Chapter 12
As Hermione ran down the 7th floor corridor, Malfoy's screams were still ringing in her ears. Hermione hated to admit it, but she was glad he screamed. During the war, Malfoy was the one who identified her to Bellatrix Lestrange. No one knew, apart from Harry, that she still wakes up almost every night screaming over the horrors that beheld her that night. She could still feel the knife pressed against her neck, as her body wracked from the pain of the Cruciatus Curse. And then today, after one year of peace, right as Hermione was finally ready to move on, Malfoy stunned Harry, the man she had deep hidden feelings for, and killed Ginny. Hermione knew Malfoy deserved it, and when she heard his screams cut off by a loud crack, she didn't look back.
Sprinting, Hermione hoped The Doctor could pull of her plan with the Invisibility Cloak. Finally she made it to the spot she had searched for and paced pass the one spot three times thinking, "I need a place to find the survivors of this attack on Hogwarts."
Then a giant door appeared before her and she quickly entered it. In the room were all the people she and the Doctor had rescued from the Great Hall. Most of the women were crying as the men tried to comfort them. Neville, Luna, and Professor McGonagall immediately rushed to Hermione.
Neville said, "Hermione, what the bloody hell is going on?"
Hermione took a breath and said, "The castle has been taken over."
Luna said, "By whom? They reminded me of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."
McGonagall rolled her eyes and said, "Miss Granger what are these creatures?"
Hermione said, "The Doctor said they are called Slitheen."
McGonagall said, "And Miss Lovegood says there Crumple-Horned Snorkack, what makes him more knowledgeable then her?"
Hermione said, "The Doctor knows more about this type of thing then all of us Professor."
McGonagall said, "Where did you meet this man?"
Hermione said, "Truthfully? I met him this morning in the Forbidden Forest."
Neville said, "What?"
Hermione continued, "Professor you have to take down all the protections on the castle so we can apparate out of here."
McGonagall said, "Miss Granger! Those protections are the only thing protecting this castle!"
Hermione not believing her own tone, said, "Fat load of good that does us when the invaders are already in the castle."
Neville and McGonagall eyes were the perfect picture of shock, at Hermione smarting off to a teacher. Luna it seemed was busy at the time staring out into space whispering something about Nargels.
McGonagall after recovering from her shock, said, "Alright Miss Granger. But the proper spells to remove the protection will take all of my colleges and will take some time to perform."
Hermione said, "Well then better get started because we might not have much time."
Hermione turned to leave, when Neville grabbed her shoulder and said, "Where are you going?"
Hermione said, "I have to find the Doctor."
At that time they heard a loud boom and Hermione quickly thought, "I need a window to see out of." And the Room of Requirements immediately grew a window for her and she looked out of it. She looked on top of the tallest tower of Hogwarts, which happen to be the Astronomy tower, which was a hundred stories up.
She squinted up and looked up as far as she could see, and her eyes widened as she said, "Well I found him."
The Doctor after leaving the bathroom used his screwdriver to find any alien signals. He ran back to the giant staircase. The signal led him up to the fourth floor and down a long corridor. Once he had sprinted down the corridor he made it to another set of spiral staircase in a tower part of the castle. The signal was coming from all the way up to the top of the stairs, the top not even being visible from where he stood.
The Doctor muttered, "Of course there at the top. Where else would they be?" And he reluctantly started sprinting up the stairs.
As he neared the top, he could here the Slitheen talking.
Slugghorn said, "Be careful with the Cobalt bomb dear sister. The idea is for us the be off planet before we blow up this pitiful human bomb."
The Doctor poked his head in the doorway and spotted three Slitheens, one of which was holding a bomb the size of a basketball.
The Doctor just walked on into the room giving the aliens his brightest smile, saying, "Hello miss me?"
The three Slitheen were too shocked as the Doctor walked right up to the female Slitheen holding the bomb, and plucking it right out of her hands.
Continuing the smile, he examined the bomb, saying, "You brought along a Cobalt bomb? I haven't seen a Cobalt bomb in years. Not since that little mix-up with Cyber-men near the North Pole. That was a awkward Christmas. Now what would you be doing with a small bomb with more destructive power than nuclear bomb?"
The Slitheen were still too shocked as the smiling man, maneuvered himself to the opposite side of the room, and when the shock finally appeared to where off of Slugghorn The Doctor continued to smile, as he slammed the door with his foot and soniced it locked.
As the trio of Slitheen banged on the door, The Doctor examined the room he was in. It appeared to be a small broom closet. The Doctor looked amongst the brooms and found a very shiny looking broom. The Doctor, holding the bomb he didn't have time to disarm, looked at the broom which had in big shiny gold letters, Firebolt,
Admiring the broom, The Doctor was broken out of his daze when the door almost gave in. Quickly looking around the closet the Doctor found a window.
Seeing that the window was The Doctor's only possible way out, he put one leg threw the window and onto a very small ledge.
While still having one leg in the closet, the door finally opened reveling Slugghorn snarling at the Doctor. The Doctor gave him a quick smile and dashed out the window.
Seeing there was no way down he climbed up the tower, climbing for the very top of the tower. All with the bomb tucked in a arm, and the broom still in his other hand.
Once he reached for the flagpole at the tower, he saw Slugghorn climbing after the Doctor.
Slugghorn laughing said, "Don't look down Doctor."
The Doctor frowned at Slugghorn, saying, "Don't look down. That's worst then saying Nothing can possibly go wrong."
Slugghorn snarled at the Doctor and swung his massive arm at him. The Doctor pulled up the broom to deflect it. Then The Doctor went and whacked Slugghorn on the head. Slugghorn swung his other arm at Doctor, who ducked beneath it and poked the broom's handle into Slugghorn's belly.
Roaring worst then ever, Slugghorn brought both arms down, which the Doctor side-stepped around, and ripped the Flagpole out of the tower and threw it out at the Doctor. Doctor ducked and it felled 95 stories before it went threw a pane glass window resulting in a loud boom.
The Doctor, struggling for balance, finally tripped over his own feet and tumbled down the side of the top of the tower. Right before he went over the edge, he was stopped by Slugghorn who grabbed the bomb. The Doctor, still holding onto the bomb with dear life, looked into Slugghorn's giant black eyes, as the alien let out a laugh and heaved with all his strength, throwing the Doctor into the air and over the other edge of the tower, with Slugghorn with the bomb and laughing as the Doctor went over the edge with nothing to hold onto, and he made his way back into the castle threw the window.
Hermione saw the fight happen and when the Doctor fell, pulled out her wand and slowed his descent with the words, "Presto Momentum"
The Doctor felt like he was falling in slow motion. He chalked this up the Time Lord adrenaline.
He mounted the broom still clutched in his hands, hoping to fly it, but nothing happened.
The Doctor thought, "Bugger. The broom isn't accustom to my bio-chemistry."
He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and frantically stared to sonic the broom. When he knew he had about five seconds before he hit the ground, the broom shot up into the air with the Doctor frantically gripping the broom. Unfortunately he didn't know how to control said broom and it continued to shot into the air, into the clouds.
The Doctor yelled to himself, "WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS THE OFF SWITCH BUTTON!" When the broom seemed to hear his thought and stopped in midair.
Hermione almost shrieked when didn't see the Doctor come back down from the clouds. She thought he must have lost control of the broom and crashed. Up until when a brown streak passed threw the window. Hermione along with the other survivors who had witnessed his fight with Slugghorn, clapped and cheered for The Doctor.
The Doctor finally getting the hang of broom flying, he flew the broom right up to the Astronomy Tower. Slugghorn stared at the Doctor in amazement, and The Doctor sped the broom straight at the alien and plucked the bomb right out of this hands.
Flying around the castle, he hovered the broom next the window where he saw Hermione and the group of survivors cheer for him.
When he got into talking range of Hermione he let out a laugh and winked at her. He flew into the window and got off the broom.
Hermione ran up to the Doctor and have him a hug saying, "I thought you had crashed."
The Doctor laughed saying, "Nonsense, just had to get the feel of the broom" and he pet the broom affectionately.
Hermione said, when the cheering died down asked, "What is that?" pointing at the bomb.
The Doctor smile died as he said, "This Hermione Granger is a small but powerful bomb a lot more powerful then anything a muggle has come up with yet."
Hermione frowned, "What do we do now?"
The Doctor smiled again, "We set a trap."