The voice continued. "Hey, everyone. Listen up!"
Hermione Granger (Girl 8, Gryffindor) widened her eyes. "That's Parvati's voice!" she whispered. "What is she doing?"
Blaise Zabini (Boy 20, Slytherin) stood up. "I'm going to check it out." He walked towards the clearing, then gestured the others over.
Harry Potter (Boy 15, Gryffindor) and Hermione walked over to join Blaise. They could see the silhouettes of Parvati Patil (Girl 17, Gryffindor) and Padma Patil (Girl 16, Ravenclaw) standing on top of a viewing platform. Parvati was holding something in her hand that looked like a megaphone.
Parvati continued. "We don't have to fight! Please! Everyone come here, and we can work something out!"
Harry turned to Blaise. "Look after Hermione. I'm going over there."
Blaise quickly stepped in front of Harry's path. "Don't be stupid!"
Harry's eyes narrowed angrily. "I'm not going to just sit here while they endanger their lives like this!"
Blaise shook his head, but didn't move out of the way. "How long do you think it will take for you to get there? All the while, you'll be out in the open, totally exposed to anyone who comes along. Do you want to die? And what about Hermione? Are you just going to leave her alone like that?"
"Come on, everyone!" Parvati's voice resonated over the megaphone. "We're not playing!"
Harry clenched his fists, looking towards the ground. "I can't just let them get killed like this."
Blaise nodded, and took out his shotgun. He fired into the air. "If they're smart, they'll stop and go hide."
There was silence for a few seconds, and then Parvati's voice started up again. "Whoever did that, please stop! I know that none of us want to play! So please--"
Harry clenched his fists, and tried to break past Blaise. Before he could manage, though, he stopped in his tracks when the horrific sound of rapid gunfire went off, amplified by the megaphone.
Parvati's shriek was also amplified. After a moment, Padma's screams joined her sister's. One of the twins fell, and the megaphone hit the ground.
26 students remaining
September 2 -- 12:04 p.m.
Padma was trying to crawl along the floor of the lookout to join her sister, but her body hurt all over. 'So this is what it's like to die,' she thought as she inched closer.
"Padma?" Parvati's voice was weak. "I'm scared..."
"Shh... Save your energy." Padma inched closer. "I'm here."
"I guess... you were right... I'm sorry..."
Padma tried to get closer, but stopped when their assailant joined them on the platform.
Parvati shrieked as her body was once more riddled with bullets, then fell silent.
"Parvati?" Padma looked over to her sister, even though it hurt to move. "No..." She looked up as the shooter walked over to her. Her eyes widened. "Neville?"
He nodded as he aimed the gun at her.
Padma smiled, even though it hurt to do so. "I guess... it would be kind of pointless to tell you this now... but I promised Parvati I would."
He tilted his head, quirking an eyebrow.
"I promised her... that if... if we saw you, I'd tell you... how... I felt about you." She looked at him.
"How you felt about me?"
Padma tried to laugh, but it came out as a coughing fit instead. "I think... I might have had a crush on you." She closed her eyes. "No regrets..."
He nodded, then pulled the trigger of his Ingram. "No regrets," he repeated softly.
He stood over her for a few seconds, then turned to the Patil twins' packs. He put the contents into his own pack. Ooh, grenades. Those might come in useful later. Taking one last look behind him, he ran off.
24 students remaining
September 2 -- 12:06 p.m.
The trio stood frozen in their tracks, trying to process what just happened. Hermione was sobbing hysterically, shaking. Blaise's face was somber.
Tears ran down Harry's face as he fell to the ground on his knees. "No..."
Blaise glanced at Harry, then grabbed his pack. "Right. Let's make tracks."
Harry looked up at Blaise, anger in his eyes. "Is that all you can say? How can you be so cold?"
Hermione looked at Harry. "Don't..."
Blaise shook his head. "How long do you think it'll take before their killer comes over here? We have to move, or we'll be next. I don't know about you, but I don't have a death wish." He turned to leave.
Harry looked like he wanted to say something else, but he thought better of it and helped Hermione up. "Let's go."
Not bothering to deconstruct the alarm and take the wire with them, the trio departed.
24 students remaining
September 2 -- 12:16 p.m.
Ron Weasley (Boy 19, Gryffindor) had just found the body of Daphne Greengrass when the noon announcement had come. It had been an absolute shock to hear Pansy Parkinson declared as one of the dead. Even though he had never liked her, he couldn't help but feel bad that he wasn't able to protect her. He wondered briefly whether Neville had killed her, as it appeared that he killed the girl before him, whose body was full of bullet holes.
Before he could get lost too much in his thoughts, a female voice had said something over the island. He couldn't quite hear what she was saying; she was too far away. He had strained his ears to hear what she was saying, and then the amplified sound of Neville's machine gun blared over the island. There was a pause, and then it fired twice more, although the sound wasn't quite as loud that time. He wondered who Neville had killed this time.
He continued to run along the coastline. He knew that he would have to be careful once he got to the west coast, due to the forbidden zones. But so long as he went north into the forest as soon as he saw it, he should be fine.
He really didn't want to go back into the forest, but there was very little choice. Besides, he might find Harry or Hermione there. Neither of their names had been announced. Although it was quite possible that Hermione was the girl who had been silenced by Neville...
No! He couldn't think that way. Besides, Neville's vendetta was against the Slytherins. He wouldn't kill his own housemates, would he?
24 students remaining
September 2 -- 12:26 p.m.
Although he very well could have followed the three moving dots with the help of his tracker, Neville Longbottom (Boy 11, Gryffindor) chose not to bother. He was too busy trying to sort out his thoughts of what happened.
When he had left the school, he had been absolutely terrified beyond belief. The mantra 'kill or be killed' kept repeating in his mind over and over. As he hid in one of the houses, a feeling of detachment rushed over him when he saw the Slytherin girl with the gun. And so he had constructed the barriers that kept him from feeling. A new mantra joined in, and he began his vendetta against the Slytherins.
The mental barriers he had built didn't allow him to feel any guilt or remorse when he killed the Slytherins. They were treacherous and downright evil, and they could not be allowed to win, no matter what. He might have felt slightly nauseous the first time he killed someone, but that wasn't quite the same thing.
This time, however, he actually felt bad. Maybe he hadn't completely shut himself away from his emotions as much as he thought he had, but this time was different. The girls were innocent victims, trying to gather as many people together as they could. Even if they were going about it in the stupidest way imaginable, they were just trying to do what they thought was best.
At first, he was just going to leave them alone, even though his hiding spot was far too close to the lookout for his tastes. Someone in the forest was even kind enough to fire a warning shot. But when the girls stupidly continued...
If he hadn't killed them, someone else would have. That's what he kept reminding himself of. And that was the conclusion he had come to as he had fired at them. Not only were they endangering themselves, but they were also endangering the lives of anyone else who might have been hiding near them. Neville didn't want to die yet. Not when there were still five snakes left in the game. If he didn't stop the Slytherins from winning, who else could he trust to get the job done?
It was a pity, though. After Padma had told him that she had a crush on him, he thought about letting her go. But the same mantra of 'kill or be killed' repeated in his mind once again, so he killed her. It was a merciful act, really. If he hadn't, she would simply bleed to death there, or maybe be finished off by one of the snakes, who were sure to be attracted to the violence, vultures that they were.
So he ran westward through the forest, trying to get as far away from the scene as possible. He didn't want to encounter anyone else yet. Not before he had made sure that there weren't any Slytherins left. He couldn't die before his mission was complete, because there was no one else who understood. Of all people, he had expected Ron to understand, and he hadn't. So there was no one who could help him.
He slowed down to a walk and checked his tracker. He was getting near E-5, the zone directly south of D-5, which would turn forbidden at 5 p.m. B-8 and F-1 -- the other two forbidden zones -- were along the shoreline, where there was far too much open space. He had been pleasantly surprised to find the tracker automatically marked the zones for him. He had still marked them on his map, though. Just in case.
He really wished the other boy would stop following him, though.
24 students remaining
September 2 -- 12:41 p.m.
Wayne Hopkins (Boy 10, Hufflepuff) tried to keep a sizable distance between himself and his quarry. It must have been fate that he had been hiding out in the forest near the lookout. He had been contemplating the thought of looking for the other boy, but decided to wait out the noon announcement where he was. And then who did he find but the very boy he was looking for! How lucky could he get?
And what a naughty boy Neville was! Why, shooting two of his classmates with that gun. It sent shivers down Wayne's spine to know that the meek little mouse had grown into a mighty lion. He had always known the other boy was a lot stronger than everyone gave him credit for, but he had no idea just how strong.
It was a little disappointing that Wayne would have to kill him in the end, but that wouldn't be for a rather long time. In the meantime, he would follow from a safe distance, carefully keeping as quiet as possible so that they other boy wouldn't know that he was being followed. And when everyone else was gone, and Neville dear had forgotten all about him, he would strike. He had the utmost confidence that Neville would last until the very end. Few people would dare mess with the boy that had that gun.
It was rather difficult to keep quiet while running through the forest, but Wayne did not want to lose sight of the other boy. Not after destiny had brought them together as it did. He was also starting to crave the sweet taste of dear nicotine, but would have to resist the urge until after he had taken care of business.
He clutched the Derringer in his hand.
24 students remaining
September 2 -- 12:59 p.m.
Vincent Crabbe (Boy 4, Slytherin) was getting worried. Of the 14 students who he knew had died so far, five of them were his own housemates. It was quite possible that more of his housemates were dead as well, due to the gunfire that had gone off almost an hour ago. He had been rather surprised that Goyle and Draco had been amongst those that died earlier, but found that he wasn't particularly disappointed. Neither of them had been particularly subtle or anything like that. They probably ended up challenging the wrong person to a fight or something.
Crabbe took out his map, trying to determine where the remaining Slytherins might be hiding, based on what he knew about them. He had a nagging suspicion that someone had it in for them. So he hesitantly decided he would try to find the others, although he didn't really know any of them very well. Well, he knew Millicent Bulstrode (Girl 5, Slytherin), but the other three came as complete mysteries to him.
Dismayed, he put away his map. Maybe finding the others was a bad idea. For all he knew, the shooter could be one of his own housemates. He really didn't want to give in to fear and paranoia, but it was getting increasingly harder to stay calm. He hadn't slept in hours.
He wished that he had hooked up with Harry when the two had met earlier in the night. Although a lot of people had their doubts about him due to all the articles that discredited him, Crabbe knew that the other boy was trustworthy. He'd always had a gift of being able to gauge someone's sincerity and trustworthiness. Maybe it was because people let their guards down around him, believing him to have the brain of a rock. He was able to see someone's true face that way.
He looked up as he heard rustling in the bushes ahead. "Don't move," he said. The rustling stopped. "I'm not playing, but I have a gun and I will shoot you if I have to. Now slowly come out with your hands where I can see them."
Slowly, Ron Weasley emerged from the bushes, hands raised in the air. When he saw Crabbe, he stopped. "Bloody hell. What is it with me and Slytherins?" he muttered under his breath. "I'm not playing, either," he called out. "I'm just looking for Harry and Hermione."
Crabbe nodded, lowering his gun. "Figures. Wish I could help you, but I have no idea where they are now. I saw Harry last night, but he's probably long gone by now."
Ron perked up. "You saw him? Is he alright?"
Crabbe shrugged. "Was when I saw him, but that was quite some time ago. You see anyone?"
Ron hesitated. "I saw Neville. He's the one with the gun. I think he killed one of the girls. I forget her name, but she's back there along the coast."
Crabbe nodded. "And here I figured it was Nott." He sighed and leaned back against his tree. "Damn."
Ron nodded. "He mentioned something earlier about having a real grudge against you Slytherins. You might want to be careful."
Crabbe sighed. "Do you know what happened to the others?"
Ron hesitated. He wasn't sure what to say, lest the other boy panic just as Pansy had done. Unlike Pansy, though, Crabbe had a real gun. "I... I met up with Malfoy and Goyle earlier, back at the clinic. They tried to kill me."
Crabbe shook his head. "Figures. How'd you escape?"
Ron looked down at the ground. "I... Uh... I kinda threw some acid into Malfoy's face. Got a flare in my gut for what it's worth." He looked back at Crabbe, trying to sense his reaction. "And I ended up lodging my flail in Goyle's skull."
Crabbe nodded. "You did what you had to."
Ron's eyes widened. He was rather surprised that the boy was taking it so well.
"They tried to kill you, right? I'd probably have done the same." He looked at his gun. "So how'd you learn Neville was the shooter?"
Ron sighed and sat down at the opposite end of the clearing. "After I left the clinic, he must have gone there, because I heard gunshots. He found me later as I was hiding in the forest." He paused. "I'm really beginning to hate the goddamn forest."
Crabbe chuckled. "You and me both."
"Anyway, we got to talking. As he was leaving, I saw the gun." He put his head between his hands. "I just don't get how he could just get so much into the game like this."
Crabbe shrugged. "How well do any of us really know each other?"
They sat there in silence for a few minutes. "You know, Ron," Crabbe started. Ron looked over to him. "If Neville's got it in for us Slytherins, he might kill you if he sees you with one of us."
Ron's eyes widened. "Do you really think he would?"
Crabbe shrugged. "Dunno. But it might be a good idea to part here anyway. I'm sure he's not the only one hunting us down." He looked at the ground. "We've always been a bunch of jerks, haven't we? Most likely half the class has some grudge against us. Never imagined it would come back to haunt us like this, though."
Ron nodded as he stood up. "Karma, I guess. I should probably keep looking for the others."
Crabbe nodded once, and the two parted ways.
24 students remaining
September 2 -- 1:17 p.m.
Eloise Midgen (Girl 13, Hufflepuff) clutched her gun tightly. When she had left the school the night before, someone had tried to kill her. She was able to get away before they succeeded, though, and had run into the forest. It was quite by accident that she had found a good hiding place in an old storage shed.
She was planning on waiting them all out, letting them kill each other off one by one, all the while forgetting about the girl they had so mercilessly teased in the past. Forgetting about poor, ugly, pizza-faced Eloise.
One time last year, she had fallen asleep in History of Magic class, and when she woke up, someone had cruelly decided to play "connect the dots" with her acne. She walked around the school like that for half the day, enduring giggles and taunts, until a first year told her that someone had scribbled on her face.
She hated them all. All of their teasing and their taunts. The way they giggled behind her back. The way all of them made fun of her behind her back. But she would get her revenge. She would outlive them all, letting them destroy one another.
She turned to the picture she had of Anton Rex, the lead singer of Chaos Dragons, which was a rather popular band. Looking at his picture could always calm her down.
"So what do you think, Anton? Do you like my chances of survival?"
Naturally, the picture didn't say anything back, but Eloise didn't seem to notice.
She nodded. "I'm not so sure that I'll survive, either. Everyone likes picking on me." She held up her gun, showing it to the photograph. "But I have this. Nobody will mess with me so long as I have this, right?" A pause. "Well, I don't care what you think! I'll just shoot them before they can shoot me!" Another pause. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's just that I'm rather edgy today. Forgive me?" She nodded. "I probably should get some sleep. I'm just scared that if I do, someone will kill me." Pause. "You'll watch over me? Oh, thank you, Anton! I honestly don't know what I'd do if you weren't here with me. Will you sing to me?" She smiled, then curled up on the floor. "Thank you."
Eloise Midgen was losing her mind.
24 students remaining