The other black (J. Potter love story)

Chapter 20

TW: Blood and torture

I woke up from my nap just in time for dinner. I haven't seen Mallory yet today, which is a good thing I need some time for her. We all follow along to the great hall. I look around, and Mallory is nowhere to be seen. I let out a sigh of relief. I sit at the end of the table closest to the door to leave early if needed. I sit down and wait. Food hadn't appeared yet, and the professors are running late. I look down at the table and see the rest of the marauders sitting there happily. They are all smiling and laughing with each other. I look back down at my plate and sigh; that should be me.

All of a sudden, all the professors rush in. "Sorry everyone, we had an emergency staff meeting, and it ran late," Dumbledor said, walking in behind everyone. "Like you, all know the beloved Lyra Black has gone missing. We have brainstormed some ideas to try and find her. We have also come up with a list of people that could take her. Our main target is Henry Chambers. If anyone knows where he would take her, please come to us after dinner." He says and then snaps his fingers, and food appears. We all dig in.

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I take off in a random direction. Running in the dress makes everything harder. I really wish I had a change of clothes right now. I stop and take my shoes off. I throw them somewhere and keep running. The ground is wet, so my feet get some mud on them. I keep running through branches that scrape me and poke me and tear away some of my skin and the fabric of my dress. "YOU HAVE A 2 MINUTE HEAD START, LYRA." I hear Henry yell. I look on the trees to see which way the moss is growing. Moss grows north, and Hogwarts is south. Once I find some moss, I start running in the opposite direction. The dress keeps almost tripping me. I am breathing heavy, and I don' know if I will ever make it.

I stumble onto a path that Hagrid must use when he goes out here. I run along the way until I get to a crossroads. Left or right. I try to look in the dirt for footprints, but they were none since it was muddy. I decided to take the path to the left, and all I can do is hope I choose the right direction. I keep running down that trail. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME, LITTLE GIRL." I hear Henry yell in the distance. I can feel a tear start to stream down my face. I lift up my dress and keep racing forward, but then I stumble. I fall flat on my face. I can hear him reaching behind me. I scramble up as fast as I can. Blood starts to stream into my eyes.

I look back, and Henry hasn't found me yet. I keep running, and I can feel the forest start to thin out. Does this mean I am close? I can feel my feet keep slipping in the mud underneath them. I look back, and Henry is half a kilometer away from me. I scream. I start to run faster. I look ahead, and there were 2 trees I had to jump through. I continue forward. I hope through the trees, but my dress gets caught on a branch. When I start to run, It tears in half. I look back, and Henry isn't there. Now I am on Hogwarts grounds. I begin to run up them. I am at about Hagrids house when I look back. Henry is there. He has his wand and is starting to shoot spells at me.

I start to scream at the top of my lungs, hoping someone will hear me. "HELP," I keep calling as I continue to run. One last time before I cross through the doors, I scream. "HELP."

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I sit there all alone, just looking around. That's when I hear it. It was a faint scream. I stand up. A few people look at me but not enough to raise suspicion. I sit back down. It was probably just peeves or some animal in the forest. I sit there eating for a few minutes when I hear it again. This time it is louder. I stand up and walk out of the great hall. There she is. Lyra. She is running towards the castle. She is in a pink dress that is torn, and she is bleeding in too many places to count. Her hair has sticks all over it. Then I see over her shoulder Henry is chasing her. She has never looked better to me.

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I am still looking back as I run into the entrance hall of Hogwarts. That's when Henry's spell hits me. I slam forward. My head hits the ground hard. Then he is on me. He tackles me. My head goes farther into the stone floor. I scream. Then he is thrown off of me. I can't look up to see who just saved me. I hear them start a dual. Then someone rushes to me. "Lyra, it's ok I'm here." James's voice says. He takes my head and puts it into his lap. I start to cry harder. He begins to stroke my hair and quiets me. I silently cry into him. He leans down and kisses my forehead. "It's ok, Lyra, your home. Sirius is here, and so is Regulas. Everyone has been worried about you. You have me still." He says.

"Mr.Potter, take her up to madam Pomfrey; she needs treatment right away." I hear someone else say. "NO, SHE IS MINE. GET AWAY FROM HER POTTER. YOU WILL REGRET THIS LYRA. I WILL HAVE YOU." Henry yells. I feel James move my head and puts it to his shoulder. He then picks me up bridal style. He walks away, ignoring Henry's screams. I continue to cry into his shoulder. He slowly walks us to the infirmary. Once we get there, he sets me down and kisses my forehead. Then everything goes fuzzy and fades to black.