Send My Regards

Chapter Twelve

"OW! Get off, you prat!" Oliver shouted as Marcus landed on his back.

Marcus fell off and rolled into something soft but stiff. "I'm not on you! I landed over here! Stop your fucking whining, Wood!"

He stood and for good measures, kicked the soft but stiff object; thinking it was Oliver and then he bent down to clutch his collar. But it was dark and he couldn't see very well. Before he could growl out a threat, he heard Oliver behind him.

"What are you doing?" Wood asked.

Marcus turned his head and concluded Oliver was not the object he had kicked. Feeling a bit confused and scared, Marcus released the silent and innocent victim in his hands and felt around for his wand. Once he found it, he spoke a lighting spell and immediately fell back.

"Holy mother of Merlin!" Oliver said and felt himself go sick.

In the previous room, Oliver had found a jar that simply said 'Invisible Quicksand'. Thinking that things couldn't possibly get worse, he stepped on the jar and the contents immediately turned the floor to liquid in which he promptly sank through and landed into the chamber below. But now he wished he was still in the room full of stolen items for their new room was full of corpses.

"Fuck," Marcus whispered and the stench of rotting flesh hit him; making his eyes water.

Oliver didn't even have to say anything. When he began to search for the door, Marcus had the same idea. They had to get out of there; especially since Nott and the others could easily fall through the floor as well.

"There has to be a bloody door in here somewhere!" Oliver said and began to panic. The idea of being locked in a dungeon with a pile of dead bodies wasn't very appealing. "We haven't much t--ow!"

Oliver swatted his shoulder as something very hot landed on him. He looked down to see that he brushed off a smoldering ember and looked at the ceiling. Pieces of burning ash and wood were falling through where he had smashed the jar. The fire Marcus had set was quickly spreading.

"Here!" Marcus called.

Oliver ran over. Marcus was pressing against a wooden door that didn't seem to budge. He added his weight and with their combined pressure, the hinges groaned loudly and the heavy door swung open. They didn't run out at first for fear that a killing curse was waiting for them on the other side. But when they heard no breathing, no footsteps, no sign of life, they peaked out and saw the coast was clear.

Behind them, however, it was another story. They heard a loud 'thud' and turned to see a very confused and enraged Addison Nott in the chamber of dead. He had found the liquid floor Marcus and Oliver had escaped from. Nott stalked over to them with murder in his eyes. Two other Death Eaters fell in behind him and raised their wands.

"NO!" Nott bellowed. "Do not kill Marcus. He belongs to William. And the other boy is mine."

"Run!" Oliver shouted and he and Marcus were dashing off down the hall.

Again, they found themselves in a long corridor filled with doors. Unfortunately, unlike the first, most of the doors were locked. They pulled at them frantically as Nott stalked out and calmly pursued them; the two others flanking him. Nott was smiling.

"Stupefy!" Oliver shouted, pointing his wand over his shoulder at the approaching Death Eaters. His spell missed and bounced off the walls.

"Expelliarmus!" Nott retaliated.

Oliver's wand instantly sailed out of his hand. "Shit!" he cried.

To make matters worse, more Death Eaters were coming down the opposite end of the hall.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Marcus bellowed at the first Death Eater. His spell hit and the hooded figure went rigid and fell back on the floor.

"Disarm him!" Nott shouted from the other end of the hall.

The Death Eaters raised their wands and seemed to all shout 'expelliarmus' at the same time. Oliver ducked. Marcus however, stood there in astonishment. He knew the spells had hit them; he felt them all blast into his chest. But instead of his wand sailing out of his hand as it should have, he only felt a tingle.

"Fools! Disarm him!" Nott screamed again.

The Death Eaters, once more, raised their wands but nothing happened. So they decided to physically disarm Marcus instead. They charged but before they got a mere five feet, the ceiling collapsed on them in a burning heap. Oliver and Marcus ducked as the corridor shook and became hot and bright with fire. Embers floated down from the ceiling on top of burning wood that once supported the floor above them.

At the other end of the tunnel, Nott and his two Death Eater partners stood in shock. But then their anger began to build into a burning rage that could equally rival the fire. Marcus and Oliver took full advantage of this and began to search the doors again; dangerously approaching the inferno.

"KILL THEM!" Nott shouted. He didn't care about William's orders anymore. He was tired of being bested by two unarmed and young wizards.

Nott and the other Death Eaters charged; wands raised. And then it just so happened that Marcus found an unlocked door and dashed through with Oliver right behind him. They slammed it shut and locked it.

"Now what?" Oliver panted.

The door blasted apart behind them.

"Run," Marcus ordered.

***

"It sounds like quite a party up there, doesn't it, girls?" William mused.

Around them, Angelina and Katie could periodically hear small explosions and shouts. One earlier had been so loud that the very ground shook. They panted in fear; listening; straining their ears to hear the voices above them. Even though they knew that someone up there must have been there to rescue them, they didn't dare give away their whereabouts. This was a trap, after all, and the longer they could stall the better.

William, however, was not so foolish. He smirked at the girls. "I did ensure that every door but the ones that led here were locked," he said. "But it sounds like Marcus is making his own path, doesn't it? He sounds mighty close. Who's going to be the one to call him in?" His eyes fell upon Angelina and she glared at him murderously. "No? Then how about you, Ms. Bell?"

"I'd rather die."

"You will, you will," William sighed. "But until then, humor me. Don't you want to say goodbye to your friends?"

She, too, glared at him just as Angelina had. Both girls went silent and stern again. William sauntered over to their chairs, admiring his wand innocently.

"Very well. You leave me no choice." He aimed his wand at them. "Crucio!"

***

Marcus and Oliver ran into the next room as Nott blasted his way behind them. The chamber, just like the others, was dark and void of danger. Two doors lie on the other side of this particular one and, instinctively, they headed for both. They could hear Nott close behind.

"You take that one," Marcus said quickly and opened his own door.

"What!? I'm unarmed!" Oliver cried.

Marcus shrugged. "I guess you're shit out of luck, Wood."

With that, he crossed the threshold and slammed the door shut behind him just as Nott made his way into the room. Oliver quickly exited through his door and a curse blasted the wall beside him. On the other side, panicked and scared, he suddenly flushed with embarrassment as Marcus stood laughing. The two doors had led to the same room and he knew it all along. Oliver glared.

"You would leave an unarmed man behind."

Marcus was still chortling. "You're bloody priceless."

And then they were running again as they heard Nott blast the wall apart behind them. His rage obviously held no regards towards the structure they fled through as if it wasn't weak enough from the fire. They were practically under a time bomb.

"Keep running!" Nott taunted behind them. "As a matter of fact, you might as well walk. You've already wasted enough time. The girls are being tortured as we speak!"

Marcus and Oliver knew he was bluffing. They kept running through the corridors.

"Especially the little blonde one," Nott continued. "I love the way she screams beneath me."

This time, Oliver stopped.

"He's bluffing, Wood. Keep moving," Marcus growled and pushed him. They both entered another pitch-black room.

Nott entered behind them; grinning in triumph. He heard their labored breathing and footsteps ahead even though he couldn't see them in the dark bowels of the chambers.

"And besides," he said, "you're going the wrong way. One only has to listen...ah, what beautiful music."

This time, Marcus stopped and held his breath. All in the room was silent except for thundering hearts and in the distance: two anguished screams. They recognized them immediately. Before they could turn and rip Nott limb from limb, a blasting curse sent Oliver hurtling into the stone wall. Marcus, however and to his astonishment, remained standing. And then it hit him; the amulet! It was working!

In their stupor, the Death Eaters standing by Nott had no time to react when Marcus raised his wand and stunned them. Nott growled low in his throat.

"Why you little--!" He charged. "CRUCIO!"

Despite the amulet's protection, Marcus still winced. But the curse only sent a very brief and very tolerable jolt through him. Nott stood in shock. Marcus seized his chance. "Wood! Hurry up and find the girls! Get up, you fucking sod!" he shouted as he battled.

Oliver stood up, though his head was swimming furiously. He wanted to be the one to rip Nott's face off for what he did to Katie but Marcus was holding off quite strongly. He'd be wasting time. Not to mention the idea of killing two birds with one stone was very tempting: save his friends and watch Marcus Flint being hexed into oblivion.

Then, more Death Eaters entered; trying in vain to subdue Marcus but their spells merely bounced off him. One by one, the cloaked figures fell. Yet, when Oliver was about to run into the next chamber, he noticed something odd about the ceiling above where Marcus fought. It was glowing orange and its brightness intensified with every passing moment. And then he realized he had about a half a second to get the hell out.

Marcus had thrown the last of the Death Eaters down and successfully stunned them. But as he stood, breathlessly, and admired his work, he noticed that Nott was nowhere among the pile of black cloaks. Then, something blunt hit him hard on the back of the head and he fell forward. Nott tackled Marcus and violently tried to wrestle his wand away. They rolled and blindly threw punches until Nott got Marcus on his back and managed to pin him. He aimed his wand but Marcus hastily slapped it away; his own trapped under Nott's crushing grip. And then, in desperation, Addison gripped the amulet and ripped it from Marcus's neck. "Aha!" he shouted in triumph and raised his wand again.

Marcus only cringed and waited for his impending death when Nott's weight was suddenly lifted from him. He opened his eyes and saw Oliver tackling the Death Eater from the side. Nott was definitely larger and stronger but Oliver used the power of adrenalin so intense that when he pinned the Death Eater, the very ground shook.

Nott, however, showed little concern with the foolish and reckless boy. His eyes were transfixed in horror at the ceiling. Oliver stole his wand and poised himself for attack when he felt a sharp tug on the back of his shirt and he dropped the wand and fell back.

"Move!" Flint shouted and they were scrambling to their feet just as the ceiling caved in on top of a screaming Addison Nott.

Both men fell just mere feet of the burning debris; panting and dazed. They sat there in amazement as the rubble roared furiously with flames; Nott and the others obviously dead beneath it.

Oliver was the first to stand and he wiped the dirt from his pants. The sound of any screaming was muffled now by the inferno but they knew they had to move fast. If William didn't kill them all first, then the fire would.

Marcus stumbled to his feet and coughed as the black smoke filled the chamber.

"Just so you know: this doesn't change anything," Oliver said calmly.

"I know."

"I still despise you."

Marcus smirked and nodded. Oliver headed for the door.

"Wait," Marcus said and his eyes quickly scanned the floor. With a relieved sigh, he found and picked up the golden amulet which Nott had thrown off him. Luckily, it wasn't buried under the debris with his wand. "Shit," he muttered to himself. Saving Angelina and defeating his father would be a bit difficult without a weapon.

"Come on," Oliver said and hurriedly opened the door to the next chamber.

Marcus swung the amulet on and followed. In the next room, they were greeted, once again, with darkness. They no longer had wands to light their way and the extra vulnerability made their hearts race even faster with fear. But then the door on the other side of the chamber opened ever so slightly. Marcus and Oliver tensed but no one was there. The wind from the fire must have pushed it but even so, it allowed light to filter in and they saw them...

"Katie!" Oliver exclaimed.

Marcus and he ran over to the chairs where Katie and Angelina were tied back to back. Their heads were down; exhausted.

"Johnson!" Marcus said frantically; kneeling in front of her.

Oliver began to untie the binds when Katie woke up. At first, she thought she was just dreaming as she looked up with great effort and Wood's face came in and out of focus.

"Oliver?" she croaked.

"I'm here. Don't worry," Oliver responded, freeing them at last.

Suddenly, it became clear to Katie that she wasn't hallucinating. Oliver was real, alive, and very much saving her. She jumped on him and hugged him desperately.

"You're alive!? Thank God! Oh, thank God!! I promise I'll never punch you in the kidneys again!"

While Oliver tried to keep Katie calm and quiet, Angelina woke up a little less loudly. She heard Marcus saying her name and she opened her brown eyes in fear. Once the pain and dizziness passed, she blinked back tears.

"Marcus, it's a trap."

But her voice was barely audible. Marcus didn't hear her.

"Johnson, I'm going to get your ass out of here. Hang on."

Angelina's head was still foggy but she managed to push him away as he pulled her out of the chair. Seeing him really brought the gravity of the situation into perspective.

"Marcus, it's a trap!" Angelina insisted. "Run! Get out of here!"

"No, you daft woman!"

She kissed him frantically. "Please! He's going to kill you!"

Marcus ignored her warnings and looked her over for any obvious injuries. She seemed to be unharmed save for her pale face and exhaustion. But she was weak too; very weak.

"What happened, Johnson? What did he do?" Marcus demanded.

Angelina hugged his neck. "We tried to stay quiet, Marcus. But he made us scream."

Marcus held onto her shoulders firmly. "What?"

"Cruciatus..."

His grip tightened. "I'm going to kill him."

"Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your father, Marcus?" a man's voice said.

Instantly, Marcus spun around and shoved Angelina behind him. William was standing in the doorway with a smug grin; watching the whole touching scene before him. Oliver, too, stood protectively in front of Katie.

"A whole thirty minutes to find them?" William carried on. "I must say I was expecting something a bit quicker and...craftier. Though, setting fire to the base was a nice touch. We'll all die a happy family."

"You bastard," Marcus hissed.

William ignored him and looked at Oliver eagerly. "Ah, you must be Mr. Wood! I'm a bit surprised to see you, actually. Nott ensured me that you were dead. It's sad, really, that you and the pretty blonde girl have to die now. Your involvement was heart warming, to say the least, but reckless."

Oliver said nothing but kept Katie hidden behind him.

"Let them go," Marcus demanded. "They all have nothing to do with this. This is between you and me."

"How very noble. You're just like your pathetic mother."

Angelina touched Marcus lightly on the arm. She had to tell him about Victoria. "Marcus," she said quietly.

"Stay back," he snapped and stepped forward. "You have a lot of fucking balls calling someone 'pathetic'. You're nothing but a drunken washed-up piece of trash! Look at the lengths you had to go to in order to get me here!"

William inspected his nails. "Actually, that would be Victoria's doings. The fire, the murders; all done because she wasted time. Oh, Victoria!" he called merrily. "Come out from hiding in the corridor, you slut!"

Marcus stepped back, appalled. After several seconds of waiting, Victoria timidly entered the room with her face buried in her hands. She looked small and fragile standing next to William's massive form.

"WHAT?!" Marcus shouted. "YOU DID ALL THIS?!"

"No!" Victoria pleaded, her face streaked with tears. "I didn't mean for any of it! I was just trying to keep you safe!"

"HOW IS THIS CONSIDERED SAFE?!"

"Because! William offered us a lifetime of security, Marcus! If I could just get you here then I thought he would be satisfied and would leave you unharmed!"

"But she obviously failed again, eh, son?" William mused. "Just like old times. A useless whore as usual."

"YOU LIED TO US ABOUT EVERYTHING!" Marcus shouted to his mother. "MY LIFE IS RUINED BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Victoria sobbed. "Please! I thought this was for the best! I tried to turn it around! I didn't want to see anyone get hurt!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"Enough!" William raised his voice but despite his threatening presence, Marcus continued to glare murderously at his mother. "This is an interesting conversation and I'm sure we can continue it over a lovely family supper but there are matters to attend to now."

"GO TO HELL!" Marcus continued to shout. "I'M NOT BECOMING A DEATH EATER! YOU'VE ALREADY TAKEN EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME! YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME NOW!!"

"NO!" Angelina cried and grabbed him.

Marcus shoved her out of the way; fuming with rage.

"Actually," William said. "I really had no desire to kill you. That's what your friends are here for, actually."

Marcus's hand instantly snapped the armrest off the nearby chair. He held the shard up threateningly; his eyes flashing with daggers.

"Over my dead body."

"Don't be so dramatic," William said dismissively. "You brought this upon yourself, after all. You had the option to obey me willingly or suffer. Your friends would be safe right now if you had just listened to me."

"Fuck you," Marcus hissed, shaking his head. "You would have killed them anyway. Right, mum?" His eyes fell upon his mother, whose head was hung in shame.

"I didn't know, Marcus," she whispered. "I really didn't know."

"Bullshit. You knew every detail down to the fucking cabin! Out in the middle of nowhere and unplottable, yeah? Except for that one minor detail: MY FATHER'S A DEATH EATER AND HE'S BEEN TO THE CABIN BEFORE!! YOU KNEW HE'D BE ABLE TO FIND US!!"

"I tried to warn Angelina! I did!"

"Marcus," Angelina said quietly from behind him. "She's telling the truth."

"I DON'T CARE!!" And with that, Marcus lunged at his father; blinded by fury.

"Petrificus Totalus!" William quickly said but the spell, to his astonishment, had no effect.

Marcus raised the wooden shard in his hand and aimed to strike but his father caught his wrist and they struggled. Victoria watched in both horror and hope. The amulet was working! They all had a chance!

"MARCUS!" Angelina cried. She wanted to help him but there was little she could do without a wand. And with William spitting curses every second, she had to take cover with Katie and Oliver on the floor.

William had managed to keep Marcus at bay and slammed him into the stone wall. The wooden stake was held high above his head and Marcus tried with all his might to move his arm but William's strength was overpowering. His father swiftly kneed him in the stomach and threw him to the ground.

"Marcus, Marcus, Marcus," William said and shook his head with amusement. "Doesn't this look familiar? I do believe this is the exact scene before I left home, isn't it? Except...we're missing one minor detail." William swiftly grabbed Victoria. She screamed and winced as she was pinned against William and his wand was pressed hard into her temple. "I do believe I beat the shit out of her first before I moved onto you. Isn't that how it went?"

"You bastard," Marcus growled, wiping blood from his lip.

"Let me go!" Victoria shouted and struggled in vain against William's hold.

William smiled deviously. "Avada K--!"

"JOHNSON, NO!"

Marcus jumped up just as Angelina had tackled William from behind. She held onto his neck and arm that held the wand as he thrashed about. For a whole five seconds, she was able to keep him back long enough for Oliver and Katie to join in the fray. Soon, William was fighting off five tenacious and angry witches and wizards. He grabbed Angelina's wrist and snapped her off his back just as Marcus had jumped in her place. Oliver was wrestling William's wrist to gain control of the wand but he found, to his horror, that it was pointed at him. William spat out a blasting curse to free himself and both Katie and Oliver were sent flying back. Victoria screamed and went for the wand next. She only managed to pry one finger open when William took her and slammed her head into the stone wall. Immediately, she slid down unconscious; leaving a wake of blood above her.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Marcus screamed. "QUIT HITTING MY MOTHER!"

Even though he was infinitely angry with Victoria, the site of her being beaten by this monster he called 'father' was enough to spark a protective rage in him. No longer was he eight years old and defenseless. This was finally revenge. Marcus swiftly punched his father in the face.

Katie, Angelina, and Oliver had recovered and were joining in once again. William was weakening. "NOTT!" he shouted in rage. "HURRY UP, YOU BASTARD!"

Marcus actually laughed as the adrenalin rushed through him. William did not know that Addison was dead in the previous room.

"STUPEFY!" William spat at Marcus but the spell bounced off.

Again, he was tackled. Now realizing that spells were useless against Marcus, he focused his attacks on the others instead. No one had managed to wrestle his wand away yet. And then, somewhere near in the next chamber, there was a loud rumble as the ceiling continued to cave in.

Katie had managed to jump on William's back again. She punched at his head in anger before he grabbed her by the hair and swung her off; knocking Angelina down as well. Both girls fell to the ground and were halfway to standing up when William aimed his wand at them. Before a single word escaped his mouth, however, Oliver tackled his arm. The two of them wrestled briefly but William's great muscles triumphed and he grabbed Oliver's wrist, jerked him outwards, and then back again in an instant. There was a sickening snap as Wood's shoulder dislocated itself and he yelped out in pain. William finished the job with a swift elbow to the boy's head and Oliver fell to the ground. Faintly, in the ringing of his ears, he could hear Katie cry out his name before she slid to a stop by his side.

It was just William against Marcus and Angelina now. Oliver was trying to stand but the blow to his head was rendering him too dazed and Katie refused to leave his side. Bits of rock and dirt began to rain on them, now, as the ceiling weakened above. Marcus scrambled for the wooden shard he had dropped but his father kicked him violently in the stomach.

"YOU'RE GOING TO BECOME A DEATH EATER WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" William bellowed.

"I'D RATHER DIE!" Marcus shouted.

Again, Angelina was wrestling with William's wand but her strength was no match, so she bit him instead. It seemed to work. William growled out in pain but before Angelina could react, he had swiftly grabbed her by the neck and pressed his wand against her.

"NO!" Marcus cried out in fear. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Leave her the fuck out of this!"

William was beyond the point of reasoning now. He was panting through his teeth so rabidly that all the human qualities behind his eyes were gone and they became black pools of madness. He held Angelina tightly and desperately like a man on the edge of a bridge.

"I warned you, Marcus," William panted. "You brought this upon yourself! This could all be over already! Why do you always have to make things difficult!? Why couldn't you just obey me?!"

"I'm not a fucking child anymore!" Marcus screamed. "Let her go!"

"They'll all die and it's your entire fault now!!"

"YOU FUCKING COWARD! LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!"

William chuckled incredulously. "A coward, am I? I murdered people, Marcus, because you were too scared to face your destiny! It was the only way to bring you here!"

"YOU'RE MENTAL! I AM NOT A DEATH EATER!"

"If you cannot remain faithful to the Dark Lord, then you must die!"

"I NEVER WAS FAITHFUL! LET ANGELINA GO, YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

"She'll die first..."

William pressed his wand against Angelina's temple. She gasped and tried to pry his arm from around her neck but to her horror, William was now aiming his wand at Marcus, who had grabbed the wooden shard and was charging at him furiously.

"CRUCIO!"

The spell only managed to stop Marcus in his tracks for a split second. Again and again, William shouted the spell in the hopes that it would subdue Marcus but before he knew it, his son was attacking him. He had no choice but to release Angelina and fight back. Again, he spat out the Cruciatus curse and this time, Marcus felt a burning sensation in his chest. The amulet began to get hot. Still, he kept attacking.

"YOU BURNED DOWN MY FLAT!" Marcus screamed as the curse hit him again. He punched his father and sent him staggering back. "YOU MURDERED MY TEAM!" Another random curse bounced off his chest; making the amulet burn against his flesh. "YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE!" This time, his aim was true. Marcus raised the stake and plunged it into his father's stomach.

William gasped and froze; eyes wide in shock. He looked down and saw the crimson pool begin to form around his cloak where the wood was shoved deep into his stomach before staring into Marcus's eyes with astonishment. Marcus glared; teeth bared.

"And that's for touching Angelina," he finished off and ripped the shard from William's stomach.

Blood splattered on the ground and everyone was silent in shock. William staggered for a moment before falling to his knees and finally collapsing on the ground. For the longest time, no one spoke, no one moved, no one even breathed. All eyes were upon William, who lay dead at Marcus's feet. It was amazing how one man was able to subdue five attackers with a mere wand, but in the end, even that failed. Marcus's strength prevailed.

"...Marcus?" Angelina dared to whisper. She was shaking.

At first, it seemed he didn't hear her, until he finally turned around, threw the stake, and embraced her. She cried against his shoulder and knelt with him on the ground even as the ceiling began to crumble above them. There was little time to waste.

"You are so brave," Angelina whispered.

"I know," Marcus said and smirked. He was still the same cocky self even after what just transpired.

"Angelina, we have to get out of here," Katie said suddenly. She was looking up at the ceiling, which was beginning to buckle and bend even more.

"Come on," said Marcus and began to stand. He ran to the door that wasn't caved in and glanced out in the hallway. "It's clear. Let's get the fuck out of h--!"

"MARCUS!"

He spun around just in time to see William crawling to his feet; eyes locked upon Angelina like a predator, and wand raised. She gasped in horror and pressed against Katie and Oliver. Marcus ran faster than he had ever in his life, sliding right in front of them protectively. That was all he could do in that split second before William shouted, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Time seemed to stop. The curse hit Marcus directly and the amulet exploded off his chest. There was no feeling, no sound; not even Angelina's horrified screaming as Marcus fell to his knees and then lifelessly into her arms.

"MARCUS!!! MARCUS, NO!" She tried to shake him awake but it was no use. Her tears splattered onto his placid face before she looked up at William in absolute wrath. "YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!!"

William only chuckled as blood trickled from his own mouth. Oliver and Katie remained frozen in horror. They couldn't believe what just happened. Marcus Flint was just killed before their very eyes and so unexpectedly. How could William survive the stab wound? His cloak was now completely soaked in his own blood. None of this was registering in their minds; the shock too great. Angelina was the only one who seemed to be reacting as she held Marcus and cried. She didn't care if she lived or died now.

"Don't worry," William whispered. He smiled in triumph and cast the Dark Mark high above his head. "You'll see him soon."

With that, he raised his wand one last time and prepared to kill them all. But before the curse slipped from his mouth, he stumbled back as Victoria threw herself on him unexpectedly. William shouted obscenities and thrashed to throw her off but she held fast and shoved something into his back; the wooden shard. She growled through her teeth as he stumbled and gasped for air. Finally, he dropped his wand and fell to his knees; the loss of blood consuming him. Victoria dove for the fallen wand. Katie screamed as large pieces of debris began to fall around them. Instantly, Oliver shielded her and tried to pull Angelina close, too, but she clung to Marcus and refused to move. No one was looking as William crawled over to them with the last of his strength; determined to kill them at all costs.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

In a heartbeat, the monster fell dead. Victoria stood shaking in rage with the wand in her hand. Finally, she had avenged her life and the others that William had ruined for decades. It was all over...but she was too late. William was dead yet, so was Marcus. She had failed to keep her vow.

The ceiling gave way.

"Please forgive me," Victoria whispered and before she was crushed, she shouted a spell at Angelina and the others; instantly shielding them with a charm.

If anyone had screamed, it was muffled by the incredible roar of falling debris. The room collapsed in a spectacular pile of dirt, dust, and rubble which immediately drowned the fires. Everything was destroyed in a matter of seconds.