NIGHTMARE ₁, Harry Potter °

xxx. 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

— ( chapter thirty. ) —

Aurora had no idea what Hermione was planning, or even whether she had a plan. She was being half-dragged by Umbridge as they headed down the corridor outside Umbridge's office. Harry did not dare attempt to talk to Hermione; Umbridge was walking so closely behind them that he could hear her ragged breathing.

Hermione led the way down the stairs into the Entrance Hall. The din of loud voices and the clatter of cutlery on plates echoed from out of the double doors to the Great Hall — it seemed incredible to Aurora that twenty feet away were people who were enjoying dinner, celebrating the end of exams, not a care in the world...

Hermione walked straight out of the oak front doors and down the stone steps into the balmy evening air. The sun was falling towards the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest now, and as Hermione marched purposefully across the grass — Umbridge jogging to keep up — their long dark shadows rippled over the grass behind them like cloaks.

"It's hidden in Hagrid's hut, is it?" said Umbridge eagerly in Harry's ear.

"Of course not," said Hermione scathingly. "Hagrid might have set it off accidentally."

"Yes," said Umbridge, whose excitement seemed to be mounting. "Yes, he would have done, of course, the great half-breed oaf."

She laughed. Harry felt a strong urge to swing round and seize her by the throat, but resisted. His scar was throbbing in the soft evening air but it had not yet burned white-hot, as he knew it would if Voldemort had moved in for the kill.

"Then... where is it?" asked Umbridge, with a hint or uncertainty in her voice as Hermione continued to stride towards the Forest.

"In there, of course," said Hermione, pointing into the dark trees. "It had to be somewhere that students weren't going to find it accidentally, didn't it?"

"Of course," said Umbridge, though she sounded a little apprehensive now. "Of course... very well, then... you two stay ahead of me."

"Can we have your wand, then, if we're going first?" Harry asked her.

"No, I don't think so, Mr. Potter," said Umbridge sweetly, poking him in the back with it. "The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life than yours, I'm afraid, and the life you, Miss. Black here, so I suggest you keep walking."

Did she just throw a death threat?

As they reached the cool shade of the first trees, Harry tried to catch Hermione's eye; walking into the Forest without wands seemed to him to be more foolhardy than anything they had done so far this evening. She, however, merely gave Umbridge a contemptuous glance and plunged straight into the trees, moving at such a pace that Umbridge, with her shorter legs, had difficulty in keeping up.