Lucius stared fixedly at Harry, watching him struggle with the choice.
He raised a finger and flicked it.
A Death Eater shoved Ron forward. Bellatrix shrieked with excitement, "Let me! Let me!"
She rushed out eagerly, curved wand pointed straight at Ron.
"Crucio!"
"Arrrrggghh—!!!" Ron screamed in agony, collapsing to the floor and writhing uncontrollably.
"No—Ron!" Harry growled like a cornered beast. "Let him go, or I'll smash the prophecy orb!"
He clutched the orb tightly, lifting it as if to hurl it down.
Lucius fixed his eyes on him, halting Bellatrix from continuing her torment.
Extending his hand, he advanced on Harry slowly. "Give me the prophecy, Potter."
"No, don't give it to him!" Ginny shouted, only to have a wand pressed hard against her throat.
Bellatrix strode over, seized her by the hair, and let out a madwoman's laugh.
Hermione shook her head at Harry. Even with a wand jabbing into her neck, she refused to yield.
Ron, struggling on the ground, rasped out, "Urg.. Don't.. cough.. don't give it to him, mate… Arg—!"
Lucius kicked Ron hard in the face, blood spurting from his nose.
"Shut up, Weasley." His voice dripped with disgust as he kicked Ron a few more times.
Ron curled up on the ground, feeling as though his spleen had been shattered.
"You should learn to be smarter, Potter." Shoving Ron aside, Lucius strode toward Harry. "Defying the Dark Lord never ends well."
"Weren't your parents the perfect example of that?"
At the mention of his parents, Harry flipped the prophecy orb upside down and roared, "Stay back!"
Lucius halted, raising both hands in a gesture for him to calm down.
"There's a better outcome here," he said smoothly. "Give me the prophecy."
"Or else, you'll watch your little friends die miserably."
Perhaps to prove his point, Bellatrix yanked Ginny by the hair and slammed her to the ground.
The noise dragged Harry's attention away. In that instant, Lucius lunged forward and grabbed the hand holding the prophecy orb.
The two of them began to struggle over it.
Just then, two doors high above burst open.
Five figures charged swiftly into the chamber.
The Death Eaters barely had time to react before Sirius leapt down first, agile and swift, his wand flashing red as he struck the one restraining Hermione.
Tonks fired a Stunner at Lucius, forcing him to release Harry.
Harry quickly leapt down from the dais.
Looking up, he saw—it was the Order of the Phoenix.
Lupin blasted back the Death Eater casting spells near Ron, while Kingsley attacked Bellatrix, giving Ginny the chance to roll away to safety.
Moody was holding off three Death Eaters at once, keeping them too busy to notice Luna.
The one who had been restraining her was suddenly knocked flying by the horned Snorkack in her pocket.
"You alright, girl?" Moody's scarred face twisted into a surprisingly kind expression as he checked on Luna.
Luna shook her head and held up the Snorkack, which had already grown to the size of a fist.
Moody was baffled by this display, but he quickly raised his wand to deflect an incoming spell and yanked a long bench in the way of a flash of green light.
"Get out of here, girl!" he bellowed.
Harry dragged Ron off the dais just as a silver blast carved a crater into the ground.
"You okay, Harry?" Sirius, now in his Animagus form as a black dog, bounded across the spell-scorched battlefield. Transforming back into a man at Harry's side, he asked with concern.
"Sirius!" Harry cried out in delight.
"Snivellus told me you thought something had happened to me."
Grabbing Harry by the collar, Sirius yanked him behind, blocking Lucius's curse with his wand.
Moody barely dodged a flash of green light and bellowed, "Less chatting, Sirius, be serious!"
Tonks stumbled over, clutching her head, shouting, "Is it just me, or does it look like their numbers are growing?"
She straightened and fired a red beam toward the Death Eaters—only to have another spell shoot back at her.
Limping heavily, Moody growled, "Not your imagination. More Death Eaters just showed up."
Harry carefully craned his neck, searching for Hermione and the others, but a rough hand yanked him back by the scruff.
It was Moody. His magical eye spun wildly, and Harry realized his head had nearly been taken off by a streak of silver light.
"Don't stick your neck out like that, boy," Moody barked before lurching off, limping into another fight.
Sirius caught sight of Bellatrix and froze in shock. "What the hell happened to her?"
But then he saw Kingsley besieged and immediately sprinted forward.
Harry darted after him, Ron's outstretched hand failing to catch hold.
On the other side of the dais, Lupin was surrounded by several Death Eaters, fending them off desperately.
Hermione gripped her wand, trying to help—but the Death Eaters' onslaught was too fierce.
Lucius tried to ambush Kingsley but was driven back by Sirius.
"Look out!" Lupin shouted.
Hearing the warning, Harry fired a Stunner at a Death Eater sneaking up nearby.
"Brilliant!" Sirius laughed, spinning his wand to block an incoming curse.
"Well done, James!" he cried out almost instinctively.
Harry stood shoulder to shoulder with him, launching an attack at Lucius.
Lucius was forced to defend frantically on both sides.
Hermione helped Lupin take down one Death Eater, earning his praise. "Excellent work, Miss Granger."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Professor Lupin."
"Arg—!" Just as things seemed to be turning in their favor, Tonks let out a scream.
A Death Eater's curse struck her, and she tumbled down the steps.
Lupin's attention wavered, and he was blasted backward.
Then Moody, beset by three Death Eaters, was hit with an Impediment Jinx.
In an instant, the battle swung sharply against them.
Luna was chased around by a Death Eater, while Ginny fired a Blasting Curse that struck one of them—but another quickly caught up.
Ron rushed to save his sister, tackling the Death Eater and grappling with him.
Kingsley, driven back by Bellatrix, staggered to Sirius's side, panting. "These are the elites who survived the Star Desciple's hunt—they won't be easy to handle."
"Then we switch. You take down Lucius first."
Sirius made the call without hesitation. Kingsley was the stronger of the two, so Sirius chose to keep Bellatrix occupied to buy him time.
They exchanged opponents, leaving Harry torn, unsure of who to help.
Bellatrix spotted Sirius and let out a maniacal laugh. "Sirius, my dear cousin."
"I'd rather not have a cousin like you," Sirius muttered, launching himself at her.
At that moment, another door above them opened.
A volley of curses rained down at the Order members.
One Death Eater darted forward, leaping from bench to bench toward the dais, firing a spell that Harry blocked.
Strangely, it felt weaker than the others.
"Drogon, get the prophecy!" Lucius shouted at the newcomer.
The Death Eater named Drogon (Lippy) nodded and charged at Harry, firing curses.
But although the attacks looked fierce, Harry found he could block them every time.
Bieber laughed loudly. "Let's raise some real hell!"
He lunged at Lupin. Of the four Death Eaters who had just entered, two more targeted Moody and Tonks.
Poor Tonks had barely recovered from fainting when she was once again surrounded and attacked.
Hermione struggled to hold her ground, but the gap between a student and a Death Eater was simply too great.
Luna, Ginny, and Hermione regrouped, banding together against two Death Eaters.
Ron was still locked in a brawl, fists and kicks flying as he stubbornly kept his opponent from breaking free—his face swelling into a pig's head from the beating.
Amid the chaos of their desperate fight, Luna suddenly blurted out, "They're here?"
"What?" Hermione asked, bewildered.
But Luna was talking to the Crumple-Horned Snorkack perched on her shoulder.
The creature bobbed its head, gesturing wildly as though trying to explain something.
Luna's eyes lit up, leaving Hermione completely baffled.
But Ginny suddenly thought of someone.
Two figures had appeared in the Hall of Prophecy after all.
Ginny glanced at Lucius standing high on the platform, a thought flashing through her mind—could Draco Malfoy really be standing against his own father?
"Watch out!" Hermione screamed.
A flash of green light shot straight at Luna.
Bang.
The curse blasted a hole in the floor, but Luna was gone.
"Levicorpus!"
Her airy voice rang out from behind the Death Eater, and in the next instant his legs flew up as though yanked by an invisible hook, leaving him dangling upside down.
On Luna's shoulder, the Crumple-Horned Snorkack stood proudly, arms akimbo in triumph. "Moo! Moo!"
"What a marvelous little creature," Tonks said breathlessly, even while being chased across the hall.
"Thank you for the compliment," Luna replied dreamily.
Another spell came whizzing from behind. The Snorkack let out a fart, and in a puff, Luna was suddenly back at Ginny's side.
Harry was feeling more and more uneasy.
This Death Eater—was he strong or not? On one hand, the duel felt intense and Harry could parry each strike. On the other hand, he couldn't seem to overpower him at all, as if the fight was deliberately being dragged out.
A spell came flying from somewhere and struck Harry's arm.
"Urg—!??"
His grip loosened, and the prophecy sphere slipped from his hand, arcing backward through the air.
A hand shot out and caught it steadily.
Harry spun around. For a split second, seeing the pale platinum hair, he thought it was Lucius.
But when he looked closely— What the..?
It was Draco Malfoy, toying idly with the prophecy sphere.
"Give that back, Malfoy!" Harry shouted, trying to snatch it back.
Draco Malfoy glanced at him with deliberate indifference, a cruel smirk tugging at his lips. Then, without hesitation, he loosened his fingers.
A sharp, crystalline crack rang out.
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