WHO: crowd scene
WHERE: Forbidden Forest
DATE: June 20th, 2003
SUMMARY: third part of the end-of-year final scene

Harry slows his pace when he finally catches up to Hermione and Ron, a small gap having opened between them when he's stayed to speak to Draco. "Well... you lead the way Hermione. I don't think I remember the forest short-cut....". A blink then, as Padma comes along behind then, and he looks at her curiously, "What? We're just going to Hogsmeade... it's the weekend for it.. remember?". Riiiiight, that's all.

Susan shakes her head. "C'mon, Potter, I don't think any of us are buying that one." She gives Harry a grin to take the sting out of her words, but it's a quick grin, that disappears swiftly.

He nods firmly, then gives Hermione a faint smile. "It's alright, I just don't want anyone hurt." Which flies directly in the face of his previous statement, but oh well, yes? He turns to give Susan a faint smile. "He's not lying, Susan. We really were just going to go to Hogsmeade before this happened with Sabine."

Hermione shakes her head. "We've planned this trip for a while - it's a liberty weekend anyway, and none of the professors /did/ cancel it," she points out, briskly. "So I'm going. It's this way!" She heads to the west.

Susan blushes. "Sorry, Potter, didn't mean to call you a liar," she says, in response to all the corrections. She follows along, confused out of her gourd, which is showing on the silly look on her face. The shade of red of her skin doesn't really go well with her hair.

Padma eyes all as she catches up to the group, "Hogsmeade? You don't honestly expect me to...Look, you lot. If something really is out here, you're going to need as much help as you can. And from someone who actually believes that things aren't...right." So there! The Indian girl gives A Look that just -dares- them to tell her she's wrong. "And besides, if you're just going to Hogsmeade, there's no trouble in me coming along."

The clearing is far from empty, with Cho in her uniform, holding hands with Melvin, also in his uniform, both looking fairly cheerful to see everyone. With them are several dark-robed figures, hoods drawn up, and behind them, a very large cauldron of black fired metal. One of the black-robed figures steps forward, murmuring, "So nice of you all to join us. Your friends have a few words to say to you, haven't you, my dear?" Stepping back, the figure lifts a hand to lightly touch Cho's cheek. "We must thank you, Mister Potter, for all you've done to aid our cause."

Susan's face lights up and she takes a step forward as she sees Melvin and Cho, then goes bewildered as she sees all the black-robed figures. "Melvin? What's going on? Chang? I thought you weren't going to...Who are they?"

Draco stiffens, listening carefully to the first figure speak. Praying that none of the voices he hears tonight is a certain, far too familiar voice.

Ron's forward progress positively grinds to a halt as he comes upon the scene in the clearing. "...Aren't you glad we weren't running, Hermione?" As always, a small, not very successful attempt at humour in a tough situation. He shifts a bit closer to the Gryffindor Prefect out of sheer instinct, watching the robed figures and Cho very warily. "Cho, what're you doing?" Well, he doesn't really expect an answer. Not a truthful one, anyhow.

Harry skids to a halt as he comes into the clearing just behind Ron and Hermione, though it is easy enough to see either over or between him. At first, his eyes simply fail to resolve the scene into detail, his brain not believing what it's seening. It is only after a moment that astonishment begins to dawn on his face, "Cho? Why... why are you with them?". And then his expression darkens slightly in anger as he calls out, "I've _never_ done anything to help you.". Intentionally at least. And of course, his wand is out, paranoid as he was upon entering the wood.

Hermione lets out an audible gasp, still holding her wand tightly, but while strategy isn't her strong point, seeing what's going on causes her to let out a small cry. "Harry, don't," she hisses. "Look out!" She looks from side to side, trying to move forward to block the boys from being in the open.

Padma comes to a halt inches behind the rest, gaping at her housemate. While the hooded figures aren't too much of a surprise after all of her paranoid (though, now that she's been proven at least somewhat right, can it still be called paranoid?) studies and hypotheses, the vision of Cho standing contentedly in the middle of them -is- a shock. The Ravenclaw Patil, along with the others, clutches her wand ready. It takes only a moment for her muscles to tense attempting to take in as many details as she can.

Cho allows the touch, incredibly, even smiling slightly. Her eyes glitter as she narrows them at the small group. "A few for now, yes." She tugs lightly at Melvin's hand, noting with glee, "It's -Susan-. And the usual lot." Airily, "I'm not -doing- anything, yet. And why am I with them - well. The fact that you've been -caught- should give you some hint, Potter. But you've done plenty to help me along to being here, I'd say." She wiggles her fingers at Padma with her free hand, smiling brightly.

Melvin similiarly smiles, a small, gradually widening expression, twirling his wand cheerily. "Y' could say tha'," he agrees, the Welsh broadening his vowels. "'Ello, del," he adds to Susan. "Come to see us off, then?" He chuckles easily, looking round the lot of students.

Susan says, quietly, ignoring Cho for the moment, "Melvin? You were going to come talk to me before you did anything. What happened? You promised." She sounds a little hurt, and a lot betrayed, and she focuses at the Hufflepuff accusingly.

"Oh, get over yourself, Chang," Draco snarls, a bit of his old personality returning under pressure. "All of us know the smug, smarmy self-righteous and overconfident attitude is part of the sodding handbook for 'being a git who is the pawn of dark wizards.' Hell, I think I edited the chapter once or twice for revised editions."

"Hermione, /don't/," Ron warns quietly, reaching to pull her back. "You're not big enough to shield anything, anyhow." He crosses his arms over his chest, a hand slipping inside his robes. He doesn't grab his wand yet, but he's certain he knows right where it is if the time should come. "They're under a spell," he muses under his breath. "Or just illusions, or something." Then, more loudly, "What are you going to be doing then, Chang? Since yet sort of implies that you're going to be doing something."

Padma mutters under her breath at Susan, "I think he mightn't have been entirely honest with you, Sue." Her eyes somehow manage to tear themselves from the student pair to scan over the hooded figures, "If it's a spell, I bet one of the others is doing it," she continues under her breath, hoping her voice travels to only those nearest her. As for her wand, she starts ticking off the number of hooded figures, though is quite careful not to actually -do- anything outside of count. Notice. Watch.

Harry however, seems markedly shaken, even if, as according to Ron, Cho is merely an illusion.... or under some sort of enchantment, certainly, though his wand is out, it isn't aimed anywhere near Cho. "I.... You... you did this because of..". And he pauses here before he gets it out, nothing thinking that perhaps mentioning it would be a bad idea, "Cedric?". After a moment, he pulls himself together slightly, though it's obvious he's still a bit shaken. "We're not caught yet....".

"Cedric, yes, that was his name," the nameless figure muses. "Ah, well. Let us strip away pretense, shall we? Draco, I believe you know what this is." He or she moves back, to the cauldron, running a hand along the edge. "My dear Cho, would you be willing and gracious enough to explain to Mister Potter and his little friends as to why, exactly, you and Mister Grubworth have chosen to come over to our side? In -full- and loving detail, if you would."

"Jealous because I look prettier doing it, Malfoy? Or because I managed to get the sort of approval you never could?" Cho's tone is sugar-sweet, and she doesn't move just yet, merely swinging she and Melvin's hands back and forth. "I'll think on telling you, Ron. But only as I like you. It's hard not to like the sort of bloke who'll protect the girl who threw him over for just about everyone else, then last, Malfoy of all people. It's -gentlemanly-." Another of those bright smiles, darkening as her gaze shifts to Harry. "You're not even fit to speak his name," she spits. Then, "Oh, of course. Well, since we're on the subject, let's begin with how Harry let Ced die on his watch, shall we?"

Hermione's eyes widen enormously, and she takes a step back, inadvertently, closer to the boys - even if she can't block them, she can be closer to them, and right now, that might be enough. She's shocked into speechlessness, eyeing Cho rather the way one might when seeing one's foot floating in the water, separate from the rest of one's body, in a rapidly growing cloud of crimson.

Draco looks at the cauldron in disgust. "Annwyn's bloody little tool. Yes, I recognize it; father had been looking for one to help godfather. I recognize it well enough, unlike your disguised voice...have something to hide, do we? A little afraid that perhaps we might survive this encounter and be able to identify you to the Aurors?" There's challenge in the boy's tone... the cards said he'd turn traitor? He'll prove them wrong...he'll go down with all the fury and spark he can muster.

Ron's breath seems to catch, though he seems to make an effort to return his expression to that stoic, hardened neutrality that he maintained before in the Hall. He dips a hand into his pocket and palms the card from earlier, then very slowly draws his hand from his pocket, in hopes that no one will think he's trying to pull a fast one and draw his wand or anything of the sort. "I appreciate your approval, Chang. Really."

Melvin just smiles at Susan. "Sorry, del, but you know where my heart lies." He glances briefly at Cho, then back to Susan, expression growing a bit perturbed. "But yeu know, you're not so blameless as a' that, del. You had t' push in, and ... maybe if yeu hadn't ... but too late f' that, aye?" He nods to the cloaked figure, then to Cho. "Easy, heaven. Do what yeu must, but dinnae hurt y'self."

Padma snorts scathingly, muttering, "Yar, that sounds just like Chang." It doesn't add up. After making her remark, the Indian girl remains silent, though she does try descretely stepping backwards so that she has a better view of their surroundings. Options. That's what they need. Options.

Susan flinches, as if Melvin just slapped her. "Maybe...maybe if I hadn't, it would have happened faster," she says, her eyes narrowing as she tries to recover from a fairly accurate verbal blow. 'Sorry...you're not half sorry enough, you lying, manipulative cheat." Harsh words, from a Hufflepuff, especially to another Hufflepuff.

Cho continues, speaking around and over people as her voice rises, slowly. "He wouldn't have even died if it hadn't been for you, Potter. It's as if you destroy all that you -touch-. You could have never been like him and you resented him for it. You -let- him die. Because you -wanted- him to." She winks at Ron, then shows white teeth to Hermione as she notes her stunned expression. Glancing back to Melvin, she smiles fondly. "Oh, don't worry about -me-."

Harry steps back from Cho's words, as if struck, almost mimicing Susan's movement, his expression one of pain. It's obvious that he hasn't gotten over survivours guilt, even though Cedric's death was a year ago... he has, after all tried to avoid thinking about. But that's completely unavoidable now isn't it? He shakes his head wildly in denial, "NO! It wasn't like that. May... maybe I was jealous of him for a little while, but I just wanted to share the victory with him.". He pauses then, staring at Cho, eyes wide yet vision oddly blurred, "It was too quick... I couldn't _do_ anything.". But that doesn't answer all of Cho's charges... does it?

The robed figure turns forward, one hand lifting to tug back the hood. Narcissa Malfoy looks at her only son and says coolly, "Your father is going to be very disappointed, I'm afraid. Once he wakes up again, that is - the moon should be overhead soon, shouldn't it? Mmm. I think, all in all, a little test is in order."

Draco looks like he's been struck. "M...mother?" He can't even manage any words beyond that...he looks horrified. He thought he had lost his whole family, he thought he had to rebuild... but now his mother is here, and is speaking of...resurrecting his father? There's a clear conflict of emotions. On some level, Draco still desperately desires the approval of his parents...the approval he had decided he would never get, when he finally broke free from their shadows, and when he committed himself to another path.

Hermione takes a deep breath. "This isn't helping," she says steadily, starting to add, "What do you w-" The sight of Narcissa Malfoy causes her expression to look deeply shaken, and she twists to look at Draco, then falls silent, biting her lip.

Susan spits on the ground. "And you, Chang? Grubworth was going to be a Quidditch player. He was worth something. Now? Now he's twisted, ruined. Like you. Maybe it's your fault that Cedric's dead. Maybe he wanted to impress you so much that he'd have done anything, even enter the Tournament. You make me sick, Chang. You want revenge so much that you'll take it on the wrong person, and use anyone to help get it. Cedric didn't die because of Harry. He died because of the person you chose to serve. Congratulations. You're now worth less than my spit." Her voice is vicious, harsh, as she tries to block Melvin's words out of her head with an attack. Her freckles stand out against her skin, and she's breathing hard. She's stopped looking at Melvin, as if he doesn't exist any longer.

"Well, there's a couple of questions answered," Ron mumbles - he's fallen completely silent for the most part, save for the muted interjections every now and again. "Sort of." He doesn't look very scared - which either a testament to his bravery or stupidity, one of the two. He rather looks more frustrated, but doesn't ask any questions or speak any more for the moment.

Padma can't help but turn her eyes back on her housemate at those words. And she looks like she just might be sick on them. And then she looks back at 'her side'. She gapes at all of their faces. Back to Mrs. Malfoy. Back to Draco. Finally, she opens her mouth to say something loud enough for all to hear, "What kind of absurd logic is all of that? Harry, don't you dare listen to her. Chang, I thought you were suppoesed to be a Ravenclaw but that was the stupidest most mad explaination I've ever heard. In my entire life! Reguardless of whether or not Harry may or may not have wanted Cedric to die, You Know Who was the one who did the curse! Not Harry. So you joining up with him makes absolutely no sense. Daft Mad Bit of Fuzz. I say these two 'students' button their big fat lying mouths and let one of you cowardly cloaked figures come forward and speak up for yourselves." Apparantly, Narcissa Malfoy stepping up to frighten her son back into submission doesn't count in her books.

Cho glances back to Susan, facing the barrage of words with a blank expression. And then, she begins to laugh. She can't seem to stop laughing, shaking her head as she attempts to control her apparent amusement. "Oh... I'm sorry, Susan. Amd I supposed to feel -bad-?" Her amusement vanishes, and the eyes the girl, disdainfully. "And you want what I have, I suppose. Too bad for you that you won't just -take- it." And for Padma, she does exactly what she knows will infuriate any Ravenclaw; she merely gives the girl an enigmatic smile.

Melvin seems utterly unconcerned with Susan's scathing indictment of him, telling her casually, "Del, you never even dated a boy, what d'you know about love? Your entire world r'volves around a fantasy. A fantasy which I admit, I'm rather glad t'have my part in written out." He glances to Cho, smiling fondly. "Love, I b'lieve this one's yours. Do as you like."

Narcissa smiles slowly, and tells Draco, "It isn't too late, my son. Your father will be waking up any minute now. Come back to us," she beckons, curling a fingertip, "and let us do the name of Malfoy well, shall we? We can," she adds, with a half-disparaging glance at the Gryffindors, "save you your toys, if you believe that they can be mended... for later." She beckons to the other figures, and they step forward, pulling open and off their robes.

Millicent Bulstrode is one of them - the Slytherin girl who was withdrawn by her distant relatives when her mother disappeared and her father died in his cell, horribly mutilated. She's changed, though, possessing greyish skin and long, long fingers tipped with razor-like appendages, her mouth sewn shut at the corners. Still bulky, now she looks rather like someone tried to turn her into a cross between a werewolf and a zombie and got stuck halfway, failing horribly. The other is Marcus Flint, his eyes wide and bulging, a dark, half-rotting slit sewn up in his throat where it apparently had been cut. The same claw-like appendages end his fingers, his mouth similiarly sewn shut, his skin a muddy greenish colour. Blood is smeared all down the front of his shirt, and he makes a barely audible whistling sound.

Susan barely manages not to scream as she sees the wreck of the Slytherin students. She takes a step back, disregarding anything Cho and Melvin have just said. She pulls out her wand, and glances around her at her fellow students, terrified almost beyond thought.

"So you see," Cho says casually, looking back at Marcus, "What happens to people who cross me."

"I'm tired of being his pawn, mother," Draco says, clenching his fists and looking downwards. The appearance of his former housemates doesn't bother him, he's seen far worse before. He's been nearly killed and resurrected himself, as part of his father's rituals. "I'm tired of him using me for every ritual he's too cowardly to give his own blood or pain for. I'm tired of standing his sodding shadow all the time, waiting for him to even notice I /exist/ when he doesn't need blood, or an errand boy!"

Harry seems to gather himself then, perhaps drawing strength from the defense of people who aren't from his house, and who really, he doesn't know all too well. Though that, perhaps can be rectified later.... if there _is_ a later. A sad look then is focused on Cho, "It wasn't my fault Cho.". There he could say it now, "And... this is your choice, not mine.". A slight frown fors then, as a nagging though enters his mind that asks, 'is it?', Cho _could_ be under a spell, the change is rather... drastic. A sound of revulsion claws its way out of his throat then, as he sees the modified bulks of Bulstrode and Flint... but his gaze, soon enough is reserved for something... or rather someone else. He focuses instead... on Draco Malfoy.

Ron brings a hand up to his mouth in an attempt to keep himself from being sick. He has to turn his face away for a moment, but can't make himself look away for long, not when ... well, not considering what's in front of him. After a moment, he gets himself as under control as he can, though the corners of his mouth twitch almost imperceptibly before he finally believes he can speak without being sick. "You didn't do this, Cho. And even if you did, it wasn't really /you/." He looks ready to say more, but clears his throat and adds as aside to Draco, "Good for you, stand up to your parents, but, er ... well, you might have to say this to your father soon, so I'd be ready for that." He smiles very, very faintly, and very, very grimly, then turns away to scan the clearing.

"Enough," Narcissa snaps. "Take them. /He/ will be rising soon, and if they will not listen..." She spits, glaring at Draco. "If you would betray your family, then so be it. May your mother's curse be upon you!" The figures which once might have answered to the names Marcus Flint and Millicent Bulstrode lurch forward - Millicent in Ron's direction, Marcus in Padma's. "You two, take out who you will. I will make sure that he is fed. The moon is nearly right."

Draco looks up finally, and something in his face breaks. It's clear he had been wavering on the edge, a moment more and he might have fallen back into the chasm...but Narcissa's words anger him. "If /I/ would betray my family?" The boy's silver-grey eyes are alight now. "I would have /died/ for father and you if you had only ever bothered to acknowledge I /existed/ as more than something pretty to trot out for guests, or bleed for rituals, or use as a spy, or send to Knockturn Alley on errands. So don't talk about betrayal, mother, because you and father are the ones who taught it to me first!"

Padma holds her want out along with all of the others, attempting to keep her gaze away from the former Slytherins. She, instead, tries to let her peripheral vision take in her companions. At Malfoy's words, she stuffs her free hand in her pocket, thumbing the card given to her by Sabine. Under her breath, she says towards Malfoy, "Double edged sword. People with more than one side. People can change. Sabine's tar-" The lurching Marcus Flint certainly draws her attention. Made automatic by obsessive practice, Padma waves her wand shouting, "Adicio Accendo!" A tight fire shoots out from her wand, heading towards the transformed Slytherin.

Draco sneers, hands going into his robes. "After all, mother, you should be proud. I was taught the way to show love was to ignore something, or hurt it when it was convenient to you. Haven't I done you and father proud? Haven't I learned my lessons well? Look at what you and he wrought, mother...isn't this what you wanted me to be? Because it's what you taught me!"

Hermione gives Draco an encouraging glance, looking as though she wants to say something, a sort of mute sympathy in her gaze. But her attention is suddenly more needed facing forward, and she lifts her wand. "Leave him alone!", she adds, trying to aim her wand at the onrushing former students. "You don't need another slave, anyway - look at how well you treat the ones you've got!"

Cho drops Melvin's hand to whip out her wand and point it at Harry as her other reaches into her robes as she speaks. "Say what you want, Potter. That doubt'll always be in your mind. Did you want him dead? Did you -really-? Can you be sure you -didn't-?" From her robes, a slivery flash - an arrow's flung at Susan, with words muttered in Cantonese.

Ron yells hoarsely and finally draws his wand, coming along with it a babble of almost every spell that comes to mind. There's a banishing charm, and a blasting curse (thank goodness for Dueling Club!), an incendio spell, and even - at the very end - one of the ice arrow spells that Bill taught in DADA. All the while, he's recoiling, trying to give himself more time to get off another spell or two whilst he tries not to trip over anyone as he backs up.

Susan waves her wand, shrieking a quick transfigurations spell, and turns the arrow into a feather. Her eyes narrow, and the fear is pushed to the background, as she focuses on Cho. "Nice try, Chang. Pity you're just not as great as you think you are."

Fire doesn't appear to stop Marcus Flint very much. But it does do something else - it causes the stitches on his throat and on his lips to blacken, his flesh blistering but not burning, and then, the stitches pop, breaking open. The whistling sound increases, turning into a bubbling scream that echos wetly from his lips and from the slit in his throat.

Susan waves her wand, shrieking a quick transfigurations spell, trying to turn the arrow into a feather. It doesn't work, precisely, but the arrow grazes past her, slightly diverted from its course. It slices through her robe. She turns red, now, with fury, as she stares at Chang, fear pushed to the background. "Slimy, Chang. Really slimy."

Millicent is having less luck than Marcus, mainly due to the sheer number of spells Ron is so desperately hurling around. Her own stitches burst open, causing her mouth to sag open heavily, though it doesn't stop her or even slow her; the banishing charm does nothing to her, though the blasting curse causes a chunk of flesh to be blown out of her shoulder. She howls angrily, stumbling, trying to surge forward to grab Ron still - which is when the ice arrow hits. She freezes in place - literally, a bluish rime of frost appearing on her skin.

Melvin steps forward, looking indulgent. "Guess I'll take care o' the lass for you, love," he calls merrily, to Cho, then brandishes his wand almost playfully at Susan. "Now, now, del, none o' that. You might hurt y'self, and then what'd ee do?"

Draco is, once again, ignoring the lesser servants, as he stalks forward towards his mother, hands still inside his robe. "So you want me back, mother?" Despite the anger in his tone, there's also a tone of loss. And to a careful observer, there are the beginnings of tears in his eyes; he's always wanted acceptance in his family, and it took years to turn away. "One family again, reunited with father?"

Harry shakes his head at Cho as he readies himself, his expression still more sad than anything else, "No... it never wanted him to be harmed, I'd trade places with him if I could. I... might have been responsible, in a way that I never intended for his death... but you're killing his memory. Do you think he'd have wanted... _this_?". And then, there's no more time for talk, Harry dodges instinctively to the side since the silver arrow comes at least in his direction, but his spell is directed at Flint. "Impedimentia!". The slowing curse that he'd learned for the competition last year.

It really is difficult to concentrate fully on the spell when one is backpedaling so furiously away from an advancing corpse who once was a very imposing Slytherin girl - or who still is an imposing Slytherin girl, but the way she looks, it's unlikely. Ron's bow wavers, but he struggles with bringing it back. "Arco-congelato!" At least all of his practicing for the O.W.L.s wasn't for naught. "Freccio!" Another bolt of ice is jettisoned toward Millicent, followed by another and another. He spares a very brief, unseeing glance to the rest of the students - as worried as he is about their welfare, it's rather useless if he's too dead to help them.

Narcissa looks furious at Draco's indictment of her parenting skills. "You had your chance," she snarls at him, plunging her arms into the cauldron. It's filled with something thick and viscously liquid, the stuff sloshing around as she feels around. She hauls up something which looks vaguely like a dead human infant by one limb, drawing a knife in her other hand. "You can give your opinions to your father!" The infant turns fretfully in her grasp, dripping a black oily substance, and squalls noisily, revealing rows upon rows of sharp, needlelike teeth, eyes slitting open, yellow with red, catlike pupils.

Padma winces at the howling, again looking like she might be sick. But gathers her wits enough to continue along Ron's course of action, flinging spells at Flint while backing away. At approximately the same time as Harry calls 'Impedimentia', the India girl calls, "Adglomero Stiria!" A freezing blast emits from her wand, followed by a sharp icicle.

"As you wish, Mel. I've a score to settle as is." Cho angles her steps towards Harry, advancing on him, her wand pointed at him. Her expression darkens, voice turning colder with each step she takes. "How would you know what he wanted? You didn't know him..." She trails off, then blinks at him, eyes widening. "Killing... what? What's..." Her expression shaded bewildered.

Susan turns her attention to Melvin, the fury fading into disbelief. It's got to be a spell, the boy she knew wouldn't act like that. She watches him warily, not ready to just attack him.

With at least two people attacking both of the shambling creatures, Hermione is torn between a choice of three targets - Melvin, Cho, or Narcissa herself. With a quiet cry of dismay, she hesitates, then points her wand at Melvin, but one thought in her mind, under the circumstances : "ACCIO JEANS!"

<OOC> Harry says, "...."

<OOC> Susan dies. Just dies.

<OOC> Padma blinks, "Erm. Hermione? That's the one thought in your mind?" ;)

<OOC> Harry says, "Hermione, slayer of serious moods."

<OOC> Cho snerks! Yay Herm!

<OOC> Hermione says, "Well, of the three, I have the clearest shot at him, and thanks to the scene at the Yule Ball, I -do- have familiarity with his jeans. And if everyone's going to make fun of me ALL year for his jeans ending up on top of my head, I may as well get SOME use of it!"

<OOC> Harry says, "guilt guilt, angst angst, guilt, angst, JEANS!"

<OOC> Susan offers Hermione about ten bucks worth of British chocolate for that one.

<OOC> Draco laughs.

<OOC> Cho says, "Dude. :)"

<OOC> Padma just claps. A lot. ANd then makes friends with susan. Brit Chocolate is good.

Marcus stumbles, slowed noticably, but still coming onwards, heading towards the others, but whereas cold worked so well on Millicent, it seems to make him just shrug impatiently, still lurching on. At the same time, the ice around Millicent seems to be cracking, then crumbling, as the girl-thing moves forward, but slowly... turning, lumbering to a stop... watching Narcissa in a trembling sort of anticipation, breathing heavy, laboured, and animalistic.

Padma flings a rather loud banishing spell out, "Abigo!" Before giving a whole hearted scream at the sight of the curled up enfant in Narcissa Malfoy's arms. She -knew- it! Argh! Curses on that dratted Sabine for being impossible! "Abigo! Abigo!" And if that doesn't work, "Eicio!" Another banishing spell for good measure! And yes, thus far, she's still flinging these at Flint.

Narcissa makes a slice in the enfant terrible she holds, then drops the knife, reaching into cauldron and pulling up ... the head of Lucius Malfoy, by the rather untidy for once hair. "Drink, my love," she croons to him, bringing the enfant towards his lips - just as the enfant ends up banished, wailing and curling in on itself and vanishing. She swears, glaring at Padma, and tells Millicent with a snap, "Keep her busy, or you will never achieve true immortality!" And with her other hand, she reaches into the cauldron again, pulling out a second enfant. There can't be an infinite supply in there, but this time, she just concentrates on bringing it directly to Lucius' drowned lips.

Harry only launches the one spell at Marcus before he's too occupied with Cho to do anything else. Which is just as well, since sights of flying jeans might will convince him that he's hallucinating everything. As it is, all of his his concentration is on Cho... as well as his wand, though he seems reluctant to point it at her. "I... knew him a little. Enough to know that he wouldn't have wanted this.". And then, his eyes widen as Cho seems disoriented, so she _was_ enspelled. "Cho! Wake up!". Oh yeah, like _that's_ going to be effective, but Harry isn't about to attack her with a spell at this point.

Did Ron win? Well ... probably not. But the respite from firing arrows at the Millicent thing does give him a chance to more fully scan the scene around him. He pales very visiby at the sight of the enfants, a shudder wracking his body as he freezes in place, still alert ... just still. "Confundo!" He calls in Marcus' direction, since it seems Padma could use a little aid - there's bound to be /something/ that works on him! "Locomotor mortis!" Alright ... back to the thing at hand. He eyes Millicent warily, wand still poised to toss off another spell should the need arise. And as much as he doesn't want it to, his gaze keeps dragging back to the enfants. "We have to stop that ... banish another one!" He doesn't wait for someone else to, however, but aims a banishing charm at the enfants in Marcissa's hands.

The problem with accio'ing things that are bigger than oneself is that they tend to be heavy, and they tend to achieve a maximum flight velocity. And Susan is between him and Hermione. Here's hoping Draco doesn't get jealous, but it looks likely that Hermione is going to be on the bottom of a dogpile of Hufflepuffs...

"I /had/ my chance?" Draco says. "When did I ever have a chance, mother? A chance to do anything but be a pawn on father's gameboard?" He pulls one hand out of his robe, holding a wand at the ready. The problem isn't the enfants in the cauldron...it's the woman pulling them out. "I'll give my opinion to father, alright... let's all go see him together!" Closing his eyes, Draco takes a deep breath. A spell he learned from his godfather...a spell that was intended to be used in his godfather's service...a spell that, if Draco uses it, likely means the end to his own life as soon as the Aurors hear of it. Raising the wand, he says in a tortured tone, "Avada..."

Cho stumbles towards Harry, falling to her knees as she does, nearer to him. She coughs a couple of times before trying to get to her feet, unsteadily. "What..." She stares 'round at the chaos, then looks back to Harry, eyes reflecting confusion.

Millicent starts to turn away, but at the sight of the newly acquired enfant, stops again, hissing slowly between her teeth, which are broken and blackened in her mouth. Then, instead of lumbering on towards Padma, she lumbers in Narcissa's direction, a procedure which draws Marcus' attention away from the students. He stiffens, stopping, and turns towards Narcissa as well - and both of them begin moving with their lurching speed towards where the woman is, and the enfant. Narcissa sees this, and seems to flinch. "What are you doing!", she demands. "No - stop!" This, apparently, wasn't in the plan.

Padma leaps behind Ron, as he seems to be taking control of the Flint/Bulstrode situation and flings yet another "Abigo! Eicio! Exsilium!" at the emerging enfant terribles. Just keep banishing them. Yes. That's it. She is -almost- deaf to other curses being tossed around but when she hears -That One-... What is going on here!?!

 Susan comes to the realization that there's about to be a pair of jeans flying at her and Hermione, with a Melvin in them. She shrieks and leaps out of the way, as fast as she can, nearly running into a tree in the process.

Harry is only too willing to belive that Cho was under a spell that she, somehow has managed to beat back for a time. His expression for the moment is great relief, marred by a high strung tension, "Oh god... _Cho_ You were under a spell.". He walks towards her, apparently intent on helping her... somehow. "We've got to get you out of he-". He cuts off though, as he hears the beginning of, 'the spell' the one that ended his parents, cedrics, and numerous other people's lives. He spins towards Draco, "Malfoy! No! Don't go down that Road!". Cho is not forgotten... but, this ranks pretty high in the priority scheme of things.

The look on Hermione's face can best be summed up as : 'oh ... sodding hell.' It's only visible for a split second, though, before she's slammed into by a tall, solidly built farmboy and Quidditch player who outweighs her by something around a -minimum- of fifty to eighty pounds. They both go hurtling back into a tree, and there's a loud, ominous crack, and then, for a moment, silence.

And while Draco was willing to use the most unforgivable curse of all on his own mother only instants before, he chokes it off as he hears Harry's cry and sees Bulstrode and Flint lumbering towards Narcissa. For a moment, he hesitates, torn... but maybe Draco still has enough hubris to believe his parents have to live or die by /his/ hand, not that of some zombified human-pug crossbreed or undead Slytherin captain. Oblivious at present to Hermione's dilemma and cursing vehemently in German, the pale boy starts up the hill with an anguished expression, trying to draw on all his speed and agility from Quidditch. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" Narcissa may be as evil as Lucius, she may be perfectly ready to kill everyone here...but she's Draco's mother, and he'll see her face judgment at his hands, or the Ministry's. But not like this; not torn apart in front of him.

"Malfoy, if you finish that spell, you're no better than your father!" Being as Ron seems to have deterred the onslaught of Marcus and Millicent - well, he can say he did, but in truth it seems they backed away all on their own - he's now completely free to watch everything unfold, though he still glances around warily. Padma is given a very small smile before his eyes go wide as he catches sight of Hermione crashing into a tree. "Hermione!" He grabs hold of Padma's arm to drag her with him, but he's running toward the Gryffindor Prefect whether the Ravenclaw follows or not.

Only too willing to believe - something Cho'd apparently counted on. Even though he's spun towards Malfoy, she's still close enough to him to leap back to her feet and behind his back, hand coming out of her robes with a shiny bright blade. One arm snakes around Harry's shoulders with remarkable alacrity, pulling him in close, lips at his ear. "Is it all that you though it'd be?" she murmurs, then drives the knife into his side.

The two former Slytherins seem utterly disinterested in Narcissa, in point of fact - but not so what she holds. Narcissa, though, seems unaware of this, expression going from confusion and rage to near panic. "You do not get to feed yet!", she hisses at the two, trying to force the now wailing enfant's arm between Lucius' lips. "Once he has fed, then you may feed - not before!"

Padma's not staying out in the open on her own. No siree Bob. She's going with Ron. Over to the tree. Where Hermione is. Oh, and Ron's kinda got her by the arm, so one might also say she's making the 'easier choice' of her given options. Though she does keep her wand arm free, twisting about and flinging, "Abigo!" over her shoulder. And it is in one of these twists that she sees Cho's betrayal, "Harry!" She screams.

Draco storms towards his mother, intending to knock her back from the cauldron as he charges in, closer and closer. "Let the dead rest, mother! Let father have whatever peace they granted him...! Let..." And /again/, distraction. Now he finally takes in Cho and the dagger in Harry's side, his attention turned away from his mother for a moment.

Susan looks around her, bewildered, bothered, and completely unsure of what to do, until Padma's scream alerts her to that danger. She knows that what Cho's doing is her fault for not heading it off sooner. "Chang! NOOO!" She brandishes her wand, and screams something as she tries to get a spell off. Whatever it was, her pronunciation must have been off, as her wand lets out a spark, and nothing happens.

Climbing to his feet, Melvin is holding Hermione by the throat. "Nice try," he tells the Gryffindor Prefect conversationally, as she lolls in his grip, limp and unresisting. "But yeu ken, lass, yeu never were much of an athlete, aye?" He turns, and his eyes widen - there's a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw hurrying in his direction.

Now Draco's struck entirely motionless, as he watches Melvin hold Hermione up by her throat. "...no..."

The two shambling hulks snarl, even as Lucius's eyes snap open, and he straightens, spitting out the enfant's arm. "Thank you, my dear," he says conversationally, in a precise, cultured tone of voice, almost bored, "but I do believe that I would prefer my meat to be a bit better prepared. Have you a knife, perhaps?"

Harry doesn't scream, no, rather he gives voice to a surprised sounding gasp as the cold blade pierces his side the shock of it bringing him to his knees as blood flows from the wound. "Cho... no...". But he sags only for a moment, and the shock doesn't set in, as he has an almost perfect view of Lucius rising once again... and of Hermione being held up by her throat. And he bucks, trying to get the knife out of him, flinging an elbow towards Cho's head, and trying to get up again all at once.

Ron is all for body slamming Melvin, but decides it's not a wise decision considering he'd be smacking right into Hermione, too. And now there's too much going on for Ron to take care of it all at once, and he's faced with a horrible choice that he's got to make in all of two seconds. He skids to a stop with a strangled cry, then sweeps a leg out to attempt to catch Melvin behind the knees as he wheels around. "Get off of him!" He only then lets go of Padma, trying to wildly aim a banishing curse at Cho, too caught in the moment to think that it might do her some sort of harm. Two things at once is almost too much for Ron, but there becomes a third when he hears Lucius' voice. He does manage to yell at Draco to alert him ... though the Slytherin has likely already noticed. "Malfoy! Turn around!"

Padma, her arm free of Ron's grip, isn't entirely sure -where- to look. Chaos! Chaos surrounds the poor, strategicly minded Ravenclaw. She weighs her options and chooses Hermione, first. They'll need all the help they can get, right? And it won't do to have her strung up by her neck. She whips her want about and sends a fiercly confident body bind hex at Melvin.

 At Ron's yell, Draco turns around...to see his father rising from the cauldron. Slowly, his wand wavers...and begins to lower. "Father." His expression has gone strangely unreadable now, impossible to tell whether he's unhappy, sad, or joyous at his father's return; his words are once more spoken in that bored, aloof tone that characterized him through past years at Hogwarts, betraying nothing.

Susan comes to a decision. Since Harry was so obliging as to struggle, Susan does one of the most phenomonally stupid moves she could manage. "Accio dagger!" she yells, trying to wrest the knife away from Cho. You'd have thought she'd have learned from Hermione's example, but noooooo.

Cho winces as the elbow connects, pulling away from Harry as she does so. She manges to balance on one foot as she does, repositioning to aim a particuarly hard kick at his back, set to send him sprawling. Her own strength suprises her and she overbalances, falling to the ground as the banishment hits her. The wind's knocked out of her by the combined force of spell and fall, but otherwise, there's no effect.

Narcissa bends down to pick up the knife - and therein is her flaw. The moment her back is turned, the two revenants give low growls, and staggering forward, fall on her. There's a piercing scream. "No - stop! What're you doin-" It ends in a wet, stretching, tearing sound, and a gurgle.

Lucius turns in the cauldron, and sighs. "You have no idea," he says in a tone of mild reproof, "how long it took me to find that wife. It looks rather as though I will need another. But no matter." He straightens, still holding the enfant. "Draco," he addresses the boy, ignoring the rest of the chaos for the moment. "I trust you are ready to return home?"

The dagger arcs through the air, covered still in Harry's blood. The problem with sharp utensils which have been well-taken care of, is that they tend to remain sharp, and potentially, deadly. Plunging into Susan's throat, there's a gout of blood. She isn't necessarily dead - but if noone knows the appropriate, difficult healing spells, she may well be soon.

Susan falls over with a particularly nasty gurgle.

Thud.

 Wham. Melvin's not exactly in a position to hold onto Hermione terribly well, what with one thing and another - the body bind, like so many other spells, is slightly sluggish on him. He falls to the ground, dropping Hermione, which is when he apparently sees Susan fall. "Susan!" His face changes, expression becoming one of agonizing horror and remorse. Unfortunately, he's not in a very good position to -do- anything about it, other than possibly inchworm his way across to the girl.

 He's up! Cho's down for the moment, which means that it's Harry Potter to the rescue again... or not. Besides skewering Susan through the throat, it also widens Harry's wound as it tears its way free of it, and he only manages to stumble a few steps forward before stumbling to his knees again. Still, despite his injuries, Harry still, almost miraculously has his wand in hand. He's not turned in the right direction to aim at Cho, and in his state of mind, he isn't exactly up for strategies. Instead, his wavering wand is pointed at the newly arisen Lucius Malfoy. No spell goes off yet though, his aim is wavering to much, however he wills it to steady.

Hermione is a still, unmoving figure on the grass, though she's at least in better shape than Susan. She's not bleeding, though it's impossible to tell at first glance whether or not she's breathing.

Ron is still having a private dilemma, though it's now split four ways - who to help? He and Padma seem to be the only ones that are still able to move much ... so why not delegate some authority? "Padma, I figure you could help Susan better than I could, because I can't think of a healing spell to save my ... " So not the appropriate time for the phrase. "Life. Um." He casts a wary look around, then sighs raggedly. "And help Harry with his cut, if you can. I'll take care of Hermione, and then ... I don't know. Do something." Huzzah for vague plans! And no doubt Ron's 'doing something' will be drastic. Wand still out and pointed toward the cauldron, he inches his way over to Hermione and lays a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, Hermione."

Eventually though, the wand steadies enough in its pointing towards the Enfantes that Lucius Malfoy is holding for Harry to cry, in a very hoarse voice indeed, a banishing charm at it. And only after that does his mind register what's happened to Susan... and a horrified cry looses itself from Harry's throat.

 Draco closes his eyes, as the revenants feed on his mother, and as the forces of Good fall around him. "Yes, father," he says, bowing his head in acceptance as in years before. "My skin's been crawling ever since I sank deeply into this charade you wanted me to act out...trying to play at being their friend, to gain their trust. Let's return home, where we belong. But first..." He aims his wand at the two revenants, and snaps out a rather unpleasant dark magic spell for draining life force. Normally used as a torture, it can also be used to de-animate the undead by loosening the last bonds holding them. It's clear he intends to destroy them utterly, and no sooner has he fired off that first spell than without waiting to see the effect, he barks out a rather powerful fire-spell, to incinerate whatever remains after the first one.

Cho flips herself up to her feet, still gasping a little. She's in a defensive position, wand in hand as she assesses the situation. There's little emotion in her eyes or expression, even when she sees Susan; Melvin merely gets a puzzled glance. But Harry's up, and that's annoying, isn't it? She points her wand in his direction, shouting out a stunning spell. Let him just stand there and -bleed-, then.

Hermione stirs, coming round and sitting up slowly, very weakly. Her timing, in a word, stinks. She looks around herself, very slowly, then at Ron with wide, horrified eyes, rising to her feet shakily. "Ron ... Harry? Draco? I..." It's soft, coming as it is from a bruised throat, and she fumbles to grab her wand, movements still slowed.

Having pulled off one goal, Padma moves on to the next. Her wand winds around to Harry. Or, more pointedly, his wound. "Adligo," she commands. A neat little strick she picked up in her weeks worth of researching wounds and healing alla Lucius Malfoy. Susan, though... Susan. She flicks her want in the Hufflepuff girl's direction, "Adligo." But is a flesh wound remedy enough for something at the throat? Her third move takes a lot less thought. Harry might not have good aim at Cho, but -she- does. "One more step, Chang, and you're toast."

 The wound in Harry's side doesn't close up entirely, but it's a lot better than it was. Susan, however ... the wound doesn't close entirely, as it's penetrated the larynx as well as the skin and muscle, and while the bleeding's slowed, she's still lost a lot of blood.

The two revenants howl, disappearing in sheets of flame - whereas flame didn't work so well before, after the initial spell that drains their energy, they are much weakened. There is soon nothing left but foul-smelling lumps of claylike goo on the ground.

Ron lets loose a sigh of relief as Hermione wakes up. He leans forward to kiss her forehead, then lays a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Be careful," he tells her softly ... then stiffens and slowly turns to face Malfoy, his compassion for Hermione shifting into a blind rage as he slowly raises his wand level with Draco. "No. You've got to be kidding me. I believed you, you bastard, it can't be like this!" His aim now wavers between Lucius and Draco, his eyes narrowed as he steps forward a step or two.

"Unnecessary, Draco," Lucius says in mild reproof, regarding the carnage for a moment with cool eyes. He lifts the enfant terrible he holds, apparently preparing to consume it without a knife if he's got to. "Oh, and bring the girl. As her blood seems to test pure, even if we do not know what her lineage is - I am sure that we may find a use for her." He smiles, coldly. "Even if only as a host for more of these enfants, mm?" He glances to Cho and Melvin, and snaps, "Finish them, you fools."

"Unnecessary? They had no right to feed on a Malfoy, father," Draco says darkly, as he watches the revenants dissolve into goo. "Mother was a poor leader, and a poor actress, but she was a Malfoy. They were no longer even human, less than mudblood. Their presumption had to be punished." He turns back to Lucius, and nods once in acquiescence. "Of course, father. But I gathered a great deal of information in your absence, and there's one other matter remaining you should be aware of."

Cho doesn't move just yet, keeping her wand right where it is as well. She glances over at Padma skeptically, spitting, "Oh, please. What do you think you are, Patil? Your -sister-?" She glances to Lucius, worriedly - she was trying, after all - then back to the other Ravenclaw, as if gauging the distance between them.

Gasping out the banishing charm, Harry stumbles, falling to the ground as the stunning spell Cho utters hits him. The enfant in Lucius' hands lets out a loud shriek of rage and pain, shrinking in on itself and vanishing. Lucius glares at Harry, snarling at Cho and Melvin, "Forget the others - /get Potter/!" He takes a deep breath, looking at Draco. "I do hope this is important, Draco. This is hardly the time for small talk."

 "Oh, /hell/," Ron cureses, forgetting his focus on Draco for the moment - it'll come, have no doubt - but for the moment, saving Harry is a touch more important. "Grubworth, Chang, I swear I will do something unforgivable if you come a step closer to him," he warns coldly - should the 'u' have been capitalized? His wand swings from the Malfoys to Cho and Melvin as he walks steadily forward to stand next to Harry's unconscious form.

Padma snorts at the other Ravenclaw girl, "You wish." Parvati did, after all, get five less O.W.L.s than Padma did. She holds her wand steady as Ron joins her in holding the traitors off of Harry.

The pale Slytherin nods. "Very important, father." He steps closer to Lucius, as if to make an explanation. Instead, however, he reaches up with one hand to snatch the enfant away; evidently, he's uncaring about the danger this poses to him if the enfant turns to feed on him. He knows his father's not fully alive again yet, that he has to feed to regain true life rather than being something akin to the revenants. That he's weakened, his defenses down. And so even as he makes a grab for the enfant to prevent his father from feeding, his other hand swings up with his wand, jabbing the tip /into/ the flesh of his father's still-semi-undead chest as best he can. Looking up at Lucius' face, Draco says grimly, "INCENDIO!"

 "Harry!" Hermione watches her best friend (well, one of them) fall to the ground, and her eyes widen in rage and disbelief. "Stay away from him, both of you!" She's having trouble not sneaking horrified looks at Draco - and then Draco does something which makes the blood drain away from her face. There's no time for reactions, there's still danger to her friend - forcing herself to turn away, despite a sudden rush of tears, she hurls herself forward in Harry's direction, wand pointed outwards.

Cho glances between Padma and Ron, looking as if she's about to give up, her wand lowering a little. Then, she leaps up, hands grasping a sturdy branch above and swinging up into the trees. She balances on the branch, then starts running the length of it, towards Harry. "Too slow," she says, grimly.

Lucius' eyes widen as the spell is cast - Harry's banishing spell already took care of the enfant terrible, so there is little risk of injury to Draco from that. At first, there is no visible sign of fire anywhere to the Death Eater, but then, his skin takes on a candlelike, incandescent glow, pale skin gleaming like a wax curtain. His mouth opens, and there is a hellish light in his eyes, smoke curling out from his throat and his nostrils. "You have learned well," he gasps to Draco. "But not ... well ... enough. The seals are still ... intact." Dying, perhaps - but not dead -just- yet. He begins to intone something in Latin, trying ... something.

 Draco smiles back. "What I wanted to tell you, father," he says in a surprisingly hoarse tone, "is that I made my choice. I stand with them. And as for seals...? I should thank you for the gift, but I think it's time I returned it..." He spreads his arms, and begins to chant something low and dark, his gaze focused inwards.

"Hermione, help Draco before ... er, make sure his father doesn't finish whatever he's saying ... " Ron's usual confidence in delegating authority is wavering a bit with so many things happening at once. He keeps his gaze focused on Cho, frowning up at the Ravenclaw Seeker. "How do you know I even tried, Chang? You shouldn't underestimate your competition, you know." He moves into her projected path, trying to put himself between she and Harry, his wand still raised, a stunning curse on his lips.

 There's an audible gasp from above as any movement stops above. There's a second of stillness, then Cho falls from the branch, dropping to the ground like a stone. There's a crack as she lands on her back, sickeningly loud. She winces, breathing with difficulty as she glances around. Spying Susan first, then Melvin, her eyes widen a little, dull and flat. "Mel..." she manages. "I told you. I'm so sorry." A cough and her eyes close, tears leaking from them and streaking down her face as she turns away. "...was right. I just couldn't stop being angry..." She appears to be fading fast as she begins to sniffle quietly. "Oh god, I'm scared. I'm a bloody monster."

Hermione's eyes widen, and it's clear from the expression on her face that whatever else is going on, she recognizes at least some of the Latin Draco is speaking. "No, Draco! Don't - the power, it'll be too much, the output..." She tries to make her way to the Slytherin's side, blinking painfully. "At least, let me help," she begs, tears streaming down her face.

Padma does look rather sick at that sickening crack. She does her best to steel her features, looking up at Ron, clearly not sure what to do next. But, like any good Ravenclaw, she sets her mind to thinking. "Ron, can you body bind her? Keep her from moving even the slightest muscle? I'll levitate her and maybe we can stop her from doing much else to herself or us until..." Well, until this whole mess is over! And from the looks of things as she glances down at Malfoy vs. Malfoy, it might not be too long until they all want to get out of there.

Pulling himself painfully upright, Harry places his hand over the remaining wound in his side, gasping for breath. "Malfoy, don't do it. Ron ... help Cho - please." Thrusting one arm out, over his head, in the direction of Lucius Malfoy, the Gryffindor Seeker utters, "Diffindo!" A gaping slash appears in Lucius' chest, like a vent in paper, and flames lick out of him from the opening.

 Weeping openly, Melvin is on his hands and knees next to Susan now, holding onto the girl's hand as fat tears roll down his cheeks. He lets out a strangled cry as the cut appears in Lucius' chest, and convulses, falling onto his side, twitching, apparently in great pain.

 Ron sighs and brings a hand to his forehead, leaving a streak of dirt across his forehead as he swipes his fingertips over the skin. "Alright, Padma." But before he body binds the Ravenclaw girl, he walks up to her, eyeing her warily. "Cho?" He drops to his knees beside her, wand still out but held to the side as he reaches out with his free hand to touch the girl's hand lightly. "Are you going to be okay? Don't move, I'm going to body bind you so you don't hurt anything worse, alright?" He glances up and winces as Melvin rolls onto his side. "Padma, try to help him, I'll take care of Cho." He spares a brief glance toward Draco, Hermione, and Harry, then sighs and turns back to the Ravenclaw, wand poised to perform the body bind.

Whatever others have called out at him, Draco's too far down this path to turn aside now. He knows his father's strength as well, and knows Lucius may still finish /his/ incantation. It's a contest of wills and chants now... far too much power growing around both Malfoys. None of the power pleasant. Draco doesn't dare stop the chant to gesture anyone back, but something in his posture seems to telegraph for those nearby to back off, to flee, whatever they can.

Padma nods at Ron, moving over towards Susan and Melvin. She shudders at the amount of blood surrounding the Hufflepuff girl and kneels down, still allowing some distance between herself and Melvin, holding out her wand. It would seem she doesn't quite know what to make of the situation, "Melvin, are you hurt?" She scans his body for injury.

 "No, don't. No point," Cho says, some how managing to cling to a shred of composure as she shudders unevenly for breath. "This - I did it to Melvin. I killed Flint, sort of. Tell them that, anyway. Susan wasn't too far off." Her body twitches as well, as she grits her teeth. "I wasn't supposed to be on that side of the war." Glancing at the red-headed Gryffindor briefly, she hisses, "Sorry. I did like you, Ron. I meant that." Her eyes close, and her bpdy begins to relax, breathing slowing.

Lucius grits his teeth, grabbing hold of the edges of the cauldron and trying to continue the incantations he's spitting out. It's obviously getting increasingly difficult for him to manage coherent syllables, and he's changing from using Latin, to using a harsher, more gutteral language, something less pleasantly flavoured than human tongues might give. The longer he speaks, the more Melvin and Cho seem to lose energy, and Melvin, a t least, seems in excruciating pain.

 Ron's eyes widen, his breathing picking up even as Cho's begins to slow. "Come on, Cho. I like you too, and I don't blame you for anything that happened, and I /won't/ blame you tomorrow. Let me get you to the hospital wing, please?" He's pleading, most definitely, and the panic he tries to keep from his voice is starting to seep through just a bit. He knows he's only stalling, though; Cho seems to have given up. Rather than just touching her hand, he reaches to take her hand in his, once again preparing to speak the incantation.

Draco picks up the pace of his own incantation, racing Lucius in this. His face is set in grim resolve... the look of one who's turned themselves into a dagger aimed at another's heart, and is focused on that single task with all their will.

"Draco!" Hermione reaches him, and firmly grasps the edge of the cauldron with one hand, trying to grab Draco's shoulder with her other hand. She looks at him pleadingly, then, when he seems bent on his task, stubbornly grits her teeth - and then begins chanting in Latin as well. It's not the same spell Draco's using... but it seems somehow, slightly related.

Padma winces at Melvin's screams. At Cho's barely audible words. And then she looks down at Lucius Malfoy. Attempting to put two and two together she calls to Ron, "Do it anyway, Weasley, don't listen to her." She aims her wand at Lucius Malfoy's face. It's a long shot but she once again calls up her flame spell in an even, crisp voice, "Adicio Accendo."

Draco glances over at Ron and Harry momentarily in panic, nodding towards Hermione even as he keeps up his chant. The message is clear in his pleading gaze; stop her, get her away, or she's going to get hurt in this. Then he turns back to Lucius, and his syllables begin to shift, gaining steadily, as if he's approaching the end.

Cho grasps Ron's hand tightly as she shudders again. She manags to grit out, whispering hoarsely, "Tell him I know it - Ced - wasn't his fault." Her strong grip slowly slackens as her head lolls to one side, her breathing slowing by the moment as her last reserves of energy are drained. On her last breath, her lips quirk into the slightest of smiles, something close to relief - and then she's still.

There's a choking cry from Melvin, and he lies there, suddenly limp, unmoving, unbreathing. Lucius continues to choke out syllables, but there's flames licking out his chest and eyes, fluids running down his face - blood and nacreous mixtures, somehow still living despite it.

"Doesn't matter," Ron answers Padma dully, looking as if he's just been hit with something heavy as he carefully lays Cho's hand on ground and straightens up, his wand raising again, though he looks weary. He doesn't have any time to mourn any losses now that they've struck him, however; he leaps right back into action, jumping forward to pull Hermione away. "He's practically immortal now, since he fed off of the enfants." He isn't sure who he's telling, it's more of a 'this is why it's not working' spoken to himself than anything. "Incendio!" He tosses off toward Lucius - it worked once for Draco, in a way, maybe it'll buy a little more time.

Padma stands up, backing slowly away from the limp pair of Hufflepuffs. Her watery brown eyes travel rather helplessly to Ron and Harry. Then, inevitably, they move down to Draco, Hermione, and the horrifying vision of Lucius Malfoy burning, pussing, but still demonically alive. She lifts her wand again, moving forward with Ron, moving towards Hermione. Looking for a way to help.

There's a sound like thunder, and Dumbledore and Hagrid enter the clearing - but it's not Dumbledore and Hagrid that have caused the sound. From the woods behind the cauldron in which Lucius Malfoy continues to struggle to retain his grasp on his eerie half-like, a dark-cloaked figure steps forward from amidst the treets. The cloak it wears, however, is green rather than black; he is sillhouetted, though, in shadow, little visible save for the fact that he is even taller than Hagrid, while having manlike proportions. The energy in the clearing, building as it has been with the incantation, seems to crackle into differentiation, not stasis, but a pattern - a new pattern, as mellifluous words roll off the being's tongue. "Ardh da," he says softly. "I smell my blood, here, and the stink of demontaint. Who has brought Annwyn to the surface again?"

"Let /go/, Ron," Hermione pleads, breaking off her spell just long enough to aim a kick at him. "Please - it's important!" She clings to the cauldron all the more tightly, returning to her frantic spellcasting. The figure stepping forward gets a gawking look from her - roughly equivalent to, 'oh god, NOW what?'

Draco very nearly misses a beat as he comes to the conclusion of his chant, distracted by the arrival of the giant beast from the forest. And yet he knows if he stops now, the energy built up from the demonic seals his father placed in him over the years -- the same seals of demonic energy Lucius himself contains, placed there by Draco's grandfather -- will destroy him, rather than be channeled.

Hagrid is splattered with blood, looks a little battered, and in fact downright messy. But his hands are clean, and that's important, isn't it? As he trails in behind Dumbledore, the half-giant pauses to assess the situation, his jaw only slightly dropping for a moment as he sees the figure appearing from behind the kettle, the chanting student before it, and all. His eyes widen, and he says, in a hushed voice, "As I li' and breathe... Hu Gadarn, himself..."

Ron has no idea who this Annwyn thing is - for all he knows, it could be something Lucius conjured. "/Ow/," he growls at Hermione as her kick connects, trying harder to force her away from the cauldron. "He doesn't want you helping, Hermione!" A pause, and then a sigh as he pulls again. "It looks like he's done, anyhow ... " He trails off, looking once again at Annwyn, seeming to be frozen in place for the moment.

Padma is completely at a loss. Just feet behind Ron, her gaze is entirely distracted by the giant figure. She takes a few steps back. Her head snaps about long enough to see Hagrid and Dumbledore. Then back to the...what ever. Hu Gadarn? She is horrified, though the fact that she gasps a sob shows that, to some degree, she feels relief at the presence of the professors.

 Another step forward, and the man turns out to be probably around nine or ten feet tall, with the impression of being considerably taller because, from his head, a pair of enormous stag's horns sprout. "I know you, offspring of the proud and crafty race of Giants," the being acknowledges. Another step forward, and he's fully in the clearing, and it becomes apparent that the green cloak he wears is the -only- clothing he wears. Though he does have a tattoo, and an armband of beaten gold and silver. And, oh yes, he's male. "Annwyn's cauldron does not belong to the dwellers on the surface." One hand lifts, and the coalescing power seems to shudder, being drawn down, into the cauldron.

Lucius smiles, for a moment, as the power boils into the surface, but then... his mouth parts in an opened soundless scream that gradually turns into a quiet shriek that seems to go on forever. He claws at the sides of the cauldron, slowly disappearing under the surface of the viscous black liquid it contains.

 For the faculty : Cho, Melvin, and Susan are lying sprawled out on the grass. Susan has a dagger in her throat, and a lot of blood all over her. Melvin and Cho would appear to be no longer functionally human beings, or, in other words, dead.

Dumbledore coughs slightly, beginning to move forward. "Greetings, Hu Gadarn," the Headmaster says quietly. "We mean no disrespect, of course - but it would appear that great damage has been done this night."

 Draco sinks to the ground, looking like he's not much for this world either. He's still breathing, but his gaze is somewhere beyond, his expression odd and unreadable. He crosses his arms over his chest blindly, as if feeling that he's all still there... and then doubles over, crumpling into a small ball.

Hermione's grip slips from the cauldron - there's the simple fact that while she might be determined, Ron is just as determined, and has the advantage of size and strength. "Draco!", she gasps out. Enormous naked men apparently don't do it for her - she's worried about the collapsed Slytherin. A twinge of pain seems to run through her, causing her forehead to knot up, and she tenses. "Ron ... where's Harry?"

Trembling, Padma Patil puts her wand behind her back as she hears the name Dumbledore gives to the creature. Facts registering themselves in her mind, she realizes just who it is they are all standing before. Her eyes drop, only at the movement of Draco Malfoy. Though the question was addressed to Ron, she responds to Hermione with a gesture, "Back there, still." Attention back to Hu Gadarn.

Hagrid nods in agreement with Dumbledore's words, although his eyes are focused on the immense, stag-headed man. "Great damage, indeed," he murmurs. "If I'd been here sooner, yer Lordship, I would've... I... well, I don' know what I woulda done, but this wouldn't have happened, indeed," he says. "But..." It's only then where the rest of the scene seems to seep into his attention, and he looks at the brutal scene around him. "But I'm sure tha' these young ones weren't t'cause o' it all," he says sadly.

"I don't /know/," Ron snaps, though there isn't much edge to his voice. "Between Cho and trying to drag you off of that bloody cauldron, I didn't exactly have time to see where everyone was at. He was ... I don't know, Padma does." He tosses a hand carelessly toward the Ravenclaw and steps back, eyeing the horned man warily before he gives up and just drops his hands to his sides.

Draco ain't moving. He's not dead, but he's not in good shape either. He's far paler than usual, all his strength sapped...and he looks very much like he's going to be ill. He tries to lift his head to regard the huge figure towering overhead, unsure how to react.

Picking up the lumps of clay behind the cauldron, and the ravaged body of Narcissa Malfoy, the horned man thrusts them into the fluid, shoving Lucius down under the surface of the liquid as well. "To Annwyn, then, I will go," he rumbles. "The dead do not belong here. They," he glances at where Cho and Melvin are stretched out, "yet have their own spirits. I leave them to you. The little suffering ones - give them milk and honey, mixed liberally with elecampane, as Brid would make." He picks the cauldron up, lifting it to his shoulder, and turns, clearly intending to depart once more.

Draco chokes out finally, "...why...?" as he looks up at the Horned One.

 "We will do so," Dumbledore says formally, turning to the Gamekeeper next to him. "Hagrid, would you please take Harry, first? As he appears to be living, but injured... I will tend to the others as best I may." He pauses, then, perhaps curious to see if Draco's question will net an answer.

 There is a small pause, as the antlered individual pauses, but does not look back. "Kin should not slay kin," he states, voice conveying an unyielding simplicity in the statement. "Honour must be avenged. You will not avenge that honour in death, Draco Enigme Malfoy... a debt was owed, which now has been righted. The balance has been sealed." He begins striding again into the woods. "The contracts are nullified, though your blood remains."

Hermione sits up, slowly, trying to climb to her feet. She casts a glance upwards, at the others who are, well, actually -standing-, then sits down, head bowed a bit.

Hagrid nods toward the horned man, murmuring, "Elecampane with milk and honey, yes, yer Lordship..." And as Dumbledore's words penetrate his mind, he nods once more, moving over to scoop up Harry with as much effort as someone picking up a little chick. He turns back almost immediately to watch the figure and the cauldron disappear into the woods, cradling Harry to his chest.

Draco's eyes widen slightly. "You're..." He coughs once, and tries again. "She was of your blood, wasn't she?" Evidently, it makes sense to him, whatever he's referring to; he begins to laugh softly. "Oh...that's too much. The longest-term scheme of the Malfoy family is what destroys father in the end..." He closes his eyes, falling silent in exhaustion.

The figure says nothing, perhaps allowing silence to stand for assent. He moves with quiet grace between the trees, not a branch snapping, nor bird calling, and in surprisingly little time, cauldron and horned lord alike are gone, leaving ... a blood-smeared clearing, and students and faculty in various states.

Padma turns as the Horned figure disappears and looks up at the scene. Her features tighten miserably as that gaze falls upon Cho, Melvin and Susan, "Are all three of them... are they, dead?" Energy draining quickly out of her, too, she forces one foot in front of the other until she is back among the fallen students.

 "It would appear so, I am afraid, Miss Patil," Dumbledore says gently. "Those of you who can, help those of you who cannot to get to the school. The danger here has passed - but there is much left to be done. I will take care of the rest."