AN

Umm... Hi? Please don't kill me I'm too young to die!

Ok, I didn't update in a month and a half, in the period of which I got a whopping 18 REVEIWS! This is amazing and I really appreciate it, but just a heads up - I will never abandon Missing, but from here on out updates will be a whole lot less regular. This is because I have started a new fanfiction on a different account (PM me if you want to know about it) between five anime fandoms and I have fallen head-over-heels in love with it. I'm writing a 2,500 word chapter every day for it - yes, really! - and want to keep the ball rolling. This story is officially on the back burner for now.

Again, thanks to all who reviewed - I love you all! On with the fic!

I don't own Harry Potter.

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Chapter 10 - Still Worth Fighting For.

"Have you heard about those newcomers? They say they killed that weird Hufflepuff girl."

"People found them standing over her body - like they were performing some kind of ritual!"

"Look! There they are! Just step back and keep your head down!"

"Rumour has it the Ministry's after them!"

"Have you heard the rumours? They say they're followers of Voldemort!"

If there was one thing in the whole world that Hermione hated, it had to be whispers. She was observant - that's just the way she was - and how did people expect to mutter so loudly and not be heard? At least Haley wasn't paying attention enough to listen to this; it would kill her to know that people blamed her for Palo's death.

It had been almost two days now - two days since they'd found Palo in the corridor, a knife in her back and life fading from her eyes. The man who'd killed her was dead; one look at the agony on Haley's face and the knife in the redhead's back was enough to make Leo lose control. Blinded by piercing, bright light, muscles burnt and boiled underneath his skin, the man wouldn't make a recovery.

Haley had gone into a slump. Palo had been lonely, shunned by her classmates and wishing for a friend. Then, just as Haley had given her one she had been killed in cold blood by a man the ministry said they had no records of - a man that the ministry lied about. Everything was messed up in her head - she just ate, guarded and sat with Leo or Luna with blank eyes devoid of the fire that was so familiar.

Full moon was coming up too. Only two people in the group had managed to gain animagi abilities with training and missions taking up most of their time - Luna and, surprisingly, Ron. Luna's form often inspired awe in the others - she was a beautiful, red hawk with markings around it's eyes strangely similar to those of her 'spectre specs', homemade and apparently granting the ability to see ghosts. Ron's form, meanwhile, inspired more laughter in the group than awe - he was a lean, muscled black wolf with a tiny tuft of red hair on it's head that stuck up like an antennae and flopped around pointlessly when he ran.

Resisting the urge to smile at the mental image, Hermione sighed from her place at the edge of the Hufflepuff table. They often alternated between tables (they were all in different houses after all), and today all of them but Leo (who was on guard duty at the front gate) were at the table of black and gold. Haley was prodding her food with a fork, looking utterly miserable, and the others were making idle conversation and trying to ignore the staring eyes and mutters scurrying up and down the tables as people edged away from them, cautious and afraid.

The day was crisp and cold - the sun hidden behind grey-black clouds and the air stuffy and suffocating. Something foreign and uneasy ground on Hermione's nerves - her instincts were going wild today. Something told her that today could only get worse.

The doors of the great hall suddenly slammed open with a 'BANG', making everybody jump and letting a bitingly cold wind into the room. Standing up, the five at the table were close to drawing their wands when they saw that it was Leo, black hair blowing in the wind as he lead two people in and slammed the doors shut. Glass and silverware clinked against each other as the students put down their knives and forks and looked up, startled.

The two figures were both wrapped up tight and drenched by rain, both having identical shocks of red hair and looking about fifty. Leo frowned at them briefly as he turned towards the headmaster, eyebrows furrowed in a scowl.

"You've got visitors," he said shortly, as if it wasn't obvious. Turning, he walked over to the Hufflepuff table as fast as he could without running, grabbing Ron's shoulder and hauling him up. "Follow me," he muttered under his breath, tugging his friend along behind him and looking incredibly un-Leo-ish. Ron allowed himself to be pulled along without complaint, looking a mixture between confused and alarmed at the sight of the strangers. Hermione stood to follow the two, but was just walking past the visitors when the short, stubby female grabbed his arm and shook it hard.

"You, dear, you can tell me where my son is, can't you?"

Hermione did a double take. "Um... Excuse me?"

"Ginny sent a letter home saying that our son Ron was here - you'd know, right?" She had the voice of a desperate woman. Someone who just wanted to find their son again. Hermione couldn't dredge up any pity for her as it all fell into place in her mind.

"No," she said shortly, prying her arm from the woman - Ron's mother's - grasp. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"Oh, on the contrary, Ms. Azure, Dumbledore chipped in interestedly, eyes twinkling. "I think you do know, don't you? If I'm right, you're actually quite good friends with him."

Hermione felt the eyes of the whole hall on her, felt Mr and Mrs Weasley staring at her with expectant expressions as she tensed and bit her lip. "I... I don't know, I just..."

"Oh but you must have some idea?" Dumbledore was back at it again, standing from his seat now and strolling casually down from the staff table with the air of a God descending from on high. Wind and rain lashed against the window like war drums. "If Mr. Weasley really is in the school it is extremely important that we are aware, surely you can see this?"

Hermione tried again. "I said I don't know!" Voice on the edge of cracking, her face went bright red as she tried to back away.

"Stop being selfish, girl!" Mrs. Weasley was done playing nice - no matter how mothering a person she was, she would do anything to get her son back now. "Just tell me-!"

"I don't know!" Hermione said again, feeling like a broken record. "Your son isn't in this school!"

"But-!"

"SHE SAID SHE DOESN'T KNOW!"

In a blur faster than Hermione's eyes could follow, Haley had darted in front of her as all the candles in the room snuffed themselves out at once. Wind howled and screamed through the halls, wailing along with her anger in an eerie, unearthly chorus, and the sky flashed with lightning. The one thing Hermione was focused on, though, was Haley; the fire in her eyes as she stood in front of her best friend, tall and fierce and alive. Shadows danced and wailed, screeching as they morphed and contorted before fading into nothing.

The lights came back on after a second, revealing the shocked faces of a hall full of students and the Weasley matriarch pulling her hand back as if she'd been burned. Blackness crept up her wrist like a vice, burnt into her skin like a brand in the style of midnight-black flames.

Had Haley really done that?!

A second of silence; then everything happened at once. Mrs Weasley gave a scream, crumpling to the floor like a rag doll while her husband ran to her side and her sons and daughter sprinted from the Gryffindor table to their parents. Luna and Jake shot out of their seats and to Haley and Hermione's side, eyes wide as they stared down at the Weasleys. Suddenly, a hysterical scream came from Ginny as tears streamed down her face.

"She's not breathing!"

Accusatory eyes pierced the four at the doors from all over the hall. Slowly, as Haley began to panic, candles popped out one by one, black spreading across the floor like spilt paint. Jake's hand was on his scythe as he scowled, for once letting a scowl onto his face as he stepped in front of Haley defensively. Luna's face was blank on the contrary, but her wand was out as she clutched in tightly. Hermione, shaken by the whole situation but pushing all emotions from her head, pulled her bow from her back in a flash, expertly fitting an arrow to the string and pointing it towards to floor in a half-threatening manner.

Then, as if the whole situation could only get worse, a voice called "Murderer! Call the aurors!" from the Slytherin table and suddenly they were running.

Luna had to half-drag Haley down the corridors as the hall exploded with noise behind them; the brunet was holding in moans of pain and gripping her head fiercely as wave after wave of nausea rolled over her. Shadows licked at their heels, wild and uncontrolled, and Haley's pupils had expanded to twice their size, making her irises a horrible, deep black. Aurors, the ministry, parents and guardians of terrified children; they would all soon flood into the school - the group had to get out of here!

Rushing through the halls to their rooms, the group of four thankfully ran into Leo and Ron - the two must have heard the commotion in decided not to stay upstairs. When they came to a stop it became obvious that Haley had reached her limit. She fell to her knees, clutching her head and yelling in pain as the others surrounded her. Leo was on his knees calling her name in half a second.

"Haley?! Haley!" He looked up at the others, jaw clenched and silver eyes swimming with questions. "What the hell happened to her?! Why were you all running-?!"

"No time for that now!" said Hermione, ever the level-headed one. "We've got to get out of here; and fast!"

Ron looked like things were moving too fast for him. "What did you do?"

"I'll tell you in a minute I promise just- Come on!" Hermione sounded frantic and desperate. "Haley… She lost control, I don't know how she did it!"

Hoisting her into his arms, Leo gave a determined grimace. "You are explaining this later!" he grunted, obviously giving up for now and looking at the others expectantly. "Come on!"

As they ran, a small voice came from Haley from her place in Leo's arms. "Charlus…?" she asked blearily, squinting up at him.

"Shit! She's hallucinating!" said Ron from beside him as Haley's almost fully black eyes scrutinised Leo like she'd never seen him before. The darkness elemental didn't even react to his words.

"You forget how much blood people have in their bodies sometimes…" she said weakly, alarming them all.

"Haley…" Leo sounded lost and scared and nothing like he usually sounded. "You-"

"I feel like I'm drowning sometimes, Leo."