I fell to my knees, panting, my heart flying. That was too close. I couldn't believe I suggested going back to Godric's Hollow. Merlin, why did Neville indulge in my want to go home? Why did I keep on about it? We're both idiots.
"Jenelle," Neville panted as he hoisted me up under my arms. "Are you okay?"
"Fine, fine," I said shakily. Neville helped me brush myself off. "Why did you take us there?"
"I figured it'd cheer you up."
"Thanks for being considerate, but I'm going to have to yell at you for it. You were right; I was blinded by my love for my home that I ignored your truth." I looked around. It didn't look like the Forest of Dean, but it was definitely somewhere different, a new area of forest. The sun started to set through the trees. Behind me, some distance from us, I could hear a roaring stream of rapids. "Where are we?"
"I don't know exactly. I just thought a forest was a good place to be since it worked well for us last time." Neville shrugged.
"Do you think they got a hold of us and followed?" I asked hesitantly.
"We would've felt them holding on if they had."
That made me breathe a little easier. "Should we make camp here? The sun is setting."
"Unless you prefer to go hiking in the dark."
"We're camping here then. Do you mind if I do the enchantments with you?" I asked him. "I haven't learned them by heart, but we did it once before. I'll follow you, like last time."
Neville started walking off behind where we had landed, I trotted after him. "We need a wide range of protection."
"I'm ready when you are."
"Make sure you pronounce them clearly," Neville reminded me.
"Are you going to keep telling me what to do, or are we going to get a move on?" I teased.
"Right, right. Salvio Hex—"
The cutoff in Neville's voice made me worried. "Neville?" I asked quietly, coming to his side.
I should've run, that was the first thing that came to mind. The men in front of us rose from their crouches. Dark hair, blue eyes...Adam. Red hair, green eyes...Luke. Caramel hair, brown eyes...their newest recruit.
"What do we do?" I whispered, feeling a sense of déjà vu creeping up on me.
"Hand over the girl," Luke hissed at Neville.
"Not on your life," Neville growled, shoving me behind him with one arm, the other holding out his wand.
"If you won't give her, we'll take her," said the new Death Eater. "It won't be pretty."
"Like hell it won't, because at least one of you is going to join your two buddies in Azkaban," Neville retorted.
"Neville," I whimpered. "I can think of a lot of things we should be doing to handle this, and provoking them isn't one of them!"
"The girl speaks sense," Luke said. "Now hand her over."
"Do you really think it's wise to challenge me?" Neville hissed.
"Do you think it's wise to try and be smart when you're outnumbered? Hand her over. This is your last chance."
The roaring rapids were the only thing I heard on top of my panicked heart.
"All right..." Neville muttered slowly. "If you want her, you have to come get her."
"Neville!" I hissed at him.
"Trust me," he whispered. "Expulso!"
A huge blast of ground shot up in the Death Eaters' faces, causing dirt to fly everywhere. Neville took this momentary distraction to grab my wrist and wheel us far away from them.
I heard one Death Eater—Luke I think it was—give a cry of frustration. What Neville did was sort of good, but it pissed the Death Eaters off even more. I didn't know what was going on in his head right now. That Auror sense needed to kick in soon.
I tried to shoot Stunning Spells over my shoulder, but it was hard since I was trying not to trip over my own feet or tree limbs, and I was trying to make sure Neville didn't let me go, or that I didn't run face first into a tree.
A shot ripped right between Neville and me. I ducked as another zoomed over my head.
"Get them apart!" Luke barked.
Spells were released, only they weren't simple Stunning Spells. I heard chains whip around the trees just behind us.
I put a little more sprint in my gait, now actually passing Neville and dragging him along, but not by much. Every five seconds it seemed a spell would shoot from his wand. Since I heard no cries of pain yet from behind, I assumed he kept missing. And I'm the rusty one?
"Diffindo!" Adam barked.
I yelped as the spell shot right overhead and hit the tree in front of us, cutting it in half. Neville and I skidded to a halt, eyes locked on the falling tree. Neville jerked my arm so hard that I accidentally, by instinct, ripped away from him. The tree plummeted right between us.
I would've ran back to Neville had we not switched sides. He was more towards the left, me the right. The spells shot right between us.
"Expulso!" I cried, shooting it behind me. I heard one loud cry.
Darkness was starting to become a factor; it was getting harder to see what was in front of me.
"Jenelle!" Neville shouted from my left.
"It's too late for her, boy," Luke snarled.
I stopped in my tracks to see Neville battling Luke, and he looked awfully close to the roaring rapids I had heard the moment we landed in this forest. The waters looked fierce, ready to swallow up anything that landed in its path.
"Once I'm through with you, she's ours."
I saw Adam and the other Death Eater loping towards me. Red light shot from their wands. I stood my ground; parried and shooting back spells of my own, all while stealing glances at the battle Neville was locked in with Luke.
"Diffindo!" Luke shouted.
I looked and screamed. I thought at first Luke had aimed for Neville, but instead, he took the ground right out from under the Auror. He gave a cry of surprise and fell victim to the roaring rapids, disappearing.
"No!" I screamed.
I broke into the fastest run I could. If Neville died because of me, I'd never forgive myself. I had already lost Penelope to Brian because I didn't do anything to save her.
Neville was very well drowning in the rapids; I was running away from three Death Eaters, with only one wand to shoot spells from. I didn't care as Luke regrouped with his buddies, didn't care that they still flung spells my way. I never shot another spell back, because I was too focused on slowly leaning to my left, closer to the rapids.
"Don't let her get away!" Luke roared.
Inhaling deeply, I plunged myself into the chilling waters. At first, I freaked, because it was almost pitch black, impossible to see anything. The water sent violent ripples through my body.
I thrust myself up, coughing as I tried to face myself away from the rushing water.
"Neville?" I called, paddling with the flow of the water. As my eyes adjusted, I realized this wasn't a steady stream. There were rocks planted in the path. I bashed one with my shoulder, giving out a cry, but it was drowned out by the roaring water.
Over and over I called Neville's name, hoping to hear his voice over the rapids, praying to at least know he was alive, that there was still time...
A burst of water shot in my face. I knew the Death Eaters wouldn't let me be, figuring the rapids would claim me. No, they had to make my rescue mission ten times harder! The rapids, I guess, weren't big enough of a challenge.
"Jenelle!"
Using his voice to guide me, I swam harder until I found Neville soaking wet, still facing the occasional spray that came from the water crashing against the rock he clung to.
"What the hell are you doing?" he gasped.
"I'm saving you!" I retorted, yelping as I got dowsed in the back of the head.
The rock we held onto exploded in our faces, making us jump unwillingly back into the flow of the rapids. I was lighter than Neville, so I ended up colliding with him. My clothes tried to drag me under due to the weight the water was giving them. Neville kept pulling me just above the raging water as I spat it out.
"We've—we've got to get out of this!" I yelled. I screamed as another spell erupted in the water. The blast threw me back into Neville, hard, and knocked him back a little too far.
"There's a rock right there! Grab a hold of it!" he barked.
"Why!? We'll give them a sitting target!"
"Well, the most obvious reason is because if we don't get out, we'll drown! And honestly, I'd rather not die by freefalling out of a waterfall."
Now with motivation, I tried to claw through the water, but it was hard to tell if I was moving. My body was numb. My legs felt heavy and they were dragging me under. "I—I can't get to it!" I wailed. "We've got no choice but to fall!"
"Are you insane?" Neville cried hysterically.
"Maybe if we fall and survive, they'll think we died!"
"Jenelle, I highly doubt," he coughed out water, "that they'll leave us alone!"
"We have to try!" I swiveled my head to look at Neville. His hair was plastered on his head, he looked absolutely cold. "Please, Neville."
The rapids jerked us hard to the right. I slammed into a boulder, crushing my right arm and bashing my head. Neville's cry of my name was drowned out by the water. I was being pulled under, then back up. Water came through my mouth and nostrils then flew back out. Since I was in such a daze and lost sense of direction, Neville was the only thing keeping me from meeting my death.
I heard the roar of the waterfall coming closer...ever so closer...
I could feel something—Neville?—push against my body, trying to move it against the rapids. It was pointless since I had given up. Neville grunted, trying his hardest to keep me afloat and give us time to prep for the long fall off the edge and plunge into calm water below.
"Come on, Jenelle, you've got to help me!" he yelled harshly.
I couldn't. I was too numb, and the bump that was forming on my head made my head pound furiously.
The roaring waterfall seemed so close now.
"No, no, come on, Jenelle!" Neville screamed at me.
Neville slipped from me first, and then I heard his yell as he fell over the edge.
A long few seconds passed, and I felt myself flow with the water over the edge of the cliff, freefalling limply down towards the huge lake below.