Yep... Another new story. This is something I couldn't bear to not post. I have been thinking about this for... quite a few days. The idea just popped into my head and I had to write and post it.

Enough blabbering. As always, please Review if you want me to continue this story. I would be really happy to get the support I have been getting for my other stories as well.

Enjoy,

Nick

Finally. I finally found out why Dumbledore insisted on throwing me into all of the yearly encounters over the last few years here at Hogwarts. No matter what everyone always told me. My job was not to survive… The former headmaster expected me to calmly walk into Death's welcoming arms and – while I was at it – I was supposed to take Voldemort with me as well. I wasn't worried about myself… Not at all. The thing that I was scared about most was to never meet my mates and to leave them with no one. Actually, I had almost made peace with the thought to never meet them but… for their sakes, I really hoped that I was wrong. My heart was pounding fiercely. How strange that I didn't fear death… I feared what it would to the people I left behind. Ever since I was a young child, lying in the cupboard under the stairs… As much as I hated Dumbledore for ruining my life there was one thing he told me that never really left me. He once told me that death was but the next great adventure.

I got up from the ground of the headmaster's office, dusting off my clothes. They were ripped and slightly burned from the fighting earlier. I also had some injuries that, for the most part, had stopped bleeding already. Would dying hurt? All those times I thought that it was about to happen over the years, I escaped. The Philosopher's Stone, Uncle Vernon, the Basilisk, Uncle Vernon, Sirius Black, Uncle Vernon, the Tournament, Voldemort, Uncle Vernon… The list goes on and for the most part, it consisted of two people, two men who continued hurting me throughout my life. Uncle Vernon and Voldemort. If anyone asked me who I thought was worse, I couldn't answer. Yes, Voldemort was a monster. He terrorized a lot of people and murdered even more. Uncle Vernon, on the other hand, was my own personal nightmare, my own personal hell.

If only I could have died on that summer's night when I left Privet Drive or even before that. Before I had the chance to get to know my mates. If only I could die like Hedwig had, so quickly that I wouldn't have known it happened. Or I could have just thrown myself in front of someone to save them. It would have been a noble death that actually meant something. Now, I would just walk to my death, leaving everyone to fend for themselves. Something, in my opinion, they should have done years ago.

Dumbledore's betrayal would follow me into my grave. I hated him. I hated him so fucking much. Even with the prophecy, I didn't have to grow up with Petunia and Vernon. I could have had a normal childhood without all of the abuse. He could have actually taught me stuff instead of just throwing me in front of a bus every single year. I hated him so much. Dumbledore had know that I wouldn't duck out now that I was aware that a piece of the Dark Lord's soul resided in my scar. That I would keep going to the end, even though it was my end. Dumbledore knew and even the Dark Lord knew that I wouldn't let anyone else die for me, not if I could stop it. The images of Fred, Remus and Tonks lying dead in the Great Hall forced their way into the forefront of my mind…

The only problem was that Nagini, another one of Voldemort's Horcruxes was still alive. Even if I died, the snake man would still be immortal. True, it would make the job easier for someone else but it wasn't enough. If I died and took the Horcrux with me, someone else had to deal with the snake and Voldemort. But who? Hermione and Ron would be possibilities but I didn't actually like them all that much. They were just too… loud, obnoxious… Not me.

The castle was empty. I felt ghostly striding through the abandoned halls by myself. The portraits were all empty, the inhabitant having taken shelter in a safe place. The whole place was eerily silent as if all its remaining lifeblood was concentrated in the Great Hall where the dead and mourners were crammed. I pulled my Invisibility Cloak over me and descended through the floors, at last walking down the marble staircase into the entrance hall. Perhaps some part of me hopes to be seen, to be stopped but the Cloak was and will always be impenetrable and so I reached the front doors easily.

It was outside that I collided with the one person that never crossed my mind earlier. Neville. He was one half of a pair that was carrying a body in from the grounds. Colin Creevey, though underage, must have snuck back just as Malfoy and the others had done. He looked so small.

"You know what? I can manage him alone, Neville," Oliver Wood murmured, heaving Colin over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. The former Quidditch captain knew about my cloak and he saw what just happened.

As soon as he was gone, Neville leaned against the door frame, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand "Selene?"

"It's me, Nev," I murmured, pulling the Cloak off my head for a moment.

The other boy swallowed "So you're really going to do this, huh?"

"I have to," I pointed out "Listen, Neville. I'm going to die… And I'm fine with it… I need you to promise me something."

"Anything," Neville vowed.

I thrust the sword of Gryffindor at him "Take this. Kill Nagini once I'm dead. She's the only thing left that makes Voldemort immortal. Once she's dead… Kill that bastard for me, would you?"

"I – Why me?" the fellow lion frowned "Why not tell Ron or Hermione?"

"Would you believe me if I say that I really don't like them too much? Never did but it was expected of me to be friends with them," I explained "Dumbledore made sure that I stayed friends with them." I leaned forward and pressed a sisterly kiss to his cheek "Take care of yourself and Luna for me?"

"You can count on me, Sel," Neville told me solemnly, drawing my still invisible body into a tight hug "I'm sorry."

I smiled a tiny smile that he couldn't see "Don't be. You're showing your Gryffindor bravery, Nev. This is what you were always capable of. You only had to believe in yourself. Never let anyone tell you that you're not meant for whatever you've planned. Listen to your heart."

"Thank you," the other boy breathed out as I slipped away from him "I'll never forget you, Sel. Never."

I moved down the steps and out into the darkness. A glance at my watch and sighed. It was almost four in the morning and the deathly stillness of the grounds felt as though they were holding their breath, waiting. A small part of me wanted to be stopped, to be dragged back… To be with my mates. God, it still sounded weird to say it. Mates. As in more than one. They were my life and helped me through my time at Hogwarts and my childhood. They were always there once I went to sleep.

Hagrid's hut loomed out of the darkness. There were no lights, no sound of Fang scrabbling at the door. All those visits to Hagrid over the years, and the gleam of the copper kettle on the fire, the rock cakes and giant grubs. I was all so faint… As if it had been centuries ago instead of just a few short years.

I stopped at the edge of the forest, staring at the swarm of Dementors that was gliding amongst the trees. Even from this distance, I could feel their chill and I wasn't sure whether I would be able to pass them safely. I had no strength left for a Patronus. It was not easy to walk to your own death. Every second I breathed, the smell of grass, the cool air on my face. It was so precious… To think that some people had years and years, time to waste, so much time and I was here clinging to each second. At the same time, I thought that I wouldn't be able to go one. The game was over, the Snitch had been caught. It was time to leave the air…

The Snitch.

My shaking hands reached into the pouch at my neck, pulling out the small golden ball. I open at the close. I pressed my lips to the golden metal and whispered faintly "I am about to die." The metal shell broke open and I lowered my shaking hand, raising Draco's wand with my other "Lumos." The black stone with its jagged crack running down the center sat in the two halves of the Snitch. The Resurrection Stone had cracked down the vertical line that represented the Elder Wand. The triangle and circle representing the Cloak and the stone were still discernible.

I was about to die… It didn't matter whether I bring them back now, right? After all, they were fetching me. I just wanted to talk to my family one last time, if I couldn't see my mates again, I wanted to have the comfort of my family at least. I closed my eyes tightly and turned the stone over three times. The only reason I knew it worked was the slight movements around me that suggested frail bodies shifting their footing on the earthy ground. Tears were filling my eyes behind my eyelids and I was shaking when hands touched my face gently "You've been so brave," my mother's voice breathed, smoothing her hands over my forehead, my cheeks and my hair. My eyes flew open and I looked into mirrors of my eyes. Lily… My mother was standing in front of me.

"I'm scared," I whispered tearfully, looking at my mother and the three men standing around me "I don't want to leave them, mom."

My father came forward, smiling a sad smile "You're nearly there, Selene. We are… so proud of you, baby girl."

"I don't want to leave them," I repeated, this time more to myself than to anyone else.

"Don't give up hope," Remus murmured, looking down at me with mournful eyes "Maybe you'll be able to see them again."

I frowned "How? How can I when I'm dead?"

"We can't tell you, Bambi," Sirius sighed "I'm sorry."

"I didn't want you to die," I sniffled, staring at my godfather and the werewolf with tearful eyes "Any of you. I'm sorry…" Those words were directed at Remus more than any of the others "I'm sorry, Remy. Your son…"

Remus closed his eyes for a moment "I am sorry too. Sorry I will never know him… but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life."

A chilly breeze lifted the hair from my shoulders. It seemed to emanate from the heart of the forest, the place where I would meet my end. I knew that none of them would tell me to go. It was my decision and mine alone "You'll stay?"

"Until the very end," my father promised.

I nodded and took a deep breath "Stay close to me, please?" I begged quietly. So we set off. The Dementors' chill did not overcome me, instead, I passed through it with my companions by my side. Together we marched through the old trees that grew closely together, their branches tangled, their roots gnarled and twisted underfoot. I clutched my Cloak tightly around me and the stone was practically cutting into the soft flesh of my palm, traveling deeper and deeper into the forest. I had no idea where Voldemort was but I was sure that I would be able to find him.

By now, my body and mind were feeling oddly disconnected now, my limbs working without conscious instruction as if I was merely a passenger, not a driver in the body. The dead who walked beside me through the forest were much more real than the living back at the castle. The living were the ones who felt like ghosts as I stumbled and slipped toward the end of my life, toward Voldemort.

A thud and a whisper sounded from the darkness close by. I froze under the Cloak, peering around and listening "Someone there," came a rough whisper from a few feet away "She's got an Invisibility Cloak. Could it be…?"

Two figures emerged from behind a nearby tree. Their wands flared and I recognized Yaxley and Dolohov peering into the darkness, directly at the place I was standing with my family. Apparently, they couldn't see anything.

"Definitely heard something," Yaxley grunted "Animal, d'you reckon?"

Dolohov shrugged "That head case Hagrid kept a whole bunch of stuff in here."

Yaxley glanced down at his watch "Time's nearly up. Potter's had her hour. She's not coming."

"And he was sure she's come. He won't be happy."

"Better go back," Yaxley muttered "Find out what the plan is now." He and Dolohov turned and walked deeper into the forest. I followed them, knowing that they would lead me exactly where I wanted to go. I glanced sideways to see my mother smiling at me and my father nodding in encouragement. We had only been walking a few minutes when I saw light ahead. Yaxley and Dolohov stepped out into a clearing that I now recognized as the place where Aragog had once lived. The remnants of his vast web were still there but the swarm of descendants he had spawned had been driven out by the Death Eaters.

A fire burned in the middle of the clearing and its flickering light fell over a crowd of completely silent, watchful Death Eaters. Some of them were still masked and hooded, others showed their faces. Two giants sat on the outskirts of the group, casting massive shadows over the scene, their faces cruel, rough-hewn like rock. I saw Fenrir skulking, chewing his long nails. Rowle was dabbing at his bleeding lip, Lucius Malfoy, who looked defeated and terrified and Narcissa whose eyes were sunken and full of apprehension.

Every eye was fixed upon Voldemort who stood with his head bowed and his white hands folded over the Elder Wand in front of him. He might have been praying or else counting silently in his mind. Behind his head, the huge snake that was Nagini floated in her glittering, charmed cage, like a monstrous halo. When Dolohov and Yaxley rejoined the circle, Voldemort looked up.

"No sign of her, my Lord," Dolohov reported.

Voldemort's expression did not change. The red eyes seemed to burn in the firelight. Slowly, he drew the Elder Wand between his long fingers.

"My Lord…" Bellatrix had spoken. She was sitting closest to Voldemort, disheveled, her face a little blood but otherwise unharmed.

Voldemort raised his hand to silence her and she did not speak another word "I thought she would come," the Dark Lord murmured in his high, clear voice, his eyes on the leaping flames "I expected her to come."

Nobody spoke. They seemed as scared as I was. My heart was now throwing itself against my ribs as though determined to escape the body that was about to die. My hands were seating and I was about to full off the Invisibility Cloak. Before I did though, I looked at the sky "I'm so sorry. Kol, Finn, Elijah… Niklaus. I'm sorry that I'll never be able to meet you." The words were whispered, barely loud enough for the shades next to me to hear. I swallowed heavily and pulled off the Cloak, stuffing it beneath my robes along with my wand. The Resurrection Stone was back in the pouch around my neck. I didn't want to fight. I just wanted it to be over with.

"I was, it seems… mistaken," Voldemort admitted. It sounded a bit painful though.

I glanced at my parents one last time and stepped out of the shadows "You weren't." I said it as loudly as I could, trying to sound as strong as I could. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw my parents, Sirius and Remus vanish. It didn't matter though… Nothing did. Nothing but Voldemort. It was just the two of us right now. The illusion was gone as soon as it had come. The giants started roaring as the Death Eaters rose together. There were many cries, gasps and even laughter. Voldemort had frozen where he stood but his red eyes found me.

"Selene! NO!" a voice yelled from my right. Hagrid was bound and trussed, tied to a tree. His massive body shook the branches overhead as he struggled, desperate "NO! NO! Selene, what're you…?"

"QUIET!" Rowle shouted and with a flick of his wand the half-giant was silenced. Bellatrix, who had leaped to her feet, was looking from Voldemort to me eagerly, her breast heaving. The only things that moved were the flames and the snake, coiling and uncoiling in the glittering cage behind Voldemort's head.

I could feel my wand against my chest but I made no attempt to draw it. I knew the snake was too well protected, knew that if I managed to point my wand at Nagini, fifty curses would hit me first. And still, Voldemort and I were looking at each other. The older man had tilted his head a little to the side, considering me as a singularly mirthless smile curled the lipless mouth.

"Selene Potter," he said in a soft whisper "The Girl Who Lived." None of the Death Eaters moved. They were waiting. Everything was waiting. Hagrid was struggling, Bellatrix was panting and I couldn't stop my thoughts from going to my mates. Three of them I already met in dreams… Voldemort had raised his wand, his head still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded. I looked back into the red eyes and couldn't stop the dark smirk from flitting across my lips. The fear I was feeling along with the memories of my mates gave me a hint of courage. I saw the lipless mouth move and a flash of green light and then everything was gone.