Black Luminary

by YakAge

The war against the Dark Lord was the last straw. The oppressed, fed up with oligarchy, corruption, and injustice, sharpened their knives, rallying behind those who promised change. They won. Today, Magical Britain is a changed country – for the better. Hail and praise to our saviours! Finally, all is well. But listen! Can't you hear the grindstone turning still ...?

71. ML: Familia Omega Est II

This is a trigger warning.

Familia Omega Est II – Ipso Pessimi

---

Harry, Daphne, and Amy flew down the stairs, through the demolished shack, into a solid wall of stinging snow and sleet.

'What the–' cried Daphne over the howling gale as she came to a skidding halt, almost crashing into a hump of snow.

They had been inside the Shrieking Shack for barely an hour, but what remained visible of Hogsmeade was unrecognisable. Towering snowbanks loomed next to the fields, while a few smaller shacks had the snow stacking almost up to their gables.

'I can't see anything!' yelled Daphne, cupping her hands protectively around her eyes.

'BUBBLE-HEAD CHARMS!' shouted Harry over the shrieking of the tempest.

With three identical movements, huge bubbles rose from their collars to engulf their heads, stretching their features grotesquely.

Harry took another step, motioning for the other two to follow him, but faltered almost immediately. There were no tracks. Sirius must have disapparated, in the worst of cases straight to the Ministry. 'Should we just apparate to the inn? Let's not hang around until the DMLE shows up.'

'Fine by me,' said Daphne.

'Nope.'

'What? Why?!' Harry rounded on Amy. 'We haven't got time!'

'I know! But I can't apparate,' mumbled Amy, refusing to look at him. 'Never got around to it …'

Harry rolled his eyes. 'I can take you along, come on!'

'Not happening, not in a million years! I'm not tugging along like some brat with their parent!'

'Urgh, whatever! Let's just run!'

But the snow wouldn't allow it. They clamped along as best they could, but despite barely beating walking speed, Harry was already close to collapsing after about two hundred yards of what felt like an expedition to the North Pole, wading through wet, heavy snow that reached their hips.

'Pause!' he yelled. He was panting from exhaustion, his throat sore and dry.

'What, already?!'

'Just give me a second…' Harry crouched down, trying to force himself to breathe through his nose.

'Try to step into our tracks,' said Amy, watching him impatiently with her arms akimbo. 'We'll never get there at this rate.'

'No, look!' said Daphne, pointing straight ahead. 'The villagers have cleared the streets, I think.'

The edges of the village were just about visible, and, even through the blizzard, indistinct figures could be seen buzzing about hectically in a desperate bid to fight the elements.

The girls went first, leaving Harry to follow in their footsteps. He still lost his footing twice and crashed face-first into the wayside snowbanks, popping his Bubble-Head Charm. 'To the blazes with this damnable weather,' he muttered, spitting snow and shaking his sleeves to get it all out. His fingers felt like icicles already.

'Don't be a wussy,' said Amy, dragging him by the robes onto a cobblestone alleyway where the snow barely reached their ankles. 'At least the buildings protect us from the gale. Where do you reckon the others are?'

Harry scowled, patting the snow off his cloak. 'Good question. Suggestions?'

'Should we check out the Three Broomsticks?' shouted Daphne over another howling gust, hopping nervously on the spot to keep the cold out.

'Might as well,' said Harry.

Just then, a faint rumbling like an avalanche droned through the wind.

'That seems like a good place to start,' said Daphne. 'Think it was in this direction?!'

'No,' said Amy as she started to run. 'That was the eastern side. Let's go!'

They stormed towards the source of the rumbling, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the villagers as they fought their war against the elements with transfigurations, attempts at animating the snow to move, or even vanishing spells.

'Reckon it must've come from around here,' said Amy as they came to a stop at the easternmost part of town. The streets were full of students huddling in little groups. 'Should we just look around?'

'No need.' Daphne pointed towards the Hog's Head, where Leo and Tracey were currently bickering with the grimy-haired owner of the pub. 'What are they doing at a time like this?! And where's the stupid Maltese?'

While Leo was still bowing politely to the edgy pub owner, Tracey noticed them. Wordlessly, she dragged Leo by the hood of his robes towards Harry, Amy, and Daphne, disregarding the hue and cry the increasingly agitated barman raised behind their backs.

'THERE YOU ARE!' yelled Tracey when she finally let go of Leo in the lee of Dervish & Banges. 'Listen, the person, Hermione's teacher, we saw them!'

'Really?!' said Harry excitedly. 'Where is she? Did you get her?!'

'No, we lost them,' said Leo, straightening his robes with an irate look at Tracey. 'After almost killing them, mind you.'

Tracey waved her hand dismissively. 'Did not! Anyway, what do you mean "she"? Do you know who it is?!'

'Yes, you said you lost her. Where is she? Is she still here?!'

'No, they … she … went through Aberforth's fireplace straight to the Ministry.'

'Oh, shit!' said Daphne, looking at Harry nervously. 'This is bad, right?!'

Amy cracked her knuckles. 'Yeah. If you can call this muddled mess of epic proportions "bad".'

'So, who are they?' asked Tracey, looking from Amy to Harry with apprehension. 'Her, I mean.'

'You won't like it,' said Daphne hesitantly.

Leo had finally finished putting himself and his clothing together again. 'Tell us already! It won't change anything at this point, right?'

Daphne glanced around to make sure there were no onlookers. 'I don't think you got that right,' she whispered. 'Hermione's first teacher is Sirius.'

'What?!' shouted Tracey, looking perplexed. 'How can he?! Are you sure?!'

Leo shuffled closer to Harry and put a hand on his shoulder. 'I'm sorry. Did he tell you so?'

'No,' said Harry curtly. 'Lupin knew, and he told us. Sirius practically confirmed it.'

'That's rotten,' said Tracey, staring unseeingly at the mural. 'I mean … sorry. But how could he be?! I thought Hermione said her teacher was an Auror–' Her eyes grew wide. 'Don't tell me … don't tell me he's still with the Ministry?! But they wouldn't take him back after a stint in Azkaban! Unless … unless he never went there?! But … but that's–'

'Messed up? Yes, it is,' said Amy darkly. 'He's a fucking dog of the Ministry! And here we debated offering him shelter!' She spat at the ground as if it had mortally offended her. 'Duplicitous piece of filth! And he's an Auror, all right. Wiped the floor with the four of us in about three seconds. Deceitful bastard betrayed his own kith and kin…'

'And the one we'd been following?' asked Leo, looking at Harry with concern. 'Who's she?'

'Oh, it gets even better,' said Daphne weakly.

Tracey scoffed. 'How can it?! It's not your mum who only faked her death, right?!'

'Tracey,' growled Harry, glaring at her. 'My mother's dead. I saw her die!'

She winced. 'Sorry! Sorry, I only said so because–'

'It's Longbottom,' said Amy, watching the dawning horror on Tracey's face. 'It's Alice bloody Longbottom.'

'FUCK!' yelled Tracey. 'Shit, shit, shit! We're done for. We're totally, utterly screwed!'

Leo didn't curse. But he looked from his sister to Harry for confirmation. When Harry didn't contradict her, Leo's face lost all colour. 'And what do we do now?!'

'Where did your godf– I mean, where did the Auror go?' asked Tracey, walking up and down nervously.

'Disapparated by the looks of it,' said Amy.

'So both he and Longbottom could already be at the Ministry?!'

Amy nodded. 'That's about the gist of it.'

Daphne took Harry's hand. She was shaking, Harry noticed. 'What do we do?!' she whispered. 'We've got our backs against the wall, don't we?'

'What are we supposed to do?! They both got away!' grumbled Tracey. 'We let them both slip away! We've got nothing – nothing whatsoever to show for it!'

'Where's Hermione?' asked Leo.

'Safe,' said Harry, his mind whirling. 'She won't make it back before tomorrow.'

'Thank Merlin,' muttered Amy, turning away with an ugly grimace.

'Stuff it!' snapped Tracey angrily. 'Do we know what they did to her that made her activate the Portkey? And you didn't put her in a dungeon somewhere, did you?!'

Harry shrugged. 'No.'

'Dungeon?! This is no time for joking, Tracey!' said Daphne nervously.

But neither Tracey nor Harry smiled.

'Seems to me like we drew the short end of it,' said Leo with an apologetic look at Harry. 'Apologies, Harry. We really tried but–'

'Stop it,' said Harry, taking a deep breath. 'Just our luck that it's her. She's not your average pencil pusher. I'm glad you guys came out okay.'

'So what do we do now?!' demanded Tracey, stamping her foot.

'What can we do?!' said Amy, making a face. 'We're totally in over our heads here.'

'I agree,' said Leo solemnly. 'Sorry, Harry …'

Harry sighed, leaning against the wall behind him as he squeezed Daphne's hand. 'No, you're right. We can't do anything if it's her, especially if she's got the DMLE involved. We'd just be arrested.'

'Well, Leo and I would,' said Tracey sarcastically. 'You lot are safe.'

'Safe-ish,' interjected Daphne. 'I sure wouldn't like to try reminding … that person … of the Wizengamot charter and the prerogative of the Elder Council.'

'Right,' said Tracey, smiling crookedly at Daphne. 'Sorry …'

Harry listened only half-heartedly as his mind spun, trying to plot the best way out of this mess. But no matter what he thought of, if the Last Department and Aurors were involved, there was a serious imbalance of weights on the scale, meaning …

'We need to get out of here,' said Harry, having made up his mind. 'We leave for Hogwarts – now! They won't try anything with Dumbledore around. Once we're there, I'll get Hermione back and we plan the next step.'

'Finally, the old geezer is of some use,' said Amy. 'But shouldn't we warn some people? Put the word out?'

'Yes, we should … but we need to get out of here now. We'll do it on the way.'

'Okay,' said Daphne, letting go of his hand after one last squeeze. 'You go first.'

They hurried towards the castle grounds, through the village. There were still a lot of people about, battling the snow or discussing the two explosions from earlier. Luckily, they were only villagers and students.

'Cranky!' commanded Harry as he cast another glance over his shoulder the moment they approached the wreckage of the Three Broomsticks. So far, nobody seemed to be following them. 'Cranky!'

But nothing happened.

Frowning, Harry came to a stop. 'Cranky!'

Yet again, nothing.

'Kreacher! Minnie!'

An eerie feeling began to grip Harry's guts.

'What's wrong?!' said Leo, looking around.

'The elves won't answer. You try it!'

'What? … All right. Shappy?!'

'Why are we stopping?' hissed Amy, craning her neck. 'I thought we needed to get back fast?!'

'The elves won't answer,' said Leo with a worried glance at Harry.

Amy scowled. 'What?! Hiding away in their dirty dens, as usual, more than likely. Shappy, answer me, you filthy little creature!'

'Lobbo?' commanded Daphne tentatively – but to no avail.

Harry's heart sank. Spinning on the spot, he tried to feel his way out of Hogsmeade, but he crashed into what felt like a solid wall of bricks. He would've fallen if not for Leo's helping hand.

'Was that …?'

'We're trapped,' said Harry with a humourless grin. 'The entire village is locked up.'

'What?! The entire village?!' Daphne turned around, looking at the villagers as if she expected them to lunge any second. 'But how?!'

'Not just anyone can put an entire village on lockdown,' said Leo. He took out his wand.

'Only the Ministry can …' Tracey closed her eyes as if resigning herself before she, too, took out her wand. 'Well … this is just on point for this beautiful day.'

'The jinx won't cover the entire township,' said Harry hurriedly. 'We'll try to outrun it.'

'And then what?!' said Tracey with a peal of shaky laughter. 'Hogwarts is always protected from apparition!'

'Who gives a damn?!' said Amy with a shrug.

'Would you prefer a detention for sleeping out of bounds?' said Leo. 'Or a visit to the DMLE?'

'Right,' mumbled Tracey. 'Right, yeah… Screw this day! Screw those dirtbags!'

A sudden flash of emerald illuminated the battered taproom of the Three Broomsticks ahead of them. The crowd of villagers and students as well as the five friends looked up at the sudden sign of activity from within the desolated inn.

And then, three people exited through the front door, wands in their hands, wearing official Ministry robes.

'You've got to be kidding me!' whispered Tracey.

Daphne clamped Harry's hand so hard he winced.

Wearing long coats embroidered with the coat of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Rendal Prewett and Sirius Black emerged from the inn. And between them, wearing nondescript robes with a modest little emblem identifying her as an employee of the Ministry, walked Alice Longbottom, head of the Department of Ethics.

'Here it goes,' whispered Amy to Harry's right. 'Raise your hand; who wants to live forever?'

Despite the massive crowd, the three newcomers walked directly in their direction. Even above the heads of the onlookers, Harry saw Sirius staring at him with a hard expression on his face.

'Dead end,' breathed Daphne right next to Harry.

'Should we make a break for it?' whispered Amy, shuffling close to Harry's right.

'No,' muttered Harry, staring back at Sirius. 'I doubt we could outrun them, and we'll only expose our backs.'

'What's Prewett doing here?!' hissed Daphne.

'Good question.'

'Splitting up?' suggested Leo. 'Maybe we could take one of them down if we–'

'No, I'm not sure we could take them even if we got creative.' Harry couldn't tear his gaze away from Sirius' grey eyes. 'And I don't want to split up unless it's absolutely unavoidable. We'll stay put.'

'What?! Here?!' Daphne craned her neck. 'We're, like, in the middle of this shithole of a village!'

'Exactly,' said Harry calmly. 'Lots of onlookers, lots of witnesses. We're just a bunch of kids from school.'

Tracey snorted. 'Yeah, I'm not so sure they'll gobble up the innocent puppy-dog eyes spiel.'

The crowd parted before Sirius, Longbottom, and Prewett. They were almost on them. Instinctively, Harry's group began to huddle, wands nervously in their hands.

'They're with the Ministry,' said Harry under his breath. 'They'll have to observe the niceties as long as we do. And someone is bound to get a teacher. Just don't give them grounds to arrest you in the meanwhile. Don't fire first under any circumstance. You got that, Amy?!'

'Yeah, all right,' mumbled Amy, her eyes mere slits as she followed Sirius' every movement. 'But if things go haywire … well, let's just say I intend to get even for getting my memory wiped by the blood traitor.'

'Out of the way, everyone!' called Sirius to the gathered villagers and students. 'Make way!'

The crowd obeyed almost instinctively, parting like the sea before the prophet. Sirius, walking slightly ahead of the other two, came to a stop about fifteen yards in front of Harry. Tension hung thickly in the air. The villagers and students – not wanting to get involved in whatever it was the Ministry wanted from these students – stood back in a ring surrounding Harry, Amy, Leo, Daphne, and Tracey, gazing on in silence

'Daphne Greengrass,' said Alice Longbottom, 'we require that you accompany us to the Ministry immediately.'

'What?'

'Daphy?!'

They all turned to look at Daphne, who stared back at Alice Longbottom with a lack of comprehension and mounting fear. 'W-what?' she said, inching closer to Harry. 'Me? What do you want from me?!'

'She's going nowhere!' said Tracey angrily. 'Why should she?!'

'Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant, Miss Davis,' said Alice Longbottom. 'We promise that Miss Greengrass will be afforded all the rights and liberties granted by her name and role as heiress of her house.'

'I'm not going!' said Daphne, shaking her head, eyes wide. 'I'm not going anywhere with you people!'

'That is not for you to decide,' said Alice Longbottom coolly. 'You are required to come with us.'

'No, she is not,' said Harry, taking a step forward.

Alice Longbottom watched Harry as he stood one pace before his friends, her expression calculating. 'That is also not for you to decide, Mr Black.'

'Ah, but the crux of the matter is,' said Harry with a smirk, 'it's equally not for you to decide. You have no jurisdiction here. You don't even have the right to arrest anyone.'

'That is not how the world works, Mr Black. I know you realise that's not how this game plays out.'

'Oh, do I? Let's assume I'm a little slow on the uptake.' Harry pointed towards the onlookers, mostly ordinary villagers and students. If anything, even more students seemed to be arriving, now that the hour was growing late. 'These are ordinary folks,' he added with a sweeping gesture to indicate their audience, 'maybe you would like to remind them which department you belong to? Because you're not with the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, are you? I'm sure you weren't going to suggest that you belong to the DMLE, Mrs Longbottom. Because that would be assumption of authority, wouldn't it? And – surely – that's not something you would do, you – a pillar of our society.'

Alice Longbottom's eyes flickered for a second from Harry's mocking posture to the congregated crowd that muttered among itself. Then she smiled. 'It seems you misunderstood me, Mr Black. I'm not arresting anyone. This is a lawful arrest of the DMLE. I'm only here to offer administrative assistance – nothing more. If anything, I'm a witness to the legitimacy of these proceedings.'

Prewett took a step forward.

'You're a teacher,' said Leo calmly. 'You're not on active duty. You can't arrest anyone.'

'Not that you'll be a teacher much longer,' said Harry with a dismissive wave. 'It baffles me that even you would think you'd be able to hold onto that position after this.'

Rendall Prewett glared at him. Harry could almost feel the waves of hatred rippling off himself, but the man looked comparably incensed. 'You lack respect, Black,' Prewett spat. 'And Auror or not – as a teacher – I can take Miss Greengrass with me to the castle whenever I so choose.'

'You can't take her, you're not her head of –' Harry's objection was cut off by Daphne.

'No … ' she said. 'No, I'm not going! You murdered my father!'

'I did not mur–'

'MURDERER!' yelled Daphne. 'MURDERER! YOU MURDERED MY FATHER!'

'YOU'LL LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY, YOU STUPID BRAT!' roared Prewett. He whipped his wand.

Harry jumped to the side, lost balance, but – whilst falling – managed to grab a handful of Amy's robes to drag her down with him. Amy's spell went wide.

'What the –! Let go, Harry!'

'NO!' yelled Harry, scrambling to his feet. 'Don't let him provoke you.'

'YOU WILL DO AS I SAY! I'M A TEACHER OF HOGWARTS!'

'Oh, yeah?' said Tracey, pushing Daphne behind her. 'You don't mind waiting then, do you? Maybe Professor Dumbledore can clean this all up!'

'You forget,' said Alice, cocking her head as she calmly watched their group, 'that we do have an Auror on active duty with us.'

'No,' whispered Daphne in a hollow voice. 'No, no, no, no, no. I'm not going. I'm not!'

'Don't do this,' said Harry, once again taking a step in front of the group. 'Sirius, don't do this!'

Sirius' eyes shot towards Harry, grey on green. 'It's got to be done, Harry. I promise we won't treat Daphne unkindly.'

'No, no, no, no. Please, Harry.' Daphne sacked as if she'd suddenly lost all bones in her body, and Tracey barely managed to keep her from falling. Daphne was as white as the snow. She was staring straight ahead, unseeing. 'No, please! Don't let them take me! No, no, no, no …'

'Nobody's taking anyone!' said Leo.

'Damn straight,' said Tracey, putting one arm around Daphne. 'What are you going to do? Fight us? Here? In Hogsmeade and with half the village watching?'

'Not if it can be avoided,' said Sirius. 'But this is for the good of everyone.'

'Sirius …?' A cold edge was creeping into Harry's voice as he watched from the corner of his eyes as Daphne trembled in Tracey's arms. He held out his hand, fingers splayed. A lot of onlookers were craning their necks to see what it was Harry was trying to show. His hand was empty. But Sirius' gaze was riveted to the ancient signet ring on Harry's little finger – an inlaid emerald blazing in the setting sun. 'Don't do this,' growled Harry angrily.

Sirius was gazing at the ring, frozen in movement – until Prewett gave him an impatient shove that seemed to tear him from his revery.

'Daphne Greengrass, you're under arrest. You will accompany us to –'

'NO, PLEASE.' Daphne's voice broke. Between panic-fuelled sobs, as she shook in Tracey's arms, she yowled, 'I don't want to go.'

Tracey had one arm around the whimpering, wildly shaking body of her best friend, making calming sounds. But her eyes were glued to the ancient, weathered ring on Harry's finger with apprehension. 'It's all right, Daphne. Nobody's taking you. Come on, it's okay. It's going to be all right.'

'Why would you do this to her?!' growled Harry, clutching his wand as hard as he could to keep himself from lashing out. 'You know what she went through, don't you?! That bastard over there knows, too! He was there, he did this to her – and yet you come here and pull this?!' He sneered hatefully. 'Maybe Amy was right about you all along.'

'Told you I was,' said Amy calmly from his right. 'There's no sense listening to blood traitors. All the scum turn preachers under the gallows.'

'Why are you alone, Auror Black?' said Leo – and Harry gave an involuntary wince to hear him address Sirius like that.

'Never you mind that –'

'But I do,' said Leo calmly, glancing from Daphne to Sirius. 'Arrests by Aurors are to be made in pairs – or conjointly with officers of Law Enforcement.'

'That's right!' said Tracey loudly. 'Where is your backup?!'

'These are extraordinary circumstances,' said Sirius loudly and with a calm voice. 'And as everyone can see, I have senior employees of the Ministry alongside me to see this through fairly.'

'Like that means anything,' said Amy. 'Fish always rots from the head down.'

'You,' growled Prewett, staring from Sirius, who was still mindful of the crowd, to Harry, who was watching his godfather with increasing vitriol, 'you're ruining EVERYTHING!'

'Everything?' demanded Harry, narrowing his eyes as his head snapped towards the man. 'And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?'

'Rendall,' said Alice warningly as she walked over to Sirius. 'Don't!'

'I'm not going to take this from someone like you!' roared Rendall indignantly. 'I've put too much into this. I'm not going to let a brat like you walk all over us! Never again!'

'Harry, what are you doing?!' hissed Leo next to him. 'Let's just wait for that teacher to arrive!'

But Harry didn't listen. 'Oh, yeah?' he said with a cruel smirk. 'You're a real hero. Trying to arrest one girl at school with three people from the Ministry – and you still somehow mess it up! You're more mongrel than man, Prewett – and a loser to boot! Come to think of it, I'm not so sure any more whether Lucretia truly married you for love – or charity.'

'RENDALL, NO!'

Alice Longbottom made a swipe for Prewett's wand, but the erstwhile Auror, shaking with rage, screamed as whipped his wand towards the group of students. Harry conjured a Shield Charm, but – to his utter surprise – the hex harmlessly soared past him, directly towards the whimpering Daphne. Jumping, Leo just managed to yank both Tracey's and Daphne's heads down milliseconds before the Blasting Curse hit the ground behind the girls with a thud, showering them with snow.

Harry grew cold, hatred for the man rising like a monster from the depth of the lake. The hole in the ground behind the girls was almost two feet deep. Prewett, meanwhile, was wrestling with Alice Longbottom, who was bodily restraining his wand arm as the man screamed expletives.

'Told you,' muttered Amy darkly. 'Scum will be scum.'

'STOP!' with a frantic yell, a man jumped from the ring of muttering spectators in front of Harry. It was Lupin. 'Stop. Stop this nonsense at once!'

'Remus?' Sirius looked less than pleased to see the man. 'What are you doing here?! This has nothing to do with you!'

'It does,' said Lupin, catching his breath. He still looked a bit wobbly. Then again, for someone who had taken a flying kick to the ribs and a stunner to the head, he seemed as fit as a fiddle.

'What are you doing here, mutt?' said Amy with an ugly scowl.

Lupin looked briefly at her. 'I'm here to help. You don't have to trust me, just … don't hex me in the back.' A bit louder, he said, 'Where is Frank?!'

'What?!' Amy looked at him with equal parts confusion and disgust. Harry didn't blame her.

Sirius' expression, on the other hand, grew wooden. 'Stop your stalling, Remus. I don't need my boss to make a simple arrest.'

'You sure you don't, Padfoot?' said Lupin with a little smile as he took one last deep breath and stood tall. 'He ordered you to leave this be, didn't he?'

Prewett looked outraged. 'HOW DO YOU–'

Alice Longbottom eyed Lupin appraisingly for a moment. Then she turned to Sirius. 'Plan B.'

'What?!' said Sirius with another furtive look towards the crowd. 'What if Dumbled–'

'NOW!' With a flick of her wand, a huge column of cobbles rose from the pavement of the streets behind the group, stacking themselves at blinding speed into half a dome that completely shielded Harry's group from the village behind them.

The students and villagers around them screamed, scrambling away not to get hit by tons of bricks moving like leaves in the wind.

'CAREFUL!' yelled Tracey. 'IT'S THE ANIMATION FROM BEFORE!'

Harry watched with a shiver as the cobblestones set themselves. Already, the wall behind them was five yards tall.

'Have you lost the plot, Sirius?!' growled Lupin, who was exchanging spells with his fellow Marauder. 'This is the middle of Hogsmeade!'

'Why the devil are you interfering now of all times?!' snarled Sirius, smacking a hex Lupin had shot at him out of the air with ease. 'Where were you all this time?! This is all your fault, and now you turn up when I'm finally doing something about this mess?!'

Harry ducked under the ricochet. 'Protego Maxima!'

'What now?!' hissed Amy at his side, as she aimed a cheap shot at Sirius, who was still engaged in his bitter fight with Lupin. Sirius cursed, growling at Amy, but just barely managed to dodge both Amy's and Lupin's attacks.

'You both distract Longbottom and Prewett! Tracey? You take care of Daphne!'

'I can help!' protested Tracey.

'NO!' yelled Harry. Daphne was still sobbing, holding onto Tracey's robes for dear life. 'She's in no state to defend herself. And we still don't know what they want from her! What if they try to get her while we're preoccupied?!'

'Fine …'

Harry touched the stone at their feet, warily glancing towards the fight between Lupin and Sirius. Leo and Amy were firing spell after spell towards Prewett and Longbottom. The latter was methodically sealing off the rest of the alleys, pushing all the onlookers who hadn't fled yet out, while Prewett held his own against the siblings, momentarily on the defence against their combined onslaught.

Harry took a deep breath. He'd practised this bit of magic a lot, but he still wasn't quite as fast as he would like. Slowly, he stretched out his wand and hand, trying to attach invisible anchors to the area around them.

Tracey, seeing his movement, seemed to catch on. 'Wait, you aren't trying to –'

'QUIET!'

One by one, the spell hooked into reality around them like a thousand magical grapples.

'Small!' yelled Tracey. 'Make it small, we don't have time!'

'I KNOW!'

Agonisingly slow, Harry watched the spell take hold, covering an area not more than twenty square feet immediately around him.

'Faster, Harry!' said Tracey warningly, as she deflected a wayward curse. 'Faster!'

'I'm going as fast as I can!'

Impatiently, Harry watched as the last of the anchors sprang up and he finished the initial weave of the ward.

'Oh, shit!' shouted Tracey.

Harry was about to ask what her problem was when he saw Leo being violently thrown back. He would've crashed straight into Harry if Tracey hadn't reacted as fast as she had. 'Immobulus!' She gently levitated him towards the ground right next to Harry. A cursory glance revealed that he was totally out of it. Already a bad bruise was swelling on the right side of his face.

'Thanks,' muttered Harry.

'Get on with it already!'

Harry bit back his retort and started tracing the web of his ward with his wand, muttering under his breath. Slowly, tantalisingly slowly, magic was seeping into the weave, instilling the intent to disperse and balance out.

Harry gave a start as Tracey suddenly leapt over and in front of him, swatting a hex that was bound for him out of the way with another Shield Charm before she took up position next to Amy, who was a whirl of anger and magic, dispensing curses and swear words in equal measure.

With a brief look, Harry immediately understood; Alice Longbottom had finished sealing off the plaza and was finally turning her attention towards their group. Gritting his teeth, he pushed more magic into the weave than he would have usually dared.

An indigo curse struck the pavement next to him, causing the stone to burst into a thousand sharp fragments that soared through the air in all directions. Harry gritted his teeth, tracing the web of his ward with complete disregard for anything else.

He almost felt the next spell before it entered his peripheral vision. The unfamiliar booming grey curse crashed into a defensive spell inches from his face. Daphne was on her feet, still trembling – but now it looked like she was trembling with rage more than fear. With a murderous look, she screamed maniacally. A foreboding shimmer of unadulterated power erupted from the tip of her wand like the glimpse of a solar flare. Barely a second later, the front of the Three Broomsticks exploded with a gigantic boom.

Harry tried to ignore the ensuing cries and shouts as he cowered on the ground, tracing the web yet another time.

'AAAAAARRRGH!' another scream tore through the air. It sounded like Lupin. Harry didn't look up.

With forced calm, he traced the ground yet again. And just then – finally – he felt the imbued magic starting to push back. 'EVERYONE AROUND ME!' he shouted at the top of his voice.

A lot of hectic shuffling, one last push of magic, and then the ground flashed brightly – just in time to obliterate another debilitating spell thrown their way.

'HARRY! HARRY!' yelled Daphne, grabbing him by the robes. 'Are you okay?!'

'What? Yeah, of course, I am.'

'You're bleeding! There's blood all over you!'

Apparently, not all the splinters from earlier had passed Harry by harmlessly. His robes were soaked with his blood. 'Superficial cuts,' he muttered. 'Didn't even feel them. I'm all right – really.'

Daphne, her expression raw, the traces of tears still hanging on her lashes, frantically patted him up and down as if to make sure he really was all there.

'Close shave,' muttered Tracey, holding her right arm that hung unresponsive at her side.

Amy looked no worse for wear. 'What's that?!' With her finger, she reached towards the spot where the incoming spell had been washed away – until Tracey swatted her hand away.

'Don't touch that!'

Beyond his ward, Harry now saw that the street was in ruins. The entrance to the Three Broomsticks was completely wrecked – as was half the building behind it and bits of the houses to either side of it. The street and ground were torn up in multiple places. Angry marks of venomous green all around them attested to all the hexes Tracey had deflected while Harry had been busy. A few billowing black flames on the other side of what remained of the plaza bespoke Amy's favourite curse.

Lupin was on the ground again, lying in the crater of a curse that had blasted him two feet into the solid ground, wrapped in steel chains. And still he was wrestling with his bindings, if obviously weakened by the ordeal.

Prewett, Longbottom, and Sirius – on the other hand – were all on their feet. Prewett looked a little worse for wear but still mostly fine. Sirius had black soot marks on his heavy robes that Harry instantly linked to Amy's handiwork, but he looked discouragingly uninjured. Alice Longbottom, for her part, was unscathed.

'What sorcery is this?!' snarled Prewett. 'BOMBARDA MAXIMA!'

The Exploding Charm tore violently through the air – but when it impacted with Harry's ward, there was only a loud 'GLOOP' like a bubble of air rising underwater – and nothing more.

'Neat,' said Amy. Her eyes flickered to her brother, who was still on the ground behind Harry. 'What now? Wait until Dumbledore turns up?'

'How am I supposed to know?!' said Harry indignantly as he gently pushed Daphne away. She was still busily examining him in an unnecessarily clingy manner. 'I'm fine, Daphne!'

'Well, you're the brainy one,' said Amy, rolling her eyes. 'Will this ward last?'

'I sure hope so,' said Harry. 'Anyway, someone's bound to arrive from Hogwarts soon, right? Look at the state of this place!'

'I think half of Scotland heard Daphne blow up the pub,' said Tracey with a hesitant grin.

Daphne finally let go of Harry's robes. 'I– I didn't mean to. I just got so angry that I–'

'WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME IS THAT?!' Prewett's cry of frustration easily drowned out Daphne's stuttered explanation. With a howl of rage, he flung another curse towards the ward. Once again, the ward drank it up without any evidence of difficulty.

Sirius nervously scanned their surroundings, and Harry got the distinct impression that the man was on the lookout for the headmaster of Hogwarts, too. Alice Longbottom, unnervingly, was muttering under her breath with her wand held aloft, a picture of calm and confidence. Her eyes widened visibly. 'How …?' she mumbled disbelievingly. 'But how?!' She took a few steps towards the ward, staring at the air and the ground as if to peel truth from thin air.

'We need to get Leo out of here,' said Harry under his breath.

'Yeah?' said Tracey. 'You suggesting we carry him outside and call time-out?!'

'STOP THAT AT ONCE, RENDALL!' Harry looked up from their mumbled discussion as Longbottom rounded on Prewett. 'It won't do any good. Stop it!'

Harry felt a shiver run down his neck as he watched the woman take a few more steps towards the ward.

'We need to get this over with,' said Sirius, who was evading Harry's look. 'We'll have company sooner or later.'

Alice stared from Harry to what should have been thin air to her. There was no overt hostility in her inquisitive eyes. 'Sirius, you take Miss Greengrass. Rendall, you provide cover against anything they put up, especially the girls.'

'What – are you kidding?! They're just a bunch of kids!'

'Hush now, Rendall. That little girl with the curls almost got me earlier today. You had your chance while Sirius was subduing his old friend.'

'I got one of them!' protested Prewett hotly.

'Yes. One. And Miss Greengrass would have blasted you to bits if I hadn't covered your back.'

'I was busy fighting two of them already!'

'Enough! Enough. Do as I say, I'll bring down the ward.'

Harry felt his heart skip a beat.

'Wait what?!' hissed Tracey. 'Erm, Harry? Can she do that?!'

'I don't know?!' whispered Harry. He felt his throat go dry as Alice Longbottom approached to stand just in front of the ward. She looked him straight in the eye.

'How,' she asked, looking genuinely puzzled, 'did you learn this, Harry? Who taught you?'

Harry's mouth snapped shut. He stared back at her, one wild theory displacing the next. How does she know?!

'But why would you tell me, I suppose,' continued Longbottom with a sad little smile. 'You did very well to come this far. If you permit me to say so, your mother would have been very proud.'

Then she lifted her wand. Harry watched with horror as – one after another – the ward anchors he had woven came undone, snapping back into the ward as if a zip fastener ran along the edges of the protective enchantment.

'What the–'

'Harry?!'

'What's happening?!'

Harry twisted where he stood, pointing his wand and pushed more magic into the weave. The ward began to hum angrily as Alice Longbottom looked up at him once again. She looked, if anything, pleasantly surprised. And then she, too, pushed back with force, funnelling as much power as she could into the ward to overpower his grip. Harry's wand began to shake violently in his hand.

'Er, Harry, what's happening?' Amy's voice was far off.

Harry focused with all his might on his wand, ignoring the increasingly erratic movements of the magic within the ward. He would not lose; he would not be bested at this – at this one thing he took pride in!

'What the heck?!' yelled Tracey as a faint cascade of pulsating light shimmered into view between Harry and Longbottom.

'Is that the ward?!' demanded Daphne raspily. 'Is it supposed to hum?!'

'What do you think?!' said Amy. 'Wands up–'

And then the ward tore. It tore with all the magic Harry had instilled it with – and all the additional power two very unusual people had pumped into it in a bid to overpower the other. And it tore violently.

A blinding light, a sudden wave of blazing heat, and a third, devastating explosion tore through Hogsmeade, more massive than even the first. It shook the buildings around the centre of the village, it cracked the twice-torn foundations of the Three Broomsticks causing the entire building to collapse. It smashed against the dome of pavement, and the cobbles exploded outwards, smashing into windows and walls, demolishing displays and signs and roofs, its rumbling echoing for seconds across the lake, flushing the birds from all the trees in sight.

Harry came to with a shrill ringing in his ears and white flashes flickering across the inside of his eyes.

He groaned, trying to pull himself up, but he couldn't. He awkwardly slumped back. The last thing he remembered was the rupture in the ward and then – heat.

'You guys oka-argh!'

He coughed violently, choking on his words. His lungs felt like they'd been kicked in by a troll. Apparently, he had also bitten his lip or tongue because the taste of blood was so strong he almost retched. With another groan, he opened his crusty eyes. Someone was lying on top of him. They had thrown themselves over him to shield him from the worst of the explosion. And it was also this someone's blood that was dripping from their robes.

Harry froze, his pulse quickening. His stinging eyes found long, sleek, and glossy blonde hair.

'Daphne. DAPHNE!'

He scrambled to his feet, ignoring his burning limbs, ignoring the grinding pain in his lungs.

'DAPHNE!'

She had to have pushed him down and fallen on top of him. Her entire back, from the nape of her neck to the back of her knees, was cherry-red, covered with a sickly sheen that glistened in the waning evening sun. Some projectile must have sliced her following the explosion. The cut on the side of her head was bleeding more than one would think possible.

'She's breathing,' muttered Amy, who had crawled up to him on all fours. 'But she doesn't look good, does she?'

Harry felt his stomach twist into a knot as he flicked his wand to temporarily stem the loss of blood.

'Third-degree burns. And she's lost a lot of blood. It's bad, I need to get her out of here!'

'No complaints here,' said Amy. With a grunt, she pushed herself to her feet. 'Wow, look at that.'

'What?!' snapped Harry irately, tracing Daphne's wound with his wand.

'Look!'

Harry reluctantly looked up. Through a fog of dust and hot ash, he realised they were in what could only be described as a crater, surrounded by singed earth. Only an indistinct pile of smouldering rubble remained of the famous Three Broomsticks. From what he could make out of the surrounding houses, they hadn't fared much better. As dazed as he was, Harry still heard screaming and shouting from all over the village. People were approaching.

'It's a wonder we made it,' he muttered.

'Tracey threw up some kind of charm,' said Amy, peering through the cloud of dust and ash.

'She did?'

'Yeah. About the last thing I saw before I blacked out.'

'Not bad.'

'Thanks,' said Tracey from somewhere behind him. 'Please tell me those wankers are dead. Because my legs feel like overcooked spaghetti.'

'Well,' said Amy with a mean grin, 'I did get one good shot in while you were busy saving our butts. Let's see …'

With a swish and a wave of her wand, the cloud of dust was blown away as if a giant, invisible hair dryer had been put to work, unveiling what remained of the plaza.

Alice Longbottom was leaning against a huge ashlar from the foundations of the pub. She was heaving and wincing with every breath she took. Her wand was nowhere in sight.

Next to her, on one knee and his back turned towards them, black pus dripping from his head, was Sirius. He was pointing his wand at his own face, muttering frantically to – what Harry realised – must be the laboured instructions of Alice Longbottom.

'Bloody hell!' mumbled Amy. 'How is he still okay after that? Is that granite under his skin or what?!' She levelled her wand. 'Third time's the charm.'

Just then, a dozen pops echoed through the vicinity, slipping through the charm that held them all. And that could only mean one thing.

'FREEZE!'

'WANDS DOWN!'

'All involved will be held. This disturbance is over!'

Wands were pointed – three, four, nine – too many. More and more employees from the DMLE arrived, regular patrols and Hit Wizards.

'Seven blazes,' groaned Tracey from the ground behind them. 'Now they turn up?!'

'This,' said Amy angrily, 'this is seriously bullshit!'

'DROP YOUR WAND – NOW!'

'Do it,' said Harry. 'You can't fight half a platoon.'

For one second of pure madness, Harry thought Amy was weighing her chances. But then she dropped her wand with exaggerated drama. 'Fine. To hell with this!'

One of the Hit Witches approached Sirius, who hadn't lowered his wand. 'Drop your wand, sir! This is your last warning!'

'I'm an Auror on active duty, and I require medical attention.'

The woman faltered. 'Do … do you have identification, sir?'

'Left pocket of my coat. Can't get it myself, I'm afraid. My face is kind of melting.'

The woman cautiously approached Sirius, took a peek at his face, and stumbled back. 'Sweet Morgana!'

'Yes, I know. Left pocket.'

The woman relaxed a bit, but her wand was still pointed at Sirius as she began to rummage in his pockets.

'Well, that's about it I guess,' said Amy evenly. 'Great day, this. Remind me to skip Hogsmeade next time.'

'H-Harry?' Daphne, whom Harry had gently moved into a recovery position, frantically fumbled around with her hand. 'Harry?!'

'I'm here,' said Harry, taking her hand. 'I'm okay.'

She returned his grip. 'You are?! I was worried I wouldn't make it.' She relaxed a bit. 'I'm feeling woozy …'

'You … you just lie still. You'll be okay. I promise.'

'Okay.'

The Hit Witch and Sirius, meanwhile, seemed to have come to an accord. '–and I require the girl brought in, yes.'

'He's still going on about that?! With half his face blown up?!' Tracey, with a wince, dragged herself into a sitting position. 'This is so unfair …'

'Don't worry,' said Harry, taking Daphne's hand into both of his as she tightened her grip. 'It'll be okay. I won't let them take you, all right?'

Daphne nodded silently, biting her lip.

'How's Leo?' asked Harry, glaring coldly at the approaching Hit Witch who was helping Sirius along. The entire left side of his face was black and rigid, the skin chapped and pyic.

'Not good,' mumbled Tracey. 'I think he took another blow to the head.'

'Got any last ace up your sleeve?' asked Amy as the lopsided pair closed in. 'Now's the time for the big finale.'

'Sorry,' said Harry with a sigh. 'No last ace. Just my hands.'

'Daphne Greengrass,' said the Hit Witch, one arm around Sirius' shoulder. 'You are to come with us to the DMLE by order of the Auror Office.'

'I'm not coming,' hissed Daphne. As much as she tried, she couldn't even crane her neck enough to look at them. 'I'll have nothing to do with the place!'

'She is the heiress of a noble house,' said Harry with an air of authority that completely disregarded the ten wands pointed their way. The ring of witches and wizards around them was closing. 'You have no authority to arrest her. Only the Elder Council does.'

'She is not to be arrested,' said the witch, shaking her head. 'She is … detained until further notice.'

'Of all the cowardly–'

'WHAT THE HELL GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO DO WHATEVER YOU PLEASE?' screamed Tracey. 'WHAT'S THE POINT OF ALL THOSE RULES AND REGULATIONS IF YOU JUST MAKE IT ALL UP ALONG THE WAY?!'

'Filth!' Amy spat at Sirius.

Sirius wearily dodged the attack on his dignity. 'You started this, Harry. You escalated this. It needn't have come to this.' He shook his head, wincing as he did so. 'What were you thinking?' he said with a sigh of disappointment. 'Going against the Ministry. Did you really think a bunch of kids could get away with that?'

Harry stared up at him, his hands still grasping Daphne's. 'Sirius? If you touch her, you're dead. I mean it.'

'If you attempt to resist, we're well authorised to use force, Mr Black,' said the witch with a cold look in her eyes.

'The end of escalation,' said Sirius with a grimace. 'A hollow threat.'

Another woman with her wand out stood next to Sirius. It took two seconds for Harry's adrenaline-soaked consciousness to register that while the woman wore Ministry robes, the wand in her delicate fingers was all too familiar.

'Flawed. Flawed and callous, Mr Black,' she said with a mellow voice. 'Disappointing in more ways than one.'

'What?'

'You're wrong, Sirius,' repeated the new arrival calmly. 'Escalation has no beginning and no end.'

Sirius didn't seem to cope much better than Harry. When it finally registered that his real name had been called, he turned towards the new arrival. 'What?! Who are y–'

'Escalation,' finished the woman calmly, 'is a state of mind.' And then, with all her might, her entire body following her fist, the newcomer struck Sirius on the injured left side of his face.

With an anguished howl, gurgling and kicking and screaming, Sirius was knocked down, cradling his face, yelling incoherently at the top of his lungs. The Hit Witch was too stupefied to notice the arrival pointing her wand. 'Depulso!'

The Hit Witch was thrown thirty yards through the air. Other figures were arriving, condensing from shadows, firing spells from all around them, turning on their comrades from within the files of the ministry. From one second to the next, it was utter chaos. People screaming, yelling, fleeing, cursing.

'I suggest you look after your friends,' said the woman, nodding towards Daphne and Leo. The voice was fake. He wouldn't have recognised it. But the wand. The wand!

Behind Harry, Tracey's eyes, impossibly wide open, were glued to the wand. She gasped for air.

'This won't take very long.' And without another word, she fired a Stunner at the screeching figure of Sirius who fainted where he was writhing on the ground, dodged a Stunner thrown her way from another Hit Wizard, flicked her wand towards her attacker, and strode towards her next victim, already turning away from the hapless wizard who was thrown back with such force that he crashed through a showcase on the other side of the street.

'What happened?' croaked Daphne. 'I can't see anything! What's happening?!'

'Well,' said Amy as she watched the retreating figure from the ground with bemused awe. 'Someone finally took down your uncle.' From where she sat, she spat in Sirius' face. 'Good riddance.'

'Finally.'

'Almost thought the bastard was invincible or something,' grumbled Amy. 'They're on our side, right? Tracey?'

'Yes?' said Tracey in a slightly unnatural tone of voice. 'What?! Oh, I think so, yeah. Probably.'

'Come on,' said Harry under his breath. 'Let's get Daphne and Leo out of here.'

'That shop over there is deserted,' said Tracey, pointing towards a shop two buildings down the street. 'The door's blasted off, too. We should be able to put up a few defences there.'

'All right. Both of you carry Leo. Come on, Daphne.'

'I … I can't feel my back!'

'It's all right,' said Harry, gently helping her to her feet. 'You were burnt very badly. We'll be able to fix you up. Come, one step at a time.'

Harry nervously looked over his shoulder as they shambled towards Everard's Eagle Emporium. By his estimate, there were four family members or associates battling against a dozen or so witches and wizards from the Ministry. He could already spot several motionless figures strewn about the plaza – at least six by his cursory count – fruits of labour and the moment of surprise.

'DOWN!' he yanked Daphne down hard as a wayward curse sailed above their heads, crashing into a street lamp with a sizzling sound of sudden electric potential and a strong smell of sulphur.

Daphne whimpered, bravely fighting tears. She looked close to vomiting. 'That bloody hurt!'

'Sorry! I'm sorry, Daphne.' Harry gave her a quick peck on the brow. 'Come on, we're almost there. You're doing great!'

'Dang, someone needs to watch their aim,' grumbled Tracey. 'Look at those idiots! They're still doing this!'

Harry looked over his shoulder. A small detachment of witches and wizards from the DMLE had managed to drive a wedge between Harry's group and his family.

'Why won't they just give up already?!' said Amy, squinting her eyes as she beheld the carnage. 'They're going down like flies, look!'

Harry turned his head to look again.

But instead of a member of the DMLE he had expected to see collapse, he saw Amy soar past him like a bird – until she crashed with a loud 'Oomph!' into a huge pile of frozen snow.

He yanked his head around as – with another series of bangs – he heard Tracey cry out in pain, rolling on the floor, holding an open gash on her waist that was already drawing red flowers on the white ground. With a swish of his wand that owed everything to instinct and nothing to thought, he wordlessly conjured a Shield Charm just as another series of glaring grey jets of light collided with his defensive magic to the tumultuous roar of the thunder.

'IT'S PREWETT!' yelled Tracey, holding her bleeding side. 'LOOK OUT!'

But there was no time. A fiery orange blasting curse hit the ancient rickety house next to Harry. Swearing violently, Harry jumped backwards, dragging Daphne with him, freezing half a window in mid-air before it smashed Harry to a bloody pulp. A huge cloud of dust and soot rose from the demolished section of the wall, blocking their line of sight.

'There won't be anything left of Hogsmeade to rebuild if this goes on,' said Daphne with a wheezing cough and fake bravado. 'Is it really … him?'

But a shout from across the rising cloud of dust and snow rendered any answer obsolete. 'I know I didn't get you, Black. You and your family – you're like cockroaches, always crawling back towards the light no matter how often we stomp at you. But not this time!'

Daphne was about to yell back, but Harry shoved his hand over her mouth and yanked her to the ground.

'Confringo!'

The Blasting Curse soared through the air towards the spot where their heads had been a moment ago.

'Give – Bombarda! – me – Bombarda! – Greengrass, Black! Now! Bombarda Maxima!'

Two white lights struck the ground before them. Harry – in a wild whirl of gestures – conjured up another Shield Charm that took most of the blast, but they were nevertheless thrown off their feet as Harry's charm broke, sending them crashing into the dirty snow.

'Quietus! Sorry! You need to hold on for a couple seconds longer, all right?'

'It– it hurts.'

Harry gently tapped her back with his wand to completely numb the nerves. Already half her skin was covered in blisters, some of which had ruptured. 'This will only dull the pain, it's not healed. Sorry, it's the next best thing right now.'

'What … are we … going to do about … him?' said Daphne weakly, panting from the effort.

Another white jet of light struck the ground a few yards in front of them, spraying them with snow and frozen mud.

Harry drew a spiral with his wand. 'Fumos!'

A thick, opaque fog shot from Harry's wand, clinging to their boots with hesitant tendrils clawing upwards at shoulder height. The fog quickly spread across the street, gobbling up sounds and buildings, until only the occasional faint, dull roar or streak of deadly magic flashed through.

'Come on,' he muttered, his voice muffled by the Quietening Charm and the stifling veil of the artificial haze. Harry put one arm around Daphne's shoulder, ignoring her wince, and half-dragged, half-crouched towards the other side of the street, ignoring the furious bellows of Prewett and any spells that – this time – went wide, colliding with street lamps, houses, and even rooftops.

'YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME, BLACK! I'LL GET THIS DONE EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I'LL EVER DO! HOMENUM REVELIO!'

Something like a shadow swept over Harry, and he shuddered as the sensation expanded outwards, away from where Prewett must have stood.

Daphne, eyes drooped, pointed her wand vaguely in the direction the sensation had originated from. 'Expulso!'

The muffled rumbling of a growling thunder, a quick series of bangs and shouts, and then the unnatural silence of the fog crept back into the alley.

'Careful!' hissed Harry. 'Tracey's over there somewhere!'

Daphne looked mortified, eyes wide. 'Oh, no!'

'It's okay, I think you missed her by a dozen yards or –'

'I'LL GET YOU. I'LL GET YOU BOTH! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!'

Daphne groaned. 'H-how … how is his voice so clear? I barely … even heard my own curse.'

'Good question,' muttered Harry. 'Maybe the idiot is using an Amplifying Charm to satisfy his histrionics.'

'Yeah …' Daphne tried to scoff but the abrupt contraction of her lungs caused her to wince. 'Ow! Tosser …'

Harry gently put her down behind the basement wall of a house. 'But maybe he's on to something.'

'What?'

With a thoughtful expression, Harry picked up half a brick one of the earlier explosions must have sent flying. 'I know you've been through a lot but … do you think you could –'

'Yes.'

'At least wait until I've told you what to do!' Harry grinned ruefully at Daphne, who – despite her pained, rattling breathing, waxy skin and infrequent bouts of shivers stared back with iron determination. 'Think you can hit this in mid-flight?'

'Why?'

'Can you?'

'As long … as I can see … But the fog–'

'Way ahead of you,' said Harry, standing up. 'When I throw the brick, you need to hit it with the strongest Blasting Curse you can muster. All right?'

Daphne stared blankly at him. 'Okay?'

'Get ready. Homenum Revelio!'

'BIG MISTAKE, BLACK!' roared Prewett as another two Exploding Charms hit the house next to them.

Harry tapped the brick with his wand. 'Sonorus!' With a smirk, he put his forefinger on his lips – and threw the brick, aiming in the direction the Revealing Charm had detected the approaching man. Deftly, he flicked his wand. Partis Temporis!

The wall of haze was cut in half, banks of fog billowing upwards as if an invisible hot stream of air was rising from the snow-covered pavement. And in the middle of it: Rendall Prewett, clothes torn, knees bloody and scrapped, a streak of dried blood running from his brow to his belt, looking momentarily stupefied as his prey revealed itself voluntarily. He had expected a curse or even a charm. He had not expected a brick, particularly half a brick that was clearly going to miss.

Daphne, with a hateful glare, pointed her wand. 'CONFRINGO!'

Harry dove for Daphne, putting both of his hands over her ears.

The curse hit the brick with the thunderous roar of celestial vengeance – magically amplified by Harry's charm. The ensuing shock wave physically slammed Harry against the wall. He staggered, desperately struggling not to collapse on top of Daphne, fighting nausea, erratic white flashes of blinding light, and the head-splitting pain from his ears.

He staggered two steps to the side, collapsed like a human pudding against the wall, joint by joint, and threw up. With a massive effort of will, he pushed himself on his feet and grasped Daphne's shoulder. 'Come on,' he mumbled. He couldn't hear his voice over the incessant screeching in his ears. 'No reason to wait and see if we got him.'

He dragged Daphne to her feet and – together – they shambled away from the street, behind the house, taking the long way towards the plaza, where Harry suspected the fight should be settled by now.

They stumbled over an unresponsive man from the DMLE, finally emerging in the main plaza in front of the Three Broomsticks. Or what little remained of the pub. Or what little remained of the western Hogsmeade.

Motionless people were strewn all over the place. Several new craters had been torn into the earth, already stuffed with a thin layer of snow. Distant flashes through the snow, behind the houses, as well as the occasional scream, made it clear to Harry that the fight was still ongoing. A pair of distant fighters, barely visible in the gloom, rushed through the ruins of a building, the chase occasionally intermitted by the glaring lights of dark magic.

He turned to look towards the other end of the village when a sudden sizzling of a curse, louder and closer than expected, rattled Harry, and he almost fell over the restrained form of a man in red robes. The wayward curse had hit the man lying at their feet and torn off one of his legs.

'Proudfoot,' muttered Harry grimly, swishing his wand to sear the stump and keep the man from exsanguination. It was almost impossible to heal wounds caused by dark magic like that, but – with any luck – the man would make it. More pressingly, his presence meant one thing: Aurors. Small wonder the fight hadn't run its course yet.

Harry felt the presence of magic being cast before he heard anything. Hackles raised, he spun around, flicking his wand upwards – just in time to deflect a stunner towards the overcast sky. The sun had finally set completely. But there – coming from the alley they had just departed – stood Prewett, shaking, swaying, limping, bleeding from both of his ears. But in his eyes, the demons of zeal marched in line to their twisted ideal of justice, keeping the battered human form on its feet by sheer conviction.

Prewett screamed – unintelligibly, spitting a bloody tooth – as he levelled his wand once more towards Daphne and Harry, but his movements were plain: fast and precise; and yet all the easier to predict and anticipate. Harry ducked underneath the red stunner, deflected the Exploding Charm in Prewett's direction, shielded himself from the Full-Body Bind that followed and – just as Prewett lost balance when the Exploding Charm collided with the much-tortured earth of Hogsmeade – took his shot. 'Diffindo!'

The Severing Charm's aim was true, racing across the battered earth, ploughing through the snow, straight through their teacher's robes, through his skin and rib cage both, piercing his lung, and leaving through the man's back, drilling almost one yard into the stony earth.

'It's over,' muttered Harry, lowering his wand, watching the man rocking on his feet, eyes wide. He turned towards Daphne.

But then, from the corner of his eye, he saw Prewett – like a puppet on strings – straighten his back, only the white of his eyes visible, his features madly contorted. He garbled and spat a word, blood spraying from his lacerated lips.

Harry shoved Daphne out of the way with his left arm, looked up – and then the curse hit.

Pain.

Agony like nothing Harry had ever felt. Fire in his nerves. Saws gnawing at his bones. Acid down his air pipe. He screamed, involuntarily, his limbs flailing wildly. The village was fading from his sight. Prewett, wand held high, eyes impossibly wide, a wordless, primal, rattling, breathless scream on his lips.

Suddenly, another person. Daphne. With desperate, wide movements, she threw herself between Harry and the man on the other side of the street, arms outstretched.

The hairs on Harry's neck rose. A sharp, sudden plucking sound like the string of a harp snapping. A smell like burnt flesh. A sudden vision of hideous, malevolent mustard yellow racing in Prewett's direction – from behind Harry.

The curse raced past Harry, tore through the evening air, through Daphne, it tore off Prewett's knee twenty yards down the street, before smacking into the earth with an angry hiss and the overwhelming stench of sulphur.

Harry watched, transfixed, time stretching down to the fraction of a millisecond, as Daphne shuddered and then slumped down.

'DAPHNE!' Harry threw himself into the dirt, catching her before she hit the street. 'DAPHNE!'

She looked up at him with glassy eyes, a faint smile on her lips. '… ou're okay.'

'Of course, I am!' His eyes wandered to her waist – and he almost retched. He forced himself to look at her face, her serene face, her golden hair. Blood was pounding in his ears. One thought penetrated the haze of terror: healing charms.

'Har–' Daphne coughed up blood, and her whole body shook.

'Don't move, Daphne.' Harry, smiling painfully, wiped a bit of blood from around her mouth, taking her hand in his as he muttered away, casting charm after charm.

'You never – told me what F...ather said to you that day...'

In a fever dream, Harry heard himself repeat the same answer he'd always given. 'He told me to keep you safe. He told me to keep all of you safe, Daphne.'

Tears leaked from Daphne's eyes as she smiled at him sadly. 'I'm glad.' She coughed, spitting out more blood. 'Cold…'

Harry flicked his wand to warm her. The wand flashed, light momentarily illuminating the spreading pool of blood.

'H-Harry?'

'Yes?' said Harry, his eyes burning, but determined to not let it show.

'Y-you won't leave me…?'

Harry bent over, kissing her on the brow. 'No.'

'I'm glad...' she said with a lop-sided smile, her left eye closed.

Harry stared back at her. It felt as if the world was slipping from under his feet.

'Harry...'

'Yes, Daphne?'

'I...' Her breathing was stertorous. 'Harry...I...' Her lips moved a few times, her one eye still firmly locked with his. 'Harry...'

'Daphne? DAPHNE! No. NO!' Harry shook her shoulder with his left, mindlessly battering away at her body with all the magic he knew. They'd be all right. They'd be together. Back when they were kids, they'd sworn to be there for one another, sworn among the tombstones and the freshly dug earth. 'DAPHNE!'

Reeling, he cast his healing charms again and again and again towards where the curse had almost bisected her at the waist. Dully, like a puppet, he shot charm after charm at the gaping wound, soft green light into a bottomless crimson pit. Again. And again. And again …

He didn't notice the cries of the battle. He didn't notice the flash of light, nor did he notice the sound of shattering glass as Dumbledore finally ripped through the Ministry's containment ward and four cloaked assailants fled like bats at the break of dawn.

He didn't notice as Dumbledore gently pushed his wand down and grasped his shoulders. He didn't notice him speaking.

He didn't notice as someone brought him to the castle. He didn't notice as someone put him to bed in the infirmary and had him drink a potion.

He noticed nothing, couldn't notice anything, couldn't bear to think he would ever again notice anything as darkness descended upon him and all manners of nightmares of the past – chittering, clawing, heckling – rose from the bowels of the ancient, frigid castle to torment his mind.

Never again.

Sometimes, the burden of loathing for oneself is too great to carry.

'Promise me, Harry,' Regulus had said, the smouldering air full of ash and fire. And before Harry could protest again, the man gripped the boy by the scruff of the neck, his eyes brimming with black despair. 'Promise me! Promise me you'll leave them behind if it's a choice between yourself and them. Promise me that you'll abandon them at a moment's notice, leave them behind, helpless – even if that means certain death. Promise me you'll discard me, my wife … my daughters. Promise! PROMISE ME TO LET US DIE!'

'No! No, no, no, no, NO! I can't do that! I won't do it!'

'Promise me, Harry!'

Harry awoke with a cry of anguish, pummelling the cushion so hard that the seams tore. Screaming, he tore at the fabric, tears gushing down unrestrainedly, his voice full of horrified revulsion.

And all the while, white plumes fell to the ground all around him – just like the plucked feathers of a fallen angel.