The Dark Gryffindor

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Continuation of….


Chapter Forty-three: The Carrows’ Secret

The minutes seemed to press on unwaveringly, and dull. The three of them remained alone with each other, tied to the wall by chains. The chains felt like snakes slithering over their limbs. It was dull and hot, and the silence was pressing in on them. Valerie could feel time desperately disappearing and what was worse speeding up. All three were sweating. Neville so much his cheeks were two red apples. And the gash on his cheek had transformed to an ugly scab.

It only took a little while before they started conversing about their situation. Valerie had been thinking that at least this situation was better than doing blowjobs for Damion in the dungeons.

Neville spoke first. “This is bad. Really bad…I think the Carrows are trying to kill us! I really do!”

Valerie was irritated. Of course she knew the truth from Snape, who had been there when Voldemort plotted this. "They certainly do! That much is obvious!”

Seamus started speaking a whole bunch of curses and rattling his chains, desperately trying to break them free.

Neville was angry now too. “We’re never going to escape that way! We need to think…of a plan. If only I was an Auror…I want to be an Auror, I should be able to think of something!”

Neville’s face pinched like a sewing cushion, as he thought as hard as he could. Seamus finally ended his desperate attempt, ashamed of his panicky behaviour.

For hours the three discussed as much magic as they ever had in their lives. And deep inside, the belief that Severus was coming to save her was dwindling. Perhaps he was resigned to the fact that he could not sacrifice his agreement with Dumbledore, merely to let the one he loved live?

Finally they had come up with using wandless magic to break free. It was essentially the only way to save themselves. Yet the magic they soon discovered was not powerful enough to escape.

“Wandless summoning charms! Why didn’t I think of it before,” she exclaimed.

For a good long time Valerie, Neville and Seamus focused on the drawer Alecto had thrown their wands. Within mere minutes they had the drawer open! Now if they could just get their wands.

Finally, after a good long bout of concentration Valerie and Neville had managed to summon their wands, both of them landing in their mouths. It felt very lethal and dangerous to have a wand in her mouth.

With the handles of the wands in their mouth, spittle came out of their mouths.

Neville spoke out of the corner of his mouth, wand held in the other corner. “What spell? I can’t aim for the chains.”

“I only know one…It will be dangerous.”

Valerie explained the charm and how to perform it in this circumstance. Finally, Seamus also had his wand held between his teeth. The three of them aimed their wands at the ceiling, tipped towards the wall, restraining them.

“Bomardo…Exo,” they all said. At once the wall was crumbling down, as it divided into little pieces of stone the size of snowballs. The sound of it was still like the tremor of an earthquake though.

They ran for it, going towards the exit straight across from them. As soon as they were out, the three of them with a wave of their wands broke free of the chains. They looked over their shoulders. The interior of Alecto Carrow’s office was in ruins, a crumbling mass of rocks.

Moments before the wall erupted from the Exploding Charms, the Carrows were walking towards the Muggle Studies office. Both of them were carrying parcels filled with victuals. The Carrows had just come up from the kitchens where they had gotten the Elves to unwittingly poison the food. Amycus had forced Winky to poison it herself and then Confunded her to think it was untainted and modified her memory of the Carrows ever seeing them that evening. It had been cleverly construed.

They spotted Snape, still standing resolutely by the entrance.

Alecto barked her most-pressing query at once, “I trust they’re still inside, Professor Snape?”

Snape managed to acquiesce assuredly, “Absolutely….” And suddenly the headmaster noticed the state of their robes. Alecto’s were so badly ripped, the hem was nothing but tatters against her fleshy knees. Snape resisted smiling.

“You’re lucky all you did was stand here today, Snape,” said a disgruntled Amycus.

“It was going alright….The worst students got it from the Snatchers all day. Yet nobody was killed, a rather unfortunate thing.”

“Only there was a more serious skirmish during dinner,” broke in Amycus. “The Snatchers doused the Great Hall with Fire Sparks. That stopped them!”

Snape frowned. Voldemort was not going to be too pleased. But it was certainly a good thing Snape was, to a reasonable degree not responsible for today’s events. He hadn’t actually been there.

And just then, the explosion came directly across where they stood, yet coming from inside. Snape was on the defensive at once, aiming his wand as if to duel.

The Carrows dropped the victual filled parcels, and so the poison never got to the targets at all. Both of them reached desperately in their pockets for their wands.

“They’re getting away! They’re getting away.” Alecto jerked her wand in Valerie’s direction, “No! Our master wants them dead…Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!”

Snape sprung forward and with a complex shield charm blocked the curses. One of them had been on its path towards Valerie, several feet away. Along with Neville and Seamus she was sprinting for cover.

Amycus wouldn’t stop though. He followed the three students, and Alecto at a slower pace came along as well. Snape was quicker than either of them. He caught up to Amycus, incandescent with rage. Snape grabbed Amycus roughly by the man’s cloak as he roared, “NO! You fools, have you forgotten his orders!?”

“They need revision,” spat Amycus. Amycus managed to get free of Snape’s grip by roughly elbowing his ribs and kicking his shins from behind. He turned to see Snape’s face, waxen and twisted with agony, an agony that had nothing to do with Amycus’s moves.

“The Dark Lord specifically decreed to us, not to use the Killing Curse!”

“It doesn’t matter!” answered Alecto desperately. She screamed, as she watched the three students turn a corner and go out of sight. Another Killing Curse issued from her wand, but wound up going no further than hitting the dead end corridor.

Alecto screamed, as loud as she could, “If we can’t kill YOU, we’ll go for that grandmother of yours, Mr. Longbottom! And Ms. Powers, and Mr. Finnegan, we’ll get you…and all your families!”

Snape was certain he heard Valerie’s laughter in retaliation. She had felt a stab of anger at these words. Her only relations that she knew of were dead. She had nobody. It was almost funny. And yet, the laughter was just a façade to keep the depressing feelings at bay.

Valerie did not stop running until she reached the Gryffindor portrait hole. She had found a way to lose Neville, by lying that she needed the loo. Hopefully, he’d never suspect she’d come to the tower. She knew Severus’s precaution. She must retire for bed in the tower for the rest of term.

Breathing hard and gasping for air, she made it through the nearly deserted common room and dashed along the stairs until she found her new dorm, occupied by nobody. She slammed the door shut, and with her wand, cast protective enchantments. Bowling over from adrenaline, she sank to the floor, held back against the door. It felt good to be safe, barricaded here at her own discretion. But how would she attend classes? She knew she could never go back as long as the Carrows were at Hogwarts.




NOTE: Please review. Finally done with that chapter. I have only two or three more updates and then will be writing about everything that happened the day before the final battle!!!! Then the final battle ensues....please review or maybe you can rate as well?