12 Grimmauld Place: Christmas at the Burrow

The Reeds

"Come and get me, little Harry!" Bellatrix's voice was clearer now, and Thelma crept through the rushes towards the sound. All she had was her keychain's small vial of pepper spray. No wand amongst the Muggle-hating magical creeps. Despite that, Thelma refused to be anything but confident that she could get creative enough to distract the woman standing a few feet in front of her from attacking Harry. Fists had worked well enough last time. And Bellatrix was not laying one hand on that kid.

Beyond the nearest clump of reeds, Thelma saw Harry's flannel shirt rippling as he ran at the crazed Death Eater. There was something so heartbreaking in the expression on Harry's face that flashed past Thelma -- he wasn't thinking -- he was running straight towards someone Thelma knew was very dangerous but for some reason, he just didn't care --

The sound of Harry's sneakers splashing through the mud masked the sound of her own footsteps creeping up behind the tall shape of Bellatrix's hair, standing out over the burned-out reeds. The witch laughed as she waited for the boy to get within her striking range, and it sounded too much like Sirius' other laugh that Thelma flinched in her tracks. It took a heartbeat's time for her to steel herself and carefully, noiselessly, push through the marsh waters behind Bellatrix. She came within an arm's length of the witch -- and then, just as Bellatrix drew back her arm to hex Harry, Thelma lunged forward and yanked the wand from between the witch's fingers.

Caught off-balance for just one moment, Bellatrix whirled towards Thelma in an eerily lopsided fashion. Thelma only had time to shoot the wand a brief look of astonishment -- what the hell could she do with it now? -- before Bellatrix got her feet under her again and Thelma did the only thing that felt natural: she pointed the wand right back at Bellatrix. So much for pepper spray.

Bellatrix leaned awkwardly to the side like a standing hyena as she panted and stared at Thelma, then the wand in her hand.

"It's you," Bellatrix hissed suddenly. Thelma knew for sure Bellatrix remembered her from the Ministry when the witch promptly spat at her shoes.

Thelma sent Bellatrix her best icy smile. "I'm flattered." She heard the splashings of Harry's sneakers stop and slow  down to slosh more slowly, as if he had pulled himself back just before entering the combat zone.

"What do you think you can do with that?" Bellatrix cackled, taking one lurching step forward and using a hand to elegantly part a clump of reeds. "You can't stop --"

"I already did," Thelma cut her off firmly, sharply. "Arguably, twice." Adjusting her grip on the wand, she tried to simultaneously send Harry, whose wide watching eyes were just visible behind Bellatrix's shoulder, a significant look. She knew she couldn't make the wand work. But it could buy them time. Give Harry a second to cool off and get his wits about him. She just had to keep the witch's attention somehow.

"You know what I can do with this?" Thelma began, twisting her wrist in a circular motion the way she had seen Sirius do to conjure things.

"You can't make it work," Bellatrix laughed, tossing her hair and advancing. "The wand has chosen me. I am its power. Take it from me if you want, but you have no chance."

Thelma's blood ran hot and cold as she stared steadily back at the witch and held her ground. "You really have no idea." She noticed that, as she moved the wand through space, Bellatrix started watching it more closely. Sending Harry another look -- one that hopefully told him to get ready to restrain the dangerous witch -- Thelma asked Bellatrix, "Has anyone ever told you that I'm not like you?"

Bellatrix's eyes tracked the wand in Thelma's hand, fixed on the weapon even as Harry nodded at Thelma and started moving towards the standoff. Meanwhile, the witch in front of her cocked her head and gave Thelma a sickly smile, "I don't need to be told. You're useless." With an exaggerated wink, Bellatrix added, "To me, at least. I'll bet dear Coz has other ideas."