The Dark Promise// Theodore Nott

CH 18

Olivia knew she couldn't wait around to watch the cabinet burn. She needed to get the hell out of there and find Theo. Several death eaters turned to her once they realized that putting out the fire was a lost cause. There was no point in using disillusionment now, they were on her tail. She ran back to the stairs, casting several hexes their way to slow them down. Where should she go next? The decision to go to the dungeons in the first place was from a gut feeling and she was all out of those. The more she ran, the more students she saw. Now students and professors alike were coming out of the woodwork, attempting to fight off the horde that entered Hogwarts.

The place was being destroyed from the inside out. Artwork and portraits were being set on fire. Statues and brick walls were tumbling to the floor. This is what she feared would have happened. She couldn't help feeling like it was her fault. She should have ignored Theo when he told her not to go to Dumbledore with their information. Maybe that was his plan all along? Manipulate her into knowing just enough, but not to tell anyone.

She decided to head to the defense against the dark arts tower. Maybe she would find another seventh year and they could team up. She had been able to allude the ones who saw her destroy the vanishing cabinet for now, but if enough ganged up on her she wouldn't be able to fight them off herself. To her surprise, this part of the castle was oddly quiet, seemingly untouched by death eaters.

She walked around the sitting area, trying to listen for anyone who would be sneaking around. Instead, she had heard crying. It was coming from the same broom closet that Malfoy had shoved her into the day he choked her. She snuck up to the door, slowly opening it to find a second year Gryffindor girl cowering in a corner. She recognized this girl as the one who got her from her dorm that night when the Slytherin boys had asked for her help. "Hey, are you ok? Are you hurt?" She asked the girl in a soft voice, not trying to scare her any further. If the girl was here, that means the Gryffindor common room was already compromised. It was a free for all now.

The girl nodded, replying to Olivia through her tears. "I'm ok, but...but..." Olivia nodded her head in an understanding manner. "Try to take a deep breath." She told the girl. The girl took a deep breath, sniffling up the snot that was running down her nose. "Dumbledore is dead." She said, now bursting into tears once more. She stared into the girl's face for a few seconds, trying to process what she just said. This girl had to be mistaken. The school had only been under siege for less than an hour. How could the greatest wizard of all time be dead in just that short amount of time? How could this happen?

Olivia began shhing the girl, trying to stay calm. "Are you sure that's true? Where did you hear that?" She asked the girl. "I heard it from one of the masked men. Draco Malfoy killed Dumbledore in the astronomy tower. They said that you-know-who is coming right now to verify." The girl said through strained breaths. Olivia's eyes widened. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably, feeling the tip of her wand hit her thigh. So that was Malfoy's plan all along. Get the army inside and cause chaos, then kill Dumbledore in the process.

This poor girl was in the middle of a panic attack. She could tell because she had just gotten over one herself. She needed to keep moving but couldn't leave the girl here. That would be throwing her to the wolves. "Ok, I know your really scared and I am too, but we can't stay here. Come on out and I'll protect you." She held her hand out to the girl, watching as she gingerly took it. She pulled the girl off the floor and left the closet.

"What's your name?" She asked, but a look of fear came upon the girl's face before she could answer. Olivia felt a sharp pain in her neck. She had been attacked from behind, and she didn't even sense it coming. She fell to the floor hard, hearing her wand bounce once before rolling across it. Then black. Nothing. No sound, no screams. Nothing.