I'm not that evil to leave you in the dark... for too long...
THE ELDER WAND'S TRUE MASTER
"NO!"
Minerva's scream echoed all over the Great Hall. Everything fell silent as Snape's body flew high up in the air, hit the stone wall and slowly slid down along it. People beneath him raised their wands and hands to prevent the fall. They caught him gently and lowered him on the floor.
Harry's heart sank. "No..." he whispered.
He couldn't believe his eyes. It just couldn't be true. He was so sure that his sacrifice protected all of them, all his friends... Then a cold shiver ran down his spine. Perhaps it didn't work for Snape because he hadn't regarded him as a friend... He felt guilt gripping at his insides. He had hated the man for so long...
But no, wait, that couldn't have been it... He had learned of Snape's true allegiance before he went to meet his end in the Forbidden Forest. He saved him from Voldemort's snake. He didn't want him to die. That alone should have been enough. It just didn't make sense... Besides, the Elder Wand wasn't supposed to work properly against its true master. So what went wrong?
Voldemort's mad cackle rose eerily over the silence as he emerged among the clouds of dust and smoke. "I won! I'm the Elder Wand's Master at last! You will all succumb to my rule, I am –"
His voice was cut off by Kingsley, Aberforth and Flitwick, who immediately took over where Snape had ceased.
McGonagall, Harry, and Mrs Weasley rushed to Snape's side. A crowd was gathered around him and was obscuring the view. They parted when they saw Harry approach. Madam Pomfrey and an elderly witch were already kneeling beside Snape, and when Harry finally got a closer look at him, he knew why. They were trying to stop a heavy nosebleed. Harry's brain processed the information quickly.
Dead bodies don't bleed. That could mean only one thing.
Snape was still alive. The Death Curse hadn't killed him. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
Snape stirred and people around him gasped as they all realized the same thing.
"He's alive!" "He survived!"
Madam Pomfrey and the elderly witch, who must have been a healer too, tended to his wounds with practised motions. Madam Pomfrey had a stock of vials filled with healing potions and pastes at hand, and was forcing a bright green potion down Snape's throat. Harry was vividly reminded of the incident at the Quidditch World Cup when the Irish Seeker hit the ground at top speed and was instantly revived by a group of healers and a cup of potion.
"Harry, watch out!" somebody screamed suddenly. Harry turned around just in time to realize that Voldemort was now trying to attack him. Professor McGonagall and Mrs Weasley stood in front of him protectively, but Harry wasn't a helpless child anymore. He was capable of defending himself.
He rushed away from the crowd so he wouldn't put anyone in danger.
Voldemort shot curses at him, trying to finish him off, but Harry's quick reflexes and strong Shield Charms combined with McGonagall and Mrs Weasley's skills protected him.
Then Harry had to duck as a Killing Curse came hurtling his way, and as he bent down he noticed his Invisibility Cloak lying on the floor where he had taken it off earlier. He grabbed it hastily, cleaned the dust off it and threw it on his shoulders. Snape's words echoed in his ears.
Don't waste the element of surprise.
Voldemort laughed cruelly. "Playing hide and seek, Potter? You can't hide from me! Show yourself! NOW! Or I'll rip apart every single person in this hall!"
Flitwick, Kingsley and Aberforth tried to keep him busy to prevent him from realizing his threats. Bill and Charlie Weasley ran forward to help them. Harry kept his Invisibility Cloak on and shot his Shield Charms whenever it was necessary. Only then he noticed just how abnormally strong his Shield Charms were against Voldemort's curses, but he didn't have time to dwell on that realization.
Meanwhile Madam Pomfrey and the older healer were busy with Snape. A couple of wand movements and potions later Snape was back on his feet, a deadly glow in his eyes. The crowd around him parted.
"Voldemort!" Snape bellowed so loudly that Harry thought he must have used a Sonorus Charm.
Voldemort and his opponents stopped fighting. He stared at Snape in pure shock as the latter strode towards him menacingly, his black robes billowing wildly.
Snape shot curses at the dark wizard with deadly precision, but Voldemort still repelled it. He didn't attack back though, and Harry suspected he was still in shock and didn't dare use the Elder Wand against Snape again.
Voldemort then unexpectedly attacked the nearest person besides Snape. He was trying to get another wand. He spun around and disarmed a tall wizard Harry didn't know, but Snape made sure his wand didn't land in Voldemort's hands. With a whip-like crack the wand flew far away, out of Voldemort's reach.
Flitwick and Mr Weasley then attacked Voldemort, trying to distract him enough to prevent him from searching for another victim. That still didn't make Voldemort stop.
He flew up towards a group of adult wizards and witches that Harry recognized mostly as shop owners from Hogsmeade. Some shot spells at him, but they mostly just scattered around in panic as he landed amidst them like a large bird of prey. Voldemort picked the nearest victim. Harry immediately recognized the curly-haired witch. It was Madam Rosmerta that Voldemort had taken as a hostage, pointing the Elder Wand at her cheek. He took her wand and laughed madly.
Harry rushed forward and in a desperate attempt fired a Disarming Spell at Voldemort, but it didn't even hit him since he was still too far away for the aim to be accurate.
The dark wizard spun around in search of the caster. He blindly shot a few spells in the direction where he thought Harry was hiding.
"Show yourself, Potter!" he shrieked. "Or I'll kill her!" he said and pointed her own wand at her.
"Let her go!" yelled Snape. "Don't you get it? You couldn't kill Potter, not even in your second attempt! You couldn't even kill me! You can't kill anyone anymore!"
"We shall see about that soon! I believe I simply need to use another wand!" Voldemort shrieked and pointed his new wand at his victim. His red eyes shone madly, like that of a wounded animal. He was becoming desperate.
Snape reacted quickly. He shot long coiling ropes at Voldemort. They caught him by his ankles and wrists, pulling him away from Rosmerta. Voldemort banished them quickly, but meanwhile Harry had enough time to cast a Shield Charm between Madam Rosmerta and Voldemort, forcing them apart. She was then safely pulled away by Aberforth and Mr Weasley. She was completely unharmed, but Voldemort still kept her wand and now he was fighting with two wands, one in each hand. With the Elder Wand he shot spells at where he thought Harry was standing beneath his Invisibility Cloak, and with Madam Rosmerta's he was attacking Snape.
Then something unexpected happened.
Voldemort managed to pinpoint Harry's location precisely enough and fired a curse at him. At the same time Harry shot his Expeliarmus. The spells collided in mid-air, and then suddenly Voldemort's spell rebounded off Harry's.
The Elder Wand spun high in the air and flew straight at Harry. Acting purely out of his Seeker's instinct, he threw off his Invisibility Cloak and reached out to catch the wand skilfully.
Voldemort barely had time to deflect his own curse hurling back at him with his other wand. He was thrown backwards, but he was otherwise unhurt.
An image flashed across Harry's mind.
Snape had given Harry's wand back after he had disarmed him in the headmaster's office. He placed it on the table next to the Pensieve before Harry dived into his memories. Snape never beat him for real.
Harry panicked. He glanced at the Elder Wand in his hands.
The Elder Wand was his; it had been his throughout the whole time though he thought it had became Snape's.
If Voldemort managed to disarm him now, he would finally gain its allegiance. Harry was no fool; he knew perfectly well he wasn't a match for Voldemort, even with the Elder Wand.
"Potter! Give me the wand!" Snape beckoned him and woke him from the state of shock.
Harry stared at him, not knowing what to do. He wanted to give the wand to Snape, but he knew it wouldn't work if he gave it voluntarily.
The wand chooses the wizard.
"If you want it, get it yourself!" he told Snape.
Snape's eyes hardened. "Potter! I don't have time for games! Give it to me!" he growled. He glanced at Voldemort who was still trying to recover from his own curse, and was meanwhile attacked by Flitwick and McGonagall.
Harry didn't move. Snape finally lost his nerves and strode towards Harry, lifting his wand.
"Expeliarmus!" he shouted and the Elder Wand flew out of Harry's hands into Snape's.
Snape was now finally truly the Elder Wand's master, though he didn't realize he gained its allegiance only a moment before. He turned around with his new weapon only to see that Voldemort rose in the air trying to avoid his attackers, possibly even trying to escape in panic. Snape rose in the air like a large bat, chasing after him.
It was the first time Voldemort saw his ex-servant fly the same way he did, without a broom.
"Where did you learn how to fly, you traitorous scum?" he cried in shock and rage.
"From you obviously," Snape retorted smartly.
"I've never shown you how it's done!" Voldemort spat.
"No. I figured it out by myself," Snape told him.
They wasted no more words and engaged in a furious combat high in the air beneath the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. Curses thundered in every direction, shaking the ancient building to its foundations. The two of them were a blur. It was impossible for anyone to assist Snape, but he didn't need assistance anymore.
Nobody could really tell what exactly happened, but suddenly Voldemort's blurred figure hit the ground with a sickening thud. The crowd nearby screamed and scattered around. Voldemort stirred and tried to stand up, but his leg was positioned at a very strange angle, and he had apparently lost Madam Rosmerta's wand.
Snape landed softly a few feet away from him and approached slowly.
Everybody knew what was about to happen. No one dared to breathe.
"Please. Have mercy," Voldemort begged pathetically.
Snape stopped right in front of him, looked down at the wizard at his feet and sneered contemptuously.
"That's for Lily!" Snape hissed and swung the Deathstick savagely. Harry recognized the curse instantly. He had learned it himself from the Half-blood Prince.
Voldemort's body twitched and deep gashes appeared all over it – his hands, his face, his torso, his throat. He screamed in terrible agony and collapsed back on the floor. His body was convulsing madly. Slowly his gurgling voice died out and he was left lying motionlessly in a dark puddle of blood.
Voldemort was gone.
Eerie silence still ruled in the hall. Everyone was just too shocked by the terrible way in which Voldemort's life had finally ended, to be able to cheer loudly.
Snape finally lifted his gaze from the gruesome scene. He slowly lowered the Deathstick and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. It was over.
It was like Snape's actions suddenly triggered an explosion in the Great Hall. Cheers finally echoed off the stone walls and people rushed to Snape and Harry, hugging the latter and awkwardly approaching the first to formally shake his hand or pat him on his back and shoulders. No one dared to invade his personal space until Mrs Weasley pulled him in a tight hug with tears welling from her eyes. After that Harry could only catch a glimpse of his tall dark figure in the crowd. Ron and Hermione didn't let him breathe, they were all over him, hugging and laughing and crying tears of happiness.
Then Ginny managed to push through the crowd.
The hug and the kiss made Harry forget where he was. He couldn't hear anything around him anymore. When they finally pulled apart, looked into each other's eyes and laughed, feeling immensely relieved, Harry realized that in fact, it really became unusually quiet around them.
The crowd was standing around Voldemort's corpse, murmuring quietly, mostly with expressions of revulsion and hatred on their faces.
"What do we do with it?" somebody asked a bit louder. This made even more people turn around and form a wide circle around the gruesome sight.
Harry and Ginny approached, too, hand in hand.
"Ew… " said Ginny at the sight of Voldemort's maimed corpse. Many turned around and walked away as they saw it, but she stayed put.
"Could somebody please get rid of it, I can't look at it…" murmured Mrs Weasley, who, Harry realized, was now standing close to Ginny. Mr Weasley was also standing right next to her and he put his arms around her in a comforting gesture.
A large figure, the largest one from the crowd, started to push its way towards the dead body. It was Hagrid.
"No worries, I'll take care of it, I know how ter handle beasts..." he announced. "An' I think I know just the righ' place where ter put him…" he murmured, his beard twitching in disgust. "The spiders seemed hungry..."
Should I continue? Convince me. Go.