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NINETEEN IN COLD BLOOD

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       AND HOLLY BOLTS into the maze, the second that she hears the whistle go. The cheering is silenced the second that she gets into the maze, dark-emerald hedges towering over her. She sets off down the only path, and she reaches a fork in the hedges, slowing her pace down as she places her wand flat on her hand.

       "Point Me," she says, and her wand spins and points to her right, where a hedge is. Holly gives her wand an odd look, but she runs into the path closest to that direction, bearing in mind that she needs to go north-west. She'll be able to come across a path that goes right. She'll be able to find a way in that direction, she'll be able to get herself to the Cup, and she'll be able to get her hands on the Triwizard Cup before the others can even say, Point Me.

       She picks up her pace, making her way down another path, as she keeps an eye on which direction she's moving. Holly doesn't even think about grabbing onto her necklace to get Susannah's help — she doesn't want Susannah's help. She can navigate this maze on her, she can win fair-and-square.

       Holly skids around a corner, as she hears the next whistle go. Harry and Cedric are in the maze, she needs to hurry up. But, she hears movement in the next path, and she slows down, holding tightly onto her wand as she inches around the corner.

       And she sees Karkaroff.

       Holly freezes. She watches Karkaroff step closer and she begins to panic. She feels like she's hurtled back to that last detention, where her eyes looked down at the first year girl.

       "Perform Cruciatus," she hears the Dark Arts professor say. Karkaroff's somewhere to the side, he sometimes likes to watch. Sometimes he likes to lurk by the side and watch the children hurt the others, the ones that misbehave.

       Holly looks at the little first year, and her brows furrow. She remembers when she saw the girl, around April, struggle to brush her hair after having to walk outside to get to one lesson, and one of the braver older girls helped her, soothingly muttering a spell to help the knots out of the girl's hair. She remembers seeing the tears in the girl's eyes, as she attempted to get the brush through her dark brown hair...

       ... She remembers walking into the library to finish homework, and making her way through the cold labyrinth to find a book on the Dark Arts, for an essay due the next week. She remembers walking past the little girl sitting in a little alcove, and she doesn't think much of it, the library is a place of refuge for many students. The place is so winding and difficult to navigate that many hide here, let their tears fall onto the stone floor.

       She remembers walking back, past the little girl, and seeing the girl being comforted by a girl older than Holly. She remembers the little girl being cradled by the older girl as if she was her mother.

       And Holly shakes her head, silent.

       Within seconds, Karkaroff's standing next to her. She can feel his breath and she knows he's seething, already turning crimson with anger. She sees the Dark Arts professor snake through the other students, and stand next to Karkaroff.

       The Dark Arts professor steps closer, with a horrific sneer on his face, as he snarls, "Do you not have the stomach for this, Miss Lippincott?"

       Holly goes silent for a minute. The students also helping out are watching what's happening, watching her stare at the ground for what feels like eternity, as their headmaster and their professor glare at her. Briefly she glances at the little girl, and she reaffirms her decision in her head. She is not doing this. Not again.

       She points her wand at the professor.

       "If you tell me to hurt her one more time, I'll curse you instead."

       Holly sees the steam come out of her professor's ears, the deep shade of red that paints Karkaroff's face. Karkaroff moves the professor to the side, and in his fury, shouts, "Imperio!"

       She thinks about how they've been taught in Dark Arts, how the professor — the one trying not to look angry, considering Karkaroff pushed him with so much force that he almost slammed into the stone floor — explained how the curse works, and how to prevent falling under its spell. She remembers that he said it feels like you're floating, like a ghost that's been dead for years, with no one living having a recollection of your name.

       And she hears Karkaroff's voice, snarling. Curse the girl. Immediately she thinks no. She hears the command again. Curse the girl. Curse the girl. Curse the girl. And she thinks the same thing. No. No. No.

       She will not be controlled. She will not feel like she's floating. She will not give in and come back to reality, unaware of what she was forced to do.

       She feels the fabric of her skirt, still touching her fingertips. She feels a strand of her hair, brushing against the side of her face. She feels the icy air of a castle without warmth, a castle that's more a prison than a palace.

       CURSE THE GIRL!

       Holly stays still. Her mind is shouting at her to do it, but she will not allow it. She will not be controlled, not by a monster, not by a venomous beast that— Why's Karkaroff here, in the maze? He's not supposed to be in the maze, he's meant to be with the judges, surely?

       And then, as she notices her pounding heart, it clicks.

       It's a boggart.

       "Ridikulus!"

       She hears a crack, and Karkaroff disappears. Holly sighs, and she steps forwards, unsure of how much time she's lost, staring at the boggart. She turns the corner, using the spell again, and she heads closer and closer to north-west, to the trophy, to her victory.

       And then—

       "Diffindo!"

       The skin on her leg slices open. Holly falls over, grasping onto the cut, trying to keep pressure onto it. She tries her best to get back to her feet, but she sees a figure walk out from the shadows. A man, possibly a little younger than her dad, with dark brown hair and sickly-pale skin, crouches down beside her.

       "You look just like your mother," he hisses. He snatches Holly's wand out of her hand, and tosses it to the side, and Holly tries her best to scramble back to her feet, but he pushes her backwards, and she almost falls into the hedge. She feels the chain on her necklace tangling, before she falls to the ground. "Did you know it was her that accidentally left a diary lying around in Malfoy Manor, linking me to the Longbottoms' torture? Did you know it was her that created the evidence to make me go to Azkaban?

        "I should've known to keep a better eye on you," Barty Crouch Jr. snarls. Holly's trying to scramble backwards, trying to grab her wand and send him into the next century. He keeps on inching closer towards her. "But it doesn't matter, you won't be breathing to tell anyone the truth by this evening — Crucio!"

       Holly screeches, every inch of her body writhing in pain. She can barely hear past her screams and the white noise in her ears, amplified and making her ears hurt. Quickly she's forgotten about the blood oozing from her leg, and instead, she's curling up, her nails digging into the ground, her bones feeling like they're all about to shatter.

       Everything hurts. She feels as if she's back at Durmstrang, when they were taught Cruciatus for the first time and the older years walked into the classroom, one-by-one, to practice on them, to show them what the curse feels like. She feels as if she's back in Durmstrang, back in the black uniform with fur on the cloaks, not enough to keep them warm, you can't learn if you feel 'toasty'.

       She feels as if she's been shouted at by her Dark Arts professor, when she couldn't fight through the pain, when she couldn't concentrate on protecting herself, when she could only think about how this hurts so much. She feels as if he's leaning over her desk, a nightmarish sneer plastered across his grotesque face, as he hisses, Do you not have the stomach for this, Miss Lippincott?

       Holly begins to move her arm.

       Do you not have the stomach for this, Miss Lippincott?

       She tries her best to fidget to the side, to move closer to her wand.

       Do you not have the stomach for this, Miss Lippincott? 

       Holly grabs onto her wand.

       Do you not have the stomach for this, Miss Lippincott?

       "EXPELLIARMUS!" she shouts. Barty Crouch Jr.'s wand flies into the air, and Holly scrambles to her feet before he can reach for it. She kicks at his knees, and he topples to the ground, and with one swift blow, she sends her foot down on his nose, hearing a loud crack.

       She sees Barty Crouch Jr. stir and she raises her wand into the air, red sparks glittering the sky above Crouch. He moves again and she bolts off, in search of the cup. Holly reaches another crossroads, and she grabs her wand and shouts, "Point Me!" This isn't just getting the cup, this is getting out of here as quickly as possible, before he catches up to her and kills her.

       Holly breaks into a sprint, spotting a snake with three heads (a Runespoor!) hissing halfway down the path. She shouts, "STUPEFY!" and the snake flies back a couple metres, and Holly runs ahead, convinced every sound is Barty Crouch Jr. catching up to her.

       She hears voices from a path near hers and she picks up her pace, quickly drowning out any noise with the sound of her feet slamming against the ground, snapping the first spell she can think of upon coming across another monster. She's close, she knows she is. She feels like she's inches away from the cup, inches away from Slytherin's glory, her glory.

       She runs into a clearing, and sees Harry and Cedric standing next to another path. They stare at her. Holly sees the Triwizard Cup, gleaming like an undiscovered treasure, and she bolts in the direction of it. She's not losing now. She is not losing now, not after she saw Karkaroff, not after she had Cruciatus used on her—

       Holly grabs onto part of one handle, seconds before Harry and Cedric catch up to her and grab onto it, too. She feels herself being pulled in by the cup and she feels like she's spinning. She's going to be sick.

       They stop spinning and she falls to the floor. They're no longer in the maze, she doesn't think they're even in Hogwarts, but rather, an old graveyard, the sort where the graves were so old that their relatives were surrounding them beneath stones. Flowers did not decorate headstones; the only plants near something saying REST IN PEACE were overgrown weeds, and grass that's been left to sort itself out.

       "Where are we?" says Harry, as he gives Holly a hand to stand back up. Her heart's pounding still, and she still feels like she's going to vomit from the spinning.

       An old manor stands in the distance. Holly holds tightly onto her wand. This must be another part of the task... That makes sense! Why on earth would it only be a maze? They wouldn't make the final task that simple, they'd do something that would trick them and test them, make them think on their feet without no real preparation.

       "Did anyone tell you the cup was a Portkey?" says Cedric.

       "That's a Portkey?" says Holly, horrified. "Why do people use them?"

      "You've never used one?" says Cedric.

      Shit. What kind of kid with magical parents hasn't used a Portkey? She's going to have to make up some excuse that the inventor of Portkeys has a long-standing feud with the Lippincott family, that's why she's never used them... But, before she can figure something out, she hears footsteps.

       "Someone's coming," says Harry.

       Holly takes out of her wand. Her eyes have adjusted enough to the light for her to notice a figure moving closing, weaving in and out between the graves. The figure seems to be carrying something, something ghostly pale...

       Harry lowers his wand and glances at Cedric, who's standing next to him. Holly's behind both of them, it would be too dangerous for them to glance over their shoulders. They don't know what this is. The more she watches the strange figure move, the more her stomach fills with dread, and she gets a terrible feeling that this has nothing to do with the tournament.

       Someone grabs onto Holly. A hand covers her mouth, muffling any attempt to alert the others, as she's pulled backwards, and forced to the ground, to sit down with her back against a gravestone.

       "Holly?"

       The clouds in the sky move, and the moonlight shines down on the figure that grabbed her. She sees the pitch-black hair, the dark stubble, a black moustache over a frown.

       Atticus Malfoy.

       Holly's eyes widen, and he keeps a hand over her mouth.

       "Keep hidden, they'll kill you."

       Holly nods, terrified.

       He's supposed to be dead. He's supposed to be buried in the ground, with a stone like the one she's hiding behind, stating his name, birthday, and death day. Holly's heart's pounding again, only this time, it isn't because of a strange Death Eater wanting her dead for a reason that's beyond her. Her dead step-father has grabbed her away from her friends, and told her to stay hidden, that she's in danger. What is going on?

       She hears a cold voice hiss, "Kill the spare."

       "Avada Kedavra!"

       Green lights up the surrounding gravestones. Holly keeps her knees to her chest and slouches down. The gravestone she's behind seems to be massive, one with a huge cross on top of an already-large slab of stone. It's not too difficult to hide behind it.

       Atticus, by the sounds of it, grabs a hold of someone and restrains them. She doesn't dare move, she doesn't dare look around the edge of the gravestone. Who else is here? She doesn't understand why Atticus Malfoy has told her to hide but, at the same time, she doesn't think she wants to know.

       "Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"

       Holly hears a crack, followed by someone unknown whimpering. The person unknown lets out pathetic sobs, and then, through the crying, they say, "Flesh — of the servant — w-willingly given — you will — revive — your master."

       Servant. Master.

       Atticus was — is — a Death Eater.

       Servant. Servants. Master...

       Death Eaters. Voldemort. 

       Fuck.

       She hears a scream, one just as horrifying as the ones created by Cruciatus. Holly bites on her tongue to stop herself from making any noise of discomfort. The scream physically pains her to hear. She feels as if she's back in the maze, back on the ground, clawing into the soil, as Crouch hissed the curse at her.

       She reaches for her necklace, to see if Susannah can help at all, but as her fingers move to hold onto the diamond, she can't find it.

       The necklace has gone.

       It must've torn off, when she fell against that hedge, when the chain got tangled. It must've gotten caught and ripped off. It must be somewhere in the maze, hidden amongst other paths and leaves and twigs.

       She's lost the necklace —

       She can't see Susannah.

       Holly holds back tears.

       "B-blood of the enemy... forcibly given... you will... resurrect your foe."

       Holly finds herself about to move, and she has to stop herself. She doesn't know what to do in this. The servants must be Atticus and the man, so Voldemort — as bizarre as it seems — must have been the ghostly monster being carried. How can she defend herself against Voldemort?

       Harry will be fine, she reminds herself. He's done this before. He's fought Voldemort before. He must know something, he must do... She forces herself to believe that he does.

       She hears boiling water hiss and simmer. There's sparks and the air's infiltrated with bright white steam, mist falling to the ground and snaking through the overgrown grass.

       "Robe me," says a cold voice. Holly freezes. Is that—?

       There's silence. She thinks she hears movement but not enough that she can figure out what it is, not like the scream and the crack that followed, after flesh of the servant. She thinks she knows what that means, the scream tied the loose ends together.

       She hears a cold laugh.

       "My Lord... my Lord... you promised... you did promise..."

       "Hold out your arm."

       "Oh, Master... thank you, Master..." 

       She hears Voldemort (she thinks?) laugh. "The other arm, Wormtail."

       "Master, please... please..."

       "Malfoy," says Voldemort, tired of the other man. "Arm."

       "Yes, my Lord," she hears Atticus Malfoy say.

       Holly hears movement, and she thinks she hears Voldemort whispering something, talking with such a hiss she can't hear it from this far away. The footsteps alone terrify her, and she painfully wishes she was a little older, that she knew how to Apparate. She could get out of here, get Dumbledore. She doesn't know what to do. She's fourteen!

       She doesn't know what to do. She's scared stiff. She's used to cruel teachers — cruel teachers. Every teenager's experienced that... Maybe not the sort that most teenagers struggle with, but it was still a nasty teacher, at the end of the day.

       "Welcome, Death Eaters."

       Holly feels sick to her stomach.

       "Thirteen years... thirteen years since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday... We are still united under the Dark Mark, then! Or are we? I smell guilt, there is a stench of guilt upon the air... I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact — such prompt appearances! — and I ask myself... why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"

       There's no response.

       "And I answer myself, they must have believed me broken, they thought I was gone. They slipped back among my enemies, and they pleaded innocence, and ignorance, and bewitchment...

       "And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death? They, who had seen proofs of the immensity of my power in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living?

       "And I answer myself, perhaps they believed a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even Lord Voldemort... perhaps they now pay allegiance to another... perhaps that champion of commoners, of mudbloods and muggles, Albus Dumbledore? It is a disappointment to me... I must confess myself disappointed..."

       She hears a thud, and someone cries out, "Master! Master, forgive me! Forgive us all—!" But the man is cut off by his own shrieks, as Voldemort laughs and says the Cruciatus curse, in a way that makes it blatantly clear it's familiar on his tongue.

       "Get up, Avery. Stand up," says Voldemort. Holly bites on her tongue, to stop herself from making any noise. When the man was being tortured she almost whimpered, remembering the pain herself. "You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years... I want thirteen years' repayment before I forgive you. Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?

       Wormtail — she thinks that's Peter Pettigrew — sobs.

       "You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?"

       "Yes, Master... Please, Master, please..."

       "Yet you helped return me to my body," says Voldemort. Wormtail's still sobbing. Holly wishes she could. "Worthless and traitorous as you are, you helped me... and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers..."

       Something reflects in the moonlight, and sheds some light onto the surrounding gravestones. Holly holds her breath.

       Wormtail stops crying. "My Lord... Master..." he whispers. "It is beautiful... thank you... thank you..."

       "May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail."

       "And you, Atticus," says Voldemort. "You did the impossible to help return me to my body... Escaping Azkaban, I have been told, is a difficult thing to do, and yet you accomplished such a thing, to help your master..."

       "Yes, my Lord," says Atticus.

       "Atticus," says Voldemort. "Is your step-daughter here?"

       Holly's stomach drops.

       It feels as if the world stops. Holly can feel her heart in her throat, pounding in fear. She can't move. She wants to disappear. She desperately wishes she had been a little slower, she hadn't gotten to the cup on time, she wouldn't have ended up here.

       "Yes," says Atticus.

       "Where is little Holliday, then?"

       Holly takes a breath, and stands up.

       She lays her eyes on Voldemort, as she walks between the gravestones. Ghost-white skin, the nose of a snake, crimson eyes... She struggles not to look as frightened as she feels, as she walks closer. She wishes she could disappear. She wishes she was a ghost. She wishes she could Apparate.

       "Holly—!"

       Voldemort laughs at Harry. Holly doesn't look at him. She forces herself to pretend she's back at Durmstrang; she forces herself to imagine the graveyard is Durmstrang, a cold castle room somewhere inside of the institute. She forces herself to put herself back into her old mind-set. Do not show your feelings. She swallows her fear and looks straight at Voldemort, the words do you not have the stomach for this? swirling in her head, reminding her, that nightmare prepared her for this. You can do this, Holly.

       "Potter seems to believe you are, I daresay, friends."

       "He was tricked," says Lucius. Holly suddenly thinks this guy is a very wonderful and very brilliant man that will certainly get a reply the next time he writes to her. "Holliday was put in the Triwizard Tournament, you see... And she cleverly manipulated Potter to make him believe they were friends, so that if he had any information about the tasks, he would tell her and she would be able to win, for Slytherin."

      Draco, you star, Holly thinks.

       "I see," says Voldemort, as his gaze is cast down onto the Slytherin crest on Holly's clothes, the green embedded into her uniform. "You are like your mother..." He turns to the Death Eaters. Atticus, who's standing away from them, exchanges a look with Holly, as if he agrees with what she did? "Valen should stand here... The Lestranges should stand here," says Voldemort. Holly feels her heart jolt at him mentioning her mother. "But they are entombed in Azkaban. They were faithful. They went to Azkaban rather than renounce me... When Azkaban is broken open, Valen and the Lestranges will be honoured beyond their dreams. The dementors will join us... they are our natural allies... we will recall the banished giants... I shall have all my devoted servants returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all fear..."

       "Macnair... destroying dangerous beasts for the Ministry of Magic now, Wormtail tells me? You shall have better victims than that soon, Macnair. Lord Voldemort will provide..."

       He goes through the Death Eaters there. Crabbe, Goyle, Nott. Holly's unsure if she should tell them, when she gets back. If she gets back...

       "Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party," says Voldemort. Upon the mention of Harry, Holly stiffens, and although she knows she cannot do anything, she seems to brace herself. "One might go so far as to call him my guest of honour."

       "Master, we crave to know... we beg you to tell us... how you have achieved this... this miracle... how you managed to return to us..."

       "Ah, what a story it is, Lucius," says Voldemort. Atticus stands next to Holly, and she doesn't know whether to feel comforted by this, or frightened. Is he good? He tried to keep her hidden, but still, didn't he help resurrect Voldemort? "And it begins — and ends — with my young friend here."

       And Voldemort begins to speak: about how Lily Potter sacrificed herself for Harry, how Voldemort possessed animals for years until he got his claws on Quirrell, how he needed Harry's blood to return to his body, in order to be his strongest once in mortal form again. As he speaks, Atticus goes lightly, and moves Holly a little away from Voldemort, and from Harry.

       "But how to get at Harry Potter? For he has been better protected than I think even he knows, protected in ways devised by Dumbledore long ago, when it fell to him to arrange the boy's future. Dumbledore invoked an ancient magic, to ensure the boy's protection as long as he is in his relations' care. Not even I can touch him there... Then, of course, there was the Quidditch World Cup... I thought his protection might be weaker there, away from his relations and Dumbledore, but I was not yet strong enough to attempt kidnap in the midst of a horde of Ministry wizards. And then, the boy would return to Hogwarts, where he is under the crooked nose of that muggle-loving fool from morning until night. So how could I take him?

       "Why... by using Bertha Jorkins's information, of course. Use my one faithful Death Eater, stationed at Hogwarts, to ensure that the boy's name was entered into the Goblet of Fire. Use my Death Eater to ensure that the boy won the tournament — that he touched the Triwizard Cup first — the cup which my Death Eater had turned into a Portkey, which would bring him here, beyond the reach of Dumbledore's help and protection, and into my waiting arms. And here he is... the boy you all believed had been my downfall..."

       Voldemort turns to Harry. "Crucio!"

       Holly makes a judgement and decides that Atticus is going to be good and will have an explanation, as she reaches for his hand and squeezes it. She looks away, but she hears Harry in pain, and she grits her teeth together. You can't do anything, don't bother, don't bother.

       "Now untie him, Wormtail, and give him back his wand," says Voldemort. Atticus seems to be fine with Holly holding onto him, before she needs someone. Her dad isn't here, her friends aren't. (Well. You know what she means.) But her step-father is and they've never met before, but this'll do. "You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?"

       Harry gets back to his feet, after being tied up. 

       "We bow to each other, Harry," says Voldemort, bending ever so slightly. Holly feels sick. She wishes she could swap places with Harry, she knows how to duel, she knows he doesn't. She knows Hogwarts doesn't have the sort of Duelling Club that Durmstrang did. She knows they had a shitty one, a couple years ago, but that's not the same. Harry can't do this. "Come, the niceties must be observed... Dumbledore would like you to show manners... Bow to death, Harry..."

       Harry does not, and Voldemort snarls, "I said, bow," and he raises his wand, forcing Harry to bow at him. Holly holds onto Atticus' hand even tighter, as the Death Eaters laugh.

       "And now — we duel."

       He hits Harry with Crucio again, and Holly grits her teeth. She glances to where Cedric's body is — she finally acknowledges this, and strangles back a sob, she's never seen a dead body before. She's seen Cruciatus, she's seen Imperius, but she's never seen the Killing Curse, not on a human being, only the rats they made them practice it on at Durmstrang.

       But beside his body, lies the Triwizard Cup. If they can get back to that—

       "A little break," says Voldemort, and Harry's screams cease. Holly breathes. "A little pause... That hurt, didn't it, Harry? You don't want me to that again, do you?" Harry doesn't reply. Makes sense. "I asked you whether you want me to do that again. Answer me! Imperio!"

       "I WON'T!"

       "You won't?" says Voldemort, so hauntingly quiet it sends a shiver down Holly's spine. "You won't say no? Harry, obedience is a virtue I need to teach you before you die... Perhaps another little dose of pain?"

       Voldemort raises his wand, but Harry throws himself to the ground, the curse cracking the marble headstone he was pinned against. "We are not playing hide-and-seek, Harry," he says. "You cannot hide from me. Does this mean you are tired of our duel? Does this mean you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry? Come out, Harry... come out and play, then... it will be quick... it might even be painless... I would not know... I have never died..."

       Atticus holds onto Holly's hand, to stop her from moving and doing something that gets her killed. She holds onto her wand, and she sees Harry jump to his feet, and shout, "Expelliarmus!" as Voldemort cries, "Avada Kedavra!"

       The green and red lights meet mid-air, until they splinter, and thousands of white lights cross in the sky. The Death Eaters begin shouting, asking for instructions, and Atticus turns to Holly, and over the noise, tells her, "You get back to that Portkey as soon as this stops, all right?"

       Holly, confused, tries to ask, "But why are you—"

       "I'm still your step-dad, aren't I?" he says. "I'll explain later, just get ready — as soon as you and Harry can get back, you grab Cedric's body, and then you get the Portkey. Got it?"

       Holly nods, and she lets go of his hand.

       She looks up and she can see the white lights forming ghosts. For a second she's convinced she can see Cedric and she feels her stomach jolt. She sees an old man, and a woman, and countless other people she can't make out. She sees a man that looks an awful lot like Harry, her stomach twisting into knots.

       Holly begins to inch closer. She glances back at Atticus, who nods.

       "NOW!" she hears Harry yell, and with all of her might she runs back to him and Cedric and the cup.

       "Stun him—!"

       "Impedimenta!"

       Holly throws herself onto the ground next to Harry, and grabs a hold of Cedric's arm. She hears Voldemort shout, "Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!" and Holly shouts to Harry, "Accio — now!"

       Both shout, "Accio!" and the Triwizard Cup flies towards them. She hears Voldemort makes a horrific scream, angered, and she feels the Portkey pull them in, bolting them back to school.

       They land with a thud, and before she knows it, she's scrambling to her feet, realising that she's holding onto a dead body and she stands backwards, backs away and tries to fight back bursting into tears. She hears her dad shout her name and within seconds he's holding onto her, hugging her tightly, and she buries her face into his chest, closes her eyes shut, as if to forget everything that happened, to believe it was all just a nightmare.

       "Cedric Diggory! Dead!"

       Holly buries her head into her dad's chest, and bursts into hysterics.

—✧—✧—✧—✧—

soooo what are your thoughts on atticus malfoy? :-)

also IM SORRY susannah's there but holly can't see her but there is a reason for this and that is the fact that things need to be a little more difficult for holly. i want her to be "on her own" in the upcoming part + the following sequel so the first thing is to take away the things she relies on, and that includes susannah, who frequently she asks to keep an eye on people, or deliver notes, etc etc. susannah's presence is gonna be there and later there may be some exploration into how holly has been affected being that close to a spirit but that is all i'm going to say for now. holly's gonna struggle but she's gonna get through it. aand just because holly can't see her doesn't mean susannah's gone forever so it's cool IT'S FINE pls don't be mad lol