Chapter 443: Melee - Part 2
Chapter 443: Melee - Part 2
"Any door will do", Sirius Black shouted, but before they could act, a Death Eater burst out from one of the doors.
"Stupefy!" The Death Eater was immediately knocked unconscious, and Sirius Black dashed into the room behind him.
"Not here!" Sirius Black yelled, "There's just a tank of brains." More Death Eaters stormed in from the doors on both sides of the Brain Room, and at the last moment, either Fred or George pulled Sirius Black back and slammed the door shut. The walls began to rotate again.
When the rotation stopped, several doors opened simultaneously, with Death Eaters rushing out of each one. In the chaos, someone released Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, and everyone was immediately scattered. Liam, disoriented by the dense spell light, stumbled through a few doors and found himself in a small office, with only Hermione following him.
"Can't only one door open at a time? What just happened?" Hermione panted. "We almost got trapped in the entrance hall by a group of Death Eaters."
"Augustus Rookwood, one of the Silent Ones who defected to Voldemort, might have found a way to alter some things here", Liam recalled from the Daily Prophet's profiles of the escaped Death Eaters.
"Damn, I hope everyone's okay. I only saw Fred and George rush through another door; I have no idea where the others are."
Suddenly, the office door was kicked open, and a Death Eater rushed in.
"Look what I found, two stinking Mudbloods. Ah—" Before he could finish his spell, Hermione's hand, adorned with rings, clenched, and the Death Eater's shadow rose up, pinning him to the doorway. As he struggled to escape, a blue-white orb struck his face, and he blacked out.
"Let's go find Harry", the two of them stepped over the body of the Death Eater Liam had decapitated with Thundercall and rushed out of the office. They saw Harry holding the Orb of Prophecy running from a distance, clearly trying to draw the Death Eaters away from his friends. Only Ginny was still with him, and even Sirius Black had disappeared.
Now, five Death Eaters were chasing Harry and Ginny, but they were cautious not to damage the Orb of Prophecy, so they hesitated to cast spells at Harry.
Liam and Hermione immediately followed, firing spells at the pursuing Death Eaters as they ran. "Have you seen anyone else?"
"You two are a sight for sore eyes, Stupefy!" After stunning a Death Eater who had gotten too close, Ginny said to Liam and Hermione, "Sirius Black and George are holding off five Death Eaters, and Ron and Fred are both injured and unconscious."
Just as she said this, they ran through an open door, and after a few steps, Liam felt the ground give way beneath him. They fell, but just before hitting the floor, a soft force slowed their descent, and they landed gently on a platform.
Liam stood up and surveyed the area, realizing they were on the platform with the archway. Unfortunately, they were now surrounded. The five Death Eaters who had been following them stood at the highest steps, slowly advancing, while more Death Eaters emerged from other doors and began to descend the stone benches.
With their backs to the stone archway, Liam and the others raised their wands, while the Death Eaters paused a few steps from the bottom.
"Potter, you're finished", Lucius Malfoy said calmly, removing his mask. "Now, be a good boy and hand over the Orb of Prophecy."
"Let—let them go, and I’ll give it to you!" Harry said desperately.
"Can’t you count?" Malfoy said slowly. "You’re only four, and we have twelve."
"Cruciatus!" Bellatrix suddenly cast the Cruciatus Curse at Liam, then laughed manically. "If you don’t want your Mudblood friend to die in agony, give me that glass ball."
Harry watched as Liam knelt on the ground, his head bowed deeply, with Hermione hugging him tightly, her face tense. Ginny, sweating profusely, held his hand firmly, looking resolutely at the Death Eaters. Thinking of his godfather Sirius Black, who was now of unknown fate, and the Weasley boys, Harry felt he had no choice.
He extended the hand holding the Orb of Prophecy, and Lucius Malfoy tried to jump up the steps to take it. At that moment, the door above suddenly opened again, and six people rushed into the room: Arthur Weasley, Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Professor Mcgonagall, and Kingsley.
The Death Eaters immediately began attacking the Order of the Phoenix members with their wands, and the Order of the Phoenix members retaliated relentlessly. Various powerful spells quickly filled the small dimension.
Bellatrix, having just dodged a golden spell from Arthur Weasley, was about to make a sarcastic remark when she suddenly found her feet stuck to the ground. She deflected a spell from Lupin and looked down to see black smoke wrapping around her feet.
Suddenly, she heard a crackling sound nearby and turned to see the brown-haired Mudblood girl spreading her fingers at her. The boy she had just cursed with the Cruciatus Curse, to her surprise, stood calmly, his wand steadily pointed at her, a blue light gathering at the tip, surrounded by countless hair-thin currents of electricity. The sound was coming from there.
After enduring the Cruciatus Curse, Liam had not shown as much pain as he had pretended. The soul damage from the curse couldn’t penetrate the runes in his mind, and the physical pain was negligible to Liam, who had undergone extensive physical training and countless battles. He had acted that way to reduce the Death Eaters' attention, preparing a large-scale alchemy to create chaos and facilitate their escape. When Hermione hugged him, Liam told her his plan and asked her to play along.
But when the Order of the Phoenix arrived as expected, Liam and the others changed their target, choosing Bellatrix, who was closest to them. While Bellatrix was dueling Mr. Weasley, Hermione used shadow binding to immobilize Bellatrix’s feet. Liam then prepared a powerful Whip of Heavenly Punishment.
To avoid being detected, Liam and Hermione couldn’t make large movements. So when Liam activated the magic, he only waved his wand in the general direction he remembered. The bright blue-white whip flew out, wrapping around Bellatrix’s calf.
“Dammit, a bit off,” Liam thought, but there was no time for another attempt. He pulled the wand back with all his strength, and the plasma whip quickly cut through clothing, skin, muscle, and bone. With a scream, Bellatrix’s legs were severed at the knees.
But just as Hermione manipulated the shadows to form a blade and swung it at Bellatrix’s neck, the experienced Bellatrix rolled to the side, avoiding the attack, and then crawled behind a stone pedestal, out of sight.
“Lucky,” Liam muttered to himself as he and Hermione leaned against the archway and joined the fray.
(End of Chapter)
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