Alaric Moody POV

"Avada Kedavra!"

The killing curse sailed past him as he turned away from the deadly curse before he banished pieces of rubble from burning and broken buildings into the attackers, lifting two of them off their feet before he turned to two others who were firing at civilians who were running in all directions, screams and shouting dominating the air as the attackers killed with abandon.

He saw a family desperately defending themselves from the onslaught of several enemies and he rushed forward, and with a turn of his wand arm, he raised the some of the debris into small tendrils of steel ropes and whipped one of the attackers away before with a swift flick of the wand sent a bludgeoning curse at the other, blasting him through the walls of a burning building.

"Go! Go find a place to hide, the floo and the wards will keep magical travel out. If you have brooms, use them!" he barked out.

"Tha-Thank you" the woman who was helping up her husband said meekly as her daughter cried and clung onto her mother's leg.

He turned sharply and raised a shield before a cutting curse could bisect him and with a shield and drew his arm sharply and sent a banishing charm at his attacker, lifting him off his feet before he followed up with a rapid stunner and a chain locking curse, binding the attacker tightly.

He turned his eyes to his partner who was limping desperately as he evaded the killing curse sent his way and he ran towards to him, wand raised. With a sharp jab he sent a piercing curse through the leg of his partner's attacker, barely stopping the attacker in his focus on his partner, much to his disbelief, before he followed up with a stunner and a binding spell.

He made it to his partner almost until he was warned "Moody, duck!" Jones called out desperately.

He heeded the warning and ducked under the green spell and with a swift movement, got up and transfigured rubble into a large stone fence in front of a damaged store. He scrambled to it for cover, and dragged his injured partner with him.

"Jones, are you able to continue?" Alaric grunted out as he cast diagnostic spells on him.

"Aye sir" Jones said with a hiss as Alaric cleaned and knitted the wounds on his torso with a battle field healing spell.

Alaric ducked his head slightly as chunks of stone were broken off.

"Boss, I don't get it, are they suicidal? They're casting to kill but they have none of the normal survival instincts" Jones said perplexed.

"I don't think so Jones, I think they're probably on the Imperius, told to kill and last and nothing else." Moody said contemplatively as he looked beyond the cover they were under.

There had been around sixty perpetrators, though now they were whittled down to just over forty and spread around the village. He could see bodies of dozens of bystanders amidst the burning buildings and destroyed store fronts however.

It was a damned slaughter.

He and the young lad Jones were on their duty in Godric's Hollow when a anti apparition and portkey ward went up which meant that someone had brought a damn anchor wardstone here. The Isles didn't use them like they did in the continent but he was going to speak with the Director about doing something about this security flaw.

"What a mess." He sighed before he breathed in deeply. "Stay here Jones and recover for a little bit, Kilbrook should have been able to get beyond the ward line and get help in by now"

"Boss-"

"That's an order kid, don't make me stun and bind you!" he barked out as he glared at the boy who backed down and with a satisfied nod, he gripped his wand a little tighter and made his way towards a cluster of the imperiused individuals.

He shot various stunning spells and binding spells, catching three of the eight out before they returned fire at him with killing curses and dark piercing curses.

He hastily moved out of the way of the killing curses, narrowly avoiding some in any case and he was suddenly glad of those remedial training sessions that he took not a few weeks ago.

He raised the debris and transfigured them blunt objects and sent them careening towards the cluster, taking out another two.

Before he could do anything else, a wave of red light was sent and the three were all stunned before he could blink and he squinted and saw someone stunning them. He was dressed in professor garments and he immediately knew who it was. There was only one person that young and a professor.

"Young ma-" He called out but the boy crouched down and shot off in the air, with speeds that he'd only seen brooms do, towards the north, leaving him gaping at the sight. The gust of wind from the act broke him from his stupor.

"That's not something you see every day" a voice remarked and he turned and saw Jones standing behind him, limping to him.

Screams and spell fire around the block got Moody out of his thoughts.

"Come on lad, we need to meet up with the rest of the force" Moody ordered and with a determined nod, Jones followed.

-Break-

Esra POV

Esra watched on as the wards were being overwhelmed. A blue white dome was being assaulted as they cast magically intensive spells at the dome. Wards like these were high grade but ultimately could be overwhelmed with time.

A follower dropped from his broomstick and walked up with broom in hand to him and saluted. Esra nodded at him "Sir, Godric's Hollow is being attacked as we speak."

He turned away from his soldier and turned his eyes at the buckling wards. He glanced at the man "And how is their performance?"

"They're performing well sir, they have no trouble casting killing curses but their...intuitiveness is not so good." He hesitated for a moment "They're careless of their attacks"

He grunted and turned back to the wards that were now showing spidery cracks "No matter, they are doing what they were designed to do." He said with an emotionless tone.

Godric's Hollow was a diversion, to ensure that they wouldn't be interrupted in their primary mission. The anchor stone they had was meant to ensure maximum damage with delayed interference whilst at the same time ensuring that the Sayres had no back up to come and to keep them in.

Killing the Lord Sayre was a requirement whilst their secondary missions involving the assassination of several other highly outspoken Lords were opportunistic.

He looked over his shoulder "Go and inform the men surrounding the estate to keep their eyes out, there may be some that might manage to escape. Families like these tend to have escape routes" he ordered.

The man saluted and took off.

The wards, after sustained fire, began to crack even more until a final assault destroyed the wards and a resounding crack dominated the air.

Streaks of spells were fired from the house, from different positions and some of them managed to his men, one in particular was subjected to a particularly nasty blood boiling curse. He saw the figure in the house responsible and he narrowed his eyes at the figure.

"MEN, ATTACK IN YOUR ASSIGNED SQUADS!" he shouted loudly.

Two groups of three got on their brooms and got airborne whilst six other groups ran into the house and five others surrounded the house, keeping them in and as back up.

He turned to the estate and unholstered his wand and watched on, intent on succeeding the mission his lord set him.

-Break-

Markus POV

"We need to split into groups" Lukasz said in an authoritative voice to the groups.

"Mikhel, Natalia, take the upstairs and go to the left wing of the estate and keep those on brooms occupied. The balcony at the other end of the hall is something you need to be aware of" he turned to the others "Ivan, mother, Katerova, take the southern entrance and barricade the entrance. Ivan, Katerova, have you kept up with your with duelling skills?" Lukasz asked sharply.

"Da, we have." Katerova answered for them.

BOOM!

"Good. Mother..." Lukasz trailed off.

She cut him off "I will be able to defend them against spells" she said curtly and Lukasz gave a pained smile.

Markus knew that they were very unlucky to survive, at least most of them until help arrived.

"Can we not escape on brooms?" Natalia asked and Markus shook his head.

"Unless you are world class on a broom to escape the numerous enemies on brooms, you're far more likely to be shot down like a bird in a hunting party" Markus said grimly.

Vladimir grunted "We can only fight our way out or until help arrives" and everyone grimly knew their chances were low of fighting their way out. They needed aid and soon.

"Markus, father and I will be the ones that will deal with the ones trying to enter the home at the front. The house is proofed against fire, the windows are directional and most kinds of damages will be deflected."

"Unless they burn us out with Fiendfyre" Vladimir Provydetsi, his father in law said grimly.

"There is that chance" Lukasz sighed "But they have not yet cast it" he reminded his father.

"Only because they don't want the magic of the wards to feed into it" Ivan commented. He glanced at Markus "I suspect they also don't want us all dead otherwise they would have done it anyway"

That was true. Fiendfyre would eat through the wards, growing stronger as it siphoned off the magic whilst the wards kept it at bay for a short period.

In the end, it would grow uncontrollable until it was dispelled once the magic that was gathered to sustain it died off or if it could no longer feed to keep itself going.

Markus cursed himself. Atticus had pleaded with him to accept some of the measures he came up with but he'd refused all but the rings that would pin point their location and the increased number of experienced duellers in their employ.

In his arrogance...and pride...he accepted his son's warnings but believed himself to be more than capable of devising methods of ensuring his and Anne's safety, despite his son's capabilities. Atticus' propensity for secrecy and the number of things he had hidden from him had played a factor as well in his decision.

He knew that Atticus' respect for him was likely the only reason why he didn't force him to accept his methods and he played on that respect.

He was proud of his son, immensely so. He achieved so much in his young life and he had the treasured family trait, the most powerful version too but protecting the family was his duty, his responsibility, not his son's.

His son's visions were not clear, merely the hazy visions and vivid emotions he felt from them and it was not enough to truly dissuade him from his route.

And here he was, without the safety of Dayton and the other men that were hired to protect his family, likely consigned his dear Anne's family to death.

"And that is key to our survival" Lukasz said grimly and everyone nodded determined just as Markus did.

He set his jaw, what was done is done.

BOOOOOM! CRACK

"The wards are almost done, get into position now!"

Markus stepped up to the wall next to the front windows.

CRAAAAAAAAAACK

He turned and began to cast feverishly, ending his chain with a entrails expelling curse before he had to duck as spells rained down at him, the windows shattering but the wall remaining firm under the spellfire.

Spells continue to rain down, forcing them to backtrack under the heavy fire.

"Lukasz, we need to lay traps!" Markus said with a grunt.

"I will do it" Vladimir said gruffly "Keep them occupied" he ordered as he ran a pace that belied his age.

Lukasz grimly chuckled "Who knew a little bit of danger would be enough to get him to move that fast" he said as a dark expression flashed across his face.

Lukasz fired a blood boiling curse and a scream later confirmed that he got one of them. He smiled grimly until they heard

"MEN, ATTACK IN YOUR ASSIGNED SQUADS!"

He grabbed Lukasz shoulder "Come on, we need to create barriers" he said in a rush as he dragged Lukasz away.

-Break-

"Tweenie!" he called out as soon as he arrived in his office.

He hastily grabbed a clump of floo powder "Provydetsi Hall!" and the floo didn't connect, dread filling his stomach.

"Kelly's Tavern!" he called out, the tavern in Godric's Hollow and found the same thing happening, no floo connection. "Three Broomsticks!" Again nothing.

'The floo network is down' he gritted his teeth.

*pop* "Master!" Tweenie called out.

He turned around "Tweenie, go to my mother, father and tell them I'm on my way. Stay with my mother and do as she orders you" he ordered.

*pop* and Tweenie left.

He ran out of his office and made his way to the gates of Hogwarts. With a little bit of magic channelled through his legs, he ran faster than he'd ever done so. He hadn't visited the new home of his uncle's so he'd have to make his way through Godric's Hollow.

As soon as he was past the gates of Hogwarts, he apparated out with a mild crack.

He bounced away far from his intended target, spiralling him away mid air until he righted himself and with a focused mind apparated mid air once he halted his drift and he dropped uncontrolled in a clearing. He shakily got to his feet and saw he was overlooking Godric's Hollow which was in the distance.

"Fuck, so that's what happens when you find yourself trying to get through a two way anti ward" he ground out before he shook his head.

The daziness left him as soon as he saw the fires around Godric's Hollow from his position and he gritted his teeth. He raised his hand and with a cut of his palm levitated some of his blood onto a conjured compass.

He chanted an ancient Egyptian blood spell that had been originally designed to keep track of escaped slaves. It was one of the more powerful spells with regards to blood tracking.

The two needles spun erratically whilst he neared the end of the chant and it fixed onto two locations, the needles barely differentiated and he sighed in relief until he realised that he'd have to travel through Godric's Hollow from where he was.

He gritted his teeth in frustration but refused to yield to despair.

*pop* His head swivelled towards the sound.

"Master! Mistress Anne and the children are the south west entrance of the forest behind the house! They are taking the emergency escape tunnel to get there!" Tweenie said in a rush.

He sighed in relief before he sharpened "What is the situation at the Hall?" he said as he got his bearing right. The needles were pointed at the same general location so for the moment he had no major divergences to be concerned about but he needed to get there quickly.

"The house is surrounded by many people Master!" Tweenie bounced on his heels, clutching at his ears "Master Markus and the adults remained behind!"

"Thank you Tweenie. Before you go back to my mother, take the grenades in the secret depot and protect them!" he ordered and the elf with a gleam in his eye popped away.

He'd have to dispatch the enemies that surrounded his father quickly. A sinking feeling failed to leave him.

He breathed deeply as he calmed himself and he crouched, his arms in a runner pose. His magic thrummed in his veins and with a simple thought, he channelled magic through his body, through his legs and with a push, he soared through the air, a hundred metres in the air with seconds.

He palmed his wand and with a wide area concussive curse propelled himself forward, accelerating him significantly until he passed over at the houses at the edges of Godric's Hollow.

Gravity once more came calling and with a simple flick of the index finger, he cushioned the earth and he landed in a crouch and again he channelled magic through his legs, soaring through the air. He jumped like this twice, passing over several new magical districts in Godric's Hollow were battles were waging, killing curses flying all over the place and he passed over them dispassionately.

He could not be focused on them, he had to save his family. He passed over the centre of Godric's Hollow and was descended into an area where an Auror was battling with three attackers.

He palmed his wand and as he cushioned his fall with his free right hand, he swung his arm in an arc and with a wide area stunner, he incapacitated the three attackers and in the same time, channelled magic through his legs.

"Young ma-" he jumped again, ignoring the man and continued to make his way towards his family.

-Break-

Markus POV

He ducked under a fallen banister. "Lukasz, I need a few seconds" he yelled out amidst the sounds of destruction that was visited on them.

They've been battling for the past ten minutes as they used all of their wits to move and cast as they used the interior of the house as a battlefield.

Lukasz growled but said nothing further as he strode further and a funnel of fire exited the tip of his wand that then turned out balls of fire as he directed them at the dozen enemies who had them pinned down around the corner in the hall way in front of the stairs that lead to the upper floors.

He heard several screams and he got up and swirled his wand above his head. The broken wood, glass and items were raised around him and with a flick he transfigured it all into rugged, sharp shards of glass and with a swirl transfigured them into small humming birds and with a jab animated them before he disillusioned them.

"Lukasz DUCK" he said as he drew back his wand and then with a flourish extended his arm and with a flick sent them on their mission. Their wings, their beak and claws were deadly sharp.

Lukasz dodged the thousands of sharp birds who swished and swarmed into a deadly host which then turned the corner and he heard screams and sickly sounds of his creations cutting through muscle and flesh.

Markus sent a shield in front of Lukasz saving him from a curse and giving Lukasz time to turn his wand towards the enemy and sent a dark cutting curse at the man who casted at him, his head removed him his body and with a heavy thud, his headless body dropped to the ground.

He ducked as a piercing curse almost took his head and Lukasz banished a dagger at the direction of the spell, through the gap of the wall and a cry confirming that it was a successful hit.

An explosion rumbled the house, dust and broken pieces breaking off the walls and roof.

"We can't stay here, we need to leave this place" Markus said as he began to duel with two of the enemies in the remnants of the hallway.

"If you have an idea on how to accomplish that, I'm all ears" Lukasz snarled as weaved out of the way as three individuals turned the corner casting at him. He snapped a concussion hex at the wooden floorboard in front of them, the debris splintering off which they hastily shielded against.

Markus swished his wand and sent off several ribbon cutting curses that cracked the shields before Lukasz followed up with a scything curse, diagonally cutting two of them in half and the third lost his left leg at the knee and most of the lower right leg.

Markus nailed the legless bastard with a explosive curse that took off his head and much of his shoulder, gory red mist sprinkled them and pieces of skull and flesh covered all over the place, pieces of brain getting stuck on the ceiling.

A horrifying feminine scream was heard above them and he looked sick when he realised who it was.

"Fuck" Lukasz snarled and he grew more aggressive as he sent piercing and scything curses after one another, dispatching one enemy whilst the other managed to shield and conjure knives that the attacker sent towards Lukasz.

The wall next to Markus was blasted apart distracting him from one of the men he'd been duelling with and he lost his footing for a moment before he let himself fall, spinning around and rolled on the ground and he gritted his teeth as pain washed over him as an errant curse hit him in the shoulder. He rolled back to his feet and shielded against a cutting curse that almost removed his head from his shoulder before he planted his body against the ground letting a blood boiling curse fly over his head.

'Serpentsortia' he incanted in his mind and half a dozen black mambas arrived "Bite those in black garments" he rapidly and quietly said as he hastily got back to his feet, moving away from a gouging curse that nearly turned him into a wreck.

He duelled against the man who blindsided him before he yelped out in pain as he was bit by several snakes before the man burnt several of them. He snapped off his wand and cast Interia, a curse that caused massive internal bleeding which hit him and he screamed in pain before Markus decapitated him with a swift cutting curse.

He was almost hit with a flesh eating curse that he shielded against hastily before his shield was pelted with shield breakers and he turned away before he ended the shield and ducked under a blasting curse that hit the wall behind him, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Get up" Lukasz hissed out as he shielded Markus with stone that he transfigured from the floor in front of him. Markus raised himself up just in time to avoid the blasting curse that broke the stone shield and narrowly turned away from being hit by an acid curse that ate through the floor where he'd been.

Lukasz weaved his way out of the curses that had been sent at his back and turned to duel his opponent leaving Markus to contend with the man he'd been saved from.

He duelled with the man until an opening arrived and he hit his enemy with a Congelo Corpus.

The man who he hit screamed as his insides were frozen but Markus couldn't yet finish him off as he hastily turned away just in time as a severing curse sailed past him and he ducked and weaved out of the way before he brandished his wand in the split second he had to send a piercing hex which nailed the screaming man in the neck before he shielded against a blasting curse that he hadn't had time to evade.

Markus turned towards the man that cursed him and he saw a look of hatred directed at him whilst his comrade gurgled in anguished pain on the ground.

"A friend of yours?" Markus drawled before he grimaced as adrenaline was beginning to run out as his injuries were beginning to restrict his movement. His shoulder that had been hit wasn't his wand arm, thankfully but none the less, he no longer was fluid in his movement.

"Avada Kedavra!" he bellowed and Markus hastily summoned debris in the path of the spell, shocking the individual before he cast a bone breaking curse at the man's wand arm, forcing the man to drop his wand before he followed up with a flesh shredding curse at the man, tearing his skin and muscles from his bones, a gruel death.

He turned sharply to Lukasz who was battling with two men and was looking rough for wear, he turned and began to battle with one of them giving Lukasz enough time to go on the attack.

Markus weaved and ducked out of the way of the spell chain that was sent his way and batted Ifranctus Manus, a finger breaking curse back at the caster that hit him before he followed up with Flammasectum, a white hot fire curse that had the man shrieking in pain seconds before he soon enough died.

He breathed heavily and turned to Lukasz who finished dispatching his opponent.

An explosion threw him and Lukasz to the ground. His ears rang as he began to cough amidst the dust and debris.

He looked around and his vision was straining to see. The first floor was crumbling down directly behind, the damage cascading throughout the floor and spidery cracks appeared above him.

He felt an arm hoister him up and he struggled to get to his feet. "Come on Markus, we need to find the others" he said tiredly. Lukasz looked worse for wear. His face was caked with blood and dust, his hair matted on his face whilst he sported several injuries that would make it difficult for him to move.

Markus put a leg forth and nearly buckled, and would have if not for Lukasz. He looked down and saw his leg broken.

"Hold on" Lukasz said as he cast a bone knitting spell and Markus clenched his teeth as he inaudibly groaned at the pain. "Let's go"

Markus looked around, the walls were torn apart, cracked floors and smell of burning wood and dust dominated his nose. He gritted his teeth.

-Break-

Esra POV

He snarled silently as he heard the screams of his soldiers as they were cut down by the defenders of the estate house as he watched on.

It shouldn't have been this difficult.

They'd stormed in from several different entrances and none of them were successful in subduing them. They managed to create several bottlenecks and managed to get them to come at them piecemeal.

"Toni, take eight men and move to the southern entrance and blow out the walls. Capture the ones that are defending that area." He ordered before he turned to his other lieutenant "Blow out the ones on the first floor and subdue them, I don't care how you do it" he said with a growl. The man nodded and left.

Spell fire continued to ring until he looked up and saw several of his men drawing fire, ducking and weaving out of the way whilst several others hung unmolested in the air and began to cast, at the same time an intensive dark explosive curse that took out a major section of the floor that forced the spell fire to die down amidst the action.

He saw his men fly into the broken section of the estate house and he made his way towards the southern side.

He saw, of the 26 odd men he sent through the house, only twelve were standing with three prisoners.

The groups that had been flying descended down and were staying nearby.

He walked at a quick pace as he inspected the three individuals. A young to middle age man who had blood running down his arm and his face covered in dust and blood, an older woman who looked barely conscious and a young woman who had a broken arm.

He turned his gaze at his men who were guarding them. "What about the others?" he asked curtly.

"Sir, there are three dead, none of them are the targets" he informed his boss.

He turned his attentions at the three prisoners "Where are the Sayres?" he asked as he stared at them impassively.

The younger man spat at Esra and with a simple flick conjured a shield. "odi zaebi se" he said with a hateful glare.

One of his men came forth and kicked the younger man in the ribs soliciting a pained groaned as he sprawled onto the floor clutching his ribs.

"Mikhel!" she called out in despair as she tried to get up which resulted her being dragged to the floor by her hair forcing out a cry in pain.

Mikhel snarled and attempted to get to his feet but he was knocked to the floor with a swift kick to the head, kicked into unconsciousness.

Esra lost his patience and pointed his wand at the younger woman "Imperio. Where are Markus Sayre and Anne Sayre?" he demanded.

The spell washed over her, a dull sheen to her eyes took over. A cry from the elder woman escaped before she was silenced in seconds by one of his men. He glanced momentarily at her and saw a look of anguish on her battered face.

He felt her struggle against his spell but with further application of the curse and his will, her willpower collapsed "Markus Sayre is in the house. Anne Sayre escaped with Evangelina Sayre and four children" she dully and emotionlessly explained.

He gritted his teeth. Anne Sayre escaping was unacceptable, they'd lose leverage.

"Where did they escaped to?" he hissed out the question.

She resisted, or tried to but once more Esra overwhelmed her with his will. "To the south west side of the forest through the tunnels." She once more dully answered.

"Emile, Salinsky, go inform the men in the forest and the nearby farmlands that there are escapees somewhere nearby the south west side of the forest" he ordered as his mind raced to think of where they might by now. The wards they sprang upon over several kilometres would ensure that they would not be able to leave through any magical transport, including through elves.

They had time but barely.

"Yes sir!" the two men walked away hastily clutching their brooms until they took off towards the forest.

"Identify yourself and the two other prisoners" he ordered as he kept the spell up.

"I am Natalia Provydetsi, that is Isobel Provydetsi and that is Mihkel Provydetsi"

"How many other survivors are there in the house with Markus Sayre?"

"One" He didn't need to know who it was.

He released the spell and she blinked away the haze of the curse and she began to sob much to his annoyance.

He turned his attentions to the house and raised his wand to his throat "Whoever remains in the house with Markus Sayre, we have captured the three remaining people still alive. Natalia, Isobel and Mikhel."

He kept the sonorous charm up as he pointed his wand at the younger woman "You have four minutes to exit the house and meet us here." The tip of his wand glowed green "Avada Kedavra" he said emotionlessly and watched the life flicker out of existence of the younger woman.

"Natalia Provydetsi is now dead, Markus Sayre." He said amidst the chuckles of his compatriots.

"Curse you, you monster." The older woman spat in a strong Balkan accent, much to the amusement of his men. "You will get your due, mark my words" she promised amidst her vehement hatred.

He stepped forward, grabbing the older woman by the hair, eliciting a cry from the woman, her cries echoing in the air "You now have...three minutes, the maximum length of time most individuals can be placed under a certain curse before becoming insane" he said with a cruel tone as he dragged her by the hair.

He threw her to the ground. He pointed his wand at the elder woman, malice dancing in his eyes as she stared back with hatred in her eyes. He felt oddly respectful of the woman, for showing her defiance in such a way, in such conditions.

It made it all the more sweeter when he extinguished the defiance.

"Crucio" he said with a hiss.

And she screamed, her screams echoing in the pale afternoon day.

-Break-

Lukasz POV

"You have four minutes to exit the house and meet us here."

"Let's go Luke" Markus said in a hurried tone as he shrugged off Lukasz' support and quickly limped towards the southern entrance.

"They don't intend to leave any of us alive" Lukasz said grimly as they hobbled through the main hall that would lead through the living room. The dust, the building smoke and rubble slowed their progress.

"I know." Markus sighed tiredly as he winced when he put too much weight on his left leg. "They would have otherwise requested me personally before they attacked."

"Avada Kedavra"

Lukasz eyes widened in horror as he stilled for a moment.

"Natalia Provydetsi is now dead, Markus Sayre."

"No..." Lukasz whispered.

Markus turned around and dragged Lukasz by the arm.

"Bastards" Lukasz hissed out in anger. "They have no honour, no decency" he ground out.

They made it through the living room that lead through the terrace as they hurried.

"Curse you, you monster." His mother said and Lukasz heart skipped a beat as his face melted into a horrified expression.

"No, no, no be quiet mother" he pleaded desperately as he forced his broken body to comply as he dragged it forward at a faster.

"You will get your due, mark my words" his mother said with a scathing tone.

"You now have...three minutes, the maximum length of time most individuals can be placed under a certain curse"

"Crucio"

A toe curling scream escaped his mother's throat and he choked in despair and anger. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to the person with distraught on his face.

They ran shakily through the remnants of the house, ignoring their wounds, their broken bones, their flesh that had been ravaged.

They finally made it through a broken wall that offered a faster route and it captured the attentions of their attackers.

His mother had stopped screaming, her body jerking unnaturally on the ground.

"We're here, stop your spell" Lukasz screamed as he hobbled forward with his hands empty.

The man torturing his mother ceased his cruciatus, his relief quickly replaced by hatred that he felt as he met the eyes of the man who tortured his mother, the hatred boiling within his stomach that threatened to burn him inside out.

"Drop your wands, now" one of the group of men stepped up closer to meet them said in a harsh tone.

His eyes looked at his mother and he felt nothing but anguish at her state.

He eyed the man with hatred in his eyes. The temptation to disregard everything and simply kill their leader nearly overwhelmed them knowing it would consign them all to death, death that might come sooner than if they simply meekly surrendered.

But the uncertainty of the survival of his children and wife kept him restrained.

"It is my fault that I brought this misfortune upon us." Markus said grimly breaking him from his haze of hatred.

"I hadn't expected an attack on your home, Lukasz, forgive me." He said before he walked past Lukasz not waiting on his response.

Markus dropped his wand and raised his arms and he was hit with a petrifying curse and Lukasz felt the same once he parted with his wand, cursing their foresight and dismay nearly overtook him.

They were floated, their bodies facing forward, closer to their leader, Markus being brought closer to him.

He wanted to hate Markus, oh he really wanted to hate him as he watched his mother lying there unconscious and passed out from indescribable pain, filling him with anguish and helplessness but he couldn't and he felt nothing but hate at the man who subjected his mother to this.

"Markus Sayre..." he drawled as he eyed Markus with inspective eyes.

"You've proven to be troublesome as well as meddlesome." He said with a cruel gleam in his eyes.

Lukasz was floated towards the dead Natalia and his twitching mother and he cried out as fresh waves of anger and anguish washed over him whilst he struggled to overcome the magic that petrified him.

He was hit in the side and he breathed out pain as he felt one of his ribs crack, tears of pain threatened to be produced.

"Quiet or you will be subjected to more pain" one of the men hissed out as he got into his face before a malicious glint entered before he turned to his unconscious, twitching mother "Or she will be given another dose of torture" he said with a sneer.

Lukasz hatefully glared at the man but clenched his teeth, in frustration, in pain, in helplessness.

"Your family's vaunted neutrality should have been kept up, Mr Sayre and all of this would never have happened" the leader said in a lecturing tone as Lukasz' attentions finally diverted from his mother.

He was dropped to the ground and he suppressed a pained groan before he was released from the petrifying spell.

He was yanked by the hair and he bit on his tongue as his head was forcefully turned towards Markus, who already released from his petrifying, who was kneeling in front of their leader, a tired and resigned look on his.

"It would be a shame for you to miss the final moments of the man who destroyed your family" one of them taunted as he spoke in his ear.

Lukasz struggled against him but a painful jerk ceased his actions. "Watch" his captor ordered.

He turned his eyes to Markus and the leader.

"Nothing to say?" the leader said as he loomed over Markus, whose face he could not see.

"Perhaps subjecting all of your wife's family to torture will loosen your tongue?" the leader said maliciously.

"You have not asked anything for me to answer." Markus finally said, his tone even and unfazed which seemed to anger the leader who punched Markus in the face, sending Markus flopping onto the ground.

Markus groaned and spat out blood before he tiredly drew himself up again, apparently something that angered their leader.

One of the men stepped forward "Esra, we were ordered to kill Sayre, we should do it quickly and catch up with the others for the sea-" their leader, Esra, raised his hand before he glared at the man for a few moments before he turned back to Markus.

"You and yours have cost me many men today" he spoke softly but his voice carried through the air.

He drew himself up "My subordinate is correct, as much as I love to draw out your death for your insolence, we have far more important things to do"

He pointed his wand at Sayre's head, green light glowing at the end of his wand. Markus Sayre met Esra's gaze impassively, without fear.

An explosive sound was heard in the distance that halted everyone in their action.

"Sir!" one of them called out in alarm "Over there" he pointed out and everyone turned toward that direction.

The leader, Esra, turned his eyes skyward and Lukasz could see the unhidden surprise in his face and Lukasz turned his eyes upward as well.

He saw someone racing towards them in the air at a speed that had him in disbelief as the figure grew larger and larger as seconds passed. At the rate he was going, he would be close enough in less than a minute.

Lukasz saw Markus drawing himself straighter, his face more serene than he thought should be possible.

"You will die. All of you. My son will see to it" Markus said gaining the attention back towards him. Lukasz saw pride and satisfaction on his face.

For a moment, he thought he saw something akin to peace make its way on his face.

'You fool' Lukasz despaired as he understood Markus' intentions.

It angered their attackers and Esra whipped his wand around, the tip of his wand glowing green as he pointed his wand in between Markus' eyes. "Your son will join you soon enough." Esra said with a furious sneer.

"Avada Kedavra" the sickly green curse sped towards him and it hit him between the eyes, a half second faster than the stone pillar that rose from the ground that just missed the spell.

Seconds passed as he watched Markus drop to the ground.

A hauntedly anguished scream that sent chills through his spine took his eyes off of Markus' falling body and he saw Atticus nearing, rapidly.

He could not take his eye off his nephew whose scream, one that had been filled with pain morphed in a scream that was one of rage and hatred, the necks of his hairs raised as if something primal was warning him.

He saw that it also had an effect on his captives as the near two dozen men turned their wands at the sky.

"YOU DARE?!" his nephew's voice took on a demonic quality and it reverberated around them that chilled the air.

"Kill him, KILL HIM NOW!" Esra bellowed out snapping him out until a symphony of screams around him had him turn around and he saw spikes rise from the earth that pierced and ripped through the chests and backs of the attackers in mere seconds.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Esra narrowly dodge out of the way from being eviscerated by a couple of spikes.

Streaks of green light, of sickly yellow, of sickly orange were sent into the heavens.

Chaos reigned as shouts and screams dominated the air around him. He watched as several of the more distant attackers were cut in thousands of pieces in gruesome fashion, the shields they raised broken through as if they weren't there.

'This was his chance' he thought as he bolted to his feet and faced the man who'd held him but he was too late and he came to face a wand pointed at his face, wand movements being finished and a curse on the tip of his would killer's tongue as met each other's eyes.

But he hadn't needed to worry as a spike made from sharpened stone tore through his head with a sickening squelch and Lukasz ran and took the dead man's wand which barely functioned.

He swivelled his head rapidly and saw the two dozen men reduced to less than half a dozen who managed to evade the initial attack.

He decided to protect the unconscious bodies of his mother and Mikhel and turned towards them but halted when he saw walls of compacted earth envelop them that turned into a dome before it submerged into the ground greatly surprising him.

THUD

He swiftly turned around and brandished his wand towards the sound. His eyes momentary surveyed the field and he saw none left standing except for him in his immediate area.

All within seconds.

Dust clouds obscured his vision until what he saw stilled him.

Even more so when he began to struggle to breathe as heaviness descended upon his body, as the air turned acidic that began to burn at his skin.

His legs buckled and he dropped to his knees.

His eyes struggled to focus as he watched a veritable storm of magic, dark purple and near black greens filled the environment, two white orbs where eyes should be.

Magic surrounded him, magic in a form he'd never seen before, menacing and forbidding that had a primal voice in his mind scream at him to escape, to run and never look back as he watched this being... his nephew stride forward, his eyes glowing unnaturally white with hints of purple and green.

It was wrathful, magic made manifest.

Each step of his nephew's rattled his bones, his vertebrae grinding against each other as reverberations travelled through his spine.

And yet his pain wasn't overpowering, a sense of numbness washed over him.

He watched his nephew approached Esra as a predator would approach a wounded and bleeding prey, savouring the anticipation, savouring the despair and fear that emanates from one that knows that it is marked for death, for oblivion.

Wisps of power, strands of magic bled through the limbs of his nephew as magic crackled with each step.

He did not belong on this earth, to walk amongst them. His robes billowed slowly with each step he took, the power he was exuded was beyond anything he'd seen.

"YOU TOOK FROM ME" uttered in that same demonic voice.

Atticus stood over the captured Esra who groaned faintly as the giant hand made out of stone held him upright and yet Atticus still loomed over Esra as if he were a Titan, a son of the Primordial beings, wroth with wrath.

"I WILL TAKE FROM YOU" spilled from his mouth, and a bell rang, one that spoke of a finality that gonged into the fabric of the universe, one that spoke, that sung that nothing would be left of what Esra was, nothing would remain of what the follower of Grindelwald was once his nephew was through with him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGHH!

The screams that spilled from Esra was inhuman, an abhorrent shriek that made him shiver at a primal level, so terrible, so horrifying that for a tenth of a second he almost felt pity for Esra until it transformed into vivid, visceral, vindicated satisfaction.

Until he remembered. Until he realised time was not on their side.

He fought against the magic that threatened to suffocate him, that held him still as a deep well of will and desire pushed past through the dominating magic.

"A-Atti-Atticus" he ground out at he stared at his nephew.

He didn't know if he heard him. He didn't know if he was conscious in the bloodlust that dominated his nephew's psyche, the scorching wrath that burned through his veins.

"YOUR MOTHER ATTICUS" he screamed out with the every last vestige of his strength that he held before his vision began to blacken but not before the weight that was on him was released, the ground moving around him.

As he began to fall with the last seconds of consciousness, he heard a squelching sound, a bang and a gust of wind that blew much needed fresh air to his face before he lost consciousness completely.

'At least I heard the end of the man who destroyed his family' was Lukasz' last thought before blackness took him.

-Break-

He could see the estate now in the distance, or rather what was left of it as he took in the destruction that it was subjected to and bile threatened to rise up from his stomach.

He descended, a final time back to the earth amidst rows of cabbages before he channelled as much magic as he could through his legs, the ground denting, soil and plants sent flying as he pushed off at speeds he'd never gone at.

The wind howled in his ears as he sailed through the air, his magic forming a protective unseen bubble around him, protecting his eyes and ears.

His eyes, even at this distance could see over a couple of dozen men surrounding two men and three bodies.

As he neared, his eyes cleared and widened when he realised it was his father who was forced to kneel in front of someone.

'No no no no no' he thought desperately as a wave of overwhelming panic bubbled in his core, a simmering pool of helplessness that he was wading through.

His eyes hardened, his intent turned razor sharp. "I will not allow it" spilled from his mouth, his magic registering his desire as it hummed at a quickened rate beneath his thin layer of skin.

He palmed his wand and angled it behind him on a direct course towards his father and blasted forward, his magic protecting him from the harsh winds as he desperately surged forward.

He saw them turn their heads towards him, one of them speaking to the man that had held his father at wand point.

He willed his body forward, faster, more.

The figures grew larger and larger as he closed the distance as he dived at breakneck speeds, the ground rapidly nearing.

He was half a minute away. It was enough.

It had to be enough.

The man turned back to his father and his eyes widened in fear.

25 seconds.

"No, no, no, no..." he whimpered as he pushed his magic more than he'd ever done, more desperately than he'd ever done before, pleading with his magic, begging the universe.

18 seconds.

He swung his wand around and pointed it towards his father.

16 seconds.

He had time, he had TIME.

Time slowed to a crawl as the dreaded curse erupted from the wand.

He was captive as time ceased to be stopped, ceased to wait on him...for him.

He wrestled away from time and pulled at his magic, demanding it work beyond the constraints of human limits, demanding that it obey him completely at his time of need.

A surge of power rose from within him and he willed with all his might to intercept that curse.

He watched, his eyes fixed on the curse that eked towards his father, unrelentingly, as time moved fraction by fraction, ever nearer towards his father.

14 seconds

A pillar of stone rose in this haze of time dilation, everything moved in slow motion.

The sickeningly green curse passed the distance, to his growing despair, over the stone pillar that rose from the earth and hit his father on his face.

He watched as he saw his father begin to fall as if his strings were snapped, cut from life, from existence into a state of nothingness, leaving behind a meat suit that once housed his father.

CRAAAAACK

He had time...

He...

Time...

Time...

Time halted its unrepentant march as understanding bloomed in his mind, as the meaning of what has happened seeped through the crevices of his mind, a cancerous acid burning through every corner of his being.

His father...

Father...

Dead...

Father dead...?

He stood standing on an island of despair, a towering wave loomed over him, its height straining his neck, until it washed over him, a wave of deep harrowing grief plunging him into the crushing depths of anguish.

It was drowning him.

His ineptitude laid bare as life left his father before his very eyes.

His will sundered into a thousand pieces, registration of his complete failure stamped harshly in his mind to prevent...

This...

To prevent what he'd Seen coming...

His rage at the vague dreams was inconsequential under the immeasurable guilt and pain he felt.

Pain.

So... much... pain...

It was his fault...

'My fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault"

It repeated through his mind endlessly as he retreated into his mind, the weight of his failure tearing him apart, stringed into individual molecules, dragged into the singularity, never able to escape.

In the crevices in his grief stricken consciousness, a memory sprang forth in his moment of despair, of self destruction.

Flash back

"I returned home and Anne was waiting for me. I asked her to forgive me and she held my cheek and said that there was nothing to forgive. She understood my fears and she told me that there was nothing to forgive." His father finished.

His father now completely turned towards Atticus "three years later you were born. There had been some slight issues but eventually you were just fine. Your mother doted on you. Her little miracle." His father chuckled.

He turned back and faced the city below them. "And now we are here in Alexandria to celebrate your second mastery at sixteen and where the year before you gained your Mastery in Transfiguration at age fifteen." His father said without looking at Atticus.

"I've always said that you make us proud. I do not think you can understand son, how much. Given the struggle we've had to have you and to see what you have achieved and what you will achieve for I have no doubt you will be great"

His father shook his head "It is difficult to put into words how miraculous your mother and I find you son." His father said with a kind tone to his voice whilst he kept gazing into the distance.

A long silence fell between them.

There were no other words to say and they both understood the precious moment they shared.

Flashback ends

No more would they share moments, no more would he go to his father and be offered advice.

The man who is...was...a man he was proud to call father...a father he loved and who loved him just as much.

A man who made his first father seem like nothing more than a decrepit insignificant wretched cockroach of a person, who instilled in him the value of family, of duty and responsibility.

A tortured scream tore through his throat, an ode that ferried the pain, the grief he felt at the loss to the universe.

His magic coiled around him, serpentine like as it sought to comfort him.

11 seconds.

Time began again as his vision cleared and he watched his father drop, the man who cut his father down still having his wand raised.

His mind fixated at the wand.

The wand that killed his father.

No...

Wands don't kill...

His eyes drifted at the hand that held the wand...then they drifted to the face of the man, the face that held a sneer.

The man who killed his father...

The man who took his father...

From him.

That man...took...his father.

SNNNAAAAAPPPPP

His scream turned from grief, to rage. Anguish turned to wrath. Pain turned to HATRED.

Molten wrath and hate coursed through his veins.

Something came unshackled, the last tendrils of what that been bound came loose.

It burns under his skin like it has never, his hate warping what had been a controlled power into an unhinged firestorm as he submitted to the haze of hatred.

His magic detonated out of him in a maelstrom of liquid power that ebbed and flowed with each beat of his heart, dancing to the drums of promised vengeance and the song of unending cruelty that he'd exact on them.

"YOU DARE?!"

The voice travelled through the air by the will of his magic as he neared the ground.

Dozens of killing curses and fatal spells were cast his way. He flicked his wand, which still had been pointed at his father, with the barest of movements.

The earth drank in his magic and came alive as sharp spear like tendrils rose from the earth like wet clay, ripping through those who'd cast at him.

That man managed to evade his spell, barely and his blood sung at this turn of events.

Death was not enough.

Would never be enough.

He turned at the curses that were edging towards him and with a simple twitch of a finger conjured dozens of stone birds that flew into each curse, trivially ending the minor danger they represented.

His eyes returned to that man he hated more than he could have imagined and he saw the fear in his eyes as Atticus approached them, only a few seconds away.

'Portkey' was at the forefront of that man's mind.

Unacceptable.

Within a flash, he whirled his wand and that man lost his footing as the earth liquefied, submerging him at the ankles before the earth hardened in titanium. Tendrils of earthen vines climbed across his back until they snaked around that man's arms incapacitating him.

His eyes flickered to the surviving men and saw there were only a few, all of whom were trying to portkey out and with a slight jab he cast Secaremillus thrice, a spell of a thousand knives, which he didn't restrain and when they hit, three men were reduced to nothing more than hippogriff meat as they were diced to pieces.

He saw one of the last surviving men point at another and he plunged a spike through his head before his eyes turned to the ground.

With a flick of the finger the landing spot he was a few seconds away from softened and he righted himself as he landed on his feet with a loud thud, the mild pain that travelled through his legs were inconsequential.

His magic wreathed and whirled around him as his eyes set on the man that was held in vines and with the barest of twitch of his wand, the wand that was pointed downward, the vines sucked in more soil, more earth and formed into a massive hand that gripped his hated enemy.

Magic crackled as he walked, power roiled off of him in a swirling tempest as he strode forward.

His eyes were fixed on the subject of his hatred.

"YOU TOOK FROM ME"

The voice spoke.

He saw the man was groaning faintly, his head bowed. He cocked his head and the thumb and index finger uncoiled from the man, grabbing at the man's head, forcing him to look at Atticus.

The man's eyes widened in fear and Atticus felt a fresh vein of hatred burst. The man's fear dissipated under a mask of courage, one that failed to hide the fear that Atticus could practically smell.

"You're not as powerful as My Lord. He will avenge me. I did my duty" the man said his final words, the final taunt.

Malice tinged his magic.

"I WILL TAKE FROM YOU"

The voice intoned.

He dived into the mind of the man, the Occlumency barrier ripped apart through his merciless assault...memories rapidly being torn asunder as he soaked into the memories and emotions.

Esra...

Esra Hisham of the Noble House of Hisham. Of Cordoba.

He ravaged the man's mind of everything that he was...everything held dear.

He has three brothers, all of them back in Spain, in Cordoba with their own families. Little nephews and nieces. He has an uncle and cousins. Parents and grandparents still live. He has a woman he intends to marry once he returns victorious.

Esra cares for them all.

Esra loves them all.

Esra will lose them all.

Esra will die knowing what he will do them.

He plugged into his mind everything he'd do to them, the wrath he'd descend on the House of Hisham, one of the few old magical Berber Houses in Spain.

Atticus plays it all in Esra's mind as he built scenario after scenario, death after death, all of which Esra is made to feel deeply as he transmits the emotions of his victims every time they die in this dream world he's conjured.

He barely notices the scream in the real world.

No...

He's too busy savouring the sweet taste of the broken vessel that is...was...Esra Hisham.

He rebuilds Hisham's psyche, his mind.

Esra Hisham mind shatters.

...

Atticus rebuilt Esra Hisham's mind.

Esra Hisham's mind shatters.

...

Again.

...

A whisper of "A-Atti-Atticus" is heard at the edges of his consciousness but it doesn't register, it doesn't hold.

Again.

...

AGAIN.

...

"YOUR MOTHER ATTICUS" is screamed, his mind no longer fixating on Esra.

"Mother..." he whispered and he unexpectedly latches onto the strands of memory within Esra's mind and he takes them all.

Fury and unrelenting wrath bubbles in his stomach at the plans he found in his mind, the betrayal he discovered but it dies, it is quelled when he realises his mother still lived and that he might lose her too.

He breaks the assault immediately, returning to the world.

He has to save her. He would save her.

He took out the compass and it pointed East and he began to run but not before he remembered.

In his haze, he still remembered the rest of his family and with an open palm facing upward, he made a beckoning motion and the soil split, revealing the bodies of his family members, of his father, the bodies he turned away from, proof of his failure.

His mother would not be another.

He waved a hand and transfigured them all and his uncle into marbles and floated them into his pocket as he ran east.

As he ran, he raised his open hand and he closed it into a fist, a squelching sound was made behind him whilst he channelled far more magic than he'd done before, tearing forward towards the forest, an explosive bang going off as he tore through the air.

He ran and ran, everything passing him by in a blur, his eyes fixed on the forest. He outstretched his wand and the ground rumbled as he bent the trees out of the way, creating a free pass that he extended continuously as trees were bent and torn from the roots, the ground shaking as he ran and jumped mere metres from the ground.

His eyes fixed on the great fiery dragon, no wyvern, roared and stood high above the tree line and he pushed himself even more.

The ground shook as he blasted his way forward, leaving destruction in his wake.

He began to see clearer through the tree line as the cursed flames shone through the gaps between trees.

Almost.

He prayed to Lady Magic, he prayed to the living energy of the cosmos to let him be in time.

-Break-

Anne POV

The fiery wyvern was less than ten feet away and she could feel her magic becoming dangerously low. She closed her eyes, likely for the final time.

She hoped her children would not be broken by what happened to her and Markus.

The heat became unbearable and she dropped her shoulders and waited.

BANG

A gust of warm wind hit her and the hairs on her skin were raised under the heavy presence of magic...

...magic she recognised.

She opened her eyes quickly and she saw her son standing in front of her, his hands outstretched as he battled Fiendfyre.

He grunted and the fiery wyvern roared as Atticus began to reduce the flames, at first slowly and then something happened and the Fiendfyre turned and with a jerk Atticus pushed forward.

The wyvern roared and it rotated back whence it came.

"What is happening" someone cried out as the wyvern, the wyvern that obscured her vision, flew towards where her enemies had been.

"Atticus" she whispered as she stared at her son's back. He was practically glowing with magic but it felt wrong, darker.

"Quickly, quickly come and contain it!" someone else ordered.

He glanced back at her and she recoiled slightly. His eyes were not his. They were white orbs that glowed ethereally.

His eyes briefly turned back to a familiar purple as their eyes met. She saw the pain etched on his face and her heart broke.

"Oh Atticus" she whispered as tears began to roll down her face.

"Markus..." she despaired as she looked at his face and she knew.

He smiled pained, brokenly before he raised a hand and waved over her. She felt a little more energised and she could see her wounds closing. The earth rumbled before it began to envelop her.

"Wa-wait Atticus!" she said with an outstretched hand.

"I'LL BE BACK MOTHER"

She drew back in shock as he turned away from her before the earth completely enveloped her.

What happened to her baby boy? She thought despairingly.

-Break-

He turned back at the men.

The men who'd hunted his mother. Who intended to capture her.

To use her as a chain on him.

As if that was the only purpose of his mother.

The wyvern was finally dispelled under the collective work of the men in front of him.

There were nine in front of him.

"You bastard" one of them seethed.

"Sir...We should leave" a younger voice hesitatingly said in Polish gaining Atticus' attention.

"Shut up Yuri!" another hissed out.

-Break-

Yuri POV

Yuri breathed in and out heavily, his heart pounding as screams rang around him and he buckled over and held his ears with his hands.

He couldn't believe he lost his portkey.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid" he muttered fearfully as he ignored the sounds of his comrades at the hands of...of...that monster.

He should run but he knew he'd die, other tried to run and he caught them as a fucking tree moved like a fucking vine to smother them.

He should have listened to his brother and just signed up for grunt work rather than being a 'loyal soldier for magekind'.

But no, Yuri had to be brave and wanting to prove himself.

Yuri had to ignore the pleas of his father and mother. Yuri knew better.

He let off a choked laugh that sounded more like a sob. Yuri was going to die.

The screams all stopped and he let off a whined whimper as he stood trembling behind a large tree.

Before he could decide what to do, a vine wrapped around his left leg and he yelped as he pointed his wand at the vine and cast incendio at it but it remained unburned and it yanked him around the tree, unbalancing him and he just about managed to protect his face from hitting the tree roots with his arms but the pain cause him to drop his wand.

"No, no, no" he cried out as he clawed at the earth trying to stop the vine from dragging him. He glanced over his shoulder and he saw the monster, the thing that made Baba Yaga his Babula used to scare him about, seem like a saintly blushing maiden.

He was lifted in the air and he was hanging upside down facing away from the monster and he was slowly turned around and Yuri closed his eyes and recited an old prayer his Babula used to recite to him.

"OPEN YOUR EYES" the monster ordered.

He whimpered as he shook like a leaf. Moments passed as he fortified himself, as he built up the courage.

He opened one eye and he yelped in fear as he stood mere feet from the monster's face.

His eyes were no longer pure white, it had swirling greens and purple.

He cried out in pain as his mind was violated for an agonising amount of time until it ended leaving him bereft of air and struggling to retain consciousness.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR PARENTS YURI."

The demon said and Yuri would have laughed if he hadn't been petrified by crippling fear. He lost bowel control and his piss was running down towards his head.

The monster looked at him in distaste and raised a finger and with a diagonal swipe, he fell towards the ground.

It hurt as he hit the ground and rolled and he faced upward. He felt light headed and his vision was failing him but not before he registered warm liquid hitting his head.

He looked up and saw the rest of his body, severed at the neck.

'Oh'

'I should have listened to mama' was Yuri's lost thought.

-Break-

He waved his hand and the earth split apart, his mother re-emerging.

He'd checked her wounds and knew she would be fine for the next ten minutes when he'd hidden her in the earth.

Her eyes surveyed the battlefield before she looked at him.

"Atticus" she said tiredly as she struggled to get to her feet. He twitched a finger and he floated her upward.

"Oh" she made out as she floated.

He strode forward and he gently took her in his arms, her legs dangling over his arm as he carried her.

He knew she was staring at him "What happened?" she asked.

He couldn't bear tell her of what befell their family.

"I'M SORRY"

The voice said.

"What happened?" she gently cupped his cheek and turned his head towards her.

He closed his eyes before their eyes could meet.

"Please...Atticus...My little boy, look at me" she pleaded.

A strangled laugh threatened to escape his throat as memories of her referring him as little boy rushed into the forefront of his mind.

He opened his eyes and his mother was staring at him with tears in her eyes, her dishevelled hair and pale skin born from exhaustion and pain unable to distract him from the care and concern she held in her eyes.

He felt the hatred and pain he was holding on to seep out of his body.

He felt relief, he felt so much relief he managed to save his mother.

Her eyes widened. "Your eyes are back" she whispered and he smiled sadly.

He'd need to think of what that was...he'd need to think on a lot of things.

"I...I failed mother. Father...the others...I" His mouth was open but no further sounds escaped. His eyes glistened.

She closed her eyes and tears ran down her face.

"Take me to St Mungos Atticus" she said with quivering lips.

He nodded.

"But please, let's look for Tweenie. He might still be alive. He...helped a lot...he saved me"

He again nodded "Hopefully he survived."

They found Tweenie, injured and unconscious but still alive.

Soon enough, he arrived at a busy St Mungos with his mother in his arms.

Heartbroken and alive.