~Wren~

She's going into shock. That's what Colette had said. Was I actually? Is that what this total blankness was?

I should've felt happy. Relieved. Excited, vindicated, safe. But I didn't feel anything.

I'd been crying, but I couldn't have explained why. There was just too much. I couldn't handle all of it at once, but it had already happened. I had to face it, but how?

Stillens could never hurt me again.

My mother tried to kill me.

He was never going to hurt anyone again.

She said I wasn't her daughter.

Colette was alive.

My father was dead.

He died protecting me.

He died.

A sudden increase in volume made me stop in my tracks. I blinked, realizing that we'd somehow gotten downstairs and the sound was coming through the door Astra had just opened. The sound was screaming, explosions, destruction—the battle.

I was only vaguely aware of my friends talking around me. I was too busy trying to make sense of what was happening, both in front of me and in my head. It wasn't over. But it was over. But it wasn't...

Astra was pulling me along toward the stage. I probably should've held back, but my brain didn't remember how to get that command out to the rest of my body. Instead, I just followed her, staring out at the chaos beyond us. Was there anyone I knew? Could I see them at all? My focus was finally being pulled to something else and I latched onto it fiercely. Where were my friends?

It was like a magnet drew my eyes directly to James. He wasn't far from here, but the fighting was thick around him. At least he wasn't alone—he turned to block a spell, and I realized Eris was right beside him, looking every bit the terrifying prefect I'd known her as for so long. I'd been so worried about how James would hold up in a battle, but something about the determined light in his eyes, the way he seemed to be almost instinctively blocking and shooting spells... it didn't put me at ease, exactly, but I found I could tear my eyes away and search for the other people I needed to find. Ciara and Poppy, Mrs. Potter and Lily.

There. Mrs. Potter was on the first balcony, ferocious and terrifying as she dueled with three people at once. There was a flash of blue behind her and I realized that both Teddy and Victoire were there as well. My heart clenched; they shouldn't have been here, not when they had Charis and Cassie to get home to.

A shout of frustration that I recognized all too well drew my attention to the floor once again, almost directly below. Zaria Hempsey was fighting as violently as I'd ever seen her, and to my horror I realized that her opponents were Lacy, Rose, and Iris. I gasped in dismay as a blue light broke Rose's shield and sent her to the ground.

And then everything was quiet.

Astra let go of my hand, which pulled me back to where I was—on the stage in front of what felt like the entire wizarding world. The fighting had stopped so abruptly that I'd missed what caused it, but now all eyes were on us. Well, on Astra, I guess.

"Look up here!" she shouted, as if anyone was looking anywhere else. "Everyone! It's over!"

There wasn't even a murmur. The whole crowd stared at Astra, either in shock, dismay, or disbelief. Astra didn't give them long to recover. "I would like to introduce someone to you all. Henry Caymus Stillens, himself!"

I looked over my shoulder, as caught off guard as everyone else appeared to be. Clearly, I hadn't been listening as my friends made their plan. If I had, I would've told them to do anything but levitate his unconscious body out onto the stage. Whispers began, growing louder as Nico brought my uncle closer. Before the crowd got too noisy, Astra said, "He's not dead, but he'll never hurt anyone again. In fact, he's inexplicably lost all ability to do magic."

I stared at her. Surely they hadn't discussed this part—surely no one else had thought that was the way to break the news, right? Astra faltered for only a moment as she was met with blank stares, but she stepped forward and kept going. "I think most of you know who I am, but if you don't recognize me, my name is Astra Lestrange. Stillens made me the face of this war, so I'm here to tell you that it's over."

My focus turned back to the crowd. Some people, specifically those who were affiliated with the DA somehow, were starting to catch on—I saw smiles growing on their faces, hope and disbelief mingling in their expressions. Others were still only staring, clearly struggling to wrap their minds around Astra's words. Some were starting to glance around themselves uncomfortably, and I could only hope that discomfort would lead to a very quick surrender.

But there were also people like Zaria, who had either grown pale or red in the face. Either way, they were livid. Suddenly I was afraid that this wasn't as over as it seemed.

Astra herself seemed oblivious to every kind of reaction. I was pretty sure that though her eyes were roaming the crowd, she wasn't taking any of it in. She just kept talking. "My entire life in the wizarding world has been plagued by this man and the darkness he created. I've only ever seen the fragmented pieces of what we could be, light slipping through the cracks. Light from you, the people who chose to fight and die and persevere until one day we could all be free. All these stars littering the night, only lighting up a fraction of the sky."

As she paused for a deep breath, I found myself scanning the crowd, picking out the others who were like Zaria, who weren't going to go down without a fight no matter what happened next. Magnus Caldwell, only a few yards from where James and Eris were standing. The Hellions, on two separate balconies. My mother, looking directly at me.

"The darkness is over," Astra said. "The night is gone. The light is here to stay."

Silence reigned for a few seconds after she stopped talking. Maybe people were waiting for more, or the impact of her words was only just now sinking in. I could've been wrong—perhaps this was going to end right now.

Then my mother raised her wand in the air, eyes trapping my gaze with her own. "We fight to the death!" she shouted, which was followed by a roar of approval from around the room.

Everything happened so quickly. Fighting, on a smaller scale but somehow worse than before. And worse: as soon as she'd spoken, my mother started towards the stage. I finally wrenched my eyes away, searching for a way to help or a way to escape, I don't know. My gaze flew across the room just in time to see Zaria resume her attack on my friends, firing a spell at Iris while her back was still turned. I didn't even wait for the green light to hit her before jumping off the stage and diving into the crowd.

Pushing through the crowd was easier than it would have been just a few minutes before. Less moving bodies to account for—I ran past several people simply surrendering, everyone moving more slowly now that the urgency of battle was leaving the room. But it wasn't gone everywhere. I ducked to avoid a wayward curse before dodging Semias Hart, the other man who had been in prison with my father.

No, that was a thought I couldn't process. Not him, not yet.

I burst through the crowd and immediately jumped in front of Lacy, wand up in defense. Zaria started, blinking at me in surprise, but it only took a moment for her eyes to narrow cruelly. "I was hoping I'd find you here," she said in a low voice. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?"

I didn't, not really, but I wasn't going to ask and risk making her angrier. The objective was to protect Lacy, and talking could wait till after I'd managed to get Zaria's wand out of her hand. Instead of answering, I shot expelliarmus at her silently, then flicked a shield charm up before the spell had even crossed the distance between us. She blocked my spell easily, a glare on her face as if she was trying to burn through my shield with only her eyes.

She paused, which I'd been expecting. I was a variable she hadn't been considering when she'd been fighting just Lacy, and without the support of her allies, I was a little more formidable than I might have been otherwise. I didn't take my eyes off her, but I did take a deep breath, reach back for Lacy with my free hand. She grabbed on tightly, and in that moment I could hear her ragged breathing, quiet sobs. That wasn't good.

"Lacy, are you hurt?"

"No," she said softly. "But... but she..."

Zaria laughed, but it was a crazed sound. Her eyes still darted around, and I realized that she was scared. That was only going to make her more volatile and dangerous.

"She killed her, Wren," Lacy whispered, and this time I couldn't help looking over my shoulder, my brain refusing to process that until I'd seen it for myself.

Rose and Iris were both on the ground, bloodied and bruised just like Lacy appeared to be. The difference was that I could clearly see Rose's chest rise and fall with her labored breathing. Iris, though...

Zaria let out a wordless yell, and I only had enough time to turn and watch her charge through my shield charm, into me. I hit the ground hard, only barely managing to roll out from under her before she had me pinned down. When I tried to scramble to my feet, she grabbed my leg, dragging me back down.

Could I outduel Zaria? Potentially. But this kind of fighting, where she had height, strength, and training on her side... This wasn't good. I kicked at her with my other leg, but she angled away from me. Before I could try again, she'd moved closer, pinning me down so that I couldn't kick at all. I tried to push up and knock her off of me, but her knee was suddenly digging into my back, pressing me down into the stone floor. She grabbed my wrist, but before she could pry my wand out of my hand, something sent her flying.

"Expelliarmus!" Lacy shouted, and her spell hit Zaria just as I managed to push myself to my knees. I don't know what spell she'd done before, but it must have been magic that had flung her ten feet away.

Lacy was running at her, throwing Zaria's wand away as she did. I scrambled to my feet and ran after her, stopping short when she shoved her wand in Zaria's face. Zaria had already gotten to her knees, but with Lacy's wand inches from her nose, she didn't move, just glanced between us, anger in her glare not enough to cover the fear, at least not for me. She'd miscalculated by counting Lacy out when I'd shown up, or maybe her hatred for me had simply overtaken her reasoning, but now she was unarmed and on the ground. She couldn't overpower both of us at the same time, but before she could try, I cast a silent incarcerous that pulled her arms behind her tightly, restraining her.

"You're going to pay!" Lacy shouted in her face. She was breathing heavily, her arm shaking as she jabbed her wand closer to the older girl's eyes.

Zaria didn't flinch, just narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to kill me?"

Lacy's yes was surrounded by enough obscenities that I winced. Zaria took it like stone, her glare never wavering. "Do it, then," she hissed.

"I bloody will!"

Before she could do any more, I grabbed Lacy's wrist. "Don't."

I could feel both of their eyes on me, but found myself looking out to the distance. Lacy's arm was still trembling in my hand, and despite her attempt at calm, I could hear Zaria's unsteady breathing. Lacy didn't deserve to be a killer. Besides... "It won't make it better."

When I met Lacy's gaze, her lip trembled, and I could see the tears pooling in her eyes, about to slip out. She took a shaky breath and shook her head. "Yes, it will."

"I promise that it won't." When I gently pulled her arm down, she let me, anger already deflating into grief once more. I squeezed her arm before letting go. "You don't want someone's life on your conscious, Lacy. No matter how much they deserve it."

"I suppose you'd like to do the honors yourself," Zaria spat. "Hypocrite."

Before I could say anything, a groan from behind us pulled my attention away. Rose was stirring, and though I had no idea what the extent of her injuries was, it seemed like a bad idea for her to be moving much.

Lacy hesitated, glancing from me, to Zaria, to Rose, and back to me. I smiled as much as I could, which was barely at all. "I've got it, Lacy. It's okay."

She slipped away quickly, and I turned my attention back to Zaria, who hadn't stopped glaring at me. "Get it over with."

"I'm not going to kill you." I lowered my wand. "You're the only one responsible for you actions, but... you're a victim, too."

Somehow, dropping my wand had not eased the fear in her eyes at all. In fact, it had grown significant enough that I think Lacy would've been able to see it. She shook her head, brow creasing almost in confusion. "No. No, that's not true."

"You were only a child."

"No!" She strained against the ropes holding her back. When they didn't budge, she looked back at me, her glare now tinged more with desperation with hate. "Kill me!"

I shook my head and reached down to touch her shoulder. She flinched before trying to shrug me off, and I let my hand fall. "You're not going to die today. You're going to have to live with yourself, Zaria."

There were actual tears in her eyes, which was disconcerting. She swore at me. "You have to. Don't be such a coward!"

"I want to help you," I said softly.

"I don't want your damn help!"

"I know." I sighed heavily, wishing there was a way to release all this sorrow without making her angry enough to try to break my nose with her head. "I'm going to give it anyway. I won't let them hurt you."

She was shaking her head again, shallow, quick breaths marking what looked like the beginning of a panic attack. "No, I can't go back. Don't do that to me."

I blinked at her uncomprehendingly. I don't think I'd ever seen her cry, let alone this. It was... it was the way I'd been when she'd dragged me off to the dementors, the day before I escaped. Oh...

"Please, Wren, don't," she whispered, shaking uncontrollably now. "Not Azkaban. Not again."

This time, when I put my hand on her shoulder she didn't try to push it away. I honestly didn't know what they'd do to the missing children from America, now that they weren't children anymore and had committed horrible crimes. In my mind, they deserved to have their memories restored, be rehabilitated, but the concept of Azkaban itself was horrifying to me, even for hardened, unrepentant criminals. Who knew what would happen?

Though I shouldn't have cared, I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't know how. The best I could do wasn't enough. I pursed my lips before nodding. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm going to try not to let that happen."

She stared at me like I'd caught her off guard. "What?"

"I don't know how much I can really do, but I'll try."

"Why?"

Once again, I blinked at her for a moment. Honestly, fair question. There was a reason I was talking quietly, after all, and it was so Lacy wouldn't hear me. Why had I cared before, when she'd had all the power and had used it to hurt me again and again? Why did I care now?

I took a steadying breath. "I think you could have been a better person, if things had been different. I think you still could be." She was shaking her head, eyes wide and frightened, but I continued before she could stop me. "Why didn't you take me to Stillens after you left me with the dementors?"

"I... I don't..."

She didn't know, and I didn't really expect her to. I hadn't understood it at the time, but now, seeing how she felt about Azkaban, I think I got it. Some part of her, buried deep as it was... some part still clung to a bit of empathy, something Stillens hadn't been able to pry away. And maybe that meant there was hope.

"Wren!"

My head whipped back to see Lacy crouched over Rose, but her eyes weren't on me or her. She pointed before I could try to track her gaze, and when I followed it, my face grew pale. My mother, headed this way.

"Stay here!" I yelled back at my friends. Zaria had sat back and was staring at the ground, a hollow expression on her face—I didn't need to worry about her trying to escape right then. I turned back to my rapidly-approaching mother, ensured we made eye contact, then ran in the other direction.

As much as I wanted to lose her, I wanted to get her away from Lacy and Rose even more. So I kept glancing over my shoulder, making sure she was still following me. What I wasn't intending was for her to gain on me, but somehow that was happening anyway. When I came up on the far wall with the choice to try and hide in one of the abandoned shops or face her, I closed my eyes and reluctantly turned around.

She'd grabbed my wrist tightly before I could open my eyes again. I gasped as her nails dug into my skin, but the anger in her expression hurt more. Despite the remnants of tears (for me? for my father?), her glare was cold. Unfeeling. You are not my daughter.

"How could you do this?" she demanded in a harsh whisper, jerking me forward until our faces were inches from each other. "You're a selfish, impertinent child, Wren."

"Why do you care?" My words came unbidden, as did the tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat. "I'm not your child."

"Insolent, even now."

"You killed my father!"

"You hardly knew him!"

"But you did!" I was shaking, but I could only pull against her grip half-heartedly. It was as tight as a vice. "You're the one who turned on our family!"

She slapped me so hard that I saw stars. I gasped in pain, and the tears that had gathered in my eyes started to fall. When I met her eyes again, she was watching me with contempt. "You have no idea what it is to be a parent, Wren."

"And you do?" I blinked quickly, but it only made the tears come faster. I had to swallow down a sob, but my words had gone dry, replaced by a deep, raw hurt in my lungs.

I think she could tell, because a cruel smile spread across her face. Something deeper than cruel, actually. Her anger was coming from somewhere deep, some part of her that I'd pierced when I'd chosen Astra over her. She wanted me to feel the same thing, I think. It was working.

"I've tried to help you for years, Wren," she hissed, "only to be met with disrespect and disdain. Enough. It ends today."

Her grip tightened on my arm, and I whimpered. She's going to kill me herself, I thought. Somehow, that was worse than just ordering others to do it.

And suddenly, we'd been ripped apart.

Steady hands on my arms kept me upright even as I stumbled backward. My mother was sprawled on the ground.

"Stay away from my child!"

A fresh wave of tears overtook me as my mother glanced up in disbelief and I turned to throw myself at Mrs. Potter. She hugged me tightly with one arm, but the other kept her wand raised, trained on my mother.

As she pushed herself to her feet, my mother took in the scene with a look of disgust. "She is not your child."

"You don't—"

"She doesn't deserve to be anyone's child!" my mother yelled, cutting Mrs. Potter off. "She's a disgrace!"

At that Mrs. Potter let go of me, and before I could wonder why she'd pushed herself in front of me, arm stretched out protectively. I'd thought she was terrifying when I'd spotted her earlier, but I'd never seen a glare like that on her face. As she raised her wand, some small, insane part of me almost felt afraid for my mother.

I couldn't even draw my wand before she'd started firing spells. My parents were the ones who'd taught me to duel, but I'd never seen a barrage like that before in my life. My mother might have been a formidable opponent, but she didn't even have a chance to go on the offensive. Mrs. Potter kept pressing her back, closer and closer to the wall. I could see the rage in my mother's face, lit up in a rainbow of colors by the spells they cast and dodged. She was unrecognizable.

And then she'd been backed up against the wall, and Mrs. Potter had stormed up to her, pushed her into it, taken her wand. Despite the fact that she'd clearly been channeling anger this whole time, her voice was deathly calm when she spoke. "Wren is my daughter, and I couldn't be more proud of the person she's become, in spite of the horrors you've subjected her to. If anyone doesn't deserve her, it's you."

My mother opened her mouth, eyes on fire, but a blue light sprang from Mrs. Potter's wand. Before a word could come out, she slumped forward into unconsciousness.

A beat passed where all I could do was stand there in shock, struggling not to cry. Mrs. Potter stepped back, letting my mother crumple to the floor, and when she turned around, she pulled me into her arms immediately.

Everything released. Everything—Stillens, my father, Colette, Iris, on top of my mother. I clung tightly to Mrs. Potter, sobbing into her shoulder. She just swayed slightly, stroked my hair, held me. "Shh," she whispered. "I know. It's all right."

"She told them to kill me," I managed. "And... and my father tried to protect me, and she... she murdered him..."

"Oh, my love." She pulled me closer. "I'm so sorry."

She didn't say anything else. What was there to say? She just held me, let me cry until I couldn't anymore, and kept holding me after that. 

~~~~

Question of the Day: I give you one hour alone in a room with Katreena tied up in a chair. Does she make it out?

Answer: She's dead in five minutes lol

Vote and comment!

~Elli

Word count: 3895