I stood behind my father as students walked into the Great Hall in the late hours of the night. Every house separated from the other in the Hall. Amycus and Alecto Carrow stood behind my father and me in front of the students.
"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you at this hour." My father started, "It's come to my attention that earlier this evening Harry Potter was sighted in Hogsmead."
The students whispered amongst themselves until my father spoke up again.
"Now, should anyone, student or staff, attempt to aid Mr. Potter they will be punished in a matter consistent with the severity of their transgression. Furthermore, any person found to have knowledge of these events who fails to come forward will be treated as equally guilty. Now then, if any one here has any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward. Now." My father said, beginning to walk down the center aisle.
I joined him in the walk, glaring at the students I passed. The hall was quiet. You could hear a pin drop if it were to happen. I looked around and watched as a student began to step forward. The gasps from the hall said everything before I could get a good look as to who it was.
"It seems, despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, we still have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster." Potter's voice said to my father as a large group of witches and wizards walked through the doors of the Hall.
"Let me have him." I whispered, taking a step forward and pulling my Hogwarts wand out of my pocket.
My father held his arm in front of me, making me stop.
"I'm afraid it's quite extensive." Potter said, "How dare you stand where he stood. Tell them how it happened that night!" His attention turned to me, "Tell them how you looked him in the eye, your headmaster, the man who knew of your potential and who wanted to help you, and you killed him! Tell them."
In an instant, my father pulled out his wand and pointed it at Potter. I pointed my wand a split second later. I watched the scene unfold as Professor McGonagall stepped in front of Potter. Every student ran to either side of the Hall, myself unincluded. I stood next to my father. The man I would stand by until we were separated by death. I glared at Potter, then McGonagall. My father hesitated when he saw McGonagall's defensive action, but quickly pointed his wand at the woman. Despite my belief that my father would cast the first attack, I was proved wrong as a flash of light flew towards my father. He defended himself and pushed me to the group of Slytherins. Pansy grabbed my wrist and pulled me completely to the side, joining the other girls. Daphne held my other arm and Tracey placed a hand on my shoulder and calmly took my wand from my hand. I knew this was her telling me that it was a better idea that she held onto it. I watched in terror as McGonagall continued to cast spell after spell at my father, causing his retreat. She casted the spells so fast, I was afraid that my father couldn't defend himself quickly enough. He quickly turned on himself and was surrounded by a cloud of black as he disappeared and all that was left was the cloud and the image of a cloak jumping from place to place to dodge McGonagall until he threw himself through the windows at the end of the hall.
"Coward!" McGonagall yelled at him.
When my father was gone, the school burst into cheers, but I- I burst into tears and sunk to the ground.
"He's alright, Raven. He escaped and he's alright." Daphne said to me.
"It'll be alright. You will see him when this is all over." Tracey added.
"Harry." A whispering voice rang through the hall.
It was like the voice in my dreams, except I was awake, and the whole Hall heard it.
A little girl's scream came from the Gryffindor corner. A long, loud scream, as if she was getting murdered. Then another scream, from an older girl from the Ravenclaw corner. I only recognised it as my own, but it wasn't. It had to have been Auzilen.
"Auzi!" I exclaimed, standing back up, but being held in my place by the two girls on my arms and one girl gripping my shoulder.
"Raven, no!" Pansy said to me.
"I know that many of you will want to fight," the whispering voice of the Dark Lord said, "Some of you may even think that fighting is wise. But this is folly. Give me Harry Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."
Pansy let go of me and pushed through the Slytherin crowd.
"What are you waiting for? Somebody grab him!" She yelled to the rest of the students.
Of course, his girlfriend was the first to stand in front of him, joined by the rest of his friends.
"Students out of bed!" A voice echoed, "Students out of bed!"
The voice repeated this until Filch ran into the Great Hall, stopping when he saw that all the students were here.
"They are supposed to be out of bed you blithering idiot." McGonagall said to him, making him apologise.
"But as it happens, Mr. Filch, your arrival is most opportune. If you would, I would like you please to lead Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin house from the Hall." McGonagall ordered.
"Exactly where is it I'll be leading them to ma'am?"
"The dungeons would do."
I watched as Pansy turned around, arms crossed, and walked back to me and the girls. We began to get escorted out of the hall as the students cheered once again. As we left, we passed Auzilen.
"Auzi, are you alright?" I asked the girl with tear stained cheeks.
"Since when have you ever cared?" She snapped and turned away from me.
In all honesty, I never really cared about her until now. She was all I had left of my father and if she and my father were both gone; I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
"I have to go, cover me if someone asks?" I asked Pansy.
"I've got your back, go on." She told me.
As the Slytherins walked down the stairs to the Dungeons, I separated from the group and went down a different hall instead. I had to get up to the seventh floor. As I climbed a set of stairs, I heard a 'whoosh' sound.
"Raven."
I turned around to see Ross.
"What are you doing down there? Follow me and tell me everything!" I exclaimed.
We trudged up flight after flight of stairs. He told me everything he saw. Voldemort and his army were close. I noticed lights fly towards the sky, beginning to form a shield. Ross and I climbed our final steps and I ran to a window without glass. I stood inside the castle walls, watching as the magic dome around the school closed, trapping us inside. Stone knights that once stood on the castle sprang to life.
"Raven, where should I go?" Ross asked me.
I turned to look at the boy.
"Not here. Get yourself as far away from here as possible." I told him, turning back to look out the window, "And please do not get yourself killed."
Only moments later, the show began. Hundreds of light orbs were shot toward the dome exploding as they made contact with it. When it all died down, a beam of blue light flew at the dome, creating a long, bright explosion that seemed to be making much more progress. The dome began to dissolve, like a flame in the center of a piece of parchment. The wall turned red, beginning to set aflame and the blue beam stopped. I could hear students screaming from the floors below me and I could only imagine the panic on their faces as they ran, pushing each other out of the way. I heard explosions from the bridge and shouting of men. The dome was gone and Hogwarts was under attack. I kept my position. I just watched the front of the school, where the Dark Lord stood. Giants, dark wizards and other creatures on our side ran toward the castle, fighting anything and everything in their path.
"It's time." I told Ross turning to him.
Worry was written all over his face. I sighed and walked over to him. I grabbed either side of his face and placed my lips on his. I quickly parted with him.
"If I die, I need you to take care of my family for me. My father and my sister." I told him.
"You're not going to die. If anyone is going to die, it will be me." He said.
He pecked my lips and the stepped away from me. He turned into his raven self.
"Be safe, black bird." I told him.
"You too." He squawked, and then took flight, flying out the window.
I broke into a run as I made my way down many sets of stairs, joining the hectic traffic of students. I watched as a death eater flew over us in his black fog. I saw his face as someone threw a spell at him.
"Antonin!" I yelled.
Hopefully everyone was too panicked to hear me. I looked at the person who threw the spell.
"Potter." I muttered to myself as I pushed my way towards him.
He was approached by the Weaselette and Longbottom. They shared a few words before Longbottom left up the stairs. Potter and Weasley shared a quick kiss and Potter broke into a run down the stairs. The wall and floors rumbled under us, as if an earthquake began. The stairs began to quiet down as the Weaselette and I stood on the landing, staring at each other. Clutching both my wands in my hands I stared at her. She glared at me.
"We're supposed to be on the same side. We're supposed to be defending Hogwarts." She told me.
"And yet we find ourselves as enemies. Stupify!" I yelled, pointing my first wand at her.
"Protego!" She yelled, protecting herself from my spell.
"We could have been friends! You and I aren't all that different, Raven." She said.
"Au contraire. We couldn't be any more different. Expelliarmus!" I yelled.
Her wand flew out of her hand and I threw the stunning spell at her with my other wand, knocking her out of consciousness. I put my Ilvermorny wand in my pocket and began to run down the stairs. She wouldn't be out for long and I had to find my way to the Dark Lord. I ran to the main floor, which was filled with students and Death Eaters. I had never seen so many duels in one area like this before.
"Where is he?" I yelled to Mulciber.
"Never expect the man to come to the danger of being outnumbered." The man said, shooting spell after spell at different, innocent students.
"A straight answer or it's me that you'll be fighting." I threatened him.
"Past the courtyard, across the bridge. He'll be there with your aunt." He said.
I broke into a run, making my way through the foyer filled with panicking students. The courtyard was worse with giants swinging their axes and acromantulas ready for dinner. I ran, staying hidden as much as possible. When I reached the bridge, I looked across it. Mulciber was wrong. The Dark Lord wasn't there and neither was my aunt. I quickly looked around. There were so many people on the Dark Lord's side that I didn't know. I didn't know who I could trust. I didn't know who knew me and who didn't. What was I supposed to do if someone attacked me, but happened to be on the same side as me?
Now three people were gone- my father, the Dark Lord and my Aunt. The three people I could truly trust. I could feel my legs getting weak with the thought of losing any of them. I hid myself behind a pillar and slid down it, sitting on the concrete floor. It wasn't until now that I noticed how much I had been shaking. With the explosions and the yelling and all together noise playing behind me, I couldn't help but cover my ears and pull myself into a tight ball.
"It will all be over soon. It will all be over soon." I whispered to myself.
I was scared. I had never been scared of many things before now. But now I felt the feeling of true, pure, extreme and utter terror. Horror. Panic. I never thought I would ever need somebody. It was weak; to need someone. But I needed Draco. I needed a Malfoy. Even Lucius, if he was the first to find me out of the three. I looked around the pillar. No Malfoy was to be seen. I saw professors and the Order of the Phoenix and Death Eaters, but no one I could place burden on at the moment. I heard a noise a little ways down from where I was. There was Greyback, sucking the life out of a Gryffindor girl in my year, Lavender Brown.
"No!" A voice yelled, and a light pushed Greyback off of Lavender and through the stone wall.
I watched as Potter, Weasley and Granger ran towards me, looking out at the scene in the courtyard, not noticing me. Granger was the first to look where she was going and spotted me on the ground.
"Raven, are you alright?" She asked me.
"Do I look alright to you?" I spat at her.
"You need to get inside. Go somewhere safe." She told me.
"She's not going to listen to you, Hermione. You know how she's been treating you these past seven years. Why would she listen now?" Weasley said to her.
"Have you seen Draco?" I asked them.
"He and some friends were in the Room of Requirement, but Goyle set it on fire. We got Draco and Blaise out." Hermione said, crouching to my level, "They ran off before we could talk to them."
"Hermione we need to go." Harry said.
Granger stood up and they all walked away from me. I quickly stood up, brushed myself off and began running back toward the castle. I managed to get inside without a hitch, but inside there was more rubble than before. Of course, more cover, but harder to get around. I hid myself behind a large chunk of stone and pulled out my wand. I thought about Draco and entering his mind.
I was pulled all the way downstairs to the common room where Draco paced the room. Astoria managed to get him to calm down and sit in front of the fire.
I came back to my own thoughts and quickly ran towards the stairs that lead to the dungeon. I ran down the stairs and ran towards the common room. I quickly said the password to the room and walked in. The explosions from the floor above were faint, but enough to make the chandeliers swing and the castle shake. I walked over to the couches and sat down.
"You have fought valiantly, but in vain." The Dark Lord's voice returned, "I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilt is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat. In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity. Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you. On this night you have allowed you friends to die for you, rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonour. Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me."
Draco looked over at me.
"Are you okay?" He asked me.
"He's making us retreat." I whispered.
"They're going to collect bodies and bring them to the Great Hall for a proper goodbye to the dead before they bury them." He told me.
I nodded and stood up.
"They can't retrieve Goyle. I can't imagine the pain he suffered." Draco said, looking back at the fire.
Astoria rubbed his back comfortingly.
"What do you mean?" I asked him, "You're not saying he's- he's dead."
Draco's head dropped. Astoria looked up at me and nodded. I didn't recognise the pain I felt in my chest. Like a knife was slowly cutting a piece out of me. I watched as Astoria and Draco stood up.
"We should go up there." Draco told me.
I nodded and we walked hand-in-hand, out of the common room and up to the Great Hall. Potter stood in the middle of the room, looking around at all the people that lost their lives tonight. I heard sobs coming from Weasley. I watched as Ron and one of the twins gave each other a tight hug, then Ron knelt down and cried over the other twin. Hermione and Ginny cried together for the loss of the boy. I looked around the room more. I noticed, occasionally, Hagrid would bring in another student, covered by a blanket and placed on the Hall floor. One that I noticed had hair falling further than the blanket. Only a couple girls in this school had black hair. Even less had curly black hair. As soon as I saw the hair, I let go of Draco and ran over to Hagrid.
"Who is it? Please, let me see her!" I begged him.
He let the girl down on the floor. He placed a hand on my shoulder. I couldn't bring myself to uncovering the girl, but I needed to know if it was her.
"Raven," an unmistakable, loony voice said.
I turned around to see Luna. I looked back down at the covered girl. Luna placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze before she bent down and uncovered the girl's face. Another piece of my heart had been torn out of my body as I looked down at the face that was almost identical to mine.
"Bloody Hell, Auzilen, I thought you were smart enough to stay somewhere safe." I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek.
I looked around to find Potter looking straight at me, his eyebrows furrowed, but his eyes held pain and sadness. Draco's eyes followed mine and he looked over at Potter. I began to walk away from my sister and towards the boy.
"Why do you look guilty? What happened? Did you see my father? He needs to know about Auzilen." I asked him.
He looked down when I mentioned my father.
"You saw my father. Where is he? I need him here."
"Raven, I'm sorry-"
"Why are you sorry? Did you tell him what was happening? Was he hurt? Potter, I need an answer." I told him.
"He's dead."
I didn't believe him. I couldn't believe him. He was a remarkable wizard. He knew how to defend himself. He couldn't be dead.
"Raven, I'm sorry, there was nothing I could have done, he was badly hurt and he bled out-"
"You," I said, through clenched teeth, pointing a finger at him, "He's dead because of you! You let him die! You said he bled out, but why couldn't you have stopped it? You're supposed to be the chosen one! The boy who lived! But you can't even save a life that isn't your own! You let him die! That's murder! You allowed him to die! This is your fault! You're a murderer!" I yelled.
"If I could have done something, I would have but-"
"But he died! He died and you just watched! You should have stopped the bleeding! You could have saved him! But you let him die! He never even got to say goodbye to me or Auzilen!" I continued to yell, hot tears spilling down my face.
He whispered his apology and walked away from me, out of the Great Hall. My whole body went numb when Potter was gone. My legs gave out on me and I finally felt the rest of my heart being torn out of my body. I couldn't breathe properly. I couldn't see through the tears that filled my eyes, but I could see though the blur of tears that Draco knelt next to me and was bringing me into his arms.
"I want him dead!" I sobbed.
"You're grieving, Lily."
"Don't call me Lily!" I yelled at him, trying to throw his arm off of me, but his hold only gripped me tighter.
I wanted him dead with every cell that lived in my body. He let him die! My father was dead. My heart couldn't beat without him. How could I live without my father?
"I... need to go... find him." I said through my sobs.
"No, Raven. You can't, not now." Draco whispered to me.
"He's all I have left!" I cried.
"You have me-"
"I don't want you! I want him!" I said, beginning to fight my way out of Draco's grip.
"Rava, calm down."
"Let go!"
I managed to get one of my legs out from under me and used it to push Draco off of me. I felt his arms let go of me and I shot up and ran out of the Great Hall. When I knew Draco wasn't following me, I slowed to a walk. Tears continued to fall down my face and my legs threatened to give out, but I just had to make it to the forest. The Dark Lord would be there. I made it to the corridor that lead to the destroyed courtyard. I looked past the archways that surrounded that courtyard and I saw the Forbidden Forest. Just as I was about to reach the open double doors, I felt something hard hit my head and watched this thing fall to the floor. It was a pebble about the size of a bouncy-ball. I looked up and I saw the boulders give up their strength and come crashing down towards me. I tried to run with my arms over my head, but I was too late and I felt the cold, stone boulders collide with my small body. I was quickly weighed to the ground. My ears began to ring and my eyes no longer blurred with tears, but with the fight of passing out. I could see the stars and flashes of colour that I've read about in books. So this is what it felt like when your body threatens to lose consciousness. My head began to spin. My world moved around me as I was being crushed. It didn't hurt. It was probably because I was in shock and my adrenaline was rushing through my veins. I knew the best way to get rid of pain was to go to sleep. That would be great in this situation because I knew, in about ten minutes, the adrenaline would wear off and I would be in excruciating pain. But falling asleep would also be the most stupid idea to come up with. What if I died? I couldn't give up that easily. But then again, if I died, I would be with my father. How could I live without him? And if I died, there wouldn't be any pain in seven minutes. I had to decide- Death with my father, or the rest of my life. I'm only sixteen! I have so many years ahead of me! My head began to ache. The adrenaline was wearing off sooner than I thought it would. I began to feel the sharp stones dig into my back, my arms, my legs, my neck, and my sides. Pain began to come from everywhere. I wanted to make a noise anything to get someone's attention, but nothing came out. I was in so much pain. Sleep, I choose sleep. Just make it be over. It hurt. It hurt so much. I felt like I couldn't take it anymore as the shock began to disappear. I couldn't move under the weight of the giant rocks on top of me. I could feel the coolness of the floor. I could also feel that it was wet and sticky. I knew that the only logical thing for it to be was blood. My blood. It was coming from my body somewhere and I knew it was starting to dry on the floor under all the rubble above me. I began to think about how long I've been here. Time seemed to be going in slow motion for me. There was no way out for me. I knew that if someone didn't find me, I was a goner. I was tired. My body was shaking. It was cold under here and uncomfortable how my ligaments were laying. I wanted to move, but another thing I knew was that if I moved, rocks would shift and cause more pain that I was already in. As soon as that pain began to fade away, I knew it was a bad sign. When the pain goes away that means I'm dying because there could be no other logical explanation. I guess my body was making this choice for me. It wanted to die. I had to keep my eyes open. That's all I had to do. If Potter could beat death as a baby, I could do it now. I wasn't scared of the situation I was in. Yes, I knew that my body wanted to stop it all, right here, right now. I wasn't scared- I was annoyed. How could I be so weak? Letting a couple rocks be the things that end my life? I always thought I would die because someone would use the killing curse on me. I thought I was going to die because of someone, not something. It was pathetic, humiliating. My body felt like my blood was made of ice. I felt like I was the personified version of winter. I wanted a blanket and a cup of tea and to be sitting in front of a fire with Ross, but I was stuck, stone-cold. If only I could reach my wand in my pocket, but my hand was stuck outside the rocks. I tried to move my fingers, but I couldn't tell if they actually moved or not. It was over. It was all over. I made the decision. It was no use fighting. If people saw my hand, they probably thought I was dead already. But if people passed, they would try to get me out to take me to the Great Hall, but then realize that I was alive and take me to St. Mungo's Hospital. So that means nobody has seen me. I was alone. I could feel my eyes get heavy.
"Finally," I managed to whisper with great difficulty.
And if I had just used my last breath to say my one last word, it was worth it. I closed my eyes and my world simply faded away from me.
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