This is chapter 9, I'm finally getting to the point where things are
starting to happen... Please review : - ) And thanks to all you lovely people
who have taken the time to review, believe me it's really great to hear
what you think. I'm not sure about this chapter, but I've been working
really hard with it, it's been edited a lot, I can tell you that...
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry and Co, J.K Rowling does. I'm just playing around with characters.
THE HOGSMEADE WEEKEND
The first Hogsmeade weekend was upon them. It was the first week in October; Harry couldn't believe how fast time was passing by. He, Ron and Hermione had walked to Hogsmeade, now sitting at a table in The Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer.
"I can't believe how much work we have" Ron said as he took his first sip of his butterbeer.
"Yeah" Harry said tiredly as he looked out the window.
He saw Cho walking by the window with Michael Corner, both of them smiling. He was still surprised that he actually didn't care. Maybe he'd actually never been in love with her anyway... Maybe it was just as well. In Harry's experience, girls were complicated, too complicated at times. Besides, he didn't exactly think himself as boyfriend material, not after what he had learned earlier that year.
"So... have you two thought about who you want to go with to the prom?" Hermione asked them, she had not seen Cho walk by since she'd been busy talking about SPEW.
"Prom? What prom?" Harry asked and looked at her.
"Harry, haven't you heard? Everyone's talking about it. Quite annoying actually" Ron said and received a glare form Hermione.
"Well, has either one of you even the slightest idea of who you're going to ask?" she asked.
"Nope, since I just learned there was going to be one" Harry said and drank his butterbeer.
"What about you, Ron?" Hermione said.
"Well..." Ron said as his ears turned red. "I think I know who I'm going to ask."
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Well... I..."
And suddenly it became perfectly clear to Harry who Ron was going to ask. He took a deep sip of his butterbeer. Hermione looked at Harry, then Ron.
"I'll tell you later" Ron told her and drank some more of his butterbeer. "And by the way, who are you going with?"
"I don't know that yet" she said simply, blushing faintly.
Hermione looked out the window, no longer blushing.
"What's going on out there?" she said.
Harry and Ron looked out the window; everyone outside The Three Broomsticks had stopped and was staring up at the sky. Harry, Ron and Hermione left their table to find out what they were staring at.
"Hang on, that's not..." Ron began anxiously as they got outside and stared at the sky.
"There's not supposed to be an eclipse today!" Hermione exclaimed.
People around them were starting to panic. The sun disappeared behind the dark shadow slowly but surely, Harry looked around. Darkness fell over them, it was definitely not a good sign, he thought to himself.
Harry's suspicions became reality as they saw a group of masked men, Voldemort's Death Eaters, marching towards them, shouting and screaming at people while casting curses around them. There must have been about thirty of them or so, Harry reckoned. People around him, Hermione and Ron began to scream and ran in all directions as the small army came closer. Hermione and Ron dragged Harry with them into the alley near the three broomsticks.
"Give us Harry Potter and we might just let you live!" they heard one of the Death Eaters shout.
"What do we do?" Hermione whispered anxiously.
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, determined.
"You have to go and get help! Harry said, trying to make his voice sound cool and calm but he suspected it didn't sound like that.
"Harry, no! We are not leaving you!" Hermione whispered shrilly.
"Look, clearly it's me they're after. I'll create a distraction, and you can get back to Hogwarts and get help. They will kill people out there, you have to go get Dumbledore! "
"Harry, no!" Ron said who looked really pale and terrified as did Hermione.
"Go!" Harry snapped. "You have to!"
Before they could stop him, he ran out of the alley, made sure the death eaters had spotted him and then he ran towards the forest. Thinking he might loose some of them in there.
"Do not kill him! The dark lord wants him alive!" he heard someone shout behind him.
He pulled out his wand and threw the stupefy spell backwards a few times, hoping to hit a few of them at lest, as he kept on running. He was deep in the forest now, he stopped, looked over his shoulder and saw several Death Eaters were still after him, there were too many of them, he couldn't fight them all. His heart beat so hard he thought it would jump out of his chest. He had to get them away from Hogsmeade, away from the other students.
He started to run again, when he suddenly tripped on a root he hadn't seen. His wand flew out of his hand as he fell down into a cavity far into the dark forest. He landed on his back and almost shouted out in pain. His vision was blurred, he had lost his glasses. Luckily, he found them not far from where he was lying. The glass had cracked, but he could see a little through them. As he looked down he saw his right leg was in a very unnatural position. It was broken; he saw the bone sticking out close to his knee. It hurt badly, he wanted to scream but he couldn't. It would point the death eaters to him.
He had to hide or they would find him. Slowly he sat up, and dragged himself towards the nearest tree and leaned against it, muttering quietly with his eyes closed, he tried to think. Those death eaters couldn't be far away, they would find him sooner or later. His leg hurt badly, he tried not to look at it. What was he going to do now? He was stuck here, and he was all alone.
Suddenly, he remembered something. He opened his eyes and reached into his robe and found the small orb that Melinda had given him; it was now glowing in his hand. As he looked at it he remembered her words "I want you to have this. If you ever should need help or just talk, just squeeze it and say my name and I will answer". He squeezed it and held it close to him.
"Melinda, if you can hear me, I need help" he said quietly.
The orb began to glow even more; the shadows began to move faster in it. He held it close and leaned back, closing his eyes. He couldn't get up; he had to trust that she would find him in time. Had Hermione and Ron escaped the Death Eaters? He looked around for his wand, but he couldn't find it. Then suddenly, he heard a voice that gave him the chills.
"Well, well... Little baby Potter... All lost in the forest, now aren't you..."
Bellatrix Lestrange came walking towards him. She was grinning, pointing her wand at him.
"It's a pity really that he wants you alive" she said. "It would be such a pleasure, killing you. The boy who lived... Isn't that what they call you, itty bitty little baby Potter? I don't see what's so special about you... And I don't understand why the dark lord would want a pathetic little wizard such as yourself alive..."
"Couldn't Voldemort come get me himself?" Harry said, feeling the hatred and anger rising once more inside of him. "Your dark lord is a real coward, I would say. I'm guessing he still hasn't told you that he's a mudblood, has he?"
Before he could even react, she had hit him with the crucio spell. Harry twisted and turned, tried not to scream as the excruciating pain shot through his entire body, making his leg hurt ten times worse than it had.
"How dare you speak his name!" she shouted. Then she looked at him for a while. "You know, the dark lord didn't say I couldn't have a little fun with you... And he won't mind, after I tell him of your little speech..."
Just as she raised her wand once more, Harry heard the fluttering of wings. A swarm of ravens flew in over him, towards Bellatrix, forcing her to back away from Harry. He heard Bellatrix screaming in terror as the ravens stormed at her, saw her waving her hands like mad to try and get away from the birds. Suddenly, professor Gallagher came running out of the woods, he stopped in front of Harry, his back towards him. The ravens flew away from Bellatrix Lestrange, leaving professor Gallagher a clear shot.
"Stupefy!" he shouted and Bellatrix froze, her wand fell out of her hand.
"Harry"
He looked up, and found himself looking into Melinda Atwood's kind but concerned violet eyes. Professor Gallagher sank down on Harry's other side.
"I have to get him back to the school, he's hurt badly" she said and looked up at the professor. "You should get back to the castle as well, that eclipse won't last very long."
"Wait. Ron and Hermione" Harry said tiredly.
"They are probably alright, Harry." She said and looked up at professor Gallagher.
"I'll go find them" he said.
"Alright, but do hurry back, Aidan" she said.
Professor Gallagher smiled as he got up and left them.
"My wand" Harry said. "I lost it, when I..."
Melinda got her wand out and said "Accio wand", Harry's wand flew into her hand. She gave it to Harry and then she looked around her.
"We need to get you to the hospital wing, and fast... With all those death eaters around, I think it's safer and faster if we fly, are you okay with flying? "
He nodded, and suddenly he felt himself drifting up into the clear blue sky. As he looked up to see Melinda, she was nowhere to be seen. Instead he was surrounded by a swarm of ravens, probably the ones that had saved him before. He panicked, but then he heard Melinda's voice in his head.
"It's okay, I've got you. Trust me, Harry."
He felt so tired and worn, and was still in a great deal of pain pain. And he was so confused. What were these ravens that kept showing up? And how come he hadn't seen Melinda coming? Were Ron and Hermione alright? There were so many questions he wanted answers to. He was too tired to even try and understand what had just happened. After a while he let himself fall into a dreamless sleep...
End of chapter 9
Well, this chapter was the hardest one to write, I'm not really good with action scenes. Please review : - )
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry and Co, J.K Rowling does. I'm just playing around with characters.
THE HOGSMEADE WEEKEND
The first Hogsmeade weekend was upon them. It was the first week in October; Harry couldn't believe how fast time was passing by. He, Ron and Hermione had walked to Hogsmeade, now sitting at a table in The Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer.
"I can't believe how much work we have" Ron said as he took his first sip of his butterbeer.
"Yeah" Harry said tiredly as he looked out the window.
He saw Cho walking by the window with Michael Corner, both of them smiling. He was still surprised that he actually didn't care. Maybe he'd actually never been in love with her anyway... Maybe it was just as well. In Harry's experience, girls were complicated, too complicated at times. Besides, he didn't exactly think himself as boyfriend material, not after what he had learned earlier that year.
"So... have you two thought about who you want to go with to the prom?" Hermione asked them, she had not seen Cho walk by since she'd been busy talking about SPEW.
"Prom? What prom?" Harry asked and looked at her.
"Harry, haven't you heard? Everyone's talking about it. Quite annoying actually" Ron said and received a glare form Hermione.
"Well, has either one of you even the slightest idea of who you're going to ask?" she asked.
"Nope, since I just learned there was going to be one" Harry said and drank his butterbeer.
"What about you, Ron?" Hermione said.
"Well..." Ron said as his ears turned red. "I think I know who I'm going to ask."
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Well... I..."
And suddenly it became perfectly clear to Harry who Ron was going to ask. He took a deep sip of his butterbeer. Hermione looked at Harry, then Ron.
"I'll tell you later" Ron told her and drank some more of his butterbeer. "And by the way, who are you going with?"
"I don't know that yet" she said simply, blushing faintly.
Hermione looked out the window, no longer blushing.
"What's going on out there?" she said.
Harry and Ron looked out the window; everyone outside The Three Broomsticks had stopped and was staring up at the sky. Harry, Ron and Hermione left their table to find out what they were staring at.
"Hang on, that's not..." Ron began anxiously as they got outside and stared at the sky.
"There's not supposed to be an eclipse today!" Hermione exclaimed.
People around them were starting to panic. The sun disappeared behind the dark shadow slowly but surely, Harry looked around. Darkness fell over them, it was definitely not a good sign, he thought to himself.
Harry's suspicions became reality as they saw a group of masked men, Voldemort's Death Eaters, marching towards them, shouting and screaming at people while casting curses around them. There must have been about thirty of them or so, Harry reckoned. People around him, Hermione and Ron began to scream and ran in all directions as the small army came closer. Hermione and Ron dragged Harry with them into the alley near the three broomsticks.
"Give us Harry Potter and we might just let you live!" they heard one of the Death Eaters shout.
"What do we do?" Hermione whispered anxiously.
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, determined.
"You have to go and get help! Harry said, trying to make his voice sound cool and calm but he suspected it didn't sound like that.
"Harry, no! We are not leaving you!" Hermione whispered shrilly.
"Look, clearly it's me they're after. I'll create a distraction, and you can get back to Hogwarts and get help. They will kill people out there, you have to go get Dumbledore! "
"Harry, no!" Ron said who looked really pale and terrified as did Hermione.
"Go!" Harry snapped. "You have to!"
Before they could stop him, he ran out of the alley, made sure the death eaters had spotted him and then he ran towards the forest. Thinking he might loose some of them in there.
"Do not kill him! The dark lord wants him alive!" he heard someone shout behind him.
He pulled out his wand and threw the stupefy spell backwards a few times, hoping to hit a few of them at lest, as he kept on running. He was deep in the forest now, he stopped, looked over his shoulder and saw several Death Eaters were still after him, there were too many of them, he couldn't fight them all. His heart beat so hard he thought it would jump out of his chest. He had to get them away from Hogsmeade, away from the other students.
He started to run again, when he suddenly tripped on a root he hadn't seen. His wand flew out of his hand as he fell down into a cavity far into the dark forest. He landed on his back and almost shouted out in pain. His vision was blurred, he had lost his glasses. Luckily, he found them not far from where he was lying. The glass had cracked, but he could see a little through them. As he looked down he saw his right leg was in a very unnatural position. It was broken; he saw the bone sticking out close to his knee. It hurt badly, he wanted to scream but he couldn't. It would point the death eaters to him.
He had to hide or they would find him. Slowly he sat up, and dragged himself towards the nearest tree and leaned against it, muttering quietly with his eyes closed, he tried to think. Those death eaters couldn't be far away, they would find him sooner or later. His leg hurt badly, he tried not to look at it. What was he going to do now? He was stuck here, and he was all alone.
Suddenly, he remembered something. He opened his eyes and reached into his robe and found the small orb that Melinda had given him; it was now glowing in his hand. As he looked at it he remembered her words "I want you to have this. If you ever should need help or just talk, just squeeze it and say my name and I will answer". He squeezed it and held it close to him.
"Melinda, if you can hear me, I need help" he said quietly.
The orb began to glow even more; the shadows began to move faster in it. He held it close and leaned back, closing his eyes. He couldn't get up; he had to trust that she would find him in time. Had Hermione and Ron escaped the Death Eaters? He looked around for his wand, but he couldn't find it. Then suddenly, he heard a voice that gave him the chills.
"Well, well... Little baby Potter... All lost in the forest, now aren't you..."
Bellatrix Lestrange came walking towards him. She was grinning, pointing her wand at him.
"It's a pity really that he wants you alive" she said. "It would be such a pleasure, killing you. The boy who lived... Isn't that what they call you, itty bitty little baby Potter? I don't see what's so special about you... And I don't understand why the dark lord would want a pathetic little wizard such as yourself alive..."
"Couldn't Voldemort come get me himself?" Harry said, feeling the hatred and anger rising once more inside of him. "Your dark lord is a real coward, I would say. I'm guessing he still hasn't told you that he's a mudblood, has he?"
Before he could even react, she had hit him with the crucio spell. Harry twisted and turned, tried not to scream as the excruciating pain shot through his entire body, making his leg hurt ten times worse than it had.
"How dare you speak his name!" she shouted. Then she looked at him for a while. "You know, the dark lord didn't say I couldn't have a little fun with you... And he won't mind, after I tell him of your little speech..."
Just as she raised her wand once more, Harry heard the fluttering of wings. A swarm of ravens flew in over him, towards Bellatrix, forcing her to back away from Harry. He heard Bellatrix screaming in terror as the ravens stormed at her, saw her waving her hands like mad to try and get away from the birds. Suddenly, professor Gallagher came running out of the woods, he stopped in front of Harry, his back towards him. The ravens flew away from Bellatrix Lestrange, leaving professor Gallagher a clear shot.
"Stupefy!" he shouted and Bellatrix froze, her wand fell out of her hand.
"Harry"
He looked up, and found himself looking into Melinda Atwood's kind but concerned violet eyes. Professor Gallagher sank down on Harry's other side.
"I have to get him back to the school, he's hurt badly" she said and looked up at the professor. "You should get back to the castle as well, that eclipse won't last very long."
"Wait. Ron and Hermione" Harry said tiredly.
"They are probably alright, Harry." She said and looked up at professor Gallagher.
"I'll go find them" he said.
"Alright, but do hurry back, Aidan" she said.
Professor Gallagher smiled as he got up and left them.
"My wand" Harry said. "I lost it, when I..."
Melinda got her wand out and said "Accio wand", Harry's wand flew into her hand. She gave it to Harry and then she looked around her.
"We need to get you to the hospital wing, and fast... With all those death eaters around, I think it's safer and faster if we fly, are you okay with flying? "
He nodded, and suddenly he felt himself drifting up into the clear blue sky. As he looked up to see Melinda, she was nowhere to be seen. Instead he was surrounded by a swarm of ravens, probably the ones that had saved him before. He panicked, but then he heard Melinda's voice in his head.
"It's okay, I've got you. Trust me, Harry."
He felt so tired and worn, and was still in a great deal of pain pain. And he was so confused. What were these ravens that kept showing up? And how come he hadn't seen Melinda coming? Were Ron and Hermione alright? There were so many questions he wanted answers to. He was too tired to even try and understand what had just happened. After a while he let himself fall into a dreamless sleep...
End of chapter 9
Well, this chapter was the hardest one to write, I'm not really good with action scenes. Please review : - )