They had engaged in a fierce battle with numerous Death Eaters outside the Potter home, but thanks to the ambush prepared by Moody and the others, the Death Eaters were caught off guard and steadily forced to retreat.
"But at that moment, You-Know-Who appeared," Moody said, pausing for effect.
"You-Know-Who?" "The Dark Lord showed up as well?" Augusta and Lily exclaimed involuntarily.
Moody nodded and continued, "Yes, just as the Death Eaters were being cornered, the Dark Lord arrived as reinforcement. His magic was incredibly powerful; it was a presence you could feel from a distance before he even cast a spell. Soon after he appeared, he summoned a massive fiery serpent using the Fiendfyre Curse, attempting to incinerate us."
"Just as we were struggling to fend it off, Dumbledore appeared. We had arranged beforehand for him to be on constant guard against the Dark Lord, so when You-Know-Who showed his face, Dumbledore provided timely support. He used a powerful spell—it looked like a variation of Finite Incantatem—directly dispelling the Fiendfyre, and then he engaged You-Know-Who in a duel. The situation was chaotic. Everyone was scattered while trying to dodge the Dark Lord's spells, including the Death Eaters. We didn't dare cluster around Dumbledore for fear of interfering with his duel, so we were forced to fight individual skirmishes."
Moody glanced at the Death Eaters lying on the floor and continued, "I suspect that's when these few snuck in using Disillusionment Charms or an Invisibility Cloak. Everything was a mess, and everyone had their own fight to manage, so we must have overlooked them."
"Then, what is the situation now? What about Frank and the others? Are they alright?" Alice Longbottom asked anxiously about her husband's condition.
Lily and Augusta also looked at Moody with tense, expectant expressions.
"Don't worry, your husbands are fine. We fought for quite a while, and then those Death Eaters, seeing the tide had turned, retreated with the Dark Lord. Aside from Sirius and Peter, who sustained some minor injuries, there were no other casualties. Currently, the Aurors under Barty Crouch's command are restoring the scene and modifying the memories of the nearby Muggles. James and Frank are upstairs looking after Sirius and Peter. They asked me to come down and inform you that the crisis has passed."
Moody then looked down at the fallen Death Eaters and the barricade, which stood like a small fortress, and said dryly, "And then, as soon as I came down, I walked into this scene and nearly got taken out by the lot of you."
"Well, don't expect an apology. You have no idea what just happened in here," Augusta said unceremoniously.
Moody could only purse his lips and shrug. Seeing the usually grim Moody so thoroughly outmaneuvered by Augusta, the group shared a small, weary smile.
However, in that moment, the air shifted.
Behind the group, the last Death Eater to fall—perhaps still driven by the lingering effects of the potion—suddenly struggled to his feet and roared with fanatical intensity, "Long live the Dark Lord! Long live Voldemort! Avada Kedavra!"
The man raised his wand and launched a curse directly at the group.
Most of the party had already started to move toward the exit; only Alan and Moody were still positioned within the room. Alan reacted with startling speed. The instant the Death Eater raised his wand, Alan flicked his own. A sudden, violent burst of air formed a powerful current, slamming into the opponent and causing him to stumble. The wand, aimed at Alan and Harry, was swept upward. The Killing Curse, fired from the man's right hand as his arm was forced back, shot harmlessly into the ceiling.
Beside him, Moody reacted just as fast, leveling his wand at the Death Eater and shouting, "Avada Kedavra!"
A green beam of light struck the Death Eater squarely. The man went limp and fell backward onto the stone floor, dead.
The others, who had already stepped outside, had no idea someone could recover after being hit by multiple Stunning Spells. The sudden violence of the exchange left everyone stunned as they rushed back to check on the pair.
"Little fellow, that was a quick reaction," Moody said, looking down at Alan with a grin that was more menacing than friendly, even after using a Killing Curse of his own to end the threat.
Please don't smile. Your face is scarier than a Death Eater's when you smile, Alan thought to himself.
But he managed to say calmly, "The same to you. Your reaction was just as fast."
"Oh my goodness, Alan, are you alright? This wretched man—who knows what he drank to get up after all that," Augusta said, walking over to Alan, still visibly shaken.
"Given the state he was in, it was likely Dragon's Blood Elixir. They're a pack of lunatics to even touch such a forbidden potion," Moody said coldly, stepping forward to inspect the body.
Alan was still reeling inwardly. If he hadn't moved the moment that wand rose, he would have been finished. It had been a grave oversight not to disarm the unconscious men immediately after the initial fight, leaving their wands within reach on the floor.
As if finally sensing the danger, Harry began to cry loudly in Alan's arms, and Neville followed suit in Augusta's.
The two infants had been eerily quiet during the height of the battle; Alan had actually forgotten they were there for a moment. Now, it was as if a dam had broken. Unsure of how to soothe a wailing baby, Alan quickly handed Harry back to Lily.
"Thank you, Alan, for looking after Harry through all of this," Lily said, taking her son and looking at him with immense love before turning to Alan.
During the fight, Lily had been forced to maintain the frontal defense, leaving Alan as the primary protector for the child. That last desperate curse had been aimed directly at Harry, and Alan's split-second reflex had saved him. Lily found herself at a loss for how to truly express her gratitude.
"You're welcome, Lily. We're friends; it was the only thing to do," Alan said politely, rubbing his left arm, which had gone numb from the weight of the child.
"Alright, you lot should go upstairs. I'll handle the cleanup here. Go find your husbands," Moody told them, beginning to collect the wands from the remaining unconscious Death Eaters.
Lily, Augusta, Alice, and Alan nodded and began to make their way out.
Mad-Eye Moody remained in the basement. He used a Levitation Spell to pull the two Death Eaters from the ground and dragged the one from the corridor inside, lining the four of them up. Seeing one of the survivors show signs of stirring, he casually added another Stunning Spell for good measure.