A/N: I’m putting my author’s note first because it seemed really inappropriate to do it at the end. I just wanted to say that this isn’t the last chapter, and I hope you all appreciate how fast it got written! Enjoy and review!
Chapter Twenty One: Legacy of Sacrifice
Sirius flew into battle intending to hit the Dark wizard with enough force to take him out of the fight instantly. His hopes were shattered, however, when Malfoy raised a shield that deflected him very effectively.
Maybe I should have hit him before becoming visible, he thought as he careened back into the forest. He was unhurt and transformed back into himself before running back into the fight, eyes blazing.
Things weren’t going quite as well as they had all hoped; Sirius found himself facing his family’s captor alone and without the element of surprise, while the Weasleys appeared to be having trouble getting anyone free from the chains. The Death Eater puppets were being dealt with swiftly since they didn’t have wands; Malfoy had casually flicked a bludgeoning hex at Stan before he’d even reached the others, and now Stan lay unmoving on the floor of the clearing.
Trying to buy more time from the large group of Death Eaters, Sirius raised his wand and shouted, “Anguis!” Dozens of snakes shot from his wand and Lillian, still chained to a post, began speaking to them in Parseltongue, urging them into battle. Sirius knew the experienced Death Eaters would make short work of the snakes, but hopefully it would take them some time.
Sirius quickly turned his attention back to the Dark wizard, determined to buy his cousins the time they needed to get the others free. He had to swallow his fear as the deadened expression twisted slowly into a smile; it was not a friendly expression.
“Very clever, Sirius,” the evil man rasped. “I’ll give you credit for creativity and bravery. But you’re a fool! Now your family will be able to watch you die instead of learning of it later. And die you will, make no mistake about that.”
“There won’t be any dead Potters today,” Sirius said through gritted teeth, holding himself ready for whatever would come next. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Avada Kadavra! Malfoy shouted, and a jet of green light rushed toward Sirius. He heard his mother scream, but ignored it as he employed a surprise of his own. Sirius vanished in a flash of fire and reappeared behind Malfoy, firing a stunning spell of his own. Malfoy reacted faster than he would have believed possible, however, easily dodging the spell and firing another at Sirius. Still, the Death Eater who had been standing behind Sirius was dead from Malfoy’s own spell, and the new Dark Lord was eyeing Sirius with a new, wary respect.
“Very well,” he said calmly. “It will be a duel worthy of my talents. I hope you die well.”
They began fighting fiercely, volleying curses back and forth with an intensity that Sirius had never experienced before in any of his previous magical battles. Yet despite his inexperience, he found that he was holding his own, and elation filled him.
I can do this, he thought in wonder, I can live up to my name!
***
Chris tried to ignore the amazing duel being fought in front of him as he sought to free his own father from his chains. Lee was working on Uncle George, Brian had Ron, and Jack was trying to free Ginny. They had decided to go for the best duelers first, but had decided against setting Uncle Harry free first since he didn’t even appear capable of standing.
The chains, however, were proving more difficult than they had expected. They seemed to absorb magic, and they couldn’t be cut, blasted, or warped by any of the spells he had tried so far.
“Try picking the lock,” Fred said urgently, seeing that nothing else was working.
Nodding, Chris pulled out the lock pick his father had taught him to use and inserted it into the keyhole, only to jerk his hand back with an oath. The small metal tool had melted inside the keyhole and burned his fingers.
“Okay, it looks like the keyhole is warded,” Fred said apologetically.
“I wonder if the chain itself is warded for more than magic…” Chris thought aloud, before bursting into action. Anything was worth a shot at this point.
Grateful at having a Muggle grandfather on his mother’s side, Chris conjured a tool he remembered from his grandfather’s toolbox. He grabbed the hack saw and began pulling it across the chain experimentally, fully expecting to be blasted in the attempt. To his surprise, nothing happened, and the saw left a tiny score in the metal.
Grinning, Chris shouted, “Hacksaws!” and magically animated the saw so that it would cut on its own, faster than any human arm could move it. His brothers had seen what he had done and were quick to follow suit. Chris left that saw working and conjured one to start working on Aunt Hermione’s chains as well. He had barely gotten it moving when he felt a heavy blow land on his right shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Dazed, he reached back and felt the open wound that was bleeding freely, amazed that a cutting charm would feel more like a bludgeoning hex.
“I guess the Death Eaters are done being distracted,” he mumbled, beginning to feel dizzy from the loss of blood.
He looked up to see one of the masked wizards standing above him, wand raised in triumph. Chris closed his eyes as he waited for the killing curse, but heard a muffled “clang” instead and opened his eyes to see his dad standing above him, his hands still manacled but the chains cut and dangling below him. The Death Eater’s eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed, revealing the bloody lump on the back of his head where Fred had hit him with his own chains.
Fred quickly grabbed the fallen Death Eater’s wand and rushed to his son, quickly casting a spell that would close the wound. He and George had learned all kinds of healing spells in the years they’d spent researching their products on themselves, and he was certainly glad for it now.
“Stay out of sight, son. You’ve done a great job, but you’re out of this fight,” Fred said quickly, squeezing his son’s shoulder and rising just in time to deflect a curse and fire one of his own. Apparently the enchanted chains couldn’t hold back magic now that they had been severed.
Chris watched his father leap into the fight against the large group of Death Eaters and was gratified to see Uncle George follow right after him, and Ron and Hermione as well. They would need all the help they could get against the overwhelming odds before them.
Chris suddenly wondered why none of the adults were running to help Sirius and turned to see how his cousin was doing. His eyes widened in shock at the spectacle before him; both wizards were moving incredibly fast, and flashes of light flickered around them in a dizzying array of colors from all of the spells they were casting, and sparks flew from curses being deflected off of shields. Every so often a there would be a burst of flames as Sirius would vanish to dodge a curse and reappear somewhere else. Chris realized quickly that none of the other adults felt like they could do any better than Sirius was doing, and Chris knew that he would only get in the way if he tried to help. Even protective Ginny was more concerned with keeping the Death Eaters away from her other children and Samantha, who were all still chained. Chris knew the only person there who was skilled enough to help Sirius defeat the Dark wizard was Harry, and Lee was just getting him free.
Confidant that his Uncle Harry would find a way to win that fight, even with all of his injuries, Chris transformed into a weasel and ran off into the thick of the fight. His dad had said to stay out of sight, but there were more than enough ankles to bite in this row, and he was going to do his part.
***
Frank Longbottom was still lying in the circle, forgotten by literally everyone around him as he tried to get over the aches and twitches that accompanied such severe use of the Cruciatus Curse. He hadn’t wanted to follow orders this time, had fought it in his mind until he could fight it no more. In the end, the fear of further pain had won out, and he had had no choice but to follow orders.
As he lay there trembling, he couldn’t help but watch the duel unfolding around him in awe. Sirius was holding his own against the Dark Lord, and fighting for what he believed to be right; he wasn’t held back by the mental chains that had been so painstakingly tortured into Frank’s mind. Frank found himself hoping desperately that Sirius and his family would win and free him from his captors. Then he saw Stan wake up and pull a gleaming knife from his belt. The wizard who had broken him crept up on Frank’s only hope of freedom, and Frank felt despair keenly, because Sirius could spare no attention from his current duel.
He had done what they wanted, to the best of his abilities, and still they had hurt him, Frank realized suddenly. It was the promise of further pain that led him to follow their orders, and he realized then that no matter how well he followed them there would always be more torture in the end. It was that thought, and the realization that he couldn’t leave others to fight his battles for him, that galvanized Frank into action. He employed his Animagus transformation, becoming a great black panther, a killing machine with glowing eyes, and leaped on his tormentor. Stan was dead in an instant, and Frank felt the elation that came with the knowledge that he had truly broken away from his tormentors.
I’m free! he thought joyfully, as he turned and bounded into the ranks of Death Eaters, biting and slashing with his claws. Now was the time for vengeance.
***
Harry slumped to the ground as the chains that were the only things keeping him upright were severed by the rasping hacksaw. He had been horrified when he’d seen Stan about to stab his son in the back, and equally thrilled to see Frank turn against his masters. Calling his magic to his hands in an instant, Harry was reassured that he would be able to do some good in the battle going on around him. Ginny and Hermione were in a dueling frenzy as they fought off the Death Eaters who dared to get close to her children. One of the quadruplets, and Harry was too tired to even think about figuring out which one it was, was just getting around to freeing his cousins, and all of the others seem to have joined the battle. Harry was as amazed as any of the others as he saw his son fighting the much older and more experienced Draco Malfoy. To Malfoy’s obvious frustration, Sirius was holding him completely at bay. Harry knew that he could win the battle, if he were at his full strength and able to walk, but in his current state, Harry knew he would have to find a perfect opening and destroy Malfoy decisively. Harry watched the battle closely, occasionally sending out a quick stunning spell to help a family member in trouble, but mostly paying careful attention to the duel his son was fighting against evil.
***
Sirius gritted his teeth as his confidence began to wane; he was giving the fight everything he had, but he could not seem to do any better than a stalemate. Moreover, he was growing tired while his opponent didn’t seem to be having any trouble at all. His extensive use of magic throughout the day was definitely catching up to him.
Sirius tried desperately to think of something, anything, he could do to end the fight before he grew too tired to continue the lightning fast duel. Even so, before he could come up with anything helpful, he made the mistake of dodging one hex and moving into the path of another that had been placed for just such a chance. Sirius and Malfoy had both been using this technique throughout the fight, but this was the first time Sirius hadn’t been able to see far enough ahead to avoid being hit. The cutting hex tore into his wand arm and he dropped his wand and screamed in agony as he fell to the ground.
Then Malfoy was standing over him triumphantly, the wicked gleam in his eyes attesting to the fact that Sirius would not live long.
Sirius wasn’t about to give up, despite the blood flowing freely from the deep wound just above his right elbow. Sirius waved his hands and sent three rapid-fire stunners straight into Malfoy’s face. He parried all three effortlessly, and lifted his wand for the killing curse.
Sirius heard a loud shout from across the clearing and saw Malfoy suddenly flying through the air away from him. He looked to where the blasting curse had come from and saw his dad, whose eyes were flashing furiously as he levitated himself into the fight, his broken legs dangling uselessly below him.
Malfoy was not out of the fight either, however; he was coming to his feet, wand back in hand, and was waving his hands in a complicated spell. Sirius couldn’t hear the incantation, but he was absolutely certain he didn’t want it finished.
Groaning, Sirius climbed to his feet and rushed to his father’s side while both rushed Malfoy with the unspoken agreement that they would overwhelm him together and end the fight. Unfortunately, just as they got close enough to begin casting spells, Malfoy finished his incantation. Sirius raised a heavy shield over himself and his dad, determined to block whatever was coming, but he certainly wasn’t expecting what happened.
Blue light flared in different spots around the clearing, and it took Sirius a moment to realize that the light was emanating from the manacles still attached to the former prisoners and from the corresponding chains still attached to the posts.
“Dad!” Sirius shouted, turning to his father in terror. Harry met his gaze sorrowfully, knowing what would happen next.
As though pulled by a magnet, Sirius’ parents, siblings, girlfriend, aunt, and uncles flew through the air, each painfully impacting with the post they had been chained to previously. The chains fused back together, and they suddenly found themselves right where they started. Three of the Weasley quadruplets were still fighting, and though the prisoners had been very effective during their brief hiatus from captivity, there were still more than a dozen Death Eaters still standing. Sirius didn’t have time to wonder where his fourth cousin was, as he found himself fighting Malfoy once again, only this time he was wounded and exhausted, and the pale man seemed to have even more energy in the wake of his successful spell.
Sirius used one hand to close the wound in his arm as he continued to throw spells with the other, but it wasn’t long before he was knocked to the ground, senseless.
***
Chris watched in terror as first Sirius, and then all three of his brothers, were brutally subdued. Lee would need to spend some time in the hospital wing, and he would need to get there soon. At least Brian and Jack appeared to be merely stunned, but Chris wasn’t willing to bet their lives on that.
Chris’ heart shot up into his weasel throat as he realized that he was the only person left in any kind of position to continue fighting. He felt fear fill him even as he began planning how to proceed. It was absolutely imperative that he not be seen.
***
Sirius’ first realization upon coming to his senses was that he hurt! The second realization was that he was being lifted from the ground by his unruly black hair, and that didn’t feel much better.
He moaned in pain as Malfoy hauled him to his feet and slapped him roughly across the face several times.
“I want you awake for what I am about to show you, young Mr. Potter,” Malfoy said gleefully. “I want you to realize fully that your brave attempt at rescuing your family was a complete failure.”
Sirius was finally able to focus on Malfoy when he was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. It seemed to go on for an eternity, with pain that was even worse than Sirius’ previous experience with the torture curse. He suddenly found himself wanting to die.
***
“Sirius!” Harry and Ginny both shouted in horror as their son was blasted off his feet once again and placed under the Cruciatus Curse. Harry knew there was no way he could help his son, yet still he struggled against his bonds, furious at the predicament they were in.
Harry barely heard the whispered “Silencio!” over his son’s screams, but he was very aware of the fact that he could no longer speak. He also noticed that the hacksaw that was quickly working through his chains was making absolutely no noise. He looked around and quickly spotted Chris Weasley crouching behind Ginny’s post, setting a silent saw going on her chains as well. Harry watched in amazement as Chris gave him a wink and a very forced smile before changing into a weasel and sneaking back off into the darkness.
Harry just shook his head in wonder and waited anxiously to be free once more. He only hoped he was in time to save his son.
***
Finally the curse was lifted and Sirius lay on the ground, unable to comprehend that the pain was gone.
“You filthy blood-traitor Potters are all alike,” Malfoy said coldly as he pulled Sirius roughly to his feet once more. “So determined to help save the world and completely blind to the fact that the world doesn’t deserve it!”
A bone-breaking charm hit Sirius’ left arm a moment after another cutting charm reopened the wound on his right, once again knocking him to the ground. Sirius, more dazed than ever, looked towards his mum. Feeling detached from the situation, he noticed that she appeared to be sobbing and screaming, and yet he could hear nothing.
Something must have happened to my hearing, he thought dispassionately, while shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts. That didn’t help, he groaned inwardly.
Sirius tried to smile at his mother, the best he could do by way of reassurance, but he was pulled to his feet once more and held there by one of the remaining Death Eaters while Malfoy looked at him with unrestrained hatred.
“You truly are a remarkable wizard, Mr. Potter. Your power and abilities are staggering, and there’s no telling what you might accomplish if you could be convinced to abandon the hopeless Potter cause of self-sacrifice and so-called nobility. I won’t bother asking you to join me, however; you would answer with some noble drivel about good and evil and refuse, and quite frankly I really want to kill you.”
Sirius was hit with another round of curses that left him with a broken nose, bruised ribs, and several more deep cuts, though this time the Death Eater behind him held him on his feet. In his near delirious state, though, one word that Malfoy had spoken remained lodged in his mind.
Sacrifice? he asked himself, trying to remember what was significant about that word.
“Sacrifice?” he asked out loud, hoping the strange man in front of him might help him understand.
“Yes, Potter, sacrifice. You sacrifice yourselves for the good of a world that will only spit in your face in return. The only way to truly accomplish anything is to take what you want by force! Power is the only thing that people truly respect…”
Malfoy continued to rant on, but Sirius knew that the man didn’t have the answer. He continued trying to figure it out, but his thoughts were interrupted once more, when Malfoy began saying things that brought Sirius partially out of his stupor.
“… and that’s why I am going to kill you and the rest of your family. There will be no one left who will be foolish enough to stand in my way. But first, my boy, I’m going to demonstrate what your noble ideals truly bring you.”
The evil man turned his burning eyes to Samantha, who was crying uncontrollably. Sirius smiled at her, remembering all the moments they had shared together, and wanting to comfort her.
“I will allow you watch me kill your special friend, here,” Malfoy said quietly, motioning the Death Eater holding Sirius to drag the boy closer. “And then I will allow your family to watch me kill you.”
Sirius had ceased listening the moment Malfoy declared his intention to kill Samantha. His head had cleared instantly, and the memory he had been trying to contemplate came to him with perfect clarity. This is the legacy of Fawkes’ sacrifice, and I think that should mean something more than just a few paltry pranks, Dumbledore’s portrait had told him, and Sirius suddenly felt that he knew what that legacy truly meant. As he looked into Samantha’s tear filled eyes, he knew that self-sacrifice truly was a legacy of the Potter family; his grandparents had given up their lives to save their son, who had in turn given up his life to defeat Voldemort and save the rest of the Wizarding world. Fawkes had saved his father’s life at the cost of his own, and passed on incredible power to Sirius in the process, and Sirius realized that his moment had come. The realization brought him strength, and fear left him, despite the fact that he knew he was about to die.
“It’s our legacy,” Sirius said quietly, but the power in his voice made it audible to everyone in the clearing.
“What are you talking about, Potter?” Malfoy asked, eyes narrowed in hatred as he lifted his wand.
“Our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for a greater purpose is where our power comes from,” Sirius said, his voice ringing through the clearing as power began coursing through his body. “That’s why you’ll never be able to defeat us.”
With these finally words, Sirius summoned all of the power he had left within his body. Flames shot from out from his skin, and the Death Eater holding him back shrieked in agony as he released Sirius to look at his horribly burned hands. Sirius managed to stay on his feet on his own as he faced Malfoy, who was already casting spells. Cutting hexes and bludgeoning charms merely bounced off of him as Sirius advanced on the new Dark Lord, determined to end the battle this very moment.
***
Harry’s hands came free as Sirius began his charge on Malfoy, and he saw Ginny pull free from her chains as well. Dispelling the silencing charm with a wave of his hand, Harry hobbled forward.
“No, Sirius!” he shouted hoarsely, seeing what was happening. Harry had once forced his body beyond its magical abilities to save Ginny’s life when Wormtail had dropped part of the castle into the lake, and it had nearly cost him his life. He could see the light pouring from Sirius’ body, despite it being partially hidden beneath the flames, and he knew his son was doing the same thing.
Chris must have been watching for Harry and Ginny to break free, because he suddenly transformed back into himself in the midst of the remaining group of Death Eaters, stunning three of them before they recovered from the shock of seeing him there. The rest were quick to begin to fight him, but Ginny, realizing that Harry had the best chance of saving their son, rushed to her nephew’s aid.
Harry began levitating himself once more, knowing his legs wouldn’t move him close enough in time. Still, Malfoy was already muttering the words of the killing curse, and Harry knew it wouldn’t bounce off of his son like the other spells.
Harry’s scream for his son was cut off as Sirius vanished and reappeared directly in front of Malfoy, his flaming hands closing around the Dark wizard’s wrists.
“This ends now,” Sirius said over Malfoy’s screams of pain.
Harry was suddenly thrown back as a ball of fire came into being around his son and Malfoy with a heat wave so intense that Harry was suddenly sweating over his entire body.
“Sirius!” he screamed futilely, looking up as the flames continued to burn. Shouting his rage and frustration, Harry turned and hurled several curses into the midst of the five Death Eaters still fighting his wife and nephew. An instant later, none of them were still standing. Ginny rushed to his side, demanding to know what Sirius was doing. Harry just shook his head mournfully.
I love you all, a familiar voice said clearly and sadly in everyone’s minds, and then the flames grew higher still before finally dying away.
In the center of the five foot ring of charred earth lay only a pile of ashes.