Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Nexus
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" and "The Heart of Everything: Shallow Bay" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.
Time: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Katie blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The smoke was starting to clear, but ti really did not help with the lack of vision. She blindly stumbled down the short hallway behind Damon, feeling like a fish out of water.
Brad caught her arm and they slowly made their way to a small nook.
Katie kept blinking. With each blink, the world came back into focus.
The rest of the group joined them. Damon kept peering nervously out, but no one was coming. Katie frowned. This was just too easy, just far too easy.
Jasmine nodded forward and the rest of the group formed in behind her.
Katie kept her wand out, alternating between pointing it forward and to the side. So far, no one had come out to stop them. Her guard was up and her heart was racing. Something was going to go wrong, she could just feel it in her guts.
Alex walked next to Katie. His face was the most serious she had ever seen it. He gave her a small smile whenever he saw her watching him.
Lisa joined them on Alex's side. She stepped forward.
Katie's world exploded. She flew backwards and struck the back wall. She could only see dots and hear the panicked cries of the others around her. She shook her head and fought to refocus.
Alex was next to her, unmoving.
"Alex," Katie whispered as she crawled over to him and shook him. "Alex, please."
He didn't move.
Katie put her hand on his neck. Nothing.
"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Damon roared in her ear.
Katie allowed him to pull her away from Alex's body. His body...She gulped. He was dead and it was all her fault. He would not had even come had it not been for her. Lisa? Where was Lisa? She was probably dead as well. Two of her friends were dead and it was because of her.
Damon pulled Katie around the blast zone. She could not get the sound of the explosion and the bodies flying out her mind. How many more were dead? She didn't want to ask.
People were rushing toward them. Hexes and jinxes were flying, but Katie could do nothing. Alex and Lisa were gone.
"KATIE!" Leanne screamed.
Katie turned and sent a curse flying toward a Death Eater. They killed her friends and tortured her husband. They were going to pay.
She charged forward.
Another fireball from Fairyland stuck the north wall sending more wreckage and smoke flying through the air. She blinked and could faintly make out the faint figure of a Death Eater charging toward Jasmine. Katie held out her wand and sent a curse that sent the Death Eater flying out of Fairyland's hole.
She probably killed him, but, yet, she didn't care.
She ducked as a dementor went over her head. It was rather odd; the creature did not even act like she was there.
Damon bumped up against Katie's back. Katie froze when she realized what was happening. The dementors and Death Eaters had them surrounded.
Katie heard the laughter of a Death Eater. She wasn't sure who he was, but judging by his laugh, he wasn't very old. "Well, well, what do we have here. Looks like you failed your mission."
Katie could feel the dementors pulling every happy thought out of her.
"You should have known that we would not allow you to walk in here so easy." The Death Eater paused. "And now, here you are, stuck, with no place to go."
Jasmine nodded to Katie's wand.
The Death Eater took a step forward. "What should we do with you?"
"NOW!" Jasmine screamed.
Katie pointed her wand at the Death Eater. "REDUCTO!"
Curses flew toward the Death Eaters and dementors before they even had the time to react. Many of them flew backwards or just simply collapsed on the floor. Cries of those in agony filled the hall, but Katie could not allow herself to feel horrible for what just happened. The Death Eaters were trying to kill them.
"FASTER!" Jasmine screamed..
Katie skidded around a corner, hot on Brad's heals. She reached behind her and pulled Alicia forward. Fairyland must have stuck again because they air and flying objects were getting much heavier. A Death Eater appeared by Katie's side. She didn't have time to react as he shot a jinx in her direction. Damon appeared and sent a rebound spell back at the Death Eater. All around, Katie could hear yelling, cries of pain, cries for help, the sounds of walls falling, death-
Fred found a clear way ahead and pushed everyone in that direction. Katie winced as something stuck her head, but did not stop.
Angelina's screams filled the air. Katie's heart skipped a beat. A dementor was picking Angelina up by her hair and slowly pulling back its hood.
"Expecto Patronum!" Katie pointed her wand at the dementor and silver cheetah shot out of the end of it. Katie grabbed Angelina. "COME ON!"
Katie and Angelina took off running after Fred. Behind her, Katie could hear Damon urging Leanne on, who was grunting in pain. The door ahead was ajar. Katie chanced a look back. The Death Eaters were still coming.
"COME ON!" Jasmine urged them.
Katie and Angelina ran through the door with Damon and Leanne right behind them.
"COLLOPORTUS!" Jasmine yelled and the door slammed shut behind them.
Katie looked around the room. "Where's everyone else at?" She didn't see Kingsley, George, and Remus. She thought that they were leading the group.
"We must have got separated in the smoke," Leanne gasped.
"Hush up," Brad hissed.
Outside Katie could hear the sounds of Death Eaters moving around. Someone was barking orders, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.
"What do we do?" Alicia whispered.
"We need to move," Jasmine muttered back. "We have to get away from the door."
They ran as quickly and quietly as possible toward the exit at the far end of the room. At least it was easier to see here. Fairyland's fireballs had not yet reached the deep interior of the fortress. Katie could hear the weapon firing and feel the floor shake, but nothing happened.
The door was getting closer. They were almost there when something heavy slammed into the charmed shut door behind them.
"Move it!" a voice barked. "Alohomora!"
The door flew open. Damon grabbed Katie and they dived under a heavy piece of furniture.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," a rough voice chanted.
Katie could hear the Death Eaters kicking aside furniture and see wand sparks flying. She put her hand over her mouth and willed her breathing and heart not to be so loud.
"Check under the furniture instead of just blowing it up," a rough voice barked. "We need to keep some of them alive."
Katie's eyes grew huge as the knees of a Death Eaters started to bend. She pointed her wand at him. "STUPEFY!"
The jinx hit the nearest Death Eater. He fell over backwards, his head hitting the floor with a sickening crunch. Another Death Eater avoided the spell and has his wand pointed in Damon's face. The third Death Eater was focused on the rest of the group.
Damon pulled his wand and was about ready to send a curse.
"Avada-" the Death Eater started.
That was when Katie decided to do something stupid. She launched herself at the Death Eater, who was about twice her size. The Death Eater was caught off guard and the two of them fell to the ground.
"STUPETY!" Katie screamed as she pointed her wand in the Death Eater's face.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Leanne screamed at the same time.
Katie watched in horror as both hers and the Death Eater's wand soared out of their hands and landed on the floor a few metres away. Katie kicked the stunned Death Eater off her and charged after her wand.
Leanne followed Katie. "I'm sorry!"
"Not now!" Katie snapped as she picked up her wand. "LOOK OUT!"
A jet of green light flew right over Leanne's shoulder. The green light soared out the open door.
The unstunned Death Eater was getting close to Jasmine. His mask was slipping down his face. Growling, he reached up and ripped it off, giving Jasmine the time she needed. "STUPEFY!" Jasmine screamed.
The Death Eater hit the brick wall. Katie winced at the sound of his neck snapping as he slid to the ground.
Another Death Eater stormed through the open door, his wand was out and random jets of light flying through the room.
"STUPEFY!" Brad roared. The jet of red light struck the Death Eater in the chest. With his arm still raised and wand still sending sparks, he fell the ground.
Katie blinked as she watched a crack form in the floor and make its way up the side of the wall. Centimetre by centimetre the crack made its way up the wall and toward the ceiling. Swearing, Katie grabbed Leanne and pulled her back, just before a section of the ceiling collapsed, sending dust and debris flying through the air, crushing those below it.
"Is everyone alright?" Brad called.
Several chorus of "yes" filled the air.
"I don't think the Death Eaters are though," Fred said. "They look a little crushed to me."
"Let's get out of here!" Angelina exclaimed.
No one could argue with that. They ran out a door and down a dark hallway. Katie chanced a look back and saw that two more Death Eaters had entered the room during the blast and were right behind them.
Both Death Eaters raised their arms. "IMPEDIMENTA!" the leader cried.
Katie, Brad, and Demi, who were bringing up the rear, were all flung backward. Katie could hear the cries of the others and Brad urging them to keep going. She felt her head smash into the wall, little lights formed covering her vision. She shook her head.
"WE FOUND THEM!" a Death Eater was roaring. "WE'RE I-"
Katie pointed her wand at him. "Silencio!"
The Death Eater kept trying to talk, but nothing was happening. He gave a bewildered look to his partner, who just shrugged. For a moment, Katie was glad that they didn't get Death Eaters with actual brains.
Brad pointed his wand at the second Death Eater. He smirked at the Death Eater with a bloodily mouth. "Your turn. Petrificus Totalus!"
The second Death Eater's legs snapped together and he fell forward, face down at Katie's feet.
"Can you stand?" Brad asked.
Katie nodded. "I think so." She looked at Demi's limp form. "What about her?"
Brad knelt down and picked Demi up. "Let's go. We can't stay here. Those two idiots probably alerted everyone of our whereabouts."
Katie nodded and followed Brad with the debris, with her wand out and senses alert.
They walked slowly down a dark corridor, no one speaking. Katie kept waiting for the Death Eaters to appear, but none came. She could hear Brad shifting Demi around, but other than that there was nothing.
Katie was thankful that they were this deep. At this level, the cries of the dying could not be heard and the bodies could not be seen. She knew that this was war, but did there have to be so much death?
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Katie looked up and found herself staring into the eyes of yet another Death Eater.
Lots of action in this chapter! I know that the next chapter is supposed to be a Marcus chapter, but I really don't have enough planned for him to get a whole chapter. So, we will go back to Marcus and Haley for a short amount of time, then return to Azkaban. Thanks for reading!