(Untitled)

[yes_peacocks]

            Lucius could hear the screams from outside his cell. He remembered becoming perfectly still: his back erect against the stone, his hair cut short against the scalp and the clammy stone slithered against his skin like Nagini. He heard the Unforgivables, and every shout from the Death Eaters (so many young voices…each one he thought he

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[proudslytherin]

"But remember, the girl is the Dark Lord’s."

She closed her eyes and steadied herself. This was the moment she had expected. The truth was that Pansy had already come to terms with the fact she had to die. She knew she had made that choice the moment she opened her mouth to speak against Voldemort.

She had plenty of time to retrace her steps. She knew the moment she had chosen the path that lead her to this moment. The once proud Slytherin princess was sitting in the corner of the cell and focusing on those last breaths. Please. Just make it quick.

But she knew that if they took her to him it would not be quick. It would be an example. A game. They would break her and shatter her. They would scatter the pieces that remained.

She wasn't going to plead for mercy. Tilting her chin up slowly, defiantly, she took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly as she turned to look at who was making the shadow at her cell.

[the_iscariot]

"Severus, what are you staring at?" Quirrel whispered, and Severus dismissed the man.
The boy had grown into James. It was perverse. Foul. To see her eyes staring nervously out from his face. Lily was never nervous. She had her Sev to protect her... Snape could feel the anger and hatred rising up in his throat...

"SLYTHERIN!"

Snape turned his attention to the little girl who was all legs and limbs that had just jumped down from the stool. The girl was scanning the Staff Table, trying to pick out her Head of House. When her eyes fell to Severus, something strange happened.

The girl brightened up and smiled at him, nodding her approval of him, before running off to the table.

Snape walked silently pass the hallways and fire fights to find that smile. He had no idea what he would do once he found her but the letter burned into his brain. His student had come to him for help... His student. Dumbledore and the Boy who Lived be damned. His snakes were just as destined for this slaughter as Potter had been...but theirs were a

[proudslytherin]

"I knew you'd come." She said the words in such a soft tone. It wasn't fear now. He'd stand between her and the others. There couldn't be a complete rescue, she knew that, but he would save her dignity. He'd show her mercy.

Always the guiding hand. The surrogate father for ten months a year, seven years of her life, and she knew his bat-like swooping in meant protection. No more fears, just relax, and trust him to fix the mess you've made. There was nothing that he couldn't fix.

She stood up and took a step toward him. Her hands were at her side, she blinked back the threat of liquid stinging her eyes, and took one more breath. One more reminder of a life that she lead her way. The choices she made were hers to own. The loose ends had been tied up. She could be at peace.

"Don't add this to your numbers, please." He'd understand. She knew he would. This was not murder. It was mercy. Her blood wouldn't be on anyone's hands because he stepped in to save her.

[the_iscariot]

It was said that murder caused a soul to become fractured, that some part of yourself was thrown away with each crime you committed. It's said that bit by bit each part of you is discarded and if not entrusted into a Horcrux it's lost....

Severus once asked a man who trusted more then any one alive, what became of his soul after so many deaths were allowed to pass...

Albus had called it mercy. It was strange, Severus had never thought mercy to be so cruel. Amycus was always telling him back then, that it was the case. If one was skilled, and strong enough, mercy could be just as damning as murder. He doubted this is what his old teachers meant.

His student was asking him to murder her. This wasn't Albus, some aged, already dying old man...or one of his victims under Amycus' lessons. This was a child he had seen grown up, a child he refused to believed had grown up. She was still the 11 year old girl who had wordlessly told him once he would have to earn her respect and admiration

[amycus_carrow]

Amycus smirked as they made their way into the prison. The girl was the dark lord's, yes, but the boy was his. It was a blood debt. Had he honestly allowed himself to be caught? To be thrown into a cell like an animal? Like one of these idiots that wore the mark that he fought against

[wontletmedie]

He was just about to leave for the day when he saw the raven patronus. At first he didn't even realize it was Severus. Then the message sunk in and he was running as fast as he could, wand out, desperately trying to reach the area that would allow him to apparate there to help.

Moo with me. We're at Azkaban.

Moo? He wanted to moo? He was going to burn moo into Snape's flesh when we caught up with him. Fucking Azkaban. The aurors were already short handed. They'd lost one, one was injured, one was...

Fuck.

An auror in the cage was easier bait than aurors guarding. But they were all potential victims. Potential names to add on the plaque that hung in his former office that paid tribute to every one of their own that they lost. Moody was right, these were still his people, even if he wasn't an auror officially. There was no way he was going to stand back and let them fight this alone.

Moo.Once he arrived at the spot, he apparated straight to the prison. Aurors were dueling fast and hard with Death Eaters. It was quickly becoming

[the_iscariot]

Severus was running

[wontletmedie]

Harry had to force himself through the duels, ducking random spells, trying to make his way to Sebastian. He had a man down, without his wand, in a cell. That was bait no Death Eater would be able to resist

[the_iscariot]

Severus had doubled back, inclined his head and stared as one Auror, frightened by the noise and the dark, rescued the other. Mercy. For all he could see, it was two children clutching to each other in the haze and choas. He heard the pop of Apparation and stepped back for a moment, staring up at the man who was now barreling to him

[longbottom_heir]

He'd been with Aberforth in Knockturn Alley when he'd heard about Azkaban. He turned to Ab and groaned. "I knew it was too quiet. I'm headed over, you want to go back to Hogsmeade and make sure whoever gets out doesn't decide to head there?"

"You know what? I really miss the blasted Dementors right about now. Prison's bloody useless without them." Ab groused but nodded and disapparated at the same time Neville did.

The fact he was able to get so close to the prison without being stopped told him how bad things were. He could hear running and screaming though a thick haze of smoke and drew his wand. It had all the makings of another St Mungos. Running in he managed to cast a Protego over the fallen form of one of the Aurors and disarmed the Death Eater casting it. He pulled the Auror out of the way and continued into the fray.

[amycus_carrow]

Amycus had stopped at the cell where Goyle was. There was a smile on his face. Anyone who really knew him would be wary of that smile if that had a lick of sense. Of course Goyle and Crabbe didn't possess a lick between them.

"Fine job you two did on the auror. Which one of you managed to nail him with the Sectumsempra?" Such a simple question. An innocent question really.

"That was me. Blood all over the place. I'm surprised they put him in a cell, but you already re-opened.."

He stopped talking as he looked down to see a mark across his abdomen in the same spot that he hit Sebastian with. Amycus had cast the spell silently. "You'll need to get that looked at. Must have got caught in the crossfire of a duel."

He stood back and blasted off the locks of their cells and then lost himself in the crowd looking for someone to duel. He didn't expect to find such good luck.

Longbottom.

Creeping up slowly as Longbottom was busy with the group he was dueling, he sliced his knife across one of Neville's cheeks, "Miss me, Lad?"

[longbottom_heir]

Story of his life, Neville never saw Amycus coming.

The knife slid across his face drawing a rivulet of blood. Not deep enough to cut muscle, just deep enough to hurt like a bitch and bleed. Back in the last war he and Seamus had taken to calling it an 'Amycus Kiss'.

"Confrigo!" Truly pissed now, Nev blew up the floor in front of the Death Eater he'd been dueling with slamming him back against the stone walls and knocking him out. It left him free to whirl on Amycus.

"Missed you? So far. But I'm feeling luckier today."

[amycus_carrow]

He never cut too deep. Just deep enough to make them bleed. To make them feel a part of themselves that he was stealing from them. Longbottom was all grown up now. Amycus was looking forward to this more than he should.

"All right then, let's go," Amycus said before darting down a hallway, running fast and losing himself in the shadows. He wanted to lure the lad away from the rest so they could have a more intimate fight you see.

There was a small room, probably where they processed those who were to be released. Perhaps it was a room to take statements. Amycus didn't care. He darted into it and used Confrigo to blow the door away just as Neville was closing in.

Much better. Just the two of them. Like old times.

[sixth_born_red]

He saw the patronus and ran to the barrier after sending a message to Hermione and Teddy to watch over the kids and get them to safety. At the barrier he apparated and what he saw wasn't what he had expected. not that he had expected to see the message from Snape telling people were he was.

Spells echoed down the halls and Ron made his was as quickly as he could towards the nearest group of masked Death Eaters. "Expelliarmus," he yelled firing a spell at the nearest Death Eater, "Impedimenta," at anouther before, "Stupefy."

[took5totakeme]

Gideon quickly made his way to the prison ready to help with the chaos he was sure to encounter. His rage was quiet, his mind focused. They wouldn't lose another of their own. Merlin, don't let them lose another of their own.

Just as he was clearing the rocks, he had to dodge a spell from a death eater who was standing guard. They dueled fast and hard, with Gideon backing him closer and closer to the rocks. One good Stupefy and the git fell over the edge and into the water.

Running quickly, he followed the sounds of spells and chaos until he came upon Ron and the group he was fighting.

"Hello, Nephew, fancy a hand with this lot?"

[sixth_born_red]

Ron didn't actually say anything, he was busy focusing on the wizard's ahead and firing spells at them, moving and ducking out of the way as some came towards him.

After a beat he nodded, "Tie up those who you can and throw them into a cell, we don't need them running around getting in the way."

[took5totakeme]

"Right, I got that." He immediately fell into a rhythm with Ron. Back to back they would be able to watch all four sides. As he or Ron was able to make one fall, he'd cast the Incarcerous spell. One there was three on the ground, he moved away allowing Ron to continue his duel as he cast the spells to move those tied up toward the closest cell. Tossing them inside, he used magic to fuse the lock shut. They could fix it later, but no need for them to run off now right?