Chapter 22: The battle of the Hogwarts train

Shona laid on the floor for a couple of minutes, holding her ribs as an icy chill filtered in to the corridor. She got up and realised that Snape was lying on the floor silently. The man had gone and Shona decided to walk own in to the open carriages, where most of the screeches where coming from. She could see mist rolling in and there was a gaping hole in the side; where children had been sitting. The place was basically on its side and Shona ran over to Lea and demand an answer

"What the hell happened!" she asked

"I don’t know!," she winded "the train just stopped. Then something hit the side..."

Snow was creeping through the gaping hole and it reminded Shona of a crash site. There was a smell of fuel and small embers where appearing in the hole. Shona grabbed all of their attention

"Quiet!," Shona shouted "keep calm! No ones dead!"

"I’m hurt!" Lea said, pointing to her arm. It was a little scratch

"You’ll be dead in a minute!," Shona said fiercely, she pulled up her hoodie sleeve to reveal a horrifying injury to her upper arm "that’s from a dump! And I daresay you want to look at my bleeding face!"

Lia shut up at once. Her look of disgust as Shona turned round

"Now stay together" Shona said to them "the teachers will be hear soon"

An eery silence enter the room. A low ghastly moan could be heard. An odd language of vocal chords enter their ears and it was so abnormal...

"Ahhhh! Look!" screamed a young boy. They all looked out to see grippers clipping onto the excess bridge. People with black capes made their way up the rope, sending fear into the children. They screamed an bundles to the exits. Shona was caught in the middle as the caped figures raised themselves up. In the background the valleys had waves of dementors flooding in. three major waves looming towards them. Shona ran over to the hole and took out her black wand

"Expelliarmos!" She yelled. The man was shot into the smoky valley below and his cry could be heard, falling into the river below

Lucy panicked as she got her wand out. There had been as scare further on. Since Lucy was in block floor she couldn’t see a thing of the terror that was unfolding. She didn’t know it was all about her. Or Snape. Horror built as she saw ice fill her door window, she knew what was coming, but didn’t know the majority of the fight. A shadow slowly made its way into view and Lucy prepared herself... The door flew open and the dementor swooped in

"Lucy!" Snape was yelling, he must of been hit unconscious for a couple of minutes because the man had disappeared. Shona wasn't outside as he twisted the doorknob. He knew she would after herself but he wanted to be there, he always wanted to be next to her. It had been a blur, he'd recognised the love potion too late, then he found himself staring at Shona, a man trying to strangle her. He'd obtained bruises around his neck and he roared in frustration as the doorknob jammed. He saw a shadow and rammed his face against the window. His face grew cold as his breath made a distant cloud of icy air. Snapes shaking hands stuck to the door as he saw a dementor sweep into Lucy’s cabin. He winced as he waited, when nothing happened he panicked

His breath made a distant cloud of icy air. Snape's shaking hands stuck to the door as he saw a dementor sweep into Lucy’s cabin. He winced as he waited, when nothing happened he panicked

"Lucy!" For once in his life he was scared to hell. He’d rather be tortured than wait a reply. Nothing Lucy speak to me!" he yelled desperately

“Lucy talk to me!” he smashed at the ice at the door without thinking he shouted to the carriage next door. Lucy was unable to hear begs “I’m frightened Lucy! Speak to me! Please…” Snape pleas made him cry. He’d cry in front of everyone just to be with her

"Expetco patronum!" Lucy yelled. She filled herself with the memory of her and Snape in the chamber of secrets. The words, the hug, the bravery, everything. Her shield charm scared the dementor. It flew away and and a tinge of darkness was left. Lucy ventured out to see destruction. The windows at the side where destroyed, the glass scattered at her feet. They crunched as she moved down the hallway, missing Snape completely. She was heading to the further carriages. And upwards had stayed still and she decided she’d look there first.

Snape could hear his heart thumping in his brain. He’d saw the light and Lucy, but that was it. He was alone now and it seemed the children in the standing carriages were hiding. There was a battle scene echoing from the top of the train, but Snape couldn’t help, still trapped and helpless. There were screaming children running in their little huddles. Suddenly Shona appeared, she made a gesture for Snape to stand back. She ran with the little space she had into the doorway. It cracked, leaving a small hole for Snape to put his hand through. He broke of bits of glass with his bare hands, stopping briefly when he cut his hand. Finally there was enough room for Snape to climb through. He could see a big scare on Shona’s face

"Where’s Lucy?"

"I don’t know" she admitted

"Well what’s going on?"

"Revenge," Shona replied "there are a gang of wizards like the time when..." Shona nodded at Snape "they’re back, I’ve stopped three of ‘em. I’ve only seen the carriage through there, the open one. It’s a mess,  I don’t know what its like upfront but one of the carriages could be burning"

"We need to help them" he said.

"There’s about fifteen carriages," Shona said pointing "we're in cabin four, six and onwards look fine but up front are the most affected. The cabins come off there wheels and I could see number two's on its side. Three has a gaping hole and this has glass everywhere. There all around five and upwards. I saw dementors coming and there are capers all there. I need to breathe" she finished.

"Don’t blame you. No one can take that many people" Snape muttered.

"Shall we go back there?"

Snape looked back at the stationary carriages "yes"

Snape couldn’t have prepared himself for the chaos ahead. The hole was massive, in fact,  it took out at least a quarter of the wall. Children were hiding in huddles as the people terrorised them, being held hostage. They seemed to be using the first carriage as a highjack point. There where three of them, leather dressed. They didn’t bother or where thier hoods and showed the ghastly scares and pimples on they’re faces.

"Oi you!" the closest one shouted, throwing the first year on the floor. The two looked at each other and ten struck

"Stupefy!" Snape roared and the man was blasted off his feet and into another advancing guard. The one guarding the door went for his wand

"Na-ah! Reducto!" she shouted. The blue beam hit him in the chest and he flew into the wall. Dust sprayed out and the students stared.

"All of you stay here!" Snape commanded

"And stay together! No one leaves ok" Shona finished

"Where now?"

"How about a stroll in the snow?" Shona said casually. Snape led the way as they stepped into the blizzard.

The claws clung onto the crumbling bricks wearily. There where three, Snape counted, as they walked cautiously. They crunched in the snow and both wernt dressed for the weather they where in. Shona was shaking a little and Snape was struggling to feel his fingers.

They ducked as they made their way under the broken windows of the first carriage. The bar was alive with argument and Snape and Shona peered in. there was most of the pack there, and a ghastly dementor floating in the middle. The teachers where made to sit in a circle. Then one of them spoke

"Where is Lucy Snape?"

"How should we know? Miss Snape is as free as any student and..."

"Shut up! We didn’t ask you!" one shouted and slapped her. She gave him a stern look as he walked back.

"You Dumble! Where is she?"

"As Minerva says the truth. She could be anywhere" Dumbldore replied calmly. Jessica stood her ground at the back, keeping silent. She innocently turned her head and spotted Snape, her mouth dropped open and Snape put his fingers to his lips

"Who’s there?" he confronted Jessica, she was taken by total surprise. He breathed into her face and the smell of rotting flesh was unbearable. The man in leather looked over but no one was out of the broken window. He stepped closer to peer outside

Nothing but a storm met his black eyes, he could see the dementors coming closer

"See those dementors?" He said casually "we'll use them on every student until we find Lucy Snape"

"And we like the orb as well, if you don’t mind" the familiar voice of Kingston echoed into the room

"Who’s Kingston?" Shona said to Snape

"I don’t know. But I have a feeling we’re going to find out"

"Kingston sir, the prisoners are not corresponding"

"Well," he said, stroking Jessica’s chin "let me tell you something. I’m not one for easy forgiveness. I fully obey my knight and if so, assassinate who I want, when I want"

"I suppose your trying to scare us"Jessica hissed. Kingston pulled her close 

"Not trying, I am. And it’s worked, you should see yourself. Now yell me. Where is Lucy Snape?"

"I don’t know and I don’t know anything about an orb!" she shrieked. One of the men hit her

"You idiot!" Kingston yelled. In a flash Kingston’s nails became daggers, his raided them high and etched them into the mans heart. The an shrunk to the floor, leaving a nice pool of blood i'll feed on you in a minute. And for the rest of you, its that or a dementor" he smiled

There was sudden movement from outside the carriage. Kingston stopped talking and stared

"You! Check it out!" he barked. One of the guard’s nodded and walked forward. The blizzard raged outside and he could see footprints.

"Well there’s footprints, but there probably from our attack"

"Has it ever occurred to your thick mind its snowing? It would have covered our tracks by now" Kingston hissed

As the man lent out of the carriage Shona swung from above. Hiding on top of the roof, she swung in feet first with a deadly shot to the mans face. He swore as Shona entered the cabin, her wand raised

"And if you look on your face you’ll see mark there too" Shona said sarcastically

"McGuire!" Kingston hissed. Completely confused, Shona dived for a tables as one of the wizards swung hex at her. Snape jumped thought the open window to Shona’s defence.

"Expelliaromus!" He yelled, the wand booming out of the wizards hand. Most of the wizards wheregoing to fight back, until Kingston raised his hand

"Kingston, would you like to say something?" Shona said sarcastically. For once in his life Snape found himself enjoying the joke against the assassin

"We will get that we want in the lower carriages," he said, ignoring Shona’s quote. At once all of them climbed out of the windows except for three

"You three stay there, personally I’d love to rip their heads of myself but duty calls for me to see Miss Snape" his head disappeared and the teachers where left there

The wizards struck with great force. They grabbed Shona quickly and tried to pull her apart, where one of them seemed to get more interested in Snape

"Go for the girl. Ill get a promotion!" he yelled at Snape. Snape yelled as he was chased along the corridor of the teachers carriages, hex’s flying to and from. He stopped at the toilets and waited. The silence was unbearable again as he saw the figure walk towards him, wand raised. Snape raised his in return and the duel began

"Ecveno!" he screamed, Snape whisked a defensive spell over him and the red glow burnt before him. The flames that would have engulfed him rippled at his defensive charm, them subsided

"Yortyuio!" he screamed again, Snape had never heard such words in his life as a black volt zoomed above his head “this is a whole new era, Snape. For once used medieval folk have our own ways of killing”

Snape raised his wand and casted another spell, but the man carried on teasing him

"You think you can defeat even the weakest of us! You’re a fool! Kingston the assassin will take pleasure in killing your daughter and then..."

"Secumsemthra!" Snape raged with anger. The spell hit the man in the chest. He squealed unbelievably in pain as Snape approached him "that’s my spell,I believe you haven’t come across it" he said angrily.

"Yo Snivs give us a wand!" Shona yelled at him. She was confronted by a dementor and two other guards, while one seemed to have been mistakably killed

"Expecto patronum!" He yelled, sending the dementor scuttling away. The two guards looked at each other and legged it. They didn’t try and stop them, they’d get them later.

"Who are these people?" McGonagall asked

"I don’t know but id wish they’d find someone else to highjack!" Shona butted in

"Severus," Dumbledore’s eyes flashed dangerously "stop them"

“McGuire, follow me” Snape gestured

“McGuire’s on the rooftops!” Shona laughed as she climbed out the window and onto the roof

"Well I can say this Severus, at least you wont have a boring life" Dumbledore chuckled. Snape pondered about Lucy before following his young companion

Lucy hanged out in another carriage, next to Malfoy and his friends. She didn’t care if it was them or not, she just wanted to get away. Malfoy found it fun to hide and look powerful as the blizzard shook the unknowing carriages. Since the first five had been involved, the rest of the cabins remained unknown of what was happening. There was a glow coming from one of them and nobody dared to even venture close.

"What Is going on Snape?" Malfoy said rudely

"I don’t know" she replied stiffly

"Bet its something to do with McGuire, the twat, maybe she farted" Malfoy and his friends laughed

"Not very original Malfoy. Considering that’s what she said to you a couple of days ago" Lucy said darkly. They stopped and shudder as the cabins rocked to the side, the Gail force winds picking up now.

"Malfoy!," a girl shouted at him "there’s people approaching! They’re smashing students!"

"Then they have to fight me!" Malfoy said boldly as children screamed. He marched outside and took out his wand. Lucy, Crabbe and Goyle decided to go further back into the carriages. Because there were so many cabins there was a lot of cover. Lucy took and seat and cursed her cowardliness. She vowed she’d investigate after it had all settled. More children moved into the open carriage and it was beginning too get tight. Lucy looked down the corridor and saw a caped figure approaching. She froze as it smashed the door open with fantastic force. The children pelted it to the other carriages and Lucy was caught in the corner. Kingston surged forward towards Lucy and smashed her into the middle of the floor. A six grader took out his wand and spoke to the vampire

“Snape!” Kingston growled as he let his claws extend. He pushed the sixth grader out the window. Lucy screamed as she casted a spell, Kingston flicked it off casually and took out his own “lets see if Snape can survive vampire tourture!" He laughed