The light on the other side of the door was blinding. Catrin squinted her eyes against the sudden glare, as, with Fred and James, she inched into the Room of Requirement. What was lurking behind the whiteness? She tensed herself ready for action. All they had to do was hold the fort until the Alice came back with reinforcements.
As her eyes adjusted, she could begin take in the fantastic sight around her, and she goggled in amazement. The room was easily the size of the Entrance Hall, but hexagonal, lined all around with floor-to-ceiling mirrors which reflected the light from the torches in the brackets a thousandfold. There were some dark shapes clustered in the centre of the room, and Catrin realised with an electrifying jolt that they were the stiff and unseeing bodies of the disappeared people- Deadalus Diggle stared out at her, accompanied by Mrs Thomas and Maria Creevey- or so she thought. Then- just next to them, she saw a shape lying on the floor.
His vivid hair gave him away as Teddy Lupin, and there were several cloaked men- like the ones that had been there at Diggle's disappearance- standing around him. She heard James and Fred suck in breaths, and knew that they had seen their friend too.
"Had enough, blood traitor?" She made out one of the snarling voices. "Werewolf scum!"
Teddy coughed, his body convulsing against the floor. "Go...to...hell."
"Oh, you shouldn't have done that." Cackled a voice from the head of the group. "I've waited fifteen years for this, and it's going to be as drawn-out as possible." The man raised his wand.
"Cruc-"
"No!" James shouted, leaping forwards and blasting a spell of his own at the men. It seared towards them, hitting one square in the back. He shuddered once, and collapsed to the floor, feelers springing out from the back of his robes.
"Ah, visitors!" The other wizards shouted in confusion, spinning around to see the new visitor, but one of them seemed completely calm. Catrin recognised the scarred face and greying head of Rodolphus Lestrange, and felt fear explode in the pit of her stomach as he walked towards them.
"Who's this? Can it be...Potter's brat?" He smiled, and somehow that was even worse than a scowl.
"I hadn't hoped for this...two at once! And..." He surveyed the rest of the group. "Another blood traitor, and a mudblood!"
"Don't say that!" Another of James' spells blistered towards Rodolphus, whose shield charm was summoned just in time to prevent him being hit. The spell dissipated into purple wisps on the air, but the smile was gone now, and upon looking closer, Catrin recognised in his eyes an attitude she'd seen many times on the streets- a man who had nothing to lose, who had gone mad.
A man who would do anything to get what he wanted.
"Potter's brat..." He mused. "Weasley's...Lupin's as well...all I need is Black's."
"What?" Catrin blurted, trying to divert him in any way possible. "Why?"
Lestrange seemed almost surprised by her question, and- thank god- willing to go off on a tangent. "Justice. Those three made my life hell in Hogwarts. They're all gone now, but they've injured my family. The Weasleys killed my Bella. Potter brought down the Dark Lord-" here his mouth twisted "-Black was a traitor to the Noble House of Black, and Lupin was subhuman...worse than a muggle. And he dared to have a child!"
Behind them, there was a scuffle as Teddy attempted to reach for his wand and curse Rodolphus all the way to Hell and back, but was stunned by another wizard. Catrin ground her teeth; she hated seeing her friend treated like scum, but there wasn't much she could do to stop it with Rodolphus in the way.
"But Black didn't have a child!" Yelled James. "You've failed, Lestrange! They're going to catch you! Hogwarts! Hah! What a stupid choice of hideout!"
The creepy smile was back on Lestrange's face. "Yes. He did."
"I think I'd know-"
"But you don't."
Catrin sensed something monumentous on the way, and willed James to shut up. Tension charged the air like static electricity, and she didn't want any stray sparks to ignite the atmosphere and injure them. Apparently they were going to find out something about this mysterious Black person, who'd been so important to both Harry Potter and Lestrange.
"The only good egg in a bad family..." That rang a bell. What had Mr Potter been saying before about her family?
"But a notorious womanizer. It wasn't a surprise that whilst he was tainting the name of Black, he accidentally fathered a child on someone... Marlene McKinnon. We soon sorted her out." He smiled with vicious satisfaction. "Along with her family. But we don't know what happened to the child. Just as well, really. He's probably dead too." His face darkened, putting Catrin in mind of gathering storm clouds. "He'd better not be...the only thing that keeps me going is revenge."
James didn't seem willing to say anymore, and neither was Fred. They were probably trying to digest the knowledge that the hero of Harry Potter's stories had a secret, one that Mr Potter had possibly kept from them.
Meanwhile, Catrin was looking past Lestrange at the activity behind them. The minions- that was an appropriate name, all things considering- moved around, lighting even more torches and pushing Teddy into the centre of the room, now bound up. The be-feelered man had been shoved unceremonially into the corner of the room, and was lying there twitching to himself.
"Now." Rodolphus said suddenly, causing them all to jump. His tone was worryingly businesslike- Catrin could see behind the facade of normality, and she didn't like what was lurking there. Fifteen years in Azkaban must have driven him absolutely mad.
But she was snapped out of her analysis by his next words.
"I'm going to have to kill you."
James yelped; Fred gasped "What?"
"I would say 'no hard feelings' but there are. Anyway, I can't let you stand in the way of what I'm about to do. See these mirrors?" He gestured to the gleaming surfaces covering the walls. "They've been designed to specially reflect all types of light- and magic. Cast a spell at one of these, and they'll reflect, and intensify with each reflection." He even sounded proud. "Once Potter and the others come through the doors, they'll be blown sky-high, and the rest of this godforsaken school with it. That'll be most of the Order of the Phoenix gone in one fell swoop."
"I don't see why you couldn't just kill them." Catrin spoke out loudly. "Forgive me for thinking it's a teensy bit melodramatic."
"Me? Against them?" Lestrange actually laughed. "They're far too skilled. This gets rid of all of them at once, and then the Dark Arts will be unhindered once more! Those Death Eaters you see behind me are all ready to attempt that. Right. The Mudblood first."
Before she knew what was happening, a Death Eater Minion had marched up behind her and was seizing her arms firmly, dragging her towards Rodolphus.
One of the first things that Catrin had picked on the streets was that if you were attacked, you had to start fighting immediately, otherwise you'd had it. Now, in the arms of the Death Eater Minion, she snarled, jumped up to headbutt his chin, and kicked out, hitting a rather unfortunate place where the DEM was concerned. He let out a shriek which would have shamed a soprano singer and let go of one arm, scrabbling for his wand. Catrin quickly swiped that around and raked her nails across his face, trying to draw blood. She hit the floor, and fumbled for her own wand, all the time glancing around for any kind of danger. She dimly registered Fred and James attempting to attack Rodolphus as he watched her...But-
"My, my, what a wildcat!"
Her wand soared out of her hand, and as she watched, stunned, it landed neatly in Lestrange's outstretched palm, along with the other two's. She felt a pang of betrayal as her only weapon deserted her, and then Catrin slowly became aware that she couldn't move- he had hit her with some kind of body binding Curse. She was as helpless as a rat in a trap, and could do nothing as he slowly approached, gazing at her with more interest than before, whilst behind her, the man she had attacked cursed and spat something that she fervently hoped was blood.
"Not just a Mudblood, I see..." He said slowly, scrutinising her face carefully. "Do I recognise you? Can it be...?"
"Get-off-her...you snake-lover!" Fred ground out the words through gritted teeth –he too had been jinxed- causing the Death Eater to casually swing around and point his wand at his face. Horrified, Catrin watched as a line of red slowly traced itself across his cheek, brighter than his coppery hair. Fred didn't cry out-didn't do anything- but she saw a tear slip down to join the blood which was slowly oozing across his features, and felt hatred for his tormentor bubble up in her like lava.
Rodolphus turned back, as though nothing had happened. Then his eyes fell upon Catrin's necklace, which had slipped out from under her top during the scuffle, and they widened until a circle of white could be seen around the muddy iris. He stepped forwards until he was offensively close, and Catrin had to suppress a flutter of panic. She couldn't move! What happened if he decided to hurt her like he had Fred? What could she do?
"Where...did you get that?" He traced a gnarled finger along the pearls, eventually settling on the silver disc with the crest stamped on it. Catrin suddenly found that her face was able to move again, though she didn't say anything. Stubbornly, she decided not to give him the satisfaction.
"That's my Bella's crest...that belongs to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black! You...thief! How dare you sully its name with your dirty blood! How dare you?"
He raised his wand and Catrin, looking terrified into his eyes, knew that this was it- crunch time. He'd lost his mind, and she was in the firing line. There was no way to escape it. She stared at his crooked nose and sunken eyes, thinking that they'd be the last thing she ever saw...Diw, now that was a depressing thought in itself.
The door to the Room of Reflections flew open with a bang, and everyone jumped.
"Dad!" James ground out happily. "You'r'ere!"
"Get your hands off them!" Mr Potter roared from behind Catrin, sounding more frightening than she'd ever heard him. She strained to see something, anything, but to no avail. Rodolphus, thankfully, let out a roar of fury and agony, switching his gaze to the welcome intruders.
"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO COME YET!" He screamed. "I'LL KILL YOU- I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" And then he- and his DEM's-in-waiting (who looked at each other uneasily before setting off after him) charged. Shouts and bangs echoed from wall to wall as the wizards clashed, and already cries of pain could be heard as the first casualties were sustained.
Then the world went flying as Catrin was hit was a rogue spell. It felt like the hand of some large, invisible monster had reached down, picked her up and chucked her unceremoniously across the room. She skidded along the polished marble floor like a bowling ball, watching the world spin around her at a dizzying speed, until she crashed into one of the mirrors with an ear-shattering bang, knocking the breath out of her lungs and sending silvery spikes raining down onto her body.
She wheezed for a moment, before reflexively pushing herself up into a sitting position! The spell had gone- probably shorted out by the collision! A sudden rush of joy, despite everything, was most definitely called for.
But the first thing she saw when her eyes finally focussed themselves was that the battle was still raging, and blood spattered the mirrored walls. Rodolphus Lestrange was clearly visible, fighting like a madman- which he was, of course-against two Aurors: Mr Weasley and, oddly, Dawlish, although as she watched, Dawlish was hit by a bolt of blue, which picked him up and slammed him against- and through- the doorway into the seventh-floor corridor. Lestrange then sent another neon curse at Ron, who ducked, and the curse ricocheted off the mirrored surface.
Catrin's foggy brain registered this with a dawning horror. How the mirrors hadn't been hit before was a miracle; now they were all in danger of getting fried by the Death Eater's idiocy. She stumbled to her feet, and forced herself to stagger across the floor to the centre of the room, where her, Fred's and James' wands had been thrown when the battle commenced. Her legs gave way once she reached it, and she eventually closed her fingers around the smooth wood of her wand with a sense of extreme gratitude.
The air was thickening now; there was a smell like burning ozone as the smell ricocheted off the walls, its beam growing more and more intense with each reflection. Several people- Aurors and Death Eater alike- had stopped to stare at the firework display, only to be dispatched by their opponents.
Mr Weasley became one of these when he glanced upwards momentarily- and was socked by a stunning spell which tossed him ignominiously into the centre of the room, mirrored a thousand times by his reflection and narrowly missing the rogue spell. Lestrange gave his wand a little shake, and then charged for Harry Potter, who was finishing off the last couple of Death Eaters, completely absorbed in his task as his wand gracefully spun and twirled in the air.
He was unprepared. He was going to die.
As Rodolphus charged, Harry dispatched the last DEM with a complicated little motion that caused him to turn beetroot red and collapse. Too late, he turned to see the final supporter of Voldemort bearing down on him, the murder in his eyes reflecting the spell above him.
"Rictusempra!" Catrin screamed, pointing her wand at him and praying for all she was worth. The bolt of purple light blistered through the air, hitting a bulls-eye on Lestrange's chest. He looked at her, almost surprised, as the light scooped him up, and threw him violently against the wall. He hit the mirror with a crack.
It looked extremely painful.
He hung there, absurdly suspended in the air for a few seconds- and then the jet of neon slammed into him, eclipsing his body in a violent supernova which rocked the castle just like his spell had done earlier. The blinding flash lit up the whole room, and she covered her face, eyes streaming. It looked like he was doing something similar to ascending to heaven- but of course the irony here was that he was probably going the opposite way.
As the party watched, fascinated, she became dimly aware of a DEM standing up behind her, though her foggy brain was slow to register the fact. Was he aiming his wand at her?
She turned in slow-motion, and saw the twisted face of McLaggen glaring hatred like daggers as he loosed the final spell at her.
It was knocked from the air by a stunner.
Weak kneed with relief, she turned towards the doorway and saw Scorpius Malfoy, dressing gowned and slippered, holding his wand proudly.
His face was the last she registered before the world snapped into darkness.