Disclaimer: As always, these characters belong to J.K. Rowling. We are merely borrowing them for our enjoyment.

Author's Note: This almost it. Please review and let us know how you liked the story. Be on the lookout for the epilogue!

"Again, what is the most fundamental principle of defense?" Hermione demanded.

"Do what you do best."

"What does that mean?"

"Huh?"

"What does than mean?"

Neville sighed. The study group had been over and over this stuff. His fantasies about Hermione were, for once, not very nice.

"It means," said Hermione replying to her own question, "that Harry would use one of his best charms, that Ron would try to physically escape, I would try to jinx them, and Neville would use some sort of plant charm."

"What would I do, Hermione? You can't draw a picture in defense!" Dean said in an exasperated voice. "And Seamus? You can't really shag someone to death."

"Oh, I don't know about that!" Lavender said with a laugh. "I could tell you stories . . ."

"Dean, you would use your great imagination to transfigure them," Hermione interrupted the giggles that were going around the table. "And, Seamus, well, I'm sure Seamus would be able curse them."

"Ay, that's right! I'm good at cursing!" Seamus said with a laugh. "Drives me mum nuts! Threatened to wash out me mouth with Dr. Stuffer's Everlasting Suds Soap when I was just four!"

Alaire couldn't help it. She lost it. She'd been listening to Hermione for almost two hours and her mind was shutting down. After she'd picked herself up from the floor from laughing, she bent over to Neville.

"Want to go for a walk?"

"Now?"

"Sure. It's a full moon. It's finally nice outside. We could take a walk around the lake." She smiled suggestively.

Neville was torn. A walk in the moonlight around the lake with Alaire or more studying and possibly passing his NEWTS? He looked up to see Hermione glaring at him.

With a sigh, he shook his head no. He needed to stay. NEWTS were only three weeks away and while Alaire didn't depend on them for her future career, he did.

"Tomorrow."

"You said that a week ago."

"I know but . . ."

"Say no more. I'm going for a walk with or without you." Alaire shut her books and grabbed her cloak. "I'll go postal if I have to stay in here one more moment."

Seeing the look on her face, Neville didn't have the guts to ask why she suddenly felt like an owl. He simply sighed and turned back to his books.

Five minutes later, Alaire found herself wandering down the walkway towards Hagrid's hut intending to turn and head towards the lake.
Stopping to admire the full silver moon hanging over the surrounding highlands, she couldn't believe that the year was almost over. Several months ago, she had arrived scarred and defensive but was now at peace and in control of her life. Her grades were decent, she had made several good friends, and had a fairly sexy boyfriend. Now if she could only pry Neville away from Hermione's clutches for a few last minute romantic moments before NEWTS arrived!

Her thoughts had carried her to the bottom of the hill when she was almost knocked over by a large black bird carrying a long, skinny green snake. To Alaire's amazement, the odd pair landed in Hagrid's patch of mutant squash and transformed into a tall dark haired lady and a man with long white hair.

She immediately recognized the pair from the numerous photos she had seen in the Daily Prophet. But what were Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy doing at Hogwarts? Her first thought was to warn Neville and Harry but before she could turn to run, a flash of purple light hit her in the chest throwing her back into the hillside.

"Ah, that should do it. Too bad she hit her head." Lucius Malfoy bent over her body to give the damage a cursory glance then stood up with a smile. "You know, we could use her to our advantage."

"Why change the plan now, Lucius? We know what we want and how to get it."

"But, my dear Bella, it could buy a few moments for a better escape." He turned to her with gleaming pale eyes. "Once we have the, um, package."

"You're not afraid of those children, are you, Lucius?"

"Are you really that naïve, Bella? Those children, as you call them, have thwarted us at almost every move in the past three years. I refuse to underestimate them. Don't you recognize her, Bella?" He paused as he looked down at his new toy. "Its Longbottom's American girlfriend."

Suddenly, Bellatrix Lestrange's eyes came to life.

"Oh, my." She walked over to the girl. "Oh, let's use her, please." She paused then looked over at Lucius. "I have a wonderful idea. Instead of marching up to Hagrid, let's let our little Mudblood do it. She can lure him out, away from his hut, then we will be able to surround him. You can stun him then I'll transfigure him."

Lucius nodded in agreement.

Bella bent over Alaire's body.

"Inervate." Alaire blinked and tried to sit up but was quickly pushed back down by a wand pointed at her heart.

"Imperio!" Suddenly, Alaire was back in the car in Louisiana and then in the Room of Requirement. Something was controlling her and she didn't like it. She struggled but it this was a hundred times worse than anything she had experienced before. It was as if she was a puppet on a string.

"Impedimentia!" Now she felt as if she was moving in slow motion. She couldn't even bring a hand up to stop Bella slashing at her face with her long red talons. Or, to stop Lucius from ripping her shirt down to her waist exposing her to the chilly night air.

"I suppose she looks properly attacked," Bellatrix commented looking down at her bloody handywork. "Perhaps a little more blood." She smacked Alaire as hard as she could across the mouth. "There. That's better."

The two Deatheaters lifted the Impedimentia jinx then pushed her ahead of them to Hagrid's door.

"Tell him that you were attacked by a wild animal. That you need his help."

Alaire's heart was racing. She knew they wanted to harm Hagrid. She had to stop them but her thoughts were too jumbled to figure out how.

Knock, knock, knock.

Her hand lifted on its own accord.

The door opened wide and Alaire was momentarily blinded by the light from within. Hagrid's bulk soon shaded her eyes from the fireplace.

"H-Hagrid. I-I need your help. I was attacked."

"What! Attacked? By what? What are you doing walking around at night anyway?"

"Hagrid. I was attacked by a-a," Alaire stumbled over the words still fighting the Imperio curse. "I was attacked by a Gallumphing Gator, Hagrid. You know, the fire breathing Gator!"

"Alaire Goodknight, you know good and well that we don't have . . ."

"I was attacked! It was a Gator, Hagrid!" Alaire interrupted him. "I was attacked, Hagrid!"

Hagrid looked carefully at her face taking in the blank stare and the dilated pupils. Something was wrong. He looked out at the darkness surrounding her, no one there. She seemed to be alone but things were . . . odd. He needed help. He would go along with Alaire but would call down Dumbledore, just in case.

"OK, Alaire, let me get my special equipment." Hagrid turned and grabbed his crossbow and umbrella. He also covertly threw a handful of orange powder into his fireplace hopefully alerting someone in the Headmaster's office that was all was not well in the forest. "All right, let's go see this Gator."

Unbeknownst to Alaire and her captors, they were being watched. Neville had wandered over to the window after Alaire had left, his heartstrings tugging his feet over to the pane.

"Neville, you're wandering again, literally!" Hermione's voice cut across his thoughts. He had turned to answer her when he saw a flash of purple near Hagrid's garden. It was followed quickly by blue, red and then yellow. Someone was being cursed right where Alaire was supposed to be walking.

"Something's going on out there!"

Harry quickly jumped up to join Neville. They saw the light from Hagrid's door illuminate a small shadow. Then a sprinkling of orange sparks burst from Hagrid's chimney.

"Something's definitely going on out by Hagrid's!"

"Alaire's down there, Harry. We've got to go!" Neville grabbed Harry's hand and burst into a run quickly followed by the rest of the study group.

Meanwhile, Alaire had led Hagrid into the garden and then turned to him with a wide-eyed stare. She managed to eek out "I'm sorry" before a swish of purple flew past her left ear towards Hagrid.

"What the . . ." he exclaimed as the curse bounced off of him. He quickly swung around as another purple ribbon headed toward him. His fist came in contact with someone's head. He heard an "Umph!" and a thump.

"Transfiguro!"

A band of teal light hit Hagrid in the arm. Suddenly, he felt it go limp causing him to drop the crossbow.

"Transfiguro!"

Another shot of teal flew at his legs. He quickly jumped to one side but tripped over a squash landing at Alaire's feet.

"Thank you for delivering yourself to me, Hagrid," he heard a silky voice dripping with evil say. "Transfiguro!" Teal light hit near his ear as he tried to roll away. "And they said giants would be difficult to handle! Transfiguro!" Teal light hit Hagrid square in the back. To Alaire's horror, Hagrid began to shrink and lengthen at the same time. It seemed that Bellatrix was hellbent on changing Hagrid into a snake or caterpillar.

Alaire didn't have time to examine the logic of this thought because she was suddenly knocked off her feet by a flying body. Neville had tried to run down the steps to Hagrid's but had slipped and rolled halfway down. He landed at Alaire's feet. He quickly stood up and found himself face-to-face with his ultimate nightmare, Bellatrix Lestrange holding Alaire Goodnight hostage.

"Here to rescue your dear maiden, Sir Longbottom?" Bella gripped Alaire by the hair and inched away from Neville toward a tree behind her. "I'm afraid that if you have visions of heroism, you are sadly, umph, mistaken." She placed Alaire solidly in front of her. "When will you learn?" She gave him a look that seemed to tap an evil deep down in her heart. "I beat your parents. I've beaten Sirius Black. I've even beaten that brat Potter. What makes you think you're any different?"

"Let her go!" Neville wanted to curse Bellatrix with every fiber of his being but he was afraid he would hit Alaire.

"My dear, curse Neville with Diffindo, I think. Make him bleed . . . slowly."

Alaire raised her wand and pointed it directly at Neville. Her hand trembled as she pointed it at his heart. She didn't want to do this but something was forcing her. She couldn't do this. There was only one thing to do. An unconscious person could not be made to act against their will. Glimpsing Harry out of the corner of her eye, she winked at him, hoping he would understand. She looked at Neville, still feeling his love. She simply said, "I'm sorry, Neville", closed her eyes, and dropped all of her emotional defenses.

Hate, fear, anger, terror, and, lastly, love filled her head. Her last memory was of Neville and the oneness that they had shared during their lovemaking. Physically, she lost all control as rage against the Imperio curse filled her. Arms flailing, she struck Bellatrix squarely in the nose. She began to kick randomly causing her captor to drop her just as Alaire lost all consciousness.

Bellatrix was surprised by Alaire's sudden weight falling forward and Harry quickly hit her with a loud "Expelliarmus!"

Neville stood in shock for a moment as he saw Bellatrix's wand fly through the air then he heard Hermione's voice ringing in his head, "Do what you do best!" He quickly cast a growing charm on the squash vines and other plants at Bellatrix's feet.

The spell hit Lestrange and Bellatrix found herself lifted off her feet by squash vines that wrapped around her arms and torso. A nearby green bean plant began wrapping around her legs. Lastly, a wild rose that was trailing up the tree behind her began to grow at an alarming rate. Giant thorns formed around enormous blooms forming a magnificent bed of nails.

Neville, Harry, and their fellow Gryffindors that had gathered at the bottom of the hill watched in horror as the rose began to dig its way through Bella's soft flesh.

"End the spell, Neville! Stop it!" Hermione began to scream.

Bellatrix screamed curses to no affect as she writhed in pain. She frantically fought the vines and the thorns wrapping tighter and tighter around her limbs.

Neville paid her no mind. He had already moved over to Alaire and was trying to rouse her.

Suddenly, Dumbledore appeared behind the crowd. He shouted a spell and the plants stopped growing but it was too late.

"Lumos!"

A bright light erupted from Dumbledore's wand illuminating a horrific scene.

Bellatrix Lestrange had literally been ripped apart by the vines. Arms and legs akimbo, she seemed to be suspended like an insect caught in a spider's web. The most gruesome detail was the branch of the rose that had penetrated her chest. A single red bloom lay where her heart should have been. Bellatrix Lestrange was finally dead.

"Alaire! Alaire! Wake up! Alaire!" Neville was shaking her violently. "Come on, sweetheart! Wake up!"

Dumbledore turned the light from the death scene to illuminate Neville trying to revive an unconscious Alaire.

Walking over, he gently pushed Neville to one side.

"Innervate." Dumbledore placed his wand over Alaire's temple. She twitched but her eyes remained stubbornly closed.

"I believe we should get her to hospital, Neville."

Dumbledore waved his wand and soon Alaire was on a floating stretcher heading up to Hogwarts followed by a despondent Neville. Turning to the remaining students, Dumbledore began giving orders.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Finnegan, Mr. Thomas go to the houses and tell the heads that we are in lock down. Do not mention what just happened. Ms. Granger, go to Professor McGonagall and tell her we need her here at Hagrid's as soon as possible. Harry, help me cut down Ms. Lestrange."

Using carefully placed Diffindos, the two cut down the remains of Bellatrix Lestrange. They were placing her on the ground when a bright green snake reared in front of Dumbledore. Without thinking, Harry quickly cursed the snake breaking its back and then severing its head.

Dumbledore looked up at Harry with a mixture of gratitude and horror.

"It was going to bite you, sir! I-I just reacted. What's wrong?"

Dumbledore looked closely at the remains of the snake noting the white spots on the head and the oddly grey eyes.

"Nothing, Harry. Nothing." He said with a sigh. Draco Malfoy was in for some very bad news. Regrettable.

"She was trying to transfigure Hagrid into some kind of snake or something. I'm not sure why."

Dumbledore bent over the inert body of Bellatrix and pointed out several feathers that had seemed to sprout from her scalp.

"I believe that Ms. Lestrange had learned to transform herself into a bird. Perhaps she was trying to turn Hagrid into something small enough for her to carry away. An odd plan but one that would certainly appease the giant population who see Hagrid as a traitor and abomination."

Any more thoughts on the subject were cut short by the arrival of McGonagall.

"Can you help him, Minerva?"

"Do you have the wand that cursed him?"

Harry quickly scouted around and spied Bellatrix's wand imbedded in the ground near Hagrid's feet.

A few muttered words and a shot of teal sprang forth from the piece of wood.

"She was trying to turn him into a worm. How odd!" Professor McGonagall quickly reversed the spells that had struck Hagrid.

"Hagrid, how do you feel dear fellow?" Dumbledore asked as Hagrid struggled to consciousness.

"Can't feel me arm. What did that witch do to me?"

"She was trying to transfigure you into a worm. Stupid, stupid cruel woman," Professor McGonagall exclaimed.

"Let's get you to Poppy, Hagrid. I think a night of Skele-gro should help quite a bit. Don't move. We'll stretcher you in."

Another floating stretcher appeared and Dumbledore carefully levitated Hagrid onto it. Soon Professor McGonagall and the giant were heading up the hill leaving Harry and Dumbledore alone.

"What are you going to do with her?" Harry asked. He was still in shock over the past few minutes. One moment he was studying and now he was gazing down at the dead body of the person he hated almost as much as Voldemort. And, Neville had killed her.

"I'll contact the ministry, Harry. I'll speak with Neville once the crisis with Alaire is over. There will be a few questions but no one will doubt that you and he were acting in self-defense."

"We were just studying Defense before this happened. Hermione kept saying 'Do what you do best." Harry shook his head as he surveyed the vines as round and fat as pythons twisted around what now appeared to be frail arms. "I-I underestimated Neville."

"Everyone except perhaps Ms. Goodnight." Dumbledore stood and patted Harry on the shoulder. "I know you wanted your own revenge against Bellatrix for what she did to Sirius but this was Neville's battle."

Harry couldn't help but finish the thought, "And my battle is with Voldemort."

Dumbledore gave his shoulder a squeeze then turned him and gave him a push up the stairs. When Harry was gone, he picked up the body of the snake, conjured an unbreakable jar, and placed the reptile within it. Later, he would talk to Draco. Two deaths had happened that night.