Chapter 10
"Hermione!" Harry called out, his voice echoing blindly ahead of him. "Hermione it's me!" Fully aware of the footfalls and arguing sounds of the people behind him, Harry willed himself to run faster. Holding his right hand out, following the wall, he made his way further into the maze of tunnels, cold air blowing out towards him.
"Hermione?" Harry stopped. He heard something that at first sounded like a high-pitched ring inside of his head, as if he'd just listened to loud music. The single pitched ringing became broader, and Harry could tell it wasn't coming from inside of his head, but somewhere in front of him. He continued on a bit slower, attempting to be more cautious as he got closer to the noise.
Further down the tunnel he thought he saw an outline of a person ahead of him, but told himself that it was his eyes playing tricks because there wasn't any light down there. He turned to the voices behind him, and saw that there was light coming from their wands, bright enough to penetrate through the tunnel to Harry. Surely they could see him, so he ran.
The ringing he had almost forgotten about grew louder and higher. He covered his ears and tried to run at the same time, a combination of things that are really only successful when done separately.
"Harry!" The figure in front of him yelled. The noise turned painful as he approached Hermione. Her fingers were shoved in her ears and she was backed against a wall. "Harry what are you doing!?" She called over the noise. Harry tried to tell her that he couldn't just leave her alone, but couldn't even hear his own voice. Hermione mouthed to him that the ringing was coming from her. Their pursuers had changed the tracking noise.
Harry motioned for Hermoine to follow him, and they raced down the tunnel together. They were faster than their followers, and the further Hermione was from them, the less pronounced the noise became.
"The spell is wearing off," Hermione panted as they ran. They took their fingers from their ears and could hear the angry voices behind them.
"I told you," one of them said, "that we couldn't trust her. Now you've gone and messed up the tracking spell!"
"It wasn't my fault," the female voice answered indignantly. "Who cares? We'll get Potter even faster now."
Harry, trying to hear the conversation of theirs over his own footfalls, made a wrong step and was on the ground before he could stop himself. Hermione reached town to pull him to his feet, but something was wrong. His left foot wasn't doing what he wanted it to do. It felt like rubber from his ankle to his knee and, Harry realized in a panic, like nothing was there beneath his ankle.
"My foot's broken!" he said, a golf ball sized lump of dread in his throat.
"Come on! They're getting closer!" Hermione tugged on his arm, but he couldn't get up. "At least try! You're not trying!" Hermione pulled with all her might, but Harry was paralyzed. She reached to his ankle, thinking that it was probably twisted or sprained at the worst.
She touched it very softly, feeling that it wasn't out of place. She pressed harder.
"Ouch!" Harry yelled, to the surprise of Hermione, the group of people behind them, and himself. The tunnel was quiet as his echo of pain rippled far into the distance.
He didn't move as the group sprinted towards them.
"Go, Hermione," he said, pushing her away. She stumbled from her crouched position and fell.
"No." Her determined face began to grow brighter as the wands approached
"I don't." Harry hesitated as the footsteps stopped being echoes and became as clear as his own voice. "I don't want you to see this," he said in one breath.
"No you don't," a panting voice said to Hermione. It was one of the faster pursuers, standing above them. "But thanks anyway for leading us right to him."
Hermione didn't say anything.
The wizard turned and yelled, "I've got them! They're not going anywhere!"
While his head was turned, Hermione whispered, "I'm so sorry."
Hermione sat next to Harry, her quick, shallow breathing playing across his neck. He whispered that it was going to be okay, but his voice faltered mid-sentence as twinges of pain shot up his leg. He liked it better when his ankle felt like it wasn't there. The wizard standing over them was yelling over his shoulder.
"Come on you guys, hurry up!"
Harry listened for the others but he didn't hear a thing, save the very quiet humming emanating from Hermione, the remains of the tracking spell petering away. The wizard was growing angrier as each silent moment passed by.
"Stop shitting around! I've got Potter so get over here!" His narrow face glowed in the light of his wand and Harry could see sweat glistening on his forehead. The silence was broken by soft footsteps. From the sound of it, two pairs of feet were headed towards them, accompanied by a throaty growl.
This is it, Harry thought to himself. Voldemort really did find a way to kill me. Ron was wrong, there aren't enough good people in the world. I just hope they don't kill Hermione.
With the wizard distracted by the noises from the tunnel, Harry whispered to Hermione. "Run. This is your chance, he won't leave me alone to follow you."
"I can't."
"Yes you can!" he hissed. "Please!"
"Harry, I-" Hermione stopped. She stared at something behind Harry's shoulder with her mouth still open. Harry turned and saw what she was looking at and his eyes widened.
"No! Don't!" The wizard's cries echoed down the tunnel as a large, black dog attacked him. His head hit the concrete floor with a crack, and he was out of consciousness before anyone really realized what was happening.
"Sirius!" Hermione cried. "You came!"
Sirius transformed into himself, answered crossly, "Of course I did," and glared at Harry. "I told you not to come this way."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows at his godfather. "I didn't know you were coming back-"
"It doesn't matter!" Sirius reached down and grabbed Harry's shoulders. "When I tell you to do something, I mean it! I wasn't going to let anything happen to Hermione! I'm trying to keep you alive, Harry!" Sirius' hands let go of Harry's shoulders and wrapped him into an awkward hug. Sirius righted himself, and Harry thought he saw a tear glistening on Sirius' cheek.
"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled while Sirius turned away. The pain he felt in his chest was suddenly aching a lot more than his ankle was.
"I should have told you I was going to follow Hermione," Sirius said, turning around again. His face broadened into a grin. "After the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, I should have known you wouldn't have left her alone."
The wizard on the ground, whom everyone had forgotten for a moment, groaned deeply.
Sirius healed Harry's broken bone with a few precise words and wand movements, and the three of them ran ahead.
AN: Sorry for the long time between additions. *shrug * it happens. I also added more to my other stories, if it means anything (
"Hermione!" Harry called out, his voice echoing blindly ahead of him. "Hermione it's me!" Fully aware of the footfalls and arguing sounds of the people behind him, Harry willed himself to run faster. Holding his right hand out, following the wall, he made his way further into the maze of tunnels, cold air blowing out towards him.
"Hermione?" Harry stopped. He heard something that at first sounded like a high-pitched ring inside of his head, as if he'd just listened to loud music. The single pitched ringing became broader, and Harry could tell it wasn't coming from inside of his head, but somewhere in front of him. He continued on a bit slower, attempting to be more cautious as he got closer to the noise.
Further down the tunnel he thought he saw an outline of a person ahead of him, but told himself that it was his eyes playing tricks because there wasn't any light down there. He turned to the voices behind him, and saw that there was light coming from their wands, bright enough to penetrate through the tunnel to Harry. Surely they could see him, so he ran.
The ringing he had almost forgotten about grew louder and higher. He covered his ears and tried to run at the same time, a combination of things that are really only successful when done separately.
"Harry!" The figure in front of him yelled. The noise turned painful as he approached Hermione. Her fingers were shoved in her ears and she was backed against a wall. "Harry what are you doing!?" She called over the noise. Harry tried to tell her that he couldn't just leave her alone, but couldn't even hear his own voice. Hermione mouthed to him that the ringing was coming from her. Their pursuers had changed the tracking noise.
Harry motioned for Hermoine to follow him, and they raced down the tunnel together. They were faster than their followers, and the further Hermione was from them, the less pronounced the noise became.
"The spell is wearing off," Hermione panted as they ran. They took their fingers from their ears and could hear the angry voices behind them.
"I told you," one of them said, "that we couldn't trust her. Now you've gone and messed up the tracking spell!"
"It wasn't my fault," the female voice answered indignantly. "Who cares? We'll get Potter even faster now."
Harry, trying to hear the conversation of theirs over his own footfalls, made a wrong step and was on the ground before he could stop himself. Hermione reached town to pull him to his feet, but something was wrong. His left foot wasn't doing what he wanted it to do. It felt like rubber from his ankle to his knee and, Harry realized in a panic, like nothing was there beneath his ankle.
"My foot's broken!" he said, a golf ball sized lump of dread in his throat.
"Come on! They're getting closer!" Hermione tugged on his arm, but he couldn't get up. "At least try! You're not trying!" Hermione pulled with all her might, but Harry was paralyzed. She reached to his ankle, thinking that it was probably twisted or sprained at the worst.
She touched it very softly, feeling that it wasn't out of place. She pressed harder.
"Ouch!" Harry yelled, to the surprise of Hermione, the group of people behind them, and himself. The tunnel was quiet as his echo of pain rippled far into the distance.
He didn't move as the group sprinted towards them.
"Go, Hermione," he said, pushing her away. She stumbled from her crouched position and fell.
"No." Her determined face began to grow brighter as the wands approached
"I don't." Harry hesitated as the footsteps stopped being echoes and became as clear as his own voice. "I don't want you to see this," he said in one breath.
"No you don't," a panting voice said to Hermione. It was one of the faster pursuers, standing above them. "But thanks anyway for leading us right to him."
Hermione didn't say anything.
The wizard turned and yelled, "I've got them! They're not going anywhere!"
While his head was turned, Hermione whispered, "I'm so sorry."
Hermione sat next to Harry, her quick, shallow breathing playing across his neck. He whispered that it was going to be okay, but his voice faltered mid-sentence as twinges of pain shot up his leg. He liked it better when his ankle felt like it wasn't there. The wizard standing over them was yelling over his shoulder.
"Come on you guys, hurry up!"
Harry listened for the others but he didn't hear a thing, save the very quiet humming emanating from Hermione, the remains of the tracking spell petering away. The wizard was growing angrier as each silent moment passed by.
"Stop shitting around! I've got Potter so get over here!" His narrow face glowed in the light of his wand and Harry could see sweat glistening on his forehead. The silence was broken by soft footsteps. From the sound of it, two pairs of feet were headed towards them, accompanied by a throaty growl.
This is it, Harry thought to himself. Voldemort really did find a way to kill me. Ron was wrong, there aren't enough good people in the world. I just hope they don't kill Hermione.
With the wizard distracted by the noises from the tunnel, Harry whispered to Hermione. "Run. This is your chance, he won't leave me alone to follow you."
"I can't."
"Yes you can!" he hissed. "Please!"
"Harry, I-" Hermione stopped. She stared at something behind Harry's shoulder with her mouth still open. Harry turned and saw what she was looking at and his eyes widened.
"No! Don't!" The wizard's cries echoed down the tunnel as a large, black dog attacked him. His head hit the concrete floor with a crack, and he was out of consciousness before anyone really realized what was happening.
"Sirius!" Hermione cried. "You came!"
Sirius transformed into himself, answered crossly, "Of course I did," and glared at Harry. "I told you not to come this way."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows at his godfather. "I didn't know you were coming back-"
"It doesn't matter!" Sirius reached down and grabbed Harry's shoulders. "When I tell you to do something, I mean it! I wasn't going to let anything happen to Hermione! I'm trying to keep you alive, Harry!" Sirius' hands let go of Harry's shoulders and wrapped him into an awkward hug. Sirius righted himself, and Harry thought he saw a tear glistening on Sirius' cheek.
"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled while Sirius turned away. The pain he felt in his chest was suddenly aching a lot more than his ankle was.
"I should have told you I was going to follow Hermione," Sirius said, turning around again. His face broadened into a grin. "After the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, I should have known you wouldn't have left her alone."
The wizard on the ground, whom everyone had forgotten for a moment, groaned deeply.
Sirius healed Harry's broken bone with a few precise words and wand movements, and the three of them ran ahead.
AN: Sorry for the long time between additions. *shrug * it happens. I also added more to my other stories, if it means anything (