Retaliation
2 weeks later, the trio had the operation figured out. It went smoothly, until the court hearing.
"Stupefy!" Umbridge keeled over, the locket was snatched by Hermione, and Harry quickly Stunned Yaxley in the back of his head. "Come on Hermione, it's done." But then the Dementors started to close in. "Expecto Patronum!" A silver stag charged down the Dementors that advanced on Ms. Cattermole, then reeled around to charge the rest of them. Things were not going at all in favor of Harry.
I'm going to transition from here, because this is a major timewaster and I want to get to the point of interest in this chapter. So, I'm going to transition this like I would a play.
Plot: The Forest of Dean, POV focus: Severus Snape.
The forest was eerie and quiet, as Severus Snape crunched through a dense piece of foliage. He was in search of the place that Dumbledore had mentioned to him not so long ago, the place where he would give the boy the weapon to help destroy his master. After crunching for a few more minutes, he found it. "Incendio." A small jet of flame melted a tiny pool in the middle of the ice hole, where he slid the sword silently into the watery depths below. "Winterius." Ice began forming where the pool had melted, glassing over the mirrored reflection of his face. And then everything came crashing down upon him. He had caused Lily Evans to die, caused James to die, cast their only son into a cursed life, and now the boy must die as well, he must die on his own terms. And he, Severus, would die too; die for his actions, his consequences for what he had done. Sobs racked his body; tears cascaded down from his sallow-skinned face. This is what he did with his life, killed his only true friend, the only one he had ever loved. He would die alone, not as she had. He was the hunter in the snowy vortex; the lonely traveler, lost in the storm. He pulled himself together, picked himself up from the underbrush he had leaned against. He dried his eyes, and picked up his wand, raising it. "Expecto Patronum." He barely made it, but the silver doe came bursting from the end. Tears dripped from the corners of his eyes once more. It was so beautiful… She was so beautiful, even when dead and gone…
"Go! Find him, Lily! Save your son, give him the weapon to destroy the Dark Lord! Ride again, my love! Ride again, to save your only living bloodline!" He cried out into the howling wind. The doe raised her head valiantly, and Snape saw the same look of defiant pride he knew to be hers. She charged off into the forest, sprinting gallantly into the wintery foliage. He fell to his knees, reduced to tears once more. He wouldn't let her son lose his life over his.
And once again, he rose from the ground, drying his eyes. This was his redemption for what he did; his chance to make her smile once more. He raised his head to look at the violently spiraling flurries of snow. Soon, he would be there with her once more. He would give anything to see her smile again… even his life.
Harry's Point-Of-View
Harry was staring at the glimmering surface of the icy pool. The strange doe had disappeared, but it was not his focus now. A glimmering, ruby crusted hilt was floating below the calm, icy surface. Harry stripped down, and pulled out his wand. "Diffindo!" The ice split with a mighty crack that resounded through the forest. He took a fleeting glimpse at his surroundings, then drew his breath and dived in. The water was freezing, but then something else was too. And he caught only a flash of gold as the chain tightened around his neck. Then his vision went black.
"Harry? HARRY?!" A familiar voice had woken him, and was shaking his arm. No, not the voice, a hand. A familiar hand.
"Ron?" Harry sat up too quickly, causing spasms to rack his throat and back. But there was no mistaking the flaming red hair, and the tall, lanky form. He had the sword in one hand, and the vibrating locket in the other. "Yeah… I'm back." The two of them were quickly reunited, and Harry made Ron destroy the Horcrux.
"Okay Ron, remember, whatever is inside this locket will put up a fight. You just make sure that you stab it directly between the windows. Got it? Good." And Harry commanded the locket to open. The force blasted them off of their feet, and 2 smoky figures emerged from the locket.
"How could I ever want someone as poor as you?" The voice was too sneering and horrible to be Hermione's. Her features were too curved, she was way too beautiful. Harry was powerfully built, with bulging muscles and a wand strapped with dragon hide hooked to his belt.
The two characters enclosed into a close embrace, their lips parting only for air. And slowly, as though it was an illusion, Hermione's hands dropped lower, and lower…"
A yell of fury brought Harry back to reality. Ron had charged forward, knocking Harry aside. His eyes had turned a furious scarlet, and a powerful green aura radiated from his form. With skills Harry had never seen before, Ron spun on one heel, sword held high above his hand, and brought the blade down diagonally through the vaporous forms, smashing the locket clean in two. A horrible, unbroken scream erupted into the silence, a scream that Harry heard from two places, as his scar felt like it split open, Voldemort screaming with pain as he keeled over, but recovered quickly, confused. Then Harry was returned to reality, where Ron was holding a bloodstained sword, and a shattered locket, breathing hard. The scarlet gleam had drained from his eyes, and he no longer had a radiant green aura surrounding his form. Harry meant to get up on his own but was pulled to his feet by Ron. He saw no hostility in his friend's eyes, only sorrow.
"I never knew, mate. I never knew how much she meant to you." Harry spoke, grasping Ron's arm and pulling himself fully upright. "I never knew that was how you saw her. I never knew that you saw her to be that beautiful." Harry cleared his throat, which was still hurting from where the locket had strangled him.
"Well, now you know." He cleaned the blade on a nearby rock. "Let's go."
And before he turned, he threw the locket as hard as he could into the cracked, icy pool.
So, by far, this chapter has had the most emotion since the story started. This chapter should be very moving, and gives insight to Severus Snape.
Just making a statement here, I will wait until the story has gotten more hits until i continue it. 400 hits would be nice for the next chapter. 360+ so far.
