Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Hermione saw Harry's eyes widen in surprise as the Killing Curse swept him off his feet.
"NO!" Hermione shrieked, and with Ginny close behind, she drew her wand and rushed at Rogue, who was laughing.
"The Boy Who Lived indeed! Indeed!" Rogue raised his sword triumphantly, and he fired curse after curse at the ladies and anguished students whose fighting spirit was rekindled with the loss of their beloved professor.
Xxx
"Yes! Put that table there! Against the gates!" McGonagall said gleefully.
The Death Eaters have been let into a trap. Now sealed off, and completely surrounded and outnumbered.
"Fire!" McGonagall shouted, and the students sent in hex after hex at their opponents, who were so vastly outnumbered and less skillful than one among them. Arcturus was having an easy time using shield charms against the offending spells, sending the defenders for cover.
"Ceasefire! I will end this!" Alistair walked out, an European straight sword in his hand.
"The coward comes forward at last." Arcturus roared with laughter, and pulled out his scimitar, and ran at Alistair, for a thrust from his sword, which Alistair blocked with the back of his sword.
"I shall help Sensei cleanse his name!" Alistair roared, his sword clashed with Arcturus's and a ringing sound was heard, so piercing that those nearby covered their ears.
"Oh... Really?" Arcturus used the flat side of his sword and smashed it against Alistair's legs, causing him to kneel down from the pain.
"Now, I guess you die." Arcturus dramatically raised his sword, and laughed.
As the students raised their wands, suddenly, six shots rang out and Arcturus's body shuddered before collapsing.
Alistair was gripping a smoking revolver, and as he stood up, he brought up his own sword and hacked his opponent until he moved no more...
"Martial arts versus modern arts, Arcturus…" Alistair muttered as he held the revolver over his dead opponent, and long-time archenemy.
Xxx
Pyrons watched as the last of the Death Eater was brought down.
"Alright! Split up! Leave by this gate! We will flank the enemy! You few, follow me to the East Gate!" Pyrons ordered, and the few students trotted behind them, worried of what was to come.
"Wait, we must go to the forest first." Pyrons said, and led the students to the forest, where he bent over and picked up something, before pocketing it and dashing to the East Gate, which was rapidly crumbling.
"Is everything okay? Professor?" Hayden asked, gripping her wand tightly.
"I hope so… I bet my whole career as a Seer in this." Pyrons answered absent-mindedly and Hiringu shook her head.
"Look! Miss Granger and that cloaked man!" Jake shouted, and pulled out his wand.
"You got those fireworks of yours?" Pyrons asked, and Jake nodded, and form his bag, he pulled out something that looked like an organ gun.
"All fireworks, I assure you." Jake said to Riley, who was looking at the instrument, bemused.
"Fire…"
"In-Incendio..." Hiringu ignited the fuses and-
The organ gun sounded, the fireworks ignited all the fallen debris which had consisted of wood, and turned almost instantly into an inferno, incinerating everyone outside of the gate.
"Eek!" Pyrons could hear all of them scream as they rushed whoever had survived by running back.
"Now, let's go back into Hogwarts and to the battle." Pyrons said, and motioned for them to follow, as a Muggle fighter shot down a dragon, and it crashed into a tree just behind them.
Xxx
"This is Mad-Dog. Mad-Dog to ground command. We lost eight fighters and one bomber, but we have definite control over the sky, over."
The pilot lowered the nose of his plane and flew down at the Death Eaters, releasing yet another hail of bullets, strafing the enemy.
"Good job, Mad-Dog. Continue support for Hogwarts until further order are given. Over and out."
Xxx
"You. Killed. HARRY!" Hermione screamed, her wand firing hex after hex, towards Rogue, who was fending against the students, Neville and the two ladies with relative ease.
"Emotions, Miss Granger. They get you nowhere. Just look at your boyfriend." Rogue gave another of his chilling laughter before a Stunning Spell came a bit too close for his comfort.
"We, Pure Blooders are the most superior of races. It was only a matter of time before a Muggle-loving fool like Potter met his sticky end. I expected a bit more of a fight though, but like I said, emotions, get you nowhere." Rogue flicked his wand and a series of explosions sounded randomly, throwing up rubble everywhere, but Hermione and Ginny were undisturbed by it, and continued their feverish attack on the Death Eater.
Rogue threw back his hood to reveal a pale, handsome face, and his face was twisted with a snarl.
"I am running out of patience, ladies. I shall finish it now!" Rogue deflected their spells and he lifted up his wand-
A sound that resembled the ripping of cloth rang through the through the halls, and blood was oozing out of Rogue's entire body.
"This…" Rogue's mouth suddenly gurgled blood as more shots rang out, and he collapsed, unable to kill or move anymore.
Neville looked up and saw Pyrons, holding that machine gun which Alistair had taught them to use, looking pleased with himself.
"Alistair hewed down Arcturus… The student leaders have repelled the attacks and the Muggles are renewing their bombing on enemy positions." Pyrons said as he knelt down beside Harry's body, and gave the unseeing body a pat on the shoulder, and smoothened his jacket, his hand travelling down to the pockets, where he pulled them closer together. Hermione and Ginny were sobbing beside his corpse, before Hermione let out a wail and fainted.
"Miss Granger! Miss Granger!" The students yelled, and Ginny moved her to Harry's office, where she was to spend the rest of the uneasy night there, heartbroken.
Xxx
Harry opened his eyes and he was back at a familiar environment some years back.
"Yes, tis King's Cross station."
Harry turned around for the source of the voice, and saw three men of varying ages there. Two young, and one who looked like he had enjoyed his unfair share of life.
"Young lad, your clothes are over there." One of them pointed at them on a bench nearby, which Harry quickly changed, due to the fact that the three men were staring at Harry intensely.
"So, tis fool died for a girl? Foolish lad." The one whose age ranked middle among them said, and the youngest one glared at him.
"I died for the girl that I loved too, remember? Thou art twit."
The oldest, waved them off and shook Harry's hand.
"We are the Peverell brothers. Here to offer thee, a choice."
Harry jumped when he heard the name.
"O yes, old boy. You are using my invisibility cloak now." The oldest of the brothers said gravely, wagging his fingers.
"What choices do I have? I just want to go back to Hermione. And others." Harry said quickly, and the brothers laughed.
"That is a firm choice. Looks like you are not the only fool who dies for a girl." The middle-aged brother said, and the youngest shot him a look of contempt.
"Watch it, I was born before you, just that I left the world sooner. Thou went boasting about a stick and had your throat slit."
"Pipe down, brothers. My descendant here shall have to wait for... What was it called? A train? To arrive. It is all destined, old boy. You will understand." The oldest of the brothers shook his hand again, and when Harry blinked, they were gone.
He sat down at a bench, dumbfounded, waiting for the train to arrive. To go home.
Xxx
"Mariah! We must go!" Dragonvi said anxiously, dressed in Muggle clothes, and standing by a car.
His wife hastily entered the car, and they quickly drove down main street without any trouble, for there was no one at 4 in the morning. They had left when they saw that defenders were surging out of the gates. The Lucos family always believe in one thing. Coming down or fleeing on or from the Right side.
As they drove down the street, they encountered a red light at a junction and stopped.
"We're lucky, aren't we?" Dragonvi said, not even thinking of the children.
"Yes, our kids were good, weren't they? Wait, I mean, adopted kids with altered memories." Mariah burst out laughing and the tension between them almost dispersed.
Two black sedans pulled up at beside them, one at the left and one at the right, then an SUV pulled up behind them.
"Those Aurors will never find us again! Hiding in the Muggle world… Hah! They would never think of that!" Dragonvi said, his heart lightened.
A group of no less than ten men men came out of their vehicles, and pulled out silenced pistols along with submachine-guns, and Dragonvi's eyes widened, and his hand started to go for his wand-
A man with keen eyes saw that, and he fired a round of his pistol into Dragonvi.
The guns flared, penetrating the glasses of the Death Eater's car, and when the shooting finally finished, Mariah and Dragonvi were just a bloody mess in the car. Just another robbery. How tragic.
"Yes, Prime Minister. We have taken care of it as the Ministry of Magic has requested. Yes sir, back to MI6."
Xxx
When the last of the Death Eaters have been killed, the death toll of Hogwarts had hit about hundred, even more than the last war. The fleeing Death Eaters were surrounded by Aurors who had speedily returned from France and either executed for resisting, or imprisoned.
Airen had been court-martialed and was deported to Siberia to live in exile.
Nupoc, the giant-girl, spilt the beans on all the locations and hideouts of the Death Eaters but still faces jail time for the murder of Sarah, instead of hangings by the neck till death.
However, the mood of the school was sombre. The school had lost a good man. Professor Harry James Potter.
Hermione, dressed in black, kissed the lips of her dead fiancé as tears flowed down her cheeks. Ginny, at the advice of her family, had returned back to the Burrows to avoid the procession, in case she goes mad again. But she had snuck out to join the funeral, but the Weasleys didn't mind. They were all there to remember a hero-
"Look what is in his pocket… A ring…" Ginny whispered, on its surface, a circle inscribed in a triangle, down the middle of which ran a line.
Ginny placed the ring on Harry's ring finger, in front of Hermione's engagement ring.
"It must be dear to him… He was not carrying anything else at that time." Ginny whispered, and hugged Hermione, and the brown-haired witch burst into further tears.
"If I had stayed upstairs… He would not have died…" Hermione wailed, and tried to stop the undertakers from placing Harry in the glass coffin, but Ginny and the students restrained her.
"Please, professor…" Hayden said, tears streaking her face.
"We feel deeply for your loss..." Nick choked, trying not to look at the hysterical professor, who was always acting so cool...
As the coffin was lifted and carried out, Hermione followed behind closely, and when it entered the backyard, everyone rose to attention and bowed, most of them crying. Hideki, the swords master actually wiped his eyes as the procession marched past him, and many of the girls were in tears.
Raven's mother was rescued and she had insisted to join the funeral of one who had taken care of her daughter.
It was Christmas. Wasn't it supposed to be a joyful occasion?
Bill and Charlie Weasley were there, along with Ron who were trying their best not to be consumed by grief, and Ron stood beside Hermione, trying to comfort her. But it was no use.
She loved Harry.
Then, the orchestra started to play the song, "Bring God closer to Thee," and Hermione dreaded the moment when he would have to be lowered below soil. She could never see him again.
As they laid down the coffin, people tried to edge closer to the coffin, to catch a last look of their beloved professor, one whom they had looked up to in crisis. One whom had led them through times of peace and war.
"Harry… I'm Hermione… Can you hear me?" Hermione said gently and knelt down beside the open coffin, and she kissed the ring that Ginny helped wore, and she kissed the engagement ring, before her tears fell upon it.
"Please, Harry… Come back…" Hermione said. She could literally hear her heart breaking. Why was this world so cruel?
"Harry... Please... Come back to me. I need you with me..."
Xxx
Harry got up as the train pulled to a stop, and he got on board, and he sat in a compartment which he had always taken along with Hermione and Ron, Ginny... Others...
Xxx
Suddenly, the unknown ring gave a bright green glare, and it blinded everyone, who gasped and stepped back.
"Harry!" Hermione screamed, and Ginny rushed to her side, restraining her.
"Hermione?"
But this was not Ginny's voice. It was not girl-like.
Who was it?
When the green flash from the ring died down, Harry was seated upright, looking as if nothing had happened to him. No killing curse had hit him or anything.
"This… Is…" Nick gasped, and Hermione thought she was dreaming.
"You're… Dead!" Mary shrieked and touched his arm, which was warm, not cold and corpse-like.
"I was… Well… Kind of…" Harry smiled, and looked at Hermione, who was still reeling from shock.
"You got some explanation to do, professor." Jack said with a stern voice, but happy tears were rolling down his face.
"Hey orchestra! Stop the tragic music! Play something else!" Nikita and Alexandria bellowed, and the tune changed.
Alistair and Neville had got into some sort of cheer, which revolved around-
Oh he is a jolly good fellow, his a jolly good fellow, OH! He's a jolly good fellow~!
Which nobody can deny!
The boys and girls, notably the Zabinis, started chanting, "Love wins even death! Love trashed the Death Eaters! And it trashed Death too!"
"You're alive." Hermione said blankly, before Harry smiled and held her in a hug.
"So I am." He got out of the coffin and helped her up.
"But how…" Hermione asked, and he took off the ring.
"This is the stone of resurrection! Where did you get it from?" Harry asked Hermione, who was still in a daze.
"I can't believe that you are-" Hermione started, but Harry stopped her.
"Let me prove it." Harry bent down and kissed her, and Hermione's tears of sorrow were converted to tears of joy. Looks like Death who made them was not totally evil after all.
The crowd cheered and whatever couples were there were so moved that they planted a kiss on their partner as well.
Mary and Jack… Riley and Hayden… June and Alexander… Elle and Luke... Just to name a few...
Xxx
"Harry… Am I dreaming?" Hermione asked for the umpteenth time today.
"Nope, your not." Harry gave the same reply once more.
The funeral procession proceeded, with the body of notably, Stern, who was found below the debris, his body mysteriously intact.
"Harry... You gave me quite a shock." Hermione muttered, placing her head on his shoulder.
"I am sorry, my love." Harry kissed her forehead.
"Sorry doesn't help. At least most events turned out for the better." Ginny overheard them and cut in.
"Yes, I guess so." Harry muttered half-heartedly, watching the various coffins being carried out.
Maybe that guy in Germany did get it right, the questions of the world are not answered by majority decision, but by blood and iron.
Either way, now, they truly had no regrets. The Wizarding World enjoy peace for many years to come.
Xxx
"Let us observe a minute of silence for the those who had given their lives so that we might live." The sad voice sounded over the radio, and Harry sighed.
"Willy A. Conner... Christopher Chance Jr..." The list went on, and Hermione turned off the radio.
"Darker days are over, Harry." Hermione said, and snuggled up to him.
"Yes, Hermione. Darker days are over." Harry held her close to him. Afraid to lose her anymore, afraid to go to King Cross's without a return ticket.
"Time to move on to happier times." Hermione smirked and pulled off her top.
Luke was about to open the door when there was an abrupt silence from inside.
He coughed and left, not wanting to know what was going on inside.
Xxx
Harry sat comfortably in the train leaving Hogwarts along with Hermione, Ginny and the Matchmakers. Christmas has given them the present of peace. But now, the real Christmas will begin with celebrations back home.
"My parents have invited for you to spend Christmas at our place, Harry." Hermione said gently and Harry nodded, patting her shoulder before standing up and made to go to the washroom.
"Where are you going?" Hermione gripped his hand tightly, suddenly displaying a rare outburst of protection and guard.
"Just the washroom. Why?" Harry asked, and Hermione's grip on his hand loosened.
"N-nothing. It's just-" Hermione started but Elle interrupted.
"It's just that one doesn't come back to life very often."
Hermione coughed and suddenly seemed to be deeply engrossed in reading the Quibbler, and Harry did not return from the washroom for a while.
June sniggered and pointed at Nick.
"Hey, Alexander. When wilt you build muscles like his?" June asked seriously and Alexander's eyes opened warily.
"Seriously? You like buff guys?" Alexander asked, acting as if nothing was wrong.
Elle laughed and clapped, "Boy... Alexander. You got a tough one."
Nick laughed and offered to arm-wrestle Alexander, who declined politely.
Tori and Gabriel made jeering noises, and Alexander became embarrassed.
"Hey, let a guy live." Ginny grinned, and got into an arm-wrestling position with Nick, who gladly took the challenge.
Hayden and Riley clapped and the arm-wrestling began, with everyone cheering on Ginny.
"What the!" Nick's eyes widened in disbelief as to how strong Ginny was, but he won her anyway.
Ginny sighed and massaged her right arm, numb from attempting to pull down Nick's.
"Hey! You bullied a girl!" Hermione said accusingly and the whole carriage was momentarily filled with laughter.
When Harry came back, he saw Nick trying to defend himself.
"Professor Potter! Who do you think is in the right? Miss Granger or Nick!" Hayden asked loudly and it took Harry by surprise.
"Uhm... Hermione would be right of course." Harry said and Nick's face flushed with a deep red.
"Hah!" The girls in the carriage said at the same time, and Nick threw up his hands in surrender.
Harry, utterly bemused, asked Hermione what was going on.
After she filled him in, he started to feel sorry for Nick.
"Hey, don't you have any regrets for bullying him so much?" Harry asked her, and she shook her head.
"No, Harry. I do not regret."
Xxx
Gasp! WOOHOO! Sorry folks, the story isn't over YET. :P
Please review? Pretty please? I thought this chapter came off not bad. What do you all think?
What are you waiting for? Review already!