Run || Harry Potter FF

vi || thestrals

I could pay no mind to the fighting that I could see through my peripheral vision, as the stalky Death Eater currently had his wand pointed at me. On instinct, I pointed my gun at him and pulled the trigger, only to hear a slight pop instead of the deafening roar of a bullet passing through the chamber. No bullets. Oh God. 

I stared after my personal assassin with wide eyes. He gave me a smirk before saying, "Avada Ked--" 

"Stupefy!" I felt someone push me out of the way and before I knew it, the Death Eaters had been knocked backwards into the wall. I felt a gasp escape my lips as the seriousness of the situation sunk in. 

When I looked to see who I'd be thanking, it was Draco. For the second time in three days, he'd saved me from what could have been sudden death. I owed him more than I would've liked to owe anyone.  

The room had fallen quiet, except for the sounds of heavy breathing. The three Death Eaters lay on the ground unconscious, Neville and Hagrid stood, recovering, and Harry was huddled behind the couch. "Thanks," I finally said to Draco. "I guess I forgot to reload the gun..." I wasn't usually so forgetful... 

He didn't reply. "There could be more coming," he said instead. 

"You go. Buckbeak is in the back 'long with a couple o' Thestrals. There's also a pack with a tent an' some food tha' I keep fer emergencies. Take those. I have ter get Grawp," Hagrid said, though most of the information went right over my head. "An' Harry, I really am sorry. If yeh find McGonagall, she'll give yer memories back--I'm sure of it." 

"Do you know where she is?" Neville asked when Harry didn't acknowledge the apology. 

"No... She did say tha' she wouldn' be too far away from Hogwarts though. Yeh might oughta check 'round there. But be careful." 

"Thanks, Hagrid. Good luck," Neville said, and we all followed him out of the back door. Sure enough, there was an insanely large bird-type creature and two skeletal horses with wings. Neither looked like something I would ride willingly or even go near under normal circumstances. 

"How did you not know you were a wizard with these in your backyard?" Neville asked Harry. 

"He told me they were exotic animals," he admitted.

"Do you still know how to ride Buckbeak? I was there when you rode him the first time, you know. Back in year three. Do you really not remember that?" 

Harry shook his head. "No. And yes, I do know how to ride him. Although now I feel stupid that I thought he was a normal animal..." He approached the bird and bowed low. The creature surprisingly returned the gesture. 

"So, uh, who am I riding that with?" I questioned. Neville and Draco both looked at me. 

"You can see them?" Draco asked. 

"...Yes? Should I not be able to?" 

Neville mounted his Thestral while Draco continued. "It's just...you have to witness a death before you can see them. So, I, uh, guess you have." 

"Well, I was in the hospital room when my grandmother died. So, yeah, I guess I have." 

Draco then looked from the Thestral to me interchangeably, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I suppose you'll have to ride with me." 

"Okay." 

Draco got on first, and then it was my turn. In my feverish haste to get it done quickly, in case more Death Eaters were coming, I almost knocked Draco off. When I finally climbed on and balanced myself, it's bones dug into my flesh. I wondered how long we could ride them before it got too uncomfortable or painful to carry on. 

Neville took off first. Thankfully, it was getting dark so if we flew high enough, we wouldn't be seen--at least not clearly. We followed and Harry brought up the back. They didn't look it but the Thestrals flew faster than I could have imagined. I held on tight to Draco's torso and tried to take in my surroundings, which was difficult due to the amount of wind blowing straight into my eyes. 

The trees looked like a bed of emeralds from beneath us--beautiful but not something you'd want to fall into. I tightened my grip. "My parents would roll over in their graves if they saw me right now. I mean, if they had graves...," Draco yelled over the deafening wind, trailing off at the end. "They hated muggles..." 

I closed my eyes once they started burning, salty tears sliding down my cheek. I didn't dare try and wipe them. "Do you?"  

He was silent then, only the constant stream of air was present to keep my eardrums company. "I don't know. I haven't really had the chance to decide what my own opinion on that is," he said finally. 

I didn't know exactly what that meant but his tone was rather grim. "Well, at least you're honest," I said, slightly wounded.

He looked as if he were about to turn around, but then he thought better of it. "I didn't say I hated you. I just said I didn't know if I hated muggles."

"So you don't know if you hate me?"

Though the wind was terrible, I could feel, rather than hear, him sigh since my arms were up against his rib cage. "No, that's not what I said. You have to understand that I'm not good at...being nice. I don't know how."

I started to laugh but when I realized it was throwing my balance off, I stopped. "Well, you haven't exactly been mean. So you're taking a step in the right direct--" A scream escaped my mouth as the Thestral plunged into a deep dive towards the ground. 

Before my life had time to flash before my eyes, though, we touched ground--much more softly than I'd imagined. I was stiff from the ride so it was hard to pull my arms out from around Draco's torso and it was even harder to get off the Thestral itself. 

Immediately after stretching my legs, I loaded my gun. I couldn't believe I had forgotten before, but nobody would catch me with an empty cylinder again. Neville started pulling things out of the pack just as Harry and Buckbeak touched the ground.

When everyone was off their form of transportation and settled in, Neville looked up at us all. "Okay, we need a plan."