The Lost Daughter

Chapter Thirty-Nine

It was Neville Longbottom. Mrs. Weasley stood up in shock. "Neville, what are you -?"

"How can we trust you?," Neville interrupted, his wand pointed at Elle, eyeing the black mark on her wrist.

Fred growled, gutturally and stepped in front of her body.

"Fred, get out of the way!," Neville said.

"Freddie, it's okay," Elle replied. She sat up, despite the protests from Fred and George. Facing Neville, she said with conviction, "Voldemort made me a Death Eater because he wanted to collect me. My family, my blood, finished his collection of the original pureblood wizarding families. He lost my parents, who he thought were the last of their family line, but when he realized that I was still alive, he desperately wanted to refill his ranks with the last pureblood family he was missing. I had to do it, otherwise they would have killed Fred and I both."

Everyone was silent. But then Fred spoke up, "She saved my life. Twice now. We would have both died at Malfoy Manor if she hadn't lied. And tonight, that staircase would have crushed me if she hadn't sent me out of the way."

"She saved you today because you're her boyfriend," Seamus spoke up, siding with Neville.

"She saved my life," piped up Cho Chang. Everyone's eyes flicked to her. She blushed, but continued. "When she ran into the school with the rest of the Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange shot a curse at me when I wasn't looking, but Elle blocked it. I saw her do it."

This seemed to sway opinions. Elle saw Neville's wand lower back to the ground, and she let out a breath of relief. She had known it was going to be hard to explain what had happened, but she never expected Neville to want to attack her.

"I'm sorry, Elle. I had to check," Neville said.

Elle replied, "It's okay. I would have done the same thing."

She sat with Fred and George in silence for a minute before Mr. Weasley motioned for them to join him. Fred picked Elle up and carried him alongside George to where the rest of their family stood. Many of them were crying, and Elle's chest tightened. Had someone died?, her mind reeled anxiously.

He set Elle down gently on a nearby table, and they both gasped at what everyone had been looking at. Remus and Tonks laid dead on the floor. Large tears rolled down her cheeks, and her throat swelled as sobs wracked her body.

Fred held her tight, tears coating his face, too. Then, the bodies were covered.

Fred's family came over, one by one, to greet Elle. They each hugged her, and she explained to them all what had happened. After about a half hour of reconnecting with her friends and Fred's family, Elle started to stand up.

Fred tried to stop her, but she said. "Skele-Gro works in minutes for broken bones, Fred. I'll rest when this is all over."

He nodded and helped her to her feet. Every inch of her body ached, but considering what she had just gone through, she was doing pretty well.

Suddenly, George called their names, waving them to come outside. Fred offered Elle his arm, which she took gratefully, and they joined the Weasley's in the morning light. That's when Elle and Fred saw what everyone was looking at. The Death Eaters were marching towards them, Voldemort leading the march.

Everyone who was still standing had now made their way outside, lining the border of the school. The Death Eaters approached from the bridge. And as they came closer, Ginny said, "Who's that? Who's that Hagrid's carrying?"

Then, Voldemort declared, "Harry Potter is dead!" Ginny screamed and lunged forward, stopped by her father.

"Stupid girl," spat Voldemort. Then he went into a monologue asking everyone to join him, saying he didn't want to spill any more magical blood. His eyes found Elle among the Weasleys and he stopped. 

"Draco, Elle, come join us," Voldemort hissed.

Draco hesitated, but then walked forward to meet his parents.

Elle's grip tightened on Fred's arm, but she didn't move.

"Elle Fawley," Voldemort hissed, calling her again. He was pacing slightly, clearly growing furious at her defiance.

Then, Neville stumbled forward, carrying the Sorting Hat in his hand. Voldemort's attention was diverted, and everyone gasped quietly at Neville's movement.

Neville stood up to Voldemort, saying, "It doesn't matter that Harry's gone. He died for us, for all of us. And now we're going to finish what he started!" At that moment, he pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat and Harry tumbled out of Hagrid's arms. Neville swung the sword as Nagini lunged, cutting off the snake's head.

A renewed battle ensued, spells flying everywhere, and Fred pulled Elle behind him as they ran back inside. They were forced to battle Death Eaters for a few minutes until Voldemort and Harry faced each other, everyone watching with bated breath.

"That wand will never work for you and never will," Harry began. "And there's a reason your spells haven't been working on anyone since you tried, and failed again, to kill me."

Voldemort's red eyes shone more angrily than ever as he listened to Harry, as entranced as everyone else in what Harry knew that he did not.

"The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy, not Snape. Draco disarmed Dumbledore that night in the tower. And then, three weeks ago, I disarmed Draco in Malfoy Manor. So, the true master of the Elder Wand is me. You will never win against me with any wand, even that one. It's over, Tom. All of your Horcruxes are gone, even the one that was in me."

With that, Voldemort furiously raised his wand, Harry instinctively doing the same, and with a bright flash, it was over.