A/N: A huge thanks to DLP (as usual) for helping me shape this chapter into what it was. I want to thank Oz especially, for doing a spelling/grammar check on the chapter by request. A kudos to you, my friend. For the others, my last exam is tomorrow and then I'll be able to write heaps. There's only a few more chapters left, and it's mostly good stuff. I hope you enjoy.



A loud bell clanged in the darkened halls of the Ministry of Magic. With a rattle that seemed to reverberate around the entire Ministry, the golden gates of the elevator opened as a cool, female voice intoned, "Level Nine: Department of Mysteries." There was a set of hesitant footsteps and fierce, harsh whispers, before the occupants of the lift crept out and started to make their way down the black corridor.

Amanda bit her lip, feeling both excited and hesitant as she followed Neville down the room with the large shelves. Glowing balls of light winked all around them, casting a mysterious glow over them. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna followed behind her, each student in awe of their surroundings. Only Neville seemed to take no notice of some of the best-guarded secrets of the Ministry of Magic, his eyes fully focussed on the piece of parchment clutched in his fingers. His knuckles were white and he was trembling as he scanned the bottom line of the complex instructions he had received.

It had all started after dinner had finished, when a large, tawny owl had swooped down to Neville and dropped a letter on his head. Amanda hadn't seen the whole thing but she knew that the first lines consisted of something like 'We have your grandmother. If you tell anybody, we will kill her.' The only reason that she had found out was that she had been gathering the senior members of the DA (she wasn't going to let a foul toad like Umbridge stop her!) and Neville had knocked them over in his haste to get to the Ministry. In the end, the senior DA had insisted on coming and he couldn't be bothered arguing. Amanda had wanted to wait to find Harry but Neville had grown furious, shouting how his Gran didn't have the time. When it looked like he was going to leave without her, Amanda conceded, writing Harry a quick note and leaving with the others on threstrals to the Ministry.

After all, she was the best dueller out of the entire DA. If Neville or the others got hurt because she wasn't there, she would never forgive herself. A part of her knew that Harry would laugh at such petty sentiments, but another part said that Harry could take his bad attitude and shove it. They were her friends, no matter what he said.

"Here we are," Neville said softly. "Row 97."

"What are they?" Ron asked Hermione quietly. The bushy-haired witch shook her head as she answered.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "But if the Death Eaters and Lord Vol…well, him, if they want it then it can't be good."

"I don't think that's for you to decide, mudblood," somebody drawled.

Amanda gasped and spun around, her wand flying up and pointed straight at the face of a Death Eater. The tall man was hidden in the shadows, his silver mask hiding his features. Only his cold, grey eyes could be seen, staring at her with total disdain and disregarding her as a threat entirely.

More figures followed unit, slinking forward from the shadows without a noise. Most of them wore masks but one of them- a crazed-looking witch with pallid features, hollow, maniacal eyes and stringy, ratty hair- left her face exposed. She might have been called beautiful once, but whatever splendour that had been about her looked like it had been sucked out long ago.

"Oh, wee baby Nevie-Wevie," the woman cooed in a high-pitched voice. She pouted, crossing her arms over her black robes. "Are we missing your gran? Are we? Huh? Are we boy! Woof! Go fetch!"

She finished off with a loud cackle, her head tilted back as madness wracked in her limbs. Two of the masked Death Eaters sidled away from her, obviously feeling as uneasy or fearful as the Amanda and the rest of the DA.

Well, everybody apart from Neville. Amanda glanced at him and her eye widened at his face. The raw and utter fury that was there was nothing like she had seen on the kind and gentle boy before. Neville glared at the women, who caught his look and cackled again, holding her sides until tears poked out at the corner of her eyes.

"Enough," drawled the tall Death Eater. He motioned to Neville with his wand. "You were told to come alone."

"He's our friend," Amanda said determinedly. "We weren't going to leave him!"

The Death Eater shifted his gaze and Amanda swallowed, but remained defiant even as fear surged through her body. Ron's face was white and Hermione's hair was quivering as the Hogwarts students slowly backed up towards one another, their wands trained on the looming Death Eaters.

"Who cares?" One of the other Death Eaters growled. He was a large, burly male, by the looks of it. "Killing six weaklings is just as easy as killing one."

"You're going to kill us?" Ginny squeaked, her eyes wide with terror. Her wand was shaking in her hand and it looked as if it had finally dawned on her just how dangerous the situation was.

"If we don't get what we came for, then yes," the tall Death Eater said quietly. He motioned to the shelf. "Longbottom. There's an orb on the third row right in front of you. It has your name on it. Pick it up and give it to me."

Neville frowned and his eyes flickered to the shelf. Slowly, he scanned the third row until he found the orb that the Death Eater was looking for.

"S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and Harry Potter/Neville Longbottom (?)," he read out loud, confusion clouding his voice. "What do I have to do with Potter or You-Know-Who?"

"Harry?" Amanda muttered to herself. She sighed. "Of course, it's always about him, isn't it?"

"Never mind," the woman snapped, the babying tone gone from her voice. "Pick it up, Longbottom, of your friend's here can join your parents in the long-term ward of Saint Mungos!"

Amanda flinched at the threat, swallowing nervously and tightening her grip on her wand. Her eyes wandered around the room as she tried to remember what Harry had drilled into her head, tried to think of a spell that could allow them to get away. Her eyes fixed on the shelves and an idea started to form in her mind.

"Hurry, Longbottom," the Death Eater snapped. "If you don't want to think of your Grandmother then think of your friends. They will suffer and die if you fail us here."

Neville sighed and, taking a deep breath, gently wrapped his hand around the orb. He cringed, probably expecting it to shock him or something. Amanda watched with tight features as Neville carefully lowered the orb off the shelf.

"Good!" The Death Eater hissed. "Very good! Now, hand it over Longbottom, there's a good boy."

Neville's face shifted and a stubborn tilt came to his shoulders. He narrowed his eyes and curled a protective arm around the orb.

"No," he stammered.

"What?"

"No!" He said more intently. "Not until I see my Gran! Give her back to me!"

The Death Eaters roared with laughter and Amanda suddenly had a sinking feeling in her heart. She glanced at Neville, who was shaking with anger at the dismissive way the Death Eaters were treating the matter.

"You never had his Gran, did you?" she asked.

"Of course not, you stupid girl," one of the Death Eaters chortled. "If I had to spend anymore time around Augustus than I usually do, I would have to kill the old muggle-loving bitch!"

"You mean she's not here?" stammered Neville, his bravado and confidence fleeing his body. He suddenly looked very vulnerable amongst the dozen or so Death Eaters that loomed above him.

"It just goes to show," the lead Death Eater drawled in that oh-so-familiar way. "Gryffindors truly have no…"

"Depuli Conluxi!" Amanda hollered.

Her wand spat out nearly-transparent sparks as an opaque shield shimmered into existence around her, just in time to stop a blazing streak of fiery red light from one of the quicker Death Eaters. The shield buckled and strained, but Amanda had mastered this with Harry long ago and with a masterful twist of her wand, released the second part of the spell.

The globe of magic that surrounded her exploded from her, slamming into the lead Death Eater and sending him hurling backwards with a startled shout. Ginny screamed, and the Death Eaters started yelling as the spell struck the shelf before dissipating. With an ominous creak, the shelf toppled over, raining down hundreds of glowing orbs. Several of the Death Eaters yelled in panic, but the witch merely raised her wand with a giant cackle.

"Confremere!" the witch shrieked.

A pulse of dark light exploded from the tip of her wand, soaring up toward the falling orbs in a blazing cocoon of crackling energy amidst the tinkling chatter of the falling orbs. It exploded in an eerie boom, cascades of energy eagerly zapping forward. Dozens of orbs exploded in a flash of dark light, raining down little shards to the ground. Ghostly figures rose up from the mass of glass, dozens of voices mixing in with each other to create an incomprehensible noise.

At the same time, Amanda raised her wand and concentrated with all her might.

"Scindo Vellere!" She roared, her wand whipping up through the precise wand movements of the spell.

Magic surged through her wand and lashed out at the orbs, binding them in invisible coils. The mass-summoning charm looped together dozens of orbs and brought them right above her head so that they smashed and splintered against one another in a thunderous crash of broken glass. Ginny, who was nearest, shrieked and covered her ears with her hands and Amanda gave an unheard cry of pain, her ears ringing painfully at the deafening noise. Still, she whipped her wand up again and completed the second half of what Harry had taught her.

"Scindo Diremi!" She yelled- or she assumed she did, her hearing had dissolved into an eerie white noise. The mass-banishing charm sent the huge bundle of compressed glass and ghostly figures, all who were speaking in loud, harsh tones, flying straight towards the Death Eaters.

"Run!" Amanda felt herself scream at the others and, as her adrenaline rushed through her veins; she turned and fled from the Death Eaters as the deranged witch conjured a blast of searing flames that ripped through the falling debris. The woman shouted something but Amanda turned a corner and didn't look back, her heart beating furiously in her chest.

Amanda fled down one of the corridors as fast as she could, panic surging through her veins. She glanced over her shoulder and gasped. She could have sworn that Hermione and Luna had been with her a second ago! Where had they gone?

"Damm!" She cursed, panting heavily and staring back at the corridor with a pained expression. She wiped her nose and clutched her wand to her hand tightly.

Her hearing was coming back now and she could hear the sounds of falling shelves and shattering spheres, as well as the loud, heavy shouting of adult men. Every few moments, coloured light would flash in the distant darkness and Amanda both dreaded and was relieved by it. She hated knowing that each flash of light she saw could be ending the lives of her friends, but she knew that a long as the Death Eaters kept cursing, it meant that they hadn't been caught yet.

Suddenly she heard running footsteps and her heart lifted up in relief. A smile started to cross her face as a sprinting figure emerged from the darkened hallways. The smile faded in an instant as the deranged Death Eater witch from before burst forward, a manic smile across her sickly features.

"Crucio!" She screeched, brandishing her wand.

Amanda's eyes widened and she flinched as something flashed past her head, a crack of dark magic that left a slimy feeling across the back of her arms. She turned and ducked into the next row, fear pounding at her heart as the Death Eater chased after her.

"Plecto!" Amanda shouted, throwing her wand over her shoulder. Her ear, already sore from earlier, throbbed painfully as a whip-like crack filled the air, lashing out at the Death Eater.

"You fool!" the witch screeched, deflecting the spell with ease. "Ventungo!"

Amanda raised her wand, a perfect shielding charm rolling off her lips. Her shield flared with bright light as something invisible struck it, and although it deflected the worst of the spell, Amanda groaned as she felt something dig into her stomach. She stumbled down the last row of spheres and entered a short hallway filled with doors. Wincing with pain, she glanced down at her stomach and saw that there was nothing there at all.

"Run, you mudblood! Run while you can!" The witch shrieked.

Amanda groaned, gulped, and staggered down the hallway, her abdomen burning with an intense pain. She turned a corner and leant against the stone wall, relishing the feeling of the cold stone against her burning forehead. She had never felt so afraid before. Even when she had been attacked by Nicodemus, she had barely known what was happening before she was out of it. Here, she was being hunted, chased down like some kind of wild animal, and the terror was getting to her. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, her ear straining to listen for any sign of the pursuing witch.

It was only a matter of moments before loud footsteps stormed into the hallway. Amanda pressed herself against the wall and gripped her wand tighter, recognising the heavy breathing as belonging to the insane witch. With a sudden bout of determination, Amanda sprung from behind the corridor and brandished her wand.

"Caecus!" She screamed.

Violet strands of light burst from the tip of her wand, weaving and spinning through the air to wrap around the witch's face. The Death Eater let out a startled scream and Amanda grinned. Her grin faded when the scream became resounding laughter and her eyes widened with shock. The witch had reached up to her face and had literally yanked the spell- an Auror level curse that Harry had taught her- off her face with her left hand. Tendrils of purple light squirmed in the witch's hand as she threw it aside, and her right hand sent forward a spinning streak of crimson light as she grinned madly.

Amanda shriek and ducked behind the wall again as the crimson light tore through the ground, ripping through stone and missing Amanda by a mere centimetres to the point where Amanda's left sleeve was suddenly split down the middle and a fine line of blood seeped from her skin.

"You fool!" The witch cackled madly, her voice echoing out into the corridor. "I am Bellatrix Lestrange, the Dark Lord's most loyal servant! He personally tutored me in the Dark Arts so foul that you can't even begin to comprehend the power I wield over you! I can't be defeated by a schoolyard whore like…"

She was cut off as Amanda darted back into the main hallway, sending a blast of silver light at Bellatrix. The mad witch screeched in surprise, her wand whipping up to smash the spells aside. She also ducked behind a wall, poking her head out to give Amanda a mad grin, baring her yellowed teeth. But the smile faded as clumps of her hair fell to the ground and her eyes widened.

"The Dark Lord might have taught you, but Harry Potter taught me, you insane bitch!" Amanda snarled. She suddenly felt light-headed and her wand, which had been as heavy as a lead weight all this time, was light in her hand.

"Potter!" Bellatrix hissed madly, her voice grating on Amanda's ears like nail down a blackboard. "Potter! Potter! Potter! I despise that…"

"Effodio!" Amanda yelled, darting back out again.

A silver flash of light blasted from the end of her wand with a loud crack and shot forward with deadly accuracy. Bellatrix whipped her head back just in time as it struck the wall, blowing out a large chunk and sending a spray of rocky debris whipping through the air. Bellatrix shrieked as she unceremoniously toppled over on her arse, the debris cutting into her skin.

Amanda grinned, turned around and sprinted forward, running away from the mad witch as fast as she could. She could hear Bellatrix let out a mad shriek and almost wept in relief as she came across the large revolving doors she had encountered previously. She opened the door and picked the first door she saw to enter. She slammed it shut and let out a sigh.

The Death Eater in front of her chuckled.

"Plecto!" Amanda cried, her wand whipping up on reflex.

The Death Eater parried it with ease, as he did with her next three spells, his eyes glittering behind his mask. He moved forward rather gracefully, his wand swinging up as he sent a gold streak of light surging forward. Amanda blocked his spell, but the next one, a glimmering crescent of silver, sliced through her shield. It struck her in the arm and blood sprayed to the ground as it sliced through her shoulder, digging in deep, straight to the bone.

Amanda screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her arm and dropping her wand. Her blood was warm and sticky, her hand quickly became coated with it as she shuddered and gaped, tears pooling at the edge of her eyes. She clenched her teeth, her entire body shuddering with pain, and glared up at the Death Eater defiantly

The Death Eater loomed above her, his eyes sneering down at her from behind his mask. Casually, he raised his wand and practically purred out the next word.

"Crucio!"

Whatever pain Amanda had felt before was nothing compared to what she was subjected to now. She arched her back and fell into a little ball as her entire world became nothing but the piercing, white hot agony of the curse. She wanted it to end… the pain or her life… just let it end here… stop it…oh, it burned so badly…

Suddenly it was gone and Amanda gasped. Her throat was raw- she had probably been screaming- and when she coughed, blood dribbled from her lips. Her limbs were twitching and lingering pain wracked her body as Amanda curled up into a little ball and sobbed.

"You don't like that, you little bitch, do you?" The Death Eater panted.

Amanda, still shuddering, gazed up at him with pain-filled eyes, which only made the look in his eyes grow brighter. He was getting off on this, Amanda thought dazedly, and suddenly a new fear entered her heart. What was he going to do to her? Her hands suddenly found wood, the tips of her fingers brushing against her fallen wand. The Death Eater took no notice as he took off his mask, revealing a grizzled and lecherous face.

"We're going to have so much fun together, pretty girl," he whispered softly. "Crucio!"

Pain overtook Amanda's world once more. After that agonizing eternity, Amanda found herself gaping uselessly, a mixture of sobbing and crying as she mouthed words she couldn't even comprehend.

The Death Eater shuddered, his eyes half-closing in ecstasy. Some part of Amanda wanted to give up, to concede right there and die. Let her suffering end! But the other part, the part that had survived Nicodemus, the part that Harry had molded from her, whispered thoughts into her ear. All of Amanda's pain and suffering suddenly became a roaring hatred, so dark and so deep that it overwhelmed anything else in her mind. She glared up at the man with nothing short of utter fury. Her hand, so close to her wand, twitched as she strained her muscles, her fingertip rolling over the wand, drawing it ever closer. As the Death Eater raised his wand, Amanda scrambled for her wand, clasped it in her hand and swung her arm up.

"I'm going to kill you!" she screamed, letting all of her rage and pain out into her voice. She had never felt this twisted need for revenge, but at that moment, she couldn't imagine anything else.

The man stiffened in surprise. Perhaps, if he had immediately reacted, he might have been able to stop her before she could let off her curse. But he didn't, so Amanda killed him.

Amanda screamed blindly, spitting out the incantation and pouring all of her hatred into her wand.

She had never performed this spell before, had only seen Harry do it a handful of times. She had never tried magic of this caliber before, but her rage demanded nothing less. The tip of her wand glowed with an ominous fiery light, growing brighter and brighter until it exploded outwards in a blazing wave of scorching power.

The Death Eater screamed in pure agony as pure, undiluted fiendfyre slammed into him, ripping through his half-formed shield with ease and ravaging his form. Cursed fire ate through cloth and flesh and his body sizzled as he staggered back, beating at himself with screams of panic and agony.

His death might have been a little quicker if he had left Amanda in a better state to cast spells, or if Amanda had been more skilled with the wand. Unfortunately for him, the half-formed cursed flame took over a minute to kill him as he collapsed to the ground, a screaming, shaking bonfire of burning human flesh.

Distantly, Amanda knew she was lying on cold ground and listening to a man burn to death under her wand. But apathy clouded her mind and suddenly she was very tired and very lonely. Tears streaked down her face and she turned over, away from the dying man, and curled up, her injured shoulder throbbing as blood oozed from the wound, over the floor and over her robes. As the fiendfyre crept from the dead man's carcass and started to eat away at the bookshelves and floor of the room, Amanda lay there unmoving, her mind in shock and pain.

Hermione and Ron were side-by-side as they sprinted down one of the corridors, their feet slapping loudly against the ground. Ron spun his head around, his eyes wide with terror as he spotted the burly Death Eater chasing after them.

"Expelliarmus!" Ron bellowed, swinging his wand desperately. The crimson bolt of light that blasted from his wand was easily deflected by the Death Eater.

"Run, Ron!" Hermione cried out. She flicked her wand out in front of her at a door. It smashed open with a powerful crash, almost flying off the hinges from the force of the spell. "Get inside!"

"Stop!" yelled the Death Eater, his voice full of frustration. Behind his mask, his eyes were furious and he raised his wand, spitting out the incantation for the Killing Curse angrily. "Avada Kedavra!"

Ron threw one last look at the Death Eater behind him, then hurled to the side and threw himself through the door. His vision was blinded by the bright green light of the killing curse that soared past him and he gasped, his nostrils suddenly filled with an unbearable stench of death and decay. He landed on the floor with a pained grunt, gagging and heaving as Hermione flicked her wand at the door.

"Colloporto!" She yelled. The door swung shut with a loud crash and the lock clicked. She turned around and stared down at Ron anxiously. "Are you alright?"

Ron had his hand to his mouth and without another word he turned his head and promptly threw up all over the ground. Hermione gave a cry of disgust and took a step backwards as Ron emptied the contents of his stomach, absently wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked up at Hermione and grinned sheepishly, fighting the urge to throw up again over the revolting smell in his nose.

"Honestly, Ron, that is disgusting!" Hermione said sharply, but she was frowning in concern. "Are you alright? Did he hit you with anything?"

"I'm alright," Ron said heavily, standing up and swaying for a moment. "I almost snorted up a Killing Curse, but I'm fine."

"Good," Hermione said briskly. She glanced back at the door and shuddered, the wand in her had shaking. "I don't think that locking charm will…"

She was cut off as the door rattled loudly. There was muffled cursing on the other side, then something hard struck against the wood with a thunderous boom. Ron gulped and looked at Hermione nervously, who was slowly backing away.

"Come on, Ron!" She hissed urgently. "We have to go!"

"Right," Ron said grimly.

The two of them fled through the room and into another hallway, Hermione locking the door behind them as well. As they sprinted down this new corridor, Ron flinched when he heard a massive bang from behind them and knew without a doubt that the Death Eaters had broken through. He didn't look back again as they turned a sharp corner and entered the first door in a row of them. Hermione slammed it shut and locked it with a wave of her wand. Ron sighed in relief and turned around. Sudden movement caught his eye and with a yell of surprise, he raised his wand.

"Stupefy!" he barked.

"Protego!" His opponent yelled- no, sang back.

A silver shield shimmered into existence and deflected the red beam of light from his opponent's form. It ricocheted off one of the walls and crashed into a pile of scrolls lying on one of the desks. A second, quick spell from the other figure had Ron tap-dancing uncontrollably, his wand slipping out of his quivering fingers.

"Now, now, Ron," Luna said airily. She tucked her wand behind her hair and gave the redhead Weasley a luminous smile. "I know you must have thought I was a Blibbering Humdinger, but you really need to…"

"Luna!" Ron snapped. His voice sounded strangled as his arms crossed over his chest and his legs started kicking up into the air. "Undo this!"

"Oh, for heavens sake!" Hermione said crossly. "Finite Incantatum!"

Much to Ron's relief, he stopped dancing. Glaring at Luna, he picked up his wand and clutched it in his hand, muttering something nasty under his breath. Luna, for her part, merely smiled obliviously and shifted her vacant gaze to Hermione.

"Hello, Hermione," Luna said calmly. "How are you tonight?"

"Luna," Hermione said sharply. Her eyes flickered past the slim, blonde witch and she frowned in worry. "Where are Ginny, Neville and Amanda?"

Luna's normally vacant expression flashed with something like worry. "I don't know," she answered. "I saw Ginny and Neville running together, but I lost them. Amanda broke off when that awful woman chased after her. Then one of those awful Death Eater's chased after me but he was really slow," she paused and cocked her head thoughtfully. "Say, I wonder if he had been infected by Kolstiens? You see, they burrow into the thigh and latch on to…"

"Luna, this isn't the time for your ridiculous creatures!" Hermione hissed and Luna fell silent. "We need to find our friends and get out of here. We have to…"

"Hey, shut up!" Ron interrupted.

Hermione twitched and turned to glare at him, but he shushed her with a movement of his hand and listened closely. All three Fifth Years listened as somebody- a girl by the sound of it- screamed in the distant background. It was a fair distance away but they could all hear the absolute agony that was being projected.

"That's…that's Amanda," Hermione breathed. Her eyes welled with tears and she placed a hand over her mouth.

Ron nodded, his face pale but grim. Even Luna was looking uncharacteristically somber as she stood there, listening to the agony of one of their best friends.

"We need to go save her," Hermione blurted.

Ron nodded, looking pale. He paced up and down the room, growing more and more agitated as he thought. "Maybe that's what they want," he said suddenly. He shook his and made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. "They know that we'd go ad make sure she's alright, even if we knew it was a trap."

The scream abruptly cut off and the three Fifth Years paused, glancing at each other with horror-filled gazes. Not another word was spoken as they crept out of the room with their wands high. Slowly, they began to trek down the corridors in the direction the scream had come from.

"Please don't be dead," Hermione whispered softly to herself.

Ron could only nod in agreement.