Dose of Darkness | Tom Riddle |

Chapter Seventeen: I'll Come Back

It took just ten minutes for Hogsmeade to suffer unsustainable destruction.

In this side of the small town of shops, Eleanor and her friends were able to maintain most of the weak infrastructure. Even now as she attacked on the few who slipped past the wall of Aurors on the other end, she saw absolute turmoil erupt. Windows were shattered, some were even ablaze on the inside.

All of the decorations were strewn across the once delicately untouched snow. The holiday spirit lied in ashes and as did the residents of Hogsmeade.

Eleanor Peverell's muscles remained clenched and physically, she felt like she was trapped in a box all too small for her but the adrenaline overlooked these things and pushed her to fight on.

Grindelwald's men were characterized by men in dark clothes that were oddly sophisticated. They could even pass as regular people had it not been for their obscene markings on their necks and hands. Then again, a few didn't even have those and it made it difficult to fire at them when she turned around and easily mistaken them for a civilian.

But as Eleanor's lessons played through her head and she fired every spell in the book, she didn't pay attention to the faces of those who fell victim to her. She did not care for the growth of her own strength that was taken out on the next person who tried to attack her because this was life or death and she needed to stay alive.

The importance of fighting for her life was too far complex to think of in this state. She couldn't think like she normally did because this was all a matter of instinct as her head was constantly on a swivel.

For the split second she had to look around, Eleanor immediately found her mother, charging with her arm retreated, ready to fire another spell from her wand. It was almost mechanical.

She looked in awe as Marjorie's expression hardened and fired, revealing a subtle white light that came from her wand that was powerful enough to send the other woman back into one of the windows of a shop.

What her mother was oblivious to was the other one approaching behind her and that's when Eleanor acted upon impulse, not hesitating to unknowingly mimic her mothers movements and remove the threat to her.

"Nice one." said Marjorie who was slightly out of breath, locking eyes with her daughter.

For a split second, Eleanor thought she looked proud of her but the reality set in and she was met with the typical mother like protection that fell over her face.

"Now you need to leave. It's going to become far too dangerous for you and your friends." she warned.

Eleanor's shoulders fell and she looked to her left down the main street where Hogs Head sat under the snow.

"But they've already got most of the students out through a secret tunnel. Everyone is safe for the most part!" Eleanor pleaded.

"It doesn't matter. The Aurors won't be able to hold them off for long and you need to leave just in case they overpower us." Marjorie said, trying to be authoritative but almost sounding as pleading as Eleanor did.

She didn't want to be defeated in this case though. She wanted to fight. It was slightly insane of her to feel this way considering just how much she wanted to live as well. But when it came to the severity of what was at stake, she would feel worse if she walked away like a coward.

"Eleanor!" called out a voice.

When she looked back towards the Hogs Head Inn, it was replaced by nearly a dozen of her friends. Julius was the one who spoke, followed by Marcella, Cormac, Allan, Moira and the others who had chosen to follow in her footsteps.