Chapter 21
Feeling herself being dragged out of the room, Kiersten began fighting, her eyes glued on the crib, knowing she had to look inside as she elbowed Harry in the face before rushing over to it. A pure amber crystal was staring her in the face, causing her to gasp, and reached her hand out as she grasped it, feeling her mother's spirit suddenly.
Kiersten, you have to fight, my love. You have to fight him and end this once and for all…
"I can't…" She whispered, shaking her head, and opened her eyes as the crystal suddenly levitated from her hand and into the air, causing her mother to smile back at her, amber eyes glittering along with her black hair, causing Kiersten to gasp. "Mum?'
"Yes my darling, it is me. Your father never released my soul after killing me. He kept it in this room, this crib, where you were born and given life." Her voice was ghostly, yet sweet and kind, and her body was encased in a golden gown with red trimmings. "Kiersten, you must stop him. You and Harry…"
"I don't know how, Mum. What's going on?" She demanded, tears glistening in her amber eyes that marched her mother's to perfection.
"You must let me go, Kiersten. Destroy this crystal that binds my soul to it. It's my Horcrux that your father made for me. He refused to let my soul go after murdering me. Please, release me, Kiersten…"
"No…I can't…" She cried out, clutching her stomach, the tears pouring down her cheeks freely like two rapid streams.
"DO IT! NOW!"
"What's going on?" Harry demanded, staring at Kiersten like she'd gone mad "Kiersten?" The Golden Trio didn't know what to think because they couldn't see what was transpiring between Kiersten and her mother at the moment.
"She's going mental?" Ron asked, wringing his hands together nervously.
"No…looks like some sort of spell or something." Hermione put in, shooting Ron a scathing glance. "Honestly…"
"Kiersten, if you talk to me, I can help you." Harry said in her ear, trying to snap her out of whatever was hurting her, causing her pain.
Kiersten stared into her mother's eyes and dropped the crystal when Samantha's eyes suddenly turned red, the color her father's eyes. She raised her wand and shouted out of pure instinct. "AVADA KEDARVA!" The crystal shattered, causing her to fly back along with the others, groaning as her back hit the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks. She gripped her wand as she looked up, her mother's smiling face staring back at her.
"Thank you, my darling Kiersten. I love you and always will be with you." Samantha's ghostly voice stated before floating up to the ceiling and through it, toward the darkened sky that loomed over Riddle Manor, causing Kiersten to cry out as she raised her hand, wishing her mother could stay.
"Mum…"
Ron was the first to speak after untangling his limbs, speaking over all of their groaning, "I don't' know how to say this, but this is really, really dodgy."
"Ron-"
"Shut up." Hermione finished in a growl.
Harry hesitantly tested his legs, making sure nothing was broken before moving onto his upper body, then looking down at his girlfriend, extending his hand to her. "What happened?" He asked immediately when he seen her stare back at him again.
"The crystal…my mother, she was trapped in it…his eyes…" She started crying, getting bits and pieces out through heart wrenching sobs, not believing what she just saw. Her own mother, the woman she'd never met face to face, had been trapped in a crystal with her father for the past almost seventeen years! She slowly stood up, shaking from head to toe, and slowly walked over to the pieces of shard glass from the crystal, which was no longer glowing gold. She slowly picked up a piece and put it in her knapsack as a memory before turning around to face the Golden Trio. "Are you three alright?" She asked softly.
"We're fine."
"Confused and sore, but fine." Ron flinched when Hermione raised her hand as if to slap him upside his head, sighing in visible relief when she didn't. A second later, he yelped, rubbing his leg. "You didn't have to zap me!"
"Let's get out of this house." Harry said softly, wrapping his arms around Kiersten, staring down at her intently. "Will you be alright?"
Kiersten didn't answer him as she just nodded, not having any words at the moment after what she just saw. They headed out of Riddle Manor and she looked back at it, tears flowing down her cheeks as the front door slammed shut, causing all four to jump. "Bloody Merlin..." She grumbled, raking a hand through her black hair, and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to decide what they were going to do now.
"Well, well it's itty, bitty, Baby Potter..." Came the voice of the one and only Bellatrix LaStrange, causing all four to spin around, their wands at the ready, pointing at her. "Where's my father?" Kiersten demanded, her eyes narrowed to slits as the angry tears kept flowing, not caring how she looked at the moment.
"Oh how precious, sticking by the Mudbloods...Very disgusting, I must say." Bellatrix cackled wickedly, her own wand pointed at them. "Potter, for once, this isn't about you..." She smiled wickedly when all four just stared at her in shock.
"Well isn't that a relief, I must say." Harry said sarcastically, moving in front of Kiersten. He knew first hand how dangerous Bellatrix could be, that and he still wanted to rip her to shreds for what she did to his godfather, Sirius Black.
"Still arrogant as ever." Lucius Malfoy appeared behind the now closely grouped four, wand out. "Potter, deflate your ego boy and move aside."
"I think not."
Kiersten was scared to death now as Harry stood behind her while Ron and Hermione closed in around her. "What is going on?" She demanded, staring at Lucius before going back to Bellatrix, her head beginning to pound again, though she ignored it. "What do you mean this isn't about Harry?"
"Precisely my point, dearie. You didn't actually think the Dark Lord wanted the boy yet, did you?" Bellatrix cackled wickedly, her eyes glinting in the faded moonlight that shone above them, a wicked smirk curving her lips as Lucius joined her. "Now be a good little witch and come to me and I MIGHT spare your friends."
"Why does my father want me so badly?" She demanded, not making a move as the others crowded around her more, shielding her from the harm that was sure to follow. "Your blood, girl! Now stop being foolish and COME HERE!" Bellatrix shrieked, pointing her wand at them threateningly. "The Dark Lord does not like waiting!"
"Voldemort can stuff it." Harry said, casting 'Protego' when Bellatrix aimed an Unforgiveable Curse his way.
"No! The Dark Lord said Kiersten is not to be injured!" Lucius shouted, casting a disarming spell at his fellow Death Eater. "Don't be foolish, Bella!"
"She can't help it. All that inbreeding. Kiersten's not going anywhere, Malfoy." Harry said, watching out of the corner of his eye as Hermione began to turn her barrette into a port key. "Especially with a sodding git like yourself."
"Bold words, Potter. It must be difficult for you to understand that for once, this has nothing to do with you. Now STAND ASIDE!"
Kiersten knew Harry wouldn't do it as she stared back at the Death Eaters her father sent for her, knowing this was all one giant death trap. "Harry…" She whispered, pressing her hand to his shoulder, and looked out of the corner of her eye when she seen another Death Eater coming at him. "AVADA KEDARVA!" She shouted, blasting it into oblivion, feeling her energy slowly beginning to deteriorate. They were running out of time and fast.
Harry and the rest were a bit uncomfortable with Kiersten's apparent ease at using the number one Unforgivable Curse. They all knew they were in a war but none of them wanted to kill if they could help it. Killing Voldemort was a forgone conclusion, that was unavoidable, the rest, they were looking to bring them in alive, barely if possible, but alive. "Kiersten, come on, we have to get out of here!" Harry shouted, Death Eaters Apparating in the small room with them quicker then they could shoot out defensive spells. They hadn't made it out of the house because the door had slammed shut in front of them just before they could escape outside. Then the floorboards began to creak ominously, a cracking sound echoing just over the din.
"Tell my father, Lord Voldemort, if he wants me, he'll have to come get me HIMSELF." She stated, causing Bellatrix to shriek while Lucius held her back. They all touched Hermione's barrette she'd managed to turn into a port key and disappeared just as the Death Eaters came at them.
"DAMN YOU, LUCIUS! THE DARK LORD IS GOING TO HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS!" Bellatrix screeched, not believing what just happened, and began pacing back and forth. "Time is running out and without that girl's blood, the Dark Lord cannot be immortal! If she dies, the blood dies with her!!"
"They can't have gone far. There are too many wards in place, let's go check the cemetery. You, Nott, relay the news to the Dark Lord that they are here." Lucius snarled, not appreciating her tone in the slightest" "GO!!"
"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione yelped when they reappeared in the graveyard, on the outskirts. She could see the outline of the village of Little Hangleton twinkling down below and cursed. "I should have known they'd of warded us!"
Kiersten's energy was low as she dug in the bag, pulling out another vial, and opened it as she downed it in one shot, smashing the bottle against the tree. "He was never after you. He was after me the entire damn time." Kiersten stated, standing, the tears flowing down her cheeks. "This is it and we're running out of time. He wants my blood so he can become immortal from any pain, any death, Harry. This goes FAR beyond the Horcruxes, if he gets my blood in him, it'll make him invulnerable to virtually anything. He'll live forever." She explained, causing all three to stare at her dumbfounded, and wondered what they were supposed to do now.
Harry stared down at the wand in his hands, his wand and her wand combined, then to the Elder Wand in her hand. "Think with both these wands we can end this now?" He asked, knowing with each second that passed it wouldn't really matter if they could or not, they were going to have to make the attempt. Time was rapidly running out, for everything. His eyes were stormy and worried rolled into one, knowing she was beginning to slip away from him. "It'll have to be." He decided without waiting for her response.
Kiersten suddenly gasped, dropping the wand on the ground, her body convulsing as her eyes became pure black, causing Hermione to scream out in fright. It was truly a gruesome sight as Kiersten coughed, blood coming from her mouth, and managed to look up at Harry, her eyes returning back to amber for a split second. "I love you." She whispered before finally collapsing on the ground. The potion Snape had made was backfiring and she was slipping away quicker than she should've been.
"How very precious. My bloodline, my daughter, telling the boy I despise that she loves him. How very...sweet." Voldemort stated from behind, causing all three to turn around while Kiersten lay prone on the ground, his own wand up, ready to strike. "Now Potter, this is not your fight. This has nothing to do with you and I'll let you walk out of here safe and sound with your little Mudblood friends if you allow me to take MY daughter right here and now." His voice was low and kind, yet laced with obvious danger.
Harry's intense green eyes narrowed, wand raised in dueling position. "No. That's only a temporary truce on your behalf and I'm not letting anyone take Kiersten, anywhere. Except back to Dumbledore." He was pleased somewhat to see the flicker of both fear and anger in those red, snake like eyes. "Get back, Voldemort." He cautioned, prepared to kill this thing if he neared anymore.
Hermione was kneeling by Kiersten while Ron stood guard, both of them extremely pale.
"Foolish boy you are. You know not of what you've done." Voldemort stated, sighing almost regretfully, and shook his head as he raised his wand. "Potter, you will die along with my daughter and her blood shall be MINE!" He roared, his red eyes flashing dangerously at the boy who'd singlehandedly stolen his powers all those years ago, the lightening bolt scar on his forehead gleaming in the dim moonlight. "I do hope it was worth it. AVADA KEDARVA!"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Harry shouted as well, not even thinking about it. He watched as the curses rebounded off each other and ducked, glancing over his shoulder in time to see Ron and Hermione toss themselves onto the grass. He scrambled back to his feet, wand at the ready and bellowed the first spell that came into his mind. "Sectemsempra!"
Voldemort growled evilly, dodging the spell with ease, and waved his wand as Harry was thrown to the ground. "CRUCIO!" He bellowed, smirking as Harry's body began convulsing on the ground while Ron and Hermione could only watch, knowing they could not interfere. "Foolish boy, young love has made you WEAK!" He spat hatefully, raising his wand from the boy, and backed away, his wand at the ready. "Do tell me something Harry, are you ready to die? Are you TRULY willing to die for my daughter?"
Harry's body was wracked with pain. Unimaginable pain. It was like a thousand, no a million, tiny ice cold and blazing hot daggers were piercing every inch of him. Breaking past skin, past flesh and right into bone. Daggers, fire waving over him. He couldn't even categorize the pain. He screamed, screamed until his throat was hoarse and raw only to scream some more. He heard Voldemort's words, those words piercing through the fog the pain had cast on Harry and he rallied himself. "YES!" He shouted. "I WILL die for her!"
"That's pleasant to know because that's what's going to happen right now." Voldemort informed him, chuckling wickedly as he seen the fear once again enter Harry's eyes, and stood over him, his wand pointed straight at his heart. "What a waste." He spat and groaned when he was suddenly stunned, falling to the ground with a sickening thud.
"Get up, Harry! Get up, mate!" Ron encouraged him, not able to stand by and watch
Voldemort destroy his best friend, his brother. "Harry, do it for Kiersten, get up! There's no time left!" He shouted, trying to get Harry's spirit up again, seeing Kiersten was pale white now, Hermione holding her hand as it began slipping. "Harry NOW!"
Harry groaned, rolling himself over then pushing himself to his hands and knees. He glanced at Kiersten and adrenaline coursed through him, pumping into his limbs and giving him a burst of energy. It was now or never. If he didn't end this now, Kiersten would die and he refused to see that happen. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" He screamed, the wand combined of both his and Kiersten's wands -the wand she predicted could kill Voldemort- aimed at the Dark Lord.
A scream echoed throughout the night as the combined wand shot out a jet of orange light pierced Voldemort's heart, causing him to stop as his red eyes instantly blackened over. He looked down, a dreamy look on his face as the blood poured from his mouth and ears, all pores of his body. Dropping to his knees, Voldemort finally fell, his body crumpling and turning into white and red dust as the wind blew it away.
Kiersten was lying on the ground, still looking pale white, not moving an inch as Hermione began crying while Ron pulled her into his arms, knowing she was dead.
They'd been too late.