Chapter 7

Flanked by other Death Eaters, Bella advanced towards Harry. They eyed each other warily, until Harry made the first move.

"Stupefy" he cried.

Instantly the house was lit up by a barrage of spells from both sides. Harry had brought up a wandless shield unnoticed, one that encompassed both himself and the Dursleys, but he was already beginning to feel the strain of maintaining it, even as he duelled with Bella.

Every so often, he was able to catch one of Bella's companions unaware, but there seemed to be more enemies appearing every minute. Harry could already tell he was fighting a losing battle.

While Petunia and Dudley were wisely staying out of the battle, trying to make the smallest target of themselves as possible, Vernon was not so inclined.

"Now see here!" he tried to be stern. "You people promised us you'd leave us alone. You promised you'd pay us for getting rid of the boy. You promised…"

"Shut up you worthless muggle!" yelled one of the frustrated Death Eater. Harry vaguely recognised the voice as being one of the highly ranked Death Eaters.

Stupidly, Vernon responded in the way he was accustomed, trying to punch the cloaked wizard. The room filled with the infamous green light. Vernon Dursley dropped to the ground, dead.

Caught off guard by the sudden death of his uncle, Harry was quickly reminded of his precarious situation by a cutting curse that shattered his shield, slicing deep into his left shoulder. Seconds later, magical ropes had flown out of Bella's wand and bound him tightly. The spells stopped flying.

She deliberately walked around his bound form slowly, sneering.

"So Harry, how are we feeling? Had enough of playing with the grownups?" she mocked.

Harry gritted his teeth in anger, as he struggled to pull himself into a sitting position. Trussed up as he was, he couldn't reach his wand, and he had hoped he could keep his wandless magic secret for as long as possible.

Dudley was grabbed by one of the robed figures and roughly pushed to the floor.

"Say hello to daddy for us, you fat pig," Bella said maliciously.

At her signal, there came another flash of green light. Dudley's lifeless gaze seemed to pierce Harry's soul.

Harry let out an inarticulate cry of rage and despair. A blast of unfocused power rocked the house. His cousin's murderer was thrown across the room, where he slumped against the wall, unconscious. His grim satisfaction was tempered by Bella's furious response.

"Crucio," she hissed.

Harry collapsed in his bonds, whole body twitching as waves of pain flooded over his body. He bit down on his lower lip, refusing to give her the pleasure of his scream. When the curse was lifted, he found he'd instinctively slipped into magical sight. He could see his magical core swelling ominously, slowly filling his body with power.

Power he couldn't control.

He tossed a wandless cutting curse at Bella's aura, which was the colour of dried blood. He hoped she'd think it was simply accidental magic, like the earlier blast. He knew he'd hit his target when she shrieked. Seconds later, he regretted the action.

"You stupid child! See what your stupidity does. Watch your aunt die for your failure – you are responsible!"

Petunia looked at his bound form in understanding.

"I'm sorry for how we treated you. Stay alive Harry," she whispered sadly. She died in the green light that had become all too familiar.

Harry's heart clenched in grief. He was now totally alone in the world. His cry of anguish echoed in the room. He vowed silently that he would not give up until Voldemort was killed.

The sombre mood was broken by a panicking death Eater.

"Dumbledore's men are here! They're attacking!"

Even while trussed up, Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at the ineptitude of the Death Eaters. Taking at good look at the man, he barely refrained from rolling his eyes a second time. It was Goyle Senior. One of the biggest idiots on the planet, and Voldemort had sent him to capture his arch-nemesis.

As the sounds of apparition became apparent, spells starting flying again, this time at the new attackers. While their attention was diverted, Harry cast wandlessly at the Death Eaters' backs, taking out several before Bella realised what he was doing.

Her response was predictable. However, Harry discovered painfully, that she had two wands, and that two cruciatus curses hurt far more than one. The pain ripped a strangled scream of agony from his throat as he writhed under the power of her spells. He could see the blood red spell like a prickly blanket covering his skin, and setting his nerves on fire. Harry focused all of his energy on maintaining his occlumency shield. Finally, just when he thought he couldn't hold his shield for much longer, the curses mercifully stopped.

The sound of the battling wizards was growing closer. Bella grabbed him and pressed a stud on her robes, evidently a portkey, but was stopped by the anti-portkey wards the order must have raised.

She growled in desperation, unable to apparate, or portkey out, and almost certainly about to fail her mission. She realised quickly the only course of action available.

"I would have preferred to watch you duel our Lord, but this will have to do…Avada Kedavra!"

The green light seemed to come towards him in slow motion. He could see the spell hurtling like a comet, shaped from glittering green threads of magic, each thread for a different purpose, combining to form the unforgivable killing curse. As if in a dream, Harry tugged at one of the threads. It snapped.

The force of the blast hit his chest, sending him careening into the solid wall, and breaking his ribs. The shockwave rolled outwards, windows shattering, as Death Eaters and Order members were swept up and deposited on the floor like rag dolls.

Harry heard the sound of his mother screaming as his eyes rolled back and he collapsed into darkness.

Someone held him lovingly, rocking him gently. The scent of wildflowers was in the air, one that tugged at his memory, one that was familiar. A gentle hand brushed his forehead, and a soft kiss was pressed to his scar. Harry kept his eyes closed, not wanting to shatter this impossible illusion.

"Let him rest, Lily," came a deep male voice.

Harry knew that voice, had heard it in his nightmares, crying out in fear and pain. His father's voice. He shifted, burrowing his face deeper into his mother's arms.

"He's awake anyway, Prongs. I can tell," said another familiar voice.

Tears leaked from beneath closed lids. He was nudged gently, forcing him to look up into emerald green eyes. As his mind struggled to accept the reality of the situation, he began to sob.

A/N: Thank you so much to all my reviewers. Once again, this chapter is beta-ed by my amazing beta RavensCave. Please keep reviewing, every review is appreciated!