An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Seventy-Seven

I didn't have long to enjoy the slightly more hopeful feeling in my chest. No sooner than backup arrived, the closest Death Eater to me whirled around with his wand raised. He spit out a hex that I couldn't hear over the noise erupting throughout the room, but thankfully, I didn't need to hear him to block his spell.

"Protego!"

The hex bounced off my shield as I rushed toward the Death Eater. All the lessons with Harry and the DA had helped me a lot; I was much stronger with my wand than I'd been at the beginning of the year. But running up and punching the guy in the nose was still the option I was most skilled at, by far.

Fortunately, it was also the option everyone in the wizarding world seemed to least expect. The Death Eater before me still had his mask on, so I couldn't see his face, but he jerked backwards in surprise as I rushed him. I grabbed his wand tightly, yanking it to one side and dragging the guy's arm along with it, then cocked my fist back and let it fly.

He reeled backward as soon as I made contact, toppling down a few of the stairs behind him, and I heard a laugh from my right.

"That's an interesting strategy!"

I turned to see Bill grinning, his wand raised despite the slight break we'd both found in the chaos.

"I like it," he continued. "Although I wish you would've called to let me know you all were planning on rushing into the fray here. I would've helped!"

I faltered, my expression dropping. Luckily, Bill was distracted by Death Eaters before he could notice. But he was right. I should've called him. Rushing into this situation without serious backup had been a stupid choice, and it'd almost cost the seven of us our lives. Neville was being tortured in this room about thirty seconds ago, and if they hadn't showed up, I might not have been enough extra firepower to save the day.

A fist closed around my heart and squeezed, but I couldn't give it attention for more than another few seconds. We were still in the middle of a fight, after all, and the Death Eater I'd punched in the nose had decided he wasn't quite ready to stay down.

I grit my teeth and set my feet, but another spell came flying at me before I could close to the guy, now a few steps below me. I was just fast enough to fire off another Protego spell, although it was a much closer call than last time. 

I struggled a little bit to fight back without my suit or Ana, but thanks to my paranoid family, I'd had practice fighting without either of those advantages. The chaos of the room around me faded out as I fell into a familiar rhythm, reading the body language of my opponent, dodging incoming attacks, and finding my opening to hit back. A wizard shooting spells at me required the same reaction time as Loki's knives or Harley's potatos, and suddenly, I felt a lot differently about how often they'd bothered me while I'd been home for break.

I lost track of time as the fight continued and I fell into a rhythm, pushing back against one opponent while trying to stay aware of what else was happening around me. I saw Neville punch a Death Eater in the face with perfect form, exactly like I'd taught him in the DA, and my heart swelled with pride. I saw Moody hit the deck after taking a spell to the chest, but thankfully, I saw him shifting on the floor under his own power a moment later. Despite the backup that had arrived, the fight was by no means over and done with in our favor, especially as I saw Bellatrix starting to stir from where she'd fallen after I stunned her.

I didn't have time to dwell on that, though, as something slammed into my side, sending me flying. It must have been Expelliarmus or something similar, since my wand practically leapt out of my hand. I landed hard against one of the stone stairs of the colusseum-like room we were in, and I felt something in my arm crunch as pain exploded along my left side.