Harry Potter: The Price of Silence.

Had they split up? Had Colin been taken down one, the artefact down another? Without giving herself chance to second guess her decision, Hermione followed her instincts and took the left path.

The silence was almost deafening as she sprinted. Her legs burned with the effort as she propelled herself forward. She forced herself faster, to take larger strides and ignore the pain in her lungs.

As it turned out, Colin was alive.

Her eyes locked onto his panicked gaze the moment she rounded the final corner. They'd roughed him up a bit in her absence. He had a deep cut above his left eye, his cheek was bruised and swollen, and blood poured from a wound on his left calf.

The three Death Eaters were there; evidently decided against splitting up. Maybe they figured they had a better chance of fighting Hermione and Colin off together?

But if that was the case, then why hadn't they killed him? Surely they knew they had a better chance if they did - three against one and all that?

"Evening Granger," one of the masked figures said as he clutched Colin's shoulder, pulling him further into his chest. The tip of his wand stuck into Creevey's throat, almost deep enough to cut. "We wondered where you'd gone."

The one with the artefact chuckled darkly. The other had their wand trained on Hermione's chest.

"Let him go," she bit, her eyes sweeping the room, looking for something; anything to get them out of this situation.

"Not so fast Golden girl," the second said as he twirled Colin's stolen wand. "Drop the Anti-Apparation wards you set up and give us your wand. Then maybe, we'll think about letting you live."

Hermione liked to think she was logical. Fair. Level-headed to a fault. She always put the needs of The Order - of the war - above and beyond herself. Beyond anything. Killing Voldemort and winning the war was of paramount importance.

Nothing else mattered.

Nothing.

But did that extend to Colin's life?

She could kill the Death Eater with the artefact easily, possibly the other one too. They stood so close together it could be possible, just one flick of her wrist. She could grab the Artefact before their bodies hit the floor. The item was important, it could help them win the war, change the stakes and save so many lives.

But that would mean sacrificing Colin.

The second she extended her arm to cast the curse, his captor would surely end Creevey's life. He was on the other side of the corridor; she wouldn't have time to kill him too.

The ultimate utilitarian question: Could you sacrifice one life to save a thousand?

As Hermione stared at Colin, she noticed the way his eyes darted to his assailant's torso, then to her, then to his wand. Signalling something to her. He had a plan.

Well, they didn't really have any other option, did they?

Hermione nodded.

Colin twisted his body, jutting his elbow out violently into his captor's ribs. The Death Eater jolted and lowered his wand momentarily as the wind was knocked from his lungs from Colin's manoeuvre.

In the same moment, Hermione cast a powerful knockback jinx at the other Death Eaters, her spell sending them flying into the concrete wall with immeasurable force. The one with the artefact got it worse. Their skull shattered, blood spraying up the stone with the impact and killing them instantly. The other was temporarily knocked out.

Hermione retrieved the artefact and threw Collin his wand back. She raised her wand to kill the last Death Eater, her arm extending and the spell dying to brush past her lips and end their life -

"No, don't kill him!" Colin said as he walked to Hermione's side. He placed a hand on her shoulder, his face full of concern, his eyes kind. "There's been enough killing tonight. Let him go. He's too weak to stop us now."

"Fine." Hermione lowered her arm, her eyes narrowing at the cloaked figure clutching their chest. "But if you follow us, I will kill you, do you understand?"

She didn't wait to see his answer. The pair took off running towards the exit.

"I can't believe we got it!" Colin shouted minutes later, glee clear in his tone despite the way he was panting. He was slower than Hermione, a slight limp in his jog from his injury.

"We're not safe yet!"

As soon as the words left her lips, a green curse shot between them, narrowly missing Hermione's cheek as it propelled past them and disappeared down the black hallway. She turned, still running, to see the last two assassins - the one she had spared included - sprinting after them. Their fury was evident in every long stride they took; their hatred visible in the way their arms jutted out violently with another killing curse; Hermione and Collin ducked to avoid it.

"We can't make it out!" Colin panted. "They're gonna follow us to the apparition point! My leg is fucked, I can't run any faster! We need to do something!"

"I have an idea!" Hermione called back as she aimed her wand at the stone walls. She cast the first spell she could think of, and the stone hummed with the magic she'd infused in them. The walls creaked as they began to move; the stone scraping across the floor as they started dragging slowly towards each other.

"Nice one!" Colin laughed. "They're too far behind us, they're gonna get squished!"

"Don't get cocky!" she said as a small light became visible at the end of the corridor. The exit. They were so fucking close. "We still need to get out. Don't fall! Don't stop running! We can make it!"

Hermione and Colin's pace increased considerably, their legs moving faster than ever before as the light got larger and larger. Her lungs burned with the need for oxygen. Her legs ached, screaming for her to stop.

The hallways continued to close in, the rocks getting closer together, the hallway becoming narrower. They had to go single file, Hermione leading the way as the walls got tighter. The air was starting to become hot and stifling, suffocating.

Hermione tried to stop the relief from creeping into her chest. Tried to stop herself from smiling the further they got down the hallway.

They were so close. They could make it. They were going to survive this. Both of them.

Curses continued to shoot past them; the blinding green lights coming faster, more chaotic as the Death Eaters realized they were too far behind them to survive this. They were undeniably going to be crushed when the stones connected but their fear was affecting their aim. The curses missed, hit the walls, the stone, the ceiling instead of their targets.

Finally, Hermione crossed into the light with a scream of elation. Unable to stop the sound from passing her smiling lips as she became free of the hallway and the fresh air hit her face. She was outside, with Colin.

They were safe.

The stone walls connected a heartbeat after they were free, compressing the Death Eaters trapped inside. There was an audible crunch, a sickening squishing sound as their bones and organs were crushed under the force of the stone walls pressing against each other.

But Hermione wasn't focused on that. She was too busy holding Colin in her arms.

Colin, who had stepped in front of Hermione when one of the attackers had cast a killing curse in a last-ditch attempt at revenge before they were crushed to death.

Colin, whose chest had taken the violent green hex that'd slipped past the stones just before they connected.

Colin, who now lay dead in Hermione's arms.