Part Three. Chapter Twenty-nine.

"And now I cling to what I knew
I saw exactly what was true
But oh no more.
That's why I hold,
That's why I hold with all I have.
That's why I hold.

And I won't die alone and be left there.
Well I guess I'll just go home,
Oh God knows where.
Because death is just so full and man so small.
Well I'm scared of what's behind and what's before."

-Mumford & Sons "After The Storm"


Pansy. Always.


She was unsure of where to proceed to find something to kill the snake with. She knew Draco and Hermione had used basilisk fangs, but she wasn't sure she could locate one given the time crunch. She also wasn't sure if the fiendfyre would still be raging in the room of requirement were she to try and summon it again, much less how she would get the snake up there and manage to toss it in.

Standing in the destroyed entrance hall, she mulled over it, before an idea came to her mind.

Harry had learned about destroying Horcruxes from Dumbledore himself, and though he was really and truly dead, she thought of the next best thing.

Taking off through the ruined castle, she found herself running down a corridor to the Headmasters office. The stone gargoyle that usually stood guard at t he entrance was smashed on the ground, though she thought she heard it sigh dramatically as she passed.

Climbing the stone spiral staircase, she burst into the large office and had to steady herself on a chair to stop from falling over.

Several portraits of previous old headmasters hissed or jeered at her, but she ignored them.

Hanging behind the desk was the only one she paid attention to.

"Er, can you help me?" She asked awkwardly, standing before it, before cringing slightly and adding a polite, "sir."

"That remains to be foreseen, but you can certainly tell me what services you seek," The bearded old man replied sagely, peering at her over his half-moon spectacles.

"You told Harry about how to destroy the...items that would help defeat …Voldemort, right?" She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied.

"I've been helping him," she explained after a moment. "Harry…he left me a task before he went—before he went to meet with Voldemort. He asked me to make sure it gets done, but how do I-er, how do I destroy them? What can I use?"

"What have you been using so far?" The old headmaster prompted.

"Harry said they used the sword of Gryffindor, but I'm not a Gryffindor and I don't know where it is. I know that Draco and Hermione used basilisk fangs in the Chamber of Secrets, but I don't know if I have enough time to get down there, and I destroyed one when fiendfyre took over the room of requirement."

"All valid methods," Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, but is there something else? Anything else I can use?" She pressed, growing impatient.

"If it is a living object, perhaps you could try the killing curse, that tends to be irreversible," he chuckled.

"Yes, but what if that doesn't work?" She cried, frustrated.

"I have often found that one can never know an outcome until they try it," Dumbledore replied. She wanted to reach into the portrait and throttle him for being so vague.

"However, I think that the situation tends to present itself, given such circumstances," Dumbledore added, "I should think everything should, how muggles might say, 'work out in the end."

"I guess that'll have to do, though I'm not sure you've been a ton of help," Pansy griped. "But I guess it's the best help I'm going to get, so thank you for giving me your time."

He simply nodded at her and she spun on her heel and left the office.

She returned to the entrance and was preparing to search the grounds for the snake and hopefully Harry when she saw Draco, who ran toward her when he saw her.

"Pansy! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!" He snapped and threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she mumbled and hugged him back. "They have a lot of reason for thinking the things they said, I know I have to keep proving myself."

"You've already done so much," Draco sighed, "We both have. I keep hoping it gets easier, but this hero work is not all that it's cracked out to be."

"Tell me about it," she grumbled and he laughed. "Listen, Harry left me with a job, and I could use your help."

"Anything," he promised her and finally let her go. She could tell his chest was still hurting him and he looked truly banged up and frankly, she wasn't sure where the dirt and blood ended and he began.

"We still need to kill the snak-

A magically amplified voice cut her off, carrying over the grounds and penetrating the castle.

"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist will be slaughtered, as well every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared."

Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, breath catching in her lungs. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

Harry? Dead?

She had truly let him turn himself over, held the door open for him so he could go play hero and get himself killed.

"Fuck," She felt a tear roll down her face, but honestly, she was already cried out, but that didn't stop her heart to feel like it was giving out inside her chest.

"What do we do?" Draco had his face pressed into his hands. She could hear screaming coming from The Great Hall and running feet.

She was frozen.

"Pansy, what do we do?" He shoved her, looking crazed.

Realization sank in. Harry had told her what to do, should this very situation arise.

"Harry told me to make sure the snake is killed," she murmured, already beginning to realize there was nothing else left to do but honor his request. "Then we kill Voldemort."

She met his scared grey eyes.

Her best friend, the man that she had started out with, the man who had been with her through the entire journey, the man who continually laid down his life alongside her.

Pansy thought it was fitting that she try to do this inconceivable task with Draco, no one else.

"Come on, we've got to go now," She got to her feet and grabbed his hand. They ran out of the entrance hall and outside onto the grounds, and she could hear people running behind them, streaming out into the grounds.

A large procession of people were approaching the castle. every single Death Eater, sympathizer, and beast that had been recruited. At the helm of the procession was Voldemort himself, striding forward confidently, jubilantly, the giant snake slithering at his feet.

She tensed when she saw the snake, eyes narrowing, but stayed where she was.

She needed to be closer.

Behind Voldemort was Hagrid, the old creature teacher, and in his arms was Harry.

He looked like a little boy, she thought, so small in the half-giants arms.

Dead.

Behind Pansy and Draco, a crowd was forming. She heard a scream and turned to see McGonagall completely losing it, as were several others. She watched Arthur Weasley physically restrain Ginny.

She turned from them.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort cried jubilantly, and several people shouted "NO", which only seemed to encourage him further.

"Bow before me, and I shall reward you and all will be forgiven, no questions asked," Voldemort continued.

"I'd rather die," Pansy snarled, but apparently he had heard. She blamed it on his weird snake senses.

"Ah Miss Parkinson, what a lovely surprise to see you here," He growled, sounding rather benevolent, but she could sense his hatred.

"Not much of surprise though, is it?" She countered.

"Ah yes, I have noticed that you and Draco have been missing from home," He retorted, eyes narrowing, though he held a wide smile. "And you, Draco, are you not going to even say hello?"

Beside her, Draco stiffened.

Voldemort held out his arms, as if to ask for a hug.

"Come children, come home to us all. I know your parents would certainly appreciate it."

Ah, there was the not so subtle threat she had been expecting.

"Come, Draco."

She watched Lucius hobble forward, hand outstretched, beckoning to Draco.

She turned to her best friend, and she could see he was struggling. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on his forearm, right over his mark.

Their eyes met.

Draco turned to his father and shook his head no.

"Can I just say something first?" Draco asked and Pansy wanted to walk over and punch him. Was that really the time for making speeches? Now?

"Very well, Draco, I'm sure we all are quite curious as to what you have to say," Voldemort said as if someone was forcing burning coals down his throat.

Draco turned and addressed The Order, Dumbledore's Army, and all of the light side allies.

"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone. People die every day. Friends, family. We lost Harry tonight, but he's still with us, in here," he placed his hand over his heart. He met Pansy's eyes briefly and she realized what he was doing. She began edging away from him, watching as talked, as he talked about honor and bravery and heroes.

"We all have choices to make every single day, sacrifices were made, and that doesn't mean we've lost, it doesn't mean that Harry died in vain! It's not over!"

Voldemort looked like he was trying to contain his anguish.

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable politician, Draco."

"I'll join you when hell freezes over! Pansy now!" Draco cried and ran at him, not even raising his wand. A Death Eater stepped forward and began dueling Draco.

"RIGHT HERE!" Pansy ran forward and shot a killing curse at the snake.

It didn't so much as twitch a muscle.

"Well shit," she swore just as a full muscle bind overcame her. She gasped and tried to break it, muttering Latin under her breath, searching for a way free. Draco had been subdued and bound as well.

"A marvelous display of heroism, children," Voldemort growled. "It appears Miss Parkinson and Mr. Malfoy have decided they would make better Gryffindors. Perhaps the Sort Hat was wrong, Miss Parkinson, what say you?"

She felt something soft force itself over her head.

The Sorting Hat.

She also felt it heat up and people screaming. Voldemort had set it on fire.

"Let this be an example to everyone, those who defy me will be punished most severely!"

She felt something cool brushed against her face.

No, that couldn't be right….

However, she could feel things getting rather hot, so she started digging through her mental repertoire to find a curse break.

"Sit libertas," she murmured.

At once she was free. She pulled the hat off of her and looked into it, and with a wide Cheshire smile, she looked up at Voldemort, before releasing Draco from his binding.

"I guess I might have been sorted wrong after all."

Reaching in and pulling the cool object out, she heard several people gasp.

It was the sword of Gryffindor.

"KILL!" Voldemort ordered the giant snake, which slithered toward she and Draco. Voldemort raised his wand and then all hell broke lose.

Pansy turned her attention to the snake just in time, rolling out of the way.

"Look out!" Pansy cried as the side as the snake struck at them, and she watched as Draco barely escaped the fangs.

"DISTRACT IT!" She shouted and Draco stood up and began feinting to the left and the right, drawing it closer.

"Here you go, Harry, this is my last stand," she murmured and got to her feet.

Lifting the sword over her head as she ran, she leapt into the air over Draco, who had fallen backwards.

Her breathing slowed and everything got quiet as she soared over her fallen friend, colliding with the giant snake in mid-air, who had struck to meet her.

The slash of the silver blade could not be heard over the roar of the crowd and yet it seemed to draw every eye.

With a single stroke she sliced off the great snake's head, which spun high into the air, gleaming in the light of the breaking dawn, and Voldemort's let out a scream of fury that nobody could hear, and the snake's body thudded to the ground at his feet

She hit the ground hard.

Voldemort raised his wand and she flinched

"AVADA-"

"PROTEGO!"

She blinked as she watched the green curse rebound off the shield, literally stopped inches from her body, and hit an unsuspecting Death Eater.

Draco crawled to her and checked her, as if unbelieving that she hadn't been hit.

Confused, she looked up to see Harry, eyes wide open.

"You sneaky little-" She shook her head in disbelief, a smile on her face.

Harry surged out of Hagrid's arms and fell to ground, very much alive. He stood up and everyone freaked.

"HARRY!"

"POTTER IS ALIVE!"

"IT CAN'T BE!"

There was a brief moment of silence, of stillness, and then it was over and the shield was broken and everyone was dueling. Giants and creatures began popping up through the fog, attacking, and reinforcements were pouring from the castle.

House elves were armed with knives and cleavers, one very ugly elf at the lead. Beside him was—

A snarling, spitting mad Effie, following close behind by Muffy, Hugo, and Dobby himself.

She couldn't linger too much on her elves sudden appearance, as she began dueling Dolohov, who really wasn't pleased to see her.

In mayhem Harry seemed to have vanished.

She subdued Dolohov almost too easily, but then out of the corner of her eye she caught Bellatrix shooting the cruciatus curse at Ginny, who narrowly managed to dodge it.

"NOT TODAY, YOU BITCH!" She roared and surged forward toward Bellatrix, who roared with laughter, all too thrilled to be facing Pansy down.

Pansy's wand slashed and twisted, meeting Bellatrix Lestrange's insane smile as jets of light flew from both wands, crackling with power, raw heat emanating from them.

She was aware that fighters on both sides had stopped to watch, though she paid no mind.

They were fighting to kill.

The ground beneath their feet was becoming hot and cracked, and the smile on Bellatrix's face was replaced with a furious snarl. Hermione and Draco ran forward as if to help her.

"Stay back! This bitch is mine!"

She only had eyes for Bellatrix.

"What will happen to your precious friends when I've killed you? What will happen when I torture them to the point of insanity, over and over again? I think I'll start with that mudblood Granger, finish what I started!"

"You — will — never — touch — my — friends — again!" Pansy cried out angrily. Bellatrix threw her head back with a laugh.

"AVADA KADAVRA!" Pansy spat and landed the spell right on the woman's heart.

Bellatrix's gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge.

For the tiniest instant, she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.

Pansy had gotten exactly what she wanted.

"TRAITOROUS FILTH!" An outraged Voldemort blasted away the three people he was fighting and turned his wand on Pansy.

Pansy raised her wand, a cocky smile on her face.

"Sorry, I guess you forgot I have a certain proficiency with the killing curse," she taunted. "Care to test it out for yourself?"

Their spells collided in midair, but were broken when Harry once more sent up a protection spell.

"No Pansy, it has to be me this time," Harry said, his own wand drawn. "It has to end with me."

She grinned and nodded, stepping back.

Harry and Voldemort began dueling an instant later.


Sit Libertas = Let there be freedom.

Chapter 30 will be the end. I will say more there.