A/N – As always, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Sorry for the slightly (alright, much!) longer delay than last time, but it's here now – I hope you find it to be worth the wait!
Hogwarts Grounds, 3rd January, 00:00 am
Harry stumbled out of the Entrance Hall doors into the courtyard, her mind still reeling from the blows the Horcrux had dealt it. Thankfully, there was no-one around to see her, as she wasn't wearing the Invisibility Cloak; it seemed that the evacuation had taken place whilst she had been down in the Chamber, hopefully without any setbacks. She took a deep breath, and tried to clear her mind. For now, the only important thing was to get out of here before the Carrows or any of Voldemort's supporters amongst the students woke up, and alerted him to treachery at Hogwarts… if he didn't already know. Heading out and down the grounds, past the point at which the Apparition barriers stopped, she turned to take one last look at the castle that still, despite all that had happened, felt like home. Even though it was now quite empty, the lights still shone at the windows, casting the silhouette against the night sky, and Harry wondered; would this be the last time she saw Hogwarts? If it was, she was glad that in her final visit, she'd struck a hammer blow against Voldemort – Hogwarts had helped her in her journey as far as it could, and now, she truly was beyond it. Turning away, she twisted on the spot, and Apparated back to Patil Retreat.
Once the crushing darkness had lifted, she found herself back at the seaside villa of the Patil family, and it was a slightly bedraggled group of girls that came to greet her – clearly, they had been sleeping. Padma was among them, so Harry supposed that instead of evacuating with the rest of the Ravenclaws, she'd returned to be with her sister, which Harry certainly couldn't blame her for. The sight of Luna there too lifted her spirits – she had successfully escaped then.
"Hermione!", exclaimed Parvati, "we didn't expect you back here so soon!"
Harry smiled wearily. "Neither did I, but my task didn't take as long as I expected. I take it that Padma filled you in on what's gone on at Hogwarts?"
"Yes," Cho said, "and I for one am glad – the thought of so many innocent children being out from under Voldemort's yoke is one we can all enjoy."
Shaking her head, Harry replied, "Only out from it's direct shadow, Cho. Whilst he lives and rules this country, no-one can completely escape his influence, only hide from it. But yes, for now, we've won a small battle. Talking of winning small battles, I see you let Luna in? I presume she passed your tests?"
The twins and Cho shared a look and a small laugh.
"We didn't really need to test Luna, Hermione," Padma grinned, "there's no way any Death Eater could ever imitate her – she's far too unique for that."
"Well, that's wonderful, but could I possibly speak to Luna alone for a bit, please?"
"What about us, Hermione? Surely we can help with whatever you need as well?"
"It's nothing personal, I promise, but only Luna can help me with this. If it wasn't of the utmost secrecy, I would let you help, you know I would, but it is imperative as few people know as possible."
The older trio left, grumbling a bit, but also quite happy to be able to return to bed, since the hour was not one that anyone wants to be awake for. Luna was watching Hermione with interest, her large eyes glowing in the darkness.
"What is it Hermione? You seem to be plagued by Wrackspurts right now – you ought to be careful."
"That's it, Luna. You just called me Hermione – that's what I want to talk to you about."
Luna looked slightly confused. "Do you want me to call you something else? I didn't know you were into nicknames, but I'm sure I can come up with a suitable - "
Despite herself, Harry chuckled. "No, it's not that. Before, on the train, you knew who I was, even though I looked like Parvati. How did you do that?"
Luna shrugged. "I just do, Hermione. You just felt like you, even though you didn't look like you. I've done it before, I did it when Harry was disguised for that lovely wedding of Ron's older brother and Fleur Delacour. Everyone has a different feeling, I just notice it more than others seem to."
Harry took a deep breath. "Well, Luna, I'm going to tell you something that only one other person knows. It will put you in danger, even if you don't realise it, and I wouldn't if I didn't have to, but you always seem to have a knack for finding a solution that no one else can see."
The younger girl now looked very curious, and so Harry told her everything. The entire tale, from when Ron left them, up until the present. To her credit, Luna didn't once look doubtful, and didn't ask questions until Harry had finished. When she had, Luna was still smiling, which surprised Harry – she had expected even Luna to be slightly concerned at the news that Voldemort was to all intents and purposes now immortal, but on the contrary, Luna looked happier than ever.
"Isn't it obvious? Someone has to be Harry Potter, so you just need someone else to be you."
Harry frowned. "I know that, Luna, but it's slightly harder than it sounds – and currently it sounds impossible, so that says something. It's like Snape said – there's a Harry Potter shaped hole in the universe, but no one alive can fill it since no part of it is left in this world."
"Exactly, not in this world. So all we need is someone from the other world."
"Which is what, exactly?"
Luna shook her head as if it was clear what she meant.
"The world of the dead, Harry. If no one living can be you, then someone dead will have to be. Because you left your soul, but didn't die, whoever returns from the land of the dead should slot right in to where you used to be."
"I think I get what you're saying, Luna, but there's one problem. I don't need Hermione's mind to be able to tell you – you can't bring people back from the dead."
"Of course you can Harry, you simply have to open the door for them, and let them walk through."
"And where is this door? Is it even an actual door? Please, Luna, just tell me what you're getting at."
"But you already know where the door is, Harry. We've been there. In fact, you've already seen someone go through it, although admittedly not quite in the direction we would like."
Harry closed her eyes, feeling as if her mind was going to overload, before suddenly opening them when an image jumped to its forefront.
"The Veil! The Veil in the Department of Mysteries! That's what you mean!"
Luna nodded her head, a huge grin on her face.
"Of course, Harry! It's the point of connection between the worlds of the living and the dead – it's the only place to go."
"So that just leaves us with one issue. I've already broken into the Ministry once this year – I think this time might be a little bit harder…"
Malfoy Manor, 3rd January, 03:00 am
Despite the late hour, sleep could not have been further from the minds of the residents of Malfoy Manor. They weren't sure what exactly was happening; all they knew was that, shortly before midnight, Severus Snape had gone to speak with the Dark Lord. A couple of minutes after that, a blast of pure force had knocked all of them off their feet, and an inhuman scream had echoed throughout the draughty halls. For several hours now, there had been an unbelievable racket from the library that had sent them all scurrying for company together downstairs – enormous thuds, and the occasional cry of pure agony. None of them were brave enough to investigate what it could be, but eventually there became no need. Two bodies fell down the staircase to greet them, drawing a hastily muffled cry from Lucius, and met by stunned silence by the other assembled Death Eaters. A barely moving, bloodied wreck that was just about recognisable as Peter Pettigrew, and another body, mutilated beyond recognition, and, worst of all, missing its head. The location of the stray body part was soon revealed, as Voldemort descended, the head of Severus Snape dangling by the hair in his hand. Voldemort paused at the bottom of the staircase, and looked over his Death Eaters, almost as if unaware of their presence. The silence was stifling, and no one dared break it, until Voldemort himself finally spoke.
"The traitor in our midst has been revealed. Our greatest hero, it would seem, was perhaps our greatest enemy all along. Severus Snape."
The Death Eaters glanced among themselves, to a man shocked by this news.
"Whilst Snape managed to accomplish his goal, a goal that need not concern any of you, he would not have made this move if he had any other option; he has always been far too slippery for that. No, something has happened on the side of the resistance; you will find out what for me, and you will find out now, or his fate will become your own. The time has come for your loyalty to be proved again, my Death Eaters; I cannot afford any more obstacles on our path to total control of the Wizarding World."
He looked around again, meeting the eyes of everyone present; whilst they all quickly looked away, he didn't once blink.
"From now on, there will be no more mercy, there will be no more forgiveness, no more second chances. If I think a single one of you even so much as harbours a slight fondness towards even a Half-Blood, you and your family will wish you had never been born. Yaxley!"
Yaxley noticeably jumped, and there was a quaver in his voice as he replied.
"Yes, My Lord?"
"The time for the Muggle-Born Registration Commission is over. We no longer put on a show of weeding out the parasites in our community; visit the homes of all suspected Mudbloods, and destroy them, and anyone else they are with, as painfully as your twisted mind can. We will let people know why crossing Lord Voldemort is the worst thing they could possibly ever do…"
A/N – So, I'm just going to say now that the next chapter is going to be almost entirely a flashback, for important character development. Therefore, you may have to wait a while for the story to advance, but when it does, let's just say we're entering a key phase of this story – I hope you're looking forward to it, make sure to follow the story if you want to be notified of when it's updated, and if you have feedback of any kind, please leave a review – I will be eternally grateful!