Aria Ashborn and the Deathly Hallows (A Harry Potter fanfic)

Chapter 18: The Prince's Tale

Aria couldn't fathom this. They were doing so well--they were winning--this wasn't supposed to happen! Fred couldn't be dead. There was no way the Weasley twin who brought so much joy and laughter to a world riddled with darkness could be dead. It was as if the world stopped. But unfortunately, it hadn't. A plume of smoke came shooting through the open side of the castle over their heads, zapping out spells at it as it went.

"Get down!" Harry cried, pulling Aria and Hermione behind the tapestry. Ron had to pull a sobbing Percy from Fred's body and out of the way to safety. The plume turned into a Death Eater; Roockwood.

"We've got to move." Harry said, tugging at Aria, "Now!" As Harry led them from behind the tapestry, Roockwood shot a spell at them but Hermione cast a Shield Charm between them.

"Roockwood!" shouted Percy, running at the Death Eater, tears streaming from his face. The two became engaged in a duel, only a few feet from Fred's body. Ron, sorrowful and frustrated, drew his wand and turned to join his brother but Hermione stopped him.

"Ron!" she cried, "You've got to come with us!"

"I've got to fight!"

"And you will." Hermione reasoned, "By killing the snake!"

"We're losing time!" Harry shouted. The four of them sprinted down the stairs. Curses flew by Aria so close that she could feel the force of them blow her hair. Then, Hermione screamed. Aria turned to see monstrous spiders chasing them from the third-floor landing. Ron and Harry turned to fire Stunning spells upon them. The force of both of them managed to overpower the acromantulas long enough for them to reach the entrance hall.

There was so much chaos that Aria was worried that she would lose sight of her friends. McGonagall rushed past them followed by enormous stone statues that had once stood still in the castle. Many strands of her hair had come out of her bun and she donned a large gash on her face. She did not appear to have noticed them. As they rounded a corner they heard her shout.

"CHARGE!"

They saw members of the Order, Kingsley, Lupin, and Arthur Weasley fighting alongside members of the DA, Parvati, Ginny, and Dean. Death Eaters showed no mercy to them, throwing curses and aiming to kill.

"POTTER!" one shouted in the distance. Luckily, the quick distraction gave Parvati time to disarm and stun the Death Eater. Harry, Ron, Aria, and Hermione picked up the pace, running from the entrance hall and into the courtyard. It was far worse. Not only were there Death Eaters and acromantulas, but also giants and trolls. Aria could see the stone bridge on the other side of the courtyard, the one they needed to cross to get to the lake. It seemed almost impossible to get there, however. Portions of the courtyard were in flames and much of the castle lay in crumbled stone throughout their path. In the distance, the Quidditch pitch was aflame. This did not stop Harry, however, and he ran straight for the stone bridge, followed by the other three. Aria wiped her brow as they went.

They narrowly dodged the large foot of a troll before it swung its club, dripping with blood, down upon them. Aria pulled Harry behind a large bell that had fallen and Ron did the same with Hermione. The troll's club swung down and caught the bell causing it to ring loudly in their ears. Aria wished to catch her breath for just a moment, but there was no time. They began to run again, having to move every which way to dodge stray curses. As they reached the stone bridge, they saw wispy, dark shapes out in the distance getting closer and closer.

Aria raised her wand against the dementors, as did the others, but their hearts were still full of the sadness of Fred's death. How many more of their friends were going to die? Aria, who had always had trouble producing a Patronus, was not shocked when she could not. She was very surprised when Harry lowered his wand. Aria could see great fear on Hermione's face. Then, a massive blue glow filled the night. A goat, a hare, a boar, and a fox charged at the dementors.