scars || sirius black

34 - what the hell's happened?

Little bit of a gory chapter, read with caution! Just message me if you decide to skip it and want a quick summary.

———

Emmy could barely move. The force of hitting the decking had winded her, and her good arm was pinned underneath her. Unable to use her almost definitely broken collarbone now she took a minute to gather herself then squirmed onto her knees. But the silence, the silence was what confused her.

She blinked the stars from her eye and jolted at the scene in front of her. Bodies were strewn across the clearing, their hands outstretched and faces still frozen in pain.

Hestia let out a short, panicked scream that was both hysterical and terrified. Someone was vomiting beside her, but Emmy was too transfixed to turn and see who it was. A severed hand lay millimetres from her foot, still twitching as blood oozing from the tangled veins.

She scrambled away from it, her stomach turning and head spinning. It was a gruesome, bloody sight.

There was a crack and a frightened looking woman apparated into the clearing. She wore light green scrubs with the bone and wand emblem of St Mungo's hospital on the pocket; but they were blood stained and her hands shook as she knelt by the closest body to her and disapparated away.

"Wait!" Florent cried out seconds too late, but Emmy was distracted by Bellatrix who'd walked to the brow of the hill with an awe-filled look on her face.

"What is it?" Emmy called.

The girl turned, an odd look on her face, "They're taking the castle."

They froze and the earth seemed to come crushing down. Emmy sprinted to catch up to her and saw Hogwarts in the distance. A glowing green skull lit up the night sky and underneath it spears of light flew through the air, random sections of the castle exploding violently. Instead of wind, screams now echoed down the valley and the winding path was littered with bodies, some moving, some not.

Every few seconds a flash of St Mungo's robes appeared to apparate someone to the hospital, frenzied looks on their far away faces.

"Hey, what are you lot doing here? You're supposed to be taking cover!" came a yell from behind them, a startled looking healer was staring at them from the ground next to an unconscious third year.

"What the hell's happened?" answered Emmy.

"Oh Merlin, you're the Triwizard champions, aren't you? There's been a death-eater attack, you need to get yourselves to safety. I can get you all to St Mungo's, just wait here, I'll be back in a minute."

"Like hell," replied Axel indignantly. "We're the best trained students in this place, they need our help."

"There are ministry aurors and teachers fighting them off, it's best if you just stay out of it. Look I need to go, but stay here ok?"

He gathered the student hurriedly in his arms and disapparated.

"I'm going to fight," announced Axel in the quiet that followed. "We owe it to them, we've trained for months for this bloody tournament, what was the point if not to save lives when it actually comes down to it."

"Axel, we're coming," Florent reassured him.

"Of course we are," added Emmy. As they turned to run she caught Hestia's arm, "Look, do you know how to fix a broken collarbone. I can't fight like this."

"Sure, I've practised similar spells," she replied, sitting Emmy down on an overturned bench. Axel looked back and frowned in confusion. "You guys go on ahead!" she yelled, but he turned back and wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her forehead.