"Accio." Draco spat. "Wingardium Leviosa."

The Hat remained perfectly still as they approached. It sat right-side-up on the stone floor, waiting for them. Draco glanced at her before taking another step forward—

And the wind erupted, sweeping up gold coins and jewelry to pelt against their face and arms. Hermione lifted a hand to shield herself, her wand raised as Draco pushed forward, holding the fang high.

"Miss Granger," it sang, "not wearing your house colors today, I see?"

The wind froze for half a heartbeat, items suspended in the air. The moment Hermione's fingers fell to her emerald necklace, the gems pressed in on her windpipe and the air began howling again. Objects beat against her legs and stomach as she gasped, scratching at her throat. A towering cabinet nearly collapsed onto Draco as the necklace squeezed tighter. Her wand fell to the floor, and she jerked her foot out to stop it from rolling away.

She tried to scream, but her vocal cords were clamped. Draco pushed to standing and turned to her just as the wind intensified, lifting the large gilded picture frames and hurling them in his direction. He deflected one after another until he was sidestruck, grunting as he doubled over. Another sharp constriction, and Hermione dropped to her knees, digging her thumbs under the collar. She saw Daphne's wand roll away as black spots popped in her vision, catching inside a heavy rug at least six yards away.

The sound of Voldemort's laughter was high in Hermione's ears as the room battered them, debris spiraling up to the ceiling. She limped towards the rug, fingers scratching at her throat, and looked up to see Draco running towards her. A low rumble, and Hermione watched in horror as a chest of drawers flew at him, pinning him to a nearby shelf.

Her head grew light, her lungs seizing for oxygen as the room howled. She focused the last of her energy on the dying warmth in her fingertips.

Accio, she thought — a whisper, a prayer — and then her magic crackled, and Daphne's wand was hurtling through the air. Her arm shot up and she caught it by the fingertips, pointing the wand to wordlessly blast open the jewels. They scattered, and she collapsed on her back, wheezing and gasping for air. The emeralds lifted above her, caught by the wind.

An explosion to her right. She rolled on her stomach to see Draco stumbling to his feet — the chest of drawers obliterated, the wood shards joining the tornado. Their eyes locked as she pushed herself to standing, and then there was a groan so loud the floor shook beneath their feet.

Hermione rasped out a Protection Spell as more objects jerked upward, keeping them behind an invisible wall. It held for five seconds before she needed to cast again. Draco started towards her, and she waved him back, screaming, "Kill it! I'll hold off the room!"

She aimed at the twister, and the wand shivered under her instruction.