mother of wands (d.m) part two

XXI

We land in another forest of thick evergreens, Ron immediately grabbing his hand and rubbing it furiously.

"Bloody hell Everett, what did you do to me?" He says with a laugh.

I jump up and inspect his burn, "Oh! I'm so sorry Ron, it happens sometimes..."

"Not a problem, I've had worse," He waves me off. "What a treacherous little bleeder, is there no one we can trust?"

Harry shrugs, "He kidnapped her because he supported me, he was just desperate."

"I feel awful Harry," I chime in, the guilt weighing me down. "I wasn't there when they took her, I should have known something was off from the beginning."

Harry pats me on the back, "You did. And we didn't listen."

Athena sighs, cracking her neck. "I'll do the enchantments this time."

I begin wiping off all the soot and stray bits of paper from the pants I borrowed when a tree branch snaps behind me.

I whip around, immediately face to face with Greyback.

"Hello beautiful," His scratchy voice says.

The snatchers had found us, my worst nightmare forming before my very eyes.

More men appear from behind the trees surrounding us all, rubbing their hands together excitedly.

I look to Athena who nods as we back away slowly, our pace picking up as we go.

We make it a short distance when I hear one of the others say, "Well don't hang about, snatch em!"

We dart through the forest, through pines and fallen branches. Spells and curses fly past, barely missing as we struggle to run away.

Track and field was never my area of expertise but luckily, my adrenaline was pumping enough that I couldn't feel the burn in my throat or the fire in my legs.

I hear a small scream as Athena trips, a snatcher quickly picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. He wastes no time getting back into the chase, gaining on me faster than I'd like.

From the short looks I got at them, I only recognized Greyback, the others were unknown to me.

We lose Ron as he gets hit by a spell, his legs wrapping in chains as we keep running. We reach a clearing, Hermione jinxing Harry so his face bubbles up to conceal his identity.

Harry falls to the ground clutching his cheeks and scratching at the scar on his forehead. He wails in pain as Hermione and I hop on top of him, the snatchers closing in.

Suddenly, Harry mutters "Grindelwald."

A child runs down my spin.

"The hallows," He continues, gasping for air. "They exist but he's only after one of them the last one. He knows where it is."

I run a shaky hand through my hair, the knowledge that Voldemort's about to find the Elder Wand not fully sinking it. My chest feels like it's caved in on itself as I try to breathe but nothing happens, my lungs begging for air.

"He's going to have it," Harry says defeated. "He's going to have it by the end of the night..."

I threatened Draco with leaving, telling him that everything would fall apart without me around, and I was right. No matter how mad I was, I should have stayed behind and continued to keep Voldemort from the wand.

I feel a tear run down my cheek as Hermione and I are hoisted up by the collars of our shirts and our backs are pressed against trees.

Ron and Athena join us in the clearing, Ron still tied up and Athena kicking the chest of one who picked her up.

"DON'T- Don't touch them!" Ron shouts.

Hermione starts to break, her voice cracking as she watches Ron and Athena. "Please! Leave them alone!"

The man I assume is the head snatcher saunters between Hermione and I, his face one I hadn't seen before. "Your friends will get much worse than that if they don't learn to behave themselves!"

He taps Hermione's nose condescendingly, a devilish grin forming on his face. A deformed Harry is brought up with us as well, his skin looking like it had been stung by a hundred wasps.

"What happened to you ugly? What's your name?" The man says to Harry.

Harry takes in a sharp breath, "Dudley. Vernon Dudley."

"Check him!" The snatcher yells, not fully believing him. He struts back to Hermione and I, "And you my lovelies, what do they call you?"

Hermione speaks first, "Penelope Clearwater, halfblood."

"Rebecca Davidson," I say with as much confidence as I can muster. "Halfblood."

Much to my dismay, Greyback chimes in, "She's lying, that looks like Everett Bingham!"

I roll my eyes, Greyback was generally a pretty stupid guy but he made sure he had his facts straight today.

"What's with her eye?" He asks skeptically.

Greyback shrugs, "Don't remember anything special about her eyes... She's supposed to be the Grindelwald's daughter, she's got the mark."

The snatcher rips my sleeve up, revealing the tattoo. I cringe when I see it, a horrible reminder of what I once was. And worse, what I could so easily become again.

"Ohhh... I've heard of you, won't the Malfoy's just love this." He eyes me up and down. "Change of of plan! We're not taking this lot to the ministry."

We apparate, my stomachs churning as I know exactly where we're headed.

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