Elemental

Hero

When I wake up, I'm tied to a chair. A face stares down at me like a mad scientist studying her experiment. "Well, well," says Bellatrix Lestrange. "Woken from our nap, have we?" Then she shouts, "She's awake!"

"Very good. You may go." She exits, leaving me alone with him.

I try to move something but I can't. "You'll never get away with this," I say.

"Oh, but I already have!" he says. We could have been in a Muggle superhero movie.

"My friends will come for me."

"Oh, will they?" He pulls open a curtain, revealing Beth, Juliana, and Tiana lying on the floor. Dead, or just stunned...?

I laugh aloud despite the seriousness of the situation. "You've never heard of a cliché before, have you?" And they all disappear—it was only a boggart! "You'll have to do better than that to beat me!"

He smiles. "Oh, I've got more."

Oh, no, nothing good can possibly happen when You-Know-Who smiles.

"First," he says, "I will torture you—"

"By boring me to death with your stupid monologues?" I ask. "It's like we're in a Muggle movie." I honestly don't know why I'm not sobbing and crumbling to the ground like he clearly wants me to. I might be going crazy. Do crazy people know that they're crazy?

"You seem to find your torture amusing," he says. I do. Do I? Maybe? At least, I do right now. And then he shouts a spell that I've never heard before. But if sheer pain could kill I would be long, long, long gone. Sectumsempra was nothing like this. I try to scream but my mouth may as well be glued shut and that makes it all that much worse. I wait to slip into unconsciousness or even death but it doesn't happen. I try to do something—anything—but I might as well have a full Body-Bind curse on me. I can't see, I can't hear, I can't think straight, to myself or to anyone else. I can't...I can't ...and as soon as it fades away I hear a muffled yell and see a blurry blue light headed straight toward my chest and it starts all over again, and I know physically it's not doing anything but I feel like I'm on fire and all I see is Amber dying again and again and again and how I should have saved her and I wish it would just be over, I honestly wish I would...

And then, after two times it's over. He laughs at the pain that he can surely see in my eyes. I know he's powerful, but I never would have guessed he could do that. Even a moment of that is worse than death.

"A curse of my own invention," he says. He grins. "Only effective on Elements. Would you like some more?"

"N-n-no," I whimper. "Please..." There's nothing I can do anymore. I'm not a hero anymore. The ropes disappear but I don't even try to get out. There's no point anymore. I never would have guessed...it would be impossible to explain to anyone. Madison could never dream of doing something like this.

"Good. Now, you are going to do exactly as I say when I say it." I barely nod. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm a coward. Maybe the Sorting Hat was wrong about me.

Then I hear a noise, so faint I think I might have imagined it. Then three people burst in. "Mia!" Beth exclaims. Juliana and Tiana are right behind.

"You're too late," he snarls. "Avada Kedavra!" He points his wand at Juliana.

"No!" I yell. Seeing Beth, Tiana, and Juliana in danger makes me snap out of what I realize the spell was causing. I don't even know what I'm doing, I just do it.

I jump in front of Juliana and the green light sails forward almost in slow motion...

Right into me.

Hey guys!

so. um, I've been a terrible author and haven't updated in over a month. Sorry!!!!! To (somewhat) make up for it, I'm posting every single chapter--I think there's fiveish--to the end of this--yay, I've finished the book!

Also my birthday was Monday. I'm a year older now and boy do I feel it. But that's another story.

anyway bye!!

~Mimi {they call me Mimi. deal with it.}