The Half-Blood Princess

Chapter 59- The Last Battle

Since Sabrina knew that she would be unable to apparate directly to Hogwarts, she would have to get as close as she could, and walk the remainder of the way on foot.
It had been many years since she had seen the castle, and nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she arrived in Hogsmeade.
Parts of the castle appeared to be on fire, as it took the brunt of the attack, as the death eaters attempted to force their way inside.
Anger grew inside Sabrina as she looked at what had become of the place she had once called home. She hated to see it fall apart and become another casualty of the war.

Sabrina gripped her wand tightly, and managed to sneak onto the grounds, by hiding at the back of a group of death eaters, using her robes to blend in with them.
No one paid Sabrina any attention, and none of the group noticed when she broke off from the pack to go her own way.
Once inside Hogwarts , Sabrina was instantly thrown into the battle.
There were spells flying everywhere, and debris littered the floor, making it very hard to walk around.
Even though she had spent the past few years hiding at home, Sabrina found it easy to jump back into the fight.
All her battle instincts and reflexes came back to her almost instantly, as if they had been waiting all her life for that moment.

However, despite her skill at duelling, Sabrina was out of her depth in that fight, as she was up against a bunch of magical creatures that were a lot harder to defeat than wizards.
Giants and Acromantula roamed the castle, and they didn't care if they killed death eaters or students.
But it was the Dementor's presence that effected Sabrina the most, for she had a lot of dark memories inside her.
In order to ward off their effects, she had no choice but to cast her Patronus.
"Expecto Patronum!".

"Sabrina".
Sabrina spun around quickly at the sound of her name, but she could not see anyone.
A moment later Harry appeared in front of her with his friends by his side, holding a cloak in his hands.
Sabrina removed her mask, so that Harry could see that it was her, and not feel threatened.
"How did you know it was me?" She questioned.
"I saw the Patronus. You said it was a lioness, and I don't know any other death eaters who can perform the spell" admitted Harry.

"Well, you found me" sighed Sabrina.
"What are you doing here?" Asked Hermione.
"What do you think? I've come to fight" answered Sabrina.
"Wearing that?" Frowned Ron.
"Yes, I got this out of my trunk before making my way here. I thought it would be the best way to disguise myself. I am still in hiding afterall. And hopefully the other death eaters won't see me as a threat wearing this, until I stun them from behind" admitted Sabrina.

"That's actually a smart idea" praised Harry.
"Thanks. Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be searching for something?" Quizzed Sabrina.
"Yes. We've just destroyed 2 Horcrux's; Hufflepuff's cup, and Ravenclaw's diadem" revealed Harry.
"Wow, well done"
"We believe that there is one more still to destroy"
"And what is it?"
"Voldemort's snake Nagini"
"His snake! Well, I suppose you had better go and look for it then"
"Yes, stay safe"
"You too, and good luck".

Sabrina watched the trio run off, before putting her mask back onto her face, and rejoining the fight.
As the battle wore on, the casualties grew, but Sabrina never saw her brother among them.
Over time, she began to become increasingly concerned as to the whereabouts of Severus.
She had seen almost every other death eater in the castle, except him.
So when she came across Lucius Malfoy, who was calling out for his son, she shoved him into the wall and removed her mask to face Lucius.

"Listen to me Malfoy, I need to know if you have seen Severus recently" said Sabrina.
"Sabrina Prince?" Questioned Lucius, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Yes, I know, I am supposed to be dead. When the Ministry killed my fiancè and son, I survived and went into hiding. Only the dark lord knew that I was still alive. I am his secret weapon. But I don't have time to go into details, I need to find Severus Snape" informed Sabrina.

"You just missed him" revealed Lucius.
"What do you mean?" Questioned Sabrina.
"I took him to the dark lord" answered Lucius.
"Where?"
"I don't know if I should say-"
"Answer me Malfoy, or you'll regret it"
"Alright, fine, they are in the Shrieking Shack"
"Right, well I'd better head over there then, so that I can talk to Severus once the dark lord is done with him. Oh, and don't mention that you saw me to anyone. I am supposed to be a secret".

"I won't say a word. But since I helped you, I need a favour in return" admitted Lucius.
"What kind of favour? I am in a bit of a hurry right now, and there is a battle going on" replied Sabrina.
"I'm looking for my son Draco. He was here at school when we attacked, and I haven't seen him anywhere"
"Well don't worry, I'm sure he's around here somewhere"
"I'm terrified that something bad has happened to him. Narcissa is looking for him too, but she hasn't found him either"
"I don't have time to go on a rescue mission after some boy. But if I see him I will try and keep him out of harms way"
"Thank you".

Sabrina placed her mask back down over her face, and began fighting her way out of the castle and towards the Hogwarts grounds.
After freezing the Whomping Willow, Sabrina made her way down the dark tunnel underneath it, praying that she didn't meet anyone coming the other way.
She planned on hiding until the dark lord had left, before making sure that her brother was O.K.
Walking down the tunnel brought terrible memories back for Sabrina, as she remembered the night that her and Severus had nearly been killed by Remus Lupin in his werewolf form.
And even though she was much older and wiser this time around, the tunnel still frightened Sabrina and made her very anxious about what she would find at the other end.