Chapter 35: The Escape
Harry was thrown backwards, knocked off his feet, as the red shockwave swept across the ground, shattering the barrier that stood in its path. As he landed on his back, splayed haphazardly on the grass, he heard a sound of successive pops, signaling that wizards were Apparating all around him. Jumping to his feet, he looked around, and saw Ron standing with six other Aurors, all with wands poised and ready to react to any threat.
A thunderous sound stole his attention away, and he barely had time to jump out of the way as the entire crowd of silvery creatures tore out of the contained area, stampeding away from danger. After he was cleared from the danger, he watched in awe as they swept over the green field, sparkling in the pale moonlight. They all fled across the great expanse of field, pausing as they reached the far end with the pond.
“NO!” he heard Danika scream, as she raced after them, dagger poised dangerously in her hand. He saw Darien take off after her, so he figured that the creatures would be safe now. He turned his attention back to where Ginny and Draco had been facing off with the man who was seemingly in charge. They had fled as the barrier fell, and Harry caught the last glimpse of his black cloak through the trees as he chased after them.
Catching eye contact with Ron and Hermione, Harry started to chase after him, figuring that Ginny and Draco would need a hand. He knew that Hermione and especially Ron wouldn’t be too far behind him.
“Wait! I need your help!” Vincent Malfoy called, before Harry got very far. The trio stopped abruptly, turning to face the elder Malfoy, who was now standing at the center of the field. “We need to recast the charms around the sanctuary or else there will be no chance at stopping his followers from coming.”
* * * *
As soon as he felt the barrier fall victim to the magical blast from Ginny Weasley, Darien pushed past the shockwave, driving into the center of their circle. He ran, desperate to catch his sister. She had one hand tangled in the mane of the patriarch of the herd, the eldest male, the knife placed at its throat, ready to make the kill. The impact from the shockwave shook the ground she was standing on, but she managed to keep her balance. Sensing the failure of the barrier keeping everyone out, she swung her head around to see her brother dashing towards her. Desperate, she closed her eyes, and pierced the hide of the unicorn. Darien stopped dead in his tracks, as he watched his little sister wound the unicorn.
“Danika, stop!” he screamed, pointing his wand at her. She paused with a vicious smile at she turned to him.
“You know that I won’t,” she said, holding up the dagger that was now shinning with the silvery glow of unicorn blood to taunt him. Steeling himself and forcing himself to focus, he aimed his wand and uttered a spell, hoping that it would work.
A loud crack filled the air, and a brilliant flashed blinded his eyes for a moment, but then the thundering sound of a herd of hundred stampeding towards him filled his ears. He turned as they ran past him, terrified by the noise and eager to get as far away from it as possible, triumphant that they were escaping danger.
“NO!” Danika screamed as she chased after them, watching as the opportunity she’d had vanished before her eyes. Their father was standing in a circle with Potter, Weasley and Granger, and a few other wizards who had appeared, blocking her way to them. Darien could see that they were in the process of casting a spell, and he assumed that it was in order to recreate the protective charms.
She stopped still in her tracks, and a stricken look came over her face. Within a few moments, she was well aware, the spell would be put into place, and any enemies of the creatures or individual who wished to do them harm would be magically expelled from the sanctuary, unable to ever return. Her hands were trembling, and a soft sob escaped her lips as her father turned from his spell to cast his daughter a look of deep loathing.
“The Aurors, as soon as they are finished helping him, will take you into custody, Danika. It’s all over,” Darien said, approaching her carefully. She glanced towards the tree line, obviously planning an escape. For a few moments full of loaded silence, she glanced from her brother to the forest, and back again. There was a pleading in her eyes, begging him to let her go.
“Did you forget all that I tried to do for you the first time, Danika? What I took on my arm for you, to ensure that you would be safe in their fold? You promised me after the first time that this would never happen again. And then I find you here, doing something that we are sworn to protect against!” he snarled at her. She simply nodded, unable to meet his eyes. Darien sighed, a long and painful sigh.
“I won’t say I’m sorry, because I’m not,” she said, defiantly, holding her head high.
“If I let them take you, then everything that I did for you will have been for nothing. If you leave, it is forever. I never want to see you again,” he said, as he walked past her. He walked towards the circle formed of his father and the Aurors, and didn’t look back until he reached them.
* * * *
She clutched at his hand as she dashed haphazardly through the trees, ignoring the sting of branches as they caught at her hair and scratched at her face. She could hear Neville’s cry of outrage echoing through the woods, and the heavy fall of footsteps behind them. Gasping for breath, she paused to look behind her, and she saw the dark figure of Neville getting closer to them. Looking ahead of them, she saw two possible paths.
“Which way?” she asked, before a flash of light hit a tree behind them. The trunk exploded in a rain of splinters and smoke, blinding her momentarily. Draco pulled her down to the ground, ducking behind some brush to hide their whereabouts from his vision. Draco pointed his wand, throwing a retaliatory curse in Neville’s directions, swearing softly as it missed its target.
“Where the hell are Potter and his little gang? Could really use their help at the moment,” Draco muttered, distractedly pulling Ginny closer to him to shield her from another blast exploding the brush in front of them. He jumped up, reaching down to pull Ginny up with him, and they began to run again, dodging the series of curses that were being hurled at them. His long legs allowed him to keep a faster pace, and he ended up half-dragging Ginny behind him.
Just as she felt that she was going to loose her balance, he had stopped again, behind a very large tree. He was surveying the area, as if searching for something in particular.
“We need to separate,” Ginny said, breathing heavily. Draco was about to protest, when another blast interrupted him. Ginny stared into his intense silver eyes, her own eyes full of determination and strength. It was that that made him agree – it was the spark of stubborn determination that he recognized from their first encounter in her office with Minister Fudge.
“Take that path just down there, and follow it all the way. It should lead you to the spot I took you the night you found out about the sanctuary. I’ll cover you until you’re far enough away, you’re the one he’s after. Don’t leave the path, and wait there until I get there,” he said, pointing to the right of where they were standing. Ginny nodded, and as she turned to leave, Draco’s hand snatched at hers, swinging her back around to him. He seized her lips with his again, a brief searing kiss, before pushing her away and down the path.
“I’ll find you there,” he said, as he watched her begin to run through the trees, dodging branches and winding her way down the path. With a little luck, Longbottom would forget about Draco, and chase after Ginny, allowing him to come up from behind and stop him.
Harry was thrown backwards, knocked off his feet, as the red shockwave swept across the ground, shattering the barrier that stood in its path. As he landed on his back, splayed haphazardly on the grass, he heard a sound of successive pops, signaling that wizards were Apparating all around him. Jumping to his feet, he looked around, and saw Ron standing with six other Aurors, all with wands poised and ready to react to any threat.
A thunderous sound stole his attention away, and he barely had time to jump out of the way as the entire crowd of silvery creatures tore out of the contained area, stampeding away from danger. After he was cleared from the danger, he watched in awe as they swept over the green field, sparkling in the pale moonlight. They all fled across the great expanse of field, pausing as they reached the far end with the pond.
“NO!” he heard Danika scream, as she raced after them, dagger poised dangerously in her hand. He saw Darien take off after her, so he figured that the creatures would be safe now. He turned his attention back to where Ginny and Draco had been facing off with the man who was seemingly in charge. They had fled as the barrier fell, and Harry caught the last glimpse of his black cloak through the trees as he chased after them.
Catching eye contact with Ron and Hermione, Harry started to chase after him, figuring that Ginny and Draco would need a hand. He knew that Hermione and especially Ron wouldn’t be too far behind him.
“Wait! I need your help!” Vincent Malfoy called, before Harry got very far. The trio stopped abruptly, turning to face the elder Malfoy, who was now standing at the center of the field. “We need to recast the charms around the sanctuary or else there will be no chance at stopping his followers from coming.”
* * * *
As soon as he felt the barrier fall victim to the magical blast from Ginny Weasley, Darien pushed past the shockwave, driving into the center of their circle. He ran, desperate to catch his sister. She had one hand tangled in the mane of the patriarch of the herd, the eldest male, the knife placed at its throat, ready to make the kill. The impact from the shockwave shook the ground she was standing on, but she managed to keep her balance. Sensing the failure of the barrier keeping everyone out, she swung her head around to see her brother dashing towards her. Desperate, she closed her eyes, and pierced the hide of the unicorn. Darien stopped dead in his tracks, as he watched his little sister wound the unicorn.
“Danika, stop!” he screamed, pointing his wand at her. She paused with a vicious smile at she turned to him.
“You know that I won’t,” she said, holding up the dagger that was now shinning with the silvery glow of unicorn blood to taunt him. Steeling himself and forcing himself to focus, he aimed his wand and uttered a spell, hoping that it would work.
A loud crack filled the air, and a brilliant flashed blinded his eyes for a moment, but then the thundering sound of a herd of hundred stampeding towards him filled his ears. He turned as they ran past him, terrified by the noise and eager to get as far away from it as possible, triumphant that they were escaping danger.
“NO!” Danika screamed as she chased after them, watching as the opportunity she’d had vanished before her eyes. Their father was standing in a circle with Potter, Weasley and Granger, and a few other wizards who had appeared, blocking her way to them. Darien could see that they were in the process of casting a spell, and he assumed that it was in order to recreate the protective charms.
She stopped still in her tracks, and a stricken look came over her face. Within a few moments, she was well aware, the spell would be put into place, and any enemies of the creatures or individual who wished to do them harm would be magically expelled from the sanctuary, unable to ever return. Her hands were trembling, and a soft sob escaped her lips as her father turned from his spell to cast his daughter a look of deep loathing.
“The Aurors, as soon as they are finished helping him, will take you into custody, Danika. It’s all over,” Darien said, approaching her carefully. She glanced towards the tree line, obviously planning an escape. For a few moments full of loaded silence, she glanced from her brother to the forest, and back again. There was a pleading in her eyes, begging him to let her go.
“Did you forget all that I tried to do for you the first time, Danika? What I took on my arm for you, to ensure that you would be safe in their fold? You promised me after the first time that this would never happen again. And then I find you here, doing something that we are sworn to protect against!” he snarled at her. She simply nodded, unable to meet his eyes. Darien sighed, a long and painful sigh.
“I won’t say I’m sorry, because I’m not,” she said, defiantly, holding her head high.
“If I let them take you, then everything that I did for you will have been for nothing. If you leave, it is forever. I never want to see you again,” he said, as he walked past her. He walked towards the circle formed of his father and the Aurors, and didn’t look back until he reached them.
* * * *
She clutched at his hand as she dashed haphazardly through the trees, ignoring the sting of branches as they caught at her hair and scratched at her face. She could hear Neville’s cry of outrage echoing through the woods, and the heavy fall of footsteps behind them. Gasping for breath, she paused to look behind her, and she saw the dark figure of Neville getting closer to them. Looking ahead of them, she saw two possible paths.
“Which way?” she asked, before a flash of light hit a tree behind them. The trunk exploded in a rain of splinters and smoke, blinding her momentarily. Draco pulled her down to the ground, ducking behind some brush to hide their whereabouts from his vision. Draco pointed his wand, throwing a retaliatory curse in Neville’s directions, swearing softly as it missed its target.
“Where the hell are Potter and his little gang? Could really use their help at the moment,” Draco muttered, distractedly pulling Ginny closer to him to shield her from another blast exploding the brush in front of them. He jumped up, reaching down to pull Ginny up with him, and they began to run again, dodging the series of curses that were being hurled at them. His long legs allowed him to keep a faster pace, and he ended up half-dragging Ginny behind him.
Just as she felt that she was going to loose her balance, he had stopped again, behind a very large tree. He was surveying the area, as if searching for something in particular.
“We need to separate,” Ginny said, breathing heavily. Draco was about to protest, when another blast interrupted him. Ginny stared into his intense silver eyes, her own eyes full of determination and strength. It was that that made him agree – it was the spark of stubborn determination that he recognized from their first encounter in her office with Minister Fudge.
“Take that path just down there, and follow it all the way. It should lead you to the spot I took you the night you found out about the sanctuary. I’ll cover you until you’re far enough away, you’re the one he’s after. Don’t leave the path, and wait there until I get there,” he said, pointing to the right of where they were standing. Ginny nodded, and as she turned to leave, Draco’s hand snatched at hers, swinging her back around to him. He seized her lips with his again, a brief searing kiss, before pushing her away and down the path.
“I’ll find you there,” he said, as he watched her begin to run through the trees, dodging branches and winding her way down the path. With a little luck, Longbottom would forget about Draco, and chase after Ginny, allowing him to come up from behind and stop him.
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