It was absolute madness.
The Death Eaters looked at the girl, stunned.
Not only was she a fellow Death Eater's daughter, but… she was Darcie Malfoy!
The most notable witch of unparalleled renown that had ever existed — a pure-blooded gem which any magical family could take pride in.
And here she was… standing against them!
Here she was attacking the Dark Lord and succeeding!
The question was — why hadn't Lucius Malfoy walked out from among them and confronted his daughter yet?!
As this question surfaced in their minds, they realized the answer, to their utter shock.
Lucius Malfoy, one of the most devout followers of Lord Voldemort, had… refused his summons.
Which meant the Malfoy family had chosen the Dark Alliance over the Dark Lord.
Which meant… they didn't owe anything to Lucius anymore.
The moment they came to that conclusion, every single one of them found that they… hated Darcie Malfoy and her ridiculous popularity. She was a mere 13-year-old girl, not old enough to properly learn the difference between pure and impure, strong and weak. How dare she stand there and challenge them?
At that instant, the Death Eaters became the clearest example of how age-old followers of an idol could become the most hateful critics at their merest whims, just like muggles.
Unlike the muggles, though, these hateful critics held a wand.
Unlike the normal wizards, though, these had already crossed all the boundaries by arriving here.
"Stupefy!"
"Confringo!"
"Reducto!"
"Crucio!"
"Diffindo!"
"Bombarda!"
"Flipendo!"
…
And a dozen more curses and jinxes and charms, in the most hateful, offensive way possible, came hurling at Darcie from all sides, tearing through the cemetery as if it were paper.
Darcie didn't even bother to chant the Spell.
Her green eyes, flashing black now and then, danced left and right.
Tiny, black-green bolts of lightning thundered up and down her wand as she raised it, casting the first spell.
A magical shield, so thick that it became visible to the naked eye, appeared around her as she cast the Protego Maxima Charm.
All the curses, charms, and jinxes were either knocked away or reflected, followed by several Cracks and Booms.
There were a few Cruciatus Curses there, too, though.
No matter how powerful a Shield Charm she could cast, it wouldn't be able to block that curse fully. Surrounded by so many enemies, if she faltered for even a moment, then it would be all over for her.
So, Darcie played to her strengths, waving her crackling wand.
And, from the tip of her willow wand, a dozen birds came out flying with loud chirps before they began revolving around her.
The Cruciatus Curses tore their way through the two-finger-thick Shield Charm.
Before they could even strike the target, though, they landed on the birds, turning their chirps into a deathly cry.
Burying the urge to frown for her conjured birds, Darcie reached into her pockets and took out several small vials of Potions.
With one thought, the corks sealing the vials came popping off.
Then, even as the Death Eaters stared at the disbelieving sight playing out right in front of them, she downed all of them.
Two vials of Strengthening Solution to increase her physical power.
One vial of Baruffio's Brain Elixir to safely overexert her mental capacity while casting multiple spells.
One vial of Wideye Potion to raise her alertness and senses, and an Invigoration Draught to kill the drowsiness caused by her previous unconscious state.
A Blood-Replenishing Potion to make up for the loss of blood, and a few drops of Essence of Dittany directly on her face to seal up the wound.
By the time all the magically conjured birds disappeared under the wrath of the Cruciatus Curse, and by the time the thick Shield Charm surrounding her broke into pieces, Darcie had come back to her prime, stepping beyond.
Planting her feet deep into the earth, Darcie boomed toward the Death Eaters.
Her speed was so much that, under the moonlight, only the blur of her golden-silver hair could be noticed.
"Attack her!" the Death Eaters cried, seeing that blur approach them.
Darcie grinned, taking something else out of her pocket — a handful of black powder.
Landing right between a group of half a dozen Death Eaters, she slammed the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder on the ground.
With a puff, instant darkness overwhelmed a significant portion of the cemetery.
Cracks of curses and jinxes echoed out of the darkness, along with screams — none of which belonged to a young girl.
With a loud, crunching thud, the figure of a Death Eater came shooting out of the darkness and struck a broken tombstone before sliding down.
And then… slowly… everything went silent.
The remaining Death Eaters looked at the diffusing darkness, their wands pointed right at it.
One of them couldn't hold it any longer.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light left the wand and disappeared into the darkness.
As if that was the cue, every single Death Eater began casting the Killing Curse, madness taking hold of their senses.
The green halo of absolutely unhinged casting of spells lit up the entire cemetery.
In a matter of mere moments, the entire cloud of black dust dissipated, revealing the sight within.
Dark-robed figures lay on the ground, sprawled over tombs. Dead.
Darcie? She couldn't be seen anywhere… Not even a hint of her. It was as if the very earth had swallowed her entire existence.
Suddenly, the entire cemetery rumbled.
Chunks of stone shook, and tiny holes opened into the ground like mini volcanoes.
From those tiny holes, a suffused, but extremely intense, red glow oozed out, carrying the barest hint of blackness.
And then they heard the cry — less like a spell, and more like a command.
"Deprimo Maxima!"
BOOM!
The entire cemetery exploded as if several mines had gone off just beneath the upper layer of ground.
Chunks of earth, as large as horse carts, went flying up, colliding with the Death Eaters and smashing many of them to blackness.
Those who were lucky enough to survive the blast were buried by the rubble as it rained down on them in the next moment.
By the time everything had settled, it had gone quiet… fallen Death Eaters strewn in all directions, only recognizable by a hint of their black robes.
Darcie, who had used the Defodio Charm to tunnel her way into the earth, climbed out, covered in dirt and blood, with broken breath.
Before she could even control her breathing, though, she snapped around, barely able to lift her wand.
Sadly, this was no mere Death Eater, as, in the next moment…
… Voldemort's spell hit her squarely on the chest and sent her flying back with a CRACK.
****************
AN: Image of Darcie, as she walks out of the exploded cemetery, is available