Life, Love, and Family
Chapter 20: Betrayal and Sacrifice
Ava suddenly lost all control on her telepathy. Everyone within a twenty feet radius of her sank to their feet in pain. She just stood, completely oblivious to what she was doing. Draco turned around, looked at Ava. He noticed the blank look on her face.
"AVA!" he yelled. Ava blinked and looked down at him. She realized what she was doing and regained control. Draco stood up, rubbing his head. "What the bloody hell was that all about?" he asked. Ava knew, but she was not going to tell him.
"Nothing. I just lost control for a moment," she said. It was not entirely a lie; she had lost control for a moment. Draco nodded and turned back around to keep walking. Ava looked around at the other people. They were all staring at her maliciously. "Sorry," she said. Then she receded into her mind to think. Tommy had just let down his guard to her.
But why? she asked herself. Then the reason hit her. She turned towards Draco.
"Draco, go find Neve. Bring her to me. I'll wait here," she said. Draco raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to inquire, but Ava shook her head. "No questions. Just do as I say," she said. Draco frowned and walked off. Ava waited until he was gone. She leaned with her back against a building and started to stare into space. Everything around her seemed to disappear.
Tommy smiled. He stopped walking as well. Rayne looked confused as he stepped to the side and also leaned with his back against a building. She wondered what he was doing, but she did not question him. She just stood at his side. Little did Ava and Tommy know that they were on opposite sides of the same building, exactly parallel to each other. Tommy began to stare into space. Everything around him seemed to disappear as well. In his mind, Ava appeared to him.
You shouldn't do that without warning me first, Tommy. I could hurt someone, she said.
I'm not telepathic, Ava. How am I supposed to warn you? he countered.
Find a way. You haven't let your walls down in a long time, Tommy. The last time you did was on my wedding day. Are you here?
Yes, I am. My children are in danger.
I figured as much. I just sent Draco after Neve. Who is causing this attack?
Classified information, sister. Just know that it isn't me. I do, however, need your help. Find my children. Tommy severed the connection.
Ava blinked and the world around her reappeared. She sighed.
Diagon Alley seems to be a place for random warfare, she thought sarcastically. She crossed her arms and continued to wait for Draco to return with Neve.
Neve stalked around in the dust, looking for her children. At the moment, she was thinking of all the hexes she was going to put on them as punishment when she found them. She knew that Elektra was probably the ringleader in this, but Sal most likely helped to orchestrate it as well.
"They are so on my list right now," she said to herself.
"Neve!"
Neve turned her head to the right and saw Draco running up to her. She stopped walking and waited for him to catch up to her.
"What is it, Draco?" she asked.
"Ava wants you," he said. Neve raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"Did she say why? I'm kind of busy at the moment," she said. Draco shook his head.
Neve, just get your scrawny arse over here, Ava's voice said in Neve's mind. Neve blinked. Draco realized that Ava had just said something to Neve via telepathy. He smirked. Then something occurred to him.
"Wait a minute," he said. Neve nodded.
"Ever stop to think why she sent you all the way over here when she could've just called me herself, Draco?" Neve asked, crossing her arms. Draco just stared at her blankly. "I guess not. I'm busy. My girls ran off."
"We lost your boys, too," Draco said quietly. Neve's eyes widened.
"You lost Sal and Leo? How do you lose two boys that look exactly alike? They could be in trouble for all we know!" Neve yelled.
They are, Ava said. Neve gasped, her mouth hanging open. Stop gawking and come to me now. Follow Draco.
"Take me to Ava," Neve said. Draco nodded.
Sal stood in front of his siblings. The three people stood looking at the five of them.
"Why do you four hide behind your brother? Are you afraid of us?" a woman's voice came from the one in the middle. Elektra laughed and stepped up beside Sal. Sal smiled and crossed his arms. Leo stood beside Sal as well. Bella and Ren stayed behind them, though.
"Why do you three hide behind masks? Are you afraid to show the world who you really are? Are you afraid of showing the world what your true self is capable of?" Elektra asked. She heard the woman mumble something under her breath.
"You are quite an intelligent one for an eleven-year-old, Elektra," the woman said. Elektra raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know my name?" she asked.
Millicent was going to enjoy toying with this child's mind before she killed her. She reminded her way too much of Neve. They even looked too much alike. Right now, Elektra was looking at her as if she was crazy.
"Everyone knows who you are, Elektra. Everyone knows who you all are. You five are very special to my employer," she said. Elektra looked at Sal. Sal shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Sal asked.
"That's all I can say. Unfortunately, my employer's mind seems to get a bit clouded with thoughts of you all at times. So, in order to clear it, I must rid the world of you five once and for all," Millicent said. She pulled out her wand. Elektra watched her carefully. "A little torture to start things off. Crucio!" she yelled, pointing at Elektra. Sal pushed Elektra down.
Elektra hit the ground hard only to hear her brother's tormented screams.
"SAL!"
Aurora looked up and gasped. Something was very wrong. She stopped walking and turned around. She could swear she heard screaming. She started walking in the opposite direction. She passed a figure that was wearing a hood and a funny feeling came over her. She grabbed the person's arm.
"Tommy," she whispered.
Tommy looked down. He had not realized that Aurora was passing him.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Salvatore is screaming. I do not know where he is. I cannot find him. I can hear him, but I cannot find him," she said. Tommy's breath caught. He looked at Rayne. Rayne just stared at him.
"Aurora, go get help. I need to find Neve," he said. Aurora nodded.
Ava turned around as Draco and Neve walked up to her.
"It's about bloody time. Neve, hold on to me. Apparate when I say. Draco, stay here." Ava closed her eyes. "Apparate now." With two loud POPS, the ladies were gone. Draco crossed his arms. In a second, Ava was right back, but without Neve.
"That was quick. What now?"
"We fight these other bastards."
Neve stared at the person in front of her. He stared right back.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," he said. Rayne stared between the two. She sighed.
"Excuse me, but your children are in trouble. Can we focus on the task at hand, please?" she said. Neve turned her head slowly towards the young American witch.
"Who the hell are you?"
"She's my assistant. Now, we need to find the children. Aurora said that she could hear Sal screaming in her mind," Tommy said. Neve looked confused.
"You spoke to Aurora?"
"She just happened to pass me when she heard it. Now, if you were going to kill someone, where would you take them?" Tommy asked. Neve and Rayne stared at him. Neve started walking very fast across the street. Rayne and Tommy followed.
Harry turned around as Aurora tugged on him.
"Harry, it is horrible. I cannot find Salvatore and the others. They are in danger. I fear they are being tortured. I need your help," she said. Harry looked at Ron. Ron nodded.
"Go on, mate. I'll finish up here," he said. Harry nodded. Aurora pulled Harry off.
Millicent let up on her curse. Sal stopped screaming. He was not moving. Elektra crawled over to her brother and rolled him over. He was still breathing. Millicent smiled under her mask.
"Sal? Sal, open your eyes," Elektra said. Sal opened his eyes. He smirked up at his sister.
"Hi, Lek," he said weakly. Elektra could tell he was fighting the pain. She smiled at him. Then she turned her murderous glare towards Millicent.
"You are just going to let you brother protect you?" Millicent asked. "I thought you had more of a backbone than that, Elektra. That was what I was led to believe," she said.
The quintuplets were confused. How did this woman know their personalities? How did she know them in the first place? Not many people knew who they were. They did not have the most exposure to the outside world.
"I still don't see the need for us to die. It's not our fault your so-called master can't stop thinking about us. Who is this person by the way?" Leo said.
"Never you mind. Now, I'll be getting back to what I was doing," Millicent said. She pointed at Elektra again. Elektra felt that burning in her arm again. She looked down and saw a faint mark on it. Raising an eyebrow, she looked back up at Millicent as she raised her wand again. "Crucio!" she yelled again. Elektra crossed her arms in front of her. Something unexpected happened.
Millicent gasped as the curse was deflected. It came back in her direction. She waved her hand, dissipating it. Elektra and the others looked up, wondering what happened. Bella looked at her sister.
"Elektra, what did you do?" she asked. Elektra looked back at her arm. The mark was gone, but the burning sensation was still there.
"I have no idea," she whispered. Millicent faced the children again.
"Your trickery will do you no good, children. I've seen it all before. It's time I stopped playing with you." Millicent raised her wand for the final blows.
Neve, Tommy, and Rayne came face-to-face with Aurora and Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something, but Neve gave him a look. He immediately decided against it and looked up.
"That is where they are, and they are not alone," Aurora said. Tommy nodded. He began ascending the stairs to the roof of the old building.
"Say goodbye, little ones," Millicent said. Elektra stared Millicent in the eye. "Avada..."
"Expelliarmus," Tommy said calmly. Millicent's wand went flying from her hand. She jumped and turned her head to see Tommy approaching with Neve, Harry, and Aurora. Rayne was at his side, smiling.
"M-M-Master," the other two stammered. They kneeled. Millicent just stood upright, staring defiantly back at Tommy.
"Picking on little kids? That isn't exactly my idea of how to get the job done," Tommy said. He looked over in Elektra's direction and winked. Elektra smiled a bit, and then motioned down to Sal. He was still reeling in pain. Neve and Aurora moved over to them.
"What happened to him?" Aurora asked softly.
"That witch put the Cruciatus Curse on him," Leo said. Neve nodded. She looked over at Tommy. Tommy looked back at Millicent.
Harry could not tell who was behind the witch's mask, but he had a pretty good feeling who it was. There was only one witch who hated Neve beyond all reason, and would do anything and everything to hurt her: Millicent Bulstrode Flint.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your throat out," Neve said, advancing on Millicent. She had not drawn her wand, and everyone knew she did not need to in order to make good on her threat; her bare hands would suffice. For a brief moment, the sight of Neve ripping through the flesh of someone entered the mind of Harry. Harry shook it out of his mind immediately.
"Neve, I really think we should let the proper authorities take care of this," Harry said. Tommy raised his hand, and the two others standing behind Millicent dropped to the ground. Rayne walked over to them and check their pulses.
"They're gone," she said quietly. She flounced past Millicent back to Tommy's side. Harry stepped up next to Tommy.
"What are you killing them for?" he demanded. Tommy looked down over at him.
"This is my brand of justice. You don't disobey my orders. As for this one..." Tommy looked at Millicent. Millicent removed her mask and her cloak. She threw them over the edge of the building. Harry raised an eyebrow. Why would she do that?
"What are you going to do, Tomás?" she asked. Tommy stared blankly at her.
"You deliberately disobeyed me," he said.
"I actually helped you. My target was not actually the children," she said evilly. Tommy narrowed his eyes. They glowed red just like his father's had. Millicent smiled. Everything was going according to plan.
"Serrement," Tommy said, holding his hand out. Millicent had hoped he would use this curse on her. Neve flinched. She knew what this felt like. Harry, on the other hand, was getting a bad feeling. Aurora could feel it as well. Something was not right. Millicent seemed too passive with what was happening. Then it all clicked for Harry.
Why else would she take off her mask?
To the rest of the world, Millicent was a saint; a humanitarian and socialite. Everyone loved her. To anyone who really knew her, she was a pure bitch. If anyone of significant authority was to come up here and see this scene, they would think the opposite of what was truly going on. Unfortunately, that was what happened.
Five Aurors came up the stairs behind them. Rayne and Tommy turned around. The curse on Millicent was released, and she fell to the ground, panting and wheezing uncontrollably. The Aurors recognized Tommy quickly. Tommy groaned, realizing that he would have to go on the defensive.
The answer to the question would elude everyone for a while, but no one knew why the Aurors chose to attack Tommy by using the Killing Curse first. It did not make any sense for a man that was WANTED ALIVE. Neve did the first thing that came to mind.
"No! He was only trying to help!" she yelled, running over to them.
"Avada Kedavra!" the Aurors yelled. Everyone shielded their eyes from the bright flash of green light. Tommy, Harry, and Rayne were thrown back away from the Aurors by the force. Once the light went down, Aurora searched for her sister's mind signature.
Ginny blinked back into the world before her. Ron looked back at his sister. They had just finished up rounding up some of the culprits of the explosions. Ginny had been staring into space for a bit now. It was now that she realized that she'd been doing it.
"All right there, Gin?" he asked. Ginny looked at her brother.
"Neve's..." she whispered. Ron raised an eyebrow.
"Neve's what?" he asked. Ginny's eyes began welling up with tears. Ron looked genuinely confused.
"Ron, I couldn't stop it! It hasn't happened for years now. All of a sudden, it happens, and now I don't know how to change it. I can't go back. I can't undo it," she said through tears. Ron looked at his sister with the same confused look. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. Ginny looked up at him with watery eyes.
"Gin, you're starting to scare me. You're not making any bloody sense!" he said. Ginny sniffed.
"Neve's..." She looked away, unable to say the final word. Ron got the message, though. He released her.
"How do you know? You saw it? Is it happening, or has it happened?" Ginny shrugged. "It couldn't have been real, Gin. Do you know where they are?" Ginny nodded. She started walking. The two zoomed past Ava and Draco. Draco grabbed Ginny's arm. She stopped and looked at him.
"Where's the bloody fire?"
"Shut up and follow us," Ron said. Draco frowned and did as he was told. Ava felt her brother getting angry. Something bad was happening.
They turned the corner around the building where the others were just as the Aurors yelled the incantation for the Killing Curse. Ginny shuddered. Ava ran up the stairs, followed closely by Draco and Ron. Ginny walked up slowly, scared for what she might see.
Aurora searched for her sister's mind signature. All she got was cloudy space. She turned around and saw Neve's hand. In it was the vial that Tommy had given her. It rolled slowly out of it as Neve's hand released its grip on it. Aurora sat up. Neve was not moving. Tommy sat up next, moving Neve around. He noticed the vial in her hand.
"She took it off," he whispered.
Harry sat up, rubbing his head. He gasped when he saw Tommy holding Neve in his arms. He looked over at Aurora. Aurora looked like she did not know what to do with herself. Harry looked at Draco. Draco nodded and went over to his wife.
"Aurora," Draco said, grabbing his wife as she started to stand.
"Neveah? Draco, let me go. I want to see if Neve is okay," she said. Draco sighed. Aurora tried to push him off of her.
Rayne watched Tommy as he held the lifeless woman. He looked like he could not believe what he was seeing. She knew it was only a matter of time before reality set in. Rayne lowered her head, feeling sorry for him. His voice quietly saying her name jolted her out of her stupor.
"Rayne," Tommy said. Rayne looked up.
"Yes," she said.
"Get out of here. I'll meet you later. I don't want you getting caught," he said. Rayne shook her head.
"I'm not leaving you here. You'll be caught," she said. Tommy shook his head.
"Leave, Rayne," he said. Rayne opened her mouth to protest more, but thought better of it. She lowered her head and Apparated out of sight.
Ginny heard the girl behind Tommy Apparate. She did not bother to follow. She heard footsteps behind her and saw Hermione and Rina. Hermione stopped when she saw Tommy holding Neve. She saw Aurora fighting Draco.
"Draco, let me go. I want to see my sister," she said.
"Aurora, no. Just stay here with me," he said. Aurora shook her head. She punched him in the chest. Draco winced; she hit pretty hard. He knew it was only a matter of time before she started using magic on him.
Harry looked at the Aurors. They were still looking stunned at what they had done, as if they had no recollection of it. It all clicked for him then.
The Imperius Curse, he thought. Unfortunately, he thought of it too late.
Tommy released Neve and looked at the Aurors, highly infuriated. He looked over at his children. They were all staring at their mother. Seeing that their eyes were fixed on something other than what he was about to do, he raised his hand. Before he could attack, someone with unkempt black hair stopped him.
"Tommy, stop it! They didn't know what they were doing!" Harry yelled. Tommy looked at Harry as he stood in front of the Aurors.
"That doesn't change the fact that Neve's dead, Harry. I don't want to kill you, Harry. I will if you keep standing there," he said. Harry narrowed his eyes. Ginny and Ron watched, feeling powerless.
"I'm not moving, Tommy. Do what you have to do," Harry said. Tommy frowned. He flung his left hand out and Harry went flying into the side of the next building before falling. Ginny screamed and looked back at Tommy.
"You bastard!" she yelled. Tommy stared back at her.
"He's not dead, Ginny," Ava mumbled. Ginny looked at her before running down the stairs. Ava continued to stare blankly at her brother. Tommy stared at the trembling Aurors. Everyone seemed to be waiting on Tommy to react. Tommy raised his hand slowly.
"Ava!" Draco yelled from where he was with Aurora. Ava blinked back into reality. She closed her eyes.
I'm sorry, she thought.
Before Tommy could think the words to the painful, inhumane curse he was about to put on the frightened Aurors, a very painful high-pitched sound entered his brain. It seemed to be coming from all around him. He squeezed his eyes shut. Everyone but Draco looked confused as to why Tommy was wincing like that.
Elektra stared blankly at the scene before her. To any other child, this might be traumatizing. However, Elektra was fascinated. Ava, the woman she'd come to realize was actually her aunt, was somehow doing something to her father. He seemed to be hearing something that the others could not. She felt Sal get close to her ear.
"Should we help him?" he asked. Elektra blinked.
"Why would we do that?" she asked. Sal shrugged.
"Mum tried to," he said. Elektra did not respond to him after that. She continued to watch silently. The other three continued to watch as well. It was surreal how calm they all looked, considering what had just happened.
Ava looked at her brother. He was covering his ears and grinding his teeth together. She noticed that blood was starting to run down the side of his neck from his ear. She gasped and released her hold on him. The moment she did it, Tommy's hand was around her neck. Ron pulled his wand was pointing it at him.
"Ron, stop!" Ava said in a strangled voice. Ron looked extremely confused.
"Ava, in case you haven't noticed, you're being strangled," he said. "Let her go, Tommy." Tommy ignored Ron completely. His eyes were locked on his sister's.
"Ron, go!" she yelled. Ron squeezed is wand one final time before backing off slowly. Everyone else held their wands as well.
"I'll back off. The moment he tries something, I'm blasting his head off," Ron mumbled.
Ava stared her brother in the eyes. Tommy did not look like he was seeing her. She touched his hand, and his grip tightened on her neck. Ava flinched slightly and squeezed her eyes closed. Tommy continued to dig his nails into her neck; he definitely was not himself.
He's not seeing me, she thought. She opened her eyes again and found his. She stared back at him. Her air was running out slowly, but she did not struggle. Tommy's expression softened a little.
"Tommy," she whispered.
Tommy recognized her just before she passed out. He released her and Ava fell down, gasping for air. Tommy stepped back, looking down at his sister as she coughed violently. He looked at his hand. His fingers had blood under the fingernails. Ava had tiny marks on her neck where he had punctured her skin. Tommy looked around at the others, his children, and at Neve's body. He put his hood up and Apparated away.
For a moment, everyone just stood or sat in silent, confused awe of the events of the past ten minutes. Everything had seemed to happen so fast. The only person making noise was Ava with her harsh breathing. Aurora came back to her senses and looked at where her sister was. Draco realized what she was about to do too late. He went flying to the side a second too late. Aurora stood up and walked over to Neve.
Ron watched Aurora kneel beside Neve's body. For the first time, he noticed how her body was positioned. Neve's hair had somehow come out of the bun it was in and was sprawled out above her head. Her hair had reverted from red to black, its original color. She was on her back, and her eyes were closed.
"Perchè? Bastardo!" Aurora yelled, looking up at the Aurors. They cowered at the fearsome woman. Ron moved over to her. Aurora shot him a look. There were tears in her eyes. She looked back down at her sister. "Neveah!" she cried. Hermione, biting back tears, moved over to her.
"Ron, go get help," she said, sitting beside Aurora. Ron nodded as she made her best effort to comfort the sobbing woman. Draco walked over to them. He looked down at Hermione as she looked up at him.
"What about them?" he asked, motioning to the quintuplets. Hermione looked at the children. Their faces were still devoid of any expression.
"I have no idea. Our best bet is to wait for Benedict or Jones to get here. In the meantime, take them away from up here. I don't want them seeing their mother like this," Hermione said. Draco nodded.
"Come with me, Hamish," Draco said. Dylan nodded and they walked over to the quintuplets. Bella was the first to acknowledge that they were approaching.
"Why don't you five come and get some candy with us?" Dylan said.
"Why? We want to make sure our mother is okay," Bella said. Draco and Dylan looked at each other.
"Well, they can't do that with you two up here," Draco said. Elektra raised an eyebrow.
"That vial protects our mother. She's fine, right?" she asked.
"Just come with us. We'll let you know when we find out," Dylan said. The other four all looked at Elektra to see what she would do. Lucky for Dylan and Draco, Elektra stood up to follow them off of the rooftop. Draco shook his head.
She really is the ringleader, he thought.
On the way down, Ren noticed the vial. She saw how it was close to Neve's hand. She gasped, but said nothing as they passed. Her eyes met her aunt's for a split second. Aurora saw into Ren's troubled mind for a moment. Then the 11-year-old looked away, as if frightened.
About ten minutes later, the rooftop was crawling with Aurors and Magi. Harry was holding a bag of ice to his head. He was watching Ginny as she was in the group of women that was trying desperately to calm Aurora down. Nothing seemed to work against the hysterical telepath; there was no consoling her. Draco refused to go near her after she'd tried to kill him. Ron startled Harry as he stepped in front of him.
"How are you feeling, mate?" he asked.
"Like I got hit by the Knight Bus. I was thrown mostly headfirst into a brick wall, Ron. How would you feel?" Harry said sarcastically.
"Depends on how hard. I'm a bit tougher than you are, Harry. You're just a bit more magical than me. They're never going to calm Aurora down that way. Uh oh. Here comes Benedict," Ron said. Harry turned his head to see Benedict stalking over to them; her gray hair pulled so tightly back in its bun that it looked like her forehead had doubled in size.
"Have the quintuplets been told yet?" she asked.
"They were sitting right here when it happened," Ron said acerbically.
"I don't think they know what the Killing Curse is exactly, Ron," Harry said. Benedict rolled her eyes.
"Someone should," Benedict said.
"I don't want to tell five eleven-year-olds that their mother was killed on their birthday, Capo Inferiori! With all due respect, that's bloody insane! How morbid can you get?" Ron exclaimed. Harry winced.
"Ron, a little less noise, please."
"Sorry, Harry."
"I know it sounds a bit morose, Weasley. Unfortunately, it must be done. I'm certain that they will realize it sooner or later. Those children do not deserve to be left in the dark for too long. I don't want family members to tell them, either," Benedict said.
"I'll do it," Harry said, removing the ice from his head. Ron looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I know what it feels like to lose a parent, or rather someone who feels like a parent to you," Harry said. Ron nodded.
"Well, they're in the Leaky Cauldron right now with Hamish," Benedict said. Harry nodded and stood up. Ginny turned around as he did it. She walked over to him.
"Where are you headed?"
"The Leaky Cauldron," he said. Ginny bit her lip.
"To tell the quints, I guess," she whispered. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"How'd you know?"
"Draco told us that's where they were. I'm coming with you. Let's go," she said. Harry nodded. This was probably going to be one of the hardest things he was ever going to have to do.