It was done.
The damage that was wrought tonight could be repaired - but right now he was safe, and that was all that mattered.
She thundered back down the wooden bridge, away from the scene of their fight and into the depths of the courtyard. Harry Potter was safe, taking shelter in Hagrid's hut, and would remain there until the Dark Mark was clear from the sky, as per the instructions she had given him. She had done the hardest part, but where did her role fall now?
It was a lot quieter in the castle now. The aches and pains from the various hexes and curses she'd received in the past half hour were beginning to catch her up, though in an oddly detached way, as though somebody near her was suffering from them.
The question was - what now?
Though the idea of Sirius and the Order fighting the Death Eaters off on her behalf did betray her feelings, she decided against trying to join them. Those participating in the battle were doing the job they were hired for, the best she could do now was get herself safe as well. Lock herself in a dungeon somewhere and stay far away from the action, waiting for the winners to rise.
But it would appear, the night had other plans for her. As she rounded the next corner, it was right into the blackened eyes of Severus Snape, who was flanked on either side by Draco, Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the Carrow twins, and the infamous wolf man, Fenrir Greyback. For some reason, the group looked equally as shocked to see her.
Then Bellatrix leapt to life, zeroing in on her like a hungry predator.
"Where is he!?"
She went numb.
"W-what?" she stuttered.
She came in inches from her face, Daphne could see the death in her eyes.
"Where is the boy?" she asked slowly.
Her eyes flickered to Professor Snape, whose glare was cold and gave nothing away. At that moment, she sensed a gentle tugging at the base of her neck, like a cold hand suddenly wrapped around her brain stem. She didn't fight it, and understood.
"I… couldn't find him. I'm sorry. I did try."
Bellatrix spun in a small circle like a deranged child. Laughing like a Hyena, she pointed a dirty fingernail at her.
"What did I say! I told the Dark Lord she wouldn't betray her little boyfriend! Ooooooh, he's not going to be happy with you!" she sang.
It didn't seem any of the Death Eaters were convinced, either.
"I'm sorry, I tried… I did, but -"
A fleshy echo broke the silence of the corridor. She had no time to defend herself, and probably wouldn't have been able to if she tried. Bellatrix had struck a hand across her face, the sheer shock tore the words from her throat and stunned her on the spot. By the time she turned back around, she saw Professor Snape had grabbed her by her wrists.
"Do not!" he shouted. "What to do with her is for the Dark Lord to decide! Go, now!"
He pushed her ahead of them. She stumbled into a walk and, rubbing her cheek, Daphne caught the eyes of the other three; Draco looked similar to how he did the night they met the Dark Lord, terrified, but keeping a brave face. Carrow looked amused at her expense. And then there was Grayback, whose chest was heaving and this time, really was looking at her like a predator to prey.
"You as well!"
Her head snapped back to her Professor.
"What?"
He glowered at her.
"It's time to flee. If you stay, you'll be imprisoned. Or, perhaps, it needs explaining to you that Death Eaters are not the most welcome in the Ministry?"
Bellatrix cackled again, but again it was the icy hand on her spine that made Daphne obey. She started down the corridor the way she came, trying to keep Professor Snape situated between herself and the rest.
Whatever his big and elaborate plan was, she was certainly not going to interfere with it.
As they directed their steps through the castle, she saw windows in the towers above them were now lit. She could imagine, clearly, the scenes inside as her fellow students were waking up and telling each other Death Eaters were in the castle. What would her life become if somebody saw her with them? If they saw there was a humongous battle happening in the corridors, the Dark Mark was shining over Hogwarts and Daphne Greengrass was fleeing with a group of Death Eaters?
There was an explosion above them. A cloud of dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Bellatrix laughed again.
"If they do not hurry up, they'll be left behind."
"That's my sister yer' talkin about!" the Carrow brother sneered.
"Then you can go help her. I am not sacrificing the mission because little Alecto wants to play school reunion."
Carrow said something back to that, but Daphne's attention had moved to Draco. He was tailing behind the rest, and the two held each other's gaze for only a fleeting second. In that second, though, she saw the unmistakable glint of shine in his eyes, and realized he was crying. The others hadn't noticed this, and she had no desire to see the level of teasing that ensue should his aunt see him like this.
Consciously, she moved to place herself between Draco and Bellatrix. Whatever escape plan Severus Snape had in store for them, she wished he would enact it soon.
The oak doors of the entrance hall stood open ahead of them, light flooding out into the courtyard. She imagined she could see dressing-gown-clad people creeping down the grand staircase to watch them leave, though she was really too far away to see anything of the sort.
They started down the courtyard. Looking out, she saw a small crowd beginning to congregate at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. They didn't need to worry about being spotted by them, as the moonlight did not reach under the canopy concealing them, but she still made an effort to put the others between herself and the crowd, not eager to be spotted. The quicker they got out into the grounds, the better. But the murmuring crowd seemed completely detached to the world around them, their attention focused on a vague shape on the ground that she could now make out.
Through the crowd of dumbstruck students and teachers, a gap had been left, and Daphne was able to get a fleeting, yet unmistakable glimpse, of the lifeless body of Albus Dumbledore on the ground.
Then it happened.
The reality of what she was seeing seemed to be rushing towards her a million miles an hour, yet at the exact same time, seemed on the very tip of her tongue, though unable to grasp. Her body began to move in a dreamlike state. She heard Bellatrix's squeal of delight, though it could have easily been miles away.
The strong and noble wizard that welcomed them at the start of every term, the untouchable force that even the Dark Lord himself was afraid of, the so-called Greatest-Sorcerer-That-Ever-Lived, the man who she had been specifically told would be the key to protecting her... was lying dead on the cobblestone before them.
No matter how hard she fought in one direction, fate seemed ever more determined to drag her back the other way. Harry had been right. He had needed help, she had been too preoccupied protecting themselves to realize it. She had acted on the orders of Severus Snape, believing them to be a step towards breaking the mold and finally foraging her own path. What she had been doing, in fact, was being used as a pawn.
Because she had be duped. She had been manipulated. Her job wasn't to keep Harry away to protect him, she was supposed to keep Professor Dumbledore defenseless. This was what she got for trusting people - he was dead and it was her fault. Nobody else's. She had put her faith in the wrong man and he had used her, used her like her father used her, and used her like she had spent her whole life being used. She had trusted Severus Snape and he had used her to commit murder. A crossroads of destiny had arisen and she'd picked wrong. And now the entirety of the wizarding world was going to suffer for her mistake.
Her body began channeling the blind fury she was experiencing and started to move of its own accord.
She, in believing she was finally going to be clear of all of this, might as well have handed the key to victory to the Dark Lord himself.
Automatically, without even knowing what she was doing, she pulled her wand back out of her sleeve and silently pointed it at the greasy head of Severus Snape.
Draco moved to stop her.
"Don't!"
"CRUCIO!"
The spell snapped his head forward. Though he faltered and groaned, he did not writhe and shriek with pain as expected. Instead, after a stunned silence from everyone, he turned around, raising his wand at her.
"You little…"
She dodged out of Draco's grip and took off behind the closest corner. She was too frightened to think about what she was doing, too frightened to do anything other than focus on getting away.
Bellatrix let loose a low, soundless cackle.
"Graybaaaack… fetch!"
She stood, frozen still in the dark corridor for a long time. The castle air wrapped around her, draining every last bit of warmth from her body, to the extent that it felt more bitter than when she was out in the grounds. Her fingers, her hands, her feet, all felt increasingly cold.
She let out a long, wretched breath as she tried to collect her scattered thoughts, her mind cast in a dozen different directions.
How could it all have backfired this badly?
It was only now she realized how delicate her newfound sense of happiness had been. Everything depended on him, the linchpin of her life since that first damned potions lesson. Harry Potter was the one person she had come to depend upon above all others, and who reciprocated every bit of the love that she felt. But she failed him, and realized it all too late.
She always thought her sense of independence was a good and admirable trait. It was a stark difference to others, who felt incomplete without company - how could one expect to be loved for who they were, when they were not even a full person? And then when she first met him, he seemed daft and full of himself. Where her actions were always measured and precise, he was messy, blundering forward through life on his heart's whim. Then she got to know him, and discovered how sincere that heart was. It felt good lowering her inhibitions around him and opening up, even just that little bit. She didn't let those boundaries down for anyone, even herself. When she was around him, it was as if she was seeing her real self slowing coming to life. And it came as a surprise as much to herself as it did him, but she liked that self. The Ice Queen was a defense mechanism, but when around him, she was Daphne Greengrass. And as it turned out, she quite liked Daphne Greengrass.
Now, though, she was beginning to have doubts if it was ever that way. Perhaps that was to be expected after effectively, betraying his ultimate trust, resulting in the death of his mentor. She realized now that soon after meeting Harry, he began to treat her as she did Astoria; as someone who needed help and care. She had fallen into the exact same trappings as everyone else. His absences, caused by their breakup, only made her realize how much she had grown to depend on him. She didn't want to be a burden on anyone, especially him, but never considered if he might have felt the same way.
She never questioned if it should have gone both ways. She never tried to be there for him in the same way. And now she finally had, she'd done it wrong.
A small pit of frustration and anger at herself welled up in her chest. The weight of her eyelids closed her eyes, both her physical and mental exhaustion finally taking over. She was far from the sounds of battle, now the only sound was her slow, heaved sobs.
She just let everything happen, never even trying to be there for him. She had taken a nice solace in their situation, and fought for it to stay that way forever, the two of them having a nice long relationship where they pushed forwards towards our future together. She could forgive it all, because just listening to him this once would have been enough. It was a childlike dependence on him she had, without any attempt to understand or help his situation. If only she had listened… why hadn't she listened? Thanks to it, she had betrayed him. He would hate her, she was as good as a murderer now. She was going to lose the one person she loved most, because she hadn't been there for him when he needed her.
The one time she had tried doing for him what he had done for her… She had ruined it. Ruined it all. She had the ultimate chance to correct her mistake and blew it. Whether she had good intentions or not, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was, once again, she had messed everything up. And now it wasn't just her that was going to suffer for it, but everyone.
Her reflection of self-woe was promptly interrupted, however.
There was a mass splintering of wood, followed by thick, ponderous steps of something impossibly large behind her. She shot a look back, her instincts screaming at her to run, but she had to see it.
Her body paralyzed as she saw it - the biggest, most vile-looking creature she'd ever seen stepping into the empty corridor, followed by the childlike cackling of Bellatrix Lestrange. It was an abomination, at least eight feet tall, once human, perhaps, but no more. His head had lengthened, as had his body, his shoulders hunching over as he swapped now onto all fours. More hair was starting to sprouting from his face and hands, which were turning into clawed, deformed paws. The werewolf looked closer to some forbidden amalgamation of a bear and a wolf than anything remotely human. He, or now maybe it, seemed taller than Hagrid and just as wide - his long coat now breaking apart at the seams.
As it focused its attention to her, she felt a fear greater than any she'd ever known.
The enormous, bear-like dog bounded forward. Despite it's immense-bulk, it was able to move toward her with impossible speed, and she saw its eyes, black and rimmed with yellow. Her misery could wait. She aimed her wand but hesitated, terrified. She knew at once she hadn't a single hope of being able to outrun it. Surprisingly, she did manage to summon enough energy to her voice and sent a curse at it, followed then by another, and another. She saw each of the impacts; a flap of lapel on the overcoat was blasted to shreds, a dead torch was shattered behind and the third one hit it hard in the neck. But it rebounded, with not a flicker of expression passing over Graybacks features. The wolf carried on as easily as if she had just blown air at it.
White-hot dread spurred through her system the likes of which she had never felt before. Werewolves were like giants - normal magic wouldn't work against them.
In adrenaline-boosted dread, with no other options occurring to her, she cast again and again, hoping one of the spells might be enough to break the werewolves' protection. But it thundered on, taking steps in giant bounds, striding head-on into her the stream of magic without flinching - and she lost track of the amount of times she cast against it, unable to believe that it could still be coming, less than ten feet away now.
At last, when the beast was almost upon her, her brain reawakened just enough to give her the good sense to dive out of the way. The beast leapt and it's jaws closed around thin-air, the spot where she had been standing not seconds later.
She skidded on the marble floor and dove into a run. She didn't dare another glance back now, the image of that monster pelting towards her was deeply ingrained into her brain, she didn't need to see it to know she needed to run. She heard it wheel around and give chase. The squeaking of paws and sharp claws on the marble floor was giving her an idea of how far ahead of she was.
Her body twisted as she hurtled forward, looking desperately for any help that she knew wasn't there.
"CARPE RETRACTUM!"
A sticky orange mess shot from her wand and sealed around a nearby suit of armor, which after a tug, came flying towards her. The metal armor missed her by a inch and, from what the sounds that followed, broke apart upon impact with her pursuer. It gave her enough time to dodge down another hallway.
The first door she found was unlocked, so she tore back it's iron handle and hurried inside. Then, as quietly as she could muster with her heart pounding her head, she lowered the door slowly closed behind her. She was very still, listening to the pound of blood in her ears, waiting for the next blow. Long seconds dragged by and nothing happened, but more passed before she dared to look away, and even the realization that it was no longer attacking for the moment brought her no relief. She prayed the distraction was enough for it not to have noticed her. But, had taking the time to close it properly betrayed her hiding place? There was only one way to find out.
She pressed her head against the wood, which felt unusually cold, and listened to the hallway beyond. Footsteps were coming, two at a time, but were slowing down. She could hear as Grayback moved down the corridor. He sniffed loudly. Then sniffed again.
With a crash, she was hit in the face by the door as something hard impacted it from the other side. She landed painfully on her bottom and shot a hand to her face, where she felt something warm streaming from her nose. There was another howl. She looked up - the entrance had crunched and splintered, but remained shut. It did not look like it would last another hit, however.
"COLLOPORTUS!"
The locking charm would not suit her well for long.
Scrambling up, she pointed her wand at the mass of desks and chairs around her.
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA MAXIMA!"
There was an ear-piercing sound as all of the table legs began to screech along the stone floor towards her. One by one, each of the tables and chairs ejected themselves into the air, latching against the door, barricading her in. Within a moment, there was a sizable amount of wood and iron separating her and Grayback.
She had time, but that was it.
She would not be able to take on the werewolf with her wand, not without backup. The thought of the Order occurred to her, but she hadn't the faintest idea where in the castle they were by now. Harry was probably over a mile away, and the only other wizard that could help her, the strongest wizard that ever lived, was currently… currently...
She physically shook the thought from her head. She needed to think. Nobody was going to save her, she needed to think of a way out on her own.
She looked around and her heart duded to a halt. She had just trapped herself. There was no other exit to the room. She crossed to the window, knowing it was useless but having to see - despite being on the ground floor, this row of classrooms overlooked a chasm down into the Great Lake.
The only way she was getting out was back through the door she came through.
Giant paws hammered at the door, echoing in the small classroom. The door was going to give in seconds, she'd have to go with what she had. No way she could kill it, but she could try to get around it. No, she knew what to do. Her magic may not have been able to directly affect the beast, but it could affect the areas around it. She had just seen that with the suit of armor she had used. And she was spoiled for choice in here, with the amount of desk's she had to defend herself.
With forced positivism, and the sound of the crunching door loud in her ears, she pointed her wand at the barricade and waited.
But she hadn't stood a chance - Grayback had hit it with such force that the door shattered and sent out a cascade of broken desks across the room. A wall of sharp debris hit her, she threw her arms up, feeling splinters digging into her exposed areas. She cursed, but the pain was instantly muted, as found herself looking directly into the open maw of the wolf.
She jolted back, but again, it was no use. His giant paw had scooped her up by the neck and she was lifted from the ground. Through struggling, she was able to clear a few inches out of his grip, only to then be snatched up by her hair and lifted even higher.
She fought to make her paralyzed vocal cords function, much she could not scream. She hadn't screamed this entire time, in fact. At least she would have that. She would not give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream with what she knew was going to happen next. She dared opening her eyes. His jaws were open, but he wasn't trying to kill her - if that was the case, he could have easily done so by now. She was being carefully lowered into his open mouth, being blasted in the face by musty, hot breath. She started to whimper. He was going to bite her.
Sickness began to spread through her. Closer and closer she grew, the splintering pain from her scalp worsening with every inch. Her feet kicked madly, she tried aiming a few into the beasts chests, but only succeeding in rocking herself back and forth in midair. Still, she didn't scream. She wanted to now, she even tried to, but she couldn't. Her diaphragm pushed, but there was no air inside her to come out. Every inch of the power left in her was fighting. But she knew what was coming. In the closed confines of this classroom, with nowhere to run, no help on the way and her magic having no effect, she was powerless.
Through the indescribable amount of pain, she was able to force words through her clenched teeth.
"Diff... in... do!"
She had been aiming for the werewolves wrist. Not necessarily to severe it, or even fatally wound, but hopefully just damage it enough that he would let go. But that was not what her spell hit. What her slicing charm did, however, was cut clean through the hair that he had holding her up.
The pain on her scalp released and she fell to the floor, choking deep breaths.
Stunned that she was still alive, she scrambled around on the floor for the wand she had dropped, then with a roll, dove out of the grasp of the beast, who had been going to rush her with his other paw. Feeling elated, with a mixture of sickness, she scrambled out of the exit and back up the corridor she had come from.
Unconsciously, she brought a hand up to grasp limply at where her hair had been. The long, gorgeous locks that she had spent so many years caring and pampering for, were now abandoned in the paws of the beast. Her hair was probably shorter than Tracey's now. Considering how close things had come, losing it had been a fair trade. The other option, being that of her life. She had to physically shake the trauma from her head. Now was not the time.
On her way back to the courtyard, she thought she heard spells. She decided against pausing to check, but cocked her head to one side. It had sounded like spells, like dueling, but had been too far away for her to be sure.
There was a metallic clatter behind her, the sound of the beasts paws on the floor. He was back on her trail and gaining on her again. She was struggling now, wrestling with fatigue, while he was able to move with seemingly effortless strides. She pushed to increase her own pace as well. The rational voice in her head told her she stood no chance of being able to outrun a werewolf, but she didn't hear it. She had to keep pushing. She was alive, but only for now.
She could taste her nose bleeding.
Forcing an idea, out of her clogged brain, she struck her wand out at a trophy case as she passed it.
"BOMBARDA!"
But nothing happened.
The bit of wood in her hand was not her wand, but a piece of splintered door. She had picked it up by mistake. Her wand would still be on the floor of the classroom.
She wouldn't be able to get back around him. Even if she could dodge his attack and get behind him, she would just end up trapping herself in the classroom again. She was now defenseless. Her only hope was to avoid him for long enough that help arrived, or otherwise somehow lose him in the depths of the castle.
Thinking on her feet, she threw the stake of wood at the werewolf, where it bounced carelessly off his shoulder.
He was a lot closer than she thought he was.
She could see white now. Her lungs were burning. Her legs wished they never stopped their daily jogging exercises. Her heart was threatening to burst from it's cage - it was the only thing she could hear, but she closed her ears to it.
Just then, there was a tightening pain from her dark mark. It was the final blow she could withstand. Before she could think of anything else, the floor disappeared from under her feet. She stumbled, one hand shooting down to clutch her arm, the other cushioning her face from the floor.
Before she even had a chance to pull herself back up, he was bearing down on her. That fall had sealed her fate.
A part of her would be glad if he just killed her here and now. She wished he would, in fact. It was better than the alternative. At least then there would be no more pain. At last, Harry would be able to fight his war without being dragged down by her. He could find himself a girlfriend who'd treat him the way he deserved - the way he had earned. And what a load off it would be for her father, who wouldn't have to keep covering for her anymore. With her dead, they would both be safe from her betrayals. No more worrying, she would be a bother to nobody now. They could fight their war, at peace that she was far away from it.
As his hot breath descended on her, she squeezed her eyelids shut and threw out her arms. Her only wish was it would be over quickly. She saw Harry's face upon learning how she had died, and saw how happy and proud he would be of her. She had made mistakes, but had gone the way of a Gryffindor. She died trying to make her amends. His smile was the last image she'd see before passing on, and she was okay with that.
But, just when she was sure she was as good as dead, the attack never came.
She dared a glance at opening her eyes, and was just in time to see the werewolf colliding with the wall at the end of the corridor.
Her head snapped behind her, hoping to see Harry, Sirius, or even Professor Dumbledore, stood over her with their wand aimed. But there was no one. No savior had come. Nobody in the corridor but the two of them. Then, her focus went to the outstretched hands before her.
Had she done that… ?
She was absolutely brain dead on what else could have happened. She couldn't have, could she? She was a talented witch with a strong bloodline, but that kind of power was beyond her. That was something she'd only seen the likes of Dumbledore or the Dark Lord do. Surely, she had not just performed wandless magic?
Grayback let out a howl of rage. All of a sudden, she didn't care much about dying like a Gryffindor. Who wanted to be a hero, anyway? Seemed like too much of a responsibility to her. Not her at all. She would leave the noble sacrifices to those who sought that kind of glory.
She was on her feet again and sprinting the other direction before she realized it.
An arm swooped in from Merlin-knows-where and dragged her to the ground, just as the green light of the killing curse exploded overhead.
"Down, Princess!"
She had found the fight. Before she knew what was happening, her ears were assaulted with screeches, cries and the smashes and bangs of battle, as she had wandered into a war scene. Never in her life did she think she'd ever be this happy to be nose-to-nose with Nymphadora Tonks.
"Where's Harry!? Is he safe? Is he alright?" she asked.
Elation flooded her system. She was saved. Then, it was replaced by extension dread, as she recalled what was thundering down the corridor behind her. She nodded, but spluttered out a different answer.
"The werewolf! I-it's coming!"
Tonks looked down the corridor she had just come, her eyes growing wide.
"REMUS! GRAYBACK!"
Daphne's feet met something hard on the floor and she stumbled: The body of Neville Longbottom. He was breathing, but she didn't stop to investigate further.
Tonks dragged her up to her feet. She then saw red in front of her; Ginny Weasley was locked in combat with the other Carrow twin, who was giggling as she threw hex after hex at her. She watched as Tonks threw a curse into the Carrows' back, who was then lifted off her feet and slammed into the wall opposite, slid down it. Beside her crumpled form, Ron, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Lupin were each battling Dolohov, Rookwood and... her father. Beyond them, she saw Professor Moody fighting, who she recognized, as Avery, who was sending curses flying in all directions.
"GET THE GIRL OUT OF HERE! NOW!" she heard him bark.
Sirius appeared from the battle and grabbed her shoulders. He was obviously glad to see her, but she could read the urgency in his face. He looked importantly into her eyes, but she couldn't connect with him, not while she knew what was coming.
"You're safe with us now, Daphne, we need to get you -"
His words were cut short, as she knew they would be, as Grayback burst into the scene. A rain of what she could only describe as hellfire descended on him, as almost every standing witch or wizard turned to fire on him. The light show was near-blinding, though the spells themselves did not seem to be doing much. He let out a savage growl and swiped blindly forward, sending Avery flying down the corridor.
"OVERWHELMED HIM! DRAG HIM DOWN!" Professor Moody shouted over the rest.
Most of the Death Eaters were fleeing, Daphne caught the stern eye of her father, Benedict Greengrass. Wasn't he supposed to be in Azkaban? It hadn't occurred to her until now - there really was no going back, now. She was outed to them as a traitor. Now, the war seemed real.
There was surprising a howl from nearby and suddenly a second figure, a lot smaller, entered the scene. They bounded towards Grayback on all fours and pounced, latching themselves viciously to his neck. Through the dazzling light display, Daphne was just about able to make this figure out as a second, albeit lot smaller werewolf. It was half his size, with the skeletal structure under it's skin showing, but was putting up a vicious fight.
Grayback gave a powerful roar. The corridor shook. He was able to land a paw on the smaller wolf's and knocked him free, then used his great bulk to smash it against the stone wall. That would have been fatal to a normal human, but the second werewolf merely yelped and leapt away.
"REMUS!" Tonks cried.
Daphne put two and two together and realized that Professor Lupin had vanished from the fight.
Then, seconds after the first challenger arrived, there was a spree of snarling noises, and Daphne experienced a rushing on both sides. A musty smell filled the scene, as two more wolves jumped into the scene, bigger than the first, but neither as big as Grayback. One of them a deep golden orange, the same as Weasley's hair, the other a female, who was colored a brilliant, pure-white. The spells ceased, probably out of fear of hitting the new combatants.
The two wolves charged forward into Grayback, the orange one bounding forward into his chest, the white one latching its teeth into its legs. He let out a growl of pain, but remained upright, that was until the smaller wolf, who Daphne now knew was in fact Remus Lupin, dove onto his back and began tearing at his neck.
She shivered, feeling the knot of fear in her lower belly clench and grow heavier. Why hadn't Grayback killed her when he had chance, when it would have been so easy? Just thinking about the answer she knew was true, and that she had almost ended up like one of the monsters before them, made her want to crawl into a dark place somewhere and hide.
With the weight of three wolves all latched onto him, Grayback crumpled forward. The ginger wolf leapt away, but as it returned back, it was grabbed by one of the large paws. It let out a shriek of pain and bit down on the hand holding him. Grayback's arm rounded and knocked Lupin from his back, still maintaining tight grip of the orange wolf. The white wolf retreated as the large wolf came to his feet, but returned to attack the arm holding the ginger wolf. Lupin came in second and together, the two forced a release of the arm.
Even though she was terrified to the point of paralysis, part of her couldn't help but feel amazement at the sight of the four wrestling monsters. Grayback was easily more powerful than the other three combined, almost twice the size of them, but the others were skillful, and working in coordination. She didn't know how much awareness these wolves had, but it definitely seemed like they were all working on behalf of the Order.
Grayback leapt back from the three, who had now gathered in a line, separating herself and the Order from Grayback. They snarled and barked at him, while he howled and lunged forward, daring them to get closer.
One broke from the pack - the pure white one - and threw itself into him. She was easily swept away by his ginormous arm, but as the contact was made, Lupin leapt forward and bit down hard into his exposed flesh. The ginger wolf dove in after and for the second time, two of the wolves had Graybacks arms held to the floor. He roared with rage again and thrashed against them.
"NOW!" Professor Moody shouted.
All at once, the cease fire ended and every spell in the corridor was alive and blasting the giant wolf. He howled out in pain, and the lady wolf returned, biting into his shoulder.
Together, with the combined force of the three wolves, they started winning. Grayback was either tiring, or his mass of injuries were now beginning to catch him up. Lower and lower they dragged him, while the spells and curses shot over their heads and rebounded off Grayback. Most spells bounced harmless off him, but a few were beginning to leave marks. Daphne felt more guilty than ever for not having her wand, as she was itching to cast an exploding charm right down it's giant maw.
Their success didn't last though. Grayback rolled his free paw into a fist and smashed it down onto of Lupin. Both she and Tonks winced at his howl of pain. The white wolf was then thrown from his shoulder.
As quickly as they had gained the upper hand, they'd lost it again. In the one move the three dogs holding him down had gone to one, just the ginger wolf, who didn't stand a chance as Grayback reached out and covered it's entire face with one paw, still growling forward and smashed him against the wall. The sudden success seemed to act on him like a stimulant, as the spells no longer seemed to be affecting him at all.
"MORE! MORE!"
Grayback brought a giant dog-like leg down onto the white werewolf, who squealed in pain. He began to lift the ginger one further up the wall, crushing it's rip cage. Only Lupin remained unpinned down, but despite his attempts, he didn't stand a chance at budging Grayback's grip on the other two. The spells were flying off him more than ever. The lady wolf howled in pain as he pushed more weight onto her, squeezing the life from her and the ginger one.
Suddenly, it howled again, a deafening chorus. Daphne could only watch as she realized it wasn't going to stop. They were loosing. More than that - they were dying. Grayback had trapped them both in just the right angles to crush their ribcages. She never wished she had her wand on her more than now. Even if she would have no more affect than the others, she needed to do something. This was her fault and she needed to make this right. Each second that went by was one she couldn't regain, a second that might end up meaning the difference between the rise or fall of the wizarding world.
She found that in this moment, she hated it with everything inside of her, and despised it more than anything she'd ever despised. More than her father, more he and than the Dark Lord combined. The unnatural, ungodly thing that it was not going to beat her. She had already arrived at the revelation she was comfortable dying tonight. And she had just robbed the world of it's two best hopes, so even if she failed, she had to try. She owed it to herself and, more importantly, to Harry.
Challenging the Gryffindor spirit, she decided to do something extremely stupid. This beast had chased her mercilessly - if it wanted her that badly, it could damn-well have her.
Breaking from Sirius's grip, who had been doing his best to shield her from the fight, she dove to the floor and snatched large chunk of ceiling that had been shaken loose.
"DAPHNE, NO! HOLD FIRE! HOLD FIRE!"
The spells died and silence hit like a physical blow. She pelted forward and found herself positively thrilled, almost overcome with an intense and violent sense of self-satisfaction. She stamped on the back of the white werewolf and with all her force, flung herself right into Grayback. She brought the block down, smashing it into the great beasts ugly maw. The impact shattered her wrist - she knew at once from the nameless pain that it was broken.
But it had worked. Grayback yelped like a dog and stumbled back, stepping off the white wolf and freeing his grip of the ginger one.
She hit the floor painfully, not having a free hand to stop her fall. She landed on her knees and elbows, a sore throbbing now coming from her right hand. She didn't hesitate and stumbled into a wobbly sprint, barreling quickly around the closest corner. This was all on instinct; she was too frightened to think about what was inevitably coming up behind her. She wanted out - she wanted to be far away before Grayback recovered and shook off the effects of the impact, as he surely would.
Unfortunately, she was exactly right. Grayback had not decided to stand the ground of his fight, but the familiar sound of claws on stone returned, and she knew he had once again returned to their chase. But, she had the Order on her side now - they were brave, they would be without a doubt tailing Grayback and trying to help her, right? She had a chance, now. If they could just slow him down long enough for her to make it back to the classroom with her wand was in, or maybe escape to the dungeons, where she still had Merula Snyde's wand hidden in her dresser...
Daphne sprinted back the way she'd come, slamming down the corridor, while behind her she could hear it's ugly predatory cry. She rounded another corner, ignoring the dull blossoming of pain developing in her hand. She just had to stay faster than him for a little longer. A little longer and it would be over.
A fist crashed into her face from the darkness and her world span. There was a gut-wrenching crunch in her head, as her vision was now the still ceiling. The last things to go through Daphne's head before the darkness overtook her was the sight of the Carrows descending on her, the smell of Graybacks breath and the dying cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange.
A/N This was one hell of a ride to write. Just one more chapter left now. Thank you all for coming this far.
