This is it people! My last update :( THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE REVIEWED AND STUCK WITH THIS STORY ALL THE WAY THROUGH! It really means a lot to me. Oh, and if I get enough requests, I'll write an epilogue!
(Day of the Battle: Part 5)
Neville was running around the castle with the sword of Gryffindor gripped tightly in his hands. He only had one thing on his mind.
Kill the snake.
Kill the snake.
Kill the snake.
o.O.o
"MADAME POMFREY!"
Dean sprinted into the medical wing with an unconscious Emolly in his arms. He was crying hard as the little witch came running to him. She wordlessly waved him over to a cot and he gingerly set her down. He took out his wand and aimed it at the ropes that had bound her.
"Reducto."
The threads snapped and fell off the bed. Madame Pomfrey was already pouring some potion down her throat. She quickly started dressing the Slytherin's head wound. She kept her head down as she began to ask Dean what had happened.
"Where were you guys?"
"The Astronomy Tower."
"Do you know who did this to her? I need it for my records."
"Blaise Zabini ma'am."
She was silent for a moment before continuing. "It would be him. Where is he now?"
"Dead ma'am."
"Very well. Did you see what happened?"
"First he kicked her in her side; the same side that he had injured before. Then he broke her leg. Then he cracked her head open."
"She's very weak."
"Is she going to live?"
"I'm not sure. We'll just have to see how she reacts to the potion."
"How long will that take?"
"A couple minutes."
"Can I stay here?"
"Of course Mr. Thomas."
Dean nodded his head to show his appreciation and sat at the foot of Emolly's cot. She looked absolutely beaten and broken. It was such a hard sight to take in for the wizard. He reached out and grabbed her hand. It was still warm. That was a good sign, right?
o.O.o
"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"
Neville looked over just in time to see Mrs. Weasley blast the Unforgivable at a sniggering Bellatrix. Neville couldn't help but cheer as he saw the evil bitch of a woman fall to the ground, lifeless. The merciless death eater who had ripped apart his family and tortured his parents, was dead. It was such a satisfying sight for the wizard. He quickly turned his mind back to his goal, however.
Kill the snake.
Kill the snake.
Kill the snake.
o.O.o
Aubrielle and Nielah had fought for what seemed like hours. There was no letting up in the heavy flow of death eaters coming towards them and some of them were falling off the bridge because of the amount of power behind the Song girls' spells. Aubrielle heard Nielah gasp when it happened for the first time. It was no mystery to the either of them that as soon as someone fell over the edge of the bridge, they were dead. That fall was just too far and the environment was unforgiving. It wasn't really their fault though. They were on a narrow bridge and the death eaters kept coming towards them. What were they suppose to do? Stop the fighting and tell them to move it to the courtyard so no one would fall off the edge? Yeah, right. That was just ludicrous and stupid. If they had enough balls to come at the two Ravenclaws, then they would have to feel their wrath. After the initial shock wore off, it became apparent to Nielah that this was a do or die situation. She would have to do what was ever possible to survive. If her spells were powerful enough to knock someone off the bridge, well, that was the price of war. She was fighting for her life. Period.
"Levicorpus!"
Another death eater flew over the lip of the bridge and screamed as they realized their sudden fate. Nielah had lost count of how many she had sent over after 20. It wasn't even that anymore. She was getting tired. This had been going on for a very long time and her magic was being over worked. Aubrielle seemed fine though and she wanted to keep up with her sister. She didn't want to seem weak. One coming at her from her left.
"Stupefy!"
She started to panic as she felt her magic weaken by the hex. She talked loud enough so her sister could hear her, but quiet enough so the death eaters didn't pick up on her situation.
"Aubs I can't do this for much longer."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm tired. My magic is getting weaker. I can feel it. I need to get back to the castle."
"Okay. Okay, yeah. Lets start moving towards the castle. We'll rotate so I'm facing the bridge. I'll give you enough cover so you can run. Run like the devil is chasing you. You hear me?"
"Loud and clear."
"Ready?"
"Yep."
"On my count. One, two…three!"
They quickly traded places, all the while never loosing concentration. Nielah started walking towards the castle, still firing off spells, while Aubrielle fought the masses at her back. As soon as they were safely off the bridge, Aubrielle created the cover that she had promised. She pointed her wand at a still erect column.
"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"
The column blew up into a thousand pieces and kicked up a lot of dust and debris. She pointed her wand at the column on the other side.
"BOMBARDA MAXUMA!"
Again, the column combusted. The large chunks of concrete fell in front of the bridge's opening, not only slowing the death eaters down, but falling and crushing a couple of them as well. The powder and dust from the explosion created a perfect cover for them to dart inside the school. Aubrielle turned around to see Nielah already sprinting into the castle. She quickly followed suit, catching up to her exhausted sister.
"C'mon Nie! Almost there!"
They raced through the large double doors and headed straight for the Great Hall, which served as a sort of safe haven for anyone fighting against Voldemort. Once inside, they were able to stop and take a breath. Aubrielle turned to her heaving kid sister.
"Take a break Nie and gain some energy back. You're not fighting again. Not right now at least. Got it?"
"Okay Aubs."
The fifth year put her head down, defeated. She wanted to be able to keep up with everyone else. She wanted to hold her own. She felt like she was letting the Army down. A stray tear fell. She quickly whipped it away but Aubrielle still saw it.
"Nielah, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"No, no. I just feel like I've failed."
"What?"
"I feel like I let everyone down. I got tired."
"Nielah Song you look at me right now. Lift your head up and look at me. Good. You just fought your heart out out there. There were easily over forty death eaters attacking us and we plowed through all of them. You have been doing better than an average 16 year old witch. You have been holding your own so don't you dare think otherwise. So you got tired. Big whoop."
"But you're not tired Aubs."
"Remember that I'm two years older than you. I've had more education, more practice. That does matter Nie. Don't be hard on yourself. Please! You are an amazing witch."
Nielah weakly smiled at her sister. "Okay."
"Good girl." Aubrielle placed a kiss on her sister's forehead. "I love you, okay?"
"I love you too."
"AUBREILLE!"
The seventh year quickly whipped her head around to see Katie Bell sprinting towards her. The Gryffindor was out of breath and had a terrified look in her eyes. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
"Katie? What's wrong?"
"It's Emolly. She's in the hospital wing. She's dying. Dean told me to find you. He said you have some sort of potion that could save her!"
Aubrielle reached up and touched the small glass vile that was tucked under her sweater. Her Doua Sansa. She nodded towards the witch and thanked her for coming and getting her before sprinting off in the direction of the medical wing. She had already lost her mother due to this terrible war; she couldn't lose her best friend too. She just couldn't. If Emolly died…Aubrielle quickly cleared her mind of the thought. Emolly had to pull through or else Aubrielle would go mental. And that wasn't an exaggeration.
o.O.o
Kill the snake.
Kill the bloody snake.
Kill the fucking snake.
o.O.o
Aubrielle came rushing into the medical wing and immediately saw her best friend lying on a cot. Her hair and sweater was stained deep red from the color of her blood and her leg was in a makeshift splint. The Ravenclaw could see that the limb was three times larger than the other one and the color of it was a very dark shade of purple. Dean was hovering over her, shaking her shoulders and yelling at her right when Aubrielle ran in.
"NO! EMOLLY YOU FIGHT! YOU HEAR ME? DON'T GIVE UP! BREATHE!"
Aubrielle ran to the cot and fumbled as she attempted to get the necklace off of her neck. Dean let go of Emolly when he saw the witch coming and looked into Aubrielle's eyes. The look on his face was that of pure panic and it was obvious that things were not good at all. She finally got the vial uncorked and gently opened Emolly's mouth. She tilted back the blonde's head and emptied the entire potion into her mouth. Aubrielle closed Emolly's mouth and massaged her throat, willing the serum to make its way into her system.
"Who did this to her?"
"B-Blaise…"
"C'mon Dean, stay with me here! Why were you shaking her just now?"
"I l-lost her p-pulse."
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit."
"D-do you think the D-Doua Sansa will w-work?"
"I don't know. She needs some sort of pulse, even if it's the faintest one, for it to revive her. It can't bring her back to life if she was already dead."
Aubrielle was talking through the tears now. This wasn't supposed to happen! They were all supposed to survive! They promised each other that they would! She was kidding herself at this point, completely ignoring the fact that her best friend was dying and that she wasn't coming back. She reached for the blonde's wrist and put her fingers to it. It was already paling. She pushed down to try and find her pulse. Nothing.
"No, no, no, NO!"
She reached up towards the Slytherin's throat and put her fingers a little below her jaw. Again, nothing. No pulse.
"NO!"
Madame Pomfrey heard her scream and came rushing over. The witch wordlessly took her wand out and ran a full body scan to see if she could find the faintest pulse. She put her wand away and looked at the two seventh years. Both Aubrielle and Dean were in hysterics, already knowing what was coming next.
"She's gone. I'm so sorry."
The healer took a white sheet and respectfully laid it over Emolly's perfectly still body. Dean burst out into loud sobs and wails as he threw himself over the cot. Aubrielle slowly started walking backwards to make her way towards the exit. Her entire body was numb. First they had taken her mother, and now her best friend. She promised herself that she would never lose herself in this war but this was something that couldn't be undone. Her entire outlook changed. She had the right to become someone different because she would never be the same now and she knew that. She quickly turned on her heel as a switch inside of her was flipped. She wanted to kill. She wanted to see the light leave someone's eyes. She wanted to hurt people. Her golden hazel eyes became dark as her mood changed. She ran into the courtyard, which was still full of wizards and witches fighting each other, and unleashed on them. She wasn't a kid anymore, that was for sure. She pointed her wand at the closest death eater.
"AVEDA KADEVRA!"
The green light shot out of her wand and hit the stranger right in the chest. A wave of adrenaline coursed through the Ravenclaw as she used the Killing Curse over and over again. There was no point in stopping now and she unleashed everything she had on Voldemort's men. She was becoming a bigger threat by the seconds as the death eaters saw her slay their own fighters. Soon she was being surround by dark cloaked figures. Since she was killing them, they wanted to kill her even more. She never stopped though; she never gave up. As the numbers against her grew higher and higher, the sudden realization hit her. This would be a fight to the death.
o.O.o
Harry and Voldemort came spiraling out of nowhere and landed hard in the courtyard. Everyone noticed the two most powerful wizards alive and their presence had a sort of halting effect on the fighting. After all, it really was Harry against Voldemort in the end. One of them had to die, period. No matter how much their 'troops' fought each other. They reached for their wands at the same time and fired at each other. Aubrielle watched as she saw the familiar green glow of the Killing Curse fly out of the Dark Lord's wand and wiz towards the Chosen One. Harry was quick though and was already firing Expelliarmus at him. Aubrielle could see the intensity in both of the wizard's eyes as they held on to their wands like a lifeline. Suddenly their spells collided, creating a display of sparks and color. Aubrielle had never seen anything like it in her life. It was like neither could advance on the other. Everyone was intently watching the duel, but something caught the Ravenclaw's eye. She looked to her left to see Voldemort's giant snake slithering at her. She turned and shot the Killing Curse at it, but it was no use. The thing simply crawled through it, as if immune by it. As soon as she fired, however, she regained the attention of the numerous death eaters around her. One of them, she wasn't sure which, fired a spell at her and she was soon tied up in ropes and knocked off her feet. Her wand went flying out of her hand and Aubrielle realized right then and there that she was going to die. These death eaters, who had seen her kill many of there own, were going to brutally kill her. They were going to make it long and painful. She looked to see that the snake was getting closer to her by the second. No, this wasn't their kill. They were tying her up so the snake could kill her! She let out one last cry, praying that someone could come to her rescue, and squeezed her eyes shut. Under her breath she said her last prayer.
"I'm so sorry Nielah. I never gave up. I love you little sis. Stay strong and stay with Neville. He'll take care of you. I love you too Neville. I always have and I always will. I love you, I love you, I love you so so much. Mum, I'm coming right behind you."
Neville looked over to see his girlfriend, bound by ropes and her eyes squeezed shut, just feet away from the snake that he had been trying to track around the castle. The large beast was slithering right towards her with its mouth open, ready to strike, ready to kill. He could see her muttering something under her breath as he chased after the reptile. Most likely what she thought would be her final words. They wouldn't be on his watch though. There was no way in Hell that he was losing Aubrielle. That just wasn't an option in his mind.
"NOOOOOOOO!"
Out of nowhere, Neville came sprinting towards his girlfriend. He took the sword of Gryffindor and raised it high above his head before bringing it down on the snake and slicing it in two. The creature flung its head up in the air and slowly dissipated into smoke. Everyone watched in wonder as the reptile turned to ashes and disappeared from the world. It was almost as if it wasn't a real living thing. There was an eerie silence following the snake's death that was only interrupted by a shrill scream from Voldemort himself. Harry saw this as an opportunity to make his final move and fired at the Dark Lord for one last time. Voldemort was caught off guard by the Chosen One and it was obvious that he was reasonably weaker. Students and professors started cheering for Harry as he out muscled the evil wizard. It was becoming obvious to everyone that this war could end in their favor. Neville quickly dropped the sword of Gryffindor and ran over to his girlfriend, who was still tied up and defenseless. He took his wand out of his jean pocket and quickly petrified the death eaters that were now closing in on her.
"Aubrielle! Babe, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thanks to you. Just get me out of here!"
There was a deafening cheer that echoed throughout the courtyard. Both seventh years turned to look just as Harry's spell reached the Dark Lord. His wand went flying out of his hand and the Dark Lord staggered before falling to the harsh ground, dead. Everyone erupted into a mass cheer as the realization hit everyone. The Dark Lord was dead! Voldemort was dead! IT WAS OVER! Neville looked down at his girlfriend through watery eyes and ripped the last rope off of her waist. As soon as she was free, she shot her hands to his face and smashed her lips into his. It was over; this god damned war was over and they had both made it out alive. As soon as their lips touched, it was as if the entire weight of the world had been lifted off their young shoulders. There wouldn't be anymore fighting or anymore war. They were finally free to be themselves and just be kids! They pulled apart, both of them now crying tears of joy, and stood to their feet. As soon as they were standing, Neville grabbed Aubrielle, picked her up, and continued to kiss her. She wrapped her long legs around his waist and tangled her fingers in his brown hair as she kissed him hard back.
It was over, all over. She was alive, Neville was alive, and Nielah was alive. Yes, she had lost her mother and yes, she had lost her best friend, but they had made it. The three of them had made it and from this point foreword, their lives were going to be a Hell of a lot easier. It was a beautiful feeling.
Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! It means so much to me when people appreciate my writing. I hope you enjoyed it! Review if you want an epilogue or a third installment!
Peace!
HepburnHigh.