Morgan le Fay Institute for Magic

Chapter 30 - Bleak Battle

Gasping and panting, Ravenna and her friends finally halted behind an abandoned primary school building. She leaned over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"Willem," she croaked. "I couldn't save him. I tried, I... I thought he was aiming for me!"

"I know, Ravenna," said Dan, wrapping his arms around her. "I couldn't save him either."

"They killed him," she cried against his shoulder. "I can't believe they killed him. He was helping them!"

"He never should have done that," said Ezra. "If he came here by his own choice, then this is his own damn fault!" He put his hands over his face, but she could hear his breath tremble.

She took a few deep breaths, as the events of the last couple of minutes slowly registered in her brain. Dan let go of her, looking down with worry in his eyes. "Since when can you cast a Protego like that? No, wait, how did you guys get here? How did you take out that Death Eater?"

"Combination of luck, and the element of surprise," Ezra grumbled. "As for getting here... My dad gave me a Portkey to get home quickly if I ever got into serious trouble. I reckon this isn't exactly what he had in mind. Oh, I should probably tell you, my dad's the owner of that dumb mansion, and he's..."

"Yeah, I heard..." Ravenna muttered.

"We got to go," said Dan. "We c-can't stay here."

"Where, though?" said Ezra, peering around the corner across the playground. He wiped his sleeve over his nose, only spreading the half-dried blood further across his face. He flinched when a rocket shot up and exploded above a nearby house.

Ravenna felt a pang in her chest at how bad he looked. With a glance at her best friend, she realised he was in a similarly bad shape. He pushed his back against the wall with his eyes closed, holding his wand-hand protectively against his chest. His face had turned white like a skeleton.

Each of them looked terrified and in pain. And they were all here because of her. Even Willem wouldn't have been invited to come here if the Death Eaters hadn't been out for her.

"You shouldn't have come." Her voice broke. "For fuck's sake, none of you should have been here."

"Yeah, and neither should you!" Ezra snapped. "What is wrong with you? Running right into their trap, you must have lost your mind. First Willem, and then you!"

"Ezra." Dan shot him a warning glare, but it only seemed to anger him more.

"How could you be so stupid?" he roared, making her flinch. "Do you know how much Ella cried when you were both gone all of a sudden? How could you purposely choose to leave us behind? We're your family! Did it not cross your mind for one second that maybe we'd be willing to help you get Willem back?"

"Of course it did!" Ravenna cried. "That's exactly why I didn't say anything! Now they're after you guys, too. They said they'd kill him if I told someone. If I'd just done what they said, they'd let him go. You all would be safe. But now Willem's dead and they'll come for you both as well!"

"You came here alone... to help them?" Dan gaped at her.

"I came here to fight and get Willem back! And whatever happened to me, at least you guys would be safe. But they asked me to —"

"You came here alone to fight a battle you knew you would lose."

The disappointment in Dan's voice overwhelmed her. She froze, not daring to look her best friend in the eye. After a few long moments of silence, she whispered, "I didn't have a choice. They wanted me, not Willem. He was in this mess because of me. I had to save him."