'Potter, Granger, come with me.'

Harry and Hermione looked up from their dinner to see Snape standing over them, looking worried about something.

'Now.'

The two of them stood up and shrugged confusedly at Neville and Ginny before following Snape out of the Great Hall. Snape spoke not a word as they descended the staircase into the dungeons. Snape led them into his office before casting several privacy charms on the door.

'You have been keeping up with practicing your spellwork in between our lessons, I hope?' Snape asked tersely.

'We practice every day, sir,' Harry replied. It was not far from the truth.

Snape nodded approvingly. 'The Dark Lord is planning something Sunday. He has instructed me to pass the word of a possible dementor attack that morning against muggles to the Headmaster. I am under the impression, however, that he has more planned. He seems eager for a distraction to accomplish…something…'

Hermione looked pensive. 'This Sunday…' She gasped suddenly, her face rapidly paling. 'It's a Hogsmeade weekend! Do you reckon…?'

'I cannot put it past the Dark Lord to directly attack students to strike a blow against the Headmaster,' said Snape.

'Does Dumbledore know about this?'

Snape nodded again. 'He has been told of my suspicions.'

'And did he cancel the Hogsmeade trip?' Hermione demanded.

Snape shook his head. 'The Headmaster…refused. He believed that he should not cancel a Hogsmeade trip without ironclad evidence that an attack is going to happen. He, I believe, is trying to cover up the war and maintain a façade of normality, for the students, at least.'

Harry growled. 'So he's as bad as Fudge.'

'There is an…uncanny resemblance in their actions,' Snape conceded. 'I cannot force the Headmaster to change his mind, as misguided and foolish as his actions are.'

'He's using the students as bait!' Hermione shrieked.

'That is…one possible motivation,' Snape said pensively. 'The Headmaster is known for making…sacrifices…that he and only he feels necessary for his plans.'

Snape sighed. 'I can only ask that you do your best to protect the students, Potter, Granger. It will take time for the teachers to respond to any attack. The two of you are now more skilled in offensive magic than perhaps any other in the student body. I ask you to put those skills to use.'

Harry nodded grimly, Snape's compliment lost in the gravity of what could unfold Sunday morning. 'We will do our best, sir. If the Headmaster neglects his duty and endangers the students entrusted to him, then…it's our duty to protect them.'

Snape was silent for a long minute. 'You are your mother's son, Potter,' he whispered finally.

Harry nodded, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Hermione changed the topic in time.

'What about the Aurors, Professor?' she asked. 'We can ask Amelia Bones to dispatch a few to Hogsmeade on Sunday to reinforce the school.'

'That would be…prudent,' Snape said slowly. 'However, the Headmaster has all the Floos monitored. Unless you have a private means of communication, I do not think it is wise to risk openly contradicting the Headmaster. He has the power to make your lives more difficult, as you have no doubt found out already.'

'We do, Professor,' Hermione said, smiling a little. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her enchanted mirror. She looked into it and said firmly, 'Amelia Bones'.

Immediately, Amelia's face appeared in the mirror, taking on a frightened expression at once. 'Emergency?' she demanded.

'Of sorts,' Hermione replied, her face mirroring Amelia's expression. 'Professor Snape believes that there will be an attack in Hogsmeade on Sunday by the Death Eaters.'

Amelia frowned. 'We've already received word from Albus that there will be a dementor attack on that same day. Do you mean to say that…that is just a distraction for the main attack?'

And then, the truth clicked into place in Harry's head. 'No,' he said into the mirror. 'They're both distractions. Voldemort is planning to go after the Prophecy on Sunday. It makes sense! Tie up the Ministry's resources with the dementor attack, then tie up the Order's resources at Hogsmeade. That'll leave him free to infiltrate the Ministry and get the Prophecy.'

Amelia looked more frightened than ever. 'Voldemort is planning a three-pronged attack?'

'I don't know for sure, but it would make sense,' Harry replied.

'Fuck,' Amelia cursed into the mirror. 'If Voldemort plans on using the entire force of dementors that he acquired at Azkaban, then it will take a good chunk of our Hit-Wizard and Auror resources to deal with…add to that the possible Hogsmeade attack…and needing to defend the Ministry…'

'We'll send a number of Hit-Wizards reinforced by a handful of Aurors to reinforce Hogsmeade,' Amelia said finally. 'We must. But if what you say is true, we'll be stretched incredibly thin as it is… My question is, why did Dumbledore not call off the Hogsmeade trip? Surely he must've come to the same conclusion as you.'

'We don't know,' Hermione answered with a scowl. 'He seems to be under the impression that he shouldn't take action unless he is absolutely certain something's going to happen. I have a feeling he wants to use the students as bait.'

'What!' Amelia shrieked. 'I'm going up to the school right this minute and arresting him.'

Harry sighed. 'You can't, Amelia. That'll leave the students even more vulnerable. Voldemort still fears Dumbledore. We have to keep him here for the time being whether we like it or not, whatever idiotic decisions he makes…'

'I don't like it.'

'Neither do I,' Hermione said. 'But having Aurors on hand on Sunday is the best we can do.'


To say that the carriage ride into Hogsmeade Sunday morning was uneasy would be a criminal understatement. The seven barely spoke besides going over the plan once more. They were dressed oddly for Hogwarts students. Instead of robes, Hermione had provided all of them with loose-fitting muggle jeans and coats, insisting that it would be easier to move in and avoid tripping.

'We'll have to split up,' Hermione repeated. 'If we all stay as one group, we can't cover as much ground. Harry and I will stick together. Neville, go with Daphne. Luna, Ginny, Susan, you'll be a group of three.'

It was a mark of the gravity of the situation that not one of them complained as Hermione repeated again and again their battle plan.

When they arrived at Hogsmeade, they were greeted by a shaggy black dog.

'Sirius,' Harry breathed, 'Is that you?'

The dog gave a woof and wagged its tail.

'Who else is here? Moony?'

Sirius gave another woof.

'What about the Aurors?'

Sirius woofed four times. Harry took it to mean that Amelia had stationed four Aurors here this morning. Far too few, Harry thought, but if that was all she could spare, then it was better than nothing.

Harry and Hermione embraced everyone else before splitting off. 'Be careful, everyone,' Hermione said emotionally. The others nodded with grim looks on their faces.

Harry and Hermione followed Sirius in the direction of the Hog's Head. Standing in front of the pub were two people wearing Auror robes. Harry recognized one immediately as Tonks. The other one was an older man with greying, straw-coloured hair.

'Is that Moony?' Hermione gasped, surprised. Harry inspected the man more closely. The scratches on his face and the unkempt hair were the unmistakable features of Remus Lupin.

'You're an Auror now, Remus?' Harry called.

'Only in appearance,' Remus replied. 'Amelia let me work with the Aurors and wear their robes and everything, but I'm not getting paid for this. I'm just volunteering. It was better than sitting at home drinking Firewhiskey all day.'

Hermione nodded. 'Be careful, Moony.'

'Same to you,' Remus said gravely.

Harry and Hermione walked around the village for the next hour, hands palming their wands in their pockets, waiting for something to happen. But as the clock passed ten, all was still peaceful. Too peaceful.

And then, there was a sudden pop of apparition and a shriek. Harry's and Hermione's wands shot into their hands and they charged towards the source of the sound. But as they went, more pops of apparition came from in front of them, behind them, and to either side.

Harry pulled Hermione into an alcove, out of the direct line of sight. Harry risked a peek out onto the High Street. Off in the distance, several black-cloaked and hooded wizards began appearing from side alleys.

Hermione pulled Harry into a passionate kiss. 'I love you,' she breathed.

'I love you too,' Harry whispered, squeezing her. 'Let's go.'

Harry and Hermione left their alcove. Death Eaters were still emerging, their wands raised and pointing at terrorized students.

They ran right into Ginny, Luna, and Susan. 'Get the students out of here,' he ordered, 'We'll hold them off.'

'Harry – '

'Go, Ginny! Luna, Susan, do as I say!'

The three girls nodded and shot off, shouting instructions to the frightened students. The Death Eaters, seeing resistance, raised their wands and pointed them at the students.

Multiple green jets of light issued from their wands and hit several of the retreating students in the back. The students who were hit fell to the ground. Their classmates tried to help them up, but Harry knew that it was no use. The Death Eaters were murdering children in cold blood.

'Confringo!' Hermione shouted, aiming in the middle of a group of Death Eaters. They did not see the spell coming and were hit by both the blast and the shrapnel coming from the Curse exploding off the cobblestone street. Three Death Eaters fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

They had drawn the attention of the Death Eaters away from the students, but now, it was on them. Harry pulled Hermione down as several curses soared over their heads. Harry levelled his at a group of four Death Eaters advancing on them, aiming at chest height.

'Sectumsempra!' he bellowed, waving his wand in a wide arc. Instantly, deep, bloody gashes appeared in their robes. The Death Eaters clutched their chests in pain, but Harry knew it was no use. Without the counter-curse, there was nothing stopping them from bleeding to death.

'Harry, move!' Hermione shrieked. Several spells soared in their direction. Hermione pulled Harry by the hand to one side of the street and conjured a stone barricade, temporarily shielding them from spell fire from one direction.

A Death Eater emerged from an alley behind Harry. The moment he saw Hermione, he pointed his wand directly at her face. 'Cru-'

'Avada Kedavra!' Harry shouted in fury. The Death Eater was surprised and paused in his casting, spelling his doom. Harry's Killing Curse hit him in the middle of the stomach, and he was dead before he hit the ground.

Harry popped up over their impromptu cover and sent another Blasting Curse at the group of Death Eaters in front. The Curse hit one of the men in the stomach. Entrails and limbs flew everywhere as the man exploded. Two of his companions next to him were knocked to the ground by the force of the blast.

Harry had no idea where the other five were, but by the looks of it, they were fighting back. Death Eaters were falling left and right to curses of all sorts. Off in the distance, Harry saw two red-robed Aurors battling against a group of three Death Eaters. Harry wondered if they were Remus and Tonks. Whoever it was, Harry hoped that they would be all right.

Suddenly, their cover was Vanished and a volley of spells came their way. Harry ducked to the ground, Hermione next to him, and the spells soared over their heads. Harry shot a series of Blasting Curses at the ground in front of him, creating a cloud of debris behind which he and Hermione were able to retreat into an alley.

'We need to instil some terror and cause some disorganization in their ranks,' Hermione panted. 'Organ-Liquefaction and petrol curses. Come on.'

Harry poked his head out around the corner and took aim before casting an Organ-Liquefaction curse at one of the hooded men. The moment the Curse hit, the man began howling in pain as his internal organs turned to liquid and began rapidly boiling off in his body cavity. His stomach exploded outwards, and a cloud of red steam and bits of what used to be his intestines flew through the air. His companions in his immediate vicinity turned in what Harry presumed to be fear as the man sank to his knees, clutching at his torso.

Hermione followed up with two casts of her petrol-conjuring curse. Her targets were both soaked in flammable fuel oil and a split second later, both set on fire. They, like Harry's victim, shrieked in pain and tried fruitlessly to bat at their bodies to douse the flames.

Harry and Hermione fired several more of the 'terror curses' into the crowd of Death Eaters. After a few more of their comrades met grisly ends, they began to scatter, scurrying away in fright. It looked like they had done it. They had routed the Death Eaters.

And then, Harry heard a hated voice.

'Stand and fight!' Bellatrix Black shrieked. 'Fight for the Dark Lord! Stand and fight, cowards!'


'This way!' Ginny shouted. 'Third-years first! Into the carriages! As many as can fit! Quickly!'

Off to her right, Luna and Susan were helping terrified students into carriages. They were stuffing ten, eleven students into carriages designed for eight at most. Once a carriage was filled, Luna bade the thestral pulling it to set off as quickly as possible.

'That's the last of the third-years!' Susan yelled over the din. 'Fourth-years, let's go!'

A Death Eater popped out from Ginny's left side and fired a Killing Curse directly into the mass of students. Ginny wheeled around, eyes burning with hatred. 'Sectumsempra!' she cast, swiping her wand down. A deep gash appeared in the Death Eater's front, extending all the way from his chest to his groin. The man fell forward into the crowd of gathered students, dead.

'You heard Susan!' Ginny shouted. 'Fourth-years, in the carriages! Fifth-years, get ready, you'll be next!'

'What about you, Ginny?' a fourth-year that she did not know asked.

'I'll be fine,' she assured him. 'I'll be more useful where I am. Go, quickly, don't loiter!'

Susan and Luna hurried to stuff as many of the fourth-year students into the waiting carriages as they could. Over the rabble of students, Ginny could hear the sounds of battle. Somewhere out there, Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Daphne were holding off the Death Eaters. She knew that they could handle themselves, but that did not stop her worrying for their safety, especially up against such a numerically superior enemy.

Another Death Eater jumped out of one of the alleyways. Before he could do more than raise his wand, however, Ginny had exploded his chest with a powerful Blasting Curse.

'Fourth-years clear!' she heard Luna say. 'Fifth-years!'

'Fifth-years!' Ginny repeated, 'On the carriages! Don't argue! Don't stay and fight! Go!'

'Ginny, do you need help?' Dean asked as he was pushed past by the waves of evacuees.

'Go, Dean! Don't stick around. Just go! I can handle myself!'

Dean's expression told Ginny that he did not much like the idea, but before he could protest, he was shoved past her by the mass of students trying to get out of the village. She caught sight of Ron and Lavender, who were shoving their way past other students, bowling them over in an attempt to get to the carriages first.

'Stop!' she bellowed. 'Stop pushing! You're making it harder for everyone else to get out!'

Neither Ron nor Lavender paid her any heed. Ginny turned her wand on her own brother and, with a pang of guilt, whispered, 'Imperio.' A second later, she cast the same Curse on Lavender. Through the Imperius Curse, she ordered them to stop trampling and make their way to the carriages in an orderly fashion, and they were forced to obey.

Susan and Luna began stuffing the fifth-year students into the thestral-drawn carriages. The carriages that they had sent off with the first of the third-years were returning along the road, Ginny saw. That was fortunate timing, for there were not enough parked carriages to bring back all the sixth- or seventh-year students.

Cho Chang pushed her way through the crowd and stopped in front of Ginny. 'Do you need help?' she asked.

'Get the students into the carriages,' Ginny replied. 'Without a stampede.'

Cho cast a Sonorus Charm on herself. 'Sixth-year students, line up behind the fifth-years!' her magically amplified voice boomed. 'Seventh-years, line up behind them. Do not push, do not fight, or you will be subdued by force! If you are of age, you may stay and fight, if not, you must leave. No arguments! Move!'

'Thanks,' Ginny muttered. Cho nodded and hurried away to shepherd the oversee the evacuation of the remaining fifth-years while Ginny shepherded the sixth-years into a somewhat organized queue. The mob was thinning now, and Ginny caught glimpses of the battle through the gaps between students.

Two groups of red-robed Aurors were battling separate groups of Death Eaters. Several of them were on fire, no doubt Harry's or Hermione's work. Ginny saw with a pang of horror that there were more than ten bodies in Hogwarts robes lying on the ground, interspersed between at least double that amount in Death Eaters. For the most part, the Death Eaters' backs were turned to the evacuating students, and they were engaging targets near the centre of the town. Exploding spell fire had created a veritable dust storm, and it was difficult to see more than a few metres into the cloud.

Ginny turned back towards the carriages. The sixth-years were boarding the carriages now. Cho had her wand levelled threateningly at the students, forcing them to maintain decorum and preventing pushing or trampling.

Ginny chanced a glance at the battle. It seemed like the Death Eaters were scattering. Some were running away into the side alleys, others ducking to the side of the High Street.

Then, a horrible, sadistic, woman's voice cut through the noise, and all the movement stopped. 'Stand and fight!' the voice shouted. 'Fight for the Dark Lord! Stand and fight, cowards!'


'That's my sixth!' Neville shouted.

'Weak,' Daphne scoffed. 'I'm on my eighth.'

'Show-off,' Neville muttered. He fired another Killing Curse into a group of Death Eaters. It found its mark, and another one of the black-robed men fell to the ground, dead. 'Seven.'

A green jet of light flew right at Daphne. Her back was turned to it as she was busy casting another curse at a group of Death Eaters in the opposite direction. Neville grabbed her and pulled her into a side alley, out of the way of the Killing Curse. It exploded right over their heads, showering them in shards of stone.

'Thanks,' she muttered. 'I'm still winning, though.'

'Not for long you're not,' Neville said. He turned towards the group of Death Eaters from where the Killing Curse had come from. 'Confringo!'

Neville's Blasting Curse exploded in the dead centre of the group. All three of them were showered in shrapnel and blood flew everywhere, forming a red mist. When the air cleared, all three were lying on the ground, their stomachs torn open and missing limbs.

Daphne shuddered in his arms. Neville had not realized that he was still holding her. 'Good shot.'

'That's ten,' Neville said. He felt a sort of vindictive triumph. Each dead Death Eater was another drop in the chalice of vengeance for his mother and father. He would make them proud today.

Neville heard several shrieks of pain. He peaked out and saw a distance away two Death Eaters on fire and another falling to his knees in pain.

'That'll be Harry and Hermione with their "terror curses",' Daphne murmured. She aimed her wand at another pair of Death Eaters and said, 'Sectumsempra,' waving her wand in an arc. Both Death Eaters fell to the ground, blood gushing like a fountain from their necks.

'We're even now,' she snarked with a smirk.

More howls of pain came as more Death Eaters were set on fire or had their organs liquefied. They began scattering. Neville and Daphne shot several Blasting Curses at those retreating, catching a few of them and blowing off several limbs.

Suddenly, Neville heard a voice that he had only heard in his very worst nightmares.

'Stand and fight! Fight for the Dark Lord! Stand and fight, cowards!'

Bellatrix Lestrange.

'Neville, are you okay?' Daphne asked, concerned at what must have been a slack or fearful look on his face. He schooled his features to a look of grim determination. This was his chance.

'I'm not,' he replied honestly. 'Do you know who that woman is?'

Daphne shook her head. 'A Death Eater?'

'Yes, but not just any Death Eater. That's Bellatrix Lestrange. She's the very worst of them. She…she tortured my parents to insanity. I'm going to kill her. Wait here.'

'Are you insane?' Daphne hissed. 'You're not going alone against the most savage Death Eater of the lot. Come on. Together.'

Neville shook his head. 'She's savage. She considers it fun to torture and murder.'

'Which makes you even more foolish to go after her alone!' Daphne shot back. 'Now isn't the time to be a Gryffindor, Neville. Don't ever pick a fight you don't have to take unless you have the advantage. Let's go!'

Before Neville could argue, she had left the safety of the alley. Neville had no choice but to follow her as she went into the fight.

'Bellatrix!' Neville shouted.

The bitch turned around with a horrible smile on her face. 'Is that ickle baby Longbottom?' she crooned. 'I haven't seen you in more than a decade! How are your parents doing?'

'They'll be better now that they're about to be avenged!' Neville spat. He raised his wand. 'Avada Kedavra!'

Bellatrix's smirk turned into a sneer as she sidestepped the Unforgivable. 'Using Unforgivables, Neville? Your parents wouldn't approve, would they?'

'I'm pretty sure they'd be cheering me on if they could,' Neville sneered right back, firing another Killing Curse in Bellatrix's direction.

Out of the corner of his eye, Neville saw Harry and Hermione emerge from an alley, wands in the air. 'No!' he shouted. 'Get back! This is my fight! She's mine!'

'Are you sure about that, Longbottom?' Bellatrix taunted.

'Oh, yes, I'm sure,' Neville said darkly. 'Crucio!'

Bellatrix jumped aside. She was not playing around anymore now that Neville was throwing around dangerous spells. 'You should be taught how to use Unforgivables before using them for real, Longbottom. Let me give you an example. Crucio!'

Daphne pulled Neville out of the way of the curse and attacked back with a Blasting Curse of her own. She cast a series of Blasting Curses and Stunning Spells at Bellatrix, keeping her dodging while expending little energy of her own. Neville had a fleeting thought that there was something distinctly hot about it all, her face screwed up in concentration, her long, black hair flying behind her as she casted like a vengeful Valkyrie.

Neville refocused on the fight, though. He copied Daphne and used a series of Stunners, Disarming Charms, and minor curses to wear down Bellatrix. The bitch was forced to continually jump, roll, and dodge, never once having enough time to cast a spell of her own.

Bellatrix barely managed to jump out of the way of one of Neville's Blasting Curses. If it had hit, it would have torn her right leg off at the hip. The dark witch's face twisted into a snarl. Neville could tell that she was getting irritated, and he continued pushing her buttons. Harry had lectured time and time again that an irritated enemy was an enemy prone to make a rash mistake. He only needed to wait for the right opening to cast the lethal curse…

'Rabastan, Rodolphus, Dolohov!' Bellatrix suddenly shrieked. 'Kill them!'

And suddenly, three new Death Eaters leapt out of a side alley to join the fight. Neville felt a surge of fresh fury roll over him as he saw the faces of two more of his parents' torturers, but also a sense of determination. The House of Longbottom was going to get its vengeance today.

'Keep Bellatrix and the others distracted. I want to kill Rodolphus,' Neville murmured to Daphne. 'I only need a second. He's a squib.'

Daphne nodded and cast a scattered series of spells at Rabastan, Dolohov, and Bellatrix. The three of them were forced to dodge, and Neville had his opening.

'Oleoarde!' he bellowed, pointing his wand at Rodolphus, choosing Hermione's petrol-conjuring curse as a fitting punishment for the animal. The now-squib Death Eater was caught off guard and tried to raise his wand to block, but as much as he was in denial about his squib status, the reality was that he had as much magic in him as Filch. Rodolphus was drenched from head to toe with conjured petrol, and immediately after, set on fire.

Rodolphus screamed in pain as he was burned alive. Bellatrix tried to turn her wand on him to extinguish him, but she was forced to cast a Shield Charm to stop a Stunning Spell from Neville that nearly hit her right in the face. Neither of the other Death Eaters were able to do anything to save him, either, for they were too busy dodging Neville's or Daphne's spells to give any attention to their dying compatriot.

'You murdered my husband!' Bellatrix shouted. 'I'll kill you!'

'Not if I kill you first!' Neville yelled back. To prove his point, he cast a Blasting Curse at Bellatrix's feet. She ducked to one side, barely avoiding being blown to pieces.

Rabastan had managed to get a spell off. A Killing Curse flew through the dust in his direction. He jumped out of the way deftly. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Harry and Hermione fighting against a group of four to five other Death Eaters. The fact that they were on their own did not deter Neville, however, and he returned fire with a Killing Curse of his own in the direction of where it had come from. A small explosion told Neville that he had missed.

He cursed under his breath, but this was not the time to sulk. Through the dust cloud, a line of purple fire came straight towards Daphne. Neville recognized the spell as one that had nearly killed Hermione in her 'old timeline'.

He had no time to pull her out of the way. 'Protego!' he bellowed. A powerful, shimmering shield sprang up in front of both of them. The purple fire hit the shield and was absorbed by it. Daphne made a small 'oof' sound, clutched at her chest, but otherwise remained standing.

'You okay?'

'I'm fine,' Daphne replied. 'Hurt a little. Thanks.'

Two more Killing Curses flew in their direction, taking advantage of their momentary distraction. Neville jumped out of the way of both before replying with a Blasting Curse of his own. There was a masculine shout. Neville looked in the direction of the sound. The third Death Eater – Dolohov – was clutching his left hand – or what was left of it. Neville's curse had torn it clean off at the wrist.

'You filthy monkeys!' Bellatrix shouted. 'Scum! Blood-traitors! The Dark Lord will punish the lot of you when he ascends to his rightful throne! Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!'

Three Killing Curses flew in sequence from Bellatrix's wand. Neville jumped on Daphne, pinning her to the ground as the three curses passed a foot over their prone forms.

'Liquefacite!' Daphne shouted, pointing her wand in the general direction of the Death Eaters, holding it barely an inch from the ground. There was a yelp, which turned into a shriek, then a howl. Neville looked up. Rabastan Lestrange was on the ground, hitting himself on the chest and stomach with his fists as his internal organs began to boil.

'That was my brother-in-law you killed, you filthy blood-traitor whore!' Bellatrix shouted in rage. 'You've just killed the last member of a family older than your entire line! When the Dark Lord hears of this, he will – '

'Ah, but dear cousin Bella, the Dark Lord won't hear about this, will he?' came a new, scarily conversational-sounding voice. Neville looked up. Sirius Black was standing a short distance away, flanked by two women – a blond-haired one on his left and a brown-haired on his right.

Bellatrix sneered, but Neville could see that she looked frightened. 'Cissy,' she spat, 'What are you doing with the blood-traitors?'

'I don't appreciate you calling my sister and my cousin that name, Bella,' the blond woman – Cissy – said with a frown.

'Your sister?' Bellatrix shrieked. 'She's not our sister! That tart hasn't been our sister since she married that Mudblood!'

'I consider her my sister,' Cissy said coldly. 'She cared for me when I had nowhere else to go, when I expected no one else to show me any kindness. If you don't consider her family, Bella, then I consider you my enemy.'

'You're better than this, Cissy. You, a blood-traitor?'

Cissy fully sneered now. 'You're right. I am better than this. I'm better than you. I'm not blind. I've learned that blood means nothing. Lucius, a pure-blood. Stupid, cold, and cared nothing but achieving his material ends. Ted, a muggle-born, was nothing but kind to me, even though I didn't deserve a fraction of his kindness. So, Bella, are you my sister or my enemy?'

'I will not call a whore like you my sister!' Bellatrix cried. 'You betrayed me! You betrayed our family!'

'On the contrary, Bella,' Cissy replied calmly. 'You are the one who betrayed our family.'

Bellatrix let out a roar of fury. She levelled her wand at the brown-haired woman. 'I've always said it was important to prune our diseased family trees. Avada Kedavra!'

Sirius Black pulled the woman aside, out of the way of the Killing Curse. Neville pulled Daphne up and the two of them re-joined the battle alongside Sirius Black and Bellatrix's two sisters.

'How dare you!' Cissy shouted. 'You bitch! You want to murder your own sister?'

'She's no sister of mine!' Bellatrix sneered. 'Neither are you!'

'Then you are not mine!' Cissy shot back. 'You are my enemy! Confringo!'

Bellatrix stepped out of the way. Dolohov, too, had re-joined the fight. The battle was now descending into chaos. Spells were flying everywhere as five battled two. Neville did not dare use any lethal spells. There was no way of ensuring that he would hit an enemy, not a friend, in the chaos.

'Crucio!' a raspy male voice bellowed. It must have been Dolohov. A female scream.

'Daph!' Neville yelled, bolting towards the source of the sound. Dolohov was standing over Daphne, his wand trained on her, and she was twitching and screaming in pain.

And Neville saw red. The Death Eater's back was turned to him, but he could see in his mind the leering grin of enjoyment on his face as he tortured an innocent girl.

'Sectumsempra!' Neville yelled, aiming at Dolohov's neck with his wand. The Death Eater did not even realize what was happening before his head completely severed from his body and his decapitated corpse fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

Neville knelt down next to Daphne. 'Are you okay?' he asked frantically.

'Been better,' she replied shakily.

Neville took her hand and squeezed it tightly. 'Stay here. Don't exert yourself.'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' Daphne said with a smile. 'You win this round, Nev.'

'As expected,' Neville said, forgetting about the battle for a moment and letting a sense of joviality return.

Daphne snorted. 'Don't get so full of yourself, Longbottom. I will beat you one day.'

There was a cackling laugh from behind him. 'Longbottom, forgetting about the battle to check on your blood-traitor gwrlfriend?' Bellatrix taunted in her baby voice.

Neville cursed under his breath. He had let his guard down, forgotten about the fight when Daphne was in trouble. And now Bellatrix had caught him unarmed and vulnerable.

He mentally surveyed his options and found that he did not have any. Bellatrix probably had her wand trained on him right now, and there was no way he could turn around and defend himself without getting his head blown off…

'Looks like this is the end of the Longbottom line,' Bellatrix said sadistically. 'Not a huge loss to the wizarding world, I should say. Confr-'

'No!' two female voices shouted in unison. 'Stupefy!'

And there was a crashing sound as Bellatrix fell to the ground, Stunned. Behind her stood her two sisters, both their wands trained on where the Death Eater had been standing.


A/N: Neville gets his revenge and Narcissa's redemption arc is complete. This has been my favourite chapter to write of them all.

There are nine chapters remaining in this story. I hope to get them out by the end of next week, time permitting since next week is my finals week. To bring you up to speed on my other projects, The Flame of Resistance has been uploaded to Chapter 8 and is written up to Chapter 22. Also, I have just uploaded From the World Beyond, my Jily Meets Harmony story. For those of you who have read Life and Fate, From the World Beyond will have a similar tone. For those of you who have not, do check it out if you like post-war stories with a lot of fluff (though appropriate angst), no bashing, and a resurrected James, Lily, and Sirius.