A/N: You've made it to the final chapter! There will be a short epilogue following this, which I hope to have out before the end of the week, so that I can focus solely on my other Story, The Flames of the Soul. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and that this last chapter lives up to your expectations :)
Anything you recognize is taken from the books!
May 2nd, 1998
Chaos.
Bodies littering the ground, spells of all colors flying from every angle. I had been ordered outside by Kingsley, to try to stop the death eaters from crossing the bridge once they'd broken down our magical fortifications. Arthur was right next to me, shooting spell after spell at the masked death eaters who had now reached the grounds. I'd lost track of Hermione and Ron ages ago, telling them to go and find Harry and Sirius; with Hermione at their side, I felt much better about their chances of actually finding the diadem.
"PUSH BACK!" came Moody's voice from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at him; he was shoving his magical eye back into its empty socket, while Remus watched his back and Tonks stunned an advancing death eater. "FIND COVER!"
I grabbed on to Remus's arm, pulling him back with me as Arthur held a strong shield in front of us. I was breathing hard, the adrenaline that was fueling me fading slightly as exhaustion took over. We'd spent the hour after I'd parted with Harry and Sirius escorting Slytherins, who had wanted to turn Harry over at Voldemort's request, out of Hogwarts, and then fortifying the castle's wards. At McGonagall's guidance, I'd helped her transfigure all of the statues into moving, stone fighters. It was more advance magic than I had done in a long time; on top of that, I'd spent the next hour fighting non-stop, firing more spells than I had performed in my entire life combined. The battle was fierce – it seemed that everywhere you turned, a hoard of cloaked death eaters were advancing on you, or acromantulas were stomping towards you, their fangs geared up to devour you. There giants in the fight, on both sides, causing so much chaos and debris that I was constantly dodging falling pieces of stone so large they would have crushed me to death.
We'd made it back near the castle doors, the entirety of the Hogwarts grounds in front of us. The death eaters had gained too much ground; they were too close to completely overtaking the castle. I shot a curse at one who was targeting a young Gryffindor; he flew backwards and smacked against the hard stone of the castle, crumbling to the ground. I grabbed the Gryffindor by the lapels of his cloak and glared at him. He was young – too young. He must have snuck back in when the underage students were evacuated.
"Leave," I hissed, my throat in my stomach. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"My brother's here!" the boy squealed, struggling against my hold. "I won't leave without him."
I sighed. "Great Hall, now. You can help Dr. Jones with anything he needs. But you do not leave that Hall, do you understand?"
He nodded quickly; relief evident in his eyes. "If you find my brother, will you make sure he's okay?"
I pulled him behind a wall as a curse flew so close to us that my hair started to singe. I smothered it impatiently, and nodded at the boy. "What's his name?"
"Colin. He looks just like me. Please, Miss. He's all I have."
I nodded again. "Go. Now. Be careful." The young boy took off, agile on his feet as he dodged flying hex after flying hex. We were close enough to the castle doors that I hoped he would make it. I was shaken out of my reverie by Tonks throwing herself next to me behind the wall, clutching her hand to her chest.
"You alright?" I asked quickly.
"Fine," she grinned. "Nearly had my head taken off by a slicing hex, but Moody pulled me out of the way just in time. I think Remus is fighting Greyback right now; Merlin he's sexy when he's angry."
"I've got to get back inside. I've got to check on Sirius and Harry," I said. "Cover me?"
"No need," Tonks said, gesturing with her chin to the castle steps. "They're right there."
And so they were. They had run up from the grounds, from Merlin knows where, and were fighting their way back to the doors. I nodded at Tonks, who took one last deep breath before pushing off the wall and jumping back in to the fray, towards Remus who was standing over Greyback's still body. Next to him was a young girl, her face bloodied. Remus was attempting to pick her up, to move her out of the center of the field, and Tonks went to help him.
I flung myself off the wall, coming up behind Sirius and shooting a stunner at a death eater who was blocking his path in to the castle.
Sirius turned to see who his savior had been, his eyes filling with relief when he saw it was me. "Kitten!" he exclaimed.
I grabbed his hand, pulling him and Harry in to the castle, dodging a spell that followed us through the open doors. The death eaters had nearly breached the doors, so I waved my wand and commanded the group of stone statues that were guarding the Great Hall to move to stand in front of the front doors. McGonagall was running around, her wand moving faster than I could follow, trying to reinforce the wards that had been broken down. I pulled the group in to a corner, our backs to the walls so that we could see an attack coming from any angle. The Entrance Hall was relatively calm, considering the chaos that was ensuing outside, so I took the time to ask, "What happened?"
"Got the diadem. Malfoy's idiot friend cast fiendfyre. He's dead," Sirius said. I gasped, and Sirius corrected himself, "the friend, not Malfoy. Last I saw him, he was shooting off killing curses from the top of the Astronomy tower at death eaters below. Fucking loving it too, honestly."
"Snape's dead," Hermione said quietly.
"What?" I hissed.
"Voldemort's snake…bit him. He gave Harry some memories," Ron explained.
I was about to speak again, when that same thundering voice from earlier permeated throughout the castle and grounds, ringing in my head painfully.
"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
As quickly as the voice had come, it was gone. A general sense of overwhelming silence followed, and I grabbed my pounding head slightly.
"Harry, no!" Hermione screamed, grabbing his wrist as he had made to fling himself outside. "No! That's what he wants!"
"Come on, son," Sirius said fearfully. "Let's go take a minute. Think of plan."
Harry nodded, though his eyes were blank, and made to move towards the Great Hall. I rushed forward, seeing that Remus and Tonks had made it back inside, the bloodied body of the girl Greyback had been attacking hanging between them.
"Lavender?" Ron croaked, his voice breaking. I shot Sirius a look; Ron's ex-girlfriend?
"She's going to be okay," Remus assured him. "Although Tonks and I nearly died out there just now. A giant threw this giant boulder at us, never even saw it coming."
"What happened?" Sirius asked sharply. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Tonks said, heaving slightly with the exertion of moving the girl. "Moody hit it with an explosion charm; blasted in to a million pieces. I thought we were goners, honestly." As we moved closer to the Great Hall doors, they flung open and a group of men came out.
"Alright?" Wesley Wood asked, grabbing me by the arm quickly. He scanned my face desperately for injuries.
"Just fine. You? Oliver?"
"Oliver's upstairs with Neville Longbottom…moving the dead and injured downstairs. Look, Addie…." He trailed off, looking nervously at Ron.
My heart fell. I shook my head frantically. "Who?" I demanded.
"One of the Weasleys. I couldn't tell which one, and I don't know if he's…"
Wesley was cut off, by Ron's gasp. He pulled out of Hermione's hold and sprinted through the open doors. I nodded at Wesley, letting him know he didn't have to finish that sentence. I couldn't bear to hear the word… "Thanks, Wes. Be careful." Wesley nodded, and I turned to follow the group inside. Sirius was standing just inside the doors, Ron, Hermione and Harry having made their way over to the group of Weasley's standing in the center of the hall. I couldn't tell from here who was laying on the ground, but I had to make sure my dad and Lewis were okay before I could check on them.
"Merlin…" Sirius whispered, taking in the entirety of the room. Everywhere we looked, there was someone on the ground, eyes staring unblinkingly up at the starry ceiling, or someone crying over a loved one. There was a row of injured waiting to be treated by my dad, who was currently rushing over to help the girl – Lavender – that Remus and Tonks had deposited in front of him. Madam Pomfrey was assisting as well, helping those with more minor injuries so that they would be able to join the fight at the end of the hour.
"Lewis?" I asked, not able to find him among the confusion.
"I don't see him, love," Sirius said, grabbing my hand. "I'm sure he's okay. Come on, we should go check on the Weasleys."
I allowed him to pull me towards them, my feet dragging in dread. Before we could get close enough to see clearly, I heard my name being yelled from behind me. I turned on my heel.
Wesley and Oliver were rushing back in, an unconscious Lewis held between them. I rushed forward, grabbing Lewis's face in my hands. His entire face was torn up, bloody. He was bleeding heavily from the leg, and as I pulled the fabric of his jeans aside, I saw that he was cut down to the bone, as though by a knife.
Terror ripped through my chest. It looked bad – really bad. It was already starting to look infected, and he was losing so much blood.
"What happened?" Sirius asked, looking to Oliver.
"I don't know," Oliver said. The door opened behind us, and Neville Longbottom came in, supporting Katie Bell.
"Katie!" Oliver exclaimed. Sirius took Lewis's other side, so that Oliver could go to his girlfriend. Neville relinquished her to him; she was limping slightly, but otherwise looked unharmed. He walked her towards Madam Pomphrey, so that her ankle could be looked at.
"We were fighting Bellatrix Lestrange," Neville admitted. "I think he was looking for her, honestly." I nodded, knowing that was probably true. Neville was covered in grim and dirt, but looked perfectly healthy. I was relieved, knowing that Alice and Frank would kill me in the afterlife if anything happened to their son.
"She has a cursed blade of some sort. She was playing with us – it's a game to her…" Neville continued.
"Of course, she was, nasty bitch." Sirius, struggling slightly under Lewis's weight, started to pull him towards my Dad, who was still kneeling besides Lavender. When he saw us coming, his eyes widened and he called over his shoulder. He whispered instructions quickly to a young nurse who had come running to take over Lavender's care, and got up to make his was towards us.
"What happened?" He snapped harshly, having Sirius and Wesley lower Lewis towards the ground.
"Cursed blade," Sirius explained.
Dad nodded, cutting away the fabric of his pants so he could see the wound better. "It's infected. If I act fast, I should be able to save the leg."
"But he'll be okay?" I asked desperately.
"Yes. I need space," my dad said sharply. "Go. He'll be fine."
I stood my ground, unable to move until Sirius pulled me gently away. I turned in to his chest, choking back a sob. He wrapped his arms around me, nodding to Wesley and Neville over my shoulder, who went to continue finding bodies out in the rubble.
"He's going to be fine," Sirius assured me, rubbing my back consolingly. "Everything is going to be fine. I'm here. Harry's fine. Hollyn and Eliana are safe."
I nodded against his chest, my eyes wide and searching over his shoulder, looking for anyone that I knew laying among the dead. The young boy that I had saved was sobbing, crouched over a slightly older boy who looked just like him; his brother. A pang in my heart. Moody was among the dead as well, his magical eye still spinning like a top. Kingsley sat next to him, staring stony faced at the wall in front of him. Professor Trawlawny and Professor Sprout were sitting, sobbing, next to one of the professors, who I didn't know. I continued moving my eyes down the line of dead, until I locked on to a head of platinum blonde hair touching a head of jet-black hair as they leaned over a large, dead Slytherin.
My heart stopped, and I was about to speak when Sirius cursed. "Harry's gone. That fucking idiot, he better not have – "
I cut him off. "Hollyn's here."
"I – WHAT?" I pointed over his shoulder at her and Draco, who were leaning over who I assumed must be Draco's friend that was killed by the fiendfyre that he had stupidly cast without being able to control. Hollyn was holding Draco's hand as he looked down unseeingly at his childhood friend, turned to the dark side; the side which had ended up costing him his life.
Sirius snapped around, saw Hollyn sitting there, and started angrily. "That girl just does not listen."
He stood, torn for a second, looking between his daughter and the Great Hall, where Harry must have disappeared to. He looked conflicted – did he go and scream at his daughter, or try to find his son before he did something stupid?
I placed my hand on his chest. "Go."
Sirius looked to me, pain in his eyes. He didn't say anything, just shaking his head slightly.
"Go," I whispered again. "I'll deal with Hollyn. Go and make sure our boy is okay." I wrapped my thin arms around him again, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. He tore his gaze from Hollyn, nodded at me, and walked out of the Great Hall. I watched him go until he turned the corner, heading to wherever he thought Harry had gone.
I glanced at the Weasleys, desperate to know what had happened. Molly and Arthur stood with their backs to me, their shoulders shaking with tears, and Ron kneeled on the ground, Percy still shielding from my view whoever was on the ground. I shook my head, pushing them from my mind. I had to deal with Hollyn first; I had to make sure she got out of here.
I turned my back to them, making my way towards Hollyn.
"Hollyn Cassiopeia Black," I snapped harshly.
"Fuck," she said, her back still turned towards me.
Draco turned first, his eyes rimmed with red. "Mrs. Black," he croaked, standing. "I didn't know she was here, not until I was running in to her on my way down from the Astronomy tower."
"Mum," she started.
"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed. "You're too young – your father…"
"He's okay?" She interrupted quickly.
I nodded. "He went after Harry. We need to get you out of here."
Hollyn stood, leaning against Draco. He wrapped an arm around her, steadying her. She shook her head, "No."
"This is not up for discussion," I commanded.
Hollyn shook her black hair behind her ear, her eyes shining with determination. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Hollyn," I sighed, rubbing my temples.
"You can punish me later…you can disown me if you want. But I'm not leaving. Max and Louisa are safe – I'll stay in here if you want, but you can't send me home. You just can't." She was sobbing now, and I broke. I pulled her in to my arms, running my hands through her hair slowly.
"It's alright, sweetheart. It's okay. Everyone is fine," I whispered in to her hair. Draco was looking at us, swallowing thickly. After a while, probably fifteen minutes, I passed her over to Draco.
"You watch out for her," I demanded of him.
"With my life," he said, honestly. I nodded at him, knowing that he would.
"I have to go check on –"
"Don't leave me!" Hollyn cried. "Not yet. Just…just sit here, with me. Please?"
"Uncle Lewis is hurt," I explained. "I think he's going to be okay, but we have to go and check on him, okay?"
I didn't have the heart to tell her that one of the Weasleys might be dead – those were as much her brothers as they were her cousins, and I wasn't prepared to face that yet. I knew that Lewis would live…that was safer. That was easier than facing Molly or Arthur right now. Later…I could deal with that later. With a significant look at Draco, gesturing subtly towards the Weasleys, he nodded that he understood. I took Hollyn under my arm, guiding her around the Weasleys towards Lewis, while Draco stood on her other side, blocking her view if she did turn her head. She didn't, and by the time we reached Lewis, there were so many people between us that they were completely shielded from view.
My dad had moved on from Lewis, who was on the ground, his leg bandaged. He was breathing shallowly, his skin pale and ice cold to the touch. Hollyn and I sat on either side of him, each grabbing one of his hands. We sat quietly for what felt like an hour; watching as people hurried around us, as people mourned, as more and more people were brought in from the Great Hall.
The voice shocked me again, cold and high, penetrating straight in to my mind itself.
"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived in finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before him, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."
A scream echoed throughout the hallway. "No!"
Ginny rushed forward, towards the door, only to be pulled back by Charlie. He pulled her in to his arms, holding her struggling body against his own, the only sounds throughout the entire hall her futile effort to escape. I stood, robotically.
Without a thought, I stepped forward, towards the Entrance Hall. Minerva fell in to step beside me, quivering slightly. As one, the rest of the hall – all those who were healthy enough to – joined us in our trek out of the Great Hall. My legs were shaking, numbly carrying my body forward. I wished Sirius was here; I needed him. He hadn't been there with my when Lily and James had died; I needed him to help me with the death of their son. A sob bubbled out of my throat at the thought and Hollyn grabbed hold of my hand tightly. I smiled weakly down at her, gratefully.
We gathered on the front steps, McGonagall out in front of us – our leader. An army of cloaked, masked figures marched towards us, their whoops and shouts of glee audible. My stomach churned at their sounds. How could they celebrate this…the death of a child? The death of a strong, caring, kind, good child. Not a child, I suppose. A young man. A young man who dedicated his entire life to fighting for good. A young man who only wanted everyone to be treated equally, for the evil of this world to meet an end. A young man who I'd loved from the moment I held him as a baby. A young man who had his parents ripped away from him, his godparents forbidden from seeing him, who had seen friends killed and tortured in front of him.
Minerva was the first to see. A strangled noise ripped from her, more horrible than anything I had ever heard. I hadn't known that she was capable of making such a noise. Ron and Hermione were next, their screams of horror and sorrow joining Minerva's.
"NO!" Ginny screamed, the word ripping from her mouth as though a piece of her very heart was attached. In the background, I heard laughter – Bellatrix Lestrange. I was too heartbroken to acknowledge the piping hot anger that had joined the overwhelming feeling of lose that sat heavy in my chest.
Her laughter acted as a trigger and at once everyone was screaming at the death eaters, shouting out their horror or denial.
"Silence!" Voldemort screamed, holding his wand in the air. A bang of light spread across the courtyard, and at once none of us could speak.
"Set him down, Hagrid. At my feet where he belongs," Voldemort snapped in a cold voice. "Do you see now? Do you all see how he had deluded you? How he has lied to you? He is nothing, NOTHING but a stupid boy who has allowed his friends to die for him."
"He beat you!" Ron screamed, the curse breaking at once, unable to hold. I screamed, joining in the shouts of those around me.
Voldemort cocked his head at Ron, studying him. "Harry Potter was killed trying to sneak off of the Hogwarts grounds. Killed, trying to save himself – "
Voldemort broke off, however, a look of confusion and awe appearing on his face, as Neville Longbottom broke free from the crowd and attempted to disarm him. His own wand flew out of his hand at Voldemort flicked his lazily.
"What's this?" Voldemort asked, silkily.
Bellatrix laughed wildly behind Voldemort. "That is Neville Longbottom, my Lord. The son of the Aurors, remember?"
I made a noise of indignation at Bellatrix bringing up Alice and Frank, who she had tortured to insanity. How dare she…
"Ah!" Voldemort exclaimed, his snakelike eyes brightening in recognition, moving forward towards Neville, his snake wrapping around his legs. "Yes, yes. I remember. But you are pureblood, are you not? It would be a shame to spill such magical blood. Join me, Neville Longbottom, and you will be rewarded past your wildest dreams."
"When hell freezes over," Neville exclaimed. "Dumbledore's Army!" There was a resounding cheer from the crowd, and I felt the tension rising. Something was about to happen. I felt it.
"Well, then I suppose I will use you to show what will happen to all those who are foolish enough to continue resisting," Voldemort said silkily, raising his wand lazily.
At once, multiple things happened. Ron screamed out for Neville, who turned just in time to see the glint of silver hurling towards him. He caught the sword, turning back towards Voldemort, just as a giant black dog came hurling from behind a stone wall, launching itself at Voldemort and attaching itself to his wand arm. Voldemort screamed in pain, attempting to launch the dog – Sirius – off, and Neville, with a scream, took the opportunity to race towards the snake, cutting its head off. Voldemort's resulting unhuman scream reverberated deeply inside all of our hearts.
Hermione gasped from besides me. "The last horcrux," she whispered, but I ignored her, my eyes locked on Sirius.
Chaos ensued. Voldemort shot a killing curse at Neville, but it was blocked, although Neville carried no wand. Voldemort flung Sirius off of him, the black dog hitting the wall he had hidden behind hard, crumbling to the ground with a whine. I vaguely heard someone screaming, "HARRY? HARRY?" But as death eaters were now rushing us, I had to focus on making sure Hollyn was protected.
"Draco!" I screamed, catching his eye wildly. He nodded, pulling Hollyn through the crowd and back inside. Voldemort had charged forward, taking on McGongall, Slughorn and Kingsley all at once, his wand moving so quickly that he was taking down all those around him – friend and foe alike. I saw George and his friend Lee Jordan take down Yaxley; Flitwick was fighting Dolohov, who was screaming in pain; Ron, Neville, Arthur, and Percy were standing in a semicircle, protecting each other's backs and taking down as many death eaters as they could reach.
I saw Bellatrix across the hall, fighting three just like her master – Hermione, Ginny and Hollyn. My heart fell. Draco lay crumpled in a corner, his head bleeding freely, struggling to sit up.
"Now, now, Draco," Bellatrix hissed, "You stay put." She waved her wand at him, binding him where he sat. He struggled violently against the chains.
"HOLLYN!" He screamed.
"Hush," Bellatrix purred, silencing him. "You can watch while I finish off your little blood traitor girlfriend. I might take out the mudblood and Potter's little girlfriend too, while I'm at it."
I was sprinting, hoping I would be quick enough to reach them, when I saw a killing curse miss Ginny by an inch. One hair closer, and she would have been dead. An animalistic growl ripped from my throat, but I was too far. I wasn't going to reach them.
"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!" Molly Weasley had appeared out of nowhere, ripping her cloak off and throwing it over her shoulder.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" She screamed at the three girls, pushing them behind her. Molly was glaring at Bellatrix with such pure fury, her usually kind face hard and cold. She flicked her wand viciously, and Bellatrix took a step back, shocked. The two women were fighting to kill, their wands slashing through the air. I rushed forward to help her, following suit of several students who were attempting the same thing.
"No! Stay back, she's mine!" Molly screamed, wildly.
"She's ours," I corrected her, stepping up next to her. Molly barely spared me a glance, but nodded quickly. I joined the fight, realizing that everyone else had stopped fighting throughout the hall – watching the two fights with entranced interest.
"Not so fast, dearest Addie," someone had stepped out from behind a wall of frozen death eaters. He walked so slowly and casually, as though there was no war waging around him, but as though he were approaching an old friend.
"Jase." I hissed fiercely, my attention immediately taken from Bellatrix and focused on him.
"I've been waiting for you," he growled, approaching me, wand held out. "I tried to find you before. I see your daughter is here as well – what a shame it would be to kill her too. Although I do take such pleasure in killing your family."
"What are you talking about?" I spat at him, heart beating quickly in my chest.
Jase laughed; the sound cold. "You haven't figured it out yet? Merlin, I always knew you were slow. I killed Ellie and your niece. Hunted them down myself. Brought Bellatrix with me, since she's always up for a fight. How she begged, 'Please! Please don't! I'm a mother! Please for the kids!" He imitated her in a cruel impression of Ellie begging. "Pathetic. Like I care about her or the kids. It was all to hurt you, Addie. Like you hurt me."
I vaguely realized that things had changed around me. Molly had hit Bellatrix square in the chest, the echo of her last cruel laugh forever frozen on her face as she fell backwards, dead. Voldemort screamed in rage, casting a curse so powerful that McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn were all launched backwards. He started shooting off hexes at random, but a powerful shield was raised, and suddenly Harry appeared in front of Voldemort. I barely had time to process my shock and elation, as I focused all of my attention of Jason Whitmore – the man who had taken just as much from me as Voldemort himself.
I screamed, stabbing my wand towards him and throwing my first ever killing curse. Jase laughed cruelly and dodged it.
"Oh, come now. You'll have to do better than that." I heard Harry screaming at Voldemort, about how he wouldn't be able to touch any of us again; about how he had died to protect us. They were pacing, turning in a circle as they faced off against each other. I threw another hex at Jase, missing him narrowly. He shot a spell back, which I dodged with ease. Molly was holding the kids back, stopping them from jumping in to help me – I ignored it all, pushing everything out of my mind but Jase and finishing what he had started twenty-two years ago.
"You think I hurt you?" I laughed incredulously. "After all of these years, you haven't learned to take responsibility for your own actions? You're that deluded that you actually think I'm to blame for all of your problems? You decided to rape me. You decided to harass me afterwards, so that I decided to press charges. You decided to rape me again, to take my memories of Sirius, to sentence Sirius to years in Azkaban when you knew he was innocent. You decided that my daughter would grow up without a father. You decided to kill. You did this all to yourself, and you're too stubborn to admit that the only person you have to blame is yourself. How dare you stand there and pretend any differently."
Jase didn't answer, but instead narrowed his eyes and began fighting with renewed force. One of his spells hit me, sending me flying. I hit something hard, pain radiating down my head, through my spine. I tried to sit up, but found that I was numb. Jase advanced, and as he was raising his wand again, smiling down at me cruelly, Sirius came flying out of nowhere, throwing up a shield charm.
"Sirius Black," Jase greeted wildly. "So nice to finally see you again."
"Wish I could say the same to you," Sirius shot back icily. "I see you're harassing my wife, again. I guess I didn't make myself clear all of those years ago. I told you that if you so much as looked at her again, I would take matters in to my own hands. I may be a couple of years late, given that I was locked up in Azkaban, but I'd say that only makes me that much more capable of doing what I'm about to do to you."
I struggled to my feet painfully, and grabbed Sirius wand arm, just as he was raising it, saying, "Avada…."
"No!" I screamed. I shot a binding hex at Jase, who had been so focused on Sirius that he hadn't seen it coming. "No," I said more quietly.
"Addison, this guy has done nothing but torment you since you were a teenager. He needs to pay," Sirius yelled harshly, his eyes glancing between Jase, and Harry – who was still circling with Voldemort.
"And he will pay – in Azkaban. We don't need to stoop to his level." Seeing Sirius, his wand held high, ready to kill someone intentionally, had made something snap in me. I didn't want him to live with that, not for me. I'd seen what it does to him to kill someone, even in self-defense. I don't know if I could live to see him go through it, knowing that he'd made the conscious decision to do so. To protect me. As badly as I wanted Jase dead, I knew that we were better than that. We were better than him.
Sirius was incredulous, his wand still raised. I grabbed his arm, lowering it for him. "But, Addie…"
"He's not worth it." Sirius shot me a disbelieving look. "No, really. He's not worth it. Here we are, together." I placed my hand on his heart, feeling it beating wildly against his ribcage. "We have Hollyn, we have Eliana, we have Harry. We have everything we ever wanted – we don't need to do this. I love you. I have always loved you, and nothing he has ever done is more important than that." I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head against his chest. He lowered his wand, bringing his hands to rest at my hips.
As Sirius nodded, a bang erupted in the center of the hall, and the two of us turned, intertwined with each other, just as the golden light faded, and Harry stood, holding the Elder Wand triumphantly, Voldemort dead across from him.
