In the Flames (Harry Potter Fanfiction) Marauder's Era

Inferi

_Avia's POV_

When the train pulled in Hogsmeade Station, there was a shudder throughout the whole train. My foot slid off the seat it was resting on, and I swung myself up into a sitting position. The boys all looked at me quizzically, but I just shrugged.

"Maybe it just stopped too suddenly or something," I offered in way of explanation.

They all nodded.

The door opened with a loud BANG. Alice Prewett (who I'd met at Diagon Alley) stood there with panic on her face. She was almost hysterical when she cried, " Everyone needs to get off, now!" 

"What's wrong?" Remus finally asked, fear making his voice higher than usual. 

"Inferi. They killed the driver, and everyone in my compartment. I'm the only other person I know of that's still alive." She panted slightly.

All of this was said in a rush, almost too fast to register. I understood, though, and sprang into action. 

"Move! Inferi means dying, dying horrible, bloody, painful deaths!" I cried, shoving the boys. They finally started moving on their own, and I sighed in relief. 

We were halfway off the Express when the Inferi found us.

"Just run!" I yelled. Everyone else ran, but I lagged behind. There was no way I was letting any of them die. 

Alice and Peter were both slowing down, until they were barely going faster than a walk. The slower they ran, the more panicked they got. 

I glanced behind me. The Inferi were  going the same pace as they were before- almost running. I swivelled around to face the swiftly advancing Inferi. Their rotted eyes locked onto me, and I glared right back. They would probably kill me, but I would not go down without a fight.

No one noticed that the Inferi weren't going after them anymore, but it as probably just as well. The Inferi would kill me quickly, and I wanted my friends off of the train, or at least with a good head start.

The Inferi were closing in. I pulled out my wand and tried a spell. 

"Incendio!" I shrieked. "Incendio! Incendio!" Nothing happened.

One of them scratched a long, deep gash in my left arm. The spell finally worked- sort of. Instead of flames coming out of my wand, my hair, my skin, even my blood turned into a brilliantly blazing fire. The Inferi flinched back as one, and I just knew what I had to do. I touched the Inferi that had scratched me, and it burned. I touched every single one of the animated bodies, and soon my ears were filled with their screams. A minute or so later, all that was left were piles of ash.

I kept walking. I finally found a compartment with Inferi crowding around it. Several were scratching at the glass door. I made short work of them. I opened the door and walked away again, leaving a group of shocked first and second years.

I saved many more students, but I found just as many, if not more, that hadn't survived.

When I finally got to the door, I bowed my head, fighting tears. None of the bodies were any more than bloody mass of mangled flesh and bone. I couldn't help feeling guilty. It was my fault, all my fault. I hadn't gotten to them in time.

 I stepped off the Hogwarts Express and into Hogsmeade Station. The fire died down, leaving me with my normal appearance.

Blood dripped down my arm and trailed behind me as I walked. There was no one in sight. There was a lake quite a bit away, and I could see a castle even farther in the distance. Hogwarts. I sighed and resigned myself to the long walk.