Apologies for the typos in the last chapter, I went back and fixed some. Guess I should not proof read at 11 PM after spending a day staring at a 45 page pension document. Good catch on the robes for Hufflepuff, it was actually a joke that I forgot to take out. A friend of mine insists a true Badger can only wear red and white, so I made it blue and gold, just for kicks.

Thanks for your patience with the last chapter as I had a lot of trouble with it.

So without further ado, here is Part 4, which takes place a few days after Part 3. As I warned in the last chapter, this is narrative is very dark and disturbing.

So with that, enjoy. Feedback is always welcomed.

Thanks to JKR for letting me play in her sandbox.

A cold, wind-driven rain rips past the shivering crowd over two hundred students and teachers standing in a silent, half-circle filling Hogwarts' treasured foyer. Bundled against rain, wind, cold and fear, only their eyes are visible in the tempest that surrounds their bodies and their hearts. Some eyes are filled with the glory of victory, others the lust of blood, others the fire of defiance; but, the vast majority, both young and old, are clouded with the weight of defeat.

Just before midnight, the shriek of the wind is slowly beaten back by the rhythmic beat of drums. The beat rises to a crescendo as the heavens themselves appear to hold their breath. At the climax, the grand doors to the castle split open and a procession emerges from the darkness. At the head of the column is Severus Snape, the man who took control over the beloved school after he ruthlessly killed their former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, cloaked in the green and silver robes of a Hogwarts professor. His face, fully exposed to the elements, is set in store with a sneer that challenges Mother Nature herself. Several steps behind and to each side of the Headmaster are the Carrows, the despised brother and sister school bullies. Both are fully cloaked in the same green and silver robes and are identical in every way except that one sibling has a heavy limp. In contrast to the other adults in the procession, Bellatrix LeStrange is only clad in a minimal, black leather outfit adorned with buckles, knives, blades, and other deadly trinkets as her as her pale skin glows ominously in defiance of the crowd and the elements. To her side is the tall and proud American Ambassador wearing formal his navy blue robes. His piercing blue eyes survey everything around him from under his hood. In the middle of the procession, surrounded by killers, is a young woman wearing tattered, burgundy and gold robes of the House of Gryffindor. Here feet are bare with heavy leg irons binding her ankles and sharp metal cuffs pining her hands together. She marches forward proudly; but, her bare feet slip on the wet, stone ground and she falls helplessly into the mud.

"Get up!" Bellatrix screams from behind the girl, her wand sparking menacingly at the sixteen year old student.

Struggling through the pain that her body has endured since her capture around thirty-six hours ago, her body is beyond its breaking point. Nevertheless, she will not cry for them. So, slowly, she rises up from the mud, her face set in determination.

The procession reaches its destination, a wood dais recently built between the main gate and the entrance to Hogwarts' proper. On top of the raised platform, stand three men. One man, completely masked in the black and silver trimmed robes of an Inquisitor, moves behind the other two as he inspects the tool of his trade. Up front, Tiberius Yaxley, wears his burgundy robes menacingly with a arrogant, victorious smirk adorning his face. Next to him is the Minister of Magic himself, Pius Thicknesse, covered in the blue and red trimmed robes of a Ministry official. With a blank face, the Minister looks down upon the gathering and barks. "Bring the criminal forward!"

The Carrows roughly grab the petite girl and haul her up the stairs with the Headmaster following behind. A loud murmur ripples through the gathered crowd reaching its peak when a rotten tomato slips through the rain and smashes into the back of Snape's head. He whirls around, wand out, looking for the guilty party while radiating unadulterated anger. Before he reins in his emotions, a flash whips by him and encapsulates a previously unseen rock, turning it into a cloud of dust. He briefly nods his head toward the American who is already hunting for the next threat. "Enough!" He bellows.

While the crowd is only partially bowed by the Headmaster, they are immediately silenced by the mere appearance of a man, flanked by three students, entering the courtyard from the opposite direction. Appearing to float forward on a cloud of darkness, Lord Voldemort rises onto the dais as he takes a survey of the crowd with his blood-red eyes. Satisfied with the effect that his mere presence has, he nods.

Head held high, Bellatrix springs forward and kneels before her Dark Lord. A full minute later, she rises and turns to face the Minister of Magic. Gleefully, she pronounces her edict. "My Lord, Minister, Undersecretary, I present to you the criminal, Ginevra Molly Weasley! Ms. Weasley is a sixth year student at Hogwarts. She recently led an attack on Hogwarts itself in an attempt to free another known criminal. During her fruitless attempt to rescue her co-conspirator, she destroyed valuable Ministry property, attempted to murder students, teachers, and Ministry officials." Pausing for effect, she grins manically before adding. "She is also the consort of the terrorist, Harry Potter!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Lestrange. You and the Headmaster's assistance in bringing this criminal to justice is invaluable. You have helped bring peace to our country and justice for our people." The Minister of Magic acknowledges the Dark Lord's fanatical Lieutenant. Turning toward the bound girl, he frowns. "These are serious charges, young lady. What do you say for yourself?"

Defiant to the end, Ginny sarcastically laughs nodding her head toward the tall, wooden frame built into the center of the platform. "What, no trial?"

Yaxley's face turns red with rage as the Minister of Magic shouts out. "Now, young lady!"

With the faintest touch from his long, skeletal, white fingers, Lord Voldemort silences the Minister. The Dark Lord moves forward and calmly addresses Ginny. "Obviously, Minister, this pure-blooded young lady has fallen under the sway of her murdering lover and his mudblood and muggle friends." Rising to his full height, he towers over her and sagely smiles. "Show remorse, Ginny. Pledge yourself to the Ministry and your benevolent Lord and you will receive leniency."

Drawing on a reserve of courage that she did not even know she has, Ginny draws her head back and spits right into the Dark Lord's face. "Go to hell, Tom!"

The crowd explodes in defiance. Without warning for the hallways surrounding the courtyard, over two dozen witches and wizards dressed in black and silver detach from the shadows and move purposely towards the crowd. Amycus Carrow at the base of the stage, swipes his wand over the crowd and commands, "silenco!"

While searching the crowd for additional threats at the base of the platform, the Eduardo chuckles to himself over the professor's impotent attempt to control the crowd. From out of the chaos, a tentative, seemingly fragile hands reaches out to him pulls him back to this dark reality. He turns and faces the sharp, gray eyes of Professor McGonagall. "Please Ambassador, you have to do something!"

Taking a breath, the young man smiles sadly as former Professor. "I'm sorry, Minerva, Ms. Weasley has broken the law numerous times and she must for her crimes."

"No, Ambassador, she is just a child!" The woman cries.

Eddie takes the woman's hand gently within his own. "I tried to reason with her and when that did not work, I even tried to force it into her; but she would not listen."

Professor McGonagall pales. "How could you?"

"I could because using her as an example will ensure that other students do not follow in her steps." He answers back crisply.

From behind the pair, a third voice enters the fray. "Very well said, Ambassador," Yaxley smiles as he hunches down on the stage in between the pair. "Maybe, Minerva, if you followed the Ambassador's example, instead of coddling your spiteful, former Gryffindors, we wouldn't be in the mess."

With a look of forced sympathy towards the Professor, the American addresses the leader of England's magical law enforcement operations. "While I doubt that my government would approve of such a harsh punishment for a minor, Undersecretary, we have no interest in interfering with what is clearly and internal Ministry issue."

"But, you're an Instructor at Hogwarts, Mr. Sanchez, you took an oath!" McGonagall retorts.

Eddie's eyes narrow and he meets the elder woman's stare head on. "I took an oath to protect and defend the United States and a second oath to protect Hogwarts." Pausing to keep his temper in check, Eddie continues. "Ms. Weasley would not listen and became a threat to the school. If she has to be sacrificed to save the rest of the student body from the same fate, so be it!"

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one, Professor." Yaxley grins evilly. "That was one lesson that Mr. Sanchez here apparently took to heart from Dumbledore." Enjoying the moment, the Death Eater, turned Ministry official cannot resist another barb. "That and making sure that you can't have something, make sure no one else can, eh, Ambassador?"

Turning his back Yaxley, Eddie ignores the jab. "To be frank, Minevra, I admire the Ministry's handling of this situation. Ms. Weasley had her chances to tow the line. If my government acted this decisively, instead of being such a Nanny State, I suspect we would have fewer problems at home."

Professor McGonagall is crushed by the rejection of the one witch or wizard that Dumbledore, before his death, confided in her may have the skills and power to face the Dark Lord and survive. "You were our only hope, Eduardo." She whispers in defeat.

"There is only the Law, professor. Without Law, there is chaos and no hope for anyone." The Ambassador shakes his head

Reluctantly, with a dozen wands pointed at the crowd from the Dark Lord's Inquisitors, the ray of hope generated by the young girl's defiance is extinguished. The Minister again takes the center stage. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, you are hereby charged with assaulting Ministry officials, destruction of Ministry property, assisting the escape of a felon, attempted murder, inciting unrest, sedition against the Ministry, and supporting a known enemy of the Kingdom. After an exhaustive review of the evidence presented, the Wizengamot has found you guilty of all charges!"

From the side of the crowd, Professor Sprout mumbles a little too loudly over the din of a chorus of boos. "You consider that a fair trial?"

"We were hoping to grant some leniency to the young Ms. Weasley." The Minister chuckles in response and then turns to face the convict. "But, as you clearly have no remorse, the original sentence stands – death by hanging!"

Shock ripples through the crowd as Ginny finally loses her composure and whimpers, "No." Snape and Greg Goyle catch her before she collapses as her strength and will finally break. Pale, and shaking, she absently rubs her bleeding shoulder and whispers a prayer. "Oh, Harry."

At the front of the stage, Professor McGonagall deftly steps around the Ambassador and moves to challenge the Minister, only to be stopped at wand point by the Carrows and Yaxley. "This is outrageous, you cannot murder a student!"

"You are no longer in charge of this school, Professor McGonagall." The Minister calmly states. "Headmaster Snape?"

Snape releases his hold on Ginny, leaving her in Greg's arms. Striding forward, he answers. "I am sorry, Minerva. Ms. Weasley knew the risks of her actions and the decision of the Ministry is final. If she listened, or even showed some remorse as our generous Lord offered, this would not be happening."

"No, you bastard!" A high-pitched scream fires out from the edge of the crowd as a young boy squeezes himself to forward. Wand pointed directly at Lord Voldemort, he fires. "Confringo!"

Quickly, Snape flicks his wrist and shouts, "Protego!" The blue shield thrown over the Lord Voldemort easily deflects the curse.

Spinning on his heel, Eddie strikes wordlessly with his own wand disarming the boy before anyone else can act.

Professor Slughorn, wearing a large set of green and silver robes, pushes his was past Eduardo and grabs Colin Creevy's, dragging the boy away from the podium while hissing, "Enough!"

"Stop, this boy just tried to attack the Minister of Magic and our Dark Lord. He must be punished!" A man wrapped in black and silver intercept the pair long before they can reach the castle.

"Rabastan," the Dark Lord holds up his hand as the crowed looks on in horror. Satisfied, Lord Voldemort looks at heavyset, graying professor while addressing the Minister. "He is young, Minister. He can still be taught the right way. I think we can forgive the boy's actions, this time." He then turns back to McGonagall. "Let no one say that Lord Voldemort has no compassion."

Without even moving, Snape barks. "Mr. Creevy, you will attend detention for the rest of the school year. Hopefully that will show you the proper way to show respect to our Lord and the Ministry."

With a hand over the young boy's mouth, Slughorn shakily answers. "Thank you Minister, thank you my Lord." Then, he drags Colin quickly past the simmering Inquisitor and out a side exit from the courtyard. Just before the door closes, the boy's younger brother, Dennis, bolts from the crowd and disappears, too.

"Please proceed," the smiling Dark Lord directs the Minister.

Shouting over to the Inquisitor and his assistant at the back end of the dais, the Minister directs the proceeding to continue. "Mr. Filch ready the gallows and will Mr. Mcnair please prepare the criminal!"

The Minister turns his attention back to the crowd and begins to reel off a politically charged speech that no one pays an ounce of attention too. At the back of the stage, Mcnair, who has been joined by the hobbled old man, removes his hood and hungrily smiles at the young girl. Pulling out his wand, he waves it once and the pair of chains connecting ankles unlock. "Move," he grunts with his wand now menacingly pointed at her as the Greg beats a hasty retreat.

Still trying to be brave, Ginny marches with her head held high limping forward to face her fate while holding back tears for the future she is about to lose. Grinning broadly, the Death Eater spins her around to face the crowd and then roughly pulls a heavy, wool hood over the girl's head. Looking over to his aid, he laughs. "Want to lend a hand, Filch!"

His inspection complete, Filch looks at Mcnair and shakes his head in disgust before staggering quickly off the stage.

Still laughing, Mcnair smirks, "Guess not, squibb!"

Reaching up with his thick arms, the executioner pulls down the rope hanging over their heads and loops it around the girl's delicate neck. Then, he uses her body to shield his own from the crowd. Blinded by desire, he enthusiastically slashes his wand down, easily splitting her frayed robes, shirt, pants, and skin. The girl's blood and pain intensifies his lust. "Snape let Bella play with you, but wouldn't let me taste you while you were in the dungeons, you little whore. But, now you are mine!" His hot breath flows over her neck.

Ginny's struggles to get away from him, even with her hands bound together and the rope hung precariously tight around her neck. Her desperation fuel's the man's craving even more. Grabbing her hip with one hand, he uncovers himself with his other hand. Thrusting his body into her so that she can feel his heat and pulsing arousal, he leans forward and snarls. "Have a nice trip little girl. When you see Potter, next, be sure to tell him that I was the last man to have you."

Just before he can penetrate her, Ginny leans back and uses the man's own chest as a leverage point. She balls up her legs and then viciously springs them backwards with the iron cuffs still fastened to her ankles. Her heels and the unforgiving metal shackles make contact with her tormentor's groin, drawing blood and a muffled scream. Struggling against the noose around her neck, she chokes out. "Fuck you, you pig!"

Mcnair stumbles backward in pain, clutching his himself as he bleeds profusely on the virgin wood. He tries to recover and takes a threatening step towards Ginny; but, his actions have not gone unnoticed.

"Incompetent, fool!" Lord Voldemort hisses before focusing his annoyance on another. "Draco!"

Even blinded by pain, rage, and lust, Mcnair recognizes the dangerous look from the Dark Lord and makes a hasty retreat inside as the second student on the dais with the Dark Lord hesitantly steps forward. "Yes, my Lord?" Draco whimpers.

Lord Voldemort cruelly smiles at the boy. "As Ms. Weasley's crimes were directed against Hogwarts itself, the Minister and I have decided that a student shall be given the honor of executing this terrorist." Pausing, Voldemort points his wand to the level controlling the droop door under Ginny's feet. "That honor is yours, Draco, for all of the support that your family has given me."

Within the crowd, Professor Flitwick, who has held his silence to this moment, takes advantage of his small stature and slips forward. Casually, he slides his hand inside his robes while vengefully staring at the Dark Lord. Before he can unsheathe his wand, a deathly whisper resonates from above accompanied by the prick of a wand's tip against the back of his skull. "Don't try it, my old friend." Antonin Dolohov warns. "If I have to kill you now, who knows what will happen to your precious Ravenclaws?"

Filled with impotent anger, Professor Flitwick shakes and then turns to his former student with his hands open and wandless in submission. "Your time will come, Dolohov, and I hope I am the one to be there for it."

"You?" The Inquisitor laughs quietly. "I know all of your tricks old man."

Turning away from the confrontation, the Professor watches the troubled Slytherin student walk towards the Headmaster and the Dark Lord while his former student jabs him in the back again. He signs and reluctantly melts back into the crowd to collect his charges.

"Me?" Draco timidly questions as his body begins to shake violently.

Laughing, Amycus Carrow bellows from the front of the platform. "Yes, Draco, now get over here before the Dark Lord changes his mind and bestows upon you some of the honors he has given your father lately for your family's mistakes!"

"Y…yes, my Lord." Draco quakes. Eyes wide with fear, he begins a slow, painful march across stage. Afraid of meeting the hateful gaze of the Dark Lord and the determined visage of his fellow student, he keeps is head down and fails totice n a piece of chain that Ginny's kick deposited on the stage in front of him. Helplessly, the young man trips over the metal and tumbles over the side into the mud. While many in the Dark Lord's party roar at the boy's misfortune, not a single soul laughs or even breathes in the crowd.

"Enough, I'm tired of your cowardice, Draco!" The third student on the dais with the Dark Lord roars. Vincent Crabbe Junior spins unexpectedly and points his wand at the lever next to the gallows and shouts, "Alohomora!"

Yaxley leaps away from as a blue flash strikes iron mechanism at the base of the gallows. The lever flies back and the door underneath Ginny's feet pops open. Before she can even react or make a sound, she plunges silently through the hole, violating the rope's maximum length a moment later. The noose tied tightly around her neck snaps to an immediate, violent halt. A sharp crack mournfully echoes throughout the castle.

Ginny is still.

The crowd screams.

Greg Goyle throws-up.

Vincent Crabbe Junior beams triumphantly.

Draco Malfoy, his face now covered in mud and tears, collapses in grief.

Three young Slytherin girls stare in shock.

Seamus Finnegan helplessly digs his nails into the palm of his hand until they bleed.

Susan Bones cries on a friend's shoulder unable to watch.

Neville Longbottom, tears streaming from his face, flees the clock tower blindly.

Professor Flitwick is frozen in defeat.

Professor McGonagall cries out incoherently in despair.

Ambassador Sanchez whispers, "Dios te salve, María, llena eres de gracia, el Señor es contigo."

Headmaster Snape, his face impassive, can only see the face of Lilly Evans.

The Carrows laugh and shake hands in victory.

Bellatrix Lestrange licks her lips wanting more.

At the apex of the stage, Lord Voldemort spins in surprise, wand out, and stares at the proud student. Before acting, he glances at Snape, who has joined Yaxley in the gallows. "Snape!"

"Hold her!" Snape barks at the other man, who reluctantly grabs a hold of the small girl's body to take some of the weight off of the rope. Sliding his hand under the noose, he pauses for a moment and then nods. "She's dead my Lord."

"Harry Potter is now mine!" Lord Voldemort declares himself, wrapping the cries and moans of the broken crowd around himself like a comfortable blanket. Looking over to Vincent, the Dark Lord smiles. "I am glad at least one student here has taken his lessons to heart." Without another word, he marches down the stairs and cuts through the parting crowd before disappearing into the dark castle.

As soon as the doors close behind the Dark Lord, Madame Pomfrey bolts forward and scampers onto the stage. She only makes it a few feet before being stopped cold by Bellatrix and her deadly wand. "Where do you think you are going?"

Incredulously, the older woman cries back. "You have made your point, the rebellion is over. Now, please let me try to help that little girl."

"She's dead!" Bellatrix's laugh flows from her lips. "This isn't a point, my dear Healer. It's an execution and a warning." She then pushes the woman off the stage and focuses her warped attention on others. "Goyle, Crabbe, go over there and take the whelp's body down. Have Filch show you were the pit is."

"Yes, ma'am." Greg rushes by, head down and staring mindlessly his vomit covered shoes.

As the stunned crowd slowly begins to disperse back into the castle, Bellatrix realizes that the school's nurse is still rooted at the bottom of the stairs. "Fool, why don't you help those who can still be helped, for now at least, such as our little coward here, Draco?"

Jumping easily off of the stage, she leans over the face the young man who is shaking uncontrollably in the mud. She grins manically at Draco. "Like farther, like son, eh? I wonder how long our Dark Lord will keep you two around after all of your failures. Maybe you'll join Potter's slut at the end of a rope."

Shaking her head in disgust, the healer reaches down and helps Draco onto his feet. "Come, Draco," she gently offers before guiding the boy past Bellatrix and towards the castle.

Vincent and Greg fall in behind Bellatrix, Yaxley, and the Minister as they drag Ginny's body along the walkway. They make it halfway to the grand entrance before Professor McGonagall steps into their path. "Can I help you, Minerva?" Bellatrix coyly feigns.

Ambassador Sanchez, with the Carrows following closely behind, nods at Snape before sweeping by the confrontation on his way back into the fortress. "The Carrows and I will patrol the school to make sure no one is looking to retaliate."

Eventually, McGonagall blinks and drops her head and shoulders in defeat. Bellatrix smiles like a child on her first visit to Honeydukes. "I'll give you, Minerva, the honor of sharing this glorious news with the Weasley family." Breaking out in an hysterical, laughing fit, she continues. "Afterall, we don't want to waste one minute for word of our Dark Lord's just actions reaching the ears of our dear, little Potter."

Beyond feeling, all Professor McGonagall can bite back is with a quiet, "bitch."

Bellatrix eyes the older woman for a moment, and then turns to the Minister. "To ensure that the Professor does not do anything 'extra' on her errand, I recommend that the Ministry assign someone trustworthy to accompany her to the Weasley's brothel." Pausing, she smiles again. "Dolores Umbridge will do."

Nodding his head rapidly, the Minister instantly agrees. "Excellent idea, Mrs. Lestrange, I will arrange for the Secretary to meet the Professor at the Weasleys in the morning."

"What about Ginny's body?" Professor McGonagall begs.

Bellatrix ignores her for a few steps and then snaps over her shoulder. "Ginevra Molly Weasley is a criminal, Minerva. She'll be treated as such and left to rot in an unmarked grave."