Faith, Ron, and Neville were hurrying through the corridors. Ron had the Marauders Map in his hands and eyed it every couple of seconds to see if anyone was approaching them or if Malfoy had left the Room of Requirement. Faith's heart was beating in her throat. She wanted to know if Harry was OK so badly. Faith hoped that if Harry got injured, the curse would let her feel it so she'd know if he needed help and if he was OK.
"Here it is," Ron panted when they stopped in front of the painting with the ballet dancing trolls that hung on the opposite wall of the one that would show them the door to the Room of Requirement.
"Do you reckon he's still in there?" Neville asked as he moved to stand beside Ron, looking over his shoulder to spot Malfoy on the Map.
"I can't see him anywhere else, he has to be in there," Ron said. "We can't get in there, can we?"
"No, Harry and I have tried multiple times, we don't know what form the Room takes for Malfoy," Faith said as her eyes were nervously fixed on the blank wall. What could Malfoy possibly be doing in there?
"Then we'll just have to wait," Ron sighed. "What do we do when he comes out?"
Both Ron and Neville looked at Faith assuming she'd know.
"Jinx him?" Faith asked with a shrug. "Kidnap him?"
"Improvising it is, then," Ron chuckled anxiously.
None of them had any idea what was waiting for them on the other side of the wall. They didn't have the slightest clue how this night was going to turn out. Faith wasn't really worried about herself as she figured they'd be safe in the castle, she was much more worried about Harry facing a piece of Voldemort's soul. If Dumbledore had really found a Horcrux, Voldemort wouldn't just let them take it. Faith figured it was probably protected by charms and curses to weaken the intruder, wherever they were. Faith realised she felt a lot less secure here than that she felt when they were in the Department of Mysteries and she knew that was because Harry was with her back then.
The three Gryffindors waited for an hour. They kept watch on either side of the corridor to see if any other members from Dumbledore's Army would come and help them but the corridor stayed deserted. Only Neville answered the call from the coin, and Luna came with Ginny. They probably missed the DA meetings the most. Neville was really good, one of the best, and Luna liked hanging out with them there, she said it was like having friends. Faith hoped that Luna knew that she saw her as her friend.
A loud sliding noise suddenly woke Faith from her thoughts. A large brass, black door started to appear on the empty wall.
"He's coming!" Faith warned Ron and Neville who were on either side of the corridor. They quickly hid behind armour suits and Faith camouflaged herself to the stone walls so Malfoy wouldn't see her.
She held her breath and watched as the doors slowly slid open and the blond Slytherin appeared behind them. He was clutching a thing Faith recognised as a Hand of Glory and something hidden in his clenched fists. He looked horrible. He was much paler than usual, his skin looked almost grey and he had dark circles around his eyes. And strangest of all, he looked frightened.
Malfoy looked around the corridor to see if the coast was clear. He looked back into the Room of Requirement and Faith saw he was mouthing something to someone yet she couldn't see who as a clanging sound from one of the armour suits sounded through the silence. Faith couldn't see if it was Ron or Neville. She made herself visible for Malfoy and she saw his eyes widen. Faith raised her wand at him.
"Pertrificus totalus!" She said but she didn't see if it hit her target as Malfoy threw the thing he had in his fist on the ground halfway her sentence. Smoke rapidly emerged from the spot Malfoy threw it down and within seconds the entire corridor was filled with the black smoke making it unable for Faith to see anything. She couldn't even see her hands in front of her.
Faith heard footsteps coming from the direction where she knew was the Room of Requirement. The footsteps were heavy and hurried, they somehow knew where to go. One of the footsteps passed right next to Faith and she felt the tip of someone's wand trace the side of her face where she knew her scar was. She felt the scar open again and warm blood trickled down the side of her face. That's when Faith realised who it was.
Bellatrix Lestrange let out a maniacal laugh and Faith heard her footsteps fade away again. Faith didn't dare to use any spells, afraid she might hit Ron or Neville. But she felt her heart beat in her throat and her wand-hand itch to throw around curses to hit Bellatrix.
She killed Sirius.
"Faith?" She heard Ron call out to her. "Follow my voice, there's a light corridor here!"
Faith took a couple steps back to find the wall she was pressed up against just seconds ago when she was hiding from Malfoy. Her hands clamped onto the stone and she followed the wall towards the direction she heard Ron in.
"Ow!" Neville's voice called out when Faith accidentally ran into him.
"Sorry," Faith said as her face scrunched up in pain from the sudden headache that shot through her head when she walked into Neville. Her hand quickly found his and she let him help her get through the corridor.
The pitch-black darkness made Faith dizzy and scared. It was a weird and horrible experience, not being able to see anything. She heard Neville try spells to life the darkness - Lumos! Incendio! - but no light pierced through the darkness.
Finally, at last, the darkness seemed to clear up as they reached closer to the end of the corridor. Faith shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness but hurriedly walked away from the dark.
"That was Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," Ron told them when he finally saw them approach. "Fred and George - Faith, your face!"
Faith breathed in heavily to get it under control and raised her hand to the side of her face where she felt blood.
"Bellatrix Lestrange is here," Faith panted. "She gave me the scar in the Department of Mysteries, she opened it again when she walked past. I think Malfoy's somehow brought Death Eaters into Hogwarts,"
"So Harry was right, wasn't he?" Ron nodded. "Malfoy has joined the Death Eaters,"
"But how did he get the Death Eaters in?" Neville asked. "Every way in and out of the castle is protected. Do you think he perhaps wished for a way out and the Room of Requirement gave it to him?"
"Could be," Faith nodded. "But that's a worry for later. We have to warn people that Death Eaters have invaded the castle. They can't be here for a simple cup of tea, can they?"
Ron and Neville nodded and as if on cue, they started to run. They knew that teachers would patrol the corridors at night so someone had to be around. The three Gryffindors passed the dozens of paintings who all looked at them weirdly for running around in the middle of the night. Faith figured it'd be around twelve o'clock now, maybe a little earlier.
Only two corridors further, they ran into a group of adults, all very familiar. Lupin, Tonks, Bill, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and an unknown Auror stood huddled together, wands out.
"Professor!" Ron exclaimed to get their attention. All six heads turned in their direction.
"Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall called confused. "Mr Longbottom, Miss Diggory, what are you doing out of your bed so late? It is now safe here,"
"Faith!" Bill said when he noticed the blood on her face. "What happened to you?" He walked towards her and held her face to examine the wound. He was an expert on curses but curses that caused physical harm were a little out of reach for him.
"Professor, Harry asked us to watch the Room of Requirement," Faith said quickly. "Malfoy was in there, he let Death Eaters in the school. Bellatrix was one of them, she opened my scar again,"
"Miss Diggory, calm down," Professor McGonagall said quickly as she watched Bill attempt to heal her scar. "Draco Malfoy let Death Eaters enter the school?"
"Yes, Professor," Neville nodded quickly. "We were guarding the Room of Requirement when they came out. We didn't see them because Malfoy threw Instant Darkness Powder stuff on the ground so it was pitch-black. We lost them quick -"
"Malfoy was holding his Hand of Glory, that shows the owner the way, that's how they could navigate themselves out of the corridor," Ron added. "They're somewhere in the school, we've got to stop them!"
"All right," Lupin nodded. "We'll have to find them quickly. They can't have gone far already. Faith, you should go to the hospital wing -"
"No, absolutely not," Faith interrupted. "I can fight, I want to fight,"
"Fine," Lupin nodded, knowing how hard it was to change Edith Diggory's mind, he assumed it'd be the same for her daughter. He also realised they had no time to waste. Who knew what the Death Eaters would do? "I say we split up -"
Lupin stopped talking when a loud cry was heard, it sounded like an incantation. It came from behind them, the corridor that led to the staircase towards the Astronomy Tower. Every one of them started to run towards the commotion. When they arrived in the corridor, hexes immediately flew around their ears. Faith saw how one of the Death Eaters had tried to block off the way to the staircase that led to the Astronomy Tower but somehow failed to do so.
The members of the Order, the Auror and the three Gryffindor students quickly hide behind the pillars and armour suits. Faith was standing close to Ron, feeling his heavy breath in her neck. She held her wand close to her chest before jumping out behind the pillar and shooting a spell towards the closest Death Eater, it missed. She hid with Tonks now who was behind another pillar.
Faith felt her veins blaze with the feeling of wanting to hurt Bellatrix. It was all her fault. She killed Sirius, she scarred Faith, she made Harry lose the last parental figure he had.
Tonks tried to put an arm around Faith to shield her from any curses that the Death Eaters sent their way but they both had to duck when a heavy part of the pillar fell down on them. Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback both stood behind them.
"Itty, bitty, baby girl again," Bellatrix laughed. "How do you like your scar?"
Faith let out a roar of anger and shot a spell at Bellatrix but she easily deflected it. Fenrir Greyback tried to throw a curse at her but Bill used the Impediment Curse on him and followed him swiftly so he wouldn't do any more damage.
Tonks stood behind Faith, they were back to back, as she had to fight off another Death Eater.
"So what's your name, little girl? I didn't catch it last time we had some fun," Bellatrix sneered as her curse missed Faith by inches.
"I didn't throw it," Faith hissed and pointed her wand at the woman, sending spell after spell at Bellatrix but they were deflected every time.
"Come on, can't you do better than that, little baby girl?" Bellatrix said as she threw a large chunk of broken pillar at Faith. Luckily, Faith was able to duck and Tonks was already a little further down the hall. Faith pressed her back against one of the still whole pillars. She tried to get her breath under control, throwing a curse over her shoulder every once in a while.
She could see the others fight. Ron, Neville and Lupin had taken on a man and a woman who looked freakishly alike; McGonagall and the Auror were fighting a large, blond man; Tonks was ducking away from a small Death Eater's Killing Curse; and lastly, Bill had fallen over from one of Fenrir Greyback's jinxes and the werewolf leaned over him.
"NO!" Faith exclaimed. She forgot about Bellatrix and jumped from her hiding place to run towards them. She had to stop Greyback. A sudden blast made Faith fly up and slam against the wall next to her, it was from Bellatrix.
A searing pain shot through her head, making her eardrums feel like they'd burst any second. She saw silver spots in her vision causing her to feel dizzy but she didn't give up. Faith pulled herself up and cast a shield to cover herself as she ran towards Bill and Greyback.
"Impedimenta!" Faith cried out and Greyback blasted away from Bill's body. Faith could see the large cuts on Bill's face making him almost unrecognisable. A stream of blood trickled down his face and formed a pool around his head. "No, Bill!" She fell to her knees and held her hand against his neck. She sighed with relief when she felt a pulse. He was still alive.
A new series of green light flashes shot over her head. She looked back and saw one of the Death Eaters climb up the stairs, Bellatrix was trying to send Killing Curses at Faith but they all miraculously missed her. Tonks was now fighting Bellatrix to get her away from Faith.
Faith quickly stood up and started to drag Bill's body away from the scene so he wouldn't accidentally get hit by a Killing Curse. She slid him against the wall, leaving a trail of blood. Her hands were red and she knew her face was too from the still bleeding scar. In all this drama she wished Harry was OK, far away from here and safe with Dumbledore.
The Death Eater that had climbed the stairs was now back again and he had his eyes fixed on Faith. He raised his wand at her but before he could get the words of the Killing Curse out of his mouth he was struck by one himself and fell to the ground. The large blond Death Eater was still throwing curses around, not caring what they hit. Lupin just ducked away from one and it hit the Death Eater instead.
Faith's eyes met Malfoy's on the other side of the corridor, he was watching the scene in fear but when he saw that Faith had spotted him, his expression turned into a determined one. He raised his eyebrows at her and then fled up the stairs. Leaving Bill safely behind a pillar, Faith started to sprint after Malfoy but was stopped when she felt something pull on her feet and made her trip.
"Your turn, sweetheart," Fenrir Greyback's voice said from above her. Faith quickly rolled over, her eyes widened at the sight of the werewolf's teeth so close to her face. Without hesitating, she muttered an incantation and Greyback shot away from her.
"Leave her!" Bellatrix's voice shouted. "Up to the Astronomy Tower!"
Faith jumped to her feet and saw how Bellatrix, Greyback, the two sibling Death Eaters, and one Faith didn't know run up the stairs. The last one said an incantation she didn't recognise and then sprinted back up. Neville, who was closed to the stairs, sprinted towards the stairs but was knocked backwards when he slammed into an invisible barrier. Only seconds later, the same happened to Lupin.
The fight continued with the Death Eaters that stayed behind. McGonagall called Flitwick to get Snape to help them so they had one man less. The Death Eaters had lost someone too but it didn't stop them from throwing around jinxes in every direction. Faith figured it was the Felix Felicis that the students had drunk before the battle that caused them to be so lucky that none of the curses actually hit them.
During some point, Snape showed up and ran straight past them, up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower. Professor Flitwick was nowhere to be seen.
At last, the big blond Death Eater was done with his curses missing his targets. He pointed his wand up at the ceiling and without even muttering a spell, it blew up. Large pieces of stone flew around their ears and the members of the Order and the three students all dove to hide so they wouldn't get hit.
It was silent now. The only noise they heard was distant footsteps from the staircase and the rolling of stone on the floor. Faith shared eye-contact with Tonks who was closest to her and at the same time they jumped up to jinx at whoever came down the stairs or the Death Eaters that were still there but to their surprise, it was Snape and Malfoy that ran past them.
Snape must be getting Malfoy to safety, he's still just a boy, Faith thought.
Moments later, more footsteps sounded at the Death Eaters from the stairs and the fighting started again. The male sibling Death Eater raised his wand at her with a sickening smile.
"Crucio - Crucio - Crucio," He chanted as Faith dodged ever jet of light that came her way.
"Expelliarmus!" Faith yelled but the Death Eater deflected it with a simple wave of his hand. He walked closer towards her while Faith backed away.
"Come on, try it again," He taunted and Faith threw another red jet at him. It was no use.
She looked around to see if there was anything around that could help her. All the others were fighting other Death Eaters so they couldn't help her. She was ready to just make a run for it when she spotted Fenrir Greyback once again leaning over a body. Faith gasped and her eyes widened when she saw who it was.
"Impedimenta!" She said, pointing her wand at Greyback so he flew off Harry. She noticed Harry looking around until he met her eyes. The side of his face was bleeding too like hers was because of Bellatrix. He must have gotten it because of their curse.
"Crucio - Crucio - you can't dance for ever, pretty -" The Death Eater couldn't finish his mocking sneer as Harry had thrown him away from his girlfriend.
"Harry!' Faith exclaimed and she rushed towards him. "Harry, you're OK, right?" Her eyes scanned his body in seconds and she was relieved to find that her scar was the only injury he had.
"Faith!" Harry took her hand and pulled her close to him to avoid a jet of green light from the big blond Death Eater. "Your scar -"
"Bellatrix," Faith quickly nodded. "She can't see you, if she finds out we share wounds -"
"We have to find Snape," Harry said when he understood what she was saying. They had no time to lose.
"Why?"
"Because he just killed Dumbledore,"
Here's the next chapter! Lots of action and just tad over fairy love :)
YOU GUYS THIS BOOK REACHED 100K OMG IM SO EXCITED CJFJJFJDJFKDKDK how did this happen, it's not even finished yet omg catch me crying tonight lol
Thank you guys so much for all the support, I mean, 100k that's a lot and you guys made that happen TwT I love each and every one of you and I'm always so happy with the comments (I read them all hehe) I hope you'll enjoy every chapter that still follows <33
About the chapter now hehe: I've been waiting to use the "I didnt catch your name" "I didnt throw it" line for so longgg originally I was going to have Faith say it to an annoying love interest (Eddie Carmichael kind of dude) but I liked this better. It's the reason I decided to write Bellatrix into the Battle of the Astronomy Tower since she isn't in it in the books :)
Also, I love Faith versus Bellatrix!! It's so much fun to write because Bellatrix is such an interesting and evil and insane character hehe what do yall think?
See you guys next chapter!