Nightmare (Harry Potter OC Fic)

34. Cold Faces

Coming towards the end of Spring, another student was put in danger through the term: Ron Weasley. He had gotten poisoned, by accident. Being it was originally meant for Dumbledore, this put the Order on high alert. And, barely at the start of Summer when Dumbledore alerted the Order of his secret trip away from the castle, they were all put on stand-by. He was sure that something was going to go wrong at Hogwarts and wanted to make sure the school was well cared for.

In turn, Alastor and Tonks told Tiberius and Kei to be at the ready for if and when they were needed.

Kei bolted upright as Tiberius shook her awake, careful to not get hexed by the half-asleep witch. But the look of panic on Tiberius's face spoke loudly and they knew what had happened. Kei hadn't thought that both of their presences would be needed at the castle, but after all the hard work they put in during the past year, it seemed to have paid off. Tiberius and Kei were proper members of the Order of the Phoenix and needed to defend the castle.

"Hogwarts?" Kei confirmed, pulling her hair up.

"Yeah, we've got to go. Now."

Without hesitation, Kei turned on the spot and apparated outside of the gates of Hogwarts. The apparition wards were still in place, not allowing them to get inside the grounds— that was a good sign. But the chaos had begun. This is what they had prepared for: War.

Running into the school, they were instantly met with a tense battle. The walls crumbled as they advanced and people ran in every which way trying to get away from the fight. The corridor was dark, the midnight moon being their only source of light besides the light of hexes and curses being thrown around. Blocking the incoming hexes, Kei quickly made their way down the corridor trying to disarm and stun any Death Eater they saw. But there was a sudden understanding of ruthlessness in her— she had to be as daring and powerful as the people they fought, if not more so. Tiberius followed suit, throwing his own hexes as they proceeded into battle.

Looking around the corridor, the pair deflected the spells and ran around looking for familiar and friendly faces. The friendly face ended up being Tonks, who told them how Ron, Ginny, and Neville found her and got help.

"Where's everyone fighting?" Kei shouted, throwing a hex at one of the Death Eaters.

"Everywhere," replied Tonks.

"How do we know—?"

"Franklin," warned Tiberius, blocking a curse sent towards the two Hufflepuffs.

Kei groaned and moved out of the way, hexing the hooded figure across the way, "how do we know who to fight?"

Her voice was barely heard in the noise of the duel around them, but Tonks responded, "we don't. Be careful who you hex."

In a quick understanding, the three of them continued to run down the corridor doing their best to stay alive and unharmed. Two redheads accompanied one of their former Defence professor in the corridor near the Astronomy Tower. Within seconds of being there, a group of Death Eaters ran out the doors of the Astronomy Tower, laughing and cackling. The Order all jumped back and threw hexes and jinxes at them. It was a full-blown fight.

There were cries of pain and terror, bodies slumped against walls, students wailing and running around the corridors trying to not get hit. In the fight of it all, Kei lost sight of Tiberius through the fight leaving them alone. A tall thick Death Eater quickly came around the corner and stopped her, trying to hit her with the Cruciatus Curse. Deflecting it, Kei quickly stunned the man to only be pushed past by Professor Snape, dragging Draco Malfoy through the throng of people. Their former Potions Professor didn't seem to want to fight and looked more preoccupied with getting the sixth year to safety than battling Death Eaters alongside the Order.