"Mierda- Paige! Are you okay?!" Willow yelped.
Paige coughed, uncovering herself from a mound of dirt. "Yeah!"
Another explosion shook the ground, causing Willow and Paige to shoot to their feet. It was much farther away, though, and not even aimed aimed at them. Willow watched in horror as spells rained down on the figure in the distance. Paige tried to sprint towards him, but Willow caught her arm at the last second. Paige whipped around with a blaze alighting her irises.
"What are you doing! My grandfather is dying!" she screamed.
"We can't just go barging in! You saw what they did to us from a distance!" Willow scolded. "We need to sneak up on them! Come on, let's flank them on the left, my lunatic aunt is over there, and she's useless."
Paige clenched and unclenched her fists. "Fine. But make it quick."
Creeping through the tall grass, the Gryffindors made short work of closing the distance with the Fawley family. They were completely undetected. Willow had a point-blank aim on her aunt within sixty seconds, and Margret never would have seen it coming. Paige leveled her wand at the Fawley closest to her grandfather. Willow held out a hand to hold her back, nodding at the situation. Paige slowly realized what was going on as Willow gestured to her with hand signs. The Fawleys had surrounded Paige's grandfather in a semicircular arc, all with wands aimed at the older gentleman's chest. Grandpa Terrell had collapsed on a rock, chest heaving, still without a wand in sight. He was at the mercy of Willow's former family- and there was far too little mercy to go around in the Fawley household.
"Well, well, well," a voice hissed. Willow's body went rigid. "Long time, no see, Terrell. What rat hole have you been hiding in this time?"
"It's nice to see you too, Grace," Paige's grandfather muttered. "Still ugly, I see."
Willow suppressed the urge to high-five him as Grace flushed scarlet. "Still a dick, I see."
"Ouch. There's no need for name-calling. You've got me cornered; what more do you want?"
Grace narrowed her eyes. "I want your head on a silver platter, that's what, Terrell! You've destroyed my family! You and your nasty clan- you're scum, all of you!" Grace fluttered her eyelashes patronizingly, taking a pace backwards. "Or at least, you were scum- it's just you now."
Grandpa Terrell's eyes flashed. "How dare you speak of my family! You'll never be as good as them- they gave their lives to protect their children, unlike you!"
There was a sickening smack! and Grandpa Terrell was thrown off the rock, crumpling into a bent position on the grass. His hand tentatively brushed the red hand mark forming on his face. Paige tried to jump up, but Willow caught her just in time to keep her low.
Grace's eyes burned dangerously. "How dare you bring that up! I had no choice in the matter, and it's not like I can change it now."
"But you can change, Grace," Grandpa Terrell said, struggling to his feet. "You have every chance to turn your back on this life, and you make a conscious choice not to. It will always be your fault."
Grace whipped her wand out, the point of it pressing on Grandpa Terrell's neck. "Say that one more time, and you'll never see the light of day again."
"I haven't seen it since you killed my wife anyway."
To everyone's great surprise, Grandpa Terrell threw down his tattered cloak, revealing a sleek, jet-black, fitted one underneath. He drew his wand and fired a spell at Grace, who went flying backwards. Willow and Paige exchanged looks of pure awe. Grandpa Terrell conjured a magical shield just in time to block a furious retaliation from the Fawley family. With his wand hand, he maintained the shield, and with the other- without a wand- he sprayed fire towards his flank. Six wizards and witches fell to the ground, screaming, as fire engulfed their robes. Willow and Paige darted backwards to avoid the chaos, still keeping low.
"Terrell! End this now!" Grace growled.
"You gave up your right to a happy ending the moment you destroyed my family," Grandpa Terrell snarled.
Without hesitation, he dropped the shield and fired a volley of fireballs at Grace. She tucked and rolled just in time to avoid the worst of it. Instead, Willow's grandfather and a few others exploded in the blink of an eye. Nearby family members ran for cover, screaming bloody murder. Grandpa Terrell brought his hands together, wand between them, and lowered them to his chest. Then, he suddenly punched his right fist into the ground. The earth rolled under his feet, wave after wave of rocks and soil racing towards the Fawleys. Half of them were buried, hit in the head by a rock, or flung so high into the air that they hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Willow and Paige gaped as the old man rose from the ground himself on a pillar of rock, firing spells at the Fawleys. He seemed to have the situation taken care of already, Willow thought.
But, per usual, she spoke too soon. Grace Fawley, enraged to the brink of insanity, flew at Grandpa Terrell. He would have easily repelled her, but she fired off spells so fast, and so accurately, that he couldn't concentrate his spells anywhere else. Grace eventually knocked him off his pedestal, punching him in the face on his way down. Grandpa Terrell barely rolled out of the way to dodge a kick to the head. He blasted Grace with a full body-bind curse to stop her from any more damage.
Paige glanced sideways at Willow. "Did you get your fighting prowess from your mother?"
"No, just the bitchiness," Willow sighed.
Suddenly, five Fawleys converged on Grandpa Terrell at once. Paige covered her mouth to stifle a scream as he was buried beneath a giant sphere of multicoloured spells, none of which appeared to be less than detrimental to his health. Willow had to hold her back again by the ankle. They crouched in the grass, hearts shattering at the gruesome sight. Grandpa Terrell was taking on heavy blows, cuts and bruises appearing at random on his body, and he shrunk lower and lower to the ground. Paige muffled a sob and squeezed Willow's hand so tight she thought it was broken. Was Grandpa Terrell going to make it? Willow was about to jump out and hex the crap out of the Fawleys when something incredible happened.
Thunder creaked overhead. The air pressure shifted violently. The hair on Willow's arm stood on end. She looked up to see the clouds swirling directly above them. They darkened, gathering speed, stirring up the wind. Then, Willow blinked, and when she opened her eyes, a rod of lightning rocketed from the vortex. She gasped. The lightning exploded into five Fawleys, creating a ball of superheated electricity so violent that it arced outward and struck three more Fawleys. Willow and Paige were thrown backwards by the force of the detonation. When they regained their footing, Grandpa Terrell was standing in the middle of a ring of glowing, scorched earth, eyes igniting brighter than the fire raging around him. The power surging from this single individual was of incredible proportions. As Willow glanced sideways at Paige, she wondered if that same power could be achieved in her.
The enormous exertion could only last so long, though. Grandpa Terrell was faltering. Someone had performed the counter-curse on Grace, and she had regrouped with her family to renew the fight. They advanced on his position as a single unit, firing at random, causing Grandpa Terrell to be unable to defend himself properly. More lacerations appeared on his face. He was knocked to the ground on several occasions. Finally, a powerful spell fired by Grace burst into his abdomen, and he went crashing to the ground. Grace immediately took his wand and kicked it away.
"Say hello to your wife for me, will you?" she hissed in his ear.
Willow's heart stopped. Grace leveled her wand directly at Grandpa Terrell's chest. Without pausing to think, Willow leaped out of the grass, brandishing her wand.
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
Right as Grace was beginning the incantation of death, her wand flew out of her hand. She turned just in time to see Willow catch it. Grace's jaw dropped. Her face paled, and her fists shook.
"Give. Me. That. Back," she demanded.
Willow glared daggers at Grace. "You took everything from me with this wand. You're never going to see it again."
Grace's face burned blood-red. "That's it! Fawleys, bring her too me- dead or alive!"
Willow's eyes widened. "Oh shi- Paige, RUN!"
There was no need to tell her twice. Both girls hared across the meadow, diving here, rolling there to avoid a death spell. They were running for their very lives. Willow threw a couple hexes over her shoulder, not daring to pause to make sure they struck their target. Paige smartly blasted a hole in the earth right in front of the Fawleys to trap some in a pit, but enough darted to the side that they were still in major trouble. Willow's mind scrambled for something, anything to save them.
"Turn into a dragon! Take them out!" Paige shrilled.
"No, I can't! They don't know I'm the War Child!" Willow rolled to her right to dodge a volley of fireballs. "If they figure that out, stuff will go down, and there's too many people that will die!"
"That doesn't make any sense!" Paige shouted exasperatedly.
"My mother is trying to kill me right now! How does any of this make any sense?"
A spell imploded the ground a mere three meters in front of them. Paige and Willow skidded to a stop, only getting covered in a spray of earth. They changed direction and made a beeline for the spot where Grandpa Terrell was lying worryingly still.
"We've got to cover him and take a stand before they overwhelm us!" Paige yelled. "We can't let him die!"
"Agreed!"
Willow and Paige reached Grandpa Terrell's side in a matter of minutes. Glancing over her shoulder, Willow guessed they only had seconds before the Fawleys would reach them. Paige and she rolled over the still-sizzling Grandpa Terrell. He was thankfully conscious, but beaten up badly. One of his eyes was already swelling shut.
"Grandpa, it's me," Paige whispered, sitting him up against the rock. "It's Paige, your granddaughter."
Grandpa Terrell peered at her for a moment, then gasped. "You must be joking."
A tear slid down Paige's cheek. "No, I'm not. I'm here, alive, and kicking arse."
"You sound exactly like your mother." Grandpa Terrell's smile quickly faded into the utmost terror. "You shouldn't be here! They're coming for you- it's a trap- they're going to kill you- "
"I'd like to see them try," Paige said, smirking.
"Uh, are you ready to back up that sentence? Because they're here," Willow said.
Paige turned around to see the Fawley family surrounding them in another semi-circle. A steely glint focused her eyes. The dark-haired girl stood up, hovering over her broken grandfather. She faced up to the Fawleys, who were staring her down, each and every one of them glaring daggers. Willow rose to her feet as well, training her wand directly at her mother.
"Look, I'm going to give you one chance, and one chance only," Paige said, addressing the Fawleys with a clear, stable voice. "Stand down, and I'll spare you."
Laughter exploded from the Fawleys. They shared so much hilarity that they even decided to poke fun at Paige, letting their guard down against the one person in the world they definitely shouldn't. Paige smirked at their reaction.
"I warned you," she said.
Suddenly, a spout of flame erupted from the end of Paige's wand. A ring of fire separated the Fawleys and the Gryffindors. Paige didn't give them a moment to even breathe before she was on them once again. Hex after curse after jinx chased down the Fawleys, brought them to their knees, and drew forth the most gut-wrenching, horrendous screams Willow had ever heard in her life. Paige walked through her own fire, punching a few people in the face here, kicking a few in the groin there. Willow watched her in awe for a moment before throwing herself into battle. She made sure to hit her former mother with jelly-legs jinx, then planted the sole of her foot in her chest. Grace toppled backwards, face smashing into the ground. Willow smiled, then moved onto the rest of the Fawleys, taking them out one by one. She was about to turn to Paige and make a smart comment when a crushing blow sent Willow toppling to the ground.
"Ou-ch..." she groaned, slowly rising to her feet.
"No one watching your back this time, Guerrero, huh?" a voice cackled.
Willow's blood froze in her veins. "No. No, no, no...not again!"
Molly Smith cackled once more as Willow whipped around, wand aimed at the horrid woman. "We meet again, Guerrero! Where's your friends to protect you this time, hm? Have they abandoned you just like my children have abandoned me?"
Willow gritted her teeth. "You abused them to the point where they lost their minds! You abandoned them!"
Molly's nostrils flared. "Now, now, let's not go throwing out accusations. I'll get my children back, you'll see."
"Over my dead body!"
Molly rolled her eyes. "Always with the dramatic flair! Let's get this over with quickly, shall we?"
Willow darted to the side just in time to avoid a searing-hot spell. Molly volleyed curse after curse at her, laughing hysterically the whole time. Willow reminded herself to put the nutter in an asylum if she survived this. She countered a few of Molly's spells with the protection charm, then was flipped head-over-heels into the ground by the force of a few of them. Willow instinctively rolled to the side to avoid another blast as it caved in the earth to create a sizzling crater. She shot to her feet and fired off an unexpected spell at Molly, which caught her on the shoulder. It barely knocked the older woman backwards before she shot a jinx at Willow. Molly's incantation brought Willow to her knees, her entire body seizing up in pain. She kicked the Gryffindor for good measure just as a heavy thump let her know that Paige fell beside her.
"Willow, it's Lucius and Molly, they're here, they're going to- " she spluttered.
"I know, Paige, just get to your grandfather!" Willow wheezed.
Paige army-crawled to Grandpa Terrell, who was barely conscious by this time. Willow weakly rose her arm and whispered a spell, but Molly and Lucius Malfoy had advanced on them by this time, and it was deflected as one would brush away a feather. Lucius slammed a foot into Willow's ribs, which caused her to curl into a fetal position.
"This is the great Willow Guerrero? How pathetic," he seethed. "A year more and you're still worthless. If only you would have lived up to your father's vision of you...he always hoped too highly for your future."
"So this is the terrible Lucius Malfoy? You're even greasier than the last time I saw you," Willow coughed. She received another searing blow to the stomach, convulsing her in a wave of agony. "How do they even find a title that can fit your inflated ego? They must have to special-order the lettering on your office door."
Lucius grabbed Willow by the throat, halfway lifting her off the ground. She stared fearlessly into his hardened features, though she closed her eyes when he cut off her airway. "How dare you talk about a Malfoy in this way, you filthy bloodtraitor!"
"The only- traitor- here is- you," Willow choked out. "Proud to- be a- traitor if it- means that- I'm better than- you."
Lucius wrenched her neck, then threw her hard into the ground. Willow's shoulder blades struck the ground harder than she expected. She leaned to her side, coughing up a small puddle of blood. Her windpipe was sore and half-crushed. Willow's throat burned, but the fire raging within the depths of her stomach dimmed the pain as she struggled to her feet, staring stone-faced at Lucius. His eyes widened at the sight of her resilience, then narrowed.
"You insolent child!" Lucius roared. He pointed an accusatory finger at her. "You and everyone in your pathetic family will pay for this- "
"Hey, blonde douche!" a voice called in the distance. "Your ego is coming right at you in three- two- one- !"
All of a sudden, an explosion of fireworks slammed into Lucius Malfoy. He screamed as they latched onto him, dragging him high into the sky and enveloping him in multiple bursts of vulgar words. Willow laughed as George waved to her and cheered in the distance.
"I've got this! Meet me back home!" George called as Molly and the only three remaining Fawleys gave chase.
"Be careful!" Willow warned.
George saluted her, then took off in the opposite direction across the meadow, leading the Fawleys into traps that he had most likely set up in secret. Willow's soul was screaming at her to run after George and help him, but Paige's cry for her to help get her grandfather to safety compelled her to do the right thing. They quickly hauled Grandpa Terrell to his feet and half-dragged, half-ran him across the meadow. George was far in the distance, hooting and hollering as the Fawleys fell victim to his pranks one by one. Willow reassured herself that he would be fine and bust down the back door of the Fawley mansion. She and Paige carried Grandpa Terrell through the maze of hallways, then finally ended up in the family room. The beat-up wizard thankfully regained enough sense to grab a handful of floo powder.
"Get back to Hogwarts, you'll find help there," Paige instructed her grandfather. She hugged him, then guided him towards the fireplace. "Go! I'll see you soon!"
For a moment, it looked as if Grandpa Terrell would protest. Then, he lowered his head, spoke Hogwarts' name very clearly, and disappeared into the flames. Paige and Willow looked at each other, breathing a sigh of relief. They each grabbed a handful of floo powder as well.
"Directly to Madam Pomfrey. No delays," Willow said. "On my three. One...two...thr- "
"Stupefy!"
Paige screamed, and then she was buried beneath a pile of books, a nearby shelf having collapsed on her. Willow brandished her wand and tried to fire off the full body-bind curse, but her opponent was too quick. She was slammed into the wall. There was a sickening crunch, then Willow was tumbling backwards, pieces of wood jabbing her in the back as she destroyed a chair in the next room over. She took longer than usual to rise to her feet, head spinning. Willow stumbled into the hallway. She lurched into the family room, pointing her wand at the opposite wall. What she saw froze the blood in her veins.
"No," she whispered.
Molly giggled. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"
Grace, Lucius, and Molly were standing on the opposite side of the room- holding two of the most important people in Willow's life at wandpoint. Lucius took great pride in slapping George across the face for struggling. Grace was practically cutting of Paige's air supply, the point of her wand was pressing so hard on the Gryffindor's neck. Cold sweat trickled down Willow's forehead. Molly's giddy laughter did nothing to calm her spiking heart rate.
"Let's commence the fun, shall we?" Molly said, grinning evilly. "We're going to make you a deal! Hand one of these criminals over to us, and we'll spare the other one's life."
"What? How are they criminals? They've done nothing wrong!" Willow protested.
"They tried to kill us on several occasions, and that was just today," Lucius growled. His expression morphed into hideous glee. "I believe only punishing one is a lenient sentence, but Molly has some great ideas of what to do with them."
"Please, this isn't fair! Don't hurt them!" Willow begged, her voice hoarse.
"You should have thought about that before you ruined our conquest of the Terrell family!" Grace seethed. "We had them down to the last one! The granddaughter will never know her family line- she's long gone in the Muggle world by now. She's probably closer to a squib than anything."
Paige was visibly tempted to bite Grace's arm, but Willow shot her a look that silenced her. So they didn't know that Paige was the one! Willow internally screamed; she had to be very careful with her words now. If she said one word too suspiciously, they'd figure it out, and Paige was going to die, instantly. She was treading on the thinnest ice she'd ever walked on. Willow cleared her throat, struggling to remember how to speak.
"Look, I don't want anyone to get hurt, so why don't you let my friends go before Dumbledore gets here?" she said.
Lucius's face paled. "You're lying. Dumbledore doesn't know you're here. He would never intervene with personal issues- "
"Are you so sure about that?" Willow interrupted, attempting the smoothest evil expression she could. "It would be a shame if he were to burst in here, say, any second, and destroy your lives in the blink of an eye. It would be Azkaban for the rest of your days..."
"She's lying, she never tells the truth," Grace snapped.
"No she's not!" George protested, struggling to free himself from Lucius's grasp. "Willow can't tell a lie to save her life! You can tell from a mile off when she's lying! She's the most honest person I've ever met!"
Molly cackled. "Oh, so we've got the boyfriend here, do we?"
"Bitch please, Willow's too good for him," Paige spat. "Willow is too good for all of us, but especially you Death Eater rubbish! She's braver and more courageous than you could ever dream to be!"
Lucius scoffed in disgust. "No, Molly, it's her fag girlfriend."
"How dare you call her that disgusting word! Neither of us are dating Willow!" George snarled. "But if you have to choose someone to kill, let me die! I'll be okay!"
"George, you have an entire family!" Paige exclaimed. "Let me go instead!"
"No, I'm not letting you take the fall for me!"
"George, it's okay, less people will be hurt when I die!"
"Guys, stop fighting! No one's going to die!" Willow said. "I will get you both out of this alive, I swear on my life! Don't listen to them! They're just trying to get into your heads!"
"Are you sure neither one is dating you?" Molly whispered.
"YES!" the Gryffindors chorused.
Grace's face convulsed in a terrifyingly joyous malice. "Whatever the situation is, we've got a beautiful proposition: Willow, which lover are you going to lose?"
"Neither!" Willow said.
"Pick only one!" Molly urged.
"Never!"
"Fine, then both of them die!" Grace concluded. "On my count of three, Lucius...one, two, thr- "
Willow's stomach dropped. "NO, STOP! I'LL CHOOSE, I'LL- !"
An idea suddenly popped into her head. Their whole goal of torturing her like this was to make her weak, to make her eventually give into their ways. Grace had been doing it for years...but this time, the ball was entirely in her court. Worry and terror spread through her system like a nauseating virus, but it was her only chance. Willow snatched a dagger from the wall next to her. To the Death Eaters' horror, she pointed the blade directly at herself.
"Release them, or I die," Willow demanded.
Molly's eyes widened. "Wait, what are you- "
"Release them, now," Willow repeated. "I know that you need me. I know that you're trying to turn me. I've got great power, skill in many magical areas, an army of magical creatures, and all the inside connections to the people you need, but if I die, you're not getting any of it. Release them, or I'm dying!"
Lucius took a tiny step towards Willow. "Hang on- we can talk this out- "
"One step closer, and this blade is through my liver," Willow threatened.
The atmosphere suddenly became so thick that the dagger could have sliced through the air. Grace's eyes were permanently peeled open, staring in horror at the dagger so close to her daughter's stomach. Molly and Lucius frantically whispered back and forth, but came up with no solutions. Willow edged the blade closer and closer to her skin. Grace's grip was loosening on Paige, she was in so much shock. Willow touched the cold metal tip to her stomach.
"This is your last warning. Release them," she said.
"I refuse!" Molly growled.
"See you in hell, then," Willow spat.
She plunged the blade into her stomach. George and Paige screamed, instantly bursting into tears. There was another voice screaming, too, but Willow couldn't make out the person it belonged to. Agony exploded in disastrous waves across her stomach as she pulled the blade out, knowing full well it would cause heavy blood loss. Willow tossed the blade aside, falling to one knee in order to cradle the wound inconspicuously. She put on the bravest face she could and stared at her mother, expression stone-cold.
"Your move," she said.
Grace gaped at her with the most conflicted, pained expression Willow had ever seen in her life. Molly and Lucius had resumed frantic conversation, but Willow didn't dare avert her eyes from Grace. Her mother was fighting her way to the surface- she was still in there, somewhere- her new self was crumbling before Willow's very eyes- she just needed one final push! Although it was possibly a painful route to go, Willow decided her situation couldn't get much worse. She stood up, took a second to steady herself, then pointed the dagger towards the other side of her abdomen.
"Just for good measure, I'll do it again, seeing as you're not letting my friends go..." Willow said, a note of terrifying lightheartedness in her voice. "I mean, you've got, what, ten minutes before I bleed out, tops? I'd suggest making a move sooner rather than later."
"Never! You'll pay for your crimes, all of you!" Molly shrieked. The whites of her eyes were more visible than usual, and her forehead had creased.
Willow shrugged, almost wincing at the action. "Duh, I'm paying for all three of our crimes. You'd be making a fair deal. A life for the freedom of two. It's almost too good to pass up, I'd think."
"You insolent little brat!" Lucius roared. "Even in death, you're mocking us!"
Willow clapped a hand to her chest, mocking hurt. "Excuse me, I'm not dead yet! You still have some releasing to do! In ten seconds, if George and Paige aren't on their way through the floo network, this blade is finishing me off. Got it?"
Grace's face had paled to a ghostly shade. She still hadn't blinked. Cold sweat dripped down her forehead, and her hands were visibly trembling. Willow continued to stare her down as Grace's horrified eyes remained locked on her daughter's abdomen. She was just beginning to wonder how much longer her mother would stand there when she finally croaked, "Lucius, Molly...let them go."
The Death Eaters stared at her. "What?"
"I said let them go," Grace repeated, still not diverting her eyes.
Willow inched the blade closer to her stomach when George and Paige continued to remain hostage. "Okay, ten seconds are up...you get an extra two, since you're still deciding..."
"Let them go, now!" Grace demanded, panic pitching her voice. "Lucius, Molly, I said now!"
"Grace, what the hell- ?"
Without warning, Lucius was thrown off his feet. A swath of red erupted from the end of Grace's wand, dragging him across the room, throwing him into bookshelves, and flipping him over furniture until he was knocked unconscious. Paige managed to stumble out of his grasp, instantly hitting the floor and covering her head. Grace threw a punch at Molly, busting up her shoulder. The abusive mother then received a damning blow to her temple, and she crumpled to the floor. George darted out of her reach. Panting, Grace glanced upward at her daughter, tears shining in her eyes as she slowly lowered her wand.
"Willow?" she breathed.
"It's okay, Mum, you're okay," Willow said, her heart beating fast. "Can you please take the bad guys to the dungeon?"
"Yeah...yeah, I can do that..." Grace muttered. She gathered Lucius and Molly and moved them to the other room in a trance-like state. "To the dungeon...the dungeon..."
Paige and George looked after Grace for a moment, then suddenly sprang on Willow. She threw the dagger aside to avoid stabbing them as they wrapped her in bone-crushing hugs.
"Willow, you blithering idiot, why would you do something so stupid?" George cried.
"You shouldn't have done that for us!" Paige said.
"Well, I couldn't let you die, could I?" Willow chuckled. "Plus, I knew I was going to be fine, it takes at least twenty minutes before I start getting into really rough shape. My powers work fast enough to spare me some time." She peered into the hall where her mum was still struggling to drag Lucius and Molly into the dungeons. "Look, we don't have much time left, my mum will lose her mind any second now. We've got to go, and now."
Paige nodded. "Get a handful of floor powder, you're going first."
"What? No, you need to get to your grandfather quickly," Willow protested. "You need to get him help- immediately."
Paige's face screwed up as though she were preparing to argue, but she eventually sighed. She took a handful of floo powder, and with a flash of emerald green flame, she was gone. When George opened his mouth to speak, Willow shot him a look. He dejectedly followed Paige's example, but not before looking back to make sure Willow was right behind him. She nodded, and George disappeared into the fire as well. Willow breathed a sigh of relief. Her friends were safe...but her job wasn't finished.
Tying her robe as tight as she could to her stomach, Willow tentatively walked down the hallway that led to the dungeons. Her mother was still toting the two unconscious Death Eaters when she arrived at the dungeon door. Making sure to stay out of sight, Willow noiselessly crept down the top three stairs, watching for any signs of awareness from Molly or Lucius. If they woke up before they were safely in their cells, they would kill Grace before she even got the chance to scream. Grace managed to stow them behind rusty bars before anything bad could happen, thankfully, and Willow allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief.
Grace drew in a sharp breath. "Who's there?"
Willow stayed perfectly still, constricting her chest to prevent the slightest bit of air from grating against her lungs. She watched in a tense silence as Grace slowly raised her wand toward the bottom of the stairs. Willow's mother crept closer and closer, wand hand shaking, face pale as a ghost. Willow debated shape-shifting and darting out of there, but something made her freeze. Her feet grew roots to the ground. Her body stiffened. Only her eyes moved, following the shell of Grace Guerrero as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Grace's feet scuffed the floor as she came to a sudden halt, seeing Willow crouched at the top of the steps. The whites of her eyes were slightly visible as she stared at her daughter.
"Willow...?" she rasped.
"Mum," Willow breathed.
"What- what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here, they're- they're going to hurt you," Grace whispered, her forehead wrinkling. She dropped her wand arm. "They- they said they were going to hurt me if- if I didn't- if I didn't turn you in- "
"Mum, it's okay, they're not here right now," Willow said. "You're safe."
Grace's eyes swam with glittering fears, like demons fighting for space on the surface. "But- we're in the dungeons- this is where they left me- they threatened to torture me if I didn't follow through!"
"Mum...it's okay," Willow said. "You're not going to get hurt. Carlos is keeping them away right now."
Grace's mouth dropped open. "C-Carlos? Is he okay?"
Willow swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yes, Dad's okay. We're all okay."
Grace walked up the steps, gawking at her daughter's face. "You're...so much older than I remember. What happened? Did you grow or something?"
"Something like that," Willow said, cursing her trembling voice.
Grace sat on the step next to her daughter. "You're so...beautiful, Willow. You're growing up again." She reached out and touched Willow's hair, gently stroking her fingers through the wavy pattern. Her eyes welled up with tears. "Where did the time go? Just a moment ago, you were so little, no more than nine. Now you're, what, thirteen? Fourteen?"
"Fourteen." Willow didn't dare speak more for fear of her emotions cascading through her voice. Her stomach tensed every time Grace ran her fingers through her hair, causing spasms of pain to issue through Willow's abdomen. She gritted her teeth and refused to show it for fear of ending the moment. Her mum was back, the real Grace- Grace Guerrero. Willow grasped her locket, drawing Grace's attention to it. Together, they opened it, reminiscing in communal silence on the photo it contained. A tear trailed its way down Grace's face. She touched the photo, letting out a laugh and a sob all at once. Willow struggled to keep herself from shedding a tear as well. This is only temporary. She's not really back. This is only temporary...right?
"I don't remember seeing you off to Hogwarts...did you get into Slytherin?" Grace asked, seeing the Slytherin pin on Willow's robes.
"Oh, no, I got into Gryffindor," Willow said, wincing in preparation for a berating.
"Really? I'm so proud of you!" Grace exclaimed, wiping a tear off her face. "Carlos and I- we always knew you were a Gryffindor, through and through. You were a typical hotheaded, straightforward warrior as a kid."
Grace took her daughter's hand in her own. Willow took a sharp intake of air. Grace shook her head, then looked deep into her daughter's eyes, her own sparkling with a mixture of pain and...was that pride?
"You are going to grow up to become the greatest witch that ever lived, you know that?" she said, two more tears sliding down her face. "I have faith in you. I wouldn't give you this locket unless I believed in you."
That did it. Willow broke. The pain in her side didn't even matter anymore. Willow threw her arms around her mother, burying her face in Grace's shoulder, barely holding herself together. Grace cried freely as she held her daughter tight. Willow's head swam with memories she'd buried for so long: swimming at the public pool, hiding behind her mother's legs on orientation day for preschool, running in the meadows with her two dogs, and most of all, camping out under the stars, listening the the pine sap crackle and pop, the aroma blanketing her senses with joy. It took everything Willow had to stop herself from downright sobbing. Grace's sniffles eventually died down to uneven breaths.
"I love you, Willow, don't let anyone tell you otherwise," she whispered.
Willow gripped her mum a little tighter. "I love you too."
Grace pulled back, wiping her eyes on her sleeves. She let out a mirthless laugh. "Well, that's embarrassing, a daughter comforting her own mother, it should be the other way around." Willow was about to protest when Grace suddenly peered at her daughter's robes. "Hang on...is that...blood?"
"No, no, it's- food colouring," Willow lied.
"Bull! How did that happen?" The lines reappeared on Grace's forehead. "Bloody hell, Willow, you're bleeding everywhere, you need a healer, you need a potion, you need- AAAAAHHHH!"
Grace's scream pierced Willow's ears. Willow's entire body seized up in shock as cuts appeared all over her mum's body. With a flash of blue light, Grace was sent careening down the stairs, knocked completely unconscious. Willow's heart rate spiked. She glanced up to where several of the Fawleys were crowded around the dungeon door, glaring daggers at Willow. The majority of them were scraped, bruised, and beaten up from George's pranks. All of their wands were leveled directly at her chest. Willow's body stiffened in the most intense panic she'd ever felt in her life.
"Hello, Willow," Alex hissed, his greasy hair enhancing his weasley appearance. "Care for round two?"
Without giving her time to relax, Willow was blasted with a spell. She tumbled head over heels and landed hard on the dungeon floor. Willow had barely regained her sense of equilibrium when the Fawleys flooded the dungeon, stampeding down the stairs. She grabbed her mother as quickly as she could and dragged her away from their tramping feet. Willow whipped out her wand and kneeled over Grace, aiming it at Alex.
"Stop! Don't touch her!" she shouted.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Please. She'll wake up in five minutes, and she won't remember a thing. By that time, you'll be a treasured memory." He aimed his wand between Willow's eyes. "Any last words?"
"Yeah, actually," Willow said. A last-ditch, idiotic idea formulated in her head. "You're the whiniest bitch I've ever met in my life."
Willow fired off a spell, sending Alex and four others into the opposite wall. They crumpled, useless, to the ground. Willow then shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and received the three remaining Fawley's wands. In their moment of furious confusion, Willow took the opportunity to kick the legs out from under one. He bowled into the other two, and they fell like dominoes. Willow picked up her mum and ran up the stairs at breakneck speed, taking the hall back towards the family room. If she didn't get to the fireplace in time, Alex would find her- he'd kill Grace- he'd kill her slowly, in front of Willow- and then kill her when she was practically begging to die. The adrenaline kicked in, and Willow sprinted at top speed through the house, making it to the family room in record time. There was one problem, though: she wasn't the first one to make it there. Willow skidded to a stop, setting down Grace.
"Auntie?" she gasped.
Auntie Margret grinned at her. "If it isn't my favourite niece! It's nice to see you back in the mansion!"
Willow stared in disbelief. "What- Auntie, why aren't you with- ?"
She didn't finish her sentence. A wave of pure agony swept over Willow, dimming her vision to blood-red as she fell to one knee. Her sight tunneled in and out, struggling to let her focus on any one object. Willow coughed and hacked, finally collapsing onto the floor. She gripped her side, but it was useless, as it was already soaked in blood. Pain overwhelmed all of Willow's senses. Blurry halos of light surrounded the windows nearby. A shadow passed over them as Auntie Margret kneeled down beside her.
"Tsk, tsk...you were such a well-behaved you lady..."
With a burst of light, Willow cascaded into nothingness.