XI - The Fall of Hogwarts


She was running again.

Still frozen inside with horror at what she just witnessed, the only thing Hermione thought about was finding the first person that came to mind. Holding on even tighter to her documents, she reached the Faculty Tower in a minute, breathing heavily. She ignored the calls from one of the professors near the entrance and ran up the staircase. She stormed into the third office to the right.

"Professor Lupin!" she called immediately, but the room was empty. Her mind raced trying to figure out where he could be - then the door shut loudly behind her.

Her senses altered, she jumped up with alarm and dropped the documents, parchments flying in all directions of the small, cramped looking office. She instinctively turned to the door when she heard it bang.

"Hello, Granger."

She turned back and swiftly took out her wand, but just as suddenly, it flew out of her grip and into the hands of the person sitting casually on top of the teacher's desk.

"So, what do you think?" asked Henry Cunningham with a playful tone, his grin charming as always but also menacing. Even amongst her horror, Hermione couldn't help noticing how unbelievably handsome and flawless he looked, strands of his silky brown hair gracefully falling over his dark, mesmerizing eyes. The perfect disguise. "I assure you I look much more attractive in my transformed state. Those paintings are quite inaccurate."

"Where's professor Lupin?" demanded Hermione, her voice shaking as she backed away from the threatening creature before her. She gasped when the parchments all burst into flames and became ashes without a single movement.

"I'm sorry, clever girl," cooed the vampire, his grin darkening. "You must die now."

She gasped and bumped into the wall behind her. He burst out laughing; a loud, malicious laughter that gave her unpleasant chills and made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Her entire body was shaking so much she was sure her knees would bend any moment.

"Only joking," he teased, chuckling darkly. "I don't want to make your lover angry. Or maybe I do."

She gasped again when he reappeared right in front of her in the blink of an eye. He was so close she could feel his raw power, like electricity, crushing her. She couldn't make a sound as he ran his fingers through her curly hair.

"I've always wondered what your Muggle Born blood tastes like."

He chuckled again and moved her hair away from her neck, pressing her against the wall with his incredibly strong body, his face slowly approaching the side of her neck.

Then a similarly powerful hand grabbed his shoulder and pushed him away from her.

"Master, stop this."

The tone of the voice was respectful but the eyes expressed only anger, which increased with Henry's reaction of mocking laughter. The other vampire pulled his Master away from Hermione and stood between them.

"It's about time you arrived, Romeo," taunted Henry. He shook off his fledgling's hand and patted him on the back. "Congratulations on your success. Now you know what you must do."

Henry gestured toward Hermione, whose eyes now expressed complete heartbreak and sorrow as her beloved turned to her.

"Harry, please," she pleaded weakly, voice shaking.

But she knew now that grim darkness had replaced the face of the one she loved and the glowing green eyes she had known for five long years. Despair took over her when, at that moment, she finally accepted that her love for him had always been a thick veil that clouded her mind, preventing her from noticing the true drastic change within him. Pain swelled inside her along with a flash of memories.

Very vividly, she saw the skinny, bespectacled eleven-year-old Harry Potter the first day of school; wimpy, innocent and lost as he stumbled across the wizarding world for the first time. She saw the young boy's ecstatic grin the day she had ran into the Great Hall completely healed, no longer a Petrified Statue, when they were only twelve years old. She saw numerous images within seconds of the past years of all the shared holidays, birthdays, adventures, and accomplishments. She saw her beloved Harry, her best friend and significant other, smiling, laughing, and finally, giving her the most meaningful kiss she'd ever had.

But all the pretty memories vanished, permanently replaced with images of the powerful, merciless Slayer blasting Death Eaters in midair, and the cold expression on his hard face as he approached her at that moment.

Her eyes filled with tears and she wanted to move back and scream at the top of her lungs, but an invisible force prevented her from doing so. The raven-haired immortal in front of her slowly inched closer, his unnaturally gleaming eyes devoid of their previous warmth.

He gently caressed the side of her face and she knew no more. Her limp body fell into his powerful arms.

Still gently, he held her affectionately with one arm and placed his hand over her forehead.

I'm sorry, Hermione.

Obliviate.

A flash of green light surrounded her head and then seemed to absorb into her. Harry remained in the same position for a while as he concentrated on every single detail, every single memory that had to be erased.

After the deed was done, he kept the unconscious girl wrapped in his arms and he caressed her curly hair whispering, "I'm sorry..."

"She was cursed with the knowledge," said Henry, watching the scene before him with a slight hint of sadness. "You undid your own mistake, young one. Now come."

Harry held the girl in his arms protectively as he followed his Maker out of a window and into the forest outside.


"Ha-Ha! Oh, Neville! You are so funny!" exclaimed a read-headed witch a little too loudly as she walked with two young wizards, each of them wrapped in one of her arms. "Honestly, you crack me up!"

"Ugh. Please kill me, Ron," whispered a morose looking Dean Thomas, the last of the group. His pace expressed his intense dread at having to stay close to the others for safety reasons. Ron looked at him and they exchanged exasperated looks.

The sun was begging to set, but the thick clouds made it seem like it already had. The street that led from Hogsmeade to the carriages that took them to Hogwarts looked eerie with the lack of light that resulted from the thick snow showers. They were already late according to their school curfew, all thanks to Butterbeers and the anxiety that made them drink more than they should.

"Why has she become like this?" asked Dean.

"I don't know, mate. Just try to ignore them," answered Ron irritably. He had little patience for his sister's disgruntled ex-boyfriend, who treated Ron like his therapist. "It's like we're all cursed or something." Ron's expression darkened. "So many people changing, going mad..."

"Tell me about it," grumbled Dean, his eyes still locked on the obnoxious, flirty girl.

Right in front of him, Luna Lovegood gazed at him over her shoulder, her eyes filled with compassion. "Oh, I'm sorry about that, Dean. Here." She handed him a muggle adhesive bandage. "Stick this on your chest. It will heal your heart."

Dean took her gift absent-mindedly, gazing at her with disbelief and amusement. Ron sniggered and he did the same, both shaking their heads at Luna.

"What? It's common knowledge that muggle remedies work in extraordinary ways for wizar- "

An extremely loud, unnatural roar made them instantly jump back in unison, terror overcoming their senses. Years of training caused them take out their wands and point before them, but what they saw froze them with shock nonetheless.

A huge canine monster had one of them pinned to the ground, tearing at the flesh savagely, blood splashing everywhere. Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finningan had been thrown to the ground - Seamus was unconscious from his head hitting a rock. Neville screamed desperately, and the other three joined. Unfortunately for them, the whole street was deserted.

A few seconds later one of them snapped out of it.

"GINNY!" bellowed Ron, and began to throw every single curse he knew at the monster, but the flashes of light merely bounced away and left the creature unaffected. He only made it angry.

It roared again even louder, and as the thing moved away from its prey and straightened up, a terrible realization dawned on them.

"This is impossible!" cried Dean, shaking with panic but still managing to throw curses at it like the others, not knowing what else to do. "It came out of nowhere! It's still day!"

The creature threw its head back and gave a long, frightening howl.

"Oh shit," whimpered Ron. "The whole world's gone mad!" Another realization suddenly hit him - this particular werewolf looked awfully familiar. The monster's hair was of the exact same shade of the only one he had ever seen years before. And he also managed to notice something else - on the werewolf's chest was a large, bright red mark, still burning so intensely a strong smell of seething flesh reached his nostrils.

The monster advanced, but all they could do was throw useless curses and scream.

"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" someone yelled from behind the monster and a rock hit the creature on the head very hard, making it roar again so close to Ron, Luna and Dean, that they had to cover their ears as they stepped back.

An almost crazed expression appeared on Neville Longbottom's face as he threw another rock with all his strength. "RUN!" he screamed at his friends. "TAKE SEAMUS AND GO, NOW!"

"Neville!" cried Luna. "Don't!"

"Come here you ugly beast!" bellowed Neville, and armed himself with a long, sharp knife he summoned with his wand. The werewolf turned and charged at his new target, who managed to keep his brave expression as he pointed his knife forward with both hands, his posture as grounded as possible.

"No! Neville!" screamed Luna, and she ran forward uttering an incantation - thick ropes flew from her wand and tightened around the beast, but it was too strong for them and they broke into pieces.

It was inevitable. The werewolf howled with pain as Neville thrust the blade inside its chest, but Neville also screamed with pain as the monster closed its jaw on his shoulder with brutal strength.

The scene was too horrible for the three wizards to pay attention to a small popping sound close to them.

A flash of bright purple light hit the monster on its side with a force strong enough to lift it off the ground and move it away several feet. The werewolf appeared to have been paralyzed, wrapped in the mysterious light that morphed into magical chains, and it floated above the ground eerily.

Before any of them could process this, a dark haired woman none of them had seen before ran toward the monster very fast and grabbed its paw. She waved her wand and disappeared behind a thick cloud of smoke along with the paralyzed werewolf.

The gusts of wind got stronger, covering the ghastly scene completely in white, the puddles of blood almost concealed. Luna screamed Neville's name again hysterically and ran to his side as fast as she could. Dean and Ron followed her looking like they may pass out at any moment.

"Oh, Merlin," cried Luna, tears falling down her cheeks. None of them had ever seen her like this before, so down to earth and distraught. She took off her coat and pushed it hard against the huge wound on Neville's shoulder, which had been completely visible behind a few shreds of his tattered coat. "Ron, take him to St. Mungo's!" she pleaded desperately. "You're the only one who's passed the test. He'll bleed to death. Take him now!"

"Y-Yes," stuttered Ron, trembling and definitely in no condition to concentrate on magic yet.

Dean noticed Ron's posture - it indicated he didn't want to look back and see the body that lay in the snow close to them. Unable to stop himself, Dean gazed at it for a moment. The pile of bloody flesh caused him to vomit. He sobbed uncontrollably, scarred for life.

Ron managed to pull himself together, and with a loud popping he and Neville disappeared, leaving the other three in the bitter cold, confused and miserable.


A group of Hogwarts staff members rushed into the Faculty Tower and gasped collectively. On the ground lay Professor Snape, eyes closed and his entire body as stiff as a board.

"Deputy Headmaster!"

Professor Sprout was the first to reach Snape's unconscious body. She knelt next to him and uttered a long incantation and waved her wand across his body. After a few repetitions, he shifted and opened his eyes.

"What is all this?" asked professor Snape grumpily, still disabled with numbness. His mind felt blank. Very slowly, the ability to move returned to him and with Sprout's help, he managed to sit.

"There are enemies inside the castle!" cried Professor Slughorn from behind Sprout. "We're under attack! And Dumbledore - he's been..." He trailed off, his throat closing with grief.

There was an uncomfortable pause. Utter alarm crossed Snape's pale face for a split second before he was able to regain his composure, like he had abruptly woken up but his mind had not become fully alert. Albus Dumbledore's voice from recent memory echoed inside his mind.

If I am gone, Severus, all of it will be up to you.

He managed to regain his usual cool composure; at least on the outside.

"A student attacked him," Sprout continued, her gaze and those of the staff members standing close to her full of misery. "He was thrown headfirst down the main staircase."

Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Madam Pomfrey arrived as soon as she could, but it was useless," continued Mrs. Sprout, her face wet with tears. "He died instantly. The crazed boy ran outside of the castle. Professor Flitwick has gone after him. What do we do now?"

With an air of determination, the new Hogwarts Headmaster stood up and dusted off his black robe.

"I must recast the castle's wards immediately," Snape declared, walking toward the Faculty chamber's exit, ignoring the pain that shot through his body with every movement. "Professor Sprout, summon the prefects and order them to guide all students back to the Great Hall," he ordered urgently. "Professor Slughorn, gather all remaining students around the castle and bring them there. The rest of you go aid Professor Flitwick and contact the Ministry at once."

He had already crossed half the corridor outside when he finished. After every staff member left, Snape finally allowed his true expression to surface; one of complete horror.


The level of noise inside the castle's main chamber was unbearable. The attempt to impose order within the chaos was almost useless - masses of students crowded around the lifeless body of the former Headmaster, all of them horrified and demanding to know what happened. Other groups of students in panic were arguing with prefects and staff members, demanding them to let them go home or someplace safe. The only thing that stopped this was a sudden loud bang that came from the middle of the chamber.

Finally, everyone became silent.

"ALRIGHT, CALM DOWN, EVERYONE!" bellowed a strange looking wizard with shabby clothes and a fake blue eye that most of the students recognized. His appearance caught every student's attention immediately, as he intended. "WE HAVE THIS UNDER CONTROL, YOU WILL BE PROTECTED. OBEY YOUR LEADERS AND ENTER THE GREAT HALL RIGHT NOW!"

The prefects repeated these orders to the masses of students, forcing them into the dining chamber. Little by little, groups of students calmed down and obeyed. Some of them were sobbing and had to be dragged away from the body, and a few had even fainted, so they had to be carried off.

"Such a wise, powerful wizard," whispered Kingsley Shackelbolt, his expression deeply troubled as he observed the lifeless body of Headmaster Dumbledore. "Never would he imagine one of his students was capable of such evil..."

"His downfall," growled Mad-Eye Moody, both of them with their wands drawn, searching the room carefully. "If only he hadn't dismissed the possibility so quickly when Snape gave the report. I always knew something was kept hidden, some detail, at least..."

Another member of the Order of the Phoenix interrupted Mad-Eye's musings when she ran up to them, looking even more alarmed than everyone else. "No word from Lupin or Tonks! No one knows where they are!"

"Send the signal again," ordered Kingsley.

"We already have, twice!"

"They must be under attack elsewhere," Mad-Eye assured her. "No time for that now. Gather as many as possible and brave yourself for a great battle." His magical eye was moving around rapidly. "Lead a group of twenty on the grounds, immobilize anything that moves."

"Understood," responded the female Auror. She went outside just as another group of Order members entered the chamber and joined the others with their wands drawn, watching their surrounding from every possible direction.

"You haven't felt it too, have you, Kingsley?" asked Mad-Eye.

"Indeed. The wards have not been cast," stated Kingsley, suddenly even more apprehensive than before.

"That can only mean my suspicions will finally be proven true," declared Mad-Eye.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Mad-Eye," snapped Kingsley. "With their level of power now, even Snape..."

Kingsley drifted off. Something he and all the other Aurors had sensed caused them to tense and raise their wands in the direction of the Great Hall.

"The children!" yelled one of the Aurors, but it was too late.

Swirls of black smoke burst through the glass windows, bringing into the Great Hall gusts of winds as strong as a hurricane. The small tornadoes flew over the students. They yelled and threw themselves on the ground.

"Hold!" screamed Mad-Eye when some of the Aurors threw curses instinctively. "The students! Do not attack!"

The swirls of tornadoes touched ground in nine different places, revealing masked and robed Death Eaters. Eight of them stood in a semicircle around the Great Hall holding one student hostage each. The one in the middle stood between the Aurors and the students, on the Great Hall's threshold, holding a very angry looking Severus Snape. All three pointed their wands right at their victim's heads. The students screamed and cowered on the floor.

"Release the children at once!" demanded an Auror, outraged. They hadn't lowered their wands but didn't dare attack.

"Bring us Potter, and no children shall be harmed," boomed a cold, inhuman voice that resounded throughout the broad chamber. It didn't seem to originate from any of the Death Eaters in particular. "Fail to comply and they will suffer."


"My darling, here you will be safe. There will be no need to worry again."

The voice was extremely familiar but she couldn't identify it. It was the only sensation in addition to the intense peace that filled her heart. The sound of it was faint, distant, a mere whisper, yet she heard it clearly and her body responded. Her chest and stomach immediately filled with air and a ticklish feeling, like butterfly wings fluttering inside her. Nothing made sense to her except that beautiful sound. Slowly, she tried to open her eyes.

Her entire body felt weightless, like she was floating on a cloud. It was too hard to overcome the drowsiness and attempt to focus on her surroundings. The serenity felt so unbelievably good she didn't really try, and simply gave in. She wanted to remain like that forever, in a blessed dream.

Something soft and cool brushed against her cheekbone, and her hand moved to touch it. She gave into the embrace and wrapped her arms tighter around the one lying beside her, her eyes still closed. She felt something soft below her lips as she pressed them without any effort, and smelled the familiar scent of something she loved deeply. In her mind, that moment was the only thing that existed, the only thing that mattered.

The one wrapped in her arms gazed at her relaxed expression and brushed his lips very lightly on her closed eyelids. He still wore a long, dark travel robe. He lay beside her in the same position after he placed her in the extremely comfortable bed. He admired the beauty of that huge sleeping chamber one more time as he caressed Hermione's curls.

He was sure neither of them had experienced the comfort of such extravagant luxury, like that of royalty. It would have been impossible to be in such a place if it wasn't for his Maker. Harry was sure that Henry, in the course of ten centuries of supernatural existence, had easily gathered enough wealth to have a palace like this one in every continent of the world.

He remembered his Master's statement from a few minutes before, while they flew over treetops too quickly to be seen by any human, going deep into the forest and away from civilization.

Our threats have been dealt with and our secret kept. Soon we shall prevail.

He sighed and placed his head on Hermione's chest, holding her tight. She would not be in danger again, he thought with elation, and that was the only thing that could possibly worry him.

"I love you," Hermione whispered very softly, almost inaudibly, looking so still Harry knew she was dreaming again. He pressed his lips against hers, her pleasant scent overcoming him so intensely he had to suppress, with all his strength, a number of different urges, both human and vampiric.

"I adore you," he responded. He held her even tighter, protectively, although he knew that wasn't necessary. He enjoyed a few more minutes of watching her sleep. It would be the only pleasurable thing he would do for a long time.

He tried not to think of all the chaos that was surely happening at that moment in Hogwarts all because of a boy people thought still existed.

But he was very much gone, Harry Potter, the one they knew as The Boy Who Lived.

At least, the one they thought they knew was lost forever.

"The Snake Lord's plans are obvious and predictable," his Master had said a few hours earlier. The three Slytherin comrades were gathered inside the Room of Requirement, training and planning their next move. "The old man dies, the wards go down, and he captures his boy enemy," Henry continued. "So cute...he has no idea."

"Oh no! What will happen to our dear friends?" Draco had asked sarcastically.

They had laughed and laughed delightfully, sharing their most hateful thoughts about Lord Voldemort, the half-blood fool.

And yet this only made Harry more desperate to end him already - to knock him down from the false pillar of fear people had placed him on. He no longer knew if his motivation had become purely one of vengeance or if there was still any intention of protecting others from the half-blood. At that moment, he knew his classmates were fighting opponents they stood no chance against.

He closed his eyes for a moment.

He urged them to be strong. But still, as much as he tried, his heart simply couldn't locate guilt, even for a moment. He concentrated but couldn't grasp the concept of it anymore. And as he looked down at Hermione's peaceful expression, all he had was a sense of triumph.

Nothing else mattered now. It will end very, very soon.

But first, he needed to feed.

He inched closer and softly pressed his lips against Hermione's neck.