AN: Hello! As I'd promised, I would upload the second part of Chapter 52 if I got 3 reviews. So to all my readers: big thank you for JustAFangirl (sorry, I didn't want to spoil it for you!), sanna11 and Guest; they made this chapter update possible. Now, on with the story and please let me know what you think. I'll just end with saying: SORRY SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!
Chapter 52 - part two
It wasn't long before the group below started moving again.
When he'd recovered from the fact that he had finally beaten his arch-nemesis – and the physical blow he had been dealt seemingly as a consequence of that – Voldemort ordered his followers to go back to the castle. Poor Hagrid was ordered to carry the lifeless body of his former student and Daisy watched with a heavy heart as they filed out of the clearing.
Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, was dead. Although the odds had never really been in their favour to begin with, what chance did they have now that the person who was supposed to beat Voldemort had died?
The cowardly part of her – a small, yet existing part – told her to just turn around. If she would go to Hogwarts, she would surely get killed. And what for? If Voldemort chose to wipe the entire place out, what good could one person do?
Yet, could she leave her friends, her former classmates, her teachers, to their deaths? Could she turn her back on them when they needed help most?
As she found herself standing up from her hiding place, Daisy realised that she had at some level always known the answer to that question. Even if it meant going against her reason, her judgment and even her own safety; Daisy knew that she would die for each and every one of them if it meant keeping them safe. Too many had died already, too many that she couldn't save.
Her feet found even ground and before she could really think much on what she was doing, she cast another Disillusionment Charm and made for the castle. She left her backpack at the bottom of the hill, knowing that it would probably be safer here than whatever chaos she was heading into.
She quickly caught up with the group of Death Eaters by the edge of the forest. Daisy kept herself hidden behind a tree until most of the group had stepped onto the stone bridge, Voldemort, with the enormous snake and Hagrid at his side, leading them towards an open courtyard.
At the same time as them, students and teachers alike slowly started trickling in, each looking more rugged than the other. At their head was none other than Neville Longbottom, looking worse than she had ever seen him.
Voldemort took a moment to take in the scene of ruin in front of him, before he gestured dramatically to the boy in Hagrid's arms. 'Harry Potter is dead!'
Somewhere at the forefront, a girl started screaming. Even though the years had changed all of them, Daisy recognised her in a heartbeat. Her heart ached at the anguished screams and she realised that she would have felt sorry – even for Ginny Weasley – if she herself were not so overcome by hopelessness at that moment.
Voldemort quickly silenced her, then continued with a shake of his head. 'Stupid girl, Harry Potter is dead. From this day forth, you put your faith in me.' Then, as if he had already forgotten about the small interruption, he turned his back on the crowd of students and walked back to his Death Eaters. 'Harry Potter is dead!'
This caused some laughter to erupt from the group of dark witches and wizards and Daisy felt her stomach turn at the sound. How could they laugh about the death of an innocent boy?
'Now is the time to declare yourself,' Voldemort continued, spreading his arms to the circle of students 'Come forward and join us.' Following his gaze, she quickly found Ron and Hermione, who stood close behind Neville, and a group of red-haired people who she could only guess were the rest of the Weasleys. At least they had survived. 'Or die.'
All remained silent for a moment, even after Voldemort's threat.
'Draco,' it suddenly sounded and all looked to see as Lucius Malfoy turned to a face in the crowd 'Draco.'
Her heart lurched when she looked at him; his hair looking unkempt, his face paler than she remembered. When he did not step forward, a tiny bit of hope started within her.
'Draco,' his mother now pleaded, her eyes desperate 'Come.'
And he did. With slow, hesitant steps he left the group of students, joining the Death Eaters.
At this point, she turned away. She did not want to see him anymore, could not bear the disappointment that weighed her down just by thinking of him.
It was the sound of Voldemort's voice that reminded her of the situation at hand. 'Well, I must say I'd hoped for better,' he said mockingly, causing another round of laughter from the Death Eaters.
Daisy looked up, only just in time to see the three Malfoys, now clinging to each other for dear life, move her way. She wanted to follow them, hurt them for all the times the family had wronged her. And not just her; everyone. She wanted to see Lucius Malfoy crawling on the ground for what he had done. And Draco… him she just never wanted to see again.
'And who might you be, young man?' Voldemort continued behind her, but her eyes were still trained on the retreating backs of the Malfoy family.
'Neville Longbottom.'
That voice caught her attention and she turned to see Neville hobble forward. He did not look scared and with blood still coated to one side of his face, standing but a few meters away from the darkest wizard of all times, he looked fiercer than she had ever seen him before. Even in the face of the Death Eaters' laughter, he did not look down.
'Well Neville, I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ran-'
'I'd like to say something.'
Voldemort did not look pleased at another interruption, but was curious enough to let him speak. 'Well Neville, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated by what you have to say.'
He didn't at first, looking around the circle of Death Eaters, staring each straight in the eye. When he spoke, he started a spark of hope in all of them. 'It doesn't matter that Harry's gone.'
'Stand down, Neville,' someone behind him warned, but he did not listen.
'People die every day! Friends, family.. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight, but he is still with us.. in here,' he touched his heart at this. 'So is Fred, Remus, Tonks; all of them. They didn't die in vain.' Now, he turned back to Voldemort 'But you will, because you're wrong! Harry's heart did beat for us; for all of us. It's not over!' With that, he pulled a silver sword out of a hat he'd been carrying, brandishing it in front of him and pointing it dangerously at Voldemort.
Gasps sounded and Daisy quickly realised it was not because of Neville's sword, when an incantation was shouted and a ball of fire shot out towards Voldemort's monstrous snake.
A boy, with raven hair and round glasses – with a lightning scar that she would surely have seen if he'd been closer to her or moving any slower – jumped behind a pillar. And the manhunt began.
Voldemort's face, which only moments ago had still been morphed into a gruesome grin, now twisted into one of mad fury and he fired one spell after the other. All around him, Death Eaters were Disapparating now that the Boy-Who-Lived was proved to still be alive, but the Dark Lord didn't seem to notice. His eyes were fixed on Harry, who was making a mad sprint for the door to the castle.
It was at this moment, or perhaps the next when a fleeing Death Eater bumped into her, that Daisy remembered that she was not just a spectator, but played an active part in that day's happenings.
'I know you.' She looked up to see the man who had bumped into her, who was in fact the same one that had attempted to kill her. 'You were dead?' He stared at her some more – and by now she realised her Disillusionment Charm must have worn off – and then turned back to stare at Harry Potter. 'They're raising the dead,' he mumbled to himself. Then, without another word, he disappeared in a wisp of black smoke.
Daisy, now fully visible, charged towards the castle, dodging wayward spells as she went. Most of the battle was now fought inside the castle, but there were still some duels taking place out in the courtyard.
Inside, the situation was even more chaotic. Everywhere around her, spells were fired; some finding their target, some missing it by a league and instead crashing into stone pillars or sculptures. She quickly scanned the area, but when she saw none of her friends, she moved on in the direction of the Great Hall. Somewhere on the way, she was nearly crushed by the debris of a wall that caved in. A few steps later, she sent a Death Eater flying into that same debris that had only missed her by a hair. She did not look back at him.
Soon, she reached the anteroom to the Great Hall, where she was brought to a skidding halt by the bright flashes of light that flew back and forth in the room. On one side a thuggish looking Death Eater with dark, slicked back hair and a sickening smile on his face, stood casting Unforgivable Curse after Unforgivable Curse at his opponent, whom she recognised as being none other than Aberforth Dumbledore. Despite his age – and his usually withdrawn personality – he could easily stand his own against the dark wizard.
Daisy watched in amazement as he blocked each Unforgivable with a graceful ease, before firing some spells of his own. They looked evenly matched, with Aberforth clearly being the more skilled dualist, but the Death Eater casting more dangerous spells and therefore making himself a fierce opponent.
She was about to leave when she suddenly saw the older man blown off his feet – and painfully into the stone wall. The Death Eater immediately advanced on him, raising his wand with a Killing Curse ready on his lips.
In a moment of quick thinking, Daisy pointed her wand at the ceiling above him 'Bombarda!' With all the damage already done to the castle, it gave way instantly, debris coming down onto the Death Eater below.
This moment of confusion was all it took for Aberforth to get back on his feet and they shared a look. Then, he nodded.
Daisy did not stand by another moment and quickly ducked into the Great Hall. Here, it seemed the worst battles had already been fought and she noticed most Death Eaters were either dead, unconscious or tied up with magical ropes. Somewhere in the corner she noticed a woman, with trademark red hair, face off against the woman she had first seen in the clearing, where she had been groveling at Voldemort's feet. She smiled wickedly at the ginger woman, all the while taunting and mocking her and Ginny Weasley, who stood behind her.
It was the scene in the other corner, however, that caught her attention. She instantly recognised the mousy brown hair, though the identity of the other student eluded her for a moment.
As she drew nearer, the soft voice of the sitting girl could finally be heard above the loud noises in the Great Hall. 'It's okay, ssh. It's okay.' She combed through the other girl's hair, whose head lay in her lap.
A sickening feeling overcame her, but she forced her legs to move on. When she at last stopped in front of the duo, she felt like she would be sick.
The sitting girl, who she now recognised as Susan Bones – a Hufflepuff from her year – had bruises all over one side of her face, while another big gash lay on her other cheek. Her school robes were torn in places and blood was splattered on the front. She, however, seemed unconcerned with her own injuries at that moment.
The girl in her lap, whom she had recognised as – but begged not to be – Amanda, was paler than the ghosts of Hogwarts. Her eyes, although open, were unfocused and stared unseeingly at the ceiling. What lay below her face, however, was much worse.
Her entire torso was covered in blood and even with the blanket that had been pulled over her, the red life-fluid was desperate to soak through.
Daisy turned her head away it, instead focusing her gaze back on the face of her best friend. She dropped to her knees in front of her, grasping one of the Hufflepuff's cold hands in hers. 'Amanda? I'm here.. I'm back.'
Two tired, hazel eyes turned to her and a weak smile came onto the girl's face. 'Daisy.. I knew you weren't dead. They told me.. they said you'd died. But I didn't believe them.'
She softly squeezed her hand, afraid that anything more would break her. 'You were right. I came back.. And when all of this over, we will.. things will be back to normal.'
Amanda shook her head, her face contorting in pain as she did so. 'I'm not going to make it, Daisy. I just.. I just wasn't strong enough.'
'You fought bravely, Amanda,' Susan said softly, still stroking her hair.
'No,' Daisy said, her voice breaking. 'No, you can't die. You're not dying. I'm here, I came for you. You're not dying. I will save you.'
'I know you will try. But I'm ready.. I'm ready to go on.' She closed her eyes for a moment, then they opened in a moment of clarity. 'Promise me something, Daisy.'
She shook her head, tears running down her face.
'You will. For me.'
'I don't want you to go.'
Amanda smiled sadly 'Neither do I, but sometimes we don't have a choice in where we go. Now.. when all of this is over, promise me you'll tell my parents. Not just my father, but my mother as well. Tell them that I love them.'
That day, Voldemort was defeated and the Second Wizarding War had finally ended. But as it is with all wars, the death toll was high and death did not distinguish between good or bad, guilty or innocent. Many had lost friends, family and realised that although they had gained their freedom, they would never get their lost ones back. They would forever live with that loss, crushed under the weight of knowing they were the lucky survivors. It was like Aberforth had once told her.
Do not pity the dead; pity the living.
