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This was madness, pure madness. Thankfully, most of us had survived the opening battle on the school. Thankfully, Lord Voldemort called off his Death Eaters to give us a break, to give us time to recover and—and to find those we lost who fought for the cause. However, Lord Voldemort wanted Harry Potter, and he was determined to kill anybody in his path to get to Harry.
I shuddered, recalling the chilling voice that made me cower in fear. Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you. On this night, you have allowed your friends to die for you...rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonor. Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me.
As if enough people on our side hadn't died already...
It was the middle of the night at Hogwarts. Instead of being in the Great Hall like everybody else, I was curled into a ball in what was left of the courtyard. The dull reminders of giants roaring, battle cries, and yells echoed in my head.
Nobody had bothered to see me since I was hidden by the darkness. Those on our side had come to collect our dead, leaving our enemies to rot on our grounds. They deserved to lie there on the ground for what they did to us.
I was afraid to go into the Great Hall, afraid to find people I knew dead. It was obvious Harry wasn't dead since Voldemort wanted him still. Really, over my seven years at Hogwarts, Harry was the only person I became close with—other than Ginny Weasley, Cho Chang, and Luna Lovegood. Who was to say that a Ravenclaw couldn't make friends with students from other Houses?
I popped my dirty head up; strings of dark blonde hair fell in front of my eyes. I was covered in dirt, and my arms and legs ached. I had never wanted to know what it felt like to be in the heat of battle. This was just the calm before the second storm, whenever it would hit.
Slowly, I forced myself to stand on my wobbly legs. I felt okay, minus the aches coursing throughout my body. I inhaled, looking at the Great Hall doors, pondering whether or not I should even bother making the journey in there.
A figure stepping into the courtyard made me jump. With weary light blue eyes, I tried to home in on the person's features.
They looked battle-worn, like me, though not as dirty. They had a tired look about their body stature. It was hard to tell whether his hair was actually dark or not, since there was no light to help me see him better. He took his time, wading through the practically demolished courtyard, completely unaware that I was watching him.
When I heard him speak, I knew exactly who it was.
"There's no other choice," he muttered to himself. "It's got to be done..."
Harry. What was he doing out here? There was no way he came out here for some alone time...
There's no other choice. It's got to be done. I blanched, Harry's words clicking together in my head.
