Malfoy Manor was a maze of dead-end corridors and disappearing hallways. Voices got louder and quieter with distance with no reason, halls twisted and ended and she was only now walking in circles, back and forth through halls she'd already been through, past portraits that were now familiar and doors she had already seen. It felt like hours until she finally could hear voices somewhere to her left, and a portrait whispered, "You wandering buffoon, they're right here!" The portrait seemed to melt away until it was a thin curtain, and the large dining hall full of people was now in view.

"---we have to be completely sure, Lucius, that it is Potter before we summon the Dark Lord. They say this is his," Narcissa pulled a blackthorne wand into view, "but it does not resemble Ollivander's description. If we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord here for nothing. . . remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?"

Narcissa was speaking to the group of black-clad Death Eaters. Three figures were on their knees, their hands bound behind their back.

One was Hermione, the other was Ron, and the last was a disfigured version of Harry. Diana's heart clenched in fear, and she looked to Narcissa with hope that she might help her.

"What about the Mudblood, then?" growled Fenrir Greyback from the corner. They all looked to Hermione, and Diana bit her tongue until she tasted blood.

"Wait," said Narcissa sharply. Imperceptible to everyone but Diana, the woman glanced around. "Yes--yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn't this the Granger girl?"

From beside his mother, Draco paled.

"I...maybe...yeah..."

"But then, that's the Weasley boy!" shouted Lucius.

Diana pulled her eyes from the scene down below and began to quickly and quietly wade her way through the house in the direction she thought the dining room might be, but again it proved fruitless. She wandered with no avail, weaving her way through maze-like halls.

It felt like hours when suddenly screaming filled the entire house, a horrible, blood-curdling scream that made Diana's hair stand on end. It was female, and she were in pain, and the thought of Hermione being hurt made her insides boil. Next, muddled yells from somewhere below echoed around, but she couldn't tell what they were saying.

All of a sudden someone came around the corner. She hurled herself into them, pinning them to the wall, one hand over their mouth and the other with her wand pointed at their neck. Draco Malfoy watched her with terrified eyes.

"I swear on all things holy I promised I'd protect you but if you do not tell me right now where your friends are I'll make sure you're doomed to live a life worse than death," she spat in a low, almost inhuman voice. Anger couldn't sufficiently describe her feelings: she felt rage, red-hot and burning, coiling around her heart like a snake. She could only see red and she felt like murder and she felt like torture, all in the hopes of saving her friends.

"Tell me where they are!"

"HmmFmm, Hmmfmm!" he said, and then she uncovered his mouth. "Potter and Weasley are in the basement and Bellatrix is--is with Hermione!"

She let go of him abruptly, and oddly, he stood without reaching for his wand.

"Thank you," she told him. "Now how do I get there?"

She wasn't entirely sure that he'd even answer, but he did.

"Down there, from where I came from. There's a portrait with a bright red background. Take a left at that."

She did as he said, trailing down the corridor he had just come from and then a left at the portrait. Ahead, an oak door was cracked slightly and she could hear Hermione's screams as if she were right next to her.

"No---no---PLEASE!"

It was heart-wrenching, horrible screams of begging with no relent. Bellatrix's cackling mingled with it to make a horrible melody that trailed through the entire house like a song of death and horror.

"What else did you take, what else? CRUCIO!"

Diana, reckless and stupid, could take it no longer. Just as she was about to bust through the door, there was a loud crack from the cellar and the screaming stopped.

"What was that? Did you hear that?" said Lucius from behind the door. It was quiet as they all seemed to be listening. "Wormtail! Go check on the prisoners."

There was the sound of a door being unlocked and the sound of someone descending stairs. There were odd scuffling sounds and then Lucius yelled, "What is it, Wormtail?"

"Nothing! All fine!"

And then, pain.

Diana burst with it, every nerve screaming, the beast inside her roaring against its cage: let me out, let me out, let me out. She screamed, or maybe she just imagined it, or maybe it was someone else, but everything around her was a blur.

"Reducto!" she found herself yelling. The door exploded into the dining room, and she found herself stumbling inside, reckless and stupid and impulsive, but brave.

"Expelliarmus!" many voices yelled at once: Diana, Harry, and Ron had just Disarmed Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Draco. Lucius yelled, "Stupefy!" at no one in particular but Ron Disarmed him in a flash. They all wheeled about in chaos, yelling and crouching and avoiding the rubble of Lucius' faulty Stunning spell.

"STOP OR SHE DIES!"

Bellatrix had her short, silver knife to an unconscious Hermione's throat. Griphook, the goblin who had been traveling with Dean and Ted, was crouched on the ground and Draco, Lucius, Fenrir, and Draco were all unarmed.

"Well, well, well, ickle Diana wanted to join the fun!" Bellatrix taunted. Diana slowly made her way inside, her wand raised and her body tensed. She made eye contact with Harry and Ron, and they looked at her with relief and curiosity.

"Hello, Bellatrix," said Diana. "Pleasure to see you, as always."

"Drop your wands," Bellatrix whispered with a glare, "Drop them, or we'll see exactly how filthy her blood is!"

They all stood, frozen.

"I said, drop them!"

Beads of blood began to appear above the knife, and Harry, Ron, and Diana simultaneously began to lower their wands to the floor.

"Good," Bellatrix leered. "Draco, pick them up! The Dark Lord is coming! Your death approaches!"

Draco made his way around to each, finally reaching Diana with averted eyes.

"Now, Cissy, I think we ought to tie these little heroes up again, while Greyback takes care of Miss Mudblood. I am sure the Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl, Greyback, after what you have done tonight."

The fury bubbled inside of her, up her throat and against her lips until she could not contain it--- "Hey, Bella!"

Even Fenrir stopped in anticipation. Bellatrix looked toward the girl with manic eyes.

"What, girl?" she shrieked.

Her hands shook with anger, but she made her eyes turn to steel and looked the woman straight in the eye, her eyes like fire.

Her voice came out in a taunting, cruel whisper, a tone like a growl. This voice was rare coming from the girl, so cruel and angry and so unlike her, it shocked everyone in the room to hear.

She took a small step forward, her eyes set with a determination she had never really felt before.

"How did it feel, Bella, when the Dark Lord didn't choose you?"

Bellatrix, in a moment of surprise, was frozen. Diana took another step forward, and again, with the same cruel whisper, she went on.

"How did it feel when he looked over you every time, always looking at that woman, that Ravenclaw girl? How did it feel when he chose her every time, and you were left in the dust like a pathetic little child?"

Bellatrux was stunned. Diana, with the lowest and cruelest tone yet, ended with the final blow.

"How does it feel to know he doesn't love you? How does it feel, Bella, to know that you're just the pathetic, lovesick girl you've always been?"

Above, something began to creak loudly and something was falling and then it crashed to the ground with earth-shattering force, glass and crystal flying everywhere, and Bellatrix was shrieking with fury and everyone was yelling, yelling to leave and yelling to get them and yelling in pain.

"Diana!"

It was Harry, and his hand was outstretched toward her, and he was supporting Hermione alongside Ron and for some weird reason, Dobby was there alongside the bleeding Griphook.

"Diana!" he yelled again.

And she ran to his outstretched hand and she gripped it, gripped it with trust she felt so deeply, with love she felt so deeply, she took his hand and Dobby turned on his heel and there was a flash of silver, a glint of a knife, and they were spinning spinning spinning and there was blood---

They landed in a heap upon ocean sand, and her hand was still in his. They were together.

And beside them, Dobby looked on with glassy eyes, a knife plunged into his abdomen.

"Friends," the elf muttered, "Dobby is happy...that he can die with his friends. . ."

And Dobby eyes looked on toward the sky, looking past the sky at something they could not see, and Harry was yelling and crying for him to wake up, please wake up, and tears fell from Diana's eyes and they could not breathe, none of them could breathe, for Dobby was dead and they were not, no matter how much they wished that they were.

And her hand was still in his.