Divide
Albus was woken by house-elves, portraits, and a loud banging on his door.
"Professor Dumbledore!"
His eyes snapped open. In one motion, he jumped out of bed and waved his wand to dress himself.
"What's going on?" he asked as he left his room.
He walked down to his office as everyone informed him at once. All the while, Neville banged on his door. None of it turned out to be necessary. He got all the information he needed when he reached the bottom of the stairs.
A burst of flames silenced everyone. From out of the flames stepped Rose. She pulled her hood off her head and grinned at him.
"Salutations, Old Man."
The house-elves vanished, and portraits ran to their twins elsewhere in the castle.
"Professor Dumbledore, there's—"
"He knows, Toad!"
The banging on his door stopped. Neville ran back down the stairs, leaving Dumbledore to deal with Rose.
"I'll admit," he said, "I didn't want to believe that you were against us. And you can still—"
Rose fired a green ray. Albus had his wand ready, but he wasn't the target. Next to him, Fawkes turned to dust.
"I think I interrupted you," she said. "You were gonna tell me I could still be on your side. Would you like to finish?"
She turned her wand on him. Nothing came out, nothing obvious happened. He knew most of her tricks, at least those that Hermione had told him. He also knew how Serendipity worked, and that most of Rose's spells were slow. They were above ground, which meant she couldn't use undermaster. That gave him some comfort. At least she probably wouldn't turn him to stone right away.
"You won't win, Rose."
Rose smirked.
"We'll see about that."
Rose aimed her wand at the ground and a small, glowing bead shot out.
Albus didn't recognize the spell, so he threw up a generic shield charm and reinforced it with everything he had.
The bead detonated the instant it touched the ground. The explosion ripped apart his collection of trinkets and gizmos, then tore open the floor and sent them both falling to the ground below.
Ginny raced through the corridors. Her right arm kept shaking as a dull throbbing persisted in it. She wasn't far from Professor Lupin's office, but a nagging feeling filled her with doubt.
Would he be in his office? Wouldn't he have a flat like everyone else? What if she couldn't find him?
Her worries were proven moot when she rounded a corner and found three Death Eaters. She pulled back and pressed herself against the wall.
Chatter went on in her head from the others. No one would get to her soon. She was all on her own.
I can't do this on my own. I'll get hurt again.
The throbbing in her arm worsened. She wanted to cry, but there was no point. No one was going to save her this time.
There's only three of them. I can take them.
No matter how hard she tried to convince herself, she didn't believe it.
Harry banged on Snape's office door. He didn't know for sure that Snape would be there, but he could always check the map. He'd need it later anyway.
The door flew open and Snape glowered down at him.
"What was so important it couldn't wait until morning?" he demanded.
"Someone took down the ward stopping Rose from getting in," he said. "She's with Professor Dumbledore now. We've got to secure Slytherin or get them out of Hogwarts."
Snape waved his wand and a cloak flew over to him. He ran out as it covered him, leaving Harry to jog to keep up.
"How many hostiles?" he asked.
"Ginny's run into three upstairs. That probably means Rose is putting them all around the castle."
Harry picked up something on his blindsight not far from them. He spun around and fired a stunner at it, but there was nothing there. Concentrating, he sensed it moving around them.
"What?" Snape snapped.
"Someone else is here."
"That's right," a familiar voice said. "That pesky enchantment on your glasses."
Snape narrowed his eyes.
"Pettigrew," he said. "Of course you'd be here too."
"Severus, how good to see you again. How have you been?"
"Show yourself, Traitor!" Harry shouted.
"Me?" Pettigrew chuckled. "Or did you mean Severus?"
"I meant the man that sold out his friends!"
Pettigrew laughed again.
"Exactly. Have you ever wondered why the Dark Lord chose you?"
Harry glanced at Snape. He'd been asking that question since his eleventh birthday. He'd been asking why he had to be the one to fight Voldemort for almost a year.
He realized they were going to be there a while and informed the others.
Neville ran towards the moving staircases. Ron and Hermione were both moving through the castle towards the Dungeons. They'd evacuate the students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. That left Harry and Ginny to clear out Slytherin.
Alright, that left Harry to clear out Slytherin.
He skidded to a halt when he reached the cavity. Between he and it were three Death Eaters. Neville glared at one of them, rage building inside him.
"If it isn't little Longbottom!" Lestrange crowed. "I was starting to worry we'd never have a chance to talk again. How's your girlfriend? Seen her lately?"
Lestrange cackled at her own bad joke.
Neville drew the Sword of Gryffindor and charged.
Hermione paused in her run behind Septima. It wasn't far to Professor Dumbledore's office. She could get there and see Rose.
Septima turned and stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"Rose is here." She turned back to Septima. "She's in Professor Dumbledore's office. I could—"
"Hermione, please," Septima said. "Professor Dumbledore will handle her. After he's captured her and the school is safe, you can get your answers. Right now, consider this: Rose is bringing murderers into a school full of adolescents. Your friends could be dying because of her."
All of her friends were in danger because of Rose. It wasn't an accident this time. Unlike every other time they'd followed Rose into danger, or it had found her, she was throwing it at them.
Hermione clenched her fists.
"You're right," she said. "Answers can wait. We've got to focus on getting to Ravenclaw Tower."
They reached the tower and found a pair of Death Eaters waiting for them.
Hermione held her hands next to one another and recited a relatively new incantation.
A bolt of lightning arced between the two Death Eaters, and they went down.
"What was that?" Septima asked as they approached the tower.
"Arc lightning. Fifth-level spell that—"
"I think I know what it does."
Ron and Professor McGonagall rode atop a desk McGonagall had transfigured into a horse. They had barked orders to everyone in Gryffindor to leave what they couldn't carry and run for it. With the house-elves handling the remainder of their belongings, they'd be fine.
Ron was in charge of handling any Death Eaters they encountered. Rather, the small army he'd animated handled it. Every time they passed something he could use — a suit of armour, a statue, a candelabra, a grandfather clock — he brought it to life.
As per their instructions, the rest of Gryffindor stayed out of the way. They were not to cast a spell unless explicitly ordered to do so. That left Ron clear to handle problems as they arose.
"You there!" he shouted at one of his knights. "Death Eater, f5!"
The suit of armour swung its mighty sword and slammed the flat of it into a Death Eater's head.
Ron found it easier to give orders on a chessboard, so he kept a mental image of one in his head, centered on the students. The armour were his knights, the smaller objects his pawns, the clocks his castles, and the statues his bishops.
It was chess, and no one beat him at chess.
"After we've secured the students, we should head to the Dungeons," he told Professor McGonagall. "Sally-Anne needs our help, and everyone else has been cut off."
"We don't know where to bring them, do we?"
"We're securing Hogsmeade," Ron said. "With luck, they're only after the castle."
He didn't know what the Death Eaters' plan was, but Sally-Anne hadn't responded. He needed to get to her. He wouldn't lose anyone else, especially not her.
Sally-Anne clutched Draco's body. Calls from her friends rang through her head, but she tuned them all out. The only important person to her laid dead on the floor. No matter how hard they struggled, no matter how valiantly they fought, none of it mattered.
Draco was dead.
His father stirred, then dove for his wand.
Sally-Anne didn't care. He could do what he wanted.
"What… what did you do, Mudblood?"
"Was it worth it?" she screamed, turning on him. "Your power, your position, your money. Was it worth it? Following some dark wizard who tortures people for fun! What else was going to happen? Didn't you think for a second that maybe Draco shouldn't be involved? Maybe he should be kept safe? No! You had to put him right in the middle of it! You made him come here! You did this to him, Lucius Malfoy! You did! Was it worth it? Was it worth Draco's life? Was it worth your son?"
Sally-Anne glared at him through tear stained eyes. She couldn't remember feeling so angry in her life. The anger she'd felt at Cho for catching Harry's eye years ago meant nothing. Her indignation towards Umbridge for tricking her was minuscule. She wanted Lucius Malfoy to twist in the wind for what he'd done. Even Sally-Anne couldn't find it in herself to forgive him. Not then, not ever.
Lucius lowered his wand.
"No. It wasn't."
He sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands.
"I never meant for this to happen. I wanted to leave when that girl took control, but there was nothing we could've done."
"Nothing? What about hiding here? They needed all of this to get inside and take the castle!"
Lucius shook his head.
"That girl took something from the… from Voldemort, and hid it here. That's what he's after. He sent a vanguard to clear the castle for him."
"I've noticed."
She looked down at Draco's lifeless face. Gently, she closed his eyes, tears spilling out of hers.
"It was you, wasn't it?"
Sally-Anne glared at him. What right did he have to speak to her? Everything that was happening, the lives now at risk, Draco, it was all Lucius's fault. She understood for a moment how he must've seen her. With such scorn, such hatred.
"He was happy over the holiday. Properly happy like we'd never seen him. Narcissa said it must've been love, but I didn't believe it."
"Why, because he didn't fall madly in love with Parkinson? A pet rock would've shown him more affection than she did."
Sally-Anne wiped away her tears and tried to get a grip on herself. She knew better than most that getting angry wasn't going to solve anything. Lucius wasn't happy about it either, that was clear. They needed to get back to the rest of the castle and help the others.
"We need to go, but we shouldn't leave him here," Sally-Anne said. "I can't carry him."
Lucius stood up and brandished his wand.
"I can."
Albus cast arresto momentum on himself to absorb the impact of falling to the next floor, then turned his wand on Rose before they'd touched down.
She was in the air, casting a spell as he fired a stunner at her. The red bolt arced right through her as her body turned translucent.
She'd used ghostform, which meant physical and directed attacks wouldn't work, but energy-based area attacks would.
Albus waved his wand again and bolts of lightning covered the classroom. The air buzzed as electricity crackled, striking Rose.
She shrugged off the attack and fired another spell.
Within seconds, Albus found himself entombed in a block of ice. He concentrated, then silently threw a blast of heat outward from his body. The block erupted, hurling shards of ice around the room.
The shards phased through Rose, who waved her wand for another spell. This time, a cloud of smoke filled the room.
The cloud obscured the room and burned Albus when it touched him. Keeping in mind the layout of the room, Albus aimed and fired towards one of the walls.
The wall exploded, and Albus threw himself out of the room, once again cushioning his fall. Smoke poured out of the hole. He regained his bearings, but he'd lost sight of Rose. He quickly cast the Earth and Air Eyes Charms on himself and picked up movement from her. He sensed her moving her wand again, and readied another Shield Charm to defend himself.
Black tentacles erupted from the ground around him, grabbing and constricting him. They didn't throw him into the wall, but held him still. Realizing Rose was going for a kill shot, Albus detonated the floor below them, then severed the tentacles to free himself.
He ripped a hole through the wall when he landed, exposing the cavity of the moving staircases. Levitating some of the chunks of rock, he made a staircase down to the next floor.
There, distance between us and the students and staff.
Albus used a Tempus charm to work out that it'd been one minute since Rose cast her ghostform spell, which gave him another one before he'd be able to use physical projectiles on her. He sensed movement above him and aimed his wand at it.
Part of the ceiling turned to dust, and Rose fell through the hole.
A blast of sound filled the corridor, forming cracks in the surrounding wall.
Rose winced as it struck her. She braced herself against the force of the blast, then retaliated with a blast of frost.
Forming a wall to block the blast, he transfigured the corridor to conduct the sound, then fired another blast. Amplified by the corridor, it hit Rose even harder, bringing her to her knees.
Forty-five seconds left.
Albus took a second to cast the arcane sight spell Hermione had devised. He took a few steps back, then waited for Rose to attack him.
She phased through the wall and fired her own blast of sound at him. He retaliated by immobilizing the air to stop the sound dead.
Looking at her, he saw glowing auras all over her. Hermione's spell worked perfectly.
A translucent hand flew at him. Albus animated a pair of statues that jumped in and held the fist in place.
He counted the spells she'd used. Nine, which meant she still had at least three left. Knowing Rose, she would've charged Serendipity as much as possible. If he wore down the charges, even if he lost, at least it'd be easier for whomever fought her next.
The hand backed up, then redoubled its efforts. The statues held, but Albus added another for good measure.
Rose dismissed the hand, then Albus fired another burst of electricity at her. She took the hit, but sent lightning back at him. He transfigured the ground to metal wires, absorbing the blast.
He extended the metal coils towards her, preparing for the inevitable dismissal of ghostform.
Twelve seconds.
After that, he had to keep the pressure on. If she cast it again, he'd have more trouble subduing her.
She conjured a torrent of water next. Albus spread his arms and the water parted, taking out his statues, but leaving him unphased.
With another wave of his arms, he turned the wave back on Rose, but it dissipated before it touched her.
Six seconds.
She created a vortex of lava and ice around them. Albus shielded himself from the brunt of the blast, counting himself lucky that Rose was about to become vulnerable. If the spell lasted any longer, he doubted he'd be able to hold her off.
Rose became opaque again, and Albus laid on the pressure. He ripped chunks out of the wall, transfigured them into swords, and hurled them at her. She braced herself against the barrage, taking the damage, but drawing Serendipity.
Before the barrage ended, he collapsed the corridor on her.
I'm sorry, Hermione.
He reached out his hands and brought them together. As he did, the rubble constricted, crushing Rose inside. With another wave of his wand, Albus conjured another blast of sound, emitting it from the entire corridor. He lifted up Rose's tomb, then smashed it into what was left of their battleground.
Again and again. he drove Rose into the corridor. Then he rested the tomb down and approached it. He spotted a glow from inside and ground the tomb again.
Rose climbed out from the tomb, then collapsed on the floor.
Albus kept his wand trained on her, watching for signs of movement.
"I'm sorry, Rose, but I can't let you hurt anyone else."
Ginny flicked both her wands into place. She hadn't had much time to practice with both of them, but she'd practiced offhanded casting before, enough that she was confident that it wouldn't be a problem.
What if I get hurt again?
"I think I heard something!"
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stay calm. Their footsteps carried, reminding her how close they were getting. It wouldn't be long before she had to make a choice.
"Hello, little girl."
Ginny's eyes snapped open and she fired a spell on instinct. A bolt of fire shot through the spot a Death Eater had been standing a second ago.
"This one's got some fight in her!" one of them called.
You've only got to go past them, Skyeyes said in her head. You don't have to hurt them.
It sounded so easy in her head. Maybe a few fireballs, and it'd all be over. She could run past them, and she'd be home free.
What if they recovered and stunned her? She'd be helpless, just as she'd been against Rose. They'd torture her and kill her, and she'd be powerless to stop it.
I'll hold position until reinforcements arrive.
She waited and listened for footsteps again. When she heard them coming, she launched another bolt of fire. They backed off, starting the whole process over again.
I can do this, she kept telling herself. I can do this.
That didn't stop her body from trembling, nor did it stop fear from creeping into her.
Neville deflected a spell from one of the Death Eaters, then dodged around another. Lestrange in his sights, he sprinted at her.
She laughed and threw him back.
He recovered, then went at her again. He'd never felt anger like he did then. This was the task for which he'd been preparing his entire life. No one else was there to get in his way. It was just him and Death Eaters. Him and Lestrange. He wouldn't lose this time.
He deflected another spell from one of the Death Eaters, then tumbled around to throw them off. He whipped the sword in an arc, hurling it at one of the others.
The sword caught the one in his head, taking him down.
Neville tumbled back and whipped it at the other one. The sword flew back to Neville. It was just him and Lestrange.
"Ooh, you're like a Muggle," she jeered. "What's the matter? Can't use magic? Oh, Mummy and Daddy won't like that, will they?"
She raised her wand, but Neville tumbled closer to her. Staying mobile, he ran around her, not stopping for a moment. He closed the gap between them, then struck with his sword.
Lestrange whipped her wand at him, a lash of fire forming from it.
Neville recoiled when it struck him, but pressed on, striking again.
This time, Lestrange formed a large shield with a serpent on it.
"Tsk, tsk. So easy to stop you. You're nothing more than a Muggle with a pointy stick. Did you think you'd do anything with that thing? Oh I know. You're going to waste my time again until your girlfriend shows up and sees us fighting." Her mouth curled into a smile. "Oh, wait."
Neville roared and swung the Sword of Gryffindor again. He banged it on the shield over and over again. Every hit forced Lestrange back, but there was nothing he could do to stop her talking.
"I see why she dumped you."
She cackled, and Neville tumbled around her. He cut at her legs, but she brought the shield down in front of him. It bashed into him, knocking him to the ground.
The shield vanished, and Lestrange formed the fire lash again. She whipped it at his hand, burning it and disarming him.
Neville clutched his hand. She'd burned through the rope on the sword, but he summoned it to him. Pain shot through his hand when he grabbed the sword. He grit his teeth, ignoring the pain, then swung at her again.
She blocked it as easily as she had every other attack. He still wasn't fast enough.
Lestrange burned his arm again, but he held onto the sword. He wouldn't back down, not against her. Neville would make her pay for what she'd done.
He tumbled around her, but she kept up with him without issue. The lash came down, and he narrowly avoided it. He struck again, but she sidestepped the blow.
"Tired yet?" she crowed. "I don't know about you, but I can do this all day! Maybe you should call Mummy and Daddy for help!"
Neville ground his teeth together and struck again. He refused to give up. He'd faced tougher than her.
He tried to trip her again, but she brought back the shield. This time, the sword stuck to it.
She bashed him in the face with the shield, knocking him away.
Dazed, he staggered to his feet and shook his head clear. When he looked up, Lestrange was holding the sword.
"Why use this and not your wand?" Her lips curled into a sneer. "Are you a Squib? Oh, that's delightful! Longbottom, a Squib! After all the trouble your parents gave us, you can't even use magic!"
Neville let out a low growl and summoned the sword to his hand. It broke free of Lestrange's grasp and flew to him.
"Neat trick! Is that all you can do, Longbottom?"
Neville charged once more, tumbling around her, looking for any opening he could find. Once again, he got nowhere. She knocked him back, laughing and taunting him.
The next time he went for her, she conjured the fire lash again. It struck his arm, again and again. He tried ignoring it, but she was hitting him in particular spots. After several strikes, he couldn't maintain his grip on the sword.
As Neville fell back across the junction, the other two Death Eaters got to their feet.
"This has been such a treat," Lestrange said. "After the time I've had, I needed this."
She raised her wand.
Neville tested his arms, but neither was any good to him. He wouldn't be fast enough to block it.
"Crucio!"
Pain shot through him like he'd never felt before. He gritted his teeth, trying not to scream. He tightened his muscles to stop from spasming.
"Just like Mummy and Daddy," Lestrange crowed. "How long will you last, I wonder?"
She flicked her wand again.
"Cru—"
Something rose up over the staircase cavity and barreled into Lestrange, knocking her to her knees. It soared past them, landing between Neville and the Death Eaters.
Neville couldn't believe his eyes.
Luna stood between him and Lestrange. She was hunched over, claws protruding from her fingers, teeth bared.
"Moon?"