Again, thank you to Ladylark77 for spell checking.

WARNING: Graphic Gore and character death in this chapter. If this is not your thing, then stop reading now.

Chapter 20

The boy with eyes of darkness searched the lower halls for the one named Harry Potter.

Each time he had heard someone approaching he merely slipped into the nearby shadows of a corner or unused room. It was easy to hide in this castle for shadows lay everywhere.

He swiftly moved from corridor to corridor and then he saw a boy with a Gryffindor robe. He had dreadlocks and was talking to himself.

"Lee Jordan here, commentary for the official Quidditch tournaments." He said excitedly.

Gorahn quietly followed the boy.

As they climbed the stairs Gorahn saw how the paintings were seemingly alive and when they noticed the false Slytherin they scowled or frowned and murmured to themselves. The creature stayed at the base of the stairs landing watching Lee.

When Lee Jordon reached the portrait to Gryffindor she looked perturbed.

"What is that look for?" Lee asked.

"Him, I don't know him." She said pointing at the boy at the base of the stairs.

Lee turned to look at who it was the portrait was talking about. He squinted a bit. "Dunno, never seen him before. He's Slytherin, could be just wondering around."

Lee looked back up at the portrait, "Dragon flight master." he said and the portrait opened up.

Gorahn had heard every word despite the murmuring of the other portraits. He continued on up the stairs and when he reached the Fat Lady she had a disgusted look on her face.

"I know what you are, and you are not getting in here." She said crossing her arms.

Gorahn smiled.

Seamus Finnigan was sitting on the couch waving his wand about. His lips were whispering words of magic when Lee came through the portal.

"Ello mate." He Lee said cheerily.

"What are you so happy about?" Seamus asked slightly disgusted.

"Lots of things to be happy about! Well good night." Lee said and darted up the stairs passing Neville.

"Hey." Neville said.

"What's up!" Lee said running past.

"Neville didn't have time to reply so he just kept walking.

Neville came down the stairs and saw Seamus. "Hey."

Seamus looked up at Neville, "Hello Neville."

"Practicing?"

"Yes. Never know what might jump out of dark corners these days." Seamus replied.

Neville looked over at the back wall of the fireplace. It was as if it had never been broken.

"No, I suppose not." Neville said sitting down next to Seamus.

"You carrying around your wand?" Seamus asked.

Neville pulled his wand out of his pocket, "Been caught without it to much lately."

Seamus smiled. "That a boy."

Several muffled screams of women and men could be heard through the portal doorway. So intense were the screams that Seamus and Neville stood up and looked over at the portal door.

"The bloody hell was that?" Neville asked.

"Nothing good." Seamus replied.

Just then the door to the dorm opened and a Slytherin student with eyes like black pearls stepped into the room. His uniform was covered in crimson splashes. He stared unflinchingly at the two Gryffindor's.

"Who are you?" Neville asked.

"What's going on out there?" Seamus asked next.

Gorahn brought out his hand that had the dark blade, now seeping with red.

Seamus shot up his wand yelling, "Incedio!"

A blast of fire spewed forth from the end Seamus's wand. With uncanny speed Gorahn crouched to the floor to avoid the blast then shot up against the wall bouncing off and over Seamus's head swinging down his blade of darkness towards Seamus's neck.

Neville tackled Seamus and the blade barely missed his friend. They both fell clumsily to the ground. Gorahn landed just on the other side of sofa and quickly turned around.

Neville swung over his wand at Gorahn and said "Obscuro!" The creature's eyes were suddenly covered in a black cloth blindfold. Gorahn grabbed the blindfold trying to tear it off.

Neville stood up and reached down to Seamus, "Hurry!" Neville lifted up Seamus and Seamus raised his wand to the creature "Incedio!"

Yellow-red flames flayed out from the tip of Seamus's wand and engulfed Gorahn and the couch both.

Horrendous flames spread quickly covering Gorahn's entire body and the couch had turned into an inferno.

Neville pushed Seamus towards the door. "Move your ass Seamus!"

Seamus rushed outside followed by Neville. He slammed the portrait shut behind him.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Seamus cried out, "Lee is still upstairs!"

"I'll go back for him." Neville said and stood before the portrait, which no longer showed the sassy, and indulgent Fat Lady. Now there was only a bloody mass carved into huge chunks strewn about inside the portrait.

Neville hurled and staggered back against the stone railing. Seamus barely noticed him, something else had caught his eye.

The paintings had streams of magenta running down them, down the walls. Seamus leaned against the stone railing looking down and around.

"Bloody hell…what happened?" Seamus asked.

"That, that thing, that's what happened!" Neville said.

Seamus turned around seeing Neville and then he too looked up at the portrait. "Jesus."

The dorm's portrait door was thrown open and it slammed into Seamus so hard that he was knocked over the railing. Seamus screamed as he fell and then there was a loud crack and a thud.

Neville to had been thrown over the railing also but he managed to catch himself. He looked down and Seamus. There was a splatter of brains and blood as he had crashed head first onto some steps far below.

The creature looked over the railing and stared at the motionless boy below.

He then heard Neville panting and he closed the dorm portrait and saw him trying to lift his body over the railing. Neville gasped at the sight of the burned creature. All its clothing had been burned off as well as most of his skin. Charred bleeding muscle and flesh could be seen. Where his eyes had been there was only a dark smoldering mist. Neville choked on the smell as Gorahn moved closer to him.

Gorahn stared at Neville. "Your arms are week. Your mind is week. Your spirit is week."

Neville still tried to hold onto the stone knowing that this might be his last few moments. He was alone. No one would be there to see what happened, just a cold empty death. And Lee. He was still in the dorm, probably trapped by the fire.

Neville happened to look down at the landing floor near the creatures burned feet and saw a wand. It was his wand and he quickly reached for it through the stone baluster and just caught the end of it when Gorahn grabbed Neville's arm. He felt and squirming soft flesh around his wrist.

Neville almost let go of the railing with his other hand. The creature put away his blade and held up his right hand the ends of which had freshly exposed bone tips.

"I want to show you, a kind of pain that you could not possibly imagine." And the creature slowly pushed the end of his bony index finger into Neville's forearm.

Neville let out a terrifying scream and almost released his grip from the railing but he was afraid the creature would drop him.

He tightened his grip on the wand as he felt the finger going deeper, deeper, between the bones in his forearm.

Neville flinched and gasped several times trying to spit out a word.

"..flip…" A sharp pain cut off his words.

"..flipen-AHHH!" Neville screamed.

"This, this is just the beginning of what I am going to do to you and your friends."

And there was a ripping sound as the creature's finger came out the other side of Neville's arm and blood sprayed out.

Neville screamed again. Tears started running down the boy's face and a voice of desperation spoke in his head, Let go, just let go, and die.

Just then Harry, and his trusted followers came into the area and saw Seamus. Hermoine screamed at the sight and she hid her face in Ron's chest.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed.

Neville heard the scream below and he looked down and he saw his friends. At least they would be there in the end.

The creature stepped closer to the railing while still holding onto Neville's wrist and looked over.

"The prize is here, and so is your death," He said looking at Neville.

With a quick jerk up Neville's arm snapped in two as it hit the stone rail. Neville screamed letting go of the railing to reach for his arm.

Gorahn released his grip on Neville's wrist and Neville began to fall.

Faster and faster Neville seemed to be falling, walls of crimson all around him. He knew there would be a sudden stop soon and then pain followed by blackness.

And then, he heard a sound, "Impedimenta!"

I'm slowing down! Neville thought to himself.

So slow in fact that Hagrid caught the boy in his arms. "There we go, Neville." He sat Neville down onto the floor.

Harry rushed over to him. "Neville, look at you."

"We have to get out of here.." Neville whispered, "He killed Seamus." Neville started crying as he cusped his broken arm. "L-Lee Jordan, he's in the dorm.."

Harry gripped the back of Neville's head and leaned over him. "We're going to kill this thing once and for all, Neville, I promise you."

Blood was gushing from the hole in Neville's arm and Harry watched it come forth and spill out onto Neville's clothes.

There was a voice some where in the background calling his name but he couldn't divert his eyes. Fire. Now, all around them, fire was raining down like huge drops of rain.

Hermione shook Harry trying to get his attention. Neville was crying. Blood was running down the walls. Seamus' head was smashed into the stairs. His body twisted over onto itself. Ron. Now it was Ron shaking him. He was shouting, "Harry, we need to go!"

Where was the fire coming from? Harry looked up. The upstairs was ablaze with burning rock and wood, pieces falling down upon them. Smoke billowing out into the night like a dragon's snout as the roof incinerated in flame.

I caused this, all of this. Harry said to himself.

There was the voice again, calling his name, "Harry!"

Harry squinted shaking his head to bring himself back.

A blur of shadow landed behind Harry. It raised a blade of smoking darkness.

A massive two-headed hammer swung over Harry's head and slammed into the chest of Gorahn. There was a resounding crack of bone on impact and he was knocked back several feet onto the floor.

Nethersbane let out a victory cry at the blow and eyes of purple gleamed brightly.

Harry looked over his shoulder seeing the charred boy on the floor. Hagrid looked down at Harry and said, "Get to Snapes!" and then he turned in a sprint raising Nethersbane high above his head.

Harry grabbed Neville lifting him up into his arms.

"Let's go!" Harry yelled at them as he stood up.

Neville cried a name. "Lee!"

"He's gone Neville, the whole upstairs is on fire!" Harry said as they ran down the hallway.

"We have to get to Professor Snape." Harry said. Adrenaline kept him going, but it was love for his friends that kept him carrying Neville. Ron and Hermione followed close behind.