Note: I do not own 'Harry Potter' but do own my own characters...if anything doesn't seem to jive with the books, it's not meant to...Hope you enjoy it...
Note2: I wanted to finish posting before the Thanksgiving weekend (at least up here in Canada) and I won't have access to the computer tomorrow night so here's the last 2 chapters...
He was staring down the top of Lucius Malfoy's wand He was staring down the top of Lucius Malfoy's wand. He was pushed back into the sitting room and fell onto the couch.
"Stupid girl thinking you could get away," he growled. "The Crucio was impressive though."
Neville's wand was lying next to Pyx's body and if he could get to it, he could try to protect her. Lucius was more focused on her anyways so he inched his hand over. He made it look as if he was going to cover her up and grabbed his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" he said but the Death Eater blocked it.
"Foolish boy. Crucio!"
Neville got up a shield but it didn't hold. He fell to the floor and twitched while screaming. The screams woke Pyx up and she held the sheet close to her body as she reached down for the dropped wand.
"Crucio! You son of a bitch," she yelled.
She pushed all the hatred she had into the curse; the hatred for Lucius, the hatred for the death of her parents, the hatred for Voldemort and the hatred that Neville was under the same curse that his parents went insane from. Since her uncle couldn't hold the spell, Neville stopped twitching and watched as the blond aristocrat tried to keep from screaming. He could almost see the hatred that Pyx was pushing into the curse.
"Pyx, stop."
She didn't listen but stepped closer. She felt a hand on her arm but she still didn't stop. Only when his lips crashed down onto hers, did she lose focus.
"Nev, are you alright?"
"Give me my wand," he ordered with a forceful tone.
Pyx handed the wand back and he tied up and stunned Lucius. Neville pocketed the other wand before turning back to his girlfriend.
"You shouldn't be up. The cuts might reopen."
"It's only a bit of blood, Nev. I couldn't let him continue to hurt you. It's bad enough what my twisted cousin did to your parents. Has Thanatos come yet?"
"Yes. Help should be here soon. Lie down."
"Where's Kreacher?" she asked.
The sound of the Floo and the sound of a house elf appearing made both of them jump. Neville pointed his wand at the doorway trying to keep Pyx back. She was trying to talk to Kreacher but her boyfriend shushed her.
"Neville?"
"In here. Be aware of the body on the floor."
Sirius ran through the door, jumping over Lucius. Pyx darted around Neville and into her uncle's arms. Pain flooded her body but she couldn't care less. The others (Dumbledore, Remus, and Kingsley) were looking down on the Death Eater.
"Care to explain what happened and why Mr. Malfoy is bound?"
"He was cursing Nev so I…" Pyx started.
"Don't say a word, Pyx," Neville warned.
"No. They can't do anything. It was purely justified. Self defense, Nev. They can't hold me," she replied, breaking away from Sirius.
"That may be true in the Muggle world but until you can speak to an attorney, shut it."
"I may love you and have nearly died protecting you, but you can't tell me what to do," she fumed.
Sirius pulled her away to a corner and had Pyx tell him what she did. The only reaction he did was to nod and led her back to the others.
"My niece will make a formal statement when her attorney is with her but for now, she is in need of a medi-witch. We will be at St. Mungo's."
Sirius, Pyx, and Neville Floo'd to St. Mungo's where they were looked after. The healer was worried about the cuts reopening again so Pyx mentioned stitches.
"It's what we do in the Muggle world. It keeps the wound closed until the skin can heal. It shouldn't scar too badly."
A healer knowledgeable in Muggle medicine came and stitched up her back. Elastic bandages were wrapped around her torso to keep the protective bandages in place. Once she was done, Pyx ordered the healer to check out Neville, while she pulled on a dress that Sirius transfigured from the tattered sheet.
"Drink this up. The potion will help to counter any lingering effects of the Cruciatus curse. Once that is done, you two are free to go."
Neville drank the vile tasting potion and grabbed Pyx's hand. Sirius led them to the Floo and they headed to the Ministry. Waiting for them were Remus, Dumbledore, Danny, and her friends. She hugged them all and turned to Danny.
"My side or his?"
"Yours, of course. Now tell me what you did."
"I cast Crucio on the motherfucker," she bluntly said.
"That I can work with," he said as the others' mouths gaped.
"The problem is the length she held it for."
"He deserved it. The Ministry is in his pocket, he kidnapped me, and nearly forced me to marry someone. He killed my mother and grandmother. He was hurting you. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, if not use one of those Dark Arts spells he was teaching to Malfoy Jr.," she reiterated before anyone could speak.
"Do not tell anyone else that. If Lucius Malfoy knows what's best for him, he'll keep that to himself so the court will not hear that fact. How were they going to force you to marry? No one can be under the Imperius when the binding is done," Danny said.
"They were going to hold Neville ransom and…" she trailed off, looking away from everyone.
Danny took Pyx away from the group and she told him. He acted much like Sirius and nodded. He was angry but kept the emotion inside for the sake of the others.
"You all may wait out here while Sirius, Pyx, and I are in there. I don't think this will go to trial."
"Finally Malfoy's put in Azkaban," Ron said. "His son should join him for hurting Pyx in the duel."
"The duel! I'm sorry. I interfered so the duel is forfeit," she said, looking at Neville.
"Actually Mr. Longbottom will have to duel Mr. Malfoy again until it is settled. Some pureblood duels have gone on for days," Dumbledore said.
"You're not dueling him again. I was there when they taught him some of those spells. I fought through a daily cast Imperius curse to save you."
"There's nothing that can be done, Pyx. I know what I was doing when I challenged him. I have to go through this even though you're back."
Pyx didn't like to hear that. She left her friends and gave her statement to the Auror in charge of the case. She explained how they used another woman to act as Narcissa when she was kidnapped, the Imperius curse, and hearing and seeing things inside Malfoy Manor. When it came to the forced marriage, she nearly broke down.
"Ms. Malfoy-Black, I need to know what happened to include in my report."
"Fine. After the duel, after they used me to take Nev, I was to choose between him dying or marrying. I'd rather be in a forced marriage than be the reason he was dead. Once the wedding was over, I was to be locked away with my husband for as long as it took to get me pregnant. I haven't even met the guy and I was to fuck him or kill the one man I love," she seethed.
Sirius and Danny looked at each other. They could tell she was letting her anger control her since she started to faintly glow.
"No one tells me what I can and can't do. If it hadn't been for the Crucio and Imperio sessions, I would have killed that bastard even for mentioning Nev's name. Even after the proof I gave you, you couldn't lock him up. You had to wait for me, a little girl who hasn't known about magic for 6 months, to bring him down. You are all pathetic. No one man should be above the law and yet all he has to do is flash a wad of money and you'd sell your soul to the devil if he asked."
She knew she was going too far but couldn't stop. Pyx didn't care, she needed to vent and the man wanted to know. She was still ranting but had gotten up to pace. Sirius tried to get her calmed down but just even at the sight of him, it started her on another rampage.
"This fucked up Ministry locked this man up for nothing. You didn't even bother to listen to him or check his wand. If you had known him, you'd have known that Sirius Black is devoted to his family and friends and would have died rather than be a traitor. For 12 years, you had him locked up, tormented by the Dementors, and no one had a brain to think 'Gee, are we definitely sure that he committed the crime?' No. You all didn't care."
"Ms. Malfoy-Black, please calm down. This isn't needed for the statement."
"Shut up. After what happened at the Triwizard Tournament, you still didn't care. You all believe that Harry and Dumbledore were lying. Two great wizards and no one believes them. Do you really think Harry would have made that up? He doesn't want the attention. He's only 15, for Christ's sake. No one should have what he's been through resting on their shoulders. He should have the opportunity to be just Harry but he gets sucked back in. It's either Voldemort or the Ministry. Maybe the whole fucking Ministry is corrupt and needs to be replaced. Maybe then it'll have a heart and start giving a damn about its people."
A wave of magic burst out of Pyx. It was weak but still threw everyone off the chairs. She crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Sirius and Danny rushed to her as the Auror called for a medi-witch. The others rushed in, having felt the burst in the waiting room. Neville pushed his way through and grabbed onto Pyx.
"Wake up. You can't leave me. Everyone leaves me. First my parents are left insane and then you're gone. I just got you back and you're leaving me again. I love you, Pyxis."
Everyone was shocked at the revelation. The medi-witch arrived and checked Pyx out. Neville held her hand, rubbing the back of it with his fingers.
"She's just exhausted. A couple of days rest and she should be good as new. Why don't you take her home, Mr. Black?"
Neville picked her up first, holding her body close to his. Sirius led the way to the Floo and sent them through to Grimmauld Place. Most followed after. Neville had taken her upstairs, to one of the rooms. Sirius showed him the way to her room and made sure to bring in Regulus' portrait to watch over his daughter.