Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 125 - The Battle of the Astronomy Tower

Dun dun duuuuun...

 Remus bent down and squeezed her tightly in a hug, getting blood all over the front of his robes and making Al flinch from her wounds, but neither of them cared. "Did he bite you?" he asked fearfully.

 "Just a scratch," Al responded calmly, deflecting a curse of Remus's shoulder with her newly retrieved wand. "I can handle it." Remus nodded and turned to the calamity that had begun behind him while Al mumbled, "Vulnera Sanentur," as Dumbledore had.

 The wounds knitted themselves back together and Al leaped into action, joining the others that had arrived. She looked around - Ron, Neville, Ginny, Remus, McGonagall, Flitwick and Tonks were all fighting. She joined McGonagall in fighting a man and a woman.

 She fired a variety of hexes and curses at the man, and he fought back just as viciously, making her block and dodge just as much as she cast the spells. She saw as Flitwick ran past and between them and the man tried to take him down instead, but Al sent him flying backwards into the wall with a powerful, "Impedimenta!"

 Before they could continue their duel, a bolt of green light shot over her shoulder, and Al turned to face Greyback, glaring at him. They began to duel ferociously, darting backwards and forwards and jumping around manically. Al was beginning to tire, and her wounds weren't fully healed, but she fought on until all four of the remaining Death Eaters were battling from the bottom of the staircase.

 There was a puff of black smoke and all spells stopped, the Order and the DA backing away from it, waving their hands and coughing. When McGonagall had finally vanished it all, it revealed a brick wall where the staircase had been before. "They've blocked the stairs!" Tonks exclaimed, raising her wand, "Reducto! REDUCTO!" But nothing happened, the spells absorbing into the wall.

 "Everyone stand back," Al ordered, and they all obeyed, if somewhat confused. She placed her wand in her pocket and rolled her sleeves up, taking a deep breath and standing six feet from the wall. She raised the palms of her hands and screwed her eyes shut. Sirius. Harry. George. Remus. Her parents. Hermione. Ron. Anne. Marlene. The DA. Last Christmas.

 She opened them and saw McGonagall's shocked face illuminated by the ball of harsh, white light growing from her hands. She gritted her teeth at the strength it took, shouting out before the beam exploded from her hands and hit the wall, making her stumble back into Remus, who had been stood behind her, from the impact.

 Dust trickled from above them, but the wall remained whole, with only a small dent to show for her efforts. Al shrugged, slightly annoyed, "It was worth a shot."

 "What was that, Dursley?" McGonagall asked, but before Al could answer Snape came from round the corner, his robes billowing behind him. "Severus, thank goodness," McGonagall said, "Death Eaters, up there. They've blocked the entryway."

 Snape nodded gravely and stuck his left hand onto the wall, but instead of stopping him, his hand floated straight through. He nodded again and stepped through the wall, leaving everyone else as surprised as they were confused. After a while, Tonks broke the silence. "They've got to come down at some point," she said, and everyone gathered around the steps in a semi-circle, waiting for the battle to begin again.

 Al didn't know how long they waited, because her watch had been broken in the fight. They waited, and they waited. Until the wall broke itself down and Draco and Snape emerged rushing away from the scene. Al nearly went after them, but was caught in a duel with the female Death Eater that was there.

 Snape and Draco were fleeing, together, emerging from the stairs with the Death Eaters in tow. Snape might be a double agent, but Draco wasn't. Thinking of George and only George, a snake of white flame shot from her wand and threw the woman away. Al turned her focus on Draco, who was nearing the end of the corridor now, and wrapped it around him. He was going to pay. Pay for being a coward.

 But Snape had turned and was firing a curses at her, ones she'd never even seen before, and Al couldn't dodge all of them. With great effort, she forced the flames from the tip of her wand into the palm of her hand, using her wand to deflect the curses that Snape was sending her way.

 The effort that it took her was so intense, Al didn't think she'd ever used so much magic. The flames were beginning to thin, and Al poured more magic into it, willing them to stay intact. Her trembling legs gave way, and she fell to her knees in a cry of pain, still deflecting curses, still holding Draco, but the world was becoming blurry, and she was exhausted.

 And then, Al missed a curse. She gripped her wand tightly as she flew through the air, her left leg skimming the ceiling and the friction burning her. She landed on the floor, her head thumping against the stone. There was a cracking sound, a shoot of pain, a rush of something hot down her face. And then black.