Harry Potter and his world belong to J.K. Rowling. I just borrowed it and took it for a spin.
A bit of a twist on the ending of book 5. I've been reading too much fanfiction, had to get this out.
Run
Run, run, run,…
One foot after the other, it's like walking only faster.
And run he did, as fast as his feet would let him, and even then he wanted to push, run… through hallways and rooms, passing door after door. Run, catch, kill. Yes, kill for she killed Sirius and he would kill her. She was running, somewhere in front of him, through the same hallways, through the same rooms. He couldn't see her, but she was there in front of him. Running!
His head hurt, his lungs were burning, he could see the flames dancing in front of his eyes, and he saw red. He ran ignoring the shouts around him, dodging spells meant or not meant for him. Run, catch, kill… pain! Oh boy that hurt. He lay sprawled on his back, his lungs screaming for air, stars dancing in front of his eyes, a strange buzzing in his ears. Was he crying? His face was wet. Pushing himself up on his elbows he looked around wand out, ready to defend against whoever had send him flying. There she was, standing only a few feet away, her back to him. Apparently not even aware he was behind her. Getting back to his feet, he raised his wand a curse forming on his lips when a scream echoed through the chamber. Darkness surrounded them but the constant firing of hexes and spells had left a glowing residue floating around lighting up two additional people, the first one he didn't know, but the long black cloak and the mask showed what he was, a Death Eater. The second one he knew perfectly well, down on the floor her wand out of reach blood trickling from her mouth, ears and nose and her leg beneath her at a wrong angle. The unknown Death Eater was taunting her, he did not listen, he even forgot the third person, the one that he was here for, she could wait, his friend was in danger and he had to help her. The Death Eater raised his wand, his mouth forming words, his wand alight in green. Everything seemed to slow down, he raised his own wand a spell on his lips, his feet moving and bang he collided with something again and found himself back on his ass. Scrambling back up he tried again, there was a shield in place he couldn't get passed.
"Hermione" he yelled, his fist hitting the shield that kept him back.
Hermione didn't move, she couldn't, whatever that last curse was she couldn't move, blink or breathe, she tried but she just couldn't. But she could see and hear and knew exactly what spell was coming and what the green light meant. A tear slid down her cheek and she waited for the end. And it ended but not in the way she expected.
I killed Sirius Black, I killed Sirius Black, I killed Sirius, I killed Siri… Over and over it danced through her mind as she ran. Her own voice following and no matter how hard she ran, it was there. The voice in her ears, in her mind. Sirius falling backwards stupefied like she had intended but then he didn't come back. That was not supposed to happen. What was the point to fighting if he just disappeared on her and died? He wasn't to die. I killed Sirius Black… And here she was, lungs burning, eyes stinging, her head ready to explode. She couldn't run anymore, stop if only for a minute. Where was she? Looking around she spotted Dolohov and one of the children. The girl was on the ground, although looking at Anthony she had given him quit the fight. And now she was going to die, the killing curse forming on his lips, his wand aglow and his arm waving the well-known pattern. I killed Sirius Black. NO! The voice in her mind yelled and the next thing she knew she was kneeling next to the girl with Dolohov out cold at the other end of the room. What was she doing?
What was she doing? Harry stared as the scene played out, but he couldn't quite understand what had just happened. Neither did he notice that with Dolohov out cold the shield had disappeared. He just stood there unable to move, watching as his godfather's murderer, a pure-blooded Death Eater save a mudblood.
What is wrong with me? 14 years in Azkaban have made you soft. I killed Sirius. Yes you did, and what are you going to do about that. Oh shut up. Walking up to the girl Bellatrix's inner turmoil continued, she stopped listening and kneeled down waving her wand up and down muttering to herself.
Slowly Harry moved forward, wand at the ready, a curse on his lips when her voice reached his ears.
"I suggest you wait a bit Mister Potter, and let us save your friend first."
Harry faltered; his wand still raised the spell on his lips.
"We can fight this out as soon as your mudblood is breathing again."
She didn't look up. She didn't seem to care he was ready to curse her. Her attention was souly on Hermione. So to his own surprise he found himself moving forward and kneeling down. Time seemed to slow down for a second time that day as they worked, trying to save Hermione's life. And they did, well Bellatrix did.
"I can't do anything else for her, she needs to go the St. Mungo's, she's stable for the moment but it would be best to get her out of here."
Harry didn't move, this was surreal, here he was with what everybody said was Voldemort's right hand, his most brutal and lethal Death Eater, the woman who had killed her cousin his godfather, had just saved or tried to save his friend. A person she thought was beneath her, not worth the life. Time had resumed around him. Screams and shouts, crashes and explosions could be heard behind him, held back by one wooden door.
Bellatrix stood, wand in hand looking at Dolohov still out cold where he had landed, listening to the fighting and she didn't care. She was fine here, doing nothing. There was a time when her heart would have burst from her chest, excitement building up to join the chase. In fact it had been only minutes ago that her heart had been pumping, the trill of the fight and then Sirius. She had killed Sirius. Well to be fair she hadn't meant to kill him. She had sent a stunner and was sure she had missed but still he died. Fell through the damned veil. Yes, she knew now what had happened and where they had been fighting…stupid, stupid, stupid. Another explosion brought her out of her musings and she looked straight into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. Eyes filled with every kind of emotion you could imagine. She couldn't look away.
"Very well Mister Potter…let's get this over with. Just so you're warned once I get started it's hard for me to stop. I never left anything half done." Bellatrix sighed, moved a few steps backwards and took a standard duelling stand. "Mister Potter, as you can hear we do not have all day, and your friend does still needs a lot of help, I may have stabilised her for the moment she is not out of danger yet."
"You killed Sirius. Why?"
She didn't answer, deny or confirm what he had said; she just looked at him, waiting.
"And now you saved Hermione."
"I haven't yet, she may still die."
"Why? She is a muggleborn, a mudblood you so hate. You have killed hundreds."
"Hundreds? Wow I was ambitions wasn't I."
"This not a joke, you're Bellatrix Lestrange, you're a murderer, Voldemort's right hand…"
Bellatrix flinched but Harry continued.
"You tortured Neville's parents to insanity, you, you, you… you killed Sirius."
His face was wet, tears of anger and grief.
"And now … Hermione, and you could have killed me ten times over but you haven't, and…"
"Breath Mister Potter, I would face certain dead if I killed you. You are the Dark Lord's. We are not to touch little Harry Potter."
"Then…why? I don't understand, I don't understand…" He was on his knees now, tears streaming down, a floodgate had opened and all the upend emotions of the last year came out through his eyes. Cedric's death, the dementors, Dumbledore's betrayal, Snape's vindictiveness, McGonnagall's dismissals, Umbridge, Voldemort, and guilt, all that guilt.
Sitting in one of the dark chambers deep inside the Ministry of Magic, Harry Potter cried his eyes out, his friend laying a few feet away unconscious and a Death Eater beside him standing guard. Bellatrix let the boy cry, how she wished she could join him. She had no idea what was happening to him, had no idea what to do. Curse him, yeah that would be easy, but she found herself unwilling. Frustrated beyond believe, so she stood and waited her eyes switching from the girl to the boy to the man. Anthony, right I had forgotten about him. A painful scream made her look at the boy at the same time as her left arm flared up in pain, a hiss escaped her lips. Potter was still on his knees, his hands pressed to his forehead, blood dripping down his fingers. What the hell?
"Bellatrix" he gasped.
"Potter" she gritted.
"He's here, he's angry" they said simultaneously.
Harry pushed himself shakingly up to his feet.
"Where do you think you're going?" A hand had his arm in a vice like grip.
"Voldemort, he's here, I have to…" He tried to shake his arm free and stumble to the door. Admittingly he didn't try very hard.
"Stay here and protect your friend. I didn't use up all that magic on a mudblood for nothing." She sneered, nothing like Snape's and it didn't reach her eyes but it made Harry pause.
"I have to, they expect it from me, I'm the boy who lived." He whispered as he tried to take another step.
"Stay here Potter, protect your friend, and believe it or not but right now he is not here for you, that damned prophecy is more important than you at the moment. Besides, looking at you like this, you wouldn't be the boy who lived for much longer."
"But…"
"Potter!"
"Sirius…"
"Yes, Sirius." She sighed, "We will talk about Sirius later. Stay put."
And she was gone; Harry stumbled back to Hermione and sat down beside her, her head securely in his lap. Wand at the ready he kept his eyes locked on the door and well aware of the man in the corner. He didn't know how much time had passed since Sirius, the chase after Bellatrix, the strange events following and when Remus found them. Later they told him only half an hour had passed. Several Death Eaters had been captured, Bellatrix hadn't been among them. Remus and Tonks were furious, he somehow felt a bit of relieve. And now here he was on his way to his own Privet Drive prison.
The last few days had gone by in a blur for him. Finally hearing what that Prophecy was all about, more half-truths and promises, destroying the Headmaster's office. Should he apologize for that? Lonely days in Gryffindor tower, walks around the grounds, escaping the whispers and the looks. Ginny, Neville, Ron and Luna were still in the hospital wing and Hermione had been taken to St. Mungo's. After much yelling Madame Pomfrey finally flooed her colleague for an update, she was a lucky girl, if you hadn't done what you did Harry she would have surely died. But he hadn't done anything Bellatrix had. He didn't say that though, just nodded and walked out. So now after a silent train journey, he was sitting in the car with his Uncle, his mind in turmoil, his body moving on automatic. Uncle Vernon parked the car in the driveway opened the booth to the car and walked inside leaving Harry to bring his trunk and Hedwige. Nobody greeted him as he struggled through the front door; nobody was there when he almost fell down the stairs dragging the heavy trunk and owl cage up to his room. The locks were still there, nothing had changed, it never did. Well, maybe that was the only constant in his life, Privet Drive never changed.
