Chapter 21: April 1st

The Opposite

Chapter 21: April 1st

Ginny opened her eyes. Bellatrix was standing over her. Lavender was in the bed next to her. Ginny sat up, glaring at Bellatrix.

"What do you want?" Ginny asked, rubbing her eyes. Bellatrix smirked.

"Get up. Today is the first. We're going on a little road trip to Dublin," Bellatrix said. Ginny stood up, jarring Lavender awake.

Harry sat in the middle of his room, rocking back and forth. He was extremely hyper and ready to see Ginny again. They were not told exactly when Voldemort would be attacking. Suddenly, his door opened without warning. Harry threw a Stunning Spell using Soliopathy. He heard a loud thump, and he walked to the door. Ron lie on the ground, obviously Stunned. Harry sighed and revived him. Ron stood up, fuming.

"Why are you so jumpy?" he asked. Harry looked at him with a blank expression.

"Why do you think, you arse? Today is the day. Today, one of us might..." Harry's voice drifted off. Ron clapped a hand on his back.

"It'll be all right, mate," Ron said, trying desperately to sound buoyant. Harry cracked a smile. As soon as they finished, a loud BANG was heard.

The castle shook, jolting Aurora and Draco awake. Draco fell out of the bed. Aurora turned over.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" Draco asked, standing up. Aurora looked at him in a confused manner.

"I do not know, Draco." Aurora got up and began hurriedly getting dressed.

Aislin and Drake stood at the entrance to the castle. They saw figures in the distance. Harry and Ron ran up next to them.

"Is that them?" Harry asked. Drake nodded and turned to go back inside the building. Hermione was pulling on her robes with Neve following close behind. She stopped and watched Drake walk past them.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"To get the headmaster. We're going to need all the help we can get," Drake replied and continued walking. Hermione nodded then looked ahead of her at Aislin, Ron, and Harry. They had their eyes fixed on the figures heading up the walkway. Harry blinked when he saw Ginny. She was being held by none other than the demoness herself, Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix looked at Harry and smiled. Harry grimaced. Another tall figure stepped in front of Bellatrix and Ginny. By the snakelike eyes, Harry knew exactly who it was.

"Come here, Potter," Voldemort said. Harry stared at him as if he'd said something offensive. He continued to look at Voldemort skeptically. Voldemort sighed. "Potter, come here. I have no desire to attack you at the present moment. I just wish to return a little friend of yours." Voldemort motioned to Ginny. Bellatrix pushed her forward. Ginny fell to the ground. Harry took a step forward, and Aislin grabbed his hand.

"If anything seems remotely fishy, use your Soliopathy," she whispered softly. Harry nodded and kept walking forward, his eyes trained on everyone. Behind him, Ron, Hermione and Neve all had their wands pointed. The fifteen Death Eaters had their wands raised also. Harry knelt down beside Ginny and helped her up. Pushing her behind him, Harry began backing up. Voldemort just smirked smugly as he did this.

"Bella?" Voldemort said. Bellatrix looked at her master.

"Yes, my lord?" she asked. Voldemort still had that smug look on his face as he watched Harry watch him.

"Go find the elder Assante bitch. Take a few Death Eaters with you," he said so that everyone could hear. Neve's eyes widened. She turned to go inside, but something happened unexpectedly.

Ginny blinked. Looking around her, she saw that everyone was still around her. The only difference was, no one was moving. It was like they were all frozen in time. A loud POP was heard, and Ginny nearly fell back. A woman with pale skin and really long blonde hair stood before her. Her face looked very stern.

"Who the hell are you?" Ginny asked. She realized that she didn't have her wand or anything. The woman stood, just looking at her with a firm expression. "Answer me! Who the hell are you, and what the fuck do you want?" Ginny yelled. The woman took a step forward and Ginny took one back.

"You shouldn't curse. It is not becoming of a lady. I'm Lorelei Braun, Ginevra," the woman said. Ginny looked her up and down.

"Am I supposed to know who you are? How do you know my name?" Ginny asked, still looking quite apprehensively at the woman now identified as Lorelei Braun. Lorelei took another step forward.

"Ginevra, I am a Time Keeper. I am the one who went back along with a Graviostetria named Jendayi Sef. We ensured that you were born on the orders of a friend of mine named Sofia Cartell," Lorelei said. Ginny looked the woman up and down. She relaxed a bit.

"So, you're a Time Keeper, huh? Why are you here now?" Ginny asked. Lorelei smiled.

"Sofia gave your brother a heads up on what was to come when she came and visited them. You are supposed to help him change something that is about to happen in the near future using your little power. Your brother has a box with an object in it that will help you on your quest after the battle," Lorelei said. Ginny frowned.

"I can't do that. I don't know how to use my power at free will. I don't even know what it is," Ginny said. Lorelei nodded slightly.

"Listen, child. You have the power to alter history by seeing the aftermath of one, then transferring yourself into the past before the first event you saw happened. This ability is the gift of a special Time Keeper called a Shai. 'Shai' is the Egyptian goddess of fate and destiny. Shais are VERY rare. You are the first in about five centuries. You do not know how to control it, right?" Lorelei asked. Ginny was looking at her as if she was speaking French. Then she looked around at her frozen friends and enemies.

"You're correct. Do you know how I can control it?"

"Yes. All you really need to do is concentrate on what you want to change. You will realize what to do when the time comes. First, I need you to run upstairs to Aurora and the Malfoy boy. They will need your help shortly." Lorelei turned to go.

"WAIT!" Ginny yelled. Lorelei turned around. "Did you stop time?" she asked. Lorelei smiled.

"Yes, I stopped time, Ginevra. But, I wouldn't tell you how to do that. It's a secret of the Time Keepers. I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this. Strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to do this. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. Get upstairs now. When you hear me Disapparate, you need to be in Draco's room. Go, now," Lorelei said. Ginny nodded and ran upstairs. As soon as she opened Draco's door, the loud POP was heard.

Bellatrix began walking forward. Two Death Eaters followed. Both of them were women. Harry looked to his side and noticed that Ginny was gone. He looked over at Ron, who was getting ready to attack Bellatrix as she approached. Then Bellatrix smiled. The three of them all Disapparated. Aislin looked shocked.

"This is a Non-Apparition zone," she said quietly. Voldemort snorted out a cackle.

"There are ways around that, Douglas," Voldemort said, pulling out his wand.

Aurora and Draco stood, staring at Ginny with awkward looks on their faces.

"Where did you come from?" Draco asked. Ginny shook her head.

"Not enough time, Malfoy. Bellatrix is..." Ginny began, but she was interrupted by the loud POP. They all whirled around to see Bellatrix and her two minions behind her. She smiled as she looked past Ginny to Aurora. Draco stepped in front of Aurora, shielding her.

"Hello, young Draco," Bellatrix said, smirking. Draco's glare bore holes into her. He held his wand out. "Get out of the way, Draco. We don't want you," Bellatrix said, pulling out her wand. Draco didn't budge. Bellatrix sighed. "Have it your way. Stupefy!" she yelled. Aurora held her hand out. The spell hit an invisible wand. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. Draco smirked.

"Dolore Mortale!" Draco yelled. Bellatrix dodged out of the way. The curse hit an unsuspecting Death Eater. The affect was devastating to watch. Bellatrix watched Draco torture the woman.

"Ginny! Here!" Aurora yelled. She gave Ginny her wand. Ginny trained it on the other two Death Eaters.

Downstairs, Harry watched Voldemort. Something in Harry clicked. Without turning his eyes, he spoke.

"Ron, Aislin, Hermione, and Neville..." he said so that only they could hear.

"Yes, Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry sighed.

"Get inside... now," he said, his eyes moving around the line of Death Eaters.

"Harry, we just can't..." Aislin began.

"NOW!" Harry yelled. The other four nodded and headed back inside. Aislin took one last look at Harry and closed the door. Voldemort smiled and watched Harry with interest.

"You have balls, Potter. You think you can face me alone?" Voldemort asked. Harry smirked.

"The last time I checked, I've faced you six times before and have lived to tell the tale. Apparently, your methods of getting rid of me aren't very good. What makes you think I won't escape your sorry arse now?" Harry said, holding his wand tightly. Voldemort raised an eyebrow.

"I still don't understand that fact, Potter. How is that you can live through all of our encounters?" Voldemort said, brandishing his wand. Harry laughed.

"What are you going to do? Disarm me?" he asked. Voldemort's smug look disappeared. Harry was clearly not telling him something. He stared intently at him. Then he pointed his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Voldemort yelled. The white jet of light hit Harry's hand, sending his wand flying. Harry just stood there. He hadn't even bothered to move.

"How did you do that?" Bellatrix asked Aurora. Aurora said nothing, but continued to stare at the woman. Draco lifted the curse off of the other Death Eater. She lay on the ground, unmoving. He then turned his glare on Bellatrix, pointing his wand firmly.

"Leave now, Bellatrix," he said, his voice very cold. Bellatrix smirked at her young nephew.

"You'd curse your own aunt, Draco? What would your mother say?" Bellatrix asked. That was when Narcissa Malfoy made her presence known. She stepped from around Bellatrix, looking very faint. Draco's eyes widened. Narcissa put her hood back, her silvery-blue eyes staring at her son. Aurora watched her. She looked almost nothing like him, except in the eyes.

"Mother?" Draco whispered. Narcissa nodded and half-heartedly smiled. She looked as though she wanted to cry. Her eyes were glassy. Aurora and Ginny watched the two stare at each other. Draco seemed to have weakened considerably.

"Draco, put down the wand," she said, taking a step forward. Draco shook his head and gripped his wand tighter. Narcissa took another step slowly forward.

"I-I-I c-c-can't do that, mother. Y-Y-You're one of t-t-them," Draco stammered. Aurora looked back and forth between the two. Narcissa took another step. Ginny kept her wand trained on Bellatrix, who was watching the scene with interest. Narcissa kept advancing on her son. "Do not come any closer. Damn it, mother! Don't make me do this," he said in a pleading voice. Narcissa took one more step. Draco closed his eyes. "Stupefy!" Narcissa was blasted backwards. Bellatrix dodged her sister, and Narcissa hit the stone wall. She fell to the ground, her head bleeding. Draco let out a long sigh. Bellatrix turned and glared at him. She pulled out her wand.

"You son of a bitch. Avada..." Bellatrix began. Aurora wasn't sure what made her do it. She didn't even realize that she capable of doing it. She pushed Draco to the side and held her hand out as Bellatrix began the curse. "...Kedavra!" Bellatrix finished.

"Retromarcia!" she yelled, holding her hand out. The curse hit an invisible wall. Aurora looked as though it was draining a vast amount of power from her. Bellatrix's eyes widened in fear as the curse reversed itself. Bellatrix dove to the side as quick as she could. Draco and Ginny stared at her with wide eyes. Aurora lowered her hand, and her eyes rolled back into her head. She fell to the ground, out cold.

Bellatrix regained her composure and started to get up. Both Draco and Ginny held their wands to her.

"Going somewhere?" Ginny asked. Bellatrix dropped her wand.

"Legatura," Draco muttered. Light shot from his wand and wrapped around both Bellatrix and Narcissa, should she wake up. Ginny picked up Bellatrix's wand and put it in her pocket. Bellatrix growled something illegible.

Lucius Malfoy Apparated in front of Neve as she was running down the hall. Neve slid to a stop and immediately pulled her wand out. She stared at the blonde man in disgust.

"Well, hello again, Neveah. It feels as if it's been months since I last saw you." Lucius took a step forward. Neve's face contorted into one of utter antipathy. She held her wand unfalteringly. "Surely you don't have the guts to curse me, Neveah." Lucius dared to take another step forward.

"Il bastardo sporco marcio," Neve mumbled. Lucius laughed in a horrible way.

"I haven't the faintest idea as to what that means, Neveah. Would you mind enlightening me?" he asked politely. Neve cringed at his sarcasm.

"I said that you are a dirty, rotten bastard. I have no desire to kill you. Would you be so kind as to step out of my way?" Neve said, motioning with her wand. Lucius looked at her suspiciously.

"You really have no desire to kill me, eh? Why is this, Neveah?" he asked. Neve smirked.

"Someone has already marked you for death. I care not to disclose what particular person that is, but I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised when the time does come. Now, would you please excuse me?" Neve said, not flinching. Lucius stared uncertainly at her, then stepped out of her way.

Hermione, Ron, and Aislin ran down the hallway, looking for Aurora. Five black hooded figures cut Ron off from Hermione and Aislin. Hermione and Aislin whirled around, pulling their wands out. Ron stopped and looked at the five figures.

"You two go ahead. I'll handle them," Ron said. Aislin nodded and turned. Hermione looked at him apprehensively. "Go, Mione!" Ron yelled. Hermione nodded and ran to catch up with Aislin. She looked back one last time, then kept running. One of the Death Eaters removed their hood. It was Wormtail. He looked more mangled than usual.

"Handle us? You'll handle us? You expect to do this alone, Weasley?" Wormtail laughed frenziedly. Ron smirked and got on his guard.

"Believe me, you should be a lot more worried than I should." Ron held his wand out. "Fumos!" he yelled. Smoke was emitted from his wand's tip. The Death Eaters all glanced around and began wondering aimlessly. Wormtail looked around, worry in his eyes. He saw occasional flashes of light and the sound of bodies dropping.

"Damn it! Chiarire!" he said. The smoke cleared at a surprisingly fast rate. The other four Death Eaters were sitting with their backs together. They were all apparently unconscious and bound. Ron was nowhere in sight. Wormtail looked cautiously around. "Come out, come out, Weasley. Come and face your doom," he called out to Ron. He heard a door shut behind him. Spinning around, he walked towards the door slowly. Opening it, he entered the same room where Sloan had taken Neve. "Weasley, I'm not going to ask again. Come out and I might be able to persuade the Dark Lord to go easy on you, considering you sheltered me for twelve years," he said. There was still no sign of Ron. Then, the door shut behind him. It was pitch black. "Lumos," he whispered.

"Peek-a-boo!" Ron yelled as he knocked the wand out of a startled Wormtail's hand. Ron then held his wand to Wormtail's throat. "You really aren't even worth the energy required to do this spell. I see no point in killing you or even driving you to insanity. You were pathetic as a rat, and you're even more pathetic now. Legatura," Ron said. The binds made of light surrounded Wormtail. The sniveling man whimpered as Ron dragged him outside with his fellow Death Eaters.

"Rictusempra!" A voice yelled from behind Hermione and Aislin. The spell hit Aislin in the back, sending her flying headfirst into a wall. Hermione whirled around to face one Death Eater. They stood, wands pointing at each other in a stalemate.

"You cannot possibly hope to defeat me, girl. I'm one of the strongest Death Eaters there are. I'm not as dim-witted as my counterparts," the man's voice said. Hermione kept her wand trained on him.

"Well, neither am I. Though, I wouldn't go as far to call my counterparts dim-witted, either. Let's just say that I'm not the most powerful, but I consider myself to be the cleverest and most cunning. Expelliarmus!" Hermione yelled, catching the Death Eater by surprise. He managed to dodge.

"Crucio!" He aimed at Hermione. Hermione ducked, and the curse it the wall behind her. She moved to the side and tripped over Aislin. Her wand went skidding to the side. Cursing she looked up to come face to face with a wand. "Well, well. It looks like this is the end of the line for you," he said, getting ready to say a curse. "Cru..." he began.

"Suicidarse!" a voice said. The spell hit the Death Eater in the back. White light shone, and the Death Eater turned around. He slowly sank to his knees. He pointed his wand at himself and a green jet of light shot from it. He fell to the ground, dead. Hermione looked in the direction of the voice. It was Fionnula. She ran up to her. "Are you okay?" she asked. Hermione stood up and nodded. They both looked down at Aislin, who stirred. A pool of blood was forming underneath her head, staining her blonde hair.

"Let's get her to the hospital wing." Fionnula grabbed her arms. Hermione took her legs, and they hoisted her up.

Outside, Harry stared maliciously at Voldemort, who was still eyeing him with interest.

"I sense a different aura about you, Potter. What have you been training in?" he asked. Harry continued to look arrogantly at him.

"Now why the hell would I tell you that? I'd rather just go with the element of surprise," Harry said. Voldemort's face distorted into one of frustration. He pointed his wand steadily at Harry.

"Why do you not make a move to retrieve your wand?" No answer. Harry just stood there with the look of a very confident person on his face. Voldemort stared at him with a look of suspicion. "Answer me, Potter, or I will be forced to curse you," Voldemort said.

"Why should I retrieve something I don't necessarily need? Plus, how do I know you won't curse me anyway?" Harry asked nonchalantly, his expression never changing. He didn't really care about the answer to the question, though. Voldemort realized this and, his frown grew deeper.

"Enough! Imperio!" Voldemort yelled. Harry made no move to dodge the curse. Instead, he just simply stared at it. The curse disintegrated before it hit him. Harry smiled. Voldemort looked utterly astounded. He frowned and put his wand out again. "Crucio!" This time, the spell hit Harry. Harry closed his eyes. Voldemort smiled wryly. Then he promptly stopped smiling almost as soon as he started. Something wasn't right.

He's not screaming in agony, he thought. Harry threw his head back, and the curse was thrown off of him.

"The Cruciatus Curse won't work on me, Tommy-Boy," Harry said, taunting Voldemort and laughing at his own joke. Voldemort continued to frown at the boy.

"Why is that, Potter? It affects everyone else so very much. Why not you?"

"Well, the difference between them and me is that I know the pain is not real," Harry said, crossing his arms. Voldemort smirked and looked down for a moment.

"You have real confidence, Potter. You're almost a little too confident. That could very well be your downfall." Voldemort took aim again. "Dolore Mortale!" Voldemort threw the curse at Harry. Harry held his hand out and threw up a barrier. The curse tried to burn through it. After about a minute, the curse was thrown back. Voldemort ducked, and the curse hit one of his fellow Death Eaters. He turned to face Harry once again.

Suddenly, a loud POP was heard. Dumbledore appeared between Harry and Voldemort. Voldemort took a step back and looked a little worried.

"Harry, go inside," Dumbledore said quietly. Harry frowned.

"I was fairing rather well against him, headmaster," Harry said through clenched teeth. Dumbledore turned his head to the side.

"NOW, Harry," he said softly but very firmly. Harry looked shocked for a moment. He growled a few choice words and held his hand out towards his wand. The wand came flying towards him. Dumbledore looked at his longtime foe. Voldemort crossed his arms.

"It seems to me that you have been training Potter rather well, Dumbledore," Voldemort said matter-of-factly. Dumbledore nodded.

"Well, it seems to me that you've met your match, Tom."

"Funny. I always thought you were my match, Dumbledore," Voldemort said. Dumbledore nodded, a twinkle in his eye. "Tell me, Dumbledore. What power does the boy have?"

"I think you have just witnessed it, Tom. I thought it would've been obvious what it was. He wasn't using his wand, was he? Yet, he still managed to fend for himself. Surely you can't be that dense," Dumbledore said in an abnormally calm voice. Voldemort frowned at Dumbledore's words. Then, a look of realization came over his face.

"You mean to tell me that Potter is a Soliopath?" he asked, sounding rather shocked.

"And a very good one, I'd wager," Dumbledore said with slight pride in his voice. Voldemort snorted.

"What does it matter, Dumbledore? I am a Soliopath also. So are you. Potter can't possibly have mastered the art in such a short amount of time, you old fool. Soliopathy is no easy craft," Voldemort said. Dumbledore smiled and shook his head slowly. Voldemort looked confused at this action.

"Tom, there are still many things to which you do not understand. The difference between you and Harry is that Harry didn't really need to learn to do magic without a wand. He is a natural Soliopath. Not a trained one. The only training he received was to control it. He can do it naturally on his own. He just needed to learn to harness the power that is Soliopathy," Dumbledore said. Voldemort growled. He turned toward the three remaining Death Eaters.

"Go find Potter," he said. The three nodded and Apparated. Voldemort then turned his attention to Dumbledore, who was still just standing there in his own serenity. "Shall we commence?" Voldemort asked. Dumbledore nodded and pulled out his wand.

"We shall," Dumbledore said in a surprisingly deadly tone.

Inside, Neve found Draco, Ginny, and Aurora. Aurora was coming around. She sat up as Neve walked in the room. Bellatrix was the only one still awake. She was eyeing them malignantly. Neve cut her eyes at her, then looked at Aurora.

"What happened?" she asked Ginny.

"She blocked the Avada Kedavra curse and reversed it towards Bellatrix. Then she just fainted. It was amazing. You should've seen it, Neve," Ginny said. Neve looked amazed at the feat. Aurora blinked everyone into focus. She looked over at Bellatrix and Narcissa.

Suddenly, it grew very cold and dark. Everyone looked at each other. Bellatrix smiled, even though she felt miserable. Ginny gasped at what she saw behind Neve.

"Neve," she breathed out. Neve turned around slowly. Four dementors entered the room. Each went for one of the teenagers. Ginny pointed Aurora's wand at hers.

"Expecto Patronum!" A silver mist was produced, and the dementor bounced away off of it. It glided over to Neve. Aurora fended off hers along with Draco's. They all flocked towards Neve.

"We... have... got... to... help... her," Draco said right before he passed out. Aurora and Ginny promptly followed suit. Neve backed up. All four dementors were continuously sucking her soul out of her. Neve remembered that day back in Diagon Alley. She fell to the ground, just as Neville turned around the hallway.

"Neve!" He ran towards her. A light began rising from Neve's mouth. Neville looked horrified at the dementors around him. He backed up and pointed his wand, desperately trying to remember the incantation for a Patronus Charm. Neve's soul continued to rise towards the dementors. They circled around her like vultures. Neville continued to rack his mind. Then, he got it, snapping his fingers.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled as loudly as his lungs would allow him to. His Patronus shot forth and drove the dementors away quickly. The light lowered itself and Neve gasped. She slowly sat up, as did the rest of them. Neville was breathing hard. He sat down next to Neve. Neve looked at him and smiled weakly.

"Thank you," she whispered. Neville nodded, unable to speak. That's when he fully realized what happened. Sofia told him that it would happen. He smiled and sighed.

"Sofia told me this would happen," he said softly. Neve smiled. Then she remembered what Sofia told her about a choice. She'd made a choice earlier. The choice to forego a battle with Lucius Malfoy. She wondered silently how it would play out and who it would affect the most.

Harry caught up with Ron and Hermione. Fionnula and Drake were with Aislin. Hermione and Ron waited in the hallway. Hermione smiled and ran to him as he came up to them. She hugged him tightly.

"Hermione... can't... breathe..." Harry managed to sputter out. Ron laughed, and Hermione let him go, blushing.

"Harry, did you defeat Voldemort?" Hermione asked, sounding hopeful. Ron's eyes brightened considerably. Harry looked around at all the captured Death Eaters around him. Then he looked knowingly at Ron. Ron blushed a little.

"I see you've been working rather hard. No, I didn't defeat Voldemort. Dumbledore arrived and told me to come inside. I guess now the two are having a go of it. Who's in there?" he asked, motioning toward the hospital wing's door.

"Aislin, Drake, and Fionnula. Aislin flew into a wall and is unconscious with a rather serious concussion. She was bleeding and everything from hitting the wall headfirst," Hermione said, sounding a bit saddened. Harry nodded.

Out of nowhere, two Death Eaters appeared behind Hermione and Harry, grabbing them around their necks and pointing their wands at their heads. Instinctively, Ron pulled his wand out and pointed it. He looked from Harry to Hermione. They both struggled in the grasps of the two Death Eaters.

"What a predicament this is, Weasley! Who to save? Who to save? That's the problem with having two best friends. Makes choices like this relatively hard, doesn't it? Especially if you're shagging one of them," the one holding Hermione snarled. He smelled her hair, making Ron's ears turn red. Hermione struggled in the Death Eater's grip. Ron frowned and went from Harry to Hermione to Harry to Hermione. He didn't know which one to save.

"Ron, forget about me! Save Hermione!" Harry yelled, still struggling. Hermione shook her head furiously.

"Harry, are you fucking daft! You are the one who has to kill Voldemort, remember? I'm just a nobody. Ron, kill that Death Eater. Kill the one holding Harry," Hermione said through a strangled voice. Both Ron and Harry looked a little shocked at her words. Hermione wasn't known for using colorful phrases. Ron's eyes began watering. Sofia's prediction was coming true. He was hoping that it wouldn't come to pass.

"You can't kill both of us, Weasley. Choose wisely," the other Death Eater said smugly. Ron closed his eyes, and a single tear ran down his face. He pointed the wand just as Ginny, Draco, Neve, and Aurora turned the corner, dragging Bellatrix and Narcissa. They stood still as stone as they observed the scene before them. Time seemed to slow down. The following events seemed to happen in slow motion.

"Avada Kedavra!" Ron yelled. Everyone gasped.

"Avada Kedavra!" one of the Death Eaters yelled. Two bodies hit the floor in a collective thump as Ron dropped his wand.