Begin to Hope

"Shit," I whispered, as I watched the hundreds Death Eaters descend unto the grass outside of the castle. They began running inside, their wands at the ready, and immediately they began to disarm and knock unconscious everything within sight.

"Come on, Marcie!" I vaguely remember seeing Aiden grab Marcie's arm and dash off in the direction of the fight.

Stumbling along, I began to run towards the entrance the Death Eaters were approaching, and I began to throw curses at them. Spotting me, two taller ones turned and ran in my direction.

The halls were filled with screams of terror and fury. The earth trembled like it was shaking under a thousand feet, while I watched several house-elves battling two elderly women. It was too much--everything was happening all at once and it was hard to figure out what was going on--so I turned and ran, down this hallway, through the next one, avoiding running into anyone else that was dueling. I watched Princeton and Kimberly take on a rather midget-sized man who was cackling unnervingly, and successfully disarm him, and then I watched as a long man with a pointed nose killed a goblin who I thought was most surely on our side. Sliding down the bannister of a wooden staircase, I stopped at the bottom and pointed my wand up at the two Death Eaters following me.

"Stupefy!" I hit one of the men and he fell forward, down the stairs, landing at my feet. I nodded and swiftly turned and bolted down another hall, dodging curses left and right.

Narrowly missing being shot by a bow and arrow, I started Stunning Death Eaters in one of the lower halls, where fifteen of them were trying desperately to gain control of the one giant we had. I Stunned them all in quick succession--they fell to their knees and with several sickening cracks, the giant stepped on them all.

Leaving that room, I was chased back up a flight of stairs the other direction, arriving in the main entrance again where most of the fighting was taking place. Tally was struggling with a masked man, but I couldn't stop to help her just then. Where was Voldemort? I hadn't spotted him yet. Had he not yet returned from France? What could possibly be distracting him from the major battle going on in his castle?

I turned in circles, trying to find someone to fight, when I spotted, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of movement, and someone running from another. The swish of a cloak, and--Orlando.

I immediately raced after him, my wand ready to take him out. I followed him down two more hallways and into a third, where it seemed he was chasing someone. It didn't matter who--I just wanted to get Orlando.

I ran as fast as I could, finally cornering Orlando, who was cornering some poor boy who I supposed was from Beauxbatons.

Orlando raced his wand and was about to kill the poor boy when I yelled, "Expelliarmous!" His wand was thrown from his hand and he swore, whipping around to face me.

"--what?" he said numbly, trying to stare me down.

"Fuck you!" I screamed as I Stunned him. He was thrown backwards off his feet, hitting the wall behind him and slumping down in a pile at the bottom.

"Now run, go get somebody!" I told the boy, and he nodded and ran off. I took a step closer to Orlando, sizing him up. I had a huge decision here to make it. To kill him, or not to kill him? On one hand, I didn't really want to have to kill anybody if I could just leave them unconscious, but if he got up later and ran away...

I made my decision and raised my wand, ready to finally say my last goodbye to him, when I heard a scream from down the hall.

"Help!" Penelope was screaming. "Somebody, help!"

"Oh, screw it," I said to myself, leaving Orlando lay there. What harm could he cause? I sprinted down the hall towards where two Death Eaters had Penelope cornered. I snuck up behind one of them and kicked his legs out from under him, causing him to fall on his back and moan in pain. I grabbed the other's arm and twisted it behind his back while Penelope wriggled free from his grasp. She grabbed his arm and bit it and he howled in pain. Stunning them both, we took off in opposite directions, her running back to the main entrance and I back to Orlando.

But when I got back to where I had left him, he was no longer there.

I swore silently and looked around, but didn't see him. Making my way angrily back to the main entrance, I worried about the havoc Orlando would cause if he had regained consciousness. I should have killed him while I had the chance.

I watched in stunned silence as the entire room seemed to spin with a mess of people, all fighting and slashing and jabbing and screaming. My eyes leapt from scene to scene as I watched the eight people I had spent the first half of my life with--Annabelle, Klaus, Kimberly, Maverick, Humphrey, Penelope, Princeton, and Tally--fighting for their lives. And not just them, but all of the people Maverick had brought from France. And as I watched, I felt an immense pressure build up inside me, and I realized it was pride. I was proud of what we had accomplished. We had gathered these people, and we had lead them into battle against the worst villain in the history of the world, and we hadn't been defeated... at least not yet. And I realized that as much as we had accomplished, Farley and Greg should have fighting alongside the rest, and yet they weren't. They had died for their cause, and gone bravely indeed, but it didn't seem fair that they shouldn't have lived to see the end.

But as suddenly as the feeling came, it left, and I watched as the Dark Lord himself came down from the sky. Covered in a thick black smoke, he flew in and landed on a patch of lawn outside the front doors. Time itself seemed to slow down as every person and creature in the castle stopped and turned to watch him wave an arm and march right in the front doors, examining the scene going on around him as if it was a mildly interesting picture.

Immediately the scene continued, except this time Voldemort was there, and he was feeling murderous. Turning about and sending curses every which way, it seemed as if he didn't care who he it--Death Eater or not, if they were standing in his way, he hit them with the Killing Curse.

Screaming now, furious, the people on our side seemed to double our efforts, yelling loud war cries and stampeding around more than ever before. I took down three Death Eaters and was about to tackle one of their mad goblins when I heard a shout.

"You!" Voldemort pointed his wand at Klaus and screamed with all the fury he had. "You are the one that caused this!"

Klaus bolted off down a hallway, with Voldemort hot on his tail, and I was about to follow them, leaving behind the stupid goblin, when I heard a different cry, a soft but pleading one, coming from down the hallway.

I crept away from the main entrance and down the hallway, trying to figure out where the cries were coming from, and finally found the source of the noise.

Orlando was literally kicking the shit out of Maverick. Beating, punching, and kicking him, Orlando had both his and Maverick's wand in his hands and was screaming obscenities at him.

Maverick was doing his best to cover his head with his arms, but it was obvious he was bleeding profusely and he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

"You bastard!" I ran at Orlando and jumped at his back, eager to do as much damage to his pretty face as I could. I clawed at his back and pulled his hair, until he finally threw me off and turned towards me, instead. My wand fell from my hand and he scooped that up as well.

"Well, well. We meet again. This time, though, I'm sure you regret not killing me before..." He took a few steps towards me, mocking me, smiling wickedly.

"You are a dumb bitch, you know that? To think that I ever spent time with you--I was only in it for the Dark Lord. You pitiable, bratty--argh!" he let out a cry of anguish as Maverick grabbed his leg and bit into it, leaving a trail of blood dripping down his pants. Giving Maverick a swift kick, he advanced on Maverick and held up his wand.

And before I could stop him--before I could do anything, he raised his wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

With a flash of green light, my best friend, my beautiful, charming, lovable best friend Maverick, collapsed in a heap on the floor.

I screamed, my body and mind in excruciating torment, and fell on my knees to the floor, letting my arms drop to my sides. Maverick, Maverick, Maverick. I chanted his name in my mind. Orlando Broom could not have just done that. Dead, my best friend? Maverick, Maverick, Maverick.

Glaring at Orlando, seething, taking long slow breaths, my heart feeling like it was jumping around my throat, I looked at him with hate in my eyes, with as much fury as I could muster. He started to laugh, a loud piercing cruel laugh, mocking me, telling me I was a bad best friend, that once again I had been the reason one of my friends had not survived. Because of my incompetence, I had let him die right in front of my eyes.

I drew myself up from the floor, first standing up on one knee, and then the other, then pulling myself up until I was standing erect.

"You can't do anything right, can you? You can't do anything but watch your friends die in front of you...you don't deserve to live."

That was the final straw. I leapt at him, fully prepared to rip him limb from limb. I was tired of his endless mockery of my friends, of what I could or could not do. I wanted nothing more than to maul him, to make sure he could never look at me like that again.

He was prepared. He held up his arms and pushed me backward, resulting in me only leaving a scratch on his face. Nevertheless, it was a deep scratch. It began to bleed, and I was positive it would result in scarring.

Remembering my wand, I scrambled to grab it from where Orlando had thrown it down, but by the time I had stood back up, Orlando had turned and ran, rather than face me.

I began to chase after him, my heart beating one word: Maverick. Over and over.

I followed him back to the main entrance, where he ducked and dashed through the many people still fighting, and out one of the windows. I watched in despair as he snapped his fingers and a broom appeared in his arms. He jumped on it, and before I could rush out and stop him, he flew away, that stupid smirk of his still plastered on his face.

That was when Maverick's death really hit me. My body suddenly felt exhausted--like I had been awake for days on end, like I was drained emotionally and physically...like my best friend had just died.

I didn't want to move. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to curl up into Klaus's arms and ask if maybe this was just a big dream and actually there was no attack all those months ago, and no, Maverick, my nearly favorite person in the entire world is not dead and I'd fall asleep, in his arms, and everything would be okay.

But I couldn't do that. I had to turn and face the rest of the people in the room that were trying to kill me. I slowly moved my body to whirl around, thinking that maybe if I didn't move very fast, the pain in my heart wouldn't be as bad.

It seemed as if we were losing. There were so many bodies on the floor, and curses were still being thrown left and right, but not with the emotion of a few hours ago. There was a faint smoke over everything, making it harder to see, but there was much less noise than there had been a few hours ago, and the few that were still battling were doing it feebly, not putting much into it.

I shakily took a few steps into the room, not really realizing I was moving. The ground was spinning and I wouldn't have been much use in a duel, but that didn't matter to me now. What really mattered was finding Klaus, and making sure that was okay. I needed to see him, touch him, reassure myself that at least he was still alive. If he wasn't...

Well, I wasn't going to think about that.

I quickened my pace, speeding up nearly to a full sprint, calling out his name and not caring who heard me or tried to stop me. My grip on my wand was tight, not worried about those that would try and stand between us. I would knock them down, no matter who they were.

The castle was partially destroyed--one wall was crumbling in a lower hallway, and a skylight had been made in one of the rooms where there previously had not been a skylight. I stepped over bodies and heard the cries of those in pain, but I hadn't time for them. I just hoped it wasn't any of my other friends in trouble, because I couldn't help them right now.

I found Klaus dueling the Dark Lord himself, alongside Annabelle and some other wizard whom I couldn't name. They were twisting, whirling, narrowly avoiding being hit themselves. The Dark Lord was barely breaking a sweat--keeping up with them, it seemed, was fairly easy.

I watched Klaus move about--ducking curses being sent at him like it was second nature. I held my breath as several Killing Curses were shot right at him, but each one missed by inches. I felt like cheering for him--for marching right up to Voldemort and saying, "See that? That's Klaus. You can't even kill him; he's too much for you. He's the best there is--and he's mine."

But just as I was saying it to myself, just as the thought crossed my mind completely, the Dark Lord didn't miss. As if he had heard my thought and wanted to show me what he thought of it, he stopped and turned in Klaus's direction and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!", and in the same manner, as if Klaus was copying Maverick, he fell to the floor.

A horrible, bloodcurdling scream reverberated through the halls, making me shudder and start to sob, until I realized I was the one making that hideous sound... but I couldn't help it. Time stopped, as Annabelle ran to grab me from falling to the floor, and I lunged, lunged to touch Klaus's body, to save him from death. Time stopped, but only for me. Everyone else kept on fighting. But why? I wondered in a stupor. My two best friends were both dead. I might as well die, too. What more was there to live for?

I reached blindly into my pocket, my eyes welling up, as I grabbed at the item I had stored in my pocket. The ring. The dirty piece of metal with the blue crystal in the center. I slipped it on my finger--perfect, as if it had been fitted specifically for me beforehand. Yes, yes, yes! I thought, as tears slid down my face, yes, I will marry you!, as I slid it on my finger and rocked back and forth, unable to stop crying or do anything except look at the ring and moan. But now he wasn't here. He wasn't here to hear me or hear my acceptance of his proposal or be overjoyed or for it even to happen. He was gone, and he wouldn't be coming back.

I wasn't aware of Annabelle silently crying beside me, or of Voldemort escaping back to the main entrance. I wasn't even aware of the announcement that came on directly afterwards--the one where Voldemort warned us to give up. All I could do was cry--sit back on my heels and simply bawl my eyes out.

Once a suitable amount of time had gone by--Annabelle had picked up Klaus's body and left the room by then--I wiped my pitiable face on my sleeve and stood up. It was time. Before, the past, that hadn't been the time. That was nothing but preparation. Now, the present, this was the time. I was going to kill Voldemort, once and for all, to end this cruel war that had left me with nothing. Nothing but myself, and my wand, and the dreams of something that could have been.

I marched with all the fury I had ever felt. This, this was what I had been waiting for all my life. These last few moments were precious. I knew what it had to come down to--Voldemort and me. I marched through the doors of the main entrance, where only a handful were still fighting, but most of them were helping or watching Voldemort talk to the few Death Eaters that were left.

I stood there, with one hand dangling at my side, with my feet shoulder-width apart, and my wand raised in the air, pointing at him, shaking ever so slightly.

"You." I said, not much more than a whisper. He looked up at me, a simpering grin on his face, as if he knew what I had come for and wouldn't let me have it.

I stayed where I was, thirty feet away, not daring to move any closer, but I spoke in a quiet, controlled voice, so he would have to listen carefully to hear me.

"You have killed my parents. You have killed every teacher and adult I was close to. You have had Farley and Greg killed. You have had Maverick killed." I paused, almost too miserable to go on, "--and you just killed the only person I'll ever love."

Before anyone else could react, I was upon him, throwing curses at him every which way, but he was an expert, and he dodged them like one. Voldemort motioned for his followers to step back, meaning that it was a fight between just me and him.

We both worked at it, swivelling and avoiding spells like we had been born doing it. I was impressed with my own speed and agility, to be fighting with him for longer than a minute's time.

The fight took an eternity. My body strained--I was putting everything I had into it. I wasn't just fighting to win, now, no. I was fighting to kill. I wanted to take everything out of Voldemort--to make him realize what he had been dealing with, and lose. I hated him with every ounce in my body-- and I wanted him dead.

Before I knew it, we were both nearly wheezing and falling over with exhaustion. Voldemort, not so much with fatigue, but in impatience, that I was fighting him so well and hadn't lost yet, was screaming profanities at me, still holding back the Death Eaters with one hand. I knew if he let them, they would tear me apart and I'd be dead in seconds. Yet he continued to push them back, warning them not to join in the fight.

All too quickly, it seemed, it was over.

In the same second--probably in the same microsecond, we both uttered the Killing Curse, and both of our aims struck true. His eyes widened, his breath stopped short, and he realized what was about to happen before it did, but there was no way he could stop it. Maybe he didn't want it to happen--maybe he had something to live for. One of the Death Eaters moved to push him out of the way, but he was too slow. Voldemort was hit by my Killing Curse, and he dropped to the ground.

I, myself, had a split second longer than Voldemort to watch. I nearly missed watching the flash of green light come towards me as it hit me squarely in the chest, but it didn't matter now. Nothing mattered now. Klaus was gone and Maverick was gone and the light, the light was gone, the blackness took everything, and I was gone.