The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Ennervate

Ennervate

Bilius whirled about as three figures emerged from the deep woods, staying among the sparse trees at the edge of the forest beyond. He quickly aimed his wand as Derek and Chriselda drew theirs and jumped up from the log clumsily. The moon and stars gave just enough light through the higher branches to show the silhouettes of the figures as they neared, their wands held high as they approached.

Derek's voice was as strong and deep as he could make it as he barked, "Lower your wands and we won't hurt you."

A high cackling laugh sing-songed towards them, "Oh aren't you just adorable!" cried a woman's voice, "Did they teach you how to say that at school?" Her giggles were bone chilling and mocking. "Ickle wittle ones going to die!" she sang, "Wittle baby ickle ones! Don't you wish you didn't play at being adults now? Wish you'd stayed warm in your beds with your teddies now, don't you?" She practically skipped towards them in a dancing sort of walk, causing her hood to fall from her head but a great mass of black curls shielded her face from view just the same.

Derek knew they needed to send the signal to McGonagall, but he needed a moment to do it. He took a deep breath and then, as fast as he possibly could - "Incendio!" Fire erupted on the ground between them and the three Death Eaters, right at their feet. The leaves and debris lit quickly and hot, making the three Death Eaters stumble backwards, thrown off guard for a moment. "RUN!" Derek shouted, and the three of them turned. Unfortunately, being at the edge of the clearing, the only way to go away from the Death Eaters was into the open field. They rushed, trying to get a good head start before the three figures could regain composure and get around the flames to follow.

Halfway across the field, Derek paused, letting Chriselda and Bilius get ahead of him, and he turned to look up at the sky. He thought of the laughter they'd just had beneath the trees, of the feeling of happiness they'd shared, of the thought of spending the rest of his life with Chriselda... "Expecto Patronum," he called out. His Patronus, a small dragon itself, swept from the tip of his wand. He'd been the one chosen to cast the spell to warn the others they needed help because his was the only of their three patronuses with wings. "Go to McGonagall," he commanded it, "We need help!" He turned and ran before the misty white of the patronus could go.

Bilius looked back to see the patronus sweep across the field, delaying the Death Eaters, who had made it out of the line of trees, as they ducked away from the dragon-shaped patronus as it swooped up into the sky, headed for wherever McGonagall and the others had gone. Derek was sprinting toward them, and Bilius waited for him. Chriselda hadn't realized either had stopped and was nearly to the barn, halfway across the field. Turning back, she could see the trees they'd been sitting beneath were all aflame, thick black smoke rising up over the woods as birds flew into the moonlight to get away.

The three Death Eaters recovered quickly from the sweeping patronus. Malfoy broke ahead of the others, being the first to have regained himself. He was shooting silent spells across the field at Derek and Bilius, and they ducked to avoid them. Chriselda was shrieking encouragement from the barn, where she held open the door.

"Two can play the fire game," murmured Rudolphus. "Confringo!" He shouted, aiming for the barn.

Chriselda shrieked as the ball of fire struck the barn doors directly behind her. Inside, the horses panicked, smelling the smoke as half the building went up in flames almost instantly. They were kicking and breaking their stalls with their powerful legs. "Protego" she shouted, casting a barrier between the fire and the horses inside. Then she turned to face the Death Eaters. "Stupefy!" Her spell struck Rudolphus, who was still directing his fiery charm at the barn and he stumbled backwards.