𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗟

ACT TWO, CHAPTER EIGHT
the panic room.

WHEN PENELOPE WAS four years old, she desperately wanted to understand why Andromeda tensed up and said that she couldn't call her mummy. Andromeda was the only real motherly figure Penelope had — it was all she had ever known, so why not? She was everything a mother should be. However, as Penelope grew older, she came to realize that the title was reserved for her actual bitch of a mother. Bellatrix didn't deserve that title. She also certainly didn't deserve to be in Penelope's life. Not after everything she did and what she was going to do now that she was out of Azkaban.

But now, all of her thoughts of resentment about Bellatrix were thrown out the window. They were now replaced with ones of fear as Penelope stared at the woman in front of her. Her entire body was frozen and she felt her hands begin to shake. She wanted to take a step backwards, but it was like her feet were glued to the floor. It was reminding her a lot of the last day of summer when that Boggart had displayed Penelope's greatest fear as her mother. Penelope wished it was just a Boggart, but it wasn't. Bellatrix was real this time.

"Mother," Penelope let out in a whisper, her voice shaky. "O-Oh my God . . ."

Bellatrix smiled wickedly, stepping even closer to her. "Rodolphus, look . . ."

Another hooded figure then stepped forwards. He removed his hood to reveal a man, his face gaunt like Bellatrix's from Azkaban, with lots of facial hair. Rodolphus Lestrange didn't look quite as manic as his wife, but he definitely looked crazy.

"It's been so long, daughter," Rodolphus whispered.

Penelope didn't speak again. Her chest was caving in and it felt like all the air was knocked out of her lungs — she wasn't quite as scared as Rodolphus like she was with Bellatrix, but it was still quite a shock seeing both parents suddenly be here from Azkaban. Bellatrix reached up a hand, making Penelope's breath hitch. She squeezed her eyes shut and flinched when she felt her mother's hand touch her cheek. It wasn't warm or comforting like Andromeda's — oh no, this one was cold and made her scared out of her fucking mind. Penelope hesitantly opened her eyes only to see Bellatrix rip her hand away harshly.

"Now, now, Bella, Rodolphus," Lucius voiced, pulling Bellatrix and Rodolphus back.

Penelope vaguely felt Harry take her arm and bring her back into the group. She looked over, a tear managing to drip down her cheek as she locked eyes with Ron. He reached over his hand that wasn't holding his wand. Penelope instantly took it and brought herself closer to him, Ron moving her so that she was behind her back, away from the psycho bitch of Bellatrix.

Lucius held out his hand with his palm up. "To me, Potter. To me."

"Where's Sirius?" Harry demanded.

"The Dark Lord always knows!" Bellatrix exclaimed triumphantly.

Penelope wanted to tell her to shut up, but her voice appeared to not be working anymore.

"Always," Lucius echoed softly. "Now, give me the Prophecy, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Harry shouted.

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Bellatrix mimicked, closing in on them with her fellow Death Eaters.

"You've got him. He's here. I know he is."

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," Bellatrix stated in a horrible, mock-baby voice.

Penelope's grip on her wand tightened and she took a step out from behind Ron's back. However, Harry held out his hand to her in protest.

"Don't do anything," he muttered. "Not yet—"

Bellatrix let out a loud shriek of laughter. "You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us! My daughter, no less!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," Lucius told her softly. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the Prophecy, Potter."

"I know Sirius is here," Harry voiced, clearly very panicked. "I know you've got him!"

More Death Eaters laughed, Bellatrix being the loudest. Penelope was now clenching her wand so tight that her knuckles were turning white. She, in simple terms, was freaking the fuck out. Long gone was that Slytherin composure. Her mother, was here . . .

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," Lucius revealed. "Now give me the Prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then," Harry countered.

Penelope was the first one to raise her wand. Although her hand were shaking, she pointed it straight at her mother. A tear managed to slip down her cheek. She was so overwhelmed that she couldn't even tell herself to get it together. All around her, the nine other wands of Harry, Venus, Ron, Hermione, Charlotte, Elijah, Neville, Ginny, and Luna rose. The Death Eaters, however, did not move. None of them struck.

"Hand over the Prophecy and no one need get hurt," Lucius announced.

Harry laughed at that. "Yeah, right! I give you this — Prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"

"Accio Proph—" Bellatrix began, but Penelope was faster this time.

"Protego!" Penelope shouted.

She had finally found her voice. The glass sphere slipped to the tips of Harry's

"Oh, she knows how to play, little bitty baby Penelope," Bellatrix told her, Penelope gritting her teeth as her mother stared at her with mad eyes. "Very well, then—"

"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius roared. "If you smash it—!"

Bellatrix took another step forwards, her face glowing in a very feverish, fanatical glow with her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Very well — take the smallest one," she ordered to the Death Eater beside her. "Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it."

"Like hell you will," Penelope let out, her voice slightly shaking as her and the others closed in around Ginny, Harry even standing right in front of her. "Over my dead body, mother."

She sneered at Penelope. "Is that true, little Penelope? Don't think that I won't hesitate to expunge any blood traitors, just like you."

"You want to kill me?" Penelope retaliated, raising her chin higher although her chest was beating against her chest. "Do it."

Ron let out a small noise of protest at that. But he didn't know that Penelope would've died for him, for anyone in this group. Anything to keep them safe.

"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," Harry told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?"

Bellatrix didn't move. All she did was stare at Harry, the tip of her tongue trailing across her thin mouth. Penelope watched her mother closely, a feeling of disgust rising up in her. This woman was truly repulsive.

"So, what kind of Prophecy are we talking about anyway?" Harry continued.

"What kind of Prophecy?" Bellatrix repeated, her grin slipping off his face. "You jest, Harry Potter."

"Nope, not jesting. How come Voldemort wants it?"

Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses. Penelope scoffed incredulously through her tears. This really just was pathetic.

"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix whispered.

"Yeah," Harry answered. "Yeah, I've got no problem saying Vol—"

"Shut your mouth! You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your Half-Blood's tongue, you dare—"

"Did you know he's a Half-Blood too? Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle — or has he been telling you lot he's Pureblood?"

"STUPEF—"

"NO!"

A jet of red light had shot out from the end of Bellatrix's wand. Lucius had reflected it, his own spell causing hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry. Several of the glass orbs shattered. Two figures, pearly white like ghosts and fluid as smoke, unfurled themselves from the fragments of the broken glass on the floor and each began to speak. They spoke over each other, and only pieces of what they were saying could be heard over Lucius and Bellatrix's shouts.

". . . at the Solstice will come a new . . ." an old, bearded man figure began to say.

"DO NOT ATTACK!" Lucius shouted. "WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"

"He dared — he dares—" Bellatrix shrieked. "— He stands there — filthy Half-Blood—"

"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!"

". . . and none will come after . . ." a figure of a young woman said.

The two figures that had risen from the shattered spheres then melted into thin air. Nothing remained besides the broken pieces of glass upon the floor.

"You haven't told me what's so special about this Prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," Harry reminded them.

Penelope looked down. His foot was wandering out on the floor, getting dangerously close to Venus'. Her eyebrows knit in thought, even though her teary eyes. What was he doing?

"Do not play games with us, Potter," Lucius responded.

"I'm not playing games," Harry admitted.

Lucius sneered at him. "Dumbledore never told you that the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?"

"I — what? What about my scar?"

"Can this be?" Lucius questioned, sounding very delighted. Some of the Death Eaters laughed as well. "Dumbledore never told you? Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording . . ."

"Did he?" Harry responded.

Charlotte then discreetly tapped Penelope's side. Penelope turned to her in confusion.

"Smash shelves when Harry says go," Charlotte said out of the corner of her mouth. "Tell the others."

Penelope then turned to Ron with a quiet sniffle, tapping the tip of her wand against his side but keeping her gaze straight ahead. "When Harry says go, smash the fucking shelves. Pass it on."

"So he wanted me to come and get it, did he?" Harry continued, obviously buying time. "Why?"

"Why?" Lucius echoed, sounding more delighted now. "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."

"And why did he want to steal a Prophecy about me?"

"About both of you, Potter, about both of you . . . haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?"

Harry stared at Lucius, his grip tightening on the glass sphere. "Someone made a Prophecy about Voldemort and me? And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?"

"Get it himself?" Bellatrix repeated with a manic cackle of laughter. "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"

"So he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he? Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it — and Bode?"

"Very good, Potter, very good . . ." Lucius stated slowly. "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell—"

"NOW!" Harry yelled.

All at once, the ten of them shouted the spell. "REDUCTO!"

Ten curses flew in ten different directions and the shelves opposite of them exploded. The towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart. Pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated them, their voices echoing amid the avalanche of broken glass and splintered wood.

"RUN!" Harry shouted.

Penelope didn't need to be told twice. She wanted to grab Ron's hand again, but the broken shelf and glass was making it hard to see. Penelope grabbed someone's hand, knowing they at least had to stick together somehow. She could feel Bellatrix right behind her — so she looked back, and sent a very quick Stunning Spell, making her mother duck and momentarily stop her chase. Penelope turned back around and turned right along with the rest of her group. Among them were Harry, Neville, Hermione, and Charlotte — whose hand she was holding. No Ron, no Ginny, no Elijah, no Venus, no Luna . . .

"Penelope!" Ron's voice suddenly screamed from somewhere in the room.

She turned around, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of him. "Ron!"

Harry grabbed her other arm and started to drag her along. "Penelope, we have to go!"

"But Venus, and Elijah—" Charlotte protested.

Harry's eyes were pained at the mention of his girlfriend. "Charlie, I know, but we'll find them later! Right now we have to run!"

They continued on. The door which they had come through was ajar ahead of them. All of them ran inside and Harry quickly slammed the door behind them.

"Colloportus!" Hermione gasped, making the door seal itself with an odd squelching noise.

"Where — where are the others?" Harry gasped.

Hermione's face held terror. "They must have gone the wrong way!"

"Listen!" Neville whispered.

There were footsteps and shouted echoing from behind the door Hermione had just sealed.

Lucius was roaring at his companions. "Leave Nott, leave him, I say, the Dark Lord will not care for Nott's injuries as much as losing that Prophecy — Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until we've got the Prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary — Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left, Crabbe, Rabastan, go right — Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead — Macnair and Avery, through here — Rookwood, over there — Mulciber, come with me!"

"Wait," Bellatrix cut in. "If you see little Penelope — leave her for me."

Penelope took a step back from the door. So this was the moment she always feared — what Bellatrix would do if they ever really saw each other again. She felt her hands began to shake again and her heart beat against her chest. So desperately she wanted for Ron to be here . . .

"Hey, Pen," Charlotte's voice sounded, making Penelope snap out of her thoughts. "Come on, we have to get away from the door."

Penelope nodded. Their group ran as quietly as they could past the shimmering bell jar where the egg was hatching and unhatching. As they almost reached the exit to the circular hallway at the far end of the room, something large and heavy collided with the door Hermione had charmed shut.

"Stand aside!" a rough voice ordered. "Alohomora!"

As the door flew open, Penelope, Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Charlotte dived under desks as the door flew open. The bottom of two Death Eaters' robes were drawing nearer with their feet moving rapidly.

"They might've run straight through to the hall."

"Check under the desks," another voice declared.

The knees of the Death Eater bended.

Harry quickly pointed his wand out from under the desk. "STUPEFY!"

The jet of red light hit the nearest Death Eater. He fell backwards into a grandfather clock and knocked it over. However, the second Death Eater had leaped aside to avoid Harry's spell. He now pointed his own wand at Hermione, who was now crawling out from under her desk to get a better aim.

"Avada—" the Death Eater began.

"NO!" Penelope screamed.

She launched herself from out underneath the desk and kicked the back of his knee. His knees buckled and he toppled, causing his aim to go awry. He grabbed the bottom of Penelope's robes and pulled her down with him. Neville had overturned his desk in anxiety to help. He pointed his wand wildly at the struggling pair.

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Nev, wait—"

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Neville recited.

Penelope felt her wand fly out of her hand. Hers, along with the Death Eater's, soared back towards the entrance to the Hall of Prophecy. Penelope scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could towards her wand, her hair billowing behind her and her heart beating erratically. The Death Eater was passing her, and Harry and Charlotte were hot on Penelope's heels. Come on, Penelope, she told herself. You need your wand. Go fster.

"Get out of the way, Penelope!" Neville shouted, bringing up the rear as he tried to repair the damage. Penelope moved sideways as Neville took aim again. "STUPEFY!"

The jet of red light flew right over the Death Eater's shoulder and hit a glass-fronted cabinet that was on the wall, filled with various shapes of hourglasses. It fell to the floor and burst apart with glass flying everywhere before it sprang back up to the wall, fully mended. It fell back down again and shattered once more.

Penelope's eyes widened upon noticing how the Death Eater snatched up his wand, which laid on the floor beside the glittering bell jar. She quickly ducked behind another desk as the man turned. His mask had slipped down so that he couldn't see, so he ripped it off with his free hand.

"STUP—" the Death Eater shouted.

"STUPEFY!" Charlotte yelled, who had just caught up with them.

The jet of red light hit the Death Eater in the middle of his chest. He froze with his arm still raised. His wand clattered to the floor and he collapsed backwards towards the bell jar. The Death Eater's head sank through the surface of the bell jar. He came to rest, sprawled on his back on the table with his head laying inside the jar full of glittering wind.

"Accio Wand!" Hermione cried.

Penelope's wand flew from a dark corner into her hand. Hermione threw it to her.

"Thanks," Penelope told her, slightly out of breath. "Holy shit, guys. Let's get out—"

"Look out!" Neville warned, staring at the Death Eater's head in the bell jar in horror.

All five of them raised their wands again, but none of them struck. Penelope's jaw dropped in shock as she watched what was happening. The man's head was shrinking very fast, growing balder and balder. His black hair and stubble retracted into his skull, his cheeks smooth and his skull round and covered in peach fuzz. A baby's head now sat grotesquely on top of the thick neck of the Death Eater. He struggled to get up again, but as they watched, the head started to swell to its previous proportions again.

"It's time," Hermione announced in an awestruck voice. "Time . . ."

"I did that?" Charlotte questioned. "Huh. Weird."

The Death Eater shook its ugly head again, obviously trying to clear it. Before he could pull himself together again, however, it began to shrink back to babyhood once more.

Suddenly, there was a shout from a room nearby, followed by a crash and a scream. Penelope's head whipped over in that direction, her heart slightly stopping.

"VENUS?" Harry shouted, turning around as well. "RON? ELIJAH? GINNY? LUNA?"

"Harry!" Hermione screamed.

The Death Eater had now pulled his head out of the bell jar. He looked fucking weird. His tiny baby's head was bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions, forcing Harry to duck. Harry raised his wand, but Hermione grabbed his arm.

"You can't hurt a baby!" Hermione protested.

There was no time to argue. More footsteps were growing louder from the Hall of Prophecy that they had just left. Thanks to Harry, he had just given away their position. How lovely.

"Come on!" Harry urged.

They left the ugly baby-headed Death Eater who was staggering behind. All of them sprinted towards the door that stood ajar at the other end of the room that led back into the black circular hallway. They had made it about halfway when two more Death Eaters were running across the black room towards them. The group veered left into a small, dark, cluttered office, and Harry slammed the door behind them.

"Collo—" Hermione began.

Before she could complete her spell, the door burst open again. The two Death Eaters came hurtling inside.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" the two of them shouted in triumph.

Penelope, Harry, Hermione, Charlotte, and Neville were all knocked backwards off their feet. Neville was thrown over the desk, Hermione smashed into a bookshelf and was buried under a lot of heavy books, Harry slammed into the wall, Charlotte crumpled by a small table, and Penelope landed by the same desk Neville had been thrown over. Her head hit against the wood, making her hiss in pain.

"WE'VE GOT HIM!" one of the Death Eaters yelled. "IN AN OFFICE OFF—"

"Silencio!" Hermione recited.

The man's voice was extinguished. He continued to mouth through the hole in his mask, but no sound came out. His fellow Death Eater thrust him aside.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry cried as the second Death Eater raised his wand.

His arms and legs snapped together. The Death Eater fell face-down onto the rug, stiff as a board and unable to move a muscle.

"Well done, Ha—" Hermione began.

But the Death Eater Hermione had just silenced made of slashing movement with his wand. A streak of what seemed to be purple flame flew from it. It passed right across Hermione's chest. She let out a tiny oh! before crumpling on the floor, laying motionless.

"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled, falling to his knees beside her.

Neville then tried to crawl rapidly towards Hermione from under the desk with his wand held up in front of him. The Death Eater then kicked Neville's head as he emerged. His foot broke Neville's wand in two and connected with his face. Neville gave out a howl of pain and recoiled, clutching his nose and mouth.

"NO!" Charlotte yelled. "NEVILLE!"

Penelope looked back up. The Death Eater had ripped off his mask and was pointing his wand directly at Harry. She recognized the long, pale, twisted face from that issue of the Daily Prophet — it was Antonin Dolohov, who had murdered the Prewetts. Dolohov grinned sickeningly at them. With his free hand, he pointed to the Prophecy Harry was still clutching, to himself, and then at Hermione. It was clear what he was saying: Give me the Prophecy, or you'll end up just like her . . .

"Like you won't kill us all the moment I hand it over anyway!" Harry responded.

"Whaddever you do, Harry, don'd gib it to him!" Neville said fiercly from underneath the desk, lowering his hands to reveal a very broken nose with blood pouring down his mouth and chin.

There was a crash outside the door. Dolohov looked over his shoulder. The baby-headed Death Eater was in the doorway with his head bawling and his big fists still flailing uncontrollably at everything around him. Penelope and Charlotte's eyes then locked, communicating a small plan. They both knew exactly how to handle this.

"Hey, Dolohov!" Penelope called, and he turned around to see her glaring at him harshly. "Fuck you!"

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Charlotte voiced.

The spell hit Dolohov before he could block it. He toppled forwards across his comrade, both of them as stiff as boards and unable to move an inch.

"Hermione," Harry began, shaking her as the baby-headed Death Eater left again. "Hermione, wake up . . ."

"Whaddid he do to her?" Neville inquired, crawling out from under the desk to kneel at her other side with blood streaming from his rapidly swelling nose. Charlotte instantly joined his side while Penelope went to Harry's.

"I dunno . . ."

Neville held onto Hermione's wrist. "Dat's a pulse, Harry, I'b sure id is . . ."

Harry let out a small breath of relief. "She's alive?"

"Yeah, I dink so . . ."

They went silent for a moment. There was nothing, no sign that the others were near. Penelope's heart ached for Ron . . . she hoped to Merlin he was all right, the others, too. She didn't know what she would do if any of them became seriously injured.

"Neville, we're not far from the exit," Harry whispered. "We're right next to that circular room . . . if we can just get you across it and find the right door before any more Death Eaters come, I'll bet you can get Hermione up the corridor and into the lift . . . then you could find someone . . . raise the alarm . . ."

"And whad are you going do do?" Neville asked, frowning as he mopped up his bleeding nose with his sleeve.

"I've got to find the others."

"Well, I'b going do find dem wid you."

"But Hermione—"

"We'll dake her wid us," Neville stated firmly. "I'll carry her — you're bedder at fighding dem dan I ab—"

He stood up and seized one of Hermione's arm. Neville quickly glared at Harry — which surprised Penelope — before Harry grabbed Hermione's other's arm and helped hoist Hermione's limp form over Neville's shoulders.

"Wait," Harry cut in, picking up Hermione's wand from the floor and handing into Neville's hand. "You'd better take this . . ."

Neville kicked aside the broken fragments of his own wand as they walked slowly to the door. "My gran's going do kill be, dat was by dad's old wand . . ."

"Your dad would be so proud of you, Neville," Charlotte told him softly.

Harry then stuck his head out of the door. Penelope peered over his shoulder to see the baby-headed Death Eater still screaming and banging into things. He was causing a real fucking mess by toppling over grandfather clocks and overturning desks. The glass cabinet that seemed to be holding Time-Turners was continuing to fall, shatter, and repair itself on the wall behind them.

"He's never going to notice us," Harry revealed. "C'mon . . . keep close behind me . . ."

They all crept out of the office and into the black circular hallway. It seemed to be completely deserted now. They walked a few steps forwards, Neville slightly tottering due to Hermione's added weight. The door of the Time Room slammed behind them, making the walls rotate once more. Once they stopped moving, Penelope noticed that Hermione's fiery crosses had faded from the doors.

"So which way d'you reck—?" Harry began.

But before they could suggest which door to go in next, a door to their right sprung open and five people fell out of it.

"Oh my God, Ron," Penelope let out.

She instantly sprinted towards him, throwing her arms around him for a moment. A feeling of relief and security flowed throughout her. She then pulled away, resting her hands on either side of his face.

"Penelope," Ron let out, giggling weakly as he lurched forwards, clutching the front of her robes in his hands. His eyes were unfocused as he gazed at her. "There you are . . . ha ha ha . . . you look funny, Penelope . . . you're all messed up . . . hey, did you know that you're pretty?"

His face was very white and something dark was trickling from the corner of his mouth. Penelope frowned, but she was suddenly pulled to her knees as Ron fell to his own. His weight was piled against her, and she held him in her arms as she looked over at the rest.

"What happened to him?" Penelope demanded.

Ginny merely shook her head and slid down the wall to sit, panting and holding her ankle in pain.

"I think her ankle's broken, I heard something crack," Luna admitted. "Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets, it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark—"

"Harry, we saw Uranus up close!" Ron said through his giggles. A bubble of blood grew at the corner of Ron's mouth and burst. "Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus — ha ha ha — hey, Penelope, can I—"

Penelope shook her head. "Do not finish that sentence."

"Anyway, one of them grabbed Ginny's foot, I used the Reductor Curse and blew up Pluto in his face, but . . ." Luna explained, gesturing hopelessly at Ginny who was breathing in a very shallow way with her eyes closed.

"And what about Ron?" Harry asked fearfully.

"I don't know what they hit him with, but he's gone a bit funny, I could hardly get him along at all . . ."

"Penelope," Ron cut in. He pulled her ear to his mouth and giggled weakly. "You know who this girl is, Harry? She's Loony . . . Loony Lovegood . . . ha ha ha . . ."

"Okay, come on," Penelope encouraged. She pulled him up off the floor and allowed him to lean against her, still laughing like a fucking maniac. "There you go. Good job, baby."

"We've got to get out of here," Harry announced. "Luna, can you help Ginny?"

"Yes," Luna answered, sticking her wand behind her ear for safekeeping before putting an arm around Ginny's waist and pulling her up.

"It's only my ankle, I can do it myself!" Ginny insisted.

However, she actually couldn't do it herself. The next moment she had collapsed sideways and grabbed Luna for support. Penelope then heaved Ron towards a random door. They were within a few feet of it when a door across the hall burst open. Three Death Eaters sped into the hall, led by Bellatrix herself.

"There they are!" Bellatrix shrieked.

"Oh, fuck," Penelope muttered.

Stunning spells were shot across the room. Penelope quickly ducked into the room while keeping a firm grip on Ron. She flung him off of her — kind of feeling bad about it — and kicked the door shut right in front of her mother's face.

"Colloportus!" Penelope shouted, three bodies then slamming into the door on the other side.

"It doesn't matter!" a man's voice revealed. "There are other ways in — WE'VE GOT THEM, THEY'RE HERE!"

Penelope looked back. They were in the Brain Room again with doors all around the walls. More footsteps were in the hall behind them, signaling that there were more Death Eaters running to join the fight.

"Star — Luna — Neville — Penelope — Charlie — Eli — help me!" Harry ordered.

The seven of them tore around the room, sealing doors as they went. It was going very well with all of them, but there luck didn't last long.

"Collo — aaaaaaaaargh . . ." Luna cried.

Penelope whipped around. Luna was flying in the air, and five Death Eaters were surging into the room through the door she hadn't sealed in time. She hit a desk, slid over its surface and landed on the floor, sprawled out and as still as Hermione.

"Get Potter!" Bellatrix yelled.

She ran right at him. Penelope ran towards Harry as well as he dodged and sprinted back up the room.

"Hey!" Ron exclaimed, who had apparently staggered to his feet and was now tottering drunkenly towards Harry and now Penelope while giggling. "Hey, Harry, there are brains in here, ha ha ha, isn't that weird, Harry?"

"Ron, get out of the way, get down—" Harry tried to tell him.

He had already pointed his wand at the tank. "Honest, Harry, they're brains — look — Accio Brain!" The room seemed to freeze as a brain burst from the green liquid at the top of the tank. It suspended in midair for a second before soaring towards Ron, spinning as it came with ribbons of moving images flying from it. "Ha ha ha, Harry, Penelope, look at it—" said Ron, watching it disgorge itsgaudy innards. "Penelope, Harry, come and touch it, bet it's weird—"

"Ron, stop!" Penelope screamed desperately.

She didn't know what would happen if Ron was going to touch the brain, and to be honest, she didn't want to find out. Penelope sprinted forwards, but it was too late. Her stupid idiot boyfriend had already caught the brain. She watched in panic as the ribbons began wrapping themselves around Ron's arms like ropes once they made contact with his skin.

"Penelope, Harry, look what's happen — no — no, I don't like it — no, stop — stop—" Ron voiced.

The ribbons were now spinning around Ron's chest. Penelope's breath hitched in her throat as he struggled to tear them away from them. No, he was going to stop breathing if this continued . . . her mind was going at a million miles per second.

"No!" Penelope choked out through a sob, tears falling down her face against her will. She pointed her wand at him desperately. "Diffindo! DIFFINDO!"

Bellatrix cackled, and Penelope turned to see her mother forming her mouth into a pout to taunt her from a little ways across the room. "So weak. Pity."

Penelope gritted her teeth and clenched her wand tighter. "I am not weak. Andromeda raised me to be the strongest person I could be."

Bellatrix's lip curled. "My blood traitor scum of a sister . . . why not join our side now, Penelope? We can be a family again . . . your mother's back . . . "

Penelope raised her chin higher. "You were brought into a world where family was merely blood. I don't see it that way. You are no mother of mine."

"Harry, it'll suffocate him!" Ginny screamed.

He was now attempting to cut off the ribbons from Ron. Ginny was still immobilized by her broken ankle on the floor, but a jet of red light had flown from one of the Death Eater's wands and hit her squarely in the face. She toppled to the side and laid there unconscious.

"STUBEFY!" Neville recited, waving Hermione's wand at the remaining Death Eaters. "STUBEFY, STUBEFY!"

Nothing was happening. One of the Death Eaters shot their own Stunning Spell at Neville, missing him by inches. Venus then intercepted a Stunning Spell going to Charlotte, making her fall to the floor with a thud. Harry let out a scream of agony and Stunned that Death Eater. At this moment, Penelope, Harry, Neville, and Charlotte were the only four left fighting the five Death Eaters — Luna, Ginny, Venus, Elijah, and Ron were either knocked out or being attacked by brains. Penelope glanced around worryingly. They had to drive them away . . .

"Go, Penelope!" Charlotte urged. "Neville and I will deal with Ron!"

She hesitated.

Charlotte nodded once at her. "Penelope, go!"

Penelope then turned back to her mother with a raised eyebrow. "You want me? Come and get me."

She sprinted away, Harry by her side with the Prophecy high above his head. Bellatrix was hot on their heels, making Penelope run faster than she ever had before. The other Death Eaters followed after them, knocking over chairs and tables but not sending any spells in case they hurt the Prophecy. Penelope and Harry ran into the new room, but she quickly skidded to a stop.

Harry wasn't so lucky. As Penelope sprinted down the stone benches as carefully as she could, Harry fell down while bouncing on every steep stone step until he landed flat on his back in the sunken pit where the stone archway stood on its dais. Penelope reached him and pulled him up, keeping a tight grip on his arm as they watched the Death Eaters laugh at him. The Prophecy was still miraculously in tact. Penelope pulled them backwards and they both climbed onto the dais as the Death Eaters circled around it. They all halted, gazing at the two of them.

"Potter, your race is run," Lucius drawled, pulling off his mask. "Now hand me the Prophecy like a good boy . . ."

"Let — let the others go, and I'll give it to you!" Harry pleaded desperately.

Some of the Death Eaters laughed.

"You are not in a position to bargain, Potter," Lucius stated, his pale face flushed with pleasure. "You see, there are ten of us and only two of you . . . or hasn't Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?"

"Dere dot alone!" a voice shouted from above them. "Dey've still god be!"

Penelope looked up. Neville was scrambling down the stone benches towards them, Hermione's wand still clenched in his hand.

"Neville, what . . . ?" Penelope breathed out. "No, go back to Ron and Charlie—"

"STUBEFY!" Neville yelled once more, pointing his wand at the Death Eaters. "STUBEFY! STUBE—"

One of the largest Death Eaters seized Neville from behind and pinned his arms to his side. Neville struggled and kicked, several of the Death Eaters laughing at him. Penelope was suddenly glad Charlotte wasn't here — there would've been murders, and she didn't really want to see Charlotte go to Azkaban.

Lucius sneered at Neville. "It's Longbottom, isn't it? Well, your grandmother is used to losing family members to our cause . . . your death will not come as a great shock . . ."

"Longbottom?" Bellatrix repeated, a truly evil smile lighting up her gaunt face. "Why, I have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy . . ."

"Shut up!" Penelope screamed. "Don't you fucking dare go near him!"

"I DOE YOU HAB!" Neville roared, fighting so hard against his captor that another Death Eater suggested they Stun him.

"No, no, no," Bellatrix told them. She looked alive with evil excitement, glancing from Penelope, to Harry, then back to Neville. "No, let's see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents . . . unless Potter wants to give us the Prophecy—"

"DON'D GIB ID DO DEM! DON'D GIB ID DO DEM, HARRY!"

It wasn't a choice to her right now. Penelope had to do this. She wouldn't let Bellatrix hurt another one of the Longbottom's — that wasn't an option. Not now, not ever.

Penelope swallowed the lump in her throat as she watched Bellatrix raise her wand to Neville's chest. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Penelope let go of Harry and jumped off the dais, sprinting towards Neville.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix voiced.

She then jumped right in front of Neville so it would be her bearing the curse instead of him. A red jet of light hit Penelope square in the chest and she hit the ground. It was pain like never before — it was almost like a million white-hot knives were twisting inside of her. Penelope withered and thrashed in pain, a scream involuntarily passing through her lips. Everybody stopped and stared as the sound of her agonizing scream echoed throughout the entire room. Bellatrix watched in fascination as she continued to torture her daughter like she was enjoying it. Penelope's ears rang, but she could still feel herself screaming.

"Stop!" Harry's voice distantly protested, but it was very vague through the loud ringing in her ears. "Don't hurt her! Let her go!"

Finally, Penelope felt the curse lift off of her. Her blood felt like it had turned to ice and she was convinced she would never overcome that kind of pain. She whimpered in pain as her entire body ached. Cold and shaking, Penelope curled into a ball and laid on the stone floor. Her body wracked with sobs and tears streamed down her face. All of the Death Eaters ignored her.

"What's wrong, Potter?" Bellatrix taunted, pointing her wand at Penelope again. Penelope whimpered once more and tried to back away, but her body wouldn't move. "Why do you care if I torture little Penelope? That was just a taster—"

"No!" Harry protested.

Penelope felt her eyes begin to close. Black was surrounding her entire vision and she started to feel her body go limp. Feeling pain like that . . . she never wanted to experience something like that ever again. But if that meant letting Harry and Neville get away with the Prophecy . . . then so be it.

"Harry," Penelope whispered weakly, raising her head just the tiniest bit. "It's . . . it's okay. I — I can take it." She fought to stay awake. "Don't . . . don't give it . . . to them . . ."

"Hear that, Potter?" Bellatrix inquired. "She likes it! Turning out just like her mother—"

"She will never be anything like you!" Harry stated strongly.

Bellatrix's wicked smile turned into a scowl. "This is blind optimism."

"No, it's not. Penelope is one of the best people I've ever met."

There was no more room for conversation, because then two more doors burst open from high above them with five other people sprinting into the room. Penelope's eyes fluttered open a little bit to see Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Nymphadora, and Kingsley. She smiled a little at the sight of her cousin, but her mind was spinning and she felt like she was about to pass out.

"Get away from her!" Nymphadora ordered. Footsteps and jets of light were all around Penelope, but then her entire eyesight was taken up by the worried face of Nymphadora. "Penelope — oh, Penelope, what happened?"

Penelope allowed Nymphadora to help her sit up. "I'm . . . I'm fine, Dora. Just the Cruciatus Curse by my mother . . ." She looked around the room, noticing the members of the Order fight the Death Eaters. "Harry and Neville—"

"Absolutely not, Nel," Nymphadora refused, noticing her train of thought. "You just got hit by the freaking Cruciatus Curse. There's no way you're fighting right now."

Penelope blinked the black spots out of her eyes. "They need . . . I have to get to them—"

"No, you're hurt."

"Let me up, Dora."

"Penelope—"

"Let me up, Dora."

Nymphadora finally sighed. "Fine. Come on."

With assistance from Nymphadora, Penelope was able to stand back up. She looked around at the scene. Moody was bleeding on the ground, his magic eye spinning away across the floor. Neville was doing some weird tap dance because of a spell. Penelope ignored the aching of her body and sprinted in the direction of Harry and Neville while Nymphadora set off towards Bellatrix, apparently wanting to get revenge for Penelope. She slid down next to them.

"You all right?" Harry questioned worryingly.

"I've been better," Penelope admitted. She then pointed her wand at Dolohov. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Dolohov's arms and legs snapped together. He toppled over backwards, landing with a crash on his back.

"Nice one!" Sirius complimented, ducking.

"Thanks, Sirius," Penelope replied.

"Don't mention it. Now I want you to get out of—"

He was forced to duck again, a jet of green light narrowly missing him. Penelope's eyes then widened upon noticing Nymphadora fall from halfway up the stone steps. Her limp form toppled from stone seat to stone seat. Bellatrix, obviously triumphant, ran back into the fight.

Penelope gasped. "Dora!" Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, that bitch—"

"No, Penelope, let me handle it!" Sirius insisted. "You and Harry take the Prophecy, grab Neville, and run!"

There was no chance to protest. Sirius dashed off to meet Bellatrix, disappearing from Penelope's line of view. Kingsley was fighting with Rookwood. Another jet of green light flew over their heads, forcing them to duck.

"Can you stand?" Harry bellowed to Neville, his legs still jerking and twitching uncomfortably. "Put your arms round mine and Penelope's necks."

Penelope dove to the other side of Neville. He put his arms around her and Harry, his legs flying in every direction. They wouldn't support him at all. And then a man lunged out of them out of nowhere, causing them to fall backwards. Penelope landed on the ground with a grunt.

"The Prophecy, give me the Prophecy, Potter!" Lucius snarled from next to her.

"My God, this is a fucking cult!" Penelope yelled back. "Fan behavior!"

"No — get — off — me . . ." Harry let out. "Penelope — catch it!"

He flung the Prophecy across the floor. Penelope caught the glass sphere effortlessly in her hands and tucked it close to her chest. Lucius pointed his wand at her, but Harry sent him an Impediment Jinx, making him blast away. Lucius crashed into the dais where Sirius and Bellatrix were dueling, cousin versus cousin. He raised his wand at the three of them again, but Lupin then jumped between them.

"Harry, round up the others and GO!" Lupin ordered.

Penelope ran around the dais wildly, not really sure where to go. Harry was struggling to get Neville to move down the steps, but then she noticed that more Death Eaters were closing in on her. Thinking fast, she turned to Harry and Neville.

"Neville, catch!" Penelope instructed.

She threw the glass sphere. He caught it in his hands and shoved it into his pocket. Penelope then ran over to the limp figure of Nymphadora on the bottom of the ground. She wasn't moving. Penelope quickly clutched onto Nymphadora's wrist. She nearly sighed in relief. There was a pulse there. At least Bellatrix hadn't killed her. Penelope didn't know what she would do if that had happened.

There was now a new sort of commotion in the room. Penelope raised her head to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway from the Brain Room, his wand raised and his face white and furious. Dumbledore sped down the steps, and it took a while for all of the Death Eaters to realize that he was there. Once they did, they literally started to run for their fucking lives. Dumbledore used a spell to pull them all back like they were hooked by an invisible line. The only two who didn't seem to notice his presence were Sirius and Bellatrix, who were still dueling.

Sirius ducked Bellatrix's jet of red light and laughed. "Come on, you can do better than that!"

Penelope's heart sunk. She knew damn well what her mother could do.

"Sirius . . ." Penelope whispered before her voice raised. "Sirius, no!"

It was too late. The second jet of light hit him square in the chest. Sirius froze, a ghost of a laugh on his face but his eyes were wide. It seemed like an eternity before he fell. Sirius' body curved in a graceful arc and he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch. A triumphant scream from Bellatrix rang through the room, and Sirius Black did not return.

☆ 彡

well . . . this certainly was a saga

penelope kinda popped off tbh like okay go off queen