Gone Twisted

When Ash landed, she saw that the Death Eaters had surprisingly many casualties, but nothing that would really affect the outcome of this battle. On one side stood Voldemort with Nagini floating in a glittering protective sphere. Other Death Eaters were cleaning a couple of injuries. Anyone badly injured had been left behind. A bit off the side, she could make out that too big fellow that she recognized at the gatekeeper bound to a tree.

"Ash!" someone called from behind her.

Ash turned to see Draco coming up to her. His face was dirty from dirt and ash, and his clothing had been ripped a bit. A frown appeared on her face, "Draco! What happened to you? Were you caught in a fiend fire or something?" she said surprised, walking up to him and checking him out, trying to see if he was injured anywhere.

Draco pushed her away, put held onto her arms. "I'm OK," he assured her, "You don't have to mother me, I have my own to do that."

Surprised at his words, Ash took a step back, "Oh, I'm sorry I offended you by caring," she gasped and shook her head offended.

"No! No, that's not what I mean!" Draco said quickly, tightening his hold on her so that she wouldn't go away. He sighed, "Crabbe and Goyle are idiots, that's all."

Ash laughed, "But you already knew that!" she whispered, closing in on him again and wrapping her arms around her waist, pulling him towards her and going up onto the tip of her toes, giving him a kiss.

She stopped, when she felt eyes burning into her head. Quickly she stepped back and turned around. Voldemort was looking at her. His red eyes gleaming in the moonlight. He flicked his hand. Ash followed his command, grabbing onto Draco's wrist and walking up to him with quick purposeful strides.

"Father?" she asked, nodding her head at him.

"I have a feeling that Potter will soon be here. I want you by my side when he arrives," he said coldly and Ash nodded her head again.

Once she had settled beside him, the Death Eaters around them became eerily quiet. The only sound was the soft whimpering of the wounded as their minor wounds were healed, the warm bristling sound of fire that stood in the centre of the clearing and the wind that whistled through the enchanted trees.

Ash felt two large hands snake around her waist, and looked up to see Draco holding her closely. The flickering flames painting his face in a graceful red. "How long do you think he will take?" she whispered, leaning into his touch.

"From how I know him he'll make a dramatic last minute entrance," Draco breathed, rolling his eyes a bit.

Ash chuckled at his words. "Ah, that would be annoying, we have to stand here for the rest of the hour... Although it is quite comfortable I must admit," she beamed.



After about an 55 minutes of waiting, Ash nearly had enough. "Dolohov! Go, take Yaxley and check the surroundings!" she bellowed.

Voldemort watched their hurried departure carefully, "He will come," he said looking down at Ash.

"I know, my Lord, but I thought we might help him find us. I know they won't fnd him, he'll be under his invisibility cloak again, but if he sees them walk past him, he knows to follow their lead," she explained.

Voldemort nodded and let his hands enclose over the Elder Wand looking down into the flames before him.

It didn't take long before the two Death Eaters rejoined them. "No sign of him," Yaxley said when he stood in front of Voldemort, who seemed to look right through him. Slowly he drew the Elder Wand through his fingers.

"My Lord?" Bellatrix was speaking now, but Voldemort only raised his hand to silence her.

"I thought he would come. I expected him to come," Voldemort said in his high pitched voice and looked back at the flames. "I was I guess -" he continued, but Ash interrupted him.

"My Lord," she said.

"What?" he snapped, looking at her, but instead of speaking again she only nodded her head into the direction of the clearings edge where a ruffed up, pale and scared looking Harry stood.

"You weren't!" he said loud and forcefully making all the Death Eaters eyes snap up to him. All of them rose at once. The giants roared and from her right she heard laughter.

Strong stepped, Harry walked up to them.

"Harry! Harry no!" the bound gatekeeper yelled from his tree. "What are you doing here?" he asked loudly, and Ash flicked her wand, silencing him.

"Harry Potter," her father said at her side softly, a small smile playing on his lips. "The boy who lived."

No one moved. Potter was just standing there, his wand still tucked away, not betraying any sign of fear or hate. His eyes just wandering off into the distance just before her father raised his wand and softly, so only she could hear, "Avada Kedavara."

Green light shot out of her wand and hit Harry in the chest.

Harry's eyes went wide for a second and then he fell onto his knees in a soft thud and on to the ground, hitting the leaves and dirt below him. His face falling directly into the ground, mouth open eyes closing, forbidding them to see his empty eyes.

Ash was floating in darkness. She could see nothing except darkness around her. Yet there as an image that started to form around her as she floated.

When the image was fully visible she found herself stuck in a closet. All around her were coats hanging of hangers making it hard for her to move around, also there was only one light source, a small crack in the doors that allowed a small amount of fire light to pass through.

Suddenly she heard a strange noise from the other side of the closet doors, it sounded as if somebody had just forcefully opened an door. Slowly Ash leaned forward in the hope that she could see what was happening out there.

With one eye pressed against to crack she got a small view of a firelight lit room with black leather seats set up in front of it. Next to one of the seats she saw a red haired man in his mid 40's stand, wand pointing in front of him and shaking.

"What do you want?" he asked with a shaking voice, she could see how the sweat was running down his face and how he was shaking from fear.

A low chuckle sounded from the other end of the room, which she couldn't see. "What I want? I want to invite you into joining our cause," answered a cold voice that didn't seem to carry any emotions, Ash shivered listening to it.

"And become a Death Eater? Never!" the red haired man spat out.

"Then you leave me no choice," said the other voice. "Avada Kedavara!" She saw a bright green light flash out of nowhere hitting the red haired man square in the chest.

"DADDY!" she cried out loud, tears spilling out of her eyes and blurring her vision.

"My Lord," she heard a voice pray a few meters next to her. "My Lord"

A hand was shaking her roughly. "Ash! Snap out of it!" Draco's voice hushed into her ears sharply. Quickly she looked around herself. Voldemort was lying on the ground next to her. Bellatrix beside him, brushing over his pale cheeks like she would a lover.

"That's enough now!" the Dark Lord snapped, making the others around them move back. It seemed he had lost conciousness for a bit there, but Ash couldn't be true, not having been in her own mind either.

"My Lord," Bellatrix started again, trying to help him up.

"I do not need assistance," he snapped and got back onto his feet. "The boy! is he dead? You! Examine him! Tell me whether he is dead!" she suddenly heard a bellow from the side. Shaking she looked over at the source of the voice.

Ash looked at him and hurried over to the unmoving body. Just before she reached it, she slowed down and took a shaky breath, a tear had sprung into her eyes and was now slowly rolling down her cheek.

Carefully she let herself fall onto her knees and brushed the brown hair of the boy from his face, softly she moved his fragile head sideways and opened up one of his eyes. Then she let one of her hands slip under his shirt and creep up his chest, feeling for a heartbeat.

BaBum, BaBum, BaBum... under her hand she could feel the steady beating of his heart.

She stifled a sob, "Harry, I'm sorry. I... I know what I did was unforgivable... I still don't know everything... But I hope that one day, you might forgive me," she whispered near to inaudiable. Her body was shielding his face from any onlookers and her eyes looked down on him in dear desperation.

"One day... who knows," he breathed back to her, allowing her heart to skip a beat.

"He is dead!" she called out, straightening up once more.

Behind her she could hear cheers erupt from the Death Eaters. She could heard them yell celebration chants and saw the trees in front of her reflect wondrous lights. Some clapped their hands in joy and stomped their feet, but she didn't move. Silent tears were running down her cheeks.

Two hands took hold of her shoulders, squeezing tightly, pulling her away from the body. "I'm sorry," she said again as she heard Voldemort speak once again.

"You see! Harry Potter is dead by my hand! And no man alive can threaten me now! Crucio!" he screamed and a beam of blue light hit the unmoving, defenceless body of Harry Potter - the one everyone thought to be dead.

Fear rose up in her throat for a second, but he seemed to have been suspecting the humiliation and managed to keep from moving, even in what had to be agonizing pain. Up into the air he flew, down onto the floor he fell again, the cycle repeating itself again and again and again, keeping himself perfectly limb. Had she maybe not heard his voice? Had she imagined his heartbeats?

"Now we go to the castle and show them what became of their hero! Who shall drag the body?" Laughter rushed through the Death Eaters, many volunteering. "No wait!" Voldemort said, getting a better idea, "You will carry him! He shall be nice and visible in your hands, wont he not Hagrid?"

Hagrid was forced over to them, Ash's eyes only leaving the limp body when Hagrid's sobbing figure went to the ground and picked him up delicately.

"And the glasses! Put on the glasses! He must be recognizable!" Voldemort said with glee.

Ash hurried forward and picked them up carefully, wiping off the mud that had enclosed around them carefully. Swiftly she walked up to Harry who was now lying in Hagrids arms and put them on, careful to not poke or hurt him in any way. "Hagrid, be careful him, please," she breathed, but feared that the crying half-giant might not have heard him.

"Move!" said Voldemort, making Hagrid stumble forward, forcing his way through the thick branches of the trees surrounding him. Walking behind Hagrid, Ash wanted nothing more then pretend that all this wasn't happening, wanted to crawl into a corner and cry.

Yes, Harry wasn't dead. But she had finally remembered a large and important part of her life, found out that the life she had been living had been a lie all the time.

Voldemorts arm suddenly wrapped around her slumped shoulders. "Why are you looking so depressed? You should be happy! Our objectives will finally come true, daughter! We will finally free ourselves from these chains!"

Ash swallowed hard before grinning and looking up at the man she called father. "I- I guess I just cant really comprehend it yet, daddy. It's just such a big dream come true!" she said out of clenched teeth, but he seemed to not notice the falseness of her words.

"Yes, yes, I know what you mean. Finally nothing stands in our way any more!"