Everything happened in the blink of an eye to Harry.
The four Animagi rushed the front stage, so quick that the Death Eaters and Voldemort almost didn’t have enough time to arm themselves. Lita aimed her crossbow at the platform and released a few more arrows. Griff and Raven were forced to dive out of the way. Shawn swung his battle-axe downward towards Voldemort’s head, but Sylvain cast a disarming spell to knock it from his hands.
Not at all shocked, Shawn draws a wand form inside his cloak and cast a stunning spell at Sylvain.
Stacy moved quickly over to Harry. “Get the kids back to the train,” she said. “Quickly.”
Harry wasn’t sure what he should do, but he seemed to be doing something. He bounded down the platform and started shouting. “Everyone, back to the train! Hurry!”
The other students needed little encouragement to leave the enraging battle that was being waged in front of them. They ran through the stone tunnels in the opposite direction they had been led through earlier. However, the group had not gone thirty feet before a horde of Death Eaters stopped them in the tunnel.
No one moved.
Harry knew that they could not duel here, without wands, but there were a great many more students then there were Death Eaters. Maybe there was something they could do.
“Tackle them!” he yelled out.
As one, the students collided with the waiting dark wizards and forced them to the ground. A few Death Eaters tried to cast spells, but could not get the incantation out before a young wizard pushed them down. They trampled the Death Eaters and continued on towards the train.
The train was guarded when the students had been taken off, but now it deserted. Death Eater bodies lay on the platform, unconscious. Harry looked around, expecting to see Aurors somewhere, but only saw younger students with wands brandished. One third-year boy looked up at Harry as he approached. “They didn’t take away our wands. We thought we could do something.”
Harry was impressed. Snape must have been a better teacher then he thought. The older students helped the younger ones back onto the train, after they retrieved their wands from the compartments they were left in. They formed a perimeter around the train, waiting for Kevin and the others to come back down the tunnel.
The focus of the students was so intense, that no one seemed to notice one Death Eater regaining consciousness. He stirred slightly, but made no obvious move. Hermione was walking along the side of the train. When she got close to the revived Death Eater, he jumped to his feet and threw an arm around her throat. She screamed, suddenly, and tried to wriggle herself free from his grip. The others turned to see what was happening. Ron and Harry aimed their wands, but did not attack.
“No one make a move,” the Death Eater said. “Unless you want this mudblood dead, I suggest you put your wands down.” They all lowered their wands. “Good, good. Now, don’t follow us, or she’s as good as dead.” He slowly backed towards the stone wall. Reaching behind himself with his free hand, he pushed a portion of the wall in, and a new tunnel opening appeared. He dragged Hermione through the opening, as it closed after them.
Ron and Harry ran after them. They started patting the wall, looking for the spot that the Death Eater had pushed to open the tunnel. “Where is it?” Ron said, to himself. “Where is the blasted thing?”
Ginny ran over and helped them look for the switch. Ron’s hand suddenly sunk into the wall and the tunnel opened. He turned to his sister. “Ginny, stay here.” She started to protest. “Don’t say anything. When Kevin gets here, tell him to find us.” He waved at Harry. “Let’s go.”
Harry was impressed at Ron’s attitude. He followed his friend through the opening.
***********************************************
Kevin kicked at the wall that Voldemort and his sons had just escaped through. “A secret opening,” he said. “Typical coward behavior.” He turned to the Animagi. “Fifty bucks says there are about a thousand of these in this mountain. Any takers?”
They all shook their heads. “No way, Kevin,” Chris said. “We’re not chumps.”
Kevin smiled. They all ran from the room, down the tunnel towards the train. Soon after, they came upon a cluster of fallen Death Eaters. They tiptoed over the bodies, not wanting to kick one of them awake. “Guess the kids found a way to fight,” Lita said. When they reached the train platform, they found more Death Eaters unconscious and the students forming a protective line around the train. “What have you been teaching these kids, Kev?” Lita asked.
Kevin looked as amazed as she did. “Well, I expected that they would be able to take on a few Death Eaters, but I didn’t expect this.”
They walked towards the train as Ginny ran up to them. “Hermione was taken! Ron and Harry went after her! Through the wall!”
Kevin put his hands on her shoulders. “Calm down, Ginny. What happened?”
Ginny took a breath. “A Death Eater grabbed Hermione and dragged her through an opening in the wall. Ron and Harry went to find them.”
“Show me.”
She led him over to the spot where the Death Eater had gone through. Pressing a spot on the wall, the opening slid away. Chris looked down the tunnel. “Good thing we didn’t take that bet.”
Kevin turned to Ginny. “Stay here and get the conductor ready to take the train out of here. We’ll go find the others.”
Ginny did not argue as the older wizards ran through the secret tunnel.
**************************************************
Hermione was dragged through the tunnels by her arm. Her wrists were bound behind her back and her wand had been taken from her. The Death Eater moved at a quick pace, and twice she had tripped and fallen. Her lip had been busted open from falling, and blood was running down her chin.
He came to an enclosed cavern and pushed her inside. Her shoulder hit the wall, causing her to cringe in pain and tears to form in her eyes. She wasn’t sure why she had been taken this far into the mountain, but the words of Voldemort from earlier rung loud in her ears.
Was this Death Eater going to do something to her? Was she going to be violated? As strong as she tried to be, Hermione was helpless and afraid.
The Death Eater poked his head into the corridor, looked around and then walked back into the cavern. He glared at her with a menacing stare. “Do you know who I am, mudblood?”
Hermione couldn’t understand what he meant, but she tried to remember. His face was familiar, but she couldn’t remember from where. She was too terrified for her own self to think clearly. “No…I can’t…”
His lips curled into a smile. “How could you forget me? We met almost one year ago at the Ministry of Magic. You were very special to me, in that you were the first one to fall victim to one of my own curses. Only wizards that train for years can create spells and curses, and those that are trained can only create a few. I have the unique gift in that I have created several curses of my own. The one I used on you was the first of my creation, and it should have been the first of many that I would use to aid my Dark Lord in his conquest.
“But because of your mudblood and Muggle-loving friends, I and my fellow Death Eaters were held in Azkaban Prison and all our efforts were for nothing.” He walked over to her and stroked her cheek with his hand. She trembled under his touch. “Now, though, I can see the results of my curse in its entirety.”
Hermione was in complete terror now. This Death Eater was Antonin Dolohov, the Death Eater that had cursed her in the Department of Mysteries. This was the man that Kevin had warned her about. He had failed to kill her then, so he was going to do it now. It was no longer her body she feared for, but her life.
Dolohov stepped back from her, and drew his wand. “Your friend Potter has an uncanny ability to be saved at just the right moment, but is the same true for you? We shall see.”
***************************************************
Harry followed Ron as he ran down the stone corridor. He was amazed at how fast his friend was moving; though, if it had been Ginny that had been taken, he would probably be running as fast as Ron was.
They followed the twisting tunnel for what seemed like hours on end. There were no side passages that Hermione could have been taken down. If there was another secret passage, there was no way that they could have known. What was worse, in Harry’s opinion, was if they happened to run into Voldemort or one of the other Death Eaters.
The tunnel kept going on deeper into the mountains, but they didn’t bother following it. They had found a side cavern with two people inside, one standing and another lying on the ground. Ron stepped inside, mouth open but no sound coming from it.
Harry leaned down over the fallen body. Hermione stood over them both with her wand in her hand. She was shaking from head to toe with tears in her eyes. Ron put his hands on her shoulders. “Hermione, are you ok?” She didn’t answer. “Hermione?” he said again. “What happened?”
“Ron,” Harry said, drawing his friend's attention away from his girlfriend. “This is Antonin Dolohov.
“And he’s dead.”