§Lyra§

Halfway down the hall, we met Alexandra. "So you're the new girl." She said to me. She didn't even question how I was still alive. "I know the way to his office. You two go in first, then I'll enter so he thinks I'm there to help him. Then we can defeat him together." We just nodded. At the end of the hall was a dead end, and we came to a halt. Alexandra said something that sounded like terma mas bothonsi, and a door appeared between the two marble columns. "Go." she ordered, hiding herself behind a marble bust. I looked at Leo, then took a step into the room. Lord Malum sat in a chair by the large fireplace, and when I entered, he got up and strided towards me.

"Well, hello my dear."

"Shut up and go die in a corner." said Leo from the doorway.

"And who is this young man?" he asked, pulling out his wand. That couldn't be a good sign.

"My boyfriend." I said, putting lots of stress on the second word.

A jet of green light issued from the tip of his wand, and Leo fell to the floor. A scream formed in my throat, but I couldn't open my mouth. I was paralyzed. He took me roughly by the hair, yanking me towards a closet. I decided that I didn't want to know what would happen next. I elbowed him in the stomach, then ran for the door, but I didn't make it very far. He kicked my legs out from under me, dragging me into the closet, and locking me in. I sat up, wincing, and wondered what Annabeth would do in this situation. I knew the answer at once. She would acknowledge the enemies' strengths, while using their weaknesses against them. It was obvious from the fact that I was still alive that he didn't want to severely hurt me.

"Hello My Lord." said someone in a convincingly lovesick tone. Alexandra had come.

"Who gave you the authority to come into my office?" he asked, his voice full of hatred. I peeked through the keyhole to see what was going on. They both stood in the doorway.

"Well, I heard a scream, so I thought you might need some help." she batted her eyelashes and puckered her lips. Wow. She was one good actress. Just then, she shifted, lurching forward so that they were face to face. I was confused until I saw Leo stirring. She was trying to distract Malum. I breathed a sigh of relief. Leo was alive. The killing curse must not work on Half-Bloods.

"What the-" that's all he could say before her lips met his. And Leo ran across the room to me, picking the lock and opening the door. He held only a bobby pin. "Man, these come in handy when you're trying to escape an evil wizard." he whispered to me, helping me to my feet. Malum finally managed to get Alexandra off of him, and he looked from me to Leo in surprise.

"But-"

"Yes, you've finally caught on Malum. I betrayed you. It was I who told them about the last horcrux. I was the one who convinced the gods not to side with you." said Alexandra.

His face is fraught with surprise. "So you… you never loved me?"

She shook her head. "You're handsome, no doubt about that, but I guess that is just an example of how you should never judge a book by it's cover. Who would love such a stupid oaf anyway?" Her hand made contact with his jaw, and he stumbled backwards. Alexandra smiled, her face slightly red with energy, dark eyes sparkling. As she balled her fist for a second hit though, he caught her wrist, and twisted. The room was filled with deafening crack, and Leo and I were too stunned to move. Alexandra's right hand fell useless at her side, but she didn't cry or even make a sound. Instead, she hit him again, this time with her left hand. Lord Malum was pushed backwards by the force, dramatically falling to the floor. Alexandra cleared her throat subtly and turned to us. For a second I met her eyes and grinned nervously, but then I noticed a movement behind her.

"Alexandra-" I warned. Lord Malum, propped up by an elbow, reached into his cloak for his wand and muttered words. My mouth was caught in a silent scream as another neon-green light shot into Alexandra's chest.

§Leo§

Lyra screamed as Alexandra's lifeless body hit the ground. I couldn't blame her. Alexandra saved both of our lives. She shook off my hand, and approached Lord Malum. I didn't know what she was doing, but somehow I trusted her.

"Silas."

Malum looked puzzled. "How do you know my name?"

She ignored his question and continued. "If you turn yourself in, I will respect you. I will love you for your bravery, and come to visit you every week. If you don't, I will kill you right here and now."

For a second, I thought it had worked. Then, he sneered. "How will you kill me? You don't even have a wand!" Big mistake. She lunged forward, catching him off balance, and pinning him to the floor. She reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand. "Now I do. Last chance." When he didn't reply, she muttered the spell, and his eyes grew lifeless.

She leaned back from his body, not taking her eyes off him. "I did it," she whispered. She turned, beaming. "I did it!" She said again, running to me. I caught her in a hug that nearly made me topple backwards and smiled into her curly dark hair. Then she shuddered and pulled back. "I did it." A bit shocked by this quick medley of emotions, at first I had no idea what to say. I tried to lift her chin with the crook of my finger, but Lyra wouldn't look at me. I pulled her back in and she squeezed me tightly as she sobbed onto my shoulder.

We both jumped when we heard footsteps echoing from the hall. Hastily I swooped down and grabbed Lord Malum's wand, which Lyra had dropped on the floor, and handed it to her. But it wasn't necessary, because the next second Hermione and Ginny were bursting through the doorway. Lyra sighed of relief and the girls embraced each other.

Hermione suddenly noticed Lord Malum. "You killed him?" she asked.

"Lyra did," I told her. She raised her eyebrows at Lyra.

"Good job." Lyra murmured a thanks, blushed (very prettily and humbly), and looked down at the floor. "But why didn't you guys send us a signal so everyone could meet up? We had no idea you guys were here- I'll admit we were rather lost."

"I can't cast a patronus," Lyra confessed.

Hermione nodded, and took out her wand. "Expecto Patronum!" she exclaimed, then said it again. I gaped as two silvery otters emerged from the mist coming out of her wand. They faced Hermione while she directed, "Could you please find Annabeth and Ron? And you Harry, Percy, and Jason? Tell them we have defeated Lord Malum, and lead them here. Thank you." The otters nodded their furry heads and vaporized into a swirl of mist.

"That was really cool," Lyra commented. Hermione smiled.

"So how did you find him? What happened?" Ginny asked. Her eyes darted to Alexandra. I didn't miss Hermione poking her in the arm sharply. Girls were too respectful.

"He killed Alexandra," I said loudly, just wanting to get it over with. "She distracted him while I freed Lyra from…" Lyra gave me a harsh look, and I moved on. "And she was punching him all awesomely when he… got her back."

The girls were silent. I swallowed. I never knew what to say at times like these, and not very long ago, my default would have been to crack a joke. But I'd learned the hard way that humor wasn't the best way to deal with mourning, so instead I quickly went on to explain Lyra's bravery. Hermione and Ginny nodded along with my words, impressed. "Lyra basically did it all. She was so brave," I finished, clutching her hand. She squeezed back.