Chapter Six: Attack
Lucius Malfoy wondered why his son so suddenly had decided to come home for the holidays. Draco himself said being at Hogwarts was a perfect opportunity to spy on Dumbledore and his little order. 'Little' referred to the number only. The amount of havoc they had managed to cause until now sent Voldemort into fits of anger. He didn't rage around like a maniac; patience was something his Lord had a big amount of, but his cold, controlled anger was scary. And for the one who didn't please Voldemort when he had one of his controlled temper tantrums…Well, Lucius had pity on the guy, and that said something. However, the Golden Mask was what irritated Voldemort right now. The man was very powerful, though not yet so powerful as Voldemort himself, but powerful enough to give him a lot worries. Lucius suspected that Voldemort knew more about him than he told his Inner circle.
But right now he was waiting for his son, Draco. He'd sent an owl telling him that he would come home for the holidays, and that he had something to tell him, something which was difficult to tell per owl, and Lucius wondered what it could be.
The fire turned green and warned about Draco coming. And yes, in the next second he stepped out of the fireplace.
"Good evening father," he said, his face wearing the usual sneer.
"Good evening Draco," Lucius greeted. "I hope you have something very important to tell me, and that it goes fast. I have an urgent meeting to attend to." The 'urgent meeting' was urgent because if he didn't get there on time he would regret it. The Dark Lord didn't like late-comers.
Draco looked thoughtful a moment, and hesitated. "I don't know how important it is, but Professor Atos, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher seemed to think it was important that it was keep secret." He paused. "Father, what is a Pectal?" he asked.
Lucius dropped his wand and grabbed his son by the collar. "Where have you heard that boy?" he asked, his eyes blazing.
His son looked at him coolly. "I'll tell you if you let me go," he said. Lucius took a deep breath, got control of himself and let go of his son. Draco brushed himself. "It was Professor Atos who mentioned it. I overheard a conversation between him and that mudblood Granger," he said with as much disgust as he could manage in the words 'mudblood' and 'Granger'. "He said that 'no one must know that you are a Pectal'. And then he said something about training." Draco looked curiously at his father, who sat down in a chair and turned even paler than he used to be.
"Did he say something else?" he asked after a while.
Draco thought about it. "Something about a cover-story. I believe it is about Granger's extra lessons in healing. She claims that she wants to become a nurse, and takes extra lessons with Madam Pomfrey every Saturday."
Lucius nodded. "Tell me more about this… Professor Atos," he said softly.
"Well, he's a good teacher, knows his stuff. He says he graduated from Beauxbatons at fifteen, after one year as a student. His parents had tutored him at home until then. Other than that, I don't know." Draco answered.
Lucius nodded again. "Have you seen anything suspicious? Other things I mean?"
"No," Draco said, but then he remembered. "I mean yes. A month ago someone sneaked in at Hogwarts in the middle of the night. A male I think. I couldn't see who it was, but he was hurt. He walked unsteadily and clutched his side. But I think he noticed me, so I had to retreat."
Lucius listened intensively. "When was this you say?" Voldemort had long suspected that the Golden Mask had a connection to the Order of Phoenix.
Draco racked his brain. "Err… The 15th of November I think," he said, hesitantly. Lucius sighed. Damn, it wasn't him then. "No, wait," Draco corrected himself, "It was the day we had to deliver an History essay. The 16th."
Lucius's eyes widened. It fit! This was some news! "Where was he heading?" he asked eagerly.
"Towards the teachers quarters." Draco answered.
"Good boy Draco. This is worthy news. I'm proud of you." Lucius said and stood. He was late for the meeting with Voldemort, but he'd probably be excused when Voldemort heard the news. A Pectal at Hogwarts. And probably the Golden Mask too. One of the teachers. Lucius would bet his entire fortune that this new Professor was their man. He smiled deviously.
~*~
Harry was very pleased with Hermione. In just four months she'd reached a level it had taken him years to reach. Okay, he hadn't known what had happened to him, and had had to use the 'try and fail' method. Of course, when he came to Hogwarts he'd found out about Citatios, and at last he realised that he was one. And since then he'd trained himself as good as he could manage. It had taken a lot of time, but it seemed like some kind of instinct told him what to do and how to do it, so slowly but surely he progressed. Hermione didn't seem to have this instinct, so she often made mistakes, and he had to use his Telepathic abilities and act as her 'instinct'. Tough, Hermione could have progressed a lot faster if she'd had the Citatio who could tell her everything he knew and show her different methods and such, so she could just imitate him. Anyway, her progress was impressive to Harry, who had only himself to compare with.
Harry knew he had to tell her the truth about 'Christian' sooner or later, but he wouldn't do it yet. And besides, if he became her Citatio trainer, she might become more powerful than he was, and he didn't trust her that much.
However, it was important to find out what Talents she had. A small vision had told him that she probably would discover her Beast-speaker ability soon, which would be useful for them both. They had discovered that she had Telekinesis, which was the most common Talent, Empathy, the ability to Manipulate Earth, a small portion of Voice, and also that she had no Talent for Persuasion. Soul-Searching was one of the more difficult and uncommon Talents, so hopefully it wouldn't come to her soon, though she had it. The only problem was that it was difficult for him to teach her the Talents he didn't have himself, like Earth Manipulation. He himself had Fire and Air, plus he could control Water to a very small degree, but he would have great problems with teaching her Earth, even though he used his Telepathic Talent to 'tell' her how to do it.
They almost seemed to be opposites. Where he had Language, which is the ability to be able to understand, speak and write all kind of languages, she had Beast-speech, which is the ability to speak with beasts. (He had parseltounge though, but that had nothing to do with Talent, and he'd got it from Voldemort.)
Where he had Fire and Air, she had Earth, and he also suspected that she had Water, as he did, though his control over Water was small. They both had Telekinesis, Telepathy and Voice, though her gift with Voice was small. She had Healing, he had Shapeshifting, and where he had Mind-reading, she had Soul-searching. It was really frustrating.
Now however, he was trying to show Hermione that she wasn't an Air Manipulator. He already knew that, something he had discovered in his first year at Hogwarts, but he couldn't just tell her, because Christian wasn't supposed to know what she did in her first year. However, it was very easy to prove. They were at the Quidditch pitch, and he'd told Hermione to mount a broom and fly two times around the pitch at top speed. She managed the first round, though she flew at an really unimpressive speed. She sped up a bit on her second round, but when she should have stopped the broom and dismounted, she fell. He was there and caught her quickly. She blushed at her own clumsiness, but Christian just smiled sweetly.
"It's settled then. You are not an Air Manipulator."
~*~
"Hmmm…"
Lucius shuddered. Voldemort always spoke with a kind of 'hiss', as if he had been together with snakes for too long. Which he probably had. Lucius also knew that his well-being rested on how important his news was; he had been ten minutes late for the meeting, and if it wasn't important enough for the Dark Lord, Lucius would be punished.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Dark Lord spoke up. "Lucius."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Do you know why I tried to kill that Potter boy?" he asked.
"No my Lord." Lucius answred.
Voldemort 'Hmmmed' again. "Far back in time, when Hogwarts was founded," the Dark Lord started, "a man called Slandrin Slytherin cast a curse on Rowena Ravenclaw and her decendants, which also means Godric Gryffindor's decendants, so no Citatio or Pectal could be born from that line, as it was predicted should happen."
Lucius wondered silently what this had with him to do, but knew better than to voice his thoughts.
"Slandrin was one of Hogwarts founders, together with Salazar, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but everything he was, and everything he did was removed from history books, and his house, Quidelfas, named after his mother's last name, was removed from Hogwarts. He's your ancestor."
Lucius's eyes widened, but he managed to stay silent. The Dark Lord continued.
"The prediction made by Ravenclaw says that one of Power should come of the Eagle and Lion, which pointed at Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, while the other should come of the Snake, which points at my ancestor, Salazar." Voldemort made a hissing sound, which might have been laughter. "One of Power means a Citatio or a Pectal, and for a while I thought I was the predicted Citatio, and that the Pectal would be born of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's blood. So I waited, and knew nothing of the curse Slandrin had put on Ravenclaw, so no Pectal or Citatio could be born. And when I finally found it, I searched for more information, and found that Salazar Slytherin doesn't deserve the reputation he has. He tried to remove the curse his brother had cast, and he was the one, with help from Gryffindor, who chased Slandrin out of Hogwarts.
However, he didn't manage to lift the curse, only lighten it, so that when Slandrin and Ravenclaw's blood were united in a child, the one of Power would be born." Voldemort paused a second. "This happened when James Potter and Lily Evans married. Yes indeed, Lily Evans is of Malfoy blood, which also means Slandrin's blood, through a squib who was disowned and put in care of a muggle couple. So I, who still thought I was the Citatio, awaited a girl, a Pectal, who I could train, and she could stand by my side, as a powerful mistress.
But they had a boy, and then I knew that I wasn't the Citatio. So, I had to kill the boy. But his mother's love protected him, and I was defeated, and left powerless, by a mere baby." Voldemort paused while watching Lucius, who quickly snapped back into his expressionless mask.
"My Lord?" he asked, "I have a question."
"Ask."
Lucius braced himself. "Do you know where Potter is now?"
Voldemort smirked.
"Ahh, yes. Your news. This Pectal, the mudblood descendant of Slytherin, must be taken care of. But that wasn't what you asked about. You suspect that this Golden Mask, this annoying, powerful wizard who shows up everywhere, indeed is Christian Atos, the DADA Professor at Hogwarts. Let's hope you are right, Lucius, because I suspect that this 'Golden Mask', indeed is Harry Potter, and this time, neither he nor the mudblood will be able to stop me, 'Children of Power' or not."
~*~
"Anything to report?"
"No, nothing. I'm not very high up, and don't get to know anything before it happens." The first voice was confident and belonged to a male, while the other was shaking nervously, and obviously was from a female.
"You have to know something!" The male said, obviously irritated.
The female gulped. "But I don't!" she retorted desperately. "He's furious because of his Azkaban mistake, the Aurors and the Order of Phoenix managed to prevent half of the Dementors from joining him, and he didn't get any of the prisoners freed either. He'd hoped that Potter-" she was cut of.
"Don't mention Potter so I can hear it!" the male growled.
The female took two steps backwards. "Sorry."
"Well then. Tell me what you know."
The female shifted. "I-I think He's planning something. And he got some news from Malfoy. It must have been important, because Malfoy was ten minutes late for the meeting, but wasn't punished for it. That's what I heard, at least."
The male was silent for a while. Then he spoke. "Okay, I believe you. But come with something valuable soon, or I'll turn you in, and nothing you can say can save you. That's clear?" his voice was a mere hiss.
The female shivered. "T-That's clear."
The male turned and went out the door. The female sank to the floor, crying. "Why," she muttered to herself, "did I tell him? I should have known he wouldn't help me out of it. But he seemed so noble, so kind. But he's not, he's just a bloody bastard." She dried her tears away. "Then why girl, why do you still love him?"
"Professor?" What? "Professor?" Oh.
"Erm… Excuse me, Miss Granger, I was deep in thought. Did you say something?" Harry sighed inwardly. These visions was horribly annoying, and dangerous when they came when other people was present. He'd seen different variations of that one, and it was always a male and a female, but he couldn't figure who they were. He never got any clear picture of them. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall looked curiously at him, as did Hermione.
"Professor, you said we should test if I could Manipulate Water today. How are we going to do that?" she asked.
"That's very simple, Miss Granger," he answered. "We drop you in the lake and makes sure you sink to the bottom."
Hermione raised an amused eyebrow at him. "Veeery funny," she said.
Christian raised an eyebrow too. "Not at all, Miss Granger, If you cannot Manipulate Water, you will drown. If you can Manipulate Water, you will not drown, because you can breathe water as easily as air. Neither will you feel the cold, even though the water is freezing." Hermione's jaw dropped, as did McGonagall's. Dumbledore had to keep himself from chuckling.
"Are you serious, sir?" Hermione asked faintly.
"Of course." Christian couldn't keep it back any longer, and a wide grin spread over his face. "No worries, Miss, We will be there, just in case you shouldn't be able to control Water. Shall we go?"
~*~
Hermione gulped. In front of her she had a four metres wide hole in the ice, and she could see the dark water in the lake. It was freezing cold water, and Hermione shuddered. Professor Atos had charmed her so she would sink straight to the bottom of the lake, and was now busy with performing a bubble-charm and a heating charm on himself, so he could follow her down. He would hold on to her and sink together with her. On the way down she would have the bubble-charm and the warming charm too, so she could breathe, but once they were down there, the Professor would remove the charms, and she had to go on from there. If it turned out that she couldn't Manipulate Water, the Professor would send up a beam of light, and Dumbledore and McGonagall would then come to help, if he couldn't handle it himself. Despite all this, Hermione didn't like the idea at all.
Professor Atos broke into her thoughts.
"Miss Granger, are you ready?" he asked. Hermione glared at him; as if she would ever be ready for such a thing! But she nodded nonetheless. Professor Atos grabbed her arm, and they both jumped into the freezing water.
It was a shock. Hermione felt the cold water envelope her body. She felt the pressure from all sides, and she couldn't see a thing. Everywhere it was dark, dark water. The circle of light above her became smaller and smaller, until she couldn't see it. After what seemed like an eternity, her back hit something solid. They had reached the bottom, and without noticing, Hermione and Christian had been turned almost upside down on their journey downwards. Hermione quickly grasped her Earth Element. With it she could navigate, and soon she knew where north, east, south and west were, and what was up, and what was down. She reached out and seconds later she had a clear picture of what it looked like around her. They were at the bottom at some kind of 'underwater valley'.
Suddenly, a light behind her. She could see a few metres around her, and when she turned she could see that Professor Atos had lit his wand. He pointed his wand at her, and she could see his lips moving, though she couldn't hear him. Suddenly, the bubble that held her air supply disappeared.
Hermione gasped for air, but all she got was water. Her vision went blurry because of the water that filled her eyes, and she couldn't see a thing! Hermione panicked. It wasn't possible to breathe water! She was going to drown! She tried to swim, her instinct told her to swim. She needed air! Up, up, up! Air, air, air! She would never make it!
Then, suddenly, when she felt that her lungs were going to collapse from lack of air…she blinked. She could see. She could see the bottom of the lake stretching out around her, big sea-plants and such growing here and there, and various water-animals swimming and crawling around. Her brain started working again, and she could feel her lungs breathe again. But how could she breathe water? It was impossible for her lungs to do such a thing. She had swallowed a lot of water, and now it was seeping out of her body. It seemed like the water she 'breathed' was freed for its oxygen and then sent out through her very skin. It was a weird feeling.
Then she noticed she could sense the various underwater streams and 'see' how the water moved. She also noticed that the water wasn't cold any longer, but quite… comfortable. She looked around and spotted Professor Atos. He smiled at her, though his face seemed weirdly twisted when she saw it through the bubble. He gave her thumbs up, and then pointed upwards. Hermione nodded. Something, like a small voice in the back of her head told her how to do this. She reached out with her Element, and Manipulated the water to push them upwards, against the hole in the ice. Five minutes later they banged their heads in solid ice. Professor Atos's bubble charm was broken, but a new one immediately formed itself around his head. He looked at Hermione. Again, she reached out with the Element, and she could, through the ice, sense where the hole was, and she dragged the Professor in that direction. Thirty seconds later, she could breathe fresh air.
~*~
Christmas was over, and the students returned, ready for a new term, with assignments, tests and what was worse. Christian had used the break to think up new ways to torment his students, and he gave each class a difficult test on their first day back. As it turned out, every question had been a fake, with no possible answer, but not all the students realised this, and came up with the most weird explanations on how a dragon can shoot water in the same way as they shoot fire. It was most hilarious for Christian, who had to grade them.
Students however, weren't Christian's greatest problem. He had visions of an attack, where people were hurt and killed, but he didn't know where it was, and as the date of the attack drew nearer, the visions came more often. He often had to use a potion he had invented to prevent himself from getting visions during lessons or staff meetings. The potion was very similar to the mind potion he was given in his fifth year, to ensure he would end up by the dead body of Colin.
Right now, Christian was desperately hoping that this current staff meeting would end soon. He felt the tickling sensation in his mind that always came with strong visions. Despite the potion he had taken, there was no way to prevent himself from going into the slightly dazed state this time, and if he didn't get out of here soon, it was possible that the other teachers would notice. The reason why the meeting took longer than usual, was that Snape hadn't shown up yet. All the other teachers were members of the Order of Phoenix and knew that he was a spy, but Christian had to pretend that he didn't know, since he wasn't supposed to know. So, not to wake his 'suspicion', they explained it with a 'he slept in'. Yeah, right. 12 o' clock, Saturday morning? Christian felt the tickling grow stronger, and he couldn't resist the vision anymore. Swearing inwardly, he relaxed and slipped into the darkness, praying that no one would notice. Dumbledore did, however, and wondered why Christian so suddenly seemed to almost fall asleep.
Darkness. Darkness all around him. Then… A voice.
"The girl. Kill her or take her. It is time to show that we are the strongest. I want the girl, she's too dangerous. She must die" Murmurs. Christian could feel the presence of many beings, some humans and some not humans.
Suddenly his vision changed, and he looked up at a great castle. A banner stood proudly in the wind. A serpent, a lion, an eagle, a badger, an H.
Hogwarts.
Christian snapped out of his trance, eyes wide with fear. They was going to attack Hogwarts! And they knew about Hermione! He jumped out of his chair before he had the time to think. He regretted the movement instantly, for two reasons. Firstly, the others mustn't know that he was a Seer and a Citatio, and secondly, because of the wound he had in his side. He didn't have any Healing Talent, so he had to use normal healing charms and potions to heal himself, and it hadn't worked properly, so now he had a nasty, half-healed, two-months old wound, with an infection. And that hurt.
Fortunately, no one noticed his actions. Snape had returned during his little mind-trip, and he had news. Bad news apparently. All the teachers were standing, and frightened chatter filled the room, before Dumbledore silenced them. The twinkle was replaced by cold fury. The chatter died down, and Dumbledore turned back to Snape.
"Did he say why?"
"No. We just got a message, with orders to turn up, and when I got 'there', I was told about the attack, and sent back to Hogwarts. I'm supposed to wait here and fall on your back when they attack. I came as fast as I could to warn you, he's going to attack very soon," Snape answered.
Christian had managed to return to his oblivious, clueless and confused state.
"This could mean that he doesn't trust you, Severus," Dumbledore said. "How are they planning to get in?"
"Draco Malfoy," was the grim answer. The other teachers looked at him in horror, not wanting to believe that a student could do such a thing. Snape looked at them irritably. "He's not the only one, though the only one I know of. He was picked because he was willing to blow his cover. Lucius didn't want to, but he didn't have any choice, and it is possible that he's going to be able to get away. You know: 'I didn't know! He's not my son anymore!' Etc, etc." Harry was frantically searching for a way to tell Dumbledore that Voldemort knew about the Pectal. But how could he do that without revealing the fact that he was a Seer? Next second Dumbledore tensed. Then he spoke.
"They're through the shields, and approaching the school. It is indeed Mr. Malfoy who has invited them," he said grimly, regretting that he'd never done something with those shields. No student could 'invite' anyone to the castle without the permission of a Professor, but it was possible to get past that. And an intelligent student like Draco Malfoy could manage it. All the teachers exclaimed in fright, and several ran towards the door. Dumbledore stopped them. "We have ten minutes, get the students assembled in the Great Hall, and-" he was interrupted by Snape.
"Wait, I don't know if this is important, but there have been rumours about a Pectal. I highly doubt the validity of these rumours, but I thoug-" he stopped as Christian, who until then had stayed calm, thinking furiously, took his chance.
"Miss Granger!" he exclaimed, letting his fright touch his words, and then, before McGonagall and Dumbledore could react, he bolted through the door, towards the Gryffindor tower.
~*~
Christian turned around the last corner and stood in front of the portrait of the fat lady. He didn't bother with any password, he simply used his Persuasion Talent and told her to let him in. Many of the Gryffindors were assembled in the common room, as it was Saturday and not Hogsmeade weekend. The Gryffindor students stared at him as he stood there, slightly breathless. He gathered himself, and forced himself not to clutch his hurt side, and speak with a steady voice.
"I need to speak with Miss Granger. It is urgent." He couldn't see her in the common room. "Is she in her dorm?" he asked, but Lavender shook her head. "Does anybody know where she is?" More shaking of heads.
"ALL STUDENTS ASSEMBLE IN THE GREAT HALL IMMEDIATELY!" McGonagall's enchanted voice rang through the castle. Christian gritted his teeth. Where was she? He mentally smacked his forehead. The library! She had to be there. McGonagall's message rang throughout the castle again, and Christian turned on his heel as the now frightened Gryffindors started to run towards the portrait and the Great Hall. He disappeared into the shadows and apparated to the library. It had been too risky to apparate up to the Gryffindor common room, but on Saturday only Hermione could think of going to the library. It would be almost deserted. As soon as he got there, he reached out with his Air Element and searched for her 'scent'. It wasn't there.
He cursed silently before he headed towards the Great Hall, ignoring the increasing pain in the gash, searching in the Air for her. Where was she? Had one of the Death Eater students tricked her outside and killed her? No, he wouldn't even think of it. Damn! Why hadn't he thought of this? If Hermione died it would be his fault! He was careful not to run when he reached the Great Hall, not to scare the students more than they already were. Almost all the teachers were there, Dumbledore too, but no Hermione. Christian quickly walked over to Dumbledore.
"I cannot find her!" he whispered desperately in his ear. In the same moment Snape came over and reported that four of his students, a fifth year, a sixth year and two seventh years, not counting Malfoy, were missing. Professor Sprout missed a sixth year and a fourth year, Flitwick a fifth and a sixth year, and McGonagall missed Hermione, plus her Quidditch team, who had practice, something the teachers had completely forgotten in the rush. Dumbledore had given orders to stay in the Great Hall until the rest of the Order of Phoenix plus the Aurors came, but they couldn't wait. Through the magical binding he had with the wards, he could sense that they came closer. Harry suspected that the missing students from the other houses were Death Eaters, at least some of them, maybe even some of the Gryffindors were. While Dumbledore ordered McGonagall, himself, Flitwick and Vector to follow him, he secretly reached out with Air again, to the Quidditch pitch. He barely restrained himself from groaning in terror. The Quidditch pitch were swarming with fighting students, and he could scent sweat, fear, anger and confusion. They ran all the way to the pitch, and Christian was sure his wound had re-opened when he judged by the pain. But it wasn't the right time to think about that now.
Their eyes widened in horror at the sight that met them at the Quidditch pitch. The Gryffindor Quidditch team, plus Hermione, who apparently had decided to watch their practice, were defending themselves from the 'missing' students. Two of the team-members were lying unconscious or dead in the snow, and one, a sixth year Gryffindor, had sided with the Death Eater students, so they were five against eight. Despite this, they fought bravely, and they had the advantage of their brooms. However, more Death Eaters were approaching, coming out of the Forbidden Forest. The teachers hesitated, and for a couple of seconds they just stood, staring. Then, a particularly strong stunning spell from Hermione crushed the Death Eaters shield, an opportunity the teachers used well, and seconds later all eight were down. The other students sighed in relief, except Hermione. She had, as the teachers had, noticed the Death Eaters coming out of the Forbidden Forest.
~*~
Hermione was confused. Really confused. Here, she thought that she was in love with Harry, though knowing that something between them would never happen. Yet, she had started to have feelings towards Christian Atos, her professor, something that was considered impossible as she was a Pectal. But she felt so comfortable with him, the way they could talk, the way he behaved. She considered him more as a friend than a professor, and she needed friends. Harry and Ron had been her only friends, but she and Ron had slipped apart the last few years, and Harry… Well, he wasn't there.
Many times, after she had admitted to herself that she had feelings for Harry, somewhat about two years too late, she'd dreamt about him. Sometimes, in her dreams, they had kissed, but other times, he had just been there for her, comforting her. She always woke up feeling safe and confident after those dreams. Christian had the same effect on her. Though he didn't take her in his arms and hug her or kiss her, he could place a hand on her shoulder when he saw she was frightened, and with a few comforting words have her back to her old self. She needed that. She knew that with her Powers she would have to be active in the fight against Voldemort. She could not run away when she was that strong, strong enough to provide protection and shelter. She knew that, and it scared her.
But the confusing thing was that Harry had -in her dreams- started to turn into her professor, something that made her embarrassed. He always ended out as Harry, but if she had one of those dreams where they kissed, and she suddenly looked up into a couple of blue eyes, or finding her fingers playing with dark brown hair, she always yelped in shock, before she woke up, thoroughly embarrassed. Was it normal to have such fantasies, about two different boys? Especially when she, theoretically, could only fall in love with one person? Hermione decided he had to get her mind onto something else, and therefore she decided to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team as they practised. Ron was the captain now, and chaser, while Ginny was the seeker. She wasn't as good as Harry had been, though.
It was a nice day, it was cold though the sun was shining, almost blinding them when reflected in the snow. Hermione watched as they zoomed around, but it was cold outside, so after a while she decided to go back to the castle. As she rose, and started walking back, she saw seven other students approaching the Quidditch pitch. Hermione couldn't hear McGonagall, when she told the students to assemble in the Great Hall, so she couldn't know that everything wasn't as it was supposed to be. She soon discovered it though.
They hadn't seen her, but she saw one of them, a Hufflepuff, raise his wand and fire a stunning curse. A second year Gryffindor, one of the new chasers, fell off his broom and hit the snow with a 'flop'. Hopefully, the snow prevented him from being killed in the fall. Hermione and the other Gryffindors stared in shock. Then a new 'flop' could be heard. A sixth year Gryffindor, Samuel Johnson, had stunned the Gryffindor keeper, and they saw him aiming at Ron. Now, the Gryffindors may be described as 'stupid, impulsive, goody-two-shoes' by the Slytherins, but no one can say they are slow. Startled and confused, Ron managed to dodge the curse by inches. Hermione froze when she realised it had been the Avada Kedavra curse. But, being the brave Gryffindor she was, she quickly charmed her eyes so they would look brown even though she used her Pectal powers, and had a stick, an aiming stick, as Professor Atos had told her to make, ready. She could now use her Pectal powers, and no one would suspect anything, as the aiming stick looked exactly as her wand. Don't use your Powers too much, Hermione. She reminded herself. You'll just tire yourself. Then she flung herself into the fight.
To Hermione it felt like hours, but it was only minutes. Neither of the sides intended to give in, and the attackers had put up powerful shields, which they couldn't get through, and Hermione didn't dare to use her Powers if it wasn't absolutely necessary. But when their attackers started using the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse instead of the Stunning Curse or other not-so-dangerous curses, Hermione decided she had to do something. Without anyone noticing, she switched her wand for her AS (Aiming Stick), and concentrated. A blast of power later, and their shield was down. It was then the teachers decided to make their appearance.
Soon, they were all down, but just as Hermione was about to cheer, she felt the presence of something evil, and it was not the students who had attacked them who was the source. She turned, and behind her, out of the Forbidden Forest, came at least fifty Death Eaters. Hermione gasped. They had no chances of reaching the castle! Hermione froze in fear. She was to young to die! She hadn't yet graduated!
Then, Professor Atos was there. Hermione's mind snapped out of panic. She took a deep breath, and fired a stunning curse through the stick. It hit one of them square in his chest, and flung him and two others to the ground. Professor Atos smiled approvingly but stiffly, concentrating on his own fight. Hermione was amazed at her own powers; she had never used them in a fight before. She also noticed that her Professor knew quite a number of curses she didn't, so she started to imitate him, using some of the curses she saw him use. She focused on her task, and barely noticed the other teachers and students, who also were fighting around them.
Yet, the attackers were too many, and the defenders too few. Hermione guessed that they had orders not to kill, cause no one was dead yet, at least she didn't think anyone was, but that made her even more terrified. What if they had orders to take everyone as prisoners! She would rather be dead than captured by Death Eaters! She sensed someone behind her back, turned quickly and disarmed two Death Eaters who was about to stun her or kill her. She heard somebody yell, and the same words were repeated over and over again.
"Get the girl! If we cannot catch her, then we'll kill her!"
It dawned for her. They knew! They knew about her! They were here to take her! Dead or alive! Everyone went for her! Terrified she looked around. Only Dumbledore, Atos, McGonagall, Ron and Ginny were standing. We're losing, Hermione thought terrified. They're too many, and we're too few. We're going to die.
A sudden movement. One of the Death Eaters raised his wand and pointed at her. They had decided that she was better dead than alive.
"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted. As in a trance, Hermione saw the green light come closer. And closer. And closer.
Then…
"Hermione!" In slow motion, she saw Professor Atos throw himself in between her and the curse. It hit him on the left side of his head, and he was thrown backwards, over her head and landed in the snow behind her.
Hermione screamed.
Just then, about 80 Aurors could be seen, on brooms heading towards them. The Death Eater sneered, and again he directed his wand at Hermione.
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