Their yellow skin sagged from their bones in such a gory fashion that they appeared to be part of a gruesome catwalk. Steps as firm and determined as if their bodies were still full of the warm heat of life, and with every move of their decaying figures, flecks of dry flesh managed to topple from their place and land on the stone floor with a sickening plop. They did not have much hair to worry about, only bits of graying fuzz that covered their nearly transparent scalps, making it almost possible to see their skull's sutures holding each bone in place.
But what terrified Tonks the most was the smell, the rapidly spreading odor of spoiled meat; no, it was more than that, the mixture of cow manure and an old slaughter-house would have been short on the uptake of this stench.
No words can ever be written to describe it, only possible to understand if you've seen death yourself and breathed in the aroma of decaying human flesh that has begun to change color into the characteristic shade of rotten matter.
Their exposed bones were a dirty yellow that could have made anyone retch, and with every motion of their dangling limbs, their joints creaked and cracked, threatening to shatter into tiny bits of dust.
Tonks remained in her spot, lowering her head and narrowing her bright eyes as she observed the Inferi in complete silence; fortunately for Tonks, she had managed to stay still and unseen by these cadaveric fiends as she grimaced by the nauseating spectacle.
It was true that she had never faced Inferi before, but what she had read about them during her Auror training did not prepare her for this, there had never been any course tests explaining the Inferi's habits and mode of attack, only the sole warning of their deathly visage and amazing physical strength.
No one had ever bothered mentioning to her that Inferi had the knack for eating, and the fact that they would eat humans was definitely something you could not just ignore and mask in useless texts and lessons.
Tonks leaned a bit further to get a better look, despise the horrible feeling in her stomach, and gasped in silent horror as she raised a hand to her wild hair and pulled at the short strands nervously.
No, they weren't eating the fallen Death Eaters, they were ripping them to shreds with their mangled hands, tearing into their living skin with black and green fingernails that broke when in contact with something stronger than plywood.
Bloodcurdling screams emitted from the dark wizards as the Inferi continued with their vicious carnage, tearing flesh with their fingers and with their teeth as many living hands fought with terror-stricken tremors to be free of their deathly grasps.
But it was no use, the Inferi were drenched in red blood that trickled from their ghastly faces and down to their seeping arms, dropping lightly on the stone floor and forming the elegant circular forms of gravity.
"Shit", Tonks muttered after a very loud tearing sound, something wet and heavy fell inside the circle of Inferi accompanied with a shrill moan of unimaginable pain.
But why? Why would they kill them? Punishment for failing?
Fleur was having thoughts of her own inside their dark fortress, as she continued to stand in front of the doorframe, eager to hear from Tonks.
Her white hands were clasped together tightly, digging her pink fingernails in the soft skin that covered her palms while her breaths came short and exasperated as she imagined that the worst possible fate had overcome the young Auror.
Eet ´as been more zhan fifteen minutes…and no more shaking of zhe ground ´as taken place…
The Instant Darkness Powder began to fade into a heavy white mist, and they were able to see a foot from their noses without bumping into the walls. The circle of teenagers who had been sitting on the floor were now standing and handling their wands, ready to attack when Tonks returned with information.
Fleur was about turn around and wave her wand in order to urge the teens into going inside the Great Hall and rescue Tonks, when the Metamorphmagus herself bounded into the room and crashed violently into Fleur's unexpected form.
Both girls landed with a soft groan on the cold floor, earning a few gasps and horror-filled cries.
"What happened?"
"We're going to die!"
During the riot, Tonks had managed to land on top of Fleur, her head was resting on the blonde's left shoulder and somehow their legs had intertwined into a long lock of robes and skin.
The French witch was still gasping for breath when she felt the form on top of her body struggling to get up from their position on the floor, when she realized that this might be an escaped Death Eater, eager to finish them off.
With a quick move, Fleur rose from her spot on the floor and bumped into the presumed Death Eater's chest, tackling the body with such force that they both crash landed again, but it was now Fleur who was on top.
Straddling the unknown figure's waist with steady knees and with her wand already pointing at her assailant's face; she recognized the unmistakable face of the pink-haired Auror, who in turn was sporting a confused look and a grimace that pointed out that she was in pain from the forceful fall.
Fleur widened her blue eyes and sat back, lowering her wand with a sigh and a shake of her blonde head as she swallowed a smile.
"What were you doing in front of the door?", came Tonks's voice as she continued to lie on the cold floor; pushing herself up with her elbows, she faced Fleur, who was still sitting on top of her, but of course, due to their circumstances neither of them had noticed.
"What do you zhink I was doeeng?", replied Fleur with annoyance as she glared back at Tonks, who had finally managed to hold her upper body with steady arms stretched behind her back, "I was waiting for you!"
"Oh", muttered Tonks and blinked in surprise as her glare faded into a look of flattered disbelief, before she noticed their enthralling position with a shade of a smirk on her lips. Tonks cleared her throat in order to gain Fleur's attention, but the French witch had already noticed their sitting arrangements and was quite explicit in showing it, she had actually leaned forward into Tonks's body, driven by the Auror's apologetic eyes and she would have made something of their stance if it weren't for Tonks's sudden interruption.
"You're still sitting on me", the Auror whispered with an interested look in her piercing eyes.
"Yes, I am", Fleur replied with a soft voice and a cunning smile, "care to do something about eet?"
Tonks grinned at the invite but shook her head as she pushed herself closer to a sitting position, her face coming nearer to Fleur's as she did so.
They were mere centimeters apart, white and pink strands were braiding into one as Tonks suddenly smirked a teasing smile and positioned her face beside Fleur's before whispering into her ear: "Maybe later"
Fleur narrowed her eyes at the Auror's words and frowned slightly. Using Tonks's shoulders as leverage, the French witch pushed herself up, grazing her lips over the other girl's neck before bringing her legs into a standing position.
"You are such a tease", the blonde commented and outstretched a hand toward Tonks, who rolled her eyes and took the helping hand.
"How can I be a tease, if I don't know what's going on between us?", Tronks replied as she was pulled to her feet, "for all I know, little Miss I Am So Beautiful, you're the one messing with me"
But before Fleur could counter-attack with God knows what type of comment, a scream brought them back into the room, a howl filled with pain and sorrow that invaded their ears and made their spines crawl with a cold feeling of dread.
"Oh, yes", said Tonks as a matter-of-fact, "it's not giants we're worrying about now".