Chapter Forty-Two: The Battle at Beauxbatons
Beauxbatons was in ruins. The once elegant stairway was a canvas of spell debris; crumbling stone, blood and corpses all lined it in an eerie painting of war. The very castle seemed to quake, cowering under the Death Eaters’ might. Even though it was the middle of the day, all of the light seemed to be dimmed. Rain pounded against the large glass windows, causing them to rattle in their panes.
They appeared in the middle of the entrance hall. Both Lottie and Andrea fell onto their backs. Lottie sat up. The adults stood silently. There were no Death Eaters to be found, but they knew that they were out there, just biding their time.
Something rumbled overhead. Lottie looked up. The ceiling seemed to be shaking. Lottie frowned. Maybe she was just nervous”but, no, it was really shaking. A stone above rattled violently. Another did too. The stones began crumbling and falling and suddenly, there wasn’t a ceiling anymore.
Lottie heard a scream”she wasn’t sure if it was her own. A strong hand grabbed her by the arm and dragged her across the floor, away from the shower of rocks, and into a safely barricaded hiding spot. The stones slamming against the ground was deafening. Lottie pressed her hands over her ears. And then it stopped.
Everything was silent”except for somebody”somewhere, groaning. Lottie looked up. Debris stung her eyes. She looked around. Andrea sat next to her; her eyes were drawn wide and her bottom lip trembled. A large gash from where a rock had hit her bled on her shoulder. Lottie was suddenly aware of her own pain”a stinging in her leg. She looked down. Scarlet blood stained her purple robe.
“You’re not hurt,” said a voice. It was not a question. Lottie craned her neck around to see Snape, standing, still holding the cauldron Portkey. “Neither of you. Now come on. Your little chaperone has been separated from us, so we’re going to have to make due.”
Trembling, Lottie stared around her. The ground of the second floor had completely caved in. Standing in the entrance hall, Lottie could see directly to the third story. The stones from the fallen ceiling created a barrier, blocking them off from half of the hall.
“Where is everybody else?” Lottie asked.
“We don’t have time to worry about that,” Snape said. “I have to get you two to safety before I can be useful. I don’t know what Naesa was thinking, bringing you along.”
“But we’re supposed to help,” Andrea said timidly.
“Well young Draco is not here. I have more important things to do than babysit. We have to find somewhere safe for you two to wait.”
“The dormitory,” Andrea said. “We stayed there this summer”in the tower. There’s only one way to get in.”
“Good.” Snape cast his eyes toward the corpse-lined stairway. “Where is it?”
“Just all the way up the stairs to the top floor.”
Snape tucked the cauldron under his arm. “Right. Pull your wands out.”
Lottie did as she was told. In the utter silence of destruction, every other noise seemed magnified. Her own heavy breathing, Snape’s delicate footfalls, and Andrea’s quiet shuffles. “Where are the Death Eaters?” Lottie asked as Snape led them to the foot of the stairs.
“Just because you can’t hear them does not mean they’re not here.” Snape ascended the steps. Lottie and Andrea followed, clinging onto the banister as they shuffled around the bodies.
They reached the next story and stopped. Where the floor should have been, there was a gaping hole that plummeted down to the entrance hall. The stairway continued, but a gap separated it. Snape jumped across easily”almost as if he could fly. Andrea slipped her glasses into her pocket and took a running start. She was in midair for a split-second before landing safely on the other side.
It was Lottie’s turn; she ran and leapt. The ground disappeared beneath her and she traveled to the other side of the staircase. She was almost there, but”she wasn’t going to make it. She could feel herself beginning to fall”and she wasn’t going to make it.
Just when she braced herself for the inevitable, a surprisingly strong hand reached out and caught her arm. She hung in the air for a moment, before Snape pulled her onto the ground.
“Thanks,” she said breathlessly. He just twitched a thin eyebrow and continued to lead them up the stiars.
Lottie turned to Andrea incredulously. He had saved her”twice. He couldn’t be a Death Eater, could he? Andrea seemed to understand Lottie’s inner monologue and just shrugged.
They were nearing the top floor, when the deafening silence was finally broken. A light hiss came from a lower story. “What is that?” Lottie whispered.
“The Dark Lord’s snake,” Snape answered. “She goes everywhere with him. We can only assume that he is here.”
“Isn’t that”” Andrea lowered her voice “”a Hocrcrux?”
Lottie glanced at Snape to see if he seemed surprised. If he hadn’t known about the Hocruxes, he hid it well. “We should kill it,” Lottie hissed. “That’s one useful thing we can do here.”
Snape’s lip curled. “Right. Let’s focus on keeping you two alive first.” He flicked his wand and the door to the tower dormitory burst open. He ushered them inside and slammed the door.
The dorm was almost as Lottie and Andrea had left it the year before”except wrong. The beds were in the right place, but the sheets were rumpled. The curtains were torn. Andrea sat down on the bed that had once been hers. A moment passed before her ear-piercing scream filled the entire room.
“What is it?” Lottie asked, rushing over to her. Immediately, her heart caught in her throat. A terribly familiar body lay face down on the ground, its blond hair stained with blood. “No,” Lottie croaked. She bent down and pushed him over.
François’s face was stark, wide-eyed, and grief-stricken. His eyes, once joyful and eager, were dull and lifeless. “Lottie,” Andrea said, “look.” She pointed to the corner.
Another body”less familiar, but it still pulled some strings of recognition in the back of Lottie’s memory. It was small, crumpled and pitiful. His mop of bloody hair was the same golden color as François’s. “Is that his brother?” Andrea whispered.
Lottie nodded. She couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her head pounded. It felt like her chest had caved in and strangled her heart. Tears stung the corner of her eyes.
“Pull yourself together,” Snape said behind her. “This is no time for a vigil. There is a Horcrux roaming around this castle and we need to find a way to destroy it.”
Lottie took a breath. Palmyitor’s words from years before echoed in her mind. If she wanted to be a master Legilimens, she would have to keep her emotions under control. She turned to face him. “What do you want to do then?” she asked slowly. “I have this.” She dropped her bag and pulled out the snakeskin she had found so long ago.
She felt nothing. Her voice showed no emotion. Her heart beat calmly in her chest, thumping against her hollow ribs.
Snape’s eyebrows raised. “Where did you find that?” Behind her fogged glasses, Andrea looked just as surprised.
“I don’t know,” Lottie said flatly. Pain swelled inside her chest, but she swallowed it promptly. There was nothing she could do; François was dead and nothing she could do would bring him back. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if she had loved him. “A hidden chamber, years ago.”
“What a fortuitous coincidence.” Snape carefully moved his gaze from François and stared at the pair. “I happen to know a fairly simple potion that can attract a snake. If I can get into the school’s potions store, it will be ready in a couple of hours.”
“Let’s do it,” Andrea said.
“Good.” Snape put the cauldron Portkey down. “I’ll go find the Potions store. I’ll enchant the door. You two stay in here”no matter what.”
A jolt of fear passed through Lottie’s bones as Snape left. She heard him whisper an incantation from outside and for a moment, the door glowed bright orange.
Lottie collapsed onto the bed and buried her face in her hands. No tears came. She stared at the ground, hardly able to see, hardly able to breathe.
“Lottie,” Andrea began, moving toward her.
“I don’t care,” Lottie said.
“Don’t say that.”
“I don’t.” Lottie resisted the urge to look behind her, to look into François’s dead eyes and regret what she had missed. “He’s dead. He’s gone. That’s all there is to it.”
“There is more to it, Lottie.”
“No.”
“Lottie”” Andrea sounded desperate. “You can’t do this. You can’t act okay.”
“I am okay.”
“It’s not okay. Lottie, listen to me. This is not okay. Is it fine for a fifteen-year-old boy to be murdered? Is it okay for his brother to be kept alive just long enough to see him die? This war is the problem. And it will never be okay until it’s over.”
“Well isn’t that touching,” Lottie said, picking her head up. “Let’s just all acknowledge and complain about how evil the Dark Lord is because that’s so productive. Let’s all just cry and feel sorry for ourselves.”
“You have to cry, Lottie. You have to.”
Tears started welling in Andrea’s eyes, magnified by her glasses. “Where are you going to be when this is over? If you swallow all of your emotions, how can you feel when this ends?”
“It’s not going to end, Andrea,” Lottie snapped. “How do you not see that? This war is over. The Dark Lord won”he won fifty years ago when Harry Potter lost. We’re always going to live in fear. We’re always going to try and fight. And we’re all going to die trying. François just did it faster.”
Andrea was silent. Tears ran down her face and dripped onto her collarbone. She sat on her own bed, contemplating her shoes. Finally, she uttered, “I believe it will end.”
Something outside exploded. Lottie’s head snapped up. Adrenaline took her. Somebody was screaming. It was not a normal scream, but it was familiar. The image of children cowered under Death Eaters flooded Lottie’s memory. She recognized the only pain that could cause somebody to scream like that.
“Crucio,” shouted a familiar voice outside. The screams continued and intensified.
They stopped. Panting. Shouting.
Lottie looked at Andrea and, together, they pushed open the door just enough so they could peak out.
Malfoy’s silver hair faced them. Another man, with a similar face and similar cold eyes, stared at him. Blood dribbled across the other man’s face and own his neck. “You have chosen poorly, Draco,” the man said. “Do you really think you will ever defeat us? Do you dare betray your family to protect Mudbloods?”
“I am protecting our world, father,” Draco spat back. “Do you see what this has become? Is this the utopia you always dreamed of?”
Lucius bared his teeth; it was almost like a smile. “I ought to do what I failed at years ago. You can’t run forever, Draco.”
The men lifted their wands. Sparks flew so quickly that the air seemed to turn red. Draco caught his father in the leg with a hasty charm. Blood gushed onto the floor. The older Malfoy fell to the ground. His and his son’s blood splashed across his robes and face. Panting, he turned up to face Draco. Hatred boiled in his eyes. He pointed his wand at his son, who seemed to be waiting for him.
“Avada Kedavra.”
The rush of green light was blinding. Lottie could only see death, destruction and hatred until it paled. The light was gone. Draco’s body lay on its back. His wand and skidded several feet away.
Lucius pushed himself up. Blood dripped from his robe and left a trail behind him as he limped away.
Lottie and Andrea stood in silence. Neither of them could speak. Lottie let a moment pass before pushing the door shut again.
Andrea opened her mouth to speak, but Lottie cut her off with a sharp glare. They fell into silence again. A heaviness dropped on Lottie, pressed against her shoulders and rips. In their silent vigil, they sat for ten minutes, waiting, hoping, listening for every grunt, every scuffle.
The door glowed bright purple again. Lottie stood up. Snape walked in, laden with bottles and bags of dark substances. He left footprints of blood on the ground.
“An unfortunate fate for young Mr. Malfoy,” Snape said as he placed his ingredients down. When Lottie and Andrea didn’t say anything, he promptly changed the subject. “Hand me that cauldron. I doubt either of you have any talents with the delicate art of potions.”
“I do,” Lottie piped up. “Sir,” she added when Snape whipped around to face her. His nostrils flared dangerously.
“Well make yourself useful. I need those beetles shelled. After that you can crush those mandrake leaves. Where is the snakeskin?”
Lottie handled the skin like a newborn baby as she handed it to him. She returned to the pile of ingredients and pulled out the bag of beetles. Watching Snape make potions was like watching a great wizard duel. Each movement was precise, perfect, accomplishing just what it set out to do and nothing more.
The hours passed slowly. Nobody spoke. Once, Andrea tried asking how they were going to get in contact with the others, but pursued it no further once Snape arched a single eyebrow.
Finally, the potion was ready. Its lime green color shimmered and reflected the light, like scales. “We need to bottle this up,” Snape said, holding out his hand. Lottie needed no direction; she picked up the glass container and handed it to him. Carefully and slowly, he ladled the potion into the bottle and clogged it with the stopper.
“We need to make a trail of this from the door that extends as far as this will go.” He pushed open the door. “And keep your wands out.”
They left the dormitory, left François, his brother and Draco. Snape poured a clear, thin line behind them. The potion glowed a florescent green once it hit the ground and disappeared, camouflaging itself perfectly. Unlike most potions Lottie had worked with, this one had absolutely no scent.
They began descending the stairs. The potion was already half gone. Snape assured them that no matter how far Nagini was from them in the castle, she would definitely taste this. “I doubled the amount of Billywig shell,” he explained, “and stirred fewer times to make it more concentrated.”
Lottie stared admiringly at the potion. It made so much sense, but she never would have thought of it herself.
“Well look who we have here,” hissed a voice behind them.
Lottie spun around and felt her heart leap to her throat. Professor Dewitt’s sly smile greeted her. Andrea gasped.
“Now how did you two manage to find your way over here? Don’t you know it’s dangerous playing with the big boys? Good job finding them, Severus.”
Lottie turned her glare to Snape. “You””
“No,” Snape cut her off.
“The Dark Lord will be pleased to have a threat eliminated,” Dewitt said. “Now let’s say we play a little game.” He raised his wand. A spark of red light soared through the air, toward Lottie, but Snape leapt in front of her. With a single snap of his wrist, he deflected the spell. It rebounded, sending showers of red that glimmered in the air, and hit Dewitt square in his middle. A gash appeared across his stomach”he stumbled back. “Severus?” he croaked.
Blood poured from his wound, ran down his legs and stained the floor. “It’s not fatal,” Snape said, “immediately.”
“Severus””
“I was sent to protect these students.” Snape raised his wand. Another flash of green light”and Dewitt slumped to the ground, eyes wide with surprised but unquestioningly dead.
“He”he was a””
“Obviously.” Snape pocketed his wand. His voice showed no regret, no remorse. He was adept, Lottie realized, because he was ruthless. He was an effective, unfeeling killer. “We should get you two back to the dormitory. If the Death Eaters can get through the wreckage, the others should be on their way.”
They ran. More accurately, Lottie and Andrea ran to keep up with Snape’s wide strides. In the safety of their dormitory, they sat back down on the beds. Snape left the door ajar, he explained, so Nagini would be able to enter.
Again, they waited in silence. Lottie prayed that Nagini would show up. If one good thing could come of this, maybe François would not have died in vain.
Lottie could hear it”somewhere off in the distance. She could not help but grin in her own glory as the light hissing grew in volume. The snake that entered the room was enormous. From close up, she seemed even more so. And yet, she was docile. Her eyes focused on nothing in particular as she coiled herself into a harmless spiral.
Andrea recoiled. She scooted away on the bed, inch by inch. “Don’t”like”snakes,” she muttered to herself.
Snape raised his wand quietly. The only sound was the rustle of his sleeve and Nagini’s satisfied hissing. “Avada Kedavra.” The green light was so familiar now that Lottie didn’t even flinch. The snake didn’t move.
“How”how do we know it’s dead?” Andrea asked feebly.
“Nothing can survive the killing curse,” Snape said simply. He stepped over the snake and collected her body, carefully placing it in the cauldron.
“Why didn’t she attack us when she came in?” Lottie asked.
“I included some sedatives in the potion.” Snape turned to them and frowned. Some tiny decision seemed to be made in the back of his mind; Lottie could tell by the flaring of his nostrils. “Expecto Patronum.” Silver light burst from his wand, but it disappeared before Lottie could get a clear view of the animal. “It’s to Naesa,” he answered their unasked question. “If it can reach her, she will be able to find us and get you two to safety.”
Lottie sat back down on the bed. Snape was taking them to safety; he had saved them from Dewitt; he had destroyed a Horcrux. He couldn’t be a Death Eater.
Palmyitor’s answer came almost immediately. The familiar leopard burst through the window. “Drove out the Death Eaters,” the Patronus said. “Sending air patrol to take you down to meet us.” The leopard vanished in an explosion of silver.
Almost instantly after that, a tap on the window attracted their attention. Professor Seward followed by two others waved against the darkening sky. He pulled out his wand.
“Out of the way,” Snape instructed. Lottie and Andrea did as they were told and ran to the other side of the room as the glass window was shattered. “Was that necessary?” Snape asked as he moved toward the window.
“Blimey! Sorry!” Seward said. He held a hand out and extended it to Lottie. “Jump on. ‘Nough said, yeah?”
Lottie shrugged to Andrea and slipped onto the back of the broomstick. Andrea and Snape did the same with his two companions. The summer breeze whipped Lottie’s hair across her face as they descended onto the bloodstained lawn.
“Good,” Palmitor said as they landed. “Relatively unharmed.”
Lottie thanked Seward and sat quietly with Andrea as the adults spoke in serious tones. What she could make out from the snippets of their rushed conversation was that the Dark Lord had made an appearance, but disappeared soon after Nagini’s death. Palmyitor and Clynalmoy were completely unharmed. Maelioric sported a bloody arm and Neville nursed a minor cut across his face.
“Everybody is okay,” Lottie said incredulously.
“Except Hermione,” Andrea said. “Look.” She pointed to a huddled figure standing stiffly with her back to the others.
Lottie and Andrea moved in closer and discovered what Hermione was looking at. On the ground was a makeshift graveyard. Over twenty bodies lay in neat, straight lines. Lottie didn’t recognize any of them”except”
“Bill and Fleur,” Hermione said, turning to face them. Physically, she was not hurt. Tears ran down her face; anguish, more painful than any of the others’ injuries, shone through her clear, brown eyes.
Bill’s mangled and scarred face was almost unrecognizable. Blood, tears and agony further distorted what he was. “The Death Eaters found him. They showed him Fleur”what they did to her. If the killing curse didn’t destroy him, his grief did.”
Lottie turned her attention to Fleur. She too seemed to be in pain, though death had not stolen her beauty from her. Her eyes, still opened wide, showed a determined hatred. “Torture,” Hermione whispered. “From what we can gather, they asked her to give them her students”to give them Bill”everything.” Hermione bent down and shut Fleur’s crystal eyes. “She refused.”
A surge of empathy hit Lottie in her chest, but she quelled it immediately. “Anybody else?” she asked in a business like tone.
“None of ours,” Hermione said. “Unfortunately, by the time we got here, the Death Eaters were almost finished.”
“We did lose one,” Andrea said hesitantly.
“Who?” Hermione turned away to hide the sorrow on her face.
“Draco,” Andrea said.
Hermione’s cry echoed across the lawn. She sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Andrea inched toward her and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. Hermione’s entire being shook with sobs, with the grief that consumed her.
Lottie wanted to tell Hermione about François”about the loss she was feeling too. Andrea looked at her, as though she knew what she was thinking, and shook her head silently.
“One good thing did come of this, though” Andrea said gently to Hermione. “We killed the Dark Lord’s snake. She was a Horcrux, right? At least we have something to be grateful for.”
“Who’s going to run the school?” Hermione asked. “This was Bill and Fleur’s project. They’re gone. Their students are gone.”
Neville walked up to them and tapped Lottie lightly on the shoulder. “I can take over from here,” he said gingerly.
Andrea nodded and stepped away. They watched for a moment as Neville crouched down and muttered comforting words.
Palmyitor approached them from behind. “Severus tells me that you two accomplished far more than expected today,” she said stiffly. “Good job.” She cleared her throat. “Even if it was quite foolish to bring you alone, it is fortunate that you are here. However”” She pushed the cauldron into their hands. “As we assess the damage, we need to keep you two out of more danger. This will take you to the hospital wing in ten seconds. If anybody asks where you were, say you were training.”
The Portkey glowed. Lottie felt a tug and took one last look at Beauxbatons before disappearing.
Halfway to Infinity by Eponine
Chapter Notes: A million thanks to coolh5000 for all of the help! This chapter's for you!