Pansy's POV
Hunter hasn't spoken to me. I see him in the corridors, but we never talk anymore. I feel like crying whenever I see him. He was the first guy that I've really, truly liked. With more time, I might've even grown to love him.
Speaking of the devil, Hunter and I crossed paths in the corridor. He bumped against me, crushing my arm against the wall. I bit my lip to keep from crying.
"Hi Hunter." I smiled, despite my throbbing arm.
He shook his head and walked away from me. "Dude, what's your problem?" Crabbe punched Hunter. "Leave her alone, she hasn't done anything to you!"
I had no idea why Crabbe was so upset. We barely even talked these days, and now he was sticking up for me against Hunter, which was shocking and unnecessary.
I could take care of myself, I didn't need Crabbe to pretend to be my "hero".
"Crabbe, go away." I glared at him. "I can take care of myself."
"No. I stay here." He said sounding remarkably like a caveman.
Hunter rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He sulked away.
God, he's such an arse sometimes.
I headed to my next lesson, Transfiguration. When I got there, the room was buzzing with noise. I took my seat next to Flora. "What's going on?" I asked her.
She looked up from her mirror. "No idea. But McGonagall will tell us when she gets here."
The tabby cat sprinted up towards the desk, and transformed into our professor. "Good evening, class. Today we'll be-"
She was interupted by a knock on the door. Behind the door waited Neville Longbottom. "Sorry to disturb you, professor, but Dumbledore wants everyone in the Great Hall immediately."
"Why? What is so important to interrupt my class for?" McGonagall asked him.
"It's Hermione Granger. She's gone missing now." Neville said.
McGonagall looked at us gravely. "Let's go to the Great Hall now."
My blood ran cold. Hermione was gone.
One hour earlier...
Hermione's POV
"Ugh, just tell me where she is!" I hollered at the first year. The girl squealed.
"I don't know, Miss Parkinson went towards Herbology, but she wasn't there, and I don't know where she went!" The girl squealed.
"Fine. Go away before I hex you." I hissed.
The girl ran away, practically wetting her pants with fear. I liked having that effect on people.
Fine, if Pansy was gone, I'd just go through the tunnel by myself then. The first time had been scary, but this time would be fine, right?
Usually teachers roamed the corridors, but I got lucky. None of them were in the halls by the dungeons.
The common room was empty, just as it should be. Nobody would be out right now. I climbed up the stairs to the girls dorms.
In the girls dorms, nobody was there, they were all at lessons. I opened the door and climbed inside, careful to shut the door behind me.
The tunnel was still as grimy and cold as I remembered it. Grimacing, I breathed only through my mouth so I wouldn't smell the scent of dead fish.
Eventually I felt the cold floor below me, and I saw a light. I jumped and landed on the floor of the room.
"Where is it?" I muttered to myself, searching for the chest. It wasn't where I'd remembered it.
After a few minutes, I spotted it across the room from me. "Huh, that's weird. I don't remember it being over here... oh well, I'm just imagining it."
The chest opened up to reveal a brass key. The key was heavy and rusty. I picked it up, and heard a loud crumble.
I screamed and dropped the key in fright. Turning around, I saw a stone fall. Bricks and stones were falling apart from the wall, leaving another tunnel.
"Cool!" I exclaimed, delving into the tunnel.
Near the end, I started to hear voices. Running the last bit, I saw a hole in the wall, and peered through.
The lighting was dim, so I couldn't see well. When I squinted, I could see a large room that was basically empty. It reminded me of the Chamber of Secrets.
After Harry saved Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, the whole school found out about it. So it wasn't such a big secret anymore. Dumbledore put a barrier to the bathroom door, blocking entrance. Myrtle was outraged by this, but she'd been alone for years, I think she could deal with it.
"Where is she? She should've been here." A familiar low voice hissed. James Potter!
"Potter, relax. She'll be here soon." I heard Crabbe say.
"What in the world? I've been looking all over for you two!" Bellatrix Lestrange entered the room, looking annoyed.
"Bella, we were told specific instructions on how to get here. Obviously, you couldn't follow them." Crabbe smirked.
A loud cry in pain told me Bella had gotten her revenge. "You both know I'm not good with directions. Is the Dark Lord here yet?"
"No, but he should be here soon. I called him just before you entered." James said.
James's Dark Mark showed from under his sleeve, and I gulped. Suddenly Voldemort's Death Eaters didn't seem so friendly anymore.
I peered through the hole again. This time a few more Death Eaters entered. James shifted to the side slightly, and that's when I saw them.
Luna and Kase were lying unconcious on the ground. Luna looked like she'd been harassed, and Kase just looked like he'd been ganged up on.
Luna's stomach was what made me sick. The flesh had been torn and severed over and over. The skin was raw and bleeding currently. The sight made me want to throw up.
I moved away from the hole and sank to the ground, shaking with anger and fear. How could they do that to her? She had nothing to do with any of this, and neither did Kase. They were just using them to get to Draco.
Footsteps echoed through the room, and I gasped. Then I clamped my mouth shut as the person moved closer. Once they stepped into the light, I sighed with relief. It was only Adele.
We were rivals, yes, but it was better than Bellatrix.
"What are you doing here?" I hissed to her.
"I could ask you the same thing." She glared. "I'm here to rescue my friends."
"As a matter of fact, I'm doing the same thing. So either help me or leave." I turned back to the hole. She crouched down beside me.
"Can you see them?" She asked me.
"Uh huh. And it's not pretty." Bile rose in my throat at the sight of Luna's torso.
"Move." She shoved me out of the way. When she looked through the hole, she screamed.
I clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Bellatrix and James looked straight at where the hole was.
"We've got eavesdroppers." Crabbe said, an edge of panic to his voice. "Find them, wherever they are!"
"It came from over there." Bella pointed in our direction. "They might be in that room with the chest... I'll check it out."
The Death Eaters split up. "Run." I told Adele. We both hurried across to the tunnel but we could hear footsteps racing towards us.
"Get in." I told her. I boosted her up and she crawled down the tunnel, not bothering to help me. I rolled my eyes and climbed up.
Just as I was disappearing, someone crashed in the room. Bella looked around the room, and then stared into my eyes.
"I see someone!" She called. "Petrificus Totalus!"
I was now frozen to the spot. I hoped Adele had gotten to safety, for her sake. But no, she was right next to me, having crawled back to help me.
"Oh, we've got two of them. James, get over here." Bella snorted. "We have Miss Granger and a friend. How lovely. What will we do with them?"
"Hermione can go. But the other one... we'll need to keep her here." James decided.
"What? No, the bushy haired girl is staying with us." Obviously Bellatrix doesn't remember me, or my parents, and all the work they've done for Voldemort.
"Look, Hermione and Harry are friends... I trust her not to talk about it. But we don't know the other girl, we definitely could use her."
"Fine." Bellatrix rolled her eyes. She performed the counter curse on me, and I smiled at James. "Thanks for letting me go. I promise that I won't say a word."
James turned to Bella, a smile on his face. "See? She won't tell."
Bellatrix seemed suspicious. "Off you go, Hermione. We've got plans for the others."
I glanced at Adele, and then burst into the tunnel. I knew what I had to do. It wouldn't be easy, but it was the right thing to do.
Pansy's POV
Confusion swept across the room. Where was Hermione Granger? Then that question was answered when the doors opened to reveal the familiar face.
"Miss Granger, where have you been?" Snape asked her, but she brushed him off.
"Later, this is urgent. I must speak with Professor Dumbledore."
She raced down the hall, stopping at Dumbledore. "I need a word, Professor. It's private, and urgent."
He looked at her face. "Alright then. Let's go to my office."
Dumbledore stood at the podium for one last word. "Okay, well I guess you can all go."
"Wait!" Hermione shouted. "I've changed my mind. I should tell you here, in front of everyone."
Good, now there was no need to use the Extendable Ears Hunter bought me.
"I know where Luna, Kase, and Adele are." She said.
Everyone was expressing different emotions at once; happy, confused, angry, and upset. We were all wondering the same questions though: where were they? And how did she find out?
"Miss Granger, do not kid me. This is a serious matter. Are you confident of where they are?" Dumbledore gazed at her with his icy blue eyes.
She took a deep breath. "Yes. They were kidnapped by Death Eaters."
Horror rippled throughout the room, and McGonagall looked like she would faint. "Where are they now?"
"They're down near the Chamber of Secrets. It's another Chamber, but close by. I know a shortcut." She said.
The Slytherins all looked furious, and Harry looked extremely upset. I should be more upset, but really I'm not. I knew about these plans, but I didn't know who they would take. And I know it's the right thing, none of them deserve this.
"So how did you find out?" Dumbledore asked her.
"I was down there, looking around." She admitted. "Today Adele found me down there. She just got taken now. I came straight up here. I heard the Death Eaters talking, but Adele screamed at the sight of Luna, and they found us. Since I'm friends with Harry, they let me go. They thought they could trust me."
Whoa. Not even I would double-cross Death Eaters. I had a feeling it would've been James Potter and Bellatrix Lestrange that caught them, among others. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have recognized Hermione.
"Alright. Show me how to get to this Chamber. We go down and bring the students immediately. They should be taken care of. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, please come with me." Dumbledore said.
"Wait!" Hermione said again. "Madam Pomfrey should come to. I'm no nurse, but I know that Luna can't be moved right now."
Dumbledore met her gaze for a minute. "Alright. Minerva, please fetch Poppy for us."
The students stared at us wide eyed. "Go back to your dorms." He dismissed us.
Hermione winced. "Except the Slytherins. The entrance is in the dungeons. In case there's a battle, the students would get hurt."
"Slytherins, go to the Astronomy tower. Professor Flitwick, keep an eye on them." Dumbledore said.
Everyone left, and I headed towards Hermione. There was no way she was going in there without me.
Finally! An update! I congradulate myself :D
The story's almost over. I think I'll do one more chapter and then the epilogue :)
Please comment, and vote if you liked!