Disclaimer - I don't own it! JK Rowling is the proud owner of Harry Potter. I'm just a poor gal, from a poor family...
A/N- Yes, I know, it's been forever since I've done an update for this and well, for many of my other stories. RL simply got busy for me but now the end of this story is near. I'm already working on the next chapter and will hopefully have it posted in a month. That's the best I can do, folks. Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck through with this story, I hope I do not disappoint.
A big thank you to my beta wouldyouliketoseemymask for her amazing help in editing this chapter.
And my final note, I now have a Facebook page, if you would like to get previews of chapters and stories that I am working on, make sure to like my page! I'll try to keep it active as much as possible. Just search for Slytherin Head, or head on over to my profile to find the link. Take care everyone and don't forget to review!
*Warning: There will be some disturbing/dark scenes from now on. I will try to keep it at a minimum but there are somethings that just have to happen. You have been warned.
Chapter 11-
The first time Lestrange's magic had waver on him, he almost hadn't noticed— he had been shocked at how Tobias had begun to act. But then he felt himself sliding more and more downward. One look at the Potions master face, and he knew what was happening. He felt a small pang of disappointment knowing that it was going to be so simple to take down the craze Death Eater. But he wasn't going to think they had him beat just yet. If Lestrange caught on with their plan, he might just kill them all without a second thought.
"I've seen Muggle-borns cast better hexes than you, Lestrange!"
Harry saw Lestrange flinch at the statement and wondered how far they could push his buttons before he completely snapped. The same maddening look that Bellatrix had seemed to overtake the man's eyes; any form of sanity that he had once had was no longer there. It was at that moment, that Harry knew: either they would die at his hands, or he would be the one to die. There was just no way that the man would be able to live if they managed to capture him. He was already insane and therefore wouldn't be affected by the Dementors at all.
"Shut up!" Lestrange shouted in a fury while pulling at his ear with his free hand. "Shut up! SHUT UP!"
"What's wrong, Lestrange?" Tobias sneered. "Are we hurting your feelings? I would love to tell you that we don't mean it, but then that would be a lie. You worthless bastard!"
With an animalistic scream, Rodolphus made a slashing movement with his wand. Tobias gave a pained cry as blood began to seep from the many cuts across his body, the result of a Cutting hex. Another wave of the wand, and despite his efforts to fight off the Imperius Curse, Tobias was forced to stab his own leg.
Harry couldn't help but close his eyes and try to drown the noises out. The sound of flesh being stabbed combined with Tobias' cries was too much. If it hadn't been for the fact that he hadn't eaten anything since the day before, he was sure he would be emptying his stomach at that moment. He didn't know how much longer they could hold out. They needed to keep attacking him, and not give him a moment's of rest.
"Lestrange!" Harry shouted. "You sorry excuse of a Death Eater. How does it feel to know that your wife was more powerful than you? That VOLDEMORT considered her better than you?"
"That's right, Rodolphus," Severus said. "The Dark Lord always pitted you. He never thought you were strong enough to be within his inner circle, but Bellatrix had spoken in your favour."
"You're absolutely pathetic, Lestrange." Tobias joined in. The pain he felt was almost too much for him, but he couldn't give up— they were so close to making the man lose focus. He could take the pain, he had to, otherwise Severus and Harry wouldn't be able to take on Lestrange. He didn't know exactly what the boys were talking about, but he knew he could play along, Lestrange was far too gone to even wonder how he knew about "snake face" and his followers. "To have you wife ask for you to be let in. I'm sure that's probably why she married you too, out of pity. It wasn't for power, since she obviously had more than you!"
"No! I was more powerful than that bitch, Bellatrix!"
"She probably told you that. Just to make you feel better!"
"Ten points, Mr Potter. That is exactly what she would do. She would even tell him that she loved him. Another obvious lie, as it was more than clear that she didn't!"
"Shut up, Snape! She worshipped me!"
With a nasty smiled on his face, Severus slowly said,"She lied! After she was done stroking your ego, she was standing next to Voldemort, drooling all over him."
"Lies!"
They were all lying to him. It was nothing but lies! Bellatrix had loved him, they had married, not only out of love, but also for the power that his family name could give her. She had told him time and time again, that he was the most powerful wizard that she knew. She told him night after night of passionate lovemaking that she belonged only to him—him and no one else.
But that had been before the Dark Lord had approached us...
He could have been more powerful than the Dark Lord, he was just more humble about his powers. Besides, looked at where it landed snake-face—dead. Beaten by a scrawny boy.
A scrawny boy who has been hit by the Killing Curse twice now...
HE was the more powerful one!
Lies!
HE was better than that insolent half-blood, Snape!
Liar!
Dimly, in the back of his mind, he could hear a crackling laughter. Laughter that had been flowing throughout Hogwarts, just hours before. Bellatrix Lestrange, his loving wife. She was laughing. He could hear her laughing and she was laughing at him!
"SHUT UP!"
Tobias watched as Rodolphus screamed and began to tear at his ears. Feeling the magic drip from his body, he pulled the knife out of his leg and threw himself on top of the Death Eater. The two of them fell heavily onto the floor as Tobias tried to stab Rodolphus. He barely registered that Severus and Harry were both free as well. Having lost a great amount of blood already, he didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold off Rodolphus. He had managed to knock the wand from the man's hand, but he knew that some wizards didn't need a wand to do their magic. Even if he hadn't liked magic when Severus was a child, he had always listened to what Eileen had taught their son. He knew that some wizards didn't have to say anything to cast spells, that some didn't even need a wand to perform magic, and he also knew that wands could be used by other wizards.
Tobias swung his left fist, hitting Rodolphus hard enough that the man's skull hit the floor with a sickening smack. Blood was spewing from the man's nose almost choking him, since he could neither sit up nor stop the flow of the blood. Tobias swung his fist again, but before he could hit Rodolphus, he felt a heavy force pushing away and throwing him across the room and hitting the wall. 'Well, that answer that question. The git can use wandless magic.' As he struggled to stand, he felt two hands grasp his arms and help him to his feet before pulling him away from where he stood. Looking back at the spot he saw they had moved just in time, for there was now a huge scorch mark where they had been. Looking up, he saw Harry had taken Lestrange's wand and was casting spell after spell at the man.
"Stupefy!" shouted Harry. Lestrange dodge and threw a silent spell of his own forcing Harry to hastily throw another spell at him.
"Potter!" Severus scorned, making Tobias flinch at the tone of voice. He hadn't thought his son would ever be capable of possessing such a tone, but he supposed that if he was a teacher then he would have to be strict with his students. Still, it was a bit strange to hear it from his son who used to be so scared of him. "When are you going to learn to keep that mouth of yours shut!"
Harry threw a bewildered look towards his professor before responding, "I can't help it! And is this really the time to be playing teacher?!" Honestly, the man had no priorities whatsoever. They weren't in class for lecturing—they were in battle, trying to get out alive. Yes, he knew that because he shouted out all of his spells that Lestrange knew what to expect and therefore could easily block his attack. But he was too worried about thinking up hexes to try and focus on casting silently.
"Well, pardon me for trying to make sure we don't all die!" Severus sneered.
At this statement Tobias couldn't help but roll his eyes at his son. "Is that really necessary, Severus? The boy is doing the best he can!"
"He's being sloppy, dad. That's what he's doing. If he were really doing the best he could, then he would have already taken Lestrange down!"
"Shut up! Why won't you people shut up?! Crucio!"
"Aguamenti!"
Lestrange had obviously not anticipated such a spell and was hit in the face with the stream of water before he slipped and fell to the ground, landing on top of some boxes. Despite sputtering, he still managed to block Harry's next hex before sending another Stupefy towards the Snapes. Harry managed to barely block the spell before a Cutting hex caught his left arm.
As Harry jumped out of the way of another Cutting hex, he clutched his left arm trying to stop the bleeding. 'Damn, even though he's absolutely insane, he's still a good duelist! If I don't take him out now, he's going to kill me.'
"Had enough, Potter?" Rodolphus asked in a taunting voice.
Not bothering to respond, Harry quickly thought of four hexes and consecutively fired them off without realizing that the last two were non-verbal—a blasting hex and stunning hex, both of which Lestrange was just barely able to block.
Being thrown off in such a way infuriated the craze Death Eater—Harry could see it in his eyes. Because of that, he was able to anticipate the many Crucios and Stunners that were sent his way. He blocked each one, while making sure that the Snapes were still safe. He hoped that Kingsley would hurry up and find them; he could feel his energy draining—the events of the last two days finally catching up to him. He could feel his muscles straining in protest, his body begging for rest. But he couldn't stop. Stopping would mean death for the three of them.
He could feel his leg pulsing in pain, but it was beginning to slowly numb. The blood was quickly crusting over the wound, effectively slowing the bleeding. He felt faint, but he knew that he had to stay awake and focused. Tobias watched, amazed at the power that Harry possesed. He had never seen wizards duel and even though he knew that he was in danger of being killed, he couldn't help but be captivated by how both wizards seemed to read each other's moves. He wondered if Severus could duel just as great, if not better. He wondered if Eileen had been a great duelist as well.
"It won't be long now," Severus quietly murmured.
"What do you mean by that?" Tobias asked, giving him a quizzical look
"A wizard can only use wandless magic for so long before his body shuts down," he said, keeping his eyes on the duel. "It's why we use wands—our bodies cannot handle the stress of using wandless magic. Controlling what your magic does and where you want it to go is much more difficult without a wand."
"I see," Tobias said. "So, Harry only needs to hold on just a little bit longer before Lestrange fails?"
Shaking his head, Severus said, "Unfortunately, at this point either one could fall. You have to remember that Potter had just fought against the most powerful wizard our world has seen in a long time. And before that, who knows what else those children had been up to. It seems, that once again, we must rely on Potter's luck."
Afraid to know but curiosity winning out, Tobias asked, "And how good is his luck?"
"Well, so far it's kept him alive since he was a baby."
Choosing not to say anything else, Tobias focused once again on the duel. He was so preoccupied with looking at Lestrange for signs of fatigue that he never saw the quick hex that was sent towards Severus and himself. All he felt was searing pain as his body was slammed against the wall and hit the floor. He tried to stay awake and reach Severus to make sure he was okay, but he could barely move.
"Stupefy!"
"Crucio!"
"Sectumsempra!"
"Confringo!"
"Potter!"
The sides of his vision were beginning to blur and the noise around him seemed to dim away. All the sounds were coming to him as if from an old radio. Someone was shaking him, but he couldn't tell who it was. He felt like he was floating now. He couldn't feel anything.
'I'm so sorry, Eileen. I'm sorry, Severus.'
"Avada Kedavra!"
"No!"
'So this is what death feels like.'