Chapter Three

Harry woke up to Ron and Dean jumping around yelling about snow. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with one hand, reaching over to grab his glasses with the other. "Why are you yelling about snow?" he asked sleepily before giving a huge yawn.

"Well come look for yourself mate!" Ron crowed gleefully as he yanked Harry out of his bed.

Yelping when is bare feet touched the cold floor, Harry found himself being shoved towards the window. Outside, the grounds were blanketed in white diamonds. The fields were so bright they almost blinded him to look. He turned away rubbing his eyes again. "Ron, it snows every year. What's so good about this snow?" Harry grumbled, grumpy about being woken up before he was ready.

Ron and Dean stopped their frolicking, looking at each other and then at Harry. "Today's the first Quiditch match of the year Harry." Ron answered, looking confused. "Don't you remember?"

The mentioning of Quiditch zapped Harry to his senses and he quickly remembered that today was the first match. They were going against Slytherin and Draco wasn't that good of a flyer on a good day. There was no way he was staying on his broom in a snowstorm. "Yahoo!" Harry cheered, wasting no time joining in on the revelry.

***

The Quiditch pitch was beautiful, covered in snow and sparkling. The snitch would be almost too easy to see against this white backdrop. Harry's robes billowed around him as he walked out of the changing rooms, Ron by his side. Giving his friend a wry grin Ron mounted his broom and kicked off, soaring into the sky. Harry laughed good naturedly and followed. They circled the pitch once and then the Slytherin team followed them into the sky. Their green and black robes stood out against the white snow; Draco's white-blonde hair was amazingly visible against the snow. Harry smirked as his rival ascended until he hovered in front of him.

"So Potter, I hope you don't feel too bad when you lose today!" Draco sneered, which wasn't hard for him because his face always looked scrunched up like he had a bad taste in his mouth.

Harry gave an amused snort. "Yea right Malfoy. I just hope you don't go crying to your mum when I knock you off your broom." He blinked as if he had just remembered something. "Oh that's right. You can't because she locked up in Azkaban with your half-wit dad!"

Draco's kick would have caused Harry to fall but instead it knocked him off balance when the would be receiver dodged lighting fast. Draco wobbled on his broom for a few seconds before he could regain his balance. "You'll pay for that Potter!" he snarled before twisting and soaring away to his side of the pitch.

Harry merely shrugged, still smiling. He leaned forward and pulled the nose of his broom up to go higher, rising until he could see the entire Quiditch pitch. Soon the game had started and the snitch had been released. His eyes scanning the field for familiar glint of gold. Five minutes later, and he saw it. It was hovering around the Gryffindor goal post. Unfortunately, Draco had seen it just a second before. They raced toward the snitch, shoulder to shoulder.

Ron cheered at Harry as they approached the goals, "Go Harry!!"

Harry leaned lower down on his broom, willing it to go faster. He bit his lip with anticipation, stretching his hand out. Just as he was about to grab the snitch, it darted to the right and the chase was on.

Draco caught up with Harry, his own hand stretched out. The snitch darted away again, just as it had almost been in their grasp. Draco snarled and shoved his opponent's shoulder, trying to knock him of his broom. "Cut it out!" Harry growled, as he shoved back.

They both veered after the snitch, urging their brooms as fast as they would go. Harry was only a few inches away; he could almost feel the snitch in his hand. The thin wings fluttered against the palm of his hand.

The crowd gave a collective gasp and Draco yelped, pulling his broom back. Harry was too focused to give up. He stretched out farther over his broom, desperately reaching for the small golden ball. He felt thin wings flapping madly, trying to escape its captor. Just… A little… Farther…

There! He got it! The snitch was in his hand!

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry jerked his broom aside to dodge the killing curse that had been cast at him. The nose barely ticked the ground, but it was enough to send him flying through the air. He hit the ground hard, his breath knocked out of him. Harry tried urgently to get to his feet and pull his wand out, but a giant foot caught him in the back and he flew forward again. Someone laughed from behind him as spells were shouted somewhere in the distance. A hand grabbed him by the back of his robes yanking him up until he was hanging in mid air.

"Do you think I should just kill him, or should I make him suffer?" A familiar voice snarled. Fenrir Greyback.

"Oh no, I daresay you should torture him a bit Fenrir." The voice of Bellatrix Lestrange sent Harry into a rage. He wasn't sure how she had managed to stay out of Azkaban for so long, but she wasn't going to stay free for much longer.

"You!" He yelled, furious. "I'll kill you!"

At this he received a maniacal cackle. "Oh like I killed my dear cousin? Sirius Black!"

Harry kicked as hard as he could, one of his heels landing a direct hit in Fenrir's stomach. Doubling over, the werewolf dropped his captive and Harry launched himself at Bellatrix.

"Crucio!!" Cried the witch with wicked glee.

Dropping to the ground, writhing in pain, Harry was rendered helpless. Bellatrix cackled again with a flourish of her wand; the pain intensified. The teenager cried out from the force of the curse, his eyes screwed shut.

"Scream Harry! Scream!" Bellatrix howled, dancing around like she was possessed. "You'll be with your precious Sirius soon!"

Fenrir threw back his head gave a howl of laughter, but it was cut short when a boot connected with the side of his head. He roared in anger and turned around to glare straight into the eyes of the female winged person. Bellatrix turned to see what had happened to her partner, and gasped at the giant black wings spread wide. She raised her wand, pointing it straight at the female's chest. The latter leapt, snarling as she did so.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix screamed.

"Myrina!!" Another voice screamed as a body launched itself at Bellatrix. Fenrir by that time had regained his composure however and met the body in mid-air, beginning a chorus of snarls.

The female, Myrina, fell to the ground with a scream. "That's only a taste of what real pain feels like!" Bellatrix screamed maniacally. Her face went blank with horror when Myrina staggered to her feet. "No! Nooo!!" she screamed, partly in fear and partly in anger.

Myrina's form rippled and fur spread across her skin as she transformed into a tiger. She growled as she sucked in a deep breath, and then the air was ripped apart by the volume of her savage roar. Bellatrix stumbled back a step, apparently having forgotten the wand she still grasped in her hand. Myrina launched herself forward, but the death eater suddenly remembered her weapon. "Avada Kedavra!" she shrieked.

The curse flew over Myrina's right shoulder. Her front paws landed on Bellatrix's shoulders and she tackled the witch. They stayed frozen for a few terrible seconds. Myrina held Bellatrix pinned beneath her, the hand in which the wand was held securely restrained. Jade eyes looked down into black, and deeper almost as if they were looking at the witch's soul. And then, the tigress opened her giant maw and severed the the vein in the witch's throat that carried the precious life blood.

Within seconds, Bellatrix Lestrange was dead.