Harry Potter: The Price of Silence.

Then everyone sprang into action.

"Protect the artefact!" the smallest Death Eater, the one who carried the box, shrieked as they sharply withdrew their wands.

Four of the cloaked figures formed a barricade around the one that carried the wooden box. The air cracked as they started to Apparate - only to pop back into existence a second later.

Hermione smirked; her Anti-Apparation wards had worked perfectly.

"They've warded the area!" the tallest Death Eater shouted, whirling to aim a black-coloured hex at Hermione's chest. She deflected it with the precise flick of her wrist, then retaliated. "Use the item!"

"What item-" Hermione started to shout as she cast a binding hex, encasing one of the attackers in thick metal chains which caused him to fall to the ground.

One of the figures withdrew something silver from their pocket; a long, blade-looking item with a sapphire attached to the hilt. Hermione recognized what it was a heartbeat too late.

A Vhaltera Dagger.

As soon as he touched the gemstone, a blast of dark energy pulsated from the object. It didn't affect the other cloaked figures; they'd thought ahead, or wore some type of charm to prevent them from the effects of the dagger.

Hermione and Neville were not so fortunate.

Black magic radiated from the silver in a searing flash, exploding from it with a force so powerful it knocked Hermione and Neville into the air. She hissed when her skull connected with the wall behind her. Was sure she could feel blood at the back of her head.

The dark magic from the blast seemed to seep into her skin. She shivered against the foreign entity as it crept up her body like ice water. Dark hexes tended to do that; the violent, repugnant brand of magic always left the victim cold, feeling like their heart was turning to ice, their breath visible and frozen as though they were standing in the middle of a blizzard - like it was turning them into a corpse.

Hermione touched her temples. There was a violent ringing in her ears, and her vision was blurred as she watched the fuzzy shapes of four Death Eaters step over her and run down the corridor.

The fifth was dead, strangled past the point of suffocation through her own hex.

"Hermione!" Neville called through the high-pitched ringing.

She sat up and squinted, trying to focus on the sound of his voice. He was on the floor, hand pressed to his shoulder and blood pouring from his ear, but he was alive. Wounded. Pale, and visibly shaking. But alive, nonetheless.

She breathed a sigh of relief and forced herself to her feet, ignoring the way her muscles screamed in protest as she stumbled down the hallway, wand in hand, following the path of the Death Eaters.

"Hermione! Wait!" Neville screamed from behind. "Wait for me! Colin and Seamus can handle them for a few minutes! Just wait and I'll come with you!"

"Stand down Neville," she commanded over her shoulder, her own voice croaking as she fought off a scream from the stabbing pain behind her skull. She guessed she had a skull fracture; possible swelling in her brain. She would need Fleur to examine her if she ever got back to the base. "I'm not risking them getting hurt. Stay there and stay safe. I'll come back for you."

He shouted something in response, probably yelled for her to come back. She was already rounding the dark corridor, too far gone to hear him.

Hermione followed the narrow hallway, one hand on the wall for support and the other grasped around her wand. Eventually, she heard shouting and the sting of hexes flying through the air. Seamus and Colin were close.

The sound of the duel spurred her on, thawing the ice in her veins enough to allow her to break into a sprint.

Her jaw tightened when she found them. One of the Death Eaters was gripping the wooden box tightly as their eyes darted around the hallway, looking for an escape.

Creevey was doing well against the tallest Death Eater, shooting hex after hex and forcing the cloaked figure against the wall, forcing him into a vulnerable state. Harry would be proud; he'd trained him well.

Seamus, however, was struggling. His two attackers got him with an acid hex to the knees. He howled in pain and clutched the burning flesh as he fell to the floor.

The Death Eater advanced, his wand illuminating green from the tip as he stalked towards Seamus. He held his wand in the air, readying the curse-

"Avada Kedavra!" A green light shot from Hermione's wand, and hit the attacker square in the chest.

He stumbled, and his body went limp before his lifeless corpse slumped onto Finnigan.

Finnigan pushed the body off him with trembling fingers, crawling to free himself as he stared at Hermione with panic-stricken eyes.

"T-thanks," he choked, the pain evident in the way his face twisted.

Hermione nodded, then started to look around.

Shit. Colin and the other three Death Eaters were gone.

Hermione retrieved the small Portkey from her pocket - a gold ring wrapped in a silk handkerchief to keep it from activating - and handed it to Seamus. "Find Neville, get past the wards I set up, and get out of here."

"But you and Colin-"

"It's fine. I'll find him and the artefact," she said, forcing herself to offer a small smile despite the panic she felt.

She wasn't sure if could do this. She wasn't sure if she was strong enough-

No! No, she could. She'd done it before. She needed to do it again. There was no other option.

"You and Neville need medical attention," she said sternly. "And you're no good to me if you're injured. Find him and get out."

"Okay. Don't get caught, Hermione."

She didn't bother helping Seamus to his feet. She didn't have time, just handed him a potion for the pain and took off running. She cast a Silencing charm on her boots so they wouldn't alert anyone of her advance. She needed to be quick, silent. Her stomach twisted, lurching with dread the further she got down the stone path.

She should have been able to hear Colin by now, shouldn't she?

She should have heard him shouting, screaming? If he was still alive, then surely he would-

Maybe he's not alive? she thought as she took another corner too fast, having to hold the wall to stop herself from toppling over. Maybe they already killed him, maybe they already-

No! He was alive. He was alive. He was alive. He was alive. He had to be.

She skidded to a stop when the hallway forked. Two paths; both completely eclipsed in darkness, not a sound emitting from either. She had no clue which the Death Eaters had taken; which path Colin was probably being dragged down.