Chapter 36

"Well, well, well," sneered Alecto. "Potter!" She spat venomously.

Alecto, Amycus and Gorog had earlier finished the spell which broke the unplottable charm, and it wasn't difficult to break the other protective spells once it went down. Alecto had turned her back to Gorog intentionally, and as he made to curse her, Amycus had driven a sword into Gorog's back. It had pierced his chest wall and the blade came out the other side. Amycus had given the sword a twist, and Gorog died as he bled out.

Now they finally had the upper hand. Amycus stood watch by the hole in the wall while Alecto pointed her wand at Potter and his friends. She could have used the Avada Kedavra curse on the lot of them, but she wanted Potter's powers. Greed got the best of her.

"Alright Potter?" She cackled, "What's the matter? Afraid I'll kill one of your little girlfriends?" Harry's hand reached for his wand.

"No, no Potter." Alecto said mockingly, and she conjured up a rope that bound Harry, Alex, and Hermione together. "We'll be having none of that, or one of your friends will die right now."

"I don't think so," said a girl's voice. A stunning spell knocked Amycus off his feet. But he was shaking it off when Ginny forgot to use magic and just kicked him in the jaw with a sickening crack. Amycus collapsed to the floor, dead of a broken neck.

"That was for Neville, you coward." Ginny said through gritted teeth. Amycus had been particularly brutal to Neville last year, breaking a number of his bones, and knocking out his teeth. A bit of magic was always used after a torture session to heal Neville enough to prevent permanent damage, but not enough to ease the pain of it.

Ginny's magnificent entrance was lost in the ensuing chaos as spells were fired, ricocheting around the destroyed lair. Justin and his father were hiding and trembling behind the office desk which was near the doorway to the Wizard World. Alex, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were dueling with Alecto who was singlehandedly warding them all off.

Alecto was shrieking insanely, tears streaking her cheeks. Her brother was dead, and her world was collapsing around her. It wasn't fair. This was supposed to be her moment of glory, instead it was all turning to ash. Finally she got one of Potter's girlfriends in her sights. It was his new one, the pretty American girl with the raven hair. She aimed her wand.

"Expelliarmus," yelled Harry and Hermione simultaneously. Their spells melded, then collided with her killing spell. The green bolt of magic ricocheted when it hit the others, and struck Alecto in the head. She crumpled to the ground-still thinking this wasn't fair as her eyes went dark.

Hermione and Harry looked down sadly at her body. So much death and cruelty had finally been brought to an end. But Alecto's grief at the death of her brother was still etched on her face. It was hard to feel the depth of hatred that he had felt for Dolohov at the Wizard power plant. She and her brother had clearly been psychotic, and their gruesome thirst for blood put Voldemort's own violent excesses to shame. But they had still felt something which Voldemort had never known. The bond between Alecto and her brother had been powerful.

Amycus and Alecto had loved and grieved and had supported each other through thick and thin. It was difficult to see them both lying there, knowing that Alecto had died in so much emotional agony. Harry wondered if her childhood had been any happier, and was surprised to find his face wet with tears. This was entirely unexpected. he hadn't expected to feel this way at her death-especially because he had been considering using the crucio curse on her if he'd had the chance.

She had deserved it, and more, for all of the horrors she had committed. But it didn't feel at all satisfying like killing Dolohov had.

Hermione and Alex both embraced Harry tearfully. Alex was happy those two psychopaths were dead, but the overwhelming emotional roller-coaster of the last few days caught up with her now that it was all over and she was sobbing loudly in Harry's arms.

"I'm glad we used the Expelliarmus spell Hermione." Harry said quietly. "Alecto probably thought it was a useless spell like the rest of the Death Eaters did. But I'm glad I didn't use a crucio or a killing curse on her myself now."