Emily Potter - Book 5 - Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 54 - The Battle of the Department of Mysteries

"I was wondering where you went off to, dear niece." Lucius Malfoy said with a cold stare, looking down at Eleanor, "I am not surprised, though. Now that you're a blood traitor, I doubt your parents will have a problem pretending you and your brother never existed."

She aimed her wand at him, a proud look in her eyes, "I'd rather be a blood traitor than to be such a kiss ass to a dictator. I am not surprised that you are not your own person that you have so shamelessly sold yourself to a measly wizard, dear uncle." Lucius glowered at Eleanor, his nostrils flaring in fury, "You really have changed. I daresay you almost sound American, how tragic..."

Black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at their hearts. Derek gave a gasp of horror. "Where's Sirius?" Harry said. Several of the Death Eaters laughed. A callous female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures to Emily's left said triumphantly, "The Dark Lord always knows!"

"Always," Echoed Lucius softly. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter." He said, hungrily eyeing the glowing glass ball in Harry's hand. "I want to know where Sirius is!"

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Mimicked the woman to Emily's left, she and her fellow Death Eaters had closed in so that they were mere feet away from Emily and the others, the lights emitting from their wands burning in her eyes. "We know he's here," said Emily, ignoring the rising panic in her chest, the dread she had been fighting since they had first entered the ninety-seventh row. "He's here. We know he is."

"Don't do anything," She muttered, looking at Neville who looked like he was ready to get into a fist fight with the Death Eaters. "Not yet —" The woman who had mimicked Emily let out a rasping scream of laughter. "You hear her? You hear her? She's giving instructions to the other children as though she thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know the Potters as I do, Bellatrix," said Malfoy softly. "Both have a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about them. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I know Sirius is here," said Harry, "I know you've got him!" More of the Death Eaters laughed, though the woman still laughed loudest of all. "It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," said Malfoy. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands." Chills ran down their spines, this really was a trap... And we fell for it.

"Go on, then," said Emily, raising her own wand to chest height. As she did so, the nine wands of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Marlene, Derek, Eleanor, Ginny, and Luna rose on either side of her. The knot in Emily's stomach tightened. If Sirius really was not here, she and her brother had led their friends to their deaths for no reason at all.

But the Death Eaters did not strike. "Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," said Malfoy coolly. "Scared of a bunch of children, uncle dearest? I'll promise to be merciful once I get to you." Eleanor said with a cocky smile.

Emily snatched the glass ball from her brother's hand and quickly shoved it into her jacket pocket, the same pocket where she hid the previous ball that she took from the shelf. "If you want it, you have to go through me."

"Oh, she knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," She said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood. "Very well, then —"

"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius Malfoy roared at the woman. "If you smash it..." Emily's mind was racing. The Death Eaters wanted this dusty glass sphere. Neither twin wanted anything to do with such a thing; they just wanted to get Sirius back. The two of them just wanted to get them all out of this alive, make sure that none of their friends paid a terrible price for their stupidity.