"Why am I here?" grumbled Harry, again, and Frank sighed. "I don't have my magic," he tried his best to sound friendly, but he was annoyed.
"Maybe that's why you're here," snapped Frank, and Alice turned, glaring at her boyfriend.
"Frank," she said, lowly, and Frank angrily turned away from Harry.
Harry exchanged glances with James and James shrugged.
Even if Dumbledore had 'rewired' him to be on the Light side, it looked like none of them trusted him. Harry would have been surprised if they did, though, especially since he had done nothing to warrant their trust. They would be stupid to believe he was truly changed.
Still, they were ridiculously easy to read. They wanted him here as a safety net. If Tom decided to come to Hogwarts instead of fighting Dumbledore, then Harry would be their bargaining chip. And if anyone found them and decided to attack, Harry would be an excellent meat shield; if he died here, protecting them, none of them would have to feel the guilt of actually killing him off.
But just because he understood why they wanted him there didn't mean he would make it easy for them.
He withheld a sigh as he followed the Horcrux Hunters down the empty hallway. They were using strong Disillusionment Charms to escape attention, but they needn't have worried. There was no one in Hogwarts.
Harry was tempted to try to find someone to help him escape, but he knew the risks were too high. He wanted to stay and save his brother foremost, and besides, Harry wasn't going to be much help in a fight. He would be a liability.
It was too risky.
So he followed them, and was grateful that he didn't know where the last Horcrux was held. That way their questions were rendered futile when directed toward him.
He was sure that they didn't have a plan, that they were going to wander Hogwarts until they hopefully stumbled upon the last Horcrux.
But he was wrong.
Slughorn was waiting for them at the end of the hallway. Harry faltered in his step, but Alice hurried forward, waving her wand and canceling her disillusionment charm.
"Professor!" she called, and Slughorn's eyes lit up in recognition.
"Alice, my dear," he said, and he was trying to convey confidence, but Harry could hear the nervousness in his words. His eyes weren't focused on Alice even as he was talking to her in low tones; they were too busy scanning the hallway.
Harry glowered at Slughorn, even if the man couldn't see it. He had thought Slughorn could be trusted, but apparently, the man was only after saving his own skin.
He had never seemed to like Dumbledore so he was deemed safe. Now, it seemed like this decision was to be their downfall.
Slughorn was leading them upward. None of the others canceled their charms; instead, they followed at a sedate pace. Alice was Slughorn's favorite, after all, and it seemed as if he was only aware of her presence.
They ended up on the seventh floor.
"I'm not sure what's inside," dithered Slughorn, loud enough that they could hear him despite the distance.
"It's okay," said Alice, placing one hand on Slughorn's arm. "We can find it."
"Of course," said Slughorn, wringing his hands. "Dumbledore told you about the door?"
"In his own way," said Alice, her nose wrinkling. "But don't worry, we'll be able to find it. Wait outside for us."
Slughorn nodded.
They were taking Slughorn back to the Hideout. He wouldn't be safe here if Tom found out he was the one to betray them.
Harry promised himself that Slughorn wouldn't be safe there either.
Alice was pacing in front of the door, turning back three times. Before his eyes, a door materialized.
He didn't have much time to ponder about it before Alice was throwing the door open. Frank grabbed his arm and pulled him in right before the doors swung shut behind Alice.
"Now where could it be?" mused Alice. She was making complicated wand movements in front of her, gold tendrils of spell magic falling as she tried to cast a spell to find the fake Horcrux.
"That's not going to work," said James. His voice was curt. "You remember what Dumbledore told us. It can't be summoned."
"I know," said Alice, exasperated. "But there's no harm in trying."
"Let's just split up," cut in Frank before the two of them could start arguing. "James, stay with Harry and Lily." He pulled Alice away after he finished speaking, starting to speak to her as soon as they were a far enough distance away.
"I hate her," said Lily.
"I know," said James, and he sounded tired. "But at least Frank's taken her away. Let's just try to look for it."
"Fine," said Lily.
Harry was glad that Frank and Alice had left them, because the three of them didn't try very hard to find it.
"Why did we hide it in the Room of Requirement?" grouched Regulus. They were taking the steps two at a time, and it was grueling enough without having to answer Regulus.
Lucius didn't have the same problem, snapping out a quick response. "Because it would be easy to lure them in there. You remember the spell?"
"Of course," said Regulus. "How could I forget? We only spent the last two years learning it."
Lucius didn't reply, and Regulus fell quiet. They had reached the seventh floor.
Slughorn was waiting outside of it. When he caught sight of them, his shoulders slumped in relief.
"They're inside," he said. "Or Alice is. Don't know who else is with her."
"You didn't see them?" asked Lucius.
"Disillusionment charms," explained Slughorn. "I didn't expect them to come here," he said, a second later, nervousness easy to see in the way he was looking at them.
Slughorn didn't have a spine, but he would never dare to betray their Lord. So Amelia was grateful to him for playing his part perfectly, even if they had never expected this plan to be needed.
She let out a soft sigh of relief. When Sirius had told her that the Horcrux Hunters were at Hogwarts, she really didn't expect them to approach Slughorn. But she was glad that Alice had been a favorite of the Professor's and she believed Slughorn would help them.
Because this put them right where they wanted them.
With James, Frank, and Alice dead, the War would be won much easier. After all, without Dumbledore's Heir, there would be nothing holding the Light together when Dumbledore died.
They would cast the spell together. Fiendyfire was almost impossible to control, but with each of them creating just a portion of the magical fire, they had a chance.
The Room would be ruined by it, but their Lord would fix it when the War was over.
"Ready?" asked Gilderoy. Slughorn had stepped back and away from the door that was now in front of them.
She stared at the Room of Requirement, sending a thought of apology toward it for what they were planning to do.
"Ready," she said, and they began to cast.
"Do you smell that?" asked Harry.
James paused in where he was half-heartedly shifting things around in front of him. Books were scattered at his feet.
"No?" he questioned, and then paused.
Lily was frantically running toward them. She had disappeared a few minutes earlier, wandering ahead to look at something that had interested her.
"Run!" she screamed, and they didn't need to question her. There was fire behind her, formed into a dragon's mouth and it was coming straight toward them.
James and Harry didn't wait, turning immediately to run. Lily caught up to them and James grabbed her hand, pulling her along as her breath faltered.
Another dragon was coming toward them. Harry turned abruptly, knowing his brother would follow as he led them further into the Room. They didn't have a choice; the way out was surrounded by fire.
"How do we get out?" asked Lily.
They were trapped.
But James' eyes lit up. "There!" he called, pointing upward. Two brooms lay on top of a pile of miscellaneous things.
"You're the Quidditch Captain," Harry pointed out as James took out his wand and summoned them. They came dutifully, landing in front of them.
"You're my brother," said James, sounding confident. "You'll be fine." He didn't wait to see if Harry agreed, mounting the broom. Lily got on after him, and they took off in the sky.
Harry took a deep breath, James' unshaken confidence in him giving him the confidence he was looking for. James was right. They were twins. Surely, he couldn't be horrible.
Unbidden, his memory of his first year came to his mind. The broom had jumped into his hand then, eager for him to fly. He had never put much stock in Quidditch, too busy trying to survive a school dominated by both Dumbledore and Tom. With all the Heir business, concentrating on Quidditch was the last thing on his mind.
He didn't think it would be the same, but it was. The broom flew upward into his hand as soon as he uttered the word, and then he was flying. He caught up easily, and James shot a grin over at him, and without words, Harry could tell his brother was proud of him.
But they didn't have time to celebrate. The dragons were coming toward them.
"Follow me," ordered his brother, and then dropped into a roll. Harry followed suit, the both of them narrowly missing a fiery death.
It was a dangerous game they were playing, but Harry was having fun. The bracelet had locked away his magic, but not his inherent one, so riding a broom might be the closest he had been to using magic in a long time. And it was exhilarating to dodge death this way, and it brought him back to what felt like decades ago, when they were competing in a Tournament to prevent the very War they were in now…
They flew in circles, in zig-zags, and sometimes even upside down. And it was fun. Until it wasn't.
A dragon made of fire was coming straight toward them and they wouldn't be able to escape.
Harry didn't close his eyes, still frantically looking for a way out when inconceivably, the dragon faltered, and then exploded mid-air. It sent them tumbling, the tail-end of both of the brooms lit on fire from the explosion.
Harry tried his best to stay upright, but the broom was ruined. He was spinning, tumbling over and under and barely able to keep grip on the broom.
He slammed into the wall, knocking the breath out of him. A gasp of pain left his mouth at the impact, and the broom splintered in his hand, breaking into two. He saw stars in his vision, and the smoke was making it hard to breathe, but he had to get up before the room burned down with them still inside it. And although he was in pain, he needed to see where James and Lily were and make sure they were okay.
He spotted them in seconds, both of them unconscious. While his broom had gone up into flames, James and Lily hadn't been able to dodge a burst of fire and it was probably only thanks to magic that they were only unconscious and not dead.
He had to get them out before it was too late. Thankfully, they had fallen near the entrance, and Harry only had to drag them out to make sure they were safe.
The doors were no longer grand. They were burned, breaking apart at the edges, and Harry was sure that as soon as he tried to open it, it would fall apart.
But they couldn't stay in here. The fire still reigned and if the door broke, they would be stuck in here forever.
He didn't hesitate any longer; he stepped forward and pushed the doors open. At his touch, the door seemed to disintegrate, but Harry pressed on, desperate to get the doors open enough for them to escape.
Behind them, towers of misplaced things were falling, burning to a crisp even without the fiery dragons.
Before them, the doors disappeared, leaving only the Hogwarts hallway in front of them. With some effort, he was able to get both James and Lily past the broken doorway and away from the burning room.
At first, the sight was relieving. And then Harry blinked and the vision changed.
Alice and Frank were desperately fighting against someone. Spells sparked in the hallway; misaimed spells were being absorbed by the paintings in the walls even as their subjects protested loudly at the fight.
Harry couldn't tell who they were fighting against.
And then, the smoke cleared and he saw. Lucius. Gilderoy. Amelia. Regulus.
The relief in him was so sudden and so intense that he went weak.
This was it. Tom might not be here, but his friends were. He could finally escape.
Because they were winning.
His friends were talented. He knew that. He trained them himself. And he saw their talent in the way they wove around the spells Alice and Frank threw, and how they protected each other whenever one was on the offensive. It was truly a work of art.
But his friends' spells didn't hold the vibrance they usually did.
It slowly dawned on him. Fiendyfire was a spell Tom held dear to his heart.
The four of them would had no idea he was in there with them. Fiendyfire was the best way to ensure the Horcrux Hunters died, and Harry couldn't even be mad he had gotten caught in the crossfire, he would had advised them to do the same. In a locked room with them watching the exit, if they were able to control the fire, the rest of them were as good as dead.
They were lucky Alice and Frank had distracted them because the fire would had been deadly otherwise. That had been why the fire dragon had died before it had reached them.
He wasn't angry that they were the origin of the Fiendyfire.
He was worried.
Because they were tired from it. Fiendyfire was a huge undertaking, not creating the fire itself, but attempting to control it. They must have wrestled with the magic for a long time to get it to do their bidding, and it showed.
He only hoped that they would subdue them soon before Alice and Frank noticed them.
Amelia suddenly fell to her knees, tripped up by something Alice had sent toward her feet. Alice advanced, wary at the sudden vulnerability, but when the others seemed distracted by Frank, she raised her wand and struck.
Only to fail.
Regulus had deflected her attack with one strong burst of magic, and then, using his wand this time, sent a stupefy toward her. It hit her straight in the chest and she fell.
Frank didn't fare any better than his girlfriend. Regulus had used a stupefy. Lucius had used a spell Harry had never heard of before. Sectumsempra.
In front of his eyes, Frank was being torn apart. Cuts were appearing quickly, blood being ripped from Frank's body and falling around him.
Hope started to rise in his heart. Surely, they couldn't win against this.
And then suddenly, all of his friends were down and unconscious, none of them expecting an attack from the back.
Slughorn came into his vision, and although he had been the reason Harry's friends were now down, he didn't look happy about it. He met Harry's eyes with fear, and Harry made sure that Slughorn understood how much trouble he was going to be in for betraying them.
"Tom will kill you," he seethed, and Slughorn's eyes hardened in resolve.
"I've always only looked out for myself," he explained, "it's about time I did something for someone else." He knelt down next to Amelia, and Harry's blood ran cold as he realized this very well might be the end of his friend.
"Wait," he pleaded before Slughorn could do anything. He didn't have anything to threaten Slughorn with, and neither was he particularly close to the Professor. But James and Lily were unconscious behind him and even though they were all on the same side, Slughorn didn't know that. He could use them as bargaining chips, in hope to get his friends out of here alive.
But Slughorn was looking at him sadly, interrupting him before he could say anything. "They're still my students," said Slughorn. "They won't come to harm."
He left Harry's friends tied up together with an incancerous, and then carefully levitated both Alice and Frank over before approaching Harry.
Harry reared himself up to do something; he didn't have magic, but he had his youth on his side and if he could just surprise Slughorn then maybe he could get away.
But there was voices and footsteps fast approaching and Slughorn panicked. It obviously wasn't reinforcements that they were expecting, and Slughorn had to get them all out before they were found.
"Sorry Harry," said Slughorn, the end of his wand pointing straight toward him.
Harry snarled, and then lunged forward before the telltale red hit him straight in the chest.
When Harry woke, Dumbledore was standing in front of him. James was standing behind him, but Harry didn't dare meet James' eyes in front of Dumbledore in fear of Dumbledore seeing something.
His hands were tied behind him, and there was a chain around his right ankle.
"Harry," started Dumbledore, and Harry was surprised to find Dumbledore sounded remorseful. "The horcrux in Hogwarts has been destroyed."
The room had been burned beyond repair, and the fake Horcrux along with it. But there was still one more Horcrux left – the one Tom had been sighted with in the papers. The one the Light believed to belong to Harry.
James interrupted his thoughts, "There's still one more horcrux left, sir."
"Yes," said Dumbledore, sounding thoughtful. "If our sources are to be believed, the last one is protected by Tom, himself."
James nodded, but Dumbledore continued. "However, I am inclined to trust Slughorn. He doesn't believe Harry has created a horcrux. To create one, Harry would have had to kill someone. And I don't believe you would ever take someone's life."
"You don't know me," he snarled, and Dumbledore crouched so that they were eye level.
"I do," said Dumbledore, solemnly, and stoutly ignored the way that Harry glared at him. "Regardless, I'm sorry to say you will be executed tomorrow morning."
His blood ran cold and even despite his earlier conviction, Harry couldn't stop himself from meeting James' eyes. His little brother's eyes were just as wide as his; James hadn't known about this.
"Don't worry, you will be remembered for your sacrifice, Harry." He ignored Harry's protests and stood, placing a comforting hand on James' shoulder. "Say your good-byes to your brother, James."
He didn't stay for much longer after that, departing without what seemed like a single ounce of guilt in his posture.
"I'm sorry," said James, crouching the same as Dumbledore had before, but the difference was James' eyes were full of anguish. His voice dropped low into a whisper, just in case someone was listening outside. "You won't die tomorrow. I promise." He leaned forward, and if anyone was watching from outside, they wouldn't have seen James deposit a kiss on Harry's forehead before he straightened up.
Harry didn't dare ask questions, even when it seemed like despair was going to overwhelm him. He had to trust in James. Tom would never let him die here, and beyond that, Magic needed him. This was what she had been working toward, and he had to believe that everything was working exactly as she had planned.
He wouldn't die tomorrow.
He couldn't, not when he had every intention to be in Tom's arms once more.
"I know you're there," James said quietly. He had ducked into an abandoned alcove as soon as he was able after leaving Harry's "cell".
Magic materialized out of thin air in front of his very eyes, her worry plain to see on her face. "It's too soon."
His breath caught in his throat and he nearly choked, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. "We can't lose Harry," he begged, and Magic regarded him with a calm gaze. "Please," he continued, "he's the only reason I've been helping you. You promised to keep him safe."
He knew that he was being pushy, that Magic didn't play by the rules and could punish him for his rudeness. But he knew she needed Harry as much as he did.
"If he dies," said James, "then we lose."
She must hear the promise in his words because she bowed her head.
"Give this to him," she said, taking his hands into hers. Blue light flashed and then faded into his.
It was a fine dinner. But Alice hadn't been hungry and had only nibbled on some grapes whenever anyone looked at her.
She had been nervous meeting the other leaders of the Light and had barely been able to speak. Luckily, Dumbledore hadn't expected her to, and had instead given her a kind smile when she apologized to him afterward. She was one of his Horcrux Hunters; there had been no reason for her to feel nervous.
Frank had fallen asleep when they had gotten back to their room despite the early hour, and while she had napped with him, she had woken up in the early night. Frank had been snoring still, obviously passed out from such a hearty dinner, so Alice got up by herself to go to the kitchens. Her stomach felt empty from not eating anything at dinner, and she was sure she could beg some of the house-elves for some leftovers.
The halls were eerily quiet, and it put her on edge. Usually, people would still be bustling around at ten in night; more importantly, it was Friday, and there was almost always a party going on near the "Gryffindor" quarters. Frank had been too tired to go tonight, but Alice and he were frequent visitors.
She changed her course from the kitchens, deciding to head toward the room to see what was up. The Gryffindors were notorious for sleeping late and would probably entertain her for a while.
The hallway was dark and silent. When she got closer, she knocked quietly, and with worry growing in her heart, she started to rap loudly on the door. She took her wand out and unlocked the door, and was surprised to find most of them passed out, snoring in the dark room.
She had to get to Dumbledore. Someone had put everyone to sleep and they were left vulnerable.
She was halfway there when she ran into Lily.
She was standing in front of the door, and she jumped when Alice's footsteps sounded throughout the empty hallway. She turned, a shocked expression on her face that was schooled immediately into a worried one.
"Why are you up?" Alice asked immediately, and her wand was still tightly gripped in her hand so she raised it, pointing it at the redhead. "The food was poisoned, and everyone else is asleep."
"Poisoned?" questioned Lily, her voice shaking. She pressed herself closer to the door, and her hand went back, knocking three times on the door. "Are you okay, Alice? You don't look well."
It was her. It had to be. She was their only resident Potions Master, and she had access to all of their ingredients. She could have easily made it into sleeping potions and distributed it into the food by tricking the house elves.
But she had someone helping her. It was obvious by the way she knocked on the door. James had to be her accomplice. After all, only James would care that Harry was to be executed tomorrow. But he was powerful. He was Dumbledore's heir and could take her out without any trouble.
Alice had to be careful here.
She lowered her wand and took a deep breath. "Someone's poisoned the food, Lil's. And Frank ate it. It could be the Dark."
Lily nodded nervously and pressed herself closer to the door as Alice approached her. "We can go to the Potions room and whip up an antidote. It won't take long."
Alice nodded, and forced herself to act normal as she got closer. And then she pointed her wand directly at Lily and shot an incancerous at her, wrapping her body in ropes just as the door flew open.
She used a summoning charm on Lily's body and caught her, pointing her wand at Lily's back.
James stared at the scene, his eyes wide and he dropped something invisible, immediately going to grab his wand.
"No!" she shouted. "You try to fight, and I'll kill Lily."
"You wouldn't dare," snarled James, but he hesitated, clearly unsure.
"You want to try me, traitor?" she spat out. "Dumbledore made you his Heir and you betray him for a disowned brother. Harry doesn't care about you."
James glared at her, his jaw clearly clenched in anger. But he was stuck.
Because while Lily was nice, Alice had never liked her. She would be laughably easy to kill to keep the Light safe.
"James," said Lily, her voice calm despite the way Lily was shaking against Alice, "Go." And there was pain emanating from Alice's stomach, and Alice barely kept upright enough to send a blasting curse at James.
James spun immediately, and then there was a crack in the air just as one of the debris hit him head on.
She snarled, throwing Lily onto the floor as she pressed her right hand on her stomach. A knife was sticking out of her, and she pulled it out with a grimace, casting a quick healing spell to keep it from bleeding.
She was glad that they had never given Lily back her wand. Beautiful Lily who had entranced the school's population of boys with her stupid red hair and extraordinary green eyes.
Alice hated her.
She knew Lily was a traitor, but Dumbledore had believed she was good. That she could be saved from being Harry's friend.
She kicked Lily in the stomach once, eliciting a hiss of pain from the witch. "He left you behind," she taunted. "His own girlfriend. How does it feel knowing the one you love betrayed you?"
"I told him to go," she said, and although she was in pain, Lily was smiling. "And he's not the one I love."
The smile set her off, and Alice felt rage in her heart. Lily had gotten James Potter, Dumbledore's heir, and yet she had the urge to betray him? Stupid bloody infuriating Lily.
But she couldn't kill Lily yet. She had to use her to create the antidote. She hauled Lily up, and then started to drag her toward the Potions room.
As soon as everyone was awake, Alice was going to kill Lily Evans.
Regulus' head hurt.
It throbbed and then he gasped as he felt his vision waver. Amelia was there instantly, supporting him and letting her lean into her side.
With her help, he made it to where their Lord was standing in front of a kneeling figure.
Potter was bloody, the gash on his forehead bleeding and staining his cheeks with dark red. Sirius was hovering behind him, obviously out of worry, but he didn't dare try to help James.
Not when Potter was currently pleading for their Lord's assistance.
"How can I know you are trustworthy?" Their Lord's voice was soft, but it carried throughout the clearing. As far as Regulus could see, Knights of Walpurgis were starting to gather, Gilderoy and Lupin near the front. "Dumbledore still holds his Vow over you."
Potter flinched at his words, and he stared down at his hands for a few long seconds. Then he looked up, his gaze fixing immediately on Regulus.
Then he smiled.
Faster than any of them could react, Potter was drawing his wand and pointing it at him. "Finite," whispered Potter, and suddenly, Regulus remembered.
He leaned harder into Amelia, and he heard her worried voice. It drifted above him, and he wanted to tell her not to worry, but speech was beyond him.
Then there was a strong grip underneath his chin, a cooling touch to his forehead transferred by two fingers, and then he was staring into a red gaze.
He remembered running into Sirius in a clearing not too far from Hogwarts, and witnessing Sirius betray them by meeting with Potter. He remembered that he had wanted to tell their Lord, but he had been stopped. Obliviated by his own brother.
When he was let go, he fell back into Amelia's arms heavily, and she held onto him tightly, her heart beating fast behind him.
"This only tells me that one of my own Knights betrayed me." Their Lord's voice sounded tight and dangerous. He was not happy. "And do not point your wand at one of my Knights ever again, Potter."
Sirius dropped to his knees immediately, his head bowed. "Harry gave us the plants, my Lord. We've been growing them ever since he told us how to get them."
"Harry?" There was a long, pregnant pause before the Dark Lord turned his gaze on Sirius, a dangerous frown on his face. "You had contact with him and did not tell me?"
"No, it was Magic," said Potter, and he stood. He had healed himself when the Dark Lord had been occupied with Sirius and was now standing tall in front of their Lord, his head held high and his back straight. There was no fear in his eyes.
"She's using you," said their Lord, but he didn't seem as angry as he was before. Instead, he was regarding Potter with an inquisitive look, almost as if seeing the wizard in a new light.
"I know," was Potter's response, and there was a wry smile on his face. "But that doesn't mean I wasn't using her. She was my only escape from Dumbledore."
The Dark Lord hummed, and then inclined his head. "You say the Light have been incapacitated."
"Within hours, the plants will have drained the Light of their magic. We were caught by Alice just as we were leaving, but we have to act now because Harry's in danger and I don't know how much longer he'll be safe."
"And Lily?"
That was Severus, and Regulus stared in surprise that Severus would cut the Dark Lord off. But there was a look of crazed worry in his eyes, and it seemed like their Lord noticed it too because he didn't punish Severus for interrupting.
But James paused, his lower teeth worrying his bottom lip, and Severus made an anguished cry. "She's alive, Prince," he said, "But we need to go now." He pulled out a slip of paper, worn and folded over many times. Potter's scrawl was on it, and he passed it to the Dark Lord. "Our place was under a Fidelius Charm. With this, everyone should be able to apparate directly to Dumbledore's hideout."
The Dark Lord nodded, handing the piece of paper to Severus. Severus glanced at it then passed it on to Gilderoy. As the paper made its round through the Knights, the Dark Lord summoned a Patronus charm, the wispy white forming into a large snake.
He hissed at it, and it disappeared, off to carry a message to the rest of the Dark Lord's followers.
"We move in ten," said the Dark Lord, his voice still carrying a remnant of his hiss, and he gestured at Potter. "With me, Potter."
Potter hesitated, but after exchanging a worried glance with Sirius, followed quickly after the Dark Lord.
"The plants may not have worked when we get there," murmured Amelia, worry clear to hear in her voice.
"Then we will kill them," said Regulus, and though three years ago, Amelia would have protested to unnecessary death, she nodded, grim and determined.
She might have been born a Hufflepuff and on the Light side, but she was one of them now.
And Regulus would rather have no one else by his side.
James was nervous.
He had been waiting three years for this battle. Three years to break away from Dumbledore's grip and get back to Sirius. To be on the same side as his brother.
There were only hours left until his goal was finished.
He had years to dream up scenarios, to work out the final kinks of this crazy plan, and yet his heart was still beating uncomfortably fast. Because he planned this down to every last detail, but Riddle and Magic both were unpredictable.
He knew they were on the outs with each other, and he didn't know how Riddle would react to having the last battle with Dumbledore planned by Magic.
Riddle didn't say a word as they made their way through Hogwarts' grounds, and James took the time to drink in the sight of Hogwarts. He had missed his home away from home.
The room they ended up in was heavily warded. And James flinched when he walked through the doorway, the magical power in the room oppressive. Riddle made a tempus charm, the clock ticking quietly next to them to show the time they had left.
"She cannot hear us here. I need to know how loyal you are to her."
"She was a means to the end," he responded, honestly. "But she's a deity, and I don't think we can fight against her. Even if she continues to threaten Harry's life."
There was a sharp smile on Riddle's face. "And the Light? Will they rally behind you when Dumbledore is killed?"
"I don't know," he said, and he took a deep breath. "But I don't want to be a leader. I'm not cut out for it."
"Let us hope they do," said Riddle, ignoring his words, but he didn't sound too worried. "You know where Harry is being kept, correct? Can you apparate directly there?"
"Yes," he said, "But Dumbledore may be waiting there."
"Take Sirius. The two of you should be enough."
"You aren't coming?"
"The Dark Lord has to be on the battlefield," said Riddle, and James would have snapped at the Dark Lord for that, for disregarding Harry's safety so callously but there was pain in those sharp red eyes. The wizard obviously had something planned that had to take him away from Harry's side, and it obviously gutted him. "But," said Riddle, softly, and he held out a charm, placing it into James' outstretched hand. "If you think you need me, if the choice is Harry's life or our goals, then I'll choose Harry every time."
"You're going after her," said James, because really, there was nothing else in the world that could draw Riddle away from Harry's side.
Riddle inclined his head, looking amused that James had guessed correctly, and then smiled. "Despite being twins, I always believed the two of you had no similarities. Now, you remind me of him. You've grown up, Potter."
"When I was younger," said James, his voice soft, "I told Harry that I was hoping he would change you for the better. Change you into believing in the light and not the dark. I told Harry that love is a beautiful thing, and then I turned my back on him because I found out you were a killer. But I'm older now, and I don't believe in the same things. Please, Professor, kill Dumbledore."
Riddle was silent during his talk, his expression impossible to read, but when James finished, his red eyes were gleaming in excitement.
"Gladly," said Riddle, and it timed exactly with the tempus charm hitting zero.
A/N: I uploaded chapter 22 as an apology for the long wait. please check it out for the final battle! :)