"Come on now, cousin, surely you can do better than that!" Bellatrix cackled madly as she ducked under another red hex that Sirius had sent her way before following up with one of her own that he narrowly avoided, summoning a nearby table in front of him that exploded as the curse struck it, showering the surrounding area with shrapnel.
The once pristine ballroom had been transformed into a battleground as dozens of witches and wizards fought for their lives; the masterpiece of crystal that had once been the chandelier was now hanging at an angle, and several of the crystals were gone, destroyed when a stray curse had struck the chandelier moments earlier. Dozens of circular tables lay on their sides, with glasses of wine and various appetizers strewn across the floor that caused both the attackers and defenders to slip more than once.
Under the few tables that remained, wealthy ladies cowered with their children while their husbands fought with all the fury they could bring to bear in order to keep them safe from the monsters who had invaded and sought to slaughter them en masse.
Under one such table, Harry Potter was watching wide-eyed from beneath a stylish tablecloth, his sister Rose kneeling next to him with her arm wrapped tightly around his shoulder in an almost painful grip.
Hiding alongside them was Daphne, her mother, and her sister; when the fighting began, Lily shoved the pair under the table. Moments later, Daphne's mother joined them, and the woman promised Lily that she would watch over them. Lily nodded thankfully at the woman before drawing her wand and disappearing into the chaos of the battle. Now, the four children knelt under the table, almost shaking with terror as the Greengrass matriarch held them, her arms over Rose and Daphne's shoulder while Harry and Atoria sat in the middle and occasionally whispered that everything would be okay.
As a man suddenly collapsed in front of their hiding place with his throat sliced nearly to the bone, causing Astoria to cry out in terror, Harry wondered if she was telling the truth or just wishing out loud. As Rose lunged forward and pulled the tablecloth down lower, effectively hiding them completely from seeing and being seen, Harry began praying for the former rather than the latter.
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When most of Magical Britain thought of Lily Potter, they thought of her as nothing more than a clever Muggleborn who had gotten lucky in life by marrying a wealthy Pureblood, catapulting her into the upper echelons of society. That was their mistake. What they forgot was that Lily was also the youngest witch to gain both a Potions and Charms mastery in the last three centuries. They forgot that through her brilliance, nearly a dozen new spells had been created, many of which had actually become part of the Hogwarts curriculum.
They forgot that through that same brilliance, Lily had also created several new Potions, including one that had revolutionized the world by allowing people to control their dreams, thereby allowing them to live out any fantasy they wished while asleep. Mothers could talk to long-dead children, wives could dance one last time with husbands who were no longer with them; there really was no limit as to what could be done, and it had made Lily an overnight celebrity the world over.
Yet despite all of these revolutionary creations, many Purebloods still viewed Lily Potter as just another 'Mudblood' who got lucky by ensnaring a powerful husband who was heir to an Ancient house.
This was a mistake that those same Purebloods were quickly realizing as Lily Potter spun and twisted, her wand becoming tantamount to a force of nature as she sent every curse, hex, and spell she could think of at any unfortunate Death Eater who made the foolish decision to challenge her, a snarl of pure hate etched onto her beautiful features.
One masked individual was turned to glass, only to shatter into a thousand pieces a moment later as he tipped over and fell to the floor; another man turned and fled, screaming past his horrified allies as he suddenly caught fire, his silver mask literally melting onto his face.
"Your kind tried to kill my family three times and failed, and now you come into my house…" Lily hissed, taking a step forward and making those facing her step back in fear, "And you threaten MY family, AGAIN! And you filth think that you will be allowed to leave here alive?! None of you will ever threaten my family EVER AGAIN!"
Crossing her arms over her chest, Lily bent backward so drastically that many watching thought she might break her own back before she suddenly shot upright and spread her arms outward, unleashing an enormous circle of fire that instantly turned a dozen Death Eaters to ash before finally dissipating.
As the remaining Death Eaters stared in horror as the piles of ash that had once been their friends, Lily stepped forward and shot her arm out, sending a spike bursting from the tip that punched through one unfortunate man who was too shocked at what was happening to move, resulting in a hole appearing where his heart used to be; the man only had time to stare at his wound in confusion before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell lifelessly to the floor.
For several seconds, no one moved, and the only sound was the gasping breaths of Lily Potter as she stared hatefully at those who still stood before her; a moment later, the Death Eaters turned and ran away from Lily in a mad scramble to escape this dark angel of death who had killed more than two dozen of their number in less than ten minutes.
"Get back here!" Lily screamed as she chased the fleeing Death Eaters, "Get back here and die!"
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"Frank!" James snarled as he blew an attacking Death Eater into pieces, "Get back to the Ministry and bring some Merlin-damned reinforcements!"
"You can't expect me to just leave you here!" Frank Longbottom shouted back, "You'll be killed!"
"I am you, Minister, and I am giving you a direct order!" James roared, "If we don't get some help, we're all going to die! Alice and Neville are going to die! Is that what you want?!"
Frank stumbled back as though James had just struck him, his eyes immediately shifting to the nearby broom closet where he knew his wife and son were hiding.
"James… Please, don't ask me to leave them behind…" Frank begged, causing James to look at him with sympathy momentarily.
"I give you my word, Frank, no one will touch them. I swear on my life and magic."
A golden light encircled James for a moment before it dissipated, causing Frank's eyes to widen as he realized just how powerful the oath James Potter, his friend, had made.
"I'll be back as soon as I can; just stay alive until I return," Frank said before grabbing the gold necklace around his neck and shouting, "Aequitas!"
A moment later, Frank vanished in a blinding flash of light that momentarily blinded the four Death Eaters warily approaching James and Frank.
"How the hell did he do that!" One Death Eater demanded, "I thought the Dark Lord said there were Anti-Apparation wards in place!"
"There are!" Another Death Eater snarled back, "He shouldn't have been able to do that!"
"Sorry, boys," James smirked, "The Ministry's new toys make your wards obsolete."
As the Death Eaters paused in shocked silence, James took full advantage of his enemy's lack of attention and immediately conjured four pieces of ice that he sent through the four Death Eaters' skulls, causing them to drop to the floor seconds later.
Stepping over the dead bodies of his enemies, James whispered a silent thank you to his wife; it had been Lily who had pointed out Voldemort's love for trapping his victims with wards, and that if they wanted to avoid such an outcome, then they needed to find a way around them.
A year and nearly a million galleons in research later, Lily had managed to create something truly remarkable; mixing runes and Arithmancy, Lily had created a portable Portkey that could break through any ward, no matter how powerful. Naturally, James had made his wife's breakthrough a closely controlled secret and ordered every Auror to have one of Lily's creations always kept on their person. Something that had saved many of them more than once.
As he made his way through the battlefield that had once been his family's ballroom, James ducked and dodged as he tried to dispatch as many of the invaders as he could, hoping beyond hope that Frank would be back soon.
Suddenly, a masked Death Eater tackled James from behind and forced him to the floor, just as the green light of a killing curse sailed past where he had just been standing, and causing him to start slightly at how close he had just been to dying.
"Pretend to fight back!" The Death Eater hissed as he punched James in the side, yet with nowhere near the strength that James was expecting.
"Wha?" James exclaimed in surprise, not understanding what was happening,
"I'm on your side! But you must also do your part, so pretend to fight back so it doesn't look like we're talking!"
"On my side!" James sneered, "Do I look like a fool to you!"
"Who do you think told you about the Dark Lord's plan to attack Azkaban! I gave him to you, and you still mucked it up!" The Death Eater hissed, "All of this could have been avoided if you had simply killed Bellatrix when you had the chance!"
James froze at that, his eyes widening in shock for a moment before he pretended to throw a punch, pulling back at the last moment so as to not hurt his opponent.
"Who ARE you?" James hissed as he grabbed the Death Eater's robes and rolled him over so that James was now atop him, "And why are you helping me!"
"I'm not!" The Death Eater growled, "I'm helping me! The Dark Lord has my son under threat of death if I don't serve him! By helping you kill him, I'm saving my son!"
"So, you're just as self-serving as every other Pureblood," James sneered, reaching down and ripping the Death Eater's mask off his face, only to freeze in shock as he saw Lucius Malfoy's frightened face staring back at him.
"Malfoy?" James asked in shock, "You would betray your master?"
"To save my son's life, I would do anything!" Lucius snarled back, "When this is over, you can throw me into Azkaban forever, but for now, help me save my son's life… Please."
For several moments, James said nothing, just stared down at a man who James would never have believed in a million years would betray Voldemort; finally, after several tense seconds, James nodded, causing Lucius to sigh in relief before he looked around to ensure that no one was paying attention to the two.
By this point, both sides had taken tremendous losses, the defenders much more than the Death Eaters; looking back at James, Lucius threw a weak punch into his stomach, passing a small piece of parchment as he did so, causing James to roll off him.
Seizing the opportunity, Lucius jumped to his feet, scooped up his mask, and sprinted away as James rose back to his feet. The parchment that Lucius had passed him was clutched tightly in his fist.
Quickly shoving the parchment into the pocket of his robes, James sprinted forward, determined to turn the tide against the Death Eaters and curb their numbers before Frank returned.
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Bellatrix was having the time of her life, cackling madly and dancing around her cousin's furious attacks. In fact, she hadn't had this much fun in over a decade, and she dearly wanted the game to continue, so she had been using the least powerful hexes and curses in her arsenal.
As far as Bellatrix was concerned, the only person who could even come close to matching her power, besides her Lord, was her cousin Sirius Black. If she killed him too quickly, then she would be left with only weaklings to play with. While that could be fun, it could also grow dull incredibly quickly, and above all things, Bellatrix abhorred boredom, which is why she was playing with her food before she finally decided to kill her cousin and end the life of the last male Black.
Still standing by the front door where she and the other Death Eaters had entered, Voldemort was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his hood up, blocking his new monstrous features from view so that only his glowing red eyes could be seen as he watched his followers fight to the death against James Potter and his guests.
Even though she could not see her Lord's face, Bellatrix could feel his growing anger as he watched his followers fall just as quickly as James Potter's guests. This was supposed to be a quick mass slaughter, followed by a kidnapping of the Minister and his family, bringing them back to the Dark Lord's fortress so he could force James Potter to watch as he sucked the Minister's family dry of their magic before executing him. Instead, the slaughter had turned into a battle in which her master's followers were actually being pushed back!
"Bellatrix…" Voldemort hissed, "Cease your pathetic pageantry and finish him! I want James Potter and his family!"
"Yes, my lord!" Bellatrix replied at once before turning back to her snarling cousin. "Bad luck, little Siri. It looks like our playtime is at an end. But don't worry. I'll take good care of your friend, James, and his little Mudblood…"
"You won't touch them!" Sirius snarled as he unleashed three spells in quick succession, which Bellatrix quickly dodged; unfortunately, she missed the fourth spell that Sirius had sent, which severed her arm at the shoulder, causing her to drop to the floor with a scream of agony.
"Useless, must I do everything myself!" Voldemort snarled as he gazed down at the weeping woman, her arm laying near her, her wand still clutched in her hand.
"Away with you, Black!" Voldemort snarled, "It is your master I want, not you!"
With an almost lazy flick of his wand, Voldemort sent Sirius crashing into a nearby table, sliding across its surface before crashing to the floor on the other side with a cry of pain.
"James Potter!" Voldemort roared, "Come out and face me, coward!"
A flash of red suddenly caught Voldemort's eye, and he turned to see Lily Potter brutally kill one of his followers by hitting the man with a blood-boiling curse that left the man screaming on the floor.
Raising his arm, Voldemort flexed his hand as though he was gripping something, causing Lily to cry out in shock as she sped toward the Dark Lord before coming to a stop with his hand around her throat.
"Call your husband…" Voldemort hissed, his tongue flicking out snakelike as Lily struggled in his grip, glaring hatefully at her attacker; tightening his grip on the woman's neck, Voldemort hissed again, "I said call him…"
"LET HER GO!" A voice suddenly shouted before something sharp stabbed into Voldemort's leg, causing the Dark Lord to snarl in pain, releasing his hold on the woman and causing her to drop to the floor in a heap.
Looking down, Voldemort's eyes narrowed in rage as he saw that Harry Potter had attacked him. Seeing his mother in danger, Harry had rushed from his hiding place and stabbed a silver fork into Voldemort's thigh.
With a hiss of hate, Voldemort backhanded the boy, sending him crashing to the floor with a cry of pain; reaching down, Voldemort grabbed the fork still embedded in his thigh and ripped it free, throwing it carelessly to the floor as his wound bled profusely.
"Harry!" Lily screamed as she tried to rush to her son, only for Voldemort to flick his wand at her, causing the floor to shift around her into two wooden hands that wrapped around the woman's body and pulled her back to the floor, where she thrashed and fought to free herself with all the fury she could muster.
"Harry Potter…" Voldemort hissed at the small boy who was rising shakily to his feet as blood ran freely from one nostril, "Twice you have given me a wound that nearly took everything from me… There will be no third time."
As Voldemort raised his wand to kill the boy not only for causing his first fall from power but also for destroying his core and forcing him to become a sort of magical vampire, Voldemort's body was suddenly wracked with pain as the Daphne Greengrass and Rose Potter both crawled out from their hiding place and sent the two most powerful spells in their arsenal at Voldemort's unprotected back.
Snarling with fury, Voldemort spun on his heel and sent both girls sailing away from him, slamming into the far wall, where they slid to the ground, unconscious.
"VOLDEMORT!" James Potter snarled as he suddenly appeared and tackled the Dark Lord to the floor; a moment later, James was slamming his fist into Voldemort's body over and over again, determined to beat the Dark Lord to death and end the threat to his family once and for all.
"Get him, Dad!" Harry screamed out, "Get him!"
Suddenly, dozens of pops sounded out around the hall as Frank returned with reinforcements; snarling with rage, Voldemort lunged forward and bit down onto James' shoulder, making the Minister scream out in pain before jumping away as Voldemort quickly jumped to his feet and apparated to where Bellatrix was still kneeling, sobbing in pain.
"Enjoy your victory, Potter!" Voldemort screamed, "For it will be the last you get from me!"
Grabbing Bellatrix by the hair, Voldemort spun on the spot and apparated away as the Aurors began to mow down the remaining Death Eaters like a farmer through a grain field.
As James rose to his feet, his shoulder bleeding heavily, he screamed out in rage as he saw that Voldemort had, once again, escaped.
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Author's Note:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If not, let me know what I can do to make the next one better. I'm planning on writing two more chapters, maybe three before I officially end this story. I hope I can make the ending good enough to satisfy those of you who have been with me from the start.