AN: You get cookies if you can find the three semi-elusive Firefly references in the story. No, the song does not count. Neither do repeated song lyrics. Harry's POV. Flames are welcome.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I am neither Joss Whedon nor J. K. Rowling. Such a pity.
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Take my love, take my land,
When the stars shine bright through the engine's trail
and the dust of another world drops behind,
They took so much. From me, from my friends, heck, even from my family. They left us all in the dust. They just up and left, expecting us to clean up their mess.
When my ship is free of the open sky
that's a damn good day to my way of mind
I'm just gonna fly. I'm not gonna stop. I'm gonna fly and fly until—I won't think of that. I'm just gonna fly forever.
There's a barren planet you never can leave
I'm floating over England, now. It's so…empty. All the cities: gone. All the castles: gone. Everything is just…gone. I don't know if I can leave this behind. Nevertheless, I have to.
There's a rocky valley where we lost a war
Down there. That's where we made our last stand. That's where we fought for our people. They say we won, that Voldemort's dead, but they're wrong. We didn't win. How could we, when so many people died?
There's a cross once hung round a soldier's neck
I've got the cross Hermione gave me around my neck. She fought so bravely, saved so many lives, but it wasn't enough. It's never enough. She ended up dying, too. Just like everyone else.
There's a man's faith died on Serenity's floor
Serenity's floor. What a laugh. It's what the Order ended up calling Voldemort's torture chamber. It was said that towards the end, you didn't really feel anything. Just a sort of emptiness was all. Everybody who went there died. Except me. I went through it all, and I survived. But my faith, my hope…they're both still there.
But I stood my ground and I'll fly once more
It's the last oath that I ever swore
Flight. It's the only thing that kept me going. Heck, it's the only thing that kept me alive on Serenity's floor. When everyone around me was dying, I would get on my broomstick and lose myself for a couple of hours. I never had to think when I flew. That was what was so special about it.
So take my love, take my land
Go ahead, Tom. Take Ginny away from me. Take England away from me.
Take me where I cannot stand
Don't mind me, Tom. Torture me all you want. Take me to the point where I can't stand up anymore.
I don't care; I'm still free
you can't take the sky from me
He could never stop me from flying. He could never take my freedom away.
Take me out into the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back
I look up at the sky and think about the few people I have left. Neville, Luna, Snape… They'll miss me. I feel a twinge of regret, then push it aside. I can't go back. Not after all that.
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
Looking down again, I see the Black Forest. Tom had sent his Death Eaters to attack a group of muggle-borns, and they had set fire to the whole forest. They burned over fifty acres, nearly causing the harbor to boil. I only saved five people that day. So many more died. Shaking my head to clear his thoughts, I turn my attention once again to the skies.
When you see a man and he's standin' alone
Well you might just take him for an easy mark
I was stupid only once during the war. It was right after Tom killed Ginny. I found him standing over her dead body, cackling maniacally. In a burst of blind rage, I charged him, and nearly died because of it. I never underestimated Tom Riddle again.
And there's many a man has tried his hand
So many people tried to kill me that I lost count. The Malfoys, the LeStranges, Tom, even a vampire or three. It's a miracle I'm even alive. A miracle. Is that what they call it when everyone you love drops dead?
And there's worse than wolves in the borderland dark
Tom hadn't used werewolves alone. No, he had used things far worse. Of course, everyone knew about the (corpses) and the Dementors, but there were others. Vampires, hags, dwarves, giants, veela, and of course every imaginable snake. There was a rumor at one point about another basilisk, but that, thankfully, was all it had been. A rumor.
From the savage men to the government hounds
Try to take what's yours and tear you through
Towards the end of the war, Tom had been in control of the entire Ministry. They had openly persecuted Muggle-borns, half breeds, and squibs alike. Said they were "lower life forms." Disgusting. They destroyed so many families, including Hermione's. Both her parents aredead now, just like her. Thankfully, us half-bloods had been safe. Tom couldn't very well order the Ministry to kill him, now could he?
Ah, but them that run with me's got my back
It's a fool don't know that his family's his crew
Hermione, Neville, Luna, the Weasleys; all of them stuck with me. Tom once called me foolish for believing in things like loyalty, friendship, and love. Tom was the real fool. He never knew what it was like to have someone at his back. I know. I know what friends are. They certainly aren't anything to take for granted.
Don't you tell me what I cannot do
Don't you think I've got to run from you
Tom tried to force me to kill more than once. I was stuck in impossible situations, the only apparent way out being murder. I always found a way out, though. To this day, the only person I ever killed was Tom himself. At least I can be proud of that much.
When you've walked my road, when you've seen what I've seen
Well you won't go talkin' 'bout righteous men
After the war, people started talking about how the good side won, how they fought for the righteous side. I always laughed in their faces when they did that. There was no such thing as righteous anymore. No one was innocent, not even me. Everyone had done things that they weren't proud of. Even I had tortured many to the point of insanity.
You'll know damn well why I want to keep to my sky
I wouldn't be surprised if my friends already knew what he was planning on doing. They know me so well. I just hope they don't try to stop me. There's no turning back now.
Never cry 'neath nobody's heel again
I'm never going to be tortured again. No one is going to crush me under his or her heel. I'll never go back to Serenity's floor.
I've seen torment raked 'cross innocent souls
Seen sane men mad and good men die
I saw Ron tortured to death. It was Rodolphus LeStrange who did it. The Cruciatus Curse. I almost killed him. I didn't, though. I kept my promise to Ginny.
I've been hounded, hated, married and tricked
Countless people have said that they hate me. Millions. Sirius never did though. Neither did Ginny. At some point during all the chaos we got married. She only died because of my stupidity. She begged me to let her go to Hogwarts one last time. I tried not to let her, but I could never resist that smile. What I wouldn't give to see her smile again. I can't believe I let Tom trick me into leaving her alone like that. Curse my nobility.
I've been tortured, cheated, shot and tied
Not many can boast of actually being tied up. I can. Draco Malfoy bound and gagged me once, just because I called him a ferret. He was assigned by Tom to watch the prisoner. Me. I can't say I regret insulting him, though. He turned a rather nasty shade of purple.
You won't see no tears when I say goodbye
No. I absolutely refuse to cry. All my tears were used up when Ginny died. I haven't cried since. I tried using phoenix tears to heal her after Tom left. She came back just long enough to make me promise that the next person I killed would be Voldemort. I kept my promise.
I've still got my family and my Firefly
I'm not exactly sure when my Firebolt started to be more of a liability than an asset. The Death Eaters found a way to track it, so I had to get a new broomstick. I was rather drawn to this old, retired model called the Firefly. She said that it was discontinued because of a horrible slowing down problem. I told her I'd take it. The darn thing flies like a bullet. I love it, and that's why I'm riding it now. That way my friends—no, my family—will know I'm not coming back.
So take my love, take my land,
Go ahead, Tom. Kill Ginny. Kill England.
Take me where I cannot stand.
Knock my legs out from under me.
I don't care, I'm still free,
you can't take the sky from me.
I still don't care. I didn't care then and I don't care now. I can still fly. That's all I need.
Take me out into the black
The only reason I'll ever come down is if I faint and fall off my broom. But that won't happen, because I've tied myself to my broom. Crude, but effective.
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back.
I can't go home because I don't have a home anymore.
Burn the land 'n' boil the sea,
Go ahead, Tom. I dare you. Destroy England.
You can't take the sky from me.
He couldn't win. It was impossible. I can still fly.
There's no place I can be
since I found Serenity.
Ah, sweet serenity. Bliss. That ever elusive creature called comfort. I've found her at last.
You can't take the sky from me.
I wipe a tear from my eye and think once more about all that I'm leaving behind.
You can't take the sky from me.
With one last glance down, I point my broom straight up. You'll never take the sky from me, Tom. I am a leaf on the wind. Look how I soar.