Peppermint; Draco Malfoy [2]

TWENTY-SEVEN

ALEXIS' P.O.V.

I don't know if I should scream, throw up or faint. They all seem like very good options right now.

Sirius Black stands before us, hunched and dusty.

"Not youuu," I groan. I would get my wand out but that's in the pocket that I can no longer reach. I whisper to Ron "get my wand," but I don't think he heard me.

The broken door we were pulled through suddenly bangs open and in comes Harry and Hermione. They see us and run straight towards us.

"You're okay," says Hermione, biting her inner lip.

"The dog, where is it?" demands Harry.

Yes Harry, I'm still alive, in a lot of pain, but still alive. Thanks for asking.

Ron points behind them and we all look at the man who deceived us all. He comes out from the shadows and pushes the door back with a snap.

"He's the dog... he's an Animagus..." explains Ron frantically.

Black moves towards us and both Ron and I stand painfully. I shield Harry once again with my body and Hermione does the same.

"If you want to kill Harry you'll have to kill us too," says Hermione.

"Uhmmm," I say, "let's just think this through first."

Something flickers in Black's shadowed eyes.

"Lie down," he says quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more." His voice is hoarse. It sounds as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. "Alexis, keep your arm upright. It will help with the bleeding."

I would ask how he knows my name but we've spoken before. "Don't tell me what to do after you almost tried to kill me," I hiss.

"That's right. You'll have to kill all four of us!" Ron says weakly. He's clinging to my good arm painfully tightly to stay upright.

"Woah woah, no one is killing ANYONE tonight!" I shout, gesturing emphatically. I forgot about my arm and the pain starts up again, adrenaline slowly leaving my body as the shock wears off. I gasp and clutch it in pain, holding back tears.

"I wouldn't be too sure," grins Black. "There'll be only one murder tonight." His grin widens.

I wail loudly. "Whyy? Now I'm gonna die. Of course I'm gonna die. It's always the black person who dies first."

"Alexis!" hisses Hermione. She gives me a stern look which I think is half telling me off and half telling me to be quiet.

Harry speaks up from behind us. "If anyone dies tonight... It'll be you!" He then lunges at Black, pushing us both to the side. I fall on my bad arm and whimper, colliding into a four-poster bed in the corner. Wands go flying in the air, including mine, and there's a hell of a lot of screaming.

When I manage to get myself back into an okay position, Harry is kneeling beside Black, his wand pointed at his head as his other hand squeezes his throat. Only now does it sink in fully what's happening. Harry must feel absolutely awful. He must feel so angry. This man killed his parents and ruined his entire life, putting him through hell and back, and here he is, trying to finish what he had started all those years ago.

Black starts laughing maniacally, showing dirty rotted teeth and my insides squirm. Get this man a toothbrush, please.

"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" he laughs.

Out of nowhere, the door of the room bursts open. Professor Lupin comes hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. "Expelliarmus!" he yells. I duck as Harry's wand misses my eyeball by inches.