Growing up Pureblooded

We Have To Help

Cassiopeia Black was in her element. The wind was rushing through her robes and curses were flying madly. Battlelust overtook her in a way she hadn't felt since her days in Grindelwald's service. She swooped down towards the Death Eaters, slightly put out that she couldn't see whom she was fighting because of their blasted masks. She raised her wand and sent a spurt of Fiendfyre towards one rather portly wizard. He managed to jump out of the way, but that only cleared the Fiendfyre's path towards the wizard standing behind him. Cassiopeia smiled when she heard his screams. That was Crabbe, she thought. Irma would be annoyed.

Irma and Druella were locked in duels of their own. The two women might annoy Cassiopeia to no end, but there was no doubt they could fight, and fly too. Druella dipped and swerved as she dodged jets of green and red light, and then fired off several Bone-Breaking Curses, two of which reached their targets. Irma flew very high in the air, and then dived straight down to the ground at breathtaking speed, Cruciating the Death Eater who stood below her. He passed out shortly before she hit the ground, and she managed to pull up at the last second.

Andromeda and Dora were focusing their assault on the house itself, firing Blasting Curses one after another. The wards that had been put up were most impressive - what else would one expect from Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? - but the two witches' goal was not so much to destroy the house as to keep the Death Eaters distracted above ground, whilst Sirius, Lupin and Abraxas tunnelled up from below. "Stupefy!" a masked death eater yelled. Cassiopeia executed a perfect roll and barely dodged the curse. She quickly scanned the ground to see who had attacked her. It was the fat wizard. "CRUCIO!" she shouted, then shifted her wand a bit to the left and whispered, "Avada Kedavra."

As expected, the foolish man stepped neatly out of the way of the Torture Curse and directly into the path of the Killing Curse. It was very tidy. Cassiopeia only regretted that it was so quiet - she had no idea who the whale of a wizard had been.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Cassiopeia saw one of the Death Eaters raise his wand at Dora. The old witch's grey eyes gleamed as she twirled around in the air and swept towards him. She leveled her wand directly at his chest. "Sanguiferveo," she whispered, and the wizard cried out in agony. Nott, she thought with a smile. I owed him.

Meanwhile, within Riddle Manor, the Dark Lord himself sat ensconced in his armchair, with Lucius standing at his side and Narcissa kneeling at his feet. He had little concern for the fight going on outside. After all, his wards were impenetrable. "I'm very disappointed, Narcissa," he wheezed. "After your protestations of loyalty, I should have thought you would be more honest with your master." "I have been, my lord," the witch whispered, her expression desperate. "Do not lie to Lord Voldemort," the evil sorcerer replied dangerously. "I can see into the depths of your heart and read the treachery that is written there. You have been lying in order to protect your nephew. What powers does he possess that you have yet to reveal to me?" "None, my lord," Narcissa said in a faint voice. "CRUCIO!" Voldemort shouted, and the witch began to writhe in pain on the floor, screaming.

Miles away, back at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, Aries cried out as well. "It's your mum, Draco," he gasped. "Riddle's figured out she was lying to him. He's torturing her." His cousin went white. "We've got to rescue her, Aries." "Dad and the others...," Aries began. "Might be too late," Draco finished. "It could take them hours to break through the wards, if they get through at all. As soon as Riddle decides that Mum isn't going to be any more use to him, he'll kill her!"

Aries paused, then nodded curtly. "You're right. We've got to do something." "Shall we fly?" Draco asked. Aries shook his head. "That would take too long, and it wouldn't help us to break through the wards." His eyes glinted. "I have a far better idea." He sat down cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes, whispering in Parseltongue and concentrating on Voldemort and on his wards. His forehead began to ache, and Aries knew that he had made the connection.