Upside Down

Just a little update on my personal life (in case anybody gives a fuck!). I go to Community College (Cuz I'm BROKE), and I'm on financial aid (Cuz I'm BROKE). Well, I've applied for a job through the college doing the work-study program...so I want everyone to cross their fingers that I get a job. If they pick me from a list, then I'll get 10-12 hours a week, they'll work around my odd class hours, and I get a guaranteed $8 an hour. So if you pray....say one for me!

Now for some review replies....

That1OverThere - OMG I ttly cnt undrstnd wht yr wrtng. JK! It's a good thing I speak chat speak, or I would have been totally confused at your comment. And about the no sex thing....I don't even know if I would be a virgin if anyone had actually expressed interest in me. Unfortunately I was the fat chick at high school (still am kinda pudgy) and no one was interested. I haven't had a boyfriend since sixth grade...god I'm lonely...

distinctlyME - LA LA LA!! I love your reviews...they make me SOOOOO happy! ANd I'm sure this chappie will make you happy too! So let's get it on!

nitesfool - oh.....kay.....somebody got a little happy with the CAPS lock....I'm just kidding! I'm glad your weekend was good. Yeah...he was pretty adorable with the baby. I'm afraid this little chappie is a little darker than the last...but i hope you like...

Now enjoy!!!
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Narcissa paced back and forth in the family room of Grimmauld Place, alone already and feeling the strain of separation. The others had already left for the Battle, leaving her with only the company of Kyra. All other inhabitants of the old house were on the battlefield. Had they already started? Had anyone died yet?

Her heart was racing, and it was all she could do to keep from having a complete emotional breakdown. She and Lucius had made love most of the night, something that they had requested of each other before she had put him under a deep sleep, useful for getting the most rest out of the least amount of sleep.

As soon as the last pop of apparition had signaled them gone, Narcissa had cried herself into a tizzy. But she realized, albeit a bit late, that doing that would only harm the baby. So she quickly located the calming draughts, and watered one down to suit her needs. Then she calmly gathered Kyra up, and waited in the family room.

The battle wouldn’t take too terribly long. They were all too desperate to finish. They were all too anxious to let this go on any longer. The sooner it was over the better.

She would have gone and volunteered in the medic’s corner, but the sight of blood made her queasy, and she was sensitive to the smells of many of the potions and medications. She wouldn’t have been much help there…they would have spent more effort keeping her conscious than they could afford in the middle of a battle. So she stayed at home, waiting for them to return.

“Come home to me Lucius.” She whispered softly, curling up on the sofa with his robes wrapped around her.

~~

They stood, each side facing each other, on opposite sides of the room. The tension in the air was almost palpable, as was the malice and hate. There was also quite a bit of fear, as Voldemort had been so kind as to bring along two Dementors. But that was just fine, because Dumbledore had managed to talk a few centaurs into tagging along.

The pure malice of Voldemort’s reign of terror was upsetting the balance of magic. The unicorns were in a tizzy because of the sheer darkness of it, and the centaurs relied on the unicorns to absorb the excess magic in the forest, which they could not handle. With the unicorns in an uproar, they weren’t absorbing as much magic, and it left the centaurs feeling a bit drained. So a few of the largest, bravest centaur warriors were wooed into the battle by Dumbledore, who all creatures of the forest respected.

Lucius stood near the front lines, a gold mask over his features. The mask was half-face, and curled out beside his face like the wings of a phoenix. It had been decided that while Voldemort knew of the treachery of some of his servants, the other Death Eaters did not, and it would make for a nice surprise to unmask themselves just before the battle started. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Draco were also masked, having thought to be either dead or gone.

He held a small handkerchief in his hand, a gift from Narcissa before he had gone. He had been quite proud and impressed at how she had held up as they Apparated away. She had looked at him a bit sadly, but she had held herself together. He had promised her that he would be back to her, and she had given him the little scrap of cloth to remember her by. He quickly tucked the kerchief into his pocket, and out of sight...but not out of mind.

The white robes of the Order glimmered in the magical light of the large room. Even the centaurs, who normally wore nothing, had agreed to sport white and gold streamers on their forearms.

Finally Voldemort stepped forward out of the midst of the black robed Death Eaters, and Dumbledore stepped forward from the midst of the white robed Order members. They stood in front of their subjects, and the room was deadly silent.

“We end this today, you old fool.” Voldemort said, his crimson eyes glowing with delight at the chance to squash the Order. Even with the monstrous centaurs that they had brought, he had a few surprises for them that they wouldn’t like. One of them was Fenrir Greyback, armed to the teeth with daggers and the like.

“Yes, Tom. Today will mark the completion of years of fighting. You remember the rules, right? This room has been sealed up tighter than an clam’s shell, and upon the completion of this battle, the wards of the room will allow the winners to leave, but the losers will be bound to this room until we figure out what to do with you- uh! Pardon me….until the winners figure out what to do with them…” Dumbledore said. A few Order members behind him grinned nastily at his obvious jibe. Voldemort’s red eyes glowed brighter with fury.

“Well…we should get started then…” he said angrily. He glanced at the phoenix-masked Order members, and sneered.

“You have one last chance to rejoin your brothers, Bella….Rodolphus….I’ll even re-extend a hand to you, Lucius and Draco.” He said. A buzz of whispers sounded behind Voldemort. Bella? Lucius and Draco? They were dead! Impossible that they were there!

There were even a few whispers among Order members who had been out of the loop. The Lestranges and the Malfoys were the masked warriors? Insane!

Bellatrix stepped forward, and pulled back her mask.

“I have two words for you, my Lord,…” she started. She put up both hands, middle fingers showing. “Fuck you!” she hissed. Voldemort threw a curse at her, which was deflected by Rodolphus.

And then all hell broke loose.

~~

Lucius threw off his mask and joined the fray with gusto. He could practically smell the magic as it whizzed past. Spells and hexes in a plethora of colors blasted all around, and Lucius added his own rainbow to the mix. Already he could see Order members and Death Eaters falling. He felled two of his old comrades with one spell, and left their twitching bodies on the ground as he sought out a new adversary.

He was nearly knocked over by Dolohov, who had come it for a physical kill. He used the man’s motions to throw him over his shoulder, slamming him against the ground.

“You should know better than to physically attack me, Dolohov….I’m afraid I’m a bit too slippery to be grabbed in such a way.” He said, leveling his wand right between Dolohov’s eyes. Antonin Dolohov sneered up at Lucius.

“I agree totally. You always were a slippery little serpent, Malfoy. And those robes just prove it. I don’t know how you converted Bella and Rodolphus as well, but I’m not really that surprised that you betrayed the Master. You never were a very good servant….he only needed you for your resources.” He spat. Lucius’ wand never waivered as Dolohov got to his feet slowly. “You should have died, Lucius. You were more useful to the Master dead. And that whore of a wife-” but Dolohov never spoke another word, nor took another breath. The green jet of magic was thrown from the tip of Lucius’ wand, and it silenced Dolohov for eternity.

“You can insult me all you want….but do not insult my wife.” Lucius hissed, and kicked Dolohov’s dead body on the way past.

~~

Ruby was a fierce fighter. Albeit her curses were a bit juvenile, meant mostly to stun and disarm, and not to kill or maim….but the ferocity and agility in which she cast them were amazing.

In a silent protest against what Voldemort stood for, several flags had been carried to battle. There were the flags of the British Ministry of Magic, and the flag of England itself. Carried by Order members, it suggested that Voldemort’s quest was out of line with both the country and the culture. Then, all by herself, Ruby carried in the American flag. She was the only American involved in the war, but she refused to let herself be unrepresented. Also, she had pointed out that the American flag stood, above all, for freedom…and weren’t the fighting for freedom from Voldemort? Once they had begun fighting, the flags had been suspended where they stood, and their bearers fighting beneath them.

Ron stood very close to Ruby, almost as a guardian for her. But she didn’t need it, from what he could see. She had her lip curled back, and her teeth showing as she cast, and Ron was pretty sure if they weren’t that far away from doom, that he might have been turned on. But seeing as the slightest distraction could prove deadly, he concentrated on other things.

Ron became distracted with a one on one duel with on of the other Death Eaters, and lost track of Ruby’s fight. She was putting up a valiant effort, but it didn’t take long for a large Death Eater to corner her.

“Well, well…..if it isn’t the delectable little morsel that escaped…” he said. Ruby tried to fire off a hex, but she was disarmed quickly. The Death Eater reached up and pulled back his mask. Ruby’s eyes widened. It was Hawthorne! It was the very first Death Eater that had taken her…. “I almost feel sorry for taking advantage of members of the weaker sex….but then I realize if I didn’t take advantage….I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to be balls-deep in a tight little virgin.” He said, moving closer. As he watched her pupils dilate with fear, he didn’t catch the small movement of her hand. He pushed her against the nearby wall, and then pressed in against her, leaning down to smell her. “You smell like fear….” He said.

Her hand suddenly pulled back, and she plunged a small dagger into Hawthorne’s throat, catching him by surprise. He pulled back, blood gushing from the wound. She had jabbed right into his jugular, and he was bleeding out fast. He went to his knees, the world around him darkening.

“I have a feeling that the term ‘weaker sex’ was coined by some woman to disarm some man she was preparing to overwhelm.” Ruby said. She reached forward and pulled the dagger from Hawhtorne’s throat, freeing the wound to bleed faster. She then kicked him in the chest, knocking him backwards. “Now die on your back like the bitch you are…” Ruby said bitterly, cleaning the bloody dagger on her white robes.

Ron seemed to come out of nowhere.

“Are you all right? I saw him corner you..I fought as quickly as I could to get to you…” he said. She turned to him and gave a weak smile.

“I’m good. Now let’s go kick some ass!” she said. He nodded, and they parted ways again.

Ron may not have been as smart as Hermione or Ruby, but he was an excellent dueler. His Quidditch skills and speed came in handy. While he wasn’t a Seeker, the sport was very fast and demanding, and he could certainly deliver. As he fought, he began working his way towards Harry. He was dueling Death Eaters one at a time in an attempt to get at Voldemort, and it looked like he needed help.

He heard someone yell a curse, and felt an indescribable amount of pain in his back. He fell forward, smacking the ground painfully. He rolled to his back weakly, and as he looked up, he discovered he had landed right under Ruby’s American flag.

“Oh hell no…” he muttered, and began to get up.

“If I’m going to die…I plan on doing it a little closer to the British Flag.”
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See....I'd be the opposite, Ron. If I ever had the chance, I would be proud to die under Old Glory...but then again...I'm American! I suppose it would only be natural for me to want that....tee hee!

I have updated the first part of the battle. There are two or three more parts, and then some falling action. This story is far from over, so sit back and enjoy.

You've read, now rate/review.....or.......BOTH!!!