Chapter 37- Unforeseen Help
A recap from previous chapters because I have not updated in almost two months: During the invasion of Hogwarts by Death Eaters, Bellatrix takes Natalie away from Hogwarts to her father's home where she torments her with memories of her father. However Natalie breaks through Bellatrix's mind and sees and feels some of the happier memories and feelings, realizing that Bellatrix was once a different person and did indeed love her father. However, she also comes to the realizaiotn that Bellatrix is nothing like the woman who gave birth to her and as a result, Natalie is finally able to tear herself from that connection to her mother. She stands up to Bellatrix, resulting in brutal torture of Natalie. Bellatrix takes Natalie to her father's grave for whatever other torture she has planned.
Meanwhile, Kalissa, after hearing Hogwarts has been invaded, rushes the castle and helps to drive the Death Eaters out. Once she realizes that Bellatrix has taken Natalie, she and Harry begin apparating to locations, searching for Natalie and Bellatrix until Kalissa realizes that someone interfered with the charms and spells she set around the home of Natalie's father. She determines that Bellatrix has taken Natalie to the graveyard.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for all of the reviews the previous chapter and all of the support! It really is tremendous.
I am very sorry for the two month wait and I will try my best to make sure that this does not happen again.
Hope you enjoy!
"You've been here before, haven't you my darling?" hissed Bellatrix, her arms outstretched towards the graveyard they stood within.
Natalie chose not to respond, trying her best not to look at the gravestone directly in front of her. She raked the graveyard with her eyes, desperately wanting to find an object upon which she could fixate her attention.
"Natalie, please answer my question," said Bellatrix, a malicious edge returnin to her voice.
Natalie shook her head.
"What are you saying, my dear?" whispered Bellatrix in her ear.
Natalie's jaw clenched. She would not allow this woman to stamp on the image and dignity of her father.
Natalie turned her head around so that she stared directly into Bellatrix's eyes. "I am not going to respond to you. If you want to kill me, do it somewhere else."
Bellatrix slapped Natalie viciously in the face. "How dare you speak to me in that way, you insolent brat!"
Before Natalie could lift herself from the ground, an invisible whip lashed across her legs. She gasped as the stinging pain radiated around her body, burning her joints further.
"Surely, you do not want to go through another round of Mummy's Cruciatus curse," cooed Bellatrix as the whip again lashed across Natalie's legs.
"Try your best," said Natalie, closing her mouth even though the pain was once again excruciating.
"Nah, another method should satisfy me," Bellatrix whispered with an insidious smile. In one quick movement, she lifted Natalie by the neck and pushed her head against the gravestone. Natalie's face was imprinted firmly against the name David Claggerton.
Natalie prepared herself for another episode of throttling pain, but instead, in front of her, the all too familiar image of a brown haired man chuckling at the baby wrapped in his hands unraveled across the gravestone. The image filled Natalie's vision, bringing out the reaction she had feared from the last and only time she visited this place.
"Isn't this poetic?" sang Bellatrix. "The future you never had intertwined with the oh so dreary present." She stood up and again spread her arms to the graveyard. Her eyes closed as she appeared to be in sickening bliss.
Tears began to pour out of Natalie's eyes as an aching sadness again filled her for her father and the life he deserved to have. She tried to fight back the tears, reduce the sadness to a closed off regret, but could not as the image continued to blaze into her conscience.
"And how sweet, the little girl is crying," hissed Bellatrix, appearing at her side. A chilling laugh rang from her mouth.
And suddenly, that inhuman, completely careless sound jolted Natalie to her senses. She became acutely aware of her surroundings and where she was. Staring at her father's image, Natalie gritted her teeth. The tears continued to pour out of her eyes, but a burning sensation began to spread through her. Anger. Like she would not let Bellatrix have the satisfaction of torturing her with the memories of her father, she would not give this woman the pleasure of watching her suffer on her father's grave.
"You're not going to win," said Natalie, jerking her head forcefully from the gravestone.
Bellatrix stopped laughing. "What are you saying, my dear?"
"Even when I'm dead, someone will always be after you. You will always be running."
"Oh this nonsense again," said Bellatrix with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, I know, dear Harry and lovely Kalissa will be hunting me down. Any other courageous exclamations that might just terrify me?
"You will lose," stated Natalie, lifting herself from the ground.
"You're repeating yourself, darling," Bellatrix cooed, twirling her wand in her hands.
"When Voldemort dies-
The invisible whip thrashed Natalie's chest, bringing her to her knees.
"HOW DARE YOU SAY HIS NAME!"
"When Voldemort dies," repeated Natalie as the whip came across her again. "What will happen to you? Your only daughter will be dead, both of the men you loved will be dead, your husband will be in Azkhaban. You have no friends. Nobody likes-
"THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!"
A jet of air struck Natalie squarely in the chest, sending her sprawling across the gravestone. She saw the silver dagger, cleaned of Professor Flitwick's blood, stop inches from her throat.
"I've had enough of this attitude," said Bellatrix in a deadly, low tone. "It's time to join daddy."
Natalie tried to writhe out of the woman's grasp but she could not as her body was pressed against the gravestone, the knife coming to rest on her throat.
Suddenly, the shuffling sounds of footsteps reached them. Natalie closed her eyes, praying with all her might that Kalissa or Harry had found them.
"Who's here? " hissed Bellatrix, the dagger dropping to her side. She pointed her wand at the corner where the footsteps were coming from. Natalie followed Bellatrix's gaze to see a teenage boy dressed in Muggle clothing climbing out of one of the bushes with a cigarette in hand. She tried to lift her hand to wave the boy off, knowing that the woman in front of her would have no hesitation in "playing" with this boy.
"Oh it's a Muggle boy," said Bellatrix, licking her lips. "So young and very,very enticing."
"No, no," said Natalie. "Please leave him alone. He hasn't even noticed us. You can do whatever you want with me."
Bellatrix's eyes flickered hungrily between her and the boy. "You may have a point here, Natalie. I am on a rather, how do those Muggles say it, tight schedule. A short, painless death will have to do."
"No!" cried Natalie.
Bellatrix stepped away from Natalie, aiming her wand at the boy. But before she could utter the Killing curse, a jet of red light came hurtling towards her, striking her squarely on the chest and sending her sprawling to the ground, unconscious.
The boy suddenly started running towards Natalie. Her mouth fell wide open
Once Bellatrix fell to the ground, Natalie rushed to her side, taking Bellatrix' wand from her grip and pulling her own wand from underneath the women's black robes. She jerked her body to point her wand at the boy running towards her who was beginning to wave his arms frantically.
"Natalie, you aren't honestly going to curse your boyfriend?" said a very familiar voice from behind her. The playful, rich melody infused Natalie's chest with a surge of pure relieving, warmth.
She turned her head to find Kalissa walking quickly towards her with an ebullinet smile from behind her father's gravestone. As soon as she saw Kalissa, she ran towards her, flinging her arms around her guardian in contentment. Kalissa placed a kiss on her forehead before releasing her and moving over to Bellatrix's body.
From behind her, Natalie felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her. She swiveled her body to throw her arms around Harry's neck, pressing her face into his chest.
"You look terrible Natalie," whispered Harry, lifting his chin so that their eyes locked.
"Shouldn't I?" said Natalie, a grim smile on her face. "You don't know how happy I am to see you."
He pressed his lips against her lips for a moment. Natalie allowed herself to submerge into the kiss slightly, savouring the sensation that a few hours ago, she thought she would never experience again.
Harry released her, a concerned expression still on his face as he guided her towards Bellatrix's body.
"Harry, I can walk just fine," said Natalie. "Bellatrix did not cripple me."
"What did she do to you Natalie?" asked Kalissa sharply as she bended over the body.
"Um well," spluttered Natalie, the memories of the excruciating, burning pain far too prevalent in her mind.
"You can tell us later," stated Harry firmly. "Shall we go now Kalissa?"
"Yes, we'll take her with us," said Kalissa, frowning "The Dark Mark isn't activated which is a good sign. Natalie, what other spells did Bellatrix conjure?"
"Nothing else besides a Silencing charm," replied Natalie, gazing around nervously. She noticed that Kalissa seemed uncharacteristically apprehensive. "Why?"
Natalie shivered as a cool wind swept over them. She squeezed Harry's hand, exchanging a worried gaze with him. Bellatrix lay unconscious on the ground in front of them, but she felt more frightened than before.
"I sensed some strong magic around the area when we arrived," responded Kalissa, wringing her hands now. "Let's get going. Harry and Natalie, take either one of my hands."
Suddenly, Harry's knees sank as he fell towards the ground, "No!" gasped Harry in pain, his hand over his scar that was alight.
"No," breathed Natalie in horror.
Kalissa leapt towards them, taking both of their hands and turning on the spot. Once they turned, they fell into the familiar emptiness before sharply striking an invisible, rigid wall and falling to the ground back in the graveyard.
Natalie groaned as her back forcefully struck the grass. The failed apparition had inflamed her already sore body. Jolts of searing pain shot through her, cutting into her bones. With Kalissa's aid, she barely managed to lift herself from the ground, but her knees and feet felt as if they would break any moment.
Natalie's stomach took another sharp lurch when she saw Kalissa's expression. She looked absolutely stricken, her wand in her hand as she stared around the graveyard. Bellatrix's body had disappeared and they could not find it anywhere.
Harry managed to stand besides Natalie. His hand lay over his scar.
"It's still stinging," said Harry in response to Natalie's curious expression. "Not as bad-No!"
Suddenly, again, his scar came alight and Harry lowered his body to the ground, his body convulsing terribly. Natalie, despite her own weakness, enveloped her arms around him, putting all of her energy to steady him and also herself.
"He's here," whispered Harry, who could barely stand under Natalie's grip.
High, cruel laughter rang across the graveyard. The laughter seemed to bounce off the gravestones, amplifying and increasing in frequency every second. Shivers raced down Natalie's spine. She swallowed, her stomach taking steeper and steeper lurches.
Harry separated himself from Natalie's hold. He raised his wand with Natalie to point at the graveyard though Natalie could tell by the bright, vivid colour of his eyes that he was equally as scared as she was.
"How's your scar?" whispered Natalie, a terrified expression on her face as she scanned the ground while the terrible laughter climbed to a shrieking pitch.
"Still hurts but it's better," muttered Harry. "Where is he?"
"The two of you, stay behind me," said Kalissa, not taking her eyes off the gravestones around her. "He probably won't-
"Ah, Kalissa, it certainly has been a long time," said a hissing voice to their right. "What a pleasant surprise it is that both you and Harry managed to grace me with your presence tonight."
Natalie and Harry jerked their heads to see a thin, hooded figure in dark robes gliding towards them from behind one of the larger gravestones. A light mist began to unfold itself over the top of the graveyard. Dust and pebbles swirled around the figure's feet, his robes billowing behind as the wind in the graveyard began to whip around them.
"Not long enough, I'm afraid," said Kalissa, her voice clear and defiant. She whispered to them, "Do not attempt to run. We don't know where Bellatrix is."
"I see you haven't lost that wonderful wit," drawled Voldemort as he stopped a few feet from them, the dust and pebbles still swirling around him although the wind quieted.
He then gave another harsh, piercing cackle that physically shook the ground. Even though his wand lay at his side and Kalissa was with them, Natalie felt no sense of insulation and security.
"I was contemplating the time when I told you Dumbledore would not always be there to save your sharp tongue. How true is it now?"
Harry made to wave to his wand, but Kalissa grabbed his hand. "No Harry, this is what he wants."
"You'll pay," spat Harry, the hand not gripping his wand clenching.
"As always it is a pleasure to meet you Harry," drawled Voldemort, twirling his wand in his hands. "But I daresay that the old man's death is not a worthy cause for which to sacrifice your life. I can think of much more worthier uses."
"What," gasped Natalie in shock, the implication of the conversation hitting her. She looked to Kalissa and Harry, momentarily forgetting about the terrible person in front of them. "Surely not-
"Yes, Natalie, Albus died tonight," said Kalissa quietly, making eye contact with her for a second before her attention returned to Voldemort.
Harry nodded, taking her hand in his. "Snape killed him."
"The news must be absolutely dreadful," said Voldemort mockingly.
"No," whispered Natalie, closing her eyes. Her heat seemed to stop beating, suspending within her chest like a floating balloon ready to be popped. He was dead. Her body went limp from its mobilized, frightened state. She felt herself falling again into a vicious spiral, her body receding into nothingness as the pain in her bones dissipated and her muscles went flaccid.
"You couldn't kill him, could you?" snarled Kalissa. "Had to have your little spy do it." The words seemed so distant to Natalie. She wanted to open her eyes and face Voldemort, but could not. Everything seemed so useless now.
"Kalissa, my my, the mouth has not changed," leered Voldemort.
"All of you will be joining Albus very soon. I'm certain you can ask him about the experience. It must have been very enlightening for the old man."
Hearing Voldemort pronounce Professor Dumbledore's name with sheer, brutual joy thrust her out of her daze. Spurs of white, hot anger formed within her, growing and building rapidly. Snape betrayed the Headmaster for this thing. She pushed back the questions forming in her mind with the mention of Snape. Dumbledore did not deserve this death, did not deserve his loyalty and trust to be so abused and to have his memory stamped on by the animal talking to them. With her anger, her body tensed once again, the inevitable gloom pervading her consciousness dimmed. She was terrified of the man in front of her, but she would not allow him to enact any more pleasure from their loss.
Natalie opened her eyes, but startled when Harry stepped in front of her.
"What are you doing Harry?" asked Natalie frantically as she tried to move her body in front of him.
"No, Natalie, it's me he wants," stated Harry, pushing her behind him again as the figure approached.
"What are you two doing? He's not going to let any one of us escape," Kalissa muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "Just watch out for Bellatrix."
"How touching," hissed Voldemort as he moved closer towards them. "This must be dear Natalie."
Natalie shivered at the utterly venomous way he enunciated her name. She felt his eyes bore straight into her, watching every detail of her expression and stance.
"Don't talk to her," said Harry firmly, staring directly at Voldemort
He let out another a high, cold laugh that reverberated around the graveyard. "The bravado is indeed laudable, Harry." Voldemort pulled back his hood to reveal his face. Natalie tried her best to contain her gasp and not lower her wand in disgust. In comparison to Kalissa's memory, this Voldemort seemed even less human. Ridges and undulations carved themselves into the proper locations of this face, but at the sharpest of angles and with little regularity. The cheekbones curved steeply downwards into a pointed chin, the frightening red, gleaming eyes hollowed out across the forehead like a snake and the thin lips protruded from the slit like nose, giving him the outlines of a human but with a distinctively reptilian characterization.
Voldemort smiled at Natalie, a hungry, gruesome curving of the lips that made him even more terrifying. She stepped backwards, unable to tear her gaze from him.
"Harry," continued Voldemort, turning his attention towards the raven haired boy. "I trust you know, how shall I say, her ancestry. It was very fascinating to learn for me."
"She's a half blood like you and I," said Harry, smiling back at him. "It's a nice reunion, is it not?"
"How dare you talk to him, you filthy brat!" screamed an all too familiar voice. The graves on their left suddenly alight in flames, cracks forming in the ground.
"I see Bellatrix has not left," commented Kalissa with a grim smile. Natalie's jaw tightened as she saw Bellatrix emerge from behind a tree on the left. She danced around the graveyard towards them, jumping over gravestones, her hands swinging wildly.
"Bellatrix," hissed Voldemort as he doused the flames. "Behave yourself." Almost instantly, Bellatrix bowed to the ground.
"I am sorry, Master," said Bellatrix, her voice filled with reverence. "I never intended-
Voldemort waved his wand and she went silent. "I do not need to hear your apologies. You will receive your punishment in due time, but be glad that your disobedience did not end in failure this time."
"You certainly used her well, Tom," said Kalissa. "I'll have to complement you on that account."
The smile vanished off Voldemort's face, an angry snarl appearing. "You do know how I dislike that word."
"It's always so satisfying to stir you," said Kalissa dryly. "I was actually slightly impressed at how you manipulated the spells and charms I set on David's house. I had thought the Arithmancy I used was too complex for anyone else to decipher."
Natalie could tell that Kalissa was trying to delay Voldemort and Bellatrix's attack as much as possible, likely to give her time to determine exactly what spells Voldemort cast on the graveyard.
"You were wrong," said Voldemort, evidently taking pleasure in Kalissa's words. "Procrastinating, are we Kalissa?"
"Why would I?" said Kalissa obstinately. "You must have realized now that you do not frighten me in the least bit."
Voldemort looked like he was about to raise his wand at her, but then stopped himself and twirled the wand in his hands.
A nasty smile slowly unfolded itself over his face. "Very well then. Running will not help you Kalissa as it has for so long. But remember if you do, I will not aiming my wand at you."
His gaze lingered on Natalie for an extended moment before returning to Kalissa who looked absolutely livid. She seemed ready to fire a spell at him; however, she also kept her wand still.
"But why don't I continue my story?" said Voldemort. "After learning of Bellatrix's obsession with young Natalie here, I decided to do some exploring of my own and came upon this very nice, little village outside of London. Of course, after a very enlightening encounter with the server at the pub, I was surprised to hear that your Muggle's house had suddenly vanished; what a strange occurrence as the server astutely noted. I chose to look further and uncovered the house you so elaborately hid. Changing the systems behind all this spells was tedious and exhausting work, but it clearly had its use." He gestured to the three of them.
"And you expected Bellatrix to bring Natalie to the house," noted Kalissa.
"Bellatrix, it seemed, had already started searching for the house prior to my discovery-
Bellatrix crawled forward to the hem of his robes. "Master, I extend my deepest apologies-
She was sent sprawling against the adjacent gravestone.
"Do not interrupt me Bellatrix. Your behavior recently has been very disappointing," hissed Voldemort. "As I was saying, Bellatrix had not yet found the house. I decided to prod her along so that she would go back to this village and see the house revealed. And once she did, it was sadly inevitable that Bellatrix would try to bring Natalie there. I was hoping that it was not tonight as her abilities were needed at Hogwarts, but through her own pathetic, selfish impulsiveness, she has brought me my two favourite people in the world."
"I am so honoured that you think of me in that way," drawled Kalissa.
Voldemort smiled. "I do think we've had enough time for talk."
And before Natalie even saw his hand move into his robes, a ring of fire surrounded them, the flames roaring and searing at their clothing.
A jet of blue light hurtled towards them. Harry grabbed Natalie and dove out of the way of the blue light onto the ground. Kalissa immediately conjured a shield that caused the blue light to explode into a brilliant haze of blue sparkles, but before any of them could raise their wands, one of the flames behind Kalissa morphed into a terrifying image of a dragon that opened its jaws only a few feet above Kalissa's head.
"Kalissa!" screamed Natalie, making to rush forward.
A Reducto curse barely missed Natalie's head as she tripped to the ground. With a relieved sigh, Natalie noticed Kalissa easily transfigure the dragon of fire into a wolf that raced towards a cackling Voldemort who dissipated it easily with his wand. The flames again encircled Kalissa, threatening to wrap around her.
"Natalie, watch out!" said Harry.
Natalie turned around, barely deflecting the powerful Stunning spell shot her way.
"Very good, Natalie!" shrieked Bellatrix, the familiar mad look on her face as she dodged two of Harry's stunners. "And your boyfriend can't shoot that well, can he?" She fired a Cruciatus curse that zoomed inches over Harry's head, shattering the gravestone behind him.
"Bellatrix, leave him for me!" screamed Voldemort as he and Kalissa were starting to exchange curses at rapid speed. A maelstrom of colours blazed across the graveyard, all the debris of the damaged gravestone, dust and pebbles spiraling around them.
Natalie tried to take advantage of the moment of distraction. She shuffled around to the side, pointing her wand at a patch of ground immediately behind Bellatrix.
"Reducto! Siliencio!" hissed Natalie, pouring all of her energy into the spell. Her wand jerked, the feeling of a fast moving but very solid object leaving it. The patch of ground immediately disappeared and as she desired, the characteristic sound of Reducto was silenced.
Bellatrix turned her head to Natalie with a wicked smile. "You shouldn't try to surprise me, darling."
But Harry, realizing Natalie's plan, had moved to a spot directly in front of Bellatrix. He fired a Blasting curse at her that surprised Bellatrix. She barely blocked it but stumbled backwards and with a furious snarl and fell into the pit Natalie had created.
But before Natalie and Harry could exchange a triumphant grin, a transparent rope appeared, pulling Bellatrix out of her fall and whipping her violently against a gravestone.
Natalie looked towards the rope's owner, noticing Voldemort staring at them with a furious snarl. A mini cyclone of swirling dust, grass and pebbles was pushing Kalissa back in the direction of the fire.
Voldemort raised his wand to Natalie, an insidious smile on his face.
Natalie's insides froze. Her wand lay at her side as she met those horrible, malevolent gleaming red eyes.
"Avada Kedavra!" hissed Voldemort.
Natalie closed her eyes, waiting for the curse to reach her. She would die, not at her mother's hands, not while valiantly fighting off Death Eaters but while staring blankly at the man responsible for this entire mess.
A blazing red light and a familiar, thin wiry figure suddenly blocked Natalie's vision.
"WHAT!" screamed Voldemort as that red light filled the entire circle they all lay in, obscuring all of their vision.
As quickly as it appeared, the red light vanished, returning them to the moonlit evening. The flames surrounding them had completely dissipated, the mini cyclone enveloping Kalissa had disappeared and the vicious wind whipping around the graveyard had abated. Harry stood in front of Natalie, his wand still pointed at Voldemort who was leaning against a gravestone, a look of astonishment on his face.
Natalie finally found her voice. "Harry, what-
But before she could complete her sentence, Voldemort lifted himself off the ground with amazing agility, his wand again in his hand.
"Some new tricks I see you have, Harry," hissed the snake like man, his eyes gleaming menacingly.
"And you don't," said a reassuring brash voice behind them.
The silver figure of a massive wolf ran across the graveyard, leaping at Voldemort, its jaws open. Voldemort snarled, thrusting his wand at the wolf but rather than causing the wolf to disappear, his spell created an explosion of silver light that centred on him. He let out a howl of pain as the light seemed to funnel back into him, only accentuating his scream.
Before he could return fire, a large tree branch hurtled across the graveyard at lighting speed, sharp spikes protruding out of its edges. Voldemort moved his chest out of the way branch but one of the spikes managed to pierce his shoulder. Another drawn out scream filled the graveyard. Kalissa waved her wand in a complicated sweeping motion that caused the mini cyclone to reappear, this time enveloping Voldemort and obscuring him from their vision.
"Let's go," said Kalissa, reaching the two of them. "There's a lake at the other side of this forest and a stream that enters it-
Natalie's eyes widened in realization. "Moving water-
"Will end the anti apparition wards," muttered Kalissa with a nod. "Let's take the path leading into the forest and we'll branch off from there."
Harry and Natalie nodded, following her. As they started to run across the graveyard towards the forest's edge, Natalie, out of the corner of her eyes, noticed a black haired woman crouching behind one of the gravestones to their left, her wand pointed at Kalissa's turned back.
Natalie immediately jerked her wand in that direction, firing three Stunners that obliterated the gravestone, catching Bellatrix by surprise. She hissed at Natalie, raising her wand. But before she could utter a spell, a flash of yellow light swallowed her
Natalie turned her head to see Kalissa smiling at her. "Thank you Natalie. I don't want to think what spell she would have chosen for me."
"We should keep going. That cloud you created around him looks to be disappearing," muttered Harry.
As if on cue, the cyclone enveloping Voldemort vanished.
"Leaving early, are we, Kalissa?" said Voldemort in that characteristic high pitched, cold voice that sent shivers racing along Natalie's spine.
Kalissa sent a barrage of silver pellets at Voldemort, not bothering to see whether they struck their target. "Keep running," said Kalissa, motioning frantically to Natalie and Harry. "Once we get to the forest, it will be very difficult for him to find-
Natalie gasped as the flames reignited across the graveyard. This time, however, the flames took the shape of a massive serpent. The thick, green scales that twisted and spiraled around a long, arduous body leading to very familiar gleaming, red eyes, the ominous, protruding tongue and the loud ripples it sent across the grass as it uncoiled showed that this figure was much more real than the dragon he conjured earlier. As if confirming her fears, the snake, which must have been 40 feet long and at least five feet wide, whipped a gravestone viciously out of the way, exposing its massive, razor sharp fangs for them. A sickly pungent smell pervaded their nostrils.
"Venom," whispered Harry in shock.
"Come on! Let's go," said Kalissa, jerking the two of them out of their dazed states. Natalie ran as fast as she could towards the forest, ignoring the hissing noise behind her and the far too audible sound of the snake slithering across the grass. Her bones continued to ache, the tiredness and exhaustion threatening to overwhelm her , reminding her of the horrible way her body contorted under the Cruciatus. But the adrenaline was too powerful; they needed, somehow, to escape and get back to Hogwarts. And so, Natalie poured as much as energy as she could to reach those trees.
As they arrived at the forest's edge, Kalissa abruptly stopped alongside her. Natalie paused to see what caused Kalissa to pause but clumsily tripped on her feet, falling to the ground.
Harry quickly lifted her with his hands, looking curiously at Kalissa.
The snake ripped open its jaws only a few paces from them, focusing its bright, red eyes on Kalissa.
Natalie screamed in horror, "KALISSA, COME ON!"
Kalissa remained focused on the serpent. Natalie reached for her wand to help Kalissa, seeing Harry do the same besides her. She had no idea why they were not running into the forest; the snake would surely kill them.
And then as the snake reared its head back, a wind started to rumble through the trees, brushing the dust and dirt on the floor lightly. Harry exchanged a puzzled glance with Natalie as both of their gazes darted to the forest behind them. The wind, however, quickly escalated in furor, rising to a throttling tornado that bent the trees, pushing Natalie and Harry forward and seemed to surprise the snake. Natalie raised her eyebrows at the trees that continued to bend forward t almost a ninety degree angle as if an invisible hand were pushing them down.
She looked towards Kalissa who continued to stare at the snake, moving her wand in intricate motions and muttering rapidly under her breath. Suddenly, she saw Voldemort reappear besides the snake, an outraged expression on his face. And the snake unleashed itself at Kalissa, but the trees, like elastic bands, released themselves back to their erect positions. And as if emanating from the stress of the bent trees, a grey mass, very similar to a cloud, appeared behind them by the trees. It hurtled towards the snake, striking it just before its fangs reached Kalissa. The snake fell back to the ground, shattering in another huge explosion; this one blazed the night sky with a burning, scorching yellow punctuated again with Voldemort's furious s scream. Kalissa turned back toward them with a satisfied smile.
"Come on," said Kalissa as she continued her run into the forest. Once they entered the forest, Natalie could almost hear a door closing on them, as if the forest itself was insulating them.
Harry too seemed to hear the sound, as he looked around with a bewildered expression.
Kalissa smiled. "Keep moving. The forest has indeed allowed us to enter and not Tom, but only for some time. We need to find that river and apparate out of here."
"Bloody brilliant," muttered Harry under his breath. Natalie merely shook her head at Kalissa.
Harry and Natalie followed Kalissa along the path and then when she digressed from the path, heading for the river that opened into the lake at the northwest edge of the forest.
They still could see flashes of yellow and orange blazing across the sky, a sign that Voldemort and Bellatrix were still struggling with Kalissa's spell. Unfortunately, whatever magic Kalissa used to shield them from the forest also prevented them from hearing anything of what Voldemort was trying.
"You sure we'll be able to apparate from the river?" asked Harry, catching up to Kalissa with Natalie just behind them.
Kalissa, who continued to rapidly scan the forest, replied out of the corner of her mouth, "It's the best option we have right now. I was not able to determine what anti-apparation charm he used."
"Really?" asked Natalie, unable to keep the apprehension out of her voice.
Kalissa's gaze flickered back to her. "Yes, his magical abilities have evolved since the last time I fought him. I never expected him to undo the spells I set on Albus' house- it would have required a tremendous knowledge of Arithmancy."
"He spent thirteen years as a snake," noted Harry bitterly. "Probably had enough time to learn all those things."
"True enough," agreed Kalissa with a sigh. "We're almost there and it looks like they're still distracted. Just past these bushes, there should be a clearing where the path continues from onto the river. How are you doing Natalie?"
"Fine," said Natalie, the adrenaline starting to wear off though her nerves were still absolutely on edge. "I just want to get back. I'm supposing he cannot access the river from where he is now?"
"No," said Kalissa, checking the sky again to see the yellow and red flashes still appearing. "Even if he manipulated the anti apparition wards to allow himself to apparate from the graveyard to the river, the apparition would still require that he bypasses the forest and since the forest is basically impervious to his magical signature, it would also limit his apparition from the graveyard to the river."
"Brilliant," repeated Harry.
"But as I said, it looks like he is much more prepared than I anticipated so keep your wands raised and be alert once we get to the river. I imagine he will expect us to use that as the apparition point as it is the only region of moving water in this town," replied Kalissa.
They quickly navigated their way through a patch of long grass and shrubs before arriving in the clearing Kalissa mentioned.
"There's the path," said Kalissa, pointing to a barely discernible space between two evergreen trees.
"How did you notice that?" muttered Natalie as they rushed to that space, which upon approach, revealed a narrow corridor winding through the forest. To her immense relief, she could just hear the familiar gurgle of moving water.
"I spent a great deal of time in this forest when I lived here," answered Kalissa with a small smile.
They moved at a near sprint along the twisting path; the sound of the water was becoming louder and louder.
After a few minutes of running, they were finally able to see the river. Natalie had never seen a more reassuring sight in her eyes. She looked up to the sky and let out a breath at the sight of the yellow and red lights still blazing across the sky.
They continued moving at a faster pace along the path, heading towards the nearest bank of the river. It was not very wide, but was moving at a relatively fast speed; the dark, black water sparkled under the moonlight, giving the river a very optimistic feel.
However, Harry suddenly paused, frowning at the sky above.
"What's wrong?" whispered Natalie.
Harry shook his head, an extremely distressed look on his face. Kalissa had also stopped with an equally anxious expression on her face.
"Natalie, have you noticed how the sky hasn't changed since we entered that clearing?" said Harry, gazing around.
"What?" said Natalie, her heart beginning to once again pound against her chest. Something was definitely wrong.
"Before there were always flashes of red and yellow light randomly going in the sky like fireworks," said Harry. "Now the flashes are regular."
Natalie followed Harry's gaze to the sky."Yes they are," said Natalie, the implications setting in. "Let's get to the bank."
"No!" exclaimed Kalissa in an unnaturally high pitched voice. She leapt towards the two of them pushing them to the ground, as a jet of orange light soared over their heads.
"Run the other way! Forget about the river," whispered Kalissa, a very unusual frightened tone to her voice.
Natalie nodded, her stomach starting to churn as her heart beat violently. But before she could lift herself, she felt something invisible twist around her and then pull her abruptly away from Harry and Kalissa.
"Natalie!" screamed Harry but a mass of air flung him into the air into a nearby bush, followed by that horrible, piercing cackle.
As Natalie continued to become drawn in by this invisible rope, a different but very familiar and equally as unnerving cackle became audible, rising sharply in intensity. And then when she thought she would crash into a tree, the invisible rope disappeared, dropping her to the ground and knocking the breath out of her. Her wand slipped out of her hands, something kicking it away to her right.
A cool, smooth but strong hand lifted her and once again, Natalie found herself staring into that haughty, insidious sneer of her mother.
"Natalie, you can't run away from Mummy," hissed Bellatrix. Despite the words, her eyes were flashing a maniacal red. Her tone was devoid of the playful carelessness of before.
Bellatrix's hands quickly moved around her throat, pressing with just enough force that Natalie had difficulty focusing on her.
"You've been a very bad girl," whispered Bellatrix She strengthened her grip on Natalie's throat.
Natalie felt like she would lose consciousness if Bellatrix's hands tightened any more.
"You're very quiet," commented Bellatrix with a cruel smile. "My nails are rather sharp, are they not, Natalie?"
Natalie tried to open her mouth to retort but she could not as somehow the woman's grip clamped down upon her even more, making Natalie slightly dizzy. Her gaze was starting to become blurry. Bellatrix seemed to be daring her to say something so her grip could become firmer and firmer, those nails could dig and imprint themselves into her skin further; it was like a game to her.
But Natalie would not let her win. Again, she opened her mouth but anticipating Bellatrix' pressing gesture, instead of trying to speak, she spat in her mother's face, letting a triumphant smile appear on her face.
Bellatrix let her go, screaming in anger. She thrust Natalie viciously against a tree, a truly crazed look on her features.
"YOU INSOLENT BRAT!"
Before Natalie could rebound from the tree, the familiar invisible whip lashed against her, burning her insides, scorching her already inflamed joints. Bellatrix moved over to her in two long strides. She took Natalie's hair with one hand and shook her head violently, bashing her head against one of the trees.
Natalie's head throbbed horribly, feeling as if all thoughts were evacuated from her brain. The seething pain ripping at her joints now filled her head, pushing and tugging at every corner of her mind, blazing itself through her conscience, daring her to show any sign of weakness.
The shaking of her head ceased for a moment as Bellatrix leaned into Natalie's ear. "I gave birth to you and this is how you treat me."
"You were a different person then. You actually cared," muttered Natalie, closing her eyes. The pain was too much for her, her body too damaged and scarred by this woman but she would not give Bellatrix the pleasure.
"Oh how lovely," hissed Bellatrix, her voice rising to a much higher pitch. She threw Natalie down a bank.
Natalie gritted her teeth as she rolled painfully through two or three bushes, her jumper tearing apart. Her face continued to sear with the new bruises and sideburns appearing. When she stopped somewhere near the river, the horrible molten taste of blood filled her mouth. She could feel droplets of blood oozing along down her face to her lip.
Again, those cool, seductively smooth hands gripped her. Bellatrix lifted Natalie to her chest, her right arm pressed against Natalie's throat.
"Where are Harry and Kalissa now?"
"Taking out that piece of filth you call a Master." And Natalie knew with that statement that she would set off Bellatrix.
The woman let out a brutal cry of fury, flinging Natalie further down the bank through even thicker bushes and along ever drier ground Natalie somehow managed to stop herself from rolling to the edge towards the river. As she placed her hands on nearby tree to steady herself and look for her mother, a sharp kick struck her in the ribs, sucking out her breath. Two more vicious kicks sent her sprawling into the ground, gasping for air.
Those horrible nails came onto her face, clawing across her. Natalie moaned as the pain penetrated deeper and deeper into her conscience, seeming to lodge itself permanently within her, eating at her from the insides.
And then suddenly, the nails came off her. She felt Bellatrix's body repel from her body followed by another maniacal howl of fury. Two sharp, puncturing bangs filled the air followed by a triumphant scream from Bellatrix.
Natalie looked up to Bellatrix prowling towards Harry, a cold smile on her face. His wand had been thrust to the side while Bellatrix merely twirled her wand in her hands, waiting for Harry to make a move.
"Come to save my daughter, have you Harry?" She licked her lips as he jumped behind a bush, dodging her Cruciatus curse.
Natalie's heartbeat stopped when she saw the bloodied dagger in Bellatrix's hand. With whatever ounce of strength, she possessed, Natalie pushed herself off the ground and charged towards the unaware Bellatrix. The black haired woman turned towards her with a surprised look as Natalie tackled her to the ground, forgetting about the dagger in the woman's hand. She punched Bellatrix's face as hard as she could, but was too weak to hold the woman under her. Bellatrix pushed her off, the dagger in her hand as she swung it at Natalie.
But as the dagger came hurtling towards Natalie, a jet of red light struck Bellatrix in the chest. She stopped in mid motion, a startled expression on her face. A beam of yellow light swallowed her, causing her to collapse to the ground.
Natalie exhaled in relief as she saw Harry run towards her, jumping over Bellatrix. He lifted her off the ground, his arms wrapped firmly around her. Natalie had never been so grateful to be in his grasp.
She anchored herself against him, placing her hand on his cheek.
"Thank you so much Harry," murmured Natallie, kissing him briefly on the lips. Despite the situation, she could not help the sensation of bliss that overcame her when she was in his embrace.
Harry gave her a crooked smile. "After this, I'm going to make sure you get a proper scolding for putting me through all this worry."
"Of course," said Natalie with a small smile before the terrifying nature of their situation once again struck her. "We need to find Kalissa."
"She should be back by that clearing, fighting Voldemort," said Harry. "Let's go. How are you doing?"
"Not great," said Natalie with a grimace, trying to ignore the searing pain that seemed to intensify with every moment. She tried to clench her jaw to stop the progression of throbbing headache in her head. Natalie let herself go from Harry. "I can manage though- don't worry Harry. Come on, Kalissa needs us."
Harry gave her a skeptical look before he nodded and they climbed up the bank and then ran around the bushes back to the point where they had left Kalissa.
The wind was becoming much stronger. As they ran along the bank to that spot, the wind amplified tenfold in amplitude so that they had to walk away from the bank, almost physically pushing through the streams of air rippling around them. The wind throttled and shook them, daring them to stand and resist its relentless force. Dust, pebbles and grass rose from the ground, alternating between swirling over their heads and then returning to the ground with surprising force. Grains of sand from the bank below blew over their heads, obscuring their vision of the river. Natalie could hear crashes of waves against the bank, the spray from these collisions joining the storm brewing above their heads. She cast a Shield charm around them to protect them from the onslaught from some of the more sharper stones as well to keep the sand and water from their eyes.
However, Natalie's Shield charm could not protect them from the increasing force of the wind as the shield charm itself was essentially a block of air and so constituted a part of the wind. The further northward along the bank they moved, the more force they encountered, rising in strength and intensity to the point that Natalie and Harry both realized that if they remained standing, they would be cast into the river. Harry gestured to the ground and Natalie sighed, nodding. They rolled once again on the ground.
Harry gripped her hand. "We should try crawling to a place where the wind is quieter so we can help Kalissa. They're fighting over there."
Natalie narrowed her eyes, looking further along the bank through all of the grains of sand, particles of dust and droplets of water leaping into and saturating the air until she finally found the source of the hurricane. She barely made out two figures, one the defiant stance of Kalissa and the other, the menacing figure of Voldemort. But the blaze of light cast around these figures was clear against the grey blur that the storm created.
"Ok let's go, " whispered Natalie. "Watch out for those trees. They might just come off the ground and I don't think my Shield charm will be enough to hold them back."
With her hand holding tightly onto Harry's hand, they crawled towards the forest away from the bank. As they pushed themselves across the grass, Natalie had to contain several moans. Crawling was not doing anything to help her aching body; she felt like a pane of glass that had cracked at all of the important stress points and was just at the point of shattering. Natalie took a deep breath. She focused on sliding forward inch by inch, taking the burning jolts along her spine as they came. She tried to keep her eyes off all of the little grains of sand, stones and dirt that pelted the ground around them. And to Natalie's relief, as they were closer to the trees, the wind became much weaker, the storm almost vanishing.
Once they reached the trees, Natalie and Harry cautiously stood from the ground, bracing themselves for a terrifying gust of wind; however that gust never came. Both of them breathed in relief.
"Let's run along the trees to where they're fighting," muttered Natalie. "We can maybe help Kalissa from there."
"Yes," said Harry as they ran behind the first fringe of trees, not wanting Voldemort to catch sight of them. "We still need to get to the river to apparate. We'll have to somehow distract him and keep him at bay for a few seconds."
Natalie nodded though she had no idea how the two of them could help Kalissa in pushing Voldemort back to the forest. As they came closer to the duel, they angled further into the trees so that they could stare diagonally at the Kalissa and Voldemort, having a clear view of both.
When Natalie could finally see Kalissa, her throat went dry and her heart returned its frantic pace. Despite the determined look on Kalissa's face, the myriad of colurs streaming out her wand and the sizzling energy that emanated off her, she was clearly losing the fight. Voldemort was slowly weakening her. His spells seemed to carry much more strength and force. The storm he created was focused much more on Kalissa who was using so much effort to just prevent the storm from engulfing her. All of his spells blazed around her, puncturing the air and throttling it with a brutal terror, forcing Kalissa to resort to the most complicated defensive spells that Natalie had never seen her use before.
Natalie knew Kalissa could not keep blocking all the animals Voldemort sent lashing at her, all of the burning hues and blazes of light that wrapped themselves around Kalissa before she evaporated them and most terrifying to Natalie, the threads of blackness that barely missed coiling around her; Natalie knew if they touched Kalissa, they would ingratiate themselves deeply into her, changing and tormenting her permanently. Whatever Voldemort had done to allow him to apparate to the bank clearly had rejuvenated him.
And the triumphant sneer on Voldemort's face as each of spells continued to force Kalissa retreat a little, go on the defense bit more and reduce her attack on him terrified Natalie. She knew Kalissa would not relent but Voldemort knew she could not defeat him.
"She's not doing too well," muttered Harry as they looked from behind a few bushes.
"No Natalie," whispered Harry, his eyes wide as he saw her raise her wand. Natalie so badly wanted to help Kalissa and she had decided on an "Aeronaugio" aimed at Voldemort's back. Harry quickly grabbed her hand and dragged it back toward the ground.
"He'll deflect the spell easily and then he'll see where we are," said Harry through gritted teeth.
"What do you expect us to do then? I'm not going to stand here and let him kill her," whispered Natalie furiously. "I'm going to do something."
"No you aren't," said Harry, holding her back. "You're not strong enough for this."
"What are you saying? Do you think I really care now?" hissed Natalie, her eyes starting to become slightly wet as Voldemort's advance on Kalissa became more pronounced. For the first time that evening, the panic in her was spilling over. That looming sense of inevitability, of being so close to the edge of nothingness that she could feel it was more palpable than ever. Only now it was not Bellatrix driving the panic and it was not just her that reached the edge. Kaliss and Harry would suffer too.
"Well I do," said Harry firmly, his grip on her relenting. Natalie noticed how his eyes were now fixated on Voldemort, his face hardened. "I have an idea."
"What?" said Natalie as Harry stood from behind the bushes.
"Harry, no!" cried Natalie, not bothering to hide her voice. Voldemort would certainly kill Harry if he saw him.
But Natalie's words were futile. Voldemort's eyes immediately caught Harry as he emerged from the bush.
"Oh come to join the fight Harry?" leered Voldemort, as he conjured another roaring dragon for Kalissa to fight.
"Of course," said Harry, walking slowly towards Voldemort. Natalie also lifted herself from the ground, her wand in hand and pointed at Voldemort. "Leave them alone. It's just you and me."
"How honourable of you Harry, but I have to say that this fight is rather exhilarating. It has been a long time, has it not Kalissa?"
"Go to hell you filthy bastard," spat Kalissa, snarling at the dragon looming over her.
"And Natalie is here too," commented Voldemort, his smile widening. He fired a barrage pellet of orange light that thrust Kalissa across the clearing, a few yards from Harry. And then his dragon whipped his tail, finally striking Kalissa in the chest, knocking her out of breath onto the ground.
Voldemort raised his wand to the recovering Kalissa, a deadly glint in his eye and said, "Avada Kedavra!"
"NOO!" screamed Natalie, running the few yards to Kalissa. She threw her body across Kalissa, hoping that she was able to block the Killing curse and bracng herself for the full deadly power of the jet of green light.
But again, Voldemort's Killing curse never struck Natalie. A blazing red filled her vision as Kalissa in front of her gasped. Natalie turned her head. She also gasped at the sight before her.
Harry and Voldemort stood in the middle of the clearing, a golden thread of light connecting their two vibrating wands. A massive, vertical beam of golden light sprouted from the middle of the horizontal thread, extending well above Harry and Voldemort. An incandescent core suffused the beam with a fierce golden fever. Tendrils of light emanated in all directions from the beam, pulsating through the forest and filling the air with a scorching electricity, outlining everything with the golden colour.
"What is this?" screamed Voldemort.
Harry did not respond to him, merely maintaining his grip on his trembling wand, his face hardened in utter concentration
Two finely shaped semi circles began to unfold from the beam on both sides, rippling across the air with incredible energy. As the semi circles expanded in every direction, Natalie finally realized what they were. Wings. And whatever was forming seemed to be some sort of bird.
As the wings thrust themselves to their full shape, streaks of ruby red interspersed with diamonds of a sapphire blue cut across them in zigzag patterns, augmenting the golden light with a strange, exotic aura.
From the bottom edge of the beam, a mane of orange feathers effused by the golden incandescent core unraveled into shape, one by one. But Natalie lifted her eyes to the beam for it was no longer a hollow tube. Rather, a puffed out chest replaced its top half, an indented abdomen its bottom half and a strong, muscular cage carved itself across its sides and around to the back.
And then finally, a cone shaped objected emerged from the top of the body. The pointed end of the corn rotated vertically, resting at an oblique angle in the frontal plane of the body while the edge below the pointed itp curved into a semi circular arch; the forehead of this animal. And then so quickly that it shocked Natalie, a wave of light rippled across the face, sculpting it so that all of the indentations, undulations, rises and crests were perfectly captured. When the head finally raised itself to stare at them, Natalie could only gape. It was a phoenix with the most chilling and penetrating gaze she had ever seen. Yet it was the colour of those eyes that struck Natalie; they were green.
"Do you see those eyes?" whispered Natalie to Kalissa.
"Awfully familiar," replied Kalissa with a smile.
And then Voldemort let out a horrible shriek, tearing Natalie's gaze away from those eyes. The massive wings of the phoenix began to stretch around Harry and Voldemort, appearing to form a cocoon around them. Natalie made to move towards to Harry to pull him out of the phoenix's grasp but Kalissa held her back.
"The phoenix is here to help us," said Kalissa. "Let's get to the bank so we can catch Harry when he comes through."
Another maniacal scream came from Voldemort as the phoenix's wings closed around them so that the two were pressed against the core illuminating the phoenix.
Natalie and Kalissa sprinted across the clearing to the bank standing directly behind the phoenix's wings.
"Don't try casting any spells against the phoenix," warned Kalissa. "I have a feeling it will take care of Tom for us."
And almost as if on cue, the golden light imbibing the phoenix intensified, its core now burning as the phoenix's entire body vibrated at a steady pulse. The beams of light emanating outwards funneled back into the phoenix, the streaks of red across the wings shimmied in a cloud of blazing red, almost giving the appearance that the phoenix's wings were bleeding. And then the phoenix began to slowly rise off the ground, the wings starting to flap.
And just as Natalie feared the phoenix would also take Harry with it, he emerged from underneath the nearest wing, a calm but relieved look on his face.
Natalie ran over to him, grabbing onto his hand and pulling him to Kalissa. "What is that?" said Natalie.
"I do not know," said Harry quietly. "But I don't know…. I felt very comfortable, almost as if I was back at home."
Natalie raised her eyebrows at him but before she could ask her next question, a wonderful, gentle song pervaded the forest. And Natalie knew exactly what Harry meant. The song was so reassuring, so full of undeniable warmth, compassion and kindness that she could not help but feel that all of three would be safe. The doom and inevitability seemed so far away. Natalie looked up towards the phoenix and saw that the phoenix was singing
"You will not kill tonight, Tom," said a much firmer, hardened voice. It spoke with air of authority as if it knew and had seen everything, that nothing could deviate from its orders, that no act of magic could overcome or scare it. Natalie realized with a slight startle that the voice was clearly female and was also coming from the phoenix.
"LEAVE ME!" screamed Voldemort, his voice briefly reverberating across the forest but it was quickly quietened by the phoenix's voice.
"You have done too much wrong in this world. There will be consequences for you Tom in the end. You have seen death and it will not treat you well."
"Do you think that death bothers me?" snarled Voldemort, cackling as if he knew something the phoenix did not. Harry, Natalie and Kalissa all exchanged significant glances.
"And sadly, you never learned your mistakes, not from the orphanage, not at Hogwarts and not even from what happened to you Godric's Hollow."
Voldemort's cackling stopped after the voice spoke of the orphanage. And then the phoenix exploded in a myriad of gold and red. Voldemort's screams became terrifying and absolutely manic as they saw his figure cast well over the forest. Natalie felt Kalissa's hands on her.
"JUMP!" screamed Kalissa as the explosion of light rushed towards them.
Natalie and Harry, each of them holding to one of Kalissa, leapt off the bank onto the waves below, twisting in the air with Kalissa. To Natalie's horror, they were falling closer and closer to the water. Could have Voldemort changed the anti apparition wards even here on the river?
Almost an inch from the water, Natalie felt the familiar twisting into nothingness and they vanished.
A/N: How did you like this chapter- I think it was our first live view of Voldemor and the appearance of the phoenix?