Chapter 10
While The Doctor had distracted the room, Hermione had gathered the survivors and crept pass Malfoy and his gang, and slowly opened the Great Hall's massive doors. When The Doctor yelled, "Run" Hermione, leading the group of survivors, ran to the doors leading out of the castle. But unfortunately it was locked.
Hermione, thinking quickly, grabbed Neville and said, "Get them to the Room of Requirements"
Neville said, "What about you?"
Hermione said, "I have to wait for the Doctor. He doesn't know the way, and he'll be massacred."
Neville nodded and turned to lead the group out, when Malfoy entered the room. Hermione stood in his way, giving the group time to escape.
Malfoy yelled, "Avada Kadvra!"
Hermione dodged by throwing herself against the wall. Standing up, Malfoy sent the Crusiatus Curse, only for her to deflect it with the Portago shield charm.
Hermione, with a twist of her want and the words, "Expelliamus" knocked Malfoy's wand out of his hand. Only for Malfoy to backhand slap, knocking her down.
Hermione, dazed with stars in her eyes, thought to herself, "Where the bloody hell was The Doctor."
The Doctor, satisfied at his distraction, leaped on top of one of the long tables, and sprinted toward the door. Lucky for the Doctor, due to the empathy link, the three remaining Slitheen was spazing on the floor in pain of their brother's death.
The Doctor stopped to put more of the goblets in his pockets, hoping they'd come in handy.
Slugghorn, slowly regaining his composure, tried to stand at the end of the table to stop the Doctor.
The Doctor, thinking back to his days in the Olympics, ran straight to Slugghorn, placed his hands on Slugghorn's head, and used his weight to propel himself into a flip over the Slitheen.
When The Doctor landed, he smiled and said, "Olay" before he turned and sprinted to the door.
When he made it passed the door, he turned to close it and soniced it to lock it. He turned to find Hermione locked in a duel with Malfoy. He watched as Hermione knocked Malfoy's wand out of his hand. The Doctor, smiling, was about to cheer her on, when Malfoy turned and backhanded slapped her.
As Hermione fell to the ground, a rage The Doctor hadn't felt since the War consumed him. No, he thought, I have lost too much. He ran to Malfoy, turned him around and punched him with all his strength, knocking him out. The Doctor, turned away from Malfoy, and knelt down next to Hermione.
The Doctor said, "Are you alright?"
Hermione chuckled, "Yes, I've been thru much worst. Nice punch."
The Doctor let out a laugh, "Well…. He unfairly hit you. Couldn't stand for it."
The Doctor helped Hermione up, and wrapped her into a hug. But then The Great Hall's Doors thundered and they could hear The Slitheen's roar.
Hermione turned to the stairs and said, "Quick, I know a safe place to hide upstairs."
The Doctor shook his head. "No I'm heading to the dungeons. I need to see what the Slitheen are doing down there. It will be dangerous, so I want you to head up there with the others."
Hermione chuckled, and pushed the Doctor aside, "As if. You will need help. And I don't need protecting." She walked a little bit and turned, "Are you coming?"
The Doctor smiled, grabbed her hand, and took off to the dungeons.
As the Doctor and Hermione walked down the stairs to the dungeon, Hermione lit up her wand, to lead the way, and to impress him.
The Doctor in turn, took out his sonic screwdriver, and used it to lead the way. He said, "I have it scanning for alien technology."
As The Doctor scanned around the hallways as they walked down them, asked, "How did you make that Slitheen melt?"
He answered, "Vinegar. Slitheen are calcium based life forms, opposed to your normal carbon based alien. Due to there biochemistry, they are vulnerable to acetic acid. Which is found in…?"
And Hermione interrupted, "Vinegar"
The Doctor smiled, "Molto Bene"
He was then interrupted by the screwdriver zeroing in on something. The Doctor took off at a run toward the signal.
The signal was coming from Slugghorn's office. The Doctor tried to sonic the door open to no avail. Growing frustrated, the Doctor kicked the door.
Hermione smiling pulled out her wand and said, "Alohomora" and the door swung opened.
The Doctor said, "Well fine, do it the easy way." Which made Hermione smile.
As they entered the office, The Doctor's noise was immediately bombarded with the smell of Sulfur. As he looked around the room, he found piles of old books, scrolls, and a cauldron.
The Doctor put on his brainy specs and picked up a scroll and scanned its contents. His eyes widened. He said, "That's impossible."
"What?"
"This scroll is written in ancient Galifreian. But Slitheen can't read this language. Few can." He's eyes widened again as he turned to Hermione, "Wait. You told Slugghorn that he needed Harry for a ritual. What ritual?"
Hermione said, "Well in my fourth year, Voldemort kidnapped Harry to perform this ritual to resurrect him."
"What kind of ritual?"
"I don't know the name. But Harry said the ritual required the ingredients, Bones of the Father, Flesh of the Servant, and Blood of the Enemy."
"That's impossible. That's an old Galifrey ritual. That's old. Impossibly old. The instructions for those rituals were lost millennia ago. How did Slitheen get there claws on this?"
"Our employer gave it to us." Said a voice behind them.
Hermione and The Doctor turned to behold Slugghorn holding a box.
The Doctor said, "Slugghorn, only a Time Lord can read this."
"We don't need to read it you ninny. Turns out Malfoy's father was told the ritual from his father who heard it from the Dark Lord himself."
Malfoy walked out from behind Slugghorn, rage in his eyes and his wand pointed at Hermione.
He said, "Can I kill the filthy Mudblood now? I've waited years to kill her."
Slugghorn chuckled, "Patience Draco. Grown-ups are talking. So what now Doctor. Will you threaten to stop me? Will you offer me another chance to surrender?"
The Doctor said, "No. No second chances I'm that sort of a man. I'm so old now Slugghorn. I use to have so much mercy. But it ends tonight."
Slugghorn laughed, "With such conviction. No trace of fear, with his back against the wall, and outnumbered. I wonder Doctor, what do you fear."
With that he opened the box, and walked out the door, slamming it, with Malfoy, trapped with them.
Hermione, being the closest to the box, almost fainted, when Bellatrix Lestrange walked out of the box. Her hair wild, as she laughed, "Oh its wee little Potty's little friend Grangy. Remember me Grangy?"
The Doctor asked, "What is this?"
Hermione answered, "Bellatrix Lestrange. She nearly tortured me to death last year. But it's not really her. She's dead. That is a boggart. It takes the form of what you fear most."
Hermione pointed her wand at Bellatrix, and said, "Riduiculas" And Bellatrix tripped over her crazy hair, falling to the ground. Hermione let out a chuckle and said, "You have to defeat it with laughter.
But then Bellatrix looked at the Doctor and changed into a Statue. It was a Statue of an Angle with her eyes covered.
The Doctor stiffened, as Hermione asked, "Why are you afraid of a Statue."
The Doctor breathed, "That's not a statue. It's a Weeping Angle. The most deadly assassin in the universe."
Hermione said, "Don't be scared it's not real."
The Doctor said, "You don't understand. It's there biology. Any image of an Angle becomes an Angle. That Boggart is dead. It's become an Angle. It's real."
Hermione said, "I don't understand"
The Doctor said, "That is a real Weeping Angle. The single deadliest assassin every evolved, and we are trapped in here with it."