(AGAIN : writing credits for *** to Joss Whedon.)
***Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments.
No one asks for their life to change, not really.
But it does.
So what are we, helpless?
Puppets?
No.
The big moments are gonna come.
You can't help that.
It's what you do afterwards that counts.
That's when you find out who you are.
You'll see what I mean. ***
(~*Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear
Sealed with lies through so many tears
Lost from within, pursuing the end
I fight for the chance to be lied to again
You will never be strong enough
You will never be good enough
You were never conceived in love
You will not rise above
They'll never see
I'll never be
I'll struggle on and on to feed this hunger
Burning deep inside of me
But through my tears breaks a blinding light
Birthing a dawn to this endless night*~) Evanescence - Lie
~*~*~*~*~*~LUPINS HOUSE, 1:00pm~*~*~*~*~*~
Outside of Lupins house, a small crowd of 5 or 6 people had gathered. All wizards and witches of course. Someone fainted as Lana appeared in a blaze of fire -"ITS VOLDEMORT!" someone else shouted, and a few jets of light flew at Lana.
"Oh so NOW you decide to do something." came Lanas voice, as she disarmed the crowd. "Im an Auror. The danger has passed, go back into your homes."
The crowd didnt move. Deciding to ignore them and do her job and her duty as a friend...
Taking a very deep breath, Lana turned around to inspect the damage. Above the house was the Dark Mark. The sign of death. Lana cried out loud, putting her hand over her mouth.
The garden had been blown to bits, rubble everywhere, dust just settling. As she struggled to walk her way up the path, her legs threatening to give way with every step, the pain was so bad, she could barely stand.
Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange walked up the garden, black cloaks flowing, wands raised....
Echoes...Lana thought...Great.
As she got closer to what was left of Lupins house, Lana screamed. She could hear Lestranges insane laugh, hear bangs and crashes, screams, curses being shouted...
The front of the house had been totally blown off. Amidst the dust, Lana could see scorch marks on the walls, small spatters of blood.
"REMUS!" she shouted, clambering over the rubble, wondering where the hell to start. Searching for him mentally had given Lana a blinding headache, she could barely focus on where she was, and the thought of her best and only friend lying dead in there just made it worse. "REMUS!" she shouted again.
Picking up her pace to a run, trying not to fall over, dodging chunks of the walls, she called his name over and over, eyes scouting out the place.
Lucius flung a spell at Lupin, and he just dodged it, but it grazed his cheek, sending a spatter of blood against the wall, and then Lestrange hit Lupin in the back with a Stunner, sending him smashing through the opposite wall.
Lana shuddered as the echo of Lupin went through her, she didnt have the reflexes in this state to duck.
"MOONY!" she called, shifting to avoid a hole blasted in the floor.
Then, at the back of the house, she saw something move.
Lana ran over, and fell to her knees. "No.No no no no no no NO!" she screamed, touching Lupins limp body.
She checked for his pulse, and, there was one there. Extremely weak, but it was something.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and pushed back his sandy blonde hair from his face. It was blood stained, and his shirt had been torn, his chest had scorch marks on it. A bruise underlined his cheekbone on the right hand side of his face, and various other marks were found on his arms and body.
Tears fell down her cheeks as she lay on his chest, listening for his heart beat. "Im so sorry, sorry I shouldnt have..." she muttered.
"He isnt dead, not yet." came an ice cold voice from behind her that sent shivers down Lanas spine.
Turning around, dust and blood covering her, Lana came face to face with Lord Voldemort.
Her insides turned to ice. She couldnt speak.
"Not so cocky now, are we Lana?" he stated, a small grin spreading across his snake-like face.
"What do you want?" Lana asked, voice shaking, head throbbing, holding Lupins hand tight.
"Hes only been dead a month and youre already fucking his best friend," came another voice that Lana despised.
Lucius stepped out.
"Oh just cos Im not fucking you," Lana spat, knowing that she was being immature.
Voldemort pointed his wand at Lana. "One move...One attempt to do anything, anything at all..." he moved his wand to Lupin.
She knew that she had to keep her cool, not let Voldemort or Lucius see just how much Lupin meant to her, not show them that her head was throbbing, that she couldnt fight them with her other powers even if she wanted to.
But right now...This was breaking point. It can go one way, or the other.
Clearing her throat, Lana asked again - "What do you want?"
"You." Voldemort stated simply, like a child pointing out sweets in a shop.
Lana shook her head. "What?"
Why had she denied her feelings for Lupin? Yes, she loved him as a friend, very much, she had known him before she had even had a crush on Sirius, they had grown uptogether, and now, just because of her and her arrogance, his life was in danger. Hed been inside her. It was different now. Her feelings for him went beyond friendship, but they were certainly not love and not a patch on how much she felt for Sirius.
"You." Lucius repeated, pulling his mask off.
"In exchange for what?"
"Him." Voldemort said again, in the same tone of voice, his wand indicating Lupin.
He knows just what buttons to press, Lana thought. Bastard. Now do I say 'kill him, he means nothing to me' OR do I go along with the trade only for Voldemort to kill Lupin anyway?
Lana lowered her eyes to the floor. Please have let Harding have had some sense and alerted everyone else...
"Well? I do not have time for this." Voldemort said.
"Oh, I am sorry, dont let ME interrupt your busy schedule of murder and mayhem" Lana said, a little of the old sarcastic her slipping out there.
Voldemort chuckled slightly. "Still got spirit."
Lucius, however, strode forward and grabbed Lana by the arms, yanking her up. "How dare you be so disrespectful!" he seethed, squeezing her arms tight.
"Obviously that beating I gave you earlier didnt get the message in." Lana said, too numb in her body and mind to even wince at him.
"Calm yourself Lucius." Voldemort commanded. "We'll have all the time in the world to play with our new little toy soon enough."
Lucius glared at Lana, then let go of her arms and, not turning his back to her, strode back to the right-hand side of Voldemort.
"This is taking too much time." Lucius said impatiently. Voldemort nodded at him and Lucius hit Lupin with the Cruciatus curse.
Lupin jerked to life and his screams echoed around the small street.
"NO!" Lana screamed, diving at Lucius and knocking him to the floor, and the spell went from Lupin to the ceiling, making a lot more rubble come crashing down on top of them.
At the same time, Lana set off something in herself, and caused a ripple of fire to explode around the room, and she rolled off Lucius and struggled to look around in the blazing heat and brightness for Lupin. Backing into a corner, Lanas eyes had to shut because of in the intensity of the heat. She heard a crack like a whip and knew that Voldemort and Lucius had gotten out.
She heard a cry from Lupin and, stupidly and without thinking, ran over to him, feeling the fire burn her hair and her skin, throwing herself down beside him.
Smoke was starting to billow around them, and Lana muttered something and touched Lupins chest, just where his heart was, and it glowed a bright white, and Lana could feel a little of her life flowing into Lupin. As he jerked and started breathing, there was a large blast that sent them flying away from each other.
The fire still blazed and Lana had no control over it, she started coughing and could barely breathe when rubble from the ceiling fell down and hit her on the head...
***Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments.
No one asks for their life to change, not really.
But it does.
So what are we, helpless?
Puppets?
No.
The big moments are gonna come.
You can't help that.
It's what you do afterwards that counts.
That's when you find out who you are.
You'll see what I mean. ***
(~*Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear
Sealed with lies through so many tears
Lost from within, pursuing the end
I fight for the chance to be lied to again
You will never be strong enough
You will never be good enough
You were never conceived in love
You will not rise above
They'll never see
I'll never be
I'll struggle on and on to feed this hunger
Burning deep inside of me
But through my tears breaks a blinding light
Birthing a dawn to this endless night*~) Evanescence - Lie
~*~*~*~*~*~LUPINS HOUSE, 1:00pm~*~*~*~*~*~
Outside of Lupins house, a small crowd of 5 or 6 people had gathered. All wizards and witches of course. Someone fainted as Lana appeared in a blaze of fire -"ITS VOLDEMORT!" someone else shouted, and a few jets of light flew at Lana.
"Oh so NOW you decide to do something." came Lanas voice, as she disarmed the crowd. "Im an Auror. The danger has passed, go back into your homes."
The crowd didnt move. Deciding to ignore them and do her job and her duty as a friend...
Taking a very deep breath, Lana turned around to inspect the damage. Above the house was the Dark Mark. The sign of death. Lana cried out loud, putting her hand over her mouth.
The garden had been blown to bits, rubble everywhere, dust just settling. As she struggled to walk her way up the path, her legs threatening to give way with every step, the pain was so bad, she could barely stand.
Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange walked up the garden, black cloaks flowing, wands raised....
Echoes...Lana thought...Great.
As she got closer to what was left of Lupins house, Lana screamed. She could hear Lestranges insane laugh, hear bangs and crashes, screams, curses being shouted...
The front of the house had been totally blown off. Amidst the dust, Lana could see scorch marks on the walls, small spatters of blood.
"REMUS!" she shouted, clambering over the rubble, wondering where the hell to start. Searching for him mentally had given Lana a blinding headache, she could barely focus on where she was, and the thought of her best and only friend lying dead in there just made it worse. "REMUS!" she shouted again.
Picking up her pace to a run, trying not to fall over, dodging chunks of the walls, she called his name over and over, eyes scouting out the place.
Lucius flung a spell at Lupin, and he just dodged it, but it grazed his cheek, sending a spatter of blood against the wall, and then Lestrange hit Lupin in the back with a Stunner, sending him smashing through the opposite wall.
Lana shuddered as the echo of Lupin went through her, she didnt have the reflexes in this state to duck.
"MOONY!" she called, shifting to avoid a hole blasted in the floor.
Then, at the back of the house, she saw something move.
Lana ran over, and fell to her knees. "No.No no no no no no NO!" she screamed, touching Lupins limp body.
She checked for his pulse, and, there was one there. Extremely weak, but it was something.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and pushed back his sandy blonde hair from his face. It was blood stained, and his shirt had been torn, his chest had scorch marks on it. A bruise underlined his cheekbone on the right hand side of his face, and various other marks were found on his arms and body.
Tears fell down her cheeks as she lay on his chest, listening for his heart beat. "Im so sorry, sorry I shouldnt have..." she muttered.
"He isnt dead, not yet." came an ice cold voice from behind her that sent shivers down Lanas spine.
Turning around, dust and blood covering her, Lana came face to face with Lord Voldemort.
Her insides turned to ice. She couldnt speak.
"Not so cocky now, are we Lana?" he stated, a small grin spreading across his snake-like face.
"What do you want?" Lana asked, voice shaking, head throbbing, holding Lupins hand tight.
"Hes only been dead a month and youre already fucking his best friend," came another voice that Lana despised.
Lucius stepped out.
"Oh just cos Im not fucking you," Lana spat, knowing that she was being immature.
Voldemort pointed his wand at Lana. "One move...One attempt to do anything, anything at all..." he moved his wand to Lupin.
She knew that she had to keep her cool, not let Voldemort or Lucius see just how much Lupin meant to her, not show them that her head was throbbing, that she couldnt fight them with her other powers even if she wanted to.
But right now...This was breaking point. It can go one way, or the other.
Clearing her throat, Lana asked again - "What do you want?"
"You." Voldemort stated simply, like a child pointing out sweets in a shop.
Lana shook her head. "What?"
Why had she denied her feelings for Lupin? Yes, she loved him as a friend, very much, she had known him before she had even had a crush on Sirius, they had grown uptogether, and now, just because of her and her arrogance, his life was in danger. Hed been inside her. It was different now. Her feelings for him went beyond friendship, but they were certainly not love and not a patch on how much she felt for Sirius.
"You." Lucius repeated, pulling his mask off.
"In exchange for what?"
"Him." Voldemort said again, in the same tone of voice, his wand indicating Lupin.
He knows just what buttons to press, Lana thought. Bastard. Now do I say 'kill him, he means nothing to me' OR do I go along with the trade only for Voldemort to kill Lupin anyway?
Lana lowered her eyes to the floor. Please have let Harding have had some sense and alerted everyone else...
"Well? I do not have time for this." Voldemort said.
"Oh, I am sorry, dont let ME interrupt your busy schedule of murder and mayhem" Lana said, a little of the old sarcastic her slipping out there.
Voldemort chuckled slightly. "Still got spirit."
Lucius, however, strode forward and grabbed Lana by the arms, yanking her up. "How dare you be so disrespectful!" he seethed, squeezing her arms tight.
"Obviously that beating I gave you earlier didnt get the message in." Lana said, too numb in her body and mind to even wince at him.
"Calm yourself Lucius." Voldemort commanded. "We'll have all the time in the world to play with our new little toy soon enough."
Lucius glared at Lana, then let go of her arms and, not turning his back to her, strode back to the right-hand side of Voldemort.
"This is taking too much time." Lucius said impatiently. Voldemort nodded at him and Lucius hit Lupin with the Cruciatus curse.
Lupin jerked to life and his screams echoed around the small street.
"NO!" Lana screamed, diving at Lucius and knocking him to the floor, and the spell went from Lupin to the ceiling, making a lot more rubble come crashing down on top of them.
At the same time, Lana set off something in herself, and caused a ripple of fire to explode around the room, and she rolled off Lucius and struggled to look around in the blazing heat and brightness for Lupin. Backing into a corner, Lanas eyes had to shut because of in the intensity of the heat. She heard a crack like a whip and knew that Voldemort and Lucius had gotten out.
She heard a cry from Lupin and, stupidly and without thinking, ran over to him, feeling the fire burn her hair and her skin, throwing herself down beside him.
Smoke was starting to billow around them, and Lana muttered something and touched Lupins chest, just where his heart was, and it glowed a bright white, and Lana could feel a little of her life flowing into Lupin. As he jerked and started breathing, there was a large blast that sent them flying away from each other.
The fire still blazed and Lana had no control over it, she started coughing and could barely breathe when rubble from the ceiling fell down and hit her on the head...
