Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
And some things you just can't speak about
· ━━━━ · ✣ · ━━━━ ·
Harry remained by Snape's side for the remaining trickling minutes, before a high, cold voice spoke.
It was so sudden, causing for each of the four to jump and turn to see whether Voldemort had reentered the room. The voice echoed in form of vibrations from the walls and floors, digging itself into Addy's hears forcibly.
"You have fought," murmured the eerie voice, "Valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery."
Addy winced from the frequency of the sound as she brought her hands up towards her ears, glancing around to see Ron and Hermione doing the same.
"Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste."
It took her moment to realize that they possibly weren't the only ones that could hear what they heard; the residents of Hogsmeade and the fighters on the Hogwarts campus would be able to listen in fearfully.
"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."
Addy shivered from the chills she'd received within the past few minutes, fixing her gaze onto Harry, who's expression remained transfixed upon the adjacent wall.
"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not give yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
The voice began to fade, leaving behind its dark trace in the dense atmosphere. It echoed ever so softly off the walls that surrounded them, before reaching the finale of pure silence.
Addy swallowed thickly as she examined Harry's tense features, too terrified to move a muscle. The air was thinning, making it difficult to receive proper air.
