The Final Battle
Chapter 1: The Final Battle
Hermione’s eyes widened, staring down the tip of a thin black wand. She watched as the black dragon hide clad hand held it tightly in a trembling grip. She wondered if his tremble was from adrenaline or from being the victim of too many cruciatus curses.
She took a breath, narrowing her eyes as he pressed in closer, his wand almost touching her nose.
He sneered at her, “It brings me great joy to finally rid this world of your filth.” his lips curling back in a silent snarl.
She glared up at him defiantly, jaw tensing. Squaring her shoulders she took another deep, calming breath. She wouldn’t show this man her fear, not even in the end.
His wand pulled back over his head in a dramatic fashion, exaggerating the swish of his wrist. “Avada…”
An enraged shriek that tapered off into a dangerous growl permeated the air, causing both of them to falter.
A lone feather flew through the air, its quill lodging into the blonde man’s shoulder like a dagger.
Brown eyes looked down at the snowy white feather that seemed to vibrate with a purple thrum of magic.
Steely grey eyes seemed panicked as his head whipped around, wand still raised.
Two more feathers whirling past Hermione’s head, both sinking into Lucius’s body with pained grunts.
The wizard snarled, eyes narrowing as he glanced around the battlefield. “Show yourself harpy!”
He reached out to her, grabbing her roughly and spinning her, pinning her body against his with his wand to her throat. As if shielding himself with her body.
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat, remembering the last time she was held in this position by the crazed Bellatrix Lestrange.
One last feather sailed through the air, faster than the others. She closed her eyes, waiting on its impact in her body.
Her eyes shot open as she was released, her body crumpling to the ground as the death eater’s weight toppled onto her back.
She let out a terrified whine, thrashing under the dead weight of the man above her. Throwing her shoulder up she finally managed to roll him off of her. With a pained grunt she scrambled out from beneath the blonde, crawling a few paces away and panting heavily. Was it over? was he..? She looked over at him, stomach turning at what lay before her.
Lucius Malfoy was dead, and all Hermione could see was red. The smell of thick blood making her gag. A pristine white feather, free of any blood, sat proudly protruding from his throat.
She looked down to one of the feathers that had fallen from the man’s body and now lay in a puddle of his blood on the ground.
She reached for it as her vision blurred, head spinning. Something, no, someone, had saved her.
Black spots began to poke behind her eyes, eyelid’s drooping. She couldn’t pass out. She had to stay alert.
White noise reverberated in her ears, the ringing seeming to drown out the battle around her as she collapsed onto the rubble and debris from the school that covered the grounds.
She clutched at the feather like a lifeline, feeling it’s jagged edge cut open her palm.
Two taloned feet walked towards her gracefully, a patch of white and black ringed feathers on each calf.
Hermione tried to look up at the creature, vision fading to black as two worried glowing golden eyes locked with hers.