The Light in the Dark | Neville Longbottom

Chapter 37: The Disappearance of Dawn Malfoy

*CW: Major Character Death & Violence*

"NICE ONE, JAMES!" somebody shouted in the distance as I slowly regained consciousness.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the bright light shining down upon the archway. The light was blinding, causing me to blink a couple of times to dim the light. The next thing I noticed was the fight. I noticed some older wizards fighting the deatheaters alongside Harry and Neville, the only two of my friends who still were actively in the fight. 

I looked around the room to see the rest of my friends in a corner, many of them were injured and unable to fight. I took notice of my position, I was in some sort of hidden corridor. The next thing I noticed was Bellatrix and Sirius dueling near the archway.

"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?" Sirius taunted.

I watched as Bellatrix threw another curse, hitting Sirius directly in the chest. My heart dropped as I watched Sirius fall backwards into the archway.

"No..." I trembled.

Sirius's body flew up into the archway and then disappeared. I was unsure of how to react. I just stayed frozen until both sadness and anger overtook my body.

The next thing I noticed was Harry and his scream. He screamed in Professor Lupin's arms; Lupin was holding him back.

I was still trying to process everything.

What happened? 

Where was I? 

Where was everybody? 

Why was I here? 

What happened to Sirius? 

Was Sirius dead? 

I hoped not.

No.

He was dead.

Bellatrix killed him.

Sirius was my family. The only family I had. Lucius and Narcissa were never my family. Draco was never my family. I had only known Sirius a couple of months, but he was my real family. I was supposed to spend summer with him and Harry. We liked the same things. Sirius told me that I reminded him of him when he was younger. I was just starting to build a relationship with him, and now he was dead.

Sirius was dead.

"I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK!" Bellatrix shrieked happily, skipping around the room, "I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK!"

Anger filled my body, the tingly feeling returning quickly. It was the same anger I was feeling with Theo hours earlier... but this anger was filled with pain. The voices were speaking again. 

Kill her. 

There was no other voice.

"Accio wand." I said coldly, recollecting myself. 

My wand flew into my hand as I ran after the woman, "CRUCIO."

The curse flew out of my wand and hit the woman, causing her to fall to the floor. It didn't last nearly as long as hers did, it just caused her to trip over herself. Bellatrix laughed in my face as she recollected herself. I held my wand at her neck. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I watched her laugh. I was furious with her.

"Nice to see that you've rejoined the fight, Dawn," Bellatrix cackled, "But if you're going to use an unforgivable, you've got to really mean it."

"What makes you think that I didn't mean it?" I spat, "You've tortured my boyfriend's parents... and you just killed my uncle. I think we both know that I meant it."