CHAPTER 20: FREE AND CLEAR?
Rosa stiffened. Her eyes locked on the tip of Draco Malfoy's wand. Fear enveloped her. Had she heard right? The Cruciatus Curse? She couldn't breathe, thinking of all the stories she'd heard about it in DADA class and from her family.
"It's like your body's being turned inside out, shredded by burning knives and crushed all at the same time." That's how Dad described it. He would know. He got hit with it three times during the Big War.
Rosa's throat constricted. She couldn't let that happen to her. She had to fight. But her skull pounded. The world around her kept going in and out of focus. What kind of fight could she put up in that condition?
She braced herself, praying she wouldn't scream.
"Cru-"
Flashes of red burst around her. Crabbe spun around and toppled to the floor. Goyle and Pansy joined him a second later. Malfoy gasped, his arms flailing. Rosa jerked as the boy landed right on her stomach. The air shot out her mouth. She laid back and wheezed, trying to fill her empty lungs. Malfoy's dead weight pressed down on her. She couldn't breathe.
Footsteps pounded around her. A stocky boy with dark curly hair bent over her, grabbed the back of Malfoy's robes and flung him aside.
"Rosa! Merlin's beard, Rosa! Are you all right?"
The boy lifted her to a sitting position. Rosa blinked. A face came into focus. The face of her cousin, Jared Diaz.
She wrapped her arms around him.
"What the hell did these bastards do to you?" Jared examined her, his face contorting in anger.
"Don't worry about it." She shook her head. "I gave as good as I got."
"I'd believe that," a familiar British voice spoke.
Rosa glanced up. She swallowed, wincing as saliva mixed with some blood slid down her throat. George Weasley stood over her. He smiled, but Rosa noticed a swirl of emotion in his very beautiful brown eyes. Concern mixed with fury.
"How did you find me?" she asked as both Jared and George helped her to her feet.
"Thank Harry for that." Jared nodded over his shoulder.
Rosa spotted Harry Potter a few feet away, along with Ron, Hermione, Fred and Lee. Elation swept over her when she also saw Jimmy and Artimus with the Brits.
"You should see the map he has." Jared gazed at Harry. "The thing shows where everyone at Hogwarts is at any given moment. We used it to track you down after we got separated."
"Got here in the nick of time, too, by the look of it." George directed a warm smile at her and placed a gentle hand on her back. Rosa's insides quivered. A bolt of distress shot through her. She thought about her smashed nose and the blood staining her face. No doubt she had bruises and welts to go along with it.
She turned away from George. Merlin, she did not want him to see her in this state.
"Good God, Rosa." Hermione gaped. "What happened?"
"Forget about it," she grumbled. "I've gotten hurt worse playing hockey. Besides, you should be proud of me. I made sure that prick Malfoy will never reproduce."
"Jeez, what sort of curse do you know that can do that?" asked Lee Jordan.
"Curse, hell. I kicked him in the family jewels."
The Weasley twins and Lee howled with laughter. Huge smiles formed on Jimmy's and Harry's faces.
"Bloody hell." Ron stared at her in awe. "You're my new hero, Rosa."
"Thanks. Now, nothing against you guys," she eyed the Brits, "but I think we need to get the hell out of here."
"Right. Let's see if I can find a way out." Harry removed a piece of parchment from under his robes and unfurled it. Rosa sidled next to him and studied it. She cranked an eyebrow when she read the heading.
MESSRS. MOONY, WORMTAIL, PADFOOT AND PRONGS, PURVEYORS OF AIDS TO MAGICAL MISCHIEF-MAKERS, ARE PROUD TO PRESENT THE MARAUDERS MAP.
The map showed a detailed diagram of the school and its grounds, with little ink dots and names next to them. Currently a mass of ink dots swarmed through the first and second floors.
"Oh, this thing is too cool," she said.
"Thanks," Harry replied.
"Doesn't look like it'll be easy getting to the main doors and outside." Jimmy frowned.
"Don't despair, Jimmy Boy." Fred slapped him on the shoulder. "There are other ways to leave the castle besides through the front door."
"You mean another secret passage?" inquired Artimus.
"No, this one's not so secret." Fred waved his hand. "Follow me."
He led them down the corridor and into an empty classroom. He strode to one of the windows and opened it.
"There we go. Just leap out the window and you're home free."
"But we're on the third floor," Artimus blurted, his eyes widening.
"Well it's a good thing we're wizards, then." George put an arm around Artimus. "We can conjure a Cushioning Charm below so you won't have to worry about breaking your legs or skull or bum."
"Let's do it." Jimmy headed over to the window. The others followed.
Fred held his wand out the window and cast the charm.
"You're first, Rosa."
She nodded and took a step forward before stopping. She turned around and faced the Brits. "Bye, guys. It was nice meeting you all. Thanks for everything. Good luck, and be careful."
"Same to you, Rosa." Harry nodded to her.
"Bye, Rosa," said Hermione.
"If we ever have another problem with Malfoy, we'll give you a call."
"Thanks, Ron," she chuckled.
She then looked to George. Their eyes locked. He kept his smile, but some of its usual brightness faded. She studied every contour of George's clear, freckled face, framed by his long bright red hair. A tremor went through her stomach and down her knees. The urge to kiss him swelled within her. Lips or cheek, she debated. Hell, lips. Why not?
She would have done it had her face not been covered by blood from her busted, throbbing nose. Blood she would no doubt get on George's lips if she kissed him. Did she really want to leave him with that kind of memory?
"See you around, sexy." She grinned and winked at him . . . and winced as pain from those gestures tore through her face. Hell, she didn't even sound sexy saying it, not with the dull, nasally tone that came with her broken nose.
Rosa groaned and stalked away. Nice parting memory to give him, you idiot.
She bid Fred good-bye as he helped her onto the window sill. She took a quick glance back at George and paused. The lanky redhead stared at her in shock, pleasant shock. His cheeks turned the same color as his hair. Slowly, a big smile spread across his face.
Rosa smiled back, ignoring the pain stabbing at her face. With another wink at George, she turned back around and jumped out the window.
She relaxed her body just before she landed on the soft bubble of air. Rosa quickly slid off, making way for Artimus, Jared and Jimmy.
"Let's go!" Jimmy immediately took off for the Quidditch field.
"What about Tonks?" Rosa asked him.
"We checked the Marauders map. She's already on her way to the pitch."
Rosa nodded and scanned the grounds. Several students darted across the lawn. She kept an eye out for aurors, but saw none.
"Did that map show where the aurors are?"
"Yeah!" Jimmy looked over his shoulder at her. "Most of the ones who were patrolling outside went into the castle. I guess whatever plan Angelina and them had in mind worked."
"Hah!" Jared chortled. "Imagine that. Something actually went our way."
All of them were huffing as the Quidditch field came into view. Artimus developed a noticeable limp, his face straining. The Numbing Spell Lavender Brown put on his knee had to be wearing off, especially with all the running they'd been doing.
"Hang on, Art!" she called to him. "We're almost there."
Artimus just tightened his face and gave her a determined look.
They spotted Tonks near the Gryffindor stands.
"You okay?" Jimmy asked as he pulled up in front of her.
"Yeah. Fine. I managed to knock out six aurors before heading over here."
Jimmy sucked down a breath, smiling wide. "I said it last night and I'll say it again. You're awesome, Tonks."
"Thanks." She gave him a wry grin and tapped him on the upper arm. "Now let's pick up our brooms and get out of here."
They ducked under the Gryffindor stands. Rosa spotted five brooms, three Nimbus 1700s and two Cleansweep Fives. Rosa grabbed one of the Nimbuses, as did Tonks and Jared. Jimmy and Artimus settled for the Cleansweeps.
The five hurried out from the under the stands, mounted their brooms and kicked off. Wind whipped past Rosa, blowing her hair in all directions. She gripped the handle tight and banked left, flying higher as she followed Tonks and the others over the school. She gazed around, taken by the sunlight sparkling off the huge lake, the rising spires of the castle, the vast expanse of forest beyond the school. Merlin's beard, this place was beautiful.
They shot over the wall. A little chill went up Rosa's spine. She glanced down and saw two dark, robed figures staring up at her. Something clutched her insides and pulled them down into the pit of her stomach. Why was she so depressed?
She, of course, knew the answer. The creatures below were Dementors. Their mere presence filled people with despair.
"Whatever you're feeling, ignore it!" Tonks shouted. "It's the Dementors! We'll be clear of them soon enough! You'll be fine!"
By the time they reached Hogsmeade, all the feelings of despair left Rosa. She took a deep breath as the wind pelted her.
"We did it, man!" Jared pumped a fist in triumph.
"Not quite." Tonks flicked her wand in front of her, producing a swirling bubble of colors. A band of green curled around the sphere, flashing intensely. "We're not out of it yet. That Anti-Apparation field is still up."
"Whatever." Jared gave her a dismissive wave. "Another few miles we'll be past it. Then we'll be free and clear."
Rosa smiled and straightened up on her Nimbus. How many times over the past couple days had she thought she'd never get out of Hogwarts, that she'd wind up in Azkaban and never see her family again? So many things had gone wrong during this mission. But in the end, it all worked out. They had alerted the Order of the Phoenix, they made it out of Hogwarts, and they'd soon be able to Apparate to Tonks' parents' home. Once there they could . . .
The red bolt of a Stunning Spell shot past them.
"What the hell?" Jimmy whipped his head around. So did Rosa. Her eyes widened when she saw three wizards on brooms behind them. Three more flew up from Hogsmeade and joined them.
Oh crap. Aurors. They had to be. While D.A. succeeded in occupying the ones at Hogwarts, the ones in Hogsmeade remained alert as ever.
Rosa tensed as the aurors cast a volley of spells at them.
TO BE CONTINUED