FOUR PEOPLE ENTERED THE GREAT HALL.
Three of them wore long black robes that flowed around their ankles, and large black hoods covered the tops of their heads. Their faces were hidden under large, metal masks that gleamed under the starlit ceiling. All three of their wands were drawn, and were pointing at the fourth man, who was wearing a traveling cloak.
Death Eaters.
Everyone’s heads turned to them as they entered, and all became silent. But the three Death Eaters weren’t paying attention to them; they all raised their wands in unison, and they all spoke the same words at the same time. “Avada Kedavra!” Green lights all shot from the Death Eaters’ wands and they hit the men directly in the stomach at the same time.
The man was flung backwards, head over heels, and landed against the wall, dead. The room became silent for a second, but suddenly, without warning, half a dozen curses soared through the air towards the three Death Eaters. But they were ready”with a flick of their wands, the curses changed direction and hit the walls of the castle with loud bangs that echoed off my ear drums.
Dust was now swirling through the air, making it very hard to see. I began to cough, and so had many others in the room. I had to get out of there, out of the castle, as fast as I could. I had to stay safe. I could worry about my bravery later; right now, I just had to stay safe.
But how could I get out? I could hardly see anything”dust had gotten into my nose, mouth, and eyes. Plus, it was getting hard to breathe. I held out my wand in front of me in protection. I started to run forwards, towards where I thought the entrance was, but I stopped suddenly. To my left, I heard the Death Eaters dueling someone, but I didn’t care. I needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.
What spell could I use? I had learned dozens of spells, but for some reason, nothing came to my mind. I needed to clear out this dust…
I gripped my wand, and aimed it at the swirling dust in front of me. I concentrated on the dust, and shouted, “Deprimo!”
The wand in my hand suddenly jerked, so hard that I almost dropped it; a giant gust of wind exploded out of my wand, blowing in every direction. The dust in the air was blown away, making it easier to breathe. Now, I could see everything clearly.
The Death Eaters lay on the floor, apparently all cursed by a Stunning spell. There were massive holes in the walls, blowing in clean, fresh air. The stars outside twinkled above the school grounds. The magical ceiling above was no longer there, making the room seem gloomy and dark. More thunderous booms were happening more frequently now, and were getting louder. And then, without warning, a massive bang rang throughout castle. Then came the screaming. It sounded as if many people were being tortured, just out in the corridors.
Holding my wand out farther in protection, I stepped out of the Hall and what I saw shocked me to the core. There were at least a dozen hooded and masked Death Eaters, all of them dueling other students and teachers. A side of the castle was completely blown away, and debris was everywhere. And as I looked at the floor, I saw the body of a third year Hufflepuff student, one that I didn’t know the name of. My stomach lurched as I faced the truth…
Death Eaters had indeed invaded Hogwarts.
Maybe I could still catch up to Holly; but still, I had no idea of knowing where she was now. First things first, either way, I had to get out of the castle. I quickly started to run, and as I was running, I heard a deep voice shout, “Crucio!”
I fell to the floor in agony. My body had been set aflame, burning in unbearable pain. I shouted out as loud as I could, yelling for help, but to no avail. The pain began to get worse. I felt as if every bone in my body was breaking, and I felt like my skull was about to explode. I yelled louder for help, not caring about anyone who heard me. I had never been in such pain ever before. Before I knew it, I was barely gasping for air, for the pain was too much for me to handle.
And just as quickly as it had begun, the pain ended. I gasped for air, laying there for a few seconds. I felt relieved from all of that pain, and my throat hurt from screaming so much.
Finally, I stood up and saw a tall Death Eater, his wand inches from my chest. He raised his wand higher and acted as if he was about to say something, but he suddenly stopped and lowered his wand. “Son?” he asked briefly. Son? What was he talking about, and why had he called me son?
I suddenly recognized the Death Eater’s voice with a burst of anger. “Dad?” I asked through my gritted teeth.
“Owen, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know””
“Dad, you are a”a”Death Eater?” Tears began to swell in my eyes. “How could you?” I asked.
“Son, please, you don’t understand””
“Oh no, I understand,” I interrupted him. “You’ve lied to me, and mom, haven’t you? You’ve been working for You-Know-Who, but you’ve never told us. But you knew that I’d be here tonight, didn’t you? You”you””
The tears began to stroll down my cheeks now. Even though a battle was raging on around us, all I could seem to see was my dad. That was all that mattered.
“Please, son, I had to follow his orders,” my dad said. “If I didn’t, he would’ve killed me, and you and your mother. Now, go and get out of the castle or else I’ll””
“Or you’ll what, dad? Kill me? Well, why not, right? You’ve already killed probably dozens of other people…why not me?” I was shouting now, maybe even screaming, at the top of my lungs. My dad was getting angry as well.
He raised his wand and pointed it at me, but I was ready. I flung my wand up and shouted, “Expelliarmus!”
My dad’s wand flew out of his grip and fell to the floor. I held up my wand and pointed it at my dad, but it was only to scare him away. I knew that I hardly knew any defense spells, and even the ones that I knew probably wouldn’t work. But I kept my face serious and stern.
“Well, well, what have we here?” said a man’s voice from behind me. I slowly turned and I saw another Death Eater, and his wand was aimed at my stomach. This one wasn’t wearing a mask “Are you being a bad boy?” he taunted.
There was no use holding up my wand in defense now”this Death Eater could kill me in a second. “No,” I answered.
“What’s your blood status?” the Death Eater asked.
“Pureblood,” I answered him. It wasn’t a lie, either. My father probably wouldn’t have been able to become a Death Eater is we weren’t. I was waiting for my dad to step in and say to back off, and that I was his son, but he never did. I turned my head slightly to see if he was still there, but my father was gone. I was here, left to die.
“Hmm,” said the Death Eater, thinking. Finally, he raised his wand higher to my face. He opened his mouth, and I braced myself for the curse, shutting my eyes. Through my eyelids, I saw a bright green light flash, but I felt no pain. After a couple of seconds, I opened my eyes and saw the Death Eater lying on the floor, dead.
Who had saved me? I looked around, but everyone else was running around frantically, either dueling or trying to find a safe place. I silently thanked who ever saved my life, and wiped away my tears.