Chapter Ten: The Lockdown
The hall was silent. Every student waited for Maelioric to say something more. Standing before the staff table, Palmyitor took a deep breath. “We don’t want any of you to panic,” she said sternly. “The Death Eaters are not even aware that the school is here. We have our most valuable spies trying to get information on what they are doing so near by.”
Lottie couldn’t breathe. Death Eaters? She thought she had been rid of them for good when she came here.
“We are going to have a lockdown,” Clynalmoy said forcefully. “None of you are to leave this room. We will conjure cots if we must spend the night.”
The three heads turned to each other and conversed in low tones. Students rose to find their friends from other houses and make sure that they were safe. A passing Palmyitor bumped Lottie’s shoulder, jolting her back to reality. She stood up as well. “Andrea?” she called. There was no reply. “Andrea?!” she shouted a little louder. Nothing.
Frantically, Lottie ran up and down the Palmyitor table. “Andrea? Andrea!” Nobody noticed her cries in the panic of the hall. Hands shaking, she forced herself to come to the conclusion that she had been avoiding. Andrea wasn’t there. But Maelioric said they knew where everybody was. Why did he lie? Did he just forget Andrea?
Despite Lottie’s best efforts, tears fell down her face in torrents. Her best friend was probably dead by now and nobody cared. “Rowe?” Stanley turned away from her conversation. “Lottie, what’s up?”
“She--she’s not here!” Lottie shouted through gasps of air.
“Who’s not here?”
“Andrea! I can’t find her!”
“Lottie, the heads know where everybody--”
“Well they must have forgotten her! I can’t find her anywhere!” She stood on the Palmyitor table and surveyed the entire hall. “She’s definitely not here,” she said more firmly. “She may be small, but I’d see her in an instant!”
“Lottie!” Stanley pulled her off the table. “You need to calm down. You--LOTTIE!”
Lottie broke out of Stanley’s grip and ran up to where the heads ignored the utter chaos in the room. “I can’t find Andrea!” she shouted. The three heads turned around.
“Excuse me?” Palmyitor turned around slowly, staring down at Lottie venomously.
“Andrea! Andrea Woolbright! She’s gone missing! I think the Death Eaters--”
“Miss Rowe,” Palmyitor began, “I assure you that she is here. You probably just can’t find her. Every student was in the castle when we got the alarm, with the exception of a few seventh years on the Quidditch Pitch. All of the seventh--”
“Andrea was with them!” Lottie shouted. She pounded her fists against her legs. “She was playing Quidditch with them because--”
“Miss Rowe, I do not want any more of your ridiculous lies. Not one first year is permitted to leave this castle after seven o’clock.”
“Well maybe she broke the rules!” Lottie had to hold onto the table to keep herself from collapsing. “Why won’t you believe me?”
“Miss Rowe, I suggest if you wish to become a master Occlumens, that you keep your emotions under control.”
“I DON’T WANT TO BE A MASTER OCCLUMENS! I JUST WANT TO SAVE ANDREA!”
“Lottie.” Maelioric took her shoulder. “Calm down. She’s a small person. She’s probably just lost in the crowd.”
“SHE’S NOT! I’VE LOOKED FOR HER! LET GO OF ME!”
Lottie pushed Maelioric’s steady hand off her shoulder and ran back to the table. “Stanley,” she panted. “I have to go find her! Nobody will believe me!”
“Rowe, this is a lockdown. You can’t leave. Andrea is fine and you’d just get yourself killed trying to find her.”
“I’m sorry,” Lottie said through gritted teeth, “but I’m not going to let my friend die.”
She ran to the door and tried to pull it open in vain. How could she get out? Scanning the room, she spotted some professors pulling out their wands. They looked like they were going towards the door. Lottie leaned against the wall casually, trying to give off an air of glum resignation.
Professor Stainthorpe cracked open the door. Lottie crept closer. Just as she and Professor Breckenridge left the hall, Lottie stuck her foot in the door. She could feel the eyes of some students on her, so returned to leaning on the wall for a few seconds until the curious students decided that she wasn’t up to anything. Finally, when she was fairly sure that nobody of importance was watching, she slid through the door.
Stainthorpe and Breckenridge were halfway down the corridor. Lottie hastily crept in the other direction. She broke out to a run upon reaching the Entrance Hall and pulled the doors open so quickly that they slammed very loudly once she was outside.
“Lumos,” Lottie whispered. Her wand lit a narrow path along the green grass. The silence of the grounds was even more overwhelming than the chaos of the Great Hall. She wished that there was a whole group of students with her. She wasn’t ready to take on Death Eaters by herself.
A chorus of laughter interrupted her thoughts. Shakily, she followed the noise, being sure to stay out of the light of her wand. Finally, a flickering fire illuminated the trees around her. “Nox.” Lottie spotted a bush close to the Death Eater campsite. Quietly, she managed to get herself in a rather uncomfortable--though safely hidden--position behind it.
“Tell me, girl,” a deep voice echoed across the lawn, “where did you get them nice robes again?”
“I--my father gave them to me.” It was Andrea. Lottie strained to see her face. They had hurt her, Lottie could tell. She quivered under the Death Eaters’ stares.
“And who is your father?”
“I can’t tell you his name,” she said quickly. “He told me never to tell a Death Eater his name.”
“Oh no?” A Death Eater raised his wand and hissed, “Crucio!”
Andrea’s screams made Lottie shake with rage.
“You see, girl,” one Death Eater shouted over her shrieks, “we’re not stupid. We can tell when you’re lying.” The Death Eater who was cursing her lifted his wand, leaving Andrea whimpering on the ground. Towering over her, he delivered a sharp kick to her ribs.
Unable to watch anymore, Lottie shot sparks across the campsite, keeping them low to the ground so they would explode on the other side of a patch of trees.
“Where’d that come from?” asked a large Death Eater.
“Over there!” The man who had kicked Andrea pointed in the opposite direction.
“Well tie ‘er up,” ordered the first Death Eater. “We’ll come back,” he taunted with a smirk at Andrea. “Maybe we’ll meet a friend of hers.”
The biggest Death Eater muttered an incantation, causing ropes to fly out of his wand and tie Andrea to a tree. “Let’s go,” he shouted.
Once the Death Eaters were far enough away, Lottie left her hiding place. “Andrea!” she whispered. “Andrea, it’s okay.”
Andrea opened her eyes slowly. “Lottie?” she breathed. “H-How did you find me? How did you know I was missing?”
“How would I not know you were missing?” Andrea smiled weakly. “Now, hold still. I need to get these ropes off.” Worried that the Death Eaters would return, Lottie bit the rope, trying to break its thick threads. The rope was thick and after about twenty seconds, her gums ached. She tried to push air between her teeth to get the strands of rope out, but couldn’t use enough time to make a significant difference. The rope snapped. Lottie revealed her bloodstained teeth with a weak smile.
“Come on!” Lottie held out her hand to Andrea.
“Lottie, I--I don’t think I can stand.”
“Couldn’t have been more wrong!” came one of the Death Eater’s voices from nearby.
“Okay.” Lottie ran a hand through her hair anxiously. “Okay, this is going to hurt, but it’s the only way we’ve got.”
Carefully, Lottie picked up Andrea, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees and shoulder. Andrea gasped for breath sharply. “I’m sorry,” Lottie whispered.
The Death Eaters were near the camp by now. Holding Andrea as tightly as she could, Lottie started towards the castle. She could see Andrea’s eyes drooping as she ran.
“L--Lottie…”
Lottie couldn’t respond before Andrea lost consciousness.
“Hey, you!” shouted a Death Eater.
Swearing to herself, Lottie dodged behind a tree.
“Who was there?” asked one of the men.
“I thought I saw a girl,” the first one answered. He pulled out his wand and turned to where Andrea had been. “Oi! Where did the other girl go?”
Lottie didn’t wait to take advantage of the distraction. Using a sudden burst of adrenaline, she ran up to the castle. The door to the Entrance Hall was well in sight. As Lottie approached, the door swung open.
“Rowe?” It was Stainthorpe. “What--”
“Please,” Lottie shouted. “The Death Eaters had her. They--they’re looking for us.”
“Cormag,” Stainthorpe said quickly to Professor Breckenridge. “Go sort that out. Come with me, Rowe.”
Panting heavily, Lottie followed Stainthorpe to the hospital wing on the third floor. She couldn’t even feel her arms anymore. In the hospital wing, the nurse, Professor Waterman (who also taught a Healing Class for upperclassmen) rushed over. “What on earth happened?” she asked.
“Apparently,” Stainthorpe said grimly, “we missed one student in our count.”
“Oh, Lord.” Waterman took Andrea gingerly out of Lottie’s arms and placed her on a nearby bed. “Are you hurt, Rowe?” she asked.
“No. I don’t think so.” Lottie sat down on a bed opposite Andrea’s. “My arms hurt,” she added.
“Well, that’s to be expected, dear,” Waterman replied busily. “Marianne--” she turned to Stainthorpe “--go and get the heads. I’m sure they’ll want to see this.”
“I’m on my way.” Stainthorpe spun around and left the hospital wing at a run.
Taking a deep breath, Lottie rubbed her eyes tiredly. Relief flooded her, but anger still flickered in her shaking hands. Why had nobody believed her? If she hadn’t gone out alone, Andrea would have died. Well they would learn to trust her soon enough.
“What happened?” Palmyitor burst through the doors of the hospital wing. “Where is she?” She paused, spotting Lottie sitting on the bed. “Rowe? What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?!” Lottie shouted. “I just saved Andrea from Death Eaters because you wouldn’t believe me!”
“Calm down, Rowe.” The other two heads and Stainthorpe came running through the door. “Marianne, where did you find her?”
“Outside, in front of the doors to the Entrance Hall. She had Woolbright in her arms.”
Lottie nodded vigorously. “Because--”
“Is it safe to revive her?”
”WHY WON’T YOU LISTEN TO ME? I’M NOT LYING!”
Palmyitor raised and eyebrow. “I am not listening to you because you are completely irrational when you’re angry. Why you are in my house, I don’t know.”
Blushing, Lottie stared at the ground. If she ever wanted to be an Occlumens, she would need to control her emotions.
“It seems to me she has a broken rib,” Waterman said. “As long as I administer a pain potion, she should be fine for the time being.” Waterman pointed her wand at Andrea and said, “Ennervate.”
Gasping, Andrea opened her eyes wildly. “Wha--wh--”
“Take this dear.” Waterman gave Andrea a small cup. “It’s for pain.”
Andrea drank obediently. Lottie was surprised by her calmness. Maybe she could learn how to control her emotions from her.
“What happened, Woolbright?” demanded Palmyitor.
“I--” Andrea looked at Lottie and smiled weakly. “I was playing Quidditch with some seventh years,” she said. “They wanted me as their Seeker because I’m small and light. One of them said that they saw figures approaching. They left to go tell somebody, and I stayed behind to clean up the brooms.”
“But how did they see you? With all of the enchantments on the castle--”
“We might,” Andrea began, not making eye contact with any of the teachers, “have been playing a little too far away from the castle.”
Maelioric chuckled. “Must have been Raydon you were playing with, eh? Well I’ll give him a talking right when I see him.” He nodded mockingly seriously at Palmyitor.
“Then?” Palmyitor said, ignoring Clynalmoy’s smile.
“Then the Death Eaters caught me,” Andrea said shakily. “There was nothing I could do. I was so outnumbered and I don’t know enough magic.” An awkward silence ensued and was only broken when Andrea continued. “They kept asking me who I was and when I wouldn’t tell them, they cursed me.”
“What was the curse?”
“I don’t know, but the incantation was Crucio.”
Stainthorpe gasped. Palmyitor put a hand to her mouth.
“What’s wrong?”
“That is not a friendly spell to be hit with,” Maelioric said with a grimace.
“And then sparks shot in the air. I think it was Lottie,” Andrea continued. Lottie nodded. “But the Death Eaters thought it came from the other direction, so they went to go check it out. When they were gone, Lottie came and carried me back to the castle.”
“I must say,” said Stainthorpe, “I am very impressed, Miss Rowe.”
Lottie tried to hide her smile with a shrug.
“She not only escaped from several Death Eaters, but she also saved a fellow student.”
“I believe a celebration is in order!” Maelioric said gleefully.
“Death Eaters or not,” Palmyitor intervened, “you still left the castle when I told you not to.”
Jaw wide open, Lottie shouted, “WHAT?! I mean…” She coughed and looked at the floor. “I was--was just doing what I thought was right.”
“What you thought was right nearly got you killed.
Lottie had the strong urge to talk back, but kept herself under control. She couldn’t lose control of her temper, especially with Palmyitor around. She would never become a master Occlumens if she let her emotions run loose.
“Oh look at that,” Palmyitor hummed, meeting Lottie’s stare. “She’s learning. Self-control is the first step to success in my house.” She shifted her gaze to Andrea. “I would suggest stopping your Quidditch sessions with older students. A girl your size can only get hurt.”
Behind her back, Maelioric shook his head and mouthed ‘It’s okay.’
“We should let these girls get their rest Naesa,” Stainthorpe said quickly so Palmyitor wouldn’t notice what Maelioric had just done. “They’ve had a rough night.”
Palmyitor replied by clucking her tongue. “Very well,” she said. “Good evening.”
Clynalmoy broke his silence. “I suggest,” the quiet man said, “that both of you spend the night in here.” After a pause, he added, “I can only imagine the questions waiting for you behind that grandfather clock of Naesa’s.” With a smile, he opened the doors to the hospital wing and left, followed by Stainthorpe and Palmyitor.
Maelioric stood in place for just a moment longer, saying, “No matter what Professor Palmyitor said, you girls did an excellent job. Goodnight!” He slipped through the door and shut it carefully.
“What was that all about?” Lottie blurt out.
“What?”
“Why does Palmyitor hate me?” Lottie pouted. “What did I do wrong?”
Andrea shrugged. “I’m not sure if she really hates you,” she said. “I think she just expects a lot from you.”
Lottie flopped onto the bed. “I doubt that. I can hardly perform a disarming charm without help. And you heard her; I can never be an Occlumens because I can’t control myself.”
“You did a pretty good job at that campsite.”
Lottie shrugged and sat up to pull off her boots.
“Oh dear,” came Professor Waterman’s voice from a potions closet. “We don’t have much for the Cruciatus Curse, but the pain potion I gave you should be enough.”
Fascinated, Lottie watched as Waterman prodded Andrea’s ribcage with her wand, suddenly healing the injured bone. Once Andrea had taken all sorts of medicines, Waterman put out the torches lining the wall and returned to her dormitory.
Lottie crawled into her bed, still in uniform and tried to make herself comfortable.
“Hey Lottie? Andrea whispered from her left.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
Halfway to Infinity by Eponine
Chapter Notes: This took really long. All the same excuses that I'm sure you're all used to by now. Thanks a bajillion times over again to TheBird and Deanine! They really had to go through hell for this one... let's just say I might have sent the un-proof read version instead of the edited version to them and that I happen to have made an ungodly amount of typos that weren't edited in the un-proof read version. Kudos to them for not ripping their hair out! Anyway, here's chapter ten!