As long as she could make it to the next secret passage she would be fine. None of their enemies knew about the passages, and they could stop in one and tend to her back. But until then, Hermione just had to keep running. The rest of the team had descended the stairs and disappeared into the corridor at the bottom as Hermione and Draco reached the top of the staircase. They were falling further and further behind, and she tried to make her feet move faster as they ran down the stairs. Then more whooping, howling cries echoed off the walls of Hogwarts, closer now, and Hermione flinched and her foot missed the second to last step.