Laurette didn't need much time to find where Voldemort was in the forest. He didn't waste time casting the killing curse on her either, but once again, it did not go according to plan. The curse hit her, and she fell to the ground instantly. To anyone watching, it would have looked as though she was murdered.
Hagrid was nearby, and she heard him bellow in grief. Hagrid had known Laurette since she was a baby, and now he watched her die while thinking it wasn't even necessary.
The feeling that came over Laurette was nothing she had experienced before. It felt as though she was light. Her mind felt different in a way she couldn't explain, like she had just had a large cup of coffee or the feeling she got when she finally understood something difficult. It was an overwhelming sense of clarity and peace.
She questioned if Voldemort killed the horcrux. In the memory, Dumbledore did specify that Voldemort must be the one to cast the killing curse. Did Dumbledore know this would happen? Did he know she might survive? Laurette tried to enter Voldemort's mind. All she felt were her own thoughts in her head. She had no ability anymore to possess him. She focused her mind on imagining an image of a snake, but the words of parseltongue no longer could form in her mind either. She was absolutely certain that she was free of the seventh horcrux, and now Voldemort was mortal once again.
"Pick up the corpse, giant," Voldemort demanded to a weeping Hagrid. "Let's show them all that this war is done, and Laurette Potter is dead!"
Hagrid was too emotional to notice Laurette breathing still. Laurette remained as still as possible. She was so high up in Hagrid's arms that she didn't think anyone would notice her breathing, but she still tried to breath as shallow as possible.
Luckily, it was nightfall now. The only light came from the partial moon in the sky, and areas of the castle that were in flames. It had only been a short manner of time, but the castle and its grounds were desolate. Dark storm clouds could be seen approaching in the distance as well.
Laurette heard the sounds of dueling cease. She hoped that none of her friends were dead. All she wanted to do now was end this final battle.
Voldemort announced to the crowd that Laurette was dead. Laurette opened an eye very slightly. She saw Professor McGonagall put a hand to her mouth. Hagrid moved, and she then saw the crowd of Death Eaters standing behind Voldemort. She saw Draco and his parents. Draco looked burdened, but she was relieved to still see his wand in his hand, no one had disarmed him yet.
Then she saw Snape. He looked empty, thinking about how he would live the rest of his life with the title of traitor. He would likely live out the rest of his life in Azkaban. There would be no one to defend him on his Death Eater trial once this battle ended, and Voldemort was defeated. Albus and Laurette were the only two that knew all that he had done for the Light, and he believed them both to be dead now. Severus knew he had to act quickly if he wanted any chance at redeeming who had truly been throughout these past many, many years.
At this point, a storm had rolled in. Rain began to pour and lightning crackled from the sky as Voldemort began asking others to join his side or face death. She recognized the voices of Lupin and Tonks and Fred and George. She even heard Neville shout about a traitor, and she knew that Snape had to have been the recipient of that.
Barely keeping her eyes open, so that it would be noticed by no one, she kept her gaze on the Death Eaters. Snape and the Malfoy family were both in view. Laurette would have missed what happened next if she wasn't looking at Snape so intently still.
She saw the slightest of flicks to Snape's wrist. His lips didn't move, but Laurette saw and understood exactly what happened. Draco's wand fell to the ground by his side. Draco looked confused, as though he didn't understand how he dropped his wand. Draco had no idea it was due to the most gentle of disarming spells. He probably presumed it slipped from his hand due to the rain that was heavily pouring.
However, even though the disarming spell was gently done and barely noticeable. Snape had disarmed Malfoy, and if the theory of the elder wand was correct, Snape was now the rightful owner of the wand.
Laurette didn't know what she was waiting for, so she decided she had done enough waiting, and she knew exactly what she needed to do.
"Expelliarmus!" She leapt from Hagrid's arms as half the crowd went into cheers, for she was still alive. Her spell landed on the victim she had intended. Snape's wand was knocked from his wrist, and it landed on the ground next to his side as he took a few steps backwards on the slippery cobblestone to regain his balance from the spell.
Briefly, she made eye contact with Snape. He didn't understand how she was alive, but he understood why she had chosen him to disarm. The rest of the crowd likely believed she was aiming at Voldemort and missed.
Voldemort cast a killing curse at Laurette, but she dodged it. Once again, she shouted, "Expelliarmus!" This time she aimed at Voldemort. He cast another killing curse at the same time.
Once again their spells collided in the air. Voldemort looked horrified. He was not expecting this from the elder wand. He thought this could only occur with his original wand, the wand with the shared core.
It took strength to keep her wand still. The red from her wand tip was combined with the green from Voldemort's, but Laurette took a step forward, and part of her red spell merged into an area that was previously shining green.
"You thought you were indestructible with that wand!" She shouted over the rain and thunder. Her hair was soaked, and she wished that she could push it from her face, but she had two hands on her wand now.
She continued, "But Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore before he died. The wand was loyal to Malfoy. That is until Snape disarmed Malfoy just seconds ago." Voldemort glanced with rage to Snape. Snape had his wand up; no one knew what would happen next. Both sides of the crowd were completely silent.
"And after I disarmed, Snape, the wand's loyalty transferred to me." More of the green disappeared, as the line of their connected spells became more red.
"You also might like to know that Snape has killed Nagini, and before that, Dumbledore destroyed all of your remaining horcruxes." For the first time, Laurette believed she saw fear in Voldemort's eyes.
"And the only reason I am here is because you accidentally put a horcrux in me the night you tried to kill me." More of the green light disappeared. Only a foot or so remained now. "And you destroyed that yourself! You are finally human again, and your own wand won't even protect you!"
All of the green light was gone now. Only red light illuminated what was happening in the dark and rainy night. Thunder cracked and massive lightning illuminated the night sky. The sky was bright as day during the moment that the crowd watched Voldemort's wand fly from his wrist to fly through the air until Laurette caught it.
Another flash of lightning lit up the sky as everyone watched to see Voldemort disintegrate. His flesh turned black, and that then turned to nothingness. Then he was gone. The world had been vanquished of Voldemort forever.
No one said much of anything at first. There were some cheers of relief, but no one knew how many lives were lost, and they all stood below the wreck of their beloved school. While the war was over, there were repairs to be made and lives that would never be the same. Most didn't even understand exactly what just happened.
Death Eaters began vanishing from the scene, knowing they would soon be caught and tried for their crimes. Laurette watched as the Malfoy family apparated away all together. The security for the castle to not allow apparition on the grounds must have ceased at some point tonight.
The light of the school's fire allowed everyone to witness Severus Snape remaining behind. Some still were suspicious if he had murdered Albus Dumbledore, but they knew something else must have occurred earlier that they were unaware of because Laurette was moving in his direction, and he was clearly a large part of why the battle was able to be won.
"Thank you for disarming Malfoy, Professor." She didn't know what to say. She wanted to search the crowd to see if there were any missing faces of friends that may have not made it.
"I believe the wizarding world has you to thank, Miss Potter." He replied with his usual sly and snarky tone, but in the faint light, Laurette could see what appeared to be a humorous expression.
"Laurette!" Hermione shouted as she finally caught up to her best friend. The two wrapped their arms around each other. Ron appeared behind her, and the three hugged and held each other.
Severus took a step back and began helping the other Order members put out the fire with magic. Some worked on restoring the basic structure of the Great Hall. One of the walls was completely destroyed, but after a few minutes, that part of the castle was functioning again. They needed some sort of a shelter to lay any bodies and to provide basic medical care and relief from the storm that still raged down.
Everyone moved inside, and Laurette noticed two people carrying a stretcher covered in a white sheet.
"Colin Creevey," Hermione said softly. The heads of all houses began floo-ing students home after Dumbledore was spotted on the grounds, but Colin came back down to the grounds to fight with us.
Laurette felt a deep pit of sadness. Colin was one of the kindest and bravest Gryffindors that she would ever know. He was one of the only students that believed she wasn't the heir of Slytherin in her second year. During the Triwizard Tournament, Laurette remembered him staying up late at night to try and change the buttons that most of the school wore to insult Laurette. Not only that, but he was also one of the first to sign up to be a part of Dumbledore's Army.
She watched as the stretcher was carried to an area of the room. She felt sick when she saw more bodies covered in white sheets by where they were setting Colin down.
"Don't be too concerned, a great bunch of those are Death Eaters. Mum killed Bellatrix when she caught her casting a killing curse at Ginny." Laurette looked shocked but equally impressed.
"Professor Moody is another one of the fallen. Professor Dumbeldore too, you know…" Hermione gave Laurette an understanding expression. Colin's death was going to be the most painful, but she still felt saddened that Dumbledore was no longer alive. To her, it felt bizarre that she couldn't thank him for all of his planning. She wanted to tell him that it worked out, and she was alive, and Voldemort was gone forever.
"What do we do now?" Laurette asked her friends.
"I haven't the foggiest," Ron replied. "I mean, I think the school year is over. I'll probably side-along apparate back home with Mum or Dad."
Laurette and Hermione looked around. Madam Pomfrey was giving medical attention to anyone that needed it, but people were already dispersing back to their homes if their injuries were not major. While there were some students that stayed behind to fight, such as Colin, most that fought in the final battle were adults, so they were able to just apparate away.
"I am going to ask Professor McGonagall where I can use a fireplace." Hermione said, "Unless you want me to stay with you? I have just been so worried about my parents since the attacks on Muggles started last summer-"
"You guys, go." Laurette replied. "I can't exactly go to my dorm, so I'll probably go to Grimmauld Place. I mean, Sirius did leave it for me in his will." Laurette knew that Ron was eager to celebrate the end of the war with his entire family together after Percy aided in the fight for the Light.
"Will you be alone there?" Ron asked.
"It's headquarters still in a way. I can't imagine there won't be people there tonight. It seems like someone is always passing through there. Let me know if McGonagall can find a fireplace in use." She added to Hermione. Laurette was experiencing mixed emotions. Part of her wanted to be isolated, but she did not want to be in a house completely alone, and she eagerly wanted to shower and change her clothes.
An idea occurred to her, "The fireplaces most likely not damaged are probably in the dungeons. I can go find Snape…" Hermione nodded, still not knowing exactly what happened with Professor Snape aiding to the end of the war, but Laurette looked a mess, and she was clearly wet and cold, so they knew they could hear the rest of the story at another date.
Looking around the Great Hall, she spotted Remus and Tonks speaking to Severus. "Professor?" She approached Snape.
"Yes, Potter?" He asked in his usual somber voice, but his expression was not hiding the fact that he was grateful that she was still alive.
"Is your floo still functioning? Hermione and I-"
"Before you even think about leaving this castle, you will be given a medical examination." He replied in his typical expression with one brow raised. "I imagine my office has less destruction. If Miss Granger would like to travel, I have no qualms with that. However, you need to be examined."
Remus and Tonks excited themselves from the conversation. Remus added to Laurette about how proud her parents would be as he squeezed her shoulder then left with his wife.
"No offense, but Madam Pomfrey has more important injuries to attend to." They both looked over to the mediwitch, who was bandaging George Weasley's profusely bleeding ear. Their gaze returned back to each other. She added with a hushed tone, "I just want to get out of here."
Briefly, he looked at Laurette. Her hair was still soaked. It was covered in dirt and even a bit of leaves. Her clothes were damp, and the evening air was cold. She was scraped and bruised, but Severus couldn't argue that a hot shower was probably best for her.
"Where do you intend on going?" He asked, using a quieter tone as well.
"Grimmauld Place-"
"No, you cannot." She looked at him, not expecting him to tell her she couldn't return to what was the closest thing to her home. "Although very few know of the location, it is not as secure as it was when it had a secret keeper." She remembered that Dumbledore was the secret keeper for headquarters. "I cannot risk allowing you to go somewhere that may not be safe from a Death Eater looking to retaliate after what occured tonight. His followers are not in Azkaban yet, and until then, you need to be vigilant."
She looked down, not knowing where else she could go. Her dormitory was destroyed and headquarters was the only other option she had. For the first time in her life, she yearned to get away from the castle. She hated seeing it in such destruction.
"When can we get another secret keeper?" She asked, and that is when Severus realized her predicament.
"Get Miss Granger, and come to my quarters. I will escort her to her parents, and we will determine where you can go for the time being."
Laurette only needed to look over at Hermione. She was still standing with Ron, and they were watching the interaction. Laurette beckoned for her to come over. Hermione gave Ron another hug as he kissed her temple and murmured something in her ear that made Hermione smile.
Momentarily, the two girls were following behind their professor. They exited the Great Hall, and they were astonished at the destruction of the Entrance Hall. The large gold frames that hung on the wall were now in pieces on the floor. In areas, the night sky could be seen from overhead as rain still managed to drip down to the dampened cobblestone.
Snape led them down to his office. Fortunately, the castle's structure kept the dungeon from experiencing damage, and everything seemed as it was before. Except the frames were full of individuals that had left their own damaged portraits.
"Can you tell us when the repairs will be made? I need my frame back!" One of the figures in a painting spoke to the group, but they all ignored him. Respects needed to be paid to the lives lost before the school could be reconstructed.
When they were all inside his office, Snape started placing protective spells over the door. He seemed to be moderately concerned for safety still. With another flick of his wand, a fire appeared in his fireplace.
"Potter, remain here. Granger, I will escort you to your parents." Hermione gave a smile to Laurette, and Laurette returned with a small wave. They knew it would likely not be long before they would be seeing each other again. Seconds later, the two disappeared in green flames.
A/N: Now that Voldemort is out of the way, we are getting closer to when the smutty Snape simping will begin. Please leave a review if you can. Also, if there is anything you would like to see, I am always open to reading suggestions/requests. At this point, I have already repurposed all parts of the original story that I will be keeping, so I will be doing a bit of brainstorming before posting again. Thank you for reading. I truly appreciate all of you.