Disclaimer
I don't own Harry Potter, any of the characters, or parts of the HP Universe. All associated elements belong to JKR
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE DERANGED
Seeing the unusual group he met in the kitchens head up to the Entrance Hall, Harry decided he would search the dungeons. He knew the Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms were down here, along with countless unused rooms. He had no idea where the Sett was and had only been to the Pit once. That wasn't going to stop him from searching for them for anyone injured or hiding. He decided to walk back towards the main stairs to search from the beginning.
Slowly, checking every corner and crevice of the rooms and hallways, he made his way further into the dark and dank halls. Eventually he came upon a stack of barrels that were blasted apart, revealing a tunnel, the entrance overflowing with blood and wine, the walls and ceiling coated with body parts. Wand at the ready he made his way into the well lit room at the end. Scorch marks, wine, blood and viscera, and bodies covered every inch of the room. Bile rose up in his throat when he saw a quarter of the Hufflpuffs laying in a ragged line, where they fell defending the dorms. Bodies, or rather the pieces of bodies, belonging to their attackers were triple their numbers, but the Badgers proved why they were woefully underestimated. None of the defenders had any marks on them in any way. Harry could only guess the defending students launched endless blasting spells at the entrance, taking out as many as possible, before falling to Killing Curses.
Harry called upon the house elves once again. Countless pops echoes throughout the room, signaling the arrivals and disappearances of multiple bodies. With a heavy heart, Harry stood vigil as his fallen classmates were taken to a more secluded location. He wanted to check the dorms, but didn't want any survivors seeing the gruesome sight. Making his way to four house elves that were wailing, Harry saw a sight that ripped at his heart. The normally gentle Head of Hufflepuff was surrounded by thirteen Death Eaters, while behind her lay the bodies of a few unlucky Fourth Years. Professor Sprouts' destroyed wand was still in her hand, which lay four feet away. Her body was riddled with ragged holes, and deep three inch gouges. Her wand arm was gone, left leg was only a ragged stump, and most of her face was melted. Harry felt his respect for her passed all others, as she had truly fought until the end.
Once her body was finally moved, Harry began making his way up the stairs to the boys dorms, he encountered locked door after locked door. Finally giving up on trying the unlocking charm after the third door, Harry went back to the common room. He pointed his wand at his throat and amplified his voice, calling out that it was safe and he meant no harm. He had to wait three minutes before the first Fifth years appeared, five from each stairway. One from each side ran back upstairs once they saw who it was. Thundering footsteps filled his ears as everyone came downstairs.
He let out a massive sigh of relief and a laugh when he saw all the First, Second, and Third Year Hufflepuffs had survived, along with most of the Fourth. Seeing half of the Fifth Years, along with most of the Sixth and all the Seventh Years, missing sobered him up fast though. With a small smile he silently beckoned for the younger students to head to the tunnel. Smile dropping, he stopped a few of the Sixth Years that stayed to defend the dorms and informed them to go to the Great Hall. After making sure the last student had left, Harry went back into the hall to resume his search.
Heading to the right to go deeper into the dungeon, Harry heard what sounded like nails scraping wood. Wand held close to his chest, ready to cast at the first sign of an attack, Harry crept closer to the source. There, five feet to his left, was a wooden door, blending in almost perfectly with the stone wall, set back in an alcove. He was surprised to see the door, but quickly remembered he has never been this deep into the underground section. He had just started to reach for the handle when a blood curdling scream tore through the air. Jerking his hand back he instantly started scanning his surroundings for any enemies. As his eyes completed one sweep of the hall, he realized the scream came from inside the room.
With a sense of dire urgency he grabbed the handle and opened the door, standing to the left, using the frame as cover. Peeking around the door jam, he scanned every inch of the room. He didn't see anyone or anything, besides furniture that had been thrown about, dust was disturbed, but no knowing of when that may have been. Creeping into the room, Harry started searching more thoroughly. As he slowly made his way around the edge of the room, his foot caught on something hard. He looked down, but saw nothing. Gently probing with the toe of his boot, he felt something solid with a slight give. Casting a finite in the general area around his feet, Harry was met with yet another majorly disturbing sight.
Laying there in a pool of drying blood, was the partially dismembered body of a still living Marietta Edgecombe. She had been using her one remaining limb to scratch at the desk that was overturned beside her. Her legs and one of her arms were gone, nowhere to be seen in the room. Gashes and holes covered her body, chunks of flesh torn free revealing the bone underneath. Eyes, teeth, and hair all ripped free, skin flayed from her face, yet the word SNEAK somehow remained upon her forehead. After the elf he called took her to a healer, Harry took a shuddering breath before slowly heading back into the hall. Heading down the hall again, he hoped he wouldn't stumble upon any more sights of the truly deranged and demented.