ESTRANGED • The Final Installment

Seventeen

The stairway was crowded again. Students didn't know which was up. Some were crouched and panicking while others just ran up or down. It was complete chaos. Luckily Harry didn't need to say anything else, I probably wouldn't have heard him.

The hallways were even more crowded and pushing through wasn't as easy to get through. We were all the way on the other side of the castle and moving quickly wasn't exactly going well but it was all we had.

Harry suddenly screamed and stopped, falling against the wall. I quickly stopped and grabbed him, lowering him to the floor. His breathing was uneven and the pain in his eyes was something I knew all too well.

"What is it Harry?" I cried.

"Horcrux. It's... they did it." He let out a heavy breath and I frowned.

He knows. He could feel it die. Voldemort gets into his head more than anyone else's. He said he couldn't help it sometimes. If he couldn't help let him in, maybe Voldemort didn't mean to, there was no warning. Harry was seeing his thoughts or his actions and was feeling his feelings. And he just felt a piece of Voldemort die.

Shit.

The realization hit me like the cruciatus curse and suddenly I wanted to vomit.

"Harry..." I breathed.

"Let's go." He was up in a second and we were back to running.

I pushed it all aside and forced my legs to move. The castle rumbled and then boomed. I stopped for a moment to look out a window and the shield was coming down. And still, we were no closer to the Room of Requirement. I started running again and jumped down the last two steps to catch up to Harry as students screamed in the distance. Another boom sounded and I lifted my wand, catching a Deatheater in midair. Harry did the same on the next turn and I ducked with the other students as he flew ahead.

Turning around, I made sure he wasn't coming back as Ginny and Neville came running up the steps.

"Ginny, Neville, are you alright?" I asked. Ginny was covered in dirt but Neville's forehead was bleeding pretty badly.

"Never better! I feel like I could... spit fire!" He exclaimed. "You haven't seen Luna have you?"

I shook my head and looked at Harry. "Not since Ravenclaw tower."

"I'm mad for her! I think it's about time I told her, since we'll both probably be dead by dawn!" Neville shouted as he ran up the stairs.

"I'll make sure he doesn't die." Ginny hugged me quickly and followed after him.

Harry grabbed my hand and pulled me along, running even faster than before. We reached the next landing and screams caught our attention. My hands slipped from Harry and he was too far away to anticipate the Deatheater coming my way.

A gasp left my lips as the cloud of smoke lifted me off my feet and dropped me. A grunt came out of me as I hit the bottom landing hard, far away from where Harry was. I rolled over and pushed myself to my feet, looking up.

Harry was looking over the banister at me. I nodded, letting him know I was alright and he nodded back. He hesitated slightly before continuing on. This was much bigger than saving me.

"Long time no see." A man snarled.

I looked over at the man responsible for carrying me away and scowled. It was one of the Deatheaters from the Astronomy tower. Younger and more agile but still not able to hold me back.

"I knew I'd see you again. Promised your mum I would bring you back safe." He smirked evily.

"I'm guessing you lied?"