White Heather for Protection

Sneaks and Intruders

Chapter Text

As her brother slumped bonelessly against her, Heather reached out sluggishly to encircle him in her arms. Once she had ascertained that there was nothing wrong with him, she looked blearily around her. Her mind was cloudy, as if stuffed full of cotton. That alone rang alarm bells in her head. A sleeping draught? A knock-out jinx? What had happened? Last she knew, she'd been heading towards an early breakfast, wanting to spend some time with Hadrian before the Second Task.

WAIT! The task!

In lieu of trying to keep still for her unconscious brother, her fingers twitched violently in panic. It was then that she noted the buzz going on around them. She looked up when a warm towel was placed around her shoulders.

It was Madam Pomfrey, who patted her reassuringly before moving towards another young girl blinking in confusion nearby. Heather didn't recognise her, but she seemed somehow familiar. Next to the girl was Hermione and Cho, who were in similar states of disorientation.

What in blazes was going on?

For some reason, they were gathered around the edges of the Black Lake. It was only when Fleur Delacour stumbled out of the murky waters crying frantically that Heather's mind finally caught up with what her brother had said before passing out.

'Second Task. Captured. Safe now.'

If she understood that correctly, the four of them had been held captive as part of the task. The champions had probably been asked to rescue them.

She wracked her head for any recollection of her capture. How could she have just let that happen? Her occlumency training came in handy in this situation, allowing her to easily locate the memory she wanted. Let not the power of a well-organised mind be underestimated.

She watched the memory play out.

~~~

Heather left her common room quietly in deference to the early hour. She was frowning in thought, worried about what task her brother would have to face in a few hours. As per his request, she had washed her hands off of all of the tournament business. As such, she had no clue at all what the Second Task would entail. She just hoped Hadrian had a plan for it.

As she neared the exit of the dungeons, the back of her neck prickled. Someone was following her. She stretched her senses out, pinpointing the sources of foreign magic. Make that several someones.

With a subtle movement, her wand shot out of her robes sleeve and into her palm. She knew that it was unlikely that any truly malicious characters could have snuck into Hogwarts, but it wasn't impossible. Sirius had done it, after all, and no one had known he was innocent at the time.

Goosebumps erupted over her flesh when she sensed a burst of concentrated magic hurtling towards her. A silent spell. She spun out of the way, smoothly ducking out of the path of another spell. With the same motion, she shot out stunners towards where the spells had come from. Twin thuds told her that she had aimed true.

Now for the three other people. She threw up a shield just in time for a jet of crimson to bounce against it uselessly. The group was gradually closing in on her. The spells they'd used so far weren't deadly, just for incapacitation. That didn't comfort her in the least, but at least she knew they weren't aiming to outright harm her. She couldn't say she had the same compunctions.

She dodged and blocked several more spells, sending out a volley of her own that ended up downing two more of her unknown assailants. Just one left, then. She quickly cast a few binding spells towards the man, making them extra tight as a way to vent some of her irritation. Now to send for some help. She wanted to know what these idiots were trying to do.