Storyline (c) 2003 inTOtheSKY, all Chimeral characters are my own and should not be copied without permission. All other characters belong to JK Rowling ;D Feel free to e-mail me at spirit@eluding.org
Ch7
Harry tensed, and he felt his scar tingle against his flesh. Melody seemed to notice Harry's discomfort, for she reached over and placed a hand upon his shoulder.
"Harry? Do you see something? What's wrong?"
"…I need to check something out." Harry replied. Standing slowly, he began to break out into an all out run towards the path where the figure had disappeared. He heard Ron cry out from behind him and Roger telling him to stop, but Harry had a feeling that the figure that had disappeared into the trees was the one who had attacked him in the tower and he was determined to have his hypothesis confirmed.
Once he'd reached the trees, Harry crashed into the underbrush and stood there for a moment, panting. The path continued to twist and turn through the trees, but the branches had grown so thick that Harry's vision was limited; everything a few feet from him was hidden in darkness even though it was only a few hours past noon.
"Lumos." He mumbled, and the tip of his wand ignited in a beam of light. He was about to continue further when he felt someone crash roughly into him, and turning in shock, his alarm was emolliated when he realized that it was only Ron.
"Harry! What d'you think you're doing? You've been acting weird lately, but I didn't really think it was a big deal until you started running off into the woods for no reason…" Ron shook some leaves out of his hair. "What's going on?"
"I saw someone…a person dressed in dark robes enter the forest. I've got the feeling that he's the one who attacked me in the Owlery." Harry looked about his surroundings, trying his best to make out the path through the darkness.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked, squinting through the gloom.
"Yes, I'm sure." Harry replied, beginning to move forward.
"Harry, its dangerous in there!" Roger cried out. "You might get lost or something and we wouldn't know how to get you out!"
"It doesn't matter! If not even McGonagall's going to take some action to solving this whole thing then I might as well…I always do, don't I?" Harry grumbled bitterly as he continued down the path.
"W-well…can't leave you wandering about in there!" Roger shouted. He lighted the tip of his own wand and strode forward. "I'm coming with you!"
Alex stretched out his arms and followed. "If Roger's going…I might as well go…" He pulled out his wand and lit it. Eric and Henry did the same, and Tess and Melody followed. Ron looked to Harry.
"I guess we're all going, then." He gave his friend a small smile as he muttered, "Lumos".
Yet Harry knew there was one more student who hadn't lighted her wand, and he looked to her for a moment. "You can go back if you want…I'd rather most of you stay back so none of you get hurt…"
Paige hesitated for a moment, choosing her words. "I-its not that…its just that…w-what if one of us…gets…killed or something?"
"…It might happen." Harry replied quietly, remembering Sirius, and an ache of pain struck him in the chest. "…But it's a chance we're taking."
Raising her wand, Paige lit it, her hand trembling a little. "I'm sorry…I know I look like I'm scared and everything…but…I d-don't want to die."
"It's okay to be scared, Paige." Henry placed a comforting arm about his sister. "No one expects you to be brave and ready to give up your life like that."
"Its stupid…when it just happens to be me who doesn't want to go into the woods and face…whatever it is in there." Paige pursed her lips. "…I'll wait here for the rest of you…in case…something goes wrong, I'll be ready to alert someone."
"Good for you, Paige." Melody smiled.
"All right. It'll be just us, then." Ron looked about them.
"Everyone keep a watch out for anything unusual or dangerous." Harry said. "And if we get separated, send up sparks so we can see, and stay where you are."
Once everyone had agreed, they followed one by one behind Harry, who led the way into the dark forest.
"Bye, Paige." Roger, the last in line, turned and waved to his classmate. She gave a shaky smile back.
"Make sure you get back in one piece, all right?" She said, her eyes full of worry. "Please."
- -
After a while of wandering about, Harry called for a rest stop, and the little group settled down among the brush.
"How long have we been here?" Alex moaned, running his fingers through his hair. "It's getting dark out too…"
"The only thing that could make this any worse would be rain." Henry grumbled. "Stuck in a stupid forest, all wet and sticky…" He shuddered.
Eric stood that moment, and everyone stared at him. He looked about them, raising his wand up above him to look at their surroundings. "You know what guys? I think we're lost. Just admit it. We're lost!"
Tess tried to calm her friend down. "Now Eric, take it easy…we'll figure something out, we've just got to keep going…"
"Oh, you'll talk!" Eric retorted. "What if you were wrong about what you saw, Harry?" He asked, turning on his classmate. "What if the person you saw was just a regular old person and we were tagging along for nothing?"
"Hey! Don't say that!" Ron snapped. "It was your decision to come along and Harry's rarely been wrong…besides, the last thing we need is distrust amongst ourselves."
"Ron's right." Roger agreed. "If we ever want to get out of here then we've got to work together."
Eric threw a glare at his fellow Chimeral classmate before plopping down beside Alex. There was a few moments silence, and Harry exhaled softly.
"We'd better get a move on, then." He said quietly. "Sky's darkening fast."
They all stood and began to walk again, Harry leading. After what felt like another hour's worth of walking, Eric was about to complain again when he was cut off by Roger's harsh whispering.
"Did you hear that guys?" He hissed, backing up slightly.
"Yeah…someone's up ahead!" Harry replied, and began to pick his way as quickly and quietly as he could towards the noise.
"What did you hear?" Alex glanced around at the others as they followed.
"I dunno…sounded like some people talking…" Roger replied.
"Put out your wands! We don't want to be seen!" Ron ordered, flicking his wand about to rid himself of the light. As the others followed suit, Harry looked ahead of them into the open clearing.
"I see three people up on the field…and something really shiny…" He squinted, trying his best to see without the light from his wand. "Looks like a bunch…"
"A bunch of Snidgets!" Ron grasped upon his friend's sleeve in shock. "They're all locked up in a cage!"
"Who're those people out there?" Eric whispered from where he stood. "Why are they dressed like that?"
"Death Eaters…" Harry narrowed his eyes. "And they're up to no good."
"What're they doing?" Henry asked. "Why have they got all those birds in that cage?"
"I've got a feeling that whatever they're doing, its bad news." Ron replied darkly.
"Oh my gosh…" Melody drew in a sharp breath. "W-what should we do?"
Harry set his jaw. "Stop them."
- -
"Look!" Millicent screamed loudly, pointing out the window. "It's Potter, running into the forest like a madman!"
"What?" Draco looked up from the broomstick he'd been handling and followed Millicent's gaze out the window. In the distance, he saw the fleeting figure of Harry running down the narrow path that led to the forest.
"What does he think he's doing?" Jonathan said suspiciously.
Pansy stood up upon her toes to get a better look. "Everyone knows that once you go in there, its impossible to find your way out…and besides, who knows what's in there?"
"Well, its Potter. Who cares what happens to him?" Draco commented, and everyone laughed. "It'd be nice if he were attacked by some large animal…torn to pieces…"
"T-that's…funny!" Goyle chortled loudly.
"Draco, you're always so fun to be with!" Pansy giggled, linking her arm within his. "How do you do it?"
"Ooh!" Millicent shrieked again, and Draco looked to his classmate in annoyance. "Millicent, really, would you stop screeching and jumping about like a rabid monkey? It's getting to be an bother and-"
"No, no, no! Lookit!" Millicent exclaimed. "The Chimeral students!"
"What?" Draco walked closer to the open window. The scarlet and black figures of seven Chimeral students were dashing off into the brush as well, following closely behind Harry. "…What…are…they doing?"
"D'you think Potter saw something?" Pansy asked.
"Maybe. Probably." Draco replied. "Hey Jonathan, what d'you think they're up to?" Draco turned to look for his friend. "…Jonathan?"
The Chimeral student was nowhere in sight, and Draco furrowed his brow in confusion. "He was here…just a minute ago…"
"Maybe he followed the others into the forest!" Millicent suggested loudly.
"D'you reckon…we should follow them?" Crabbe asked dully.
Draco was about to say no when he noticed that one of the Chimeral students had looked back, paused, and remained where they stood. Squinting to get a better look, Draco came closer to the window.
"Who's that?" Pansy asked, noticing her friend's substantial expression. "Are you looking at the one at the edge of the forest?"
Draco placed a hand upon the window ledge. "…Paige."
"Paige?" Pansy followed Draco's gaze outside. "Who's that? Draco, say something!"
Draco took a slow step away from the window, then looked to the others. "Sure. Let's follow 'em. I haven't had much fun these past few months…"
"All right…" Goyle gave a crooked smile, and led the way out of the shop, Draco not far behind.
As they rounded the corner of the store, Draco focused his eyes upon the forest ahead and was shocked to discover that Paige had disappeared. Quickening his pace, he pulled a very incompliant Pansy along with him, and upon reaching the forest edge, looked about frantically.
"She was just here!" He cried out. Crashing into the underbrush, he was dismayed to discover that the rest of the path was shrouded in darkness.
"D-draco…I-I d-don't really…w-want to g-go…in there…p-please…" Pansy stuttered, trembling.
"So…are we going in?" Goyle asked, scratching his head.
"Yes." Draco replied firmly, and Pansy moaned slightly as she followed close behind. Lighting up his wand, Draco held it up high above him, and the others lit their wands as well.
"It's s-so dark in here." Millicent swallowed hard. "Just what exactly are we doing?"
Draco looked back. "As I said before, I wanted to have some fun. Besides…it'd be interesting to see what Potter is up to."
"I-I thought you w-were looking f-for someone…" Pansy whimpered.
"Quiet!" Draco snapped, and began trekking through the underbrush. "Stay close together…I don't want to have to go back looking for anyone."
- -
"Split up." Harry said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "We don't want to become a big target for them…and don't attack unless they notice that we're here."
"Right." Roger and the others nodded, paired up, and divided into different directions. Harry stayed close with Ron, who was holding his wand with a slightly trembling hand. As they sneaked closer to the figures upon the clearing, Harry began to try to pick up parts of their conversation.
"These are the mixed birds, right?" One of the hooded figures asked, placing a hand against the metal bars.
"Yeah. Some of 'em are the ones we were able to retrieve before reaching their final destinations." Another Death Eater replied. Harry cringed, recognizing the stranger's voice as the one who had placed the Imperius Curse upon Jonathan and Draco. "I couldn't get to the one in Hogwarts though…I had some…complications."
"Right, right." The third Death Eater spoke, and this time it was Ron's turn to shudder. Harry gritted his teeth; the third Death Eater was none other than Lucius Malfoy.
"When are we due for departure?" The second person asked. "We've been waiting for half an hour already!"
"Patience!" Lucius snapped. "The Dark Lord said there would be people to assist us shortly after we brought everything here. Since we couldn't get the Snidget from Hogwarts, we're just going to have to leave it. But everything else we need is here…the Dark Lord should be satisfied with these until we can get the last and final bird back."
"I hope you're right…" The first Death Eater grumbled. "I'd hate to have to face the Dark Lord when he's having a bad day…"
"We've got to get that cage unlocked." Harry murmured. "That'd release all the birds…I'd bet all my money that the birds in there have the power to sing the song of immortality. It'd be better to get them free; then Voldemort wouldn't have them for himself!"
"Right." Ron nodded. "But how do we do it without the Death Eaters noticing?"
Harry raised his wand. "I'm going to use that spell Flitwick taught us to unlock the cage. Then, run. If you can, disarm as many of the Death Eaters as you can, but don't do it if they're already on your tail."
"What about the others, Harry?" Ron asked in a worried tone. "They don't know what we're going to do!"
"Hopefully they'll catch on to what we're doing…if something goes wrong, we're just going to have to fight it out."
"Oh…" Ron swallowed hard. "Right."
Harry moistened his lips as he looked to the cage full of glowing Snidgets and uttered the spell. "Alohomora."
The charm hit its mark successfully, and the enclosure swung open. At first, the Death Eaters seemed oblivious to what was happening; yet when the glittering wings of the Snidgets began to emerge from the cage, they cried out in alarm and struggled to retrieve the escaping birds.
"Petrificus Totalus." Ron muttered, and one of the Death Eaters cried out, falling stiff as a board onto the grass. At the same time, Harry murmured a Stunning Spell, which, to his dismay, was blocked by the third Death Eater with a Shield Charm. Pulling Ron back, Harry knew that they'd been spotted, and the two of them made a mad dash back to into the forest. All around them, Snidgets flew about, and an idea formed inside of Harry's mind.
"Ron!" He cried out over the noise. "If we can get ourselves a Snidget and have it sing, then we're safe!"
"Got it!" Ron nodded, reached up, and attempted to grasp upon a Snidget. Yet it evaded Ron's fingers easily, and the red-haired boy looked to Harry in dismay. "It's too hard! They fly away the moment I touch them!"
Harry furrowed his brow, trying to think of a solution while they ran. What had Hermione said in her last letter? The familiar writing of his friend wound into his memory, and he heard her voice speak the words she'd written:
"I suggest for you to put your best foot forward and use what you are best at to fight off you-know-who…"
"Best foot forward…what I'm best at…" Harry mumbled. "That's Quidditch, probably…"
"Quidditch?" Ron gasped as he ran. "That's the best thing Hermione can come up with to help us? Quidditch?"
"No…" Harry replied slowly, the wheels in his head beginning to turn. "She wants us to fly…Accio Broomstick!" He raised his wand and cried out. Ron did the same after a few seconds of confusion.
Hoping that his spell had worked, Harry ducked his head and tripped over a tree branch upon touching the forest's edge. He could hear the Death Eaters screaming, their footsteps not seeming to be too far behind. Beside him, he could hear Ron's faint panting, and was about to turn around and attack again when a broomstick flew into view. Grasping its handle, Harry automatically climbed upon it and launched himself into the air. Below, Ron had found a broomstick as well and took off upon it.
Harry knew that the broomstick he sat upon was not his own since he had not specified, but in the intensity of the moment, he'd called out whatever had popped into his mind. He'd never handled this broomstick before, so he was a bit shaky in flight for the first few seconds. He easily reached out and grasped upon a Snidget however, and turning, was pleased to see that Roger and Eric had managed to call upon broomsticks as well. What worried him now, were the rest of the students who remained down below.
"Harry! Are you sure its okay to fly?" Ron looked to the sky. "It looks like its going to rain!"
"I'm going to take that chance!" Harry replied, shouting over the strong winds that were beginning to blow. "The sooner we can finish this, the sooner we can get out of the sky!"
"Tess and the others are going to stay down there in case something happens to us up here!" Roger called out, dodging a deadly spark of light emitted from a Death Eater's wand. "What d'you want us to do, Harry?"
"I think the Snidgets here all have the power to sing the song of immortality!" Harry replied, struggling to gain control of his broomstick, which twitched about in the high winds. "Get them to sing, and you'll be safe from the Death Eaters!"
"Right!" Roger and Eric flew off in different directions, each diving swiftly in turn to capture Snidgets for themselves. Yet something grew terribly wrong as soon as Eric closed his fingers about the bird he caught. The bird twittered about in the boy's grasp just like any Snidget, yet when Eric finally coaxed it to sing, the bird sang a tune different from its usual song. Harry watched in shock as Eric's eyes began to glaze over. Roger flew quickly in the direction of his classmate, yet was knocked off course when Eric suddenly jerked upwards and pointed his wand at him, muttering a Disarming Spell.
"Eric! What's wrong with you?" Harry yelled out.
"It's the bird…" Ron spoke with a trembling voice. "It sang a different song…and now Eric's hexed…" He quickly released the Snidget he'd captured from out of his hands. "The Imperius Curse…he's fallen under the Imperius Curse!"
"Roger, let go of your Snidget, now!" Harry cried out, and the Chimeral student quickly freed the golden bird. "The cage must have been filled with birds who could sing the song of immortality…and those who sang the song Voldemort intended…"
"What're we going to do, Harry?" Ron cried out, cringing as he was narrowly missed by a Stunning Spell fired from below.
Harry brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "We've got to fight back!" He dove, screaming, "Impedimenta!" at his opponent. The Death Eater dodged the attack, yet his mask was torn away by Harry's hands, and everyone looked in shock at the villain unmasked.
Ch7
Harry tensed, and he felt his scar tingle against his flesh. Melody seemed to notice Harry's discomfort, for she reached over and placed a hand upon his shoulder.
"Harry? Do you see something? What's wrong?"
"…I need to check something out." Harry replied. Standing slowly, he began to break out into an all out run towards the path where the figure had disappeared. He heard Ron cry out from behind him and Roger telling him to stop, but Harry had a feeling that the figure that had disappeared into the trees was the one who had attacked him in the tower and he was determined to have his hypothesis confirmed.
Once he'd reached the trees, Harry crashed into the underbrush and stood there for a moment, panting. The path continued to twist and turn through the trees, but the branches had grown so thick that Harry's vision was limited; everything a few feet from him was hidden in darkness even though it was only a few hours past noon.
"Lumos." He mumbled, and the tip of his wand ignited in a beam of light. He was about to continue further when he felt someone crash roughly into him, and turning in shock, his alarm was emolliated when he realized that it was only Ron.
"Harry! What d'you think you're doing? You've been acting weird lately, but I didn't really think it was a big deal until you started running off into the woods for no reason…" Ron shook some leaves out of his hair. "What's going on?"
"I saw someone…a person dressed in dark robes enter the forest. I've got the feeling that he's the one who attacked me in the Owlery." Harry looked about his surroundings, trying his best to make out the path through the darkness.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked, squinting through the gloom.
"Yes, I'm sure." Harry replied, beginning to move forward.
"Harry, its dangerous in there!" Roger cried out. "You might get lost or something and we wouldn't know how to get you out!"
"It doesn't matter! If not even McGonagall's going to take some action to solving this whole thing then I might as well…I always do, don't I?" Harry grumbled bitterly as he continued down the path.
"W-well…can't leave you wandering about in there!" Roger shouted. He lighted the tip of his own wand and strode forward. "I'm coming with you!"
Alex stretched out his arms and followed. "If Roger's going…I might as well go…" He pulled out his wand and lit it. Eric and Henry did the same, and Tess and Melody followed. Ron looked to Harry.
"I guess we're all going, then." He gave his friend a small smile as he muttered, "Lumos".
Yet Harry knew there was one more student who hadn't lighted her wand, and he looked to her for a moment. "You can go back if you want…I'd rather most of you stay back so none of you get hurt…"
Paige hesitated for a moment, choosing her words. "I-its not that…its just that…w-what if one of us…gets…killed or something?"
"…It might happen." Harry replied quietly, remembering Sirius, and an ache of pain struck him in the chest. "…But it's a chance we're taking."
Raising her wand, Paige lit it, her hand trembling a little. "I'm sorry…I know I look like I'm scared and everything…but…I d-don't want to die."
"It's okay to be scared, Paige." Henry placed a comforting arm about his sister. "No one expects you to be brave and ready to give up your life like that."
"Its stupid…when it just happens to be me who doesn't want to go into the woods and face…whatever it is in there." Paige pursed her lips. "…I'll wait here for the rest of you…in case…something goes wrong, I'll be ready to alert someone."
"Good for you, Paige." Melody smiled.
"All right. It'll be just us, then." Ron looked about them.
"Everyone keep a watch out for anything unusual or dangerous." Harry said. "And if we get separated, send up sparks so we can see, and stay where you are."
Once everyone had agreed, they followed one by one behind Harry, who led the way into the dark forest.
"Bye, Paige." Roger, the last in line, turned and waved to his classmate. She gave a shaky smile back.
"Make sure you get back in one piece, all right?" She said, her eyes full of worry. "Please."
- -
After a while of wandering about, Harry called for a rest stop, and the little group settled down among the brush.
"How long have we been here?" Alex moaned, running his fingers through his hair. "It's getting dark out too…"
"The only thing that could make this any worse would be rain." Henry grumbled. "Stuck in a stupid forest, all wet and sticky…" He shuddered.
Eric stood that moment, and everyone stared at him. He looked about them, raising his wand up above him to look at their surroundings. "You know what guys? I think we're lost. Just admit it. We're lost!"
Tess tried to calm her friend down. "Now Eric, take it easy…we'll figure something out, we've just got to keep going…"
"Oh, you'll talk!" Eric retorted. "What if you were wrong about what you saw, Harry?" He asked, turning on his classmate. "What if the person you saw was just a regular old person and we were tagging along for nothing?"
"Hey! Don't say that!" Ron snapped. "It was your decision to come along and Harry's rarely been wrong…besides, the last thing we need is distrust amongst ourselves."
"Ron's right." Roger agreed. "If we ever want to get out of here then we've got to work together."
Eric threw a glare at his fellow Chimeral classmate before plopping down beside Alex. There was a few moments silence, and Harry exhaled softly.
"We'd better get a move on, then." He said quietly. "Sky's darkening fast."
They all stood and began to walk again, Harry leading. After what felt like another hour's worth of walking, Eric was about to complain again when he was cut off by Roger's harsh whispering.
"Did you hear that guys?" He hissed, backing up slightly.
"Yeah…someone's up ahead!" Harry replied, and began to pick his way as quickly and quietly as he could towards the noise.
"What did you hear?" Alex glanced around at the others as they followed.
"I dunno…sounded like some people talking…" Roger replied.
"Put out your wands! We don't want to be seen!" Ron ordered, flicking his wand about to rid himself of the light. As the others followed suit, Harry looked ahead of them into the open clearing.
"I see three people up on the field…and something really shiny…" He squinted, trying his best to see without the light from his wand. "Looks like a bunch…"
"A bunch of Snidgets!" Ron grasped upon his friend's sleeve in shock. "They're all locked up in a cage!"
"Who're those people out there?" Eric whispered from where he stood. "Why are they dressed like that?"
"Death Eaters…" Harry narrowed his eyes. "And they're up to no good."
"What're they doing?" Henry asked. "Why have they got all those birds in that cage?"
"I've got a feeling that whatever they're doing, its bad news." Ron replied darkly.
"Oh my gosh…" Melody drew in a sharp breath. "W-what should we do?"
Harry set his jaw. "Stop them."
- -
"Look!" Millicent screamed loudly, pointing out the window. "It's Potter, running into the forest like a madman!"
"What?" Draco looked up from the broomstick he'd been handling and followed Millicent's gaze out the window. In the distance, he saw the fleeting figure of Harry running down the narrow path that led to the forest.
"What does he think he's doing?" Jonathan said suspiciously.
Pansy stood up upon her toes to get a better look. "Everyone knows that once you go in there, its impossible to find your way out…and besides, who knows what's in there?"
"Well, its Potter. Who cares what happens to him?" Draco commented, and everyone laughed. "It'd be nice if he were attacked by some large animal…torn to pieces…"
"T-that's…funny!" Goyle chortled loudly.
"Draco, you're always so fun to be with!" Pansy giggled, linking her arm within his. "How do you do it?"
"Ooh!" Millicent shrieked again, and Draco looked to his classmate in annoyance. "Millicent, really, would you stop screeching and jumping about like a rabid monkey? It's getting to be an bother and-"
"No, no, no! Lookit!" Millicent exclaimed. "The Chimeral students!"
"What?" Draco walked closer to the open window. The scarlet and black figures of seven Chimeral students were dashing off into the brush as well, following closely behind Harry. "…What…are…they doing?"
"D'you think Potter saw something?" Pansy asked.
"Maybe. Probably." Draco replied. "Hey Jonathan, what d'you think they're up to?" Draco turned to look for his friend. "…Jonathan?"
The Chimeral student was nowhere in sight, and Draco furrowed his brow in confusion. "He was here…just a minute ago…"
"Maybe he followed the others into the forest!" Millicent suggested loudly.
"D'you reckon…we should follow them?" Crabbe asked dully.
Draco was about to say no when he noticed that one of the Chimeral students had looked back, paused, and remained where they stood. Squinting to get a better look, Draco came closer to the window.
"Who's that?" Pansy asked, noticing her friend's substantial expression. "Are you looking at the one at the edge of the forest?"
Draco placed a hand upon the window ledge. "…Paige."
"Paige?" Pansy followed Draco's gaze outside. "Who's that? Draco, say something!"
Draco took a slow step away from the window, then looked to the others. "Sure. Let's follow 'em. I haven't had much fun these past few months…"
"All right…" Goyle gave a crooked smile, and led the way out of the shop, Draco not far behind.
As they rounded the corner of the store, Draco focused his eyes upon the forest ahead and was shocked to discover that Paige had disappeared. Quickening his pace, he pulled a very incompliant Pansy along with him, and upon reaching the forest edge, looked about frantically.
"She was just here!" He cried out. Crashing into the underbrush, he was dismayed to discover that the rest of the path was shrouded in darkness.
"D-draco…I-I d-don't really…w-want to g-go…in there…p-please…" Pansy stuttered, trembling.
"So…are we going in?" Goyle asked, scratching his head.
"Yes." Draco replied firmly, and Pansy moaned slightly as she followed close behind. Lighting up his wand, Draco held it up high above him, and the others lit their wands as well.
"It's s-so dark in here." Millicent swallowed hard. "Just what exactly are we doing?"
Draco looked back. "As I said before, I wanted to have some fun. Besides…it'd be interesting to see what Potter is up to."
"I-I thought you w-were looking f-for someone…" Pansy whimpered.
"Quiet!" Draco snapped, and began trekking through the underbrush. "Stay close together…I don't want to have to go back looking for anyone."
- -
"Split up." Harry said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "We don't want to become a big target for them…and don't attack unless they notice that we're here."
"Right." Roger and the others nodded, paired up, and divided into different directions. Harry stayed close with Ron, who was holding his wand with a slightly trembling hand. As they sneaked closer to the figures upon the clearing, Harry began to try to pick up parts of their conversation.
"These are the mixed birds, right?" One of the hooded figures asked, placing a hand against the metal bars.
"Yeah. Some of 'em are the ones we were able to retrieve before reaching their final destinations." Another Death Eater replied. Harry cringed, recognizing the stranger's voice as the one who had placed the Imperius Curse upon Jonathan and Draco. "I couldn't get to the one in Hogwarts though…I had some…complications."
"Right, right." The third Death Eater spoke, and this time it was Ron's turn to shudder. Harry gritted his teeth; the third Death Eater was none other than Lucius Malfoy.
"When are we due for departure?" The second person asked. "We've been waiting for half an hour already!"
"Patience!" Lucius snapped. "The Dark Lord said there would be people to assist us shortly after we brought everything here. Since we couldn't get the Snidget from Hogwarts, we're just going to have to leave it. But everything else we need is here…the Dark Lord should be satisfied with these until we can get the last and final bird back."
"I hope you're right…" The first Death Eater grumbled. "I'd hate to have to face the Dark Lord when he's having a bad day…"
"We've got to get that cage unlocked." Harry murmured. "That'd release all the birds…I'd bet all my money that the birds in there have the power to sing the song of immortality. It'd be better to get them free; then Voldemort wouldn't have them for himself!"
"Right." Ron nodded. "But how do we do it without the Death Eaters noticing?"
Harry raised his wand. "I'm going to use that spell Flitwick taught us to unlock the cage. Then, run. If you can, disarm as many of the Death Eaters as you can, but don't do it if they're already on your tail."
"What about the others, Harry?" Ron asked in a worried tone. "They don't know what we're going to do!"
"Hopefully they'll catch on to what we're doing…if something goes wrong, we're just going to have to fight it out."
"Oh…" Ron swallowed hard. "Right."
Harry moistened his lips as he looked to the cage full of glowing Snidgets and uttered the spell. "Alohomora."
The charm hit its mark successfully, and the enclosure swung open. At first, the Death Eaters seemed oblivious to what was happening; yet when the glittering wings of the Snidgets began to emerge from the cage, they cried out in alarm and struggled to retrieve the escaping birds.
"Petrificus Totalus." Ron muttered, and one of the Death Eaters cried out, falling stiff as a board onto the grass. At the same time, Harry murmured a Stunning Spell, which, to his dismay, was blocked by the third Death Eater with a Shield Charm. Pulling Ron back, Harry knew that they'd been spotted, and the two of them made a mad dash back to into the forest. All around them, Snidgets flew about, and an idea formed inside of Harry's mind.
"Ron!" He cried out over the noise. "If we can get ourselves a Snidget and have it sing, then we're safe!"
"Got it!" Ron nodded, reached up, and attempted to grasp upon a Snidget. Yet it evaded Ron's fingers easily, and the red-haired boy looked to Harry in dismay. "It's too hard! They fly away the moment I touch them!"
Harry furrowed his brow, trying to think of a solution while they ran. What had Hermione said in her last letter? The familiar writing of his friend wound into his memory, and he heard her voice speak the words she'd written:
"I suggest for you to put your best foot forward and use what you are best at to fight off you-know-who…"
"Best foot forward…what I'm best at…" Harry mumbled. "That's Quidditch, probably…"
"Quidditch?" Ron gasped as he ran. "That's the best thing Hermione can come up with to help us? Quidditch?"
"No…" Harry replied slowly, the wheels in his head beginning to turn. "She wants us to fly…Accio Broomstick!" He raised his wand and cried out. Ron did the same after a few seconds of confusion.
Hoping that his spell had worked, Harry ducked his head and tripped over a tree branch upon touching the forest's edge. He could hear the Death Eaters screaming, their footsteps not seeming to be too far behind. Beside him, he could hear Ron's faint panting, and was about to turn around and attack again when a broomstick flew into view. Grasping its handle, Harry automatically climbed upon it and launched himself into the air. Below, Ron had found a broomstick as well and took off upon it.
Harry knew that the broomstick he sat upon was not his own since he had not specified, but in the intensity of the moment, he'd called out whatever had popped into his mind. He'd never handled this broomstick before, so he was a bit shaky in flight for the first few seconds. He easily reached out and grasped upon a Snidget however, and turning, was pleased to see that Roger and Eric had managed to call upon broomsticks as well. What worried him now, were the rest of the students who remained down below.
"Harry! Are you sure its okay to fly?" Ron looked to the sky. "It looks like its going to rain!"
"I'm going to take that chance!" Harry replied, shouting over the strong winds that were beginning to blow. "The sooner we can finish this, the sooner we can get out of the sky!"
"Tess and the others are going to stay down there in case something happens to us up here!" Roger called out, dodging a deadly spark of light emitted from a Death Eater's wand. "What d'you want us to do, Harry?"
"I think the Snidgets here all have the power to sing the song of immortality!" Harry replied, struggling to gain control of his broomstick, which twitched about in the high winds. "Get them to sing, and you'll be safe from the Death Eaters!"
"Right!" Roger and Eric flew off in different directions, each diving swiftly in turn to capture Snidgets for themselves. Yet something grew terribly wrong as soon as Eric closed his fingers about the bird he caught. The bird twittered about in the boy's grasp just like any Snidget, yet when Eric finally coaxed it to sing, the bird sang a tune different from its usual song. Harry watched in shock as Eric's eyes began to glaze over. Roger flew quickly in the direction of his classmate, yet was knocked off course when Eric suddenly jerked upwards and pointed his wand at him, muttering a Disarming Spell.
"Eric! What's wrong with you?" Harry yelled out.
"It's the bird…" Ron spoke with a trembling voice. "It sang a different song…and now Eric's hexed…" He quickly released the Snidget he'd captured from out of his hands. "The Imperius Curse…he's fallen under the Imperius Curse!"
"Roger, let go of your Snidget, now!" Harry cried out, and the Chimeral student quickly freed the golden bird. "The cage must have been filled with birds who could sing the song of immortality…and those who sang the song Voldemort intended…"
"What're we going to do, Harry?" Ron cried out, cringing as he was narrowly missed by a Stunning Spell fired from below.
Harry brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "We've got to fight back!" He dove, screaming, "Impedimenta!" at his opponent. The Death Eater dodged the attack, yet his mask was torn away by Harry's hands, and everyone looked in shock at the villain unmasked.
