Rise of the Death Eaters [3]

Chapter 56: I am my Father's Daughter

*Long Chapter alert: 4440 words*

At the sight of my father, I had suddenly returned to the mindset of 8 year-old Ava.

I screamed for my brothers—in this case, I screamed for Theo.

"Theo!"

"Ava, what's the matter?" Sam exclaimed, still dragging my arm to move. I looked back around to find my father advancing on us, those Fountaine eyes of his filled with a flicker of rage I had only seen glimpses of when he lost his temper. And even then, he never came at me with violence before. Not like this.

This was entirely different.

"Ava," I heard my brother say by my shoulder. I slowed my jog a fraction and grabbed on to him like a life line as he searched my face. He thought I was terrified over the cross fire. He had no idea.

"It's dad!" I exclaimed pointing past my shoulder. "He's one of them, Theo! He's one of them."

My brother immediately stopped dead, and we slowed down behind him. It was our mistake as it gave the incoming death eaters a clear shot.

Just as my brother saw our father advancing, Sam warned us to duck as a red spark came right towards us. I jumped off to the left near a set of shelves just as the curse made impact behind me.

Glass and wood shattered with such a force, that the supporting beams of four differing shelves splintered, sending the supporting beams down into the middle of the hall.

I lifted my head from behind my arms and shook the glass out of my hair. I was alone.

The beam had fallen with the rest of its contents blocking what remained of the incoming death eaters and my friends. And while I heard voices of the death eaters cursing behind the wood, Theo and Sam had remained silent.

I stood up, feeling my legs shaking under me, ready to buckle. For the sake of my emotions, I hoped their silence was to avoid drawing attention to themselves and not a sign that they have been cornered into the crushing wood.

I saw my wand amongst the wreckage and grabbed it, suddenly feeling a little better. Walking in the opposite direction of the blockade, I came out into another corridor of separate shelves.

To my relief I spotted Hermione, Harry and Neville booking it down the end of the corridor. Hermione must have heard my steps as she turned around and the biggest look of relief crossed her face.

"Thank Merlin, I thought we lost the rest of you."

"We did," I rectified, running up to her. Hermione gave me a worsened look before I added, "But I think I cut off the death eaters from their path. A few shelves blew up in front of them."

"That gives us some time at least," Hermione replied with little relief. We continued on down the corridor in search of the original door we had come in from. But just as we neared the final corner, I heard the sound of running footsteps coming from where I came.

"They made it through the blockade," I muttered sharply as Hermione turned toward the sound.

"Over here," Harry instructed, pointing to a door ahead of us. We raced to it and snuck in just as the voices of unrecognizable death eaters echoed from the corridor.

"I heard footsteps, they can't be far from here."

"Quiet! They can hear us too."

I slowly closed the door, before turning around to examine the room. It was an office with neighboring desks across two separate rows. One of which held a globe that on closer examination was a liquid bubble with literal wind trapped inside it.