𝙻𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 II SS/HG ✔️

The Dead

People who have read HP: DH recently will recognize several quotes taken directly from the source.

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Professor McGonagall turned to Hermione, embarrassment and horror and regret crossing her face. The boys must've explained the situation. Ron handed Hermione the purse. They left the cup crumpled on the floor with the fang stuck firmly inside.

"What can I do after I get the students out of here?" McGonagall asked.

"We need time," Harry said. "I have to find the snake."

"Go," she said.

"Boathouse," Hermione directed as they sprinted towards the Great Hall.

Explosions wracked the very skeleton of the castle. Remus and Tonks battled back to back, surrounded by a swarm of Death Eaters.

Kingsley felled anyone in a mask. Percy, the twins, and Lee Jordan held down the second floor and cleared them a path from above when they hit the Great Hall.

"Oh my God," Hermione breathed.

Giants dominated the front lawn. They picked up a fistful of dirt.

"Run!" Ron screamed.

Chunks of rock exploded against the castle walls. Acromantala's skittered over the sidewalk and through the courtyard. Abeforth Dumbledore stood in front of a group of Gryffindors and held his wand high. His goat Patronus barreled down Dementor after Dementor.

Harry led the trio but Hermione picked up speed when they went downhill. They came up behind the boathouse.

They could hear voices through the open windows. They ducked behind a bush when Bellatrix Lestrange exited along with her husband, the two cackling like mad.

Harry crawled to get beneath the windows. Ron and Hermione joined him.

"See the snake?" Ron whispered.

Harry peeked in.

He returned to his crouch. "In a bubble," he mouthed.

Hermione stood up to look in from the corner. She nearly wasn't tall enough, but she could see the people within—Lucius Malfoy on one side, Severus on the other. Voldemort in the middle, his back to Hermione, and his snake coiling inside a shimmering protective bubble at his side.

Lucius looked awful, one eye closed and puffy. His voice sounded as ragged as he looked. "My lord…please…my son…"

"If your son is dead, Lucius, it is not my fault. He did not come and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins. Perhaps he has decided to befriend Harry Potter?"

"No—never," whispered Malfoy.

Severus had his hands behind his back. He looked supremely unconcerned about Draco while he watched Malfoy beg.

"You must hope not."

"Aren't—aren't you afraid, my lord, that Potter might die at another hand but yours?" asked Malfoy, voice and body trembling. "Wouldn't it be…forgive me…more prudent to call off this battle, enter the castle, and seek him y-yourself?"

"Do not pretend, Lucius. You wish the battle to cease so that you can discover what has happened to your son. And I do not need to seek Potter. Before the night is out, Potter will have come to find me."

Voldemort looked down at the wand in his hand—Dumbledore's wand. "Leave us, Lucius."

Severus's eyes followed Lucius out of the room.

Voldemort began to pace. "I have a problem, Severus."

"My lord?"

Voldemort raised Dumbledore's wand—the Elder wand—between his two fingers so Severus could see it clearly. "Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?"