Chapter 100

A Christmas Nightmare

Note from J.M. Jackson: So, Chapter 100. An epic milestone deserves an epic chapter I think. I hope this chapter does the word epic some justice. I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for staying with us, for supporting us, and being amazing, and I know Dododum (Mystic Dodo) will want to share those sentiments. This chapter is also in honour of Dododum, or Jodie as I know her. She is an amazing friend, and without her, I wouldn't have written so much, and this story would never have been made. I adore you Jodie.

With how many people there were planned to visit for Christmas, Molly Weasley insisted on hosting the party at the Burrow. She had been making changes to the house, with the help of Sirius, Alastor, and Remus, and whilst it still looked the same for the most part, there was a large hall area added on, as well as extra rooms.

Lily had been impressed when she had seen it. When Draco and Pansy had arrived with her, Lily had also been impressed with how Draco reacted, complimenting Molly, and even offering a suggestion to ensure the house remained stable with the extension spells.

Two days after the end of term, two groups had gone shopping. One group consisted of Remus, Sirius, Draco, Ron, Cormac, Neville, Percy, Bill, and Charlie, with the other consisting of Molly, Minerva, Tonks, Lily, Ginny, Hermione, Lavender, Pansy, Padma, Parvati, and Fleur. Neville's gran was also joining them, but she was with Neville whilst shopping. Back at the Burrow were Fleur's parents, and her two sisters, Gabrielle and Nicolette.

"I never know what to get him," Pansy said, as they were looking around an entertainment shop of wizarding accessories. Lily had been impressed to learn of a large market underground, though there were enchantments to make it look like they were outside. There was even the feeling of fresh air as they walked around. Molly had explained that it was the largest wizarding shopping area in the country.

"He'll probably love anything you get him. I've seen how he looks when he sees you; he enjoys being with you. It's love, and that's something special," Lily told her.

"Thanks, Lily," Pansy replied, smiling at her. The change in Draco and Pansy had been miraculous, and Lily was thankful for it. She didn't want to hate anyone, and after everything Draco had suffered, she wanted to help him.

"Anytime. Buying for Ginny can be a nightmare sometimes; she never tells me what she wants, and never wants anything expensive. She doesn't like me spending my money on her, because she can't do the same for me," Lily explained. Pansy looked at Ginny, smirking.

"I feel the same sometimes. All of Draco's parent's money was given to him after they died, and he wants to treat me to anything I want, but all I want is to spend time with him. But if you don't give more specific ideas, Lily will go overboard; it's kind of her nature, right?" Pansy asked.

"You've only been our friend for a short while, but you understand her perfectly," Ginny confirmed, chuckling.

"I'm standing right here, you know," Lily pointed out.

"Oh, we know," Pansy answered, laughing as she and Ginny shared a high five.

"I might have liked you more before you were good," Lily muttered, prompting everyone to laugh.

"You'll get used to this, Lily," Hermione said. "By the way, I wanted to mention that we might want to go clothes shopping. You'll be needed new bra's soon."

"Tell me about it," Lily agreed, rolling her eyes. "If there's one reason for guys to not transition, it's these death traps."

"Trust me Lily, you don't know anything yet," Tonks said, smirking. "Be glad you're not fully grown yet."

"Do I even want to know?" Lily asked.

"Probably not," Fleur said. "Comfort is always important. Don't worry, we'll help you find the right ones. I prefer ones without wire."

"Wait, those exist?" Lily asked. "Why didn't anyone tell me? I need to buy a lot of them!"

Lily's remark brought about a new round of laughter as they chose items for presents for Draco, Sirius, and the rest of their loved ones. For Lily, it felt like everything was happening right, for once.

"Where are we meeting the boys?" Ginny asked.

"We're having dinner at the Leaky Cauldron; we've booked a room, and gotten it extended for all of us," Minerva said.

"We should have time to try a few muggle shops, right?" Lily asked.

"I don't see why not," Minerva agreed, smiling at Lily. Before Lily could ask her next question, she frowned as she noticed that it was getting darker.

"Is this part of the enchantment? A nighttime shopping experience?" Lily asked.

"No; it's barely noon," Minerva replied, looking up at the sky. Dark clouds were filling the sky, with the sound of thunder filling the air. "And there's never meant to be thunder."

"Wands out," Lily replied, flicking her arm forward, her wand extending from her sleeve device that Charlie had recommended two years earlier. The others all did the same, including Pansy. Lily had given her the same sleeve device the day before, as a gift. She had plenty, having ordered them for the Order of the Dragon.

"What are you thinking?" Pansy asked.

"She's thinking Moldy Shorts is here," Sirius said, having arrived a couple of seconds earlier with the group.

"We need to get the kids out of here. Sirius, I'll create a Portkey," Minerva said.

"No good; I already tried. We're blocked in," Sirius said, as screams began to fill the air.

"Split up into groups. Aunt Minnie, Uncle Remus, Percy, Bill, you need to start working on getting through the block," Lily said, immediately taking charge. She noticed that Pansy, Draco, and Neville's gran were looking at her, impressed. The others were used to her style now.

"Mrs. Longbottom, Mrs. Weasley, Uncle Sirius, each of you should lead a group of us, we need to split into teams. Our main priority has to be to protect people," Lily insisted, as she saw the shadows of Death Eaters flying in from the sky.

"Got it," Sirius agreed, as several explosions filled the air, along with screams of pain, fear, and terror.

"Neville, Padma, Parvati, Ron, Lavender, go with Neville's Nan to the right. Charlie, Tonks, Hermione, Fleur, Cormac, go with Mrs. Weasley to the left. The rest of you, with me and Uncle Sirius," Lily said. She had been working with everyone and knew their strengths.

Her heart was racing, but her mind was racing even faster. Everything seemed to just click into place and make sense. "No dangerous heroics; send sparks up if you need help."

"Everyone be careful," Minerva insisted, as she went with Remus, Percy, and Bill, whilst the other teams split off.

As her team ran towards the crowds of people, Hermione watched as Molly cast the Sonorus charm. "EVERYONE REMAIN CALM AND COME OVER HERE!" Her voice carried through the area. Hermione saw most of the crowd turn towards Molly. "WE'RE HERE TO HELP. STAY BEHIND US!"

"Look out!" Charlie exclaimed, as a Death Eater flew towards them. Hermione and Molly both immediately cast a spell, striking the Death Eater, and sending them flying backwards.

Hermione saw another Death Eater appear, who cast a curse towards her. Hermione immediately leapt to the side, before launching a curse of her own. She was able to do so without verbalising her spell, which, as Snape had agreed about in the first DADA class, gave her an advantage.

Hermione then spun and launched another spell as she saw more Death Eaters heading towards them.

"I know I wanted us to do more together," Fleur began, standing next to Hermione as they fought. "But zis was not what I had in mind."

"Yeah, I kinda hoped for something more romantic," Hermione agreed, chuckling as she launched another curse at a creature that was attacking. Hermione immediately recognised it as a Nundus, a dark creature that looked similar to a leopard, but with dark skin and a mane, like a lion.

"Where did they get a Nundus from?" Hermione asked, as she fired several curses at it. The creature was able to dodge them, and leapt at Hermione, but before it could reach her, a green light struck the creature, having come from behind Hermione. She turned and saw that Molly had saved her. "Thank you," she gasped, as another explosion filled the air.

"Anytime," Molly smiled, her smile then fading as she launched new curses at other Death Eaters.

"I just hope we can break through this quickly," Hermione said.

Ron leapt to the side, and rolled to dodge an attack, before getting up and casting a spell on himself, a relatively new one to help him have more agility. It would only last a short time, but he didn't need it to last too long.

He leapt up, and spun, kicking a Death Eater in the head, sending them flying backwards. He could see the Death Eaters – or those forced to be there by the Imperius curse, he told himself – were hesitant after they saw what he had done.

"When did you learn that?" Lavender asked, impressed.

"I wanted to be more agile for fighting, and Quidditch," Ron admitted, smiling at her, before pulling her to the ground. Less than a second later, a green light shot over their heads.

"OI! PISS OFF, YOU NUMPTIES!" Ron shouted, launching a curse back at them.

"Nicely done, young man," Neville's gran complimented, following Ron's attack with one of her own. "We should get these people out of here."

"Let's head to the entrance area, see if we can punch a way through," Neville suggested.

"That's my grandson," the pride in his gran's voice was clear, making Neville blush slightly.

"Alright, let's go," Ron said, leading the way as he fired a new curse towards the Death Eaters coming towards them.

"Why now? And how did they know where to attack?" Lavender asked, as the group were joined by a number of people they were protecting.

"Tell us what to one," one man said, looking at Ron.

"We need to get to the entrance and clear it out, so we can get everyone out," Ron replied, a look of grim determination on his face. "We'll cover all of you as best we can."

"No offence, but you're just kids," another man spoke up.

"Kids who fought against him, and Death Eaters, at the Ministry last year," Lavender countered.

"You beat me by, like, two seconds," Ron joked, smirking. "Stay behind us," he ordered, leading the way towards the entrance.

Lily leapt up into the air, and cast a spell as she did, before landing and rolling forward. She had been training like this with Ginny for a while, and as she moved, Ginny moved in time with her. Their motions were completely in sync with one another, in perfect harmony, and as Lily sent out a spell to attack, Ginny did the same thing.

"Okay, no wonder you two are the best at school," Draco complimented, coming up behind them and sending his own curses to the Death Eaters. Lily knew they were darker curses than she knew, but she also knew that it was about the intention, and Draco's intentions were to protect people.

It was then that Lily saw Bellatrix Lestrange, laughing maniacally, ahead of them.

"Does Pervy Potter and his freak friends think they can win?" she teased.

"Bellatrix!" Draco snarled, running ahead and launching a curse towards her. She laughed as she dodged the attack, and launched one at Draco, who also dodged it.

Lily went to help Draco, but was pulled back by Pansy, a second before a curse shot past her, barely missing her.

"Be careful!" Pansy chided.

"Thanks," Lily replied, as she, Pansy, and Ginny launched curses of their own at the Death Eaters. She saw Bellatrix fire a curse at Draco, just as another Death Eater did the same. Lily waved her wand, pulling Draco backwards, and towards them.

"Damn, how did I miss that?" Draco asked, getting up and casting a shield charm.

"Draco, I know you want revenge, but please, we don't want to lose you," Lily insisted.

"She killed…" Draco began, as Sirius launched attacks at Bellatrix, sending multiple red jets towards her.

"I know, but if you die, how are you going to get revenge? You can't let revenge cloud your mind, otherwise you'll die. We just became friends; I'm not about to lose you now, not after all this," Lily insisted, meeting his gaze. "We need to do this together."

"Together," Draco agreed. Lily smiled and stood up fully, as did Draco, and both of them faced the Death Eaters, beginning a new wave of attacks.

Nearing the entrance to the market, Ron could see multiple Death Eaters, creatures, and even Dementors, blocking the area. He looked at Lavender, grabbed her, and kissed her passionately, grinning as he did.

"Is now the time?" Lavender asked weakly, after the kiss.

"Needed something good in my thoughts," Ron replied, before launching his Patronus at the Dementors. He could see the impressed look on Lavender's face as the bright light created a shield, forcing the Dementors to retreat through the exit of the market.

"That was amazing!" Lavender complimented.

"Thanks," Ron smiled, as Augusta Longbottom fired a powerful curse of her own, sending two Death Eaters flying.

The remaining Death Eaters looked at them, before turning and fleeing the market. The creatures all launched themselves at the group but were immediately blocked by a dozen curses all hitting them perfectly.

"Alright, let's get through and make sure it's clear," Ron told them.

"We'll handle that," the first man said, but before he could, teams of Auror's started appearing, just as the dark clouds began to fade. They were led by Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Mr. Weasley, are you okay?" Scrimgeour asked.

"Now you're here, yeah," Ron smiled as he spoke. "How did you know we needed help?"

"A couple of people managed to escape before the Death Eaters arrived," Scrimgeour replied. "They raised the alarm."

"Lily's in trouble, they all are," Ron said, as the dark clouds vanished. "Looks like Professor McGonagall managed to break through," he added, seeing jets of white light speeding up to the sky, clearing the clouds.

Lily, Draco, Pansy, and Ginny ran forward, launching new attacks as the clouds vanished. Lily laughed as she stared at Bellatrix. "Looks like Moldy Shorts isn't gonna be happy," Lily taunted, using Sirius's nickname for Voldemort. It had the exact effect that Lily was hoping for.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Bellatrix shouted, as she launched a curse towards Lily. She dodged it, and immediately sent a large rock flying towards Bellatrix, who destroyed it, but as she did, another curse went flying at her, sending her flying backwards. Draco looked pleased with himself.

"How do you like that?" Draco taunted.

"You dare attack your own Aunt?" Bellatrix demanded.

"You stopped being my family when you killed my parents!" Draco snapped. "Lily's more family than you'll ever be!"

"TRAITOR!" Bellatrix shouted, going to attack, but she was grabbed by a tall man. From the files she had seen, she knew it was her husband, Rudolphus.

"He's recalling us," Rudolphus insisted.

"That's it, run away, cowards!" Draco taunted. Bellatrix went to say something else, but she and Rudolphus disapparated from the area, just as Ron, Lavender, and Scrimgeour came towards them.

"Lily!" Ron exclaimed, as everyone began to come together.

"Miss Potter, are you okay?" Scrimgeour asked.

"Never mind me, how's everyone else doing? Especially the civilians?" Lily asked.

"So far, we've found four fatalities, but there could be more. If it wasn't for you, that number would be much higher," Scrimgeour told her. "Don't you dare blame yourself either; you saved many lives today."

"Not enough," Lily lamented, sighing as she sheathed her wand. Ginny gently slapped the back of her head.

"Oi, stop thinking like that," Ginny chided her.

"She's right," an unknown woman said, approaching her. "Thank you. You saved me, and my daughter," she added, showing a three year old daughter.

"And my unborn child," another witch said.

"THREE CHEERS FOR LILY POTTER!" a loud cry went up. Cheers filled the air, as smoke was rising from around them, the fires from the explosions having been extinguished. Lily looked at her friends, smiling at them as she blushed.

"You were brilliant, Lily," Draco complimented. "I've never fought like that before, and honestly, it was kinda epic."

"And you saved Draco, thank you," Pansy added, kissing Lily's cheek. She embraced Pansy, Draco, and her friends as the cheers continued. Lily knew there had been losses, but after the victory, she felt like they could actually win the war.