Chapter 23: Year 3

"He's planning to do this is broad daylight in the streets of muggle London? He's going to expose us to the entire world," Harry said to Remus as he and Viktoria stood next to each other. They were in a muggle street in London, where they had recently received intelligence from an anonymous source that the Dark Lord was planning to attack.

Over the past year there was someone in the Dark Lord's inner ranks that was leaking information to the Order of the phoenix. Of course at first they thought that it was a trick of some sort, but the information was accurate and genuinely helped them over the past year to make things even.

"That would be the point," Voldemort said as he suddenly appeared. "A great way to cause panic amongst all the muggles. and expose our world through a great battle, in which of course the 'savior' of both worlds shall perish," the Dark Lord said as he stared at Harry. He then turned to look to Harry's right and glared. "And don't think that I have forgotten about you my dear. And don't think that the fact that you are descended of Rowena Ravenclaw intimidates me in the least," he said as he stared at her. She merely glared at him and touched Harry's hand. "Ah, here are my loyal friends," Voldemort said turning away as the Death Eaters came.

'I'll take care of the muggles, just worry about Voldemort, the Aurors and Order can worry about the others,' Harry looked at his hand briefly as Viktoria dissaparated, to Voldemorts great anger. Viktoria appeared on a roof nearby from which she could spot the street below and see that there was still no movement, but the muggles were starting to take notice of the two people standing in the middle of the street.

Viktoria sat down and started to chant, something she'd read in Rowena's book of spells. "What's going on, where are all the muggles?" Voldemort asked as he looked around and noted that all the muggles had disappeared and that the sun seemed to dim, giving the area a very surreal look. Harry smiled to himself as he looked around and spotted Viktoria standing on a roof.

"Seems that you have greatly underestimated my godmother," Harry said as he looked over at Voldemort defiantly. Voldemort glared at him.

"No matter, I shall still take pleasure in killing both you and your godmother," Voldemort said as the battle started.

Viktoria made her way through the ruins. The battle had been going on for quite sometime now. She'd engaged in several different battles with so many insignificant Death Eaters of whom she did not know the name. She'd even witnessed a young boy, perhaps only about Harry's age, battling with an Auror and watched as the life was snuffed out of the young grey eyes. She wondered, after the Death Eaters lay immobile in death or simple unconsciousness, whether anyone knew who they where. A part of her did not feel right in battling with Death Eaters, for she was still married to one, but she had little other choice.

"You are the reason Sirius is dead. Had you been able to deal with me he wouldn't have died," Bellatrix said as she towered over a crying Tonks. Viktoria glared at Bella and launched herself at her just as Bellatrix had raised her wand to attack Tonks.

"Leave her alone!" Viktoria said angrily as she tackled Bella to the ground. She then stood up and pulled out the wand from her pocket and pointed it as Bella. "Crucio!" she yelled as Bella tried to reach out for her wand. Bella started to contort in pain. Tonks stared at Viktoria, wondering why she was sticking up for her. "How do you like being under the cruciatus curse?" Viktoria asked as she took the curse off Bella.

"Do you think I cannot withstand it?" Bella asked as she tried to get up as she started to laugh. Viktoria glared at her as she pointed her wand at her. From the tip of her wand sprouted a large snake that seemed to be made of liquid silver that advanced towards Bella and wrapped itself around her and as hard as Bella fought to shove the snake off and keep it from wrapping around her, the snake was far too heavy, and it wrapped itself around her, slowly tightening and constricting.

"You do not deserve the Avada Kedavra curse. That would be a death far too painless for you. I want you to suffer at the thought that you will have the life squeezed out of you painfully slowly," Viktoria said as she glared down at Bellatrix, who started to scream in panic. Viktoria turned away and walked over to Tonks and helped her to her feet. "Come on, Remus is looking for you," she said as she took Tonks by the arm and helped her towards Remus.

"Tonks! Viktoria! Are you both all right?" Remus asked as rope spurted from his wand and bound itself around his opponent, who fell on the floor. Viktoria and Tonks merely nodded.

"Yes, Viktoria saved me from Bellatrix," Tonks said as she through her arms around Remus. Over the past three years since the war had started, Viktoria spoke very little to Tonks. Tonks had gotten the feeling at first that Viktoria hated her, but after knowing her for two years she felt the hate melting away. Of course, she hadn't thought that Viktoria liked her of approved of her dating Remus, but they were slowly getting to a better place from where they had started.

"You saved her?" Remus asked as he looked at his sister.

'It was nothing. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if anything ever happened to her and I knew that I could prevent it, besides I know how much she means to you,' Viktoria's green letters glowed as she stared at him.

"Viktoria!" Viktoria turned around and spotted Lucius standing there with a child in his arms. Viktoria's eyes widened in horror as she looked at Lucius. "You let my SON, be killed by one of the Aurors. You passed by and you did nothing to stop it! I blame you for his death and for it yours will pay the price," Lucius shouted as he pointed a wand at the child. Viktoria thought of the boy with blonde hair and grey eyes, he was around Harry's age whom she'd witnessed die and put a hand to her mouth. She hadn't realized that the boy was Lucius son.

"Lucius, please! I didn't know that he was your son," Viktoria pleaded as she looked over at Lucius.

"It's too late Viktoria. I want you to join me in my pain," he said as he pointed his wand at the scared looking child.

"Mummy!" Amadeo cried out, his amber eyes shining with fear.

"Expeliarmus!" Lucius' wand flew into the air and Lucius turned his head to the left and watched as Severus approached. "Put him down Lucius, if you value your life."

"Why are you protecting this child Severus, he's not even yours," Lucius said. "Are you willing to throw away your life, by betraying your Dark Lord and allying yourself with them, for the symbol of your wife's betrayal?" Lucius asked as he looked over at Severus. Severus took in a deep breath.

"I lost my whole life to save your son's life when I have no particular feelings of affection towards you or your family, why would I not save the life of my wife's son when I am in love with her?" Severus said as he looked over at Lucius with his wand still pointed at his chest. Lucius glared at Severus.

"And do you think that by threatening my life that I will let this boy go free. I no longer have anything to live for-"

"Oh please Lucius, everyone here knows you need no other reason then yourself to live. Stop pretending that the loss of your son hurts you so much. We all know that you never loved that boy, a boy whom only a mother could love," Severus said as he gritted his teeth and pointed it at Lucius.

"And do you think this child worth your life, Severus? For you know that the Dark Lord will sure have you killed for this," Lucius said as he looked at Severus.

"Unlike you, Lucius, I have worse things to fear then death and Voldemort," he said as he took a step closer to Lucius, who took a step back.

"Very well then," Lucius said as he dropped the child and took off. Severus grabbed the four year old child and inspected him as Viktoria ran over, closely followed by Remus and Tonks, neither which knew what to do.

"Mummy," Amadeo said as he pulled away from Severus and through his arms around his mother. Viktoria held onto him tight before pulling him away and inspecting him and happy to find that there wasn't a scratch on him. She turned to look over at Severus and through her arms around him.

"How could I ever possibly thank you?" she whispered as she held him.

"There is no need for you to thank me," he whispered as she pulled away. Amadeo looked over at the man that had just held his mother and saved his life.

"I remember you," Amadeo said as he looked over at Severus. Severus stared at the boy but said nothing.

"You need to get him back to the original plane of existence and out of this limbo-esc place. He's not safe here. The battle is coming to an end, the Death Eaters are panicking, they feel the end is coming and as they've seen it so far they know it's not going to end well. We're loosing the battle and they can't escape because you have them trapped here. I suggest you start rounding them up," Severus said as he stood up and helped her to her feet. Tonks and Remus stared at him with a furrowed brow.

"That would just be wasted efforts to round them up and not continue fighting them, if Harry cannot defeat Voldemort, they will only be set free," she said as she looked at him.

"You've been training Harry, I know you have. He's going to defeat the Dark Lord," Severus said as he stared down at her eyes. "Whether he comes out alive himself, I cannot assure."

TBC…