A/N: thank you to Smithback and Same as Smithback for the reviews!
I always love hearing from you guys!
Also, if you don't already you should try reading while listening to background music. It really enhances the atmosphere! I recommend Paris by Else and Memories by Leadwave. I also have a playlist on Spotify titled: Songs for Reading :) if you want to try it out!
Chapter 9: A New Problem
"They are supposed to be separated! Are you too incompetent to understand what separated means?" Voldemort hissed, digging his wand into Bartemius Crouch's throat.
"I-It wasssn't my fault, My Lord. I d-don't know what happened-"
"You saw the prophecy change! You know that they cannot be together when I kill them, and you didn't even anticipate the fact that they could've been holding onto each other when they touched the darn portkey?" He paused, his grip tightening on his wand as he pressed it further against the man's skin. "Do you know what this could cost me?"
"No...My Lord, I'm sss-sssorry-"
"I'm done with you."
"N-no My Lord, please, I-"
"Crucio!" The air crackled as a bolt of sickly green light surged from his wand, striking right through Crouch's neck.
The man collapsed onto the marble floor, shrieks echoing disturbingly against the cold walls as he convulsed.
"Now, you won't ever make that mistake again, will you?" Voldemort questioned as the spell wore off, crouching down and lifting Bartemius's face up from the ground with his wand.
"N-n-no, My Lord," he responded through sobs, voice hoarse from his screams.
"Hmm. I'm afraid I don't quite believe you. Crucio," he hissed, prolonging the agony.
The man shook violently, tears running down his face as he begged for mercy. "P-p-please-" he choked out.
"Ah. Still have enough strength to speak, I see. Well then. Crucio!"
Dry sobs racked the man's body until he slowly began to still, pushed to the brink of unconsciousness.
"Just to make sure you are dead- Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort exclaimed, cackling demonically. "Well, if you will excuse me, I have to go."
The familiar crack of apparition echoed throughout the Manor as he quickly traveled to the designated wasteland. His robes billowed powerfully around him as the wind howled and fought against him, almost as if it was trying to push him away. He pressed his wand harshly against the black ink tattooed into his pale skin, summoning his followers to the area.
Black bodies of smoke swirled around the damp grassland, blending in slightly with the grey sky and dark clouds as the Death Eaters emerged one by one.
"HARRY POTTER IS COMING!" Voldemort yelled, furiously pacing inside the circle his followers created. "But so is the mudblood. You are to separate them and bring them here alive. NOW!"
I should've known.
The book looked suspicious, but I grabbed it anyway AND I roped Harry in with it. I led us straight into the jaws of death- how could I be this foolish?
Will Harry even be able to look me in the eye?
The nauseating pull of the portkey drew back as Harry and Hermione landed harshly in wet grass, the damp chill of the grass soaking through their clothes and the scent of rain heavy in the air.
Harry quickly pulled himself up, hastily scanning the dark area for danger. "Are you okay, Hermione?"
She accepted his outstretched hand, her fingers tightening around his as his touch rescued her from drowning in her roaring ocean of thoughts. "Yes, I'm okay. I'm sorry, Harry. I should've been more cautious, and now-"
"It's not your fault, we had no way of knowing. At least we aren't separated."
"I guess." She shrugged, gaze lowering to the floor.
He looked around again, eyes darting across the landscape as he drew his wand. "Lumos Maxima." A bright glow emitted from his wand, eerily illuminating their faces and the area around them.
"No, don't use that strong of a light. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves if there is danger."
"Right." He dimmed his wandlight as Hermione drew her own wand from her pocket. "Where are we?"
"I have absolutely no idea. Nowhere near Hogwarts though, thats for sure." Her frantic eyes raked across the area, every shadow seeming to jump out at her. "Oh, this is absolutely terrifying, Harry!" She bit her lip, anxiously grabbing his hand.
"I know. But we'll get out of this, it'll be okay. We can do this together."
"Together." She agreed. "Does your scar hurt?"
"Yeah," he responded quietly, eyes dropping to the evergreen grass. "Quite a bit."
"So he's here?" She whispered back, knowing it to be true but simply unable to believe it unless he told her it was.
"Yeah. He's here." They began to walk in a random direction, hoping to stumble across a sort of shelter or possible landmark to pinpoint their location. Their morale was low though, as the grassland seemed to stretch infinitely into the overcast sky.
Hermione pressed her lips together, thinking.
Suddenly the sky darkened and the air thickened, the sense of an unknown danger pressing against their minds.
A hoard of bodies of black smoke shot down from the sky and swarmed around them, Death Eaters quickly materializing from the dark mist.
"Run!" Harry exclaimed, pushing Hermione ahead of them as they took off in the opposite direction of the men.
Bright colored swirls of spells whizzed by their ears, narrowly missing their heads.
Her heart pounded against her ribcage, panting heavily as she ran as fast as she possibly could, slipping across the dewy terrain.
She turned, casting any spell that came to her tongue over her shoulder in their general direction.
Her vision of his death still plagued her mind, the dire situation bringing a flood of terror and anxiety which was worsened by the memories.
I have to get him out of here alive.
She grasped Harry's hand and pulled him down, multiple spells cutting across the space his head occupied seconds ago as her body trembled with fear.
Still clutching his hand, her heart began to pound less frantically, as if his touch was an anchor in the chaos and a reminder that he was still alive.
They continued on, narrowly ducking and dodging the spells being thrown at them like flaming daggers.
How are we not dead?
"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled over his shoulder as he turned his head, sending a few dazed death eater's wands flying.
Is that spell supposed to be that powerful...?
"Bombarda!" She exclaimed, warmth shooting through her hand as she successfully blew up a handful of them at once. He glanced over at her, eyes wide as they quickly flickered from the death eaters, to her face, and to their linked hands as they both connected the dots.
Is this even real?
In her distracted state, a spell hit its mark on her body, ripping a burning slash through her side, coughing up blood as she clutched the gaping wound. Harry's eyes widened in terror, and he shouted her name, the sound raw and broken as he reached out to try to protect her.
She cried out, her hand ripping from Harry's as another spell shot her away from him and onto the ground. The cold dew soaked into her shirt again, carrying the thick blood that gushed from her side wound through the maze of blades of grass. Each ragged breath pushed more crimson liquid onto the grass, coating her hand as she pressed it against the gash in an attempt to restrict the blood flow.
"Hermione!" Harry screamed hoarsely with emotion flooding his words, casting weak protegos as he desperately tore across the open field to try and get to her. The world started to darken as the pain numbed, slowly slipping into unconsciousness as the sides of her vision singed with red mist.
No...must stay alive...for Harry...
He stumbled twards her, grasping her hand as he covered her from spells with his body. The minute his skin came into contact with hers she immediately felt a surge of strength shoot through her veins, her vision brightening again as she could see the danger enclosing around them once more.
They're overpowering us.
She looked up at his pained face, blood smeared across his features and dirt caking his clothes, yet he still somehow looked impossibly perfect. She reached out her other hand, placing it against his cheek and wiping a bloody cut with her thumb as he raised his wand to cast a shield charm.
In the moment she forgot about the Death Eaters and Voldemort, her eyes and mind focused only on Harry as the agonizing ache returned with her consciousness.
Suddenly pain exploded on his face, a well-aimed spell stopping him from casting the shield charm.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked as she unsuccessfully tried to sit up and shield him with her body, watching helplessly as more spells hit his back. Harry was thrown against the rock to her right with a sickening thud, strength leaving her body as soon as their hands were ripped apart. Tears blurred her vison as she tried to turn her head to him, pain pushing her to the brink of unconsciousness.
She had tried to hold onto him, but their intertwined fingers stood no chance against the bombardment of spells. She desperately tried to find her wand, adrenaline keeping her up for just a few minutes as she quickly located it across the grassland.
The world blurred and darkened again as hot tears ran down her face, mixing with her scarlet blood. She painfully rolled over with her forearm holding her body upright, coughing up more blood as she tried to fight the darkness creeping across her vision.
No...stay awake...for Harry. Stay awake...so you can kill them...for hurting him.
A few death eaters began to approach them, the others staying put as backup. She returned her determined gaze to Harry's crumpled figure, dragging herself in his direction as she gritted her teeth in an attempt to endure the pain.
He isn't terribly far...
She reached a bloody arm twards him, fingertips narrowly missing his hand that hung limply of the stone.
Come on...
Hermione reached out again, grimacing as pain shot through her broken body.
The group of death eaters continued to come closer as Hermione desperately tried to grasp his hand.
Just a little closer...
A scream ripped from her throat as she dragged herself closer to him. Her fingers dug into the wet ground, pulling her inch by inch as every movement sent shockwaves of pain through her body.
Reaching out again, her eyes flickered frantically between Harry and the death eaters as they came closer...
And closer...
Come on, Hermione.
The nearest death eater roughly grasped her shoulder, adrenaline pushing her forward just enough for her to hand to finally reach Harry's.
As her fingers closed around his, the world warped and with one last surge of strength, she held on tightly, praying they wouldn't be torn apart.
And as the world finally dissolved into darkness, her last thought was of Harry, and the hope that he would survive.