Aria Black and the Battle for Hogwarts

Hey, Guess What, I'm not Dead!

I wake up in a corridor. I must be high up in the castle, because there is no broken walls, or debris. All that's up here is dead bodies. And me, of course.

The bodies are not piled upon each other, but given their own space. Everyone's eyes are closed. Sadly, I see a lot of familiar faces. Remus. Tonks. George. Michael. Colin Creevey. Fay Dunbar. Fay must've come back for the battle. At least she looks peaceful.

I start down the stairs. When to the third floor, I hear a sob. Someone's probably crying about a dead loved one.

I cup my hand to my ear and listen to the sound. "They're all dead. My girlfriend and my twin, my other half are both dead." I know that voice. It's Fred! My Fred! He thinks I am dead!

I turn the corner and see Fred holding a knife to his heart.

"NO!" I shout.

The knife clatters to the floor. Fred looks at me with scared eyes. "Ari?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Were you really going to do it?"

He sighs and looks at his feet. "I thought you were dead."

"Would you have done it then?" I ask. "Because-"

"Ari, I just thought my entire life had died and left me here. You, and George are the two most important things to me, and if you were gone, I couldn't live."

Fred waits for me to yell, or be mad. But I run to him and hug him. He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around him. We are kissing passionately, and I never want to let go of him.

When our lips disconnect, he looks at me in confusion. "How are you alive?"

I sigh. "It's a long story."

"You'll never guess who tried to be our pal." Fred says emotionlessly. "Antonin Dolohov."

I gulp. "What happened to him?"

"Kingsley and McGonagall locked him up. We can't trust Death Eaters." Fred says, starting toward the stairs. "And, Voldy called back his forces and told Harry to go to him by midnight, or he would kill everyone at Hogwarts."

"Where's Harry?" I ask earnestly as we go down another flight of stairs.

He shrugs. "We haven't seen him."

Great. Harry is going to kill himself, and Voldemort will kill us anyway.

Downstairs, everyone gasps when they see me. I nuzzle my head into Fred's protective arm that's around my shoulders.

A dirt-faced and tired-looking Ron gets up first. "What are you doing here?" He grunts. Ron doesn't say it bitterly. He's just done with everything.

"Long story." I tell him.

"Glad you're here." Ron says.

Hermione's crying softly into her hands.

Fred doesn't want to let go of me, but I give him a, 'let me help Hermione' look, and he lets go of my shoulder.

I sink down to the bench next to Hermione. There are no words I could say to her without lying or sounding shallow. So I just hold her hand and pat her back while she cries.

Suddenly my eyes are drawn to the corner of the room. Antonin Dolohov sits on top of a stool, tied to the wall. He looks at me with alarming eyes.

I leave Hermione and make my way to Dolohov.

"Aria?" Minerva says in confusion. "What're you doing over here?"

She seems to be guarding Dolohov.

I approach her slowly, gathering my courage. "Dolohov needs to be released."

Minerva's eyes widen. "Do you know who this man is?"

I nod. "Antonin Dolohov, the man who killed my mother."

Minerva remains firm as she looks at me, bewildered. "If he killed your mother, we certainly can NOT release him."

"You have to trust me." I say. "He stood up to Bellatrix! He told her-"

"That I was done torturing and mercilessly killing people." Dolohov supplies from his seat. "And I am. Please, McGonagall, let me out."

"Kingsley!" Minerva calls.

Kingsley comes over, purple robes trailing behind him. "Yes Minerva?"

She explains what I told her, and expresses her displeasure for the idea.

Kingsley thinks for a moment. "We can't let a mass murderer out. If we win this war, Aria, we'll let you speak at his trial."

That's not enough. "But-" I begin.

"Don't bother." Dolohov says hopelessly. "Thank you."

I sigh. "We'd better win this war."