Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Fate Stay Night or anything else.
Fate: Emiya Night
Chapter54: Farewell
September 1995
England: London
Ministry of Magic
Between the Battle of Hogwarts and the attack on the Ministry, everyone was hard-pressed to run damage control. Minister Bones had been assassinated along with the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement so it fell to Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt to reorganize the Aurors. The Ministry was a mess right now due to the sudden attacks and the loss of both Albus Dumbledore and Minister Bones. In fact it had gotten so bad that Lorelei was seriously considering stepping in as Acting Minister of Magic for the duration of the current Grail War.
"How bad is it?" Shirou asked the question. He and Rin had been in Diagon Alley when news of the attacks had reached them. By the time they'd gotten to the Ministry where they'd linked up with Hari, Daphne and Astoria, the battles were already been over.
"The students attending Hogwarts finally arrived at the castle last night," Lorelei answered plainly. "Though considering the damage that had been done, it will take at least a month before classes start."
"What's the damage?" Hari inquired as he braced himself for the inevitable answer. He'd learned that Sirius had been killed during the Battle of Hogwarts and coupled with losing Li for a second time, it had sent the white-haired teenage reeling.
"The Astronomy Tower is destroyed, the Great Hall is gone, Dumbledore is dead and so is the Atlas Representative. We were only able to find one survivor," Lorelei replied before turning her gaze on the lone long-haired girl to her left.
Hakuno Kishinami was still recovering from the pain that she felt when Bellatrix's Cruciatus curse had hit her. When the Aurors showed up after the battle at Hogwarts was already over, they'd found her stunned body and brought her to St Mungos where she had been treated. Almost immediately after that she had been recovered by the Chelon Canticle Brigade led by Barthemeloi Lorelei and brought here to the Department of Mysteries for debriefing.
"Voldemort has Rani," Hakuno told them.
"Rani?" Hari asked confused.
"She's the Lesser Grail for this war," Lorelei explained. "She was created by Representative Re-Atlasia."
"That's bad," Shirou grimaced recalling how Illya had been used for the same purpose.
"It's worse than you think," Lorelei gritted out in barely suppressed anger.
"Archer, Caster, Rider and Assassin died at Hogwarts during the battle," Hakuno told them.
"And with Lancer and Berserker having killed each other at the Ministry that means…" Hari trailed off with widening eyes.
"…That means that Saber is the only Servant left standing," Shirou finished worriedly.
"So what? Are you saying that Voldemort has already won?" Hari questioned hastily.
"Not yet," Lorelei smiled coldly. "The Holy Grail still needs to fully manifest itself before it can be used."
"So we have to stop Voldemort and Saber before then," Hari nodded in understanding.
"Voldemort told me to give you a message," Hakuno spoke up. "He said that he's waiting for you at Godric's Hollow."
Godric's Hollow, the place where he'd tried to kill Hari all those years ago on that accursed Halloween night. What anger Hari felt was cooled as he recalled the small village where his birthparents were buried and the monument that was the Potter Cottage. Of course Voldemort would be waiting there; not only was it the location of his first defeat but also where the Greater Grail had been constructed. If Voldemort wanted 'Rani' to manifest the true Holy Grail for him, he would need to take her there and connect her to it like Kotomine had done to Illya at Mount Enzou.
"…I'm going," Hari said as he stood up from his seat.
"Not alone you're not," Shirou countered as he too rose to his feet.
"Shirou-nii?" Hari blinked in surprise.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Shirou told him. "I'm not doing this as your brother nor do I intend to fight your battles for you; I'm doing this for Saber."
"Saber?" Hari asked him.
"Four years ago I failed to save her," Shirou reasoned. "I won't fail again."
Saber, his Saber had been killed by Gilgamesh and she'd died in his arms. He knew that she'd accepted the risks involved and hadn't regretted following him into the caves beneath Mount Enzou but it had still gnawed away at him. He knew that he couldn't save everyone but he wanted to save those closest to him and that meant Saber too. Not being able to save her that day was his greatest failure, something that he had thought was irreversible.
But now he had been given a second chance…
"…Alright," Hari nodded finally.
"I'm going too," Hakuno said as she stood up and rounded the table.
"You-" Hari started.
"Rani is my friend," Hakuno cut in simply. "We've been through a lot together, I owe her this."
For Hakuno whom had lost her memories and spent the last three years as a Child Soldier, Rani was the only person she could consider a friend. Rani may not have been the most normal person in the world or the best at expressing emotions, but the two of them had grown close to each other over the years. Voldemort had taken Rani captive and Hakuno wouldn't let anything stop her from getting her back. Even if it was already too late, she would at least try to save her first and only friend.
"Can you even fight?" Hari asked her.
"Yes," Hakuno nodded as she held up her hand showing her Command Sigil.
"A Master huh?" Shirou mused. "Okay, you can come along."
"Thank you," Hakuno said with a smile.
"So I assume you three are going alone then?" Lorelei inquired knowingly.
"Yes," Shirou answered with a nod. "No offense but any more will only get in the way."
"Its fine," Lorelei nodded in understanding. "I'll have my Chelon Canticle Brigade on standby outside the village just in case things go wrong."
In other words she would give the order to destroy Godric's Hollow and the Greater Grail if they failed.
As expected of the Queen…
September 1995
England: London
Grimmauld Place
Hours passed and the sun started to set covering the world in an orange glow. True to her word Lorelei had deployed her Chelon Canticle Brigade to create a perimeter around Godric's Hollow and they had been given standing orders to destroy the village along with the Greater Grail if they detected the energy spike from the true Holy Grail's manifestation. Shirou and Hari had gone back to Grimmauld Place along with Hakuno to rest and prepare of the final battle.
"We're going with you," Daphne spoke clearly.
"Not this time," Hari shook his head. "This is something I have to do alone."
"Why?" Astoria asked him. "Why does it have to be you?"
"Because it's always been me," Hari answered sadly.
Voldemort had tried to kill him nearly fourteen years ago on that Halloween night and now it would all end one way or another. He'd stopped being 'Harry Potter' at that time when he was transported to Fuyuki city in the aftermath of the Fourth Holy Grail War and became 'Hari Emiya' when his father Kiritsugu adopted him. Since then he'd been fighting one uphill battle after another, first to save Illya and then to protect the two Greengrass sisters.
It had always come down to him…
"You don't have to do everything alone, you know?" Astoria smiled sadly at him.
"I'm not alone," Hari responded with his own smile. "Shirou-nii and Hakuno-san will be there too."
That's right…
He wasn't alone at the end…
"Hari…" Astoria trailed off.
"Fine," Daphne conceded with a sigh as she turned away.
"Sis?" Astoria asked in surprise.
"He's made his decision," Daphne replied simply. "All we can do now is hope that it's the right one."
"…I get it," Astoria sighed before nodding.
"Thank you for understanding," Hari smiled at them both. "And thank you for everything that you've done for me."
He couldn't have gotten this far without them…
In his room on the floor above, Shirou placed a trunk on the bed and opened it. Inside was his black clothes complete with a black leather coat and red scarf. He'd remade these clothes again and again over the years because they suited him. He quickly slipped them on and walked over the mirror resting on the wall to his right. The image that stared back at was almost completely different than EMIYA, his alternate self that was filled with regrets and had become a Counter Guardian. If it wasn't for the fact that their hair was the same colour and he looked like a younger version of the man, they would be entirely different people.
That was enough for him…
"Are you going to leave without a word?" Rin asked from the doorway.
"Rin…" Shirou trailed off as he turned towards her.
"I know that you want to do this alone," Rin told him knowingly. "I trust you to come back to us after you're done."
"…Thank you," Shirou said finally.
"When this is all over, let's all go home, okay?" Rin asked as she smiled back. "I'm sure Sakura would like to host another party for everyone again."
"Yeah," Shirou nodded. "That's sound great."
"Bring Saber back with you," Rin spoke clearly. "It's meaningless unless we're all there together."
"I know, I'll save her and bring her home. I promise," Shirou said with a smile.
"Good luck Shirou."
Hakuno was waiting downstairs near the front door wearing her newest set of red clothing that she called Scarlet Formalwear. It was a set of Formalwear that she created with Rani's help in the last days of the war with the Albanian vampire clans but it had never actually been tested properly. Considering what had happened at Hogwarts and knowing just what was at stake, Hakuno had decided to use it anyway. Its ability to heal the wearer as well as those around them would come in handy, and it was also capable of curing them of almost any poison that was used on them.
"I see that you're ready," Hari spoke up as he approached from the corridor.
"Are you ready to go?" Hakuno asked him.
"Yeah," Hari replied with a smile.
"That just leaves…" Hakuno trailed off and turned her attention towards the stairs.
"It's time," Shirou said as he descended the stairs.
"Right," Hari nodded as he held out his hand. "Grab on."
'Rani…' Hakuno trailed off as she placed her hand on top of his.
"Let's go save the world," Shirou smiled as he placed his hand on top of theirs.
They disappeared with a crack a moment later as Hari apparated them through the wards…
Author's Notes:
That's it, everything is set, the final battle is nigh. Everyone has said their final goodbyes and are heading for the final confrontation with Voldemort and Saber. I admit that I've been playing a bit loose with everything, and I've tried to correct as much of it as I can. But in the end everything I've written here has been moving towards this point and the last battle of the Sixth Holy Grail War.
Please Read and Review.
See Ya Later…
