integrity ━━ george weasley

-49 || The Duty of Nyxeris

     Voldemort silenced them again. "He was killed whilst trying to escape from the castle grounds. Or, he was killed whilst trying to save himself-"

     Ilia watched, completely taken aback, as a younger Gryffindor student whom she knew to be Neville Longbottom, then charged forwards at Lord Voldemort. He had his wand raised, but he was quick to be disarmed, unsurprisingly. Voldemort threw his wand to the ground, laughing as he did so. Ilia felt a weight tugging at the bottom of her heart as she stood watching the tragic end of the war roll around before her.

     "And who is this?" Voldemort laughed, although it was more of a hiss than anything else. "Who shall demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when their battle is lost and over?"

     "That is Neville Longbottom, my Lord!" Bellatrix exclaimed, and the thought of her being excited over something so sick and sinister, made Ilia shiver. "He is the son of the Aurors, do you remember?"

     "Ah, yes, I remember," Voldemort nodded, a grin creeping onto his face as Neville struggled to his feet again, after being knocked down. "A pure-blood, aren't you, boy?"

     "So what?" Neville spluttered once he had regained his balance, yet his voice somehow remained loud and clear.

     "We need your kind, Neville Longbottom. You would be a valued Death Eater."

     "I'll join you when hell freezes over."

     Voldemort paused as a chorus of cheering came from the crowd that Ilia was standing within. He pulled out his wand, and seemingly summoned something that resembled a bird. But as he held it up, she noticed it to be completely fabric. Or, more specifically, a tattered hat.

     "There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts," he said, and Ilia gaped when she recognised it to be the Sorting Hat that Voldemort held up before his fearful and agitated spectators. "And there will be no more houses. My noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, shall be the face of this school, will he not, Neville Longbottom?"

     There was another dangerous pause, before the hat was forced onto Neville's head. It still covered his eyes, even as a seventeen-year-old. He was being forced to remain still through the use of magic, and Ilia knew that the worst was on its way. Here, what was about to happen, was a prime demonstration of what happened to those who were too loyal.

     The Sorting Hat, still settled comfortably over Neville's head, burst into flames, and there was a series of screams that then echoed across the courtyard. Ilia couldn't tell whether or not it was her, the other spectators, or Neville himself who was screaming the loudest, but she wanted it to stop. She couldn't bear to her the cries of torture, to listen to the outburst of pain that demanded help, when she couldn't help, when she wanted to-

     "HAGGER!"

     Ilia almost screamed again when she watched a giant run past and charge towards the Death Eaters. A group of Voldemort's giants ran at this lone giant, and Ilia almost forgot to how to breathe in her confusion. She began to flick between the two sets of giants (whilst desperately trying to figure out what the hell Hagger meant), in hope of something being explained. But there was nothing, except a number of arrows being rained down upon the giants who fought so aggressively. A large herd of Centaurs had joined in with the fight.

     Again, Ilia felt a tug at her heart, and she wanted to cry. Everything was turning on her now, and it was beginning to affect her in a way that only proved her weakness. And that lack of strength was something that Ilia was deeply afraid of showing.

     But Neville had reacted again, and upon breaking free from the curse, and removing the hat from his head, he had pulled out something silvery, with a glistening red handle. The moment passed incredibly quickly, but all that Ilia knew by the end, was that the head of Voldemort's snake had been separated from its body, and was lying on the floor fairly nearby.