The Half Blood Princess

Chapter 27: Bring the Lion Out

“Harry Potter is dead!” Voldemort calls out into an otherwise quiet expanse as he sees Harry's limp body in Hagrid's arms. “Harry Potter is dead!” Voldemort calls once more as he is met with solemn faces and stony silence from the staff and students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry causing the Death Eaters to burst out in laughter at their expense. As the silence falls again, Lord Voldemort calls out for staff and students to defect to his side. “Draco!” Lucius hisses harshly but as he watches his sons chin wobble at the prospect he attempts a softer approach. It isn't until Narcissa calls out to him that Draco finally moves and on his way to his parents he is intercepted and embraced by Lord Voldemort with praise. Once on this side of his parents, Draco signals for Talia to do her stuff. As Lord Voldemort starts his next speech, Talia's eyes meets with George’s to begin the agreed upon phrase to distract Lord Voldemort. “Bring the lion out” George chants softly, only increasing in volume as Lord Voldemort's head tilts. Soon the entirety of the DA has caught on to the chant and starts shouting the entire phrase at the top of their lungs and slowly the rest of the students begin to shout it out as well. “What is the meaning of this?!” Lord Voldemort yells as he brings his hands up to cover his ears. With Lord Voldemort and the other Death Eaters distracted, Talia apparates to behind Lord Voldemort and jabs her wand into the side of his neck with her other hand making sure that he can't move. At that instant the chanting stops and everybody watches as Lord Voldemort’s eyes go wide with surprise. “Clever girl. Creating a distraction to gain the upper hand. Well done” Lord Voldemort praised despite the vulnerable position he found himself in. “You should remember something, Tom, aside from bravery and courage, a Gryffindor is also know for their loyalty. My loyalty will always be to my house and to Hogwarts” Talia growled as she pressed her wand harder to his jugular. With a swift flick of his robes, Lord Voldemort managed to get himself out of Talia's grasp and point his own wand at her. “It would be a pity to waste such talent” Lord Voldemort sighed as Talia looked up at him from the flat of her back. “I wonder if you will put up more of a fight than Severus. Oh how he cried for you when he realised that he was about to breathe his last breath” Lord Voldemort taunted as he loomed over Talia. Nagini slithered over Talia, as she propped herself up on her elbows. If his words made an impact on Talia's emotions she didn't shed a single tear and looked him dead in his eyes ignoring the snake that made her way up Talia's body. “Wow, you really are bone dead stupid aren't you?” Talia chuckled as she flicked the snake away as if she were nothing but a spec of dust and climbed to her feet. “What?!” Lord Voldemort baulked as he looked at where Nagini landed, confused as to why Talia wasn't afraid of him. “You can't kill someone who is protected by the worlds most strongest magic. It's why you couldn't kill Harry when he was a baby, it's why you couldn't kill Harry in the Ministry and it's how you thought that you had finally managed to kill Harry when you were alone in the Forbidden Forest” Talia smirked as she stepped forward with every word, causing Lord Voldemort to step backwards at the same time. “I don't-. I don't understand” Lord Voldemort stammered as he lost his footing on the rubble around them. “You're the one who talked about what a powerful pairing it would be, but you didn't realise you were playing right into our hands. You gave us both a protection against yourself.” Talia growled as she continued pushing forward, causing Lord Voldemort to scrabble backwards, cutting himself on the rubble. “Oh. My. God.” Came Hermione's voice as she saw Professor Snape make his way through the crowd of students and staff. Harry was awake now and standing beside Hagrid but no one else dared to utter a word. “But-. But-. Nagini's venom should have killed you!” Lord Voldemort cired as Severus took his rightful place beside his wife. “I made an anti-venom potion. Do you really think I'd spend so much time around you that I wouldn't have a contingency plan in place?” Severus drawled as he drew his own wand, turning to face the other Death Eaters incase one of them had defrosted enough to make a move. “Too bad Harry's the only one who can really kill you, I would have so much fun doing it myself” Talia smirked as she stepped back and allowed her cousin to take her place.