The Deeper you Dig, The Darker it Gets

72.

       Aary tackles Granger to the ground and presses her wand into the side of her neck.

                         "Get off of me!" Granger screams.

          "What did you find in Bellatrix's vault?!" Aary hisses.

      "We didn't break into her vault, you idiots!" Granger snaps back.

        Aary presses the wand harder into her neck. "Well I don't believe you!"

                    "Aary, she's not going to tell us either way." Blaise sighs.

               "She has to know something." Aary says between her teeth.

     At first, I honestly don't believe Granger knows much. But one thing I do know for a fact is that she's a bad liar. So when I can tell that she's forcing a blank expression, I realize Aary's right.

      "Do you actually think I would tell you?!" Granger scoffs. "Harry was right, you all are so ignorant. What Voldemort is trying to do is going to destroy the world and you want to be a part of it?! How sick are you?!"

      Aary's face goes from angry, to hurt as soon as the words come out of Granger's mouth. She doesn't let her guard down but I see the tears in her eyes increasing.

       "We're sick?" She pushes back her tears. "Our best friend is going to die if we don't do this, and I wouldn't be surprised if he came for us after. We're doing what we can to survive, isn't that what you claim to be doing?"

       Granger's face turns white and I see her swallow hard.

                    "If we're sick, then so are you."

     The entire forest goes silent for what feels like a century. I try to think of something to say to get Aary to give up, but at the same time I know that whatever information Granger has, we need. And as soon as I think she's about to tell us something, a sound coming from the manor grabs our attention.

           Screaming.

        Instantly, my head shoots in the direction of the house. I start to think that it's my mind playing tricks on me, but then I hear it again. And these screams aren't like anything I've heard before; They're violent.

                 "Is that-"

          "No," I cut off Blaise. "Don't say it."

      Once all of us are distracted, Granger takes the opportunity to push Aary off of her. She wants to run off but Weasley and Potter are still unconscious.

              "We could help you, you know?" Granger says while brushing herself off.

     Aary's jaw clenches and I know she's tempted to start another fight, but then the screaming continues. Each time it gets worse, the hairs on the back of my neck start to rise. I look back at Blaise and Aary with fear, then over to Granger.

       And as soon as I turn back towards the house, I start running. Blaise and Aary don't hesitate to follow, especially when the screams start to fade. Once the house goes silent again, terrible thoughts enter my mind.

         I push through all of the trees and bushes aggressively, trying to get back as fast as possible. When I see the house I notice a few Death Eaters walking out, and in the center of them is The Dark Lord.

              "Malory isn't with them." Aary says from behind me. "What if-"

                         "Quiet." I snap at her.

      The Dark Lord and his followers apparate off of the property quickly. The moment they're gone, we continue running back to the manor.

       I expect the front door to be locked but surprisingly it's left wide open. I hope to hear Malory's voice or maybe even my mothers, but the house is completely quiet. With caution, the three of us walk back into the drawing room.

     The first thing I see is red. Red on the walls, red covering the floor. Directly in the center of it all is Malory staring down at Snape's body.

    I expect her to look up at us or say something, but she just continues to stare at him. I see tears falling from her face but she isn't crying. When I drop down onto the floor with her she flinches.

                            "Mal?" I say softly.

     When I still don't get a response, I use my hand to gently lift her face towards me. My eyes grow big in shock at the large bruise surrounding her eye, along with black and blue on her neck. A tear falls onto her cheek and mixes with the blood from her wounds.

                    "I-" I choke on my words. "I'm so sorry."

     She glances back down at Snape, then breathes in deeply. She uses the one patch of clean fabric on her sleep to wipe her tears, then she gets up from the floor.

                            "Let's go."

      Her voice is nearly gone, she can barely speak. Aary and Blaise give me worried looks as she walks out of the drawing room like nothing has happened.

                       "Go where?" Aary asks, nervously. "We have nowhere to go."

       Malory continues walking to the exit of the house and eventually we all give in and follow.