Chapter 30: Family Reunion

Note: This chapter does have a bit of graphic violence. You've been warned.

The end of term is in sight. Much as I'll miss Rose, I'm excited for the next chapter of my life to start. I owled Ollivander a while back and he finally got back to me, agreeing to let me apprentice under him. He sent me a book about wand woods and cores - it's just as fascinating as I thought it would be. Sirius saw the book and told me I should've been in Ravenclaw - even called me a nerd. I just responded that he was upset because he's incapable of reading anything that doesn't have pictures in it. He challenged me to a duel for his honour that I denied and instead suggested we prank Lockhart.

Leo idly tapped his wand against the side of his leg, refraining from nervously bouncing up and down as he waited for the lift to arrive at the bottom floor. He had acquired what he had left his companions for with much difficulty. The orb could not be moved by him, no matter how hard he tried. Spells bounced off it, blocked by some sort of protection spell that he couldn't seem to blast through. He was about to give up altogether when he heard Fievel squeak at him from his pocket and glanced down at the small fellow.

Fievel made gestures, pointing from the orb to himself and squeaking all the while. Leo had blinked down at him, intrigued by the idea the mouse had offered up and so took him out of his pocket and set him on the ground. He cast an Enlargement Charm on him and watched as the mouse – who now reached Leo's kneecaps – scurried over to the pedestal. Fievel heaved himself up onto the plinth, pushing his body against the orb in an effort to move it. At first, nothing had happened. Then, the orb rolled off the plinth, the red smoke within turning white as it landed on the floor.

Leo cheered and praised his friend before rushing over to the orb. He tapped it with his wand, muttering the Shrinking Charm before placing the much smaller orb in the pocket of his pants. He then turned back to Fievel, placing him back in the pocket of his shirt after returning him to his normal size. He had then hesitated before leaving the room, staring at the plinth before obliterating it with a well-placed Reductor Curse and rushing back toward the lift.

"Department of Mysteries," said a cool female voice, interrupting his thoughts.

He ran out as soon as the grilles opened, looking around and sniffing the air. He found his friends' scents and turned toward a pair of black doors. He rushed over to them, blinking when they swung open at his approach. He levelled his wand and walked forward more warily, stepping over the threshold. He found himself in a large, circular room. Everything in here was black including the floor and ceiling — identical, unmarked, handle-less black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue, their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor so that it looked as though there was dark water underfoot. What surprised him the most, however, were three flaming crosses inscribed on three of the doors and the letters 'L.C.B.' on one.

Guess that's my door. Leo mused before tightening his grip on his wand and rushing through the door. He had to shield his eyes from the glare as he entered the room, blinking as his eyes adjusted. Clocks gleamed from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. The source of the dancing, diamond-bright light was a towering crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room.

"What the bloody hell did I just walk into?" Leo whispered to himself with a small frown.

He shook his head, reminding himself that the goal was to find his friends and rescue Sirius. He turned his nose upward, taking several sniffs of the air before he located the strong yet fading scent of his friends. Missed them by five minutes. Maybe ten. He decided as he squeezed through the bookcases and desks. He found himself in front of a door next to the bell jar and pushed his way through it, blinking in astonishment as he walked further into the next room.

It was dark, full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold. Leo edged forward slightly, scenting the air and feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prickle when he smelled not only his friends but unfamiliar scents as well.

Enemies. His eyes narrowed as he ran forward as quickly and quietly as possible in the direction of his friends. He passed row after row of shelves and heard the faint sound of voices in the distance. I don't smell or hear Sirius at all though... He frowned as he approached the voices. Which means this is most likely a trap... Moldy's using Harry to get to the prophecy.

"Hand over the prophecy, Potter," said an unfamiliar male voice. "And we won't have to hurt your friends."

Leo picked up his pace slightly, ducking into the row next to the one the voices were coming from. He crouched down, making his way along the row and stopping when he saw white. It was Draco's hair, turned white by the ominous glowing of the prophecies around them. He scanned around the teen, suppressing a sigh of relief when he saw his other friends were with him and in no worse shape than they had been when they had first arrived.

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Harry shouted.

"I want to know where Sirius is!" mimicked a woman just out of Leo's line of sight.

Leo saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw the dark-cloaked figures approach his cousin and their friends. Death Eaters. He realized, his eyes turning to Harry, who was holding an orb in his hand. The prophecy... we can't let them get it. Leo frowned, his brain working wildly. He stared at the orb in Harry's hand, his own reaching toward his pants pocket and resting on the spherical object in there. That could work... Now I just need to tell someone.

Someone moved closer to where he was, and he glanced up slightly to see the straggly blonde hair of Luna Lovegood. Perfect. Out of everyone, she's least likely to draw attention. Leo nodded in satisfaction before blinking at how absurdly odd that statement was. He shook his head before reaching through the shelves and tugging lightly on the sleeve of Luna's robe. He pressed a finger to his lips when she turned to look at him.

"You've got him," said Harry, his voice loud enough that Leo could whisper his plan to Luna without being overheard. "He's here. I know he is."

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," said the woman in a horrible, mock-baby voice as Luna leaned forward to whisper to Draco, who was standing right behind Harry.

"Don't do anything," Harry muttered to Ron, who was standing beside him. "Not yet —"

The woman who had mimicked him let out a raucous scream of laughter, drowning out Draco, who whispered quickly into Harry's ear.

"You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"The Dark Lord says he fancies himself a hero," the man from earlier sneered. "Enough of that; give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I know Sirius is here," said Harry as he put the prophecy behind his back. "I know you've got him!"

More of the Death Eaters laughed, though the woman still laughed loudest of all. Leo pocketed the object Luna handed him, handing her one in return and moving closer to the group of Death Eaters, heart hammering in his chest all the while. I only have one shot. One chance to catch them by surprise. He felt sweat bead down his brow and took a slow, steadying breath. Wait for the signal. Just wait.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," said the sneering man. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then," said Harry, raising his own wand to chest height. As he did so, the six wands of Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Draco, and Luna rose on either side of him.

But the Death Eaters did not strike.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," said the man.

It was Harry's turn to laugh.

"Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this prophecy, and you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the female Death Eater shrieked, "Accio Proph —"

"Depulso Maxima!" Leo shouted as he jumped out from behind the row. He briefly watched as the Death Eaters flew back before turning quickly to his friends and shouting, "RUN!"

They didn't need to be told twice. They ran around the corner to Leo, who led the way back up the row he had snuck down. He could hear the Death Eaters cursing and rising to their feet before the sound of their hurried footsteps drowned out their voices. They reached the end of the row and turned, heading along past the rows and dodging jets of red light that dashed by overhead. The door through which Leo and the others had come through was straight ahead and wide open. He pelted through it, waiting for everyone else to cross the threshold before slamming it shut.

"Colloportus!" gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

They all took a moment to bend over and catch their breath, their hands on their knees as they panted heavily.

"Have to hand it to you, Black," Draco managed to say between bouts of laboured breathing. "For all your faults, you do have a flair for dramatic timing."

"Thanks, I think?" Leo replied, wiping the sweat from his brow before tapping his pocket to make sure the orb was still there.

"Listen!" whispered Neville.

Leo paused to listen as the sneering man from before spoke on the other side of the door: "We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until we've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary — Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left, Crabbe, Rabastan, go right — Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead — Macnair and Avery, through here — Nott, over there — Mulciber, come with me!"

"What do we do?" Hermione asked, her voice remarkably steady despite how badly she was trembling.

"We get the bloody hell out of here," Leo replied in a firm tone, grabbing Luna by her hand and beginning to lead the group toward the exit.

They were almost there when Leo heard something large and heavy collide with the door Hermione had charmed shut. Oh, this can only be good. He grumbled before making hand gestures for everyone to duck under the tables. They hid in the nick of time as, seconds later, the door blew open and footsteps entered the room. They could see the bottom of two Death Eaters' robes drawing nearer, their feet moving rapidly.

"They might've run straight through to the hall," said a rough voice.

"Check under the desks," said another.

"Incarcerous!" Leo shouted, pointing his wand at one of the Death Eaters.

"STUPEFY!" Harry shouted at the same time, pointing his wand at the other.

A jet of red light hit the nearest Death Eater; he fell backwards into a grandfather clock and knocked it over. Leo ran out from under the desk toward the Death Eater he had tied up. The Death Eater had managed to vanish the ropes and rise to his feet and was just raising his wand, the Killing Curse beginning to fall from his lips when Leo tackled him to the ground. He pinned the man's wand arm down and punched him repeatedly in the face, not really noticing the blood spurting from the man's nose and spattering over his face. He didn't stop until the man had stopped moving.

He stood up, ignoring the stares of his friends as he futilely tried to wipe the blood from his face. He bent down, making sure the man was still breathing before grabbing the bloke's wand. He stared at it for a moment before snapping it and setting the remains alight. Only then did he turn to see the shocked and pale faces of his friends.

"This isn't a game – this isn't a D.A. meeting or a fight against the Inquisitorial Squad," he told them. "This is a battle for survival. It's us or them. You beat them down until they can't fight back and snap their wand when you're done. There's no room for fair play or honour on the battlefield, got it?"

He received stunned nods all around before he gestured for Harry to pick up the other Death Eater's wand. He did so, staring at it with a look of trepidation before he reaffirmed his grip and snapped it, dropping it on the ground. Leo nodded in approval before waving at them all to keep moving. They were halfway to the door when Leo saw through the open door two more Death Eaters running across the black room toward them. Veering left he burst instead into a small, dark, cluttered office and slammed the door behind them.

"Collo —" began Hermione, but before she could complete the spell the door had burst open again and the two Death Eaters had come hurtling inside. With a cry of triumph, both yelled, "IMPEDIMENTA!"

The Hogwarts students were all knocked backwards off their feet. Neville was thrown over the desk and disappeared from view, Hermione and Ron smashed into a bookcase and were promptly deluged in a cascade of heavy books; Harry and Draco slammed into a wall, Luna flying into them. Leo slammed into a couple of filing cabinets, his head banging into a corner. He gave a loud groan of pain as he felt blood trickle down the side of his face.

"WE'VE GOT HIM!" yelled the Death Eater nearest Harry, Draco, and Luna, "IN AN OFFICE OFF —"

"Silencio!" cried Hermione, and the man's voice was extinguished. He continued to mouth through the hole in his mask, but no sound came out; he was thrust aside by his fellow.

"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Draco, as the second Death Eater raised his wand. His arms and legs snapped together and he fell forward, facedown onto the rug at Harry's feet, stiff as a board and unable to move at all.

"Nicely done, Draco -" Leo began, shaking away the darkness that tried to swamp his vision.

But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden slashing movement with his wand from which flew a streak of what looked like purple flame. It passed right across Hermione's chest; she gave a tiny "oh!" as though of surprise and then crumpled onto the floor where she lay motionless.

"HERMIONE!"

There was a flurry of movement as everyone either tried to raise their wand or move toward Hermione. Leo was just in the midst of raising his own when none other than Neville Longbottom beat him to the punch. He had risen to his feet, his brow furrowed in determination as he pointed his wand at the man who had hurt Hermione.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Neville shouted.

The man was about to deflect the spell when his wand flew out of his hand and was caught by Luna, who had disarmed him. The man toppled forward across his comrade, both of them rigid as boards and unable to move an inch. Leo stared at his friends, feeling pride blossom in his chest before he ran toward Hermione alongside the others, only stopping momentarily to grab each of their enemies' wands and snap them.

"Hermione," Harry said at once, shaking her. "Hermione, wake up..."

"Hermione!" Ron choked out, grabbing her hand. "What did he do to you?"

Draco moved forward, waving his wand over her and murmuring a few words. Light pulsed from his wand as he moved it up and down her body, his brow furrowing as though he was displeased with what he found. After a minute, he lowered his wand and looked at everyone who stared back at him curiously.

"She'll live, but she's badly injured," Draco informed them. "We need to get her out of here as quickly as possible."

"How do you know that?" Harry frowned. "What did you do?"

"Simple diagnosing spell Cas taught me," Draco replied in an off-hand voice. "He's been working with me on healing and transportation magic... But that's not important. We need to get out of here and get Granger to safety, fast."

"We're in London – Grimmauld's closest," Leo stated before frowning. "But it'll be hard for all of us to make it there, and someone needs to tell McGonagall what's going on so she can tell Dumbledore..." He turned to Luna and Neville. "Since you two can't enter Grimmauld anyway, it'll be up to you two. Take the thestrals, head back to the castle, and alert them." He turned to Ginny. "You go with them. The three of you will protect Hermione and take her to Grimmauld. Once you get there, Neville and Luna will continue on to Hogwarts. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Ron raised his hand. "You never said what we're doing."

"We're the distraction," Leo replied grimly. "We make loads of noise and draw them to us. While we're doing that, the others can sneak away."

"... Just what are our chances of surviving that, Black?" Draco questioned in a soft tone.

"Do you really want me to answer?"

Draco was quiet before he shook his head and rose to his feet. The others followed suit before Neville stooped down and hefted Hermione on his back. Leo conjured ropes to hold her in place before nodding to Ginny and Luna. They nodded in return before turning to walk out of the room. Leo dove forward suddenly and grabbed Luna by her hand, stopping her in her tracks. He stared at her face, trying desperately to etch it into his memory.

"Luna, if we don't make it out of this," he whispered. "I just want you to know that I – that I -"

He was cut off abruptly when Luna pressed her lips to his. It was just as brief as their first one, and he felt a pang in his heart as he wondered if it would be their last.

"You can tell me when you make it out," she informed him. "I'll see you at Hogwarts."

She turned away from him, her hand sliding out of his as she followed Neville and Ginny out of the room. Leo stared after her forlornly for a second before he turned back to his remaining companions with a grim expression. They returned it. He then strode to the wall Harry, Draco, and Luna had flown into and pointed his wand at it. He took a deep breath.

"Bombarda Maxima!" he yelled.

With a sound like a small bomb, the wall exploded, and Leo was only saved by Ron conjuring a shield in front of them. They walked into the room through its newest entrance and Leo had to stop and stare in awe for a moment.

The room was large, dimly lit, and rectangular. They were in a circular pit some twenty feet below many rows of benches. There was a raised stone dais in the centre of the lowered floor, and upon this dais stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked, and crumbling that Leo was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.

They walked toward the veil, and Leo had to frown as he heard whispers that sounded as though they were coming from the veil. They sound familiar, but... He shook his head before turning to face toward the benches. His friends lined up beside him, Draco on his right, Harry and Ron on his left. They all had their wands out and stared upward at the only other entrance to the room. But there's still the one I created. He recalled before giving a wave of his wand in the hole's direction. A wall of flame rose up, blocking it off. Leo placed his wand to his throat.

"Sonorous," he whispered before removing his wand and speaking in such a loud voice that he was sure could be heard by everyone in the Department of Mysteries. "I'm tired of running! Come find me in the room with the veil, you elitist, death munching bastards!"

He removed the charm and reaffirmed the grip on his wand. Minutes ticked by where there was no answer. For a moment, Leo worried the others had been caught. His worries were assuaged a moment later when the door at the top of the amphitheatre blew open off its hinges. In strode four figures, and Leo had to tighten his grip as he stared upward at Bellatrix Lestrange.

"And here I was just wondering if you guys smartened up and left while you still could," Leo stated, raising his eyebrow. "Nice to know old Voldy doesn't pick people for their brains."

"You must be Castor's little lion!" Bellatrix cackled gleefully. "My Lord told me all about you. I was wondering where you've been all this time -"

"Outsmarting you lot," Leo replied in a bored tone. "Not that difficult, but fun all the same."

Bellatrix raised her wand but a man on her right grabbed her arm and stopped her. He stepped forward, removing his mask and revealing Augustus Rookwood.

"Black is not our target, Bellatrix," Rookwood said coldly. "We're here for the prophecy. Once we have it, you're free to do as you please." He paused to turn to Harry. "Hand over the prophecy now, Potter."

"Let — let the others go, and I'll give it to you!" said Harry desperately.

A few of the Death Eaters laughed.

"You are not in a position to bargain, Potter," said Rookwood, his pale face flushed with pleasure. "You see, there are four of us – four, experienced, powerful adults – against you, four mere children. You don't stand a chance."

"Yeah, tell that to the four sorry bastards whose arses we kicked," Leo snorted. "Age and experience don't always mean you'll win. We'll beat you just like we beat them -"

"Ah, but how many friends will you lose in the process, Black?" Rookwood countered, striding down toward him with the others following behind him. "How many have you lost in this foolish battle? How many could you have saved if you had just given us what we want?"

Ron made to step forward but Leo held his hand up and Harry grabbed the ginger's arm before he could. Leo's eyes never left Rookwood as he and his companions reached the pit and lined up in front of them. Bellatrix stood in front of Draco, a man Leo recognized as Rodolphus Lestrange stood in front of Harry while his brother, Rabastan, stood in front of Ron. That left Rookwood as Leo's opponent. I'd've preferred Bellatrix but... guess I'll just have to finish Rookwood off first.

"The only people losing today will be you," Leo informed him, narrowing his eyes as he tightened his grip on his wand. "You'll regret underestimating us – Everte Statum!"

Orange light burst from his wand and shot at Rookwood, who deflected it with a shield. As though his casting the spell were a signal, shouts were heard all around Leo as his friends and the Death Eaters fired off spells. Rookwood fired off a Cruciatus Curse, and Leo retaliated with the Reductor Curse. The curses met in midair and exploded, sending the two staggering back slightly.

Leo recovered quickly, casting Orbis onto the ground at the Death Eater's feet. The man jumped back quickly, slashing his wand downward and creating a purple flame. Leo slashed his own wand down, dissipating the purple flame, much to the man's surprise. He shot back with Expulso, watching as Rookwood conjured up a shield. In the midst of the explosion that followed, Leo ran forward, sliding to the ground as a jet of green flew over his head, ruffling his hair. He stopped in front of Rookwood and pointed his want up at the man's throat.

"Diffindo," Leo spat.

A jet of pink shot from his wand and hit Rookwood. At once, a cut stretched out over his neck and blood spurted from the wound. The man reached up and grabbed his throat, trying to staunch the endless flow of blood. Leo had to close his eyes and turn his head away as it spattered over his face and the front of his shirt. He covered Fievel, making sure the mouse wouldn't get soaked as Rookwood finally sunk to the ground unmoving.

Leo jumped to his feet, looking around wildly and noting with relief that Harry had defeated Rodolphus and was now busy helping Ron with Rabastan. He nodded with satisfaction before turning to Draco, who was barely holding his own against Bellatrix. The witch was cackling madly, firing off curses and spells that Draco barely had time to deflect or dodge. Leo ran toward him, prepared to help his friend.

Time seemed to slow as Leo ran toward Draco. Bellatrix was raising her wand, her lips moving to form the words to an eerily familiar spell. Leo didn't stop moving as he reached Draco, pushing him to the side and raising his own wand to say a spell. He didn't have time as a flash of green consumed his sight and he felt himself flying back before darkness consumed him.