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The Battle of Lestrange Manor


Imperio.”

Voldemort held Sirius’s chin in his fist as he cast the spell. He stared right into the boy’s eyes as they blanked… and he smiled into his face and slowly lowered his hand away from his jaw. “We’ll start with some respect,” Voldemort murmured… “A kneel will suffice.”

Sirius’s knees hit the hardwood floor, his chin tilted upward to Voldemort, who hovered above, staring down, a smile on his mouth. A chilling collection of laughter buzzed about the circle of Death Eaters in the room surrounding the boys.

“Yessss,” hissed Bellatrix, “Yes, that’s right, my Lord… teach the nasty little brat a bit of respect… yes, my Lord, yes…”

“Get up,” Voldemort said, taking a couple steps back to allow Sirius to rise. “Let’s try something else.” He smiled.

Suddenly Sirius turned. “Pugnus!” he cried, aiming his wand and knocking James to the floor, his nose bursting with blood.

Bellatrix was clapping delightedly. “Make him kill him, make him kill him, my Lord!!” She jumped foot to foot, dancing about excitedly, her thick black hair floating out from her as she spun with joy. “Please my Lord!”

“In good time, Bella.” Voldemort said, enjoying his new toy. He smirked and motioned his hand… causing Sirius to wave his wand, striking James a second time, making James double over with a shout. “Aren’t you going to protect yourself… Potter?” hissed the Dark Lord, grinning.

James shook his head, even as Voldemort cackled, and pushed himself up from the floor, staring into Sirius’s vacant face.

“But I rather fancied a little duel, Potter,” Voldemort said, “C’mon. Make it interesting, at least. He’s going to kill you either way.”

“Yessss my Lord!” squealed Bella.

Orion Black stared on, his chin high - this his proudest moment. But Walburga’s face was less prideful. Her eyes searching the scene… her breath shallow…

“Fine,” Voldemort said as James shook his head, refusing to fight Sirius, “I don’t give a damn.” He waved his hand and Sirius raised his wand. “Just kill him and get it over with.”

But before the words could come out of Sirius’s mouth - at Voldemort’s command - there was a great cracking and a flash of light and the fireplace spewed forth a dust-covered form… Remus Lupin rose from the floor, his hair untidy, his clothes wrinkled from the night they’d spent on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, both his clothes and his face smudged with dirt from the tunnel. He had made his way to Mopsus’s office and, not finding Lily there, had seen the floo powder on the mantle, and attempted to find his way to go to Sirius himself. Remus hadn’t expected the floo to work - most of them in the castle had been disabled, after all. Now, laying on the floor of the Lestrange Manor, he looked surprised to find himself in the midst of the scene he’d come in on and blinked around, coughing.

Then his eyes locked on Sirius.

“SIRIUS!” Remus shouted, scrambling for his feet, rushing to join him, “SIRIUS!”

“Remus, no!” cried James, shaking his head to stop him. “WAIT! He’s --”

But Sirius was faster. “Flipendo!

Remus was thrown backward to the floor, landing spread on his back, his face one of betrayed shock and horror as he stared up at Sirius, tears instantly in his eyes, from both the impact and the shock of Sirius’s action. “But - I don’t -- I don’t understand --” he stammered.

“He’s imperiused!” James shouted.

Remus’s eyes widened.

Greyback was leaning forward hungrily, staring over Druella’s shoulder at Remus, eyes twinkling with excitement.

“Well, this will be an interesting match, won’t it?” Voldemort said, grinning, and he waved his hand for Sirius to attack.

Suddenly sparks were flying every which way as Sirius shot spell after spell after spell at Remus, half of which even Remus didn’t know what they would do as the spells all horrible curses that came from the mind of Voldemort. He ducked as many as he could, waved his wand with shield spells that deflected the sparks to the left and right, not wanting it to rebound back onto Sirius himself… Remus backed up slowly, Sirius following, looping around James, Frank, and Peter, who tightened the knot to be the three of them in a triangular stand as Sirius and Remus waved their wands - Sirius in offense, Remus always the defense. Block after block after block - the sparks bursting and sizzling with each strike.

Remus’s hand shook with the strain of it, his head swimming with disbelief. He didn’t know how this would end, he could only see two options - either Sirius would kill him or he would have to actually fight back and possibly end up hurting - or killing - Sirius himself. He felt his stomach turn with fear. There had to be another answer… there had to be…

EXPELLIARMUS!” Sirius shouted and the spell struck Remus while he was digesting the idea of having to fight Sirius - his Sirius - knocking his wand from his hand. “Flipendo!” Sirius yelled again and Remus was down.

This is it, thought Remus, sprawled on his back, his wand across the room. He stared up at Sirius, looming over him, wand aimed, breathless from the fight.

Sirius raised his chin regally, staring down his nose at Remus, his mouth a sneer of distaste...

“Sirius…” Remus stared up at him, searching his vacant eyes… “Sirius, please,” he choked the words. “It’s me. It me, your Moony. Sirius - my Sirius…” Sirius’s wand hand shook. Remus struggled to his feet, shaky at best and staggered forward, clapping his hands ‘round Sirius’s cheeks and staring into his eyes. “Come back to me. Come back to your Moony, Sirius.”

Sirius’s eyes struggled to focus, his voice weak, “Moony?”

IMPERIO!” shouted Voldemort, fighting to regain control...

Sirius staggered back, looking up once more with vacant eyes.

“SIRIUS! COME BACK! FIGHT IT!! FIGHT. IT. YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN FIGHT IT!” Remus was bellowing, grabbing onto Sirius’s hands, grappling with him for his wand. “FIGHT IT!”

“KILL HIM!” Voldemort bellowed, “KILL HIM!”

Sirius’s fist pushed against Remus’s palm, the tip of the wand shaking between them as they pressed against each other… Remus’s eyes searching Sirius’s vacant ones desperately. “Sirius, I love you. You hear me? Come back.”

Sirius was roaring. The battle inside him violently cruel… Voldemort’s power strong, but love for his Moony strong, too, and they raged within him, the wand tip shaking between pointing and pulling, the words of the curse on his tongue… “Avv… Avad… Ava..

“No, no,” Remus groaned, “No you don’t want to do this, Padfoot, you don’t want to -- do -- this --- please!”

Avvaadaaa -- Avaaaa ---

“Remember you’ve said you won’t ever leave me, yeah? Don’t leave me now, Sirius. Come back to me,” Remus begged.

Sirius had tears pouring from his eyes - half in control, half out of it… his wand hand felt as though a great weight was being pressured against it, tugging it both directions.

“Sirius, come back.”

Finally, with all of his strength he brought his wand arm violently down - at an angle, the spell falling from his mouth, “Avada kedavra,” and there was a scream among the Death Eaters as one of the hooded figures went down - dead - and Voldemort, surprised by the unexpected kill, lost his focus and Sirius pulled out of the imperius curse, turning quickly, “STUPEFY!!” he yelled with all the rage he had from what Voldemort had tried to make him do… “STUPEFY!”

Voldemort ducked, the spell hitting two other Death Eaters and knocking them backwards. Voldemort raised his bone-white wand. “I’ll do it my bloody self,” he muttered…

But as he drew the breath to shout the spell, there were several loud cracks and all around the room appeared members of the Resistance. Dumbledore, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Alastor Moody, Charlus and Dora Potter, Ted Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mrs. Longbottom, Bilius Weasley, Alex Tinnamin…

AVADA KEDAVRA!” Voldemort screamed, having already taken aim at the boys… The spell struck Alex Tinnamin, and he fell to the ground.

All hell broke loose.

Spells flew every which way as Sirius grabbed hold on Remus’s jumper and pulled him to the ground, below wand level, and James, Frank, and Peter followed suit. Death Eaters were disapparating quickly, Voldemort waving his wand frantically, sending killing curses with bright green spark about the room, clashing with shield charms, disarmament charms, and any other sort of charm, hex, curse, and counter-curse there was. The spells exploded like fireworks in the air as Remus buried his face into Sirius’s shoulder.

“DAD!” James shouted as a spell nearly struck Charlus in the back, but was deflected by a wave of Dora’s wand.

Peter sobbed.

Suddenly from the floo tumbled three more figures - Marlene McKinnon, Emmaline Vance, and Lily Evans.

James’s eyes widened, “Evans! GET DOWN!”

Lily shrieked and pulled Marlene and Emmaline to the floor as a big blast destroyed the fireplace, sending bits of brick every which way.

“Bloody hell, I told her not to come,” gasped James, and he leaped to his feet, running over, determined to protect Lily, in spite of his vow the night before not to do this very thing - jumping between her and danger.

Orion Black turned, saw James, and aimed his wand. There was too much noise, too much confusion to hear what spell it was that Orion Black shouted, but pinkish-red sparks flew through the air and Lily leaped to her feet, grabbing James by the shoulders and turning so that the spell struck her in the back instead of him. She winced, her body weight knocking James backward onto the floor, Lily Evans landing square on top of him.

“EVANS!” James shouted, sitting up and pulling her into his lap. Her eyes were closed. Panic gripped him and he struggled to put his ear to her chest. He could hear her heart still beating within her and feel the rise and fall as she breathed and relief washed over him. She was just unconscious. “Bloody hell Evans,” he cried, and he held her to him. “Protego!” he cried out and his spell created a sort of bubble around them, glimmering as he struggled to hold onto the spell’s energy and onto her - other spells deflecting off his little barrier, wanting to give her time to safely awaken… His wand shook from the power of it leaving him…

Meanwhile, Remus’s hand scrambled for Sirius’s as they watched Bilius Weasley dueling Rudolphus Lestrange; Bellatrix and Druella both against Dora Potter. Charlus had struck Orion Black for going after James - and they were now slashing at one another harshly… Dumbledore and Voldemort circled one another in the corner… “Tom, you’d best to call this off now,” Dumbledore warmed, “Even as we speak, the entire front of this house is in flames and the fire spreads quickly through the manor… how this room is not affected yet, I do not know, but soon the walls will give in and any left in this house will die.”

“Death? You think that I still fear death? I fear nothing as I once did, Dumbledore!” laughed Voldemort. “Perhaps, if you are so afraid of the fire, then, you ought to call your men away. I have important business I am attending to here tonight!”

“Torturing a lot of teenagers? And here I thought you’d have better things to do with your time.”

“I have my reasons, Dumbledore.”

“Do you, Tom? Do tell.”

“You wouldn’t understand, feeble old man,” he sneered.

By the fireplace, Lily woke just as James lost the strength to hold his shield up any longer and his arm collapsed with the effort. She blinked up at him with her bottle green eyes… and he gasped, “You alright, then, Evans?” And there was that glimmer… that glimmer of fear and relief and delight and horror all at once in his eyes.

She blinked feebly… “I’m… I’m okay…” then murmured, “But you’re… you’re missing a tooth.”

“What?”

“Your tooth… that bloody tooth.”

James ran his tongue along his mouth and sure enough… the snaggled tooth, the one on his left side, the one his grin always hung up on… it was missing.

He was about to make a smart ass remark about her noticing it when there was a great crash as the fire from the motorbike began to claim the house, parts of it falling…

“WITHDRAW!” Dumbledore bellowed. “GET THE CHILDREN AND WITHDRAW!”

Charlus and Dora bolted forward and grabbed hold on James and Lily and disapparated and Moody grabbed Peter Pettigrew’s wrist as Ted Tonks reached for Remus’s ankle… The Prewett twins grabbed onto Marlene and Emmaline and Frank was snapped up by Bilius Weasley, who cast a long glance of pain at Alex Tinnamin’s body on the floor of the parlor before going… Voldemort was shrieking, crying out for the Death Eaters to stop them… Dumbledore strode across the room, grabbing Sirius’s wrist…

“Sir… Ali Prewitt and Honey Pettigrew. They’re in the other room. They didn’t have their wands, they were.. They were preparing a floo -- for us to escape…”

Dumbledore waved his wand at the ceiling, “EXPULSO!” he shouted and the ceiling shattered, pieces of it flying every which way, and with a glare of hatred and an almighty CRACK Voldemort disapparated, along with the last few straggling Death Eaters, including Rudolphus and Bellatrix, Druella and Orion Black, as beams of wood and plaster fell from the ceiling. Dumbledore pulled Sirius hurriedly down the hall…

Amongst all the commotion, nobody had heard the screaming from Ali and Honey. The beams of the house collapsing, they’d ducked into the wrought iron cage for safety as the house seemed to fall apart around them. They were clutching one another, crying out for help… Dumbledore waved his wand, “Protego Maxima! and a heavy white shield charm exploded over him and Sirius, like a great protective umbrella, debris falling all around them as they shoved through the beams, making their way to the two women crouching in the cage… “Quickly!” Dumbledore urged them, and they ran out to him and he grabbed onto Honey’s arm and Sirius onto Ali’s and onto Dumbledore’s and with a wave of his wand and a twist of the world, they disapparated -- just as the final beams gave loose… and Lestrange Manor fell in upon itself, collapsing completely.