Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine. They belong to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Well, here's comes another try. This is my third attempt to an SS/HG fanfiction and I hope it works out. You can leave a review after reading. Maraming Salamat!
Chapter One
Only one more and everything's done, Harry thought. After witnessing Neville slashing off Nagini's head, he couldn't help but think the end is near. What made him think that he could defeat Voldemort that night? Harry will not allow his friends' sacrifices be in vain, he would see to that.
The faces of his loved ones and friends flashed in his mind: his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Fred, Mad-Eye... They sacrificed their lives to help him. If it wasn't for them he wouldn't be here right now, giving hope and something to fight for.
Voldemort's screamed of fury when he saw Nagini's body thrash in air, headless, and die in front of him. Still hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, he cast a shield charm between Neville and Voldemort.
Harry quickly looked around. The scene was almost impossible to describe. The centaurs were raining arrows on the Death Eaters, scattering them. Up in the air, Buckbeak and the thestrals were clawing and striking Death Eaters down below. Giants were running their way towards the castle for reinforcement. Those who were lucky had managed to get inside the castle and avoid the giants' enormous and heavy feet.
Grabbing this chaos as opportunity, Harry was shooting jinxes and curses at every Death Eater he could see, not knowing what or who had hit them.
He searched for Voldemort's face. Voldemort was backing into the Great Hall, throwing curses and spells everywhere. Harry followed the entering mob into the Entrance Hall, all the while shooting jinxes.
Various colors of lights where zooming everywhere, hitting unfortunate victims. Harry had to procure Shield Charms many times to avoid being hit by unknown curses. As Harry sped up, he noticed Seamus Finnigan and Hannah Abbott dart past him towards the Great Hall, where a big fight was already ensuing. Some bodies were huddled in the sides of the corridor probably Stunned or dead.
When Harry entered the Great Hall, a very big battle scene was had flourished.
Harry saw George Weasley slamming Yaxley on the floor, raining him with heavy punches, wand clearly forgotten. Pure hatred was in George's blood-shot eyes. Harry wondered what had happened. Surely--. No, he would think of that later.
His eyes quickly scanned the Hall. Neville and Dean were bringing down Greyback. Aberforth Stunning Rookwood, Arthur and Percy flooting Thicknesse, and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy running through the crowd, not even attempting to fight, screaming for their son.
Hermione, Ginny, and Luna were fighting with Bellatrix. It was three on one, but Bellatrix seemed to equal them. The three members of the Dumbledore's Army were doing their best but seemed to be not enough. At the center of the battle was Voldemort exchanging curses with McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn. The three skillful magicians were unable to hurt Voldemort.
Harry's eyes widened with fear as green light missed Ginny's head by inches. It was instinct that made him change course. He was about to shout a Stunning Spell when he was knocked sideways.
Molly Weasley was running towards Bellatrix Lestrange, throwing off her cloak and freeing her arms.
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" Molly roared. Bellatrix spun and laughed at the new challenger. "OUT OF MY WAY!" She shouted at the three girls. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna stepped aside hesitantly. And with a swipe of Molly's wand, the fight continued. Bellatrix's smile turned into an uneasy smug as jets of light flew from both wands, each spell directed to kill.
Now only two fights were being watched. People watched as they lined up the walls and avoided the spells. Voldemort against McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn and Molly Weasley against Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry was torn between the two. He wanted to attach but unsure whether it will hit the innocent.
"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix. "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie and Ronnie?"
Harry stopped dead on his tracks. Ron... Gone? He looked around the Hall, looking for that familiar face. Ron must be there somewhere, looking at the duel. Ron, where are you? He looked at Hermione and saw her eyes full of grief. Was it possible--
No.
"You - will - never - touch - our - children - again!" shouted Mrs. Weasley.
Bellatrix laughed. But as she was outstretching her arms to shoot another curse, Molly's spell zoomed beneath Bellatrix's arms and hit her squarely on the chest.
The crowd roared. As Bellatrix toppled over, Voldemort screamed in fury. McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn were blasted backwards. His last best lieutenant had fallen.
Voldemort pointed his wand at Molly Weasley. But before he could utter a curse, Harry shouted, "Protego!"
A shield separated Molly and Voldemort. There was silence in the room for a brief moment. Voldemort stared around to see where the Shield Charm came from.
Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak. There were shouts of surprise and yell of exhuberance from the crowd.
"But he's dead! I saw him die!" a nearby Death Eater muttered to himself.
Harry locked his eyes into that of Voldemort's slit-like. They circled each other, wands pointed, hatred emitting from both.
"I don't want anyone else to help," Harry said loudly, and in the total silence his voice carried like a trumpet call. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."
o O o
"It's got to be me."
Those last words from Harry made Hermione elated. Surely this was the end. But how was Harry still alive? How can he be the one standing there facing Voldemort when she saw him laying dead in front of the Hogwarts entrance. Unless he was still alive.
Yes, Harry. For your parents, for Dumbledore, for Sirius, for Tonks and Lupin, for everyone... For Ron...
Ron's body was there with George, Percy and Bill guarding over them. She couldn't bear to look at the almost white-face, erased from any other emotions.
Ron was helping Neville take Greyback down when a spell from behind him stole his life. George had quickly charged Yaxley down and rained him with fists.
Ron...
They had promised each other's love... There in the forest when they were still searching for Horcruxes, both believing it could be their last day. They exchanged promises and scenes from the future which will never ever happen.
Hot tears streamed down her face. Oh Ron...
"...wasn't yours," said Harry.
Hermione's mind reeled to the present. Voldemort and Harry were exchanging heated and hateful conversations.
"Snape was Dumbledore's. Dumbledore's from the moment you starting hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?"
There was silence in the room. Snape's Patronus? What was Harry talking about? Why was he talking about Snape?
"Snape's Patronus was a doe," said Harry, "the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized," he said as he saw Voldemort's nostrils flare, "he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"
This gave Hermione a sudden realization. Snape was helping them all along. Shame and guilt enveloped her being. He was a triple spy. Spying on Voldemort and giving informations to Dumbledore. And pretending to be a spy on Dumbledore, and giving Voldemort limited but real information as directed by Dumbledore himself. No one could have done it better. He was a very skilled Occlumens.
In the forest, he was the one who directed Harry to Godric Gryffindor's sword. A doe... Same as Lily Potter's. He must have loved so greatly.
For five years, Hermione had protected Snape's name from Harry and Ron, believing in herself that Snape was not evil as they thought him to be. But after Harry told her Snape killed Dumbledore, all doubts vanished. She, too, wished Snape was dead.
But now...
In the Shrieking Shack, before giving his last breath, Snape had wanted Harry to take his memories. At the moment she saw the fluid that went out of Snape, she knew what to do.
Harry had taken the vial she gave him and collected the memories. He must have went and looked at those memories before going back to the Forbidden Forest and faced Voldemort.
"He desired her, that was all, but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him--"
"Of course he told you that, but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"
"It matters not! It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love! Oh, but it all makes sense, Potter, and in ways that you do not understand!
"Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy -- I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"
Everybody was listening now, taking in what they could, trying to grab facts that they never knew existed.
"The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."
In a corner, Draco's eyes widened with shock. Had he truly? Voldemort, too, was shocked with this piece of news. Then the owner of the Elder Wand now is... Hermione looked at the wand Harry was holding. A few weeks ago at the Malfoy Manor, Harry had managed to grab Draco Malfoy's wand and Apparate with Dobby to Shell Cottage. Then that hawthorn wand had acknowledged Harry as his master when Harry won it from Malfoy.
Then Harry now had two Hallows in his possession: the Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand. If Harry's assumption was correct and if it was inside the Snitch Dumbledore left him and managed to open it, then he has all three. He had conquered Death.
Hermione's mind went berserk. In the Forest, Voldemort had really killed Harry. But Harry went back to live.
"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does . . . I am the true master of the Elder Wand."
Sunlight hit the enchanted ceiling, scattering rays of red and yellow.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Author's Note:
The first chapter happened during the Battle at Hogwarts. Everything happened as is: Harry defeating Voldemort and all that, the only difference I made was that Ronald Weasley died in a duel against Yaxley and Severus Snape surviving the snake's bite.
To clarify: I have nothing against Ronald Weasley. In fact, I love his character but since this is a Severus-Hermione fiction, I just don't want to see him there. This is for his own good.
The story begins with Harry. Unusual you might say. I copied and editted some lines from the original Deathly Hallows book. Please forgive me for that. Nothing wrong with wanting it to be like the real Battle at Hogwarts.
Some lines are trademark of J.K. Rowling. I do not own them.
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