ꜱᴇʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ | ᴛᴏᴍɪᴏɴᴇ

Serpentine, ch. 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Harmony put all thoughts of that room out of her mind as she raced into the forest behind the mansion. Like Hogwarts, the Riddle mansion had a spell on it to keep anyone from Apparating on and off the grounds. The only time Master had ever relaxed that protection spell was when Harmony was learning how to Apparate. Once he was confident she could travel easily, he had immediately cast the spell back on the house and grounds again.

When Harmony could no longer feel the restrictive force of the protection spell weighing down on her, she knew she could leave. It was uncertain whether the spell over Hogwarts would still be in effect with Dumbledore gone. But to be safe, she planned to Apparate as close as she could and then run the rest of the way.

Truthfully, she wasn't completely sure if she would be able to Apparate that far. The farthest she'd gone was to Knockturn Alley from Riddle mansion and back. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and it was certainly worth a try.

Harmony turned her gaze upward and spied the full moon between the quivering branches of the trees. She closed her eyes and the white glare of the moonlight seared onto the backs of her eyelids. In her mind's eye, she saw the towering architecture of Hogwarts, complete with the Great Hall and the Astronomy tower. Because it was nighttime, she imagined all the windows glowing warmly.

With delighted relief Harmony began to feel the familiar pull of the black hole brought forth by Apparition. Holding her breath, she allowed herself to be pulled in. Quick as a snap, she felt her body unfurl and then piece itself back together again.

After a brief moment of euphoria, she shook the dizziness from her head and observed her surroundings. As she'd expected, she landed nowhere on Hogwarts grounds. But, amazingly, she stood on a wide set of train tracks.

These tracks must be for the Hogwarts Express, Harmony thought excitedly. All she had to do was follow them to the school's platform.

Feeling quite proud of herself, she fastened her sack tighter and took off at a run down the railroad lane. Approximately five hundred yards off, the railroad disappeared into a massive forest. Hogwarts had to be on the other side.

Thanks to her higher stamina, Harmony passed the tree-line and entered the forest at a steady pace. Only five minutes had passed since she'd Apparated, but every second gone was another life terminated by those merciless Death Eaters. She had to go faster.

As she sprinted past the dark, looming trees, she considered her plan of action. Her wand would most likely have to come into use, both against the Dark Lord's followers and the Aurors. Her dark clothing made her appear too much like a Death Eater, so she would most likely be targeted by the Ministry.  Her ultimate goal was to find Voldemort. Wherever he was, Harry Potter would be.

Both wizards would have murder on their minds tonight. She needed to intervene. She had to stop either one of them from being killed. She knew of this attack; if something happened to Harry, she'd never forgive herself.

But Master—she needed him, too. If this battle had happened months ago, she wouldn't have cared less about him. But months ago she had no idea how important she was to Lord Voldemort, oblivious to the concept of being his "chosen one."

Like it or not, she needed him. His Death Eaters believed she would be their leader once he was gone, and without Master she'd have no idea how to handle that. She wasn't ready to lead a regiment of Pureblooded Muggle-haters. She didn't want to be their leader.

But now Harmony also had to consider the idea that Master might no longer want anything to do with her. It hurt more than expected just thinking about it. But she would have to cross that bridge if she came to it, and hope for the best.