A Dark Corridor

Chapter 21: Collision

Lily Evans toyed with her long red braid as she walked along on of the many Hogwarts corridors. She was headed to Hufflepuff House, to stay with her friend Drucilla Webster. Andromeda Black, her other best friend, who was from Ravenclaw House, was most likely already there. They had this unusual arrangement ever since Lily's first day at Hogwarts, when she made fast friends with Drucilla on the Hogwart's Express, only to find themselves placed in different houses. Professor Dumbledore was kind enough to allow this arrangement; at first, the people of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff houses were not amused. But they soon came to accept this arrangement, and now, Lily was more or less treated as an honorary Hufflepuff, even if she was a Gryffindor. And Drucilla was welcomed as a guest in Gryffindor house. Andromeda joined in their circle in Second year. So every third night, Lily would sleep in the Ravenclaw's nest. Andi's Ravenclaw housemates simply ignored them.

Tonight, however, Lily was to spend the night in Hufflepuff House, which was downstairs from Gryffindor Tower, so she tried to make her way quickly thought this dark passage. Up ahead, she saw that one or two of the torches went cold. She squirmed inside. Some Gryffindor she was! Scared of the dark! Still, she wished she had someone with her. There was something not right in the air.

Abruptly, a few sets of running feet echoed loudly down the passage. Lily gasped as a tall thin presumably male figure who had not been watching where he was going barrelled straight into her. Both he and Lily sprawled onto the stone ground. The man deftly rolled off her and spat, "You stupid bitch, don't you watch where you're going? Get out of my way, girl!"

Lily shrank away from the creature; even in the wan light she could see the man's serpentine features and glowing red eyes. Those eyes were the dead giveaway.

She grit her teeth and hastily rose to her feet. She began to run in the opposite direction, but pain knifed though her ankle, and she couldn't manage more than a stumble forward, right into another student's grasp. Lily screamed. It was a girl she knew from her potions class. Both she and her brother were in Slytherin. But what made Lily scream was the fact that blood was streaming out of the girl's eyes, like ghastly tears.

"Well, if it isn't that little Mudblood cow Lily?" the girl raged. She slammed Lily into the wall with fury.

"Dammit Rachel! We don't have time! He'll catch us!" a third person shouted in the girl's ear.

"What do I care?" she shrieked. "Look at me! I can't use magic any longer! I, Rachel Lestrange, whe used to be a twelfth-generation witch, can't use magic! But this useless, fat Muggle-born slut can? Where is the justice in this?" she demanded.

Lily managed to reach up and push Rachel back off her. "Don't you call me that!" she spat. "If anyone around here is the slut, it's you! Just get away from me. Whatever happened to you, I'm sure you deserved it, you evil creature! I can't possibly think of anyone more useless now than you!" And with that, Lily pushed past the broken girl, only to face her brother.

"Just watch it, Evans, that I don't snap your neck in half!" he hissed. "You don't talk to your betters like that!"

"I don't give a damn about your family honor!" Voldemort snapped, making them all jump a bit. "I'm getting the hell out of here before the boy catches up to us!" and with that, he took off again, never paying Lily another moment's thought. Lestrange dragged his sister away with him, and Lily was left alone int he dark passage again.

Shuddering from fear, Lily began crying as she continued down the hallway. She could have been killed just then! Voldemort had just bumped into her! Rachel Lestrange couldn't use her magic anymore? Why? Who were they running like the dickens to get away from? Would he come running down the hallway too? Then, she stopped in her tracks. How could she be so stupid? She had to go and tell Professor Dumbledore about this! Voldemort was in Hogwart's!

Her ankle was on fire by the time she arrived at the Headmaster's office. "Licorice," she cried, and the stone gargoyle moved aside. Thankful that she could take her weight off her ankle, Lily leaned on the magical railing, and the staircase took her right to the main circular office.

Though it was fairly late in the evening, Dumbledore was still in the green robes he'd worn at dinner that evening. "Lily, my dear, what is wrong?"

"Voldemort...in the castle!" she gasped.

"My good Lord, where? When?"

"Just now... I was on my way to Hufflepuff House when he came dashing through the passageway. He was with Rachel and Rodolphus Lestrange. They were running away from someone..."

Professor Dumbledore wasted no time. He tossed Floo Powder into his hearth and called out, "Maximillian! We have an emergency situation here!" Lily watched as Professor Foxworth's face appeared in the flames.

"Albus? What's going on? Not the werewolf again, I hope!" he answered.

"No, I'm afraid it's much worse. Voldemort has been spotted in the castle. We must secure all the students and, if possible, capture him. He appears to have been fleeing with two students, from your house. The Lestrange twins."

Foxworth frowned deeply upon hearing their names. Lily swallowed a lump in her throat; Foxworth was head of Slytherin House. The same house that horrible Severus Snape was in. She shuddered yet again. "I'm on it, Albus. I'm getting Professors McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick now. By the by, where's Malfoy? Is he with you?"

Dumbledore shook his head. Lily squirmed, because even though he was a Slytherin, he was also Drucilla's boyfriend. If something happened to him, Dru would be heartbroken. And she had been hearing the rumors about Draco and Severus Snape, and they were mostly from Lestrange's lips. Lestrange hated Draco Malfoy. How likely was it that he might have come to harm on the very night that she should run into Voldemort himself fleeing with Lestrange and his sister? She heard Foxworth growl with frustration, and then his head popped out of existence.

"Professor Dumbledore? I don't know Draco Malfoy very well, but my friend Drucilla likes him a lot and... I've been thinking that, well, I hope he's not hurt or anything..."

Just as these words left Lily's lips, the fireplace erupted into life again. This time, it was Madame Pomfrey in the flames. "Professor! Severus Snape began calling out in his sleep!"

"He's out of his coma?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not precisely. What I mean is, he started calling out Draco Malfoy's name, but then he slipped back under. What could it mean, given what we know about him..." she asked nervously.

"It very likely means that Draco Malfoy is in terrible danger, Poppy. I'm going to search this castle from top to bottom if I must, but I will find him. Lily, I advise you to go to Madame Pomfrey and get your ankle taken care of. I noticed your limp when you walked in here."

"Oh, yes, my dear. Use Floo Powder and come right here to me," Madame Pomfrey urged.

"Uh, no not Floo Powder. I don't want my ankle more injured than it already is..." Lily shuddered as she started to retreat. She would have loved to get her ankle healed, the pain was excruciating. Bt what kind of friend would she be if she left her best friend's boyfriend suffering? "I'll go the long way," she answered.

"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said sternly, "none of the students as of now are permitted to be in the corridors for any reason. I insist that you go straightaway to Madame Pomfrey," he told her.

"I will, Professor Dumbledore, I promise," she replied as she walked backwards into the office doors and pushed through them before Dumbledore had a chance to stop her.

He turned to the fire and sighed. "She completely ignored me Poppy..." he complained. "But, she is the one who ran straight into Voldemort and lived to tell the tale. Let's just hope that she slowed him down as much as he slowed her down..."

Lily walked, since she couldn't run if her life depended on it. She returned to the lower areas of the castle. Peeping into each empty classroom she passed, she saw no sign of life. Unitl she spotted a black dog, that is, up ahead, who began barking furiously at her. When she tried to advance, he bared his teeth. She gasped. Apparently, this dog didn't want to let her through! "Stop that! Bad dog!" she yelled. She stomped her foot and immediately regretted it. When the dog began to head toward her, she decided that she'd had enough of this meddlesome canine. "Impedimenta!" she cried, sending blue light from her wand at the dog. He was stopped cold in his tracks, but never did stop barking as Lily limped her way past the animal. "Oh, do stop carrying on. You'll be moving again soon," she assured him in disgust, and then moved on.

She spotted a door that had some light streaming out into the dark hallway. In the beam of light, she saw a fat gray rat scurrying away. "Eek!" she squeaked, dismayed that Hogwart's would have rats running around in the hallways with so many cats in the building. She cautiously approached it, and listened. She thought she heard a groan, so she pushed the door open.

On the stone floor was a tallish blond boy. He had no clothes on and was face down. "Oh, no," Lily gasped. It was Draco. She stumbled to his side. "Draco! Draco, wake up!" When he didn't respond, she waved her wand and said, "Ennervate!" The spell jolted Draco back to life.

"Huh? Drucilla?" he mumbled, then focused a bit more through his gray eyes. "Oh, Lily! Oh, my God!"

"Here," she said, taking her robe off her shoulders and putting it on Draco as he sat up. "We'll both go now to Madame Pomfrey. I guess Voldemort got to you. Thank God you're alive," Lily breathed.

"Speak for yourself," Draco muttered as she searched her pockets for Floo Powder. "Lily, please don't tell anyone else about this. How you found me," he asked a few seconds later.

"I...I won't say anything," she said, just as two new faces popped their heads into the door. One was Peter Pettigrew, and the other was Sirius Black.

"Well, so much for that," Draco sighed as he stood up. Peter and Sirius certainly looked worried.

"Lily? You need to get back to Gryffindor House! There's been an announcement made about..." Peter started.

"Voldemort? Yes I know he's around. I ran into him," Lily grimaced. "Have either of you any Floo Powder? We need to get to the Hospital Wing. My er, trip with the Dark Lord has produced a rather nasty ankle injury..." Lily asked dryly. All three boys gaped at her.

Sirius came forward and tossed some of his Floo Powder into the flaming hearth. He clearly looked torn between staying with Lily and Malfoy, and leaving with Peter. "Listen, we have to go. I'm sorry," he said.

"Go ahead back to Gryffindor Tower, Sirius. Oh, and make sure that poor dog that I immobilized isn't left out there all night, will you?" she asked as she and Draco entered the flames.

"Oh, don't worry, I already took care of that," Peter smirked as Lily called out "Hospital wing!" She and Draco disappeared in emerald smoke.