When casting a Patronus, I would probably think of my mission trips to Guatemala. I could live there, honestly. I miss my children, and I miss the people I went with. There's something amazing about being in another country on a mission trip. You make really good friends, and you help people, and it's just such an amazing thing.

~~~~

"Professor!" I ran towards him, then stopped. An awful thought had occurred to me. "How... How did you know to come here?"

Pouri hurried forward. "Harry said there might be trouble here. He couldn't spare any aurors, so I thought... I didn't expect to find you, of course. Are you okay?" He frowned at Stillens and Katreena behind me. I nodded, glancing over my shoulder. They both looked very confused, and slightly wary. "Is that Stillens?"

I nodded. "He... He has the Elder Wand..."

"Who are you?" Stillens called, his confusion slowly giving way to anger. At least I knew they hadn't expected him to show up here.

Pouri smiled amiably, casually crossing in front of me, putting himself between Stillens and me. "Brutus Pouri. What a pleasure to finally meet you, Henry. I went to school with your sister, you know."

Katreena's eyes widened, and she leaned towards Stillens. "He's the headmaster at—"

"I know who he is, Katreena," Stillens said icily, swiftly turning on her. When Katreena drew back, he returned his attention to us. "You said Potter sent you here? How did he know anything? How much does he know?"

Pouri put his hands behind his back, which must have looked quite natural from where Stillens was standing. Only I could see him pointing back towards the cart, then holding up his hand for me to wait a moment. "Everything," Pouri answered.

Stillens laughed. I gripped my wand even more tightly, the sound grating against my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

"You lie, Brutus," Stillens said. "And I'm afraid I can't leave any witnesses. I hope Hogwarts won't mind the inconvenience of choosing a new headmaster."

Pouri's hand moved so fast that I almost didn't catch it, but not a second later, he and Stillens had both fired a spell. They met in midair, creating a blast that knocked all four of us off our feet. I stumbled to standing and ran for cover behind the rock outcropping along the path to the cart, then turned back to watch.

All three had regained their feet. Katreena lashed out as I watched, and I winced, but Pouri blocked it. The spell hit his shield and bounced off, hitting the rock wall above me and sending a spray of shattered hunks of rock down. The sound seemed deafening as they hit the floor.

Katreena attempted again. I had no idea what curse she was firing, but I didn't suspect anything good. Pouri blocked it once more, sending it flying back in her direction. As she dodged it, he flicked his wand, a jet of blue light flew towards her, hitting her directly in the chest. Katreena crumpled, unconscious. Stillens hardly seemed to notice.

"Astra, go!" Pouri called over his shoulder, but I couldn't move. I glanced back, and saw only one cart. The other was probably rocketing deeper into the vaults after being hit. If I left, Professor Pouri wouldn't be able to. I couldn't leave.

When I looked back, Stillens was lifting the large hunks of rock that had fallen to the floor. He smiled at Pouri, then flicked his wand in my direction. A shriek escaped my lips as I ducked for cover and the huge rocks flew over my head, slamming into the ground behind me and knocking the cart off the track. There went that option.

"You're going to die," Stillens called, dodging a curse Pouri sent his way. "Are you ready to die?"

"Go, Astra!" Pouri yelled again as Stillens began firing curses rapidly. Pouri's shield flickered to life, but each spell that hit it weakened it. "Go!"

Stillens was more powerful than he was. He was going to overpower him, I could already see it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I escaped somehow, only to hear tomorrow morning that Pouri's mutilated body had been found into Gringotts by a task force of aurors.

Speaking of aurors, why were they not here? Pouri had said Mr. Potter wasn't able to spare any. Why was that?

The sound of a loud crash pushed that thought out of my head. I focused on what was happening now, in front of me, where Pouri's shield had just been shattered and Stillens seemed to be winding up for the final blow.

"No!" I shouted, jumping out and running forward. I cast a shield charm, bracing myself as Stillens' Avada Kedavra hit it dead on. Pouri smiled at me grimly, before raising his wand to fire a spell of his own.

Stillens was a very powerful wizard, but I was a very powerful witch. I couldn't take him alone, of course, but together, Pouri and I seemed to stand a chance. The tide of the fight looked like it was starting to turn.

Pouri motioned that I move one way, while he moved the other. We would trap Stillens between us, I realized. I started inching around, and Pouri did the same, keeping a barrage of spells up. I focused most of my energy on my shield, but if I could just Stupefy him, that would take care of all our problems.

Even fighting two people in opposite directions, Stillens remained calm. He blocked my spell one instant, and fired one at Pouri the next. Then he dodged one sent by Pouri and threw a spell over his shoulder, weakening my shield.

Mr. Potter always said that Expelliarmus was your best bet. Remove a wizard from his wand, and the fight was basically won. In this case, it would be two fights won. The fight for the Elder Wand, and the fight for our lives.

I closed my eyes, focusing all my energy on this one spell. It had never failed Mr. Potter. Hopefully, that would prove true for me. My eyes flew open. I swung my arm around, shouting the word out loud. "Expelliarmus!"

Time slowed down as my spell flew through the air. I saw Stillens spin around, facing my oncoming spell. It was dead on. I could hear my heart beating in my ears as it made its slow way through the air. Stillens winked at me.

And he slid out of the way.

Time sped up as my spell flew through towards the professor. He didn't see it coming, the red blur of light compared to the green that had been coming from Stillens. It hit him just as I started forward, hoping to somehow undo the action. His wand flew through the air.

He didn't even have time to understand what had happened.

I saw his wand clatter to the ground, but didn't hear it. I saw Stillens casting a spell, but didn't register it. I saw the flash of green as realization hit Pouri just before the spell did.

I couldn't hear my own screams.

I didn't care what Stillens would do to me. It didn't matter anymore. I ran past him, dropping to my knees next to Pouri's limp body. It was sprawled on the floor, limbs at unnatural angles. His hand was inches from his wand.

Sound came back, but I hardly noticed. I was crying. I was shaking his shoulders. I was pleading with him to wake up. This was my fault. A man was dead. Not just a man, my headmaster. And it was my fault.

I heard Stillens' footsteps coming up behind me, but didn't look up. I was sobbing. It was too much. I couldn't get enough air. I tried to breathe, tried to calm down, tried to think.

Finally, I glanced up at Stillens. "Why?" My breath caught in my throat as I swallowed a sob. "Why are you doing all this?"

"Because people get in the way, Astra." Stillens blinked unfeeling down at the person he'd just killed. "This world is so messed up, and I want to change that. I want to be the force that brings peace. Some people don't understand that vision, Astra. Those people have to be done away with."

"No. That's insane. You're insane."

Stillens shook his head, sighing. "What do you not understand? With one force in control, Astra, we could guarantee harmony among everyone. There would be no corruption. We wouldn't have to hide from muggles. We would use magic to help them. To rule them. It's the only way."

"You're wrong."

"You'll understand in time." Stillens bent down and picked up Pouri's wand. "One day, you'll see why this was worth it."

"I would die first." I clenched my fist around my wand.

Stillens observed me emotionlessly. "So you say. However, I've found that people will do anything to avoid death."

I didn't answer, taking the opportunity to angrily brush away my tears.

"I would, of course, guarantee anyone you wish safety. And after all has been achieved, you would have the entire world at your fingertips, to do whatever you wished." He slipped Pouri's wand into his robe pocket.

"Is this going to be like communism?" I narrowed my eyes, slowly standing up. A cold fear was washing over me. This man had just killed someone. I needed to get out of here. And for the moment, that meant I needed to keep talking. "Everyone's equal, so everyone's poor? Except for the elite?"

Stillens raised an eyebrow, obviously trying to hide his excitement that I seemed to be showing interest, finally. "That would be none of your concern. Just know that if you join me now, your life from this point forward will be free of all sorts of pain and sorrow."

One look at Pouri's body at my feet told me otherwise, but I didn't mention this. I took a few steps away from Stillens. "Even if I asked you to protect Wren?"

Stillens' face flickered into disgust, but he quickly smiled pleasantly. "Of course," he said, lying like a pro. "Why would I not want my own niece safe?"

"Well, Henry, you do hate her," I pointed out, backing away slowly.

"Nonsense." It felt like his icy frown was a window into his cold, dead soul.

"You're too logical not to," I pointed out. "I know you do. She's been nothing but difficult from the start, and now she's run away, and spilled all your secrets, right?" Stillens seemed surprised that I was putting it this way, and slightly pleased that I was at last being rational. It almost made me want to throw up. "But... I mean, she's my friend..."

"Sometimes, the greater good is more important than silly things like that," Stillens said slowly, testing me. I stared back at him, wondering if I should play along or make a dash for it. I was much closer to the exit, now, but Stillens would catch up with me easily. And I didn't even know how I would get back to the surface. I could disarm him, of course, but I didn't like my chances in a fistfight.

"I... I suppose so," I said shakily, my nerves showing through. "Haven't you ever had a friend, though?"

In that moment, I realized I was dealing with a psychopath.

He blinked at me, and I realized that he'd never formed an emotional relationship of any sort of his life. He actually didn't understand what I meant. How I could think a friendship was worth the world.

"You... You haven't..." I backed away, not bothering to hide the fact that I was freaked out. Beyond freaked out. Forget the Elder Wand. I wanted away.

"Of course I have." Stillens smiled, and the seeming genuineness almost caught me off guard.

"You're lying," I said in a small voice. "I know you are. I could tell."

"Oh, really?" Stillens raised his hand into the air above his head, and I backed into something solid. I surely wasn't close enough to already be at the rock wall... I glanced over my shoulder to see absolutely nothing, but I could feel it. An invisible solid wall he'd put there. With eyes wide, I slowly turned back to face him.

"Whether it's voluntary or not, you will help me," Stillens said, flicking his wand and sending a jolt of pain through my body. "I would suggest doing it voluntarily, though." Again, pain soared through me, and I dropped to my knees, my strength feeling like it was being sapped out of me.

I thought I was ready, but when the Cruciatus Curse hit me, it was just as bad as before. Or maybe worse. I screamed, writhing on the ground, wanting nothing else than for the agony to stop.

It did, suddenly. Stillens was several meters away, and I didn't have the strength to lift my head to see beyond his legs.

"Astra, the choice is yours. Join me and create a perfect, new order, or live a life of pain. A short, sorrowful life of pain."

For one terrible moment I considered it. I could save Wren. Albus. Colette. Marcus. James. Everyone else I loved, too. I could save myself. I wasn't strong enough for endless pain. But this way, I could be one of the most powerful witches in the world. Maybe I could even use Caymus Stillens' terrible methods to produce some good in the world.

I could see Professor Pouri's body behind Stillens' legs, still sprawled out on the ground. I'd failed him. Could I be the reason millions more people died? Even just one?

I could never do that. I could never support that. It went against my very nature.

"Well? Will you become a part of the future?" Stillens asked me.

"Never," I growled, and weakly lifted my wand, still clenched tightly in my hand, to point it at him.

I didn't get a chance to fire a spell before he cast the Cruciatus Curse again. I wanted to die, it felt like I was dying, but something was different. I'd made up my mind. And my mind seemed to be working for me.

Without any conscience effort, I could feel myself slowly blocking out the pain. I couldn't tell if I was simply hallucinating, finally losing it, or if it was really happening, but the pain seemed to be lessening. When I opened my eyes, I could actually see. I could see Stillens, his wand pointed at me, a look of intense hatred in his eyes. He was still casting the curse, but...

I couldn't feel a thing.

I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know how. But I felt my strength returning, and slowly stood up, the curse having no effect on me.

Stillens stared at me in shock. "What? Crucio!"

Nothing. I could even see the curse coursing over my skin, but I felt nothing. An idea occurred to me, in this strange state.

Gringotts had spells in place to stop you from apparating in. But what about apparating out?

I'd never apparated before, but I wasn't really in control of what I was doing. My mind was in overdrive, working all on its own, without my input. I pictured the Quidditch pitch in my mind's eye, and turned on my heel.

~~~~

It was a little funny for me, at the end of the last chapter, when I just left it with Pouri coming in, and some of you were commenting shocked or indignant things about him being a traitor. It was a little funny, but the rest of me went "crap, I've got to kill this guy and they all think he's a traitor right now, oh no." So... Um... I hope you're convinced he's good. And that you're sad he's dead. Otherwise, I think my tea with Satan this afternoon might not be so fun as I'd hoped.

Question of the Day: Who should Wren, James, and Colette end up with? (Question from heka2005)

Vote and comment! When I revamp these books into an original series I'll have to work a bit more on making sure no one thinks Pouri is a traitor, won't I?

~Ellie