𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 | golden trio era

xv

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

Luca pushed Santana behind her as Bellatrix stalked up to them – not that it did much good, of course, since she was 4 foot 10 inches and not intimidating in the slightest when it came to standing up to her mother.

Bellatrix's lips twitched up in a small smirk. She looked her daughter up and down, chuckling at how pathetic she looked. "Don't tell me you've gone to the light side, Lucatrix. Siding with this filthy half-blood? Protecting her? I've raised you better than this. If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd fallen for her." She narrowed her eyes at Dumbledore. "And you. You just keep getting in the way." She pulled out her wand. "I guess if you want something done...you just have to do it yourself."

"Oh, hell." Santana took out her wand. "Stupify!" she shouted at the same time Luca yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Bellatrix reacted quick enough to block the spells, laughing as she approached Luca. "Is that the best you can do, darling?" she taunted as Luca backed up towards the railing of the spiral staircase. "Are you really teaming up against me? I taught you everything you know, and you still can't beat me in a duel. What makes you think it's going to be any different this time?"

Santana quietly crept up behind Bellatrix, her eyes on the older witch's wand. She hoped that she was distracted enough for her to take it, but just as she was reaching out, Bellatrix whirled around and fired the cruciatus curse. Her body fell down onto the floor, and the Death Eater laughed in amusement at her suffering.

"No, stop!" Luca cried. She raised her wand, which shook in her trembling hands. "Expelliarmus!"

Bellatrix gasped when her wand went flying from her hand. She turned around, everything moving in slow motion as the wand soared through the air. Luca jumped up and caught it with her free hand, and a bright light illuminated the tower, a magical wind blowing the teenager's curls.

Did the wand just...pair with me?

Bellatrix's jaw clenched, fire in her eyes as she glared at her daughter. "Give. That. Back," she growled. "Now!"

"It's not yours anymore," Santana said as she slowly sat up.

"Silence, filthy half-blood!" Bellatrix kicked her back down, and Santana let out a yelp of pain.

"You leave her alone." Luca's gaze was hard as she stared at the woman across from her. She outstreated her mother's wand, gripping it tight as she breathed deeply in and out her nose. "I-I'll do it. I will do it."

Bellatrix scoffed. She smirked, cackling as she stalked up to the petite teenager. "Are you going to kill me, Luca?" she asked, not at all taking her seriously. She reached out and ran her fingertips across her daughter's cheek. "You know I love you," she whispered.

"This," Luca motioned between them, tears burning in her eyes, "is not love. What we have is not love. You don't hurt the people you love."

"What do you know about love?" Bellatrix asked, raising a brow, her voice low and gaze hard.

"More than you." Luca's voice broke as she spoke. "I...I love Santana, Mum...And I can't just stand here and let you hurt her."

Bellatrix's jaw clenched. "You filthy little blood traitor!" She lunged at Luca and tackled her to the hard floor, the two of them wrestling as she tried to get her wand back.

Hermione sprinted up the stairs with Ron following behind her. "Stupify!" she shouted as she fired the spell at Bellatrix. She rushed over and helped Luca up off the floor as Ron did the same with Santana. "We've been looking everywhere for you two," she said, urgency in her voice. "Are you both alright?"

"I think so." Luca looked over at Santana, who nodded. There was a trickle of blood on her cheek from where Bellatrix's heel kicked her face, but other than that, she seemed to be okay.

"Your ring." Hermione lifted Luca's hand up so that she could better examine the ring on her finger. "Luca, that's Marvolo Gaunt's ring. How did you get it?"

"My mum gave it to me before school started this year." Luca looked down at the ring in confusion. "She said to take good care of it and not let anyone else get a hold of it."

"Luca, that ring is a horcrux," Hermione stated. She turned to Ron. "Neville has the sword. Find him as quickly as possible. We have to destroy it."

Ron nodded and ran out of the tower. Luca took the ring off and gave it to Hermione, who took it and ran after Ron.

"What should we do, Professor?" Santana asked Dumbledore, who was kneeling over Bellatrix's stunned body.

"Is she dead?" Luca asked quietly.

"Stupify doesn't kill, dummy." Santana chuckled a little and rubbed Luca's back.

Dumbledore watched as Luca looked between the wand in her hand and her mother lying motionless on the floor. He could see the confliction in her eyes as she fought with herself on what to do. "You're the only one in charge of your future, Luca," he said, and she looked up at him. "You have to do what's best for you. Even if Voldemort does fall and Bellatrix does get sent to Azkaban for her crimes, there's always a chance that she'll escape. Do you really want her to bring darkness into the bright lights of your future?"

Luca sucked in a shaky breath. "I...I don't want to kill her," she whispered, shaking her head. "I'm not a killer."

"Very well." Dumbledore nodded. He lifted his wand and mumbled an incantation. Right before their eyes, Bellatrix turned into a mouse, and Dumbledore summoned a cage to place over her so she wouldn't escape.

"Awe." Santana giggled and kneeled down to get a better look. "She's actually kinda cute now."

"Will she stay like that forever?" Luca asked as she looked up at the headmaster.

"I suppose." Dumbledore hummed with a small shrug. "But nevermind about that. You two have shown great bravery tonight, and I couldn't be more proud. I'm awarding 100 points each to Ravenclaw and Slytherin." The two girls smiled softly and exchanged looks. Santana took Luca's hand and linked their pinkies together. "Now, get out there. Your friends need your help."

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a/n

the character development 🥺

the epilogue is next, and then this story will be complete!

thoughts?