The Way We Fall | Book 3

Chapter 15: Shock

"There it is! The Department of Mysteries!" Harry exclaimed. Yeah, it's about time! We've been wondering down hallways for ages now. We were in a dark, narrow hallway now, with a single door at the very end. I held my wand tightly in my hand as he opened the door. What I saw was absolutely shocking. Hundreds--no thousands of little glass spheres lined tall, and wide shelves that stretched all the way across the room. "Lumos!" I muttered, making the tip of my wand light up. It was almost impossible to see where you were walking in here! Everyone else did the same. Harry began frantically searching for Sirius, and so did the others. But, I could very faintly hear someone whispering my name. Obviously, I followed their voice. 

"Hello?" I called softly. "Riley," The person continued whispering. As I neared the end of one of the shelves, the voice got louder. Finally, it was at it's loudest point, but nobody else could hear it. I looked at the glass orb beside me, I saw my name right under it. I picked it up, only to hear it whispering something I couldn't hear. Frowning, I moved it closer to my ear, and listened.

'She has a rare gift. She knows she can't hide it. She can see not only the living, but beyond the living. Whoever she sees will deliver her a message. Don't listen to them. They're lying.'

"Riley! Riley!" I heard Harry shouting. How long have I been here? I quickly ran off to find him, keeping the orb in my hand. I saw him running up to me, holding another one of the weird spheres. Before I could question him, he embraced me tightly. "I thought someone took you. Why'd you run off?" I pulled away, and held up the orb. "It was calling for me. I heard it, and I had to see what it was. I see you have one as well." He nodded, looking down at his. "It's a Prophecy, I think. Come on, we need to find the others. Things aren't going so well," I nodded, and ran back to where he had been with the others. Looks like the Death Eaters had found us.

I whipped around, as one of them approached me from behind, and Stunned him. A man came quickly around the corner, shooting the Killing Curse at me. Luckily, I had blocked it just in time. "Reducto!" Harry roared angrily, waving his wand at him. He was lifted off his feet, and thrown so far backwards, we couldn't see him anymore. Then, the Prophecies began falling off the shelves, which soon came crashing down. "Harry!" Ginny called. We turned to her, and she pointed to a door at the far end of the room. So, we made a run for it. I clutched my Prophecy tightly in my hand, afraid that I'd drop it. Behind us, the tall, heavy shelves were collapsing onto the floor, and all of the Prophecies were shattering. One of them hit me rather hard in the head, but I didn't have any time to let that slow me down.

Finally, we burst through the door, but began falling. I waited for the hard impact of my body hitting the floor, but it never came. Just before we hit the ground, our bodies froze in midair for only a second, before we dropped the last few inches. I pulled myself off the ground, hearing only the sound of my heartbeat, and some muffled voices. Harry was staring up at an arch, which seemed to have some sort of mist in the center of it. He said something, but I couldn't hear him. The mist showed a few faces, none of which I recognized. "Who are they?" I asked. They all looked at me. Hermione said something, but my heartbeat was pounding to loudly in my ears for me to be able to hear her. I ignored what she said, and approached the arch. Someone grabbed my arm, holding me back. I turned my head, and saw Harry there. He had a bit of blood on his face, but other than that, he was fine. He gave me a gentle look, and turned around. Everyone moved behind him, and held up their wands, so I did the same. 

Suddenly, a weird black mist began circling around us. A hard force shoved me to the ground, while something else began jerking my Prophecy away from me. Then, it all stopped. I was crumpled on the floor, and so was Harry. But, I didn't see the others. I lifted my head up, and pushed the rest of my body up as well. The only thing left in my hand was my wand. As soon as I had stood up all the way, I came face to face with Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. "Well, Riley, we haven't even started the fun yet, and you're barely conscious." He taunted me, holding my Prophecy in his hand. I glared at him, doing my best to get the dazed look out of my eyes. Then, he turned to Harry, and sneered. "You actually thought that you and your foolish friends were any match for us? Ha! Now, I shall make this simple for you. Give me the Prophecy, or watch your friends die."

We looked around, where several Death Eaters were holding the others hostage, with their wands to their necks. "Don't give it to him, Harry!" Neville cried, struggling a bit in Bellatrix's grasp. I looked at him, waiting to see what he'd do. After a moment, he slowly handed it over. I don't know what Voldemort would want from Harry's Prophecy. Obviously he sent the Death Eaters here to get it from him. For a second, Lucius only held the Prophecy in front of his face, grinning triumphantly. Then, there was a white light behind him. I frowned a bit, making him turn around. There, stood Sirius, and he did not look very pleased. "Get away from my Godson," He snarled. Then, he punched the blonde beast directly in the face, knocking him off his feet. 

I smirked, and saw a dozen other white whisps appearing. Each one revealed a member of the Order. All of them were there, except for my dad. Sirius grabbed my arm, and pulled me behind a rock with he and Harry. Just on the other side of us, spells were being sent every which way, smashing things. "Where's my dad, Sirius? Isn't he supposed to be here?" I asked desperately. "He's taking the girls somewhere safe, Riley. Now, I want the both of you to take the others, and get out of here," He said. "What? No, I'm staying with you!" Harry cried. "You've done beautifully. Now, let me take it from here."

Lucius Malfoy and another Death Eater appeared in front of us, and whipped out their wands. We jumped up, and did the same. They sent spells at us, but I was quick to block them, as the boys fought back. Another black whisp appeared a few feet away, and pointed their wand at me. I attempted to Disarm him, but he only blocked my spell. Then, he removed his mask. My chest tightened when I saw his face. Never before did I think I'd see this man in dark robes, and wearing a mask. "Dad?"