A noise shattered down a different corridor to the right, and the werewolf darted after it, freeing Hermione's path. She shoved Cho aside and raced after Draco, but she'd barely made it three steps when a second werewolf crept into the Great Hall. She froze, hardly daring to breathe.

The wolf stared her down and snapped its jaws, dripping with blood and saliva.

It prowled closer, sniffing the air as its paws slipped across the bloodied tiles. Horror spiked through her chest.

Cho grabbed the sword with a clatter and seized her hand, tugging her backwards through the Lounge. Hermione didn't look back as they ran, her legs pumping as fast as her heart as the wolf raced after them, its snarling growing louder in her ears. Her magic hummed violently. She could feel it radiating from her skin as she whipped her head behind and raised her arm, shoving the energy through her fingertips with everything she had.

Then it started. The corridor began crumbling in their wake, dragging down ancient stone and artifacts and burying the wolf's howls.

They burst into the Lounge, empty except for the dead and their separated body parts. Several feminine arms lay ownerless, blood seeping into the carpets. Cho sprinted with her, darting through the chaos. Her hand was slick with blood and sweat.

Adrenaline was still surging through her veins, but her mind was returning to her. She needed to get back to Draco. She had to get him out—

She dug her heels in as Cho took her through the doorway that led to the long corridor with the Burgundy Room at the end.

Cho pulled harder, tugging her into an unused dining room and slamming the door behind them.

"We have to go back—"

"They'll come again," Cho said breathlessly. "They'll come back for you."

"We have to—" Hermione broke off, trying to make sense of her. "What?"

"You just need to stay in one place. The Order will find you."

"Why?" She staggered, her muscles protesting. "Why are they here for me?"

Cho paced around the room, searching for weapons. "You're the closest thing we have to Harry. If anyone knows Voldemort's weaknesses, it's you."

She reached for the glass vase on the table and smashed it against the wall. Hermione flinched backward as the shards flew, and when she looked back at Cho, she was retrieving the largest piece and handing it to her.

"Take this," Cho said. "When the Order finds you, go with them."

She hobbled for the door, and Hermione saw that there was a chunk taken out of her shoulder and an odd bend to her right knee.

"Where are you going?"

She turned to Hermione, and there was a gash running down her temple that she hadn't noticed before.

"I'm going to go kill Malfoy. If I'm successful, I'll leave his body in plain sight so the Order knows it's safe to take you out."

Hermione felt her legs sway. Her blood went still in her veins. Her mind swam through the reasons she could give to stop her.