Chapter Six

Karen looked around the room. There wasn't really anything to smash the window with. The bed was too heavy, and the chair would probably break first. However, it was better than trying to break it with her own hands. She grabbed the chair and faced the window. She was going to have to be quick about this. If Bellatrix caught her...who knew where she would end up?

She positioned the chair so that the legs were facing the window. Taking a deep breath, she ran toward the window. A small crack appeared in the window where she hit it. "No!" She screamed. She threw her shoulder into the window. The crack crept upward and outward. More cracks formed as she continued throwing herself into it.

It took her by surprise when the glass suddenly gave and sent her tumbling out the window. The slanted roof slowed her fall down, but the breath was knocked from her lungs when she hit the ground. It took her a minute to get her breath back.

There were sharp pains all over her body. Her robes were tattered and blood was seeping through the material. Cursing under her breath she got up and started running. Where she was going she wasn't sure, but as long as it was away from her house. She looked back and Bellatrix was standing near the pile of broken glass where Karen had fell before she realized what happened and saw Karen sprinting for the trees on the far side of the field that surrounded the old house.

But Karen was gone before she could even think to run after her. However, one thing worried Karen. She was running through strange land in the middle of the night without a wand. Why hadn't she thought about that before? Well, it was too late now.

When she hit the tree line, she just kept running. After a while she slowed down, and tried to figure out where she was. No where she had been before, that was for sure. To make things worse, it began to rain. Not wanting to get sick when she was lost, she found a particularly large tree that gave her a small amount of shelter. Near dawn she finally fell asleep.

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Hagrid had felt quite honored when Albus requested that he begin searching for Voldemort's where abouts. Albus and Severus had searched for them before, but never with him. He hadn't done anything quite so important since he had gone to try and bring some of the giants to the Light side.

He didn't quite know where he was going, but Severus had given him some areas that he seemed to think Voldemort might be at. He was currently in a remote mountainous area in Northern England. He was walking through a forest that wasn't too dense, when he saw something out of the ordinary. The sun had risen many hours before, so there was plenty of light to see by. He cautiously walked toward something that looked like a black bundle. When he drew closer he realized it was human.

He recognized her immediately as one of the sixth years from Hogwarts. What was she doing lying out in the middle of a forest hundreds of miles away from the castle?

He nudged her gently, or at least as gently as he could manage, but she didn't respond. That was when he noticed the sticky red liquid on his hand where he had nudged her. She was covered in blood and her skin was slightly blue. He could only guess that she had been in the rain for a very long time.

At first he thought she was dead, but her chest was slowly rising and falling as she breathed. He carefully picked her up. He had to get her to Madam Promfey before she did die.

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Snape was seated at the teacher's table eating lunch with a few other teachers. Many times the teachers preferred to eat in the teacher's lounge, but someone had to watch the students. Dumbledore, however, enjoyed eating in the Great Hall and watching Fred and George Weasley set off small fireworks. Now that they were gone Lee Jordan had assumed their position. He, Albus, Poppy, and Minerva had the exciting job of watching the students that week.

Snape was just about to get up and leave when Hagrid suddenly burst through the doors. His tattered coat seemed to be covered in some sort of liquid.

"Madam Promfey! Come quick! There's a student injured!" Hagrid cried.

Madam Promfey stood up and ran as quickly out of the Great Hall as she could. Snape looked to Albus.

"Severus, follow Poppy. I will be there in a minute."

"Yes, Headmaster." Snape said as he got up and left the Great Hall with haste.

When Snape reached the Hospital Wing, Madam Promfey was already there, pouring the contents of Healing potions into the student's mouth. From what Snape could see the student was barely conscious. Madam Promfey pulled a curtain around the student and removed their clothes and replaced them with pajamas.

When things finally settled down, Snape walked over to Madam Promfey. "Who is it?"

"One of your students, I'm afraid." She said with a touch of worry in her voice. "Hagrid found her some hundred miles from here, half dead in the middle of a forest."

"Who is it, Poppy?" He asked again.

"Karen Shan."