I'd die for you - A Battle of Hogwarts love story ✅

Chapter 8

Sky’s eyes were wide with shock and fear when she turned to me. We heard the sound of shattering of glass and a loud, dull thumb.

‘Was that...’ Sky whispered.

‘No...’ I said just as shocked. ‘That can’t be...’

‘Well, it was.’ Suse said, wiping her tears away. ‘I recognized his voice. Harry’s here.’

‘Well – then we don’t have a choice, do we?’ Sky sighed. ‘War’s coming.’

I shuddered when I thought of all the innocent students that were still lying in their warm, comfortable beds, sleeping peacefully. The Ravenclaws were warned now, and the Slytherins had nothing to fear, as they were as bad as the Carrows. They were meant to join the Dark Lord’s army one day, so they wouldn’t be attacked – or worse, killed. But the Gryffindors... The Hufflepuffs... The Hufflepuffs!

‘Owen!’ I shrieked, jumping up.

Sky gasped. ‘Andrew!’

We both rummaged through our trunks and dug up some cloths. I didn’t pay attention to what I was putting on – it didn’t matter anyway. When I sat down on my bed to put on my black sneakers, I noticed Sky’s outfit. She was wearing blue shorts and a cute button-down shirt with short sleeves that showed a lot more of bare skin than Sky’s usual clothes.

‘Jeez – we’re going to fight, not to participate in a beauty contest.’ I said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere a bit. My calmth had returned to me.

‘The less clothes the better.’ she shrugged. ‘I need to move fast.’

‘At least you’re going to die looking stunning.’ I commented dryly. So far for lightening the mood.

 ‘What?’Suse asked, her voice trembling. She had also dressed and she, too, looked way too good for a fight. She was wearing a cute purple top with a deep V-neck.

‘You don’t seriously think we’re going to live through this?’ I asked surprised. It seemed so obvious to me that we were all going to die. There was no way a few teenagers were going to stop the Dark Lord from finishing off every single person in the castle. The only hope we had was fleeing – but I wasn’t going to do that. I would fight.

‘No one’s going to die!’ Sky shrieked. ‘We’re going to live!’

‘I doubt it.’ I was surprised by how dead my voice sounded.

‘Quit it!’ she yelled at me. ‘No one’s going to die except for the Death Eaters. We’re going to live through this!’

I didn’t reply. All hope was gone, for me at least. I could see no way we were going to make it through the coming war. It seemed impossible. Besides, there were more important things to worry about right now.

‘Owen!’ I shouted again. ‘We’ve got to warn him!’

‘Andrew!’ Sky realized.

‘They’ll be fine.’ Suse said, her voice still trembling. ‘Of course they’ll be fine.’

‘That’s easy for you to say!’ Sky bellowed. ‘Your boyfriend is waiting for you down there!’ She waved into the general direction of the common room. ‘Ours are still sleeping, oblivious for all what’s going on.’

‘Ours?’ I asked surprised. ‘I was under the impression that Suse and I were the only ones with boyfriends?’

‘How can you even think about that right now?’ Sky frowned. ‘Fine. I love Andrew. But that’s hardly the point right now.’

‘Right – let’s go.’ I agreed.

We descended the stairs on tiptoe, wand at the ready. We had no idea what to expect downstairs, so we breached ourselves to fight already. But in the common room, we found nothing but Dave and Peter waiting for us. The Carrows were bound together with a shimmering silver rope and they dangled beneath the blue and golden ceiling.

‘Finally – let’s go.’ Dave took Suse’s hand and tugged her with him.

‘Where are we going?’ I asked them shocked when they turned left.

‘The Great Hall.’ Peter answered. ‘Where else?’

‘I’m going to get Owen.’ I turned away from them and sprinted in the opposite direction. ‘Come on, Sky!’

‘We’ll meet you in the Great Hall!’ she yelled over her shoulder while sprinting hastily after me.

We passed many groups of scared and confused students, but we didn’t stop to answer their shouted questions. It took us ten long minutes to reach the Hufflepuff common room. Professor Sprout was already leaving with her students, but I couldn’t see Owen or Andrew with them.

‘Andrew!’ Sky yelled at the top of her voice. ‘Owen!’

A boy our age turned toward us, but it wasn’t one of them. With a shock I recognized Ernie MacMillan’s face underneath the scratches and bruises. He, too, had obviously received several severe punishments.

‘They’re not here.’ he told us.

‘Where are they?’ I asked him urgently.

‘Went to get you, I suppose.’ he shrugged. ‘Can’t imagine them going anywhere without you.’

‘Oh – crap!’ I mumbled. ‘Thanks, Ernie.’ I grabbed Sky’s hand and sprinted past all the Hufflepuffs, heading for the Great Hall.

‘What are you doing?’ Sky yelled. ‘We’ve got to go back!’

‘They probably ran into Suse, Dave and Peter.’ I told her breathlessly. ‘They’ll be down there.’

‘Oh – right!’ she realized. ‘Let’s hurry!’

We ran all the way to the Great hall and by the time we reached the open doors, we were panting.

‘Owen!’ I managed to choke out. ‘Owen!’