Trigger warning: graphic violence/death

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~Albus~

I probably should've expected that Astra's speech wouldn't end everything immediately, but I was caught off guard when Katreena Predatel started shouting about fighting to the death. I was even more caught off guard when Wren jumped down from the stage and tore off into the crowd.

"What the..." Astra blinked after her. "What's she doing?"

How was I supposed to know? I pursed my lips. "Should we go after her?"

"I... maybe?"

Colette shook her head firmly. "She can hold her own."

"I thought she was going into shock?" I asked skeptically.

"She snapped out before she did. Look." I followed her gaze across the room to where Wren had come to a stop between Lacy and Zaria Hempsey. "I'd say she's thinking clearly."

"A little help over here?" Nico called, and I turned back to see him struggling to keep up a volley of spells thick enough that the people trying to get up on the stage couldn't do it. They were coming for Stillens, weren't they? Crap—we hadn't planned this part out.

Astra swore under her breath. "We need aurors."

"How are we supposed to trust any of the aurors?" I demanded.

Her eyes were scanning the crowd already, and though she winced at my tone, she didn't answer. Colette tugged on my arm. "We've got one already."

One of the aurors, a young black girl who I had a feeling I should've known from Hogwarts, was running the length of the catwalk, on the floor, shooting spells out into the crowd. Maybe she was with the DA? Whatever it was, she planted herself between Stillens and the crowd, clearly trying to keep them at bay. She didn't look like she was old enough to be out of training, though—Nico was going to need more help than that, more help than Astra, even. With Colette, I wasn't sure I would be of any use. I scanned the crowd wildly, looking for anyone who could help. There were plenty of aurors around, but if I didn't recognize them or who they were fighting, I had no way of telling what side they were on. Mr. MacMillan was still caught up with Russey. Was there anyone else I knew?

Suddenly Astra was waving frantically. "Alexis!" she called out, her voice booming across the room thanks to the amplification spell. She lowered her voice to a stage whisper, still staring at the crowd. "Help, please!"

I followed her gaze to see who she was looking at and found two witches shoving through the crowd. One of them had been headgirl with Teddy, hadn't she? And the other one looked familiar as well, leading me to assume they were both friends of his. The other girl was gesturing at Astra, and though her words didn't carry over the sound of fighting, I had a feeling she was yelling that she was on her way. Within moments, they'd joined Nico and the auror-in-training by the stage, pushing themselves onto it with ease and taking positions at either end of Stillens' unconscious body.

"Oh, oh, no," Astra said softly, and I turned back to her in surprise. I'd expected her to already be heading over to help, not staring out at the crowd, but she was frozen. However, when I realized what she was looking at all the worry I'd been feeling shriveled up in my chest. I saw James get knocked to the ground by Magnus Caldwell, and I felt concerningly little.

I only realized Astra was watching me apprehensively when I looked back at her. Of course, she had no reason to be angry at James—she'd been in on his ruse from the start. Her eyes darted between him and me, a question there that she wasn't going to ask. I rolled my eyes. "Sure, yeah. Go help him."

Now it was just Colette and I left. I tightened my grip on her waist, scanning the back of the room to see if they'd started bringing the wounded to one place back where the fighting had all but died out. I couldn't see anything yet, but that didn't mean much. "Do you see any healers?"

"What?"

"Healers, Colette." I frowned at her. "You need one really badly, you know."

She shook her head, surprised. "We have to keep fighting."

"Are you mad?" I blinked at her. "With what, exactly? We've got one wand between us, and it's unreliable at best. And you look like you're about to pass out!"

"We can't just... can't just give up..."

She winced suddenly, clutching her side tightly and proving my point. I pursed my lips. "We're finding a healer, even if I have to carry you the whole way there."

"I can bloody walk, Al."

"And you're walking to a healer." I turned around, looking for a way down from the stage that avoided passing the chaos that was happening on the catwalk. There weren't any stairs, but we were less than two meters off the ground, and the area behind the stage was nearly empty. As gently as I could, I lowered us both down until we were seated on the edge, then I jumped off, reaching up to steady Colette before she could try to follow me on her own. The scowl on her face as I lifted her down turned to a grimace when her feet hit the ground and she stumbled into my chest.

I steadied her quickly, my eyes darting around her, looking for any signs of further injury. "Does it hurt more?"

"More is a really relative term," she said softly.

"How about just your head?"

That brought a grimace once again. "I think it would hurt less to be shot."

"Oh." I swore. "It's okay. You're going to be okay. We'll find a healer, and it'll all be fine."

It was probably a bad sign that Colette didn't argue this time. She just shook her head weakly. "I'm going to die."

"No, don't say that." I cupped her chin and tilted her head back up. "I'm going to make sure you don't, all right? Everything's going to work out, and it'll be okay—"

She was shaking again, but this time there were tears in her eyes and I knew she was trying not to cry. "Just let me, Al. Please."

My breath caught as I choked back a sob. "I can't," I whispered. "Not again."

Before she could think of a reply, her eyes widened in fear, staring at something beyond me. "No," she breathed, and I whirled around, dread already pooling in my stomach.

Looking back, I probably should've expected that the moment we showed our faces, Ferdinand Welling was going to make a beeline towards us. However, the thought that he would even be here hadn't crossed my mind at all, leaving me entirely unprepared to see him no more than twenty meters away, approaching far more quickly than Colette and I could've hobbled away.

I froze. Technically, we weren't defenseless, because I still had that useless wand Teddy had given me. However, I couldn't fight and keep Colette upright at the same time. But if I tried to make her stay back, she was going to only hurt herself more not listening to me...

"Your wand, Al," Colette hissed, and I snapped back to the present. I fumbled as I tried to draw my wand from my pocket, almost dropping it, but it was pointed at Welling before he got close enough to reach us. What was I supposed to cast, though? A shield charm? That would only work if he stuck to magic, and there was no guarantee that would happen. And if he tried to get physical... we were doomed, honestly.

Without thinking, I pushed Colette back against the stage. "Don't move," I told her as sternly as I could. She might have been surprised, or even scared, but she just gripped the edge of the stage as I whirled back around.

Welling had slowed to a stop. The cruel glee in his eyes sent an involuntary shudder down my spine, but I planted myself firmly in front of Colette and held my wand out threateningly. "Stay back!"

At that, he let out a laugh, and I couldn't tell if he really thought this was funny or if he was simply trying to get in my head. I narrowed my eyes as he said, "You must be proud of yourselves. Taking down the great Caymus Stillens, hmm? I suppose that was all you, wasn't it?"

He was staring at Colette, and though I could tell she was trying to keep her voice steady, it still trembled a little when she said, "Shove off."

"You can't hurt us anymore," I added, my glare deepening. "You've lost. You'll go to Azkaban."

"I don't plan to go anywhere," he said calmly, his stance almost casual—he was definitely trying to get in my head, make me doubt my chances against him. "As Katreena said, we fight to the death. And how much better if I can take the two of you with me."

Well... I guess I should've known he'd say something like that. And unfortunately, it only made him more dangerous. If he had nothing to lose, he'd be even more vicious than normal, and that was saying something.

What was I supposed to do? If Colette had her wand, if she'd been able to fight, too, our odds might've been better, but on my own I barely stood a chance. Even with the strength of a werewolf, Welling was taller, faster, and more experienced than I was. Let alone the fact that I wasn't just defending myself...

"Shield," Colette whispered, and I cast the charm without thinking. Seconds later, it deflected a curse that had flown from Welling's wand. I hadn't even realized he'd cast anything. This wasn't going to be pretty. If I was stuck fighting defensively, we'd never have a chance.

So I wouldn't fight defensively. Before Welling had time to say anything, lecture us about being good little children and dying quietly, I shot back. "Stupefy!"

He blocked it and shot another nonverbal spell. That was an advantage I didn't have—my nonverbal spells sucked. Damn it.

"Fighting back is only prolonging the inevitable," Welling said. The glee in his eyes sent a chill down my spine. Of course, this was fun for him.

"Locomotor mortis!" Welling dodged my spell with a laugh before shooting four or five spells in rapid succession, each one weakening my shield. I bit my lip and cast a fresh one, moving away from Colette as I did. If I could just get him away from her...

But Welling didn't take the bait. Instead, he cast even more curses, ones that would've hit her dead-on if not for the shield charm. And then he was running forward, and I realized a moment too late what he was trying to do.

He stepped through my shield as if it were nothing, which I guess it was—it was only made to stop spells, after all. Colette winced as he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, not seeming to care that she stumbled so badly that only his grip on her was keeping her off the ground. I was already running at them with no clue what I'd do when I reached them, but then his wand was in her face and he was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

I skidded to a halt. How had I let this happen? Why had I ever thought he'd go after me when Colette was here? And what was I supposed to do now?

"Put your wand away, Potter," Welling commanded, his voice carrying all the authority he had at the detention center. If my glower could've killed him, he'd have been on the ground, but I found myself slowly putting my wand back in my pocket.

"What the hell, Albus?" Colette snapped, frowning at me. I couldn't tell how much of her expression was anger and how much was pain as Welling jerked her closer to him, eyeing her with a cruel amusement in his face. I mouthed I'm sorry, but I don't think she saw.

"You're a tricky one, St. Pierre," Welling said. She glared at him, but he shook her and her face contorted in pain. That seemed to satisfy him, though it made me want to throw up. Was he going to drag this out? Only try to kill us after torturing us one last time?

"You're such a coward," I said. If he wasn't holding onto Colette, I would've tried to tackle him. "You'll only fight people who can't fight back."

Welling blatantly ignored me. "Slipping away from Stillens, surviving a fall that would've spelled death for anyone else. How did that happen?"

Colette spit in his face, and I almost cheered. Welling just narrowed his eyes and wiped at his cheek. "I see we still haven't learned our lessons, have we?"

He stepped back and let go of her arm in one motion. I ran to try and keep her from falling, but before she'd even hit the ground, I heard him casting a spell.

"Crucio."

Instantly, she was screaming, eyes squeezed shut against the pain. I stared at her for a beat, frozen in horror, but as my eyes turned to Welling that quickly gave way to rage. What kind of monster would use the cruciatus curse on a girl who was already on the brink of death?

No. No, I wasn't going to let this happen. He'd put us, put her through far too much for this to stand. Everything had slowed down—all I could hear was my friend screaming in pain, somehow worse than I'd ever heard before. My vision was turning red. Whatever it took, I was going to make sure he never hurt her again.

Maybe Stillens wouldn't rue the day he met me, but Welling bloody would.

Without thinking about it, I let out a yell and barreled into him with such force that we were both thrown to the ground. I landed on top of him, and in the brief moment that the air was knocked out of him and he tried to figure out was going on, I pinned his legs down and punched the side of his head. No holding back today.

My first hit drew blood, as did my second on the other side of his head. I felt him struggling beneath me, but I was stronger than I'd thought—holding him down was no issue. I narrowed my eyes. "I bet you regret turning me now, don't you?"

He didn't answer, just tried to wriggle his arms free to hit me back, or maybe try to throw me off. I dug my knee into one of his wrists. It didn't take much force to hear a crack, followed by his roar of pain. I punched his head again. "How does it feel?" I yelled. "Being powerless? Knowing you're about to die? Are you enjoying this, Ferdinand?"

He couldn't answer, because I'd punched him in the nose and his mouth was full of blood. Still, I could see the hatred in his eyes. The same hatred that had been there every time he'd looked at Colette in the detention centers, before he choked her or electrocuted her or crucioed her. That hatred was going to end today.

I grabbed his shoulders almost instinctively, sitting back as I pulled him forward for just a moment. Before he could do anything, I slammed his head back down into the concrete. Blood splattered everywhere, and I didn't have to look at his empty eyes or feel his body go limp to know that I'd killed him.

For a moment, I just sat there, breathing heavily and staring down at him. His face was a bloody mess, almost unrecognizable. The glassiness of his eyes seemed surreal. When I looked down at my hands, they were covered in blood. I looked from them to his face once more, almost in shock that I'd done that. He was gone, and I'd made that happen.

"Albus?"

It was like Colette's voice broke some kind of spell. I suddenly remembered that I was incredibly close to Welling's corpse, and I scrambled off him as quickly as I could, pushing myself away. I had to wrench my eyes away, but I managed to turn around and crawl towards Colette, still huddled on the ground.

"Hey," I said softly. I reached out to help her up, but hesitated. She probably wouldn't want Welling's blood all over her. But she was trying to push herself up on her own already and held out her hand for help. I pulled her the rest of the way up so that she was sitting across from me. I hesitated once more as the adrenaline of the past few moments started to wear off. I'd... I'd just beaten him to death, hadn't I? I bit my lip. "Are... are you okay?"

Colette was staring past me, watching the blood spread beneath Welling's lifeless head. When her eyes met mine again, she looked almost dazed. "Did you mean to do that?"

I pursed my lips, not sure if I should answer that truthfully. Hadn't I just proved I was a monster? What if she wanted nothing to do with me now? But when I looked in her eyes I knew I couldn't lie. After a deep breath, I said, "Yes."

She looked back at his body before nodding emphatically. "Good."

A relieved laugh escaped from me before I could stop it. "Oh Merlin, I thought you might have been horrified."

"I've seen a lot worse." She looked down at her hand, now stained red with his blood, too. "He deserved it."

"Yeah..." I looked over my shoulder and suddenly wanted to gag. Better to move on from all of that. "Are you okay, though?"

"I... fine, really..."

The faintness of her voice made my gaze snap back to her. I hadn't noticed how heavily she'd been breathing until just now, or how much the arm she was using to hold herself up was shaking. Alarmed, I scooted closer to her, reaching out to steady her before she fell. "I don't think you're fine, Colette."

"Everything's fine," she said, shooting a weak smile at me. "Stillens is powerless, and Welling's gone. Everything is fine."

"Everything but you!" I pushed myself up to my knees, eyes wide with horror as I started to realize how not fine she really was. How much of Adalyn's healing had the cruciatus curse just undone? She was already paler, and her breathing wasn't just heavy, it was labored. I could hear a wheeze every time she took a breath, which hadn't been happening before. Oh Merlin, she was dying, she was dying and I didn't know where to take her, what to do—

"Why you still here?"

I started, whirling around to see Nico jumping down from the stage. His eyes took in the scene, from Welling's body to Colette's sorry condition, and his brows furrowed. "Oh."

"Help me get her up, please," I begged, hooking my arms under her legs and shoulders. Nico crouched down to hold her head still while I stood up, then helped me adjust her weight until she was leaning into my shoulder. The fact that she didn't protest once was nearly as alarming as everything else.

She blinked at Nico for a moment like she was trying to place him, then frowned. "Where's Stillens?"

"There's a ton of aurors guarding him," Nico said, motioning back towards the stage. Mr. MacMillan had taken over, it looked like. I could see a lot of the room beyond the stage, too, and it looked like most of the fighting was starting to wind down already.

"Where are the healers?" I whispered.

Nico pursed his lips, then hopped back up to the stage and glanced around the room. After a moment, he pointed somewhere on the far side. "It looks like they're gathering the wounded over there."

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I nodded anyway. My vision was starting to blur, and it took a moment for me to realize it was from tears. "We need to get her to the healers," was all I managed. Nico nodded solemnly, then started to lead the way around the stage.

We'd barely gotten a few steps before Nico froze, staring at something in front of us. I inched around him to see what he was looking at. Surely it couldn't be that bad, right? My eyes grew wide, though, when I saw that we'd stumbled directly into Professor Sulcan.

Why couldn't people just leave us alone?

To be fair, Sulcan was fighting two kids from our year that I didn't know very well, Trevor Haspin and Reya Parkinson. A pit grew in my stomach as I watched his spell break Trevor's shield and hit the stage behind him. The next curse hit him straight on, knocking him out instantly and flinging him backward into the stage. His head hit the edge with a crack.

Reya screamed, but before Sulcan could turn on her, Nico drew his wand. "Hey! Over here!"

Sulcan glanced back at us in surprise, but it turned to anger quickly. To my surprise most of it was directed at Nico, though I guess that shouldn't have been a surprise at all. Nico had just outed himself as a traitor, and he was clearly with me and Colette right then. It suddenly occurred to me that, just like Madam Cantha had been recruiting Adalyn, Sulcan had recruited him.

"Leave them alone," Nico said steadily.

I noticed his hand was shaking, though, and tried to fumble for my wand with one hand while holding Colette up with the other. She struggled against me. "Put me down, Al."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"I'm okay, seriously," she hissed. "I just needed a moment. And you can't fight with me in your arms."

Unfortunately, she was at least right about the last thing. And despite the fact that Nico's glare was sharp enough to cut glass, I had a feeling he was a lot more scared than he was letting on.

Sulcan started towards us as I gently let Colette down, putting my arm around her as she staggered against me. Our old professor's wand was in his hand, but he was holding it casually, chuckling as if he couldn't be bothered to be scared of us.

Honestly, though I know I'd been terrified at the time, looking back at my memories of this man only made him seem pathetic. He'd been outwitted by two children, for one thing, and now that I'd had professors like Welling, Sulcan's cruelty seemed almost tame in comparison. My only concern was keeping Colette from getting hurt, to be honest. But I still cast an uneasy look at Nico, whose breathing was getting shallower as Sulcaan approached. He'd grown pale, and I had to wonder what exactly Sulcan had been feeding into his mind over those three years he'd been at school.

"What a surprise," Sulcan said, eyes on Nico. "I always knew you weren't fit for service."

Nico shook his head. "You're the one who put me on this path to begin with."

"Ungrateful little son of a whore," Sulcan said, laughing. You can't really be blaming your choices on me.

Colette glanced at me in confusion, but I was too concerned to translate the parseltongue Sulcan had switched to. For some reason, Nico's hand just wavered, his glare slipping into something tinged with a lot more fear.

Do you know why I discouraged you from Stillens? he asked. I knew you were too cowardly to be of any use. But you wouldn't listen, would you?

"Shut up," Nico said, his voice quiet. I pursed my lips and stepped forward to stand next to him, but he didn't seem to notice. His eyes were locked on Sulcan.

You haven't changed, I see. Still a glutton for punishment.

"Shut up," he repeated, shaking his head quickly.

Sulcan was close enough that I probably could've punched him if I didn't have Colette to worry about. I glanced between him and Nico. Did I need to interfere? Nico had acted like he was going to take care of this when he'd gotten Sulcan's attention, but now he seemed frozen. Maybe he was too scared to defend himself.

You've always been a weakling, Nico. Stillens might have pulled from the dredges, but I knew you were too low even for him. Too broken to be useful. I wasted far too much time on you.

"Stop it!" Nico took a step back as Sulcan took one forward, bringing him close enough for me to do something about this if Nico wasn't going to. I glanced back at him, giving him one more chance before I threw the man into the stage.

Deep down, Sulcan continued, you know I'm right. That you're not worth the air you're breathing, even with all that I taught you.

He seemed frozen, and I felt my heart clench. I'd never really paid much attention to Nico and Sulcan, other than once when Astra overheard them arguing in the hall. Clearly, there had been a lot happening behind closed doors that had had an impact on him, based on the panicky expression on his face. My heart clenched, suddenly feeling bad for him—however cruel Nico had been, he'd been a kid back then. And Sulcan, an authority figure hurting and manipulating him, it sounded like. It reminded me too much of Wren.

With that thought in my mind, I kicked Sulcan in the knee.

He fell to the ground immediately, letting out a cry of pain. I hadn't been trying to break his leg or anything, but maybe I actually had—he was clutching his knee with a grimace on his face. When I glanced back at Nico, he was staring down at him in shock. "Your turn," I said, nudging him in the side.

He blinked at me for a moment before his expression hardened into a frown as he looked back down at our ex-professor. "You're a piece of shit." With that, he kicked the man in the face, just as he was struggling to his feet.

I grinned, but Nico was still frowning at him, seeming conflicted. He glanced at his wand, then shot a questioning glance at me. Somehow, I had a feeling I knew what he was asking. I just shrugged. "If there was ever a day for it, today's the day to kill your demons, don't you think?" I felt Colette nod against my shoulder.

For a moment, Nico considered that. Sulcan was trying to get up once again, and I raised an eyebrow—he needed to make a decision quickly.

Honestly, I was surprised when he shook his head. "You know... I'd rather see him rot."

He cast stupefy, and once again Sulcan fell to the ground, this time for good. I stared at him for a second, taking in the heaviness of the moment, then shot Nico a grim smile as I clapped him on the back. "Good job."

For a moment, Nico tilted his head, frowning at me almost like he was confused. It faded into alarm pretty quickly, though. "Bloody hell, Colette..."

I turned to her, horrified that I'd let my mind wander to anything else, even for a moment. Colette was barely holding herself upright. Without asking, I swept her back up into my arms again, swearing under my breath as I did. "Healers."

"Right. This way."

Nico pulled me towards the main area, but he paused when Reya jumped to her feet as we passed, face wet with tears and eyes wide with panic. "Trevor's not... he's not waking up, and I can't carry him, and I don't—"

To my surprise, and apparently Reya's as well, Nico pushed past her and whispered a levitation charm. Trevor's unconscious body lifted up about a meter in the air, and Nico gripped his shoulder firmly to move him toward us. "You'll have to help navigate, Parkinson, if you can do that. We're headed to the east side of the room."

Reya blinked at him, mouth opening and closing without sound. "You're... I thought you were..."

"Working for Stillens?" Nico pursed his lips. "It's a little more complicated than that. Ask Wren."

She nodded mechanically, but I shook my head. "We don't have time for this."

"We're going," Nico said, pushing Trevor forward. "We'll make it, Albus."

We began to pick our way through the remnants of the battle, where luckily no one seemed to be fighting anymore. I had to pause for a moment to hold Colette still as a coughing fit wracked her, and I bit my lip in an effort to not cry. "Colette, stay with me," I whispered as I hurried after them. "I need you to stay with me, okay?"

"I don't..." She coughed, wincing as she did. "It's too late, Al."

"No! It's not!" I shook my head, unsuccessfully willing the tears not fall. "You're going to live. That monster doesn't get to take you with him."

"He didn't make me jump off the balcony," she said faintly.

I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or get onto her, and what came out was a mixture of all three. "You can't... stop it, Colette. You're okay. You'll be okay."

Her eyes were fluttering again, and she didn't respond to my voice. I felt my own pulse speeding up with panic. I could see now where a group of men and women were hovering between several people either laid out on the ground or on stretchers. My pace quickened, and I ended up passing Nico and Reya as I rushed forward. "Help! Somebody!"

A blonde witch who seemed to be in charge quickly came up to me, eyes widening as she took in Colette's state. "Whathappened to her?"

I had to gulp down a sob. "She... she fell off the balcony..."

Her eyes bulged. "And she's still alive?" The lump in my throat was so large that I could only nod. The witch pursed her lips, then glanced over her shoulder. "Inessa! We need a room!"

Another witch came hurrying over, then led us through a storefront that was so filled with people I was worried I was going to trip over them. Inessa opened the door at the back and pointed. "Second door on the left is free. Just have to move the chairs to the side. I'll get a stretcher..."

I carried Colette into the small room that appeared to have been intended for Ministry officials to wait in before the execution, based on the comfortable chairs and fancy little snack set-up. Though my brain registered those things, I didn't really notice them. I stood helplessly in the middle of the room until Inessa came back with a stretcher, then stayed right beside Colette's head as the blonde witch started assessing her injuries, mouth pressed in a thin, worried line.

I didn't notice Nico had crept in until his hand was on my shoulder, pulling me back to one of the chairs. "You can't do anything else right now."

"I... I know..." I rubbed at my eyes, past caring about who I was crying in front of. "She's... it's..."

"They're going to do everything they can."

Though my head nodded, I couldn't help the sick feeling in my stomach. She has to live. She has to.

~~~~

Remember what I said about Astra keeping herself unstained from the horrors of killing a man? Yeah... I didn't think that was Albus and Colette's style either.

Question of the Day: Was Albus justified in killing him?

Answer: If I'm thinking about the book in the terms of what is the best for the story, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. In order to stay true to my values, though... I don't believe that it should be up to another person to end someone's life, no matter what kind of evil stuff they've done. Of course, justice should always be a priority, but I believe that the only one who has the authority to give or take life is God. I'm also a firm supporter of prison reform and restorative justice here in the US. So because I'm against the death penalty I have to say no. Luckily for Albus, though, God is very forgiving, so I can be, too.

Vote and comment!

~Elli

Word count: 5287