Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I donÕt own Harry Potter and I donÕt make money from this.

Read on, oh faithful ones...

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Chapter Twenty Eight

Friday, 7 June. Nearing midnight.

Making her way deeper into the forest, Luna stopped in a clearing to ensure that she hadn't smacked Gregory into any trees unintentionally. Running her wand over his still form, Luna removed leaves and splinters from his body, healing any bruises the best she could.

Gregory twitched, his hand brushing her robes. Luna frowned, Seeing ahead in case this would cause problems. A moment later she sighed heavily. There would be problems no matter what; she just had to hope that it wouldn't be the worst ones.

Leaving the clearing again, Luna carefully made her way further into the forest. She listened to the forest around her, trying to pick out the sounds she had heard in her vision. A mouse squeaked in alarm, an owl hooting its' victory a moment later, the mouse swallowed whole. That was it. This was the place.

Guiding Gregory down to the ground softly, Luna turned slightly and stepped forward, trying to remember exactly what she had Seen. There wasn't much left to her vision but for what happened after these moments, so she wasn't entirely sure what to do or how to continue.

You are almost there, daughter. Carefully now, it is active, Cassandra's voice warned her.

"Still? I thought they would have shut off after all this time," Luna replied.

They did; Ginevra brought every single one to life during the events of The Vision, Cassandra replied.

"Do you know if this is the right one, Cassandra?" Luna asked, reaching out to touch the stone.

It is certainly large enough, she replied in amusement.

A groan sounded behind them, and Luna turned to face Gregory.

"Luna? What's going on? Where's Pansy? Has anyone found Vince yet?" he asked, firing question after question at her until she felt slightly dizzy at his intensity.

Raising her wand, Luna shot a calming spell at him before he had the chance to move.

"Stay quiet, please. I am not fully recovered, and I do not have the energy to answer all of your questions yet. Please," she added, in case he was going to say anything else.

Gregory closed his mouth and tried to let the calming spell work.

"Pansy and Vincent are still being held by Voldemort. Unfortunately, that is not as important as what is happening here," Luna said.

Her comment angered Gregory and he stepped forward with a clenched fist. "Nothing is more important than them! Unless you can get me to them somehow, then I don't give a fuck what else is happening."

"You care about them more because they are your irrevocably entwined with your future, is that right?" Luna asked, ignoring his hostile tone.

"Of course."

"Then consider this: if you do not do what I have set into motion today, there will be no future for you to share with either of them. If you go back to Hogwarts now, all three of you will die. That I have Seen and nothing will change it, no matter how large or small the deed."

Gregory was silent, looking at Luna, and then to the stone behind her. The stone looked like a door frame, three rocks sitting in the rectangular fashion. It wasn't the stone that drew his gaze, but rather the shimmering blue light encased within it.

"What is it?" he asked finally.

"It is a transportation portal. Way back when, Apparating was still not possible, and wizards needed to use these portals to travel to distant places. Most have been inactive since Apparating was first accepted and used. This particular portal leads to the troll camp near Romania. Well, it should," Luna murmured, her voice quieter on the last part.

Gregory scoffed, disgust evident in his eyes. "You think I'll go to them now when they refused me earlier this year?"

"Yes," she replied simply. "You were not ready for their life then, but you are now. Are you ready to leave, or would you rather return to Hogwarts?"

Gregory looked at Luna for a long while, contemplating everything she had told him. She had never lied to him, and had never been wrong about anything she had Seen before; why would now be any different? He sighed heavily, feeling sick at the prospect of leaving everything - and everyone - behind. Especially when Pansy and Vincent were at the hands of Voldemort.

"Tell me the truth, Luna. Will I see them again if I leave now?"

A lump seemed to form in her throat, her eyes tearing up. She knew the answer but did not wish to tell him.

Tell him the truth, daughter, Cassandra said softly, guiding her where she couldn't See.

"You will see Pansy again, but not Vincent," Luna said, her voice as soft as Cassandra's in her mind.

A choked sob escaped him as he fell to his knees, a cold shiver flowing through his body. He stayed where he was, kneeling on the ground, for less time than he felt pass. When his heart finished breaking, Gregory stood up and walked towards Luna, towards the portal, and towards his future.

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Wednesday, 12 June

Ginevra ducked under the fist coming towards her, retaliating with a low sweeping kick. Her attacker jumped over it quickly, sending a hex towards her. Pulsing with magic, Ginevra blocked the spell and sent a wave towards her opponent, knocking them out instantly.

"Revive Moon and start again!" Moody barked.

Pulling the wave back to her, Ginevra woke Sidney Moon at the same time and offered her a hand.

"Thanks," the young Slytherin muttered, standing and brushing off her robes.

"You've got to start using more defensive spells, Sidney. You won't be able to attack everyone all the time," Remus said. "And Ginevra, don't rely so heavily on your magic; it will deplete your energy quickly."

Both girls nodded. Sidney had a piece of chocolate and they started once more.

As she dodged the other girl's foot, Ginevra was hit with a well placed hex. It sent her spiralling across the grass, stars in front of her eyes. The last week flashed before her eyes in an instant.

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Flashback

McGonagall looked at all of the students before her. Ginevra and her friends looked back, all of them tired, sore, hurt, and defiant. They were patrolling the Great Hall with the few Professors who hadn't been injured badly, and Minerva was surprised to realise that she actually felt safer with the students guarding them too.

"We're not leaving. They're coming back, and we will fight," Ginevra said stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest.

"So will we. We're not going anywhere either," Harry said for himself, Ron and Hermione.

His two friends were near the back of the Great Hall getting their wounds tended to by Theodore.

"You've got Horcruxes to find, Harry. You can't stay here," Ginevra said before McGonagall could say no to both of them.

"How... How do you know about them?" Harry said, his voice a suspicious hiss.

"I'm not deaf, and you talk loud when you think others are asleep," Ginevra replied, giving him a pointed look. "You three will have to leave the moment you're healed if you think you'll be able to defeat Voldemort."

Harry didn't look overly pleased at being told what to do, but she knew that he could see what she'd said made sense.

"Professor, I suggest that you wait until they have left so they cannot betray us to Voldemort if they are ever caught," Ginevra added to Minerva when she went to speak.

With an annoyed huff, Harry turned away and stalked down to his friends. Ginevra ignored his childish attitude and hoped that whatever he would go through to find the Horcruxes would purge him of his naivety.

Twenty minutes later, the Golden Trio left the Great Hall, and Mad-Eye returned soon after that to report that they had left the grounds as well.

McGonagall stood in front of the teachers' table, drawing everyone's attention. "First of all, I would like to apologise to each and every one of you that this has happened. Before today, Hogwarts was considered a safe place against Death Eaters and Voldemort. Today, that was proved to be very wrong," she said, her eyes landing on some of the more injured students.

Black flags hung from the rafters for those who had been killed.

"I am offering you two choices. The first is to go home. The train has been equipped to return to London tomorrow morning, and your parents will be contacted immediately. The second choice is for you to stay here to train for the upcoming war. To do this, you must have your guardians' or parents' permission. Remember that you can always change your mind and return home at any time. You will not be thought any higher or less of, no matter which decision you make," McGonagall said, her voice firm. "If you would like to leave, please sign this parchment," she said, a scroll appearing to her left. "If you wish to stay, please sign this parchment. No matter which you sign, your parents or guardians will be contacted," she said, another materialising on her right.

"Excuse me, Professor?" Draco said, a slight hint of humour in his tone.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I'm staying to train and fight. However, I do not know what sort of hold Voldemort has over my mother, and my father is in Azkaban. I'd prefer if neither knew what I plan on doing," he said.

"Very well. Are there any others in the same predicament?" McGonagall asked. "Mr. Longbottom?" she said, surprised that he had raised his hand.

"My Gran won't let me fight," Neville said, knowing it to be the truth. "I'm not leaving, no matter what. I'm almost seventeen."

Unfortunately, Minerva knew exactly what his Gran could be like, and nodded her understanding. "Very well."

"Whoever's not hurt badly, get outside. We start training now!" Moody yelled.

Some students signed the parchment to leave, but most signed the one to stay. Moody grinned at Ginevra, and she knew what he was thinking: how long would it take for the list of brave students to dwindle down to a select few because the training was too much for them to handle?

End flashback

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Ginevra sat up, her head still spinning. The amount of students had gone down, but not as many as she'd originally expected. Surprising everyone, Sally Anne Perkins had signed on to stay and was actually doing well.

"All right, Ginevra?" Sidney asked, offering her a hand.

"Fine. Thanks," Ginevra replied, taking her hand and standing.

While she still had her hand, Ginevra turned and flipped the girl over her back. She landed on the ground with a thud, breathless. Moody chuckled behind them, amused at Sidney's expression.

"Let your guard down, girl," he said.

A hex flew at Moody and he barely deflected it.

"So did you, Professor," Sidney replied, smirking.

Ginevra looked over at the setting sun and sighed softly. She had to return to the vampire mansion soon and continue her training there. Draco caught her eye and grinned, moving towards her. The students fighting and training around them made way almost automatically; it was now custom for Ginevra and Draco to say goodbye before they left. It was a passionate goodbye every night, and although most of the students turned away, they were all spurred on by the passionate display. They fought so that, one day, they would be able to have the same thing with someone they loved.

Breaking their kiss gently, Ginevra sighed and leaned her forehead against Draco's. "I'll miss you, love."

"As I you," he murmured in reply.

"All right, love birds. Break it up. Get on with you already," Moody muttered, rolling his good eye at them.

Lettie stepped forward and took Ginevra's arm. She gave Draco a smile, and with a soft flutter of material on the wind, both women disappeared.

"Train well, my Lady. I will return with your report later," Lettie said.

"Thank you, Lettie. Good luck with your training too. See how you fare against the twins tonight," Ginevra said.

"Which ones, my Lady?"

"Both, if you think you can handle it," she replied, grinning.

Lettie returned her grin and gave a slight curtsy before returning to Hogwarts. Her ability to move from Hogwarts to the vampire mansion and Veelan house had been discovered by accident one night when she had been too tired to remember that she couldn't actually Apparate in and out of Hogwarts. It was put down to the leather band and feather around her wrist, considering it was from two of the oldest of both species.

Ginevra sighed as she thought about Lettie fighting the twins. Fred and George had become makeshift leaders; instructing the students long after the Professors had gone to sleep. They had taken it upon themselves to train the students harder than the Professors would have allowed, knowing that the war would not be won otherwise. Again, those who remained surprised her: they had accepted the extra training eagerly, and some refused to leave until they had mastered whatever it was Fred and George were teaching them that night.

Parvati and Padma took over the training on the nights Fred and George were too exhausted to do more than cast a silencing barrier. One of those nights had been the time Ginevra had sent them on a very important mission: to find Ollivander.

She had Seen exactly where he was, but had no time or way to get to him. Ginevra had taken George and Fred aside when Draco was preoccupied and outlined what she'd needed from them. They'd left immediately, not questioning her or a single hesitation. They'd reported early the next morning that Ollivander had been found and was somewhere safe.

It was intriguing to know that Ollivander was actually part-dryad, and had been alive for so long that he knew how to change into a branch as well as an entire tree. He had hidden in a wand box soon after receiving news of Voldemort's desire to capture him, and despite being thrown around with the other wands in his shop, Ollivander had only suffered a few bruises and stiff bones.

Ginevra kept the information to herself, remembering the vision where Draco had tried to find Ollivander, and redirected his attention when Draco asked where the twins had gone.

"Ginevra, are you ready?" Agnes asked, knocking on the door.

She sighed softly and stretched briefly. "Coming, Lady Agnes," Ginevra replied and left her room to begin another night of her vampire training.

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Draco could barely keep his eyes open. Lettie gave him a sympathetic smile, and continued with her report quickly.

"The twins want to start training with actual weapons but the teachers are hesitant about it."

"They'll get over it in time; Death Eaters aren't known for sticking to their wands during battles," Draco said.

Lettie nodded. "That's what the twins said." She stood stiffly, her body aching.

"Are you all right, Lettie?" he asked, trying to stay awake.

The Veelas took full advantage of the fact that he didn't need to sleep as long as others. They were trying to bring out his vampire side without success so far.

"I am aching but otherwise fine, thank you for your concern," Lettie said with a brief smile.

She could have said that she was dancing with purple Hippogriffs and Draco would have just nodded and fallen to sleep.

"Sorry, Lettie. You should go to Ginevra now. I'm no use to anyone at the moment," he muttered, his eyes closing.

Lettie smiled again and levitated him out of the room. Floating him down the corridor, she ignored the veela women that passed her. They were fine with her presence, as was she with theirs, but she couldn't help but feel plain beside them. More so than usual, at least. It was difficult to be the only ageing woman among eternal youth, and Lettie always left the veela house as soon as possible.

"Good morning, Lettie. How are you tonight?" Jules asked, smiling as she helped her put Draco on his bed.

"Slightly sore today, Lady Julianne," she replied truthfully.

"Who hurt you?" Jules asked, her eyebrow raised.

"I did. Well, I encouraged it, at least. I was training with the twins," Lettie replied, rubbing her shoulder with a frown.

"Ginevra's brothers, or the Patil twins?" Jules asked.

"Both," Lettie replied, her frown turning sheepish when Jules looked at her sharply. "I know, I wasn't ready."

"And why, may I ask, were you training against both of them if you knew you weren't ready?"

"My Lady wanted me to train against them if I was ready. I thought I was," Lettie replied, continuing with a sigh, "I just don't feel that I'll ever be strong enough to protect her. I need to get stronger quicker."

Jules saw the determination in the girl's face, and with a sigh, placed a hand on the companion's shoulder. She healed the bruise with a thought, and silently led her from the room.

"It seems we need to have a talk, Miss Lettie," Jules murmured.

"What about, Lady Julianne?" she asked, looking back to Draco's room anxiously. "My Lady is expecting me, I really should go."

"This will not take long, and it is important that you hear it," she replied, leading her into a small room adjacent to the library.

Lettie nodded and sat on a chair reluctantly.

Jules looked at the girl before her. Lettie's body was older than Julianne's own sixteen years, but the difference in their mind's age was staggering. It wasn't surprising though; this was only the girl's second life. Her first had been full of vanity and jealousy, the second now full of loyalty and braveness despite the fear. Lettie reminded Jules so much of her own companion that she felt a need to protect her as she had not been able to do for Kendra.

"I'm not sure how much you know of my past, Lettie, so I will start at the beginning: the announcement of my death."

Lettie's eyes widened slightly and she became more attentive to Jules' words.

"Kendra and I had been friends for our entire lives, and had the unfortunate circumstance to fall in love with the same boy. He chose me. I need not tell you what jealousy can do to a person," she said, and Lettie reddened. "Within a week, Kendra had told the village that I had entranced and bewitched the boy to love me. Her family had high standing within the village, and while most did not believe her, I was still required to attend a trial on the accusation of witchcraft. Bribes were made, promises of flesh and power were given, and within two hours of my trial beginning, I was deemed a witch. My sentence was that I was to be burned at the stake the next day. My brother, Xavier, tried to fight it with everything he had. He prolonged my time allowed, and I was given an extra week to live.

"During this time, Kendra continued to spread falsehoods against me, weaving my every achievement into a spell or a potion brewed in the dead of night. I didn't mind, as I knew they weren't true, and spent as much time with my family as possible. My brother came down with the plague two nights before my death, and I knew that no doctor would see him because of my connection to him. I left and returned with his lover, Agnes, who at the time, knew more about plants and medicine than I could have ever hoped. Xavier was too far into the plague's sickness to get past it with anything Agnes could have concocted. Instead, she Turned him into a Vampyre so that he might survive.

"My death went on as planned, and despite my brother's newfound power, he could not save me. Artemis awoke in my mind and informed the village that death would not stop me from living. She shielded me from the worst of the fire, and I died to the sound of her singing and my family screaming.

"I awoke fifty years later inside my coffin. My body was healed and I still had my memories, thanks to a boon from Hermes. Artemis took me from my coffin, and I soon discovered that my mother had died from grief and madness. My brother had gone mad as well, and Agnes had left with him before he could slaughter the entire village. I was still curious, and went to the village to see what had changed after my death.

"Much of it was the same, some of it was not. I was seen by some of the villagers that night and thought to be a ghost. They devised that the only way to appease this ghost was to kill the person that had caused its' death. After my death, Kendra had been all but banished to the edge of town. As I had said, her family still had high standing within the village, and they could not banish her completely.

"Kendra was dragged out of her house. She had gone mad with loneliness, and was avoided even more for it. I saved her from the villagers' wrath and took her with me. I made her my companion after she had recovered from the shock of everything that had happened. As it was Veela blood flowing through her, she regained some of her former beauty, and her life was tied with mine."

"Veela blood?" Lettie echoed, frowning in confusion.

"Yes. Vampires are not the only ones who create bonds with blood. It is the life force inside of us, and it is as precious as a person's soul. To give it away is to give life and love and everything combined with both; it should not be done haphazardly," Jules murmured.

Lettie nodded sombrely, and Julianne continued with her tale.

"Kendra was a faithful companion, grateful for the life I had given her. She too, wanted to protect me in every and any way she could. We trained for years, joining the Veelas at Artemis' instruction. A few years later, my brother and I discovered each other. Soon after, the first Veela-Vampire war broke out. Oh yes, we have been fighting for much longer than this one war. Neither I nor my brother wanted to fight the other, and we went to camps that were the furthest away from each other. It was a mixed blessing, for while I never saw my brother during the war, I was in one of the harshest camps possible. We led the war and we were winning. Kendra was captured the night before the final battle. She had been seen with me by the opposition and they could tell that she wasn't a veela. They thought that she would be easy to break, and if she didn't break, then they'd have a fresher lunch than they'd had in weeks.

"I met Garion in the war, and often left Kendra alone to be with him. The opposition knew that I wouldn't stay away from him the night before a large battle, and they were right. I'd barely been gone for five minutes when they stole into our camp and took Kendra. She fought them, killing one of the vampires with her dagger. When they were busy fighting her off, Kendra managed to cut out her own tongue. She knew that she was a liability and didn't want to betray me or my kind. The dagger was an old one, made by goblins. It recognised its' owner and healed the wound as it cut into her. There was no chance of recovering her speech once that had happened.

"The vampires still took her with them, planning on using her as an example. I had felt what was happening, but hadn't made it to her in time. I ignored every rational part of me that said it was insanity to go and get her from the vampires. Within an hour, I had a small group of the strongest with me, and we took off after them. The vampires were faster, but we were fast enough. I got to Kendra mere moments before they started slicing her body to pieces. I killed as many as I could, and Garion killed the rest that tried to kill me. Overprotective males are so much worse when they're Veelan," Jules said with a slight grin.

Lettie returned the smile briefly, thinking of Draco and Ginevra's relationship.

"While the war was won, and Kendra was fine, she never spoke again. I still talked to her as if she could, and we managed to communicate with a crude form of sign language. She continued to train in order to protect me, and was both my guard and friend. She was my maid when I performed my marriage ceremony to Garion, and was as dear to me as I was to her.

"Another war broke out, this one with wizards," Jules said, and the hostility in her voice surprised Lettie. "They used their wands and magic to kill hundreds without remorse, just to show that they were more powerful than us. By the time we figured out how to fight back, we'd lost almost five hundred of our kind," she said, answering Lettie's unspoken question. "Kendra fought beside me, as she always had, despite the fact that she knew she wasn't ready to fight this enemy. In order to save me from one wizard, Kendra jumped in front of a curse meant for me. She was tortured with the Cruciatus Curse right before my eyes... It wasn't an Unforgivable back then, and even if it had been, war makes people do things they wouldn't normally do."

"Did... Did she survive?" Lettie asked, horrified.

"Unfortunately, she did. The Cruciatus Curse had driven her to such insanity that she didn't recognise me, even with our blood and soul bond. There were some moments of clarity, but they were rare and she only ever said one thing to me: kill me, please. I didn't want to, I felt sick at the thought of it, but I knew that I had to do what she had asked. The fact that she was so weak was killing her from the inside out, and she refused to eat or heal. I did as she asked on the seventh of December, one-hundred and thirty two years after saving her from the villagers in our old hometown."

Lettie was silent and stayed that way as Julianne cried silently, tears running down her smooth cheeks.

"I don't understand, Lady Julianne. Why tell me all of this?" Lettie asked a moment later, her voice quiet yet confused.

Drying her tears, Jules sighed and looked at Lettie. "While your loyalty to Ginevra is applaudable, you must remember that if you are not ready for something, your injuries will only hurt her more. I was heartbroken when I lost Kendra to more than she could handle, and if I am right in thinking, Ginevra will feel the same at losing you. You mustn't put her through that sort of emotional trauma when it can be avoided simply by having some common sense. Don't put yourself in any unnecessary danger. Understand?"

Lettie nodded briefly, and left when Julianne bid her good night. She made her way through the veela house automatically, disappearing to the vampire mansion without really realising it.

Ginevra was already asleep, exhaustion on every feature of her face. Lettie went to her own room to sleep as well. Sleep didn't come straight away, and she wondered if Kendra had ever loved anyone.

When sleep finally took her, Lettie dreamed of fires and blood and tongues.

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Friday, 14 June

Gregory growled, swinging his club at his opponent. It connected with a loud smack, but it didn't stop the troll coming towards him. They grappled for a moment before pulling apart, judging the other and waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Luna had come through the portal with him and walked towards the troll camp confidently. She hadn't fought when they'd captured them, and Gregory stayed submissive as well. Luna had asked to see the King, and surprising Greg, her request had been allowed. He had been released from his gaol cell a few hours later, and given an ultimatum. If he could defeat seven of the trolls' strongest warriors, then he could stay and train with them. If he won, he would lead the trolls and their ogre cousins into the war. If he lost, he would be killed, his flesh eaten, and his head would be displayed on their borders.

This troll was his sixth opponent, and one of the most resilient so far. Knocks and blows that had sent others flying only made this one move back a few feet.

A snarl left his lips and Gregory gathered his energy, swinging his club back high. The troll saw his chance, rushing in quickly. Gregory gave a cruel smile and his free hand backhanded the unsuspecting troll. He flew across the field, Gregory after him in a moment. Looking down at the fallen troll, he ensured that he was unconscious before turning to the King, who was seated with the other spectators. The King nodded at him, and Gregory waited indifferently as the trolls cheered.

"Your next opponent, Griselda," the King announced, indicating to the final warrior.

Silence fell immediately.

The only thing Gregory could do was stare. He had to fight Griselda. Princess Griselda. The King's own daughter was his final opponent?! How could he fight her and live? To win against those of Royal blood meant death - it was not wise to be surrounded by others stronger than you when the crown was so sought after. Yet if he lost, it still meant his death.

Gregory gave a bow to the King and his daughter before leaving to his quarters to prepare his battle on the morrow. As he had done only a week ago, Greg had to trust that Luna was right. She wouldn't have brought him here only to meet his death. Would she?

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"Good morning, my dear," Voldemort hissed. "Time to wake up," he murmured with a sadistic smile, pointing his wand towards the cell.

Pansy woke with a scream, the Cruciatus Curse ripping through her body as it had every morning since she'd been captured. When he was satisfied, Voldemort let the spell dissipate. Her screams echoed the fading spell, her sobs the only thing that could be heard for a few minutes. Voldemort revelled in her weakness, watching every heave and racking sob her body made.

"I have a present for you, my dear," he said, smiling that smile once more.

Pansy moved to the wall furthest away from him and whatever present he'd thought of this time.

"Don't you want to know how your friends are faring?" Voldemort asked, tutting his disappointment.

She stilled immediately, her eyes flicking to the cell beside her. Vincent was lying there, dying slowly from wounds both self inflicted and forced. Voldemort laughed softly, a chill working up her spine. Pansy looked back to the Dark Lord and inched forward.

"Good, my dear. That's it, come closer," he murmured.

When she was as close to the bars as she felt safe, Pansy stopped and waited.

Voldemort's lips curved into a smile, his teeth sharp. He flicked his wand and a myriad of photos appeared on the ground before her. Pansy didn't like looking away from Voldemort for very long - if she did, that was when the most hexes and curses were aimed at her - but she couldn't help herself. She had to know how her friends were. Glancing down, Pansy almost threw up when she saw the bloodied bodies of all of her friends: Millicent, Padma, Parvati, Fred, George, all of them were in the pictures.

Blood surrounded them, cuts and burns from Dark hexes littered their bodies. They were lined up, all fifteen laying there completely motionless. Gregory - oh gods' Gregory - was one of the worst, more hex burns and cuts on his body than the rest combined. Even Draco and Ginevra had less than him. Pansy frowned slightly, the action not seen by Voldemort.

Pansy prided herself on being able to think rationally, and somewhere in what was left of her slowly breaking mind, she knew that Ginevra and Draco would never let their friends be harmed as bad as this. They were Full Bloodied beings now, and they would have been at the head of whatever battle they were fighting, giving them the opportunity to be hexed and hurt more than anyone else they were leading.

"No one is coming for you, my dear," Voldemort said, his voice a sadistically gleeful whisper.

Pansy looked up at him, fury in her eyes. She spat at him, blood and saliva hitting Voldemort square on. He hadn't expected her show of rebellion, and for a moment, he did nothing but let it slide down his face. Wiping it off with a fast motion, he glared at the girl in the cell.

"Crucio!" he hissed, his anger adding more power to the spell.

Her body convulsing, Pansy screamed as pain ripped and tore through her.

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Saturday, 15 June

Vincent twitched slightly in his fitful sleep. He was completely paralysed, a cruelty given to him by the Dark Lord himself. Voldemort had tired of hexing him, and so, he had paralysed him thus and put him in a cell next to Pansy. Vincent was forced to lay there as Death Eaters raped her - as he had done under the Imperius Curse - and he was forced to listen to her screams as Voldemort hexed and tortured her on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. He was helpless to help her, helpless to do anything. He was dying slowly, guilt eating at him faster than malnourishment. He had done this. He had wanted to save Pansy from this fate, and in the end, he had caused it.

He didn't know how long it had been since they had been captured, nor how long he had been paralysed. It could have been days, or simply hours. Vincent tried to move, yet again, but it was useless. He was bound too tightly by hexes, spells, and by the Dark Mark on his left forearm. It burned and sent waves of pain up his arm and through his body. The pain that pulsed clouded his mind, making it impossible to concentrate on anything for very long. It seemed to lessen when Voldemort was in the room, but then Pansy would be screaming and yelling and crying, and his mind screamed and yelled and cried with her, for her, for his uselessness, for his stupidity, for her to not feel a thing.

Vincent was hallucinating by the time mid-day came to pass. He hadn't slept in days, hadn't eaten in even longer, and the last drink he'd had was nothing more than a hazy memory. In his hallucinations, he could see Draco beside him. He didn't seem angry with him, and Draco was even murmuring words of forgiveness. Vincent tried to tell her that he couldn't sleep, that Pansy was being hurt, that he had to help her but couldn't. He needed to stay alive long enough to save Pansy from what he had caused. Draco nodded; he promised that he would save Pansy if Vincent could tell him where they were. Vincent thought it odd that his hallucination didn't know where he was, but answered anyway. They were at the Riddle House in Little Hangleton, Lord Voldemort's main headquarters, although he had other places throughout the country, all of them inheritance from his Muggle-born father's death.

He stopped in surprise. He'd never been told that, so how did Vincent know that Voldemort was a half-blood? Or that his houses were from an inheritance? Vincent twitched slightly, his body's nervous system still trying to fight the spell.

There was a hand in his hair a moment later, and Vincent's hallucination of Draco disappeared to reveal Pansy. Maybe it was another hallucination, but he could see bruises and blood on her face, her hair stuck down to her forehead with the red liquid. She was real and she was as close to him as she could be through the bars of their cells. He tried to smile, tried to reassure her, tried to give her some semblance of his somewhat sanity.

"Don't struggle, love," Pansy murmured, stroking his hair softly.

Her fingers caught in tangles, knots made from blood and sweat.

Vincent's eyes stared at her, trying to convey something she couldn't interpret. Then his eyes, his beautiful eyes, began to glaze over as Death approached. Pansy choked back a sob and quickly moved her hand to hold his.

The hallucination of Draco appeared once more, and Vincent reluctantly looked away from Pansy.

"Come, Vincent. It's time for you to go," Draco whispered, his wings spreading wide as he offered his hand to him.

Vincent sat up and looked to Pansy once more, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I love you, Pansy. I never meant for any of this. I'm sorry," he murmured, kissing her lips softly.

"You're forgiven and still loved, Vincent. Wizards more powerful than you have fallen prey to Voldemort's twisted words and promises," Draco murmured.

"It still doesn't make it right," he replied, taking Draco's offered hand.

Draco held Vincent close to him, his entire body glowing. White wings wrapped around his body, and Vincent felt a wave of peace and love and forgiveness wash over him. A wind blew in from the window, separating everything he was and rejoining him to everything he could be. There was a final flash of light, whether from Draco or himself, Vincent would never know, and then it all disappeared.

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"You idiot!" Ginevra said, shaking Draco out of his trance.

Draco swayed slightly, feeling nauseous. "Hello love," he said, trying to place which of the three Ginevra's was the real one.

"Don't you 'hello love' me, Draco! What were you thinking, staying in Vincent's mind that long! He was dying and you were too! Absolute idiot," she said, hitting him.

"Surprisingly good vitals considering he's been gone for the better part of an hour," Theodore muttered, looking at the gold bar above Draco.

"See, I'm fine," Draco agreed quickly.

When he'd first felt Vincent's mind an hour ago, Draco had checked with the others to see if they had felt anything. They hadn't, but Draco could already tell that Vince wasn't strong enough, mentally or physically, to send his thoughts to all of them. Draco had gone into a trance to get to Vincent's mind and hopefully get the whereabouts of Voldemort. There had been some opposition, but Draco had ignored them and did it anyway.

"I didn't say you were fine," Theodore countered. "I said that your vitals were surprisingly good, meaning you're not dead. Here, eat this," he said, giving him a large piece of chocolate. "However, you did spend too much time within the mind of someone who was dying, so you're going to feel like absolute crap for the next few hours," he added. "I suggest you take a sleeping potion and sleep it off," he said, handing him a vial.

Draco went to argue, but then he saw the look Ginevra was giving him. She'd been one of the ones to oppose him going into Vincent's mind, and he decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to disagree with her again. He took the vial and drank it quickly.

"If you insist; it'll probably be the only chance I'll have to sleep anyway," he said, giving Theodore a grin.

"All right. Ginevra, do you mind taking him? Someone's bound to get stabbed," Theodore muttered, looking at the weapons the students were holding.

"That's fine. Make sure they don't kill each other," she said with a slight grin.

Theodore nodded and hurried towards the students just as there was a cry of pain. The smell of blood filled the air and Ginevra turned away. Grabbing Draco by the arm she lifted him off the ground and started towards their old rooms.

"Did you end up finding out where Voldemort's holed up?" Ginevra asked.

"Riddle House, Little Hangleton. But apparently, he's got houses all over the country as a courtesy of his Muggle-born father's death. Did you know he was half-blood?" Draco asked, feeling slightly woozy.

"Yes, Tom told me when I was talking to him through the diary. I never thought much of it, considering how much he hated his father and anything to do with him," she replied.

"Guess he got over it," Draco murmured, yawning now.

Ginevra lifted him and carried him the last few metres to the castle. Kicking the door open, she was pleased to see that nothing had changed since they'd left. Making her way to their room quickly, Ginevra placed a sleeping Draco on the bed and covered him with the blanket.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Draco," she said, her tone softer and more vulnerable than she would have liked.

He made a slight noise in his sleep and rolled over, snoring gently.

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Gregory looked at Griselda, watching as she suited up for their battle. He'd come out onto the field with his shield and chain-mail shirt, as was the custom for most battles, but it seemed the rules didn't apply to the Princess. She was being suited up from head to toe in chain-mail, had a shield that looked goblin made, and a club that was bigger than any of the ones offered to Gregory or his past opponents.

He was patient as she finished, and then he looked to the King, waiting for the horn to sound.

Griselda swung her club at him, knocking unsuspecting Gregory across the field. He got up quickly, swaying on his feet, dazed at the impact. The horn hadn't sounded! Gregory's ears rang for longer than they should have, and he guessed that the King had finally sounded the horn. Griselda was moving towards him again, her club drawn back.

Gregory was at a disadvantage. While Griselda had watched all of his fights, and knew all of his moves, he had never seen the Princess fight and didn't know what he was up against. But then, he hadn't known for the past six opponents either and he'd won. Keeping his feelings in check, Gregory watched as Griselda ran the last length towards him. He didn't rush in as so many others might have, but instead waited for her and concentrated.

It was just like training, that was all. He was back with his friends and they were doing their nightly training together. He had to think of this objectively. Griselda might be the Princess, but it didn't mean she was invincible. She was faster than him, slightly larger than him, and knew all of the moves he'd done so far. So he had to be stronger than her and do a move none of them had seen yet. Greg crouched low, his legs tensed and ready to jump.

Griselda swung her club at the last possible moment. Gregory jumped as she swung down, ignoring the searing pain as her club connected with his shoulder and dislocated it with a sickening pop. He grabbed towards her, his arm around the Princess' neck. He moved around to the back of her, putting her in a headlock easily. She struggled against him, her sword and shield dropping to the ground as she tried to kick back. Gregory put his leg between hers, stopping her movements. If she tried to kick back at him now, she would lose her balance and send them both flying forward. If that happened, Greg could crush her neck and she could die.

The King was shouting at the other end of the field, the trolls around him unsure of what to do. No one had actually fought the Princess before.

"Yield," Griselda breathed, her voice choked.

"Louder, so they can hear," Gregory muttered.

He hadn't come this far to get killed over a technicality.

"YIELD!" Griselda yelled.

The King went quiet, and the commotion around him stilled.

"You're sure?" The King asked, shocked that his daughter was giving up.

"Yes," she said, her voice clear but still lacking breath.

"I win?" Gregory asked, looking up at the King. He didn't release his hold on the Princess.

"Yes, yes. Let go of her. Quickly now," he replied, looking angry.

Gregory let go of Griselda gently. "I hope I didn't hurt you, your Majesty," he said, bowing slightly.

Griselda nodded slightly, rubbing her neck tenderly. Still shocked at the outcome of the battle, the trolls didn't know whether to cheer or not, and simply watched as Gregory left the field to his quarters.

Everyone looked to the King, wondering if Gregory would be killed. There was nothing in the rules about what would happen if the victor won over a yield.

Gregory was oblivious to everything outside. His shoulder was swelling considerably, and he felt slightly nauseous. Moving to the wall, he pressed his shoulder to the stone and took a deep, shuddering breath. He cried out as he pushed against the wall, his shoulder popping back into place. Another wave of nausea flowed through him, and Greg fought the urge to throw up. His breathing heavy and laboured, Gregory went over to the stone bed and slept.

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"We've found out where Voldemort is," Ginevra announced, her voice quiet so as not to draw the attention of the nearby students.

"What do ye mean ye found him?" Moody asked, suspicious.

"How on earth did you manage that? Voldemort isn't exactly advertising his whereabouts," Remus added, frowning at Ginevra.

Ginevra looked at the two Order members before her, wondering if she should tell them. While telling them would provide proof of what she'd told them, she didn't particularly want everyone to know that she and her friends had brewed and taken an Animadverto potion.

Just tell them; they're part of the Order, they should know how to keep a secret, Millicent thought, sensing her indecision.

"We took an Animadverto potion last month," Ginevra told Moody and Lupin.

"What? Do you realise how dangerous that potion is? You could have been killed just brewing it!"

Surprisingly, it was Lupin who had the outburst. Beside him, Moody was silent. When Remus' words died down, Moody turned both of his eyes on Ginevra.

"The Dark Mark's stronger than a potion that still hasn't completely merged with the participants. How'd Crabbe get past that?" he asked, his eye roaming over Ginevra to see something that no one else could.

"He got past it by dying."

Ginevra turned at Draco's voice, a stern look on her face. "You should be resting still, Draco. You heard what Theo said," she admonished, even as she moved to hold him up properly.

"I know. Can't sleep any more. 'Sides, they still don't believe you."

Absolutely ridiculous, if you ask me. They've got Voldemort's location, why aren't they acting on it?! Neville muttered.

Would you believe it if we told you without concrete proof? Draco asked.

Neville was silent for a moment. They'd believe Potter without hesitation, he muttered sourly.

"Of course they'd believe Potter; he's the Chosen One," Draco said softly, smirking.

"Chosen to receive the award for ugliest scar of the year," Millicent called from a way over. Even with her werewolf hearing, she shouldn't have been able to hear what Draco had said.

"Personally, I think that award should go to us," Fred said to his twin, appearing by Draco and Ginevra's side silently.

"Yeah, we got ours fair and square," George replied, grinning.

Ginevra frowned slightly, moving to her brothers as Theodore appeared to hold Draco up immediately. Don't worry, dearest brothers, they will be given back threefold, she thought, caressing their scarred faces gently.

"With you beside us, sister dearest, we can give one each for the threefold," they replied.

"All right, ye can stop showing off. We believe ye," Moody muttered, turning away. He banged his staff on the ground once. "Minerva!" his magnified voice called loudly.

The Headmistress made her way up to where they were waiting quickly, a frown on her face. "What is it, Mad Eye? Was that really necessary?"

"We know where Voldemort is," Ginevra said, interrupting the long-winded lecture she was sure to give.

McGonagall looked between them, her face pale.

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Sunday, 16 June

In the vampire mansion, Lettie fought in a different room to Ginevra. The injuries she received caused her blood to spill more often than not, and Agnes wouldn't let Lettie risk herself like that. Ginevra was only just managing to control her Thirst, and the temptation of so much blood so easily attained could cause her control to slip.

"Do you really think you're ready for this, Lettie?" Miles asked, standing across from her with a sword in his hand.

She smiled briefly. "I know not to put myself through anything I can't handle. I'm ready," she replied confidently, gripping her own sword.

"Very well," he said.

He was a blur as he moved towards her. Lettie didn't concentrate on the blur he'd become, instead she thought of a rather complex spell she'd read about in the vampire's library. She disappeared a heartbeat before Miles swung the sword down at her. Turning quickly, he tried to sense where she was. He heard the sword whistling through the air and quickly raised his sword. Lettie was still invisible - or whatever she was - and he couldn't sense her either.

It was unsettling, but not impossible, he thought with a grin, their swords clanging.

Lettie swung her sword again, her spell still wound around her. It was draining her magical energy faster than she would have liked, but she needed the advantage of invisibility since she knew she wouldn't be able to match Miles' speed or strength. Her sword was met by Miles' again, and she pulled away, her feet dancing back as he started his offensive strikes. Moving to the side, Lettie wasn't happy to see that his sword followed her instinctively.

"Your spell's fading and I can sense you," Miles said, his hand and sword still.

Sighing heavily, she released the spell, appearing a moment later.

"That was a very draining spell you used, Lettie. Are you all right?" Miles asked, frowning in concern as he stepped towards her.

She took a step back, blushing and looking away when a hurt look flashed across his face. "Fine, thank you. I will rest tonight."

"Very well," he replied, bowing slightly.

Miles returned the sword to its' place in the weapons cabinet and left the room without a word.

Lettie berated herself silently. Stupid, stupid girl. She was worse than Lavender.

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Luna walked towards the troll camp slowly. She had left after Greg had accepted the ultimatum given and stayed nearby while the days passed. It hadn't been comfortable to say the least, but there were very few places she could go to. She was just thankful she'd had enough sense to bring a bag with her.

A bird sang loudly, it's tune reaffirming Luna's need to be exactly where she was. More confident now, she continued towards the camp.

"You again. What're you doin' back, little one?" a guard asked, his club hitting his palm menacingly.

"I would like to request a meeting with the King," she replied.

"Another one? The King's busy and can't hav' meetings with you fer the rest of his life," the guard said, sounding annoyed.

Luna just waited and didn't answer. The guard huffed and muttered under his breath as he went to disturb his King again.

"Come with me," the guard said gruffly, when he returned about ten minutes later. He held his large hand out to her.

"Thank you," Luna said, placing her small hand in his.

"The King's not overly happy at the moment. Your friend beat his daughter, Princess Griselda, in the fights. She forfeited to him so everyone's in a fuss, not knowin' what to do," the guard said, chuckling.

"Thank you for the warning."

"Just statin' the facts," he replied, blanching slightly.

"Of course." Luna smiled and knocked on the stone door with her wand.

"Come in," the King said, his tone unpleasant.

"Good luck, little one," the guard said, leaving quickly. The King wasn't known for keeping his temper in check.

Luna listened as the stone door opened, stepping inside the room a moment later. She made her way to stand in front of the King's throne. His daughter was beside him.

"Your Majesty," Luna said, curtsying. "Princess," she said with another curtsy.

"What do you want this time?" the King snarled.

"Father," Griselda hissed, glaring at him.

"It's quite all right, Princess. It's not the first time I've been greeted with anger, and I sincerely doubt that it will be the last," Luna said with a smile.

Griselda stopped glaring at her father reluctantly.

"I have come to offer a solution to your current ... situation," Luna said, choosing her words carefully.

"Oh yes? And what would you suggest? I can't adopt him or have him marry my daughter, and they're the only things that would save him from death. Yet he's become so popular with my subjects that if I kill the boy, I'll have a riot on my hands!"

Luna simply waited for him to finish his tirade. "I understand fully, your Majesty. However, there is another option, if you would care to hear it?"

The King was silent for a moment, looking at the pale young woman before him. How could someone so small, and sightless at that, sound so confident in herself? He was the largest troll and had fought his way to gain the crown, he couldn't comprehend anything that threatened his throne. Gregory was one of those things, and this little woman had brought him to their camp.

"All right then. What is your perfect solution?" he muttered.

"It is not a perfect solution, your Majesty. As well liked as Gregory is, there are still those who are prone to jealousy and may want to cause him harm," Luna countered. "My solution is to make Gregory your war General. You did promise that if he won, he would lead the trolls and ogres into the war. It is not his nor my fault that you chose your daughter as his final opponent just because you thought he wouldn't fight her," she said sternly when the King was going to answer back. "If he hadn't fought the Princess, then you would have killed him. If he did and beat her, you would have killed him. The only reason you aren't killing him is because your daughter yielded. The threat of death makes people do things they may not ever had the courage to do before that, especially when they risk never seeing their loved ones again."

"Loved ones?" Griselda echoed, sounding slightly upset.

This drew her father's gaze and he frowned at her.

"I mean, Gregory just seems so sad for someone who is in love," she said, ignoring his look steadfastly.

"Both of his lovers were captured by Voldemort. One died very recently," Luna answered.

"What? That filthy snake took the lovers of my war General?" the King burst out angrily. "He killed one of my war general's lovers?!" he cried, continuing to rant about war and revenge on the filthy snake.

While he was preoccupied as such, Luna moved forward to Griselda. The Princess glanced at her father who was in one of his tempers, and leaned down to Luna curiously.

"Gregory is not the one for you, Princess, despite what you may wish. However, there is someone very close who would be your equal in every way if you choose to see him as such," Luna murmured.

She had Seen what would happen if Griselda had propositioned Gregory as she wanted to, and it did not end well. While Luna didn't like talking with people about their love lives, she thought it best to redirect Griselda's attention away from her friend. The trolls would have lost the resulting Mermaid-Troll war by an extremely large number.

Griselda's cheeks reddened and she looked away from Luna.

"... and then I'll string him up by his balls and pretend he's a pinata!" the King was ranting, sounding delighted at the prospect.

Luna wondered how a troll in the British Isles knew what a pinata was.

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Wednesday, 19 June

"We can't attack from there, it's not at all feasible!" Remus muttered, glaring at Moody. "It's suicide if we go in there, I still say we go in through the back!"

"They'll be expecting that! We should go in through the side," Moody said, banging his fist on the table.

Neville let out a scream of frustration and left the room before he did something he'd regret.

"We've had this information for three days; I cannot believe they're still not doing anything about it!" Neville exploded, his hand glowing green with his emotional outburst.

Blaise and Seamus left the Order meeting, hurrying after their lover.

"I know, love. They're part of the Order, they've got to do this a certain way so their spies aren't killed by accident," Blaise murmured, not liking it any better than Neville despite his defense of them.

"What about us? What about our friends? Vincent's already dead, how do we know Pansy hasn't been killed already? We need to get in there, we need to do something," Neville said, not appeased in the least.

"Then we'll do it," Seamus said, making both of them stop and look at him. "What're ye lookin' at me like that fer?"

"You think we can just waltz up to Voldemort's stronghold and come out alive, with Pansy?" Blaise asked, his eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Not jus' us, no. But all of us," Seamus said, trailing off with a wicked grin. "Ye saw how many of the Death Eaters we took out jus' here. If we go there when they're unsuspectin' an' the like, we can probably get through his inn'r circle and get Pans..."

Seamus was caught by surprise as Neville kissed him eagerly, cutting his words off abruptly. Neville's fingers threaded through his hair, holding him tightly. When he pulled away, Seamus had a big grin on his face.

"I should make war plans more oft'n."

"I don't know about that, Seamus," Ginevra said, smirking.

Unbeknownst to the three, Ginevra and Draco had followed them out of the Order's meeting and had heard every word.

"An' why not?" Seamus asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Because while the element of surprise is an advantage, it may not be enough at the moment. The Death Eaters are preparing for a war, and while we may kill enough of them in the beginning, they will overcome their surprise quickly enough to kill more of us and escape, probably with Pansy," Ginevra replied.

"So we're just going to sit here and do nothing?" Neville burst out, his entire body glowing green now.

Beneath him, the grass shot upwards, obscuring him completely. It took a few seconds for Neville to calm enough to make the grass return to its' original size.

"Did I say that we'll be doing nothing?" Ginevra asked, looking amused rather than angry at his outburst. "We need more than the element of surprise; we need to get into Riddle House without being seen. We need to become Death Eaters."

"You think I'm going to take the Dark Mark? You saw what it did to Vince!" Blaise said, staring at them incredulously.

"Ginevra meant Polyjuice Potion, Blaise," Draco drawled, rolling his eyes.

"But for that we need to get a Death Eater's ... oh," Neville said, the Knut finally dropping. He grinned at them, "You want us to get hair from Death Eaters?"

"It'll be somethin' ter do," Seamus said with a shrug.

"Where exactly are we getting a Polyjuice Potion?" Blaise asked, frowning.

"There's a cauldron brewing in the vampire mansion. Some modification's on it to keep it fresh. I didn't ask many details, I'd been knocked about fairly bad that morning. I've already petitioned the Council to get a batch," Ginevra said.

"How about it then, Blaise?" Draco asked, smirking at him when he was silent.

"It's suicide, you realise that?" Blaise muttered. "Of course I'll help. Someone needs to be there to stop Irish from getting too wild," he added with a smirk when they just looked at him.

"Hey, that's nae fair!" Seamus said indignantly.

"It's true though," Neville said with a grin. "You'd probably decapitate someone just to get a hair from their head."

Seamus didn't reply, muttering under his breath in Gaelic.

"So, what do you think is the best way to get Death Eaters in public to fight?" Blaise asked, redirecting their attention.

"Something they want. Or rather, someone," Ginevra said, grinning.

"Who?" Blaise asked, looking between them in confusion.

"Me."

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Friday, 21 June

"I still think you're utterly insane," Blaise muttered as he walked down the street in Hogsmeade.

"It's good to have some insanity in your life every now and then," Ginevra replied, sounding far too cheerful for what was about to happen.

"Some insanity? This is above and beyond it!"

"Oh, come off it, Blaise. Have a bit of faith," Fred muttered beside him.

Blaise stayed silent, but his thoughts betrayed his worry.

Whispers followed them down the street, people locking themselves indoors soon afterwards. None of then wanted to risk the battle that they knew would occur when Voldemort found out that Ollivander was in Hogsmeade. Within five minutes, every house and workplace was deserted. Even The Three Broomsticks had sent its' customers home and closed up shop.

"They'd better arrive soon, this spell won't last much longer," George murmured quietly.

"Don't worry, they're coming," Ginevra murmured in reply, her eyes on the grey sky above them.

Seconds later, a group of Death Eaters appeared at either end of the street, blocking them in. It seemed that Voldemort was still upset at the last group's failure and had sent his best to capture Ollivander.

"Hand Ollivander over and we promise we won't kill you," Carrow sneered, the look on his face promising nothing of the sort.

"Yeah, right Carrow. We're not stupid! The Order will protect us," Ginevra said, her voice wavering slightly.

"The Order?! The Order of the Phoenix is going to protect you? A bunch of children?" Carrow said, laughing and nudging his sister beside him.

"Would you stop chatting and hex them already?" Bellatrix yelled impatiently.

Ginevra and her friends bristled at being called 'children' but held their emotions in check.

"All right, all right. Last chance, kiddies. Hand him over!" Carrow called. "You've got to the count of ten," he said, a gleeful note to his crazed voice.

"Blaise, dearest?" Ginevra said, getting his attention easily. "That is too much insanity."

The Death Eaters were closing in on them on both sides, trapping Ginevra and her friends.

"... Eight, nine, ten! Enough, already!" Bellatrix muttered, throwing her dagger at Ginevra's exposed back.

"Wrong choice, Aunt," Draco murmured, appearing behind Ginevra immediately. He caught the dagger with a spell and sent it back towards her.

"Draco!" Bellatrix cried in shock, even as her own dagger hurtled towards her.

"I do believe our time is up," George said, the enchantment beginning to fade.

The moment Ollivander's face and hair disappeared from George, chaos ensued. The Death Eaters realised that they'd been tricked, and while they thought they'd been trapping the four people in the middle of the street, they soon found out that they were the ones trapped. As they'd moved down the street, behind each of them, Ginevra's friends had followed the Death Eaters silently, watching everything with their wands raised.

"You little brats! I'll kill you all!" Carrow yelled, his sister echoing his words.

Ginevra Stunned both of them, more for the peace and quiet than anything else. At her back, Draco blocked more hexes and weapons that were being thrown in their direction. The twins were fighting back to back. Blaise, alone in the middle of them, was sending hexes and spells at both sides of Death Eaters when the others seemed overwhelmed.

"You traitorous little bastard! Do you know what Voldemort's going to do to you?" Bellatrix hissed at Draco, sending a burning hex at him. "What he's going to do to your family?"

Beside her, Rodolphus glared at his nephew-in-law. He'd put them all in danger with this stupid little stunt. "Did you even think of what he'll do to your mother?" he added.

Draco ignored their words that were accompanied with curses. If they wanted him to take anything they said seriously, then he figured that they could bloody well stop trying to hex him first!

Soon after the Carrow siblings had been disarmed, Dolohov realised that he was outnumbered and tried to Disapparate. On the other side of him, both Seamus and Neville grinned broadly when his eyes widened. They'd used some sort of spell; he was stuck.

"Looks like he's already trying to get away," Neville said to Seamus, shaking his head.

"Disappointin', I really wanted ter decapitate someone," he replied, disarming and putting Dolohov in a Full Body Bind.

"You should really talk to someone, Seamus. Your bloodlust is disturbing," Theodore said beside him.

"I'm talkin' now, ain't I?" Seamus replied, grinning.

"That's not what he meant, and you know it," Millicent said, rolling her eyes.

Theodore moved to the frozen Death Eaters, taking a few hairs from each. He left them there for Draco or Ginevra to Obliviate; their spells were stronger than anything he could produce.

Lettie glared as Rookwood sent a cutting spell at her, her clothes torn and bloodied seconds later. She sent back a spell of her own, his pain-filled screams satisfying her. He was Stunned by Padma a moment later.

Bellatrix tried to Apparate, but their spell had her staying exactly where she was. Not even a full second passed and she was frozen, falling to the ground face-first. Her husband was next, taken out by Parvati.

"You do the memory wipes for the town, love. I'll take care of this lot," Draco murmured to Ginevra, glaring down at his Aunt and Uncle Lestrange.

Ginevra nodded and closed her eyes. Close to a hundred red balls of light appeared in front of her. With a single thought, the balls sped away.

"Will they get to everyone in time? We don't know who's in league with Voldemort," Parvati said, frowning.

"I hope they will," Ginevra replied with a slight smile.

Draco finished Obliviating the Death Eaters, and they all left with their strands of hair.

Now, all that there was left to do was get the Council to agree to give them a batch of Polyjuice Potion. Then, it would be war.

The Order arrived moments after they had disappeared to find nothing but an empty and torn up street, six Death Eaters Stunned and bound in the middle of the destruction. Moody's eye swirled around them quickly, trying to find the source of this, but discovered nothing. Tonks, Lupin and Moody took their new prisoners to Grimmauld Place before any of the locals could alert the Ministry or Voldemort.

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Saturday, 22 June

"You want enough Polyjuice Potion for thirteen people?" Maverick asked in surprise.

"No, my Lord Maverick. Thirteen of us will be going, but I only need enough for six people," Ginevra replied.

"How do you know your friend is even in there?" Virginia asked, sounding as suspicious as Moody had.

Ginevra clenched her teeth, not wanting to give her the truth as an answer.

"If you will forgive me, Lady Virginia?" Lettie asked, stepping forward.

"What?" she asked shortly, not liking being addressed by a companion.

"We know that Pansy is in the Riddle House because Voldemort kidnapped her right out of Hogwarts. He would not do such a thing and then keep her where he could not see her with such easy access," Lettie said.

"You're presuming to know the mind of the Dark Lord?" Virginia asked, incredulous laughter in her voice.

"No, Lady Virginia, we're not presuming. As you have already had access to most of my mind, you would probably remember that I was possessed by Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort's younger self, on a near-daily basis for a whole year. I know how he thinks, and I know that he would want to hear Pansy screaming through the night. He has her with him," Ginevra said firmly.

The rest of the Council were more than surprised by her admission, and looked to both Agnes and Virginia for confirmation.

"I can give you my memories if you wish for proof," Ginevra added when Virginia remained silent and Agnes nodded.

"Just one will be adequate," Xavier said with a slight nod of gratitude.

A crystal appeared before Ginevra and she touched her hand to it. A bright flash of light filled the room, and then a projection of a corridor in Hogwarts appeared.

Dear Tom, what's your favourite animal? I like cats, even though it's not a popular animal to like here. Mrs. Norris isn't liked, but I don't mind her. She's very loyal. And cats were worshipped in Egypt. I want to go there one day, you know. Will you go with me, Tom? I'm sure you know all about hidden places there. Do you like cats, Tom?

The thoughts were loud, mocking, and not a hint of the love with which they were written was evident in the person's mind.

Stupid fucking cats. No, don't kill it, my dear. We'll never hear the end of it if the damn thing dies. Just Petrify it. Wait a moment, there's a good girl. That's it. Maybe now she'll shut the fuck up about gods' damned cats... This is almost becoming too tedious for me, dear. A childish girl with so very little to offer. I should have gone with a Slytherin after all... I told you not to eat the rooster! Give me that, the thoughts hissed angrily.

Words were written on the wall in blood, red lines dripping down the wall's crevices. A cat was hung from a torch bracket, laughter echoing.

The memory disappeared and Ginevra swayed on her feet slightly, the crystal dropping to the floor.

"I, of course, didn't get most of Tom's memories like this one, until after he'd been defeated by Harry. Tom was very careful to never let me see his disgust," she said, trying to get some moisture in her suddenly desert-dry mouth.

There was silence for a moment longer, and finally Xavier looked down at the two women before him. "We will discuss your request and give you an answer in ten minutes. If you wouldn't mind waiting outside..." Xavier trailed off.

Miles appeared behind them suddenly, ready to escort them out of the Council's room.

"Thank you," Ginevra said with a brief bow.

Lettie took her arm as she swayed dangerously on her feet again. "Come, my Lady. We have enough time for you to have a drink," she murmured quietly, her mind still reeling from the memory she had seen.

Miles left them sitting on the lounge outside of the room, promising to return with a drink in ten seconds. He came back in eight, not a drop of the water spilled from the glass.

"Thank you, Miles," Lettie said, smiling at him briefly.

He returned the smile and bowed. "You're welcome, Lettie... Don't worry, they'll accept your Lady's request. They've done much more for some less worthy, believe me."

Ginevra watched their interaction with amusement, drinking her water slowly. Lettie looked so unsure of herself, something that Lavender had never been when it came to the opposite sex.

"Ginevra? We're ready for you now," Agnes said, looking out at them with a smile.

Placing her empty glass on the small table beside her, Ginevra stood and followed him inside. Lettie followed quickly, giving Miles an apologetic smile.

"We have reached our decision," Xavier announced. "You can have the Polyjuice Potion for your six friends. It is a worthy cause, and we are all very impressed with the way you are handling this," he added gently.

"Thank you, Lord Xavier," Ginevra said, both she and Lettie curtsying.

Six vials floated in front of them. They took them out of the air carefully, placing them in a bag Lettie produced.

With another round of thanks, Ginevra and Lettie left the Council room.

Miles was waiting outside, smiling knowingly. "I did tell you that you would get it," he said, his smile turning into a grin.

"So you did," Ginevra said, grinning back at him. "I'll be right back," she said to Lettie, leaving before she could say anything.

That wasn't very subtle of you, Ginevra! Lettie thought, her face red.

Oh, well. Subtlety isn't my strong point. You've got five minutes before I come back.

"So you're going in with everyone to fight?" Miles asked.

"Yes. I'm in the second wave though," Lettie replied, still unsure if she was pleased or upset by the fact.

"The first wave will be using the Polyjuice potions?" Miles asked.

Lettie nodded. "Second wave is for any stragglers and the third is to search for Pansy."

"So you won't be alone then, that's good to know," he said, sounding relieved. "Lettie... Please, be careful."

Before Lettie could reply, Agnes and Xavier left the Council room. They both smiled at Miles and Lettie, Agnes stepping forward. "I am sorry to interrupt, my son, but I need you to retrieve Rufus Wesley. He is turning twenty-one tomorrow."

"Of course, mother," Miles replied with a bow. "I will leave with Lettie and Miss Ginevra."

"Thank you, dear. Good luck, Lettie. I hope it all works out for the best," Agnes said, sombrely.

"As do I, Lady Agnes. Thank you for your best wishes," Lettie said with a curtsy.

Agnes and Xavier nodded and continued down the corridor.

"You called Lady Agnes 'mother'. Is that common for all of her descendants?" Lettie asked.

"No, actually, it is not. I called Agnes mother because she is my mother. She's my natural birth mother," Miles said.

Lettie stared at him in shock, her eyes wide. "That means you're... you're..."

"Older than I look?" he teased, grinning.

He had the physical age of a twenty year old, and since his butler duties had only started in the vampire mansion a few hundred years ago, most assumed that he was a descendant of Agnes' rather than older than some on the Council itself.

"Why do you need to get that boy for Agnes?" Lettie asked, trying to redirect the conversation to something other than his age.

"He is one of her descendants. On their twenty-first birthdays, Agnes offers them this life. If they refuse, they think it nothing more than a dream and return to their lives. If they accept, then they are Turned on the next full moon," Miles replied.

First veela's participating in blood bonds, now vampires performing ceremonies on the full moon! Lettie thought with a shake of her head.

"Do many refuse her?" she asked.

Miles was silent for a moment, his brow creased as he thought about it. Lettie fought the urge to smooth down his eyebrow.

"I would say that it is about half and half. Most do not like to leave their lives and friends behind. Some are more than happy to leave everything behind."

"And you? Were you happy to leave everything behind?" the question had left her lips before Lettie even realised what she was asking.

"Actually, some of my friends were vampires. Not all that surprising, considering my parents, but I wasn't as reluctant to leave my life as others may have been. I asked Agnes to Turn me on my twentieth birthday rather than my twenty-first. She agreed only because she knew I wanted to become a vampire, and had wanted the fate for more than seven years."

"That's a very certain thing to know for a child."

"Perhaps, but I am generally a very decisive person."

There was a slight cough up ahead and Lettie looked up to see Ginevra waiting.

"I am sorry, but I need to go now. May we continue our talk when I get back?" Lettie asked, blushing again.

"I look forward to it," Miles replied with a smile.

Lettie ignored the larger-than-life grin Ginevra was giving her, and simply took her hand to disappear back to Hogwarts.

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Rookwood, the Carrow siblings, Bellatrix and Rodolphus, and Dolohov crept towards Riddle House. They straightened up when they realised that they were meant to look like they belonged there. Going to the large mansion was an everyday occurrence.

I still don't see why I had to be Amycus, Fred muttered.

You're prettier than me, that's why, George sniggered in Alecto's body.

No doubt about that, brother, Fred said with a smirk.

Just be thankful you're not Rodolphus; he's not the most hygenic wizard, Parvati muttered.

Why couldn't you be Amycus? Fred asked.

It's not her fault you switched goblets, is it?! Padma said, Bellatrix's eyes looking to him.

Fred went quiet. Rookwood sniggered, Seamus trying to cover it with a cough when he got identical glares from the Lestrange couple.

How far do we need to get before we can start hexing these bastards? Neville asked in Dolohov's form, his hand already going for his wand.

When we see as many of them as possible, George replied, his fingers brushing the Exploding Ear in his pocket.

"There you are, Dolohov. He wants to see you. Quick, before he gets mad," a Death Eater hissed, grabbing Dolohov's arm.

"Get your hands off of me," Neville snarled.

"All right, all right. So friggin' sensitive," the other one grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Hate pulsed through their bodies.

Not yet! Focus, Neville. Focus, Ginevra's voice came through, calming them quickly.

Sorry, he replied shortly, and followed the Death Eater down a hallway.

The others followed. It seemed that they were going to the largest room in the mansion, so hopefully there would be more people there than anywhere else.

Luck was on their side, it seemed. What looked like hundreds of Death Eaters, were crowded in the one room. All of them looked at Dolohov as he came into the room, quickly moving out of their colleague's way.

"Dolohov, there you are," Voldemort's voice called. It was a sweet sound, mocking in its tone and the words made all that more dangerous by the look on the Dark Lord's face. "Come, join me," he crooned, holding a hand out for him to come closer.

Wary, Neville moved forward. Death Eaters all but jumped out of the way when he neared them. Something was so horribly wrong with all of this.

Rookwood elbowed his way to the front of the circle that had formed around Voldemort and Dolohov. The Carrows stepped on feet and toes to get to the other side of the circle. Bellatrix and Rodolphus stood at opposite sides. They had Voldemort surrounded, but they didn't feel as victorious as they thought they would have.

"You were with the raiding party sent to Diagon Alley to retrieve Ollivander, were you not, Dolohov?" Voldemort asked, walking around the circle with ease.

"I... I... Yes, I was," Dolohov replied, his eyes flicking to the Death Eaters surrounding them.

"Did you retrieve Ollivander?"

"No, I didn't. My Lord," he added quickly when Voldemort looked at him.

"We had reports of Ollivander in Hogsmeade yesterday," Voldemort said. "You were part of the team there, weren't you?"

"Yes... Yes, my Lord," Dolohov said, his eyes never leaving the twirling wand in Voldemort's hand.

"And did you capture Ollivander?" Voldemort asked, his eyes glowing red as he turned to glare at Dolohov.

"No, my Lord."

"No, my Lord," he mimicked cruelly. He smiled a split second before he hit Dolohov with the Cruciatus Curse.

A scream rang out that wasn't Dolohov's. Rookwood rushed into the centre of the circle, his wand pointed at Voldemort. The Unforgivable faded as the Dark Lord looked at Rookwood curiously.

"Honestly, Rookwood? You draw your wand on me now? Over this?" Voldemort sneered, looking down at Dolohov.

Suddenly, an ear dropped into the circle. Voldemort was taken aback by surprise. An ear?! Just what on earth was going on? He didn't have time to ask the question, as the ear exploded loudly, thick black smoke pouring from it.

Curses were flying everywhere all at once, and Voldemort had enough sense to Apparate before he could be hexed. Wormtail noticed his Lord's disappearance. With a squeak, he turned into a rat and fled, unnoticed in the smoke. Not all of Voldemort's followers were as lucky, nor as quick, and a spell had them all stuck in the Riddle House, unable to Apparate.

Outside, Lettie looked at Theodore and Blaise beside her. They were all staring at the mansion, waiting for their signal to move in. Colin let out a stream of fire as Death Eaters tried to escape the smoke-enclosed mansion. Lettie jumped up and hexed the heck out of anyone who so much as moved. Her mind stopped focusing on Miles' earlier revelation, and she let the battle take over her mind. Blaise turned into a centaur, trampling over Death Eaters as he entered the mansion. Theodore immediately made his way to where the first wave where to heal any injuries they would have received.

Colin roared loudly when the second wave had completely entered the mansion.

Millicent, Ginevra and Draco made their way inside to see the chaos and destruction their friends had left in their wake. In her wolf form, Millicent howled loudly and headed in the opposite direction towards the dungeon. Ginevra and Draco hurried after her quickly.

We're coming, Pansy! Ginevra called in her mind, hoping that her friend was all right.

Millicent yelped when a Death Eater barrelled into her. She snarled as the Death Eater turned into a wolf as well. Fenir Greyback.

I've got him. Go, she said to Draco and Ginevra, snapping her jaws at Greyback. He growled back at her, snarling as he leapt. Millicent was ready, fighting him with claws and teeth.

Draco and Ginevra hurried down the corridor, their wands at the ready. The dungeon split into two hallways. Without a word, they took one each and continued along their way.

It seemed that this part of the mansion was deserted. Every Death Eater had been called for the meeting upstairs. But surely there were guards?

Just as Ginevra was thinking this exact thing, she saw two Death Eaters sitting in front of a room up ahead. They were facing each other rather than in her direction, and Ginevra stilled immediately. If she moved, it would draw their attention. She had her wand at the ready but she couldn't see theirs... Wait, there they were. One Death Eater's wand was sticking out of the top of his boot. The other had his poking out from behind his ear. If she attempted to get the wands from them with magic, it probably wouldn't work. The opposition generally had to be holding their wand, and she'd never heard of someone using the Expelliarmus spell on someone who had their wand in their boot.

Ginevra tucked her wand into her sleeve slowly. She slipped into her Vampiress mode silently, thankful for everything she had learnt at the vampire mansion. She ignored the slow pulsing of their blood, the smell of blood from the rooms around them, the smell of excessive amounts of blood being shed upstairs. Pushing away the temptations, Ginevra ran at the Death Eaters.

"You 'ear tha'?" one muttered, frowning.

"Hear what? What now?" the other replied in annoyance.

"I ... I dunno," he replied, his hand moving for his wand in his boot. "Where the fuck's me wand gone?" he yelled, standing and searching for it quickly.

His colleague, already Stunned in his chair, didn't reply. Appearing in front of him, Ginevra Stunned the second Death Eater, keeping their wands handy.

She looked at the door they were guarding, moving towards it slowly. She had no idea if more Death Eaters were inside, nor what she would find. Ginevra couldn't sense a thing from inside the room, and that worried her. Opening the door quickly, Ginevra held her wand at the ready. It was pitch black, but the smell that came from the room spoke of death.

"Lumos," she murmured, already knowing that she would not like what she would see.

As she was in her Vampiress form, the power for the simple spell was more than it should have been. Every light in the room lit up, and the tip of her wand burned brightly. Her eyes adjusted faster than normal, and she saw exactly what was in the guarded room.

Cages filled the room, but there were no animals in sight. The cages were filled with humans, Muggles she realised at their smell, all of them naked and injured in some way or another. They were silent, bar for one woman who was whimpering. The fear in her eyes made Ginevra realise that she must look terrifying, and she slipped to her mortal body quickly.

"I... I'm here to help you, to save you," she said, looking at the people.

Some of the cages held up to five people. Ginevra could count the ribs on every single one of them. More than one of the Muggles weren't moving, and with the death that already filled the room, she wasn't sure if they were alive or just unconscious. As she walked further into the room, Ginevra noticed that the cages became significantly smaller. Oh, gods'. No... she thought, pleaded, but it was in vain. Children huddled together in their cages, their eyes wide and hollow.

THEODORE! Ginevra yelled loudly, finally getting past her shock. She didn't have to tell him what she was witnessing, the images of the children and adults surrounding her conveying themselves to every one of her friends, bar Pansy and Gregory. Somewhere in the world, even Luna was getting this image of war.

Theodore arrived in mere second, covered in blood. By some miracle, he wasn't sick when he saw everything firsthand. But more and more images went through all of them. Upstairs, the fighting became louder as her friends had a renewed hatred for the Death Eaters in front of them.

"Fix them, heal them. Please," Ginevra said, her voice small as she shed a tear.

Her body had slipped back into its' Vampiress mode without her realising. A red wave pulsed out of her. A child reached out his tiny bony hand to her, and it was enough for the wave to break. It spilled through the room, knocking every Muggle unconscious. The wave filled with their tortured screams, their pleads of death, their cries of fright, and became stronger.

One moment, Millicent was ripping a chunk out of Fenir's fur, the next, he was nothing more than a pile of meat and blood and organs on the floor. The wave passed through her harmlessly, continuing to the fight upstairs. Turning to her human form, Millicent wiped the blood from her face and headed down to Ginevra and Theodore.

Images of children assaulted his mind, and Seamus didn't even notice the change as his body rejected what was left of Rookwood's form and he became himself once more. He roared in anger, plants appearing and strangling at least three Death Eaters. Another four replaced them, but he didn't care.

Neville had lost Dolohov's form faster than the others due to the Cruciatus Curse, and was fighting the Death Eaters with every ounce of anger he thought he'd possessed. Then those images appeared, oh gods' those horrific images he'd never be able to forget, and Neville found he had plenty of anger to spare. Two Death Eaters dropped dead seemingly without a curse or cause. With his nymph powers of Birth and Death, Neville had taken their life.

Fred and George lost the Carrow siblings at the same time, looking at each other with satisfied grins. It was so very good to be in their own bodies again, scarred or not. Death Eaters started dancing, Jellylegs had them falling to the floor, and their hair singed with hexes the twins had never released in their shop. Then they'd seen what their sister was seeing, what these Death Eaters had participated in or allowed to happen, and the hexes became far more dangerous.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus disappeared to reveal Parvati and Padma. For some reason, they'd taken longer than the others, but just as they became themselves properly, the images assaulted their minds. They straightened with the promise of death in their eyes. For the next five minutes, they made good on their promise, at least seven Death Eaters falling at their wands.

Lettie was almost sick when she felt her Lady's revulsion and horror. That was nothing compared to her own feelings as she actually saw what her Lady was seeing. Fighting her urge to throw up, she concentrated on the Death Eaters surrounding her. Lettie's wand transfigured into a sword and she fought with every ounce of feeling she possessed.

Blaise neighed as a curse hit his flanks. Bloody bastards were going for his weak spot. Well, he could do that and worse, he thought, kicking a Death Eater in the groin. He fell to the ground with a thud, but Blaise was too preoccupied with Ginevra and Theodore's mental images to feel satisfied. The intensity of the images faded, and with a glare, Blaise turned to his next opponent and fought with hands and hooves, his wand forgotten.

Outside, Colin was torching the Death Eaters that managed to escape his friends; it was getting fewer and far more in between as time passed. He saw everything that Ginevra and then Theodore saw, and only just managed to keep from setting the whole building aflame. His friends were inside, he couldn't burn them alive too. Five Death Eaters ran out, they'd managed to escape when their attackers had all stopped for a moment with cries of horror and pain. Colin roared loudly, flying down to them. These lot weren't going to be killed with fire, oh no...

The red wave flew into the room, Death Eaters screaming as it passed through them with the force of the Killing Curse. It didn't kill all of the Death Eaters, and passed through Ginevra's friends harmlessly. Those that weren't killed dropped to the ground, their screams magnifying with every horror their captures had ever felt or seen playing behind their eyes.

Neville lowered his wand, glaring down at the Death Eaters in front of him. He sent silencing spells at them, not wanting to feel pity for them. His friends echoed his spell a second later and silence filled the room.

"Let's go see Ginevra," Neville muttered, leaving the room. His blood soaked robes dragged along the floor, leaving a dark trail to the dungeons.

They passed what was left of Fenir Greyback, but not one felt sick or sorry for his fate.

In front of them, Draco was just heading towards the room. Pansy's limp body was in his arms, and above him, Vincent's body was floating silently. The wave had passed through all three without an occurrence.

"Is Pansy all right?" Parvati and Padma asked, rushing to him.

Draco was silent for a moment, turning to them. Pansy's body was bruised, dry blood on nearly every surface. It had taken him three attempts to get her away from Vincent; she hadn't seemed to recognise Draco. Her hair was stuck to her face, and by the amount of blood that was on her neck, it was obvious she'd hurt her head.

"She needs to be healed as soon as possible," Draco replied, his voice soft.

"I can't heal all of these people. Not here, not all at once. It would kill me, and I mean that literally. I need to get them to a hospital," Theodore was saying to Ginevra.

"I know. Come in, we'll need help getting them to the vampire mansion," Ginevra said, looking at her friends.

They entered the room slowly, not even the images they'd seen enough to prepare them for what was inside. Draco waited outside with Pansy and Vincent. Ginevra went out to him, her face pale from both what she had seen and using so much power at once. She collapsed onto the empty chair, staring at Pansy's limp form.

"Is she alive?" Ginevra whispered, not seeing her chest moving.

"Barely. I had to knock her out; she didn't recognise me and wouldn't let go of Vince."

"He's been dead for seven days," she replied, looking at Vince's body in the air with a frown.

His Dark Mark was black and ugly on his left forearm, but it seemed that nothing else had changed since she'd last seen him.

"Shouldn't there be a decomposing smell or something by now?" Ginevra asked, her voice quiet and sick at the thought.

"It's a spell Voldemort put on him," Theodore said, leaving the room. "Most Medics use it to preserve the body so it can be identified."

There was a moment of silence as they tried to wrap their minds around what Pansy must have gone through.

"We're ready to go now. Look, Ginevra, are you sure the vampires will be all right with all of this ... fresh blood turning up on their doorstep?" Theodore asked hesitantly.

"They should be fine with it," she replied, uncertain now.

"They will be. I took the liberty of checking, my Lady," Lettie said with a curtsy. "Miles is setting up enough beds for them all with Lady Agnes and Lord Xavier. I've also planted the location in everyone's minds. They're ready to Apparate when you are," she added.

"Oh, thank you Lettie," Ginevra said, touching her friend's arm and smiling.

They went back into the room. The cages were completely empty, groups of unconscious Muggles by each of her friends. They would have to make more than one trip.

"I'll stay behind to watch over them," Neville said, his wand already in his hand.

"I will too," Ginevra said, stepping towards him.

"I don't think so, Ginevra. You look ready to faint. You're Side Apparating with me," Draco said. He would have grabbed her if not for Pansy in his arms.

"Go on; Colin's still outside, he'll help me," Neville said with a nod.

Ginevra gave him a grateful smile and held Draco's arm gently so as not to disturb Pansy.

Neville watched as they all disappeared to the vampire mansion where beds and medics were waiting, and turned to keep an eye on the Muggles surrounding him.

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End of the twenty-eighth chapter. Thank you for reading.

Have a merry Christmas and a happy holiday!

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