AN: Ah, I'm getting into the spirit! More for you all to see and read. And I can't imagine how pleased you all must be (hint of sarcasm, anyone?) Anyway, quickly, this chapter is about the END of this entire thing (how long did this drag out for, eh?) and then the next chapter is sad. You will all probably hate me, but hey, you can either take it or leave it. I think it's pretty good. Ate too much Thanksgiving dinner…gak.
About the movie now. I absolutely loved the second movie. I've seen it twice (and seeing it again on Saturday). The first time was great. Margaret and Erica and I—er, I mean my friends, of course—we all kept screaming and giggling at wooing at the screen. Plus, on a side note, we kept yelling sexual innuendoes at the screen whilst we were surrounded by five year olds (hey, we were there for us. I'm sixteen, what do you expect? g). Anyway, the second movie was far better but the phoenix sucked. I'm sorry, it was a creepy thing, and I was waiting for it to start having its head spin and spewing green pea soup saying "Jesus fuck me" like an exorcist tribute. I dunno, the bird was weird. Also, it reminded me of that dodo bird from the Flintstones—the one with John Goodman. Haha. Anyway, the movie was great. I love Lucius Malfoy but HOW DARE THEY destroy him like that?! I mean, his hair…his hair…I needed it to be short and slicked back. He needed to be an adult Draco. I mean, Lucius is one sexy piece of man, so why wasn't he happily sexy?! And the FUCKING BOW!! What was with the bow? Anyway, they took out my two favorite parts, so I'm mad, but I understand the rest of the movie. The Dueling Scene was the best. Who knew the Voice of God looked so good with a wand?
Chapter Twenty-Two: Fear to Die
"Oh my god," Emilia screamed, backing up and pressing herself against the wall, never looking anywhere but the dead body. Her mouth hung open, and so far open it was in pain. She couldn't tell who it was, but she didn't want to know.
The body, however, was dismantled, mauled, dismembered and practically disemboweled. Severus moved away, holding out his wand. "Holy shit," he swore. The thing with the fangs wasn't alive. On a second look, it was a shell of an emerged being, which had seemed to come from the inside of the body.
Emilia hold her hand up to her mouth. What was it that had been inside there? Was it another of those hissing beings? The skin looked like the body of the snake-like thing in the Slytherin Common room that she briefly saw: long, slim body with huge fangs.
All Emilia could focus on was not vomiting as she stood there. Without thinking, she started to run—run far away from the dead body. How could they have not seen it before? They'd been through there not once but three times!
She brushed by Severus, and felt tears mingle with the blood that had started to dry. God, she was so tired of seeing dead bodies, and killing people, and seeing nothing but misery and horror and death...
She couldn't contain herself. Stopping in the hall, Emilia crouched down, holding her head, and tried to compose herself. She was tired of it all, and she wanted to be out of there. Out of here, she thought to add. Emilia was tired of saving people and having to bear the weight of responsibility that had come with this long, progressive night (which, in actuality, was mid morning by now). Emilia was just plain exhausted, both mentally and physically.
"Emilia?" a voice down the hall said. God just what she needed now—Severus to make his asshole remark about how she looked or how she was crying, like she couldn't do any better. Well, she was on the edge, being tired and hungry; Emilia deserved a good cry, didn't she?
Severus's wandlight lighted both sides of her. He was standing behind her. "Emilia?" he asked cautiously.
She stood up, but didn't turn around. "Severus?" she said, her voice shaking. She wiped back the tears and took a deep breath. She tilted her head to the side, and let out a sigh. "Sorry. But, I've been thinking; this is where the last time that creature must have gotten food. They know about this passage. We ought to move, before Lord Voldemort sends his troops in."
Severus nodded. "Fine then," he said, in a tone that meant the conversation was done. Emilia could tell that he was just as weird out as she was.
And then they continued forth.
Reaching the Ravenclaw room, Emilia saw the door pried open. Stepping inside, they noticed that there was no one in the room. "Severus?" she said, peering inside the room.
"What?" he replied, rather snappishly. Emilia could feel the tension. But he didn't have to be an asshole about it.
Suddenly, there was a jolt, sending the floor shaking. Emilia tumbled off balance, and to steady herself she gripped Severus's arm. "What was that?" she cried, searching around quickly.
They entered Ravenclaw entranceway, which was a jumble of debris and broken glass. Stone chunks were among a color scheme of blue and white.
She saw through the window of the Ravenclaw room that the sky got only darker, except this time even the snow couldn't lighten the air. And then, a rush of black figures stormed out of the castle. Each of them were pouring out of different entrances, and each were running quite fast away from the castle. Smoke was drifting out of the castle windows on the first floor.
"There has been an explosion!" Emilia yelped, speaking the obvious, and ran to the window, leaning over the edge of the stone. "Oh my god, there's a hole in the castle wall!" She pointed.
Severus had run up next to her. "Voldemort is still here, though," he said solemnly, resting on hand precariously on the sill. He looked down, careful to remain in the shadows a bit. The Death Eaters were still in sight, though many of them that had poured out of earlier had gotten far enough away to Apparate.
Emilia looked over at him. She saw the hatred, the malevolence in his countenance; the anger sweeping through his dark eyes and smooth contours of his skin. She then realized that they were in a lot of trouble.
She glanced back at the smoke, and felt a sense of impending doom. "We probably ought to get going then," she spoke softly, staring at the black smoke and the lapping flames.
"Where, of course, is the question," a silky voice replied.
Both of them whipped their heads around to see the vivid white face and red eyes of Lord Voldemort. Around his neck was a creature that was long and slim—a snake-like creature, the one that Emilia had been hearing all along.
Severus clenched his fists, but never moved from his spot. Emilia on the other hand moved forward, not daring to pull out any weapon. She glared at him with contempt.
"Ah, but it is a pity that I have met the both of you," he said smoothly, "and have the pleasure of killing you both." Emilia noticed that he was alone.
"I do not think so yet," Severus replied cautiously, relaxing his posture and preparing to fight. Emilia could only see him out of the corner of her eye, but could tell that if he was nervous, he wasn't showing it.
"Big words from someone who cannot hurt me, Severus," Voldemort replied nastily, walking in further to the room. He guided himself over the debris, the black robe covering his head and feet. It was like a black shadow with the pale face of death moving across the room.
Severus left no emotion on his face, but Emilia couldn't help herself. She glared at him. "You can't win, you heartless bastard. You will die, just like the rest of them."
"Like your father?" he replied. Emilia narrowed her eyes. "Ah yes, well, that order couldn't be helped. Even as loyal as he was, he bred such a...furious...and angry girl..." Voldemort walked over and stood directly in front of her, looking into her flushed face. "I could have used your sense of loyalty, but obviously my acts to persuade you did not work..." Voldemort smiled thinly. "Instead of hating the Ministry, now you appear to—what's the word? Advocate? Perhaps. You advocate the Ministry of Magic. And I thought you could sink no lower. I had to give you credit though. After all, you were a Black."
Slightly dazed at what he had said, but not completely unaware, Emilia blinked. She was angry, she reached up to slap him, but he caught her hand. "Now, now," he said, gripping her hand in place with his long spindly fingers, "we can't have any of that." He twisted her arm back further than natural, causing Emilia to wince and try to move out of the position, struggling and squirming. Severus stepped forward.
Voldemort let go of her, and Emilia recoiled, bringing her arm back and holding it. "Severus, have you not taught her to bite her tongue?" Severus turned his head slightly, narrowing his eyes and glaring contemptuously, clearly loosing his patience.
Emilia stepped back, so that she was against the wall. "I cannot stress how much you two mean to me," Voldemort drawled, closing his eyes, and sighing. "Although preferably dead."
He took out his wand. Twirling it between his fingers, he addressed himself to Severus. "Now, what shall I do to the disloyal?"
"You could try to smoke them out," Severus replied venomously, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Voldemort smiled. "Have you had fun this past night, Severus? I have let you live this long—" he extended his wand at Severus, "however, no longer do I require you."
Severus, in one quick, swift movement, had his wand out from his robes. Pointing it at the ceiling, in slightly exaggerated movements, he shouted, "Reducto!" The ceiling tumbled in—Voldemort was covered in dust and dirt—Emilia could hear the sputtering coughs—
"Run!" he cried, and grabbed Emilia's arm, dragging her through the dust. They exited the room and fled all the way down the corridor, to hear the shrieks of Voldemort from the Ravenclaw room.
Heart pumping, adrenaline rushing, Emilia tried to keep up with Severus as he led her though many corridors and down to the main entrance on in the middle of the floor, fleeing down the marble stairs covered in red carpets.
Continuing to run, Emilia and Severus dashed to the main staircase and down three, four flights of stairs, before they even began to slow up. When they had reached the main entrance, and still no sight of anyone, they stopped. Emilia yanked her arm away.
"What was that?" she panted, doubling over. "We could have killed him!"
"No, we couldn't," Severus replied, equally out of breath. He stood upright. "We cannot stay here."
"No, you cannot."
"What?" Emilia said, looking up. For the first time she had noticed all those people there. Dressed in black robes with special lettering on their back, they moved quickly into the building. The Ministry had arrived—finally.
"Move! Move!" they cried, filling in. Emilia moved away from them, toward Severus. The Ministry Aurors moved all around, up the stairs and through the halls. Emilia watched in amazement as they moved about quickly. One of them came over to assess their situation.
"Where is he?" A man of thirty or so said, with dark hair and hardened features. He looked rather brutish, with a bowl haircut and a lot of bulky muscles underneath his robes.
Emilia was slightly afraid of him, and looked up at Severus. He spoke evenly to the Auror, "Ravenclaw Common Room, third floor, fifth picture from the right." The man nodded, and sent his crew up.
Another man dressed his white robes walked over to them. "Ma'am, your head is bleeding," he spoke kindly observing her status. "Please, come this way." The man started to walk away, and Emilia followed him. Severus was not far after her.
The man, who'd introduced himself as Owen, led her to a small patchwork of people, standing outside and communicating with those infiltrating the inside. The groups were under a tree, with tables of equipment set up. There were other white robed men, all gathered in one place, taking care of many students and faculty. Emilia noticed that none of those were from Hufflepuff, or that of Gryffindor.
After he had had her seated and addressed her so-called "wound," wrapping white gauze around her head from the other traumas of that day, Emilia was discharged. Soon, the Aurors brought out more students. Minerva was amongst them.
"Emilia!" she cried. Severus, who had been standing next to her and checking her head bandaging, moved slightly away, and looked upwards. Minerva walked up. She was cut and bruised, much like Lucius had appeared to earlier. She, however, was in decent health.
Minerva wanted to know what had happened to her, and Emilia explained it as easily as she could. All she wanted to do was sleep, though, so she wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying.
Before long, everyone had been moved out of the castle and Reconstruction Crews were moving in, magically moving debris and fixing the explosion. After that, the walls started to look normal again, but the coldness and snow to the people who did not have any layers on—and most of them did not—were started to feel the cold settle in, even as much as the Mediwizards tried to prevent it.
The next three hours passed, and Emilia sat dazed on the table next to Severus, who was sitting close next to her. Eventually, she nodded off, laying her head on his shoulder and falling asleep.
Next thing she knew, Severus was nudging her gently awake. "Emilia, they are letting us back in," he said, moving away and letting Emilia fall freely onto the table. She caught herself late, and slammed against the table, which woke her up quickly. She sat up, and looked around. The school looked just well as new, and everything had a slightly magical glow to it. Dumbledore, among other teachers, were telling them to move into the Great Hall. Everyone was moving in stiffly and loudly—equally exhausted, as they were awake.
Severus was far ahead of her, and Minerva was no where to be found. So, rubbing the sleep from her face and stretching a little bit, she started to walk in. The ordeal was finally over.