In The Fight To Survive (Golden Trio Era) {4}

The Free Elf

CW: Blood, and DEATH (We all know which one)

As Mikayla makes an extremely early morning visit to Severus Snape at Spinner's End, Ron and Harry make their way up the stairs away from Peter Pettigrew's body. Their figures hidden in the shadows of the passageway leading to the drawing room's slightly ajar door. With a shared look of understanding of how vital it is for them to listen in first before making their presence known, Harry and Ron peer through the slightly open door. Most of the room was a mystery to them, but they did have a clear view of Bellatrix looking down at Griphook, who was holding the Sword of Godric Gryffindor to inspect it closely. Hermione laid motionless on the ground, Bellatrix's left heeled boot was settled against her chest, that rose with her shallow breaths.

"Well? Is it the true sword?" Bellatrix bitingly asked Griphook, watching his eyes move along the blandishments of the sword, masterfully masking his recognition and excitement of holding the true Sword of Godric Gryffindor. "No." Griphook answered with a strong and sure tone to his voice as he claimed that the Sword was not only a fake but "a disgraceful attempt of replication." Bellatrix's eyes narrowed at him, her lips curling into deep frown as she fought the panicked pants that racked her body, "and you're sure? You would bet your life on it?" Griphook remained adamant that the sword was a fake and that there wasn't a doubt in his mind about it. Relief washed over Bellatrix's face, all the tension draining from her as she grinned wickedly at Griphook, "Good." With an effortless flick of her wand, a deep gash cut across Griphook's face, and he crumbled to the ground at her feet with a yelp of pain.

Disgust overcame her expression at the sight of a lowly goblin breathing on her polished right shoe, she kicked him hard away from her with her left foot, releasing her crushing presence on Hermione's chest. "Now, we shall call the Dark Lord and present our most valuable prisoners." Bellatrix's voice triumphed as she pushed back her sleeve, before she could touch her forefinger against the Dark Mark Narcissa latched a hand on her wrist. "Bellatrix, we still do not know the true identity of our prisoners. If we don't have Potter he will slaughter us." Bellatrix pulled her arm free from her sisters, looking at her with a cold dark look, "that's a chance I'm willing to take." As soon as her finger made contact with the mark, Harry's scar burned as if it was being split open again and he was pulled from his reality to look through the eyes of Voldemort.

Grindelwald's skin clung to his skeleton from the decaying of all muscles in his body from the lack of nourishment he received during his long sentence in Nurmengard prison, but yet being face by the world's most fear wizard, he laughed toothless as he regarded Voldemort. Anger flashed through Voldemort, not from the mocking of a once great Dark Wizard, but from the burning sensation on his left forearm. He had warned them that if they summoned him for anything less than Potter or Black that he would be less forgiving. If they were mistaken, it may cost them their lives. "Kill me, then!" Grindelwald demanded as he saw the darkness and anger swimming in Voldemort's red snake-like eyes, "you will not win, you cannot win! The wand will never answer to you, it will never be yours to wield. You will never beat Black and Potter!"

Voldemort's fury shifted towards the decaying man, someone he once idolised many years ago, telling him that he would not be capable of wielding the mightiest wand in existence. A flash of green filled the prison cell with a cracking burst, alarms wailing from the act of magic being used in the maximum security facility of Nurmengard. Grindelwald's frail old body lifted from its hard bed from the sheer force of the silently cast Killing Curse, before falling back lifelessly. Voldemort waited until the body stopped his movement, ensuring that Grindelwald was dead before escaping through the window. They would all suffer his wrath and retribution if they had no good reason for calling him back.

"We can dispose of the Mudblood while we wait." Bellatrix voiced just as Harry returned to his surroundings, not being able to react in enough time to stop Ron from barging into the drawing room. He gathered his bearings in time to grab Bellatrix's wand out of the air after Ron disarmed her with Wormtail's wand. Lucius, Narcissa and Draco wheeled around, shocked by the sudden intrusion as Harry hit Lucius with a Stunning Spell, causing him to crash into the hearth of the fireplace, rendering him unconscious. Jets of light flew from Draco's and Narcissa's wands, the boys diving behind furniture for cover, "STOP OR SHE DIES!" Bellatrix roared and the spells stopped, Harry and Ron peering around the edges of the sofa to see Bellatrix holding a barely conscious Hermione against her with a dagger pressed against her throat.