Fire and Water

You lucky, lucky buggers! I\'m finishing this tonight so you don\'t need to wait any longer for closure. Adding chappies 50-53 now. Hope you enjoyed reading. if you did - REVIEW!



Chapter Fifty



Krystal felt the strong grip of Remus’ hand as their eyes adjusted to the gloom of their surroundings. They had apparated to The Hog’s Head pub in Hogsmeade, where Aberforth Dumbledore was waiting for them.

“Lupin.” The older man nodded a greeting at Remus before turning to Krystal, looking her over and shaking his head.



“I’d heard a rumour………Always thought you were too smart to get yourself killed by a dolt like Snape, girl,’ he said gruffly, then he pulled her into a quick hug.

“It’s really good to see you, Ab,’ Krystal mumbled into his shoulder, again feeling tears rise to the surface as she greeted her cousin. She gave herself a mental shake, and pulled away as Remus spoke.



“We need to get into Hogwarts,’ Remus said, regretting that he had to interrupt their reunion. It had struck him as he watched them embrace that Aberforth, Albus’ brother, was the only family Krystal had left, and he was saddened that he had to pull her away so soon. But he had no intention of letting Krystal out of his sight: not until he absolutely had to.



Aberforth nodded. “Thought you might,’ he said, moving to the portrait above the fireplace. “Through there,’ he gestured to the picture. “Potter and his friends went through there about an hour ago. It will come out in the Room of Requirement: some of the kids have been hiding in there. You’ll see,’ he said, seeing their frowns.



Remus helped Krystal into the portrait and followed her as they made their way through a roughly cut tunnel, holding his lit wand high. Krystal halted suddenly: a door had appeared from out of the dark. Remus grabbed her arm as she reached out to turn the knob.

“Wait,’ he whispered, manoeuvring himself past her in the tight space. He heard her let out a frustrated breath, but ignored it as he slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open, thrusting his wand forward as he did.



A rush of sound hit them as they stepped out of the tunnel into a brightly lit room, filled with Hogwarts students. Krystal heard several voices cry out to Remus and watched as the former professor greeted the teenagers. A small smile snuck across her lips as she saw how Remus interacted with the kids: she couldn’t help thinking about what a great father he was going to make. Her smile disappeared, as she remembered the long path ahead, with no guarantee of a happy ending for them.



She stepped forward into the throng. “Has anyone seen Harry?’ she called out. The excited voices faded and a tall gangly boy stepped forward.

“He went with Luna to Ravenclaw Tower,’ he began, but was interrupted as the tunnel door opened and people flooded into the already crowded room. Order members, Weasleys and Aurors stepped through the door and into the arms of family and friends.



Krystal pushed past the crowd until she was in front of the boy who had spoken. “Excuse me,’ she said loudly. “What’s your name?” The boy stared at her.

“Neville Longbottom,’ he answered, with a frown.

“Frank’s son?,’ she said in surprise, remembering the quiet spoken man she’d known at school.



Neville also looked surprised and nodded, asking her, “Who are you?”

She pulled him away from the pressing crowd of people and said urgently, “My name is Krystal. I’ve been helping Harry, Ron and Hermione. I need to see Harry - where is he?” Before Neville could answer, Harry burst into the room.



She saw him looking around the room, saying a distracted hello to some of the newcomers. Quickly, she moved through the mass of people towards him, but he spotted her before she reached him.

“Krystal,’ he called, also trying to get through the hordes. “He’s here; Voldemort is here!”



There was a sudden silence as Harry’s words resonated throughout the room. Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped forward.

“Everyone into the Great Hall. We need to organise our defences,’ he gestured to the door as he spoke, and the crowd began to dissipate, leaving to prepare for the battle.



Harry reached Krystal and she threw her arms around him. “I know what it is, Krys. I just don’t know where to find it,’ he said hurriedly, as Remus approached them.

“Maybe we can help, we went to school here too. What is it?’ said Krystal, staring intently at Harry. He thought for a moment; it wouldn’t hurt to tell them what it was at this stage.

“Ravenclaw’s Diadem - I need to find it.” Krystal and Remus both looked startled.



“Harry, the diadem has been lost for decades,’ Remus began, but was silenced by Harry’s violent shake of his head.

“No. It’s in the castle. I have to find it.” He looked around at the few remaining people in the room. Mrs Weasley was arguing with Ginny, Fred, Bill, George and Fleur around them.

“Where are Ron and Hermione?’ he asked, frowning.

Krystal looked distractedly around the room. “Haven’t seen them. Harry, you need to go; you need to find…..”

She was interrupted by someone falling through the tunnel door, and Harry and Remus moved towards the Weasleys.



After a few tense minutes with his family, Krystal was introduced to the newcomer Percy Weasley. Krystal and the others then ran to the Great Hall, where Kingsley was busy sorting the remaining students and teachers into groups. As he was finishing, a cold, high pitched voice echoed through the hall.



It was Voldemort - giving them a time frame to give up Harry. A dark haired girl turned to point to Harry and screeched for everyone to get him. Krystal stepped forward, about to cast a shield in front of him, but she was beaten to it by the rest of the school, who turned to face the girl, wands raised, protecting Harry.



Time flew as the youngest students were sent through the tunnel to safety, and the remaining forces where sent around the school to guard the various entrances, trying to keep the Death Eaters out for as long as possible. Remus, after losing a short, but fierce argument, dragged Krystal with him, to the grounds of Hogwarts - where Auror’s and Order stood together - the front line of the battle.



They waited as the last minutes of the time allotted raced by; Remus standing behind Krystal with his arms around her, hands spread protectively across her belly. She leaned back into him and laced her fingers with his, kissing the side of his face as he buried it into her neck.



As a great boom was heard throughout the grounds, Remus tensed, then kissed her neck. He dropped his arms and moved to stand next to her, his wand raised. He looked at her: her face was pale but set. She turned to him, seeing his tension. She nodded at him, reassuringly and he gave her a small smile back before they both turned to face the streams of light that were shot into the middle of the defences.



“Protego!” The shout rang out from all directions as dozens of jets of red light rained down on them. Masked men and women ran out of the Forbidden Forest, wands flashing as they clashed with the castle’s defenders. Remus and Krystal were separated as each battled a separate foe and soon, the grounds were swimming with duelling witches and wizards, red, white and green lights flashing.



Remus lost track of Krystal as a Death Eater ran straight at him, wand flashing red. He responded with a shield then sent a stream of curses at the masked man.

“Aren’t you happy to see me, Lupin?’ came the taunt as the man removed his mask. Remus felt a wave of rage crash over him as he saw the face of one of the men who had abused him when he had been held prisoner.



The man, Asper, laughed as he shot a Stunner at Remus. The lycanthrope cast a shield charm and, in an irrational move, threw himself at the man’s legs, tackling him to the ground. Taken unawares, Asper raised his wand, but his hex was interrupted as Remus slammed his fists into his face, over and over, until he felt the man go limp under him. A curse flew over his head and he smelt singed hair; the spell had been close. Remus rolled off Asper and saw another attacker approaching, wand raised high.



Before Remus could cast a spell, a jet of green light from off to his left hit the man, sending him crashing to the ground. Remus scrambled to his feet, looking over to where the curse had come from. He saw Krystal Stun her own Death Eater and then smile, sending him a cheeky wave.

“You’re welcome,’ she called, before dodging a purple streak that came from the opposite direction.

Remus grinned then ran to help Arthur Weasley who was struggling with two Death Eaters.



Krystal was duelling with a short, stocky female Death Eater when a stream of red light came flying through the air, striking the masked woman in the chest. She turned to see who had assisted her, and was shocked to see a Death Eater approach her. Raising her hand she shot a hex at him, but he deflected it with his wand. She tried again, but the man kept coming at her, deflecting her spells; forcing her back into the trees.



Krystal was moving backwards and tripped over a tree root, falling heavily to the ground; it was a reflex for her hands to drop to try and break her fall. Before she could raise her defences, the masked man cast a body bind hex on her. She felt her body stiffen and looked up, her eyes defiant; she wouldn’t die cowering at this coward’s feet. Her attacker crouched, and with a wave of his wand, his mask disappeared; and the hex released.



“Sev,’ she said, then lowered her voice as he looked nervously around them.

“Where is Potter?’ he asked urgently.

“He’s inside. He’s nearly there, Sev.” Severus nodded, then looked over his shoulder again.

“I’ll be out here or in the Shrieking Shack. The Dark Lord is waiting there. Send your Patronus - I‘ll know what it means.”

She nodded, and he looked down at her, reaching out a hand and touching her face.



“Be careful, Krys,’ he said, and she was startled by his use of her nickname - he had never used it before. “Thank you - for everything.”

His voice held a softness she’d never heard in it before, and she realised that he was saying goodbye.



Krystal grasped his hand, kissing it quickly. “Thank you, Sev. For my life; for Remus’ life.” He nodded, then stood, his mask returning.

“Stay down until I’m clear of the trees,’ he hissed as he took one look back at her, then strode back into the battle. She did that one last thing for him, sitting under the tree until she was sure he’d had time to put some distance between them.



Moving slowly back through the trees, Krystal heard rustling. She stopped, warily looking around. A twig cracked off to the side and she spun around, only to feel arms encircled her from behind, holding her tight. She screamed, before a gloved hand came over her mouth, muffling her cries. Krystal tried to move her arms to get her hands around to cast a spell, but he held her too tightly; she would hit herself if she tried. She settled for trying to kick him and twist out of his grasp. Her eyes widened as she saw a masked Death Eater step out from behind the trees and approach, his wand held high.



“Well, well. Who have we here?’ he sang. He came closer and the end of his wand lit up, shining light across her face.

“Ahhh!’ he said, recognition in his voice. “The werewolf lover!”



Krystal heard a laugh from the man holding her, and her blood went cold. Two men; no help in sight. She’d seen first hand what the Dark Lord’s servants did to their prisoners before they killed them, and she refused to spend her last minutes being tortured by these animals. Suddenly, with that thought, her mind was very clear.



Krystal ceased her struggling and kicking. She stood still and tall. Physical strength wasn’t going to get her out of this, and, while their wands were on her, magic was of no use to her either. No, she had to use her brain and the element of surprise.



“What does a pretty girl like you see in a filthy half breed like Lupin?’ he asked. “Like a bit of rough, do you?”

He put his face close to hers, his eyes glinting behind his mask, and pressed his lower body up against her.

“I can play rough. I can bite,’ he growled threateningly, his wand hand lowering as he reached down to squeeze her breasts hard. Her jaw clenched but she didn’t allow any sound of pain escape her lips. She felt him press himself against her again, his arousal now obvious. Krystal waited until she felt the arms holding her relax a little, then moved quickly.



She lifted her bent leg sharply, smashing her knee into the groin of the man in front of her. He screamed in pain and fell back, as Krystal threw her head back and slammed it into the second man’s nose, hearing a crunch as the bones broke. Wrenching her arms out of his grasp, she flung up her hands and cast two Stunners, one at each man. They fell to the ground, limp and motionless.



Krystal was breathing fast, feeling anger rise in her chest. She choked down the impulse to kill them; to fight back as she couldn’t when this had happened all those years ago, and placed a Body Bind on both men; also putting up a protective charm, so they remained invisible to anyone who might come searching for them. As an afterthought, she stuck their wands in her pocket. A deep breath helped her calm down and she could hear screams from the site of the battle.



As she reached the edge of the trees, she paused. Bodies littered the grounds of her old school: some writhing in pain, some laying very still. Krystal looked frantically around the still duelling wizards for Remus, her heart slowing a little when she saw him over the other side of the battlefield, duelling with Dolohov. A jet of light soared over her head and she threw herself back into the fight, joining Kingsley to bring down a large blond Death Eater. He had just hit the ground when Krystal heard an enraged scream.



“You!”

Krystal spun around in time to see Bellatrix Lestrange throw a Stunner at her. Her hands flew up, a shield charm blocking the hex but lost her balance and fell to the ground, another Stunner missing her by inches.



“Long time, no see, Bella!‘ she called as she threw her own Stunner at the dark haired woman, scrambling to her feet quickly.

“I knew it!’ Bellatrix screamed as she blocked Krystal’s hex and cast another back at her. “I knew he didn’t have the guts to kill you!”

Krystal held a protective shield in front of her and deflected the hex back at Bellatrix, who spun to avoid it, raising her own shield to block the Body Bind Krystal threw immediately at her.



“I’ve been sunning myself abroad all these years,’ yelled Krystal, shield spell protecting her as she shot half a dozen curses one after the other at the wild eyed Death Eater. “How’ve you been, Bella? I see Azkaban wasn‘t kind to you.”

She laughed, then ducked as a spell came close to her head, spinning around to throw another straight back. Bellatrix laughed also, as she watched a purple ray of light, miss Krystal by mere millimetres.



“You chose the wrong side!’ she taunted, sending more purple light flying at her nemesis. “You haven’t got a chance against us - you of all people should know that!”

Krystal cast a Body Bind hex, missing Bellatrix by a hair.

“No Unforgivables, Kryssie?’ called Bellatrix, with a short laugh. “What’s the matter? Lost your nerve?”

She ducked as Krystal sent a Cruciatus curse speeding towards her.



Bellatrix sent her own back, screaming in fury, “I‘m going to kill you, Kryssie! But before I do, I‘m going to make you watch me kill your half breed boyfriend!”

She laughed but her amusement was short lived as Krystal sent a furious procession of spells at her, one brushing her arm, but not wounding her badly enough to break her focus.



The two women were moving fast around each other, dancing out of the way of curses and taunting each other. The air was hot around them as they battled, equal in skill and tenacity. Other duellers got out of their way as Bellatrix and Krystal soon fell silent, all their concentration and strength needed to just stay upright. Krystal could feel her stamina waning: the pregnancy was draining her energy.



Finally, a hex made vicious contact, knocking one of the woman to the ground, with a scream. Bellatrix laughed maniacally as she walked quickly to stand over Krystal, who was holding her bloody face.

“This time, Kryssie, there’ll be no coming back,’ she hissed. Krystal tried to get her hands up to cast a curse, but Bellatrix had raised her wand and was already screaming, “Avada Kedavra!”



The killing curse never came: Krystal saw it flying off into the distance as Bellatrix’s face froze. Krystal rolled out of the way as the dark haired woman fell face first onto the ground where she had lain. Gasping and trying to see through her bloody eyes, Krystal looked up and saw Remus standing where Bellatrix had, his wand raised and face pale.



“You’re welcome,‘ he said as he helped her up, pulling her tight against him for a moment.

“Come on. They’re breaking through, let’s get back to the castle.”

He turned, just as a bolt of purple light hit him, right in the chest. He was spun back around by the force of the curse, his eyes wide with shock before he fell at Krystal’s feet.



“Remus!’ she screamed. Another curse burned past her arm, and she raised her hands in fury. She threw a spell at the Death Eater, the strength of it knocking him high into the air, his body crunching sickeningly as it hit the ground. Two masked men ran at her, wands raised. She swept her hand across her body, and the men went flying.



Krystal fell to her knees and grabbed Remus, shaking his lifeless body.

“Remus?’ she whispered desperately. “Please, Remus.” Her trembling hands went to his face, cupping it as she leant down.

“Please, honey. Please…” she begged him. She tried to see if his chest was moving, but the blood from her cut was getting in her eyes. Her hands were shaking as she felt for a pulse.



Another curse flew over her head. She looked up and saw that the Order were retreating back to the castle. Arthur Weasley yelled at her.

“Krystal, come on. There’s nothing you can do for him now!” Krystal stood, oblivious to the jets of light flying around her.

She looked up to see the Death Eaters approaching, ready to move into the castle. There might not be anything she could do for Remus, but she’d be damned if she’d leave him for them to tear apart.



She raised her hands high and summoned all the anger, all the terror she was feeling. Her eyes glowed silver as an enormous wall of white light appeared between the Light and Dark side. The Death Eaters sent a stream of hexes at it, but none broke through. The Auror’s and Order members had slowed to watch, looking at her in disbelief.



Krystal looked down at Remus’ motionless body. A surge of pure rage wiped her mind clear of any rational thought as she gathered all her remaining strength and slammed her hands together; letting out a scream of pain as the wall of light exploded, creating a pulse that shook the ground; and sent the remaining Death Eaters flying metres into the air, landing with loud thuds and cracks in the forest behind them.



As her shaking legs gave way, Krystal yelled at Arthur and Kingsley, who seemed frozen in shock.

“Help me!” Her voice broke the spell, and they rushed forward, lifting Remus at her command and moving back towards the castle.

“Krystal, move!’ yelled Kingsley as he and Arthur hurried up the castle stairs. But Krystal couldn’t.



Drained and full of grief, she couldn’t stand. She felt as though she had left her body, watching from above as Bill Weasley raced to her side and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder like a rag doll. He ran into the castle, putting her gently on the stone floor.



“Krys…’ he said, urgently. “Come on, Krys…..” He shook her, but her eyes were blank and shocked. She could hear voices around her, confused and unintelligible.

Krystal heard Fleur’s voice next to her. “Krystal, please.”

Bill spoke in a low tone to his wife, but Krystal heard his words. “Remus? Is he …?”



Fleur’s response was lost as a cold voice resonated throughout the entrance hall. “Krystal!“ she heard Bill yell at her. She felt a sharp slap on her uninjured cheek and the sting seemed to bring her mind back. Krystal blinked and Bill came into focus as did Fleur, her face streaked with tears.



“Remus?’ she said as she looked up into Bill’s scarred face. His face contorted in anguish and he shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Krys. He‘s gone.”