Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: the Flaw in the Prophecy
Harry stepped out into the open, where the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself were gathered.
"Harry Potter…The Boy Who Lived…" Voldemort muttered, getting up from where he sat. "Come nobly to sacrifice himself for the sake of his dear friends…"
"Do it, my Lord! Kill him!" screamed Bellatrix Lestrange. "End it!"
"In due time, my dear. In due time." Voldemort replied. He then directed his attention to Harry, saying, "How many have you destroyed?"
"I don't know what –"
"You lie! Tell the truth!"
Harry snickered to himself. He never was a good Occlumens.
"The only one left is Nagini." Harry said.
"Very good. I severely underestimated you, Potter. But…No matter; you will die here by my hand." Voldemort announced.
Voldemort raised his wand high, a gleam of triumph in his snake-like eye.
Harry saw the lips move, and a flash of green light. The last thing he thought about was Ginny.
Harry awoke to find himself in King's Cross Station. He got up, and realized that he wasn't wearing glasses. And his scar did not pain him. Harry then saw a familiar man approaching him.
"Harry Potter." said the man.
Harry looked at the man, who wore half-moon spectacles.
"Professor Dumbledore." Harry replied. "What is this place?"
"This place has been called many names. Limbo, purgatory. It is a place that those who are not ready to move on must stay." Dumbledore explained.
"Then why are you here?" Harry asked.
"Because I needed to explain everything to you. And then present you with the most difficult choice you'll ever make."
"Okay, then start explaining." Harry demanded.
"Very well. I'm so sorry for everything, Harry. The night that you were attacked by Voldemort, you survived. You became famous as the Boy Who Lived.
"You have been hunting and destroying Horcruxes for the past year. And have you destroyed them all?"
"No. There's still Nagini, Voldemort's snake." Harry said.
"Well, then, that means that six are destroyed, then." Dumbledore stated.
"What do you mean? Only five Horcruxes have been destroyed. I thought Voldemort made six Horcruxes, so that his soul would be split into seven pieces." Harry exclaimed.
"That's what I thought at first, too. But when you began to exhibit such a strong connection with Voldemort, I suspected something else. Voldemort unintentionally made a seventh Horcrux when he tried to kill you when you were a baby, Harry. That Horcrux is you, Harry."
"What?"
"When Voldemort's curse rebounded, his soul split. And the piece of his soul that split off embedded itself on the nearest living thing. You. Your scar." Dumbledore explained.
"My scar doesn't hurt anymore. Does that mean that the Horcrux is destroyed?" Harry said. "But I died. So, I failed. Voldemort wins."
"Not quite." Dumbledore responded. "When Voldemort was reborn, he took something from you. Can you tell me what that is?"
"He took…my blood…"
"Your blood, Harry, yes! He forged a connection between your bodies that night. And since you have died, so has he. Or his body has, at least. Right now, you are both trapped in limbo, like me." Dumbledore gestured at a small, baby-like being that was crying. It was sitting under a bench.
"Since Voldemort still has a Horcrux left, he is not truly dead. But since he forged the blood connection that night several years ago, he provided a way for you to go back. He has one Horcrux left; he has a connection with you. In essence, you share Voldemort's Horcrux. You have a way to go back to the world of the living.
"Of course, you have a choice. You've gone through so much, and I hate to have to give you another difficult decision. You can go back, and finish what you started."
A train pulled up and stopped. Its doors opened.
"Or you can board this train and go on, and see everyone you love who has died."
Harry hesitated. He didn't know what to do.
"I've gone through so much. I don't know if I can finish what I started. I don't know if I'm powerful enough." Harry deliberated.
"May I remind you that you are the Chosen One. The world needs you if Voldemort is to be destroyed."
"Dumbledore, honestly, I don't care anymore." Harry said. "I want to see my parents again."
Harry walked to the train.
"I'm sorry. But I didn't ask for any of this."
Harry boarded the train, and the doors closed behind him.
"Harry!" Dumbledore pleaded.
The train zoomed away.
Voldemort awoke suddenly. He found himself lying on the ground, with his Death Eaters standing over him.
"My Lord…" Bellatrix pleaded. "What happened to you?"
"I'm…not quite sure. But no matter. Check the boy. Is he dead?" Voldemort commanded.
"Cissy, check the body." Bellatrix Lestrange told her sister.
Narcissa Malfoy slowly walked over to the body of Harry Potter. She stooped over him. Narcissa reached down and placed her hand on the boy's neck. She felt no pulse.
"…He's…dead…" Narcissa muttered. "Harry Potter is dead."
"Very good. Now then, let us take his body to his precious friends and show them that no one, not even the famous Harry Potter, the Chosen One, can defy Lord Voldemort and live!"
Voldemort and his Death Eaters arrived at the Hogwarts grounds a few minutes later; Harry floated behind them, as Voldemort had cast a levitation charm on his body.
"As you can very well see," Voldemort began, "Your Chosen One, is dead! I have dealt him the final blow. Now, who else is foolish enough to stand up to me?"
A somewhat-tall, muscular boy, with bruises and cuts all over his body, approached Voldemort. He stood about twenty feet from him.
"Neville, don't!"
"No! If Harry's dead, someone must take charge! And I don't see any of you volunteering! So," Neville said. "Get ready to die, Voldemort!"
"Ha! You foolish little boy. Neville Longbottom is it? I could use your bravery on my side. Join me, and you needn't die!" Voldemort replied.
"I'll join you when hell freezes over! Dumbledore's Army!"
"You foolish boy. You should not have defied me." Voldemort said. "Now everyone will see what happens to those who do not comply."
With a wave of his hand, Voldemort summoned a ragged, black cloth into his hand. He levitated it to where Neville was, and jammed it onto his head. Then, he set fire to it, and locked Neville in a Full Body Bind Curse.
"Neville Longbottom has been made an example of. Does anyone else want to defy Lord Voldemort?" the snake-like man bellowed. No one replied. "Good. Nagini, have a snack."
Nagini, the snake that was Voldemort's last Horcrux, slithered down to where Neville was. Suddenly, Neville broke free of the curse and threw the Sorting Hat off of his head.
"Confringo!" Neville yelled, aiming his wand at the snake. The spell connected, and Nagini was no more.
"Now, to finish you off!" Neville announced triumphantly. He directed his gaze at Voldemort.
"Ha! You may have destroyed my last Horcrux, but you're no match for me in battle. Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort sent a blast of green light at Neville, who narrowly dodged it by ducking.
"Expelliarmus!" Neville shouted. His spell flew at Voldemort, but was blocked easily.
"Crucio."
Neville felt himself rise off of the ground, contorting furiously. The pain he felt was immense. He could hear someone screaming, and soon enough, he figured out that he was hearing his own voice.
Voldemort released his spell, and Neville landed on the ground with a loud crunch.
"Avada Kedavra!" yelled Voldemort. His spell missed; Neville had dove out of the way at the last second.
"Defiant right to the end…" Voldemort said, raising his wand again.
"No! You're going to have to go through me if you want to get to Neville!" said Hermione Granger, running to the scene of the battle.
"And me!" said Ron Weasley, and his sister, Ginny. They joined Hermione. Soon enough, about a dozen fighters were ready to face the Dark Lord.
"Fine. Once I kill all of you, I'm going to kill your families as well." Voldemort said, brandishing the Elder Wand. He thought he saw Neville Longbottom twitch, but dismissed it as a hallucination.
"Stupefy!" bellowed all twelve fighters, aiming at Voldemort. All of the spells were sent back at their casters; all twelve fighters crumpled to the ground.
Neville alone stood back up.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Neville made no attempt to block or dodge; he was hit, and he fell to the ground with a vacant expression on his face.
"NEVILLE, NO!" yelled an elderly woman from the crowd gathered behind the twelve fighters. It was Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother.
"Ah, it seems that the valiant hero has been killed." Bellatrix Lestrange said, joining her master. "Now then, to finish off the rest of these dissenters!'
The rest of the twelve fighters got up and began to fight Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort, although they were clearly no match.
After the fighting had gone on for a few minutes, someone shouted, "Wait! Where's Neville?"
"What?"
Neville Longbottom's body had disappeared.
"Avada Kedavra!" yelled Bellatrix Lestrange. Her curse barely missed Hermione Granger.
"NO! NOT HERMIONE!" Ron yelled at the top of his voice. He marched to Bellatrix and the two began to duel.
"Vulnero Letalis!" a disembodied voice yelled. The curse found its mark in the body of Lord Voldemort. A small hole opened in his chest.
Voldemort gaped at his body, which steadily leaked red. All fighting had stopped, as everyone peered at Lord Voldemort, wondering if this wound would inhibit him.
"Vulnero!" the voice sounded again, and something like a gunshot sounded. Voldemort was struck in the left side of his body.
Neville emerged from a group of trees behind Voldemort, brandishing his wand.
"Vulnero Letalis!" he yelled, aiming at Voldemort once more. His spell erupted from the end of his wand, and it struck Voldemort where his heart was.
"Avada Kedavra!" shouted Bellatrix Lestrange, aiming at Neville. Neville dove to his left, avoiding the attack.
"You shouldn't have done that! Stupefy!" Ron yelled, aiming at Bellatrix. His spell hit, and she was sent flying away. Ron pursued her, saying, "I'm going to use a spell that'll cut you up! In Harry's memory, Sectumsempra!" When the spell made contact with Bellatrix, she was slashed across the neck. She held her hands to her neck, trying to stop the bleeding. But it was no use.
Voldemort, furious at the defeat of his most trusted Death Eater, opened his mouth to speak, but blood was the only thing that came from it. Neville approached him, and looked him straight in the eye. Neville was confident.
"I don't believe that prophecy was talking about Harry Potter. Or about me. I believe it spoke of both of us. One, who would destroy you once, and get rid of your power, and the other, to beat you in battle when you arose again. That prophecy was about both of us, Tom Riddle." Neville said.
Voldemort said nothing, and breathed his last, falling backward.
Cheers erupted from everywhere, as Neville was swarmed by the crowd gathered behind him. Everyone crowded him, trying to touch the man who had finally vanquished the Dark Lord once and for all.
A few hours after Voldemort had been defeated, Ron and Hermione told him about the Horcruxes and how, since all had been destroyed, that Voldemort was able to die. Neville was not taken aback at the news; he merely responded that it made sense.
Later on, Albus Dumbledore's portrait requested an audience with Neville.
"So," Dumbledore began, when Neville appeared in the Headmaster's office. "It seems that I was wrong about the prophecy. You are the one it spoke of, then?"
"Not so much me, but both me and Harry, I expect." Neville said. "Both of us had the qualifications it spoke of. I think that, since Voldemort's followers were the ones who tortured my parents, that he, indirectly, marked me as an equal. Whereas with Harry, it was literal."
"Yes, I suppose you're correct in that assumption." the portrait said.
"I think that Harry was supposed to get rid of the Horcruxes, and I was the one to defeat him in the end. I needed a good teacher; Harry was that teacher. He taught me to stand up for myself, which I've done all year. And, through perseverance, I was able to acquire the skills I needed to defeat Riddle."
"Yes, well, now that it's all over, I must say thank you. And good luck in whatever you do."
"Thank you, sir."
Days later, everything seemed to have gone back to normal. Neville had been bombarded with questions and praise. He was not used to it at all. Above all, his Granny was so proud of him.
One day, while Neville was helping the teachers repair the school, he was cornered by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.
"How did you survive that Killing Curse?" they questioned him.
"It was very simple, really." Neville said. "I'm surprised that you don't know how I did it, Hermione. It was a Doppelganger Charm. I used it when a bunch of you came to protect me against Voldemort. And, since the school's defensive spells were gone, I knew that I could Apparate to a spot behind Voldemort. So, I made the Doppelganger and Apparated quickly enough that he didn't notice me. And, well, the Doppelganger got destroyed, but I used a spell I read about while I was hiding from the Carrows, and well, you know what happened next." Neville explained.
A few moments of silence passed.
"I wish Harry was here." Ginny said, tears streaming down her face.
"So do we." Ron said, holding Hermione tightly, both also crying.
Neville felt a bit out of place.
"Don't cry over him. Celebrate him. He was an amazing wizard, who did a lot of good for people. Without him, Tom Riddle would still be alive. I'm glad I met Harry Potter. He turned me into a great wizard through his motivation. I know that as long as we keep him in our memories, that we'll have a bright future ahead." Neville said.
Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all nodded in agreement.
A week later, Harry's funeral was held. Everyone who attended cried the whole time. The eulogy was given by Ron.
"I was recently told that we shouldn't be sad about Harry's death. Because he did a lot of good. If we hadn't had Harry, Tom Riddle would still be alive. Now I'm going to tell all of you what someone once told me. As long as we keep Harry in our memories and take his ideals and beliefs to heart, we'll have a bright future ahead."