[challenge 88] zombies. it had to be zombies.
Title: The Importance of Recognizing Differences Between the Zombie and the Inferius.
Rating/Warnings: PG. Sniping and zombies.
Characters/Pairing: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy.
Summary: Zombies in Malfoy Manor, immediately pre-escape in Deathly Hallows.
Word Count: 1212
Registered purchases?: Yes.
"Of all the people to be stuck with, it had to be you." Hermione shot a venomous glare in his direction as she neatly decapitated an Inferius with a well-aimed Diffindo.
"Oh, the utter horror of the situation hasn't be lost on me, Granger," Draco Malfoy said. He kept a steady stream of fire coming from his wand, making sure there was a good distance between the rest of the shambling undead.
"How you became a Prefect is beyond me," said Hermione. She nearly backed into an elaborately carved side table, and then knocked it over to put at least some sort of a roadblock between the oncoming Inferi and herself.
He glowered at her and, for a moment, the fire dimmed. “Actually, I’m Head Boy this year.”
"Malfoy!"
"Shit." Malfoy turned his attention back to the zombies and back to the protective fire.
"Diffindo!" Another Inferius down, its head rolling off to the side. Hermione grimaced. This wasn't pleasant work at all. She almost missed the roaming around the countryside and searching for Horcruxes. Almost. At least the adrenaline of the situation was overriding the remnants of the pain from Bellatrix's torture. At least Harry and Ron had gotten out of the Manor before the swarm had come. She didn't know what had happened to the rest of Malfoy's family. She didn't want to know.
Malfoy picked up something off of another ridiculously over-elaborate side table and flung it at the Inferi. There was a small explosion near the middle of the group.
"What the hell was that?" Hermione took a moment to stare at him in shock.
"A potion that's not supposed to meet air for the next two weeks. It's extremely volatile in its current state." Malfoy frowned. "Or was."
"Why the hell are there zombies, anyway?" Hermione muttered.
"Zombies?"
"Muggle term."
"Oh. Of course." Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"Shut up," Hermione said. She was in no mood to take any of his blood purity nonsense at a time like this. "Where are we going anyway?"
Malfoy didn't answer her.
"Malfoy!"
"Oh, sorry, you told me to shut up. I was actually following your instructions for once in my life. I thought you would enjoy it, given that we're probably about to die."
"Oh, shut -- " Hermione stopped herself with a huff. She spared a glance behind them. The hallway was nearly coming to an end.
"We are going to an upper floor, which we are going to seal off from the zombies, as you call them."
"Well, it's easier than saying Inferius!"
It was Malfoy's turn to roll his eyes. "Fine, call them whatever you want. You can do warding charms, right?"
The glare Hermione sent him was withering. "How do you think we managed to get around England for months without detection?"
"You were caught," Malfoy couldn't help but point out.
"That was Harry's fault."
Malfoy let out a short laugh.
"Malfoy, there's not much room left." The panic she was trying to damp down coloured Hermione's tone.
Malfoy glanced behind them. "All right. Last doorway on the left is to a back staircase. I need you to take over the fire duties."
"Why?"
"Because the Manor only responds to its owners."
"Of course it does." Hermione fought from rolling her eyes. She changed her grip on her wand. "Incendio!" A great stream of flame shot from its end, joining Malfoy's.
He instantly turned around and shoved the door open. For a moment, Hermione was frozen with fear that he might just leave her there to die, alone.
"Malfoy!"
He grabbed her arm and pulled her through the door, breaking her concentration and the Incendio. The Inferi advanced in its absence. Hermione leaned against the wall of the small stairwell while Malfoy locked the door and then slammed one hand against it. It glowed momentarily, then faded.
"Come on," he said. "There are other ways up to this floor. We need to move quickly."
"All right," Hermione said. She gathered her courage and thundered up the stairs after him.
It didn't take long to do all the doors. It was just annoying because she had to follow Malfoy to each of them. There were six in total. Six! Who needed six different staircases to go from one floor to the other, especially when the help was probably a House Elf?
"How long will those hold?" Hermione asked, panting slightly. The pain from Bellatrix's torture was beginning to catch up with her. She winced and leaned back against a wall.
"They would hold forever, if I was the head of the house," Malfoy said.
"So if your father is -- " Hermione trailed off. It was an awful thought, even if it was Malfoy.
"Yes." Malfoy's voice was tight and his eyes seemed over-bright. He blinked, and it was gone. "If not, they'll hold for months."
"Months." Hermione repeated. She closed her eyes. Months. They could be up here for months, on one floor of the Malfoy Manor. She would be stuck, in the home of people who hated her just for having the nerve to exist, for months. And the Inferi could last that long. It was one of the advantages of having an undead army. She raised a hand to her eyes. She was not going to cry in front of Draco Malfoy. Not now, not ever.
She slumped against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. Malfoy, watching her warily, like she was about to start crying, settled down against the opposite wall, legs stretching out in the hallway between them. Silence fell over them, thick and heavy. At the edge of it, Hermione could hear the Inferi on the floor below, swarming against the door.
"Normal Inferi don't bite people," Malfoy said after a long moment.
"No. These aren't normal Inferi."
"Care to share your thoughts with the rest of the class, Granger?" The drawl was back. Hermione lifted her head. Malfoy was leaning his head back against the wall, and smirked at her. It was almost like being back in school.
"Zombies," Hermione said. "Zombies bite people."
"Again with the Muggle rot."
"Malfoy, if we're going to be stuck up here for months, you will cease your pureblood supremacy rhetoric right now or I will kill you myself."
"Fine." Malfoy scowled. "I had to be stuck with you, didn't I."
"It's not so rosy from over here."
Silence fell between them.
Again, Malfoy was the first to break it. "So. Zombies?"
"They bite people and turn them into more zombies," Hermione said. She twirled her wand in one hand, and looked at it. It wasn't her wand, not really. It was Bellatrix Lestrange's wand.
"That is disgusting," Malfoy said.
Hermione managed a wan smile.
"Well," Malfoy said. "At least there's food in the kitchens. We can live off of that for a while."
"For months?" Hermione asked.
"For a while at least," Malfoy said. He pointed his wand at his hand. An apple appeared there. He tossed it to Hermione.
She caught it and turned it around in her hands. He summoned another.
Hermione sighed heavily and looked up at him. "Truce, since there's something else trying to kill both of us?"
"Truce," Malfoy agreed.
They ate their apples in silence.
- Antoinette, Ravenclaw
40.4 + 10 bonus = 50.4 --> 51 points for Ravenclaw
Rating/Warnings: PG. Sniping and zombies.
Characters/Pairing: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy.
Summary: Zombies in Malfoy Manor, immediately pre-escape in Deathly Hallows.
Word Count: 1212
Registered purchases?: Yes.
"Of all the people to be stuck with, it had to be you." Hermione shot a venomous glare in his direction as she neatly decapitated an Inferius with a well-aimed Diffindo.
"Oh, the utter horror of the situation hasn't be lost on me, Granger," Draco Malfoy said. He kept a steady stream of fire coming from his wand, making sure there was a good distance between the rest of the shambling undead.
"How you became a Prefect is beyond me," said Hermione. She nearly backed into an elaborately carved side table, and then knocked it over to put at least some sort of a roadblock between the oncoming Inferi and herself.
He glowered at her and, for a moment, the fire dimmed. “Actually, I’m Head Boy this year.”
"Malfoy!"
"Shit." Malfoy turned his attention back to the zombies and back to the protective fire.
"Diffindo!" Another Inferius down, its head rolling off to the side. Hermione grimaced. This wasn't pleasant work at all. She almost missed the roaming around the countryside and searching for Horcruxes. Almost. At least the adrenaline of the situation was overriding the remnants of the pain from Bellatrix's torture. At least Harry and Ron had gotten out of the Manor before the swarm had come. She didn't know what had happened to the rest of Malfoy's family. She didn't want to know.
Malfoy picked up something off of another ridiculously over-elaborate side table and flung it at the Inferi. There was a small explosion near the middle of the group.
"What the hell was that?" Hermione took a moment to stare at him in shock.
"A potion that's not supposed to meet air for the next two weeks. It's extremely volatile in its current state." Malfoy frowned. "Or was."
"Why the hell are there zombies, anyway?" Hermione muttered.
"Zombies?"
"Muggle term."
"Oh. Of course." Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"Shut up," Hermione said. She was in no mood to take any of his blood purity nonsense at a time like this. "Where are we going anyway?"
Malfoy didn't answer her.
"Malfoy!"
"Oh, sorry, you told me to shut up. I was actually following your instructions for once in my life. I thought you would enjoy it, given that we're probably about to die."
"Oh, shut -- " Hermione stopped herself with a huff. She spared a glance behind them. The hallway was nearly coming to an end.
"We are going to an upper floor, which we are going to seal off from the zombies, as you call them."
"Well, it's easier than saying Inferius!"
It was Malfoy's turn to roll his eyes. "Fine, call them whatever you want. You can do warding charms, right?"
The glare Hermione sent him was withering. "How do you think we managed to get around England for months without detection?"
"You were caught," Malfoy couldn't help but point out.
"That was Harry's fault."
Malfoy let out a short laugh.
"Malfoy, there's not much room left." The panic she was trying to damp down coloured Hermione's tone.
Malfoy glanced behind them. "All right. Last doorway on the left is to a back staircase. I need you to take over the fire duties."
"Why?"
"Because the Manor only responds to its owners."
"Of course it does." Hermione fought from rolling her eyes. She changed her grip on her wand. "Incendio!" A great stream of flame shot from its end, joining Malfoy's.
He instantly turned around and shoved the door open. For a moment, Hermione was frozen with fear that he might just leave her there to die, alone.
"Malfoy!"
He grabbed her arm and pulled her through the door, breaking her concentration and the Incendio. The Inferi advanced in its absence. Hermione leaned against the wall of the small stairwell while Malfoy locked the door and then slammed one hand against it. It glowed momentarily, then faded.
"Come on," he said. "There are other ways up to this floor. We need to move quickly."
"All right," Hermione said. She gathered her courage and thundered up the stairs after him.
It didn't take long to do all the doors. It was just annoying because she had to follow Malfoy to each of them. There were six in total. Six! Who needed six different staircases to go from one floor to the other, especially when the help was probably a House Elf?
"How long will those hold?" Hermione asked, panting slightly. The pain from Bellatrix's torture was beginning to catch up with her. She winced and leaned back against a wall.
"They would hold forever, if I was the head of the house," Malfoy said.
"So if your father is -- " Hermione trailed off. It was an awful thought, even if it was Malfoy.
"Yes." Malfoy's voice was tight and his eyes seemed over-bright. He blinked, and it was gone. "If not, they'll hold for months."
"Months." Hermione repeated. She closed her eyes. Months. They could be up here for months, on one floor of the Malfoy Manor. She would be stuck, in the home of people who hated her just for having the nerve to exist, for months. And the Inferi could last that long. It was one of the advantages of having an undead army. She raised a hand to her eyes. She was not going to cry in front of Draco Malfoy. Not now, not ever.
She slumped against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. Malfoy, watching her warily, like she was about to start crying, settled down against the opposite wall, legs stretching out in the hallway between them. Silence fell over them, thick and heavy. At the edge of it, Hermione could hear the Inferi on the floor below, swarming against the door.
"Normal Inferi don't bite people," Malfoy said after a long moment.
"No. These aren't normal Inferi."
"Care to share your thoughts with the rest of the class, Granger?" The drawl was back. Hermione lifted her head. Malfoy was leaning his head back against the wall, and smirked at her. It was almost like being back in school.
"Zombies," Hermione said. "Zombies bite people."
"Again with the Muggle rot."
"Malfoy, if we're going to be stuck up here for months, you will cease your pureblood supremacy rhetoric right now or I will kill you myself."
"Fine." Malfoy scowled. "I had to be stuck with you, didn't I."
"It's not so rosy from over here."
Silence fell between them.
Again, Malfoy was the first to break it. "So. Zombies?"
"They bite people and turn them into more zombies," Hermione said. She twirled her wand in one hand, and looked at it. It wasn't her wand, not really. It was Bellatrix Lestrange's wand.
"That is disgusting," Malfoy said.
Hermione managed a wan smile.
"Well," Malfoy said. "At least there's food in the kitchens. We can live off of that for a while."
"For months?" Hermione asked.
"For a while at least," Malfoy said. He pointed his wand at his hand. An apple appeared there. He tossed it to Hermione.
She caught it and turned it around in her hands. He summoned another.
Hermione sighed heavily and looked up at him. "Truce, since there's something else trying to kill both of us?"
"Truce," Malfoy agreed.
They ate their apples in silence.
- Antoinette, Ravenclaw
40.4 + 10 bonus = 50.4 --> 51 points for Ravenclaw