XIV. THIS IS THE END
Narcissa's head snapped up as the four men stormed into the great hall. She stood where the headmaster had for the start of term feast and announced over the crowd.
"Stay calm! Ladies and Gentlemen," The crowd shushed quickly and turned to face her. Hopeful faces - dependent faces.
"Bellatrix is not as sinister as the Dark Lord, and while she's mad, she does have an objective here." Narcissa waved them all forward.
"You know the drills, evacuate the non-fighters, get out messages, call back the Order, in an hour we're going onto the grounds to reinforce the wards." The crowd quickly but quietly filed out of the room, leaving the true Order of the Phoenix.
"We need to get Harry back," Draco said immediately, Narcissa shook her head. "Leave her Draco, we need potions, explosive and healing ones and poison. The Infirmary needs to be fully restocked and I want seven groups of two flooing to every Wizarding establishment in London bring back any information or people you can."
Sasha and Anastasia left first, Draco and Bill followed them out then the other Order members went to form the groups.
"Do you think Harry can be saved?" Sasha sat by Echo in the hospital wing. She just nodded.
"When the final stand off happens," Echo began, "I'm coming too."
"Echo no-" Sasha began but stopped.
"I don't want to lie here and wait to die, Sasha, I don't want to be alive anymore and I'm wasting resources here."
"Von't say that," Sasha told her halfheartedly. She gave him one of her twisted, sad smiles.
It was four days since Bellatrix Black and Harry Potter overtook the ministry. The wizarding world had returned to a strained, repressed silence, there was no life in the ministry, Diagon alley was deserted and Hogsmede had been overrun by dementors.
Many of the ministry workers in the order had received standard office 'please explain' letters for their absence from work three days after the ministry was attacked but it was unspoken that they were working for the order from Hogwarts. The wizarding world had been evacuated into the castle, and now they waited for Bellatrix to make her move.
Draco and Bill had been brewing potions in bulk, re-stocking the infirmary entirely as well as a number of poisons. Draco was far more focused on getting Harry back, though, and he was lucky Bill took on the brunt of the work. Despite everyone telling him otherwise - his mother had issued a kill order for Harry as well - he didn't believe she was gone, she just couldn't be gone.
It was on the fifth day that Bellatrix made her move.
"They're coming!" Was shouted in alarm from every posted sentry, out of no-where it seemed hundreds of Death Eaters were marching on the castle. Dementors preceded them, and a silver stag kept the Death Eaters from feeling the effects. Harry was in there somewhere.
"People of Hogwarts!"
Bellatrix's voice had been magically amplified and it seemed to sail through the walls and reach everyone's ears. "We have spent too long hiding! We need to kill the Muggles and kill the mudbloods and kill the blood traitors!"
The crowd behind Bellatrix cheered uproariously. Draco and Bill had a crate between them, it was light and shallow but quite wide, at least fifty small potions vials sitting innocently there. They were on the roof, hiding behind the battlements and crouched either side of the crate.
"Ok, we just throw them?" Bill asked him.
"Yep," Draco tightened his quiddich glove on his hand and grabbed a green vial. He hurled it off of the roof at the fanatical crowd. It soared unnoticed towards the crowded Death Eaters, followed by a red vial hurled by Bill and another purple one thrown by Draco.
When it hit the people it exploded with a shattering outward shock, followed by a ring of green fire. Screams and panic erupted in the crowd as the second and third vial hit and a barrage of spells were suddenly flung at the castle.
Soon the Death Eaters broke through the wards and made short work of the doors. Bill and Draco had thrown all their potions and headed off of the roof towards the battle. The battle was in the Entrance Hall and the first floor. The came up behind some of the Death Eaters battling order members in the corridor and Draco stunned as many as he could, Bill was disarming the others as quick as possible before they realised they were being attacked from behind.
There was a heart breaking familiar laugh followed by a disturbing "Avada Kedavra"
Draco only just jumped out of the way of the deadly light and Harry stepped forwards to face him. He backed away slowly and she followed, both seemingly oblivious to the war around them.
"Draco, love, this is war, and you're stunning them?" She asked, and without further warning and with breathtakingly efficient speed, Harry struck.
Her wand was steady and dark curse after dark curse slipped from the end. Draco had to call upon every single skill he had to stay safe, let alone attack her back.
It was ironic when a desperate 'expelliarmus' did in fact strike her and Draco easily caught her wand.
Without missing a beat, the sword staff Harry carried was whipped into her hand and she ran forwards.
Draco managed to dodge out of the way, even blocking some of the blows from the blunt end but ultimately she did catch him a few times.
When he was sure she would not be beat, he turned and ran.
Draco should have guessed she was faster than him - she had mentioned so many times Dudley's game of Harry-Hunting but he managed to stay ahead of her, he ran furiously down the familiar halls, many singed and many blocked with death eaters and Order members and dead bodies from both sides. Harry was catching him.
Draco cried out when the staff cut his ankle and he stumbled but ignored the burning cut and ran.
He slowed when he was in an empty corridor and couldn't hear her footsteps and ducked into Myrtles bathroom.
Draco hazily stumbled to the sink and leaned against it.
The castle shook.
"Draco! You're bleeding!"
Draco jumped violently when Myrtle swooped over to him.
He looked at his ankle where the cut was and noticed something with an increasingly heavy pit of dread forming in his stomach, leading straight to where he was standing were his own bloody footprints.
"Shit!"
Draco cursed and ran around the sinks as Harry burst into the room. She didn't say anything, just stalked him around, sword staff at the ready.
"Harry, please, this isn't you!" Draco cried.
"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry whacked him in the ribs with the blunt end of the staff and it winded him.
"Blood traitor!" She hissed, cracking him across the head. The staff clattered to the ground and she kicked him hard in the stomach and leg. He curled up as she kicked at him, his arms covering his head.
"Harry, Harry please," Draco begged, she paused for a moment and it was enough for him to crawl away. He heard wood clattering against tile and looked up at Harry's laugh. She picked up both their wands which had fallen from Draco's pocket.
Harry pointed his own wand at him and smiled.
"Let's see what you've been up to, Drrrrraco."
the was she purred his name wasn't warm or friendly. "Legilimens"
Draco gasped as his mind was invaded and instantly cleared his mind, building up his shields and pushing Harry back. She was not bad, but he had practiced with Severus and Echo, who were both much better than his aunt at the dark craft.
Harry gasped as Draco pulled up his own shields, he was as good as the Dark Lord had been. But as Harry tried to claw her way into his mind he slipped into hers.
Harry pictured the black room, infinitely large and a feeling infinitely as huge but still Draco pried thorough her thoughts, what Bella did to her, what the dark lord did. Harry ran farther into her mind and hit something. It was a wall, a stone wall with a prison bars door, it was extra thin But about a foot taller than an average door.
Draco began a pulling forward her time with the Dursley's, the morning she was made to trim back the rose bushes and cut them much to short. Vernon had snatched up a branch and just about whipped her with it. Harry cried out in pain as she tried to run from the memories swimming before her eyes and her hands desperately pulled at the cage bars. All of her most horrible memories were pulled forwards, until she was faced again with the torture she'd endured at the hands of Bellatrix.
With a final, extra strong and ultimately desperate tug the bar door flew open and Harry was hit with her good memories, the ones she'd locked away to keep safe, the part of herself whcih hadn't been destroyed by Bellatrix's intensive training. Draco was right there beside her as image after image of him being gentle and loving towards her, of Ron and Hermione, Molly and the Weasleys, Christmas, happy memories that she had locked away to save them from the pain.
Harry opened her eyes. She was laying in Myrtle's bathroom, on her back, Draco was sitting up looking sore and exhausted.
"Draco!" Harry sat up and crawled to him, grabbing her wand from the floor and pointing it at his split lip.
"Episkey" Harry murmed the simple healing charm again and again, noticing and choosing to ignore Draco's flinches.
"You're back?" He whispered.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, oh god,"
"Harry, its really you?" Harry's head snapped up and she stared at him. "I missed you," He smiled, "a lot."
"Draco - I killed people, I've-" Draco silenced her with a look.
"You were forced-" He began.
"I should have been stronger, I-" She started, crying, shaking.
"Harry, please, after what they put you through its a miracle-" He began again.
"I can make it up to you all," Harry said quietly, seemingly ignoring him, and she picked up her wand and bolted from the room.
"This is war, Harriet!" He called after her, "We've all done things we regret," He added, but she was already gone.
Echo held onto Poppy's arm with a death grip. She shut her eyes against the pain, it was like four pairs of hands had begun to slowly peel back her skin from the sternum.
"Echo this is ridiculous-"
"Shut up!" She snapped.
Echo pushed Poppy away and stood on her own, stumbling towards the entrance hall.
It was unnaturally quiet. Harry was standing at the foot of the grand stairs, wand trained on Bellatrix, Draco two steps behind her, Narcissa was standing before the entrance to the great hall, her wand trained on Harry, and Bellatrix was in the front door, her wand pointing at Draco.
"Harry!" Bellatrix sounded like an angry mother.
"Bellatrix!" Echo called the woman's name from her place on top of the stairs, her useless left arm - stump - whatever pulled in tight against her ruined chest.
"Heard you were hit with a blasting hex?" Bellatrix called, not taking her eyes from her target.
Narcissa's eyes looked almost crazed darting between Draco and Bellatrix's wand. It was silent, until "Avada Kedava!" Bellatrix threw the curse at Draco, and both Harry and Narcissa tried to jump in front of it. It was Narcissa who was hit.
"No!" Draco cried as the circle of onlookers, a mix of death eaters and order members began to fight again. Echo threw herself into the battle, ignoring the pain in her chest.
She let the dark curses she knew fly, killing many of the men who had tormented her when Voldemort gave them leave to do so. She killed an awful many more who had caused problems for her father.
It lasted for only twenty minutes until they came across another impasse.
Bellatrix had her wand at Draco's neck, Draco was unconscious. Harry had her own wand trained on Bellatrix from across the room. There was a bang as the front door was flung open and Death Eaters began to flee.
"TRAITORS! SCUM! MUDBLOODS!" Bellatrix shouted after them without taking her eyes off of Harry.
The order stood around in shocked silence, no one willing to make a move.
Their fallen hero was here to protect their leaders son. Apparently, Harry was back.
There were four Death eaters - apart from Bella - still in the room, McNair, Crouch, Wormtail and Avery.
McNair was at Bellatrix's side, wand at the ready. Wormtail was being held by Ron Weasley who looked like he'd learned a few dark curses himself but the way Wormtail was crying, Crouch was at Neville's wand point and Avery was at hers. Avery was holding Hermione Granger, Crouch had his wand pointed at Professor McGonagall.
They stared each other down, Echo doing her very best to stay standing.
Bellatrix laughed, then snapped "Pomfrey!" Poppy offered up a small, terrified sound. "I think our impasse can be resolved with a little blasting hex? Hmmmm? How long?" Bellatrix asked the healer.
Poppy didn't aswer. Bellatrix burned Draco's throat with her wand and he woke up with a panicked scream.
"Tell me!" Bellatrix yelled.
"Four minutes!" Poppy squeaked again. Echo's eyes went wide, that was all she had left?
"Net!" Sasha Shouted and ran forwards McNair sent a blue spell at him which grazed his arm, though he made it to her side. He didn't have a wand, and if she tried to give him hers Avery would kill Hermione.
"McNair, kill anyone who moves!" Bella snapped, then turned her attention to Echo. "Now we wait."
This is not the last chapter, two more to go I believe. Don't let the chapter title fool you.