Sophia Holmes and the Search for Horcruxes (Harry Potter Fanfic) *Completed*

Chapter Twenty Nine

As we race back down, I hear a fight breaking out in the corridor adjacent to us. Just from the backs of their heads and the bright ginger hair which blooms out of it I can tell who they are.

"Ron," I hiss, indicating to where his brothers stand, outnumbered against the Death Eaters approaching. One of them is the Minister for Magic.

"Hello, Minister!” one of the brothers call and I recognise him from seeing him at the Ministry - Percy. He sends a neat jinx straight at Thicknesse, who dropped his wand and claws at the front of his robes, apparently in awful discomfort. “Did I mention I’m resigning?”

“You’re joking, Perce!” shouts the other brother as the Death Eater he was battling collapses under the weight of three separate Stunning Spells sent as Harry, Ron and Hermione intervene.

Thicknesse falls to the ground, tiny spikes erupting all over him as if he was turning into some form of sea urchin.

Fred looks at Percy with glee, but my eyes catch something move at the end of the corridor. “You actually are joking, Perce… . I don’t think I’ve heard you joke since you were –"

He's cut off as the gunshot ricochets through the air, past the Weasleys, and into the heart of the Death Eater turning the corner. The spell destined for us aims upwards as he falls, and he's immediately buried by the rubble of the ceiling as it caves in.

"Good save," the younger of the two brothers says, turning around and grinning at me. "I don't think I've had the pleasure. I'm Fred."

"Sophie," I say, taking his hand and shaking it. As we touch, I feel a shiver, not unlike the one I experienced after we rewrote history back with Arthur Conan Doyle. Did I just change the course of history? Was someone supposed to die?

Before I have chance to think about it, we're heading away again, continuing on our way to find Voldemort.

We pelt back through the madness towards the Entrance Hall when Hermione gasps. I turn and watch as a girl our age falls to the floor before my eyes shift to the one who put her there. It's one of the men from the woods, except men now doesn't seem like such an apt description. He looks feral as he pounces upon her, his teeth biting into her neck. He catches us looking and smiles, the girl's blood around his mouth. He makes towards us and before the others can react my gun is out and I fire. Silver bullets - courtesy of Sam and Dean. Thought I'd take them along just in case, knowing what I do about the abundance of magical creatures in this world. He may not be fully transformed, but the signs of what he is is all there. The werewolf falls to the floor, not moving.

"Come on," I urge as the others recover at the sequence of events that have spanned just a few seconds.

They snap back to reality and we continue to run. We burst out through the open entrance to the castle, which is now on fire, and across the courtyard.

As we pass the Quiddich pitch, a shock wave hits the ground and we stumble. Looking up, a giant heads toward us, swinging one of the Quiddich goals - dripping in blood - in our direction. It whips the ring down, covering us with threads of blood, but narrowly missing us with the hoop. The giant instead scoops up a massive chunk of earth and groans in anger before lumbering stupidly off.

Harry directs us down towards a boat house at the edge of the lake and only now do we slow our pace, moving quietly through the eerie light, then stopping within the safety of the shadows.

As we watch, the embodiment of all I've heard about him steps forward: pale and bald with red eyes and no nose. It's hard to believe he was ever human by looking at him and I can't help but wonder what caused the inhumane appearance. He extends his wand and in the mercurial light, it looks like a living thing.