A/N Rather short chapter, and only two more to go after this one :)
Chapter Thirty-Six
Battle by the Veil
The moment they made contact with his skin, the tentacles began wrapping themselves around Ron's arms like ropes, getting closer and closer to his face –
"Harry, look what's happen — no — no, I don't like it — no, stop — stop —"
But the thin ribbons were spinning around Ron's chest now. He tugged and tore at them as the brain was pulled tight against him like an octopus's body.
"Diffindo!" yelled Harry. Ron fell over, still thrashing against his bonds.
"Harry, it'll suffocate him!" screamed Ginny. She was still on the floor because of her ankle. A Death Eater shot a spell at her, and it hit her in the face. She keeled over sideways and lay there unconscious.
"STUBEFY!" shouted Neville, who's nose seemed to be broken and stopping him from speaking properly. "STUBEFY, STUBEFY !"
"STUPEFY!" Amara yelled and her Stunner got a Death Eater in the face.
Harry sprinted out of the room and the Death Eaters streaked after him. Amara managed to shoot another once down, and he crashed to the floor, slammed his head into the desk and lay crumpled on the ground. Once they'd gone through the door after Harry, Amara let herself take one deep breath to calm herself before running over to Ron, who was still rolling over the floor with a brain on his face.
"Diffido! Diffido!" Neville was saying but the broken nose prevented any words being pronounced properly.
"Diffindo!" Amara said and managed to make a slit on one of the tentacles. The brain seemed to spasms slightly and loose grip of Ron and Neville grabbed it and pulled it off of Ron slightly.
"Diffindo!" Amara said again and cut the main part of the brain. It managed to release Ron – who fell on the floor giggling slightly – and try and wrap its tentacles over Neville.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Amara said immediately and the brain lifted into the air. Amara guided it back into the tank, where it started swimming lazily again, though slightly haphazardly.
Amara and Neville looked at each other fearfully before running towards the door Harry had run through. With a jolt, Amara saw they were back in the room with the stone archway on the dais. Harry was surrounded by ten Death Eaters.
"He's dot alone!" shouted Neville suddenly. "He's still god be add Amara!"
Neville ran down the benches and Amara followed suit quickly, ignoring the pain in her left arm and knowing Neville would try and help, though he couldn't get the correct spell.
"Neville — no — Amara – go back to Ron —"
"STUBEFY!" Neville shouted, pointing his wand at each Death Eater in turn.
"STUPEFY!" Amara shouted herself and shot a Stunner at a Death Eater.
"STUBEFY ! STUBE —"
One of the largest Death Eaters seized Neville from behind, pinioning his arms to his sides. He struggled and kicked; several of the Death Eaters laughed.
"STUPEFY!" Amara shrieked but missed the Death Eater – it shot away and exploded on the wall at the other end.
Amara was just about to say another spell when a horrible rough hand grabbed her mouth and pinned her arms down to her side. She screamed out in pain and anger.
"It's Longbottom, isn't it? And Matthews?" sneered Lucius Malfoy. "Well, Longbottom, your grandmother is used to losing family members to our cause. . . . Your death will not come as a great shock. . . . And a filthy Mudblood? Who cares about you ..."
"Longbottom?" repeated Bellatrix, and a truly evil smile lit her gaunt face. "Why, I have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy. . . ."
"I DOE YOU HAB!" roared Neville, and he fought so hard against his captor's encircling grip that the Death Eater shouted, "Someone Stun them!"
Amara struggled too but the Death Eater overpowered her easily.
"No, no, no," said Bellatrix. "No, let's see how long Longbottom and Matthews last before they crack – just like Longbottom's parents. . . . Unless Potter wants to give us the prophecy —"
"DON'D GIB ID DO DEM!" roared Neville. "DON'D GIB ID DO DEM, HARRY!"
"NOO!" Amara tried to scream through the hand that was tight across her mouth and preventing her from breathing properly,
Bellatrix raised her wand. "Crucio!"
Neville screamed, his legs drawn up to his chest so that the Death Eater holding him was momentarily holding him off the ground. The Death Eater dropped him and he fell to the floor, twitching and screaming in agony. Amara screamed at how painful it looked. She'd forgotten that she was there when Bellatrix turned to her.
"Mudblood," she hissed. "Crucio!"
Pain: it was all there was as Amara screamed, louder than she'd ever screamed before. The Death Eater dropped her too as she writhed about. White hot knives where stabbing every inch of her skin –
"That was just a taster!" said Bellatrix, raising her wand so that Neville's and Amara's screams stopped suddenly. Amara curled up on the floor to save herself from seeing anymore Death Eaters. She was shaking, and barely heard what Bellatrix said next.
"Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friends die the hard way!"
Amara wasn't listening much to what was happening, and only when she heard a door band open from above them did she look up from her position. With a happy jolt this time, Amara saw Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley sprinting into the room, their wands held high. Tonks shot a Stunner at Malfoy, who fell to the floor hard as Amara raised herself up and punched the Death Eater behind her. Unsuspecting, he toppled back, and became unconscious as her Stunner hit home. She was still sore from the Cruciatus Curse, so she slumped onto the floor and crawled over to Neville to see if he was okay. Harry reached him at the same time.
"Are you okay?" he yelled, as another spell soared inches over their heads.
"Yes," said Neville, trying to pull himself up.
Amara nodded slowly.
"And Ron?"
"We got the brain off him," said Amara. "But –"
The stone floor exploded next to them, leaving a massive crater where they had been sitting. They ran away from the spot that the spell hit, knocking into the stone benches painfully as they did so.
Suddenly an arm wrapped around Harry's neck and squeezed him upwards, so his feet didn't touch the floor.
"Give it to me," growled the Death Eater who had grabbed him. "give me the prophecy —"
"Furnunculus!" Amara yelled.
The Death Eater erupted into painful boils – he let go of Harry and howled in agony. Neville jumped forwards and shoved the wand he was using into the Death Eater's eyehole. He screamed loudly as he clutched his eye.
"STUPEFY!" Amara shouted at the same time as Harry; the Death Eater got blasted backwards and fell down a fair few steps before lying there.
"Thanks!" Harry said, and he pulled them aside so they didn't get trampled by Sirius and the Death Eater he was duelling with rather fiercely. Amara ran off and saw a Death Eater just about to curse Tonks.
"Incendio!" Amara shouted accidentally, and watched on horror as the Death Eater caught alight in front of her. He screamed so loudly it vibrated Amara's eardrums and she gaped as he started running towards her. He made a weird slashing with his wand and a streak of light hit Amara on the shoulder. She screamed and stumbled sideways.
Tonks turned and shot a Stunner at him quickly, and he fell, the flames extinguishing as he did so.
"Get down!" Tonks yelled and Amara ducked – a spell flew over her head and smashed into a stone bench. Amara screamed as parts of it rained down on her. Once it ended she raised herself back up, seeing Tonks falling down the stairs after Bellatrix had shot something at her.
"Stupefy!" Amara shouted and it streaked past Bellatrix once more. She shot a jet of blue light at her and it hit her broken arm – Amara fell backwards and hit a stone bench hard.
Her head spinning spectacularly, Amara very nearly threw up. Pushing it down Amara raised her head up slightly to see what was going on. It was very loud and there were loads of explosions everywhere. Amara saw Neville dancing uncontrollably and Harry helping him. She watched as they threw the prophecy between them and Malfoy trying to get it off of them – both boys fell backwards and Malfoy aimed his wand at Harry.
"Harry, take the prophecy, grab Neville, and run!" Sirius yelled, dashing to meet Bellatrix. Harry did not see what happened next: Kingsley swayed across his field of vision, battling with the pock- marked Rookwood, now mask-less; another jet of green light flew over Harry's head as he launched himself toward Neville —
"Can you stand?" he bellowed in Neville's ear, as Neville's legs jerked and twitched uncontrollably. "Put your arm round my neck —"
Neville did so — Harry heaved — Neville's legs were still flying in every direction, they would not support him and then, out of nowhere, a man lunged at them. Both fell backward, Neville's legs waving wildly like an overturned beetle's, Harry with his left arm held up in the air to try and save the small glass ball from being smashed. "The prophecy, give me the prophecy, Potter!" snarled Lucius Mal- foy's voice in his ear, and Harry felt the tip of Malfoy's wand pressing his wand at him. The glass sphere was thrown to Neville, who caught it. Harry shot a jinx at Malfoy, who was thrown backwards. She saw that he wasn't knocked out, so she sprinted from where she was sitting and aimed her wand at him.
"Stupefy!" Malfoy was blown backwards and fell off the dais where Sirius and Bellatrix were duelling. Out of her peripheral vision, Amara saw another Death Eater notice her.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Lupin was shoving Harry away to Neville and was carrying on with another duel. Amara watched in horror as Harry and Neville fell to the floor once more – Amara ran to help, and noticed the prophecy launch into the air. Neville's legs kicked it and it flew in an arc and smashed on the steps below. A pearly figure rose up and spoke incoherently. She was vaguely familiar, but Amara paid her no mind as she sprinted back down to where Harry and Neville were.
"Harry, I'b sorry!" Neville was crying at Harry, his face full of anguishas his legs continued to flounder, "I'b so sorry, Harry, I didn'd bean do —"
"It doesn't matter!" Harry shouted as Amara joined them. "Just try and stand, let's get out of —"
"Dubbledore!" said Neville, his sweaty face suddenly transported, staring over Harry's shoulder.
"What?"
"DUBBLEDORE!"
Amara turned around and saw that Dumbledore was standing on the stone steps – he floated down them, managing to pull a running Death Eater back with ease as he made a run for it.
Amara couldn't help but grin – she turned back to Harry, who was looking like he'd been given a new amount of energy, and Neville, who's legs still floundered about.
"Finite!" Amara said, pointing it at them, and they ceased to move.
"Thanks," said Neville breathlessly.
From where they were crouching, they saw Dumbledore round up Death Eaters, and also, Sirius and Bellatrix's duel. Sirius ducked a jet of red light quickly and laughed.
"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled.
The second jet of light hit him straight on the chest.
The laughter from the previous spell had not yet vanished from his handsome face; his eyes, which had realised what had happened, widened in apparent shock.
Amara did not realise she had let out a scream – but it echoed around the cavernous room as Harry jumped to hit feet. He sprinted down the steps towards the man, and Amara watched in pure terror as his body fell backwards, as though in slow motion, into the veil and vanished forever.
Amara felt sick. She couldn't comprehend what had happened. Everything was still going on around her – Harry was still running – Bellatrix let out a raucous, triumphant scream that echoed everywhere.
"SIRIUS!" Harry was yelling, "SIRIUS!"
Lupin grabbed Harry as Amara stood up in shock.
"There's nothing you can do, Harry —"
"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"
"It's too late, Harry —"
"We can still reach him —"
Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go.
"There's nothing you can do, Harry . . . nothing. . . . He's gone."
Amara let out a wail at these words and saw Harry started shaking uncontrollably.
"He hasn't gone!" Harry yelled. He tried to get out of Lupin's strong grip as Amara saw Kinglsey jump to replace Sirius in the battle against Bellatrix. She was an expert at duelling – Kingsley was doing amazingly, keeping up with her.
Amara only realised then that there was still movement around her – the Order and the remaining Death Eaters were still going on around them and Harry was still roaring at the top of his voice.
"HE — IS — NOT — DEAD! SIRIUS!"
Lupin was dragging Harry away from the dais. Amara knew he was thinking that Sirius would emerge from it. But Amara had realised what the archway was. It was the gateway into Death, and Sirius had fallen straight through. The voices they had heard were the people calling out to them, and Amara's eyes stung with tears and her head swam slightly as she thought about it.
It was not fair that Sirius had died. Sirius was the only family Harry had left and he'd just died. And Harry was the one Sirius cared about the most, and now he was unable to. How could life be so unfair to Harry? He'd lost his parents, godfather … Amara had lost her great-grandmother and Cedric, but she knew it wasn't the same. And she also knew Harry would not want to talk about it to her. It would be too tough. And she couldn't blame him.
When Amara saw, once she had torn her eyes away from where Harry was struggling with a very pale, very shaken looking Lupin, that Dumbledore had rounded up the remaining Death Eaters that weren't unconscious on the floor. Amara turned and ran back towards the Brain Room. In her battles against the Death Eaters and everything that had happened with Sirius she had forgotten the state she'd left her friends in. It was only now when she realised just how much pain she was in. The remains of the Cruciatus Curse were lingering – her arm was completely broken and the streak of light that the Death Eater who had been put alight, kept making sharp pains go up into her shoulder. And her head was bleeding again from behind, and Amara had a feeling something was wrong with her skull. Despite the pain, Amara hurried on and soon found herself looking at her friends in the Brain Room.
Hermione was still unconscious on the floor next to a desk. Luna was groaning slightly near Ron, who was giggling feebly, obviously recovered with his fight with the Brain. Ginny had woken up from her unconscious state and was looking around blearily.
"Amara!" she said. "Oh – what's happened?"
Amara opened her mouth to speak, but just as she did, Bellatrix Lestrange came tearing into the room. Amara lifted her wand in a valiant attempt to stop her from doing anything – Harry was streaking after her. But Bellatrix was too quick. With one slash of her wand Amara was thrown backwards yet again across the room. She hit the ceiling, fell onto the desk and onto the floor. She lay quite still as the darkness overcame the screams from Ginny and the cackles from Bellatrix.
A/N I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! YOU'LL UNDERSTAND SOON!