Chapter 37
Landry and her friends were running through the castle as fast as they possibly could. None of them wanted to believe what they knew they were about to see. As they got closer to the Hogwarts courtyard, they were joined by more and more students and staff who were in the same situation as they were. Landry came to a sudden halt as she ran out into the courtyard. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. There was no possible way that what she saw in front of her could really be happening. But it was. There was a dark mark, the symbol of Voldemort, displayed in the sky, and Minerva McGonagall, the strongest woman anyone at Hogwarts had ever met, now lay, motionless, in the center of the courtyard. "NO!" shrieked Harry, running towards her. He threw himself onto the ground and began casting every spell he knew on her, but it was to no avail. The unbreakable woman had fallen. Hermione and Ron came up behind Harry, both of them crying. "Hermione, please, there must be a potion, a spell, some sort of muggle trick, anything!" Harry stumbled desperately.
"She's gone, Harry," said Hermione, through sobs.
It was Luna Lovegood who raised her wand first. One tiny light, one "lumos," from the tip of her wand, glowing up into the dreary sky.
Landry immediately did the same, followed by Scorpius, then Miles, then Albus and Genevieve. Soon, the entire courtyard was glowing, every single wand alight. Harry was the last to raise his wand, as he brokenly accepted defeat. After several minutes of silent mourning, a sense of restlessness began to spread. McGonagall was dead, and even the students to whom she had given detention a hundred times were utterly furious. Voldemort was responsible for this, and he was going to pay. Landry figured that if his being a mass murderer wasn't enough to hate him for, this was. It was then that an idea suddenly came to her. It was something Dumbledore had said in Godric's Hollow.
"A Patronus is the embodiment of the light that is inside every one of you," he had said. "This light can, if you believe hard enough, be strong enough to drown out even the darkest of things."
This idea would definitely be a long shot, but for some reason, Landry had and odd feeling that it just might work. Voldemort and his army was certainly the darkest thing Landry had ever encountered, and she did not recall ever having been told that the Patronus charm only worked on dementors. Quickly, Landry whipped out her wand and held it to her throat. "Sonorus," she uttered, so as to make sure she would be heard.
"Hey, everyone! I have an idea!" she called out, her voice now amplified. All eyes turned towards her. Landry gulped. It was then that she realized that she was about to propose a plan to almost all of the students in her year.
"What if we all went to face Voldemort and his army, and we confronted him by all casting a patronus, all at once?" Landry suggested nervously.
There was a chorus of confused muttering from all around the courtyard. "How will that do anything?" called out a troubled Hufflepuff. "Last time I checked, Death Eaters aren't dementors."
Sounds of agreement echoed out all around Landry, as her face fell. But then, Dumbledore came up beside her. "May I?" he asked her. Landry nodded gratefully.
"I believe that Landry's plan may work," Dumbledore announced.
The response to this was mostly a confused one. Nobody quite understood how it would be possible for patronuses to stop wizards, but if Dumbledore believed it, then maybe it was.
"How, Sir?" asked a confused Slytherin.
"As I have told Miss Beckett before, a Patronus is the embodiment of the light that is inside every single one of you. This light can, if you believe hard enough, be strong enough to drown out even the darkest of things," Dumbledore explained, quoting himself almost exactly.
"And Voldemort is pretty much the darkest thing there is," Landry added on.
Everyone in the courtyard agreed with that statement. Eventually, a Ravenclaw spoke up, with hope in their voice. "It's worth a try," they said. And everyone agreed.
So it was decided that Landry would lead the march on Voldemort and his army, who had taken up camp on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. "After all," Draco had pointed out, "Voldemort went to all the trouble of kidnapping Scorpius just to attempt to trap you. That means he sees you as a threat."
Landry hadn't thought of that, but she realized there was some logic to the concept. Why would Voldemort have gone to all the trouble of setting up the Chamber of Secrets trap if he wasn't even slightly worried that Landry and her friends could defeat him?
If all went well, then the patronuses would somehow disorient Voldemort and the Death Eaters for long enough that the Resurrection Stone could be reclaimed. Landry hoped with all her might that they could pull this off. It was certainly a long shot, but it was all she had.
"Are you ready, Love?" Miles asked Landry.
"I hope so," Landry replied.
The cold November wind blew Landry's hair back as she and the Hogwarts army trudged towards the Forbidden Forest. There was an overwhelming feeling of fear in the heart of each one of them. Landry knew that this was it. Without McGonagall, and everyone else who had fallen along with Gryffindor tower, the Death Eaters outnumbered them three to one, and their power was very strong. This was their last chance to win. As she walked, Landry suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. "Pip? What is it?" Landry asked her sister.
Pippa took a determined breath. "Landry, I think I should be the one to grab the stone from Voldemort. I'm small, quick, and I have the cloak. He'll never see me coming," she said.
"Okay," said Landry.
"Now, I know you're probably going to say no, but- wait, did you just say okay?" Pippa gasped in surprise.
"Yes," Landry replied. "Pippa, you've more than proven yourself. I know you can do it."
"I can!" agreed Pippa.
"Voldemort is wearing the stone as a necklace, so you'll have to get really close to him to grab it," Landry explained. "Be careful, okay?"
"I will," nodded the small Gryffindor.
As Pippa turned to go tell Dumbledore of her success, Landry called out to her. "Pip?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
Pippa smiled. "Love you too, sis."
The Hogwarts army came to a halt as they arrived on the edge of the forest. It somehow looked darker than it ever had before. Landry turned to address the crowd of people behind her.
"Alright, you know what to do. In exactly ten seconds, we'll all cast our patronuses into the forest. With any luck, the Death Eaters and Voldemort will come flying at us. That's when we strike them down," Landry explained.
"Ten, nine, eight,"
Landry took a shaky breath in.
"Seven, six, five, four,"
This was it.
"Three, two,"
Everyone's wands were raised.
"One."
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
Landry had never seen anything so bright in her entire life. It was lighter than white, it was blinding, pure, and beautiful. Hermione's otter was running alongside Lily Potter's doe, while Luna Lovegood's rabbit was hopping next to Pippa's occamy. James and Harry's stag patronuses charged majestically, and Miles's unicorn had its horn pointed straight forwards as it ran. Landry's own thestral patronus reared up on its hind legs, leading the pack of shimmering animals towards the Forbidden Forest. As the last of the creatures disappeared into the trees, the woods seemed to glow from the inside out. Suddenly, a collection of loud, panicked shrieks sounded from in the forest. Death Eaters started to appear, sprinting out of the woods as fast as they could. Sirius Black's dog patronus could be seen chasing Bellatrix Lestrange, who was frantically flailing as she ran from it. Landry looked to Pippa, who gave her a nod before throwing the invisibility cloak around herself and disappearing from sight. As Pippa ran off to get the stone, the Death Eaters began to regain their composure. Spells began flying all around. Landry found herself dueling two Death Eaters at once.
"Stupefy!" she cried. One of the Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Avada Kedavra!" shouted the other one. Landry just barely blocked the killing curse, before disarming and stunning her second opponent. It was when she disarmed the Death Eater that Landry remembered Delphi. To gain the allegiance of the Elder Wand, Landry would have to disarm her. Landry whirled all around, scanning the crowd for Harry, who still had the Elder Wand. She quickly spotted him, dueling a Death Eater not far away. She stunned the Death Eater from afar, and ran to him. "Mr. Potter, I need the Elder Wand, please! No time to explain," she cried. Harry considered for a split second before he nodded, holding the wand out towards her. But suddenly, just as Landry was about the grab the wand from him, a bony, white hand snatched it first. All heads turned as a cold cackle sounded out. Voldemort held the Elder Wand out triumphantly into the sky.
"Finally," he said wickedly, pointing the wand at Harry. "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried. The spell hit Harry square on the chest, and his wand flew out of his hand.
"Now, at last, I am the master of the Elder Wand. That fool Grindelwald must have been weaker than I thought to lose this old stick to Harry Potter," Voldemort chuckled. He then turned back to Harry. "And now, Harry Potter, I shall finally kill you."
There were screams from the surrounding crowd, but the Death Eaters stopped anyone from interfering. Harry stood still, his face blank, as Voldemort drew his wand arm back dramatically. "AVADA KEDAVRA," he shrieked. But nothing happened. The wand sputtered, producing no more but a few lone sparks. Voldemort looked down at it in shock. "I….I don't understand!" he cried angrily. "I disarmed him! The wand should be mine!"
"Unless it wasn't mine anymore," Harry said slyly.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. Even Harry did not think he had ever seen Voldemort looking this angry. "Who?" he asked, through gritted teeth.
"In her attempt to bring you back to life several years ago, Delphini Riddle disarmed me," Harry stated simply.
Voldemort was livid. "DELPHI!" he screeched. The terrified girl came racing towards her father.
"I was trying to bring you back, Father!" she cried, in desperation.
"Father? I am your Lord!" he cried. "You are my servant, no matter that you share my blood. You are here to serve me!"
Delphi was crying. Voldemort pointed his wand at her. "You will pay for this mistake, you wretched girl!" he sneered.
But as Voldemort began to say "Crucio," he realized that he was no longer holding the Elder Wand. A few feet away, a small girl appeared out of thin air. Pippa Beckett stood, with a triumphant grin on her face, holding all three of the Deathly Hallows.