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Chapter Fifty Five: Deadly Encounters

Blue light crackled past Pansy's ear, causing her to duck down, before being pushed into the nearest alcove. Blaise shot a spell back at the perpetrator, then joined her. Both Slytherins were panting, as sweat dripped from their brows, and their hands fisted their wands tightly. They had been fighting for hours; defending, attacking, and protecting one another. It was chaos in the corridors of Hogwarts. Anarchy reined on the grounds of the ancient school. And there was pandemonium in the Great Hall. It was exhilarating and frightening, adrenaline and death. Lethal spells were shot from either side; Pansy and Blaise weren't always sure which side was shooting at them. After Pansy's show in the Great Hall earlier that night, no one trusted them; Death Eaters saw them as traitors and the Order wouldn't trust their double cross.

There had been a brief reprieve only minutes before. Pansy still felt cold from the untruth. Harry had been dead in Hagrid's arms; cold and frozen and lifeless. Everyone's hearts had stopped. Disbelief had stolen everyone's breath. Voldemort and his Death Eaters had paraded the body before them, gloating at the Light's defeat. Their figurehead was gone and they would soon follow. He had offered solace to anyone who defected to the Dark side, sparing their life in exchange for their loyalty, but Pansy knew it was no life. She had lived that life and she wouldn't go back, even on the threat of death. Her parents stood several rows back, watching her. With her heart pounding and her stomach turning, she had looked away. She loved her parents, but she couldn't go back to them. Not after everything she had endured under their principles.

Draco had emerged from the crowd gathered by the entrance, looking resolutely forward. He walked forward, towards their past relations, as Pansy gaped. She couldn't believe he would return to the torturous ranks that had suffocated his soul for so long. And she was right to not believe in his actions. For when Harry miraculously came to life and leaped from Hagrid's arms, Draco threw him his wand, before disappearing into the ensuing chaos. Neither Blaise nor Pansy had seen him since and they could only hope he was still alive for his stunt, as they continued to cower in the alcove.

"We have to find Draco!" Pansy used the back of her hand to swipe at a bead of sweat trickling down her temple, "I know he can do some wandless magic, but he's defenceless against every Death Eater with an order to make his death slow and painful!"

"He'll have disarmed someone by now, he won't be defenceless. Draco's not suicidal enough to be defenceless now." Blaise replied bluntly, "But we need to get out of this alcove before we're found; we're sitting ducks here."

"Agreed." Pansy nodded. Keeping in a low crouch, Pansy peeked around the edge of the alcove and flicker her gaze left and right frantically. A swirl of dark robes disappeared around the far corner, leaving the corridor empty, "It's clear." She whispered and she and Blaise took off running in the opposite direction to the unknown figure.

"Stupefy!" A voice echoed after them and the pair spun on their heels, their wands raised defensively and offensive spells on the tip of their tongues, "Expelliarmus! Protego!" Ginny Weasley came running from a side hallway, her attention behind herself, "Reducto!" A suit of armour exploded, sending sharp shrapnel in all directions. Covering her head with her hands, Ginny sprinted down the corridor, oblivious to the two Slytherins skidding to a halt on the other side of her mess.

As the dust settled, a cloaked Death Eater came charging out, flinging spells at the copper haired witch. Ginny spun with Quidditch player quick reflexes and threw several spells at the Death Eater in return. The Death Eater laughed indulgently and stood their ground, their wand raised menacingly.

"Avada-"

"Blaise!" Pansy screeched, her wand arm extended, "Protego!"

Pansy watched in horror as Blaise launched himself at Ginny's assailant, his wand forgotten in his fist. The Death Eater barely had time to turn before Blaise's full body weight slammed into them, knocking the person to the ground. Using a strength and fierceness only a battle weary warrior could summon, Blaise pinned the large person to the ground and crushed their head into the dirty floor. An inhuman snarl left Blaise's lips, as he lifted their head, before cracking their temple back against the stone beneath them.

A sick feeling filled Pansy's stomach, as blood began to seep across the floor, like creeping red vines in the cracks between the stones. She had seen death several times before, more than she ever wished to witness, and she had even killed under pressure herself, but this was different. Murder from the killing curse or from the victim's body giving up under the torture of the cruciatus curse was swift and simple, one moment the person was there and the next they had passed on to the next life. This was horrendously different. This was the first time she had seen a person's lifeblood drain away and their body slowly creep into the afterlife. The Death Eater moaned and groaned in agony, slowly embracing death. Bile filled her throat, but her eyes could not turn away from the harrowing scene.

As the Death Eater slumped against the stone floor, finally dead. Blaise raised his head from his victim and his chest heaved up and down in quick pants.

"Blaise?" Pansy stepped forward towards her friend, a traitorous pang of fear in her stomach.

"You killed him." Ginny whispered from further away and the two Slytherins turned their gaze to the other witch.

Blaise rose and took a step towards her, his hands passively raised. Pansy vaguely wondered how many deaths the Gryffindor had witnessed and wagered she had been protected before tonight from the horror of a life ending at another human's hands. Cautiously, Blaise took another step towards her, and Ginny's gaze flicked up from the body to his gaze. Her hand tightened on her wand, before she turned and fled down the corridor, towards the sounds of the continuing battle.

"Blaise!" Pansy snapped when he moved to follow Ginny. He paused and turned to her reluctantly, "We haven't time. We need to find Draco." He nodded and they hurried away, down another corridor that brought them closer to the devastation of battle.