Chapter Eight: The False Sister
Harry threw his arm out to stop the others from descending. He listened, barely daring to breathe, his heart thuding in his ears. They were being watched, he was sure of it.
Without making a sound, Harry turned slowly on his heel. Slythering along the banister behind Ginny was the large, monstrous head of Nagini, Voldemort's large pet snake. The serpent raised its head and tasted the air with its tongue, then turned its head to one side and studied Harry with one glittering eye. The eye was alive with an evil fire Harry had only seen in one person.
Harry scowled.
"What is it?" Ginny asked, barely moving her lips.
"It's Nagini. Voldemort is watching us." Harry slowly raised his wand. "Don't move," he instructed Ginny, watching the snake intently.
Ron and Hermione stood by, looking tense.
"Don't you touch her," Harry said in Parseltongue, but he knew the snake of Voldemort would never heed any order given by him. He suddenly yelled a curse, trying to catch the snake by surprise as he shoved Ginny aside.
The snake hit the stairs with a thud and slythered toward Ron, leaving a clean trail in the dust. Ron hopped onto the banister and pushed Hermione aside, who also raised her wand and yelled a curse. The curse merely rocketed off the snake and zinged back at her.
"Hermione!" Harry yelled, grabbing his friend's arm to yank her out of harm's way.
The serpent turned and snapped at Ginny to clear its path,then slid rapidly down the stairs. Harry leapt down the stairs two at time to catch up with it, firing curses as he went.
Without warning, the snake turned at Harry and snapped. Harry instinctively whipped Sirius's mirror out of his pocket and thrust it in front of him. Nagini pulled back with a mouthfull of glass. Bloody shards poked through the serpent's lips and scaly skin as it chomped, fighting hard to spit the glass out.
Harry watched with satisfaction as the glittering intelligence in the serpent's eyes faded. Its jaws chomped more and more languidly and the head lowered slowly to the floor, where the creature convulsed until it stopped moving altogether, eyes now glassy and dull.
"It was a horcrux," breathed Hermione, clapping herself on the forehead and pushing her hair back. "Harry, didn't you see the light in its eyes? It was like -- like --"
"Like You-Know-Who was staring up out of it," said Ron with a shiver.
"Three more horcruxes to go," said Ginny, staring at the serpent as she caught her breath.
A noise resounded in the silence from the top of the stairs. Someone was clapping slowly, the way a person would on the edge of a crowd watching a touching scene. Except this person looked anything but touched. She was standing with her head tilted to one side, her black hair tumbling in her sarcastic face, and her black robes draped around her like a bedsheet.
Bellatrix Lestrange lifted her head and dropped her hands after another round of sarcastic claps. She flashed a bone-chilling smile on the paralyzed teenagers below.
"Get out of my house," Harry said gruffly, hatred filling his lungs.
Bellatrix laughed.
"Get out of my house!" Harry yelled, advancing slowly past his friends with his wand raised.
"Going to kill me, Harry? Like you did the last time? Shall we duel?" She drew her wand and swung it lazily.
There was a large, silver ring on her hand. It flashed in the dim sunlight streaming through the boarded windows. A spidery R was engraved on the ring, flanked by silver wings.
Bellatrix noticed Harry's preoccupation with the ring and smiled her chilling smile again.
"Alright, Potter," she said slowly. "I have something you want, you have something I want --"
"Since when do Death Eaters compromise?" snapped Harry.
"You're right," Bellatrix answered. "We don't. So tell me where my nephew is, and not only will I kill you, but I'll give you this shiny ring as well!"
Harry said nothing.
"Come on, Potter! I know that you know! You can choose to tell me or I'll start killing off your friends -- the little one first." She aimed her wand at Ginny, but Harry stepped in front of her. "You can't save them all!" she cried.
"No," admited Harry, lifting his wand, "But I can kill you."
Bellatrix threw back her head and laughed loudly. "You? Kill someone? You can't use Avada Kedavra on someone, Potter, when your heart is full of -- " she shivered as if she found it disgusting, "-- good intent. You couldn't perform the curse anymore than you could smash my skull with a rock. You know why, Potter? Because you're weak! Weak! Oh, your parents were weak too -- it's why they're dead --"
"Crucio!" exploded Harry, and Bellatrix collapsed in a fit of convulsions.
"Harry!" squealed Hermione.
But Harry yelled again, "Crucio!" and Bellatrix screamed and began to shake again, her teeth rattling in her head.
In her fit, Bellatrix's wand rolled away, and Ginny bent to pick it up.
"Now," said Harry, lifting the curse. "Hand over that ring."
"Harry," Hermione whispered at Harry's elbow, her voice trembling. She tentively touched his shoulder, "Harry, this isn't right. That's an Unforgivable Curse! And -- and it's four on one!"
"Want me to make it even?" gasped Bellatrix, sitting up with an uneven smile. There was a mad light in her eye as she watched Harry. "Is that what you want, Potter? An even chance to avenge dear Sirius?"
"I want you to hand over that ring!" Harry yelled, brushing off Hermione. "Hand it over! Now!"
"Then what? You'll blindfold me and send me walking one hundred paces South?" Bellatrix cackled insanely at the cobwebbed ceiling. "That's the attitude that lost you Pettigrew, Potter. People are much easier to search when they're dead!"
Without warning, she leapt on Harry, screaming as loudly as the portrait of Mrs. Black at the bottom of the stairs. They went rolling through the dust, twisting, fighting, yelling. The others hurried after them, afraid of cursing Bellatrix incase they accidentally hit Harry.
"Cissy!" Bellatrix screamed. "Cissy! Cissy!"
"Malfoy's mum!" gasped Ron, turning to face the stairs again.
At the top of the stairs stood Mrs. Malfoy, pointed face pale and sneering. She lifted her wand lazily and everyone's wands flew from their hands and shot into hers. Her hard, gray eyes stayed fixed on the brawling pair at the bottom of the stairs as she advanced.
"Alright, Lady!" yelled Ron, leaping in front of her and raising his fists. "I've got nothing against hitting a bird who deserves it! Come on! Come on! Hit me! Try it!"
Hermione and Ginny watched, breathless, as Mrs. Malfoy lifted her hand. But the blonde witch only closedher fingersover Ron's fists and slowly lowered them. Ron stared at her, perplexed. Mrs. Malfoy smiled at him, then her eyes shifted to the girls and she winked.
Mrs. Malfoy moved past the gawking teenagers and pointed her wand at Harry.
"Cissy!" screamed Bellatrix, who Harry was trying to thrust away with his knee.
Bellatrix had Harry pinned to his back, her clawlike hands holding down his wrists. Harry was doing his best to pry her off with his feet.
"Cissy! I have him! We can take him to Master! Go on! Curse him!"
Mrs. Malfoy didn't move.
Bellatrix's eyes glinted, "Cissy, what are you waiting for? Curse him!" Her black eyes shifted to the teenagers standing motionless behind her sister. "Cissy . . . why didn't you kill the others?"
Mrs. Malfoy said nothing. Her wand shifted slowly from Harry's twisted face to her sister's. Bellatrix's face darkened as she realized what the others had not. Then a white light exploded from Mrs. Malfoy's wand, and Bellatrix lay motionless in a body bind, only her eyes racing angrily.
"You hate Bellatrix Lestrange too?" said Ron, perplexed. "Blimey, maybe the Malfoys are human after all."
"That's not Mrs. Malfoy!" cried Hermione impatiently as the blonde witch helped Harry to his feet.
"Wot?" Ron said, nose wrinkling.
Ginny was staring at Mrs. Malfoy with a mixture of wonder and admiration. She stepped forward suddenly and hugged the blonde witch tight around the waist. Mrs. Malfoy laughed and patted Ginny's fiery, red hair.
Then the blonde witch twinkled at them as, very slowly, her nose began to change shape.