FicWad

Chapter 39



Garden Party Deja Vue



Whipping out her wand and spinning toward the front door, Anna heard a CRACK! Too late, she realized that it wasn't someone coming through the door that Christopher was yelling about, but the grandfather clock. The last piece of wood holding the splintered, old, heavy wooden case together lost its fight with gravity and the whole giant structure was heading toward the floor. She and Winky were in its path!



Instinctively tossing Winky out of the way, Anna tried to roll clear, but her right side took the full weight of the clock as the ancient oak case hit the floor. There was an almighty CRASH! as glass flew, and one of the chimes rolled across the floor.



"ANNA!" Christopher shouted. "/ANNA/, are you alright?" The dust and darkness made it hard to see.



"I'm just stuck. Winky, help me shift this pile."



Between the two of them, Anna was soon free of the debris and sitting, propped against the door jam.



"I can't see you from here. Are you hurt?" Christopher inquired. Anna scooted over to look up at her late husband.



"Well, ah...my right arm's broken...possibly my ankle...I think I have a few cracked ribs...a nasty bump on the head...a cut or three but otherwise, I'm fine. How are you, dear?"



"Don't get smart with me young lady! You sit right there and wait for help. I'm going to go and update Albus as to what's happened."



"Fine; go and tattle." Anna good naturedly replied, then grumbled, "Outwit three Death Eaters and get downed by a /clock/! Old Father Time's revenge on me for always being late, I suppose."



"Stay put!" Christopher stuck his head back in the frame. "I mean it! Let the Ministry deal with Lucius Malfoy. You've done enough."



"Ok/, fine.../go already!"



Christopher gave her a hard look, wagged his finger at her and then left to talk to Dumbledore.



"I thought he'd never leave. Winky, help me up."



Winky climbed over the wreckage of the clock and helped her mistress stand. Anna tried stepping on her hurt leg, winced and then reached over and felt her arm.



"Ow! That really hurts. And I feel a hellacious headache starting. Wonderful."



"Missy Anna can fix. You's a Healer!"



"Not with this."



Anna picked her wand up and Winky gasped. It was broken in half and the tip was dangling on the piece of dragon heartstring that had been its core.



"I suppose I'll have to leave the healing to the fine folks at St. Mungo's. But, this broken wand will come in handy. Go get the duct tape, Winky, so you can get to work. We'll lock their wands in the desk. Oh, and bring me my box."



Winky's eyes got big. "The box, Miss?"



"The box, Winky. I need to have /something/, if I'm going to capture Lucius. Hurry, I'd rather face him outside than in here. And he may decide to leave if he doesn't see or hear something soon."



"Yes, Missy Anna."



Winky jumped over the remains of the clock and raced to the kitchen, returning with a large roll of duct tape, which she dropped by the unmoving form of Macnair. Running across the hall to the study, she returned with Anna's metal safe box. Winky unlocked and opened it, holding the box up for Anna, who, using her left hand picked up the revolver and jammed it securely into her back pocket.



Unbuttoning her blouse at her waist, she gently inserted her right arm to take some of the pressure off of the broken bones. Her whole right side was starting to throb painfully. Hobbling to the front door, she turned and gave Winky a smile.



"Remember, mouths first, then hands and then get creative. And put their wands in the desk, too, don't forget. Help is coming and will be here soon. Tell Christopher not to worry, I'm Ok."



"Yes, Missy Anna." Winky ripped a short length of duct tape and plastered it over Macnair's mouth. "Bad wizard!"



"You were superb, Winky. I've got a lot of bragging to do about you!"



"Oh, no, Missy Anna, you did the good fighting, you stopped the bad wizards."



"But you did all the set up and everything worked perfectly. AND, you were very /brave. I'm going to buy you a /big surprise as soon as I can."



"Oh...my...Missy Anna." Winky started to protest, but Anna had turned and gone out the front door.



X # X # X



Anna pulled out her 'sunglasses', put them on and looked around. It was very dark, despite the clear, starry sky. The woods on either side of the gardens were deep black shadows. Then she saw him, off to the left near the drive, under the trees behind the rose garden.



Putting her glasses on the top of her head, she reached back inside the front door and flipped on the decorative lights that edged the paths through the gardens and highlighted some of the larger trees.



Walking gingerly to the edge of the flagstone terrace, she leaned on the stone wall and eased herself down the steps to the lawn. Making her limp as pronounced as she dared without looking like she was faking it, Anna approached the gravel path that led through the rose bushes. Leaf buds were just greening out and in a month the first blooms would be opening.



Christopher always loved these roses. Anna thought absently.



Then she looked up and saw Lucius Malfoy emerging from the cover of the trees.



X # X # X



"Good evening, Lucius. You're looking well." Anna smiled pleasantly, advancing toward him.



"Where are they?"



"Oh, inside...Winky, my house elf, is taking care of them...she just loves guests." Anna winced as she hit a rough spot in the path. "Ouch."



"Not feeling well...perhaps?"



"Aside from the injuries, I feel fine. But I forget my manners. Would you like to come inside and join me for a drink or a light nosh?" Anna halted about twenty feet from Lucius.



"Thank you, no. I have other plans for this evening. Oddly enough, they include you, Anna, if you haven't already guessed."



"Truthfully? I did overhear something to that effect, but still, it is getting late. Wouldn't you rather come inside out of the chill?"



"Again, no, but I would like to know what you did to those obviously incompetent fools I sent to bring you to me."



"Let me see...the last I saw of Crabbe and Goyle they were relaxing on the sofa in the drawing room and Macnair was in the front hall being taken care of by Winky, hand and foot. She loves playing assistant hostess. Best move I ever made, getting her as my house elf. But that begs the question, Lucius; what do you want with me? Is your Master throwing a scavenger hunt and I'm on the list?"



"The Dark Lord doesn't know that I'm bringing you to him. You will be the guest of honor at Draco's marking ceremony and the victim of his first killing spell. He'll be pleased."



"Draco or Voldemort?"



"How dare you speak the Dark Lord's ..."



"Oh, lighten up, Lucius. I'm injured, you're armed and we're alone in a garden...again. Sound familiar?"



"It does indeed," Lucius replied with a nasty grin.



"We've got to stop meeting like this." She gave him a thin smile.



"Oh, I'll take care of that. Now," lazily flicking his wand at her, "are you coming with me without a struggle or should I just kill you and dump your body at the Dark Lord's feet?"



"And deprive Draco? Tut...tut."



Malfoy gave a bark of a laugh. Anna shifted her weight, and a small groan escaped her lips.



"Aren't you at least going to come in and get your playmates, or are you abandoning them to their fate like the last time?"



"They couldn't do a simple task, the three of them together, so I believe the Dark Lord is better off without their dubious services."



"Now, now, give them some credit; they did try, bless their hearts."



"And you are attempting to keep me talking until the re-enforcements get here, aren't you? Well, it won't work. We're leaving."



"You figured that out, did you? Well, before we go, I would like to ask for one more moment of your time, to give you a piece of advice you might be prudent to listen to, even if it is from me."



"Certainly." He gave a small, mocking bow. "They'll be busy inside for a few minutes when your 'help' arrives. I'll be able to get the both of us out of here without too much trouble, if you co-operate. Or, I'll just take your body with me. Either way, I'm rid of you. So, what is this marvelous piece of advice?"



"Well...my late husband, Christopher..."



"The Muggle."



"Yes, that's the one...anyway, he always told me, 'Anna, when all else fails...'". Anna pointed to her broken arm and then showed him the broken pieces of the wand. She cocked her arm and threw the broken pieces off to her left, as hard as she could fling them without throwing herself off balance.



Lucius watched the pieces cartwheel through the air, sparking faintly, to land with a splash and tiny sizzle in the nearby koi pond. Turning back to Anna, he saw her holding something in her left hand and she was pointing it straight at him.



" '...just shoot the dumb son-of-a-bitch!'."



"/What/!"



"You're coming inside, Lucius."



"I think not." Raising his wand, he smiled at her. "You're coming with me."



"Don't try it, Lucius. I will use this and even you aren't fast enough to dodge a bullet."



"You'd kill me? After all we've meant to each other?" Lucius laughed, but there was no smile on his face.



"No. I'll just wing you, if you try something stupid."



"Liar."



"Try me."



They stood there staring at each other, Anna swaying slightly, the pain of her injuries becoming evident on her face, her breathing was getting slightly ragged; she was going into shock. Lucius slowly smiled and raised his wand, preparing to cast a spell at her.



"Goodbye /little girl/."



He whirled his wand and BANG! he was hit in the shoulder, knocking him backward. He looked down, stunned at the flow of blood staining his robes.



"Anna!" There was a shout from inside the house. Remus had come.



Lucius looked up at her, madness and hatred burning in his eyes.



"Don't do it, Lucius, I'm begging you. /Please, don't/."



Lucius switched his wand to his left hand, raised it and started the killing curse, "AVADA KA..."



BANG!



He staggered again, looked down at his chest, then back at Anna with a bewildered expression on his face, dropped to his knees and pitched face-forward on the gravel path...dead.



"ANNA!"



Remus had rushed out onto the terrace at the sound of the first shot. At the sound of the second, he spotted her and bounded down the stairs and across the lawn. She still had the gun pointed at Lucius, but her hand was starting to shake. She thumbed the safety on and her arm dropped to her side, the gun slipping from her fingers onto the path.



She turned slightly and looked at Remus pelting down the path. He reached her just as she lost consciousness and caught her as she fell. Lowering Anna gently to the gravel path, he looked up and saw Lucius Malfoy's body sprawled in front of them.



X # X # X



"REMUS?"



It was Tonks, followed closely by Kingsley Shacklebolt.



"Over here!"



They ran to him and took in the scene in silence.



"Let's get her inside. Watch her arm, Winky says it's broken."



Kingsley conjured a stretcher and Remus laid Anna on it. Tonks picked up the gun and handed it to Remus, who pocketed it. In silence, they moved Anna back to the house, to find Alastor Moody talking with Winky and Christopher about what had happened.



"Where's Malfoy? Disapparated again, to save his skin?"



"He's out there," answered Tonks, pointing. "Dead."



"Humph! Well, that's one gone for good and three more back in Azkaban. And hell to pay for poor Anna. But that'll wait. Christopher, we'll see to Anna, so could I impose on you to go and tell Albus what has happened and that we're taking her to St. Mungo's?"



"Will Anna be alright?"



"I'm sure she will, Christopher," replied Moody, with uncharacteristic tenderness, "Don't you worry."



"Right, I'm off then."



"Tonks," said Moody, all business again, turning to the pink haired Auror. "You help Winky close up the house and then follow us to St. Mungo's. We'll send someone back for these three and Malfoy's body, after Anna's seen to."



"Right. Come on, Winky, let's set the house in order, shall we?" replied Tonks, holding out her hand to the house elf.



Winky was standing next to Anna's still form, crying. "Oh, I wants to go with my Missy Anna."



Tonks got down on one knee to talk to Winky.



"We'll go as soon as we can, but she'd want you to be a good house elf and close up the house properly. She'll be glad to hear everything was done by you, don't you think? And we'll pack a few things for her, for St. Mungo's."



Straightening up, Winky nodded. "Winky knows how to fix everything, just like my Missy Anna likes it. Come on, Missy Tonks, we's got work to do." And taking Tonk's hand the determined house elf led the smiling Auror off toward the kitchen.