Elias chased after his wand, and Padma went to follow him, but was stopped by an explosion between them. By the time she found him again, he was fighting another Death Eater, and Padma wanted no part of that. Taking a deep breath, Padma looked around the room. She'd been so focused on Elias that she hadn't paid any attention to what was going on around her. She was lucky not to have been hit already, as the room was chaotic, full of Death Eaters and the Order and ghosts and who knew what. Curses and hexes were flying everywhere.
"This is why I do the research," Padma muttered to herself, then ducked a stray hex. "I hate fighting."
Still, she was here, and the Order needed all the help it would get. She looked around again, and spotted a Death Eater all alone, making his way to the archway in the middle of the room. She slipped through several ghosts, shivering at the coldness of them, and raised her wand.
"Stupefy!"
The spell hit him in the chest, but she'd put too much power in it and he flew backwards, unconscious. She winced as he hit the floor, then swore under her breath as the man slid into a few other Death Eaters who were entering the room. One of them Ennervated the man, and he stood shakily, looking a bit woozy.
Realizing that she'd made herself a target, Padma tried to see where a group of people might be, and she thought she saw Ron and Hermione somewhat nearby. As she moved toward them, a spell from someone behind her hit her shoulder, sending her flying forward. Padma tried to brace herself as she landed, but her left wrist snapped on impact and Padma's head slammed onto the hard floor. Dizzy, and with blood streaming from a cut on her head, Padma rolled over and tried to raise her wand in her trembling righ hand. Her vision blurred as a large figure in Death Eater robes loomed overhead, his wand pointed at her.