Terror Personified

Chapter Two

Battle for Hogwarts

By: lana-la-banana

Inspired by the Harry Potter novels written by Joanne Kathleen Rowling

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hermione turned out of the first main passage way the first chance she got, going down a dark narrow passage that she had rarely used during her seven years at Hogwarts. She dared not use the lumos charm on her wand for fear she would be seen, so she treaded her path carefully though the ink-black route.

After fifteen minutes of jogging through the dark, Hermione saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel and she slowed, making sure her sneakers were noiseless on the marble floor. She crept out into the Charms corridor, seeing no one, but hearing screams of horror resonate in the air around her.

Finding the nearest staircase, she took the stairs two at a time. She could have found the way to the Transfiguration room in her sleep, but it seemed as though she was in was in a completely different building; the atmosphere of fright contrasting so greatly with the safeness she had formally felt within the castle walls. As she neared Professor McGonagall's classroom, a robed figure jumped out at her from behind a suit of armor, wand at the ready.

Hermione had her wand primed for an attack, but it was for naught. Her attacker was Ginny Weasley, who was guarding the classroom from any unexpected visitors.

"Thank god you're alive," Ginny said, throwing her arms around her friend. "Have you seen Ron?"

"No, but I've just seen Harry. What does McGonagall need me to do?"

"We have enough people guarding and at the relocation site, so the only other thing you can do is go try and find any survivors and direct them here. But Hermione, please be careful."

"I'll try."

"I'll make sure they don't leave without you," Ginny said before sliding back behind the armor, so neatly concealed that even a strand of red hair didn't show.

Hermione doubled back, pacing through the halls without a sound, careful as not to disturb any of the lifeless bodies that littered the ground. Near the charms classroom, she found a group of second-years clinging together as a masked deatheater pointed his wand at them laughing maliciously.

"Stupefy!" Hermione cried, hitting the wizard directly in the chest. He crumbled to the ground in a pile of black robes. Hermione flicked her wand and thin cords wrapped themselves around his body, binding him where he lay.

"Hermione!" Hermione shushed them.

"You four need to get up to McGonagall's classroom. She's transporting students to a safeplace, but you need to be quiet and get up there without being seen. Now go!"

Hermione ran off down the corridor, leaving the younger students to make their journey by themselves.

The hallway was startlingly void of human life, but Hermione could hear shouts descending from above so gritting her teeth, she sprinted up the stairs. There were more cadavers up on this floor than any other Hermione had seen and she had difficulty picking her way down the passage, but after a while, she gained her footing and was able to make more progress.

She snuck up behind two deatheaters, both somewhat preoccupied with their whispered discussion about how they were going to torment the students they found. Hermione silently stunned them and they crumpled to the ground, never knowing what happened. After binding them and hiding them in a closet, Hermione continued her trek down the corridor.

As she rounded a corner, a streak of light flashed past her, scraping her cheek and leaving a gash, but missing her head as a whole.

"Protego." Hermione activated the shield charm around her, protecting her from most curses.

A masked deatheater scurried behind a statue to block any spell she might send his way, but a second later, collapsed onto the ground. Hermione de- activated her charm but keep her wand ready to attack.

Of all people, Draco Malfoy stepped out from behind the figurine.

"You!" Hermione sent the disarming charm his way, but he easily blocked it.

"Chill out, Granger, I'm not going to attack you."

"And why should I believe you?" Hermione scoffed.

Draco ignored the question. "There's no one still alive up here and they're about to leave. You need to get back to McGonagall's room before they disappear off the face of the world without you."

"I haven't trusted you my whole life, why should now be any different?" Hermione spat.

"Because all those times, your life wasn't on the line."

"And it is now? I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

Another blast rocketed past them and Draco pulled Hermione into the crevice behind the statue.

"You don't belong fighting here. You deserve to live past this battle. Now go!"

He pushed her towards the staircase and flung himself out to shield her as she ran. Hermione sprinted, leaving all her apprehensions behind with Draco. Spells struck the ground around her, but she made it down the stairs unscathed.

Ginny was no longer guarding the pathway to the Transfiguration classroom, and Hermione pushed open the classroom door to find the room almost deserted except for the Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout, and a few assorted Prefects, all of whom were deep in conversation with the Hogwart's whole host of ghosts.

"Miss Granger." Professor McGonagall's face was drawn and white, and she seemed to have aged ten years from when she saw her last. "Have you found anyone else?"

"None alive." Hermione somberly made her report.

"The ghosts have searched the dormitories and the dungeons and found none. I think it's time for us to leave as well." She summoned a book from her desk and tapped it with her wand. "Portus."

Everyone reached in and just as they were about to touch it, the door flew open and Draco Malfoy ran in.

"Deatheaters! At least twenty-five strong heading this way!"

Hermione watched Professor McGonagall carefully. She could see that in her eyes, she didn't trust Draco one bit, but she wasn't about to leave him at the mercy of the Deatheaters.

"Well, get in then." Draco squeezed in next to Hermione, his hand poised above the book.

"One... two... three."

Hermione's fingers touched the cool leather cover, and she felt a jerk under her naval.

She was on her way to the safe place, and Draco was coming along with them.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Leave me a review and tell me what you think!

=-=- lana-la-banana =-=-