Hidden Riddle

Chapter 63: Fire and explosions

Delphini had just found Harry and Hermione and Ron. "We need to hide the diadem" Harry said quietly in case someone was listening. 

"Anywhere specific?" Delphini asked as she looked around. "No" Harry replied. The four split up in the Room of Requirements when Hermione heard some entering the Room.  "Accio hiding place." cried Hermione in desperation. Delphini was looking around the Room with Harry, at objects wondering what their stories were behind them when you heard someone say "Hold it Potter!" They both turned around to see Draco. "You've got something of mine... and I'd like it back." Draco demanded. "That's my wand, you're holding Potter"

"Not anymore." Harry spat back. "Finders keepers. Who lent you theirs's?"

"My mother" Draco replied, still pointing his wand towards towards the two of them. "What aren't you three with Voldemort?" Delphini asked, not making eye contact with Draco.  "We're going to be rewarded" Goyle grunted.  "We decided to bring you to 'im." Goyle  said smiling like a who was promised a large bag of sweets. Delphini laughed. "Something funny?" Goyle sneered. "Yes delightful" Delphini said looking at him up and down, disgusted. 

"Harry? Delphini? Are you talking to someone?" Ron's voice echoed across the room.  Suddenly, Goyle pointed his wand at the fifty foot mountain of old furniture and shouted, "DESCENDO!" Which caused the mountain to collapse completely.  "Ron!" Delphini screamed as she ran to where the mountain once was. "Where are you?" she shouted scrambling around trying to find him. "CRUCIO" Golye yelled at her, causing her to scream in pain. "Delphini?" Hermione yelled running towards her. "Look it's the mudblood!" Goyle shouted as he threw spells in Hermione's direction. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Goyle shouted at Hermione as Delphini noticed she quickly dived and pushed Hermione out of the way. "We need to hide it somewhere here!" Harry shouted as Delphini gained consciousness again, however still holding her side. "Dont kill him! DONT KILL HIM!" Draco yelled trying to stop Goyle from shooting more spells. 

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed looking behind her, causing Delphini too. A roaring, billowing noise behind you gave you a moments warning. "Like it hot, scum?"Goyle taunted as he ran holding his wand in the air which was setting the place on fire. "RUN, GOYLE SET THE BLOODY PLACE OF FIRE!" Ron shouted, as he ran towards Hermione.

Goyle tried to shoot another spell towards Hermione when Ron shouted "THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND YOU NUMPTY!" emphasising the word girlfriend.  Delphini saw Draco and Blaise and Goyle climbing a tall tower of old bits, like shelves and bicycles. Goyle fell into the abyss of flames below and Draco looked down one of his best friends falling to his death and he couldn't do anything, as his wand was lost somewhere in the room.

 Harry and Ron came flying into the Room of Requirements on their Quidditch brooms. They flew past the tower and Delphini heard Harry shout "You get Zabini, I'll get Malfoy." Ron's sigh was evident. "Harry if we die doing this, I will haunt you forever!" he yelled as they got closer to the tower.

Delphini and Hermione ran towards the door just as the fire was closing in on them. Hermione got passed, but Delphini just didn't make it. The door shut. Everyone felt relieved as they were away from the fire, when it suddenly hit them. "Where's Delphini?" Harry shouted. They all turned to look at the closed door after Harry threw the diadem into the flames. "We have to save her, she could die in there" Draco shouted back.  "It will be too late, the fire was closing in on us." Hermione replied looking straight at Draco. "I'm sorry."

Draco then continued to kick the door and try to open it. It was no use. "Delphini? Delphini? He shouted. "Draco...." Delphini replied softly. "Delphini?" Draco said shouting putting his head on the door. He was now crying at this point. "Cover your ears.." she said as she screamed. 

"DELPHINI? DELPHINI? DELPHINI? Draco shouted. There was silence. Draco turned around slowly to see Blaise just standing there. "I'm sorry about Delphini..." Blaise said looking down.

Delphini was trapped inside.

...

Ron heard the cheers echoing through the castle as he, Hermione and the twins hurried back toward the ground floor. They had finished sealing the Astronomy Tower and the North Tower and were returning to the Great Hall. They turned down the Charms hallway when Ron saw a flurry of movement in one of the classrooms.

He stopped and gestured toward the door of the classroom. Fred and George nodded their understanding, the looks on their faces far more serious than Ron could ever remember seeing. He looked over at Hermione, detecting fear and determination in her face.

Ron and Hermione flattened themselves against the wall.

"Confringo!"

Fred and George blanketed the room with Stupefying Charms. Ron heard two thuds come from within the room. He and Hermione cautiously joined the twins in the classroom. "Over here," Fred called. Ron hurried over with his wand drawn. To his disgust, it was Pansy Parkinson and some of her friends. He looked over at his brothers and between the three of them, they unleashed a wide range of hexes on them. "Stop it!" Hermione yelled. "You can't just go around hexing unconscious people." George looked over at her and shook his head before calling out, "Incarcerous!" Leaning over, he checked the tightness of the knots securing the Slytherins before he grabbed their wands.

The twins levitated the two bound Slytherins in front of them and the group started out the doorway. They had reached the end of the corridor when an explosion rocked the hallway. The wall exploded into the hallway, knocking the twins off their feet and subsequently causing  Pansy and her friends to fall.

...  

Voldemort had retreated his troops back. So many people took this time, to bring all the student and teacher's bodies into the remains of the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione were walking towards the front door of the Hall. They walked in the Great Hall and saw at least sixty people lying on the floor. "It must have been a time-delayed blasting hex," Ron was explaining to Neville as the couple walked up. "Fred took the worst of it. He was right next to the wall when it exploded."

Harry and Ginny stayed on the edge of the group that waited eagerly for news from Madam Pomfrey, who had hurried over to assess the twins. Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny, who leaned back into his arms, drawing strength from him. It was a tense wait as the group watched Alicia and Susan Bones run around helping Madam Pomfrey, fetching potions and performing spells. Ginny tensed in Harry's arms when a blue robed healer from St. Mungos hurried over in response to Madam Pomfrey's call.

A blue flame lit over the bed of one of the twins and that brought a whole new level of activity. Two more healers hurried over to help. Harry couldn't understand much of what they were saying about blood pressures and haemorrhaging. Leaning down, he whispered in Ginny's ear, "What does that blue flame mean?" 

"It means that someone stopped breathing," Ginny whispered in a broken voice. 

As if mentioning her name summoned her, Mrs. Weasley made her way through the crowd with her husband hurrying behind her and stopped at the twins' bedside. Harry dropped a kiss on the top of Ginny's head and ran his hand up and down her arms in an attempt to comfort her. His heart was breaking at the thought of one of the Weasleys dying, a dull ache started in his chest.

It was almost a quarter of an hour later that the healers straightened up and spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "They have both been critically wounded, but I believe they will survive." The healer pointed to Fred. "This young man had severe internal injuries as well as head trauma. We will be taking him to St. Mungo's for observation. He will have a rather lengthy recovery, but he should be fine."

Harry thought he heard a sob from Mrs. Weasley before the healer gestured to George and said, "This young man will be fine. We will take him to St. Mungo's also, but he should have a much shorter recovery time."

 Next to Fred and George was Remus and Delphini's beloved cousin Tonks. Harry's whole world came crushing down. The only family member that he knew she had actually loved. Gone. First Sirius now Remus, Tonks and possibly Fred.