The Dark Lord's Daughter- Book One (A Harry Potter Fan Fic)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Into the Woods

As Leah ran through the castle, away from the door and the spooky images it contained, she noticed how deadly quiet the castle was. There were no screams, no sounds of any fighting at all. She finally reached the entrance hall and found it deserted. Movement to her right caught her eyes. The Great Hall was filled with people, mourning and being healed. She thought she saw Lulu with her twin sister Luna, crouched over a body with the rest of the Weasleys. But she didn't have time to consider what a traitor Lulu had become. They weren't even that great of friends anyway. She had to get away from there. Before anyone could notice her, she turned away and ran down the hall, her boots slamming on the stone.

Outside, the air was heavy with the scent of death and decay, nearly making Leah gag. The dirt squished beneath her shoes due to the blood that saturated it. Disgusted, she turned towards the forest where she knew her father was residing, waiting for Harry Potter.

Twigs crunched under her boots as she crashed her way through the forest. She didn't care how much noise she was making. Her only thought was to reach her father. It wasn't because she wanted to see him, it was because she wanted to know who was still alive. Barty? Amber? Daphne? Lucius and Narcissa? Daniel? Savannah? Those were the people she wanted to see.

"Who goes there?" someone shouted to her and a wand was pointed at her throat. Mustering up what was left of her dignity, Leah opened her mouth to snap at him, but she heard the man softly whisper, "Blimey," before his lips were on hers. She started to struggle at first, but when she got the taste of coffee on his tongue, she stopped and melted into Barty's arms, surrendering herself to his kiss. He was alive!

After what seems like hours, Barty broke the kiss and pushed his forehead to hers. "I thought you were dead." His voice cracked. "When the Dark Lord commanded everyone to retreat and you didn't show up, everyone thought you were dead."

"I'm fine," she assured him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, wanting to hold him there forever and never let go.

"Your face," he whispered trading the cut that was there. Dried blood flaked off and spun to the ground.

"It's fine," she told him, removing his hand from her face. She didn't want to let him know how much the cut was hurting her. "Where are the others?"

"Just through here." He pointed to the forest behind him where Leah could see a sliver of light from a clearing. He grabbed her hand and lead her in that direction. His hand felt warm and alive in hers. She could feel the blood pulse through his veins when their wrists brushed together. She squeezed his hand, glad he was alive, and he squeezed back.

"Barty." This time it was her voice that cracked as she was about to ask the painful question. "Is anyone-"

"No one that you care about," he stopped her.

"Amber? Daphne? Daniel and Savannah? Lucius and Narcissa?"

"They're all alive," he assured her. Leah smiled, feeling a little lighter.

As they stepped into the clearing, Leah could see many defeated faces. Though Leah knew the Death Eaters outnumbered the fighters of Hogwarts, their numbers seemed to have dwindled greatly. She saw many faces missing from their ranks, though Barty was right, she cared about none of the missing faces. And the faces she did see, they were all worn and tired. Many were bloodstained. Nagini swam in an enchanted case, directly above her father's head, giving Leah the absurd image of a demented angel. She almost laughed at the thought.

Voldemort was standing in the center next to a small fire and gave no sign that he was relieved to see his eldest daughter alive. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her. "Where were you?"