WARNING: This chapter deserves an M-rating for violence, I think.

"We aren't going to call it that," Harry said for the fourth time. "We can call it something like… something like 'Tom Riddle is a Total Arsehole' Watch."

He did not like the way everyone in Sirius' office rolled their eyes. Even Professor McGonagall did. "I'm serious," he insisted. Instead of agreeing with him, Sirius patted him on the shoulder and thrust a glass of firewhiskey in his hand. It was the Friday night after the battle in the Muggle village, and they were preparing to broadcast the very first real bit of news to the public.

"Thank you for the great idea, Professor Flitwick," Ginny said admiringly. "It was perfect."

"Yeah," Ron said. "We weren't sure how we were going to manage to take over the WWN. This is even better."

"Anything to help," Flitwick squeaked.

Harry agreed with Ron and Ginny in that Professor Flitwick was a genius. Even Dumbledore had not thought of charming innocuous looking items outside Wizarding establishments to broadcast what Harry liked to call (though no one else did) Riddlewatch. Everyone in St. Mungo's, the Leaky Cauldron and the rest of Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic would be able to hear what Harry had to say.

Not to mention that if the Ministry (or Voldemort) wished to silence the broadcast, they would have a damn hard time of it. Dumbledore had hidden the items himself. Harry was particularly pleased about the one they had planted near Malfoy Manor.

"He's going to be so angry," Ron said blissfully. "I can just see him stomping up and down, throwing a tantrum like a three year old."

"I don't think you should drink anymore, Ron," Hermione said. "You don't want to be drunk for this."

"Yeah, I do!" Ron said, grinning. "It'll be even better—"

"You'll deviate from the script!" Hermione said.

"That's likely," Harry said. "But he was just as likely too even without the alcohol."

"You don't worry your head about it," Ron told her. "Just keep drinking your mead, and everything will be fine."

She huffed, but looked amused despite herself.

Harry was feeling pleasantly warm and comfortable by the time they were about to begin the first broadcast. "Remember the last time we got this tipsy?" he grinned at Ginny.

"You mean when we were planning out how to kill Umbridge and my parents walked in?" Ginny smiled ruefully. She said it quietly enough that those who did not know the secret behind Dolores Umbridge's mysterious disappearance (Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick) could not overhear. As far as Harry was concerned, what had happened in Umbridge's office would stay in Umbridge's office.

"Yeah," Harry said. "But I was thinking more about the sex that happened afterward."

"Oi!" Ron said. "Thirty seconds."

Ten minutes later, Harry sat back feeling both annoyed and elated. Elation won. "That was great," he said. "But don't think I haven't forgotten your betrayal, Ron."

Ron wiped his eyes. "Hold on, I'm still loving that I actually said that Voldemort has daddy issues. Don't ruin one of the best moments of my life."

"He was quite right to call it Potterwatch, I think," Professor McGonagall said. "Whether you want it to be so or not, the Wizarding world is looking to you. It'll help rally the troops, as it were."

Harry responded by refilling his glass, and tipping it into his mouth. He ignored her frozen look of disapproval.

"Don't look like that, Minerva," Sirius grinned. "Let the kids have a bit of fun."

"I suppose…" she said doubtfully. She didn't say another word about the drinking all night, even when Ron had to lean heavily on Hermione to make it out the door. Harry rather thought that behind her disapproval, she understood the need to let loose. His opinion of her – rather high to begin with – rose even further.

Harry awoke the next day feeling slightly groggy and a little bit hung over, though he had felt plenty worse before. I have got to stop letting Sirius talk me into drinking, he thought, though he knew that he wouldn't. He smirked when he remembered Potterwatch. He almost wished that Voldemort was not now employing Occlumency against him; he would have liked to be there first-hand to witness his reaction.

Yawning, he opened the curtains around his bed. "How's your head, Ron?" No reply.

His brow furrowed; Ron's bed looked tumbled and messy, but Ron was not in it. He drank a hell of a lot more than I did last night. Where is he?

"Ron isn't here," Neville said weakly. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, and held his head in his hands. "Dean and Seamus went to breakfast… Ron might have gone with them…"

Harry glanced down at his watch. It was nine thirty on a Saturday morning. It was not like Ron to be up and about so early, even if they hadn't been drinking the night before. He's probably with Hermione, he thought. He winced when he moved too suddenly and his stomach rolled. Then he felt a flash of relief when he saw what sat on the bedside table.

"Someone's left us a hangover remedy, Neville," Harry said. He tipped the potion into his mouth and swallowed gratefully.

At the same moment there was a flash of light, and swirling silver mist resolved itself into a weasel. "Hog's Head Inn. Now," it said with Mr. Weasley's voice. Harry's first thought was that it was alarmingly risky for the man to contact him in this fashion… he could have been anywhere, anyone could have heard.

But in the next moment, he was running out of the room, Neville hot on his heels. Mr. Weasley was not stupid; Harry had never known him to take such a risk before. Suddenly, Ron's absence seemed ominous rather than confusing… had something happened to him? Or worse, to Ginny?

"Where's Ginny?" he barked to a fifth year girl who sat in the common room.

"She's s-sleeping!" the girl said. It was hard for Harry to believe that she was Ginny's age. She seemed quite young and stupid.

He did not pause to collect her. He did not know who else was in the room with her, and did not want to send his Patronus with a message that might sound suspicious. He and Neville thundered down the corridor, threw open the door to the Room of Requirement, and raced down to Ariana's portrait.

Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie were waiting for him. The moment Harry saw their faces he knew that something dreadful had happened. That kind of agony and rage could only come from one thing. His heart hammered in his chest, and Harry wondered if this was the moment that he became Merlin. "Who?"

"Percy."

There was a rushing sound in Harry's ears, and the words always and always thundered through his very veins. A rage so pure and fierce overcame him that Harry felt a satisfying clarity of purpose. Vengeance. The thought was sweet, and the way forward clear. Still, he had to ask. "How?"

"He was taken from the Ministry," Charlie said fiercely. "We knew he shouldn't have gone back to work…"

"Don't blame Percy for this," Bill said in an ugly voice. "Dad said that a Death Eater – Rothfuss – grabbed him and Disapparated."

"Are you certain he's dead?" Harry asked. He felt very calm, and he seemed not to need to take as many breaths as normal.

"His body was turned into an Inferius," Mr. Weasley said. Harry eyed him. For once, the older man made eye contact with him, and Harry saw what he was feeling echoed back to him. "They removed his clothes, and forced him to walk through the Atrium and the Ministry. They"—his voice shook and his eyes filled with tears of grief and fury—"cut a message into him… it was supposed to me a warning not to side with you. I don't know if they did it while he was alive or not…"

Had Harry not been detached from his body with a fury so intense that Harry felt like he was burning, he might have shown a physical reaction to the news. He blew out a deep breath. "Where is Rodolphus Lestrange? Is he still alive?"

"He is still impersonating Tad Wainwright," Mr. Weasley said. "Are you—"

"Whatever you're planning," Charlie said. "Whatever retaliation you're going to do, we want in on it. He was our brother. You can't just—"

Harry silenced him by transfiguring his face into something less recognizable. The nose flattened and the hair turned a burnished gold. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough. The others caught on and the Weasleys and Neville disappeared, and anonymous strangers took their places.

"We need brooms," Harry said.

"Can't we just Apparate?" Neville asked. "We know where he—"

"We aren't going after Rodolphus," Harry said. "I was making sure that he was still alive. Merlin – I wish I'd thought of this before. We don't need her." It was simply that Bellatrix was so intimidating. He felt almost safer using her body to break into Gringotts, and they'd always planned on allowing the second break out of Azkaban to happen. But they'd never thought that this might happen…

The others exchanged confused looks. Harry noticed this as he started down the stairs. He almost wanted to meet up with a few Death Eaters down in Aberforth's pub—

Percy is dead. His body was desecrated.

Any Death Eaters Harry found today would die. As long as he kept killing, the grief would be pushed back. It was the first death this time around tore Harry up. Every time he blinked, he saw Percy jumping in front of a Killing Curse to save his mother; and then he saw Percy's naked body paraded at the Ministry.

"We need brooms," Harry said to Aberforth. The pub was empty. "Can we borrow them?"

Aberforth did not say a word, but provided enough brooms for all of them. They weren't Firebolts, but Harry and the others were flying out to Azkaban, not playing Quidditch. Harry, still wrapped in an eerie silence, turned to the door. "If any Death Eaters come in, Ab, keep them here. We'll be back for them."

"Harry?" Neville said. "What are we doing? Are we going to get Bellatrix Lestrange?"

Harry ignored him for the moment. "Will you Apparate us as close to Azkaban as we can get?"

Mr. Weasley gripped Harry's arm tightly, turned on the spot and Harry opened his eyes to a lonely vision of the northern coast. It would have been beautiful, had Harry been able to see it without the image of dead Percy superimposed over it. Harry was glad that he did not need to give a full explanation of what they were about. He did not intend on stopping at Bellatrix, however.

"At least the dementors are gone," Bill said.

Harry moved forward with purpose. They only had four obstacles standing in their way. Four Aurors guarded the initial wards. Ever since the dementors had left to serve Voldemort, Azkaban had been pathetically guarded. Harry and Dumbledore had allowed this, as they had thought he had needed Bellatrix, and now it worked to Harry's advantage. The four Aurors—

Three. The first guard to the wards that surrounded Azkaban they encountered was Nymphadora Tonks. "Harry?" she whispered, once Harry had stepped close enough. She looked utterly flummoxed to see him. Obviously, the news about what had happened to Percy had not traveled here yet.

"Hi, Dora," he said lightly. "I'm glad you're here. We're going to break into Azkaban."

"Why?"

"They killed Percy," Harry said simply.

Her mouth fell open, and her eyes filled. "Oh no," she said. "No…"

"This works," Harry said. "You can let us in the wards. I didn't particularly want to Imperius anyone… I'm not very good at it, you see." He wondered if he would be able to pull off that curse now. The cold that suffused his limbs made him think that he just might be able to. Harry stood aside while Bill and Charlie Stunned the other Aurors. Mr. Weasley's jaw worked, and Neville stared off into the distance, not really seeing.

"Let me kill her," Neville said. "I want to do it."

"Neville, it was our—"

"There are enough for all of us," Harry said. "And Bellatrix tortured his parents into insanity. And I want to watch him kill her."

And he did. He realized that a small part of himself had wanted Neville to be the one to kill Bellatrix Lestrange ever since that Christmas on the closed ward so many years ago. Neville had died before he could kill her, though, last time, and it had been Molly Weasley who had killed her. But not this time…

Charlie and Bill were staring at him, and Harry could not read their expressions. They weren't uncomfortable—

"I think I was wrong about him being fine with sacrificing Percy," Charlie said.

Harry mounted his broom. I would have done this had any of you died the way Percy did, Harry thought. He did not say it out loud.

"The wards are down, Harry," Tonks called.

Moments later, the five of them were racing toward the black speck in the distance that grew nearer and nearer with each passing second. The island fortress was a grim monolith that jutted out from the ocean like an ugly scar. The chill in Harry's bones ached, despite the fact that the dementors were long gone. It permeated the walls, and radiated out.

The fortress prison was alive with the clamoring yells of prisoners, though as Harry followed Mr. Weasley to the high security area, no guards were in sight. Perhaps the wards were enough to keep them contained. And the prisoners didn't have wands. It was only through luck that Sirius had been an animagus.

Mr. Weasley blasted the door apart with more force than was strictly necessary. The wards were down, after all. But Harry's elated sense of purpose grew. It felt right, no matter that they were about to kill wandless people. But it wasn't murder, it was a public service. It was vengeance. And it prevented any of these Death Eaters from doing it again.

Charlie grinned fiercely at him, and Harry returned it.

"Don't burn them," Harry said. "We want Voldemort to recognize them."

Mr. Weasley muttered something under his breath.

"Sorry?" Harry said.

Mr. Weasley met his eyes again. He was pale and sweating; he looked like Neville had when Umbridge had been using the Cruciatus Curse on Luna: furious and sick from it. "They killed him," he said. "Murdered him, and then sent him back. I'll never – how in Merlin's name do you forget something like this?"

"I've never been able to," Harry said. He heard scuttling and indistinct voices… he wondered if there was some sort of Muffling Charm placed around the separate cells. He would have thought that Bellatrix would be screeching at him. "It isn't something that you can forget. But this… Percy won't have died in vain."

"I've found Bellatrix," Neville said in a strange voice. He had moved ahead, and now stood in the shadows. Harry followed him.

Bellatrix Lestrange looked dirty, unkempt, and completely insane. She stood a foot back from iridescent bars, and was obviously screaming at them. "Hey, Bella," Harry said. "How do you like being back in Azkaban? I'm sorry that all the dementors have fled… You know, you're one of the few people who are actually improved by dementors."

Neville took his cue, and relaxed a little. Harry watched as his friend's face hardened even further. The last of childhood fled Neville's features as he stared at the woman (the monster) who had stolen away his parents. He raised his wand, and whispered, "Crucio!"

Bellatrix fell back, writhing and screaming silently. Mr. Weasley muttered a spell, and then Harry could actually hear the screaming. She stopped abruptly and, panting, got to her feet. Neville looked shaken. Harry put a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think – I don't think I can do it this way," Neville said. The skin around his lips was white.

"Do you want me to do it?" Harry asked quietly. "One Sectumsempra and she'll be dead."

A ghost of a smile flitted across Neville's face. "Oh, no. I've been wanting to do this for a very long time. I just don't think I can use the Cruciatus Curse."

"Filthy – blood-traitor," Bellatrix panted. She leaned up against the wall.

"Did you enjoy it?" Neville asked her. "Did you enjoy torturing my mum and dad and whoever else?"

She tossed her long hair out of her face, and gave him a heavy-lidded stare. "I always enjoyed it." Harry could tell by the look in her eyes that she knew she was going to die, and wanted to go out defiant.

"Pretoria," Neville said. The Death Eater screeched and fell to the ground. Her kneecap became suddenly unrecognizable – the bones had been shattered. "I would have done it quickly if you'd lied," Neville told her. Harry, Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie watched, completely silent, as Neville broke nearly every bone in Bellatrix's body.

At one point, her eyes rolled back in her head, and her endless shrieks ended. "Ennervate," Mr. Weasley said.

"Pretoria," Neville said again, and her right hand looked like a glove filled with small pebbles. "Pretoria," he said one last time. Her spinal cord was obliterated, and Bellatrix Lestrange died. Her eyes were wide and unseeing; her mouth was open in a silent scream. Harry breathed deeply, as though he had just run for a very long time.

Neville leaned his head up against the bars. "They really are stupid, aren't they?" he asked in a shaky voice. He looked as if he were about to be ill. Harry couldn't blame him. "They should have known that the children of those they tortured and murdered would eventually come after them."

"And their parents," Mr. Weasley said.

"And their brothers," Bill said.

"I want the Carrows," Harry said. "They tortured Ginny…"

There were nineteen Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban – counting Bellatrix – and all of them died within the hour. Harry slashed Amycus Carrow from throat to groin, and compressed his sister's lungs. Yaxley fell to a Bludgeoning Hex to the head… he was just recognizable enough. Mr. Weasley made quick work of the four Death Eaters that he killed.

"Let's gather them together," Harry murmured. "How best to transport them, do you think?"

"Transport them?" Mr. Weasley frowned. "Are we going to take them to Grimmauld Place?"

"Of course not," Harry said. "We're going to drop the bodies over Malfoy Manor."

Mr. Weasley sighed and looked away. He raised his wand and began to destroy the bars around the bodies. Harry watched Charlie kill Dolohov, and wondered how many lives had just been saved by that act of what some might consider brutality. He also wondered how many murders had just been avenged.

"There was a time when I never would have considered this," Mr. Weasley said quietly.

"I know," Harry said. "I've never actually done anything like this either.

"I wish Ron was here," he said.

Harry thought he might know why Mr. Weasley wished that. Ron had, in fact, become increasingly hostile over the last few months. Ginny had as well, though she did not have minor outbursts at her parents with as much frequency. Conversely, Harry's bitterness had been fading. He looked at Mr. Weasley, tall and balding and avenging the murder of his son, and thought that today might have been the death of it.

"Ron will come around," Harry said, though he did not sound convincing. He hoped that Ron came around. Both he and Ginny. Harry didn't want them to be bitter and resentful after he died. He wanted to think of them surrounded by their family… he knew that they would not celebrate the defeat of Voldemort, not since it meant his death, but he hoped that Ginny especially would not be mired in regret. "You could defend yourself, you know."

"How do I defend myself against a son and daughter who sacrificed everything to save my life?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Harry opened his mouth, about to say something though he hardly knew what to say, but was interrupted by the appearance of Neville, Charlie, and more bodies.

"We're going to drop them over Malfoy Manor for Voldemort to see," Mr. Weasley explained. Charlie looked pleased.

"Bill's almost done," he said. "He's just finishing up Malfoy… he's drowning him with Aguamenti… I never thought of that use for the charm."

Charlie's face was flushed, but his eyes no longer had the glassy look of rage. He was beginning to come off it… Harry felt a twinge in his stomach and realized that he was too. The rage that had protected him from the grief and loss was fading. He wanted to hold onto it, because it felt like strength, and Ginny would need him to be strong…. But even he knew that it was a false strength.

"Let's go," Harry said. He scrubbed his face with his hand. It came away bloody; he was covered in Amycus Carrow's blood. He ignored it.

Harry bound four bodies together, lightened them, and levitated them out to where they had left their brooms. "Grab your brooms and the bodies," he said. "I'll Apparate all of you to Wiltshire… that's where the Malfoys live."

It took six trips, but Harry got the rest of them the closest he could to Malfoy Manor. It was protected by powerful wards, and was invisible to Harry's eyes, but thanks to his knowledge of the future, he knew exactly where it was. "They'll be able to get through the wards," he said. "They've still got Dark Marks, even though they're dead…"

He mounted up and kicked off. The others followed closely behind him. He flew slowly, looking for familiar landmarks. "There," he pointed. There was a shimmering section in the field below. He continued on until he was absolutely certain that they hovered directly over Voldemort's lair. "Shield them so they don't go unrecognizable once they hit," he advised. "And let's get back to Grimmauld Place as soon as we drop them."

"Wish we could see his reaction," Charlie said darkly.

"Maybe Snape will be there," Harry said, though he hoped Snape was already safe at Hogwarts. He had a feeling that Voldemort's rage would be terrible.

He used his wand to cut the ropes that bound the bodies together, shielded them, and let them drop. The others were a split second behind him; and as soon as the bodies started to drop, Harry rolled his broom and Disapparated.

There was a split second of silence one the five of them had arrived in Kreacher's domain, and then Mrs. Weasley screamed. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? THEY'RE BACK, EVERYONE!"

Footsteps thundered down the stairs, just as someone arrived by Floo. "I still haven't seen them," Ron said. He stumbled when he saw Harry. "What the hell?" he said blankly. "What happened to you? All of you?"

Harry gaped at them. Did they not know that Percy was dead? He glanced down at his watch. Harry had known for less than two hours – holy shit, is it still morning? – and he supposed that it might not have been made public. He felt sick. Ginny appeared just then, and threw herself into Harry's arms.

"Ginny," he pulled away. "We've got something to tell you. Percy—"

"Oh, shit," Ron said. "I was right. I told you!"

"Harry, listen," Ginny said.

"Percy is dead," Mr. Weasley said heavily. "The Death Eaters got him this morning… Molly—"

"What did you do?" Mrs. Weasley covered her mouth with both hands.

Harry thought this was an odd question, though Mrs. Weasley might be in shock. She might not believe that Percy was dead. He felt like he had lived several years since he had woken up. "We went to Azkaban and killed all the Death Eaters in there," Harry said grimly.

Ron started to laugh.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Charlie hissed. "Percy was—"

"Not killed," said Percy.

Harry swayed on his feet and Ginny caught him before he fell over. He could only stare at Percy in shock. The slightly messy red hair, the horn-rimmed glasses, and the tall frame were all Percy; the Polyjuice Potion would not work with dead people, and if Percy was actually a Death Eater, he never would have made it into this house. Harry's eyes stung and he suddenly could not stand up. He felt ill with relief, and he put his head on his arms. "Thank God," he said. Ginny stroked his back.

Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie stampeded Percy. Harry looked over, and saw tears streaming unabashedly down Mr. Weasley's face. Charlie was white with shock, and Bill simply gaped at his brother. Harry pushed himself up to his feet, strode over to Percy, and hugged him.

"So," Charlie said. "Anyone want to tell us what the hell happened?"

"Snape," Ron explained. "He and some other Death Eater were ordered to drag Percy back with him. But Snape wouldn't do it—"

"Of course," Harry murmured.

"Snape wasn't with Rothfuss," Mr. Weasley said thickly. He kept reaching over to touch Percy, to grip his shoulder, or ruffle his hair. "Had I known—"

"Snape Imperiused Rothfuss to grab Percy and bring him to the Hog's Head," Ron said.

Harry took his glasses off and wiped them. He felt a great lump in his throat, and he was afraid that if he continued to look at the very much alive Percy, he would break down. "I assume it was Rothfuss under the potion, then?"

"Nope," Ron said. "Snape thought of a way to kill two birds with one curse. Me and Sirius dragged out Draco Malfoy, the little bugger."

"You and Snape and Sirius collaborated on this?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Ron said. He looked slightly uncomfortable, as if the notion surprised him as well.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry said.

"Because we Obliviated Rothfuss," Ron said unapologetically. "And we knew you'd be unhappy with that. But Snape didn't have much time, and we couldn't think of a different solution."

"Scourgify," Ginny murmured, and Harry became marginally cleaner. "If it's any consolation, Harry, I had no idea what was happening until half an hour ago, when we realized you, Dad, Bill, Charlie, and Neville were missing."

"I thought you might have gone after Death Eaters," Ron said. "But I have to admit that I didn't expect Azkaban. Did you leave Bellatrix alive?"

"No," Neville said shortly. "I crushed her bones."

Ron gaped at him, and then turned to Harry. "What're we going to do—"

"Rodolphus," Harry said. Ginny gripped his hand, and he realized that he was trembling from the aftermath of feeling rage and relief in equal measure. "We should've thought of that before… but she's dead now. And Voldemort knows they are; we dropped the bodies over Malfoy Manor."

"We all lost control," Mr. Weasley said.

--

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Author's Note:

I really wanted to call this chapter "Harry Goes Ape Shit" but I didn't think that went well with the rest of the story. ;) I have a feeling that Harry's actions (and that of the others) are going to be questioned. Here is my reasoning for the brutality: Harry has already suffered extreme loss, and the loss of Percy made him quit thinking clearly. The others, who know of a rather terrible future, have been influenced by Harry. No second chances.

Anyway, I would love to have feedback for this particular chapter. I hope you more bloodthirsty readers enjoyed the Death of Bellatrix Lestrange.

And… be prepared for a conversation with Merlin coming up in the next few chapters… grin