SIXTY-FIVE
Antonin wasn't certain how long he spent sinking his fingers into tightly-packed, unforgiving earth to tear it up and toss it over his shoulders by the handful before he realized why he wasn't finding anything.
He could hear Hermione's voice, humming just beneath her breath as she continued building her wards. Even with all the chaotic shrieking going on outside the Book's defenses, he could hear her.
If so much as one of those things touched even a single untamable hair on her head ….
His gaze flicking up to the tree before him, he felt a savage grimace settle over his features. "You had better be worth all this trouble, Velez," he snarled quietly as he backpedaled a few steps.
Glancing over her shoulder for a split second, Hermione thought the shock might cause the spell to die on her lips as she saw Antonin barreling, shoulder-first, toward the tree.
