Chapter 21 - Of the End
Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.
A. P. J. Abdul
Harry must have blacked out for a time because when he came to his head was in Luna's lap and the manacles had been removed. His wrists were red raw and his torso and back were in no better shape. His legs were extremely shaky; he could feel that even lying down.
"Stay still, Harry," Luna ordered. She had wrapped herself up in Lucius' cloak.
"Lavender?" he croaked.
"I'm right here, Harry," she said, leaning over him.
She was also wrapped in a cloak.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"Just a minute," he was told by Luna.
"Are you two okay? Did they-?" he didn't know how to ask the question sensitively.
"No," Lavender said, but then started sobbing.
"I'm sorry," he said, helplessly. "Help me up."
"You need to stay still," Luna told him.
"No, help me up," he said, his voice getting worse.
The two girls helped him up, without trying to touch his wounds too much. He grunted trying to suppress a scream.
Lucius was currently using his wand to levitate the werewolves away from them.
"They're dead," Lavender told him, as she supported him, and Harry heard the satisfaction in her voice.
He heard the rattle of keys and saw turned to see Lucius was in the process of opening the cell door to son.
Draco, who was being supported by Pansy and Crabbe, immediately fell into his father's arms the moment the doors swing open.
"Dad, dad. I didn't tell. I didn't tell. I didn't tell," Draco was telling them urgently.
Lucius was trying to reassure him, trying to calm him.
"It's okay. It's okay, Draco. You did well," Lucius told him, hugging him tightly. "Tell me. Tell me who did this to you. Tell me who did this to you."
But Draco was too weak to stay up and started sliding down; Lucius supported him until he was lying down.
"I didn't tell, I didn't tell," Draco kept repeating.
"Draco, listen to me. Draco," Lucius tried to snap him out of it.
"Well, well, well. How's my darling brother-in-law Lucius?" came the voice of the last person they wanted to hear.
Lucius slowly got to his feet, wand immediately in hand. He walked out of the cell and with a flick of his wrist Draco and Harry's cell doors closed shut with an audible click.
"Come back for the baby dragon, Lucius?" Bellatrix taunted.
"Did you hurt my son Bellatrix?" Lucius asked evenly.
"The little dragon squealed," Bellatrix trilled with satisfaction. "And squealed and squealed and squealed. All dragon had to do was tell me where mummy and daddy went. Where did you go Lucius? You left your little baby all by his lonesome."
Lucius didn't answer, simply taking a step forward.
"Where did you go you filthy little coward?" Bellatrix demanded to know. "Where have you hidden my dearest sister?"
"Somewhere where you can not harm her any further," Lucius replied, taking another step forward.
Bellatrix stood her ground, refusing to be intimidated by her brother-in-law.
Harry couldn't stay on his feet any longer; reluctantly he lowered his aching body to the ground. Lavender and Luna knelt down with him.
The cells were quiet as they watched the elder wizard and witch unfold their family drama.
"You and my treacherous sister betrayed our Lord, Lucius. I told my Master that you were a snake, whilst I - I not you- suffered for him in Azkaban and you betrayed him and pampered your little prince. Insufferable wretch-" her vile words were cut off by a silent spell sent by a furious Lucius.
Bellatrix used her rapid reflexes to deflect.
"I did not betray the Dark Lord, Bellatrix," Lucius told her, sending another spell at the enraged witch. "You cannot betray someone who you never had any loyalty to."
Fuming, Bellatrix screeched back a vicious curse of her own. The prisoners all ducked low to avoid the flying curses. Harry felt his breathing hitch; his upper body felt like it was on fire with every movement. He could feel Luna's concerned eyes on him. He found it very difficult to keep his eyes open. He knew he was losing too much blood. He could he feel it leaking down his front and his back, pooling down his loose slacks that didn't fit the same as before he'd been taken as prisoner.
He was losing the fight to stay conscious, maybe even alive.
"Luna," he gasped, his voice lost to everyone except Luna and Lavender.
"Keep your eyes open, Harry. Please," Luna begged.
He heard Bellatrix shriek in pain.
"I will find Narcissa and send her your son in pieces," Bellatrix raged. "Your deceit will cost you, Lucius."
Her spell knocked Lucius down; his wand went flying towards out of his hand and clattering closest to Neville's cage. Neville, who was still chained, was unable to reach it. Lavender left Luna to look after Harry, and tried to reach the wand, stretching as far as the bars would allow her.
Bellatrix crowed triumphantly over Lucius, kicking him down as he tried to get back up.
He twisted on the ground and kicked out, knocking her back and quickly got back to his feet, pulling out a hidden dagger.
"You never had any children, Bellatrix. So you don't know what a father and a mother would do keep their child safe," Lucius said, ducking a spell and swiping at Bellatrix with his dagger.
He sidestepped again and kicked Bellatrix from behind, she stumbled slightly but stayed on her feet but Lucius was already close behind her.
"And you never will," he spoke into her ear, and then stuck her just under the ribs, pushing until it was in all the way to the hilt.
Bellatrix wheezed as he dragged the dagger out as painfully as possible and then stabbed her once more. He pushed her gurgling body away in disgust and turned away before she even hit the floor.
He glared down at Lavender who had retreated at his approach. He didn't bend down to pick it up; he held out his hand palm down and the wand rose, slapping into his waiting hand.
He closed his eyes, expression still thunderous, and gave it a swift wave. All the locks opened instantly with a loud click. The keys lay forgotten on the ground near Draco's cage.
They watched silently as he made his way back to his son's cage. Draco was laying with his head in Pansy's lap before Lucius knelt beside. He put his wand away, and reached into his robes and brought out a parcel that clinked as he placed it on the ground. He took out a purple coloured potion and held the vial to Draco's lips.
"Drink this, Draco. Just a couple of sips," Lucius coaxed.
Lucius had to stop Draco from downing the whole potion, but he looked livelier than he did before.
Draco was able to sit up on his own after a few moments. After ascertaining his son was going to be okay, he stood up and inspected the rest of the prisoners.
Despite the fact the cages were open for once, and they were free to leave; no one made a move to step outside. Lucius Malfoy, like Severus Snape, was an unknown element.
"There are more prisoners here than I was led to believe," he spoke into the silence.
He bent down to pick up his parcel and walked out of the cage.
He brought out his wand again and waved it towards Neville, releasing him from his manacles. Neville stumbled forward slightly, gratefully rubbing his raw wrists. He leaned against the bars to support himself; his back though as bad as Harry's, it still looked like Bellatrix had rubbed him up and down a giant cheese grater.
He staggered towards the opening of the cage and asked the question that was on everyone's minds; "Are you here to help us, or just Draco?"
"Draco is my main priority, but I will not leave anyone behind," he told them honestly. "Everybody get out of the cages. Now."
Cautiously, they moved out of the cages. Lucius directed them towards the dungeons doors they still weren't able to pass through. Ron and Hermione immediately made a beeline for Harry. Luna and Neville didn't move from Harry's side.
Lucius didn't let Ron or Hermione pass, ordered them to stay outside the cell. Instead, he took a handful of potions out of the parcel, before handing the package to Hermione.
He levitated Harry carefully out of the cell, placing him gently on the ground in front the cell. Luna and Lavender followed close behind.
Harry could barely move. All the energy had drained out of him. He was useless to them. If Lucius tried anything he wouldn't be able to help them. He didn't know what Lucius' deal was. Why had he stopped Luna and Lavender from getting raped? Harry hadn't seen the actually spells flying about, but he'd seen the damage on the werewolves. The spells Lucius had used had been vicious; their faces had been charred beyond recognition.
Ron helped Neville to join them.
"These wounds are too deep," Lucius said, examining him critically. "I have dittany with me, but even if I used all of it, it wouldn't heal enough to close your wounds completely."
He handed a small vial to Ron and instructed him to use it as sparingly as possible. Then he got started on trying to heal Harry.
A hand slipped into Harry's and by feel he knew it was Luna's. He was lying on his side, which was marginally less painful than lying on his back. He felt drops of dittany hit his back and he clenched teeth as his skin knitted together painfully. His body twitched and it was all he could do to keep still. He knew he must have blacked out again because when he came to he was lying on his back and his chest was mostly healed.
He was still covered in blood; he knew he was panting hard. His head was in Luna's laps and he only felt slightly better than before. Lucius was holding the empty dittany vial.
His wounds were healed just enough for them to stop bleeding but Harry still had felt lightheaded. He took a deep breath and winced as his new scars stretched. He felt like he'd been stitched together like Frankenstein's monster and that he could come apart at any time.
"That doesn't look like it's made much of a difference," Ron pointed out.
"Bellatrix knows how to… adjust… spells to cause as much damage as she loves to inflict," Lucius said grimly. His used his wand to conjure a plain handkerchief and with a quiet 'auguamenti' wet it. Harry hissed as it came into contact with his skin. Lucius carefully dabbed away the blood, but there was too much. The handkerchief was completely soaked but the amount of blood he'd lost was more than ten handkerchiefs could mop up, let alone one.
He feebly waved Lucius' hand away when he tried again with a fresh handkerchief.
"Don't bother," he wheezed, "there's too much."
Lucius nodded.
Lucius got up and moved away, leaving Harry's friends to crowd around him.
"Neville?" he asked. "Is he healed?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Bellatrix used the same curse on her as she did with you. We couldn't heal all of it, but mostly the bleeding has stopped."
"Here, Jackson donated his jacket for you Harry," Ron said, he'd donated his own to Neville.
Harry pulled himself up into a sitting position with the help of his friends and together they managed to get him into it. He could feel the jacket sticking to his back instantly and imagined taking it off would be incredibly more painful than putting it on had been.
He felt a little warmer as the inside of the jacket was fur lined. Ignoring his friends' hands he pulled himself up until he was standing.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Harry asked Lucius. "There's some sort of ward on the doors."
Lucius didn't answer immediately, too busy hanging his sister-in-law's body upside down in the cell Harry had previously occupied. Her blood dripped down to her fingertips and onto the ground, mixing with Harry's blood. Lucius had gathered all the dead Death Eaters into one cell.
The werewolves didn't have wands, but Lucius had taken Bellatrix's. He handed it over to Luna who immediately slipped behind her ear. Harry didn't know how she did it but it never moved from there unless she needed it.
Lucius shut the door and locked it, placing his own wards around it before he answered.
"The dungeons are warded so that no one without a Dark Mark can enter or exit," Lucius told them.
"So, you can come and go as you please?" Ron said aggressively.
Lucius gave Ron a look, but didn't deign to answer.
"You can stay behind if you want Weasley," Draco said forcefully.
"Draco," Lucius said warningly.
Lucius turned his son away.
"The wards will be broken down," Lucius said, keeping a hand on his son's shoulder. "There are more students here than I was lead to believe. The plan needs to be adjusted slightly."
"What is the plan?" Hermione asked.
"To get out of here and go up. There's an access from attic that will take us up to the roof of the manor. We'll be collected there."
"What are we waiting for?" Neville asked.
"The signal," Lucius said simply.
"How long until we get the signal?" Hermione asked.
Lucius consulted his wrist watch.
"Soon," he said. "We'll need to split up."
He reached inside his robes and brought out a bundle of wands, tied together with yellow ribbons.
"I almost forgot," he said. "I managed to retrieve some of these wands."
He handed over the bundle to Hermione, who immediately pulled the ribbons off and searched it for her own.
"Your wand was on special display, Potter." Lucius said, pulling out Harry's wand from a different pocket.
Harry held his hand out for his holly wand and stared at it, grateful to have it back in his hand. He clenched into it tightly, thinking of the time when he'd thrown it Dumbledore's feet at Christmas. He'd done it in anger last time, proving some point. It had been hard to do, to walk away without wanting to snatch his wand back, but he managed to do it.
He needed his wand now and he was not planning to give it up without a fight. With his other hand he reached for Luna's hand.
Luna held her own wand in hand as well, conjuring a bouquet of flowers.
They looked at her questioningly.
"It's so dark in here; the flowers add a little beauty," she explained.
Harry smiled; he loved Luna's unique view of the world.
They heard a distant echo of loud bangs and Lucius instantly tensed. Everyone moved away from the doors, pressing themselves against the walls. Only a quarter of them had ones. Anyone who recognised his or her wands clutched tightly to it, determined not to lose it this time.
The dungeon doors were open, so they could see who would be on the other side. Lucius hid himself as far back as he could. Harry and anyone else who had their wand trained it on the door.
The man dressed as a Death Eater came skidding to stop in front of the door, but didn't step in straight away. This more than anything made Harry suspect that the wizard wasn't a true Death Eater.
He took off the mask and they all recognised Remus Lupin with great relief. Lupin looked happy to see them all. He took in their conditions.
"Who released you?" he asked, taking in the cell where the dead Death Eaters were hanging.
Lucius stepped forward, wand ready.
"Malfoy," Lupin acknowledged.
"Where's the rest of the help, Lupin?" Lucius asked.
"On their way," Lupin said, discarding his mask.
Lucius lowered his wand and stepped closer to the doors.
"The plan needs to change," Lucius said. "There are too many students for the original plan."
"It's okay. We've already adjusted the plan. We had to add a few extra port keys when we realised how many more there."
"We've been here for weeks. How did you not know how many of us were captured?" someone demanded.
"It's more complicated than you think," Lupin explained, taking off a hidden satchel. He shed his Death Eater robes. "The Death Eaters had launched several attacks apart from just Hogsmeade. There were multiple attacks; Dementors sent to Kent, Death Eaters in Manchester, and Giants in Hogsmeade. Hogsmeade was almost decimated, the Giants destroyed everything. Several witches and wizards, including Hogwarts students, were buried under the rubble before we could unearth them."
Lupin continued to taking items out of the satchel and placing them on the ground. He quickly finished his explanations.
"We knew students had been captured. We didn't know how many until we'd managed to unearth the ones who'd been buried were dug out. Catch," he said the last, throwing a small pouch towards Lucius.
Lucius caught it with his free hand.
"We knew some had been captured, but we didn't know how many," he finished.
"Are these for the wards?" Lucius asked, pulling out small red stones from the pouch.
"Yes, we need to place them on both sides of the door. Once they're placed step back. So far we've managed to get in undetected. There'll be a few random blasts that will catch the Death Eaters attention so we need to move cautiously."
Everybody who was closer to the door took a few steps back. Lucius and Lupin both stuck the stones around the frame of the dungeon doors and then stepped away. Lupin hid out of sight.
The stones glowed red and began to flash. Harry counted seven flashes before the stones turned amber flashing once then turning green. There was a muffled blast that sounded far off but from the flash of blue that came across the door realised that the wards were disabled.
Lupin came back into to view and stepped into the dungeon. He placed the satchel back over his shoulders.
"You were the last I expected, Malfoy." Lupin observed.
"I have family to protect," Lucius said tightly.
"Just as anyone else," Lupin pointed out.
Lucius didn't reply to that.
"We're not going to leave all at once," Lupin said once he realised no reply was forthcoming. "There are too many of us. We're going to need to split off into groups. Sirius shouldn't be far behind."
The words had barely come out of his mouth when they heard the sound of running steps not far behind them.
Sirius came to a stop instantly, out of breath, and leaned against the frame.
He came rushing in as he spotted Harry, calling his name.
"Harry," he cried, moving in for a hug.
Harry stepped back, and seeing the hurt on his face quickly explained gesturing to his injuries.
"Sorry Sirius. It's painful to be touched right now."
Sirius looked a little mollified, but that was before he took in the full extent of his injuries. Even with a full vial of dittany he was in bad shape. Sirius gingerly pulled apart the jacket he hadn't bothered to zip up.
"Oh, Harry," he said, looking close to tears. "We tried to get fast as we could. I swear."
"You're here now," Harry assured. "Can we leave yet?"
Sirius looked to Lupin and nodded.
"We can only go in small groups. The first portkey is ready. We found some secret passages where can leave undetected but we'll need to move swiftly. If we leave all at once; one, there's not that much space and two that would definitely arouse suspicion."
"Come on Harry. We'll take you and Neville in the first group," Lupin said.
"No," Harry said.
They all looked at him.
"Harry, look at you. You're badly injured," Sirius said.
"I'm able to stand and I'm able to walk," Harry said, hoping that was true.
"Harry," Sirius argued.
"Shut up," Harry said. "Take the lower years first. And Simmons. He tried to run and one of the werewolves snapped his neck. He'll need to be carried."
"Have you seen yourself Harry?" Sirius argued.
"We've been waiting to be rescued for weeks, Sirius. We've been tortured. All of us. None of us have escaped at least one crucio. I'm telling you. Take them first."
They tried to argue with them but stopped once they saw that Harry was serious.
Sirius reluctantly nodded.
Lupin walked over to the dead Simmons whose body was being shielded by his friends. Gently, Lupin picked him up in his arms.
The prisoners were split into four groups.
Lupin and Sirius took a quarter of them, not all of them had wands. None of Harry's friends left, including Neville.
"Kingsley will be here with another auror to take the next lot," Sirius said as he left.
Their footsteps echoed down the corridors and eventually faded away. Harry let out a breath. There were still a lot of prisoners, but Harry felt the prospect of getting out was better now. He felt a little more hope.
"You should have gone with them, Harry," Hermione tried to reason. "You and Neville. You're both losing too much blood."
Harry sagged carefully against the bars. He couldn't leave first. He knew he was important to the Order, but that didn't mean he was more important than anyone else. All the rest of them, they had families. Parents and siblings who were missing them. He had no one. He had no family. He just had a cause. And that cause would always be there for him.
They heard more footsteps and everyone tensed again.
"Malfoy?" Shacklebolt asked, as he saw the blonde wizard.
Lucius inclined his head.
Shacklebolt didn't say anything further. He was followed by another auror who Harry recalled from the Chamber exercise, but didn't know by name.
"Good luck," the auror said as they took off with the next lot.
There were only half of them left now. Lucius kept glancing at his watch. Twenty minutes passed before any further sounds were heard. However, it wasn't the sound of footsteps that made them nervous. It the sound of yells and blasts from above that caught their attention immediately.
Lucius cautiously edged forward, wand ready. Everyone else pressed themselves against the walls as much as they could. Those with wands were ready with a spell on their lips. Footsteps echoed down the corridors and they wondered whether the next person to come down would be friend or foe.
No one spoke. The dungeon was wide open. Harry wondered if it would have been best to close it considering how long they had to wait for the next person to come and collect them.
The footsteps stopped and there were sounds of scuffles in the corridor. Lucius didn't step outside the door to see what was happening. Slytherin that he was, he was content to wait until the next person came to the door to determine which end of the wand they would be subjected to. The scuffles stopped abruptly. There were no further sounds.
They looked at each other anxiously.
Suddenly there was a sound of yelling and out of nowhere a body dropped right in front of the door.
Lucius must have recognised him straight away, for he immediately let loose a spell that knocked the Death Eater straight out.
"Nice," a voice said from above.
A pair of legs came into view, slowly floating down until the speaker's face was visible.
Killian stood smiling in front of them.
"What are you wearing?" Ron asked as he took in Killian's clothes.
Killian wasn't dressed in robes at all. She was wearing skin right tight black breeches and a long sleeved black tunic - the material looked like it could have been made out of leather. A small cape was attached to her shoulders, ending before it reached her lower back. Harry didn't think it was the clothes that Ron was question. Rather it was the numerous daggers that were that were embroidered onto the clothes. Except they seemed to glint in the light as if they were real.
"My uniform, Mr Weasley," Killian said cheerily.
"What's happened?" Lucius interrupted impatiently as Killian walked further into the room.
"There's been a change of plans," Killian said sombrely. "Sirius and Remus managed to get out with the first group. Kingsley and Roman managed to get out as well, just. They triggered some alarms on the way out in one of the passages, so we've been discovered. We had to block the main entrance we were going to use. Instead of splitting you lot into two, we're going to have to stick as one."
"Who's with you?" Hermione asked.
"Hagrid. He's making another exit for us as we speak."
Killian pulled out a bundle of wands. She handed them over to the nearest student who immediately unwrapped them. Those without wands tried to find their own.
"Keep the spares. We'll return them once we get out of here to the rightful owners."
Once they were all armed and the spares tucked away, Killian immediately moved to leave.
"Are we still leaving from the roof?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. That's only place where the portkey will work. Where the others were able to leave undetected, we may need to fight. However, we made plans just in case such a situation occurred. We have several operatives creating distractions as we speak."
They nodded.
"Be vigilant. If it moves, shoot. Don't go for any soft spells. Shoot to put the enemy out of action."
No one had a problem with that. Being tortured, beaten and starved would take the mercy out of anyone.
"Let's move. Lucius, you lead the front. I'll cover from back. Hagrid should have everything ready for us. He'll lead the way to get out."
Lucius conceded and immediately took the lead. Draco was by his side instantly. Harry knew he would be moving slowly due to his injuries and not wanting to slow everyone down, opted to stay behind the group.
They managed to get to Hagrid without problem. Apart from a dirty look aimed towards Lucius, Hagrid didn't say anything. Hagrid was probably thinking of Buckbeak.
It was once they had exited the dungeons where the lights were much brighter that the problems started. It was lucky that Hagrid was first; his half-giant heritage had helped him become immune to certain spells. The stunning spell that came his way was testimony to that as it bounced off. Lucius, who was just behind him, reacted quickly and shot off a cutting curse of his own.
However, that Death Eater wasn't alone. There were several more just waiting, as if they were guarding the entrance.
Luna and Hermione split off from Harry and Neville, joining Ron who had already moved ahead. Almost thirty vengeful students were more than enough to finish off a dozen Death Eaters. This didn't mean no one got hurt.
Hermione had been hit by a cutting curse, as she had to push a seventh year when they were too slow to raise a shield in time. Hagrid was roaring in rage as he finished the last remaining Death Eater.
"Keep moving," Killian yelled from behind.
Lucius and Hagrid led the way out of the corridor. It was slow going, with so many students crowding the area all at once and for Harry and Neville who had a harder time than any of them.
Lucius knew his way around the manor. He led them down the door corridor and they turned left down another corridor. Two left turns and one right turn later they finally made it out of the dungeons completely, thankfully without encountering without any further Death Eaters.
Harry felt like he was falling even further behind. It was difficult to keep moving. Breathing was becoming harder. His wounds were splitting open, his cuts too deep for even dittany to hold for too long. He was losing blood again and all he wanted to do was lie down and close his eyes. Luna slipped her hand into his, almost dragging him with her. She slowed down even more to match his pace.
There was more light now that they out of the dungeons, but that meant the manors deteriorated state was obvious. It was evident that the manor had been neglected for a long time. Nothing had been cleaned. That meant that were more grimy shadows for them to jump at.
"Quickly, now. Cross the hall, turn left and go upstairs," Killian directed as she surged ahead.
Harry gasped as the pain got too much for him. He was falling further behind, dragging Luna down with him. He let go of her hand and urged to keep going. He fell down. Luna fell to her knees next to him; refusing to leave his side. Neville stopped as well.
"Go, Luna. Keep moving. Neville, please go," Harry gasped as he saw they were getting left behind.
"Not a chance, Harry."
"No, Harry. I won't leave without you," Luna said firmly. "You're my boyfriend and boyfriends always have to do what their girlfriends say. It's in the rules Harry. And I say that I'm never leaving your side."
"Admirable as that sentiment is, my dear, no one will get left behind," Lucius' deep voice came from above them.
Lucius was standing over them, having seen them fall behind the group and had double backed to retrieve them.
Lucius helped Harry who swayed as he was helped to his feet. He couldn't help but let out yelp of pain. His injuries were definitely catching up to him. Lucius gingerly placed one arm around Harry's hip and drew one of Harry's arms around his shoulders, taking as much weight as possible. Draco, who had paused to wait for them did the same for Neville. Lucius pushed in front to lead the way. Every step was painful and Lucius was practically carrying Harry.
They'd barely walked ten feet when Harry finally lost the battle to stay conscious. He fell down and Lucius was forced to go down with him.
Lucius eased Potter down to the ground as gently as possible. He'd feared that the boy's injuries would become too much for and it was a wonder he had lasted as long he had. He'd recognised the spell Bellatrix used straight away. It had been adapted from Severus' own curse; designed to leach the blood slowly from the victim. He could see that someone had tried to seal the wounds, but without the actual counter curse (which he happened to know Bellatrix never bothered to create) healing the wounds this bad was almost impossible. Longbottom was only slightly better off. He, too, looked like he was close to passing out.
Potter's girlfriend knelt down with them. He looked ahead to the others. They were moving more swiftly. He couldn't even call for their attention, not wanting to draw unwanted attention from the Death Eaters they were trying to escape.
Draco looked uncertainly down at them.
"Dad," he began uncertainly.
Lucius shook his head.
"Keep following them," he ordered.
Luna Lovegood opened her mouth to argue.
"Now," he said. He reached out for the unconscious Potter, carefully placing the boy's arm over his shoulder. With one arm under the boy's shoulders and one arm under his knees he heaved himself to his feet. Potter was by no means light, but Lucius also recognised that he was underweight. He put that down to being held captive for the past few weeks.
His movements were slow. Luna slowed down to keep in pace with him and Potter, but Lucius wished she would move faster and catch up with the others. The girl refused to listen, but he made sure at least that Draco was moving much faster with Longbottom.
The way he was holding Potter would most likely hurt the boy were he still awake. But the boy was well and truly out of it. He desperately hoped that Longbottom wouldn't collapse on them as well. Longbottom looked like he was holding out better after the dittany, nonetheless both boys has suffered the most and had lost a lot of blood.
"Come on," Granger beckoned as she fell behind to help direct them. Weasley was with her.
Lucius knew there were at least five more staircases to climb, depending on which route Killian was leading them through. They climbed the first staircase. Lucius' arms were beginning to ache with Potter's weight. The manor was in great disrepair so he also had to watch where he was going.
Once he reached the top he found that everyone had stopped.
"Give Harry tah me, Malfoy," Hagrid demanded, holding out his arms.
Lucius handed the boy over without argument. The half-giant would be carrying Potter with more ease and his bulk would also protect him. Lucuis knew how dedicated the man was to Potter. Lucius also felt better knowing he would be able to keep his wand in hand in order to protect himself and the others.
He felt something with wet against his midriff and placed his free hand over the spot. It came away red with Potter's blood.
Killian spotted the gesture.
"We need to get moving," she said grimly.
Lucius urged Draco to move to the front with Longbottom as Killian took lead along side Hagrid. That left Lucius to flank from behind. Luna stayed with him instead of moving with Potter as she had since they'd left the dungeons.
They followed the staircases up two flights of stairs and carried on down the corridor without seeing anyone. He heard the distant noises echoing from a different part of the manor which Luicus assumed was the diversion so they could make to the roof unimpeded. It took him a moment to realise that everyone had halted again.
"What is it?" he asked as he drew closer. It wasn't until the prisoners parted that he saw it. They were gathered around Killian who had stopped leading them, but she wasn't still. Her eyes had turned gold and she was frantically moving her head as if she was trying to focus on several things at once.
"What do you see?" Lucius asked urgently. They shouldn't be still. They should keep moving.
"Acromantulas," Killian said succinctly.
"What?" Weasley squeaked, turning green.
"Where?" Granger asked.
"Almost everywhere," Killian answered. "We won't be able to get to the roof without encountering them."
"Where have they come from? Wouldn't the others have been attacked by them?"
"Macnair had them behind wards," a voice said behind them.
Lucius immediately whirled around, wand raised; cursing himself for letting his guard down.
Severus Snape stood in the passage they'd taken, clutching his wand with a bloodied hand. His Death Eater robes were dirty and torn. He sported a bruise on his left cheek and scratches across his right temple.
Almost everyone raised their wands to the Potions Master.
Severus looked tired. Lucius had never seen Severus look this dishevelled.
Severus raised his eyes to Killian, ignoring everyone else.
"Wands down," Killian ordered.
Reluctantly they complied.
"He's a Death Eater," one of students argued.
"He would have attacked by now if he was," Killian snapped back. "Explain, Severus."
"Macnair keeps acromantulas on the top floors of the manor. Dolohov let it slip when he was fighting against one of the diversions set off. Only Macnair can control them and he let the wards keeping them tame down the minute when he discovered manor was under attack," Severus explained.
"How many?"
"Hundreds," Severus said.
Killian looked determined.
"Too bad there's no basilisk around," Weasley muttered.
"You see anything with more than two legs, use the strongest cutting curse you know to cut them off. Most creatures are afraid of fire, but use that as a last resort due to the confined quarters. We don't want to end up trapped ourselves. Severus, take the lead. Move quickly. There's no escape from the acromantulas. Hagrid, these creatures aren't your friends so make sure you get Harry and the other students to the roof. No arguments," Killian ordered.
"O' course," Hagrid said.
Killian placed her hands over hilts of the daggers embroidered on her hips. She clutched at the cloth and pulled her hands away, the daggers coming with her. The space where the daggers had previously been embroidered was empty.
"That's so cool," Weasley gawked.
"Let's move," Killian directed.
Severus took the lead with Hagrid. Where previously they'd been walked fast, now they ran full tilt. The diversions were still working as they had not come across Death Eaters, but from what Severus said, there was no way to avoid the acromantulas.
They'd barely vacated the last staircase going up when Lucius heard a strange clicking noise. Wary, he turned around just in time to see the biggest spider he had ever seen scuttle across the landing. Luna who was still besides him had turned with him and spotting the creature immediately joined him in sending a cutting curse towards it. It wasn't alone. The spells barely grazed the giant spider and it was soon joined by many more.
Killian quickly joined them, ordering them to keep following the others. Lucius delayed moving forward as he watched, wand raised, as Killian expertly swung her daggers and sliced and stabbed at the creatures.
"Lucius, GO!" she yelled as he lingered.
His felt a small hand slip into his free one and startled he looked down. He turned slightly and was looking down into Luna's imploring eyes as she tugged him towards the rest of the group. With one last look towards Killian, he let himself be pulled away.
It seemed all at once they were being attacked from the giant acromantulas. Lucius had to duck fast in order to avoid being pinned to the wall as one creature raised its hairy leg almost as big as Hagrid to attack.
Lucius let loose the strongest blasting curse he knew. At close range it more than hit its mark and severed the hairy leg from its owner. The creature was unbalanced enough to let Lucius and Luna run free, and it also delayed its friends as it tried to adjust itself to seven legs instead of eight.
They finally reached the room where a rickety staircase lead to the roof. The staircase was narrow and feeble looking; readying to collapse at any time. Hagrid was on it first with Potter. Lucius could hear it groan protestingly under Hagrid's considerable weight. But the half giant managed to clear away and the stair case didn't collapse. Slower than he would have liked, the freed captives climbed up in threes and fours. Draco had already gone up with Longbottom. Soon it was just Severus and Lucius left at the bottom.
"Where's Killian?" Severus asked as he realised that she wasn't there.
"Dad, come on," Draco voice yelled desperately from above them. Lucius looked up to see Draco looking down at them.
"Dad please," his son beckoned.
"Where's Killian?" Weasley called from beside him.
Before Lucius could answer he heard strangled yells from the corridor. Killian appeared suddenly looking she'd bathed in blood.
Lucius was relieved.
"Why are you just standing there? MOVE!" she yelled.
The acromantulas were hot on her heels as she twisted to the side to avoid it's pincers and slashed reflexively at its underbelly. Lucius and Severus shot out their cutting and blasting curses as they climbed the rickety staircase.
"KILLIAN!" Severus called as he turned around as they cleared the staircase.
Lucius looked around.
Was someone supposed to be waiting for them with the portkey? Is that what Killian had said? Or did she have it on her person?
He turned around to see Killian float up the hole.
"Let's get out of here," Killian said in a strained voice.
"Who has the portkey to take us away?" Lucius demanded.
"I do," a voice mocked from above.
They looked up. Hovering above them on broomsticks were ten Death Eaters. They must have disillusioned themselves, Lucius thought.
"Looking for this?" he smirked as he held out a small hoop.
Killian sidled up to Lucius and Severus.
"I'll keep us shielded from their spells, but that means I'll have to let go of the door holding the creatures at bay. They'll flood the room below quickly. When I tell you start shooting. Don't worry. I won't let you get hit," Killian whispered frantically.
Lucius readied his wand and gave her a nod, heart beating fast.
"NOW!"
Lucius and Severus immediately let off some vicious curses; the others swiftly following suit. Lucius couldn't see Killian's shield but appreciated its effectiveness as the spells cast by the Death Eaters dissipated above them.
Several Death Eaters fell off their brooms as they struggled to defend themselves. They should have had the advantage as they were attacking from above, but they hadn't reckoned with Killian's strong shield that stopped their curses from getting through.
He saw Killian's daggers floating around, blades glinting from the light of the curses. The daggers hit their marks every time as they zipped between and stabbed and slashed at the remaining Death Eaters.
The Death Eaters seemed to get pulled directly into the room with the roof access and Lucius realised that Killian must be using her powers to dump them straight towards the waiting acromantulas that had invaded the room below. Lucius heard their screams. He almost didn't duck in time as he apprehended the fact that Killian must have dropped her shields to defend against the acromantulas as the clambered up the much weak staircase. Despite the heavy load of creatures the staircase held.
"Where did the portkey land?" Lucius yelled above the ruckus.
"In there," Granger called back; she was sending off blasting curse after blasting curse towards the acromantulas clambering off the staircase.
It seemed the hoop had fallen into the room at some point.
"Hagrid I need the Weasley bombs," Killian called to the half giant.
Lucius had forgotten about Hagrid. He knew the half giant didn't have a wand and he'd been busy carrying Potter anyway. Lucius had assumed the man had just stayed out of the way and kept Potter safe from spells. He took a quick look around and saw that, although Potter had regained consciousness, he was far from steady on his feet. His friends stuck close to him.
Death Eaters incapacitated, now he concentrated on the giant spiders invading the roof. Instead of a blasting curse he sent off an inferno hex, lighting the beasts afire as they didn't have to worry about cramped spaces now. Several students followed his lead. The spider's hairy bodies were quick to catch in fire and Lucius was at first startled by the horrible screeching sounds that were the screams of an acromantula in pain.
If it weren't the students around him, not to mention the unpredictability of the spell in general he would have tried his luck at the fiendfyre spell.
The air was suddenly knocked out of him as he was propelled backwards. From the surprised yells around him he realised the same had happened to the others.
He quickly deduced that it must have been Killian's way of pushing them all back. They'd been shoved back almost thirty feet and landed in one giant heap.
Lucius clambered awkwardly to his feet. He searched for his wand which he'd lost as he fell. He'd heard it clatter somewhere around him.
Severus was untangling himself from the heap but he was hindered by his long cloak which was being weighed down by no less than six students.
"I collapsed the staircase and set off no less than three of the strongest Weasley bombs which will go off in two minutes flat, so we need to move quickly," Killian panted. "We have to get the hula hoop and activate it out of here."
"But Professor, the portkey fell into the room with the spiders," Granger stressed.
"What?" Killian said incredulously.
"I tried to summon it," Granger said, "but it wouldn't move."
Killian gave a frustrated grimace. She held out her hand as she tried to apply her own brand of summoning. It didn't work.
"Those Weasley bombs will take off half the roof, not to mention the portkey will be nothing but dust," she murmured.
"How are we going to get away now?" Lavender cried.
"Some visions just can't be avoided," Killian said grimly.
"What? What do you mean?" Severus demanded.
Killian looked thoughtfully into Severus' eyes and then with a sad smile said, "Use it well, Severus."
Severus didn't even get a chance to ask what she meant as she immediately pulled the dark wizard into a deep kiss.
Lucius was sure it wasn't just his jaw that dropped.
The kiss seemed to have literally taken Severus' breath away as he collapsed backwards, straight into the arms of the very students he had untangled himself from.
"The minute the portkey gets here activate it out of here," Killian commanded Hagrid. "Don't wait for anything else. Just get everyone out here."
Lucius didn't have time to contemplate the whole scene so he hunted for his wand as Killian turned away. He spotted it just a few feet in front of him and stepped forward to pick it up. When he straightened up he pivoted to move to Severus but walked straight into a barrier. Confused, he banged on it wondering where it came from.
"Dad," Draco hit the barrier from the other side. Granger and Weasley also battered their fists against the barrier but to no avail. They couldn't get out and Lucius couldn't get to them. He turned to Killian but she was already half way across the roof. Lucius quickly comprehended what had happened. Killian must have raised her shields to protect them from the blast when it happened. But he must have stepped outside her range of shield when he'd moved away to grab his wand.
He almost called to her but paused at the last second.
"Dad, what's happened?" Draco asked desperately as he beat against the shield.
"It's Killian's shield. She must have raised it to protect us from the blast."
Lucius realised what he must do.
"I wish I could have been a better father to you Draco," Lucius spoke fast. "I wish I had done so many things differently. Draco, I'm proud of you."
Lucius laid his palm flat against the barrier where Draco's hand rested. Draco mimicked his actions.
"Look after your mother, Draco," Lucius told him.
Lucius ignored his son's screams and pleas as he turned away and raced after Killian. He didn't pause for anything as he pulled out his own dagger sheathed up his sleeve. Wand in one hand and another dagger in the other he was ready to jump back into the room below when he was knocked backwards the flailing legs of acromantula as it tried to clamber up using the body of several others.
Lucuis sent a cutting curse to sever its leg and was rewarded with a spurt of blood across his face.
Killian was already hacking away at several beasts at once trying to get to the portkey. They didn't have much time.
He'd barely completed the thought when two things happened almost at once. First, the hoop portkey zoomed past him towards the others behind the shields, and two, distracted by the portkey he tripped over the leg he'd just severed and fell backwards, wand and dagger falling from his grasp as he released them to brace himself.
He yelled in pain as he felt something sharp pierce his thigh. He looked to see a hairy acromantula leg had pinned him to the ground. The creatures leg had pierced straight through his thigh and come the other side of his leg. He gave another yell of pain as the beast lifted its leg, not to remove it from Lucius' thigh but to drag it closer towards itself. The creature's pincers glistened with vemon and its menacing eyes glittered above him. There was a flash of red behind the creature and Lucius remembered the bomb was only seconds away from detonating.
"LUCIUS!" Killian called as she hacked away at the creature. Using her dagger she chopped off the leg embedded in Lucius' thigh and sent the beast tumbling back into the whole. Lucius didn't waste any time and quickly reached for his wand sent off a powerful fire curse to next one clambering up.
Killian threw her body over his to shield him and he heard her whisper in his ear, "You should have stayed with the others, Lucius."
An almighty blast took away any words he might have spoken. He saw the searing colours of the explosion even though his vision was blocked by Killian's body. He felt the scorching heat of the fire.
Had the freed prisoners not been forced away from the manor by Hagrid and the portkey, all they would have seen was a gaping crater that had consumed Lucius and Killian.