Soul of Steel (Chapter Nineteen) Battle of the Malfoy Manor
Lita ran down the long hall way. She had very little time to get her friends out of the basement. The Malfoys were not dumb. But neither was she. She knew this secret organization met here. They had brought her to the heart of their Headquarters for a reason. Their mistress apparently knew her. And wanted her for some reason. But thew miscalculated one thing about her. She would always rescue her friends. No matter how badly they treated her. Everyone of her friends held a special place in her heart. They were a part of her for life. She would never turn her back on them.
A long spiral staircase lead down to the basement. The Death Eaters would have to climb all the way down the stairs. She had gained some time on them. And time at the moment was essential. She grabbed the railing with her left hand and jumped over. She free fell within the eye of the spiral staircase. Knee bent and arms over her head, she kept her eyes on the ground. She landed on her feet, tail twitching dangerously. She was ready for a fight that she knew was coming.
Kicking in a door, she walked into a pitch black room. It was freezing inside. Lita could feel the pupils in her eyes thinning and stretching. Someone screamed as her golden eyes glowed in the darkness. She could see everything. The room was virtually one big cage. It was cold and dirt and there were many figures inside.
Lita ran to Harry's side of the cage. He was resting against the lower left hand corner. His arm clearly was broken. He was very scratched up. He had obviously been beaten.
"Lita..." He spoke softly, reaching out with his right arm. "I'm so sorry..." Lita reached out, slipping her finger between the bars, touching his swollen ones.
"No, Harry. This is all my fault. I should have listened to you..." Tears fell from her eyes as she felt the scabs on his fingers. He was hunting and it was all of her fault. Jholise, Ron, Hermione, Silo, Luna, Ginny, Dean, Neville, an old man and a very short man with very pointy features inhabited the cage along with Harry. "Don't worry, guys. I'll get you out of here."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. And how do you expect to do that?" A gruff voice asked from behind her. She turned around. Blocking her left hand with her body purposely. This man could not walk lightly. Or breathe quietly for that matter. He was tall. His hair was matted and greying. His teeth were sharp and there were scabs forming in the corners of his mouth. His black cloak was nearly bursting at the chest, shoulders and biceps. She could hear the stitches crying.
Lita's pointer and middle fingers slipped into her sleeve, retrieving a razor she had hidden there. Along with a long thin wand. The wand she had stolen from Draco while making out with him after she heard his original plans a couple of hours before. Harry grasped them in fear. She was about to fight Fenrir Greyback. She was feisty, but he would tear her apart...
"Lita... don't fight him. Run as fast as you can."
"Quiet, Potter. Grown ups talking here..." He smiled sickly. "If the girl wishes to meet an early grave. Let her..." Lita stood up slowly, arms at her sides, eyes never leaving the man. "Here, kitty." Lita smiled.
"Cats come when they feel like it. Not when they're told." Lita jumped over the tall man's head. He slammed into the steel bars loudly, but he shook it off easily. Lita took for the stairs, jumping onto the railing, running as quickly as she could. But she wasn't running to get away. She was running to get him away from her friends. She knew cowardly men like that. He would grab one of her friends and hold them hostage. Lita always became emotional when one of her friends was in danger. She couldn't trust herself in a situation like that. Lita wrenched the door open and ran outside.
Lita gasped and nearly screamed. She stopped mid-step, falling backwards into the snow, still sliding. A group of black robed men in skeleton mask stood before her. Headed by Lucius Malfoy. She stared up at them with wide eyes as Fenrir stepped up behind her, his toes touching her fingers. She couldn't get her body to move as Malfoy pulled a wand out of his cane, the snake head as the handle. "Say goodbye."
"Duck!" A deep voice called. Lita ducked just as a red light soared past her ear. It hit Lucius in the chest and he flew backwards, taking several Death Eaters with him. She turned around to meet Fenrir's claws. He swiped angrily, catching her side with three claws. She was thrown backwards, hitting the side of the Malfoy Manor. Blood poured to the white snow, infecting the pure blank ground with her crimson blood. She couldn't look, for the first gash was so deep she could see the bone of a rib. She sat there, back against the cold stone, taking slow and shallow breaths. Every time her heart beat, blood gushed onto the ground. Her vision began to blur as it became harder to breathe.
Edward set his piece of chalk beside the large Transmutation Circle that he had finished upon the stone floor. He had cleared South Headquarters City so no one could bother him as he made the Transmutation Circle. But now that he had finished it, he felt empty He had kept himself busy, but when he wasn't busy. He began to think which was bad. And all of his thoughts always returned to one girl. And he would never stop until he had her back.
"Greetings, Edward Elric." Alex Armstrong walked up to him. Ed didn't answer, only nodded in acknowledgment.
"Full Metal..." Edward turned to stare into the eye of Roy Mustang. Ed scoffed. Since Lita's death, Ed had begun to feel a spark of competition. And Edward didn't like it. Ed sighed turning away from Mustangs out stretched hand.
"Let's just do this." Armstrong and Roy exchanged looks before settling into their spots. "Al." A large suit of armor was standing beside the Transmutation Circle. Alphonse pressed his hand against the armor and it's eyes lit up. Ed had no clue if this would work. And he wouldn't harm someone in the process of saving someone. Even if it was Lita. The armor walked to the middle of the Transmutation Circle as Al kneeled by the edge. "Ready?" Al nodded to his brother. They all pressed their hands onto the chalk markings. The armor began to sink into the floor like quicksand.
Lita's eyelids drooped as her strength leaving her. A hundred different people were fighting around her. But she couldn't pin point anybody. Their faces were twisted and blurred in her eyes. She could only lay there as her life poured out of her and dripped into the snow. Out of habit or desperation, Lita clapped her hands weakly and pushed them into her own pool of blood. A yellow light emitted from the red liquid. A green light bounced off a steadily growing figure that had settled itself in front of her. The wounds on her stomach sealed themselves instantly. Black lines traced themselves around her stomach, as though someone was drawing on her with black ink. The symbol that was on the watch Jake had given her was traced around her stomach, her belly button in the center. An Ouroboros made up the circle around the star.
"Lita... you're a..." Al stared down at her from above. "Homunculus." Lita stared at Al in disbelief.
"Al..." Lita jumped up and hugged the large suit of armor. "How are you?" Al picked her up and turned around swiftly, a green light bouncing off the shining armor.
"Lita!" Harry called out motioning her to look at him. He waved his arm. Alerting her to follow him.
"Come on!" Lita grabbed onto Al's hand leading him through the battle. A tall blond stood in their way a wand pointed at them.
"Sorry, honey. This is the end..." Al reached out and dropped his fist onto Draco's blond head. The boy crumpled to the ground like a forgotten doll.
"Sorry, hun. But if you didn't know yet, I'll tell you. We're through..." And she stepped on him as she continued on to Harry. "Long story." She knew if she gave him time, Al would ask. Harry had many of the others around him, they were all standing around what looked like a dirty wash cloth. "What are you guys doing?" Lita asked, attempting do drawing attention away from Al.
"It's a Portkey... we were just waiting for you." They all touched the wash cloth, and could only follow suit. She would get her explanation later. The same straw feeling ran through her body. Instead this time, the landing was a lot rougher. She slammed into the ground painfully. Her first instinct was to roll onto her back. She looked up, a red sunset was rising. The sky was a mixture of pink and purple. It was such a beautiful sky for a Christmas Eve Morning. Al was the first to stand, he had no injuries of course.
"Al," Lita stood up, "how did you get here?"
"We wanted a way to bring you home..." She heard a sniff. "But we have no way of getting home. Or anyway for you to get out of this one." Al looked around, staring at all the sad faces. "But it seems like you've made a life for yourself. You don't want to come back."
"No, Al..." She took the gloved hands of the suit of armor. "I want too... I just don't know how to even start." The armor began to vibrate. "What's going on?"
"After I got my body back, I learned how to put a piece of my soul into other things. But only for a limited amount of time. My time is up..." The armor began to shake more violently.
"You can't go... I just got you back..." A rough hand wiped away a glistening tear from her cheek.
"I know... I'm sorry..." The armor wrapped it's steel arms around her, leaning down as she rested her chin against his shoulder. "I love you."
"I love you too, Al." Harry watched as the re lights dimmed and Lita's knee's buckled under the weight. Slowly, she slid to the snow, her knees touched as they hit the snow. It was then that Harry watched Lita truely cry.