Chapter Fifteen This Fight
Elizabeth stood at the end of the corridor beside Seamus. An uncomfortable silence hung over them as Elizabeth tried to think of what had gotten to Seamus.
"Can't you stay behind?" She asked Seamus as they stood a small distance from Ron, Neville, Dean, Hermione, Ginny and Luna in the Entrance Hall.
"Why?" He demanded, his eyebrows knitting in confusion.
"I don't want…" Elizabeth paused, looking down at her hands. "I don't w –"
"Nothing's going to happen," Seamus said calmly, placing a reassuring hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.
Elizabeth looked down at his hand, her skin tingling under his touch. When she raised her eyes to his she saw warmth that had nothing to do with the words he had just spoken, in his eyes.
"Seamus –" She started
"Elizabeth, Seamus, can you two watch the end of the corridor?" Ron asked, looking at them expectantly.
Elizabeth frowned as Seamus's hand dropped from her shoulder.
"Sure," He answered.
Elizabeth shook her head. That's not it. She didn't understand; if he wasn't angry with her then what was wrong?
"'Lizabeth,"
Elizabeth looked up to see Seamus inching sideways along the wall until his shoulder was touching hers. She waited for him to speak, her eyes on his.
"A lot…" He paused, looking along the corridor to where Ron, Ginny and Neville were near the entrance to the Room of Requirements. "A lot of things happened to me."
Elizabeth looked at him and wondered if he didn't realize that this was the most obvious thing in the world.
"A lot of things happened," He repeated, taking Elizabeth's hand in his own and gently caressed the back of it with his thumb. "And I'm ready to forget all about them. I'm ready for this fight."
Elizabeth nodded and blinked back tears that rose to her eyes. He's been through so much and now he's asking for more. She swallowed and looked down at their hands. She pushed herself from the wall and stood in front of Seamus, her feet fitting neatly between his. She brought her other hand up to hold his.
"I'm –" She started but was cut off by Seamus pulling her towards him, his eyes intent on hers. She vaguely noted him purse his lips slightly – wetting them inconspicuously, a small movement of his she had completely forgotten – as her heartbeat increased in anticipation.
They were just inches apart when without warning the entire corridor was thrown into complete darkness.
With a gasp, Elizabeth took a quick step back, and dropped Seamus's hands. She stared blindly towards where the others were. She could hear footsteps and Ron's cursing.
"Seamus, w –" She was cut off as a hand clamped over her mouth and she was pulled back against something warm.
"Don't speak," Seamus's voice whispered in her ear. Suddenly Elizabeth realized that the warm thing she felt pressing against her entire body from behind was Seamus.
"Sh…" She felt Seamus's soft breath tickling down her collar to her back as he shushed her and his lips as he pressed a kiss to the base of her neck.
Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat, but it had nothing to do with the quick footsteps and murmurs she heard passing just a foot in front of her in the darkness. She felt Seamus's lips move along the back of her neck to just behind her ear, small kisses leaving a trail of goose-bumps in their wake.
"I love you," He whispered before grasping her hand tightly and guiding her through the dark corridor.
She hadn't even noticed his hand had left her mouth.
They stumbled into a lit corridor, followed a second later by Neville, Ron and Ginny.
"What was that?" Seamus demanded; eyes wide, Elizabeth's hand still in his.
"I have no clue," Neville answered, "Where'd they go?"
Ginny shook her head, looking down the corridor then to the left fork, then the right as they stood at a junction. There was no indication that anyone had passed through the area.
Running footfalls caused five wands to be drawn and pointed down the corridor to the right.
"Professor Lupin?" Elizabeth questioned in shock as he, another wizard and a witch entered the junction at a run.
"Which way did they go?" A tawny haired witch demanded.
"We don't know they –" Ginny started but stopped suddenly. "Bill, what're you doing here?"
"Dumbledore sent for us," A tall, youthful wizard answered quickly. Judging by his lengthy red hair pulled back in a ponytail, Elizabeth guessed that he was one of Ginny's older brothers.
"We'll go this way," Neville said loudly, pointing straight down the corridor. "You lot take the left."
The older three continued their run on the course they had been on while Elizabeth joined Ron, Ginny, Neville and Seamus as they ran straight. The darkness in front of the Room of Requirements had skewed her sense direction momentarily, but she realized that they were now headed towards the Entrance Hall.
It was past curfew so when they burst into the Entrance hall all they could hear was their own footsteps.
"There's no one here," Ron gasped in bewilderment, spinning around to look at the rest, confusion in his eyes.
"We went the wrong way," Ginny breathed in exasperation.
"Come on then," Neville waved them to a door in the direction of the dungeons. "Short cut."
They followed Neville towards the Hufflepuff common room until he turned off the corridor to lift a large dusty tapestry so they could all pass under it and up a concealed flight of stairs. "Watch out for the middle step, it vanishes!" Neville called.
The moment she turned the corner into the Astronomy tower corridor, a green jet of light flew past Elizabeth's ear, cracking the stone wall between herself and Seamus.
Neville had evidently taken in the scene before them – in which over a dozen witches and wizards were dueling – and made a decision as he ran after a handful of dark robe clad individuals who were headed towards stairs leading to the Astronomy tower. The moment he reached the first step however; he was thrown backward through the air and landed in a crumpled heap across the floor.
"No!" Elizabeth gasped. Ducking her head, she sprinting across the floor to her fallen friend. She reached him and dropped to her knees beside him just as a large blond haired wizard, clad in black robes fired some bright, white jinx towards them. Elizabeth cast a silent and weak shielding charm, the jinx broke the defense but missed them all the same.
"Neville, are you ok? Say something!" Elizabeth urged, shaking his shoulders slightly.
Neville coughed, his face blanching as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, curling in the fetal position.
"Damn it," Elizabeth cursed, flicking her wand towards an advancing dark haired Death Eater. The jinx hit him directly in the chest and he was thrown backward into another Death Eater.
Elizabeth's eyes scanned the area quickly. Professor Lupin and the tawny haired witch were back to back, fending off their opponents with lightening fast counter curses. Ron was throwing different forms and colours of bright lights at two different advancing Death Eaters, his mouth moving rapidly as he muttered hexes while his sister near by ducked quickly from a jinx cast by the large blond wizard who was still cursing in all directions, before she was forced to dodge a number of curses being thrown at her by a particularly bulbous wizard in dark robes.
Elizabeth saw Draco Malfoy enter the room at a run followed directly by a tall dark haired wizard in billowing black robes before she felt something hit her smartly on the side of her head and she was knocked several feet into a wall.
She heard a distant voice shout what sounded like "– go!" before once again she was plunged into complete darkness.