Disclaimer: all HP characters belong to JKR

Fear and Self Loathing in Wiltshire

Chapter 32

"Imperio!"

A burst of light shot from the tip of Theo's wand; hitting Pansy directly in the chest. For a moment in time Draco dared to hope that it hadn't worked. That maybe Theo was just disturbed, and not actually loyal to what was left of Voldemort's cause. Maybe he hadn't truly meant it; for you had to mean a forgivable to cast one successfully after all.

However, to both his and Hermione's horror, Pansy's eyes began to turn a bit glossy. Her hand immediately returned to the wand in her holster, and it was out before either of them could disarm her.

"Go on Parkinson." Theo egged her on. "Kill Draco's little mudblood. You know you want to."

Everyone in the room knew it had not just been a suggestion, and Pansy would have no choice but to do his bidding. Not to mention it was no secret that the two women had never gotten along in the first place.

Without a second of delay, Pansy shot a killing curse directly at Hermione's face, but Draco was much too quick for her. He yanked Hermione by the elbow to pull her out of harm's way; causing the flash of green to shatter the mirror on the wall behind them. At the precise moment the glass hit the floor he sent his own spell back at her, by way of a stunning jinx.

Not even a minute had passed between the three spells before Pansy Parkinson was laid out cold on the floor. Though her actions were not truly her own, stunning her had seemed the best option. At least this way no one would have to die.

Perhaps thinking too soon, it was with another quick spout of wand movement that Theo had cast an Incendio; causing the gauzy drapes behind Blaise to ignite. As the manor was already halfway burnt to the ground, the fire spread quickly; catching both Blaise's pant leg, and Pansy's hair on fire within seconds of each other.

His diversion successful, Theo sprang past them and out of the room. He knew better than to stay where he was, for he would end up captured and imprisoned for real this time. He also knew that a Gryffindor would proudly play the hero. She would give up on chasing him in favor of rescuing his incapacitated housemates instead.

"Aguamenti!" Hermione shouted as predicted, just as he threw open the door; letting even more smoke from the hallway into the room.

In her attempt to put the fire out before it could spread any further, poor Blaise ended up drenched from head to toe, but at least he was no longer in danger of third degree burns. The ends of Pansy's beautiful dark hair were singed quite badly, but she was not hurt otherwise.

By the time they turned around, Theo was long gone. He had run from the room to who knows where in his attempt to escape capture.

Now sure that both his friends and Hermione were out of danger, Draco grabbed her by the shoulder, and pressed a quick searing kiss to her lips; just in case it was their last. He did not wait for her to respond to it before he turned again; running toward the open door. "Get them to safety." He requested. "I'll meet you outside."

"Get them-Draco, wait, what?" She sputtered as she glanced from the open door to Blaise and then back again. "What about the horcruxes?"

By the time she was able to yell her question out, he too was long gone; chasing Theo into the burning castle. With a frustrated sigh and a whispered incantation, she waved her wand at Blaise in order to undo the sticking charm still keeping him bound to the chair. She might as well let him up now so he could help her with Pansy.

"Did that complete arsehole just abandon me?" She asked him while she waved one hand furiously toward the door, and her other at him in order to dry his clothing with her wand.

Blaise stood happily from the chair, immediately trying to stretch some of the kinks that had formed in his neck and back from sitting there for so long. "Looks that way." He replied, as the sound of his back cracking could be heard all the way across the room. "Is Potter in the house?"

Hermione muttered several expletives under her breath as she poked her head around the corner of the doorway. "Yes." She finally answered him.

"Well then I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that he's already taken care of those horcruxes then." Blaise tried to reassure her as he leaned down to check on Pansy. "Any chance you'd care to help me with her, so we can get out of here before we all die of smoke inhalation?"

She ended up stomping back toward him; scowling, though unsure of which man in particular it was directed at. "Might as well." She agreed, before hooking one of Pansy's arms over her shoulders.

Blaise followed suit, and they were able to carry the limp girls body comfortably between them. Her head lolled from side to side as they attempted to take the hall to the nearest exit.

"Don't worry about Draco." He finally spoke up, attempting to give her peace of mind as they walked. "He's survived this long, and through much worse. I'm sure now that he's finally got you, nothing Theo could ever do will stop him from making it back. Not when he knows you are waiting on him."

Hermione flashed him a small smile as they finally made it outside again. "Thanks Blaise. That's actually very reassuring."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry scrunched his eyes closed tightly out of reflex. The tiny glass shards in his eyes further obstructed his vision as he attempted to knock the mad witch off of him. He was expecting to get hit with another blow, or for her to begin hitting and scratching him with all her might, but what he hadn't expected was for cold bony fingers to slip around his throat and begin choking the life out of him.

He still couldn't reach his wand, try as he might, and as much as he hated to admit it she was pretty strong for a woman who had recently been dead for fourteen months. All of his attempts to knock her off him were unsuccessful, and it wasn't long before he felt himself begin to lose consciousness.

"This, Harry Potter." She seethed over the top of him, as he continued to try and pry her hands from his neck. "Is what you get for-"

What the rest of her sentence was going to be, he wasn't quite sure; as he suddenly felt her stiffen, and go quiet. He felt the air return to his lungs, and a moment later the entire weight of her body crumpled beside him to the floor.

"Ginny! Ron!" Confused, he called out for them with his eyes still closed.

A second later he felt the familiar touch of his fiance as she made him scoot to the side, and cradled his head in her hands to look him over. "It's okay, it's okay." She whispered, as she made quick work of looking his injuries over.

It took her less than a minute to have his glasses repaired, and the excess glass vanished from between his eyelids. A small dash of dittany at the end helped his cuts mend enough that he could finally open his eyes again. What he saw and heard when he did, was once again not what he was expecting.

On the floor beside him laid Bellatrix Lestrange, she was on her back and the handle of a small knife was sticking out of her chest. Her dress was stained with red, that only seemed to grow in size the longer he stared at it, and standing over all of them with Ron right behind her, was Andromeda Tonks.

"No." Andromeda growled in anguish. "That, sister, is what you get for taking my family from me."

Bellatrix gasped for breath as she stared up at her younger sister defiantly. "They were abominations." She rasped out. "That needed to be cleansed. I, unlike them, will continue to come back until the job is finished. Starting with-"

Andromeda cut her off by shooting another white cord out of the tip of her wand. The end of it wrapped itself around her neck; crushing her windpipe from the force of it. "That's where you're wrong Bella." She spat as she began to drag her sister toward the hall by her neck.

Bellatrix's fingers tried to claw at the rope, but like Fenrir Greyback she could not actually touch it. All of her attempts to free herself would be in vain.

"As you are about to discover, there is no one left to bring you back." Andromeda informed her as she continued to drag her sister along, Harry, Ron and Ginny not far behind.

It looked as if Bellatix wanted to scream at those words, but the blood loss was starting to have an effect on her. A minute later they arrived further down the hall then Harry, Ron, or Ginny had previously been, and they now stood before a smoldering banister that overlooked the first two floors below. The fire was raging, and the air was full of smoke, but Andromeda did not seem to notice.

"Where are the horcruxes Harry?" She finally asked him.

Not wanting to hinder his godson's grandmother's handling of the matter at hand, he answered her quickly and pointed his finger downward. "In her left side pocket."

Andromeda leaned down and fished the pouch out of Bellatrix's pocket before checking to make sure it contained all of the correct items. After a few seconds she looked satisfied, and flashed a very final, very Slytherin Esque smirk at her sister. "I won't be leaving any remains for you to be brought back with this time. But don't worry, at least this time you'll have company. Your husband and his brother are already waiting for you in hell."

With those final words she stood, and dumped the entire contents of the velvet pouch into the flames below them. The flames that originated from dragon's fire. The flames that burned hotter than fiendfyre. And the flames that would no doubt destroy the horcruxes on contact.

Bellatrix Lestrange's eyes flashed with rage as her arm extended out towards them; angry over the loss of her husband, but also attempting to will the coins to stop themselves from falling to their demise. It was clear that she knew that this was truly the end of the line for her now, especially without her wand.

Andromeda then leaned over her sister for one last time, and pulled the emerald encrusted dagger from her chest. Blood gushed from the wound, and a grotesque gurgle could be heard coming from Bellatrix's throat as she began to choke on her own blood.

"That was for my Ted." She whispered.

With another quick movement Andromeda brought the knife back down; plunging it straight into her sister's heart.

"And that was for my daughter."

Harry, Ginny, and Ron stood shocked to silence as they watched the sisters final moments together. And when it was clear that the light had gone out in Bellatrix Lestrange's eyes for the final time, Andromeda was the first to move.

She wiped a single tear from the corner of her eye as she turned toward them.

"Come on." She beckoned them forward as she checked their surroundings. "We need to move quickly if we are going to find my nephew and Miss Granger in time. It won't be long before this whole place comes down on top of us."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Impedimenta!"

Draco was hot on Theo's tail now, as they ran through the maze of hallways and staircases. He sent several hexes and jinxes in front of him; attempting to slow the other boy down. So far it had worked enough that he had almost caught up to him, but not enough to have stopped him completely.

He wasn't quite sure why he was so determined to bring him down this very moment, not when the castle they were in was currently burning to the ground. He knew he should stop and get out before it was too late, but his anger was festering in his chest, and overriding all common sense. Theo had betrayed him, kidnapped Blaise, imperioused Pansy, and attempted to kill Hermione.

"Bombarda!"

Boom!

Crack.

His last spell hit the floor at his target's ankles, the small explosion causing Theo to fall and roll the rest of the way down the staircase they were on, but only just as the ceiling gave way above him from structural damage.

Draco had to jump over the side of the railing to avoid getting crushed by the falling stone and rubble. Though he tried to end up on his feet in a crouched position, his landing was a little rocky and he ended up tumbling over onto his backside.

Most of the debris landed where he had been seconds earlier, but a large piece of marble bounded over the side of the staircase after him; landing directly on top of his leg, and crushing the lower half of his body to the floor.

Draco cried out in pain as he tried to unpin himself from the floor so he could stand, but it was no use. The large natural stone was too heavy for him to move on his own.

In the fall, his wand had clattered to the floor a few feet away from him, and unfortunately was just out of reach. He let out a frustrated growl before twisting his upper body; extending and stretching his arm out as far as it would go. He hoped if he could move his body in just the right way that he'd be able to reach it and free himself.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

When the tips of his fingers were only a few centimetres away from the handle, there was a strange but familiar voice that accompanied the sounds of the footsteps clicking across the stone floor. It muttered a disarming spell from above him, followed by the swish of his wand flying straight into the older mans awaiting fist.

With a sharp intake of breath, Draco sat back up as far as he could with the piece of marble still crushing his leg to the floor. Who he saw, was not someone he had ever dreamed of messing with, and an intense sense of dread settled in his chest. He was in for it now. The sadistic bastard who gave even his Aunt Bella a run for her money stared down at him menacingly.

Draco tilted his head back to look into the face of Theodore Nott Sr.; who's son had finally picked himself up off the ground and joined him at his side. They approached him calmly, though not unlike a pair of cats stalking their next prey.

"Good work son." The elder death eater spoke as fondly as he had ever heard from him before. "I'm proud of you. You played your part wonderfully."

"Thank you father." Theo smiled pridefully before flashing Draco an arrogant smirk.

Draco attempted to keep his emotions masked, but inside he was starting to panic. He was now trapped wandless inside a burning building with a homicidal maniac and his traitorous son.

"Now, it's time to get our revenge on the one who sold out our hideout to the ministry in exchange for a position with the aurors." Nott Sr. continued, holding Draco's wand handle out toward his son. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Theo took Draco's wand from his father, grinning madly as he positioned it in his wand hand. "Gladly." He said as he stepped forward.

Draco pushed on the rock even harder, knowing that it wouldn't budge, but hoping it would anyway. He knew he didn't have much time, and it was the only thing he could think to do in the moment.

"Crucio!"

Intense pain filled every bone and muscle in his body as another feral scream ripped from his throat. He threw his upper body backwards as he writhed in agony. What lasted less than a minute felt like hours until Theo finally released him from the unforgivable.

"That's enough Theo." He vaguely heard Nott Sr. say as he battled consciousness. "Normally I'd let you have your fun, but as you can see we don't have a lot of time until this castle crumbles down on top of us. Finish him now, and we can have some fun with someone else later. I'll even transfigure them if you like."

Theo looked a little disappointed, but nodded in compliance anyway. "Alright." He agreed as he positioned his wand again, looking him straight in the eye.

For the second time in the past twelve hours Draco stared death in the face, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it from taking him. As much as he had always felt jealous of Potter, he had never envied him and his knack for surviving the killing curse as much as he did in this moment. One of his old housemates was about to use it on him, and with his very own wand.

Not wanting to die a coward, Draco held his head up high as Theo reared his wand back. He would stare him down pridefully and in the eye until the very last second, knowing he was going to die without any regrets. He only wished he'd had a little more time with Hermione before meeting his demise.

"Avad-"

Pop! Squelch. "Ugck!"

Theo froze with Draco's wand still on the back draw. Something large and greenish in color shot out of his nose at an accelerated rate and began to grow even larger in size; hovering between them.

Draco's heart soared as he realized what was happening. He'd unfortunately been on the receiving end of this particular hex before; and by the looks of it, by the same glorious witch who'd cast it on him at the end of fifth year. He'd never been so excited for the arrival of Ginny Weasley before.

The large flying bogey formed it's own wings, and in an instant ripped off part of its body and began to pelt small pieces of it directly into the younger Theodore Nott's face.

The older Nott turned to face whoever had performed such a heinous spell on his son, intent on snuffing them out swiftly, but that in itself turned out to be a mistake. Andromeda Tonks had already snuck up on him silently from behind, and her wand was already in position to do the same thing to him.

With a single slicing hex positioned directly across his neck, Theodore Nott Sr.'s throat had been slit. What began as a drip, quickly turned into a river as blood began to run down his chest. Shocked, he stared into the eyes of the woman bearing a shocking resemblance to his new cause's leader.

He clapped his hand to his throat to slow the bleeding, but it was no use. The gash was too big, and he'd already lost too much blood. In less than a minute he'd crumpled to the floor, a large pool of blood growing in a circle around him.

By the time Draco tore his eyes from the dying man and his aunt, Theo had been thoroughly tackled to the ground by Ginny, while Harry Potter was reading him his rights so to speak. Theo screamed in rage as the shackles were secured around his wrists; which was a rather bad move considering Ginny's signature hex was still causing bogeys to be thrown at him at steady intervals, some of them landing in his mouth.

Draco inhaled deeply, both trying to calm himself from his recent spout with the cruciatus curse, and from almost being killed. He wanted to get up and help them, but unfortunately the slab of marble was still keeping him pinned to the floor., and his leg was also likely broken.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Came the voice of another Weasley from behind him. Another one he'd never been so happy to hear before.

"Do you think there will ever be a battle where we won't have to save your sorry arse?" Ron teased him, as he hooked his arms under Draco's armpits in order to hoist him up off the floor.

Draco suddenly had a flashback to the final battle last year where Ron had technically saved him from another death eater. He groaned as he tested putting weight on his injured leg. It buckled out from under him slightly, but he could probably hobble out of there so long as he had someone to help him redistribute his weight.

"Shut up, Weaselbee."

A/N: So that was finally the end of the battle. Now there is just a wrap up/ reunion outside chapter, and then a 1 year later chapter after that. Then we are done! For real this time yall.