Somewhere below the canopy of trees...
Visibility was low. Here, amid the gloomy depths of the forbidden forest it was impossible to tell the hour of the day. Strange phosphorescent fungi glowed eerily from the damp ground. Padma and Valerius stepped cautiously through the undergrowth, keeping a wary eye on the lurking shadows. Well practised in stealth, they moved in silent synchronicity. There were too many hidden dangers here, too many sounds which might alert enemies to their presence. Silencing charms around their feet might prevent the occasional crack of broken branches, but they wouldn't stop startled blackbirds broadcasting their location to the world.
Padma's nostrils flared as the rank scent of wild animal assailed them briefly. She moved, like Valerius, as smoothly as possible; trying to emulate not the sharp, fleeting movements of prey but the confident slink of a predator. A high-pitched shriek sounded, a way off. Narrowing her eyes for a moment, she thought she could make out a pale shape ahead and to the left. Then it was gone.
They must have been insane to choose the forest, Valerius reflected. Nonetheless, the ground battle had started in earnest, and the area had to be secured. Padma was not good on a broom, and if he was honest, he was not entirely comfortable in the air either; he was a fair flyer, but never quidditch material. No, this was where he could use his skills to greatest effect.
A persistent clicking sound, which had begun very faintly, grew louder as they drew near a small clearing, and Padma gave an involuntary shudder. She wasn't sure what was worse; not knowing what might be waiting beneath the leaves, or knowing full well what it was, that it had already been alerted to their presence and knowing that one miscast shield could be deadly. She tightened her grip on her wand, and continued.
The scream came from far above - but almost directly above, and was almost immediately drowned in the clamour of panicked birds. What the...? Wide eyed and half crouched to move as quickly as possible, Padma glanced upwards at the thick canopy. Not a harpy scream, that was a human scream...
"Val! Look out!"
Valerius was already turning towards the agonising, heart-wrenching sound. If they're screaming, they're still alive. He glanced up, trying to see through the patches of foliage to the sky above. In that split second, the horrific sight of a figure plummeting through the air etched itself indelibly into his mind. The body crashed through the canopy of trees, snapping and tearing through the smaller branches like a broken rag-doll.
One of Flavius Visconti's favourite methods of torture had been to levitate his children over something lethal, and depending on his mood, forget about them, or let them gradually fall. Valerius was fast. Years of acting on reflex had seen to that.
"Levicorpus!"
He was fast, but not fast enough. Seconds before the spell took effect, the body hit a large branch with a sickening crunch, and the scream cut off abruptly. With a colossal splintering noise, the branch crashed to the forest floor and what seemed like a thousand beetles leapt from the dead wood and skittered away.
White-faced, Valerius channelled all of his energy into the levitation spell, until he was certain that the body was held securely. If this worked, perhaps something good might have come from his years of torture, after all. Heart in his mouth, he gradually lowered his wand, bringing the slight figure to the ground as gently as he could, then half leaped, half tripped to cover the small distance between them.
"It's Hermione Granger!"
Valerius sheathed his wand and slid to his knees beside the crumpled form. He gently felt for a pulse. After a moment he glanced up at his fiancée.
"She is alive."
Hermione's body lay motionless, her clothes torn and her arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Padma would have thought her dead if it had not been for her face, scratched raw and streaked with leaf-mould; though her eyes were closed, there was no relaxation in her features, her lips tightly stretched over her teeth. Her expression instantly recognisable to anyone who had suffered the Cruciatus curse.
The Gryffindor's expression was all too familiar to Valerius. Every muscle stretched taut, every nerve-ending firing at once, Hermione had gone into spasm. Hands shaking from the sudden rush of adrenaline, he reached to loosen her clothing and check for further injury.
"Granger?" Sliding one hand beneath her, he supported her head through the worst of the tremors. "Granger, I know you can hear me. You must to stop fighting it. You will make it worse."
The pain would be unbearable at this point, he knew, yet he had to somehow try to get through to her. If she continued to resist the curse, she would tear ligaments.
"Granger... let it take you. Granger?..." he glanced helplessly towards Padma.
"Hermione?"
Kneeling beside Hermione, Padma met Val's eyes. This wasn't good. With her arm broken, or perhaps the shoulder was dislocated, the Gryffindor oughtn't to move, but fighting the spasms would be just as Val had said. From experience, Padma knew it would be agony to be touched, that even the lightest contact would scream through Hermione's body. "Pain relief. What potions did we bring?" she asked Valerius quietly.
"I do not think we have anything effective. It is not possible to dull the cruciatus pain with a potion, and she has.. she has bone damage here." Nonetheless, reaching into his robes with his free hand, Valerius pulled out a small black vial. "This may help once the curse has left her. Try to put only three drops in the corner of her mouth?"
Padma took the vial from Valerius and bent closer to the wounded witch. "Hermione? It's us, it's Padma and Valerius. You're going to be all right, I know you're in pain but you have to do as Val says. Don't fight it..." Murmuring all the while, such nonsensical, calming words as sprung to mind, she waited...and waited...for the violent twitching to cease.
Hermione tried to open her eyes, then gave up as the effort sent her into spasm again. "It w...s. W's Mlf." She groaned.
"Shh. Don't try to speak just yet." One arm around Hermione, Padma unstoppered the vial with her teeth, then spat out the cork. "Now, this is going to feel wet but it's ok, it's a healing draught..."
As Padma attempted to administer the potion, Valerius continued to support and cushion Hermione's head. He glanced up at his fiancé and smiled. They both shared this pain, and knew exactly what the Gryffindor was going through.
The smile she returned was a wry one, as the memories of the cruciatus curse forked over her body like a burning ghost.
Oblivious to all of this, Hermione lay as still as possible, feeling the cold potion trickle over her tongue and down her throat. Every muscle in her body felt as if it were on fire. She knew she'd injured her arm somehow but she could barely feel the difference.
The forest seemed to close in on the little clearing with every minute. Each tap, or creak, or rustle made the hairs rise on the back of Padma's neck. They'd have to move soon. She gazed anxiously at Valerius.
"She needs a mediwitch." Valerius said quietly. He looked down at Hermione's crumpled form. "I can help her through the Cruciatus, but I cannot set bones."
Padma nodded. She bit her lip; it would be senseless for them both to waste their portkeys, and she knew they'd have to be separated.
At this moment, Hermione groaned and turned her head rather unfortunately in the direction of Valerius' supporting arm.
"Granger.." Valerius hesitated. "Hermione, listen to me. As soon as you can, you need to stretch your legs. It will hurt very bad, but if you do not do this the Cruciatus will..." He stopped suddenly, and gazed down at her in dismay.
Shaking, Hermione turned her pale face upwards, her eyes clouded with pain. "S...sorry Vs..." He'd asked her to do something. To stretch? Her stomach roiled again, and she braced herself.
"Ahh, molte grazie." Valerius sighed, yet made no attempt to move away as Hermione vomited, knowing that sudden movement could cause her further injury. Feeling nauseous himself, he shifted ever so slightly, gently turning her so that there was no possible danger she could choke. "Is all right." He soothed, in the caring voice he usually reserved for his sister. "You will feel better now." It was not surprising she was sick, he reflected. To be hit by Cruciatus was bad enough in itself, and then to fall all that way, staring death in the face? She must have been absolutely terrified. He felt her relax and slump against him, and used the edge of his robes to wipe her face. "You are safe now. Everything will be all right."
The absurdity of being spoken to like that by someone like Visconti... Hermione garbled another apology, her eyes closing. It was too much effort to keep them open.
A sudden noise behind them caused Padma to look round. It was difficult enough to see in the gloom, and the creatures who lived here were stealthy... she could see nothing. "There's something," she whispered. "We've got to get Hermione out of here."
Valerius also tensed and drew his wand. Wary now, he scanned the area, peering through the gloom of the trees. "You still have a portkey?" He asked Padma, hating the fact that they would be separated. At least she will be safe... He told himself, and took considerable comfort from that as he gently began to transfer Hermione into Padma's arms. "You must take her..."
Padma, who was about to say the same thing, only that Valerius should be the one to take the Gryffindor, swallowed. "We said..." she faltered, and then nodded.
Taking the burden of Hermione's weight from Valerius, she didn't take her eyes off him as she slid her free hand towards the portkey in her pocket.
"Be safe, caro," she whispered.
Valerius reached across and briefly touched Padma on the shoulder, meeting her gaze. "I love you." He said simply. "And I will see you again, very soon."
He took a deep breath and moved away, breaking the connection so that they could portkey to safety.
Padma's fingers touched her pocket, and stilled suddenly. Something's wrong. Tearing her gaze from Val's, she looked sharply to her left. Really wrong. There was something in the shadows, a glimpse of something pale, something...
Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to warn Valerius.
From the edge of the clearing, the silvery mask glinted, a twisted visage shimmering beneath the gloomy trees. It lent anonymity to its wearer, and bolstered him with courage.
Draco had seen Visconti and Patil, and had settled against the trunk of a large oak, watching. What were they doing? How could he use this to his advantage? They were clearly interested in something on the ground, yet he was too far away to see what that was.
At the back of his mind the Dark Lord was already punishing him for running away from Potter and his friends, instead of seeing the job through. Now, here was a situation he could use to redeem himself. Visconti was one of the wanted, wasn't he? A blood traitor. And Patil, well, he'd never liked her anyhow. Who should he take first?
Visconti. It was only logical. Assuming that he was the stronger fighter, and Draco knew very well the other Slytherin's reputation in a duel. Take him now, while his back is turned, and then deal with Patil while she's panicking and distraught.
That.. that was a Plan.
Could he really do this?
Hesitantly, Draco raised his wand.
Could he face the Dark Lord and explain that he'd failed twice?
Squinting down the length of the wand, he took aim, making sure that the Italian was well in his sights. At the last minute, something caught his eye. Patil - she'd seen him. She was about to raise the alarm.
Panicked, he swung the wand around.
"Avada Kedavra."
Padma's nostrils flared as the rank scent of wild animal assailed them briefly. She moved, like Valerius, as smoothly as possible; trying to emulate not the sharp, fleeting movements of prey but the confident slink of a predator. A high-pitched shriek sounded, a way off. Narrowing her eyes for a moment, she thought she could make out a pale shape ahead and to the left. Then it was gone.
They must have been insane to choose the forest, Valerius reflected. Nonetheless, the ground battle had started in earnest, and the area had to be secured. Padma was not good on a broom, and if he was honest, he was not entirely comfortable in the air either; he was a fair flyer, but never quidditch material. No, this was where he could use his skills to greatest effect.
A persistent clicking sound, which had begun very faintly, grew louder as they drew near a small clearing, and Padma gave an involuntary shudder. She wasn't sure what was worse; not knowing what might be waiting beneath the leaves, or knowing full well what it was, that it had already been alerted to their presence and knowing that one miscast shield could be deadly. She tightened her grip on her wand, and continued.
The scream came from far above - but almost directly above, and was almost immediately drowned in the clamour of panicked birds. What the...? Wide eyed and half crouched to move as quickly as possible, Padma glanced upwards at the thick canopy. Not a harpy scream, that was a human scream...
"Val! Look out!"
Valerius was already turning towards the agonising, heart-wrenching sound. If they're screaming, they're still alive. He glanced up, trying to see through the patches of foliage to the sky above. In that split second, the horrific sight of a figure plummeting through the air etched itself indelibly into his mind. The body crashed through the canopy of trees, snapping and tearing through the smaller branches like a broken rag-doll.
One of Flavius Visconti's favourite methods of torture had been to levitate his children over something lethal, and depending on his mood, forget about them, or let them gradually fall. Valerius was fast. Years of acting on reflex had seen to that.
"Levicorpus!"
He was fast, but not fast enough. Seconds before the spell took effect, the body hit a large branch with a sickening crunch, and the scream cut off abruptly. With a colossal splintering noise, the branch crashed to the forest floor and what seemed like a thousand beetles leapt from the dead wood and skittered away.
White-faced, Valerius channelled all of his energy into the levitation spell, until he was certain that the body was held securely. If this worked, perhaps something good might have come from his years of torture, after all. Heart in his mouth, he gradually lowered his wand, bringing the slight figure to the ground as gently as he could, then half leaped, half tripped to cover the small distance between them.
"It's Hermione Granger!"
Valerius sheathed his wand and slid to his knees beside the crumpled form. He gently felt for a pulse. After a moment he glanced up at his fiancée.
"She is alive."
Hermione's body lay motionless, her clothes torn and her arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Padma would have thought her dead if it had not been for her face, scratched raw and streaked with leaf-mould; though her eyes were closed, there was no relaxation in her features, her lips tightly stretched over her teeth. Her expression instantly recognisable to anyone who had suffered the Cruciatus curse.
The Gryffindor's expression was all too familiar to Valerius. Every muscle stretched taut, every nerve-ending firing at once, Hermione had gone into spasm. Hands shaking from the sudden rush of adrenaline, he reached to loosen her clothing and check for further injury.
"Granger?" Sliding one hand beneath her, he supported her head through the worst of the tremors. "Granger, I know you can hear me. You must to stop fighting it. You will make it worse."
The pain would be unbearable at this point, he knew, yet he had to somehow try to get through to her. If she continued to resist the curse, she would tear ligaments.
"Granger... let it take you. Granger?..." he glanced helplessly towards Padma.
"Hermione?"
Kneeling beside Hermione, Padma met Val's eyes. This wasn't good. With her arm broken, or perhaps the shoulder was dislocated, the Gryffindor oughtn't to move, but fighting the spasms would be just as Val had said. From experience, Padma knew it would be agony to be touched, that even the lightest contact would scream through Hermione's body. "Pain relief. What potions did we bring?" she asked Valerius quietly.
"I do not think we have anything effective. It is not possible to dull the cruciatus pain with a potion, and she has.. she has bone damage here." Nonetheless, reaching into his robes with his free hand, Valerius pulled out a small black vial. "This may help once the curse has left her. Try to put only three drops in the corner of her mouth?"
Padma took the vial from Valerius and bent closer to the wounded witch. "Hermione? It's us, it's Padma and Valerius. You're going to be all right, I know you're in pain but you have to do as Val says. Don't fight it..." Murmuring all the while, such nonsensical, calming words as sprung to mind, she waited...and waited...for the violent twitching to cease.
Hermione tried to open her eyes, then gave up as the effort sent her into spasm again. "It w...s. W's Mlf." She groaned.
"Shh. Don't try to speak just yet." One arm around Hermione, Padma unstoppered the vial with her teeth, then spat out the cork. "Now, this is going to feel wet but it's ok, it's a healing draught..."
As Padma attempted to administer the potion, Valerius continued to support and cushion Hermione's head. He glanced up at his fiancé and smiled. They both shared this pain, and knew exactly what the Gryffindor was going through.
The smile she returned was a wry one, as the memories of the cruciatus curse forked over her body like a burning ghost.
Oblivious to all of this, Hermione lay as still as possible, feeling the cold potion trickle over her tongue and down her throat. Every muscle in her body felt as if it were on fire. She knew she'd injured her arm somehow but she could barely feel the difference.
The forest seemed to close in on the little clearing with every minute. Each tap, or creak, or rustle made the hairs rise on the back of Padma's neck. They'd have to move soon. She gazed anxiously at Valerius.
"She needs a mediwitch." Valerius said quietly. He looked down at Hermione's crumpled form. "I can help her through the Cruciatus, but I cannot set bones."
Padma nodded. She bit her lip; it would be senseless for them both to waste their portkeys, and she knew they'd have to be separated.
At this moment, Hermione groaned and turned her head rather unfortunately in the direction of Valerius' supporting arm.
"Granger.." Valerius hesitated. "Hermione, listen to me. As soon as you can, you need to stretch your legs. It will hurt very bad, but if you do not do this the Cruciatus will..." He stopped suddenly, and gazed down at her in dismay.
Shaking, Hermione turned her pale face upwards, her eyes clouded with pain. "S...sorry Vs..." He'd asked her to do something. To stretch? Her stomach roiled again, and she braced herself.
"Ahh, molte grazie." Valerius sighed, yet made no attempt to move away as Hermione vomited, knowing that sudden movement could cause her further injury. Feeling nauseous himself, he shifted ever so slightly, gently turning her so that there was no possible danger she could choke. "Is all right." He soothed, in the caring voice he usually reserved for his sister. "You will feel better now." It was not surprising she was sick, he reflected. To be hit by Cruciatus was bad enough in itself, and then to fall all that way, staring death in the face? She must have been absolutely terrified. He felt her relax and slump against him, and used the edge of his robes to wipe her face. "You are safe now. Everything will be all right."
The absurdity of being spoken to like that by someone like Visconti... Hermione garbled another apology, her eyes closing. It was too much effort to keep them open.
A sudden noise behind them caused Padma to look round. It was difficult enough to see in the gloom, and the creatures who lived here were stealthy... she could see nothing. "There's something," she whispered. "We've got to get Hermione out of here."
Valerius also tensed and drew his wand. Wary now, he scanned the area, peering through the gloom of the trees. "You still have a portkey?" He asked Padma, hating the fact that they would be separated. At least she will be safe... He told himself, and took considerable comfort from that as he gently began to transfer Hermione into Padma's arms. "You must take her..."
Padma, who was about to say the same thing, only that Valerius should be the one to take the Gryffindor, swallowed. "We said..." she faltered, and then nodded.
Taking the burden of Hermione's weight from Valerius, she didn't take her eyes off him as she slid her free hand towards the portkey in her pocket.
"Be safe, caro," she whispered.
Valerius reached across and briefly touched Padma on the shoulder, meeting her gaze. "I love you." He said simply. "And I will see you again, very soon."
He took a deep breath and moved away, breaking the connection so that they could portkey to safety.
Padma's fingers touched her pocket, and stilled suddenly. Something's wrong. Tearing her gaze from Val's, she looked sharply to her left. Really wrong. There was something in the shadows, a glimpse of something pale, something...
Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to warn Valerius.
From the edge of the clearing, the silvery mask glinted, a twisted visage shimmering beneath the gloomy trees. It lent anonymity to its wearer, and bolstered him with courage.
Draco had seen Visconti and Patil, and had settled against the trunk of a large oak, watching. What were they doing? How could he use this to his advantage? They were clearly interested in something on the ground, yet he was too far away to see what that was.
At the back of his mind the Dark Lord was already punishing him for running away from Potter and his friends, instead of seeing the job through. Now, here was a situation he could use to redeem himself. Visconti was one of the wanted, wasn't he? A blood traitor. And Patil, well, he'd never liked her anyhow. Who should he take first?
Visconti. It was only logical. Assuming that he was the stronger fighter, and Draco knew very well the other Slytherin's reputation in a duel. Take him now, while his back is turned, and then deal with Patil while she's panicking and distraught.
That.. that was a Plan.
Could he really do this?
Hesitantly, Draco raised his wand.
Could he face the Dark Lord and explain that he'd failed twice?
Squinting down the length of the wand, he took aim, making sure that the Italian was well in his sights. At the last minute, something caught his eye. Patil - she'd seen him. She was about to raise the alarm.
Panicked, he swung the wand around.
"Avada Kedavra."