A/N: This is for Drunkenmusic Gals and xtremestapefan, who are waiting patiently for an update.

Chapter 26

Lana put her hand on the doorknob and got ready.

She looked over at Minerva as she mouthed the words "One…two…three!"

Minerva quickly turned the handle and burst through the door, saying "Stupify!" to the man on the left. Minerva entered chanting "Petrificus totalus!" at the other one.The two men fell off their chairs, one unconscious, and the other stiff as stone. Only his beady eyes moved. The women looked at each other and held still for a moment, trying to see if their outburst had been heard downstairs. There was no movement within the house, as far as they could tell. Minerva went to the stunned man and bound him with her wand, so he wouldn't be any more trouble when he regained consciousness. Lana moved to the man who had been frozen. She marveled that Rodolphus had left security in the hands of these two dunderheads. The man followed her with his eyes as she approached.

Lana waved her wand and said, "Legilimens." She entered the man's mind and saw exactly what had happened, from the abduction to the men bringing Severus to the basement. She withdrew from the man's mind and faced Minerva.

"He's downstairs with Lestrange."

Minerva nodded and bound the second man, just for good measure. She also made gags for the two so they didn't make a racket and give away the women's position.

Sneaking back the way they came they headed for the stairs. They paused at the top and peered down. It seemed that the stairway went straight into whatever room was down there, severely hindering their ability to surprise. As they stood there, they heard Rodolphus' voice.

"Wake up, traitor! Crucio!"

Severus was awakened by the pain of the curse and yelled out despite himself.

Rodolphus sneered at Severus. "That last little bit was too much for you, traitor?" he snarled. "Seeing your wife killed by Death Eaters over and over again in horrible ways was a little too tough for you? Well think of how I felt when I found Bella's broken body after that Weasley woman was done with her! But she will pay in her own way," he went on, more to himself than to Severus.

Severus groaned in pain. His body seemed to be on fire. He didn't know how long he had been there on the floor, but he already couldn't imagine the poison hurting much more than it already did.

As if Rodolphus knew what he was thinking he said, "What's wrong, traitor? Does it burn inside?" He laughed. "That's nothing compared to how it will tear you apart from within in a few hours." His eyes gleamed psychotically.

Lana almost raced down the staircase right then and there, but Minerva held her back. She whispered very softly to her, "We need a plan." Minerva got down on the floor and slid herself forward so she could peer between the first steps and the bottom of the ceiling below. There was Lestrange, sitting at the front of a chair that was a few feet away from a cell. Crumpled in a heap on the floor lay Severus. She winced at the sight of him. He was writhing on the floor and looked like he was in incredible pain. Glancing around the room, she noticed a window high up in the wall to the left of the cell across from where the staircase was. She straightened up and motioned for Lana to follow her. When they were far enough away from the staircase to speak to one another, she explained what she had seen.

"The window that we saw from outside is across the room from the staircase. I'll go out and try to break in from there, and you can sneak up behind him and stun him."

Lana shook her head. "No, Minerva, that's too dangerous. He could kill you before I get to him or you even have a chance to defend yourself. I'll do it."

"Well the same thing could happen to you!" said Minerva indignantly. "Besides, you have another life to worry about. Let me take the risk. I trust you'll disable him before he can hurt me too badly."

Lana frowned at her. She didn't like this plan at all, but she couldn't think of a better one. She tersely nodded her head and followed Minerva as she slipped back out into the darkness. Lana moved back to the head of the stairs, waiting for a commotion downstairs that would signal for her to race down. Suddenly harsh screams and maniacal laughter came from the basement. Lana stilled her racing heart and waited for Minerva's signal.

Rodolphus was continuing to egg Severus on. He was now sending pictures of Severus being tortured in all forms to him. Severus was in the cell being whipped. His bare back was bleeding profusely from each gash the whip made in him. Then he was chained with his face to the wall, being branded with hot pokers, he screamed as each 'S' shaped brand seared into his back over the gashes that the whip had made. Lestrange laughed every time Severus screamed. He was concentrating on the traitor so much he didn't even hear the scuttle at the window.

He was concentrating on slitting Severus' throat when a rush from the stairway got his attention. He snapped his wand out and jumped out of the way of Lana's curse. He shot a curse at her and she nearly tumbled down the stairs trying to evade it. There was a loud crash as the window broke completely and Minerva shot a spell at Rodolphus. He tumbled to the floor and rolled forward, nearly being hit. As he straightened up he shot a curse at Minerva and then quickly turned to Lana. She had recovered what little balance she had being pregnant and was now at the bottom of the stairs. Her wand pointed directly at Lestrange's heart.

"Just what do you think you're doing to my husband, you sniveling dung heap?" she demanded.

Rodolphus was taken aback. His men should have been looking out for intruders, how had the woman been able to sneak up on him?

"It's called revenge and it's all it's cracked up to be," he sneered. "You're too late. The poison is circulating in his body and you will never find the cure!" He laughed while still pointing his wand at Lana.

"If my husband dies, you will die a much worse death than he!" she said, blasting a curse his way. He shielded himself and moved a little closer to the window, forgetting that McGonagall was just outside of it.

He laughed like a devil. "You haven't got it in you to kill me, woman. I'll have destroyed you before you even have a chance to raise your wand."

He moved a little farther toward the window, giving Lana a clear view of Severus writhing on the floor. For a moment she was drawn to him, unable to remove her eyes from his prone form. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the killing curse come at her. Cursing to herself she fell to the floor and shot a shielding spell to try and avoid being killed. She knew better than to let her guard down. She hit the floor and began to roll sideways, so as not to be hit by any other curses coming from Lestrange's wand. Being so bulky, she wasn't able to move as she normally would and caught the tail end of a Cruciatus curse. She was forced into a ball as the pain surged through her body. She could even feel the baby writhing in pain. Tears fell down her cheek. She wondered why Lestrange hadn't finished her off already; she was incapable of defending herself in this state.

Suddenly the curse lifted. She raised herself onto her hands and looked around. Lestrange's body lay on the ground a few feet away, his vacant eyes staring blankly at her. Outside, Minerva was pocketing her wand and scurrying through the window. With all of Lestrange's concentration on her, Minerva had the opportunity to kill him outright. Lana sighed with relief. Now they could take care of Severus.

Minerva rushed over to Lana and helped her to her feet. "Are you alright? Did he hurt the baby?"

"I think I'm okay," she said shakily. Forgetting about anything else she ran to the cell and put her hands around the bars. Severus continued to writhe in pain. He was curled up in a ball again with his legs under him. He didn't seem aware of anything that was going on.

Minerva took her wand and said, "Alohomora," and the cell lock clicked open. "This nut job was really confident that nothing could go wrong with his plan, wasn't he," she remarked to Lana.

Lana didn't answer as she was already through the bars and helping Severus to a sitting position. He was shaking all over. His eyes were open and he was looking at her. He raised a shaky hand and touched her face.

"Are you real?" he asked her.

"Yes, my love. Rodolphus is dead, you are safe."

He continued caressing her face. "At least I got to see you once more before I die." With that he slipped into unconsciousness again.

A/N: Not sure if that helped or hindered your worrying. Thanks for reading and reviewing.