Hateful Love

Chapter Thirty-Four

          I open my mouth to scream something out to Amycus, to do anything that might keep him from entering that room. But through the dim light of a single candle on the wall, I can see a small lump of black flying through the air, which makes the sound die in my throat. A ghostly arm is outstretched against the wall, and then the familiar face of Peeves appears through the wall. He looks over at me with a triumphant grin. The hell did he throw?

         But I realize what it is as soon as the lump makes contact with the stone floor and erupts, swallowing the entire hallway with pitch darkness. I hear Amycus yell something incoherent, and I remember what I’m doing here in the first place.

          I don’t think—I just find myself suddenly sprinting forward into the nothingness, my arms out in front of me. I don’t know why Peeves decided to help me; all I know is that I have to get Amycus away from that door and get Neville out of there.

         My hands smack into something hard and warm, and a raspy groan tells me it’s Amycus. He collapses beneath me, and I just barely keep from falling on top of him. I reach into my pocket and whip out my wand, then point it blindly in front of me and scream, “Stupefy!”

          I hear the spell blast into something, but I don’t have time to see what it was. My heart seconds away from jumping out of my chest, I spin around and feel with trembling hands for the door handle.

          My fingers are so sweaty that they slip off the smooth metal of the handle, and I frantically try again. The knob turns and I throw the door open.

          The Peruvian Instant Darkness powder had no way of getting past the door, so I have to blink several times in order to get used to being able to see again. Slamming the door behind me, I stumble forward and almost trip over a table.

          “Cassie, what the hell is going on out there?” I can hear the panic in Neville’s voice, and when I look up, the fear is clearly written all over his face. His shoulders are shaking terribly, but I can’t see what he’s bent over in this dark room.

          I rush over to him and hiss, “Get up. Get up, Amycus is here.”

          “Shit—Cassie, run.” Neville refuses to turn back around and look at me; he’s stooped over a figure lying on the ground, which must be the first year. I can’t bring myself to look closer.

          “Neville!” I snap fiercely, grabbing at his shoulder. “Get up, we’ve got about two seconds to get out of here.”

          Neville turns suddenly and pushes me roughly towards the door. “Cassie, run. I’ve almost got them off; I’ll be right behind you.”

         I stumble back from him in shock, but before I can decide whether or not to listen to him, there’s a loud slam against the door.

          Neville is on his feet in that same instant, and I can see he’s dragging the first year up with him. I hear the sickening jangle of keys and angry curses coming from outside. He turns to me and says in a terrified voice, “You have to hide.”

          “How the hell is that going to help? Neville, we’re screwed—“

          He snaps suddenly, then screams so terrifyingly that I almost start crying, “Get under the fucking table!”

          This side of Neville scares me so much that I immediately drop to the floor and scramble underneath the nearest table, frantically tugging the table cloth as far down as it will go to cover myself.