Merely Misunderstood

Chapter Seventy-Six

Everything seemed to happen all at once.

A roar like an approaching army erupted, shattering the tense silence with war cries as a stampede of centaurs swarmed into the courtyard. A giant lumbered from around the castle, screaming, "HAGGAR!" only to be met by the forces of Voldemort's own giants.

They collided, and the earth shook beneath our feet. I clung to Draco desperately, watching as chaos descended.

Neville Longbottom broke free of the binding curse and plunged his hand into the sorting hat. Voldemort's snake struck at him, but he whirled around, drawing a gleaming sword from the sorting hat. He swung it ferociously, decapitating the snake with a single strike.

Voldemort screamed, but nobody heard it over the commotion. The standoff broke. Death Eaters scattered.

Draco gripped my hand, darting forward and shouting, "POTTER!"

My eyes scanned the mayhem frantically, finally finding what had drawn Draco's attention. Formally-dead Harry Potter flopped out of Hagrid's arms, whipping his invisibility cloak over his head.

Draco tossed something toward him, and Harry snatched it out of the air, disappearing beneath his cloak an instant later.

Then, Draco charged toward the castle to join the pandemonium that had broken out in the entry hall, dragging me behind him.

From somewhere behind me, Hagrid screamed, "HARRY! HARRY — WHERE'S HARRY?" Spells fired left and right. Students were locked in scuffles with Death Eaters.

Draco dodged jinx after jinx, leading me blindly through the havoc. I wondered why he didn't deflect the spells, but I had no time to question him. The best I could do was raise my own wand and summon shields whenever dodging became impossible.

Inside the Great Hall, the battle raged. I caught sight of one of the older, graduated Weasleys — though I couldn't remember his name — fighting alongside Horace Slughorn, our old potions master. Looking closer, I spotted various familiar faces who hadn't been there before.

Reinforcements! But where had they come from?

I watched, dumbstruck, as house-elves charged out of the kitchens to join the fight. George Weasley and Lee Jordan slammed a Death Eater to the floor. Hagrid threw another across the room. Ron and Neville brought down Fenrir Greyback. I caught a glimpse of pale blond hair, distinct to only one family, but then it was lost in the chaos again.

Draco shoved past duel after duel, leaping over bodies strewn across the floor and weaving around violent brawls. "Bri!" The sound of his voice yanked my attention back to him. "Lend me your wand!"

I tossed it to him instantly, asking, "What happened to yours?!"

He opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment, a Death Eater flung past us, rushing to ambush a student engaged in battle with someone else. Draco stunned the Death Eater, barrelling past the Great Hall, taking down Death Eaters left and right, never loosening his grip on my wrist.

I wanted to ask where we were going but couldn't form the words. There was too much happening, too many people moving far too quickly —

My wand ripped from Draco's hand, and he stumbled to a halt. His silver-blue gaze scanned the corridor in search of it, but too many feet trod the stone; it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Or more appropriately, like looking for a stick in a stampede.

Now unarmed and unguarded, we both faced the one responsible.

Stalking toward us was a Death Eater I couldn't identify thanks to the mask covering his face. Draco's hand tightened over mine; he seemed nervous, unsure what to do.

"Looks like we got ourselves a couple o' turncoats," the Death Eater purred, and I was amazed I could hear him over the noise, especially with the mask hiding his mouth.

"Marcus..." Draco recognized the man, and the horrified way he spoke his name made my stomach drop.

Draco pulled me closer behind him, shielding me with his body as the man stepped closer, wand raised.

"Do you know what the Dark Lord does to traitors, Malfoy Junior?"

Draco clenched his jaw. "Do what you want with me, but don't —"

"Oh, your corpse won't get me much ransom from your parents, so I'll keep you alive for the time being. As for your little girlfriend..."

I couldn't see the man's face, but from the chill that ran down my spine, I knew he'd shifted his gaze to me.

"She might raise a hefty price with the traffickers. Maybe I'll test out the goods myself before I —"

"You're not gonna touch her!" Draco snarled. His body shifted like he planned to tackle the Death Eater head-on.

"No? What are you gonna do about it?" the man chuckled, flicking his wand carelessly, and Draco crumpled to the ground.

The Death Eater Marcus returned his eyes to me, and a slimy feeling slithered over my skin. As he stalked toward me, I searched the ground for my wand, frantic.

Draco grunted, and I turned to see him pushing himself onto his feet, glaring coldly at the man.

"Back away, Marcus," he demanded icily. The murderous look in his eyes sent goosebumps down my arms.

The Death Eater laughed. "Then again, I don't think she'll raise that high of a price. Perhaps I'll keep her to myself, and once I've had my way with her, I'll kill her inste—"

His sickening words cut off as Draco threw himself at the man, slamming into his torso and knocking him off his feet. 

The two of them crashed to the stone, Marcus yelling profanities while Draco pressed him against the ground, bashing his head against the stone. He raised his fist, bringing it down against the man's face again and again until his knuckles were split and covered in blood — though whose blood it was, I couldn't tell.

His face contorted with rage as he spat, "GO TO HELL!"

"Get — the fuck — off —" Marcus spluttered, and he fumbled for his wand, jabbing it into Draco's side. Draco yelped, his body seizing as though electrocuted. 

Marcus flung him off, scrambling to his feet, spitting the blood that dripped from his mangled nose and into his deformed mouth. Then, with a malicious glint in his eyes, he raised his wand over his head.

I moved before I had a chance to think. Thinking back, I could have tackled Marcus the same way Draco had, but any idea of violence vacated me. The only thing on my mind was, "Protect Draco."

I flung myself in front of Draco to shield him as the Death Eater slashed down with his wand, shrieking with outrage and glee. The curse struck me square on the back, and a line of white-hot pain seared across my spine.

I screamed as the agony grew, intensifying as if the wound was spreading. My vision blurred and swam, and my body lurched onto the cold floor.

Draco was just a few feet away, and I watched him clamber to his feet. He shouted my name, his face pale, his eyes wide with panic as he looked over me. I reached for him, but at that moment, he glanced at something behind me. 

Then he rose to his feet and sprinted away.

My hand dropped to the ground, and everything went black.