The Ravenclaw Nine || BTS Harry Potter AU

Chapter 35

Yoongi's Point of View

The taste of smoke still lingered in Yoongi's mouth, and the flames of Fiendfyre remained dancing in his eyes when he and Namjoon Apparated just outside of the Forbidden Forest. Heart physically aching, his knees gave out, and his scorched skin made contact with the freezing snow laid like a pillow upon the ground.

"Y-Yoongi," Namjoon stammered, "we need to keep moving. Once released, Fiendfyre is nearly uncontrollable, and it won't be long before the entire forest burns."

Yoongi's shoulders continued to shake, muttering "Jaelyn" and "Nadya" between strangled sobs.

Two figures emerged from the thick wall of smoke, their breath fogging the muddled air as they coughed and panted. When they drew closer, Yoongi could see that one of them had a motionless body slung over their shoulder. Aviela clung onto Jungkook's arm as he gently lowered an unconscious Chloe to the ground.

Namjoon's breath hitched, and fresh tears streaked through the ash on his cheeks. "She isn't...?"

Jungkook shook his head vigorously, but his hands were shaking all the same. "She just passed out – it was the smoke, I think."

"Where are the others?" Aviela gasped, eyes wide with renewed fear.

As if on cue, three more smoky silhouettes stumbled out of the forest, and Jin Apparated with Jimin moments later. The second that Jimin's grief-stricken eyes fell to Chloe's unconscious form, he sobbed loudly and collapsed beside her, fingers stretching out to hold her hand with all the gentleness in the world. Jin wordlessly knelt beside him, but the tears pouring down his face were a clear indication of his raging emotions.

Yoongi's limited vision allowed a blurry view of Aurors on broomsticks swooping down on the forest and using their combined incantations to quench the Fiendfyre.

Fiendfyre. Nadya. Jaelyn.

What would his life be like without them? How would he survive a day without seeing Jaelyn's bright smile as she skipped up to him in an abandoned corridor? What would he do instead of causing mischief with Nadya, and seeing the excited glimmer in her sharp eyes every time they narrowly missed being found out? He had faced countless hardships in his miserable life, but nothing hurt as much as remembering his best friend sprawled out on the snow, dark eyes cold and blank – nor as much as seeing the resignation in Nadya's eyes as Fiendfyre raged around her.

Slowly, mind-numbing pain raging through his body, he pushed himself to his feet and faced Mrs. Mercier with his harshest glare. Everything was her fault – if she had shown up sooner, Nadya and Jaelyn might still be alive.

Nadya's sharp eyes reflected in her mother's as she abandoned her broomstick and approached the battle-weary group. "The Horcrux, Yoongi," she demanded, disregarding the others. "Is it destroyed?"

"Get bent," he muttered, blinking rapidly as cold flakes of snow pelted his face. Angry heart guiding his actions, he kicked a flurry of snow at the Auror, spraying the frozen substance in her face. She grabbed his wrist, and he instinctively swung his other arm at her. Aviela gasped at the display of violence, but Mrs. Mercier deflected easily and forced him into a headlock.

"Calm yourself, Yoongi," she hissed, tightening her grip as he struggled. "It isn't as though someone has–" But it was, and horrified realization dawned on the woman's face as she recognized the notable absence of a short, sarcastic witch. The moment her grip slackened, Yoongi crumpled against her, the force of his sobs wracking his body. Gentle hands smoothed up and down his back, comforting him with a tortured mother's embrace, but he knew it wouldn't last. "Did you manage to destroy the Horcrux?"