Chapter 117

Darkness Victorious

Note from J.M. Jackson: I hope I've got this chapter written well enough, it's supposed to be shocking and upsetting, though there is also something new as well. I hope you enjoy the story :)

As Lily, Ginny, and Dumbledore appeared in Hogsmeade, behind the Hog's Head, Lily sighed. "Thank Merlin that worked," Lily muttered.

"Should we get our invisibility cloaks on?" Ginny asked.

"Not…necessary. I think we…can continue on as normal," Dumbledore said, clearly still in some pain, but looking a little better. "We should get to my office."

"Agreed, you can rest there, and we can study the locket tomorrow," Lily agreed, though as they walked down the street together, Lily frowned. "I don't… can you hear that?" Lily asked.

"Hear what?" Ginny asked.

"I thought I heard a scream," Lily said, frowning as they reached the Three Broomsticks. As they did, Madam Rosmerta came rushing out.

"Albus! Thank Merlin you're okay!" Rosmerta exclaimed.

"Rosmerta… what's wrong?" Dumbledore asked, frowning.

"You… where have you been? Haven't you seen?" Rosmerta asked, pointing to the school. Lily and Ginny gasped as they saw smoke in the air, and the Dark Mark hovering over the school.

"We shouldn't have left," Lily said, covering her mouth with her hand. "Madam Rosmerta, can you look after Professor Dumbledore? We need to get to the school, now."

"No… we shall all go," Dumbledore said. "Rosmerta, do you have any brooms?"

"Yes… behind the bar," Rosmerta replied. "Albus, what's going on?"

"Lily, if you'd do the honours?" Dumbledore asked.

"Accio Rosmerta's brooms!" Lily exclaimed, waving her wand. Three broomsticks sped out of the building over to Lily.

"Albus, please, stay here," Rosmerta pleaded.

"I must help my students," Dumbledore drew himself to full height, looking stronger again, though Lily knew he was faking it.

"Stay inside, Madam Rosmerta, and contact the Ministry please," Ginny said, helping Dumbledore onto one of the brooms, before magically connecting all three of them. "We'll help you get there."

"The… the astronomy tower… will be our best target," Dumbledore said, as Lily and Ginny mounted the brooms.

"Good idea. When we get there, we'll start finding the others, and get you to the Hospital Wing," Lily insisted, before kicking off. All three brooms took off, lifting in the air, with Lily aiming them towards the school, hoping it wasn't too late.

As Lily, Ginny, and Dumbledore landed in the Astronomy tower, trying to ignore the flames, and the smell of smoke in the air. "Alright, we've got in at least. We need to find the others and see what the attackers wanted," Lily said. "Ginny, take Professor Dumbledore to the Hospital Wing, please?"

"Do you really think it's a good idea to split up?" Ginny asked.

"Probably not, but we've got a lot to deal with," Lily said.

"I can wait here, but I need you to fetch Professor Snape," Dumbledore said. "I have faith in the pair of you."

"Professor, you're not at your best. You can't defend yourself properly," Lily replied.

"I am feeling a little better and can defend myself adequately for the moment. Professor Snape is an expert at potions and will likely be able to give me a remedy to help, and with the school under attack, it would be wiser for you to stay together," Dumbledore explained. Lily sighed; as much as she hated to admit it, it was logical.

"Yes, sir," Lily agreed, taking Ginny's hand. They quick raced down the stairs, and opened the door, but froze as they heard someone coming up the stairs. Lily and Ginny closed the door quickly and hid under the staircase.

"Think someone saw us fly in?" Ginny whispered.

"Yeah. Get ready; once they come in, we launch a shield, and send them flying backwards, before getting Professor Dumbledore out of here," Lily said.

"Good plan," Ginny agreed, her wand ready. As the door began to open, Lily went to launch her attack, but found herself unable to move. She could see Ginny, who was also frozen. Lily could see a small flash out of the corner of her eye; she knew Dumbledore had frozen them both in place!

"What the hell?" Lily whispered,

"Wait, you can speak? I can speak?" Ginny whispered back. "What happened?"

Lily quickly looked at the door as it finally opened; whoever opened it was taking their time, clearly taking precautions, but as they came in, Lily wasn't surprised to see Blaise Zabini walk in, and head up the stairs.

"I knew it," Ginny hissed softly. "Why did Dumbledore freeze us?"

"No idea," Lily replied, before realising something. "Ginny, say something."

"Like what?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny, your mouth isn't moving," Lily realised, her eyes widening.

"What?" Ginny's eyes widened with the same realisation. "Are we talking telepathically? Like on those muggle tv shows?"

"We'll figure this later, but we need to listen," Lily said, looking up.

"Good Evening, Blaise," Dumbledore greeted the young man, with a smile.

"Who were you with, old man?" Zabini asked.

"I came here alone, Blaise. But you didn't, did you? You've brought some of your friends into the castle, though I imagine they are quite busy," Dumbledore replied.

"I wouldn't exactly call them friends," Zabini replied. "More like…useful tools."

"Is that so? That sounds rather lonely," Dumbledore commented. "Does that include your friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle?"

"Those two have been… helpful, more than anything," Zabini replied. "And now, here we are, with you, helpless," Zabini said. Lily realised Dumbledore's wand wasn't in his hand anymore. It was, in fact, on the floor next to Lily.

"Zabini must have disarmed Professor Dumbledore," Ginny said mentally, still surprised she was communicating with her thoughts to Lily.

"Instead of protecting himself, he froze us. Why? Didn't he want us fighting to protect him?" Lily asked, sharing a concerned look with Ginny.

"No idea, but I hope he didn't make a mistake doing so," Ginny replied.

"And this is where we get to your plan to kill me, or your orders to kill me anyway," Dumbledore said. "Orders from Lord Voldemort, of course. I knew he would need someone after Draco came over to our side, thanks to his Aunt killing his parents."

"It was your people who sent the killing curse at them," Zabini replied calmly.

"And yet it was aimed for Bellatrix, a distinction that Draco noted. She could have easily leapt out of the way, apparated away, or used anyone else as cover if that was her wish, but she chose Draco's parents. Did she come tonight? I would imagine she loved the idea of coming to the school," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, she was…rather excited," Zabini confirmed, though Lily could hear hesitation in his voice.

"He doesn't want to hurt Dumbledore, but what's his plan?" Lily asked Ginny mentally.

"No idea, but I'm trying to break free of this damned spell. We need to stop him from hurting Professor Dumbledore!" Ginny felt her panic levels rising.

"So am I," Lily replied.

"I do wonder why you took the assignment though, Blaise. Clearly, you didn't want to do this, did you?" Dumbledore asked. "Your attempts have been…half hearted, at best."

"I did want this! I needed this! After everything that happened with Draco, I needed to show I could do anything better than Draco ever could!" Zabini exclaimed.

"Such as hoping Horace Slughorn would actually give me a bottle of mead, which had been poisoned, or giving poor Katie Bell that necklace," Dumbledore said. "But I know you, Blaise. You didn't do any of those, did you?"

"Yes I did!" Blaise exclaimed, but again, Lily heard his voice breaking.

"No, it was never Blaise. He just knew of it happening," Lily realised, her gaze meeting Ginny's.

"No, you didn't. You were informed, but I do believe that someone else did the actual deed, though I am curious as to how…" Dumbledore began, then smiled and shook his head in realisation. "How long has Madam Rosmerta been under the Imperius curse?"

"Finally figured it out, did you?" Zabini scoffed. "You're right, she was the one who did it. She was imperiused by Yaxley during the summer holidays."

"Yaxley? I will confess, that is a surprise. I did not expect to hear of his involvement, but of course, he has always been a known Death Eater, known to me anyway," Dumbledore explained. "I suspect Rufus will want to know that bit of information."

"You won't be able to tell anyone," Zabini replied.

"No? I am curious about something, Blaise. How did you manage to get your friends into the school? I did not think it possible, so you have succeeded in doing something I couldn't foresee," Dumbledore said.

"Last year, Warrington was pushed into a vanishing cabinet by the Weasley Twins," Zabini boasted. "When he recovered, he told me that he'd seen Borgin and Burke's as well as the school."

"Of course. I was unaware that the vanishing cabinet had a connected unit," Dumbledore said, as though he and Zabini were simply two friends conversing.

"It's been in Borgin's shop for ages," Zabini replied. "I figured out what it meant, and Borgin's been instructing me on how to repair it this year."

"I am impressed by your ingenuity," Dumbledore confessed. "I shall be sure to ensure the cabinet is destroyed after tonight."

"Not after I kill you," Zabini countered.

"If you were going to kill me, you would have done so already. No, Blaise, you are anxious, afraid, and you are not a killer. To take a life is to lose a part of your soul, and you have your soul intact. In fact, I want to speak to you, and help you," Dumbledore said. "I know what you have been forced to do already, and you haven't killed anyone yet, or helped anyone be killed, so there is still time to save you."

"To save me?" Zabini scoffed, though Lily could see the fear on his face, thanks to the moonlight shining through the window. "I'm here to kill you, and you want to save me?"

"Yes, I do, Blaise. Tell me, why do you want this so much? Are your parents demanding that you prove yourself to them?" Dumbledore asked kindly. "I can understand, of course, the demands of parental love. Long ago, I needed to prove myself to my family. It was… difficult. Being a headmaster allows me to see so many young people forced to do the same thing."

"You… you don't…how can you understand?" Zabini asked, his voice finally breaking. "They… they want the perfect son. They want…"

"A perfect drone and killer? Someone who will do whatever he is told?" Dumbledore asked softly. Lily could hear Zabini sniff as he nodded. "I will help you, Blaise," he promised.

"Guess we got him wrong. Poor Zabini's a pawn in Voldemort's game of chess. He got Yaxley to do everything. There's another name on the list of people to deal with," Lily said mentally.

"He's weakening; Professor Dumbledore's getting through to him. If we can get free from this spell, we'll be able to help Blaise, and get him hidden," Ginny replied.

"Agreed. We can keep him safe. If Professor Dumbledore thinks he's serious, then maybe it's worth trying to help him," Lily replied.

"How? How can you help me against him? Against my parents?" Zabini asked.

"Blaise, we can get you hidden somewhere safe, where you won't be harmed, and you can find peace in a life you choose," Dumbledore promised. "All you need to do is accept my help."

"I… I'm scared," Zabini confessed.

"I know, Blaise, I know. We can face this together," Dumbledore promised. Lily wanted to smile when she saw Zabini nod, but the feeling of hope in Lily's heart faded as the door burst open, with Bellatrix Lestrange leading the way, laughing as several men and women were following her.

"Blaise, you did it! Dumbledore cornered!" Bellatrix exclaimed, giggling.

"Good evening, Bellatrix. Welcome back to Hogwarts," Dumbledore greeted. "I must confess, I did not expect to see you here with Greyback. I assume you didn't invite him, Blaise."

"I…I didn't know he'd be here," Blaise confirmed.

"Oh, but how could I miss this, Dumbledore?" Greyback asked. "So much young flesh for me to chow down on."

"There are very few people who disgust me, Greyback, but you are top of that list," Dumbledore said, the distaste in his voice evident.

"Greyback? He's the one who turned Uncle Remus into a Werewolf. He shared the story with me a while ago; his father owed someone money, and that person got Greyback to attack Uncle Remus," Lily said mentally to Ginny.

"He's a disgusting piece of crap," Ginny scowled angrily. "But he's injured; I can see him limping."

"You seem to be hurt, Greyback. Encountered some resistance, I assume?" Dumbledore asked, having noticed the limp.

"Your kids have been a nuisance," Greyback muttered, as Bellatrix laughed.

"You were beaten by a child, my traitorous nephew," Bellatrix mocked.

"Score one for Draco. He's definitely a hero now," Lily felt pride in her friend, still thankful that Draco had become their friend.

"That he is. He deserves a lot of praise," Ginny replied mentally.

"Poor wolf, taken down by a brat," Bellatrix mocked again.

"Enough!" Greyback snarled.

"Down, mutt, or I'll muzzle you," Bellatrix snarled.

"You seem to be struggling to maintain unity, it seems," Dumbledore commented.

"Worry more about yourself, Dumbledore," one of the Death Eater's said, smirking.

"I'm hardly concerned, Augustus," Dumbledore replied, and it was then that Lily realised who the man was; Augustus Rookwood, one of the people Karkaroff had named as a Death Eater. Lily had looked up the names given, and his face had been one of them.

"Rookwood helped Voldemort as a spy during the last war," Lily mentally spoke to Ginny. "Should have recognised him immediately."

"You should be, old man. You didn't know we were here, did you? Didn't know that Blaise was helping us find a way in all year," Rookwood said.

"No, admittedly I didn't," Dumbledore confirmed. "It was certainly impressive."

"Still so polite, eh Dumbledore?" another man giggled.

"Manners never hurt, Amycus," Dumbledore said. "Something I did try to teach you and your sister Alecto here when you were students here."

"You think manners will save you, old man?" the woman Lily guessed was Alecto spoke up.

"Manners and kindness have a power unlike any other, Alecto," Dumbledore replied, as a loud bang could be heard from within the castle.

"Do it, Blaise. The Dark Lord offered you a chance, so take it," Bellatrix hissed. Lily felt her fingers starting to move, and was ready to push again, when she saw Snape walk into the tower. Snape made eye contact with her, and raised a finger to his lips, before going up the stairs.

"We are out of time," Severus said. "Bellatrix, how did you manage to foul up this attack so badly? You were attacked by students?"

"The Order of the Phoenix have been annoying us, but we've been keeping them at bay," Bellatrix hissed.

"And yet there are none of them dead, but several Death Eater's dead," Severus replied, almost smirking at her. Lily wanted to smirk; she knew Snape was tricking them, and ready to attack them, to kill them.

"We cornered him, and Dumbledore's time is up," Bellatrix hissed. "Do it, Blaise."

"Yes, do it, Blaise," Amycus repeated, giggling.

"He can't, he's too much of a child, he isn't ready," Alecto chided. "This was a bad idea."

"Indeed," Snape confirmed, nodding, and looking at Dumbledore, meeting his gaze.

"Come on, Professor, take them down!" Lily urged mentally.

"You don't think…he's actually on their side, do you?" Ginny asked.

"No, Professor Dumbledore trusts him, my mum cared for him. He's going to help, he will, otherwise he'd have killed us," Lily replied. She watched Dumbledore look at Snape.

"Severus…please," Dumbledore pleaded. Lily felt every part of her body go cold as she watched Snape as he raised his wand. She wanted to scream, to try and help, but she still couldn't move, and was forced to watch, helpless, as Snape pointed his wand at Dumbledore.

"Avada Kedavra!"