Chapter 19 –Fight
It's dark.
But I'm ready.
Ready to end this.
I take a deep breath of the salty air, hearing the light crunching noise of shoes in sand.
It's the beach of my mind. The same, yet so different.
The water is much higher up on the shore, but that isn't the most significant change. Not to me.
Gone is the peace.
Gone is the comfort.
Very present is the darkness lurking, waiting.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Harry whispers.
"I'm sure," I reply, though I am not completely as certain as I have lead them to believe.
The thought of facing Bellatrix Lestrange once more sends panic running through my blood, fear.
But it doesn'tmatter.
I have to be ready.
There's no turning back now.
We see it; the fire, and know I was right.
This is the place.
Lying down flat in the sand, we watch the shadowy figures down the shore to see what we're up against.
We have no idea how many more Death Eaters are still out there, or how many they would trust enough to be a part of this final step.
Now, it seems there are six people, but I can't make out their faces.
One is kneeling, being guarded by two men.
Draco.
He's alive, but won't be for long.
They are gathered around something.
There's the fire, but in front of that, it seems like some sort of chest. And I assume it's where the components of this revival magic lie.
"We're outnumbered," Ron whispers.
"Could be worse, I guess. At least there's only five," I say quietly.
"We have to get closer. Catch them by surprise," Harry suggests.
"And how do you suppose we do that? There isn't a lot of cover," I point out.
"It's dark. Stay low to the ground, and fire as soon as they're in range," he tells us.
"This is bloody insane," Ron complains.
"We know Ron, now shut up," I whisper in frustration. I do not need his constant negativity when I am desperately trying to keep my own worries at bay.
"Alright, let's go." Harry leads our slow trek towards the small group.
Once we're close enough, he gives us the signal to stop.
The countdown begins, he lowers one finger for each second.
Three.
Breath.
My heart pounds against my ribcage.
Two.
Breath.
What the hell am I doing?
I shouldn't be here.
I can't do this.
But Draco.
And it's like before.
I think of the reward for enduring, for pushing through.
His arms.
The beating of his heart beneath my head as he holds me within the safety of his embrace.
This moment.
I just have to get through this moment.
One.
And we're up, our red stupefys bringing down two Death Eaters.
Draco.
Our eyes lock.
He's thin and bloody and bruised, one eye swollen shut, and even though his guards are no longer in the fight, he's too weak to stand.
Spells are flying around me, but all I can see is him.
Until I'm hit and flying backwards through the air, crashing down onto my back on the sand.
I struggle to breathe, the wind knocked from my lungs.
I turn, cough, suck in a desperate lungful of air, and push myself up to my knees, to my feet.
Harry and Ron are battling Rodolphus and the other Death Eater I don't recognize.
But Bellatrix.
Where is she?
I whip my head around to see her wand aimed from behind me.
"Expelliarmus!"
But she easily deflects my spell, that evil grin plastered on her face.
"You're going to have to do a lot better than that," she cackles. "Avada ka-
"Protego!"
My shield holds, but I'm shaking.
Every time I've faced this woman, it has not ended well for me.
She terrifies me.
Not now.
I can't let her get to me now.
"Confringo!" My own curse surprises me as she leaps to the side, diving away from the sand that just exploded where she stood.
She just laughs.
"Now we're getting somewhere!"
I don't understand this woman.
She seems to be enjoying this.
"Stupefy!"
She deflects it.
"Oh," Bellatrix shakes her head with mock disappointment, getting back to her feet. "We're going backwards. It's so much more fun when it's a challenge."
Blue light.
"Protego!"
She's using wandless magic.
Two can play at that.
Stupefy, Reducto!
Pain.
It's all I can feel.
And once again, I drop into sand and it feels like a thousand needles digging into my skin. My very bones are one fire!
Then it stops.
"Well, well, isn't this familiar," she grins.
She towers above me, looking down with pure delight.
And the pain is back.
I think I'm screaming.
But all I can see or feel is every nerve reacting.
Pain.
Mind numbing pain.
And once again I am left gasping for air, sand sticking to the tears on my cheeks.
"You think you and your little pathetic boyfriends can stop us?" she hisses.
I can't speak.
"You stupid girl! You can't prevent the inevitable. An army is coming. We've defied death," she explains, spinning her wand around her fingers. "And you might," she pauses a moment to think of the word, "distract, us tonight, but we'll just wait until the next time."
I grab my wand which had fallen out of my grasp beside me and aim it -
"Expulso!"
And a fiery explosion lights the sand, sending Bellatrix flying through the air.
Every muscle seeming to contract by its own will, I struggle to stand.
But slowly, I make my way to her.
The tables have turned.
She looks up at me, and my wand aimed at her head, with wide eyes.
I know what I have to do.
My arm shakes. I steady it.
Can I really do it?
Do I have it in me?
The curse is on the tip of my tongue.
She has killed countless people
She tortured me.
She tortured Draco.
She tried to bring back Voldemort.
She deserves this.
But I hesitate.
She smiles.
"You can't do it, can you," she mocks. "Weak!"
I see her reach for her wand and know I have to act fast.
As her fingers touch the wood,
"Avada Kadavra!"
A flash of green, and the woman is dead. Again.
My wand drops to my side, eyes wide, shocked.
I didn't do it.
I couldn't.
Turning, I see him.
Draco.
The wand in his hand, probably stolen from a fallen guard, is still raised and aiming at the dead Bellatrix Lestrange.
Her and I were so focused on each other, that we didn't see him limp towards us in the darkness.
"Draco," I call, and run to him as he collapses into the sand.
I kneel beside him and pull his thin and broken body into my arms.
The battle is over.
Harry has Rodolphus in a bind curse and the other is unconscious.
"You're going to be alright," I whisper to the man in my arms. "We found you."
"I couldn't let you do it," he tells me in a low, hoarse voice. "Tear your soul like that, over her."
"So you did it for me," I say softly.
He doesn't answer, so I just hold him, like he did for me all those nights in that basement.
Author's Note:
Hello everyone! I decided to wait an extra day to post due to Mother's Day yesterday. I hope you had a great week!
The fight scene! What did you think? I know this is probably terrible, but I actually have a lot of fun writing Bellatrix's character. She's got this whole evil, yet almost child-like and playful thing going on that is just really unique to write. I did want this chapter to be a little bit longer than it is, but oh well. I really love hearing your thoughts about it.
Thanks to everyone who left me comments on the last chapter, it is so great to hear from you!
Thank-you to all those who keep reading every week!
I do have a few more chapters wrapping things up before I end this story, so check back next week for the update!
Oh, one more thing, I have just started another fan fiction writing competition, so I'll be posting a new oneshot every couple weeks if your interested in checking those out!
Thanks once again, and I hope you guys have an awesome week!
