Rosabella Black |Daughter Of Sirius Black| (Book 5)

Beyond The Veil

Rosabella's Point of View:
Black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around us, blocking our way left and right. Eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at our hearts. Ginny gave a gasp of horror. I reached for her and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze even though I was terrified myself.
   "To me, Potter." repeated the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy as he held out his hand, palm up.
My insides plummeted sickeningly. We were trapped and outnumbered two to one.
   "To me." Malfoy said yet again.
   "Where's Sirius?" Harry said.
   "The Dark Lord always knows!" A harsh female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures to our left said triumphantly.
   "Always." echoed Malfoy softly.
   "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter." Malfoy said.
   "I want to know where Sirius is!" Harry demanded.
    "I want to know where Sirius is!" mimicked the woman to our left.
She and her fellow Death Eaters had closed in so that they were mere feet away from the others and I, the light from their wands dazzling Harry's eyes.
   "You've got him. He's here. I know he is." Harry said.
    "The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," said the woman in a horrible, mock baby voice.
I stirred from beside Harry, gripping my wand tighter.
   "Don't do anything. Not yet-" Harry muttered.
The woman who had mimicked him let out a raucous scream of laughter.
   "You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!" The women said gleefully, maddeningly.
   "Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix. He has a great weakness for heroics. The Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter." Malfoy said softly.
   "I know Sirius is here! I know you've got him!" Harry insisted. 
More of the Death Eaters laughed, though the woman laughed loudest of all.
   "It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter. Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands." Malfoy said.
    "Go on, then." Harry said, raising his own wand to chest height.
As he did so, the others and I raised our too.
Jason and Jacob pushed forward so they were standing with protectively infront of us. They stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised. Prepared for anything.
   "Canis, Corvus lower your wands. I'm here to take you home. All of you come here. Cepheus, Aquila that includes you too." The women said in her shrill, maddening voice.
What shocked me was she used our names that were on the Black family tree. Not many people knew those names.
I heard Neville whisper to Ginny, "Who are they?"
     "Stranger danger." I said snarkily.
     "Lower your wands and hand over the prophecy or we will use our own wands." Malfoy said, threateningly.
     "Oh, and we're so afraid! Aren't we, Jake?" Jason said sarcastically.
     "Quaking in my boots." Jacob said in the same tone as Jason.
The Death Eaters did not strike.
    "Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt." Malfoy said coolly.
It was Harry's turn to laugh.
   "Yeah, right! I give you this-prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?" Harry said, disbelievingly from behind Jason and Jacob.
The words were hardly out of his mouth when the female Death Eater shrieked, "Accio proph -"
Harry was  ready for her
   "Protego!" Harry shouted before she had finished her spell.
    "Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter. Very well, then –" she said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood.
    "I TOLD YOU, NO! If you smash it-!" Lucius Malfoy roared at the woman.
The Death Eaters wanted this dusty spun-glass sphere.
The woman stepped forward, away from her fellows, and pulled off her hood. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrange's face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow.
     "IT'S YOU! I'M GOING TO —" I screamed.
As soon as her face was revealed, Neville and Ron had siezed Jason, Hermione and Michael had grabbed Jacob and Ginny was restraining me but she was struggling as I fought viscously to get to Bellatrix.
    "Luna, help me!" Ginny yelled and Luna was soon restraining me as well.
Michael glared at Bellatrix with the utmost hatred as he held Jacob back.
     "Jake, we need to get out of here! Calm down! The three of you get a grip and actually think with those heads if yours!" Michael said, urgently.
Jason and Jacob breathed heavily as they glared at Bellatrix murderously, they eventually calmed down enough to not need restraining, as did I. I raised my wand and pointed it at Bellatrix, ready to go on athensive or defensive.
   "You need more persuasion?" Bellatrix said, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
    "Very well-take the smallest one. Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it." Bellatrix ordered the Death Eaters beside her.
The others and I closed in around Ginny. Harry stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest. Jason and Jacob still stood protectively in front of us, wands at the ready.
    "You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us." I told Bellatrix defianitely.
   "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?" Harry said.
Bellatrix did not move, she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth.
   "So, what kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?" Harry said.
Harry was stalling by trying to keep them talking. I was using this time to figure a way out. That had to be a way. Where there's a will there's a way and I've been told my will is rather strong.
   "What kind of prophecy? You jest, Harry Potter." Bellatrix repeated, the grin fading from her face.
   "Nope, not jesting. How come Voldemort wants it?" Harry said, as my eyes flicked from Death Eater to Death Eater.
Looking for a weak link, a space through which they could escape.
Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses.
   "You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix whispered.
   "Yeah, I've got no problem with saying Vol-" Harry said.
    "Shut your mouth! You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare-" Bellatrix shrieked.
   "Did you know he's a half-blood too? Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle-or has he been telling you lot he's pure-blood?"  Harry said recklessly.
Hermione gave a little moan in my ear.
   "STUPEF-" Bellatrix started to say.
   "NO!" Lucius Malfoy protested.
A jet of red light had shot from the end of Bellatrix Lestrange's wand, but Malfoy had deflected it. His spell caused hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry and several of the glass orbs there shattered.
Two figures, pearly-white as ghosts, fluid as smoke, unfurled themselves from the fragments of broken glass upon the floor and each began to speak. Their voices vied with each other, so that only fragments of what they were saying could be heard over Malfoy and Bellatrix's shouts.
  ". . . at the solstice will come a new . . ." said the figure of an old, bearded man.
   "DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!" Lucius yelled.
   "He dared - he dares - he stands there - filthy half-blood -" Bellatrix shrieked incoherently.
   "WAIT UN'I'LL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!" Malfoy bawled.
   ". . . and none will come after . . .' said the figure of a young woman.
The two figures that had burst from the shattered spheres had melted into thin air. Nothing remained of them or their erstwhile homes but fragments of glass upon the floor. They had, however, given me an idea. The problem was going to be conveying it to the others.
   "You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over." Harry said, playing for time.
    "Do not play games with us, Potter."  Malfoy said.
    "I'm not playing games." Harry said.
    "Dumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" Malfoy sneered.
    "I-what? What about my scar?" Harry said.
   "Can this be?' said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted.
Some of the Death Eaters were laughing again.
    "Smash shelves." I hissed to Hermione, moving his lips as little as possible my voice unnoticed to anyone but Hermione due to the Death Eaters laughter.
    "Dumbledore never told you?' Malfoy repeated.
  "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter. The Dark Lord wondered why-" Malfoy said.
   "-when I say now- " I whispered to Hermione and she subtly muttered it to the othersvand they passed it on.
   "-you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording . . ." Malfoy finished.
   "Did he? So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?" Harry asked.
   "Why? Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made. The Dark Lord discovered this when he attempted to use others to steal it for him." Malfoy said sounding incredulously delighted.
   "And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?" Harry pressed.
   "About both of you, Potter, about both of you . . . haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?" Malfoy said.
Was this prophecy the reason Harry's parents had died? The reason he carried his lightning-bolt scar? Was the answer to all of this clutched in his hand?
   "Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me? And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?" Harry said quietly, gazing at Lucius Malfoy.
    "Get it himself?" Bellatrix shrieked, over a cackle of mad laughter.
    "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?" Bellatrix said with a sadistic smile.
   "So, he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he? Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it and Bode?" Harry said.
   "Very good, Potter, very good . . ." Malfoy slowly. 'But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell-" Malfoy said, slowly.
   "NOW!" I yelled.
Ten different voices bellowed, "REDUCTO!" Ten curses flew in ten different directions and the shelves opposite us exploded as they hit. The towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor.
   "RUN!" Harry yelled, as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to fall from above.
He seized a handful of my robes and dragged me forwards. Harry and I were holding one arm over our heads as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon us. A Death Eater lunged forwards through the cloud of dust and Harry elbowed him hard in the masked face. They were all yelling, there were cries of pain, and thunderous crashes as the shelves collapsed upon themselves, weirdly echoing fragments of the Seers unleashed from their spheres.
Harry and I found the way ahead clear and saw Jacob, Michael, Ron, Ginny and Luna sprint past us, their arms over their heads. I felt Harry being pulled away from me and then I heard Hermione shout, 'Stupefy!'.
We were at the end of row ninety — seven. Harry turned right and began to sprint in earnest. I followed him and the others followed me. I hear could Hermione's voice urging Neville on from behind me.
  "Not much further, Neville! Hang on and keep going! Don't stop!" I said over my shoulder.
Straight ahead, the door through which we had came was ajar. I could see the glittering light of the bell jar. I pelted through the doorway, the prophecy still clutched tight and safe in Harry's hand. We waited for the others to hurtle over the threshold before slamming the door behind us.
   "Colloportus!" Jason yelled and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.
   "Where-where are the others?" Harry gasped.
I whipped round. I had thought Jacob, Michael, Ron, Luna and Ginny were ahead of us. That they would be waiting in this room, but there was nobody there.
   "They must have gone the wrong way!" I whispered, terrified.
Hermione and I shared a terrified look.
   "Listen!" Neville whispered.
Footsteps and shouts echoed from behind the door we had just sealed. I put ear close to the door to listen and heard Lucius Malfoy roar,
   "Leave Nott, leave him, I say - his injuries will be nothing to the Dark Lord compared to losing that prophecy. Jugson, come back here, we need to organise! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until we've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary."  -
    "But not the Black children! Bring them to me. Stun them if you must but no serious injuries or death or you'll have me to deal with!" Bellatrix shrieked.
   "Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left. Crabbe, Rabastan, go right. Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead. Macnair and Avery, through here. Rookwood, over there. Mulciber, come with me!" Malfoy ordered.
    "What do we do?" Hermione asked trembling from head to foot.
    "Well, we don't stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start. Let's get away from this door." Jason said.
We ran as quietly as we could, past the shimmering bell jar where the tiny egg was hatching and unhatching. Towards the exit into the circular hallway at the far end of the room. We were almost there when we heard something large and heavy collide with the door Jason had charmed shut.
   "Stand aside! Alohomora!" A Death Eater shouted.
As the door flew open, Jason, Harry, Hermione, Neville and I dived under desks. We could see the bottom of the two Death Eaters' robes drawing nearer, their feet moving rapidly.
   "They might've run straight through to the hall." said a rough voice.
   "Check under the desks." said another.
I saw the knees of the Death Eaters bend to check under the desk I knew Harry was under. Harry, poking his wand out from under the desk, shouted, 'STUPEFY!'
A jet of red light hit the nearest Death Eater. He fell backwards into a grandfather clock and knocked it over; the second Death Eater, however, had leapt aside to avoid Harry's spell and was pointing his own wand at Hermione, who was crawling out from under the desk to get a better aim.
    "Avada–" He started to cast.
    "Immobulus." Jason said pointing his wand at the Death Eater and he fell limply to the ground.
    "Thanks." Hermione said to Jason as I hugged her, she was shaking.
    "Right, let's get out of-" Harry started to say
   "Look out!" Neville said, horrified.
He was staring at a Death Eater's head in the bell jar.
All five of us raised our wands again, but none of us struck. We were all gazing, open-mouthed, appalled, at what was happening to the man's head.
It was shrinking very fast, growing balder and balder, the black hair and stubble retracting into his skull. His cheeks becoming smooth, his skull round and covered with a peachlike fuzz . . .
A baby's head now sat grotesquely on top of the thick, muscled neck of the Death Eater as he struggled to get up again. But even as we watched, our mouths open, the head began to swell to its previous proportions again; thick black hair was sprouting from the pate and chin . . .
   "It's Time. Time . . ." Hermione said in an awestruck voice.
The Death Eater shook his ugly head again, trying to clear it, but before he could pull himself together it began to shrink back to babyhood once more . . .
There was a shout from a room nearby, then a crash and a scream.
   "RON? GINNY? LUNA?" Harry yelled, turning quickly from the monstrous transformation taking place before them.
   "JACOB?" Jason yelled, turning away just like Harry.
    "MICHAEL?" I yelled, turning around too.
   "Harry!" Hermione screamed.
The three of us turned back around
The Death Eater had pulled his head out of the bell jar. His appearance was utterly bizarre, his tiny baby's head bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions, narrowly missing Harry, who had ducked. Harry raised his wand but to all of our amazement Hermione seized his arm.
   "You can't hurt a baby!" Hermione squealed.
    "IT'S NOT A REAL BABY!" I exclaimed.
There was no time to argue the point, we could hear more footsteps growing louder from the Hall of Prophecy and I knew, too late, that I ought not to have shouted and given away their position.
   "Come on!" Harry said.
Leaving the ugly baby-headed Death Eater staggering behind us we took off for the door that stood open at the other end of the room, leading back into the black hallway.
We had run halfway towards it when I saw through the open door two more Death Eaters running across the black room towards them.We veeref left, we bursted instead into a small, dark, cluttered office and slammed the door behind them.
  "Collo-" Jason began, but before he could complete the spell the door had burst open and the two Death Eaters had come hurtling inside.
With a cry of triumph, both yelled:
  "IMPEDIMENTA!"
Jason, Harry, Hermione, Neville and I were all knocked backwards off our feet. Neville was thrown over the desk and disappeared from view. Hermione smashed into a bookcase and was promptly deluged in a cascade of heavy books; the back of Harry's head slammed into the stone wall behind him. I landed not far from Harry and Jason was knocked into a desk. Jason was the first back on his feet but before he could cast a spell, one of the Death Eaters cursed him first.
    "Confundo!" A Death Eater shouted.
Jason became dazed and disoriented as he stumbled to keep himself up right.
   "WE'VE GOT HIM! IN AN OFFICE OFF-" yelled the Death Eater nearest Harry and I
   "Silencio!" I cried and the man's voice was extinguished.
He continued to mouth through the hole in his mask, but no sound came out. He was thrust aside by his fellow Death Eater.
    "Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted, as the second Death Eater raised his wand.
His arms and legs snapped together and he fell forwards, face down on to the rug at Harry's feet, stiff as a board and unable to move.
     "Harry, show me the prophecy!" I whispered urgently.
Harry revealed an orb clutched in his hand.
     "Geminio!" I muttered and a worthless duplicate of the orb appeared.
I grabbed.
     "This might throw them off." I muttered pocketing the duplicate.
     "Well done, R–" Hermione said but was cut off by the death Eater I silenced.
He made a sudden slashing movement with his wand. A streak of what looked like purple flame passed right across Hermione's chest. She gave a tiny 'Oh!' as though of surprise and crumpled on to the floor, where she lay motionless.
   "HERMIONE!" Harry and I screamed.
Harry and I fell to our knees beside her as Neville crawled rapidly towards her from under the desk, his wand held up in front of him. The Death Eater kicked out hard at Neville's head as he emerged. His foot broke Neville's wand in two and connected with his face. Neville gave a howl of pain and recoiled, clutching his mouth and nose. Harry snd I twisted around, our own wands held high. The Death Eater had ripped off his mask and was pointing his wand directly at Harry. I recognised the long, pale, twisted face from the Daily Prophet. Antonin Dolohov, the wizard who had murdered the Prewetts.
Dolohov grinned. With his free hand, he pointed to Harry to himself, then at Hermione. Though he could no longer speak, his meaning could not have been clearer. Give me the prophecy, or you get the same as her . . . Lucky Harry had hidden the prophecy in the inside pocket of his robe.
   "Like you won't kill us all anyway, the moment I hand it over!" Harry said.
   "Whaddever you do, Harry, don'd gib it to him!" Neville said fiercely from under the desk, lowering his hands to show a clearly broken nose and blood pouring down his mouth and chin.
     I stood up and showed Dolohov the duplicate prophecy that looked exactly like the real one.
     "You want a prophecy? Come and get it then! IMPEDIMENTA!" I yelled and Dolohov shot backwards all the way to the other side of the room.
     "Get everyone out Harry! GO! Hermione still has a pulse! Get her out of here! Get everyone out!" I said urgently.
Dolohov was now back on his feet. I smirked at him.
    "Catch me if you can!" I yelled and I ran as fast as I could.
     "RO! NO!" Harry screamed.
     "ALL OF YOU GO!" I yelled 9ver my shoulder.
I could hear Dolohov running behind. I ran in diagnostic lines and made it very unpredictable as he shot spells at me. I dodged them and kept running.
There was a crash behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see tthe baby-headed Death Eater had appeared in the doorway, his head bawling, his great fists still flailing uncontrollably at everything around him. Dolohov also looked at him and I took advantage of his distraction.
   "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" I yelled.
The spell hit Dolohov before he could block it and he toppled forwards across his comrade, both of them rigid as boards and unable to move an inch.
I doubled back to room where Harry was. Harry was trying to revive Hermione and Jason had come back to his sentence.
    "Do that again, Ro and find out what happens!" Jason said angrily as he pulled me into a tight hug.
   "Worked didn't it?" I insisted and moved towards Hermione.
    "Hermione, Hermione, wake up . . ." Harry said desperately.
   "Whaddid he do to her?"  Neville said, crawling out from under the desk to kneel at her other side, blood streaming from his rapidly swelling nose.
   "I dunno . . ." Jacob said, examining    
   "Neville, we're not far from the exit, we're right next to that circular room. . . if we can just get you across it and find the right door before any more Death Eaters come, I'll bet you can get Hermione up the corridor and into the lift . . . then you could find someone . . . raise the alarm . . . All of you should go." Harry whispered.
   "And what are you going to do?" Jason  said, frowning at Harry as I did a spell to stop Neville's bleeding.
    "Episkey." I muttered and fixed Neville's broken nose.
   "I've got to find the others." Harry said.
   "Well, we're going to find them with you." Neville said firmly.
  "There's too many Death Eaters, Harry. We need as many wands as we have. It's bad enough Hermione's out of action." Jason said.
    "We're not going anywhere intill we find our brothers and the others. We came here together, we're leaving here together." I said determinedly.
    "But Hermione-" Harry started to say.
   "We'll take her with us." Jason said, firmly.
   "I'll carry her, all of you are better at fighting then I am." Neville said as he stood up and seized one of Hermione's arms, then grabbed the other and hoisted Hermione's limp form over his shoulders.
   "Wait, you'd better take this." Harry said, snatching up Hermione's wand from the floor and shoving it into Neville's hand.
Neville kicked aside the broken fragments of his own wand as we walked slowly towards the door.
   "My gran's going to kill me. That was my dad's old wand." Neville groaned.
Jason stuck his head out of the door and looked around cautiously. I peered over his shoulder. The baby-headed Death Eater was screaming and banging into things, toppling grandfather clocks and overturning desks, bawling and confused, while the glass-fronted cabinet that I now suspected had contained Time-Turners continued to fall, shatter and repair itself on the wall behind them.
   "He's never going to notice us. C'mon. . . keep close behind me . . ."
Jason whispered.
We crept out of the office and back towards the door into the black hallway, which now seemed completely deserted. We walked a few steps forwards, Neville tottering slightly due to Hermione's weight. The door of the Time Room swung shut behind us and the walls began to rotate once more. My heart sank when I saw that the fiery crosses had faded from the doors.
   "So which way d'you reck--?" Harry started to say but before we could make a decision as to which way to try, a door to our right sprang open and five people fell out of it.
   "Jacob! Michael! Thank Merlin!" Jason said running up to them.
I scanned them. Jacob's lip was bleeding and he had a cut on his forehead but otherwise he was fine. Michael's shoulder was bleeding but he seemed fine.
   "Ron!' Harry croaked, dashing towards them.
    "Ginny! Are you all-?" I said when I realised she was standing on one foot and she was leaning on Luna.
   "Harry, there you are . . . ha ha ha . . . you look funny, Harry . . . you're all messed up . . ." Ron said, giggling weakly, lurching forwards, seizing the front of Harry's robes and gazing at him with unfocused eyes.
Ron's face was very white and something dark was trickling from the corner of his mouth. Next moment his knees had given way, but he still clutched the front of Harry's robes, so that Harry was pulled into a kind of bow.
   "Ginny? What happened?" I happened I said fearfully.
But Ginny shook her head and slid down the wall into a sitting position, panting and holding her ankle.
   "I think her ankle's broken, I heard something crack.' Luna whispered, who was bending over her and who alone seemed to be unhurt.
  "Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets; it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark-" Jacob started to say as he came over to hug me.
   Harry, we saw Uranus up close!' said Ron, still giggling feebly. 'Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus-ha ha ha-" Ron said, still giggling feebly."
Under better circumstances I would be laughing my head off but now is not the time.
A bubble of blood grew at the corner of Ron's mouth and burst.
   "Anyway, one of them grabbed Ginny's foot, I used the Reductor Curse and blew up Pluto in his face, but . . ." Michael continued for Jacob ashe hugged me too.
Michael gestured hopelessly at Ginny, who was breathing in a very shallow way, her eyes still closed.
    "I'm really sorry, Gin. I'll carry you for the rest of the way." Michael said and Ginny gave him a weak smile.
   "And what about Ron?" Harry said fearfully, as Ron continued to giggle, still hanging off the front of Harry's robes.
   "I don't know what they hit him with, but he's gone a bit funny. We could hardly get him along at all." Luna said sadly.
   "I had put him in a headlock and drag him." Jacob said.
   "Harry, you know who this girl is, Harry? She's Loony . . . Loony Lovegood . . . ha ha ha . . ." Ron said, pulling Harry's ear down to his mouth and still giggling weakly.
I looked at Luna but she looked unbothered.
   "We've got to get out of here." Harry said firmly.
    "Right." Michael said and he gently heaved Ginny up, she was still breathing very shallowly.
Harry pulled Ron's arm over his shoulder. He heaved Ron towards a door. We all followed. We were within a few feet of it when another door across the hall burst open and three Death Eaters sped in, led by Bellatrix Lestrange.
   "There they are!" Bellatrix shrieked.
Stunning Spells shot across the room. Jason, Jacob and I worked flawlessly together, blocking the spells. Harry smashed his way through the door ahead. We waited intill everyone was inside. Jacob pushed me in when everyone else was in and he slamed the door against Bellatrix.
   "Colloportus!" Jason shouted and we heard three bodies slam into the door on the other side.
   "It doesn't matter! There are other ways in--WE'VE GOT THEM, THEY'RE HERE!" A man's voice said.
I span around. We were back in the Brain Room and, sure enough, there were doors all around the walls. He could hear footsteps in the hall behind them as more Death Eaters came running to join the first.
    "Harry, Jay, Jake, Luna help me lock all the doors!" I yelled.
The five of us tore around the room, sealing the doors as we went. Harry crashed into a table and rolled over the top of it in his haste to reach the next door.
   "Colloportus!" He yelled pointing his wand at the door as I locked the door next to it.
There were footsteps running along behind the doors, every now and then another heavy body would launch itself against one, so it creaked and shuddered. Luna, Jason and Jacob were bewitching the doors along the opposite wall to Harry and I.
As Harry and I reached the very top of the room, we heard Luna cry.
   "Collo--aaaaaaaaargh . . ."
We turned in time to see her flying through the air. Five Death Eaters were surging into the room through the door she had not reached in time. Luna hit a desk, slid over its surface and on to the floor on the other side where she lay sprawled, as still as Hermione.
   "Get Potter! Rodolphus, Rabastan grap the Blacks!" Bellatrix shrieked, and she ran at Harry and me, who was standing next to him. I pushed Harty to the side and we both dodged her and sprinted back up the room. We were safe as long as they thought they might hit the prophecy.
    "Hey!" Ron said, who had staggered to his feet and was now tottering drunkenly towards Harry, giggling.
   "Hey, Harry, RoRo, there are brains in here, ha ha ha, isn't that weird?"
   "Ron, get out of the way, get down-" Harty yelled.
But Ron had already pointed his wand at the tank.
   "Honest, Harry, they're brains - look. Accio brain!" Ron said, cheerfully.
    "RON! DON'T!" I yelled.
The scene seemed momentarily frozen. Jason, Jacob, Michael, Harry, Ginny, Neville and I and each of the Death Eaters turned in spite of ourselves to watch the top of the tank as a brain burst from the green liquid like a leaping fish. For a moment it seemed suspended in midair, then it soared towards Ron, spinning as it came, and what looked like ribbons of moving images flew from it, unravelling like rolls of film.
   "Ha ha ha, Harry, look at it. Harry, come and touch it, bet it's weird!" Ron said, watching it disgorge its gaudy innards.
   "RON, NO!" Harry and I both yelled.
I did not know what would happen if Ron touched the tentacles of thought now flying behind the brain, but I was sure it would not be anything good. Harry and I darted forwards, as did Jason an Jacib but there way was blocked by Death Eaters, but Ron had already caught the brain in his outstretched hands.
The moment they made contact with his skin, the tentacles began wrapping themselves around Ron's arms like ropes.
   "Harry, RoRo, Jayjay, Jakie look what's happening – No –no – I don't like it – no, stop–stop–" Ron said as the thin ribbons were spinning around Ron's chest now. He tugged and tore at them as the brain was pulled tight against him like an octopus's body.
   "Diffindo!" Harry yelled, trying to sever the feelers wrapping themselves tightly around Ron before his eyes, but they would not break.
Ron fell over, still thrashing against his bonds.
   "Harry, it'll suffocate him!" Ginny screamed, immobilised by her broken ankle on the floor.
Michael had but her down to join the fight. Hermione head was in her lap. Then a jet of red light flew from one of the Death Eater's wands and hit her squarely in the face. She keeled over sideways and lay there unconscious.
   "STUPEFY!" Neville said, wheeling around and waving Hermione's wand at the oncoming Death Eaters.  
   "STUPEFY, STUPEFY!" Neville said, but the Death Eaters blocked them.
One of the Death Eaters shot their own Stunning Spell at Neville, it missed him by inches.
Jacob and Jason were locked in vicious battles with Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange.
Michael was protecting our unconscious friends.
Harry, Neville and I were now the only ones left fighting the remaining five Death Eaters. Two of whom sent off streams of silver light like arrows which missed but left craters in the wall behind us. Harry and I ran for it as Bellatrix Lestrange raced right at us. I then had an idea. Holding the fake prophecy high above my head, U sprinted back up the room. all I could think of doing was to draw the Death Eaters away from the others.
It seemed to have worked. They streaked after me, knocking chairs and tables flying but not daring to bewitch me in case they hurt the prophecy the thought I had. Jason and Jacob were still dueling the Lestrange brothers.
   "RO!" Harry yelled after me as I dashed through the only door still open, the one through which the Death Eaters themselves had come.
I ran a few feet into the new room and felt the floor vanish.
   "Argh!" I let out a small scream as I was falling down steep stone step after steep stone step.
Bouncing on every tier until at last, with a crash that knocked all the breath out of his body, I landed flat on his back in the sunken pit where the stone archway stood on its dais. The whole room was ringing with the Death Eater's laughter. I looked up and saw the five who had been in the Brain Room descending towards me, while as many more emerged through other doorways and began leaping from bench to bench towards me. I got to my feet though my legs were trembling so badly they barely supported me. The fake prophecy was still miraculously unbroken in my left hand, my wand clutched tightly in my right. I backed away, looking around, trying to keep all the Death Eaters within my sight. The back of my legs hit something solid. I had reached the dais where the archway stood. I climbed backwards onto it.
The Death Eaters all halted, gazing at me. Some were panting as hard as I was. One was bleeding badly. Dolohov, freed of the Body-Bind Curse, was leering. His wand pointing straight at my face.
   "Black, your race is run. Now hand me the prophecy like a good girl." Lucius Malfoy drawled, pulling off his mask.
   "Let the others go, and I'll give it to you!" I said desperately.
A few of the Death Eaters laughed.
   "You are not in a position to bargain, Black." Lucius Malfoy said, his pale face flushed with pleasure.
    "Really? I have your precious prophecy. If you don't let the others go I'll break it! If I hand the prophecy to you now, they die. If I smash it they die. May as well do something that in convinces Voldemort." I said, defianitely.
    "AQUILA! DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME!" Bellatrix shrieked.
    "That may be, Black. You see, there are ten of us and only one of you. We can prevent you from smashing it and take it for ourselves."
   "She's not alone! She's still got us!" Neville shouted from above.
   "Never heard of a sneak attack have you, Neville?" Michael groaned.
Michael, Neville and Harry were scrambling down the stone steps towards me.
   "No-- go back to Ron and the others!" I yelled.
They shot spells at the Death Eaters but they were blocked. Harry and Michael managed to get to me but one of the largest Death Eaters seized Neville from behind, pinioning his arms to his sides. He struggled and kicked, several of the Death Eaters laughed.
   "It's Longbottom, isn't it? Well, your grandmother is used to losing family members to our cause . . . your death will not come as a great shock." Lucius Malfoy sneered.
   "Longbottom?" Bellatrix repeated, and a truly evil smile lit her gaunt face.    
   "Why, I have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy." Bellatrix taunted.
   "I KNOW YOU HAVE!" Neville roared, and he fought so hard against his captor's encircling grip that the Death Eater shouted, "Someone Stun him!"
   "No, no, no." Bellatrix said.
She looked transported, alive with excitement as she glanced at me, then back at Neville.
   "No, let's see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents. . . unless Aquila wants to give us the prophecy." Bellatrix taunted.
    "Like hell!" Michael said, preparing to charge at Bellatrix but I didn't expect it has he bumped hard into me as Harry tried to hold him back. The fake prophecy was knocked out of my hands.
All the Death Eaters gave a horrified gasp when it shattered but when nothing came out of it they realised it was fake.
    "IT'S FAKE! WHERE'S THE REAL ONE? WHERE IS IT?" Bellatrix shrieked.
Malfoy's head shot towards Harry. Harry took the prophecy out from his pocket  and made sure he had a good grip on it and used his wand to cast the shield charm when Malfoy tried to summon it again.
   "DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM! DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM!" Neville roared, who seemed beside himself, kicking and writhing as Bellatrix drew nearer to him and his captor, her wand raised.
Bellatrix raised her wand.
    "Crucio!" Bellatrix shrieked.
Neville screamed, his legs drawn up to his chest so that the Death Eater holding him was momentarily holding him off the ground. The Death Eater dropped him and he fell to the floor, twitching and screaming in agony.
     "STOP!" I screamed.
    "That was just a taster!" Bellatrix said, raising her wand so that Neville's screams stopped and he lay sobbing at her feet.
Bellatrix turned and gazed up at Harry.
   "Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friend die the hard way!" Bellatrix threatened  with sinister smile.
The prophecy was clutched in Harry's as he held it out. Malfoy jumped forwards to take it.
Then, high above us, two more doors burst open and six more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Lucas, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley.
Malfoy turned, and raised his wand, but Tonks had already sent a Stunning Spell right at him. Harry did not wait to see whether it had made contact because he grabbed my hand and we dived off the dais out of the way.
Michael grabbed Neville and dragged him away from the Death Eaters and they jumped of the dias too, landing not far from us.
The Death Eaters were completely distracted by the appearance of the members of the Order, who were now raining spells down upon them as they jumped from step to step towards the sunken floor.
    "Are you OK?" Harry and I yelled, as another spell soared inches over our heads.
   "Yes." Neville said, trying to pull himself up.
   "And Ron?" I asked.
   "I think he's all right -he was still fighting the brain when we left--' Michael said.
The stone floor between us exploded as a spell hit it, leaving a crater right where Neville's hand had been only seconds before. The four of us scrambled away from the spot, then a thick arm came out of nowhere, seized Harry around the neck and pulled him upright, so that his toes were barely touching the floor.
   "Give it to me, give me the prophecy-" growled the man.
    "Relashio!" I yelled and the Death Eater was forced to release Harry.
    "STUPEFY!" Michael yelled.
The Death Eater was Stunned and as he fell to ground his mask came of to reveal he was Macnair, the man who was going to execute Buckbeak.
I looked round and saw Dad duelling with a Death Eater some ten feet away. Kingsley was fighting two at once. Tonks, still halfway up the tiered seats, was firing spells down at Bellatrix.
   "Thanks!" Harry said to Michael and I. Michael was suddenly pulling me aside as Dad and his Death Eater lurched past, duelling so fiercely that their wands were blurs. I backed away a few more paces and then my foot made contact with something round and hard and I slipped. I looked round and saw Moody's magical eye spinning away across the floor. Its owner was lying on his side, bleeding from the head. I crawled over to him and checked for a pulse. I sighed in relief when I found a steady pulse. His attacker was now bearing down upon Michael, Harry, Neville and I. Dolohov, his long pale face twisted with glee.
   "Tarantallegra!" Dolohov shouted, his wand pointing at Neville, whose legs went immediately into a kind of frenzied tap-dance, unbalancing him and causing him to fall to the floor again.
I felt him grab my arm roughly. I whipped my wand towards him but he wrestled my wand from my hand. He grabbed my already injured wrists, I fought back a scream of pain.
  "Bellatrix, I got one of the brats you wanted! Now, Potter-" Dolohov said and he made the same slashing movement with his wand that he had used on Hermione just as Harry yelled, 'Protego!'
The force of it knocked Harry sideways and he fell over Neville's jerking legs, but the Shield Charm had stopped the worst of the spell. I fought viscously to get out of Dolohov's grip but it was too tight.
    Dolohov raised his wand again as Michael raised him.
   "Rockwood! Grap the other Black. Accio proph-" Dolohov said.
Dad had hurtled out of nowhere, rammed Dolohov with his shoulder and sent him flying out of the way. The shock of the impact made Dolohov loosen his grip enough for me to pull my wrist out of his hold. Dad pushed me towards Harry and now Dad and Dolohov were duelling, their wands flashing like swords, sparks flying from their wand-tips.
Dolohov drew back his wand to make the same slashing movement he had used on Harry and Hermione.
   "Petrificus Totalus!" Harry and I yelled.
Once again, Dolohov's arms and legs snapped together and he keeled over backwards, landing with a crash on his back. Dad grabbed me wand and threw it back to me.
   "Nice one!" Dad shouted, forcing Harry's and mine's heads down as a pair of Stunning Spells flew towards us.   
   "Now I want both of you to get out of-" Dad said and we all ducked again.
A jet of green light had narrowly missed Dad. Across the room I saw Tonks fall from halfway up the stone steps, her limp form toppling from stone seat to stone seat and Bellatrix, triumphant, running back towards the fray.
    "Tonks!" I said and ran towards her.
    "Rosabella! Get back here!" I heard Dad yelled after me.
I dodged spells as I ran towards Tonks.
I kneeled down beside Tonks and my hands shook as I checked for a pulse. I felt the steady beat of her pulse and I let out a shakey breath. I didn't know what spell had made Tonks lay motionless.
Someone grabbed my wrist and roughly drag me to my feet. It was a Death Eater I didn't recognise.
    "I am getting so tired of people grabbing me!" I said and forgetting completely about magic, I punched the Death Eater.
Hard. In the nose. I heard a crack as his nose broke and he let go off me in order to clutch his nose. I looked around and saw my Dad fighting Bellatrix.
Kingsley swayed across my field of vision, battling with the pockmarked and no longer masked Rookwood. Another jet of green light flew over Harry's head as he launched himself towards Neville. I didn't see Michael come up beside me and grab my hand.
   "Dad said to run and that's what we're going to do! No arguments!" Michael said as I opened my mouth to protest.
Michael dragged me towards Harry and Neville and we both ducked down as we ran, in order to avoid spells hitting us.
   "Can you stand?" I heard Harry bellow in Neville's ear, as Neville's legs jerked and twitched uncontrollably and as we made it to them. 
   "Put your arm round my neck-" Harry told Neville and Neville did so.
Harry heaved. Neville's legs were still lying in every direction, they would not support him, and then, out of nowhere, a man lunged at us. Harry and Neville fell backwards. Neville's legs waving wildly like an overturned beetle's, Harry with his left arm held up in the air to try to save the small glass ball from being smashed. It was Lucius Malfoy who lunged at them. Michael was about to shoot a spell at him but another a Death Eater started shooting spells at him and Michael was soon dueling a Death Eater. Then I was going to hex Malfoy but the Death Eater I punched before nearly hit me with s Stunning Spell and I was then locked in a duel with him.
   "The prophecy, give me the prophecy, Potter!" I Lucius Malfoy snarl.
   "No - get - off - me . . . Neville - catch it!" Harry said.
Harry flung the prophecy across the floor, Neville span himself around on his back and scooped the ball to his chest.
I sighed at the fact Neville caught it. I finally got the upper hand on the Death Eater and I Stunned him.
Malfoy pointed his wand instead at Neville.
    "Impedimenta!" I yelled and Malfoy was blasted off Harry's back.
As Harry scrambled up again and I looked around and saw Malfoy smash into the dais on which Dad and Bellatrix were now duelling. Malfoy aimed his wand at Harry and Neville again, but before he could draw breath to strike, Remus had jumped between Malfoy and us.
   "Harry, Ro, round up the others and GO!" Remus said urgently.
Harry seized Neville by the shoulder of his robes and lifted him bodily on to the first tier of stone steps. Neville's legs twitched and jerked and would not support his weight. I snuck behind the Death Eater Michael was dueling and Stunned him from behind. Michael and I then ran over to Harry.
Michael helped Harry heave Neville again with all their strength he possessed and they climbed another step.
A spell hit the stone bench at Harry's heel. It crumbled away and he fell back to the step below and knocked me over. Neville sank to the ground, his legs still jerking and thrashing, and he thrust the prophecy into his pocket.
    "Ro! Are you –?" Harry started to ask.
    "Fine." I said as I got to my feet before Harry could finish the question.
   "Come on!" Harry said desperately, hauling at Neville's robes.
    "Just try and push with your legs -" Michael said as he gave another stupendous heave and Neville's robes tore all along the left seam.
The small spun - glass ball dropped from his pocket and, before either of us could catch it, one of Neville's floundering feet kicked it. It flew some ten feet to our right and smashed on the step beneath us. As we all stared at the place where it had broken, appalled at what had happened, a pearly - white figure with hugely magnified eyes rose into the air, unnoticed by any but us. I could see its mouth moving, but in all the crashes and screams and yells surrounding us, not one word of the prophecy could he hear. The figure stopped speaking and dissolved into nothingness.
   "Harry, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to–" Neville cried, his face anguished as his legs continued to flounder.
   "It doesn't matter! Just try and stand, let's get out of-" Harry shouted.
   "DUMBLEDORE!" Neville exclaimed, his sweaty face suddenly transported, staring over Harry's shoulder.
Harry, Michael and I turned to look where Neville was staring.
Directly above us, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. We were saved.
I laughed in relief.
    "Oh the Death Eaters are so screwed now!" I said, gleefully.
Dumbledore sped down the steps past Neville, Harry, Michael and I who had no more thoughts of leaving. Dumbledore was already at the foot of the steps when the Death Eaters nearest realised he was there and yelled to the others. One of the Death Eaters ran for it, scrabbling like a monkey up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore's spell pulled him back as easily and effortlessly as though he had hooked him with an invisible line.
I laughed as Michael observed as if he was taking mental notes.
Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. I saw Dad duck Bellatrix's jet of red light. He was laughing at her. Mad laughter.
  "Come on, you can do better than that! You didn't hesitate when you murdered my wife!" Dad yelled and he was shaking with excitement and anger, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.
The second jet of light hit him squarely in the chest.
The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.
Michael was completely focused on Dumbledore as Harry released Neville and both of us were jumping down the steps again, pulling out our wands, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais.
It seemed to take Dad an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the empty archway.
I saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on my father's wasted, once – handsome face as he fell through the ancient archway and disappeared.
I heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream and that confirmed what I was fighting so hard to not believe. 
I felt the tears starting to stream down my face.
Dad did not reappear, which a small and naive part of me hoped he would. I ran towards the archway at full speed. The archway now seemed to have some sort of veil. I didn't pay attention to that, my mind was set on finding my Dad. I refuse to loose him again!
   "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!" Harry yelled but not mournfully.
He, like me, was denying what we already knew and was hoping Dad would reappear, shake it off and kick Bellatrix's ass.
Harry was also sprinting and he wasn't far behind me but out if the corner of my eye, I saw Remus grab Harry and reach out to grab me and I just about dodged him and kept running.
I was just about to go through the archway when I was tackled to the ground.
    "GET OFF ME!" I shrieked.
    "RO! STOP!" I heard the familiar voice of Lucas say.
    "GET OFF ME! WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM!" I cried hysterically, tears flowing uncontrollably down my face.
   "Ro . . ." Lucas said in a devastated voice.
I looked at him with a distraught expression. Lucas had tears flowing freely down his face as well.
    ". . . He's gone . . ." Lucas said softly, devastation and grief marked his face.
    "No. . .no. . . Oh no. No,no,no,no,no." I said and started crying hysterically.
I let out an ear piercing scream of anguish as I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.