Chapter Twenty Five: All Hell Breaks Loose.
Hogsmeade weekend approached quicker than anyone could imagine. Most of the students in the school were glad, those who could go could get out of the castle for a few hours, and stretch their legs, something that they had little time to do considering the fact that exams occurred just last week.
"Right on schedule," said Harry in a disappointed voice, as he waited with Draco outside, where a quartet of surly looking Aurors walked towards them. It looked like they wished to do anything but be babysitting a couple of school children. Yet, they assumed business like tones as they reached the school and turned to Draco and Harry.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Black, this way if you please," responded the leader Auror calmly as they went into the village. Students were chatting merrily, paying little mind to anyone in the village. Harry and Draco walked towards the village, not saying two words to each other, as the Aurors walked on either side of them, wands drawn, as if they were expecting something to leap out behind a bush. Then again, given what had happened involving Bellatrix Lestrange lately, Harry would not be surprised at all. Within about fifteen minutes, they made it from the school, all the way to the Hog's Head. Both of them walked in to a bar with the shadiest individuals imaginable, and a bar tender with a scowl on his face that bared a passing resemblance to Dumbledore. He disappeared behind the counter, as the Aurors escorted Harry and Draco towards the table, where Lucius Malfoy was sitting, with a wide smile on his face.
"Good afternoon, boys," said Lucius brightly, which caused Draco to do a double take, looking at his father as if he had grown two heads. Lucius got to his feet, looking at them. "Go take a leave for a few hours, I will summon you when the boys need to be taken back to the school."
The Aurors nodded, they looked happy to be relieved, as Harry and Draco sat down on the table, in front of Lucius, who looked at them.
"Thank you for coming today, I appreciate it more than you ever know," said Lucius and Draco got to his feet immediately, pointing his wand at Lucius.
"You're not my father," hissed Draco and Lucius looked at him, a look of innocence but one that Draco was not buying this for one second. "My father is never this polite…"
"Very good Draco, here have a medal," said the imposter, as two objects were shoved in the hands of Harry and Draco before they could react. A tug and they found themselves inside the Shrieking Shack in the blink of an eye. Both of them crashed down to the ground. Draco turned around immediately and was knocked right off of his feet, hitting the wall, a banishing spell having knocked him completely unconscious. Harry, with quicker reflexes, blocked the shot, before the fake Lucius Malfoy turned around, with a smile appearing on the face.
"So you decided to impersonate Malfoy, why?" asked Harry, but a cutting curse blasted through the air towards his shoulder. Harry decided the best practice was to move out of the way and the spell bounced off the wall. Several more spells fired right at Harry at rapid fire succession and it was difficult to avoid them. He was a thirteen year old wizard, better than most sure, but the fact that he was going up against a master duelist skewed the odds towards his opponent's favor. A levitated table managed to block a curse but the table was shattered into toothpicks. He dodged, ducked, trying to maneuver himself behind anything that could block the curse, while looking for an exit. Of course, he doubted he was going to be allowed to leave alive but it was worth a try. He fired back with a stinging hex, but it was blocked immediately. So was his stunning spell, and he read of stronger spells that he could use, but had never practiced it. His opponent was actually amused, as he saw the blond hair of Lucius Malfoy turning black and some feminine features appearing.
"I've figured you would be a decent enough opponent, but I'm the Dark Lord's most trusted, most faithful servant, he trained me personally and…" stated a female voice Harry true a mild bone shattering hex right towards his opponent, as more of the Polyjuice Potion appeared to wear off and Harry saw a face that was featured in almost every paper in the last year.
"Lestrange!" shouted Harry, as he fought with more urgency. All things considered, he should have known, and the crazed dark witch nodded. A levitated chair blocked another curse, even though the chair was of no use to anyone anymore. He banished some debris at his opponent but they were vanished.
"So, you've guessed it was me, I must admit, it's nice when all of the pieces of an extremely convulted plan fall together," said Bellatrix as she threw more spells, with Harry finding it more difficult to block her assaults. "Ah, what's the matter? Is the ickle baby getting tired?"
"NO!" shouted Harry, hoping his voice would attraction someone, a loud crash of a chair that had to echo throughout the village, but Bellatrix looked at him, with a sadistic smirk in her face, a purple light just missing from Harry.
"I hope you weren't trying to attraction attention, because I put silencing charms on the walls and disorientating spells around the windows and doors, anyone wanting to take a peak inside will be sickened and have a sudden urge to throw up," responded Bellatrix with a cackle, as she deflected Harry's attempt a spell with a breeze, before he was blasted backwards. Harry attempted to fight back but he found it very difficult to do so, given the fact he lost his wand. He attempted to get out the way, but he was knocked off of his feet. He felt the air leave his lungs briefly, he was unable to believe, before Bellatrix blasted ropes around him. They were tightly wrapped around him and Harry found it very hard to move.
"What do you want with me?" demanded Harry and Bellatrix just smiled a sadistic smile. The fact she was not blinking unnerved Harry and she stared at Harry, studying him intently, humming under her breath.
"As if you didn't know," responded Bellatrix as she looked at Harry, holding her fingernail up, as if she was contemplating on whether or not she wanted to gouge Harry's eye out with her fingernail. It appeared to be very tempted.
"No, actually it is very obvious, now that I think of it," responded Harry as Bellatrix looked at him, through the shadows. "You are completely and utterly out of your mind if you think this will work!"
"First of all, I am completely and utterly out of my mind, but it is for reasons apart from thinking that this little scheme of mine will work," said Bellatrix, as she looked at the secured wizard.
"I'm telling you, Elizabeth is too smart to fall for such an obvious attempt to trap her!" shouted Harry and Bellatrix raised an eyebrow slightly, before she responded with very loud cackles. She was almost rolling on the ground, laughing, as she struggled to look at Harry, almost amused at his outburst.
"You really think I'm after the Girl-Who-Lived," said Bellatrix, using Elizabeth's imposed title with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "No, unlike the rest of the world, I figured it out. You see, I know my sister, I love to keep tabs on the little blood traitor. I know her family. I might have killed her husband, but the Mudblood deserved it. Still, I know they had a daughter, a cute little Metamorphmagus with an utterly appalling name. She was an only child."
Harry looked at Bellatrix, whose sinister smile only broadened.
"Let me spell it out for you sane people," said Bellatrix as she looked at Harry. "Hi, I'm Bellatrix Lestrange, you're Harry Potter, not Harry Black, the supposed dead twin of the alleged Girl-Who-Lived. Either you got better or Dumbledore had your death faked, with a blood adoption ritual to erase all traces of Harry Potter from existence. It makes perfect sense, as much as it pains me to say it and it does confirm some theories I have had for a while."
"What theories?" asked Harry through gritted teeth, he doubted it would do him any good to deny what he really was and it was amazing that more people did not figure it out. Then again, the Wizarding World was never the type to look for complex explanations to anything.
"Elizabeth Potter was a completely elaborate hoax, there was no Girl-Who-Lived, Dumbledore is far to cunning to announce to the world who the real savior is, he should have been in Slytherin, with what he did, he threw the proclaimed savior into the Muggle World, while the real savior was hidden in the Wizarding World, in a somewhat respectable pureblood family," said Bellatrix. "In essence, Elizabeth Potter didn't manage to fluke her way into victory against the Dark Lord, you did, Harry!"
"What proof do you have?" asked Harry.
"Harry, Harry, Harry, as much as I would like it to be your twin sister, it just simply isn't possible," responded Bellatrix. "She got herself beaten by Muggles. If she was really defeated the Dark Lord, they would be turned into insects within a second so they could be stomped on. You, on the other hand, are the Boy-Who-Lived, whether you wish to admit so or not. Dumbledore has played an interesting game, I'm sure he was going to reveal the ruse at the worst possible moment, so he can maneuver you as he pleases. Dumbledore can even disturb me on occasion"
Bellatrix paused, looking at Harry with a malignant look in her eyes.
"That is not to say that Elizabeth doesn't have potential, in fact, when I kill my sister and her daughter, I will help her unlock it, sure, it may take an Imperius Curse or two to get her to come along, but it will be worth it, she will help me bring back the Dark Lord," said Bellatrix before she paused. "But, I'm getting ahead of myself; I only have a few hours before my plan can truly be set into motion."
"Just get it over with and kill me," said Harry and Bellatrix just looked at him, with a nod and a smile.
"Patience, Harry, patience, I still have a few more pieces to the puzzle to put together and then you'll die, just like you asked," said Bellatrix with a sinister smile, as the two unconscious Malfoys were set up on either side, as Bellatrix removed a folded up piece of parchment, tying it to an owl, that she promptly set up to the school. Soon, everything would be in its proper place.
-
Elizabeth walked the hallways, anxiously. She had a bad feeling that she could not shake. Most of the students had returned to Hogsmeade and Harry was not among them. Neither was Draco and Elizabeth had hoped she missed him. She tapped her feet, checking the Marauder's Map, scanning over it, but found nothing. Not even the slightest hint that they were on the school grounds. She was not even really watching where she was going, as she nearly bumped into Ginny.
"Oh, hey, Ginny," said Elizabeth. "Have you seen Harry?"
"I was hoping to ask you the same thing, he hasn't returned from his meeting with Malfoy yet, Draco's not back either," said Ginny, as her eyes darted to the Great Hall doors, hoping to see that Harry had been delayed but there had been no movement from the village. Not even the slightest hint that her friends have come back. "You don't suppose something might have happened, do you?"
"I hope not, but I do have a bad feeling about this," responded Elizabeth, as she looked at the Marauder's Map, but she saw a dot move quickly. Remus Lupin was moving towards Snape's office rather quickly. She turned to Ginny. "This is odd, why is Lupin heading towards Snape's office in such a hurry, especially when…"
"When what?" asked Ginny curiously but Elizabeth stared at the Map.
"I'm going to go take a look at it, the Invisibility Cloak is in my bag, just let me get it," muttered Elizabeth to herself and Ginny followed, sticking close to her friend, as if by some unspoken agreement, as they pulled the Cloak over themselves when they were in an empty corridor, as they saw Lupin and Snape talking, both in anxious tones of voice.
"I'm just showing you what I received, Severus," said Remus in a slightly anxious voice, as he held the parchment. "As you can see…"
"I know what it says, Lupin, I am perfectly capable of reading," said Snape shortly, but he read the letter. "I don't think I have to tell you this is a trap but Lestrange would be the type to use realistic bait."
"Of course, and if they are in danger, we need to get help to rescue them," said Remus but Snape just responded, by shaking his head.
"No, she made it clear that she would only meet with you or I, a very suspicious claim, but she would kill them both if one other person other them us stepped inside that Shack," responded Snape in a calm voice. "As much as I loath acting like a mindless Gryffindor, rushing into a situation, the fact is that Lestrange has both of us by the throat for this situation."
"I'm afraid you're right, Severus," said Lupin as he looked around, making sure that no one was following him but he saw no one. He could have sworn they heard something. "When…"
"Straight away, while we won't be missed, if we are lucky we can catch Lestrange by surprise, going in the back entrance, I don't think she knows that way in and between the two of us, she might not be as lucky as she has been previously," responded Snape but this was more hopeful than any confidence that he had. Snape and Lupin moved carefully, not wanting anyone to follow them and underneath the Invisibility Cloak, Elizabeth and Ginny moved carefully. They both felt nervous as it did not take a rocket scientist to figure out who Lestrange had been holding. They decided it would best to tag along, hidden underneath the Invisibility Cloak, to see what was up.
-
Bellatrix tapped her fingers anxiously on the desk, as the secured forms of Harry, Draco, and Lucius were right by each other. The two Malfoys were groggy, just beginning to awaken, after Bellatrix had lifted the stunning spells.
"Excellent, you're awake, I want to you to not die peacefully in your sleep," said Bellatrix as she looked at Lucius, who struggled. "You couldn't break free from those restraints even if you had your wands. They are impervious to magic and the only way to get them out once they're on is to slice them."
"I demand you to release me at once, you promised that I would be allowed to live," hissed Lucius, in an attempt to disguise his misdeeds from his son and Harry.
"I never said for how long, Lucius," responded Bellatrix as she rolled her eyes. "Beside, I'm just doing what you asked."
"I never asked you to kill me, just eliminate the Council," said Lucius.
"Ah, but you were merely suspended from participation in Council of Blood Purity meetings, but you have never removed, you wanted the Council eliminated and you're the last person I need to kill to make that so," said Bellatrix. "Aren't you going to praise me for the good job I've done?"
"You're a demented lunatic who deserves to have your soul sucked out of you and your remains fed to a dragon!" shouted Lucius angrily and Bellatrix just responded with a smile.
"Thank you, Lucius, that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say about me or anyone else," said Bellatrix as a creek was heard from behind them. "Snape and Lupin have arrived on schedule, thinking they could sneak up on me, of course, not realizing that I made sure I knew every entrance in this place. I think I should teach them that there is a difference between insanity and stupidity."
Bellatrix spun around, as she saw the face of Severus Snape right across from her. Snape blocked an attempted spell, playing everything cautiously, as he knew what Lestrange was capable of. Several spells collided against each other, two blasts of light connecting, as Lupin moved from the other side, attempting to take Lestrange out with a puncturing curse but she blocked that. A chair was flung right into Snape but the former Death Eater blasted it out of the way. Bellatrix ducked and dodged, countering all attempts to put her down and out with ease, before she slid over and put the wand to Harry's head.
"Drop your wands, right now, or I will take a little bit off the top of young Harry, namely his head," cackled Bellatrix and the two wizards turned. Snape was debating on whether to attempt to stun Bellatrix quickly. The fact remained, even if they did surrender their wands, there was still a chance that Bellatrix could kill the boy. "You have ten seconds to do so, otherwise…well you get the picture."
Lupin dropped the wand first. What else could he do? Snape looked, judging the situation before he dropped the wand, very reluctantly. He hoped that Bellatrix would withdraw just enough for him to quickly pick up his wand, but she held another wand, one from her captives. Several ropes blasted around Snape and Lupin, wrapping them up tightly. Snape was levitated into the air high as Bellatrix took pleasure in crashing him down right next to Lucius Malfoy.
"Exactly how did you get into this mess, Lucius?" asked Snape.
"It is a long story, Severus," said Lucius, as he tried to free himself but found nothing that he could use. Bellatrix had placed all of their wands a table where they could see them but that was out of reach.
"Which, unfortunately, we don't have time to tell, as the moon will come up in five minutes, a bit more or a bit less maybe," said Bellatrix who looked excited. "Those ropes, no human can free themselves, but a fully transformed werewolf, they'll really have no problem in breaking out."
"You're mad," said Severus.
"Thank you," responded Bellatrix brightly. "It wasn't easy, there was so much that could go wrong but I had to make you pay over everyone else Snape. Harry knows why he's here, Lucius does as well, and I'm sure someone of your intellect could guess why you have been sentenced to be mauled to death by a full transformed werewolf."
"What am I doing here?" asked Draco. "I'm your nephew!"
"I know," responded Bellatrix, as if she was saddened by the fact. "You'll die because you are a weak pound of flesh that was spawned by that thing sitting on the other side of you. Narcissa, I'm sure, will do better next time."
Bellatrix paused, before she turned to Remus, with a slightly apologetic, if demented, look on her face.
"Nothing personal against you Lupin, but you were the only werewolf that was readily available for my plan," said Bellatrix as she turned, as Snape attempted to find a flaw in the ropes, but he found it hopeless. Bellatrix walked out, without a backgrounds glance.
"Lupin, please tell me that you took the dose of the potion tonight," said Snape.
"No, I was going to before I received the letter from Lestrange, more pressing matters and then…" said Lupin. "I wonder what an incomplete dose of Wolfsbane would do."
"It's not an experiment I want to be close to, if my theory is correct," responded Snape, as he attempted to twist out, but nothing. Not even a pull, no weaknesses, no flaws, nothing that could free him.
"Lupin's a werewolf and tonight's the full moon, this is just a perfect day" said Draco in a horrified voice as he looked at Harry, who leaned back. "Those ropes are tight, there's no way out."
"I'm trying to find a way out and besides, it's not over to the fat lady sings," muttered Harry.
"It will be over once the werewolf howls, Black," responded Snape as he looked at Lupin, who hoped for a miracle, but Harry was twisting, the table was in reach, but he spotted something.
"Lestrange much like all sadistic psychopaths, revealed a flaw in her little restraint system," said Harry. "They might not be harmed by magic, but they can be cut by other means. If I can somehow find a way to release myself, we might have a chance."
"Do take as much time as you need," said Snape.
"You know, Severus, you could be offering suggestions as criticisms," responded Lucius. "The boy is offering a way to get out, perhaps if we find something…"
"A solution that has to happen in the next five minutes or…well I don't need to elaborate," said Snape looking at Lupin, who looked depressed at what could not be avoided, Harry moved over, as he rolled over, at an awkward angle, seeing an overturned chair. He inched over, feeling his shoulders pull and yank, as seconds ticked by and he saw the sun had gone down, it would not be long before the moon would go up.
"I don't mean to be critical Harry but…WOULD YOU HURRY IT UP!" shouted Draco, losing his head.
"Of course, I always have to do everything, blasted Slytherins, can never do anything themselves," grumbled Harry, hoping this would work, otherwise he was, for lack of a better term, screwed. He managed to get his feet up underneath the chair and kicked off, aiming for a nearby window.
Much to his relief, the chair crashed right through the window, sending glass everywhere, a jagged piece right next to Harry, who began to cut his restraints, trying to avoid cutting himself. Time was nearly out, perhaps only a couple of minutes.
-
Elizabeth and Ginny, still under the Invisibility Cloak, watched, looking at the Whomping Willow. Nothing happened, as Elizabeth turned to Ginny.
"Are you sure Snape and Lupin came this way?" asked Elizabeth.
"Yes, I'm sure, but we lost them avoiding Filch and Mrs. Norris for a little bit, but they had to have come this way, it's almost like they disappeared in that tree," said Ginny but she shook her head. There was a shadow appearing from underneath the tree, as the trunk appeared to open up. Elizabeth looked forward, but she saw the face of Bellatrix Lestrange, appearing from underneath the tree. Elizabeth closed her eyes, but Bellatrix looked pleased. It was almost like she had walked onto the Hogwarts Grounds just to prove that she could.
"Elizabeth what are you doing?" hissed Ginny under her breath.
"I'm going after her, she knows where Harry is," said Elizabeth firmly, she was not afraid of Bellatrix Lestrange. She pulled the cloak off and held the wand at Bellatrix, who looked at her with a bright, yet somehow, psychotic smile, especially considering that Elizabeth's wand was pointed right at the woman.
"Elizabeth Potter, if I'm not mistaken," remarked Bellatrix calmly and Elizabeth stood there, arms folded, intense look in her eyes, but she refused to back down for any reason at all. "Maybe things have changed since I've been at Hogwarts, but isn't it against the rules to be out of bounds after a certain amount of time?"
"Where is he?" asked Elizabeth, not letting Bellatrix fool her for a second. The woman appeared to be harmless at the moment, but appearances were deceiving.
"Who?" asked Bellatrix, stalling for time, not wanting to the girl to do anything recklessly heroic to ruin her plans for the future and the inevitable return of the Dark Lord.
"Harry, I know you took him and Draco Malfoy as well, the question is where are they?" asked Elizabeth. "You better tell me or…"
"Elizabeth, let's be realistic, there is nothing you can do to me that will make me afraid of you, you are nothing but a little girl, scared, trying to lash out against everything, but you have been broken by your Muggle relations," said Bellatrix calmly or at least as calm as she ever gotten. "You have potential and you will achieve that but not quite yet. Harry, on the other hand, I know who he really is, he's the one who defeated the Dark Lord, by some inconceivable fluke but he is the one. You were a decoy, Dumbledore did well and fooled almost everyone, making them think Harry was dead but his plan was obvious."
"Let Harry go now or I will hex you," said Elizabeth, her eyes narrowing in a dangerous expression. She was beginning to lose her temper and through her mother's diary, she learned some extremely powerful spells that could be used as weapons. Lestrange seemed like the perfect guinea pig but she was unconcerned.
"Isn't that cute, the little girl thinks she can frighten big bad Bella?" cooed Bellatrix before she cackled at Elizabeth. "You don't have the guts to do anything, otherwise you would have turned those Muggles into bugs and stomped on them a long time ago. So why don't you run along and play with dolls or whatever it is that normal little girls do and…."
Elizabeth finally lost her temper and a blast of solid red light, the crimson color of blood blasted from her wand. It was not as powerful as it could be and easily blocked. She staggered slightly, as Bellatrix looked at Elizabeth, with an amused look on her face before she shook her head.
"Okay, maybe you do have some guts, but I'm trying to be a nice person, trying to offer you to turn around, walk back inside the school, to live and breath enough day, you don't even have to be afraid that I might kill you, because that was never the plan, I knew that your status of the Girl-Who-Lived was a sham the moment I heard about your treatment at the hands of the Muggles," said Bellatrix as she looked at Elizabeth. "Deep down, underneath all that temper, you're nothing but sugary sweet and blissful niceness, a perfect picture of a pureblood princess. I'm the opposite, I had to fight to become what I was, against the Dark Lord's top Death Eaters and I impressed him enough to train me personally and he isn't that impressed. So, did you really think that you could scare me?"
Elizabeth broke free of the spell that was keeping her in place and several bolts of blue light, accidental, yet effective magic. She could sense that Harry was in peril and she would not stand for it. Bellatrix was caught off guard and managed a shield, just barely avoiding getting bludgeoned before Bellatrix whipped her wand, sending black fire shooting at Elizabeth. She dodged the attack and purple and sickly yellow flames shot from every which direction, cackling in the air.
"Alright, Lizzie, it seems like you need a little lesson in manners, your Muggle upbringing has caused you to become quite disrespectful to your betters, but fortunately for you, Auntie Bella will provide you with the tough love you need," said Bellatrix as sickly purple light shot towards the Girl-Who-Lived, but Elizabeth blocked it. She had never seen anything this brutal, Bellatrix more than lived up to her hype as one of Lord Voldemort's top followers. She heard it took a small army of Aurors to bring her down the first time and given how fast she could whip off a number of powerful spells, Elizabeth managed to put up a strong enough shield but she had to keep fighting. It would take everything she had.
"PROTEGO!" shouted Elizabeth, her previously shields and evasive maneuvers were made purely on instant but now she had to fight for her life. She cast a look towards Ginny's direction, almost pleading with her not to get involved, in fact to run but fortunately Bellatrix paid this no mind, as Elizabeth was nearly knocked off of her feet.
"You've run out of time," said Bellatrix as she looked up, to see the full moon rising above the sky, the moonlight shining above them.
-
"Free at least," said Harry, as he moved over, grabbing his wand, before walking over, as he saw Lupin going rigid.
"Hurry Harry, not much time left!" grunted Lupin, as he felt the wolf taking over within him, pretty soon he would be transformed. Both Malfoys looked nervous and Snape sneered to cover up any worries. On the outside, Harry was able to free people much easier, and quickly, Draco was freed as well, along with Lucius Malfoy, as Lupin began to transform, shifting. He gave a pained howl, as his eyes looked yellow, teeth jagged, as he ripped through the ropes, looking up.
"To the Whomping Willow, quickly!" shouted Snape as he blasted furniture in the way of Lupin, in an attempt to stall the werewolf a few seconds, but the beast blasted right through the furniture in a breeze, as the group moved down the tunnels. Lupin fell to his knees for a second, as if fighting something. Harry stalled for a second.
"When he's conflicted, the incomplete change could be causing this, this could be our chance to escape," said Lucius calmly and the group made up the tunnel, before Lupin rose up. The werewolf was angrier than ever and smashing up the Shrieking Shack, scratching the walls and destroying every piece of furniture inside, as it sniffed around, almost searching for prey but gave a pained howl, almost as if some struggle was causing it unbearable pain.
Snape whipped his wand out and prepared to open the front of the Whomping Willow but he could here the werewolf, at the top of the tunnel.
"We don't have a second to spare, get through there, right now, I'll stall him the best I can," said Snape, as Lucius, Draco, and Harry moved through the tunnel. Snape turned, to face off Lupin. "Lupin if there is a bit of sanity left in you, listen to me and stop this…"
Lupin swiped at Snape angrily, knocking him to ground. The wolf had recognized Snape as an enemy and Snape was dropped down in the tunnel of the shrieking shack by a vicious, sickening swipe of the paw, the claws digging into the side of Snape's face. The werewolf's ears perked up at the noise from outside, and abandoned Snape, leaving the Potion's Master in the tunnel, badly bleeding. The only thing going for his favor right now is that he had not been bit, a miracle in itself but the blow still left Snape in a horrible and quite pained state.
-
"Yes, Filius, I see it as well, but not as good as you could from your vantage point from your office," said Minerva in a hushed voice, as she watched outside the window, seeing flashes and loud magically created explosions, that obscured most of the vision but she recognized it as a fight of some sort, involving Bellatrix Lestrange and what looked like Elizabeth Potter on the grounds. "Send a message to Hagrid at his hut, he's in the best position to take a look, but tell him to only intervene if absolutely necessary. I will contact the Ministry and inform them of the situation."
Minerva withdrew from the fireplace and quick took a handful of powder, before she threw it in the fire.
"Minister of Magic's office!" shouted Minerva and Fudge's face appeared in the fire briefly.
"Yes, I'm aware of the situation going on at Hogwarts," stated Fudge in an impatient voice. "I'm sending the Dementors to investigate the situation right now, they'll be on their way."
"I told you those things are not to be allowed on the grounds," hissed Minerva. "Why can't you send Aurors?"
"Because there aren't any available Aurors, most of them are guarding respected members of pureblood society," said Fudge shortly. "I've allowed you to have some control but obviously too much, as Lestrange has gotten on the grounds, it can be seen from Hogsmeade, we've had seven Floo calls in the last three minutes. I'm putting a stop to this right now and the Dementors are the best way to do it. Don't try and interfere with the situation, Minerva or I'll have you arrested."
The Floo was disconnected, before Minerva had a chance to speak up. She turned, holding her wand. She remembered what happened to the girl last time and if there was a situation on the grounds involving the Dementors, she was in danger.
-
Elizabeth was on the ground, wincing, as her elbow was awkwardly popped out of place. Bellatrix stood over her, a sinister glare in her unblinking eyes, a predatory smile on her face, as Elizabeth was magically dragged to her feet.
"I could kill you just as easily as I killed your twin, but it wouldn't be worth the wand movements," stated Bellatrix, as she blocked a spell and prepared to knocked out Elizabeth. By the time she woke up, Bellatrix would be long gone. Elizabeth bounced up to her feet, and dodged the spell, as the front of the Whomping Willow burst open, revealing a very panicked Draco Malfoy, followed by Lucius, who tried to act like he was in control of the situation, and Harry, whose eyes were fixed on Lestrange.
"STUPEFY!" shouted Harry angrily, but his stunning spell was blocked. He doubted a mere stunner would work but he had to try. Bellatrix deflected it off to the side. He was knocked to his feet. Lucius attempted to step to the side, staying out of sight, but before the Whomping Willow could be sealed, the transformed form of Remus Lupin appeared, giving a pained growl, as it was fighting a painful, eternal battle between sanity and insanity. Lupin rocked back and forth, he looked about ready to gouge out his own eyes. The werewolf gave a loud growl and went towards Bellatrix Lestrange, who took a step backwards, showing something akin to fear for the first time, but Lucius raised his wand.
"Away from me beast!" shouted Lucius as the werewolf turned towards the Malfoy heir. Lucius threw a spell but a swipe of the werewolf's paw disarmed Lucius. Time seemed to stop as Lucius was pinned to the ground, unable to defend himself and the werewolf lowered his jaws. Lucius screamed as the teeth ripped through his robes, before sinking into his chest. Blood splattered in every direction, as Lupin reared his head, the blood of Lucius Malfoy dripping from his teeth, a sickening gash in Lucius's chest. Malfoy turned over, having gone into his shock at what just happened and the ramifications on it. The fact he might bleed to death was secondary to the fact that his last name would no longer mean anything after what that beast did to him.
Lupin turned, as Bellatrix stood back, Draco looking shocked, unable to move, as Elizabeth and Harry turned around, wands drawn, as their eyes darted from Remus to Bellatrix. The werewolf paused, sniffing the air, before he walked forward.
A sharp arrow whizzed through the air from a crossbow, striking the werewolf from behind. Not enough to wound the beast, but enough to get his attention. The form of Rubeus Hagrid stood, an intense and angered look on the half giant's face, as he stepped forward. The werewolf stood, lowering his head, given a pained howl and quickly retreated towards the Forbidden Forest, almost as if he realized what he had done. Hagrid stepped forward, but Bellatrix stood with a smirk on her face. The air was getting cold around them.
"HARRY, ELIZABETH, DRACO!" shouted Ginny in a panicked voice, who was invisible at a safe distance. "I CAN SEE THE DEMENTORS COMING! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"
The Dementors were gliding from Hogsmeade right towards the group. Bellatrix looked at them, from side to side, before she reared her head back and began laughing madly, as if she was amused by the situation. They could see an Auror off in the distance, but they were unable to move forward. Draco looked at them, unable to move, as the Dementors got closer. Even Hagrid, off in the distance, was paralyzed, his expulsion from Hogwarts all those years ago, fresh from there.
"You know, I was going to use another dark creature to finish you off, but these should do nicely!" cackled Bellatrix.
"You'll be kissed as well," rasped Harry.
"A small drawback," said Bellatrix, as she shrugged, but the Dementors got closer. Elizabeth and Harry exchanged looks right away, as if communicating without words but Harry wanted to ensure they were on the same page.
"Happiest memory possible, Lizzie, we'll do this together, between the two of us, we'll be able to hold them off long enough, to get back to the school, get help," said Harry, who tried to ignore the fact they still had one crazed Azkaban escapee to blast through as well.
The twins looked intense, as the Dementors were only a short distance away from them.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" shouted Elizabeth and Harry in unison as their wands lit up. The silvery light of a Patronus appeared from both of them, but much to their surprise, the lights intersected with each other. It created a blinding blast of light that filled the grounds of Hogwarts and could no doubt seen from Hogsmeade and beyond. The Dementors paused, they were confused, they had never seen anything like this before, and the shape, something on four legs by what little they could seen through the glare, blasted forward at quicker than the speed of light.
They could not be prepared for what happened next, not for a million years, as the Patronus blasted right through the Dementors. There were loud shrieks that could not possibly be human, as the cloaks of the Dementors were ripped open, revealing thin slimy skeleton forms that broke apart, releasing several bright shapes into the air. The souls that they had consumed over the centuries had faded, finally being freed from their prison and sent them right into the other side.
The light from the Patronus began to fade, as there were several wispy shadows that were once Dementors, before they disappeared completely into nothingness into a puff of smoke. Elizabeth and Harry exchanged looks of surprise, as Draco got to his feet, weakened, equally shocked.
Bellatrix stood, jaw dropped, as she turned to the twins, before she raised her hands slowly, and began to clap at what just happened, before she grew serious and held her wand.
"CRUCIO!" shrieked Bellatrix, pointing her wand at Harry. Harry screamed in pain, this curse was like getting stabbed by hundreds of flaming hot knives simultaneously. Elizabeth attempted to blast Bellatrix but she released the curse, only to block it. Elizabeth was knocked right off of her feet by the blast of sickly yellow light that Bellatrix sent at her. She could not feel her arms and legs and this worried her. Bellatrix turned her attention back towards Harry, blasting Draco with ease, slicing the side of his face. Blood splattered down to the ground as Bellatrix turned to Harry, who just barely made it to his feet. "CRUCIO!"
Harry screamed, this was pain beyond anything he thought he had thought. This was the same curse that Bellatrix used to torture the Longbottoms into insanity and now it was being used on him. She had a purely orgasmic look in her eyes as she tortured Harry.
-
The Auror outside of the village appeared shocked and awed, as he watched what happened. He was horrified when the Dementors had decided to turn their attention to the Girl-Who-Lived. It was almost like they were strangely attracted to her. The fact that two thirteen years had managed a Patronus was incredible, but what just happened defied all laws of magic and logic. Even the demented psychopath was impressed and applauded the impressive bit of magic.
He quickly managed to raise his hand, in shock as he pointed his wand, to send a message to the Ministry.
"Commander Scrimgeour, we have a situation involving the Dementors, you have to see it to believe it, but I'm going to need back up, please get down here, as soon as possible," said the Auror, as there were several pops right around Hogsmeade. Obviously, the press had gotten a hold of the situation at Hogwarts and had decided to get to Hogsmeade for a closer look. The Auror turned with a sigh, all things considered, he would rather be fighting Lestrange than trying to deal with the magical press.
-
Ginny watched from underneath the cloak, eyes widened in horror. Elizabeth and Draco had already been taken down and Hagrid had disappeared, most likely to find some help. Not being a fully qualified wizard, Lestrange would rip Hagrid into shreds. Still, Ginny's hands were shaking, she could no longer bear to see Harry get tortured. She threw off the cloak and pointed her wand towards Bellatrix.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" shouted Ginny forcefully, in an attempt to put Bellatrix in the full body bind but the dark witch was alert and blocked it. Still it had ended Harry's torment.
"Oooh, a new little plaything," cooed Bellatrix in a mock baby voice as she whipped her wand. Ginny screamed as her eyes were assaulted by a spell. It was almost like about fifty or so camera flashbulbs went off in her face simultaneously. She saw dots as Bellatrix raised her wand but Harry shakily, with sweat rolling down his face, moved over, in an attempt to knock Bellatrix backwards, but she blocked it also. "For Salazar's sake Potter, you never give up, do you?"
"No, not with you," rasped Harry, as blood splattered from his mouth as he struggled to talk but his spell was blocked and he was sent to his knees. Bellatrix looked at him, intent to give him the full treatment, to cause his mind to snap just like she did to the Longbottoms. One more good Cruciatus Curse should do it.
"NO!" shouted Elizabeth forcefully and Bellatrix was blasted right off the ground and landed with a thud. Elizabeth had shaken off the effects of the paralyzing curse and moved forward, eyes blazing in anger. Bellatrix rose up to her feet to fight but another spell struck her right in the chest. The insane dark witch dropped to the ground, a loud crack echoing as her collarbone shattered, and Elizabeth looked towards her, angered beyond belief. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Lestrange! You asked why you should be afraid of me. THIS IS WHY!"
Elizabeth threw another spell towards Bellatrix and managed to disarm her by shattering her wand arm. Bellatrix dropped to the ground, wincing, but refused to show any pain on her face. She just responded with a wicked, if slightly pained laugh. She had her limits like anyone else and when the few people she cared about were threatened, it caused her to fight like she never fought before.
"That all you got," taunted Bellatrix but another crack as several of her ribs broken from the impact of the spell. Blood splattered from her mouth, as she dropped to the ground.
"You ever throw hurt my friends or family ever again…" stated Elizabeth and she did not need to finish her threat, as her eyes blazing with absolute fury told the story. Seeing Harry tortured like that, seeing Ginny in the ground in pain, possibly blinded, seeing Draco bleeding badly.
"Please don't do this, I really never met any of this, it's not my fault, it's just a cry for attention, this entire dark witch thing," pleaded Bellatrix, as blood dripped from her mouth, but a childlike innocence appeared in her eyes. "I never was hugged as a child too much and it's causing me to lash out."
Elizabeth paused for a second, as if almost considering if her own obsession would cause her to become like her someday but Bellatrix pulled herself up to her feet and a blast of light struck her in the chest. She struggled to breathe. If Bellatrix had been able to use her wand, it might have been a lot worse, but Elizabeth was on the ground in enough pain to begin with, as her lungs felt like they were on fire. Bellatrix rolled over, crawling towards her wand, but several footsteps moved forward. She looked up and saw the face of Rufus Scrimgeour, who was looking around.
"And where, Carver, are the Dementors?" asked Scrimgeour.
"You won't believe it sir, but…" stated Carver as he wanted to get his tale out, as if he thought the more he kept shut up about it, the less true it would be but Scrimgeour raised his hand, as the group of the eight Aurors they could find on such a short notice. They had Lestrange cornered.
"Ah, you finally captured her after, oh about ten or so months, lovely, nice to see all of our taxpayers have been putting their Galleons in such an efficient department," said the voice of Rita Skeeter, as she appeared, with a smug look as several other reporters from the Daily Prophet and other Wizarding publications made themselves welcomed on the Hogwarts grounds.
"Back up, this woman is extremely dangerous!" shouted Scrimgeour, but the Aurors were carefully considering their options. Bellatrix had put a group of four children, in various states of injury, between them, not to mention Lucius Malfoy, who looked in pain.
Lucius shifted his position, under the guise of a failed attempt to get his feet. He managed to slow the bleeding to a non-fatal level, but he was not willing to let the parasites of the press see that he got bitten by a werewolf right away. Bellatrix looked at the Aurors, as Scrimgeour motioned for them to turn away. She managed to reclaim her wand and it was a stand up, as she shifted her focus towards the members of the press. Bellatrix looked towards Rita Skeeter, with amusement in her eyes.
"Sadly, Skeeter, you're not going to be writing about me going back to Azkaban tonight," said Bellatrix, who managed to pull up Draco Malfoy, using the young pureblood heir as a shield, the cut still visible on the side of his head. Bellatrix put the wand at his neck, and it seemed like all of the Aurors were too terrified to put the thirteen year old boy in danger. "Still, so you don't go home empty handed, I've got a scoop for you."
She turned to Harry, with a bloody grin on her face, pained from all the bones the girl had broken but she had to make her move quickly.
"Harry Black is really Harry Potter, the supposed late twin brother of the alleged Girl-Who-Lived!" shrieked Bellatrix, pointing to Harry frantically, before she threw Draco right at the Aurors and activated a Portkey that she had on her, that moved her to a safe location.
By the time the Aurors could react, the fugitive was long gone, their failure seen by countless members of the press.
And that monster of a chapter is over. That was a chaotic one to write, really could have been two chapters, but I wanted to get everything moving next chapter will answer some questions and some fallout from the events of this chapter. Then the summer after the third year and beyond.