After Hours
Chapter 2: Death by Dodgeball
By Clay
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: HP/DM, RW/HG, with slight RW/PP, DM/PP
Warnings: Um, this is a horror story so there's death. A bunch of it. Some cursing. Slash and Het. And this is vaguely AU (Continuity's the same, but they're in an American style high school as opposed to a boarding school.) Oh, and spoilers for OotP... and I guess GoF.
Notes: Idea for this story taken without reservation from the book "Deadly Detention" by Eric Weiner
Summary: An evening's detention turns deadly.

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Harry couldn't move; he couldn't think. He could only stare at Snape, repeating the words over and over in his head. Snape is dead. Snape is dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Until it became a sick sort of mantra.

Sirius was dead, though Harry had never been faced with his body. Cedric had died right in front of him, but there wasn't time to dwell on it when his own life had been at stake. Not only that, but Cedric had been a student, a child, not some infallible teacher. Snape was dead, and with no Voldemort to face, no battle to rage, Harry could only stand and stare in the silence of the classroom.

"He's...." Draco said again and Harry nodded.

A sudden bang made them both jump, and they looked up to the half open door behind the desk that lead to Snape's office. A familiar indistinct muttering reached their ears.

"Filch," Harry growled. He started for the door, hands clenched into fists, knowing he needed to do something, anything.

But a hand held him back. Draco clutched the sleeve of his robes, on the verge of panic. He looked like he wanted to cry, and suddenly it was far more important to protect the living than avenge the dead.

Harry nodded and practically escorted Draco out of the room. They took off at a run, putting as much distance between themselves and Filch before ascending to the second floor. Harry steered Draco toward Flitwick's room, and Draco complied without a word. Snape's death had hit him pretty hard.

Upon entering, four pairs of eyes looked up hopefully. Harry felt relief wash over him even as he steeled himself to do what had to come next. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Pansy had all ended up here on their own, so he wouldn't have to go searching for anyone, although it looked as if they had unconsciously, unanimously made him their leader.

Draco took a seat near the front, arms still tight around his body, expression blank.

"What did you do to him?" Pansy jumped up, running over to put her arms around Draco.

Harry waved her silent. "Snape is..." he began, but paused, trying to figure out the easiest way to break it to them. "Filch is... Filch has cracked."

Ron eyed him warily from the back of the room. "Filch has been cracked. What else is new?"

"What else is new?" Harry bit back and then lowered his voice as they all flinched. "He... he... " He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "Snape is dead."

Pansy gasped at the same time Hermione said, "He can't be."

Harry looked up. Ron was staring at him in disbelief. Neville in horror.

"Filch killed him."

"But... but how?" Ron shook his head. "Filch is a squib. How... how?"

"Poison... I think." Harry shrugged, remembering the mug in Snape's hand. "The point is that we need to get out of here. We need to let someone know."

"We need to save our own asses," Pansy pointed out, "before he comes after us."

"Which means," Harry continued for her, "that we can't stay here. This is the first place he'll come looking for us. So what are our options?"

"Let's just leave," Ron said.

"The doors are locked." It was the first time Draco had spoken since they had left Snape's classroom. His voice was low, head down, staring at his hands, but he had a bit of his mocking tone back.

"The owlry!" Pansy jumped up. "Let's owl Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic or someone! Anyone!"

Hermione shook her head. "I already checked it. It's locked as well. And all of the classrooms on the second floor are empty. There's no one else here."

"Just Filch and Snape," Ron reminded them bitterly. There was a moment of silence and they suddenly realized how serious the situation was.

"Snape..." Harry smiled. "That's it."

"Yeah," Ron frowned, "Let's all die. What a great plan."

"No, no, no," Harry shook his head, his smile fading, "Snape has keys."

"But..." Neville looked miserable, "Snape is dead."

Harry nodded. It was time to play leader again and the thought somehow calmed him, gave him strength. His voice was strong and clear, showing no hint of the queasiness he felt as he spoke. "We'll just have to get them off his body." He nodded, convincing himself to go through with it. "Let's go."

Ron and Hermione immediately got up to follow. The others, however, looked at him uncertainly.

"I can't go back in there," Draco whispered.

"Well, you can't stay here," Harry replied. He grabbed Draco's arm and the other boy let him pull him to his feet. "None of us can," He said, looking from Neville to Pansy. After a moment of thought they joined him and as a group they headed out.

There was a stairwell immediately to the right of Flitwick's room and they took it. Harry was sure that Filch would be upstairs by now and they didn't need to run into him. There was no sign of him as the group padded quietly across the school. The potions classroom door stood wide open now, and Pansy nearly screamed at the sight of Snape slumped over his desk.

"You three stay here and keep watch," Harry said to her, Neville, and Draco. Ron and Hermione seemed to want to stay with them, but Harry ushered them inside, knowing he couldn't do this alone.

"Well," he said as the three of them stood facing Snape's desk.

Hermione shrank back, covering her mouth with her hands. Harry turned to Ron.

"You take his pockets. I'll take the desk. Hermione, you look in his office."

"Harry..." Ron whispered, his face a sickly shade of green, "could you take the pockets?"

Harry nodded consolingly and they searched. He hesitated before plunging one hand into Snape's pocket. Despite the situation it still felt very wrong to be stealing from a dead man. He dug a little deeper and heard a jingle, but it was nothing more than loose change. A moment later there was a crash a shard of black painted porcelain skidded across the floor to bump his shoe. He peered over the desk; Snape's mug lay broken on the floor.

"Sorry," Ron whispered, blushing. He was shaking pretty badly. "I'm just... "He glanced at Snape and shuddered.

"Is everything all right?" Hermione poked her head out of the office.

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "Find anything?"

"Nothing."

Harry and Ron gave each other a worried look.

"Filch must have taken them," Ron said, and even the green seemed to fade as he paled at the thought.

"At least we don't have to worry about Filch using Snape's wand," Harry murmured, mostly to himself.

Pansy, Draco, and Neville looked up hopefully as they exited into the hall, but Harry simply shook his head.

"Now what?" Neville moaned, sliding down the wall.

"F-Filch!" Pansy shrieked

They all spun. Filch was at the far end of the corridor, and he had just spotted them.

"Run!" Harry yelled and he turned back to see that both Draco and Pansy were gone. The door to the stairwell at the end of the hall banged shut. The others were frozen like deer in headlights as Filch came ever closer.

"Now I've got you," He was growling, eyes bulging in hatred.

"Go!" Harry shoved Ron and Hermione and they took off. He grabbed Neville and yanked him up, following. They skidded to a halt mere yards from Filch and hung a left, racing down the cross bar. At the end of the hall, Harry steered them left again, fueled by the slapping of Filch's boots behind them.

A few steps had them passing the doors to the cafeteria and Harry grabbed the back of Ron and Hermione's robes and practically threw them and Neville inside. He dashed to the end of the hall and slammed open the stairwell door before slipping into the cafeteria himself and gently closing the doors behind him. They waited.

Filch shuffled down the hall, muttering to himself. He paused outside the cafeteria doors, breath rasping. Harry stood just inside, leaning against the wall. One hand covered Neville's mouth, though small whimpers still escaped around his fingers.

They heard the stairwell door slam shut and Filch was moving again. He had fallen for it.

Harry let out the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding and leaned against the wall, feeling boneless.

"Of course," Hermione said, "Filch is going upstairs now."

"Yeah, and?" Ron whispered.

"Draco and Pansy are upstairs."

"Shit, you're right." Harry sprang off the wall, forcing himself to remain calm. "You guys wait here. I'll find them."

"I'm coming, too." Neville said. His voice wavered, but he looked determined.

Harry looked at him in surprise.

Neville gave a shaky smile. "I can't just sit here and wait. I'll go crazy."

Harry grinned. Neville had come a long way since they'd first met. He reached out and grasped Neville's hand. "All right." He nodded. "You two stay here," he said to Ron and Hermione, "We'll be right back."

"No," Hermione pleaded, "Stay with me, Harry."

He looked between the three, brain working furiously. "Okay. I don't think anyone should be alone, so I'll stay here with Hermione and Ron, you go with Neville."

"Right." Ron gave Harry a grim smile. "See you in a few."

Once they were gone, Hermione finally seemed to relax. She shut her eyes, sliding down against the wall. Harry paced in front of the double doors, alert for even the smallest noise.

"Harry," Hermione said after a minute, "please stop that. It's driving me mad."

"Sorry." He grinned sheepishly and sat beside her.

Another minute passed.

"Hey, Hermione?"

"Mm?"

"What's been going on between you and Ron?"

Hermione gave a bitter laugh. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now." She leaned forward, eyes locked on the opposite wall. "Ron and I haven't been getting along for a while now. Today was the first time we've done more than kissed in a while. Just our luck getting caught." She sighed, "You see, Ron's been lusting after Pansy. She knows but doesn't want anything to do with him."

"Why haven't you broken up?"

She shrugged. "I guess Ron is willing to settle for me."

He nodded. "And you?"

"I love him. I keep hoping he'll come around."

Harry shook his head. "Ron's an idiot not to have fallen for you."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, a slight smile on her lips, but paused. Harry heard it, too. The stairwell door had just fallen shut again. Harry motioned for Hermione to stay put and crept over to the door. He looked out one of the small, high windows. The corridor was empty.

"Strange..." Harry muttered. "No one's there."

Hermione nodded, but didn't say anything.

A short while later, Ron and Neville returned. Harry groaned miserably when he realized they were alone.

Ron shrugged. "They weren't in the halls or the bathrooms."

Harry sighed, "They must have gone back downstairs."

But Neville was shaking his head. "When we didn't find them upstairs, we split up and went down. There's no sign of them. Or Filch."

"Damn it." Harry started to pace again. "They must be hiding somewhere... like in a classroom."

"Or the library," Hermione suggested.

"Right." Harry nodded, "Or the gym, maybe." A thought hit him. "The gym's across the hall from here," he said to Hermione. "Maybe that person... when we heard the door to the stairs close... maybe that's where they went. They could have been inside before I had a chance to look out.

"Unless," he turned to Ron and Neville, "that was one of you?"

But they were both shaking their heads. "We were on the other side of the school," Ron told them.

"Let's try the gym," said Hermione, climbing to her feet.

They went into the hall, all unconsciously tiptoeing, but the school was blissfully quiet. Harry glanced to his left and right; the corridor was empty. Crossing the hall, he reached a hand out to open the gym door, but as his fingers touched the handle, the door swung out of reach and a body slammed into him.

Harry reeled back, hitting Ron. Draco stumbled back as well, catching himself on the door. Harry smiled. "We have to stop meeting like this."

Draco stared back, eyes wide. Suddenly he lunged forward, throwing himself in Harry's arms. "Don't go in there," he said, his voice a harsh whisper.

"What?" Harry wrapped his arms around the other boy instinctively. He looked over Draco's shoulder and froze. As the gym door swung shut, he got a fleeting glimpse of something – someone – lying on the floor.

Harry pried Draco off him and rushed inside, the others right behind him. But as he reached the center of the gym, he came to an abrupt halt.

There was the sound of retching behind him and someone began to sob.

Pansy lay face up, her eyes glassy, surrounded by a pool of blood. Her throat had been cut.

Harry spun away and nearly ran back the way he'd come. He stopped beside the door and leaned his forehead again the cool stone of the gym wall, forcing himself to just breathe. "How...? He wondered aloud, "Didn't hear anyone. No one else came down, did they?"

"I don't know," Hermione said through her tears, and then louder with a hint of hysteria, "I don't know!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ron asked, voice filled with rage, "It's Malfoy."

Harry looked up. Draco was standing just inside the door, his expression blank.

"Of course," Neville whispered. He was wiping vomit from his chin. "He didn't want us to come in here."

Draco shook his head, but didn't speak. He was staring at Pansy's body.

"No," Hermione stepped forward, "It can't be him."

"And why not?" Ron snarled.

"I don't know," Hermione said yet again.

"Malfoy didn't do it," Harry said at last.

"But—"Ron began at the same time that Neville said, "How—," but Harry cut them both off.

"He just didn't!" He screamed.

The room grew quiet.

"We can't start turning on each other," he continued, much quieter, "Malfoy may be an asshole," at this Draco looked up sharply, though he still wore no discernable expression, "but I don't think he's capable of killing anyone. I don't think any of us are. Remember it was Filch we found in Snape's office. Filch killed Snape. Filch killed..." Harry swallowed, but his throat seemed too tight. He could barely speak. "Filch killed Pansy." It came out in a whisper.

The horror of the past hour was fading and reality was sinking in. Pansy was dead. Gone. Harry might not have considered her a friend, but he had known her. He had seen her every day at meals, in the halls, and in classes. She wasn't a bad person and she didn't deserve to die. Harry shut his eyes and was only vaguely surprised to feel hot tears leak out.

"Harry's right," Hermione said, and Harry was immensely grateful. He was too weary to keep up the role of leader. "Filch is the enemy. We just have to stick together from now on. Just think. There must be something we haven't thought of yet.

Ron was still scowling at Draco, but a moment later the expression materialized into one of realization. "The windows!"

Everyone looked up. The gym was nearly two stories high, its small windows near the ceiling.

Hermione shook her head. "I've already tried. They don't open wide enough to fit through."

"Then we'll break them," Harry said, warming up to the idea.

"With what?" Hermione asked as Harry grabbed Draco, who didn't appear to be able to move on his own, and led them into the hall.

"A desk?" Ron supplied, "Our fists? Anything we can get our hands on."

They slipped down the hall and into an empty classroom. Ron and Harry approached the windows while the others hung back.

Ron picked up a desk and heaved it at the window. It bounced off the window without even scratching the glass, and they had to dive out of the way to avoid it. Harry tried as well with no luck.

"Shit," Ron muttered, setting down the chair he had begun to beat the window with and smoothing his had along the glass, "What's this stuff made of?"

"It must be spelled unbreakable," Draco said, voice low and calm. He seemed more himself away from Pansy's body.

Hermione nodded, "That makes sense."

"Well, that does it," Ron sighed, plopping down on the sill. "We might as well face it: we're dead."

"No," Harry said, "it just means that we need our wands."

Draco chuckled, "We really are too dependent on magic, aren't we?"

But Harry ignored him. "I say we go back and search Filch's office properly. Maybe he still has our wands on him, but there must be an extra set of keys somewhere. We just need to look harder."

Draco stifled another laugh. "Stupid, optimistic Gryffindors."

Harry growled. He crossed the room in long, quick strides and had the front of Draco's robes clenched in his fists before he even realized what he was doing.

"And what would you suggest?" he snarled, their faces inches apart, "That we just accept our fate and die? If that's what you want, then go ahead, but I'm getting out of here. Alive."

Draco watched him for a moment, his eyes unreadable, and then he gave a half-hearted smile. "I'm sorry," he said, eyes locked with Harry's, "I'm sorry that I'm not stupid and brave and hopeful, but two people are dead." The smile dropped. "I'm scared, all right? I'm scared and I don't know what to do. I don't deal with life and death situations all the time like the great Harry Potter—"

"Cut the melodrama, Malfoy."

Draco let out a breath and lowered his eyes. "I'm a coward," he whispered, tense beneath Harry's hands. "Is that what you want to hear? I'm scared and I really, really don't want to die."

Ron smirked. "I never thought I'd live to see Malfoy spilling his heart out to a bunch of Gryffindors."

Harry couldn't take his eyes off Draco. Draco's mouth remained slightly open and it looked as if he had more to say, but now that he realized he had an audience, Harry doubted he would continue.

Finally Draco pulled away, and his robes slipped easily from Harry's hands. He breathed in deeply and met Harry's eyes, making a weak attempt at a sneer. "So what's the plan, Golden Boy?"

Harry smiled. Behind those words and despite everything, Draco trusted him. Hell, he was depending on him. They all were.

"Let's go."

Neville raised one hand slightly, as if attempting to get the attention of a teacher. "Er..." he said, blushing slightly, when all eyes were on him, "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Now?" Harry asked, exasperated.

Neville cringed, but nodded.

"Fine. But you're using the bathroom by Filch's office. I don't want us separated. And," he said, almost as an afterthought, "Hermione's coming with you. No one can be alone."

Neville looked horrified. "But Hermione's a girl."

Harry rolled his eyes, but it was Draco who said, "Observant, isn't he?"

The conversation ended there and they made their way in a silent, tight knit group to Filch's office, pausing at every intersection to look around and listen. Once they'd arrived, Harry motioned for Neville and Hermione to head into the boys' lavatory, mouthing, "Be quick."

After they were gone, he, Ron and Draco turned to face Filch's door and it was a moment before Harry realized they were waiting for him and that, once again, it was up to him to make the first move.

He took a deep breath and opened the door—

--only to find Filch inside, waiting for them.

End Two

TBC

A/N: A major, major change was made here, as someone might notice, being that Pansy didn't die the way I told her she would. This was done for strategic sheep purposes. No. I'll explain what the extent of the change was and the reasons for it at the end of the next chapter, once it won't give anything away.