Fickle Fate: Chapter 56
Guys! I didn't expect it to happen but this is the second to last chapter! The next will be a long-ish epilogue to wrap up loose ends but this is it! I can't believe it! This story was just supposed to be fun and silly and it turned into my longest story ever. Thank you so much to everyone who stuck it out with me and gave this insane thing a chance. :)
Warnings: Just...a lot of feels. Yeah, that's it.
Disclaimer: I wish I did...but I don't.
Please enjoy!
Reunions Part 2
Harry was wrapped up in James's and Lily's arms one moment, soaking in as much love as he could, and the next he was blinking his eyes open to see...wood? He panicked immediately thinking he was in a coffin, that he had been buried alive. Harry sat bolt upright and whacked his head hard. A grimace twisted his face up but it got him to pause.
Looking around him he realized he wasn't in a coffin but under a table, a table he recognized. He heard spells going off and people yelling in pain and fear and anger. With one last annoyed rub over the goose egg forming on his head, he rolled over onto his stomach to try and peak out at what was going on. It wasn't good.
Dumbledore was at the front of the room practically un-phased by the spells shot at him and he was quickly gaining ground as Harry's friends and family were getting injured and falling to the ground. Remembering what he had to do, Harry's hand felt over his chest for the ring. Thankfully, it was still there, hanging from its chain and sitting under his shirt. Harry reached in and pulled it out. Looking at the stone in the center Harry felt a moment of indecision.
He knew he was supposed to use it to end the war and then destroy it, but...then he wouldn't see his mum or James again, not until he died. Harry knew after this there was no way he'd even be let outside again in case he croaked. A small brush of comfort suddenly rolled over him as if emanating from the stone and Harry knew it was his mum, telling him it would be okay. With renewed resolve, Harry took firm hold of the ring, squeezing his fist so tightly the sharp corners of the stone dug painfully into his skin. He brought his fist close to his lips, closed his eyes and whispered,
"I call forth Ariana Dumbledore." He couldn't explain the feeling that came over him. It was like he had called forth a deep ancient power; a chill passed over him. Harry opened his eyes and startled so badly he dropped the ring and scuttled back a couple feet.
There sitting in front of him was a young girl with a small smile on her face. She looked...grey. Not quite like the ghosts that wandered the halls of Hogwarts but like she had stepped out of a black and white movie. She cocked her head at him curiously and Harry realized he'd yet to say anything.
"Ariana?" Her smile got a little bigger and she nodded. Harry thought it odd that she wasn't speaking but wasn't going to press the issue. "I was told you would help me end this. Will you help me?" Ariana's smile dimmed into one of resignation but she nodded nonetheless. "Thank you," Harry said. He wondered if it hurt her to see her brother turn into the madman he was today.
Harry held out his hand to the girl and she took it. Together they crawled out from their safe haven under the dining table. Harry surveyed the scene before him and wondered, of course now that he was out in the open, how he would get Ariana up to Dumbledore safely. She couldn't be hurt given she was already dead, but he certainly could.
Deciding to do something stupid, though less stupid than running into a battle without a wand, Harry opened his mouth.
"Excuse me!" Everyone froze. Everyone. Harry tried not to shrink into himself as suddenly all eyes were on him. No one spoke. Even Dumbledore stood there struck dumb. The young Gryffindor cleared his throat awkwardly. "I have someone here for you, Dumbledore." Without prompting and with a parting smile, Ariana released Harry's hand and walked up the aisle slowly towards her brother.
Now all eyes were on the ghostly figure.
"Ariana," Albus croaked out, stunned and trembling slightly upon seeing his beloved, dead sister. Everyone watched as the young, deceased girl walked forward, her steps making no sound. A small, sad smile never left her face and she kept her eyes on her brother the whole time. "But...but you're…"
It was then that Albus realized how this was possible. He swung his mad gaze back to Harry and lifted the Elder Wand.
"You have the stone! Give it to me!" Harry's mind flashed back to his first year, and he saw Quirrell reaching out to him, demanding the Sorcerer's Stone. He took a frightened step back as Albus opened his mouth to curse him.
Suddenly, a small pale hand grabbed onto Albus's wrist. Ariana had gone from being in the middle of the Great Hall to Dumbledore's side in a blink. Her fingers curled around Albus's wrist and tightened gently as she slowly pulled his arm down.
"That's enough, Alby," she said. She spoke softly but the Great Hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"But...Ariana...I could bring you back. I could make the world better with no death and…" Ariana brought her other hand up and laid a finger on Albus's lips to quiet him while shaking her head.
"That's not how the world is meant to be," she countered. Her hand, still around his wrist, slipped down and took hold of the Elder Wand. With surprisingly little fight from the Headmaster, Ariana took the wand from his grasp and threw it down the length of the Great Hall. Harry caught it and meeting Ariana's expectant gaze he nodded. The snap of the Elder Wand breaking in half echoed around the large room.
"NO!" Dumbledore tried to rush towards Harry but Ariana was a lot stronger than she looked. She held her brother in place and forced him to look at her.
"It's time to go, Alby." Albus tried to shake his head but Ariana wouldn't even allow that much movement from him. Harry could just see the glimmer of tears in both of their eyes and a sudden unexpected pang of sympathy hit him. "I love you, Alby," she said, her voice cracking. Then she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to the Headmaster's forehead.
A bright light enveloped them both, and it became so bright everyone had to cover their eyes. A few seconds later the light was gone, and so were Albus and Ariana.
For a moment nobody moved or made a sound. And then there was a ruckus coming from the ceiling. Everyone who had been magically strung up by tapestries, banners and tablecloths were slowly being lowered to the ground and released. Faculty and Aurors rushed around to check on the students to make sure that no one was seriously injured.
Harry suddenly felt very odd standing there in the middle of the Great Hall. He could feel the adrenaline fading as aches and pains made themselves known. The young man was standing there rather lost one moment and the next was squashed against Snape's chest. The Potions Master had flown across the room as soon as it was clear the battle was over and snatched his son up in the tightest embrace he could manage.
Tears fell into his hair as Severus silently wept in joy. The Potions Master was overwhelmed with relief almost not believing that Harry was real. As he hugged his very real son, he sent up a prayer of thanks to Lily, for he knew she had something to do with this. Severus let out a shaky breath when Harry returned the embrace just as strongly. He let himself bask in the moment of holding his son, alive and well, even as he could feel others start to close in. Finally, he forced himself to pull back. Snape pressed a kiss to Harry's hair before stepping back to let other people check on the boy.
Unsurprisingly, Harry was tackled by both Ron and Hermione the next moment. He let out a startled laugh as he was enveloped. The Trio somehow managed to stay upright and not go crashing to the ground. Harry didn't realize that he was crying along with his best friends until Hermione pulled back a bit and wiped them from his cheeks.
Ron was unashamedly wiping his own tears away when he let out a tired, slightly hysterical huff.
"Mate, is this whole coming back from the dead thing gonna stick or what? You can't do this to me again." Harry barked out a laugh and shrugged.
"I think I've used up all of my freebies. Mum said this was kind of a special case." His friends gaped at him and then he realized what he said.
"Harry...you talked to your mum," Hermione asked quietly. Harry could see she was struggling to wrap her head around the idea. "Are you sure...you're sure it wasn't all just...in your head?" She grimaced even as she asked knowing it wasn't necessarily the best time to ask that. Harry only smiled though.
"Even if it was, who says that doesn't make it real?" Before he could get into a philosophical debate with her head went on. "But yeah, I talked to Mum and James. They explained a lot, told me how to defeat Dumbledore...said they loved me and were proud of me." Harry's voice trailed off on the last bit though his friends knew just how much hearing those things meant to him. He had always longed to have his parents tell him they loved him and he'd always wanted to know whether they were proud of who he had become.
"That's...that's awesome, Harry," Ron said, and Harry could tell that his best friend truly meant it. Hermione looked off to the left and pointed to something.
"I think more people want to check on you, Harry. I'd go before they hurt themselves." Harry turned and saw Sirius vibrating where he stood next to Remus, who looked to be fighting his wolf not to come barreling over. His throat tightened with emotion and his feet started rushing him towards the two men without conscious thought.
He was caught easily and held tightly by Sirius and Remus. Harry tried to worry over the injury Remus was clearly sporting but the werewolf would have none of it.
"Oh Merlin, Pup," Remus exhaled shakily. "You were...you were gone and…"
"We thought we lost you forever," Sirius said. Harry could tell his godfather was on the edge of losing it but was proud of him for holding it together. He knew the man had been seeing a mind healer and before that, a day like this would have utterly broken Sirius.
"I...I love you guys," Harry said. For a moment he felt bad for saying it to Sirius and Remus and not his father, but he knew Severus would understand. They had come a long way in their relationship but they were still a bit awkward. Besides, he knew their embrace earlier said the same thing. Remembering something, Harry pulled back from the hug but stayed within reach. He cleared his throat of emotion so it would be easier to talk. "There's...James wanted me to tell you that he loves you and misses you both and he wants to thank you for looking out for me and being supportive of Severus and I having a relationship." He could see they were about to either cry or ask a million questions so he quickly got out the rest of it. "Also, Mum says thank you too for taking care of me when you could and...for not turning me into a Marauder."
Remus let out a bark of laughter wiping the tears about to leave his eyes and Sirius just dragged Harry into another hug.
"Any other messages from the other side, Pup," Remus asked after dragging Harry into a hug of his own. Suddenly Harry grimaced and looked over to Tom who was leaning heavily on Lucius and talking to Madam Bones.
"Yeah, actually. There's one last thing I have to do before destroying the cloak and this stone." Sirius looked like he was about to protest destroying James's cloak but Remus shot him a look and the Black Lord stayed silent. They watched as Harry walked over to Tom with a look of resignation and determination.
Harry stopped next to Lucius and Tom unsure how to interrupt what was clearly an important discussion. Luckily he didn't have to because Madam Bones immediately stopped talking and turned her attention to him.
"I have to say, Young Man, you are quite extraordinary. It won't happen right away but at some point I will need to sit down and discuss all that happened with you." Seeing the worry on his face Madam Bones was quick to reassure him. "It won't be a trial or even an interrogation. I just...need to be made aware of everything that has happened so I can try and get our world back to rights. You won't be in trouble." Harry wasn't entirely convinced but he certainly trusted her more than any other politician he'd spoken to...not that that was saying much.
"Yes, Ma'am. I, uh, I actually need Tom for a minute, if that's okay. Some unfinished business." He met Tom's eyes and hoped he got his point across; with their connection gone it was hard to tell. It seemed luck was on his side and Tom understood. He told Madam Bones and Lucius that he and Harry would be going to the faculty meeting room attached to the Great Hall and then led the way, slowly.
Harry could see that the Dark Lord (ex-Dark Lord?) was exhausted and could barely hold himself up.
"I hope I am allowed to sit for this discussion," Tom said in a surprisingly light tone. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, that'd probably be best actually. You're too bloody tall." Tom raised a brow in question at the odd comment but Harry didn't explain. He would understand soon enough.
Once in private, Tom fell into the first available seat and Harry sighed. A light blush coated his cheeks and Tom only grew more curious. Harry glared at the amused look on Tom's face.
"I need you to...spread your legs," Harry said through gritted teeth. The amused look on Tom's face dropped away to one of horror. When he ran through what he said in his head again Harry got a similar look on his face. "Not like-! Not like that! I mean-! I just need to be able to stand close to you! Don't-! That's so gross!" Harry's face was bright red and Tom felt a wave of relief go over him and didn't contain the tired chuckle at Harry's embarrassment.
"Good. I'm old enough to be your grandfather." Harry's face twisted into a disgusted grimace. He walked closer to Tom until he was standing between his legs and they were mere inches apart.
"If you tell anyone about this I will kill you," he said. "Now, give me your hands." Tom did as asked without comment and Harry wrapped them around the ring. Harry covered Tom's hands with his own as best he could and leaned forward so their foreheads were touching.
"Um...Harry…?"
"Shut up," Harry said, the blush never leaving his face. He closed his eyes and forced himself to focus. "I call forth Tom Marvolo Riddle." At first Tom didn't feel anything but then it was like a sledgehammer was driven into his chest. Suddenly his soul was knitting itself back together and he felt everything and nothing all at once.
It felt like an eternity, but only five minutes had passed. He opened his eyes, unsure of when he had closed them, and saw Harry looking utterly drained and sweaty. Tom himself was panting and trembling. They involuntarily leaned into one another, too tired to stay upright.
Of course, that was when the door to the room burst open and Harry's father, godfather, father figure and friends poured into the room, having grown concerned about what they were doing.
"It's not...what it looks like," Harry managed to get out before slipping away into unconsciousness.
This chapter was actually a bit of a struggle for me, particularly after Dumbledore is gone, but I finally did it! I know the end is a bit silly but it was supposed to be a poke at the more ridiculous Good!Tom and Bad!Light stories I've read where Tom and Harry fall in love immediately despite everything and blah blah blah. I mean...I totally read those stories sometimes but I refused to add that into my story XD. Anyway, thanks again for sticking around so long and I'll see you guys soon for the wrap up chapter!
Please review! :)
