Dark Night
"Uncle Evan," Luna tapped him on the shoulder. He was sitting with Barty, Evan, Dorcas and Alexander on the Slytherin table, enjoying dinner. First time in a while they had Dorcas to themselves, since she started going out to Marlene, she spent most of their meals over of the Gryffindor table. But it was fun to have all the Slytherins together once in a while, sure, everyone got snake-y quite quickly, but family is like that sometimes. Speaking of family...
"It's weird when you call him that." Barty ran his tongue through his teeth like he had a weird taste in his mouth from Evan being an uncle.
"But he's my mother's twin." Luna remarked, as if the logic was the tasteless part.
"Nothing to worry about, love." Dorcas offered her a smile, "what did you need?"
"Nothing much, I just meant to ask if you know where my mother is?"
"Oh that's even weirder." Barty looked down as if he had hair on his tongue.
"She said to ask Lily, actually." Alexander scrunched his nose, "which was a weird thing to say now that I think about it. But she says so many weird things I just brushed it over."
"So she just said: ask Lily where I am if you can't find me." Regulus clarified, somewhere between dumbfounded and rolling his eyes, fully hoping there was more context.
"That's actually exactly what she said. I was with Mary and we asked if she wanted to walk to dinner with us and she said she's not going but if we want to find her to just ask Lily." Alexander said.
"So we find Lily? She's with the Griffindors, we can just head over to their table..." Barty noted the empty spot where they usually seat.
"James set an emergency quidditch thing for him and Marlene to try to get into the team. Wood agreed for some reason to let them try out. So them, and Harry and Hermione and Ron and the Twins and Ginny and everyone is over there I suppose." Dorcas reminded them, it was, after all, the only reason she was having dinner with them.
"Fuck's sake." Barty threw his head back. Evan slapped him into shape and stood up. Luna followed him and Barty trailed like a puny puppy.
Alexander gulped the entirety of his cup and Dorcas put on her many rings that she'd scattered around her place, Regulus finished chewing a piece of the steak he was having for dinner, tapped his lips with a napkin and they followed.
James Potter was racing Harry Potter, Remus could not tell if this was a dream or a nightmare. But he looked at how their teeth gleamed when they passed in front of him in the bleachers and how their smiles shined, it was a dream. One where nothing too bad had happened to them yet. Nothing lethal. Bad was a can of worms they all had and were afraid to open most of the time.
Lily rested her shoulder on him and hugged his arm, it was cold after all, and he was wearing a sweater. She was holding tight, he could still feel how she was just a little stiff since the party. It wasn't for him to find out if she didn't let him, after all, if he trusted anyone's jugement here, it was Lily's. Mary was sitting with Hermione closer to the field. They seemed to be getting along quite well for some reason, Remus expected Hermione to be more like Regulus, a little colder or more closed off.
He could hear their chit chat from where they were sitting, it was the only thing catching his attention right now, Sirius was too far on the other side of the field to really see him. Marlene and him were playing some sort of more dangerous hot potato with the Weasley Twins. You could hear an almost rhythmic sound of the ball being hit by their bats.
Even Peter decided to get on a broom, he was playing goalie to Ginny, Ron and Oliver Wood while James and Harry raced for the snitch. Even he went a bit out of his shell.
You know how some people are loud breathers? And some people have terrible breath after eating? Well the wolf did. Remus picked up on them as soon as they stepped in the field, it was Evan and Barty. Everyone else Remus knew behind them, because clearly this bunch had dependency issues.
"EVANS!" You didn't have to be a werewolf to hear Barty, he was just that loud that he could get to the bleachers with no aid from a volume charm. This caught the attention of everyone, clearly.
"Merlin Crouch!" Dorcas complained down there, "You're gonna make us deaf."
"Better go check what's up." Mary turned, and she and Hermione headed over to the stairs like normal people, but James and Sirius approached the bleachers quite promptly.
"May we offer you two a ride down?" And Remus rolled his eyes... but his hip did hurt a little. James held his hand out to Lily and sat behind her, holding her between his arms.
Remus swore to never get on a broom with Sirius ever again. He didn't fit in front of him. And he trusted his boyfriend with his life, surely, with no hesitation. But he didn't fit in front of him, and Sirius was famously bad at calculating landings and risks in general, so it was more of a dive down than a smooth ride. And the wolf didn't like heights any more than Remus.
The forbidden forest was Pandora's favorite place in all of Hogwarts. She loved the castle, but the forest was so much more silent, it enunciated better, the energy was more clear, tranquil, slow. It was fresh and had just the right amount of moonlight.
She could feel the creatures around her, the plants and the nature spirits. The bugs and the fairies.
Tonight she was being followed, which was not as uncommon as one would expect. Pandora had the kind of aura that drew people in, so sometimes they fell for it and followed. Tonight it was more than one person who followed. And Pandora knew then, it was the night.
She felt the air heavy on her shoulders, almost like actual weight. But she'd been drawn here tonight. Not like before, when the forest called so she met a creature or a spirit, no, it was like being tugged by a chain of destiny. Whispers of the prophecy were carried by the air.
Moonlight reflected in the small puddles of rain from the night before, it was a moist cold still. She was wearing a sweater Regulus had bought her as a present. The same one she was wearing when they moved in time.
Her heart was beating. The more she walked, the more she started to feel like a prey. But even if she was a prey, she was knowing of her destiny, accepting of the prophecy. She knew there was no use in fighting it, still she rested a little because she managed to sneak out without her friends being the wiser.
Then a twig snapped somewhere.
Pandora raised her wand, her voice froze in her throat. There was silence for a moment.
Then she saw a shadow move between the trees.
"So it is true!" A loud woman with messed up curls jumped from the tree-line, as soon as she stepped in the moonlight Pandora recognized her. All Blacks has that same darkness in the back of their eyes. They were the perfect predators, beautiful, alluring, perfect. Luring you in so their fangs can sink in. Regulus and Sirius knew their darkness and wrestled with it, their aura showed as much, Pandora had seen it. But Bellatrix Lestrange would always be a Black through and through. She was one with her darkness. And even if more than a decade had passed since Pandora last saw her, that darkness was one of a kind. "The little prophet from the Rosier family is alive."
As Bellatrix closed in, more people emerged from the darkness in the forest. Wearing masks and dark robes, all save one, who was dragging himself behind Bellatrix--Draco Malfoy.
"You did a great job Draco." She turned to him. Pandora didn't blame him, the Prophecy came out at that moment for this reason, it had to be fulfilled, and Draco was never going to be strong enough to go against his family. Pandora could see it clearly now. He was the son of Narcissa, and the House of Black's loyalty will always lay with the House of Black. Narcissa was loyal to Bellatrix. Bellatrix was loyal to Voldemort. It was that simple.
Pandora never lowered her wand. And she got a feeling, "you should leave now Draco." She ignored Bellatrix closing in.
There was something coming in quickly. About a dozen Death Eaters were around and no one had felt it. The magic riding over.
The leaves of the trees shuffled and Bellatrix could sense it, her eyes shuffled around, searching.
Bellatrix waved her wand forward and a chain sprout from it and tied around Pandora's neck. "Take her to the Manor Draco, the Dark Lord wants a word with her."
She handed the chain to Draco.
"Stop this!" Lily was a vision in the moonlight. Pandora saw the glimmering of her red hair under the dim light. Sweat on her forehead. Regulus and Sirius had either of her sides.
"I wasn't expecting a family reunion so soon little cousins." Bellatrix cackled in the dark. Draco apparated away with Pandora. Suddenly, the refreshing cold of the forest air was replaced with a stale cold air in Malfoy Manor.
The first curse was shot before they got off their brooms. Barty rolled off Evan's broom before even landing to shot a curse at a Death Eater's back. He flew forward with a scorched mark on his back.
Bellatrix had the Black Brothers handled by herself, it was a sight to behold, the witch was every bit as prodigious as the brothers, but with more experience under her belt, she was driving them back.
Barty caught a glimpse of Dorcas and Marlene already dueling a pair of Death Eaters on the opposite side of the groove.
James, Peter and Alexander were covering Harry, Ron and Hermione, who hadn't encountered Death Eaters before and were still dumbfounded by the whole thing. Barty thought it was a mistake bringing them along.
Remus was taking one on by himself with little trouble.
Evan got off the broom next to Barty and cast a healing charm on Barty's leg, he hadn't noticed it was twisted life that, mind you he hadn't moved since he dropped from the broom. "Be careful. I can't have you getting hurt." The blonde whispered.
"Where's Pandora?" Barty screamed, he couldn't find her, he scanned the whole battlefield and she wasn't there.
"Apparated away!" Lily shouted fencing off a red curse flying her way. Mary popped up from behind her and the Death Eater that shot it flew against a tree.
"You were all too late!" Bellatrix laughed. She raised her wand upwards erupting a ring of fire around her and blasting with no regard of the Death Eaters around her.
Barty cast a shield on both him and Evan. A red flash hit the shield. A blue one and an orange flash caught his eye between the flames.
A chain tied up Alexander and James. Peter shook in front of Harry, Hermione and Ron, he was using every ounce of willpower in him to not move away.
Dorcas and Marlene were half buried in the ground.
And Regulus was on his knee looking up at the witch when the fire dissipated. Sirius had his wand pointed to Bellatrix but didn't move. He wouldn't risk it, that was Regulus she was threatening. And Sirius knew her enough to believe if anyone would fulfil a threat it would be her.
"Sorry to cut the reunion short." Bellatrix had her wand on Regulus' neck. "But I have some urgent business to attend." She looked at Evan in the eye, Barty could feel her eyes fall on his friend next to him and even he could feel the weight of it. "I'll tell your sister you send your regards." There was a whoosh in the air and she was gone.
The air was heavy. There were Death Eaters stunned and knocked out around them. And Regulus was still on one knee. He was sweating, his skin was paler than normal, even in the moonlight, he looked like a ghost. Barty saw his leg. He lunged forward. Regulus fell to his side.
"Accio broom!" Barty shouted as soon as he saw Regulus' leg. There was a hole in it. He could see white. Red was starting to consume his robes. "I'm taking him to Pomfrey. You sort out the rest." Evan was fine. He looked at Sirius for a moment before getting Regulus on the broom and taking off.