Disclaimer: Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be Roald Dahl. Go the whole JK Rowling. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it's unbelievable.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. We had some logistical problems getting this chapter done. This is the big finale, but there's a short epilogue still to come. Thank you all for reading.

Chapter 9

Matilda was downcast when she met Jenny at the train station, much as she'd been after Cedric's death, but this time, all of the witches and wizards at the station were in as dark a mood as her own. The whole place was far more subdued than she'd ever seen it. She hugged Jenny in silence for a couple minutes before they made the slow trek out.

"I suppose it must be hard on everyone," Jenny said her once they were in the car. "Even apart from this magical war, from what you've said and what I've read in your books, it sounds like almost everyone in the whole country knew him as a head teacher—at least everyone under the age of…fifty? Sixty?"

"Eighty or ninety," Matilda said. "Wizards live longer than muggles, and they said Dumbledore was a regular teacher for a long time before he was Headmaster. But I think most of them are more worried about the war."

"It's that bad, then?"

"Bad enough that people are scared, Jenny. More scared than they were all year. No one knows what's happening, but everyone says more troubles are coming. The magical world already felt like capital-T Troubles, but it definitely sounds like things are going to blow up any day now. I wish I could do more, but—"

"Matilda, you're only thirteen," Jenny said. "And I don't want you fighting in a war at all. This is a lot bigger than someone like the Trunchbull or that Umbridge woman."

"I know. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley said I'd be better off if I left the country, and I believe them. It's like we discussed last year. Nowhere in Britain will be safe—actually, for both of us, probably."

"Both of us?"

"The Death Eaters go after families," she said. "Sometimes, they go after people for no apparent reason. They go after people in their homes, children who are too young for school…" She sniffed, remembering the stories she'd been told over the past year. "I told you one of the older girls in my class lost her mother at the start of the year. Even if I'm out of the country…they could still come for you. They might think we know something about Harry."

"Oh…" Jenny said. "We'll certainly have to consider it then, but I'll have to do something about Crunchem Hall. I can't just leave the school."

"From the sounds of it, they'll be safer if you do before too long. There could still be random attacks anyway, but…I wouldn't put it past them to come for you there."

Jenny took a deep breath and set her expression firmly. No one messed with her school. "Then I suppose we'll have to act quickly."

Life at Beauxbatons was much different than Hogwarts. There was more emphasis on respect for authority than Matilda was used to, for starters. It would be a lot harder to get away with her pranks here. Not that any of them gave her reason to do so, but it was a surprise to learn.

She was placed in the 4emé level classes, even though the years were structured a bit different. It didn't take her long to learn that Beauxbatons was a bit slower-paced than Hogwarts, since their O.W.L.-equivalent exams were done at 6emé level. As such, Matilda was quickly up among the top of her classes.

The one big downside was that at this point, many of the students already had their friend groups, and so were less interested in including her. They weren't rude to her, but she could sense that a lot of the time, they weren't making an effort to fit her in.

One day, as she sat at lunch, one of the younger students sat across from her. "You are Matilda Honey?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am," Matilda said. "I'm surprised anyone noticed me here."

"Oh, I remember you!" the girl exclaimed. "You were at the second task. My sister told me that you calmed her down and told her I would be all right."

Matilda remembered. "Fleur's sister?"

The younger girl nodded. "Yes, I am Gabrielle. I have been wanting to talk to you, but never got a chance."

Matilda smiled. "Well, it'll be nice to have someone to talk to, at least. How is your sister, anyway?"

"She is married!" Gabrielle answered. "She lives in England now, with her husband, Bill Weasley."

Matilda's eyes widened. "Bill Weasley? That's a surprise if I've ever heard one. What else has changed?"

Matilda wasn't ignorant of the goings-on back home while she was at Beauxbatons. It was still possible to get the Daily Prophet delivered, even overseas, and no one seemed to object to a muggle-born being on the subscription list.

Of course, they probably weren't complaining about their propaganda being spread further. The Death Eaters must have taken lessons from Orwell, Matilda thought. Officially, everything was fine. Voldemort and the Death Eaters had quietly vanished from the headlines. There weren't any real explanations for the terror of the past year. They didn't come out and say it, but the way they were acting implied that the whole thing was a ruse on Dumbledore's and/or Harry Potter's part. Mostly, the Ministry spouted assurances that any vaguely-defined threats were "under control" whilst simultaneously elevating Harry to "Undesirable Number 1" and a suspect in Dumbledore's death.

Hogwarts had restarted normally, although Snape had been made Headmaster. That was…odd. Even if they believed he hadn't been the one to kill Dumbledore (there weren't any "trustworthy" witnesses anymore), McGonagall had taken Dumbledore's place when he died. But the Ministry had meddled with Hogwarts under Fudge and Umbridge, and they would have even fewer qualms about doing it now.

Speaking of Umbridge, she was now in charge of something called the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. That was getting pretty transparent—at least to her. They were claiming that muggle-borns couldn't really happen genetically or some such, and magic could only come from a wizarding family. Matilda snorted. If Harry or Zinnia Wormwood had been magical, that would have to be the biggest waste of magic ever. Anyway, they were supposed to "investigate" muggle-borns for "stealing" magic, which garnered loud protests from her new friends.

"I just hope the other muggle-borns are smart enough not to fall for it," she said. Come to think of it, they all came into the magical world at age eleven; a lot of them might not have read Orwell. But what could she do from here? Not much besides wait for word that was coming filtered through the Death Eaters' machine.

It was going to be a long year.

It was getting late, even for a Friday night, when Matilda noticed it—a burning sensation in her pocket. She quickly pulled out her Dumbledore's Army coin—the coin she had taken to carrying again even in France after they had used it to call for help when the Death Eaters attacked last year. She looked down, and written on the fool's gold were two lines:

LIGHTNING HAS STRUCK

HOG'S HEAD

Matilda sucked in a breath, suddenly going tense. "Lightning has struck" must mean that Harry Potter had been sighted. The Hog's Head was obviously a rallying point of some kind, and if it was in Hogsmeade, it seemed obvious that a message of such urgency indicated there was some kind of battle happening at Hogwarts—Hogwarts, which was supposed to be under Death Eater control already. Were they taking back the school somehow? Had Harry been captured? Or was he mounting some kind of last stand?

She didn't know. The main thing was that now, she had to decide what to do about it. She could do nothing. Just wait and listen for word—again. That was probably what she should do. She was only fourteen, after all, and certainly not a fully-qualified witch.

But who was she kidding? She'd had to stand by and watch far too many times already, and besides, she knew she couldn't resist sticking her nose in things.

She could go ask Madame Maxime for a ride, since she was in contact with some of Dumbledore's close allies. But as her Headmistress, she would probably say no.

She could ask Gabrielle Delacour and hope her family had some kind of back-door way into Britain that she could use quickly.

She could make her own way, but that would take time. She was pretty sure she'd need to take the train from Calais to Dover even if the Floo took her the rest of the way.

And then, she remembered. She had a friend on the inside—of Britain, anyway—and a way to contact her on short notice. She hoped.

It took some doing to sneak out of the castle and down to Baton Vert, but she managed it. She took a broom from the Broom Shed for speed and made her way to the one public telephone in the village. Once there, she dialled a number she had memorised over a year ago, but hadn't had reason to call since she'd come to France.

The voice on the other end sounded hurried: "Haywood residence."

"Beatrice? It's Matilda Honey."

"Matilda!" she squealed. "Oh, wow. Okay, uh, how did you find out what happened to Rowan?"

Matilda blinked as she remembered the guidance on security questions. Not something they'd had to worry about in France. "You told me right after Cedric died," she said. "I led you up in the stands to get you away from the crowds. It was the first time you ever really talked about her."

"Alright, what's up?" Beatrice said.

"I don't know how much you know, but—"

"Something's going down at Hogwarts? Yeah, I know. You caught me right before I left. How did you know, though?"

"My DA coin. What about you?"

Matilda could almost hear the grin through the phone. "I've got someone on the inside. What do you need?"

"I need a way to get to Hogwarts in time to make a difference. I know you're probably going to tell me to stay out of it, but I just can't anymore. I have too many friends there, and there have been too many—"

Beatrice cut her off: "I wasn't going to tell you to stay out of it, Matilda. I was younger than you when I started fighting. Look, I can't make any promises with you being in France, but I know someone I can send to fetch you. If anyone can smuggle you into the country, it's him. Now, you should still have public Floo access there. Can you get to Calais…?"

It thankfully wasn't a long wait at the public Floo in Calais before her ride appeared. She was looking around for anyone out of place, and she almost missed him when he stepped out of the shadows. He was an unassuming man of Korean descent, as Beatrice had said, but his gaze was sharp, and he had his wand at the ready.

"Matilda Honey?" he asked.

"Jae Kim?" she replied.

He eyed her suspiciously. "What is the Circle of Khanna?"

She took a deep breath and repeated the pass phrase Beatrice had told her: "Infinite, unbroken, forever."

Jae Kim lowered his wand. "I hear you need to get to Hogwarts."

"Yes, as soon as possible, please," she said.

Suddenly, he grinned. "Then you've come to the right smuggler."

There was a scuffling sound and an awkward thud. Someone had clambered out of the tunnel and stumbled, and was now leaning forward at an impossible angle that ought to see him fall on his face. He looked up at the crowd through his horn-rimmed glasses and said, "Are we too late? Has it started? I only just found out, and Honey—"

A fourteen-year-old girl with dishevelled bangs stepped out from behind Percy Weasley. A flick of her wrist set him back on his feet. "—and I was in France," she said.

There was silence in the...was this the Room of Requirement? A gaggle of redheads were staring at the two of them (or more probably at Percy) with shocked expressions. But she was distracted from the family reunion by someone shouting, "Matilda!" and a young blond woman dressed all in black pushed through the crowd to grab her in a hug.

"Beatrice! It's so good to see you!" Matilda said.

"You too," Beatrice said. "It's good to have you on our side." She looked at her wistfully. "You've really grown up."

Matilda blushed slightly. "I just hope my magic has grown up enough."

"Hey, if anyone can handle the Death Eaters, it's you," she said with a grin.

Another woman approached who resembled Beatrice, except for having her hair in long plaits. "Bea?" she asked.

"Oh, Penny, this is Matilda Honey," Beatrice said. "Matilda, this is my sister, Penny."

"Pleased to meet you," Matilda said, shaking her hand.

"Likewise, but honestly, I don't think you should be here, Matilda. You're too young—"

"Hey, weren't you fighting Acromantulas at her age, Penny?" Beatrice cut in. "Matilda can handle herself. Anyway, is anyone else from the Circle of Khanna coming?"

Penny shook her head. "I don't think so. I've lost contact with most of them. I just heard Tonks is home with a new baby. Charlie's in Romania. Merula and Barnaby are hiding from their families. I assume Maya's still with MAGINTERPOL…"

"Ben? Diego?"

"I haven't seen them. They might not have had time to get here."

The Weasley family's reunion seemed to have broken off. They were trying to decide on a course of action when the woman who must have been Mrs. Weasley turned her attention to Matilda. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "You're too young to be involved in this."

Matilda opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, there was a commotion, as Harry Potter stumbled, clutching his head, needing a couple of his friends to catch him.

"Harry!" Ginny Weasley said, crouching beside him."What is it?"

"He's here," Harry gasped. "Voldemort's at the gates."

It hadn't been difficult to slip by in all the confusion and avoid any further questions about her being there, but as she watched the castle evacuating, Matilda wondered a second time if she should be doing this. She wasn't the only underage student trying to stay and fight, but she thought she might be the youngest. Only Beatrice's reassuring grin convinced her to stay.

There was one tense moment when she ducked around a corner and came face to face with an older boy in Slytherin robes. She froze, wide-eyed, and he stared at her for a minute, neither of them speaking. Even if he didn't know who she was, she would be immediately recognised as one of the people who sneaked in, not being in uniform. But after what seemed like ages, he turned tail and ducked into a different alcove. It seemed some of the Slytherins who were being sent away had the same idea she did.

The first thing the defenders of Hogwarts did was to go up to the battlements. At present, the doors were being guarded by transfigured stone statues and suits of armour, but curses were crashing through the windows and pounding against the outer walls. When she reached the roof, Matilda collapsed to her knees in pain as the shrill cry of a mandrake, deadly at close range, cut through the air as it was thrown over the wall. It was cut off only moments later, though, either by a Silencing Charm or something more final.

Matilda found herself unsure of what to do. She could try to cast some curses down at the Death Eaters surrounding the castle, or she had her wandless magic, but in a fight for her life, she wished she had a better strategy than, "throw rocks at them." She tried both regardless, although at that range, it was hard to tell if she was doing much damage.

Unfortunately, even the mighty wards of Hogwarts Castle couldn't hold for long under that assault. Almost from the moment the curses started flying, the walls were shaking, sometimes rocked by massive explosions that felt like they could have been bombs dropped from muggle aeroplanes. After one particularly nasty boom that was followed by a sound of falling rocks, someone called out, "They're inside! Hurry!"

Matilda ran down the stairs, no longer hiding in the shadows from the teachers, meeting back up with Beatrice on the way. There was no backing out now. All they could do was slow down the Death Eaters long enough for Harry to do whatever it was he needed to do.

The first challenge came as soon as they reached the seventh-floor corridor outside the Room or Requirement. A hole was blown through the wall, and coming through the hole was something she had read about, but never seen in person: a pack of spiders the size of horses running at them.

Matilda jabbed her wand and tried to repel them. "Bombarda!" she cried. "Diffindo! Reducto!" Her spells struck true, and Beatrice fought right alongside her but there were too many of them.

Penny ran up from behind them. "Oh, not again!" she said. "Arania Exumai!"

A blast of white light knocked the whole pack over and sent them scurrying away. "You were saying about Acromantulas?" she said.

"Bloody hell. Can't believe I forgot that one," Beatrix muttered. "Come on."

They hurried to the nearest staircase and started climbing down, but the castle was in total chaos by now. They didn't get halfway down to the ground floor before a couple of Death Eaters appeared and sent them running for cover.

"Got any prank ideas that could stop a Death Eater?" Beatrice asked as she and Matilda cast back from behind an alcove.

Matilda frowned in thought. "Not that we have time to set up," she said. "Can't exactly put a bucket of water on top of a door when they mean to break down the entire wall—"

"Duck!" Beatrice yelled.

She dropped into a crouch and pulled Matilda with her as a spell shattered the pillar just above their heads. They were knocked out into the corridor by the falling debris. One of the Death Eaters stepped out and levelled his wand at them.

"Nowhere to run now," he said, but then, there was a flash of red light, and he collapsed with a jerk.

Standing behind him was the person who had stunned him, and to Matilda's surprise, it was another Death Eater—a tall woman who oddly was wearing a Slytherin scarf. Then, she pulled off her skull mask, revealing a pale, lean face and asymmetrical bangs much like Beatrice's.

"Ismelda!" Beatrice jumped up and hugged the woman.

"Ismelda?" Matilda said.

"I told you I had someone on the inside," Beatrice said smugly. "This is my best friend, Ismelda Murk. Thanks so much for coming—"

"Yeah, yeah, less sappy reunions, more fighting," Ismelda cut her off. "I know a secret passage to the other side of the castle. If we hurry, we can outflank them."

Matilda was racing down a corridor, casting spell after spell to defend herself. She'd managed to get separated from Beatrice and Ismelda, but was so far holding her own.

"Wotcher!" Matilda heard someone call. She turned just in time to see a woman with spiky pink hair casting a spell at a pursuer, stunning them. The witch then approached, wand held up cautiously.

"Auror Tonks?" Matilda said in surprise, finally recognising her.

"Yes? You're the Honey girl, aren't you," Auror Tonks said. "What are you doing here? This is no place for kids."

Matilda opened her mouth, but then, she put two and two together and turned her wand on Tonks, whose eyes widened. "What did you say I was better than you at doing last year?" she demanded.

"What? I—It was running away from teachers, wasn't it? Why?"

Matilda turned her wand away, still scanning for enemies. "You weren't supposed to be here. Penny Haywood said you were at home with a new baby. I had to make sure."

Auror Tonks blushed uncomfortably. "Teddy is with my mother. I couldn't stay away when Remus and everyone else is fighting."

Matilda could understand feeling like she needed to do something, but still. "But, what if…"

Tonks seemed to gain some of her bravado as she said, "Oh, they won't be able to get me, Honey. Don't worry about that."

Still, she did. If both Tonks and Remus were here, their baby could end up an orphan. She thought she'd already seen people fallen on both sides. Nevertheless, she dropped the subject. "The castle is crawling with Death Eaters, where should we go?"

Before Tonks could answer, a sickly sweet voice called down the corridor, "Well, well, well, there's the little half-breed bitch."

They both whirled to face the newcomer. "Bellatrix!" Tonks hissed.

Matilda had heard the horror stories about what this woman had done. From killing Sirius Black, to driving the Longbottoms insane, this was someone who didn't care about the carnage she left behind.

Bellatrix didn't bother with preamble. Matilda's heart turned cold as she heard her cast, "Crucio!" too fast for even an Auror to nextmoment, the corridor was filled with Tonks' screams. Matilda could think of nothing to do. She knew from "Moody" that nothing could block the Cruciatus Curse.

Matilda quickly scanned the surroundings. There was a staircase nearby, and an inkling of an idea came to her. But how to get Lestrange's attention?

"Stop it!" Matilda yelled. "I'm muggleborn, don't you want to kill me too?"

Bellatrix eyed the girl before her. "The wittle girl wants to fight like a woman? I'll oblige."

The first spell was easy enough for Matilda to deflect, but subsequent ones weren't so. She barely managed to dodge a Killing Curse because she was already running, trying to manoeuvre the madwoman, but slowly, Bellatrix was before the stairs. Quickly, Matilda gave a wandless shove and knocked Bellatrix down the stairs. It was the best she could do for now.

Matilda rushed to Tonks, who was slowly recovering from the Cruciatus Curse. "Are you alright?" Matilda asked, helping her stand.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," Tonks breathed. "She would have killed me. You saved my life, Honey."

Matilda ducked her head in embarrassment. "I didn't do that much, I just pushed her down the stairs."

Tonks raised her eyebrows. "Nothing? Not many people could stand against Bellatrix Lestrange and survive."

Meeting Tonks' eyes, Matilda saw the gratitude in them. Tonks was alive because of her. "I guess not." She noticed blood trickling down Tonks's face from hitting her head on the floor. "You should go to the Great Hall. I heard they were setting up a medical area there."

"You should get to the Great Hall, too. It's the most secure place right now," Tonks told her.

"I need to find Beatrice, first," Matilda objected. "I got separated from her a bit ago."

"We'll search on the way," Tonks suggested. She gestured to the stairs. "Before she comes to. She'll be after you too after that stunt."

"All right."

The two of them started making their way to the Great Hall. By this time, much of the fighting had moved to the upper floors, leaving the way to the Great Hall relatively clear of foes. There were still some, but the Tonks and Matilda were easily able to dispatch them.

Finally, they found Beatrice fighting against a Death Eater. She quickly took him down, and then looked around, spotting Tonks and Matilda. "Tonks!" She exclaimed. "I thought you were at home with the baby."

"My mother is watching him," Tonks explained.

"She's clean," Matilda said. "I checked."

"Good girl. We have to get to the Great Hall," Beatrice said. "Let's try this way."

"We were just heading that way," Matilda responded. "Let's go!"

Tonks stayed. "I still need to find Remus. I'll see you there."

Matilda and Beatrice hurried down one of the other corridors, just as rubble-filled as the others. They could only hope the rest of the way was clear.

As they turned a corner, disaster struck. When they rounded the corner they came face to face with three Death Eaters, grinning wickedly.

Without saying a word, one of them made a slashing motion with his wand, and an evil-looking curse surged out at them. Matilda and Beatrice dove to opposite sides. Matilda put up a Shield Charm on general principle until she could see what was going on. That wouldn't hold against a lot of what they were using, but it was something. Then, the corridor was awash with spellfire.

Matilda didn't shy away from hexing them back. She lashed out at them with what curses she knew and also flung bits of rubble at them with wandless magic, but she could already tell it wasn't enough. She could barely keep up with spells the Death Eaters were throwing at them, some of them dark curses that she knew she wouldn't be able to block. Both she and Beatrice shielded what they could and dodged the rest. The air was so thick with curses that she didn't even have a clear view of what happened, but Beatrice fell.

"Beatrice!" Matilda screamed.

There was a brief pause, just enough to make out the scene, but the pool of blood spreading on the floor told her it was already too late. She looked back up at the three Death Eaters, white-faced.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," one of them said.

"You done fighting?" asked another.

Matilda stood frozen in shock, looking far more terrified than she wanted, but her anger was rapidly burning through, catching even herself unawares. They'd taken Beatrice from her. After everything else. It was too much to bear, and she wasn't going to roll over. She tightened her grip on her wand.

"You don't want to do that," the third Death Eater said in a distinctly creepy tone. "Just stay where you are, little girl, and you won't wind up like your friend."

"Yeah, we can find some other use for you," another one sneered. "I hear Greyback's been looking for a new toy."

Matilda was shaking. She felt her magic crackling around her, rapidly slipping her control in a way she hadn't felt since she'd first mastered it when she was six and a half years old. The control exercises she'd learnt from Professor Dumbledore's book barely even crossed her mind. Everything in the corridor started rattling. Her magic lashed out, grabbing for anything in reach—swords and axes from the fallen suits of armour, pieces of rubble, improvised weapons like Trelawney's crystal balls—anything in sight.

"No more Miss Nice Girl," she snarled.

The first Death Eater had just enough time to say, "Hey, what's she doing?"

A primal scream of rage erupted from Matilda, and everything in the corridor that wasn't nailed down hurled itself at the Death Eaters with berserker fury. The swords whirled and spun, hacking with superhuman speed. Rocks pounded at their shields hard enough to push them back. She couldn't grab a psychic hand onto them directly through their Shield Charms, but there were gaps in their coverage—she made sure of that. Green light flashed from one of their wands, but an actual wooden shield leapt into the path of the beam and exploded. And nearly the same instant, an axe hurled end-over-end and buried itself in that same Death Eater's shoulder. Another one tripped as his own shoes tore themselves off and beat him about the head.

With their defences broken, they went down hard and fast. Blood spurted. Rock met bone with a loud crack. The pounding continued until well after they stopped moving, and Matilda finally dropped to her knees.

She heard rapid footsteps approaching, and a voice as anguished as her own.

Susan came staggering back from the corridor, a thousand-yard stare on her face. She and Oliver Wood had gone to investigate the scream. It had sounded like someone young—too young to be fighting here, and they knew Beatrice Haywood was supposed to be down that way. But her shock when she returned was surprising even in the heat of battle.

Hannah jumped up and ran to her. "Susie, are you okay?" she asked her friend.

"I…y-yeah," she managed.

"What happened?"

"It was bad, Hannah. Haywood was already dead. It was just Honey against three Death Eaters. Oliver and I couldn't get a clear shot…"

Hannah gasped. "They killed Matilda?"

Susan shook her head.

"Susan, what happened?" Hannah asked insistently.

"I'm still not sure what I saw. All I know is, never, ever make Honey angry."

"Honey…? You're saying Matilda killed the Death Eaters?"

"There wasn't anyone else there who could've done it."

"But she always seemed so sweet," Hannah said. "Sure, she pranked Umbridge and stuff, but…She's only fourteen. She shouldn't even be here!"

"And she killed three Death Eaters all by herself. Maybe she got the drop on them, but it was brutal."

"That bad?"

"…We might have trouble identifying the bodies," said Susan.

"Merlin!" Hannah just couldn't imagine little Matilda doing something like that. Sure, she was a whiz with wandless magic. She could maybe guess how it had been done, but the image didn't make any sense in her head.

Matilda finally came to the Great Hall, walking slowly. She was being led by a tall woman with long, black hair and a green scarf, who had her arm around her shoulders.

Half a dozen wands popped up and pointed at her.

The woman put her arms up. "Whoa! Chill out! I'm on your side!" she said. "Seriously, how many Death Eaters are wearing a school scarf? I thought this would be a clue."

"It's okay," Matilda said, her voice barely audible. "She's Bea—Beatrice's friend. She's clean."

Oliver Wood appeared behind the pair, carrying Beatrice's body. She was dirty, but visibly not that battered. It might have been the Killing curse that got her. Penny, her older sister, raced over and held her, breaking down in tears.

Not able to help anything there, Hannah brought Matilda over to where the impromptu healers were set up.

"Matilda, I'm sorry," she said. "The Death Eaters over there—?"

A fierce look showed through the tears on the younger girl's face. "They won't be hurting anyone anymore."

"You did?" Hannah said. "But how?"

Matilda looked around absently at the rubble strewn on the floor. She stopped and thought for a minute, then said, "The same thing I did the last time I faced a murderer: threw stuff at them until they stopped fighting."

Hannah's eyes widened as she tried to jibe that statement with Susan's story, and once the pieces more-or-less fell into place, she decided Susan was right: never make Matilda Honey angry.

Matilda was a little out of it after that, although she wasn't sure if it was because of what she'd already witnessed and even done, or because of how strange things soon became.

Not long afterwards, Voldemort called a truce, asking Harry Potter to come face him directly. That ended disastrously, if not entirely unexpectedly, when Harry came back dead. And then…Matilda didn't understand what happened after that. The cavalry arrived from Hogsmeade, and as brutal as the battle had been before, the Death Eaters practically folded when reinforcements arrived. Then, when Voldemort was the only one left, Harry showed up alive again, and they had a confrontation that looked more like something out of a movie. Harry was talking about things people said later he couldn't possibly have known, claimed to be the owner of the Elder Wand, which was a literal fairy tale, and then managed to reflect Voldemort's Killing Curse back at him.

And then it was over. Voldemort had died at sunrise, and by lunchtime, people said they already had a new Minister for Magic, one Harry Potter personally vouched for. The Death Eaters' influence had broken nationwide in just a few hours.

Susan sat beside her at what had been the blasted-out Hufflepuff Table once the initial celebration died down. "Hey, Honey," she said. "Sorry I zoned out on you earlier. It freaked me out seeing what you did back there. I did try to help…How are you doing?"

"I don't know. It doesn't quite feel real."

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

"It was horrible seeing…seeing Beatrice like that," Matilda said. "After that, it's like everything went mad."

"We won, though," said Susan.

She shrugged. "Mad in a good way, but still mad. The Elder Wand? Snape was a…a double agent or something? Not to mention Harry was supposed to be dead."

"Well, I'm sure glad he's not."

"I know. I know," Matilda said. "I'm happy we won…I just feel like I'm over my quota of six impossible things before breakfast."