Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings…unfortunately.
Harry wandered into Dumbledore's empty office. Part of the wall had been blasted away from the final battle, destroying the portraits. He looked around sadly. He may have defeated Voldemort, but the magical backlash had obliterated half the castle, killing everyone. Except him. Harry turned to face the undamaged section of the office. If he pretended hard enough, he could make-believe that everything was as it had been, if not for the wind at his back. Harry sat down in Dumbledores old chair, scooting away from the edge. He put his head in his hands. So many dead. All of his friends…gone. Everyone who knew him, the real him, were dead.
"Why me? Why is it always me?" He sighed. He remembered the fight, that never-ending horrible time of blood, and screams…oh, the screams!
Flashback*****
Harry furiously duelled with Voldemort, ducking and weaving through spellfire. It felt like he was in a dream. He was faster than Voldemort, he knew. He could see every spell before it came, dancing around them with ease. This felt right. He was born to do this. Harry shot off curses and hexes at the dark lord, eluding the returning spells effortlessly.
"Keep still and stop moving!" Voldemort roared in frustration.
Harry laughed, shooting off a jelly-legs jinx. "And leave you to kill me? I think not, old man." Dropping his small smile, he stared at the man once known as Tom Riddle in concentration. He waited, waited for the killing curse. He needed to time this perfectly. Seeing that Harry had stopped moving, the dark lord gave a nasty grin.
"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled.
Harry acted. Aiming directly at the unforgivable speeding towards him, he said, "expelliarmus." And then as green and white light met, the world exploded.
Harry was thrown into a wall from the magical backlash. Was this supposed to happen?, he thought. As his head fell onto the granite floor, he felt himself sinking into unconscious, spiralling down and down and down and down and down.
When he woke up, his head hurt. "Ow..." he moaned. Blearily, he opened his eyes and sat up. Harry gasped in horror. "Oh, Merlin. What happened!"
He wheeled around, looking at where he had fallen. There was a large scorch mark, in the perfect shape of his body. You could even see where his glasses had pressed against the floor.
Harry suddenly thought about everyone else. Were they alright? Were they alive? He swung about to look at the rest of the Great Hall.
There were bodies everywhere. He screamed, wailing for those who were lost…forever. "NOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" It came out of his mouth in a horrible howl of sorrow.
But wait!
Some of them might be alive! Harry ran over, starting at the…bodies…closest to him. He rolled the first one over, putting his hand over the mouth to check for breathing.
Nothing. Harry got to his feet, looking for his friends. He spotted Luna over by the wall, lying on her back. "Luna! Luna, are you okay?" He reached her and gently flipped her over.
"Oh, Merlin…" he gasped. Luna's torso was lacerated, covered in deep wounds. Harry checked her pulse, hoping against hope that she was alive.
She wasn't.
Harry knelt down near Luna, and cried. He cried for not being a better friend to her, mourning that he didn't get enough time to know her better. After he was done, he checked his pockets to see if he had any money. His hands brought out three Galleons, five Sicles and a Knut. Almost reverently, he put two of the galleons on Luna's eyelids. "In case you need money to get in," Harry said. "Rest in peace, Luna." So saying, he folded her arms over her chest and walked away. He knew now that there was nobody alive left in the castle. Well, except for him, he amended.
End Flashback*****
Harry stood up from the chair, wandering over to the wall of Dumbledore's stuff. He looked at them, trying to keep his mind off the death. Strange…his eyes seemed to be drawn to one item in particular. He walked over to it, satisfying his curiosity.
It was the strangest of the thingys on the shelf, with delicately wrought silver. It gleamed in his mind, drawing him in. It was humming, he thought. It seemed to be growing bigger in his mind, although outwardly it was the same. Don't trust something if you can't see where it keeps its brain, echoed the words of Mr. Weasley two years ago or so. Wait! What? This shouldn't be happening! What's going on? HEL-
With a quiet 'pop' Harry Potter vanished.
A/N: I'm going to try posting chappies every two weeks. This one has been several days in the making, but I've had the house to myself allll weekend! FUN!
I have a definite idea where this story is going, so I'm hoping updates will be reasonably fast. Next chapter: Harry in Middle Earth!
