Chapter 38
Voldemort was utterly flabbergasted. Pippa could not help but laugh at this sight. "Why are you so surprised? It's not like this is the first time you've been bested by a little kid," she said. Voldemort furiously turned away from Delphi to face the girl.
"How dare you!" he shrieked. He pulled his own wand from his robes and lifted it into the air. But, before he could cast a spell, he found his hand empty once again. Delphi had grabbed it from him, and was now staring at the wand in her hand, shocked at what she had just done. Voldemort was disarmed.
Landry ran to her sister, who quickly handed the three Hallows over to her. She put the Elder wand in between her teeth and slung the cloak over her arm so she could hold the stone with both hands. Landry turned the stone over three times, and looked up to Voldemort. "Go back to where you belong," she said, shakily. The stone began to glow, as did Voldemort, along with all of the Death Eaters he had resurrected. Many of them tried to shriek, but all of them found they could no longer make any sound. And then they were gone. There was silence from the crowd around Landry as she looked up at them. They all appeared equally shocked as how she felt. Then, all of a sudden, all three of the Deathly Hallows began to glow. Landry's eyes widened as the wand, cloak, and stone all began to levitate. The three objects stopped right above her head, with the stone in the center of the wand, and the cloak folded into a triangle behind them.
"What in the name of Merlin is going on?" asked Harry.
"The Hallows are being unmade," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.
The resurrection stone began to tremble. Landry looked up at it just in time to see it burst apart. A golden dust fell from where the stone had once been, and as it rained down on her, Landry felt an odd surge of magic throughout her entire body. It felt as though a piece of herself that she had never known was missing was now back in its place. Next, the Elder Wand floated down and placed itself in Landry's palm. Glittering vines began to snake down from the tip of the wand, lacing the wand to Landry's hand. As the vines slowly faded into Landry's skin, the Invisibility cloak came down onto her, draping itself around her shoulders. Instead of turning Landry invisible, the cloak turned golden, and fastened itself around her like a cape. The two remaining objects stayed like this for a few moments, then, as suddenly as they had started glowing, they stopped. Landry looked up at the crowd around her, all of whom were standing, watching, silently.
"What the hell are you?" asked a Slytherin, breaking the silence.
"I'm Landry," said Landry, with a small smile. "I'm kinda the descendant of Death."
Miles let out a cheer. "My girlfriend is the descendant of Death!" he cried excitedly. "How cool is that?"
Landry giggled as Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve began to cheer along with Miles. Dumbledore and Pippa joined in, followed by Harry and Draco. Soon enough, the entire crowd was clapping and cheering for Landry. It was incredibly overwhelming for her, as she had always been one to keep a low profile. She was not at all used to being the center of attention, nor was she at all sure that she enjoyed it. Still, Landry smiled as she looked around at all of her friends, cheering her on. Their faces were tired, and their clothes were covered in rubble and dirt. They had done just as much to fight this battle as Landry had, and she was going to make sure to tell them this a thousand times over.
The remaining Death Eaters, including Delphi, were immediately captured by the Aurors, and were sent off, along with copious amounts of guards, on the first train out of Hogsmeade. Soon, everyone else began slowly making their way back to the castle. Though there was a buzz of celebration amongst them, there was also an overlay of sadness lurking like a blanket over each student, teacher, and Auror. There had been many casualties, and the castle was in the worst state it had ever been in. It was going to be an incredibly difficult rebuilding process, one which not even Pippa had a shortcut for. Landry found herself straying away from the rest of the crowd, a million thoughts running through her head. She was still felling extremely confused about what had just happened. The Invisibility cloak was still wrapped around her, but it was not turning her invisible. Landry sighed to herself as she noticed that the people she was walking past seemed to be staring at her, whispering things to each other under their breath. She wished she would turn invisible. And then, all of a sudden, she did. Miles, who was walking behind her, shrieked. Landry whirled around, wishing herself to be visible again. With that, she was.
"What in Merlin's name?" Miles gasped.
"I…I have no idea how I did that," Landry said, feeling just as shocked as her boyfriend.
"We should go find Dumbledore," said Miles, taking his glass stone out of his pocket. He tapped it four times, and, to his relief, Dumbledore's face immediately appeared in it.
"Mr. Dumbledore, where are you? Landry really needs your help," Miles explained.
"I'm in the courtyard," replied Dumbledore.
"Okay, we'll be there soon," Miles said, before hanging up his stone. "Let's go," he said, turning to Landry as he offered his hand out to her. She gladly took it, and the couple walked quickly across the grounds to where the courtyard was.
When they arrived, they saw Dumbledore, standing off to the side. But as Landry grew closer, she could see that he wasn't alone. Harry Potter was there too, standing in the center of the courtyard, kneeling over the still body of Professor McGonagall. Miles and Landry quietly walked up to Dumbledore, not wanting to disturb Harry's mourning.
"Landry, good," Dumbledore greeted. "What is ailing you?"
"I…well…I don't really know how to say this," Landry said.
"Do you think you could show him?" suggested Miles.
"I suppose I could try," Landry agreed with a nod. She closed her eyes, and wished as hard as she could to become invisible. She could tell from the shocked gasps of Miles and Dumbledore that it had worked. Landry then did the same as she had before, wishing to become visible again. And sure enough, she did.
"This is most peculiar," Dumbledore said, stroking his chin as though it was the beard that his older self had sported. "But it does make sense. When Landry unmade the Hallows, she absorbed the power that Death put into them."
"So…you're saying that I can now do anything that the Hallows could?" Landry asked.
"Indeed," Dumbledore confirmed.
It was as if a lightbulb turned on in Landry's head. She suddenly dashed over to McGonagall's body, throwing herself down next to where Harry was kneeling.
"Landry? What?" Harry questioned, wiping tears from his cheeks.
Landry did not reply, but instead stuck the Elder Wand, which she had still be holding, into Hermione's bag. She then rolled up her sleeves, before placing both hands gingerly above McGonagall's chest. Closing her eyes, Landry wished harder than she ever had before. She wished for McGonagall to be alive, breathing again, heart beating once more. Then she waited. And waited. And waited. And then, in the very moment she was beginning to lose hope, Landry felt it. She opened her eyes just in time to see her own hands begin to glow, just as the Resurrection stone had. The light started to spiral out from her fingers in long vines, which wrapped themselves around McGonagall.
Her eyes shot open. Air filled Minerva McGonagall's lungs once more. Harry screamed, before throwing his arms around her. She coughed, but smiled weakly up at him.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"You…you died," Harry said, looking at Landry as he suddenly realized what she had just done.
McGonagall chuckled. "It isn't the first time that I've nearly died," she said.
"No, I mean…you were actually, really dead. For an hour or more!" Harry explained.
"How is that possible?" McGonagall questioned, shocked.
"She…Landry…" Harry trailed off.
All eyes were on Landry once more, but luckily, Dumbledore quickly intervened.
"I believe I can explain," he said, stepping forwards.
Dumbledore explained the prophecy to McGonagall and Harry, who both listened intendedly, their jaws dropping as he revealed Landry's lineage.
"So you mean to tell me," McGonagall began, "That Landry Beckett is, essentially….Death herself?"
"That is correct," confirmed Dumbledore.
McGonagall was silent for a moment, and Landry was scared that she was going to scold her. But instead, a smirk spread across the old woman's face. "Looks like you've got some 'Chosen One' competition, Harry," she said, turning to Harry.
Harry chuckled. "I suppose I do," he agreed. "Welcome to the club, Landry."
"It's an honor, Sir," Landry said.
"Oh, there's no need to call me Sir, Landry," Harry replied. "Call me Harry."
"This is so great," Miles said with a grin. "Now we can go tell everyone you're alive, Professor! They'll all be so happy!"
McGonagall's face fell, and she looked up with a sigh. "Actually, I'm not so sure that's such a good idea," she said slowly.
"What are you talking about?" Landry asked.
"I'm old," said McGonagall. "Though I may never have acted like it, I was beginning to feel it. I've been teaching for 67 years, and to be entirely honest, I'm rather tired."
"So what are you saying?" Harry asked, worriedly.
"If you're going to ask me to make you dead again, the answer is no," said Landry firmly.
"Goodness, no!" McGonagall said. "But it may not be such a bad idea to let everyone else continue to think it. Of course, you can tell Hermione and Ron, Harry. And Landry, you can tell your friends as well."
"What will you do?" Miles asked, with a small sniffle. He was not the only one who was beginning to tear up.
"As you know, I am an Animagus. I think it sounds like a rather lovely idea to live as a cat for a while," McGonagall explained.
"Who's going to be our Head of Hogwarts?" questioned Landry.
"I do believe that Professor Longbottom is the perfect man for the job," said McGonagall.
"So, this is it, then?" Harry asked, tears beginning to fall freely down his cheeks once more.
"I'm sure we'll meet again, Harry," McGonagall said comfortingly. She reached out to pat him on the shoulder, but instead, Harry wrapped his old teacher into a fierce hug.
"Thank you for everything, Professor," Harry said through his tears.
"Call me Minerva," she replied.
A few minutes later, Landry, Miles, Harry, and Dumbledore stood together, watching as the tabby cat with spectacle shaped markings around its eyes disappeared from their sight. There was a calm silence. Landry took a deep breath in, and then let it out. She finally felt like maybe the worst was behind her.
Then, suddenly, Harry gasped.
"What is it?" Miles questioned, seeing Harry's horrified expression.
"We left Grindelwald in the broom closet," Harry said.