The crackle of the fire faded gradually behind me until all that I could hear was the slap of my feet on the stone floor. I had a stitch in my side, but I didn't want to stop. I had to hurry, or I'd miss the battle altogether. As soon as I emerged into the dungeon, I grabbed the Firebolt I'd borrowed from Harry. I still didn't love flying, but as I zoomed down the corridors I was glad I'd finally let Harry teach me.

My stomach twisted and turned as I flew low over the grounds. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I can't stand waiting for a fight to start; the anticipation is always so much worse than an actual battle. As soon as I cleared the Hogwarts boundary wall, I apparated mid-flight to Malfoy Manor. I could feel that the wards had already been broken, so I sped right over the gate and up to the graceful, shrub-lined entrance. I knew the broken wards must mean that the rest of the Order members were already inside, and had started the party without me.

Nothing looked out of place from the outside, so I tossed Harry's broom into the bushes with a quiet "Sorry, Harry," and drew my wand. I crept up to the inlaid mahogany front door and gingerly pushed it open. The heavy wood swung silently on well-oiled hinges as I crept into the entryway. Now, I could hear faint bangs and screams echoing disconcertingly off the marble floor of the hallway.

I ran down the hallway, trying to step softly and not draw unnecessary attention. I'd much rather attack by surprise than be the one surprised. I followed the noises through twists and turn in the hallways, past portraits of white-haired Malfoys, all hurling questions and insults at me.

"Shut the fuck up," I hissed at one severely beautiful blonde who couldn't decide between calling me a mudblood and asking what the blazes was happening. Unfortunately that only served to set the portraits off even more. I could only hope that in all of the other chaos, nobody would come to check what they were all screaming and snarking about.

At last, I turned a corner and came to a hallway that ended with a blasted-off door. Flashes of light emanated from within, accompanied by screams and bangs. My stomach was twisting and there was a sour taste in my mouth. Every nerve ending in my body was jangling. I took a deep breath, gathered my Gryffindor courage around me, and ran through the door.

What greeted me inside was pure chaos. A haze of smoke hung over what appeared to be some sort of banquet hall. I could see a few snatchers near me, who seemed to have a group of my compatriots pinned down behind an overturned table. The snatchers hadn't seen me come in, so I took the opportunity to blast them with a bombarda, and was pleased to watch their bodies fly across the room.

The trapped Order members, who turned out to be Kingsley and Diggle, popped out from behind the table and advanced on the prone snatchers. They looked like the had it well under control, so I advanced further through the haze towards what appeared to be the main action. I could hear Harry's voice yelling at the far end of the room, and as I advanced cautiously, wand raised, I was able to hear what he was shouting,

...really so broken you couldn't feel them destroyed, you Snake bastard?"

I heard an inhuman scream, and a green light lit the whole room. My heart stopped for a moment until I hear Harry's laugh,

"Missed me, Tommy!" he shouted.

"Where are you, Potter?" screamed the high, clear voice. Thank Merlin Harry had taken my advice and worn the cloak. Suddenly, Lestrange appeared before me out of the fog. His eyes bugged out at the sight of me, and I took advantage of his shock to get the first spell in.

Lestrange raised a smoky shield just in time, and my spell bounced off, hitting a hapless snatcher in the back. He whipped his wand, clearing the smoke and sent a purple chain flying at me. I dropped to one knee just in time, and sent a stunner at him, following it in the same breath with a trip jinx. Lestrange managed to block the stunner, but the trip jinx hit him in the knees and knocked him backwards.

He fell backwards with a very unmanly grunt, and a shout of, "Bitch!"

I didn't hesitate to follow up with a petrificus totalus, but the spell had barely left my wand when something huge slammed into my side. I went flying across the room, cradling my wand against my chest in an effort to protect it. Whatever had hit me landed on top of me, knocking all the air out of my lungs. I smacked the enormous mass of flannel and muscle on top of me with my free hand, which felt about as effective as a moth slamming into a window. All I could see was chest hair peeking out of flannel, and the smell of unwashed man hit my nose. I wrenched my wand loose and fired off a vicious stunner.

I could smell burning flesh, but the man on top of me seemed to still be very much conscious. A hand wrapped around my neck and squeezed, and I started to see black. I hit him with a non-verbal bombarda, but again it didn't seem to have any effect. As my brain started to shut down, I realized that his invulnerability to magic must be due to his being a giant or werewolf. I tried to claw for the knife in my boot, but couldn't reach it.

Blackness was creeping across my vision, and even as I struggled I could feel the strength leaving my limbs. Suddenly, the hand was wrenched from my throat, and the man's weight was lifted from me. I wheezed shallowly, rolling over to see the man being torn limb from limb by an enormous bear. I shook my head in confusion, and as my sight cleared I realized that the bear's sandy fur was colored in shining blue patterns.

I couldn't believe Antonin had been angry at me for not divulging that I could do wandless magic. He definitely never mentioned that he could turn into a huge damn bear!

With a final roar, Antonin ripped the man's throat out, spraying the tasteful beige wallpaper with bright red blood. With a shake of his shaggy head, he turned back into a man and charged towards me. I had just struggled to my knees when another blast knocked us all back to the ground. My ears were ringing as I rolled over yet again. I was already regretting helping Harry buy a muggle hand-grenade.

My eyes locked on Antonin again, lying on the floor clutching his ears. Suddenly, a hot wave of terror washed over me as I watched Lucius Malfoy stagger to his feet in front of me. Cold fury washed across his face at the sight of Antonin; clearly he realized that Antonin had betrayed them. I raised my hand to defend my husband, and realized that my wand was no longer in it. Antonin hadn't even realized the danger he was in, and was still clutching his ear with one hand and wiping the blood from his eyes with the other.

Lucius raised his bone-handled wand. and took at Antonin. In desperation, I did the only thing I could do. I scrambled to my feet and launched myself at Lucius like a muggle football player. I slammed into his back and grabbed his hair, sending us both crashing into the hardwood floor. I used the hair in my hand to slam Lucius's face into the ground, and vaguely processed that the crunch I heard must be his nose. However, before I was able to finish the job Lucius managed to point his wand back over his shoulder and grunt, "expulso," sending me spinning away into the air. I managed to roll into the landing, but I still felt an ominous pop as my shoulder hit the floor.

I scrambled back to my feet and looked around wildly for something to defend myself with as Lucius sat up, screaming,

"You whore of a blood-traitor!"

Some sophomoric part of my brain decided that the correct response would be to scream back, "Takes one to know one, man-whore." I don't know what possessed me, but I can only blame Ginny's influence.

I grabbed a spindly wooden chair and tried to launch it at Malfoy, but he dissolved it mid-air with a flick of his wand.

"I'm going to enjoy this, you little bitch," he growled. My eyes were locked on the end of Malfoy's wand, which was why it was such a surprise when his head suddenly parted company with his body. His blond hair flew behind his head like the tail of a kite, and his body collapsed to the floor, revealing the tattooed bear behind him. I ran forward and slammed myself into Antonin, who wrapped one furry paw around me. As I buried my head in his fur, I realized that the room had gone very quiet. I turned around to find the smoke clearing from the air.

I stepped away from Antonin to see that the remaining Death Eaters were lying on the floor with their hands behind their heads. There were bodies on all sides, and the smells of blood and smoke permeated the room. I staggered towards the nexus of the smoke, desperate to find out if Harry had survived. I'd barely taken five steps when I heard a voice shriek, "You traitor!"

I looked back in shock to see a ghostly-white Katie Bell pointing a shaking wand at Antonin.

"So you the little traitor," he rumbled calmly. My stomach turned to lead. How could Katie, of all people, have betrayed the Order?

"You've screwed us all," she shrieked wildly, "All our fates were tied to the Dark Lord! Now what will we do?"

Antonin shrugged. How could he look so unconcerned? "Pay for crimes, I suppose," he said calmly.

"I won't go to Azkaban", she shrieked, her voice rising to a fever pitch. I inched closer, trying to get in range to intervene. It felt like one of those horrible dreams where you need to fight or flee, but your body moves as if under water. Inside my head, a voice started chanting no, no, no, no...

Eyes rolling madly, Katie swung her wand wildly at Antonin and screamed, "Avada kedavra!"

Without a conscious thought, I threw my body through the air, trying to intercept the spell that was headed for my husband.

I saw the green light screaming towards me, and felt a spike of pain slam through my shoulder. Then, all went black.