Nevermore or Forevermore? 01

Chapter One:

"This is it, Minerva," Dumbledore said to Professor McGonagall, looking out the window of his office.

"The Death Eaters have finally come, Albus?" she replied fearfully.

"I'm afraid so."

Minerva McGonagall slowly approached the window where Albus Dumbledore stood. Her jaw dropped at the scenery on the Castle grounds.

A large amount of hooded figures marched towards Hogwarts, wands outstretched, but not lit--with the exception of those several who had their wands pointed up towards the sky, the Dark Mark scattered all over the night sky, shimmering in a threatening green.

"What shall we do, Albus?"

The wizened wizard did not reply, but continued to watch the Death Eaters slowly approaching.

"Oh my..." Hermione said suddenly in the Gryffindor Commons, shutting book, unable to tear her eyes away from the window.

Harry and Ron looked up from the coffee table just as Ron's bishop dragged Harry's knight off the chessboard.

"What is it?" Harry asked anxiously, his green eyes focused on Hermione, for a certain look was in her honey-colored eyes. Harry had only seen it several times, but he recognized it every time. Terror.

"You might want to come see for yourself. You wouldn't believe me if I--"

Harry and Ron immediately got up from their spots on the floor and went over to the windowsill.

"No..." were both their reactions.

Harry stared in disbelief. Ron and Hermione glanced over in his direction worriedly. Had they come for Harry at last? Was Voldemort among them?

Suddenly, a red bolt of light hit the window, leaving a great hole in the middle--between Harry and Ron.

The Portrait swung open shortly after, horrified Gryffindors spilling into the Common Room, terrified screams of other students could be heard in the corridors, echoing loudly in the halls.

"We cannot stay here," Hermione whispered. "It'd just be too easy for the Death Eaters to find us all if we're clustered in one group."

Ron nodded. "Good thinking, 'Mione."

Glancing around at all the Gryffindors, the three crossed the room to exit, each receiving dumfounded looks from the others.

People thought them crazy, they knew, but they'd rather be alive and mentally ill than mentally intact and dead.

"D'you think we should have told the others?" Harry asked the two.

Ron shook his head. "And have them screaming their bloody heads off and stampeding out of the place? I'm afraid I'll have to go with 'no'."

Hermione nodded. "As rude as Ron put it, I'm afraid he's right."

However, the three of them looked behind their shoulders and at the Fat Lady, having second thoughts.

Students ran past them blindly, shoving them into the walls in their desperate attempts to get as far away from the Entrance Hall as possible.

Ron shook his head, eyeing the students as they passed them. "I doubt the Death Eaters would be so polite as to knock on the door and ask if they can come in."

"So... where will we hide?" Harry asked Hermione uncertainly.

But that question was to remain unanswered--the torches in the halls were extinguished, and it was pandemonium.

Harry's shouts for Ron and Hermione were barely heard and as screaming kids shoved him hard against the walls once more, Harry knew that the two were as good as gone.

As the castle became enveloped in darkness of all kinds--lack of light, and of Dark Wizards--Harry found himself unsure of where to go or what to do. He felt the wall on his left and walked blindly, his hand on the partition at all times. At last it touched something cold--a suit of armor.

It wasn't the best hiding spot, he admitted to himself, but he'd rather be out of sight then in the way of the Death Eaters.

Pulling open the suit of armor the way a cabinet was opened, he stepped inside--it was unusually large. And for once, Harry was glad he was a skinny fifteen-year-old, as he fit perfectly inside it.

Ron looked around wildly for any sign of Hermione or Harry. He could hear their shouts faintly, but they were either too far ahead of him, or too far behind. Either that, or the blasted stampede of students were just too darn loud.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled, annoyed, as he tried to will his eyes into seeing through the pitch-black atmosphere of the castle. But it was to no avail; even after the chaos had stopped, he still hadn't caught sight of the two at all.

With a defeated sigh, he swallowed and crept forward, almost on tip-toe, and sighed again as he felt a door knob--though this time with relief. Slowly so the door wouldn't creak, he pushed it open and went inside, quiet as a mouse. Finding a wardrobe closet, he hid inside it and muttered 'Nox' to make the light on his wand tip disappear. It would've been very funny to him (as it reminded him of a game of hide-and-seek) if it hadn't been a matter of life and death.

"Oh no... I don't like this... I don't like this at all," Hermione said softly to herself, wandering the corridor, feeling quite alone. But there was no one to answer her--Ron and Harry had been separated from her ever since the stampede of students.

Walking slowly, but steadily, she held her wand ahead of her, creating a small, lighted pathway on the floor.

But crashes and yells were getting louder than ever and panicking, Hermione looked around wildly for some place to take cover--and soon found herself in one of Filch's many little storage rooms... in a broom cupboard.

How she wished the two boys were with her--it was better than being alone in a pitch-black castle, hiding in a very small broom closet, cobwebs in every corner.

Her heart stopped momentarily as she heard brisk footsteps, many of them, in the corridor where she had previously been.

And those couldn't have been students.

Hermione had no way of seeing them, but by the way the people were walking, she sensed a certain composure and resignation that made her uneasy and slightly faint.

Death Eaters were inside Hogwarts at last. But... what about their leader?