried to move away from the corpse she knew would be dropping onto her any second. The corpse of her friend that had saved her.
The sound of rushing wind stopped a moment later and the hall grew silent. The only thing Kendra could hear was her own, laboured breathing and for a moment, she swore she was the only one left alive.
"It's okay," came Hermione's quavering voice. "I-I got him."
Kendra's eyes opened and she stared at the scene in the hall. Draco was lying on his back, his body smoking from the curse it had taken. Hermione was staring at him, her shaking wand still pointed in his direction.
Harry was behind Kendra, breathing hand, his hand pressed to his scar. "My scar," he groaned.
"Is everyone okay?" Ron asked, from where he had Parvati pressed against the wall. She looked frightened, but was otherwise unhurt. Kendra wondered for a moment if they had been in the line of fire as well.
"My head hurts," Kendra murmured, standing slowly. Harry got up behind her, his other hand on her shoulder. He leaned against her suddenly, his strength gone. They stood like that for a long moment, Harry's head resting on the back of Kendra's shoulder and her hand still pressed against the wall.
"Thank you," Kendra whispered, as he leaned on her for support.
Harry smiled in return.
"Kendra?" Hermione asked quietly, her voice still shaking. "Are you okay?"
They both looked up. She was crying miserably, her cheeks flushed and her eyes red.
"Hermione," Kendra said, then walked over to her quickly, ignoring the pain in her head. She wrapped her arms around the other girl and hugged her tightly. "It's okay, you did it to save me. You did it to keep us all alive."
"P-professor Snape said we'd have to kill them," Hermione stammered, sobbing by this point. "I didn't think we really would but when I saw him pointing his wand at you I knew what he was going to do." Her breath hitched and she bit her lip. "I couldn't let him kill you."
"It was the right thing to do," Harry said softly.
"I'm going to be sent to Azkaban," Hermione whispered. "I'm going to be there for life." She paused and whispered. "I didn't even know I could do that. Remember Moody telling us that there needs to be powerful magic behind the curse?"
Ron nodded. "I think we're pretty powerful people now, Hermione." He glanced down at himself. "I don't look different, but I feel different. And you're not going to be sent to Azkaban."
Kendra let go of Hermione and patted her softly, then went to retrieve her wand from Draco's hand. As she leaned over his body she caught the unwavering gaze of his dead eyes. The piercing blue colour had lost some of its lustre in death and he didn't look as intimidating as he had only moments ago. His strength was gone. Kendra yanked his wand from his hand and snapped it in two, then pulled her own from his dead fingers and closed her fist around it tightly. She didn't want to lose it again.
"Sorry," she murmured, then leaned down and closed Draco's eyes. She felt sorry for him, in a sense. His life could have been so different, but he had been brought up a Death Eater and now he had paid for the things he'd done. Hermione had prevented him from hurting anyone else ever again. "Sorry," she said again, "but it's for your own good."
"So, this is the way?" Parvati asked, as the other four approached the hall and Draco's body.
Kendra stared into the darkness. "I think so."
"Hold onto your wand from now on," Ron said, smiling slightly at Kendra.
She smiled back. "Thanks for the advice."
They began to walk quietly down the hall, not wanting to attract the attention of any more Death Eaters. Draco had been stationed there as a guard, in case they actually did decide to come for Snape and apparently everyone had trusted him to dispose of The Five. The hall was completely empty, they were alone.
"How are we possibly going to find him?" Hermione asked suddenly, staring into the shadows. "This hall just keeps going and going."
Harry shook his head and pointed. "There are stairs going down on the left up ahead. The hall keeps going past them."
"Which way are we supposed to go?" Ron asked.
"I hate to say this," Parvati began, "but maybe we should split up."
Harry shook his head. "No way, we have to do this together. There's five of us for a reason. What happens if we split up and some of us end up in the same room with Voldemort? We'll be dead in a second."
"Harry's right," Hermione murmured, her eyes darting from the staircase they were approaching, to the hall that twisted away in front of them. "We have to stay together . . . but which way are we going to go?"
They stopped at the top of the staircase and stared down into its depths. It was dark down there, darker than it was in the hall and not one of them seemed especially eager to go down into the shadows.
"Maybe we should follow the hall," Kendra suggested hopefully.
Harry had just nodded his agreement when they heard low voices coming from further down the hall. Footsteps they hadn't noticed before suddenly began to grow louder and Hermione's eyes widened.
"Down?" she whispered.
The others nodded and plunged into the dark staircase, forgetting for the moment that they didn't know what lurked in the dark. They had no idea what they were going to face when they went down the stairs and into the rooms below. There was no telling what they would find there; Snape, more Death Eaters, or something far worse.
Still they went, running at quietly as possible from the voices above, hoping to disappear into the very shadows that frightened them.
* * * *
Parvati jumped uneasily when the tortured scream pierced the dark of the Malfoy's front hall. It echoed loudly in the cavernous room, bouncing off the stone walls and coming back at them again. Thankfully, that scream had covered up the noise they made when entering the front door and they were still alone in the front hall.
"Now what?" Ron whispered, his eyes darting uncertainly from the stairs winding up before them, to the stairs that went down on their right, to the long hall on their left. "Where do you think they're keeping Snape?"
"That was his scream," Kendra murmured, then pointed to their left. "That way."
A deep laugh came out of the shadows of the hall and Parvati let out the tiniest squeak, before Hermione put her hand over her mouth. A moment later Draco Malfoy emerged, grinning maliciously at them. He was dressed in a black robe, the hood puddled around his neck and his fingers twitched impatiently around his wand. He looked taller than he had at Hogwarts, his broad shoulders filled out the robe to its capacity and the wider his smile grew, the more threatening his presence became.
"So, you made it this far, did you?" he asked, still smiling. "Well, too bad you're not going to get any further. Last time we met up I'm pretty sure I won."
Kendra stepped forward, glaring at him. "Last time we met up Malfoy, I'm pretty sure you were the only one with a wand." Her hand were trembling, but she stood her ground, staring defiantly at the Death Eater before her.
"Seems to be the case once again," Draco said, then held out his hand and called, "Accio wand."
Kendra's wand was torn from her hand and it soared over to Draco. He closed his fist around it and grinned. "You really need to work on keeping your wand in your hand Rayne." He shook his head. "What would Professor Snape think of you now?"
"Who knows, but it's probably better than what he thinks of you," Kendra retorted, staring at him angrily.
"This is where it ends," he drawled. "Everyone here knows that, don't they? You took a chance on a bitter old man and look at what it brought you." Draco gestured with the two wands he held. "Death in the main hall of my home . . . your families won't even recognize your bodies when we're done with you." He raised an eyebrow in Hermione's direction. "I might be persuaded to keep you around for awhile Granger. I've always wondered what it would take to make a pretty little school girl like you scream."
Hermione's fists clenched tightly at her sides and Ron started forward protectively. He stopped when Hermione grabbed his elbow and held tightly.
"Of course, Weasley has to protect his little girlfriend's good name, doesn't he?" Draco asked.
"Stalling Malfoy?" Harry asked suddenly, taking his wand from his robes. "Are you so afraid that you have to stall until backup arrives?"
With blazing eyes, Draco smiled again then he raised his wand and pointed it at Kendra's chest. The words were out of his mouth before she had a chance to react and she heard someone beside her scream, "Avada Kedavra!"
Something hit her hard and she was thrown to the side, slamming into the stone wall of the castle. Her head was rocked backward and it hit the wall as well, pain exploding in her left temple and down the left side of her body. The green light rushed past her and she heard someone howl in pain near her ear. Kendra cringed and tried to make herself smaller, she tried to move away from the corpse she knew would be dropping onto her any second. The corpse of her friend that had saved her.
The sound of rushing wind stopped a moment later and the hall grew silent. The only thing Kendra could hear was her own, laboured breathing and for a moment, she swore she was the only one left alive.
"It's okay," came Hermione's quavering voice. "I-I got him."
Kendra's eyes opened and she stared at the scene in the hall. Draco was lying on his back, his body smoking from the curse it had taken. Hermione was staring at him, her shaking wand still pointed in his direction.
Harry was behind Kendra, breathing hand, his hand pressed to his scar. "My scar," he groaned.
"Is everyone okay?" Ron asked, from where he had Parvati pressed against the wall. She looked frightened, but was otherwise unhurt. Kendra wondered for a moment if they had been in the line of fire as well.
"My head hurts," Kendra murmured, standing slowly. Harry got up behind her, his other hand on her shoulder. He leaned against her suddenly, his strength gone. They stood like that for a long moment, Harry's head resting on the back of Kendra's shoulder and her hand still pressed against the wall.
"Thank you," Kendra whispered, as he leaned on her for support.
Harry smiled in return.
"Kendra?" Hermione asked quietly, her voice still shaking. "Are you okay?"
They both looked up. She was crying miserably, her cheeks flushed and her eyes red.
"Hermione," Kendra said, then walked over to her quickly, ignoring the pain in her head. She wrapped her arms around the other girl and hugged her tightly. "It's okay, you did it to save me. You did it to keep us all alive."
"P-professor Snape said we'd have to kill them," Hermione stammered, sobbing by this point. "I didn't think we really would but when I saw him pointing his wand at you I knew what he was going to do." Her breath hitched and she bit her lip. "I couldn't let him kill you."
"It was the right thing to do," Harry said softly.
"I'm going to be sent to Azkaban," Hermione whispered. "I'm going to be there for life." She paused and whispered. "I didn't even know I could do that. Remember Moody telling us that there needs to be powerful magic behind the curse?"
Ron nodded. "I think we're pretty powerful people now, Hermione." He glanced down at himself. "I don't look different, but I feel different. And you're not going to be sent to Azkaban."
Kendra let go of Hermione and patted her softly, then went to retrieve her wand from Draco's hand. As she leaned over his body she caught the unwavering gaze of his dead eyes. The piercing blue colour had lost some of its lustre in death and he didn't look as intimidating as he had only moments ago. His strength was gone. Kendra yanked his wand from his hand and snapped it in two, then pulled her own from his dead fingers and closed her fist around it tightly. She didn't want to lose it again.
"Sorry," she murmured, then leaned down and closed Draco's eyes. She felt sorry for him, in a sense. His life could have been so different, but he had been brought up a Death Eater and now he had paid for the things he'd done. Hermione had prevented him from hurting anyone else ever again. "Sorry," she said again, "but it's for your own good."
"So, this is the way?" Parvati asked, as the other four approached the hall and Draco's body.
Kendra stared into the darkness. "I think so."
"Hold onto your wand from now on," Ron said, smiling slightly at Kendra.
She smiled back. "Thanks for the advice."
They began to walk quietly down the hall, not wanting to attract the attention of any more Death Eaters. Draco had been stationed there as a guard, in case they actually did decide to come for Snape and apparently everyone had trusted him to dispose of The Five. The hall was completely empty, they were alone.
"How are we possibly going to find him?" Hermione asked suddenly, staring into the shadows. "This hall just keeps going and going."
Harry shook his head and pointed. "There are stairs going down on the left up ahead. The hall keeps going past them."
"Which way are we supposed to go?" Ron asked.
"I hate to say this," Parvati began, "but maybe we should split up."
Harry shook his head. "No way, we have to do this together. There's five of us for a reason. What happens if we split up and some of us end up in the same room with Voldemort? We'll be dead in a second."
"Harry's right," Hermione murmured, her eyes darting from the staircase they were approaching, to the hall that twisted away in front of them. "We have to stay together . . . but which way are we going to go?"
They stopped at the top of the staircase and stared down into its depths. It was dark down there, darker than it was in the hall and not one of them seemed especially eager to go down into the shadows.
"Maybe we should follow the hall," Kendra suggested hopefully.
Harry had just nodded his agreement when they heard low voices coming from further down the hall. Footsteps they hadn't noticed before suddenly began to grow louder and Hermione's eyes widened.
"Down?" she whispered.
The others nodded and plunged into the dark staircase, forgetting for the moment that they didn't know what lurked in the dark. They had no idea what they were going to face when they went down the stairs and into the rooms below. There was no telling what they would find there; Snape, more Death Eaters, or something far worse.
Still they went, running at quietly as possible from the voices above, hoping to disappear into the very shadows that frightened them.
* * * *