Lucius Malfoy bled into the cracked marble of the Ministry's underchambers. The air was choked with smoke and the sharp stench of burning stone. His vision blurred, magic flickering and unruly in his veins. Beside him, Severus Snape lay unconscious, breathing shallow but alive—barely. A dagger embedded in Lucius's side pulsed with Lillian's cursed energy, its silver blade hissing against his blood.
He clenched his wand tighter. He would not fall.
Above them, the shattered dome of the chamber opened to a sky set ablaze with spells—green, red, white—firing across the Ministry like fireworks in a war zone. The magical wards of the building trembled as the very foundations groaned. Columns cracked. Statues wept blood.
And standing at the epicenter of it all, arms outstretched like a conquering god, was Lillian.
His magic boiled around him, coils of darkness wrapping his form. Blades floated at his back like wings. His smile was razor-thin.
"So this is what the great Lucius Malfoy has become," he called mockingly. "A wounded animal. Protecting your broken Beta."
Lucius pulled the dagger from his side with a grunt, blood spraying across his robes. He stood, shoulders squared, face pale but resolute.
"You mistake devotion for weakness."
Lillian tilted his head, eyes gleaming. "And you mistake obsession for love."
He flicked his wand.
"Tenebris Flammae!"
A black flame erupted from his wandtip, twisting like a dragon as it flew toward Lucius. Lucius countered with a shout—
"Aegis Ignis!"
A golden shield roared up just in time, but the impact sent him flying backward into a broken statue of Merlin. The flames curled around him, searing his coat, biting into his skin.
"ENOUGH!"
The chamber quaked.
A storm of energy exploded near the center dais—Voldemort.
No longer amused.
His red eyes burned with fury as he strode into the chaos. Shadows rippled at his heels, and the hem of his cloak floated like smoke.
He didn't look at Lucius. Didn't look at Severus.
His gaze locked on Lillian.
"You presume too much," he hissed. "Puppetmaster or not, this—is my war."
Lillian's smile widened. "And you're late."
The Dark Lord didn't reply. With a hiss, he raised his wand.
"Mors Caelorum!"
Heaven's Death.
A rare and catastrophic curse, forbidden in every known grimoire. It summoned shards of obsidian from the void—jagged spears of space itself—hurtling toward Lillian.
Lillian screamed something in a forgotten tongue—his entire body lit up in sapphire flame as he pushed his palms outward.
"FRACTUM AETERNUM!"
The obsidian spears shattered midair, the explosion sending shockwaves across the chamber. Rubble fell. Walls cracked open to reveal swirling voids of dark magic behind them.
And through it all, Lucius crawled back to Severus, dragging him into a corner shielded by the ruins of the High Seat.
He cradled Snape's head, whispered something in ancient Latin. A healing charm. A plea. A prayer.
"Stay with me, Severus. Don't leave me now."
Severus's eyelids flickered. His fingers twitched.
"L-Lucius…"
"Shh. You're safe. You're safe now."
Above them, Dumbledore landed like a hawk between Lillian and Voldemort.
His wand spun once, casting a ward that rippled like a dome of starlight.
"This ends here."
Voldemort snarled. Lillian grinned. Dumbledore's eyes were cold.
Then—
Chaos.
Spells flew in every direction:
"Fiendfyre Serpentia!" — Voldemort summoned a fiery hydra of flame, which struck with snapping maws.
"Astrum Delens!" — Dumbledore answered with a meteor of raw light magic, breaking one of the hydra's heads.
"Spina Umbrae!" — Lillian conjured dark thorn-chains that lashed toward both men.
The battle became a symphony of destruction.
Portals opened and closed. Books flew from hidden libraries and ignited midair. Time distorted—the air cracked like glass.
Lucius covered Severus's body with his own as the ceiling collapsed in a corner.
And still—he rose.
Fueled by pain. By rage. By love twisted into something unrecognizable.
He walked into the heart of the storm.
"LILLIAN!" he roared.
Lillian turned.
Lucius raised his wand, blood dripping from his palm.
"I bind thee by Name, by Magic, by Blood—"
Lillian froze.
"No."
"By the ancient pact of founders four—"
"DON'T YOU DARE—"
"—I sever your claim to Severus Snape."
Lillian screamed, magic spiraling out of him like a ruptured dam.
But it was too late.
A golden chain of runes wrapped around his chest. His mark on Snape vanished in a burst of light.
He collapsed to his knees.
Severus gasped—and the heatbond was gone.
Lucius fell beside him.
"You're free now, Severus."
Dumbledore raised his wand one last time.
Voldemort vanished in smoke.
Lillian disappeared in a burst of red.
And silence fell.
The Ministry burned above them.
But in the ashes below—
Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, and a broken bond that might just become something whole.