An Exquisite Pain

From Bad To Worse

Everything was shaking. That wasn't normal. Why hadn't the spinning stopped? Surely it didn't take this long to time-travel…had she done something wrong?

Exhausted and reeling in shock, trembling so hard she could barely move, Danielle opened her eyes. She was standing in a now-deserted Shrieking Shack. Other than the dim light emanating from her wand, it was pitch black.

It took her a while to realize that she was the one shaking. Danielle took deep, calming breaths and tried to erase her the past hour from her mind. So far, it wasn't working.

"It's fine. You're safe. You're alive," she told herself out loud as she took a cautious step forward. "It will be all right."

When her head had cleared enough for her to think straight, she held up the Time-Turner. She had no idea what date it was or what year it was. She could be in the future for all she knew.

The tiny black numbers on the Time-Turner were difficult to make out in the light. Danielle squinted hard, and as she read the date her breath stopped.

02/05/1998

Of course. It was the last day she had turned it to, when she was showing it to Andy. Today was the Battle of Hogwarts. Or more precisely, tonight was the Battle of Hogwarts.

No sooner than had Danielle thought this when she heard footsteps in the distance. She yelped quietly and the Time-Turner slipped from her grasp. "No, no, no, please…" she moaned. There's got to be somewhere I can hide.

She didn't have the Invisibility Cloak, but she did have magic. "Abscondo!" she murmured. The familiar feeling she was being doused in liquid swept over her. When she looked down at herself, she was invisible. Her Disillusionment Charm had worked.

Meanwhile, the footsteps were getting closer. It sounded as if someone was coming up the stairs. She had to get out of there, and fast.

Danielle whirled around to see that the Time-Turner had rolled across the floor and was now lying in a pile of rubble in the corner. There was no way she would have time to salvage it. With another quick incantation, she managed to Transfigure it into another piece of rubble. It was a very poor job—obvious if one were to look closely enough—but there was nothing else she could do.

Danielle hurried out of the room onto a small landing. There was a staircase just below her, and a tiny nook below the stairs. Praying her legs wouldn't collapse under her, she leapt over the banister and to her relief, landed safely on the floor below.

She dove at once into the alcove, keeping one hand on the Vito Servo and the other on her wand as the footsteps thundered above her. Whoever it was was going into the room she had just left.

Danielle's heart was pounding so loudly she was sure the intruder could hear it. There were creaking sounds as the person paced across the floor above her. She wondered what would possibly cause them so much agitation. The battle was happening at the castle, wasn't it? They were safe here, weren't they?

There was sudden silence as the footsteps stopped pacing. A strange cold washed over her, and she involuntarily shivered.

Her unconscious mind knew what had happened; knew who had just arrived, before she did. "My Lord," croaked an unfamiliar voice. "My Lord…please…my son…"

"If your son is dead, Lucius, it is not my fault," a high-pitched, cold voice replied. "He did not come and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins. Perhaps he has decided to befriend Harry Potter?"

"No—never," Lucius Malfoy whispered.

"You must hope not." The hatred in the voice alone would have sent grown wizards running for cover.