TRIGGER WARNING: Violence and death.

Chapter 8

Hermione barely had time to register what was going on before she was blasted backwards in the hallway between the front room and the kitchen. She had been walking towards the staircase when the back entrance had banged open, and Moody and Bill had come falling through the door. Colorful hexes had lit up the air around them as unnamed voices and wands peppered the air. Hermione hit the floor hard.

"Protego!" Bill called out, as he was falling. The hex that had been about to hit him seemed to bounce off.

"Impedimenta!" Moody roared pointing his wand at the doorway and trying to regain his footing.

"Hermione, a little help?!"Bill called, as he blocked another hex. He was trying to close the door when suddenly a hooded figure squeezed his way in. His hood fell away, and Hermione recognized Antonin Dolohov, causing her to seize with fear.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Neville yelled from Hermione's right, as he bounded out of the kitchen.

Hermione snapped out of her daze and pulled her wand. "Stupefy!" she yelled, as another figure emerged behind Antonin's fallen body. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Draco emerge from the front room. Antonin managed to dodge Hermione's spell as he gained entrance to the room.

Moody, who was on his back, yelled out "Locomotor Mortis!" pointing his wand at the new hooded figure, who jumped out of the way and closer to Moody. His hood fell away to reveal Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Immobulus!" Percy yelled, jumping out of the kitchen doorway and pointing his wand at Lestrange.

"Avada Kedavra!" Lestrange yelled, dodging Percys spell. The bright green light that emerged from his wand nearly hit Hermione on its pursuit of Percy. Percy jumped away just in time, yelling "Protego!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Draco yelled; wand aimed towards Lestrange. Draco missed, and Hermione's heart thumped in her chest. I guess that is my answer on if I can trust them, she thought quickly.

"Stupefy!" Hermione yelled, closing on Moody and actually hitting Lestrange, who feel back through the doorway. Hermione reached down to pull Moody up when two more hooded figures entered the doorway.

As Bill called out "Alarte Ascendare!" Trying to push the Death Eaters out of the doorway, the new hooded figure called out "Immobulus!" and as the spells met, both Bill and the hooded figure were blasted away from each other. Hermione could hear Narcissa screaming behind her now, a shrieking sound that was filling the room.

As Hermione and Moody, now back to his feet, backed away from the doorway, Neville rushed in front of them, yelling "Stupefy!" and hitting the new hooded figure, who's hood feel away to reveal a grey-haired man who Hermione didn't recognize. Draco was beside Hermione now, as was Luna, who was sending angry birds out of her wand that were swooping on the Death Eaters.

"Avada Kevadra!" Draco yelled as the fourth hooded figure tried to make it into the doorway. He missed, but this man's hood fell away to reveal a bright-eyed man with salt-and-pepper hair.

"Well, well look at this will ya? The traitors are here after all!" The man said, raising his wand and yelling out "Sectumsempra!" Which The three dodged.

"Piss off, Cassius!" Draco responded, and then "Avada Kevadra!"

"Finite Incantatum!" Cassius responded, ending Draco's curse, and grinning. Lestrange was starting to come to now, and Cassius put a hand on his shoulder and helped him up.

"Granger," Draco growled low in her ear as Percy was casting hexes next to them, and Luna was working to block the ones sent their way. "They aren't taking care to keep us alive. Man up and use the killing curse," he finished, before sending another one of his own towards Lestrange, who was able to dodge it.

I will dissect that later, she thought, grimacing. The truth was, she was sure she would be able to execute the curse correctly, she just didn't want to use it. She felt, somehow, despite all she had done during the war, above it. She wanted to remain that way.

Behind them, Narcissa was still screaming. "Fight back or shut it," Neville bellowed to her, casting another hex towards the death eaters. Antonin was getting up now, as one of his companions undid his petrification.

"REDUCTO!" The Death Eater named Cassius yelled, his wand pointed to the ground below them. The foundation cracked wide underneath them, throwing Percy and Hermione forward, while throwing Draco and Luna backwards. Neville was tossed into the kitchen like a rag doll, landing with a heavy thud, and Moody and Bill were knocked towards the staircase.

The Death Eaters took the opportunity and swarmed into the room amidst the dust and debris falling haphazardly everywhere. Hermione felt a cold, rough pair of hands grab her arms as she lay on the floor in a daze. "Get up, mudblood," She heard the White-Haired Death Eater say, trying to pull her up harshly. She resisted, and felt a hard hand slap her face, causing her to see stars. She tugged her arms back in protest and felt a hard punch to her face, which she was sure would leave her eye black, and caused her nose to start bleeding. Consciousness swam before her eyes, and she was frightened she might be passing out.

"Confundus!" She heard coming from her left, As Percy stood up and hexed the Death Eater holding her. He dropped Hermione's arms and she crawled backwards away from him. In front of her Draco and Luna were back-to-back, wildly casting curses and hexes as Lestrange and Cassius circled them. Luna was casting a constant stream of electric current out of her wand, not unlike a muggle taser.

Near the staircase, Moody and Bill were dueling with Antonin, bright colored flashes of light filling the space around them. It was chaos, and Hermione couldn't catch her breath. Draco made brief eye contact with Hermione, over the newly formed crevice on the floor. His gray eyes seemed somehow vacant, as if he was withdrawn into himself despite the bedlam around him. "Granger," he said, almost pleading. "My mother..."

Hermione jumped to her feet and entered the front room. Narcissa was cowering under the writing desk, hiding her head in her hands.

"Narcissa," Hermione said, reaching for her. "Get up, please, help us-" Narcissa shook her head wildly, tears soaking her manic face.

"Get away from me!" Narcissa wailed.

"Get up or I will confund you and make you get up," Hermione said. It wasn't meant to be maliciously, but lives were on the line, theirs included, and Hermione didn't have time for this.

To Hermione's great surprise, Narcissa did get up. Hermione grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the doorway. To her surprise, Narcissa squeezed her hand back. "Draco is dueling out there. If you can lend a hand at all, please, get your wits about you," Hermione pleaded, trying to sound soft and commanding at the same time. "There is at least four of them..."

Narcissa nodded curtly, still sobbing a little as they made their way to the crevice. The shouts that filled the hallway were deafening. Hermione put her fears to the side and stepped into battle mode. She could examine her feelings and self-reflection later when the dust settled. Right now, she needed to act.

She poked her head out of the door and saw the white-haired Death Eater register the movement, he turned towards her with his wand raised, but Hermione hit him with "Petrificus Totalus!" Before he could get her with anything. As he fell, she could see Neville emerging from the kitchen. A new figure was looming in the doorway, a hulking figure that Hermione recognized Immediately as Golye Senior. There was another figure behind him as well, but Hermione couldn't see clearly who it was. Is the whole lot of them here? Hermione wondered, desperately, as the scene around her turned grimmer and bleaker.

The wall next to Hermione splintered apart as it was hit by something powerful. Draco and Luna were now battling Lestrange, Cassius, and Goyle Sr.; Neville was dueling with the new figure in the doorway. Narcissa was behind her, and as Hermione turned to ask her to start casting, she heard someone yell "Avada Kevadra!" Behind her. She ducked, but Narcissa did not. Hermione turned toward Narcissa, meeting her gray eyes, so like Draco's. The Curse hit her right below the neck, and Narcissa fell away, lifeless. Hermione stared down horrified, unable to fully comprehend what had just transpired. The air grew loud, so loud, in her ears and her beat madly in her chest.