DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

Saturday, July 4th

At 5:45 PM in Grimmauld Place, two girls were stepping down the staircase to the ground floor, well dressed and looking slightly tense.

As they neared the ground floor and stepped onto the landing, they suddenly ran into their father who just happened to be standing nearby.

Cygnus looked sternly at the girls and asked, "Andromeda, Narcissa, where are you going?"

Narcissa replied, "Father, we are going to see Lucius Malfoy. He is having a few friends over, and he invited us. We are planning to spend the evening with him and we will be back at night."

Cygnus narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at them in seeming suspicion but after a moment, he relaxed and said, "Very well. It is good to know that you have the sense to associate with proper pureblood friends, especially the Malfoys. You have done your part of the preparations for the wedding. I don't see any reason as to why I should stop you. Very well, I will allow you to go ahead. You may use the floo."

Andromeda and Narcissa mentally sighed in relief and went to the sitting room where there was a fireplace.

Narcissa was the first to step in, drop floo powder and cry out, "Malfoy Manor!"

After she disappeared in a burst of green flames, Andromeda stepped in and performed the same procedure.

As she stepped out of a fireplace in a dark green sitting room with plush chairs and posh looking couches plus small tables in Malfoy Manor, she whispered, "That went well."

Later on at 8:30 pm…

Abhimanyu stood outside the Arc Bistro, a small but well furnished place on a street in Broadway, waiting for the 'sepoys' whom he supposed would be Lucius and a few others.

Just then, he saw three cloaked figures in black coming towards him, all hooded.

He immediately pulled out his wand, but then noticed that the figures did not have masks or pointed headdresses like the figures identified as Death Eaters.

And then, he saw one of the figures raising a hand.

The one raising a hand rushed forward and called out in a familiar female voice, "Wait! Don't fire!"

Abhimanyu stared at the figure and exclaimed, "Andromeda?! Is it you?!"

Andromeda removed her hood, revealing her face, and the other two figures removed their hoods, revealing themselves to be Narcissa and Lucius.

Lucius suddenly moved forward and said, "Abhimanyu, listen, we have to get out of this place."

Abhimanyu said, "What's happening? I thought we were supposed to…"

Lucius cut in, "Listen, I overheard the Dark Lord. He's planning to attack this…"

All of a sudden, they heard eerie sounds and saw some trails of black smoke, and then a group of figures, all cloaked and masked with skull masks, some hooded, some of them wearing pointed headdresses, landed on the street some distance away.

Lucius, Abhimanyu, Andromeda and Narcissa looked at the group of figures, all of whom began marching forward, some of them casting all kinds of destructive curses at random people and objects, and chanting something that sounded dark and frightening.

Lucius exclaimed, "Too late! It's the Death Eaters!"

Abhimanyu gripped his wand tightly and pushed the others inside the bistro crying out, "Everyone get inside! Andromeda, protect them! I'll hold them off!"

Andromeda cried out, "Abhimanyu, you'll be killed!"

Abhimanyu cried out, "Don't worry about me! I'll be okay!"

With that, he closed the door.

He then turned to examine the Death Eaters, some of whom were still marching, while others had spread out, all definitely closer.

And then, he heard someone crying out in a male voice, "Get that Muggleborn! It's Pandey!"

Abhimanyu turned around and managed to dodge a blasting curse, which blasted a sign nearby into pieces.

Even as Abhimanyu cried out, "Petrificus Totalus,"and managed to freeze the Death Eater, he heard another one crying out, "Avada Kedavra," and ducked a green bolt of light barely on time, which came and smashed a window of the bistro, causing screams inside.

Abhimanyu looked at the Death Eater that had tried to kill him and cried out, "Stupefy." The spell missed the Death Eater, but it gave him a little time to cry out, "Expelliarmus," which did not miss the Death Eater and blasted him backwards onto the ground, making him lose his wand in the process.

And then suddenly, a voice, chilling and evil, spoke, "Leave him, followers. I shall deal with this boy myself."

Abhimanyu looked turned around and saw Andromeda signaling that she, Narcissa and Lucius were okay, and then turned ninety degrees to the right to see a tall, imposing, cloaked figure, hooded, striding towards him.

And then, when the figure was a few feet away, Abhimanyu heard him saying, "So Pandey, we meet again."

Abhimanyu looked at him and demanded, "Who are you?"

The figure removed his hood to reveal a handsome but pale face with blood red eyes and long hair.

Abhimanyu took one look and felt his heartbeat quicken as he realized who it was, Lord Voldemort himself.

Voldemort spoke, "You seem to have forgotten our encounter in Hogwarts a little less than two years ago. I am Lord Voldemort."

Abhimanyu said, "So it's true. You really have declared war. You really have killed innocents."

Voldemort replied, "Yes, I have indeed. I do seek to propagate the domination of purebloods, domination of the strong. However, it is quite a pity that the sisters of House Black have not joined me."

Abhimanyu's eyes widened and he said, "So Bellatrix hasn't joined you?!"

Voldemort replied, "Not yet, but she shall soon. It is quite a pity that a Muggleborn like you swayed her and she fell for you, but soon, it shall all end. She shall join me. And if you think you can stop that, then oh so great dueling champion of Hogwarts, duel with me."

Abhimanyu knew that there was no backing out. But hearing that Bellatrix had not joined him gave him hope that she might still love him. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down as a hero, her hero.

He held his wand at the ready and declared, "Alright. If I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down as a hero. I accept."

Voldemort held his wand and said, "So be it, Pandey. Let us proceed with the formalities. Now, salute me."

Abhimanyu and Voldemort walked towards each other, held their wands in salute to each other, then turned and walked back until they were apart by a reasonable distance before turning to face each other, wands held ready to attack.

Voldemort was the first to attack.

He cried out, "Crucio!"

Abhimanyu, using his quidditch reflexes, and thanks to Bellatrix's training, managed to dodge the curse barely by an inch.

He silently cast a purple spell at Voldemort, but the latter just stood there like a rock and met the spell with a wave of his wand.

Abhimanyu stared at Voldemort in shock and horror as the spell instantly faded away into nothing.

This was nothing like he had ever seen before.

He cast a red spell, but Voldemort moved his wand and dealt with the spell in the same manner.

He then held his arms out, as if to say, 'Kill me if you can.'

Abhimanyu, desperate, cast an orange spell, a bolt of fire.

Voldemort moved his wand diagonally upward, deflecting the bolt of fire and then stretched his left hand. The bolt came to his hand and reformed into a ball of fire, being and yet not touching the hand.

And then, Voldemort moved his wand in a circle and pushed the fire ball with his left hand towards the Muggleborn.

Abhimanyu cried out, "Aguamenti!"

He unleashed a jet of water, which collided with the fireball, now a bolt of fire once again, barely before it could strike him, and held his ground with all his effort as water and fire fought for passage, but eventually, the fire bolt was absorbed and Abhimanyu broke off, ending the flow of water.

And then, Voldemort stepped forward, rage evident from his facial expression and begin to cast spell after spell at Abhimanyu.

Abhimanyu, thanks to Bellatrix's training, managed to dodge and block all of the spells sent his way.

They fought fiercely, firing and blocking spells rapidly.

And then, Voldemort moved his wand in a circle twice and sent a bluish white curse. Andromeda, Lucius and Narcissa who were watching all bent down and looked down, covering their eyes with their arms, assuming the worst.

Abhimanyu met the spell head on with his wand, and held on as the spell tried to overpower him. And then, the bright stream ended and formed into a blue ball of light at the tip of Abhimanyu's wand.

Abhimanyu had overpowered Voldemort's spell.

He was now in control of it.

Voldemort opened his mouth in surprise as he witnessed the sight.

Abhimanyu spun round in a circle and sent the spell straight towards Voldemort.

Voldemort dodged but Abhimanyu suddenly cried out, "Diffindo!" and this time, it just grazed the dark lord's head, sending a small lump of hair from the side of the head to the ground.

The Dark Lord looked upon Abhimanyu, mouth wide open in amazement even as the latter said, "How's that for an auror trainee?"

Voldemort spoke with wide eyes, "You have so much potential. Who trained you?"

Abhimanyu looked at the Dark Lord and proclaimed, "Someone who once loved me."

And then Abhimanyu saw Voldemort's face contort in rage.

The Dark Lord hissed, "Do you take me to be a fool? Only Bellatrix Black could have trained you like that. I have heard of it from your arch enemy, Rodolphus Lestrange."

And then, Lord Voldemort stepped forward and moved his wand in a circle clockwise, three times. As a mysterious whispering could be heard by Abhimanyu, as the Dark Lord moved his left hand in a clockwise circle and then moved his wand in an anticlockwise circle.

And then, Abhimanyu suddenly felt himself being bound by some invisible sort of bonds. The next moment, he lost his grip and his wand fell cluttering onto the street in front of him and he collapsed onto his knees.

Voldemort strode towards Abhimanyu and said, "Your wand lies in front of you, yet you cannot pick it up, bound as you are. Now, if you think you are so powerful, free yourself if you can."

Abhimanyu struggled against the invisible bonds, but they wouldn't give way.

Voldemort circled Abhimanyu and moving close to his head, the former said, "Fear and love will bind you. And it is clear that you have allowed them to bind you."

Abhimanyu glared at Voldemort and said, "Stop it!"

Voldemort continued, "Imagine if Bellatrix were to turn upon you and kill you herself. Imagine that I had your parents wiped out for good, tortured your mother."

"NO!" Abhimanyu cried out, "IF YOU DARE DO THAT I'LL…"

"What will you do?" Voldemort spoke mockingly, "Kill me?"

Voldemort raised his wand, pointed it towards the young man and said, "I wonder what I should do with you. Either I could just kill you myself, or perhaps leave you for Rodolphus Lestrange, and soon-to-be, Bellatrix Lestrange when she finally joins me most willingly and becomes my Death Eater. What shall I…"

Suddenly, they both heard yells of, "It's them, don't let them escape," and "Pandey's down, help him!"

Voldemort sent a bolt of green light into the air, causing fireworks, and then disapparated at once.

Abhimanyu, grateful to whoever had intervened, closed his eyes.

He tried to calm himself down, remembering that just after Voldemort had openly declared himself to the wizarding world, Dumbledore and Charles Smethwick, Abhimanyu's mentor in auror training had helped to set up protective wards around Abhimanyu's house and had promised immediate help should Voldemort attack. And soon after that, his father had received a transfer order to India. His mother and father would be leaving for India in a few days and so would be safe from Voldemort.

He felt himself calming down slowly, and concentrated.

And then, he tried to move, and to his surprise, he was able to move his arms.

He tried to adjust his legs and stand up, and to his surprise, he managed it.

Abhimanyu had freed himself.

He opened his eyes and at once felt someone grip his shoulders.

He turned around to see a middle aged man, an auror, with grey hair and a clean shaven face, looking extremely worried.

Abhimanyu cried out, "Uncle Charles, Voldemort got away! He…"

Uncle Charles was what Abhimanyu called his mentor, Auror Charles Smethwick, who was luckily, a nice person. He was firm but sweet, and he had taken a liking to Abhimanyu on the first day of training.

Uncle Charles spoke worriedly at once, "Abhimanyu, are you alright?"

Abhimanyu replied, "What about my parents?"

Charles replied, "Your parents are alright. The wards are strong and in place. They'll be able to get away with the portkeys we installed if worst comes to worst, but the wards have not given way."

Abhimanyu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Ok good, I'm a little shaken but okay."

Charles cried out, "You could have been killed!"

Abhimanyu said, "I had to protect my friends."

Charles said, "Make sure they are alright and then get them to safety. The other aurors and I will take care of the memory charms. That was some courage there. I'm proud of you!"

Abhimanyu replied, "Thank You. I'll just make sure they're okay."

He first went towards the spot where the lump of Voldemort's hair had fallen and picked it up. He then proceeded to pocket it carefully.

Luckily, his wallet was in his front left pocket of his jeans and not the front right pocket with the hair.

He then went inside the Bistro where some people were shaking.

He walked over to Andromeda who was standing in a corner with Lucius and Narcissa and asked, "Andi, are you…"

Before he could finish, Andromeda hugged him and whispered, "You could have been killed! I thought the Dark Lord was going to kill you!"

Abhimanyu hugged Andromeda and said, "Well, thankfully, he didn't. Now let's get out of here while the aurors get to their memory charms. I know a good place where we can hang out."

Ten minutes later…

Abhimanyu, Andromeda, Lucius and Narcissa were sitting around a table with an umbrella on top at a little outdoor pizza restaurant. They had just ordered their pizzas and were now sipping cups of coffee, waiting for their pizzas.

Abhimanyu spoke, "Lucius, you said in your letter that the Black Company has gone too far. What exactly do you mean?"

Lucius answered, "What I mean is the Black Family."

Andromeda explained, "I know you're not going to like this, but you need to know. Bellatrix has been engaged to Rodolphus Lestrange."

Abhimanyu said a little bitterly, "When I was bound, Voldemort said something about Bellatrix soon-to-be Lestrange and her joining him."

Narcissa said, "Rodolphus requested our parents for Bellatrix's hand, and they agreed to it mainly because they want her to be married off as soon as possible."

Abhimanyu replied bitterly, "Of course, he's a pureblood unlike me, a common Mudblood to them! And of course, Bellatrix said we couldn't even be friends when she broke up with me. Maybe she decided she prefers proper purebloods after all."

Andromeda explained firmly, "No, Bellatrix was forced to break up with you. Her parents threatened to disown her if she didn't cut off all ties with you. But now, he wants her out of the house anyway. She doesn't want to marry Rodolphus, but Father and Mother will not change their minds. Bellatrix would never have broken up with you if she had had a choice or if we had been there for her. In fact, you have no idea what she has been feeling ever since then. She said that you are ten times the man that Rodolphus is. But now, Mother and Father have gone too far. All they want is to marry her off to some elite pureblood. Father constantly calls Bellatrix a disgrace to the family and tells her that he will no longer have to deal with her after marriage. And Aunt Walburga is only too happy for Bellatrix to have been engaged to a Death Eater. And the wedding was supposed to be next Thursday, but yesterday, Father decided to have it all rushed up. He's keeping Bellatrix confined in the house so she doesn't run away. And now he's getting her married off tomorrow!"

Abhimanyu gasped in horror and shock.

After a few moments, he clenched his fists and nearly yelled, "Ma was right! My mom thought Bellatrix had been forced to break off with me! And a disgrace?! Forced marriage to Rodolphus Lestrange?! How dare Cygnus Black do this to her!"

Andromeda then said, "And now, you are the only one we can trust to help her. If she is married tomorrow, it will be too late. Everything will be over."

"What do you mean?" Abhimanyu asked.

Andromeda explained, "Last night, I had a nightmare in which you did not exist. Without you, Bellatrix never changed. She joined the Dark Lord and became hostile towards us. And then, she tried to kill me. I had made a cut on her arm, and then, she licked her own blood and laughed like a demoness! And now, I'm afraid that if something isn't done, she'll be influenced by Rodolphus and will become a monster, and then, we'll be against each other! No! Or, Rodolphus will treat her badly and he and Dark Lord will break her! You have to help her, help us!"

Abhimanyu said, "But…"

"No buts," Andromeda cut in, "I don't care if you have to kidnap her, but do anything! Please, help us! Bellatrix still loves you."

Abhimanyu looked at Andromeda's and Narcissa's faces, streaked with worry, and then his face contorted in anger. He asked, "What time is the wedding?"

Narcissa said, "The official ceremony is at 11 AM in the morning. Father has invited many purebloods including the Malfoys. The Dark Lord himself will not be present, but the Leverges will be there for sure."

Just then, a waiter came by with a tray of plates, containing small pizzas and placing four of them on their table, he said, "Your pizzas are ready. Would you like anything to drink?"

Andromeda replied, "Just water will do for all of us please."

The waiter replied, "Wait a minute, I will get it."

He walked away and returned a few seconds later with a bottle of water. He poured four glasses and placed the bottle on the table before going to serve other customers.

Lucius then extracted a small package from his robes and handing it over to Abhimanyu, he said, "This is a set of Death Eater robes and a mask. It may help you. I only hope my father does not find out."

Abhimanyu asked, "Is your father on the Dark Lord's side?"

Lucius replied, "Yes, and please do not tell this to anyone. My father has joined the Dark Lord, and after I finish my education at Hogwarts, I shall be expected to follow in my father's footsteps."

Abhimanyu asked concernedly, "Do you really have to Lucius?"

Lucius replied, "I must. I have to abide by my family's wishes."

Abhimanyu suggested, "You could still help us. You don't have to be one of them. You could perhaps pass on information to us, information that would help greatly."

Lucius stated, "It would be seen as betrayal. I don't know if I can do it, and I don't want my mother and father in Azkaban."

Abhimanyu suggested, "How about this? You pass on information, any information that will do, and I promise not to tell anyone about the Malfoys unless you're okay with it."

Narcissa asked, "Lucius, you know, he does have a good one there. But it could be dangerous. Do you want to do this?"

Andromeda said, "I think this is a reasonable idea. Besides, you've already done it. This is the first time. You were the one that wrote the letter after all."

Lucius thought for a while as he took bites of his pizza, and then finally said, "Alright, but do not tell anyone."

Abhimanyu replied, "You have my word. I won't tell anyone unless you are absolutely fine with it."

Andromeda then spoke, "Abhimanyu, whatever you do, please be careful. And please, help us."

Abhimanyu declared, "I won't let anything happen to Bella. If I have to die to save her, then so be it."

Then, clenching his fists, he muttered, "Bella, I will get you out of there! And Cygnus Black, if you or Rodolphus try to harm her, you will be very sorry!"

Later on, at Grimmauld Place…

Andromeda and Narcissa had gotten back a little while ago and now it was almost 10:15 PM.

In the sitting room where they were standing with their Father and Bellatrix who was looking rather distraught, Walburga was sitting on the small blue chair near a table listening to the news on a muggle radio.

Male Reporter:

Tonight, the leader of the Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort, led an attack on Broadway. Several Muggles in Broadway and a few around the Muggle Parliament building were killed tonight.

"OH YES!" Walburga shrieked excitedly, "Yes, yes, all hail the Dark Lord!"

However in Broadway, this time, the Dark Lord was met with stiff resistance from a young auror trainee, a Muggleborn who goes by Abhimanyu Pandey.

"WHAT?" Walburga yelled in rage, "HOW DARE YOU OPPOSE THE DARK LORD YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD!"

According to spectators, Abhimanyu Pandey put up a good fight. Although he was ultimately defeated, he survived thanks to the arrival of aurors, including his mentor, Auror Charles Smethwick.

"You see Father," Bellatrix suddenly spoke up, "I told you he wasn't weak."

Cygnus and Walburga turned to look at her.

Cygnus shouted, "Bellatrix, go to your room at once!"

Bellatrix sighed and went to her room.

As she closed the door and prepared to go to bed, she suddenly noticed a slip of paper on the floor near her mirror.

She picked it up.

And there, written, were the words, written in a very familiar boy's handwriting: 'Hang on Bella, I'm coming.'