Lamia smiled as she saw Carys emerge into the hall. "Ah, decided to face me rather than cower in a corner."
Carys shook her head, flipping her hair over her shoulder arrogantly. She'd decided to act much more confident than she felt in hopes that it would anger Lamia to the point of extreme recklessness. "What point in hiding is there when you're the one who will die today?"
"The only people dying in this house today are you and your little boyfriend. You've invaded my home, challenged me to protect it, and I swear I'll be damned before I let you defeat me now or ever."
"Then you're damned, Lamia." She laughed, felt the magic whipping up inside her, overtaking her once again. "And fucked as well. Before the sun rises, I'll see you dead."
With that, Carys threw out her arms and let the magic course out of her, flowing into Lamia at a force that staggered the older woman. She backed against the railing of the upper floor and clutched a hand to her throat. Carys lifted her hands, and Lamia lifted as well, and then with a careless wave of her hand, Carys sent Lamia into the wall. And then, she ran.
She was powerful, she knew that. And she knew that in a fight, she could take most witches or wizards. Malfoys were always great witches and wizards, and she was no exception. But Lamia had had year of dark training, and Carys wasn't even sure how to control the magic flowing through her veins. When she managed to take Lamia by surprise, she could win scuffles, but on her own, she knew she could never win the war.
Her element of surprise was running out as well. Lamia was gauging her power more and more accurately each time they met. The first, Carys had been able to throw her completely off and defeat her. The second, Lamia had been more prepared, and had only been staggered by the voiceless spell. The third time, Carys had a sinking feeling that the field would be much more even, or even sloped to Lamia's advantage if her father didn't arrive soon. And even if Draco did arrive, and Sebastian wasn't able to destroy the Horcruxes, they were damned anyway, because as long as the Horcruxes remained, Lamia couldn't be killed completely.
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Sebastian found the Great Hall easily enough. It, as Desdemona had told them, took up more than half of the castle's first floors. Once inside, he found the cabinets with all the potion ingredients, and soon saw the one with the yellowed, ancient label reading `Godric Gryffindor.' He grabbed the door to the cabinet, and was flung backward.
As soon as he hit the ground, he heard laughing, and looked up to see Death Eaters standing in the doorway. "That cabinet only opens for Death Eaters, stupid boy."
Sebastian recognized several of the Death Eaters as people he'd gone to school with, but that had graduated ahead of him. "Well then, I'll just have to make you open it for me."
"I don't think so. Avada Kedavra!"
The spell hit Sebastian in the chest solidly, but his sweater absorbed it, then threw it back and the Death Eater who had cast it. He was flung backward, eyes rolling back as his body bent sickeningly in midair, then crashed into the stone floor with a crunch that made Sebastian sick to his stomach. The other Death Eaters looked at one another, fear evident in their eyes. Sebastian pointed his wand at them all.
"Wingardium leviosa."
The Death Eaters rose off the ground and Sebastian propelled them in to the cabinets, shattering the glass and sending the bottles and urns flying around the room. They landed unconscious, and he waved his wand once again, conjuring rope that snaked around their wrists and ankles, securely tying them.
"Accio, Godric Gryffindor."
The yellow bottle flew at him and he caught it neatly in one hand, grinning despite himself. He really liked taking on battles the odds said he should have lost and winning them. It gave his ego a boost, and made him more confident for the rest of what he had to do.
He ran to the nearest flat surface, which was the table, and checked it for curses or charms. Finding none, he dumped the Horcruxes on the table and uncorked the bottle. A yellow mist flew out and engulfed the Horcruxes, eating them away into nothingness in seconds. Sebastian was left to do nothing other than stare at the pile of ashes that had once been Horcruxes. The mist returned to the bottle, and Sebastian pocketed it quickly, gathering the ashes in the cloth he'd wrapped the Horcruxes in and throwing them in the fire. Desdemona had said that just using the essence of Gryffindor would destroy the Horcruxes and the bit of soul in them, but he wasn't taking any chances.
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Draco split from Harry, Ron and Noah as soon as they ran in the door to the castle. He couldn't explain it, didn't even want to try, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his daughter needed him, and could sense where it was that she was. He veered up the stairs, to the right and down a long corridor, running as fast as he could.
He soon saw his daughter fighting several Death Eaters. And she was magnificent, using magic, and Muggle fighting techniques both. She whirled when a Death Eater grabbed her shoulder in time to see Draco seize him and throw him over the railing.
"Dad!" Carys threw herself at her father, burying her face in his neck, breathing in the comfort of his familiar scent and hugging him with all the strength she had. Draco returned the embrace, then tucked her against his side so that he could keep her close without allowing them to be sneaked up on.
"Are you all right? Where's Sebastian? What's going on?"
"I'm fine. Sebastian is after the essence of Godric Gryffindor. He should've gotten it by now. We had to split up." She looked up at her father. "She and I are linked, Dad. Like Uncle Harry and Voldemort were."
Draco sighed. "I thought that might happen. She's picked you, and that's as strong a bond as the one that connected Harry and Voldemort. Has she sensed it yet?"
"I don't think so. I can tell you where she is, but so far she can't seem to find me."
"That's an advantage then. Let's go find her."
"I don't know if Sebastian's destroyed the Horcruxes yet. If he hasn't we'll be walking right into our own coffins." She grabbed his arm, led him down the front staircase. "He should be in the ballroom."
Draco kept Carys tucked behind him while they walked, unwilling to put his daughter in any more danger than necessary. He led her to the ballroom, which was in the front of the castle and shoved open the doors. Sebastian's wand was pointing solidly at his chest in a split second. When he saw Draco and Carys, he lowered it.
"Thank God you're all right. I got it. The Horcruxes are gone. The essence of Gryffindor worked like a charm, no pun intended."
Carys grabbed him in a fierce hug, then took Draco's arm. "She's upstairs in her bedroom. She's trying to use a locating spell to find out where we all are."
"Get her down here. I'm not going into her lair and giving her that advantage. We're already playing on her field. That's enough for me."
"How?"
Sebastian grabbed her arm, dragged her in the direction of Harry. "Dad would know. He was able to keep Voldemort out, so he should be able to tell you how to let her in."
Harry, Ron and Noah rounded the corned into the ballroom with torn robes and various cuts and bruises. "We ran into the whole damn army of Death Eaters in the Western hallway." He hugged Sebastian. "You okay?"
"Fine. I destroyed all the Horcruxes. Dad, how can Carys let Lamia into her mind? They've got that psychic link thing going on and she needs to let Lamia find out where she is so that we can get everyone in here."
"Easy. Can you hear her thoughts?"
Carys nodded. "Loud and clear enough to give me a headache."
"Then talk back. In your mind, and concentrate only on what you're saying. She'll hear you."
Carys closed her eyes, let her mind clear of all but the voice she couldn't control. And then, she spoke back, hearing her voice only in her mind. The voice of Lamia silenced, and then she heard the Dark Knight announce that all Death Eaters needed to go to the ball room.
"They're on their way. All of them."
Draco nodded sharply, drew his wand. "Then let's do this."
Harry laid a hand on Draco's shoulder. "This should have ended twenty years ago. It's time we finished it for good."
"Carys, you stick close to me. If we're going to take on Lamia, we need to be together and not try to face her alone. Sebastian, Noah, you two stay close to one another and take on the Death Eaters that come through the South door. Harry, Ron, you two know what to do."
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Sebastian had his wand out and was ready when the flood of Death Eaters began. What he hadn't expected was that there were still over a hundred that had to be dealt with. He and Noah used a combination of spells, charms and curses, binding them at hand and foot, knocking them out, putting them to sleep. No one wanted to kill them, but they had to several times when it was absolutely necessary.
The battle was long and bloody, and Lamia didn't make an appearance until it was nearly over. Carys sensed her the second she entered the room, and she began making her way over, inexplicably drawn to the older woman. It never occurred to her that Draco was on the other side of the room dealing with Death Eaters.
"This is your last chance, Carys. You can join me, and I'll give you all the power in the world, or you can die, right here." Lamia's voice was rich and deep, permeating every pore of Carys' body. She let the words flow through her, felt a pull to do what was asked of her. The magic coursing through her demanded that she join Lamia.
"No."
"I know you want to. You feel it the same as I do. I'm in your thoughts. I hear what the voices say, what the magic itself is telling you. If there's one thing you can trust, it's your magic. I feel the pull. The tug on your center telling you to do as I say. Listen to it."
It was a struggle to even remember who she was. The only thing she could hear was Lamia's voice in her head and the magic speaking to her through every inch of her being. It never occurred to her that Lamia wasn't even speaking out loud, that she was the one making it seem as if she wanted to do as told.
"I won't do it, Lamia. I'm not yours."
"But you are. You feel it, you know it in every inch of yourself. You feel the call of it, the feel of it in your blood. You were born for this. The prophecies were created before birth. You know it's true, Carys. You know what you are. You know what you were made for. You were born for this. For evil. For me. Come with me, together we'll rule the world."
It was that that broke Carys free. She surged to her feet, confused about when she'd been driven to her knees in the first place and felt magic surge off of her. "I AM NOT EVIL!" her voice filled the room as Lamia was driven back. Carys didn't know what she was doing, didn't know how she was doing what she was. She drove Lamia to her knees with another pulse of magic. "I BELONG TO NO ONE! And I don't want to rule the world." The last came out as a whisper as she felt the energy that had given her such a sudden burst of strength ebbed and left her feeling weak.
Draco shoved his way through Death Eaters when she saw what was going on. He saw Carys fall to her knees, facing Lamia who was struggling to get to her feet. When he saw Lamia pick up her wand, he aimed his from twenty feet away. "Avada Kedavra!"
The green stream of light struck Lamia in the chest, pushed her back several feet, and bought Draco a few seconds as he ran toward his daughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sebastian chanting a spell his mother had created, and he saw the magic flow back into Carys.
Without looking back, Carys knew her father was ready. Her wand came up, and with every ounce of strength, she cast the Killing Curse. Both streams of green light hit Lamia, and the Dark Witch was tossed backward, where she hit the floor in a heap. She didn't move. Harry moved to check her pulse.
"She's dead."
That was the last thing Carys heard as she hit the floor in a dead faint.
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