Voices Beyond the Veil - 2

"Incendio," Hermione hissed, setting the bottom of Snape's robes on fire. She was the first one to actually hit him with something, and Snape was obviously surprised. He quickly doused the flames but began to struggle against the combined attack.

"Four against one, Potter?" he asked, sneering as he panted. "How like your father you truly are."

"You didn't seem to care much about a fair fight when we were back in Voldemort's lair, and it was about sixteen against one," Harry said, gritting his teeth.

"Sectumsempra," Snape snarled again, and Ginny gasped, slapping a hand to her shoulder to stop the sudden rush of blood.

Harry's vision went black with rage, and he fired a powerful Blasting Curse that hit Snape full on, sending him flying through the air. He landed in a heap on the stairs, gasping.

"Stupefy," Harry said.

Snape's head lolled to the side, his wand rolling uselessly out of his slackened hand, clattering on the floor beside him.

Harry's knees gave out, and he slumped on the stairs, panting heavily. His vision blurred, and his tongue felt too big for his mouth. He kept shaking his head, trying to dislodge the cobwebs that were surrounding his brain.

Ron rushed toward him, pulling him to his feet and helping him to descend the stairs while Hermione moved to check on Ginny. Ron sat Harry down on the bottom step beside the girls, and Harry leaned on him heavily.

"You got him, mate," Ron said shakily, never removing his arm from around Harry's shoulders. "Kind of ironic that the impulsiveness that he always gave you a hard time about was what did him in at the end." Ron tried to laugh, but it was forced, and his eyes traveled worriedly over Harry's wounds.

"I'm all right," Ginny snapped as Hermione quickly healed the bleeding gash on her shoulder.

"You'll need dittany on that, or it will scar, despite Snape's skill with that Curse," Draco said, finally joining the group.

"Thanks for all your help," Ron spat, still supporting Harry's weight.

"Snape would have killed me on the Dark Lord's orders. I wasn't about to take that risk for you," Draco said, sneering. "Where's Pansy?"

"Ginny," Harry said, gasping and ignoring Draco completely.

"I'm all right," Ginny said, reaching out to grab Harry's hand. "I'm better than you, that's for certain. What happened?"

"Where have you been, Potter? Do you know what happened to Pansy?" Draco demanded again.

Harry nodded wearily. His legs were growing heavy, and he was finding it difficult to breathe properly. Even though he wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest for a bit, he suspected his inactivity was causing his system to further absorb the small amount of the Draught of Living Death that he'd ingested.

Pushing off Ron and leaving a bloody handprint on his shirt, Harry forced himself to his feet and began to shakily pace.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Sit down and let me heal that cut on your arm."

Harry looked down and noticed that his left sleeve was drenched in blood. Despite the fact that his fingers still tingled numbly, he'd forgotten about the wound.

"You can heal it," he said, wheezing, "but I can't stay still. It gets worse when I'm still."

"What gets worse?" Hermione asked, following him as she tended his arm.

"Ran into Pansy just outside the forest," Harry said, blinking rapidly. "She said she was looking for Draco."

"She knew where I was," Draco replied tightly. "She locked Dudley and me in a Charms classroom."

Harry nodded. "She pulled a wand on me. When I disarmed her, I discovered that her wand was a Portkey."