A man stepped from the fireplace and entered the Hog's Head then looked around for his client. Unfortunately, he seemed to be missing. It took Sam McKenzie a minute, but he finally spotted Pansy sitting over at the bar with a few other girls, one of whom he thought he recognized as the niece of Amelia Bones. That wasn't too surprising given that there was supposedly a meeting of concerned citizens and he knew that Amelia had been well beyond frustrated with the minister.
Who could blame her?
He snorted to himself at that thought and headed over to the bar, shifting his briefcase over to his left hand as he walked. "Pansy? I assume you're part of this meeting that Harry invited me to?"
"Sam?" She turned to look at him and he noticed the blonde next to her that had clearly been crying.
"What's going on?"
"A Death Eater kidnapped Luna's father and Harry is leading a rescue party to the ministry. You just missed him."
"Hold on, I think you left out a few things," he said with a furrowed brow. "Why would a Death Eater kidnap this young lady's father?"
"He wasn't the target. Luna was. It's a trap that they're trying to draw Harry in to force him to get something that the Dark Lord wants."
"And Harry has gone off to spring this trap," Sam groaned. "Good Lord, Pansy, I thought you and I were keeping him from doing insanely dangerous things like this."
"Luna is our best friend, and this is Harry we're talking about," Pansy replied wearing a frown. "I couldn't stop him if I tried. But he didn't go alone. He's got Mad-Eye Moody, among others, with him."
"That's good. I take it Amelia went as well?"
"Correct. And Dobby too, thankfully."
"I never would have thought to put so much faith in a house-elf," Sam chuckled grimly. "Then again, I never had one, so I suppose you would know better than I do."
"That's it!" Luna interjected. "Winky!"
A popping sound revealed a female elf who looked up at the girl.
"What can Winky do for miss Luna?"
"Can you tell where daddy is?"
"Winky will check," the house-elf said as she closed her eyes and scrunched up her face for a moment. "Master Xeno is in a dark place. Winky cannot travel there. Winky is sorry, miss Luna. Winky has failed."
"Wait, Winky," Pansy stopped her as she looked dejected. "Maybe you can help us with a couple of other things. Could you get a calming draught for Luna first?"
"Winky could do that," she nodded before popping away.
"That will help," Pansy said as she turned to Luna. "I know you're worried, but we can talk to the headmaster as soon as he arrives. Hopefully, he'll bring a lot of help. If so, maybe we can go along and try to get Harry and your dad back safe and sound. But we'll need you to be able to handle it, okay sweetie? If the calming draught doesn't work, I'll stay here with you."
"Winky has potion for miss Luna!" the elf said with a little smile as she popped back in, handing over her prize. "Miss Luna needs to feel better, Winky knows this. Winky will take good care of her family."
"Thank you," Luna answered as she took a deep breath and gulped down the calming draught. "Hopefully this will work."
"We have a few minutes," Pansy added. "Winky, will you stay with us? You can help look after us, and maybe in a little while, you'll be able to get to your master and help make sure he is alright."
"Winky will do that, miss."
"Christ, I hope Dumbledore hurries," Sam sighed. "I hated living through this crap the last time you-know-who and his followers were running amok. It's even worse now that I'm too old for this sort of thing. I was hoping to retire in a few years, you know?"
"Come on, Sam, you don't look that old," Pansy teased. "I'm sure you've got plenty of time yet."
"Let's hope we all do," he muttered.
Before another word could be said, there was a deafening explosion.
Harry stepped through the floo right behind Alastor and came out in the lobby of the ministry of magic. He immediately noticed the silence and lifted his wand as he scanned the room. Alastor didn't seem to be too surprised by how empty it was on a weekend, but Harry soon spotted what his friend and mentor was looking at.
Behind a desk in the center of the room was a man slumped over in a pool of blood. If he didn't already know that the Death Eaters had arrived, Harry was sure of it now. They shouldn't have much of a head start, and hopefully that meant that Xeno wouldn't be in too bad a shape.
Dobby popped in next to him, the unusually loud sound letting Harry know that he was there. Sirius and Tonks were already through as well and they were splitting up to scan the rest of the lobby for any traps or other surprises.
"Can you tell where Xeno is Dobby?"
"Mister Xeno is down deep in the rooms where house-elves are blocked."
"Really? Someone actually blocked house-elves?"
"The Unspeakies do strange magic down there," Dobby answered. "They is not wanting house-elves, or any other wizards and witches, to interfere. From what Dobby has been told by other elves, we can move around once we are in their mystery rooms, but we cannot go in or out the usual way. And we must be brought by a master or mistress inside."
"So, you'll have to stick with me then. That will have to work. Stay out of sight for now. Once we get down there, I'll probably have you try to get Xeno clear from the Death Eaters. If you can pop some small amount, even just across a room, that could be a huge help. If they're taking him to the hall full of prophecies, then it's a really big room. If you can follow me to him, then you could grab him and get him over to the door leading out at least. That would put him out of the way of any fighting."
"Master Harry wouldn't have Dobby to watch over him though."
"I know you'll be fast," Harry said with a smile as he patted him on the shoulder. "I'll just have to take care of myself for a few seconds until my bodyguard can help me take out the trash. You know, I've never forgotten the look on his face when you blasted Lucius Malfoy down the hall when he tried to curse me three years ago. I have a feeling I'll be seeing something similar today."
"Dobby won't let you down."
"You never have." He leaned down and whispered. "Try to keep an eye on Parvati too, okay? She's my friend, and while I appreciate her wanting to help, I'd like to make sure she makes it home safe."
"What about the others, master Harry?"
"The others are adults, and I trust they can take care of themselves, but help out where you can."
"Dobby understands."
"Then follow me."
"Harry, you ready lad?" Alastor asked, with his magical eye facing the other direction over towards the lifts.
"Yeah."
"As for you, miss Patil," the old auror said as they all started walking across the empty lobby, "I expect you to be on your toes. Stick with Potter if you can and watch each other's backs. The rest of us have seen terrible things before. Do not freeze up, or else it may just be the last thing you do. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"I imagine you might have wanted to stick next to Harry anyway," Moody grunted in a sort of half chuckle. "But don't do anything stupid."
There was a ding as a door opened and they stepped inside. Amelia held up her hand and stopped Tonks before she could join them though. "Not you, Tonks. One of us needs to go to the auror department and sound the emergency signal."
"Yeah, but-"
"I'm your boss and this is an order," Amelia said as Tonks scowled. "Look, you're the youngest of us, so you'll be the fastest. Try to get Gawain or Kingsley in to take charge, but Rufus will do in a pinch. Just make sure that whoever we've got, they summon every last one of us they can and tell them that whoever doesn't show will be personally answering to me. Got all that?"
"Yes, Madam Bones," Tonks muttered.
"Look, Tonks, just do that and then you can meet up with the rest of us," Amelia finished. "We're likely to need the help. Now move!"
A second ding was heard and Tonks went to a second lift. The door shut and the rest of them waited nervously as they headed for the ninth floor.
"Once we get there, we should split up," Harry suggested.
"That will be even more dangerous, lad."
"I know Alastor, but I've been in the Hall of Prophecies before."
"You have?" Amelia asked. "What in the name of Morgana were you doing in the Department of Mysteries?"
"I'm curious too," Moody added.
"Damn, I guess Dumbledore never told anyone," Harry sighed. "So, years and years ago, there was a prophecy made that a child would be born that would be able to stop the Dark Lord. Riddle thought it meant me, which is why he was after my family and why my parents went into hiding. But he never heard the whole thing, which I assume is why he's leading me there with a hostage. He wants that prophecy. Stupid bastard doesn't even realize it doesn't matter anymore."
"Why?" Alastor asked. "I don't know a lot about Divination, but real prophecies are supposed to be a big deal."
"Yeah, but they don't always come true, you know?" Harry replied as he shook his head. "The Hall of Prophecies is full of these orbs. From what I saw, more than half of them were dark. I was told that meant they either didn't come to pass or have been nullified in some way. And the one Riddle is so obsessed with is one of the dark ones."
"So..." Parvati began as she looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "You were this prophesized Chosen One? But now, you're not?"
"You're the one who takes Divination," Harry snorted. "How should I know?"
"I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse," she frowned.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I think we should split up. I'm the only one they know will be coming. I'll head for Xeno and the orb. The rest of you can try to sneak up on the Death Eaters and curse them in the back while I distract them."
"That will leave you undefended," Sirius said. "I don't like it."
"Look, when I passed out, I had a vision."
"A vision?" Amelia scoffed. "Really?"
"Albus says they're real," Moody grumbled. "Says it has to do with Potter's scar and some sort of connection with Riddle."
"Yeah, I've had a few before," Harry shrugged. "Anyway, Riddle had his Death Eaters gathered around and he was giving them orders. He wants the orb more than anything else. Plus..."
"Plus what?" Sirius prodded as Harry had trailed off.
"Riddle told them not to kill me. He said he wants me to suffer first. So, if any of us are safe, or sort of safe anyway, it will be me. Besides, Dobby will protect me."
"Dobby will always protect master Harry!" the excited voice's elf responded, but they couldn't tell exactly where he was.
"See?" Harry smiled.
"I don't like it either," Amelia said. "But Potter has a point. If we can disillusion ourselves and sneak up on them, we should be able to take out some of the Death Eaters before they can attack us. How many of them did you see in this vision?"
"Ten or so. Maybe twelve at most."
"Alright, then we have some idea about what we're up against," Amelia nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. "Let's get a few things straight then. Officially, my department has been tasked with capturing these fugitives. The only Death Eaters we still know about are Crouch, Crabbe, and the ones who were broken out of Azkaban. Crabbe would be the only problem, but let me worry about that. Crouch is still 'officially' dead. The ones who escaped are all wanted dead or alive.
"That means I want all of you to proceed with the utmost caution. But you should all be prepared to use lethal force if need be. We know none of them are likely to hold anything back."
"Not a problem for me, Amelia," Moody snorted. "I trust Black and Potter can handle themselves too."
"Parvati," Harry took her hand and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"I..." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sod it!"
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Harry's mind was dumbstruck, but his lips started to respond before Sirius let out a wolf whistle.
Parvati pulled back and smiled at him, then turned back to face the door. "If I die today, at least I got a chance to snog Harry."
Sirius laughed out loud at that while Harry's brain started to reboot.
"Don't distract the lad," Alastor growled. "Get your head in the game, Potter!"
"Right, right." Harry shook his head clear. "Right, so, the prophecy. They've got all these orbs, rows and rows of them. The one they're after is... not exactly in the middle of the room, but it's closer to that than one of the edges. If I head right for the orb, where I assume they'll have Xeno, then I will be a distraction. You can all flank them and get some of them in the back. We can at least start the fight by evening the odds some."
"They can do a lot short of killing you, Harry," Sirius said. "You and Xeno would be right in the middle of things when the curses start flying."
"That's where Dobby comes in. He's going to grab Xeno and get him out of there while I hand over the orb."
"You're going to give it to them?" Amelia asked.
"Sure," he shrugged. "It's just a dark piece of glass. There isn't even a record of what it said anymore. That will hopefully add to the distraction."
"You'll still be in the middle of everything," Sirius pointed out.
"Dobby will have my back. All we really have to do is grab Xeno and fight our way out of there."
"I wonder what you-know-who is up to," Amelia said with a frown. "I know Fudge is still denying his return, but if he wants this prophecy so bad, I would think he might come for it too."
"Good question," Alastor nodded. "We'll have to hope he's still overly confident in his forces."
"Level nine, Department of Mysteries," a voice said as the door opened.
Angus Crabbe looked on with glee as his blasting curse exploded into the bookstore. He could just imagine all the little snot-nosed Ravenclaws that used to look down on him when he was still at Hogwarts. He might not have been the brightest apple on the tree, but he still knew a few curses that could get the job done.
He turned and saw a nice looking teenage witch with blonde hair, probably a sixth or seventh year, and judging by the clothes she wore, almost certainly one of those little mudblood tarts. He was there to cause chaos, but a man had needs, and if he took a few moments to procure some fun for later in the evening, well would the Dark Lord really blame him for that?
"Imperio!"
She turned to him and he let out a nasty grin. "Go wait for me by the Shrieking Shack. We'll have some fun once my work is done."
As the girl followed his directions, he turned back to the screaming voices in the village. The only question he had was which building he should aim for next.
Unfortunately, he saw Albus Dumbledore come blazing into the village. Angus held that lover of mudbloods and blood traitors responsible for the murder of his son- in his own common room, by Merlin- and he saw red.
"Avada Kedavra!"
But the headmaster conjured a block of some fancy looking stone to block the killing curse, and Angus felt even more fury. He had another idea then.
"Daemonis Ignis!"
He'd liked to see the old bastard try to block Fiendfyre. Angus just smiled as the cursed flames turned into a snake and flew straight at the headmaster. He lowered his wand and watched the fire roar towards its target.
But Albus Dumbledore was no slouch with a wand, and he had quickly summoned some sort of watery shield that turned the fire away.
And it headed straight back towards its caster, who panicked and tried to raise his wand to regain control of the spell.
Angus wasn't fast or strong enough though. The serpent roared as it consumed him.
"This doesn't look the same," Harry frowned.
"What do you mean?" Parvati asked.
"This isn't the way I came last time." They had traveled down a short hallway that ended with a single door. "There was a turn and then a long hallway."
"I'm guessing you were here last time with an Unspeakable accompanying you," Amelia said, which made Harry nod in agreement. "They have ways of getting around their department much quicker than uninvited guests."
"Which is what we are now," Alastor grumbled. "Those bloody researchers better not have anything down here that can get us killed. We've got enough to worry about."
"Only one way to find out," Sirius replied as he opened the door. "Oh bloody hell."
The door led to a barely-lit round room with a number of unmarked doors all situated evenly along its circular walls.
"Which one do we take?" Amelia asked.
"This one won't open," Harry said as he tried the closest handle.
"Neither will this one," Sirius added. He jumped as the door they had come through slammed shut behind Parvati, trapping them all inside. "Well, that's just great. Now what?"
And then the walls spun around, so they had no idea which door they had come through.
"Can this get any worse?" Sirius groaned.
"Dammit, Sirius, you just had to say that, didn't you?" Harry replied angrily. "This is just my luck."
"Alright, everyone, quiet down," Alastor said. "Let me get a good look at things and see if my eye can tell us which way to go."
They waited for several minutes as Alastor paced around the room, squatting over several times and peering at the door handles. Eventually he stopped. "I don't see any that lead us directly to what you've described, Harry. But this one does lead to a hallway, so it's maybe our best bet."
"This means they're probably going to have a big head start on us," Harry grimaced. "One of the escaped Death Eaters, Rookwood, used to work here, right? In my vision, Riddle told everyone to follow his lead."
"That makes sense," Amelia replied. "I don't know if the Unspeakables ever bothered to change any of their procedures or protections around this place. Knowing how the rest of the ministry is, I would guess they didn't."
She finished with a sigh as Moody nodded at her. "Aye, old Augustus was supposed to be locked up for life. That meant he wouldn't ever be able to come back, so why change anything? A bunch of lazy old men aren't going to do any more work than they have to."
"Okay. Let's see if we can find the right way and hopefully all make it out of here in one piece," Sirius said as they went through the door Moody had picked. The group marched on in silence for a few minutes until they came to a door along the wall on their left.
"Maybe this is it?" Parvati suggested.
"Dobby, can you sense anyone around here?" Harry asked.
"Yes, master Harry. Miss Luna's Xeno is in there."
"Can you tell exactly where?"
"No," the elf's voice once again answered, even as he remained invisible. "Too many strange magics are in this place. Dobby only knows because Dobby knows how mister Xeno's magic feels. But there are others with him."
"It sounds like what we were guessing," Harry nodded. "Alright, anybody have any better ideas, or should we go with my plan?"
"It's dangerous, lad, but other than that, I like it." Moody's eye spun around to each of them in turn. "We should decide who goes down each path before we head inside. We'll want to disillusion ourselves before we open the door as well. Patil, you stay nearest the door and prepare to run. You don't have the experience the rest of us do, and you've said you were going to help patch up any of us that need it. So, here's what I want you to do. While the rest of us go around, you stay on the closest path. After the opening blast, I want you to get back here to the door, do what you can for the hostage and get out as fast as you can. If the fighting heads your way, hide if you can. You won't do us any good if you get killed. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Amelia?"
"I'll follow your lead, Alastor. You've said my arse enough times that I trust you."
"Alright. Black, you can move faster if you shift forms. I want you to flank furthest around them, but be sure to be quiet. We can't blow this. I'll take the right side and Amelia can go left. Whenever Potter's got their attention, we'll blast as many of them as we can. No stunners either. Use whatever spell you've got that will do the most damage."
"Harry could get caught in the crossfire," Sirius protested.
"I can take care of myself. Just make sure that we start the fighting off on the right foot."
"Fine," Sirius growled.
"What should our signal be?" Amelia asked.
"That's up to you, Harry," Moody answered. "You'll be the one in the spotlight. When will you be ready for the shit to hit the fan?"
"I'll try to get them away from Xeno if I can. Maybe tell them to back off before I grab the prophecy. Once I've got it, I'll hand it over. Dobby, then you grab Xeno and get him out of the way, alright?"
"Dobby can do that."
"Good," Harry nodded. "Make it really loud when you pop him out of the way, okay?"
"Dobby will."
"Then that sound will be everyone's cue to let loose." Harry took a deep breath and looked over at Parvati and reached into the extended pocket for his cloak. "One last thing before we go in. This is my invisibility cloak. I know you can disillusion yourself, but you can use this to cover Xeno and hopefully the two of you can escape as fast as you can."
"I'll be careful with it, Harry."
"Thanks."
"Alright, we know the plan then," Alastor said. "Is everyone ready?"
"Oh no," Albus sighed as he saw the Death Eater had been killed by his own dark spell. Senseless death always appalled him, and he now had to try to gain control over the Fiendfyre before it could feast on anyone else.
That was much of the danger of the spell- it literally hungered for more destruction while it burned. His wand was a blur as he cast numerous spells, summoning water to put out any fires that might have started and then following up with something of his own design that was a sort of inverted bubblehead charm which would briefly remove all the oxygen from an area. He had to carefully guide the area of the spell, wanting to starve the flames of fuel without causing even more damage.
It seemed like it was working as the flames tried to roar once again only this time it was muffled, and he held the charm even longer as he watched the flames shrink down until they finally disappeared. He was sweating as he finally turned to the damaged building and hurried over to see if there was anyone he could save.
Thankfully, Minerva and Poppy were there as well and both witches were already sorting through the damage and checking over a few students who had been buried among the rubble. He noticed young miss Granger cradling one of her arms that was bent at a terrible angle, clearly broken.
"Professor Dumbledore!"
He turned as he saw a girl running up to him- one of the Patil twins, although without the school uniform, he wasn't sure which one. "What is it my dear?"
"There was a Death Eater-"
"I know, but he is no longer a danger to anyone. He should have known better than to cast such an uncontrollable spell."
"No, not that one. There was one in the Hog's Head, and he grabbed Luna Lovegood's father."
"Xenophilius? I wouldn't imagine the Death Eaters would have much reason to target him," Albus mused.
"No, sir, they were going for Luna. It's... I don't know the whole story, but Harry went after him. And my crazy sister went with him!"
"Oh my. Is there anyone who can tell me more?"
"Yes, sir, Pansy and Luna were there, and Susan Bones, and they're all waiting in the Hog's Head."
"I know the way." He ran off towards the bar and hoped that Aberforth would have some bit of good news. Alastor Moody's Patronus had said little other than there was a Death Eater attack and that he needed to bring the cavalry. When he had seen the attack in progress, he had hoped that things might be under control now, but apparently they were much, much worse.
And Harry Potter was once again in the middle of everything.
Harry slowly walked down the path he thought he remembered to where the orb he was looking for should be. He had glanced at a couple of the labels on the shelves to try to find his way, but all he could remember was that the prophecy the Death Eaters would be after was somewhere in the nineties.
After a few minutes, he knew he was close though- he saw Barty Crouch Junior and Bellatrix Lestrange standing over the bound form of Xeno Lovegood.
Now, he just had to hope this plan worked well enough to get them all out of here alive.
"Good of you to come, Potter," Crouch said. "I'm surprised you came alone though. Didn't your little whores want to come with you?"
"I don't put other people in danger when I can help it."
"Did little Harry come all by himself?" Bellatrix gleefully cackled. "That's so much better. I can play with you for a while before we take you to my master. This one wouldn't be nearly as much fun."
"Harry-" Xeno moaned out before Bellatrix hit him with a curse that let out a crack as his head rocked to the side.
"Leave him alone!"
"Oh, Harry, Harry," Bellatrix tutted. "That's not how this works. Maybe if you beg, I'll let you pick which of you I curse next."
"That's where you're wrong, Bella."
"Don't call me that!"
"Why not? It's what your sisters call you. I should know. I helped convince both of them to leave the country. After your last visit, Andi wasn't keen on sticking around. I'm just glad I talked Narcissa into leaving before you and your nasty little friends were freed."
"I'll kill you, Potter!"
"Stop, Bellatrix!" Crouch stepped in between the two of them. "The mission comes first. Or would you like to explain to the Dark Lord why you didn't follow his orders?"
"Fine, but get on with it, Barty."
"Now then," he nodded and turned back to face Harry. "Unlike some people, I can be reasonable. Come retrieve the prophecy my master requires and I'll let this fool go."
"That's why I'm here."
"Good. No tricks though, Potter, or I'll let Bellatrix have her fun with the both of you."
Harry nodded and stepped forward. He heard a couple of people step into the path behind him. He was near an aisle and he looked around for a moment and could see that it looked like there were a couple of Death Eaters surrounding him on all sides. That was just about what he expected though. It was almost time. He took a breath and looked down at Xeno, who thankfully seemed to be in one piece. He was shivering a bit, likely from Cruciatus exposure, but Harry didn't see any permanent damage.
"Take a step back," Harry said. "I'll get the prophecy, but both of you step away from Xeno."
"We're the ones in charge here, Potter," Crouch sneered.
"You can't get the prophecy without me. None of you can take it off the shelf. You want the orb so bad, then you will leave him alone."
"Or we could torture you both," Crouch replied.
"That won't get the orb though," Harry countered. "You've clearly got me outnumbered. Get away from Xeno or I don't take one more step."
"Potter-" Bellatrix was cut off by Crouch though.
"Fine. He doesn't matter to us anyway."
Harry nodded as they took a few steps back from Xeno and he dismissed the conjured ropes that had bound him.
"Harry, you can't-" Xeno muttered.
"Just hold on, okay. We'll get you out of here."
"Move, Potter!" Crouch yelled.
"Let me just find it," Harry replied, lighting his wand and searching the nearest shelves. "Let's see..."
He looked over the area twice, even after he had spotted the black orb with the correct tag. He took another deep breath and tried to steady himself for what was about to come. "Here it is."
Harry pulled the dark glass off the shelf and turned to face Crouch. He quickly walked by Xeno with the orb in his left hand, putting himself between Luna's father and the two nearest Death Eaters who were clearly leading this operation.
He was counting on Dobby, and that thought helped him clear his mind as he took the final step and reached out towards Crouch.
"What is the meaning of this?" Rookwood asked as Crouch grabbed the orb with a satisfied look.
And then everything exploded into action as Dobby grabbed onto Xeno and they disappeared with an incredibly loud crack. Curses rained down on the backs of the Death Eaters and Harry yelled out with his own banishing charm, blasting Bellatrix away from him and into one of the shelves on the other side of the aisle.
He followed that up by yelling out "Protego!" and ducking as he heard debris crashing all around him.
A masked figure stepped forward and fired a curse at Harry that he barely dodged.
"You shall not harm Harry Potter!"
Dobby appeared at his side and the Death Eater's wand arm bent at an unnatural angle with an audible crack. Harry didn't hesitate in sending an explosive curse into the torso of his foe, and the man fell back into a pool of blood and bones.
Before Harry could start to try to fight his way free, he felt a body crash into his side.
Parvati ran as fast as she could. She was trying not to hyperventilate, but there had been so much blood. She had learned the blasting charm for a reason, but now, seeing its effects up close, it was much worse than she had imagined. The Death Eater was standing there, wand pointed at Harry one moment, and the next the top half of him was a spray of flesh, blood, and splinters of bone flying away from her.
It was a miracle that she hadn't vomited.
But some small part of her remembered the plan, so she ran for the door. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her voice was screaming out in her head, 'Be okay, Harry, please, be okay!' but all she could do at that moment was run for Luna's father and try to get him outside and away from all the chaos and screaming still going on behind her.
Then she saw Xeno, leaning against the wall, and she offered a prayer to all the gods and goddesses she could remember.
"Under here," she said as quietly as she could while throwing Harry's cloak over the both of them. "Can you stand up, mister Lovegood."
"I'll make it, but Harry-"
"He has help back in there," Parvati insisted as she pulled him towards the door. "It's my job to get the two of us out of this room."
"Alright."
She could tell he was weak, but he managed to stay on his feet as she opened the door. They shuffled outside and she closed it behind them. Parvati helped him stagger down the hall a bit, further away from the door before coming to a stop.
"I... I need a moment to rest," Xeno groaned.
"Just stay put, alright," she said as she thought about what she should do next. He wasn't moving very well, and trying to get them both back to that strange entrance room seemed unlikely. He might trip and that would make the cloak pointless, as well as making them both easy targets. Parvati would probably need to wait and hope for help.
There was a huge explosion that came from back in the Hall of Prophecies. Parvati winced but it jarred an idea loose.
"Come on, let's get to the other side of the hallway," she said as she pulled Xeno along with her. "We'll be a bit more out of the way."
He nodded and limped across the hall, his legs still quivering a bit.
Parvati removed the cloak and cast a disillusionment spell over him instead. The first time it didn't quite work right- his legs were still visible- so she started over and made sure to keep her focus despite the yelling she could still hear. That time, the spell was perfect as all of Xeno faded from sight.
"Try not to move, okay? We're going to wait here, and hope that one of our side comes out the door next." She heard him sliding down the wall, collapsing to the floor.
"What if it's one of theirs?"
Parvati gulped as she covered herself with the cloak again.
"Then I'll have to be ready."
She pointed her wand at the door and waited.
He was struggling to breathe as the Death Eater choked him. Harry wasn't sure who it was, but as they struggled the man's mask had been knocked loose and he saw a bit of blonde hair sticking out from the hood of his robe. He didn't recognize the face, but the look of pure rage on it was obvious enough.
Unfortunately, the Death Eater was much larger and stronger than Harry. Both their wands had been knocked loose as they collided, and now that physical difference was putting Harry in great risk. He knew the Dark Lord had ordered them not to kill him, but it looked like this bastard either didn't care about that order or was so caught up in the haze of battle that it no longer mattered.
Glass smashed over the back of the Death Eater's head and his hold on Harry was temporarily loosened.
Harry rolled, trying to get away from the larger man, but he merely turned the two of them on their sides as the Death Eater reached back for Harry's throat once again. Harry managed to get his left hand up to try to block his attacker, but his right arm was pinned across near his chest at an angle that he couldn't easily free it.
He remembered the extended pocket he'd kept his invisibility cloak and wriggled his arm, trying to get it low enough to reach down. The other man punched him in the side, but it was enough movement that let his arm finish sliding down. As he was choked again, he felt the handle of the little knife he used in Potions. Harry pulled back his left hand, letting the other man get a better grip on his throat, but then he jabbed his thumb into the Death Eater's right eye as hard as he could.
It got him a quick momentary cry of pain from the Death Eater and his throat was free again to gasp for breath, but it was all Harry needed. He pulled his right arm up and stabbed the man in the throat.
There was a second of gurgling before the Death Eater raised his hands, one trying to cover the wound, and the other went back to try to continue strangling Harry.
Harry responded by slashing at the man's face with the knife. He went near the eye, missing but causing a gash through his cheek. He tried again, this time gouging the Death Eater's left eye. He twisted and pulled the knife back out and the eye came with it.
That got the Death Eater to stop trying to choke Harry; instead he reached for the knife. But Harry was faster, and he again slashed for the man's throat. The Death Eater's left hand partially deflected the knife, but Harry still hit the back and side of his neck. There was a bit of blood, but not enough.
Harry was able to struggle free from the Death Eater though, and he used that extra bit of space to aim lower. He brought the knife down, stabbing into the man's stomach over and over. The Death Eater's response was too slow. By the time he got his free hand down to try to fight Harry off, he'd been stabbed four times. Harry ignored the weakening hand that was trying to stop him. He kept on stabbing, again and again.
The Death Eater gave one last ditch effort, throwing his larger body at Harry, tackling him onto his back. Harry's right arm and the knife were still free though. He stabbed the man in the side, once, twice, three times, and eventually he felt the man's resistance fading. Harry stabbed him one last time in the side and used the motion and force of the blow to roll them over.
The Death Eater slumped to the ground, one arm still feebly flailing at him. Now free, Harry leaned down and jabbed the knife into the man's throat again, the blade sliding all the way in. When he yanked it loose, there was one last spray of blood before the Death Eater collapsed.
"Get up, Potter!"
It was Moody's voice that had called to him, and Harry turned to see the old auror dueling against one of the Death Eaters who was on the defensive. Harry summoned his wand back to him, never more glad that he had mastered that spell wandlessly, and looked for the nearest enemy.
Alastor let out a cry of triumph as his foe was knocked to the ground, his mask sliding off.
"Jugson, you bastard," he growled. "I've waited a long damn time for this."
Harry saw him cast a number of nasty curses at the fallen Death Eater.
"That's right. Scream you fucking monster! Scream and beg me for mercy!"
"Alastor!" Harry yelled, but he wasn't paying attention.
"Look at me, you fucking piece of shit. I want you to know that it was me who sent you to hell. This is for my niece, you murdering filth. Confringo!"
Moody's blasting curse tore apart the Death Eater.
But Harry realized that he'd heard another voice casting the same spell just as an explosion knocked the old man onto the ground. He threw up a shield charm to block the debris, and once it cleared, he saw Moody's wooden leg was gone, the clawed foot blown to splinters. There was a bit of blood leaking down from the stump near his knee.
"Karkaroff," Alastor growled, raising his wand and firing a curse. "Just like you to curse someone when their back is turned."
"You shouldn't be such a foolish old man to leave yourself exposed," Karkaroff sneered. "Your time is up, Mad-Eye!"
Neither of them had seen Harry though, who fired an explosive curse into the man who had forced him into the Triwizard Tournament. His aim was slightly off, but it was enough to blow Karkaroff's wand arm off at the shoulder and it took a chunk out of that shoulder and the top of his chest as well.
The Death Eater spun and fell, looking up at Harry for one moment before his eyes went blank.
"Dammit, Alastor, how the hell am I going to get you out of here now?" Harry grumbled as he tried to pull his mentor upright.
"Cover me for a moment, lad."
Harry nodded and scanned the surrounding area.
Barty was furious as he ran towards the door. His master was going to be even more furious, but he would at least get the prophecy orb back to him. He heard the din of battle behind him as he ducked and turned down another aisle, finally spotting his goal.
Everything had gone wrong and that blasted Potter was to blame once again. Barty should have known he would have brought allies with him, but how had he known so well what their plan was? They must have been disillusioned and waiting to spring the ambush, turning the Death Eaters' trap back around on them. It was incredibly frustrating, but he was going to fulfill the Dark Lord's primary order or die trying.
He was his most loyal follower, after all.
Just as he reached the door, he stopped for a second. If Potter had help, then it was possible there would be others waiting outside. He cast a disillusionment spell on himself, checked his rear one last time, and opened the door.
He raised his wand and stepped out into the hallway but saw no one.
Barty had no idea how the others were doing, but at that moment, he didn't really care. It was just too bad that Rookwood wasn't with him. That would have made his way out of the building much easier- but he'd seen Augustus' head go flying off his body in that opening salvo. Amelia Bones had been there, and Barty had fired an exploding curse at her as he fled. He didn't think he'd scored a killing blow, but it had been enough to create a path for him away from the battle.
He started off down the hall, pausing for only a second as he thought he heard something. It had sounded like breathing. He began walking again, thinking that it must have been that fool Lovegood. He'd escaped their clutches somehow, so maybe he was hiding in the hallway and waiting for the others to help him flee.
Barty saw the way out, and clutched the orb tight to his chest as he carefully opened the door that would lead him back to the lifts.
Just before he left, he fired a blasting curse down the hall behind him and then closed the door.
Tonks had run the entire way and nearly knocked the door off its hinges when she entered the auror department. There was one guy on duty who was dozing at his desk, but she ignored him and headed straight for the department's floo.
"Come on, Kingsley! Dammit, I know you're home!" She was bouncing on her knees as she knelt in front of the fireplace. Just before she signed off to try Robards, a voice finally answered her call.
"Tonks, I didn't think you had weekend duty."
"No time! I need you to get here and call in everyone. We've got Death Eaters in the ministry. A bunch of them too, and a hostage situation. All down in the Department of Mysteries."
"Oh hell," Shacklebolt said as he grabbed his wand. "Step back, I'm coming through."
She scooted back out of the way, falling on her butt as she did before quickly climbing to her feet. "Mad-Eye and Amelia are down there already. We've got a rescue party, but we need everyone we can to help. Maybe a dozen of the Dark Lord's forces are here, including some of the ones who broke out of Azkaban."
"I understand. I'll call everyone in as fast as I can."
"Good, I'm going down there," Tonks said as she turned to leave.
"Wait! You can't go down there on your own. Wait for some back up."
"The hell with that," Tonks shouted. "I've got family down there, Kingsley. You get the others coming, but I'm not leaving my cousins down there without me."
"Black?" Shacklebolt asked.
"And Potter," she nodded.
"Harry Potter!" he exclaimed. "This is going to be a mess as soon as Fudge hears about it. Just... be careful, Tonks."
"I will," she answered as she ran off, needing to get back to take the lift down as fast as she could.
"Are you alright?"
Parvati groaned but tried to sit up. She'd attempted to shield against the curse that she heard and it looked like it was enough to save her from any serious damage. Her ankle felt a bit tender though; she must have rolled it when she had fallen.
"Xeno, is that you?" she asked.
"Yes."
"I think I'm okay. How about you?"
"I'll live. A bit of something hit my arm, but I don't think it's broken."
"What was that?" Parvati wondered.
"I think one of them got past us. I heard something from the other end of the hall."
"Damn. Well, let's just hope the others are alright."
Moody had conjured up a wooden peg leg and managed to stand as Harry helped him up.
"Will that last?" he asked.
"Long enough to get us out here, lad."
"Then let's move."
There was a crash down a nearby aisle. Moody nodded and raised his wand as Harry disillusioned himself and crept forward to see who was still standing.
He soon turned around a shelf and saw Sirius and Bellatrix taunting each other as they fired curses.
"I'm going to gut you, slowly, blood traitor!" She fired an explosive curse that Sirius shielded.
"Bella, you crazy bitch, you're the blood traitor!" He responded with a reductor curse that she deflected, knocking several prophecies off the nearest shelf. The din of voices from the orbs muddied together.
"How dare you! You're the one who turned his back on our family!"
"That's because our family was full of awful cunts like my mother. That bitch cursed me, her own son, and that's actually betraying her own blood. Then she got my little brother killed by that spawn of a squib whose cock you want to swallow. Joke's on you though, Bella- Harry told me Riddle's reborn snaky demonic body no longer has anything between his legs."
Sirius laughed as Bellatrix screamed in rage and fired a killing curse at him. He summoned an orb into the path and shielded as the glass exploded.
"Did Riddle ever tell you how he killed his own father and grandparents? That's a true blood traitor, that one. And you're the one who betrayed your own sister by killing her husband. That makes you a blood traitor as well."
"That filthy mudblood was nothing, and my sister was a fool to sully herself with scum."
They sent reductor curses at each other that collided and let out a crack that made Harry wince.
"I feel sorry for you, Bella. I still remember the girl you were, and the promise you had. Look at you now, nothing more than a raving mad-woman, your beauty faded, the prime of your life wasted first serving a monster and then years spent in Azkaban. You should have turned away from our family while you still had a chance at a life that might have meant something."
"It will mean something when the Dark Lord rules again," she sneered. "And it will mean even more when I kill you. Avada Kedavra!"
Sirius barely leapt aside as the green light went just wide of his left arm.
Harry had a clear shot now and he sent an explosive curse at her. The witch was fast though, and she turned and brought up a shield just as the spell hit her. It was still enough to knock her off her feet and careening into another shelf full of prophecies.
"Sirius!" Harry yelled. "Time to get out of here!"
His godfather looked tired, bent over at the waist and catching his breath, but he glanced up, nodded, and shifted into Padfoot. The grim trotted over towards Harry.
"Crucio!"
Harry didn't see the spell coming, but just as it would have hit, the huge black dog dove into the path and let out a terrible howl.
He looked up and saw Bellatrix had gotten to her feet and was grinning ear to ear as she held the torture curse on his godfather.
"Confringo!"
Now that she wasn't standing too close to Sirius, Harry had no reason to hold anything back. He blasted the crazy bitch through the shelves she had crashed into, and judging by the sound, probably through a couple of others as well. There followed a nearly deafening sound of hundreds of glass orbs crashing to the ground and voices crying out as the records of untold prophecies were destroyed.
"Sirius?"
Padfoot looked up at him and whined, but struggled back onto all four legs and barked as it started walking down the aisle.
"Alastor?"
Harry caught Amelia Bones as she staggered around a corner and almost ran into them. She had blood running down from a gash on her left temple and her monocle was long gone, but at least she was still standing.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"Where's Mad-Eye?"
"This way, Amelia," he grumbled. Moody was leaning against an empty shelf. "Any more of them still out there?"
"Greyback's here," she answered. "He nearly had me, but I banished him into the wall. I ran into Bellatrix then, but she got distracted by Black. When I looked back, Greyback was gone."
"Fucking hell," Moody muttered. "Anybody know what time it is?"
"It can't be later than four or five," Harry replied. "Can it?"
"We need to hurry," Moody said. "Tonight's a full moon."
"Let's move." Harry stepped forward and Padfoot walked alongside him. Moody and Amelia were following them and Harry was scanning for more enemies as well as trying to remember which way led to the door. In all the chaos, he'd gotten turned around too many times to count.
A roar made him turn just as he saw Fenrir Greyback smash into Moody, sending them both tumbling to the ground as well as knocking Amelia over. Sirius growled and leapt onto his back but he was knocked aside by the huge man who turned back to Alastor and raked one clawed hand across his face.
Harry was just about to curse him when he felt an explosion behind him.
As he turned, he saw Dobby had appeared and blocked the spell, but the little elf had been thrown across the aisle, smashing into a shelf and falling to the floor. The Death Eater was still standing behind them, and he turned his wand back to Harry.
"Reducto!"
Harry was faster though, and his reductor curse hit his target right in the wand hand. The wand itself exploded, and it looked like it might have taken a couple of fingers along with it.
The Death Eater howled out in pain, but he had apparently brought another weapon as well, a long dagger in his left hand, and he charged at Harry.
"Depulso!"
Harry knocked the man off his feet and then followed up by disarming him of the blade. He sent a blasting curse into the fallen Death Eater and then picked up the dagger.
He turned and saw Greyback was about to overpower Alastor, who was still fighting as best as he could even with the larger man on top of him. His wand was knocked out of his hand though, and Harry saw that he couldn't easily target Greyback without hitting his friend as well.
"Greyback!" Amelia had gotten back to her feet and fired a bonebreaker that yanked one of his arms out of his socket. The man growled and rose to his feet, clearly deciding to change prey.
Harry saw his chance and fired a cutting curse at him. It put a gash across the feral looking man's face, but he just growled in response. Harry tried another tactic and banished the dagger at the man's torso. He started to pull it free, seeming not even to notice the blood that rushed out when another blade came out from the other side.
Alastor was standing again, barely, and he had shoved a conjured sword through Greyback's right side. It was high enough to have torn through his lung, and judging by the wheeze he let out, even a werewolf near the full moon still felt that.
Harry let out a gasp as Greyback finally fell. Sirius shifted back into his human form and conjured a sword of his own. He stabbed Greyback, who was still moving, struggling to pull the blade from his back. He couldn't reach it, but he snarled at Sirius anyway, who stabbed him again.
"That's for Mooney, you bastard." Sirius stabbed him again and Greyback tried to growl in response but it mostly came out as a gurgled half-breath. He coughed up some blood and kept clawing for the blade in his back.
Sirius stepped a bit closer, and this time he slashed through Greyback's neck. It wasn't quite a clean decapitation as the sword got stuck in his spine, but the spray of blood was immense, and the light left the Death Eater's eyes.
"Dobby!"
With the fighting over, Harry raced over to check on the house-elf. "Dobby, please don't be dead."
"Let me see him, Potter," Amelia said as she knelt down by him. She muttered an incantation that Harry didn't recognize and let out a deep breath. "He's alive- just knocked unconscious. It looks like he's magically exhausted too. The protections on this place might have taken more out of him when he tried to apparate around the battlefield."
"I've got him," Harry said as he picked his little friend up and cradled him in his arms. "Alastor, are you alright?"
The old auror limped over to join them and Harry saw a couple of new scars across his face. His magical eye had been knocked out and the socket was empty behind it.
"Anyone see my eye?"
"Here it is," Sirius answered, holding up something covered in gore. "Looks like it's got a lot of Greyback all over it though."
"Bloody hell," Alastor muttered. "Give it here. I'll have to clean it later. I'm going to be relying on the rest of you some from here on out."
"And we don't know if any of the rest of the Death Eaters are still standing," Amelia said.
"Let's hurry and get out of here, then," Sirius said.
"Harry, are you alright?"
"Parvati?" he asked. She must have still been under the invisibility cloak, which proved true as she removed it and lowered her wand that had been pointing at them as they came out of what was left of the Hall of Prophecies.
"What happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're covered in blood," she stated.
"Most of it isn't mine," he shrugged. "Is Xeno okay?"
"I'll live, Harry," he said. Amelia followed his voice over and canceled the disillusionment spell.
"Then it's time for us all to get out of here," Moody said as he turned and cast something that Harry didn't recognize at the door behind him. As he noticed his audience, he clarified, "just in case any of them are still alive."
They all started trudging down the hall. Parvati told them of someone making it past them invisibly earlier, and Harry assumed that it must have been Barty Crouch. It seemed at least one of the Death Eaters was going to follow Riddle's orders rather than sticking around for the battle. Since Harry and his comrades were all still alive, he was happy to trade off the useless orb and lone Death Eater survivor.
They got to the door and the round room once again just as an explosion rang out, far down the hall from where they had just come.
Bellatrix Lestrange was standing there, looking somehow even more stark raving mad than usual. Her right arm looked to be dislocated and she was limping even as she gave them a wicked smile and screamed out, "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry slammed the door shut and heard it crack as the wall spun around once again.
"Bloody hell, that witch just won't die."
That was followed by another spell smashing into the door that was now clearly marked as the one that had led them to the Hall of Prophecies.
"We've got too many wounded," Sirius said. "We need to get into one of these rooms and try to blast Bella before she gets in here and starts firing off curses."
"Fine," Harry said. "Let's just open a door and go through then."
He yanked open the nearest door and they all started to go through it just as Bellatrix's cackle was heard behind them when she blasted open the door.
"Move!" Moody yelled as he tried to distract her with an explosive spell of his own, which she shielded.
Harry had rushed through and set Dobby down, hopefully out of the way when he felt someone bump into him and trip him down a set of stairs. Before he could get to his feet, he heard yet another blasting curse ring out.
"Confringo!"
His ears were still ringing and his head was pounding a moment later when he felt an arm yank him to his feet.
"I'm not done with you yet, Potter!" Bellatrix gleefully cackled.
"Get away from my godson, you bitch!"
Tonks had tried several doors and was feeling more than a little frustrated. She was seriously tempted to grab one of those time turners and twist it back so that she could reach Sirius, Harry and the others, who even now could still be fighting for their lives. However, she'd heard the warning about time travel before and she knew that it could do a lot more harm than good.
That didn't mean it wasn't on her mind though, but she shook the thought away and headed back to the doorway she'd come through a few minutes prior.
This time everything was different. One of the unlabeled doors in that annoying round room was split nearly in half and another had been completely destroyed. It was through the empty doorway that she saw Sirius, Harry, and her evil aunt standing in front of an archway with a tattered black curtain.
Harry had lost his wand in that last explosion, and while he could now focus on what was happening, he couldn't easily summon it to him with Bella holding a dagger to his throat with one hand and her wand pressed against his face with the other. Sirius was still growling at her, but her threatening to harm Harry as well as using him as a human shield meant that the old dog couldn't do much at the moment.
He just had to hope that the others were okay. Harry saw Parvati was still alive at least, across the room and still standing on those stairs he'd been knocked down. She seemed to be trying to heal Amelia Bones, who was attempting to sit up.
Alastor was down on the ground about thirty feet away from Harry. He'd been sent flying by one of the blasting curses, but Harry thought he could see his mentor still breathing, even if he was now out of the fight.
That didn't leave them many options.
Bella was focused on Sirius though as they continued to shout insults at each other. Harry smiled as he saw Tonks come in through the empty doorway just before she disappeared. He watched closely, and a moment later he thought he spotted where she was- there was a distinct little shimmer in the air, and he assumed it was from her movement as the disillusionment spell did have that one drawback.
Harry motioned to his right, hoping she would take the hint and flank around them. If he could just give her an opening, she might be able to get the drop on Bellatrix. It was the best Harry could hope for at that moment.
He saw a shimmer again moving to his right and gulped as he knew this could hurt. Hopefully he could twist away from the blade at least.
"I'll kill all of you filth and blood traitors!" Bellatrix was still ranting.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He waited another moment and saw his chance- Bellatrix briefly waved the dagger at Sirius as she continued yelling at him. Harry took the opportunity and threw an elbow back into her side and tried to twist free.
Tonks had been waiting for just such a moment and she fired a bone breaker at the same time. It caught Bellatrix in the side and she was knocked off her feet with a gasp.
Harry rolled away and climbed back to his feet, summoning his wand as he stood. He fired a disarming charm at his former captor before he saw the damage that Tonks had done as one of her aunt's ribs was sticking through her robes and blood was pooling around her chest.
"That was for my dad," Tonks said as she stepped forward. "Go to hell, aunt Bella. Diffindo!"
Her anger must have powered the spell as Bellatrix gave only a brief gurgle before the light left her eyes.
"Tonks, you are officially my favorite cousin," Harry gasped as he felt Sirius run up to hug him.
"I was afraid it was going to take an army to finally kill her," Sirius chuckled when he pulled back. "The crazy bitch just didn't know when to quit. I think, in a weird way, I'm almost proud of her for that. The girl I grew up with so long ago would have felt that way, for her determination if nothing else."
"She was certainly determined," Harry agreed with a nod. "Are you alright, Tonks?"
"I-" she had been staring at the dead body and she shook herself before turning to them. "Yeah, I think so. Or I will be."
"Good, let's check on the others and get the bloody hell out of here," Harry said.
Pansy watched as the headmaster, McGonagall, and another wizard she didn't recognize went through the floo to the ministry. Madam Pomfrey and professor Flitwick had taken charge of the chaos in the village, which had somehow not managed to include any casualties.
She wondered with a smirk if Granger would still feel like Harry was too ruthless now that a Death Eater attack had broken her arm. The bitch was too lucky if you asked Pansy. Granger hadn't had her entire childhood ruined by one of the monsters, nor had her mother killed by one. That sort of thing tended to change your opinion about whether or not any of these bastards deserved even a hint of mercy.
Susan Bones went next through the floo- apparently, without her aunt there to stop her, the Hufflepuff girl had decided to come along to try to help with the reinforcements. As much as Pansy still had some nasty feelings towards the busty girl, she could admit that any help against Death Eaters would be a good thing. Besides, Harry clearly wasn't interested in her, so maybe Pansy should give her a break.
She thought she felt a little twinge of something just before she reached the fireplace.
Then all of a sudden she collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head as she fell into Luna. She never heard her friend screaming her name, nor felt her fingers trying to find a pulse.
"You know, there is one good thing about all of this," Amelia said as the lift began taking them back up to the lobby. She'd finally run into a few more aurors on the path to the Department of Mysteries. She'd ordered them to cordon off the entire area for the time being until she could come back and personally direct the investigation of what had happened. They were waiting for an Unspeakable to arrive as well. She imagined they would be horrified by what had happened to the Hall of Prophecies, but she was alive and not in too bad a shape, so all things considered, today counted as a victory.
"What one good thing?" Tonks asked.
"Lots more dead Death Eaters," Alastor snorted as he leaned against the wall. He was on his second conjured peg leg, hoping this one would last till they could get to St. Mungo's. Getting something more permanent crafted was going to delay him for any more fighting for a few days, but he felt too relieved at finally putting down Jugson to care. The Lestranges and others were a bonus.
"That too," Amelia said with a dry chuckle. "But I was referring to the fact that you're all going to be rich."
"More rich in my case," Sirius added. "Did anyone tally up just who all we got today? I couldn't recognize some of them that were still wearing their masks."
"You got Rudolphus in the opening salvo," Alastor answered. "At the same time, miss Patil got Dolohov before fleeing to get Lovegood taken care of. Good job, lass."
"Thanks," she said quietly. "Can we not officially say that I did that though?"
"Why? I already said that I would make sure none of you were penalized for today's actions," Amelia clarified. "Besides, he was wanted, dead or alive."
"It's not that," Parvati replied with a sigh. "I'm still a minor, and my parents... They come from more traditional families. I don't want them to have that money and keep it from me."
"Why would they do that?" Tonks asked.
"Because I expect them to be very angry with me in a year or two. Once I come of age and finish my education, they will be arranging a marriage for me and I have no intention of going along with their plans. Could we say Harry got that one instead?"
"Why Harry?" Amelia wondered.
"I told her that I will help her if that comes to pass," Harry replied. "If it means running away from her family, she'll need support. Monetary or otherwise, but if I could put that reward away in a vault for her, she'd be in a lot better shape."
"Do you trust Harry that much?" Amelia asked.
"I do," Parvati said with a smile. "He's a good friend. Hopefully, he might even be more than that someday."
"But he's got a girlfriend," Tonks said.
"Yeah, but Harry probably needs another girl to help look after him," Parvati teased. "See all the trouble he got into today? I have faith that I'll talk Pansy into sharing him one of these days."
"I suppose we can say that Harry was responsible for Dolohov then," Amelia said. "After all, he is responsible for you being here today. As long as you're sure that's what you want to do."
Parvati nodded.
"What about the others? I know I put down Rookwood," Amelia added.
"I got Mulciber and Jugson," Moody answered before looking down at Dobby, once again cradled in Harry's arms. "Dobby helped Potter take down Travers and Gibbon. Harry got Rowle and Karkaroff by himself. We all worked together to get Greyback. And Tonks finished off Bellatrix."
"I suggest we let one of you take the credit for Greyback too," Amelia said. "I won't feel right about accepting the bounty for Rookwood as is. The money would be coming from my department and I don't want to be accused of corruption when I've been trying to fight it for months now. I'll probably donate the reward to St. Mungo's."
"We should give Potter credit for that one then," Alastor said, patting his protege on the arm. "I don't need the reward and Black would just waste it on cheap booze and women anyway."
"Hey!" Sirius yelped before starting to grin. "The booze wouldn't be cheap."
"Harry's had far too much placed on his shoulders," Alastor continued, ignoring the joke. "You did well today, son. You deserve a reward. As far as we know, Riddle's almost out of followers now. We're in much better shape than we ever have been since Riddle first rose to power."
"We all made it out alive. As long as I can get Xeno back to Luna safely, that's what matters the most to me." Harry smiled over at Xeno who nodded at him thankfully as he leaned against Sirius. He was still a bit shaky and tired looking though. They could all probably do with a trip to the healers.
The lift stopped, announcing their arrival at the lobby, and they were met with silence.
Harry tapped Parvati on the shoulder. "Would you hold onto Dobby for a minute?"
"Sure."
"I don't see anyone out there," Moody grumbled. "My eye would be handy, but for now this will have to do. Homenum Revelio!"
Harry felt a wave of magic pass him by and move towards the seemingly empty lobby.
"No results," Alastor said.
"I'll take a look anyway," Harry added. "Make sure we've got a clear path to the floos, just in case Crouch left us any surprises as he escaped."
"Be careful," Parvati said.
Harry nodded and stepped out, looking everywhere and trying out his own revealing charms. He got no responses as he crept towards his destination, a row of fireplaces across the room. Everything seemed to be clear, so he turned and motioned for the others to come out as well.
His scar burned for a second just as he heard the cold voice hiss behind him.
"Harry Potter."
He turned with his wand raised as he saw Voldemort had apparated in and stood staring at him with those blood red eyes.
"Once again you attempt to disturb my plans."
"Confringo!"
The Dark Lord proved up to his reputation, as he casually deflected the spell and continued to speak. "I think you've been enough of a distraction, Harry. Today, you will die. But first, I want you to know that the world will fall before my feet. All those you care about will suffer, and you will be unable to do anything more to help them."
Harry had kept casting, firing explosive and reductor charms at Voldemort who blocked them all. There was a noise off to his side as he heard a number of people coming through the floos, and he thought for a moment that he heard the flash from a camera.
"Goodbye Potter. Avada Kedavra!"
He saw the green light coming towards him too fast for him to dodge. In that last half second, he heard Parvati's scream and he felt something odd tugging at him. He thought of Pansy just before the spell struck his chest and his body fell to the floor.