~the sea speaks more honestly to those willing to drown~
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The school wasn't quiet anymore, just a few hours ago, the only thing you were able to hear was your own breath, now it seemed as if darkness was breathing down your neck. The faint tapping sound, Talea heard in the back of her head was overpowered by the booming sound of destruction and pain.
Gryffindors sword had never felt so heavy in her pocket, again shrunken into a size that made it possible to carry around. It was useless to split the group up, they would get noticed and that was exactly what they wanted. It was finally time to fight and stop to hiding. They followed the voices, they were able to make out, into the courtyard and there it was just as if time had stopped.
Talea was used to see a calming place, where students hung around, laughing and chatting with their friends. It was weird to see the place in such state, the fountain was destroyed, the water muddying the earth around it where bad was fighting against good.
She was able to make out a few Order members in motion, fighting against death eaters. The sun was rising and the reddish tone dipped the battlefield into a picture of destruction.
Suddenly, a green flash of light shot past her, nearly hitting her in the side, if Remus hadn't pulled her back. Talea let out a breath and looked up to Remus, giving him a thankful smile.
"You didn't saw that coming, did you?", said Remus.
She narrowed her eyes at him and simply turned back around, to the fight. With a look to the side, Talea noticed that James, Eloise and Lily were already in the middle of the courtyard.
She saw that the others were following their friends but she stayed in the corridor, hidden in the shadows and only for a second, she just stood in there and admired her friends.
Eloise hair blew in the wind, a determined expression on her face but her hands held no wand. Bright flames shot from her palms, not small and uncontrollable ones like Talea had seen on her before. No, the flames left soot and ash on everything they touched.
James and Lily were fighting against two death eaters, blocking every curse that came towards them. They stood back to back, working as if they ere one person. It seemed unbelievable that Lily had rejected James for years, no one could deny that they were soulmates.
Taleas eyes drifted to the other side, where Peter and Remus were fighting, she couldn't make out the death eaters faces as they were all hidden with silver masks. Her cousin didn't seem as reserved as he was in his whole life. Talea had noticed that in the past year, he had gained confidence and strength, just like Peter.
The smaller boy held his head high as he shot spell after spell at his opponent. The boy that nearly took his own life, when he heard that he could be the reason of all of their deaths. Talea knew that in his life he seemed to have followed the people where he would make the most gain of, when he was in their presence and this lead to him being used easily. Just like Peter himself, other people around him had made mistakes or mistreated him. But now, he had grown into his own personality and is slowly becoming the best version of himself.
Talea felt a little bit proud of what her friends ad achieved over time and her eyes fell onto the two black-haired brothers. They were standing side by side, Eira not far away from them. Regulus never failed to surprise her. Sometimes, Talea felt bad for putting him in such danger but that was what he wanted. He was one of the most important persons in this war, he has pulled on so many strings, saved so many lives and risked so much. He deserved so much more praise and Talea would ensure that someday, this will be what he'll gets.
And then there was Sirius, his grey eyes meeting her own for a second before he went back to fighting. He had always been by her side, he was an anchor she never knew she needed, he was the most precious thing in her life and all she ever wanted was to protect him from any pain. But she knew that this was not possible. Sometimes, she wondered why he still stuck with her, she had put him through so much stress, pain and danger, if he'd simply look out for himself more, he would know that maybe, she meant nothing good for him. If she could, Talea would change a lot of things in the past but now she had to remind herself that the future needed her, not the past.
It felt like forever, as she just stood there in shadow but sometimes forever is just a few seconds and in this moment, it was.
Talea looked to her side and she wasn't surprised to see two very familiar people strutting into the battle. Bellatrix LeStrange and Abraxas Malfoy, for some reason, they didn't even wear a mask. Talea had waited for this moment, she only had two goals and both of them led to someone dying.
Her feet carried her to the courtyard and for some reason, she felt safe, Hogwarts castle on one side and the view of Hogwarts grounds on the other.
Talea pulled Bellatrix wand out of her pocket and raised it into the air, a red beam of light hit Abraxas towards Sirius and Regulus, Bellatrix head turning towards her.
Her eyes still held a crazy glimmer as they darkened at the sight of her. The witch raised a wand, clearly not her own, and immediately shot a curse into her direction but Talea blocked it effortlessly.
She knew that spell like the back of her hand, the crutiatus curse, it should have been obvious that Bellatrix first instinct was to use it.
But Talea tried not to get irritated by the spell and shot another at her opponent. This time, Bellatrix blocked it. It was going back and forth, others had moved aside from their duel, as curses were bouncing off their wands with high speed and every then and now would hit the ground near them.
Both of them were completely and utterly engulfed in their fight, dancing with death, in their own bubble.
"Stupefy!"Bellatrix nearly barely missed it, if she hadn't stumbled to the side. Her eyebrows furrowed, as she yelled"Crucio!"again.
Talea was able to block it"Expelliamus!"
"Depulso!"
"Bombarda!"
"Avada Kedavra!" The green beam of light shot towards Talea but she did not duck. Instead, with a twist of her wrist, she blocked the spell and the green beam of light hit Bellatrix directly into her chest.
It was her own wand, that had killed Bellatrix LeStrange.
Talea watched as Bellatrix body slumped to the ground, her head hitting stone. And for a second, she just stood there, her eyes fixed onto the lifeless body in front of her. It felt so unreal but relief filled her body, as the only thing she was able to hear was the unsteady sound of her own breathing.
A pain shot up her left forearm and pulled her out of her trance, her head snapped up and Talea saw that everyone else in had stopped in their movements, their heads turning up to the sky.
The sun has risen but hidden beneath dark clouds that had suddenly formed. And that's when she saw it, a colossal skull had formed in the sky. A serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. Talea watched, as it rose high, greenish smoke was surrounding it, forming a deep contrast to the sky, so it started to look like a new constellation.
She looked down at her forearm, where her skull-like scar was at. It had always burned in certain situations but never like this. It felt like someone was setting her skin on fire.
Suddenly, Talea's sight started to blur again. She steadied herself on a wall, as images appeared in front of her eyes.
Riddle's diary,
Gaunt's ring,
Slytherin's locket,
Hufflepuff's cup,
Rovena Ravenclaw's diadem
and finally; Nagini. The snake.
The scaly body slithered across the floor, not far away from a certain dark wizard, his steps calm and not rushed. As if he was just taking a stroll.
But Talea knew that he wasn't, she knew that place around him and it was not far away. No, it was certainly not far away.
Voldemort was on Hogwarts grounds and indeed soon to be in Hogwarts castle and so would be the snake, the last Horcrux, slithering in Hogwarts great entrance hall.
Talea's eyes snapped open and within a second, she was running back into the courtyard, stunning a death eater that was fighting James. She didn't even had to say anything, he knew immediately what was going on, he grabbed Lilys hand and pulled her backwards, sending her opponent flying against a wall with a spell.
"Entrance hall" was the only thing Talea said before rushing to the other side, to get Eloise while James was running to the others.
After she had gotten Eloise to follow her, both of them ran after the others, who were rushing into the direction of the entrance hall but were held off, by a group of suspiciously young looking death eaters.
Eloise was already running towards them when a hand pulled Talea to the side. She whirled around, wand raised and ready to shoot a curse their way, when she realized that it was only Sirius.
She dropped her posture and her hands flew up to Sirius face, with a worried glance, she noticed that there were a few cuts gracing his cheek.
"Are you okay?" her voice was quiet.
He nodded his head and placed his hand onto hers. "Listen, I know we don't have much time but we both know that you'll be fighting Voldemort. Remember that one bet we had in fifth grade? You lost and you promised me you'd do anything I'd say."
Talea furrowed her brows, shaking her head slightly "Sirius, we don't have time for that-"
He hushed her and looked around, checking if there was any danger near. "I know, I know. But I want you to do that now. I don't care, if you'll win this. I only want you to get out there alive, alright? Can you promise me that?"
She shook her head "Sirius, you know I can't."
His hands were tightening around hers, his eyes never leaving hers. "No, no, I know you can't but I want to hear it from you. Please." His voice went softer in the end.
"I promise." Her voice was barely a whisper, she didn't trust her voice enough to be able to speak up.
"Talea, Sirius!" Remus voice yelled from somewhere in the corridor.
"Talea, love, listen" Sirius jaw clenched, as if he was fighting back tears, his voice trembling. "I wanted to do this somewhere else, better time, better place, you know?" One hand left hers and he pulled something out of his pocket.
Talea's eyes widened, she was shaking her head again and again. She didn't wanted to give him false promises. Promises, she might never live up to.
"Talea, I'll give you the world, the moon, the fucking stars. Anything you ask, just promise me that- promise me that you'll be by my side for eternity." His eyes nervously travelled over her face, searching for answers.
Talea took a deep breath, before she placed a kiss on his lips "I love you."
"Is that a yes?" Sirius mouthed turned up in a smile.
"Yes, you idiot" he grinned at her and quickly put the ring on her fingers but there was no time to admire it.
Remus shouting pulled them out of their small bubble "Now come on you two!"
The both of them ran towards him and were quick to catch up with the others. Talea rushed towards Eloise and Lily while she listened to the bickering behind her with a smile.
"By Merlin, did you just proposed to my cousin in the middle of a fucking battle you black haired bitch?"
"What's your problem with Black hair?" you could hear Regulus interrupting their conversation.
"Yeah what's you problem with Black hair Moony? And did you notice that you swear a lot when you're stressed?" agreed his brother.
James didn't seemed to mind their bickering "Well, when I'm going to propose to Lily, it's going to be very romantic."
"Well, if I'd be Lily, I'd rather jump off the Astronomy tower" added Peter, earning a snort from Sirius.
"You've already tried that Wormtail" stated Remus.
Peter let out a gasp."Ouch, no need to get so personal Mr. Scarface."
Eloise let out a sigh next to Talea, as they were checking the corridors for any death eaters. "Sometimes I wonder if they'll ever grow up."
"Well, Remus is quite tall already" answered Talea in a whisper.
On the other side of her Lily let out a groan but didn't add to their conversation. It was when they finally reached the corridor to the entrance hall, when Talea noticed that they didn't really had any plan of what to do excatly.
When they finally got to the Entrance hall, it was nothing like they had expected. Well, Talea wasn't quite sure what she had expected but it was definitely not silence and emptiness.
There was not a single soul and not a single sound.
Nothing.
For a moment, they just stood there, waiting for something to happen, for someone to appear. Had she been wrong?
They still hadn't entered the hall, there were standing at the end of the corridor, wands raised.
Why hadn't they seen anyone on their way?
Why didn't Voldemort appear?
Where was the snake?
And why was it so silent?
She took another step and another. Wand still raised, the others followed her into the middle of the room. She was just about to turn around and tell the others that they should split up, when she saw a red light in the corner of her eyes.
But it was already to late as she whirled around, the stunning spell hit her right into her chest and send her flying into the next wall.
Her body slumped against the ground while her head hit the wall. She fought with all of her will to stay conscious but the black spots painting her vision started to worry her. Her head spun and her ears were filled with a constant beeping sound.
Talea tried to pull her body up but something seemed to pull her back to the ground, even though there was nothing. She tried to blink away the dark spots and they were indeed getting less after time but what she saw made her wish that they would reappear, so she wouldn't have to deal with what happened right in front of her.
Death eaters seemed to have waited for them and her friends were trying their best to fight them off but there were just so many of them and the other Order members were busy duelling others. They probably didn't even knew where they went.
But what was worrying her the most was a certain person standing in front of her, with a raised brow and to her horror, Bellatrix wand in their hand.
Augustus Rockwood, the traitor.
"Long time no see", a smirk adorned his face, making her want to punch it off.
"I can't say that I missed the sight", replied Talea, her eyes searching for a way out.
Rockwood's eyes darkened in anger, suddenly raising his wand at her. But Talea only tilted her head "You can't kill me yet sweetie."
"What did you just call me?" he seemed to grow irritated by the girl that showed no fear at the sight of the wand, raised at her.
"Sweetie? Oh, sorry. Does that hurt your ego or does it just brings back memories from your childhood?" She slowly started to sit up, her back still pressed to the wall.
"No, no one has ever called me sweetie" he spat back in disgust.
Talea hummed "Yeah, I bet your parents didn't love you very much. It would definitely explain the behaviour; seeking acceptance from members of the scared 28?"
By now, Rockwood slowly started to turn red in anger, his hand was clenched into a fist but his wand still raised at her "The dark Lord may wants to kill you himself but he hasn't said anything about hurting you."
Talea nodded, seemingly deep in thought. "You're right but next time, you should define who you mean by getting hurt."
His eyebrows furrowed "What-" his voice was cut off, as Talea kicked him right between his legs, using the moment of shock to grab both of the wands and sending him flying against the wall with a stunning spell.
She took a second, to look over the battle that was happening right in front of her and then send spell after spell at the death eaters who had their backs turned towards her.
Talea noticed that Eloise wasn't using her flames to fight, she figured that she was slowly growing exhausted, so Talea ran towards her direction.
She send one of the death eaters crashing into the next wall and Eloise eyes snapped towards her, seeming relieved that she was now back to fighting.
When she heard doors opening, her head turned towards the entrance where now someone strutted in. It seemed like she hadn't been wrong with her prediction as her eyes travelled over Voldemorts face and then down, next to him on the left side.
His snake was slithering next to him, probably not even knowing in what danger she was. Talea was quick to slip towards where her friends were and tried to make them notice the Horcrux that had just entered the hall.
Talea was actually surprised that Voldemort hadn't made a big announcement by now but was just standing at the side, a, what could be called smirk, on his face while he watched the chaos. And his death eaters didn't seem to mind either.
"We have to separate the snake from him", said Eloise to Talea.
She nodded in response and took a deep breath "All right, try to kill the snake as soon as possible and let me do the rest."
Eloise frowned "What do you mean by that, what are you going to do?"
"Just trust me and tell the others that I'd never leave them, all right?"
Eloise simply shook her head "No, Talea I don't get it and you're not going to put yourself in danger alone. Don't get me wrong, you're an angel but you don't have to fight alone. "
But the girl only gave her a small smile, before turning around humming to herself "Lucifer was an angel too."
She felt bad for what she was about to do, Talea felt so many emotions and yet couldn't place one but it seemed like none of them were good.
This was clearly not how she imagined-
Her mind was all over the place as she slipped into the shadows. Her thoughts were destroying her from the inside while the noises all around her irritated her from the outside.
All she wanted was silence but silence is a killer too, isn't that what people say?
Her wand was raised as she slowly stepped closer to her enemy. But it seemed like this didn't went unnoticed.
"Look who's it, the little seer." Voldemorts head slowly turned to where she was standing and he looked her straight into her eyes.
She tilted her head" We both knew that it was going to happen soon, didn't we? So why don't we finish this now?"
His laugh send shivers down her spine "Spoken, like a true Gryffindor. Should I give you some time to prepare?" he was mocking her now and looked down to the wand she held in her hand. "Maybe give you some time to get your own wand?" His eyebrows raised "Oh wait, I remember. Bellatrix broke it in two."
Talea scoffed "And then I stole hers. I don't get the point old man."
His eyes darkened in anger "Talking about Bellatrix, where is she?"
Now it was Taleas time to smile "Dead."
Voldemorts expression changed into something, she wasn't able to read. "You and I have potential." He paused for a second "Just imagine all the things we could do if we would work together." He looked around the room "I would even spare your friends."
She tilted her head and gave him a false smile "Nice of you but I'll pass. Unlike you, I can tell right from wrong."
"Everyone is convinced they're doing the right thing, instead they wouldn't do it."
"But not everyone would die for it."
"Would you?"
"I would but you wouldn't."
The dark wizard didn't answer, instead he slowly raised his wand. "That's right. The catch is, that I won't die."
She smirked at him and raised Bellatrix wand "I wouldn't be so sure about that."