Disclaimer: The rights to the Harry Potter series go to J.K. Rowling. All original ideas present in this belong to me.

Chapter Twenty-One | Trap

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Of course, I'm not bloody sure! But it's the best goddamn chance we have!" I curse, turning my frustrated gaze on Severus. He glares back at me, appearing confident on the surface, but I can tell that he's just as nervous as I am. He keeps clenching his hands over and over, reflexively preparing himself to grab his wand at a moments notice.

"You better be sure of this Helene. Azkaban I can do, but death? I'm not ready for that yet."

"Nobody is dying tonight Severus, at least, not us."

I drag Severus forward, up the stairs from the dungeons towards the second floor. He looks around, confused as we enter Myrtle's bathroom. "What are we doing here? Is this where we lay our trap? A bathroom haunted by the most petulant ghost in the world? Yes! Of course! I see it now, we angst Dumbledore to death!" he complains, gesturing wildly at the slightly destitute lavatory.

"Shut up and watch," I retort, walking confidently towards the tap and hissing at it. The sinks immediately slide over, sinking into the stone floor as if they were never there in the first place, marble stairs jut out of the pipes walls in a tight spiral. I point at the gaping hole in the floor and smirk at Severus. "Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets."

"The… the Chamber of Secrets?" He breathes, eyes wide. "This is the entrance to the famed Chamber?"

"Well, it wouldn't be very secret if it was somewhere obvious, would it?"

"I assume not… but a bloody lavatory of all places?"

"I don't know if it was always a loo, but it is now," I shrug. "Let's move, alright?"

Severus nods shakily, trudging down the steps and grimacing at the thin sheen of scum on the pipe walls. "Have you not cleaned up?" He complains, wiping a hand over the muck and rolling it between his fingers in disgust. "Scourgify," he incants, the mildew and mold vanishing as he waves his wand.

"I haven't had a chance to clean the whole place," I say. "Trust me, it's a big chamber. I've done what I can, but I tend to be too tired by the end of the day when I'm here and forget to clean the entrance."

"Why would you not clean it on your way in?"

"Because I'm lazy."

We walk slowly through the entrance, making it to the main chamber after a few minutes. I drop my bag on the floor, searching through it for my etching set. After a minute of rummaging (damned extension charms without a search function) I find it, pulling out the magically enhanced hammer and chisel, along with a companion set that I hand to Severus.

"I'm going to start carving some runes around here, set some traps to keep Dumbledore busy for when we confront him. If you know any activatable wards start carving and casting," I say, immediately hunkering down to begin my work. The first ward I work on is an apparition trap that functions in two states, allowing someone to enter the area but not to leave, activating as soon as someone apparates into it. I was lucky enough to come across an old blood ward preventing phoenix travel and I've fashioned it to work on the same principle. I know the only way that Dumbledore can reliably enter the chamber is via Fawkes, so this should prevent him from escaping if he feels that he won't win the encounter.

It takes me about an hour and a half to finish my carving, a long series of runes crossing throughout the chamber in a wide circle. I cut my palm and place it against the keystone, the centre rune in the scheme and push my magic into it. The rune pulses white, then red, the light flaring and spreading across the chain, circling around the room and running back into the keystone. It blinks white once more before dimming, and I breathe a sigh of relief. If I did that correctly Dumbledore shouldn't be able to escape.

I look over to the entrance and see Severus hard at work on his own ward scheme, setting a stunning charm to go off if Dumbledore attempts to enter or leave through the front door. Dumbledore will easily detect it, but it'll keep him occupied and fenced in, unable to venture over to that part of the room without disarming it first.

I hear the grind of stone on stone as the entrance to Salazar's personal quarters opens, Magna's massive body sliding through the simian maw. :Close your eyes Magna, I have a friend with me: I command, before she can look at Severus and inadvertently kill him. That would put a damper on things.

:Yes Speaker, I close eyes: she replies, slithering towards me and crooning lightly as I pet her snout. :Who friend?:

:This is my Professor, Severus Snape. Remember his scent:

Magna sniffs at the air, head swaying side to side. :I remember: she says. :I no hurt man-bat:

I cackle at that. Severus, meanwhile is standing stock-still behind me, jaw to the floor as he gapes at the massive basilisk in front of him. "This… this is the monster of the chamber?" He croaks, his chisel falling through loose fingers and clattering against the floor.

"Don't worry, she won't hurt you," I reassure him. "She knows you're a friend and won't attack you."

"Could we not use her to fight Albus?" he asks, picking up his fallen tool and wiping the dust off the shining metal. "A basilisk would surely be effective."

"If I fail to ambush him immediately, I'll call Magna in to aid us, she'll be hiding off over there," I say, pointing to my left at one of the pipes. "Dumbledore could probably go toe to toe with her on his own without being in too much danger, but when we team up I don't believe he'd stand a chance."

"Would it not be better for her to be with us immediately?"

"Do you see the size of her?" I ask, raising my hand above my head to the six and a half feet Magna stands when lying down. "She takes up most of the chamber just being here, for her to be moving around when there's two of us would be too dangerous. It'd be way too easy for her to get knocked over by a spell and crush one of us. No, she's going to ambush him if things don't go well. Additionally, with you all 'tied up' you won't be of any immediate help. You're the second wave, alright? Anything goes wrong… if you think I'm about to lose, you jump right in, okay?"

"I understand," Severus admits, peering worriedly at the great snake before turning around. "I'm going to… get back to what I was doing."

We labor over the Chamber for a few more hours, layering ward over ward to give us as much of an advantage as possible. I've put down everything I can think of in terms of traps and annoyances. Sludge pits, ice bombs, and everything else under the sun. I've got the home field advantage and I'm going to use it to the best of my ability.

I wipe the sweat from my brow, walking over to my bag on tired, shaky feet and placing my tools back in it. I look over to Severus, who's resting against the wall and meditating, preparing himself for the fight to come. I go over to him and sit down, closing my eyes and thinking over strategies, refamiliarizing myself with different spells that will be effective, that will catch Dumbledore off guard. My wandless abilities are going to be tested to their breaking point tonight… this morning more like. I open my eyes and flick my wand, whispering "tempus."

4:56 AM.

Well, looks like I'm about to ambush Albus Dumbledore.

"Severus, it's time," I intone, my voice flat and empty. He cracks one eye open, calmly rolling his shoulders and climbing to his feet.

"I'm ready."

I nod, leading him over to Salazar's statue, binding him loosely beside the pool. I make it look as if I've pulled the ropes snug behind him, while leaving his hands free so that he can quickly vanish them and join the fight when the need arises. I walk over to the sleeping Magna, waking her by patting my hand against her flank. :Magna, take your position. Attack the old man when I call for you:

She nods her massive head, slithering towards the pipe and coiling herself against the wall, prepared to launch herself towards Dumbledore at a moments notice. I exhale heavily, my body beginning to tense, anxiety rearing its ugly head. I clench my teeth, stamping down the suffocating feeling of danger and fear. I blink to Dumbledore's office with a sheaf of parchment in hand, startling Fawkes. The Phoenix screeches loudly as I place the sheet on Dumbledore's desk, giving me a splitting headache as I fire off a blasting curse at the wall before blinking back to the chamber. Now all I have to do is wait.

I stretch my arms and legs and begin to pace back and forth, keeping myself moving. Wouldn't do to get a stitch in the middle of a fight, nor would it do me any good to be caught standing still. Constant vigilance.

My head snaps to the centre of the chamber as a fireball bursts out of thin air, loudly announcing Dumbledore's presence as he strides out of the flames unscathed, his eyes devoid of their usual shine. Instead they're dim, emboldened, an old and terrifying strength hidden in their depths.

"I received your letter, Miss Potter," he says flatly, holding out the parchment in front of him. "I know you're onto me. If you ever want to see your Potions Master again, come to the Chamber of Secrets immediately. You know how to find me."

He crushes the letter in his hand, a puff of smoke emitting from clenched fingers as it bursts into flames. He scatters the ashes across the floor. Fawkes glides off to the side, perching on top of one of the statues lining the Chambers walkway, staring down at me angrily. I scoff at the phoenix, waving mockingly. "Imagine how surprised I was to find that you, the Girl-Who-Lived, is a Necromancer," Dumbledore states thoughtfully, bringing my attention back to him. "I've been searching for you for a while, Helene. Thirteen years old and already a murderer, already dabbling in arts that never should see the light of day. You truly do remind me of Tom Riddle… in fact, I do believe you terrify me more than he ever did."

I cock my head to the side, peering at Dumbledore inquisitively. "I was surprised to find out as well. Turns out I have a real knack for this," I say, transfiguring a loose stone into a close lookalike of Fawkes. I flick my wand, a nauseating gray beam of light shooting from the end of it and striking the conjured animal. It screams as the flesh sloughs off its bones, the feathers decaying rapidly as they flutter slowly to the ground. All that's left is a puddle of avian flesh, a small rib cage and skull balanced precariously on top of the gory pile. "See? I only learned that last week."

Dumbledore shakes his head sadly, arms open wide. "Must we fight Helene? Can you not come back to the light as your parents would wish? You still have a chance at redemption, dear child."

"You have some nerve Albus, bringing my parents into this. Redemption? You're one to speak. Albus Dumbledore, murderer, child abuser, manipulator, and so-called Leader of the Light," I spit through gritted teeth, my voice full of ice and malice as sparks fly dangerously from my wand. "You left me to be abused by the Dursleys. You allowed Voldemort to enter the school in my first year in some harebrained plot to pit me against him. You allowed a dark artefact into the school in second-year, one that would have sicced a goddamn basilisk on the students residing here, placing everyone in danger once again. You grant dementors access to school grounds, monsters that are known to attack without threat or prompting, bestowing a fate worse than death upon their victims. No, Albus Dumbledore. You have long stood away from the light."

Dumbledore shakes his head sadly, his hands held out placatingly. "You are delusional. A child with a broken mind, possessed and twisted by the scar on your forehead," he sighs melodramatically, bowing his head in sadness. He looks up at me, resignation on his wizened face. "Tell me, monster, whatever you are or claim to be. Where is Severus?"

I laugh at that, a bitter, hateful laugh that echoes eerily off the Chamber walls. "Monster? Are you not the one who murdered a boy of only thirteen quite recently? Employed a paedophile in a boarding school without so much as a background check? You call me a monster? Do you not listen to yourself? You've lost your mind Albus," I spit, gesturing behind me at the prone form of Severus, who's putting on a show of struggling weakly against his bindings. "Your esteemed potions master is over there. You do know you'll have to get through me before you have any chance of rescuing him, correct?"

"Albus! Get me out of here! She's mad! You've got to he- "

"Quiet," I growl, flicking my wand lazily and silencing him.

"You took him hostage, stole him away in the dead of night and then brought me here with the threat of his life hanging over my head. You are a monster, cut and dry," he reasons, hands held in front of him like a priest directing his followers. "I wished so much for you. For you to carry on as a bastion for the light long after I die, to usher the world into a new era," he states emphatically. "Instead… you fall, you fall into the darkness just as your predecessor did. You disappoint me greatly."

"Disappoint you? Disappoint you?" I roar, blistering fury coursing through me like a poison. My body is raring and rearing to fight, to destroy this blustering madman in front of me. "Do you not take responsibility for your murder of a child? For your heartless killing of Ron Weasley? For allowing my rape at the hands of Lockhart? Do you not take responsibility for destroying any semblance of a childhood I might have had!? How you bound my magic and person, attempting to twist me into some boy hero? You are blind Dumbledore, completely and utterly blind. You disgust me, and every fibre of my being is repulsed by the façade you chose to show," I continue, working myself into a righteous fervor, screaming for his blood. "I am a Necromancer not by choice, but by necessity. I died, Dumbledore. I died. I died and was brought back to right this wrong, to rid the world of Voldemort and use the God-given powers bestowed on me. I will not die again, not until I am more wrinkled and ancient than you are, with my sanity more intact than yours ever was."

"You? Of course, you were the one to murder Gilderoy…" Dumbledore says thoughtfully, before understanding washes over his previously quizzical features, the puzzle pieces coming together. "Resurrection," he whispers, his voice carrying across the chamber and echoing off the walls. "Brought back into this world by a demon no doubt… you will have to be put down I'm afraid. I cannot allow such evil to walk this Earth."

Fuck you, old man. The ancient prick is just going to ignore everything I've said! All that I've gone through at his hands? I guess it's time to stop monologuing and put an end to this.

"Then come and rid me of this world," I challenge, arms spread wide, beckoning him forward to fight as I bow my fingers forward, sending blades of air at him from all sides. Dumbledore jumps, leaps much higher than a man of his age should, flying over the ethereal blades and into one of my traps. The floor turns to thick tar beneath him, clawing and dragging at his feet, pulling him into it's depths.

I flick my wand, sending a rotting curse at him followed by another round of elemental cutters, thin bullets of compressed air flying towards him. He destroys the floor beneath him without hesitation, scattering the shining black tar and spattering it over the walls as he deflects the rotting curse. He cries out as he's struck by my second attack, two neat holes appearing in his bright yellow robes, slowly suffusing with the deep crimson of his blood.

"You're strong for a child," he states, whipping his wand around his head and sending a cyclone of fire in my direction, the heat stinging my eyes and scorching away my eyebrows. I throw my arms out, banishing the fire by suffocating it of all air, before clenching my hand and drawing it down, a section of the ceiling forming into a cobbled fist and crushing the ground where Dumbledore was just a moment ago.

:Magna, attack!: I hiss, grinning widely as she flies out of her hiding place, smashing into Dumbledore and sending him flying. He shouts even as he soars through the air, incanting something in a language I've never heard before, his voice thick and guttural, the sound coming out of his mouth nearly inhuman. A pearlescent globe of red shoots towards Magna, bright violet flickering along its edges. It strikes her just short of her head, Magna screeching loudly as it connects, the statues within the Chamber shivering under her cry.

I watch in horror as her hide begins to peel, thick sections sliding off like snow on a mountainside, viscous green blood pouring from the wound, smoking and sputtering as it melts the floor beneath it. Magna opens her eyes, roaring her defiance at Dumbledore as she attempts to subdue him through her gaze. He reacts immediately, shutting his own and sending off a rapid combination of spells, every colour of the rainbow and more rushing headlong towards Magna, booming as they explode upon her flank.

I support her as she bites and hisses at the rabbit-like old man, leaping to and fro about the room, his shoes clicking away like a maddened tap dancer. Jesus Christ the man can move. I clap my hands, two walls of air slamming into Dumbledore and breaking his nose, blood spurting violently from the long and crooked appendage.

He glares at me, eyes lit up in fury. Suddenly he's moving faster than I can even imagine, his arm a blur as spells fly at me at an incredible speed. I can feel them zip by my head as I dodge them, blinking about the room, how they crackle and whistle as they crash into the walls behind me. I move back, steadily retreating under his onslaught, my empty heart skipping at the sight of Magna lying dead, her normally golden eyes dull and pale, chunks of bone and viscera littering the ground near her.

"I'll miss you, you weird fucking sna- fuck!" I hiss in pain as I'm clipped on the shoulder due to my momentary distraction, my robes fraying from the piercing hex. I notice that my injuries beginning to mirror his, finding it slightly amusing even in the thick of battle.

I move to dodge the next spell, cursing as I'm struck in the jaw, a long, jagged cut splitting the skin and knocking out a few of my teeth. I spit the bits of displaced bone to the ground, grinning ferally as I start to lash out with bigger spells, more violent, destructive ones. Deadly ones. I jab my wand viciously, whispering "mortuus manibus." Rotting arms erupt from the ground ripping and tearing at Dumbledore's legs, taking him by surprise. A gout of fire erupts around his feet, burning away the sickening limbs. He presses on after cauterizing the wound, his right leg dragging behind him and a bloodied chunk of muscle lying on the ground, a spattered pool of red slowly growing underneath it.

"It's been a long time since someone challenged me so," he compliments as he fashions a host of growling, spitting wolves out of the rubble, sending them towards me, their slavering jaws wide in anticipation. I punch forward, a wave of stone rolling up and out, spikes impaling the transfigured beasts, who howl and cry in their death throes.

I scream out in pain, watching in horror as my left arm dangles uselessly from my side, almost severed completely by a cutting curse that was snuck through the barrage of wolves. I clutch at the useless limb, holding it in place and praying it doesn't fall off. I don't know if I could reattach it on my own.

"Avada Kedavra!" I cry, the killing curse rushing headlong towards Dumbledore, his eyes wide in shock. A sudden flash and a burst of fire intercepts the spell, Fawkes exploding into a burst of gold feathers, a small pile of chirping ashes appearing below.

"Really? You're surprised that I'd cast an unforgivable after I just tore bits out of you with an eldritch summoning spell? Stupid fucking man," I crow, taunting him.

Dumbledore roars in fury, his beard flowing about him like a living creature as he advances. I throw up an aegis fortis, reflecting the next wave of spells sent at me before it cracks, a mighty thunder clap erupting from the glimmering shield as it collapses. I can feel Severus behind me, waiting for his moment, his opportunity to take Dumbledore by surprise. I continue to shrink back, deflecting and dodging the fatal beams that head my way.

He's starting to go all out, an outright horde of different transfigured creatures running or flying towards me. I notice a host of griffins screeching as they leap forwards, most of them getting cut in half by blades of air, their innards spilling out onto the floor.

"Holy shit," I breathe, watching as Dumbledore fashions the transfigured organs into a dragon, a Hungarian Horntail to be exact. Jesus fucking Christ. It roars menacingly, swinging its tail towards me. I quickly dive out of the way, eyes widening in horror at the deep furrow its dug into the rock.

If that hits me, I'm fucking dead.

I have to dodge and weave as Dumbledore attempts to pepper me with spells, all the while circling a fourty-foot long dragon as it spits massive gouts of flame in my direction, clawing and hissing at me. I bring my hand up, great stone spikes erupting out of the ground and impaling the dragon. It roars in pain, the Chamber shuddering under its death throes.

As it struggles to stay alive, it lunges desperately, blood flying as it rips its chest open upon the rock and thrusts one great clawed wing towards me. I dodge the attack, but another spell gets through, a blasting curse smashing into my gut like a runaway train. I throw up a massive shield of stone as I'm tossed backwards. I catch a glimpse of layer upon layer of marbled rock bursting out of the floor and moulding to the ceiling. I watch as the dragons head is pulled along with the summoned stone. A horrendous crunch accompanies the creatures head bursting violently as its crushed against the ceiling, thick chunks of viscera and gray matter spilling over the wall.

I crash violently into the moat surrounding Salazar's statue. I gasp silently, bubbles flowing from between my lips as I sink into the frigid water. Kicking frantically, I force myself to the surface, desperately heaving myself up and out of the pool, my muscles screaming out for rest.

"Now is the time," I gasp, my lungs burning from my exertions. Even magically augmented limbs can only keep up for so long. Severus nods his head, his chin jutting out and jaw set rigid as he removes his bindings, quickly climbing to his feet. I collapse to the ground, faking unconsciousness, feeling the incredible shocks rush through the stone floor as Dumbledore breaks his way through my wall.

I hear the crash as it collapses, feel the sharp pain of shards of rock cutting through my robes and carving shallow, jagged furrows in my back. I stay still, prone, and for all accounts knocked out, unaware of my surroundings.

"Albus, I got free, I- I stunned her," Severus croaks, his voice thick with faux-relief. "What do we do with her?"

The steady click of Dumbledore's shoes bounces off the walls, the sound eerie and foreboding. "Why, we kill her of course," he states, his voice even and devoid of all emotion. It takes everything in me not to react to that, how easily he asks one of his teachers to kill a student. What horrifies me the most is his tone. There's something in the way he speaks that makes it absolutely clear that he expects Severus to accept his order, for it could be nothing else, without question. "Unless you have another idea Severus?"

"I do Albus," he announces, well hidden anticipation lacing his words.

Dumbledore pauses for a moment, and I can just picture the shock on his face from being denied in such a way. "What would that be Severus?" He deadpans icily.

"Avada Kedavra," he intones, the neon green reflecting off the water in front of me, the bright light stinging my eyes. A muted thump from behind tells me the job is done.

It's over.

I crawl to my knees, supporting myself loosely with my one good arm. Severus scrambles over, pulling me up and cradling me underneath his shoulder.

"You're hurt," he whispers, staring at my arm, which is now hanging on by only a few errant threads of muscle. "You're not bleeding," he breathes, as he notices the absence of liquid crimson.

"Comes with the territory of being resurrected," I explain, running my wand over my arm. "D'abbesra'a sha'aoyat, g'armea kh'shal" I hiss, the two of us watching (Severus with no small amount of revulsion) as my skin and bone thread back together through the necromantic bastardization of a healing charm, which I've decided to dub 'the flesh forging charm,' due to its direct translation. I sigh in relief as I flex the limb, making sure my fingers are still functioning properly, tapping my thumb to each one in succession while rolling my wrist.

"Looks like I'm still in one piece," I laugh, groaning as I feel my shattered ribs protest. "Mostly one piece."

"He underestimated you," Severus states, looking towards Dumbledore's slumped over corpse, mouth open in shock, his empty, terrified eyes still wide open as he realizes Severus' betrayal. "You shouldn't have come out of that in one piece, let alone alive," he marvels, his eyes shining brightly with awe. "You fight incredibly well."

"Thank you for your unwavering support," I laugh, marching past Dumbledore's body and pointing my wand at Fawkes. I strike him with the same rotting curse I did his transfigured clone, the tiny featherless bird melting into a puddle of liquid flesh, a small puff of fire signalling the phoenix's true and final demise. "And that takes care of any avenging fowl," I mutter, striding back, picking up the forgotten chunk of leg and throwing Dumbledore over my shoulder, my muscles aching under his weight. Christ the old man is heavy.

I beckon for Severus to follow, leading him up the conjured stairway through the mouth of Slytherin and onwards towards the ritual room. I toss Dumbledore unceremoniously onto the stone altar, placing the hunk of muscle into its previous place and stitching it back on using another flesh forger. I continue as I go over the rest of his body, sealing his wounds and healing all of the physical damage he took during our fight.

After a few minutes I sit back, wiping my grimy hands off on my robes and yawning loudly, doing my best not to put my gore-soaked digits near my mouth. "Are you ready Severus?" I ask, turning to the potions master.

"As ready as I can be," he states confidently, throwing up a shield between me and him, prepared for a potential ritual backfire.

I place my hands onto Dumbledore's chest, closing my eyes and reaching out with my magic, searching for that familiar sense of ancient, freezing death. I grab hold the instant I feel it, yanking and pulling with all my might. Severus gasps in fright and no small amount of disgust as he sets his eyes on the macabre sight, the smoky, black as ink vines slipping out of the ground, rearing upwards and latching onto Dumbledore. They twist and knot themselves over one another in their mad rush to enter his body, slipping through his open mouth, his body seizing and shaking as they fight their way in.

I grit my teeth, feeling the strain on my magic as I push the ritual further, changing it to my own needs. "Servum meum, veniet ad me," I call, black magic suffocating me as ice crackles along the walls and altar, the room awash in the sharp stench of sulfur. Severus catches me as I fall, hoisting me up and balancing me on shaking legs.

"Did… did it work?" he frets, watching over the now still form in the centre of the room.

"It did," I exclaim, as the once dead Dumbledore slowly raises, climbing to his feet unsteadily. "It fucking worked."

I rush up and snatch the wand out of his quavering hands, held out in fear and confusion. I gasp as I feel a rush of power, the wand singing to me as I pull it away from Dumbledore.

I'm in awe of the sensation, as it feels like a part of me had been lost and was finally reclaimed. It feels so terribly familiar. I look down at the wand, Deaths wand, I realize. I can sense his magic all over it, the concentrated feeling of something that should not exist in this world all packed into one tiny, fragile wooden container. Dumbledore had this? Ironic that the Leader of the Light's fame was influenced by the blackest of artifacts.

"Dumbledore, stop what you're doing at once," I command, smirking as he does so immediately, freezing in place.

"W- what dark magic is this?" he croaks, throat dry and rough from his very intimate brush with death.

"Necromancy, Dumbledore. Exactly what you came here to end," I explain, laughing openly at his terrified look. I've never seen the man show such unadulterated fear. "This is what you get for meddling with my life and so many others, trying to twist me as you saw fit. That is over, now and forever. From here on out, you are my… undead servant."

Dumbledore looks as if he's about to vomit, and I chuckle bitterly as I congratulate him, clapping sardonically at his horrified stare. "You will never mention what happened here in this Chamber, nor of the Chambers existence. Our fight, your suspicions of my powers, Severus' betrayal of you, as well as your resurrection… all will be hidden. You will no longer meddle in the lives of others, as well as be incapable of communicating with others about my powers in any way shape or form. You will not be able to write any mention of it down, sign it, hint at it, allow someone to enter your mind, nor speak of it out loud even if there aren't others around."

I look over at Severus, wondering if I've missed anything. He tuts quietly, thinking it over. "He should not be able to speak ill of you, to try and convince others that you are dark. That should cover everything, although you can always add commands later down the line, correct?"

"Yes, I can," I reply, looking back at Dumbledore. "Well, you heard the man! You can no longer speak ill of me, nor can you make any attempt to convince others that I am dark, dangerous, or otherwise unsavoury, nor can you make any comments that would put me in danger. This also applies to Severus," I recite, tapping my chin thoughtfully. "Oh yes!" I cry, jabbing my finger in the air emphatically. "I can't believe I forgot! You can never attempt to bring or allow harm to come to me, as well as any of the students and staff at this school, be it personally or through outside means.

"More than satisfactory," Severus drawls, stepping up towards Dumbledore and leering at him. "You disgust me Albus. For so long I believed you to be good, that you looked out for me and others who have been in my position. The abused, the downtrodden… we flocked to you and your banner, praying that you would take us under your wing. Me, for my abusive childhood and failings as a young adult. Filius, for his status as a half-breed. Hagrid for the same. I loved you as a son would love a father, trusted you to treat me and others like me right," he spits, fury lacing his every word, his magic flaring dangerously. "Instead, you place the child of prophecy, Helene Potter, Lily's fucking daughter in a household where she was beaten and starved, neglected emotionally and physically. It pleases me to no end that I was the one to destroy you."

I look down at Dumbledore's wand, resting loosely between my fingers. "You will go and get yourself a new wand tomorrow," I state. "You will follow me and Severus out of here and return to your chambers as if nothing of circumstance happened tonight. You will carry on as you normally would without interfering with or ignoring your previous commands."

Dumbledore raises his head proudly, although I can see him attempting to fight the compulsions, the commands, his eyes shining with anger and fear. "Wipe that scared look off your face, it's unbecoming of you," I finish, smiling as the fight is bodily forced from his eyes.

"Severus, I think it's time we got some rest," I announce, reaching out and bracing myself on his arm, too tired to walk without assistance. Severus grasps my hand and pulls me back in to him, supporting my weight as we leave the Chamber of Secrets. The slave that once was Albus Dumbledore follows in our wake as we skirt around the massive corpse of Magna. I pause to look on at her sadly, bowing my head in respect for a moment before carrying on.

I hear a thud behind me and turn to see Dumbledore having stumbled into one of our traps, lying flat as a board from the body bind ward. Tired beyond belief, I deactivate the trap, freeing him.

I try to keep an eye on him as I limp towards the exit, but I find myself I nearly fall over laughing when Dumbledore stumbles into another trap on the way, stunning himself as he attempts to exit the Chamber.

"I forgot about that one," I chuckle, tiredly wiping a tear from my eye.

"I have to say, it does me well to see that after the tonight's event," Severus agrees, snickering (yes, snickering) under his breath, before returning the deceased Headmaster to consciousness. "Shall we be off?"

"Yes, we shall."

Note: There we go! Dumbledore is taken care of! I've been working towards this chapter for a while and had a ton of fun writing it. I've never really written an extended fight scene before, so please, please let me know if it was as fun to read as it was to write. Also, if you're wondering what the (probably very poorly translated, my apologies if you've studied these languages) spells earlier mean, here are their (loose) definitions:

Mortus Manibus: Dead grasp. (Latin)

D'abbesra'a sha'aoyat, g'armea kh'shal: Flesh fused, bone forged. (Aramaic)

Servum meum, veniet ad me: My servant, come to me. (Latin)

nezrel: I don't think Dumbledore reading Hermione's mind is going to be a large problem anymore, and I'll be wrapping up that loose end soon.

Kragh50: Yep! Helene is still seventeen, probably emotionally less, considering she's spent her time hanging around people much younger than her for the last three years since coming back. She's going to be a bit brazen and do things without thinking them through first.

Zephyr Silentis: I'm super glad you enjoy the story! Thank you!

ClearSilver: I'm sorry! I hate cliff-hangers, but I like to keep my chapters at around five thousand words, give or take a few hundred. Hopefully this chapter gives you closure.

Edited, 12/06/18.