-The Graveyard, Chapter Twenty One-

Adapted from the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 36

HARRY POV

Lupin held me back and then moved me back to the steps. I was in utter disbelief. Sirius couldn't be gone… The room was silent except for the flashes of light from the other side of the dais, Kinglsey had taken on Sirius's fight, and was dueling Bellatrix. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a yell from behind the dais.

I saw Kingsley, yelling in pain, hit the ground. Bellatrix Lestrange turned tail and ran as Dumbledore whipped around. He aimed a spell at her but she deflected it. She was halfway up the steps now— "Harry—no!" cried Lupin, but I had already ripped my arm from his slackened grip.

"SHE KILLED SIRIUS!" I bellowed. "SHE KILLED HIM—I'LL KILL HER!" And I was off, scrambling up the stone benches and steps. People were shouting behind me, but I didn't care. The hem of Bellatrix's robes whipped out of sight ahead and they were back in the room where the brains were swimming… She aimed a curse over her shoulder. The tank rose into the air and tipped. I was deluged in a foul smelling potion within. The brains slipped and slid over me and began spinning their long, colored tentacles, but I shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and they flew into the air away from me.

Slipping and sliding, I ran on toward the door. I leapt over Luna, who was groaning on the floor, past Ginny, who said, "Harry—what-?" past Ron who giggled feebly and Hermione, who was still unconscious. I wrenched open the door into the circular black hall and saw Bellatrix disappearing through a door on the other side of the room—beyond her was the corridor that led to the lifts.

I ran, but the door slammed shut behind her and the walls began to rotate again. Once more I was surrounded by streaks of blue light from the whirling candelabra. "Where's the exit?" I shouted desperately, as the wall rumbled to a halt again, "Where's the way out?" The room seemed to have been waiting for me to ask. The door right behind me flew open, and the corridor toward the lifts stretched ahead of me, torch-lit and empty. I ran… I could hear the lift clattering ahead of me, I sprinted up the passageway, swung around the corner, and slammed my fist onto the button to call a second lift. It jangled and banged lower and lower; the grilles slid open and I dashed inside, now hammering the button marked Atrium. Where else would Bellatrix go? She knew where Cecily was…

I forced my way out of the lift before the grilles were fully open and looked around. Bellatrix was almost at the telephone lift at the other end of the hall, but she looked back as I sprinted towards her, and aimed another spell at me. I dodged behind the Fountain of Magical Brethren and could clearly see the small black sarcophagus neatly placed around the figures, keeping it from view. She stopped running, so I crouched behind the statue, listening. "Come out, come out, little Harry!" She called in her mock-baby voice, which echoed off the polished wooden floors. "What did you come after me for, then? I thought you were here to avenge my dear cousin!"

"I am!" I shouted, and it echoed around the room.

"Aaah…did you love him, little baby Potter?"

Hatred rose in me such as I had never known before. I flung myself out from behind the fountain and bellowed, "Crucio!" Bellatrix screamed. The spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not writhe and shriek with pain as Neville had—she was already on her feet again, breathless, no longer laughing. I dodged behind the fountain again—her counter spell hit the head of the handsome wizard, which was blown off and landed twenty feet away, gouging long scratches into the wooden floor.

CECILY POV

I barely registered two sets of footsteps sprinting in the Atrium. It was probably two Death Eaters ready to transport me back to Voldemort. They had not killed Harry though, which puzzled me; his soul had not turned into a spirit yet… The water pounded over the words of a female I recognized instantly as Bellatrix. Hatred rose in me, but I stayed limp on the floor of the sarcophagus, waiting for the movement that signaled we had left the Minsitry. It didn't come.

"I am!" a very familiar voice shouted very close to me. Oh no, Harry was here! Bellatrix had led him here, and she had probably already called for Voldemort— I gasped with pain and quickly got up and crouched, ready to stand up when the lid was moved. I could barely hear the continued conversation between Harry and Bellatrix, but I had to distract him. He had to know that this was all a trap-

I moved to the sound of his voice, into a corner. "Harry?" I said quietly. The water continued to pour down, and there was no response, except for several spells deflecting.

I was relieved to hear that the prophecy had smashed. Voldemort was thwarted again. "Harry!" I said louder, trying to get some volume in my dry throat. My voice was hoarse and dry from lack of water, which was ironic, as the water continued to thunder down.

I pressed my cheek against the stone, trying to hear. "Don't waste your breath!" Harry yelled. "He can't hear you from here!"

"HARRY!" I cried uselessly, knowing that he had just sealed his fate. Silence. And then—

"Can't I, Potter?" said a high, cold voice. Fear laced instantly through my veins, turning them to ice. There was nothing I could do this time, nothing left, no tricks to save Harry and myself-

"No…" I whispered almost silently. No matter what Harry and I tried, we hadn't done a single difference, and now this was the end. I heard a muffled conversation, Voldemort's high voice barely cutting through the water. "Harry?" I called, trying to get a response. Then, quite suddenly I heard it.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort shrieked.

I screamed and pressed my back against the lid, trying to lift it. Tears were falling down my face, catching in the unnatural hollows. He had killed him—silence reigned as I slumped to the floor. He had died for nothing, a wasted body and a cursed ring. It was my fault that Harry had died- it was all my fault. I heard Bellatrix screaming, but Voldemort was probably only punishing her for letting the prophecy smash…I heard movement as some of the water disappeared. Perfect, a new location. Was I back in the Malfoy residence, trapped in the basement? I heard muffled noises, it sounded like a fight. What was happening?

Then, I was crying with happiness. I heard Harry yell, "Look out!" That was enough for me. Somehow, miraculously, he was alive. I could still save him. So I summoned all the spirits I currently had, and took action.

To be continued…