Hermione had repositioned herself back between Neville and Luna with her feet barely touching each of their feet. As Harry mentally said the word, she hit both of their feet and they both lowered decoy detonators to the floor with the attached strings. The small objects scurried away in opposite directions. Fifteen seconds later they detonated almost simultaneously on either side of the hall.
"WHAT?" Lucius yelled as the Death Eaters wands were all pointing away from the teens trying to discern the new threat.
"NOW!" Harry yelled and each of the teens threw handfuls of Instant Darkness Powder in the area that had separated them from the Death Eaters. Even before the darkness had fully taken hold Harry and his friends had their wands in their hands and were sending 'Reducto' hexes at the nearest shelves.
"Now RUN!" Harry yelled.
Hermione pulled her jar with the brain in it out of her cloak and lobbed it into the darkness before she turned and bolted behind the others.
Behind them they could still hear shelves toppling and globes bursting as the Death Eaters world dissolved into utter mayhem. The Death Eaters were cursing and crying out in pain as they continued to stumble around. Bellatrix's voice cut through the noise as she yelled, 'STUPIFY!'. A crash and more curses followed.
Then another voice, one that Harry didn't recognize cried out in panic. "AAAHHH..What the hell..somethings got.." The voice became muffled but the panic remained. Several voices were now crying out "LUMOS!" in vain.
"STOP!" Lucius' voice could be heard yelling. "We've got to get out of this stuff."
Realizing the Death Eaters were still confused and not in pursuit, Harry stopped and turned. He aimed his wand at the black cloud and yelled, "REDUCTO!" A satisfied smirk crossed his face when he heard a Death Eater cry out in pain and curses. He turned and continued the retreat. As they passed random rows between shelves, they'd throw Darkness powder down them, knowing the Death Eaters would have to investigate each one to insure the teens weren't hiding behind one of the clouds, slowing them down greatly. Finally they reached the door they had come in and slipped back into the Time room.
"You know," Hermione said breathlessly. "If they accidentally pick up a prophecy as they are stumbling over stuff in there, it is supposed to make them crazy."
"Well it couldn't make Bellatrix any worse could it?" Harry asked as they passed the Bell Jar. "I just wished we'd thought to get the Hand of Glory. We could have taken the lot of them right there."
"Better our way," Hermione replied. Then she nodded at the Time Turner case. "Want to take care of that?"
Harry nodded and sent a blasting hex at the case. They all watch in amazement as the case exploded into pieces. As the parts of the case just touched the floor, they reversed and rebuilt itself only to reverse again and explode once more.
"That's cool," Neville said as he watched the demolition and rebuild.
Hermione sent several blasting hexes at several spots on the wall and after a moment's hesitation another hex destroyed the bell jar as well. "We can't let them know we were only aiming at the Time Turner cabinet," She explained.
Harry nodded before he started for the door "We need to go."
They dispersed when they got back to the circular room. Each taking a different room they started spreading as much Darkness Powder as they could in thirty seconds. Finally they rejoined in the Veil Room.
"Here!" Harry said holding out the prophecy to Hermione.
Hermione took it and laid it carefully on the ground. Aiming her wand at it she said. "Geminio!" and a duplicate appeared next to it. Twice more she cast the spell until there were four blue orbs on the ground.
"You take the real one Hermione," Harry said as he grabbed the other three and handed one each to Neville and to Luna while pocketing the last one.
"No..." Hermione started.
"Yes!" Harry insisted. "If they're able to tell them apart somehow, you...you're going to have the real one."
Hermione huffed but then nodded. She knew she wouldn't win the argument and time was too critical right now to even try. She picked up the real prophecy and put it in her robes.
"Remember, if you get into trouble, make sure the Death Eater can see the orb," Harry said and they all nodded they understood. "It won't take them long so let's get into position."
"Do you think that brain got one of them?" Hermione asked.
"I think so," Harry replied. "That one guy who screamed."
"Well I won't complain if we have one less to fight," Hermione said. "If he shows up though, we need to be careful and not touch the brain that's on him."
"Yeah I remember what it did to Ron."
Hermione started giggling.
"What's so funny?" Harry asked.
"Oh...for some reason when you mentioned Ron, I remembered him summoning it the last time."
"Yeah and why was that funny? As much I wouldn't mind it now, then it was pretty serious."
"I know, it's just...well the Wizard of Oz and the Scarecrow popped into my mind," She replied. "You remember; he lacked a brain and always wanted one?"
"Are you suggesting Ron lacks a brain?" Harry asked his wife.
"Are you suggesting he has one?" She responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Touché," Harry agreed with a smirk. "But let's get moving," He gave Hermione a quick kiss and scrambled down the path. His post was directly behind the Veil. If any doors were breached besides the main one, he would coordinate the response. He would also replenish Darkness Powder if any started deteriorating around the other doors.
"You two ready?" Hermione asked Neville and Luna, both of whom nodded. "Then let's do it."
....
Join my P*atreon to enjoy 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/ScarletRosee (Remove the *)
Free members can get 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.