Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight.
Hey guys, sorry for the long waits for updates! I have one week left of my high school career and, like I told the readers of my other story, it has been very hard to get on the computer, write, and update. Lots going down as the year winds down! But I hope this chapter is to your liking. I really loved writing it and I like the way it turned out.
Okay, so here we go!
My ears popped as I found myself, along with the rest of my friends, squeezed out of the apporation and spit into a field. I dropped Harry's hand as I stepped forward to look at the towering house that was built like a giant rock.
"This is where Luna lives? I would have imagined it to be more...well, I guess it's strange enough, isn't it?" I asked, earning a couple chuckles from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Who else would live in a place like that?" Red asked, earning yet another laugh from out group. It was still slightly strange for the four of us to be together and laughing again...it didn't happen often enough any more.
"We should probably head in." Harry said as he started walking towards the front door. We made it all of ten feet before Hermione crawled to a stop, grabbing my arm in the process.
"Wait," Hermione said, looking slightly confused. "Allie can't go in there."
Harry, Red, and I exchanged a glance; it took us all a moment to realize what she was talking about.
"Oh yeah, I'm dead."
It was then that the boys understood what all of this was about, as well. See, it was strange now, to remember that I was supposed to be dead. It had been months since the four of us had seen another person and being away from everyone made us forget that I, above everyone else, was supposed to keep hidden.
"Well what are we going to do with her? Can she still come in with us? We should be able to trust the Lovegood's." Red added.
"Yeah, we can trust them; but I don't think they should know something that will only get them into trouble...Better I stay dead to everyone in our lives." I tell the three.
"I agree with Allie." Harry said, earning a nod from Hermione to say that she concurred.
"So what are you going to do? Have any more vampire friends that need to be visited?" Red questioned.
I spun at him at lightening speed, causing him to jump. "No, of course not." I paused as I realized that the three still genuinely believed that I had gone to visit 'friends' when we were first exiled not blood thirsty creatures of the night. I cleared my throat and began an attempt to change the subject. "I'm gonna just stay put out here. Close, in case you need me.
"Sounds reasonable, just stay out of sight. We really shouldn't be long anyway since we have to find a new camp sight." Hermione explained, finally letting go of my elbow.
I salute her, showing that I understand before we begin our walk to the Lovegood residence once more. In front of the towering house, on either side of the stairs leading to the front door, were strange plants covered in weird looking orange fruit. A sign was stuck beside the tall plants saying to stay out of them.
I went to stand in front of the plant; my forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"What the hell is a...Dirigible Plum?" I threw quietly over my shoulder at Hermione who only shrugged in response. I shook my head, thinking that it were times like these that I wished I took Herbology a little more seriously when in school. "Okay then, I'm gonna duck in here then. See you in a bit and, uh, yell if you need me." I said before pushing my way through the plant until I found a barer spot near the corner where the house connects with the front stairs. It was here where I popped a squat and began my waiting.
I heard the others as they walked up the stairs and knocked lightly on the door. From within, I heard a crashing noise-kind of like pots and pans falling from cabinets-before the distinct sound of the door latch clicking open.
"Can I help you?" I heard a man's voice-I assume it belonged to Luna's dad-ask.
"Mr. Lovegood? My name is Harry Potter and these are my friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Wea-"
"Yes, yes. I know who you are." The man said, his voice seeming frantic to my ears. I wasn't sure if he looked as frazzled as he sounded but, from what I could make out, Xenophilius Lovegood was in a funk.
"I hope we are not disturbing you, Mr. Lovegood, but may we come in? There is something we would like to discuss with you." Harry told the man.
A pause followed, leading me to attempt to read the man's mind to see what the mental debate was about; however, like I expected, I could not hear his thoughts. It struck me as weird that Luna's dad was being so off when, in the past, he has been so interested and nice to Harry.
"Yes, come in." The man said finally.
I heard as the three of them entered the house and waited for the inevitable door click but it was delayed. I poked my head up slightly, just enough to see Mr. Lovegood's half-crazy face, and saw that his eyes were darting around as if searching for someone out in the field.
My gaze shot out to the field to see that it was just as empty as it was when we first arrived-well, besides a large black bird but he didn't seem like much of a threat-before looking back at Lovegood. He continued to stare for a couple more seconds before reentering the house and closing the door.
I let out an exasperated breath. "Well, okay then. What now?"
Yeah, I was hiding in a bush and talking to myself. Can anyone say pathetic?
"Pathetic." I said it only to amuse myself.
I sat around for a few more moments, listening as my friends made a little small talk with Mr. Lovegood before they dove right into the reason why we came here: to find out about that strange symbol that keeps popping up all over our books.
Though they were far away, I could still hear bits and pieces of their conversation. Harry asked about the symbol and Mr. Lovegood answered that it was the Deathly Hallows.
Deathly Hallows? Deathly Hallows? It sounded familiar but I couldn't recall what it was. Now that we were here, asking about a story from The Tales of Beetles the Bard I kind of felt like an idiot for leaving my copy carelessly in some motel in, I believe it was, Germany. Cedric told me to keep it close and I really did but I Germany was a bad time for me...there was kind of a incident with the Germany police and I had to pull Jason Bourne kind of heist to get out of it, hence the leaving of the book.
I shut my mind off now because I heard Hermione begin to read the story concerning the Deathly Hallows symbol that was a tale about three brothers: one asked Death-after outsmarting him causing Death to lose out on three souls-him for the most powerful wand ever, the second eldest brother asked Death for the the power to return people from the afterlife, then the last brother-and the smartest of them-asked for a cloak would allow him to become invisible. The two eldest brothers lost their bet to Death but the youngest lived a long life and only revealed himself to Death when he was old and his life was over.
The cloak created the triangle, the stone that raised the dead was the circle, and the wand was the line that connected all three things in the symbol; if you asked me it seemed like a bunch of bull shit but, hey, who am I to judge the old wizard fables?
So, we had our story. Now it was time to leave.
As I watched the horizon and the surroundings from my perch inside of this damned bush I noticed that something seemed very, very off. The sun was no longer shining and the wind began to kick up; everything that had previously been calm was now almost sinister.
I tuned back into the conversation happening inside of the house.
"You cannot leave." I heard Lovegood explain, terror lacing his voice. "They didn't like what I was saying...in my magazine...they wanted me to stop and to insure that I did they...they took her. They took my Luna."
My heart started pounding in my ears. I was fighting so hard not to rush in there, take my friends, and get them out; I couldn't though because if I ran out of here I would blow my cover into front of a guy that was already trying to turn Harry, Hermione, and Red into "them" who I can only assume to be Death Eaters.
"You must understand that I cannot be without my Luna...I need her...and they don't want her, they want you. If I give them you then they will give me back my Luna."
I stood up, despite my brain's many shouts of refusal, and began inching along the stone behind me to the opening of the bush.
"No, Allie. Stay calm, they can still get out of there and come to get you. Don't blow it." I don't know when I really took up talking to myself, it was probably around the same time of my exile when I was pretty much isolated from everyone, but it was the only thing keeping me rooted in the the cover of the plant. "Stay..."
"Mr. Lovegood, don't do this. We need to leave." Hermione pleaded.
My heart beat a million miles a minute as I waited for the man to give an answer.
"You can't." He said grievously. "They are here."
Just then from behind me, I heard the sound of an explosion and looked up to see that a black smoke apporation was colliding with the house, shotting spells into the windows during the process. Only a second later three more Death Eaters appeared on the scene and took up arms against the Lovegood house.
"Skip this shit!" I yelled at the top of my lungs before racing, only a blur to the Death Eaters hovering about me, into the house and slamming the door behind me. The inside, which appeared to at one time have been a kitchen, was a total disaster. My three friends were laying on the ground, connecting hands with one and cradling their hands with the other, while Mr. Lovegood cowards near the stairs.
The man's eyes connected with mine for a single moment, a mixture of shock and horror playing on his face at the sight at me, before a rogue spell hit the stairs above his head, causing the wood to splinter and rain down upon his head.
Another spell came at the window, this time closer to me, and I knew there was no more time to stall. I dove toward my friends and locked my hand on top of all of theirs.
"Get us the hell out of here, Hermione!" I yelled over the crashes and explosions.
She didn't even speak before I felt us all being sucked into the tube of the apporation and being spit back out the other side. I landed on my stomach in the leave covered ground, all of the air in my lungs whooshing out in the process.
I gasped for several breathes before rolling back over onto my back and standing up. Harry, Hermione, and Red were staring out before them, in yet another forest, with their backs to me.
"Guys, everyone okay?" I asked coming up to stand next to Harry.
He didn't answer me, all he did was put his arm around my waist and pulled me behind his back. "What the hell are you do-"
I didn't have time to finish before a new voice cut me off. "Well, well, well what do we have here? Some runaways I gather...some muggleborn runaways."
I tried to peak around Harry's shoulder but he wouldn't let me; instead, he shoved me further behind me causing Red to place a hand behind him grab mine to keep me in place. I had no clue why they wanted me to hide when I could take these guys out no problem, but then I took a deep breath and I knew then why exactly they didn't want me to be seen.
A werewolf was with these snatchers and if I could smell him then he definitely could smell me. "Run." I whispered just loud enough for my friends to hear. "Run."
Without indicating they heard me, all three turned their backs and started to sprint, Harry keeping his hand securely around mine during the process.
Spells shot at us from behind as we bobbed and weaved through the trees; it was easy to see that these snatchers were hunting us now...including the werewolf.
I forced Harry to drop my hand, causing him to look back and stumble slightly. I grabbed his waist and righted him.
"Keep moving. Don't worry about me!" I said as I turned and shot a silent disarming spell at our pursuers. It was then that I saw just how many there were: five in all, meaning that we were outnumbered.
I still hadn't seen who the werewolf is but I knew he was back there; he was causing my vampire side to kick into full gear as my adrenaline began to pump at a rapid rate.
"I'm not leaving you!" Harry said. "We'll do this together." His tone was stubborn as he shot another spell behind the two of us.
I nodded, shooting another spell behind us, and we continued to run.
It only took us a moment before we were completely separated from Hermione and Ron, and it worried me to death not knowing where the two of them were and if they had been caught or not. I couldn't think it right now or else Harry and I would be goners.
This continued on for five minutes-us running for the snatchers and them shooting spells at our backs only to earn spells shot back at them. Harry and I ran down a hill, finding that Hermione was running adjacent to us down there also.
I ran a little faster, leaving Harry behind me, to catch up to Hermione. "Where's Red?"
She shook her head, not even looking at me, silently telling me that he had been caught.
"Shit." I said to myself as I looked back to check on Harry.
He nodded his reassurance as he began to catch up to us.
Harry was about five feet from us when a snatcher appeared at the top of the hill and shot a spell right at Harry's back. I didn't even have time to yell before it hit him and instantly he fell to the ground with a rope around his feet.
"Harry!" I yelled back to him, skidding to a stop. Hermione followed my lead and turned to look at our fallen friend. I was about to run back to him when Hermione grabbed my shoulders and pushed me in the opposite direction.
"Go! Run! Get out of here!" She screamed at me.
"What! No way. I am not leaving you three here." I told her.
"You have to! There is a werewolf!" She pushed me again. "Go!"
I don't know why I did it but I followed her instructions for once in my life. I made it out of the valley and up the opposite side of the hill before I came to my senses and realized that I was being a pansy ass by running just because somebody told me to.
I couldn't leave them because of a werewolf. I lived with werewolves, dammit!
I turned, not even bothering to stop, and ran back toward the valley. I stopped at the top of the hill, looking down at the snatchers surrounding my three friends.
I clenched my wand in my first tighter as I planned on running back down there and causing a diversion, hopefully allowing time for Harry, Ron, and Hermione time to run.
I was just about to push past the tree when a hand snaked around my waist and a wand pressed against my temple.
"Now, what do you think you are doing, beautiful?" I rough voice asked. A chuckle followed. "Give me your wand, love, and no one will get hurt."
I took a deep breath, debating whether or not I could get out of his grasp before he could shoot a spell at me. Apparently, I was taking too long and the man snatched my wand out of my hand.
"Good girl, now how about we go join the party, yes?"
The man began to push me back down the hill toward his gang of glorified kidnappers. When we were close enough, Harry turned-well, at least I think it was Harry, his face had become swollen and he was practically unrecognizable-at the sound of our approaching footsteps; the boy began to struggle against his handler when he saw us coming.
"Ahh, you found the last one, lovely." One man, I assumed he was the leader, said as me and my captor came to stand before me. The leader looked over me over before running his hand down the side of my face. "What's your name, love?"
"Isabella Swan." I said, not pausing for a second.
The man smiled down at me before looking back over his shoulder at a man with a notepad in his hands. "Nope," this guy informed him. "She isn't on the list either."
"Hmm, now this is puzzling, isn't it?" The leader said at the same time another man, a hairier one, came up to inspect me.
I didn't even have to study this guy to know he was a werewolf; an he wasn't just any werewolf, he was no other than Greyback himself. I stared at the son of bitch who was responsible for the killing of my family and I wanted nothing more than to break free from this guy holding be and ripping Greyback to shreds.
The werewolf smiled down at me as if he knew what I was thinking. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" He took a step closer and took a deep breath. "Ahh, I do know you. I believe I killed your bloodsucker parents a long time ago...I never forget the ones that beg for their pathetic lives and the two of them...I must say that they were probably the worst...say, aren't you supposed to be dead just like they are?"
It was that moment that broke free of the man holding me and ran straight towards Greyback. I reached my hands out, ready to put them around his neck and break it like a twig, when the werewolf snatched them out of the air and wrapped them around my torso, using my own arms to restrain me.
"You son of a bitch." I seethed, my voice rough with vampire venom dripping.
Greyback chuckled as he looked away from me and toward the lead snatcher. "This here ain't no Isabella Swan...this here is Allie Cullen."
The leader locked eyes with me for a second before his gaze slid down to my left wrist. The man walked over to me and grabbed my arm before roughly pushing the sleeve of my leather jacket up and twisting my wrist.
A small gasp escaped his mouth as he studied my famous lightening bolt scar.
"So if this is Allie Cullen then that must mean..." the leader looked around me and Greyback towards Harry. "that you are Harry Potter." He paused as a smile spread across his face. "Gents, change of plans. These four ain't going to the Ministry...we are going to take them to Malfoy Manor."
We entered the enormous building that puts Buckingham Palace to shame known as Malfoy Manor and almost instantly the atmosphere changed. Everything seemed darker and more sinister within these walls and I didn't know how we were going to get out of here.
The place looked completely empty but I knew that that wasn't the case; in a place like this the walls were just crawling with the roaches that infested it.
The posse of snatchers walked us into a living room and planted us in the middle of it while the leader went to find someone to deliver us to.
"Why did you come back, Allie? Are you really that stupid?" Harry asked as he was being by held by one of the other guys next to me.
"Don't you dare call me stupid. I was trying to help you guys. What did you expect me to do? Run like a coward?" I asked, getting pissed at him now along with everything else in this situation.
"Yes, that is exactly what you were supposed to do because what good does it do now that all of us are caught?" Harry asked.
I looked over at him, the sound of voices distance in the background, and put on a small smile. "We are all together. That's what matters."
Harry didn't say anything to my words; he just stared at me for a moment. It was then that something began to change between us again. I wasn't sure if it was something good or something bad but something new was happening.
Neither I nor he had time to ponder it because the next second the last woman I would ever want to see on planet earth walked down the stairs followed by the boy I never expected to see again in my life. Bellatrix LeStrange strutted over to me, smiling all the while.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't that half breed, risen from the dead." Bellatrix cackled.
"Death didn't suit me. You should know by now that it's not easy to keep me dead, Bellatrix." I spat at her. "And maybe you should tell that to that snake faced boss of yours, too. I'd hate for him to be disappointed the next time to tries to off me and can't."
Bellatrix frowned. "Why don't you tell him yourself, you abomination. He will be joining us shortly."
I could actually feel the smirk fall from my face as the words left her mouth. Voldemort? Here? With me and Harry? Any moment now? That is fucking fantastic.
Bellatrix moved from me to go look at the man that may or may not be Harry. I'm sure the lead snatcher told her that they couldn't be sure.
As I was left with no one but Greyback by me, I looked over to see that Draco was standing ten feet away from me, staying at the girl he thought he had killed.
I simply stared back, knowing there was nothing I could, or even wanted to say to him. He was still a Death Eater; my sacrifice was a waste, after all.
Draco took a step towards me and then another until he was towering above me only a foot away. The boy looked from my blue eyes up to Greyback behind me. "Let her go, I can handle her."
"I don't think that-" Greyback started only to get cut off.
"I suggest you let her go before the Dark Lord hears of this...We don't need her made into a snack before he gets here and I can tell that she is looking bloody delicious to you, Greyback."
Greyback thought about it for a moment before his grip on me loosened and he stepped away. I rubbed my wrists that now had hand prints on them as I turned to look at the monster.
"This isn't over between you and me...I'll rip you apart until you are begging me to let you die." I snarled in his direction, only earning a smile from the deranged werewolf.
"No, I think you will be doing that, my little Cullen. After all, your family is known for such a thing, trust me, I watched as they did."
I was about to run at him again when I felt myself being thrown against a wall and frozen there. I caught my breath as my eyes landed on Draco and his outstretched wand.
"What the hell is it with you and throwing me against walls?" I ask, more annoyed by his actions then anything.
Draco looked back at his aunt, who nodded to him, before coming up to me. He slammed a hand on either side of my head as he stared into my eyes.
"How did you live?" He shouted, sounding outrage to everyone but me.
I knew Draco and this act he was putting on, hell, I put up with it for an entire year. He could try to be intimidating all he wanted but I wouldn't bend to it.
"Like I said, I'm not easy to kill."
"You were dead." He whispered. "I watched as the light left your eyes and you fell. You were dead!"
"I'm a vampire, darling. By very definition I am undead." I paused, letting my words soak into his brain. "But don't feel too bad, Malfoy. You did about the same damage as the damn Dark Lord you follow." His eyes flashed to mine. "Forehead." Was all I had to say.
Draco's gray eyes darted up to my forehead. Ever so slowly, his hand went up to move my bangs. He swept them over to one side, revealing the still angry looking lightening bolt scar that matched Harry's.
Draco gasped only loud enough for me to hear. The sight of my scar was enough to beckon LeStrange over to my corner to gawk at me.
"You should be proud, Draco." I explained to him. "Isn't it a right of passage for you people to brand someone? I mean, you couldn't kill me but at least you could do that, right?"
"Shut your mouth, mudblood." He spat as his eyes moved from my forehead and his hand dropped back down to rest on the wall next to my head.
"Ooo, good comeback. Really, that hurt deep down inside. I think my soul is crushed."
Just as the words left my mouth I felt a surge of energy run through my body. I bit my lip to keep from screaming as Bellatrix continued with the Crusiatus Curse. I vaguely heard Harry screaming my name but I couldn't concentrate on that now. Finally, the pain stopped and I slumped to the floor, the body binding charm broken.
I took a few deep breaths as I let the numbness consume my entire body. I looked up at Bellatrix and saw that in addition to her wand she was also holding on to Hermione's pink beaded bag, the sword of Gryffindor sat a few feet behind her. Aww, shit.
"You are gonna have to find...something better...to torture me with...because...the Crusiatus Curse is...getting really old." I told her matter of factly.
She ignored my comment and bent down next to me, grabbing my chin. "Where did you and your band of mudbloods and blood traitors get the sword?"
"Damn! Did the magical sword fairies strike again? Those little bastards are always stealing swords and putting them somewhere else."
She raised her wand and again I was on the floor wreathing in pain; it only lasted a minute, showing that she meant to tease me and give me a preview of what was to come.
"Do you think you are funny? That this is funny?" Bellatrix hissed.
Breathing heavily, I looked up at her. "Lady, I know I am damn hilarious and as for you torturing me with the same spell over and over? Well, like I said, it's getting old. Hell, I got bitten by that damn snake of Voldemort's, I was almost killed by several vampires, and I have been squeezed and squished through the apporation that is not meant for marble-like vampires too many times to count: now those things hurt.. You are going to have to get creative." Man, these people pissed me off. I could handle Draco but this bitch? Using the Crusiatus Curse? I was in a rage to the point everything I saw was red.
Bellatrix glared at me for a moment before smiling and turning to Greyback. "How do you feel about having a little snack with this one? You can handle this little thing, can't you?"
Greyback smiled before looking down at me. "Yes, I believe I can do something about her."
Bellatrix looked back down at me. "How is that for creative?" She asked.
I stared at Greyback for a second, my heart pounding in my throat, before looking back at the woman. "It's getting there."
She chuckled before standing up. "And to make things a little more interesting for all involved why don't we leave this one with us, too." She grabbed Hermione from the snatcher and threw her on the ground a few feet away from me.
At that exact moment several other people joined us in the living room: Draco's parents and Wormtail being among them.
"Aww, I was hoping we could spend a little time alone, Bellatrix. You know how dear your friendship is to me." I told Bellatrix, my eyes still on a scared looking Hermione. "She'll just ruin the fun."
Bellatrix smiled. "Well, we'll just have to include her in this fun we are going to have, won't we?" Her eyes went to Wormtail. "Take these two down to the dungeon."
The two snatchers handed Red and Harry over and Wormtail pointed a wand at their backs. The two started walking, being shoved in the process.
As they walked past me Harry's eyes met mine and he mouthed the words. "It'll be okay."
I nodded, knowing full well that it was not going to be okay.
"Now, love, where shall we start?" I turned to see Greyback kneeling down beside me, his stench rolling off of him and causing me to almost puke my guts out. "Fingers, toes? Either way, I'm sure they'll all be detached at some point."
I narrowed my eyes at him and the instant, before he could even process what was happening, I lunged onto him, knocking the beast onto his back in the process.
I took my razor sharp nails and slashed them across his face, leaving deep, bloody gashes that would scare worse than anything else in the world. "That's for Bill Weasley and Remus Lupin." The next second arms grabbed me and began to pull me to the ground. "Like I said," I told him as I struggled against the men. "we haven't even began to settle the score for my family."
The next second ropes were tied around my wrists and ankles, magically of course, and I was anchored to the floor . Greyback stood up wiping his face with a hankerchief to try and stop the bleeding, but it kept coming. He glared down at me and snarled.
Next thing I know, the werewolf is kneeling down next to me, his knee resting on my wrist to keep me from moving. I felt his hand go around my pinkie finger and then...he snapped it clean off my hand.
For the first time in my life, I whole-heartedly screamed at the top of my lungs. The pain was excruciating as I heard a marble like sound ring out from next to me. Nothing and I mean absolutely nothing could hurt as much as this did. I turned my head to see my finger lying beside me on the floor; I struggled for breath at the sight of actually seeing it bleed.
The next thing I know, Greyback had moved on to my ring finger.
It snapped.
And I screamed bloody murder again, wishing for it all just to stop.
Just to stop...
Please tell me what you think! I love to hear from you guys! Thank you for reading!