In The End

"No, I do not think I can do that." I crossed my arms over my chest as I responded in a haughty tone.

"Draco!" Draco's mother said his name like an order. I saw the muscles in his jaw clench.

I heard their steps just as I felt two sets of hands grab my upper arms. I tried to wrench out of their grasp, but they just pulled me to the side. I watched as Draco began his walk to his mother. Seeing his slow footsteps just made me struggle harder. I started twisting and kicking my feet. I looked a bit like a five year old being denied candy. But I did not care.

It hurt to know that this is not what he wanted. It hurt to see him go towards that which he was trying to avoid. It hurt that he could not do a damn thing about it. It especially hurt to know that I certainly could not do a damn thing about it.

I felt a tear escape from my eye and glide down my dirty cheek. I stopped struggling. In fact, I just stopped standing. I fell to my knees and sat back on my heels. I was tired and hurting.

"Now that our children have been returned to us, we are going to discuss how the rest of the day is going to proceed." Voldemort began talking, "First, does anyone want to come willingly to our side? This is a onetime free chance to do so without the threat of torture or death."

I heard someone limp towards the center. There was a clanging noise accompanying their stunted gait. I looked up to see Neville with an impressive sword. His face was bloodied and he refused to put weight on his right ankle. He looked scared, but he was trying to push that emotion from the front to the back. He had found his fear and was finding his courage.

Or he was seriously becoming a Death Eater.

A few in the ugly crowd chuckled. I heard someone on our side gasp. I think I even heard someone swear. Neville flinched at the sounds.

"Our first volunteer?" Voldemort called out with an undertone of questioning.

"No. No, I am most certainly not. I am not here to join with you. I am here to let you know that we are not defeated. So long as we band together, we will defeat you. So long as we work together, you will be banished from our world." his voice was shaky, but I could see the determination in his chin, "And I know that as long as I am alive, I will push against whatever tyranny you think you hold over the people of our world. And I will not go quietly." I stood up as I felt a slight shift in the air around us Light fighters. My two man handlers were my father and Mark. Of course, the only two people who would dare lay hands on me.

"Well, it wouldn't have been much of a loss." Voldemort responded coldly. My heart went cold with dread. I felt my father stiffen next to me. That is never a good sign so I began sprinting to Neville's side, "And here I thought that you lot would be easy to deal with." I kept pumping my legs and arms as fast as I could. I was almost there when I heard a hissed 'Avada Kedavra'.

I acted on instinct. I felt my body drop to a knee, putting equal pressure on my leg from my ankle to my kneecap. My straight leg lifted off the ground slightly. As I slide in front of Neville between him and the beam of green light, I set my foot down and popped up with my hands held out. I concentrated on a stone wall and brought my arms up. A section of wall blocked my view of all the lovely Death Eaters until it exploded into bits of stone and pebbles. Neville and I were thrown back by the force.

I twisted mid-air so I could land on my stomach. I did not think that my back could tolerate another impromptu beating. I placed my forearms between the stone floor and my head to cushion my brain. I smacked my knee on the ground and hissed as I felt the stone bite into my flesh. Ah, this is why we wear shirts. Duly noted.

"Ah! And then the fabled niece of Dumbledore makes an appearance!" I heard snake face call out to his followers. I gritted my teeth together as I pushed my body into a standing position. I caught someone helping Neville to his feet. I brushed off hands that were trying to extend that curtesy to me. I was pissed off.

"Ah! And then the fabled He-Who-Knows-Jack-Shit misses a child with a killing curse!" I called out tauntingly. I really did try to hold my tongue. I know it is a really bad idea to play with fire, "You killed one child today! I will not be letting you kill another!" I shouted as I turned towards the vile creature who dared called himself a man.

Before Voldemort could respond, movement caught the corner of my eye and I turned towards it. I saw the previously dead body of Harry Potter pick himself up from the ground and start running to stand in front of Voldemort. I actually felt my jaw drop in shock. Who the hell is this kid?

"That is enough, Riddle!" Harry shouted in a clear and obviously not dead voice, "Me and you finish this now!"

I saw Harry's wand shoot a beam of red as Voldemort's wand shot out another green beam. They met in the middle and a dome of magic surrounded them. And the fight was back on.

Flashes of color exploded from both sides. I withdrew my wand from my hair and I started throwing up shield charms and was blindly throwing out stunner hexes. I could hear grunts as spells found their marks. I tried to put out the thought that people were dying around me. It helped me concentrate on myself. And Neville. Because I did notice the lack of a wand on his part. Until he vanished. I had no idea when that happened, but it did. And then I only had my own person to be concerned with again.

I let my pent up rage out of the cage.

I knew it was against the law. I knew it was wrong of me. I knew that I would be disappointing my father and my uncle simultaneously, but I still did it.

I began throwing Avadas towards the Death Eaters. I wanted them to get a taste of their own medicine. I wanted them to know just what they had been doing to school children. I felt the feeling of wanting them to die. I felt myself meaning every single beam of green light I threw out there flow through my blood. It was an addicting feeling. The feeling of raw power coursing through your veins and the thrill of the prospect of killing someone. It almost made me light headed.

I started advancing closer to the line that had been advancing towards our position. I caught a few familiar faces. One was that ugly bastard Thorfinn. Oh, I let him know just what I thought of him punching my face. I let him know just what I thought of him kicking my gut until I wanted to puke. I felt my heart grow cold as the life left his eyes. I felt my soul crack. And I almost started crying from the pain. But I did not.

Amycus Carrow was another face I saw and I instantly turned my wand on him. He tried to fend me off. He sent out horrible colors that just oozed with Dark Magic. I was in my element. I side stepped and blocked. I threw basic curses at him that he easily threw off. I wanted to play with him. Because he had whispered nasty things in my ear while I was under his Cruciatus Curse. I wanted to show just what I thought of his kind of games. I did land a stinging hex or two before I dropped to my knee and let purple sparkles go over and I sent my deathly line of green light to his chest. I clutched at my heart as my soul responded to my inhumane handlings. I did cry out that time as another crack could be felt in my soul.

And then I felt the dome of magic fall as Voldemort's body fell backwards and land as a pile of dust. And all movement ceased. Everyone waited with bated breathe. I did feel anti-apparition wards go up around the courtyard. Smart. The Aurors were on top of their game today.

Good. I was exhausted. The rage cooled in my blood and my shoulders slumped forwards. A pounding headache exploded behind my eyes and I winced as the pain shot down my spine. I was standing closer to the Death Eaters, so I was keeping a tired weathered eye on them. I really did not trust them to stand still. The anti-apparition wards would make them feel like caged animals. And they attack without provocation.

"Henria!" I heard someone shout. It made the pain in my head worse, "Henria!" Footfalls came up from behind me and then I found myself being pressed into a chest.

The first thing I noticed was the familiar smell. It smelled like snow, pine needles and glacier water. It wrapped my senses into a warm bubble. And I lost my will to be strong. I leant against my father's frame heavily and began to weep as I encircled my arms weakly around his torso. It had been a long time since I needed to cry against my father. It had been a long time since I did not need to keep a brave face on even though I knew that there was trouble brewing.

I was free.

We were all free.

Except for the former Dark Army.

They were currently being rounded up.

Wait!

I pushed my father's body away from me and I snapped my eyes to the group of people being bound and escorted into the castle. I frantically looked for a head of white blonde. I caught sight of the telltale color and burst out of my father's arms. I could hear him shouting and calling after me. But I ignored him. I shoved my way past dark robes and mean faces. I ignored it all.

"Malfoy!" I snapped. His head swiveled around and the Aurors who were escorting him startled. I glared at them, "What are you doing?"

"Escorting him to be prepared for booking." one of them answered. I felt the color drain from my face.

"He can't go to Azkaban! He's too young." I felt the panic rise quickly into my voice. I stepped closer and Draco eyed me curiously.

"Sorry Miss. But that is the way it is. He bears the Mark and he has done some very illegal things-"

"Things not by his choosing!" I growled.

"Still illegal." the other one finally spoke up. I flicked my gaze to his face.

"Let him go." I ordered in a low voice. I do not think I had a rational bone in my body. I was ordering Ministry workers around like I owned them.

"We can't. This is our job." I heard the impatient tone in the first one's voice.

"No. Your job is to track down Dark Wizards. It is the job of a Hit Wizard to arrest those you can track. And seeing as how most of these people were able to run around under your nose, you suck at your job." I snarled viciously. I saw an amused glint light up in Draco's eye. He enjoys it when I get angry?

"Miss, I am going to have to ask you to step away and go to the Great Hall. You appear injured. I think a stray hex hit you in the head."

"Are you threatening me?" I raised an eyebrow at the audacity. A small shake of his head told me that he was not, "Good. Now let him go."

"Higgins, get this one inside. Miss, I am sorry, but it appears I am going to have to restrain you. You are out of order." I heard Draco snort. He knew that was a bad idea.

"Aye." the one who goes by Higgins responded. I felt a hand on my elbow.

"I wouldn't do that." Draco murmured. But the warning came too late.

As I snatched the hand off my elbow, I twisted it around to a very uncomfortable position. A grunt of pain met my ears before a wand was shoved under my chin. The tip was poking my throat uncomfortably. I put more pressure on the offending appendage and I felt the tip burrow further into my tonsils. My teeth ground together to keep from yelling out. I could hear Draco chuckling as he was led away.

"Let go!" a sharp voice snapped. I dropped the hand and the wand left my neck, "Henria Celeste, I swear-"

"Aislinn." I snarled before I shoved my father away from my personal space and stomped away.

I may have hurt his feelings, but I was too tired to care. I will care later and then we could have a quiet talk about my name. But from this day forward, my name is not Henria Celeste Sownbinder.

I am Henria Aislinn Sownbinder and I am here to stay, bitches.

A/N: And that is it! At least, until I get the epilogues written. There should be only two. I know I lied about the final battle and the final chapter count, but I do tend to get long winded. :D

The slide I described is a simple baseball/softball pop up slide. It is used when you think you might end up getting tagged out, but need to stand up quickly. It is also referred to as a stand-up slide.

If I feel like it, I might do three epilogues, but that is just asking too much of my brain. The final battle took three days to finally suss out. Believe me, it was long and boring because I had to keep reading the same thing, over and over. If you want to talk about anything, I check this thing daily. And I also supply my brain with caffeine daily, so I am a functioning adult. Just drop me a line, either PM or review. I always try to answer in a timely manner. :D

The first epilogue will be right after the battle. WE FINALLY GET TO SEE WHO DIES! :D Aren't you excited?

Happy reading!

Henny, that lucky Penny!