Lily Luna and The Darkness

Chapter 16: The Battle

Lily looked to the source of the noise, a jolt of pain rushing through her head as she turned too fast. She ignored it though, trying to push it out of her thoughts.

Once she realized what the noise was, she gasped. On the other side of the room, an entire wall was blasted down. Standing in the rubble were her aunts, uncles, and mum and dad.

All hell broke loose.

Lily felt the girl holding her drop her to the ground, searching for her wand. Her legs gave away, still weak and aching. Someone had grabbed her shoulders, pulling Lily away. She couldn't see who it was, but prayed it was someone she knew.

Spells were flying everywhere. People were screaming and running, some apparating on the spot. She saw Molly run towards the dungeon, fiddling with the door handle. It opened, and the girls came spilling out. Lily felt herself be pulled up a flight of stars as a streak of green light narrowly missed her head.

"SILENCE!" Boomed a voice from right above her. It wasn't someone friendly with her, that's for sure. She was standing on top of a balcony, overlooking the 'battle grounds.' An arm snaked around her neck, a wand digging into her temple. "DROP YOUR WANDS." The man shouted.

She watched with ragged breath as everyone dropped their wands with a clatter. Looks of fear passed over some of the children's faces, and the adults filled with anger. Everyone had stopped, even the people on the opposing side.

"Nott." She heard her father say, and all heads turned towards him. "Let go of my daughter, and we can part peacefully." He said through gritted teeth.

The wand dug deeper into her neck. "Don't test me, Potter, I won't hesitate." He was going to kill her. This was it, Lily thought. She was going to die with her friends and family watching, helpless. What an awful way to go.

"Theodore-"

She heard Nott whisper something, and her body filled with pain once more. She screamed a gut-wrenching scream of pain as the same sensation passed over her body. Her head was being ripped in half, her stomach was being stabbed with a knife. Every molecule in her body felt as if it was about to tear.

Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Lily slumped against the banister in front of her, looking out onto the crowd. Her Mum and Dad were being held back by different people, struggling against their grip. A tear ran down her mother's cheek, as well as her own. Others from her family were being restrained as well, others just staring in fear.

"THEODORE-" Someone shouted, and Lily the arm around her next fall. It hurt too much to move her neck, but she saw Theodore's head drop on the ground next to her. She fell the opposite way of him with nothing to support her, her body hitting the floor of the balcony with a thud.

Above her, stood James and Teddy, their wands held at arm's length in front of them.

Lily heard people shouting below, and Teddy bent down next to her. "I'll be right back, I promise."

He jumped up, shooting a red beam down the staircase. He ran down the steps, and all Lily could do at this point was watch, and wait for it to all be over. Her body still ached. Every part of her felt painful, numb, and tired. She knew she couldn't wait for this all to be finished.

Spells started to be shot again. Lily found Molly and Dominique, with wands that probably weren't theirs outdrawn at Isla and Maverick on the floor below them. They had been friends, Domi had said, before all this. They'd probably been hiding their membership for their entire friendship, Lily thought.

Some bodies were unconscious on the floor, from both sides. Her eyes landed on Roxanne, who she prayed had just received a stupefying spell, not anything worse. The boy, Graham, was slumped against the wall on the far end of the room.

Someone along the line had found bottles, and glass shards were everywhere. She had a feeling that was James's doing, and her suspicions were proven correct when she saw him wallop a wine glass at an unexpecting Carrow.

She had no clue how long she had been up there for, but it felt like hours when the battle seemed to calm down. Lily heard footsteps, and her mother knelt next to her. She sat her up, and Lily collapsed into her arms, racking with sobs.

"Your alright, sweetie, you're safe now." She comforted, rubbing circles on her back. Lily could get words out through sobs, so she just continued to cry.

She felt herself be lifted up, and she wrapped her arms around her mum's neck, leaning her head on her shoulder. They walked back down the stairs, and Lily could see unconscious bodies laying across the steps.

"You two," she heard her mother say, "Were so brave."

"Is Lily alright?" She heard James say, ignoring their Mum.

She sighed. "No, no she isn't. But she will be eventually." Someone kissed the top of her head. "We're gonna go home now, okay? Everyone else will join us later."

"Okay." Lily's voice was barely audible. She felt the cold December breeze hit her as they walked through the rubble of the old wall.

"Mrs. Potter, can you explain what happened?"

"Mrs. Potter, what caused this fight?"

"Mrs. Potter, is your daughter alright?"

Of course the paparazzi had to find them. They always had too. Any day now, an article was going to come out from Rita Skeeter, the master of lies, spreading a completely false story. Lily was sick of it.

"Questions will be answered later, right now I need to get home, thank you." Her mother said. Normally she lost her cool at their invasive questions, but this time she stayed calm as she put Lily in the Potter's car. There were many cars in front of the manor, so Lily suspected that her father and brothers were going to come home with one of the other families.

She leaned against the car door, watching the town she and her cousins were in not too long ago. It was different than it was, of course, there was two decades worth of change.

Her eyes started to droop, but she couldn't fall asleep. She was in too much pain. So Lily sat in the car, watching the hills go by as they exited the town and into the countryside.