The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think, that would be awesome! Slowly, we're getting closer to the end of the story. It will have 80 chapters in the end. I plan to finish this as soon as possible. It's time that this ends. Seven years is a really long time, but I enjoyed writing every chapter!

I have borrowed a few lines from the book, I hope you don't mind.

I don't own the characters or places!

Sirius

The waiting was the worst part. Hermione, Ron and I were outside, sitting on a few stones in front of the castle. Now that Harry was gone, we didn't want to join the others in the Great Hall again. Somehow, it just felt wrong to be around so many people.

I had my arms wrapped around Hermione. She's stopped crying some time ago, but she was still clinging onto my jacket desperately. I knew exactly how she was feeling right now. There was a burning in my chest, right where my heart should have been. I wanted to run after Harry and drag him back here. Or maybe accompany him to the forest. However, it wasn't possible. I knew that he'd arrived by now. And he'd asked me to stay with Hermione. He'd hit a point there. I couldn't leave her alone, not now. Not when her best friend left to sacrifice himself.

On my other side, Ron was watching the grounds with a blank expression on his face. When I'd told them that Harry was gone, he'd also cried. I knew that this was all too much for him. First his girlfriend (or almost-girlfriend, I wasn't so sure) Lavender Brown and now Harry. I felt bad for him and placed a hand on his shoulder. To my surprise, Ron didn't push it away. Instead, he looked at me with a grateful look on his face.

So we sat there in silence. I couldn't tell for how long.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me and looked over my shoulder. It was Neville.

"Harry's gone, isn't he?" Neville asked quietly and I nodded.

He sighed. "I knew that he was going to do it." He muttered. "Even if I'd wished he wouldn't."

"He couldn't let others suffer for him any longer." I said, even if it wasn't the entire truth. After all, Harry had to die. The part of Voldemort inside of him had to be destroyed. And there was only one way to do it.

"They will come back, won't they?" Neville looked towards the forest. "When he's..." He didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't have to. We all knew what he wanted to say. In my arms, Hermione flinched and I also felt like my heart had been stabbed.

"There's something we have to do, once they're back." I muttered, remembering what our task was. The more people knew about it now, the better. "We have to kill the snake."

"The snake?" Neville frowned.

I nodded. "It's important."

"Otherwise, we can't finish him off." Ron added darkly.

"And you'll try to do it." Neville concluded.

"Yes, but the more people know about it, the better." I explained.

Neville nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." I whispered. Now Neville sat down on the ground next to us and together, we watched the grounds in silence.

Of course Remus also joined us after some time. He stopped behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "They've brought Tonks to St. Mungo's." He whispered. "So she'll be all right if..." If there was going to be another battle.

"I bet she didn't like that you stayed." I noted.

"Not at all." Remus agreed. "But I couldn't leave you."

I nodded slowly, understanding why he did this. In his place, I would have also stayed. Since there was nothing more to say, the silence around us returned.

However, it didn't last for long.

"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle, now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live, and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

Those words echoed through the grounds and I knew that everyone heard them. I stood up slowly, suddenly feeling numb. Next to me, Hermione and Ron did the same. I swallowed and closed my eyes. Hermione reached for my hand and squeezed it.

I'd known that it would come to this. Ever since Harry left the castle, I'd known that Voldemort would kill him. That I would never see my godson again. His green eyes that reminded me so much of his mother. Or the appearance he got from his father. The way he smiled and laughed when he was happy and how his eyes were shining. But also the determination in his eyes when he had made up his mind about something.

All along, we'd tried to protect Harry. We'd done everything for that. So many people had sacrificed their lives. And what for? Now he was gone anyway. Killed by Voldemort himself. Albus had known it all along. Even Snape had known it. Suddenly, I understood why Harry had always been so angry at Dumbledore for keeping all those secrets. I felt the burning anger myself.

However, knowing that Harry was going to the forest and actually hearing that he was dead were two completely different things. It still shocked me, even if I'd expected it. I glanced at Hermione and Ron next to me. Hermione looked afraid while I could see anger on Ron's face. Was he thinking the same as me? That all this was just unfair?

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder and I knew that it was Remus again. There was sadness in his eyes, but otherwise, my best friend looked completely calm. I knew that he was already preparing for a battle. Because there was no way that we would kneel before Voldemort. We'd rather die.

Slowly, more people were leaving the castle and stopped behind us. I could see Minerva and the Weasley's. Ginny took a step towards us and our eyes met. I could see the disbelief in them. The fear and shock. No one had told her that Harry left. I shook my head shortly and she closed her eyes. I knew that this was also hard for her. She loved Harry, that was obvious. And Harry also loved her. Now Fred and George stepped next to their sister and also looked at me. I'd never seen them this serious. Even in the battle, there had always been some kind of humor in their eyes. Now it was gone.

The crowd in front of the castle was getting bigger slowly. I saw that Luna stopped next to Neville and took his hand. Kingsley and Aberforth were standing at the edge of the group, their wands ready in their hands. Even Horace Slughorn was there, but I thought that he would have preferred being somewhere else now. He stood next to a determined looking Professor Flitwick. Then there were the other Weasley's. Percy was standing next to Bill and whispered something to his brother, who had an arm wrapped around Fleur protectively. Molly and Arthur were holding hands, anxious expressions on both their faces. There were also so many others. I didn't even know the names of some of them.

Right now, when I saw all of them standing behind us, I knew why Harry had decided to go to the forest and face Voldemort. He had done it to save all of them – all of us. Because otherwise, there wouldn't have been a chance to end this war and more people would die.

"They're coming." Hermione whispered next to me and ripped me out of my thoughts. It was true. When I followed her gaze, I saw many people walking towards the castle. Voldemort was walking in front of the group. Next to him was someone unexpected.

We all recognized Hagrid immediately – it wasn't difficult. However, he wasn't what caught my attention. It was the person he was carrying in his arms. Harry. He wasn't moving and the last bits of hope I had vanished. Hermione breathed in shakily and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

On Voldemort's other side, I could see Bellatrix and the Malfoy's. Bellatrix was smiling triumphantly while Lucius and Narcissa looked rather unhappy.

"NO!" Minerva shouted and broke the silence on the yard. She took a step forward, but stopped again. There was despair on her face, mixed with helplessness. I felt the same.

Now Hermione and Ron also came to life.

"No!"

"No!"

"Harry! HARRY!" Ginny tried to run towards the Death Eaters, but Fred and George grabbed her arms and forced her to stay. She tried to free herself from their grip, but in the end, she gave in and hid her face on Fred's chest. She started to cry and my heart broke for her.

I didn't cry. I knew that even if I'd opened my mouth, no words would have come out. I was frozen. Seeing Harry like this, all lifeless in Hagrid's arms... Another image appeared in my mind. James, lying on the ground in their house in Godric's Hollow. Dead. And Lily... I breathed in deeply to make the thoughts go away. I couldn't let despair take over now. I had to focus on the task at hand. Next to Voldemort, I could see Nagini. We had to kill the snake. And him.

Right now, I was grateful for the burning anger I felt. I knew that it wouldn't be good in a fight, but it helped me to keep the dark thoughts at bay.

"SILENCE!" Voldemort shouted when more people started to scream. The crowd fell silent immediately. "It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"

When I had a closer look at Hagrid, I noticed that he was crying. He lowered Harry onto the grass carefully, a look of utter desperation on his face. I kept my eyes fixed on my godson. He wasn't moving. Slowly, the silly part of me that hoped that this was all a misunderstanding vanished. Harry wasn't moving.

"You see?" Voldemort asked and grinned widely. "Harry Potter is dead!" All around him, the Death Eaters started to laugh. "Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"

In this moment, I wanted nothing more than to shout at Voldemort. I knew that he had placed some kind of silencing spell on us, but I didn't care. "He beat you!" I yelled, surprised that it worked. "More than once!" Now that the charm was broken, all around me, others started to shout as well.

Voldemort started to speak again, wanting to tell us once more that Harry died while trying to save himself, but he was interrupted when someone ran towards him, wand raised. It was Neville. I wanted to run after him, but many people grabbed me and forced me to stay. "Don't!" Remus whispered into my ear.

Next to me, Hermione nodded. "That's insane." She whispered.

It was. Voldemort tried to convince Neville to join him, but of course he declined. That's when he tried to kill Neville while using the Sorting Hat to do so. There was nothing we could do to stop him. However, Voldemort's attempts to hurt Neville didn't work. Every time he tried to set Neville on fire, it didn't work. I already started to wonder why when something else happened in the form of Grawp, followed by centaurs, Thestrals and even Buckbeak.

That's when hell broke loose.

I looked around and what I saw there made me gasp in surprise. Neville had broken the binding curse and was holding the Sword of Gryffindor in his hands, to his feet was Nagini. He'd cut off her head. Voldemort screamed and I couldn't stop my lips from twitching. So there was one Horcrux less to destroy.

The last part of the charm which prevented the group from moving was broken and all around, people reached for their wands. We did the same and soon, the first Death Eaters were storming towards us. I cast a Shield Charm when the first curses started to fly towards us and then we were in the middle of another battle. First, Remus and Hermione were still by my side, but we got separated in the mass of people. All around, they were storming back into the castle again, both out people and Death Eaters.

"HARRY!" Someone shouted loudly and I recognized Hagrid's voice. "HARRY – WHERE'S HARRY?" He repeated and this made my blood freeze. What did he mean by that? Harry was lying on the ground...

I ran through the masses of people as fast as possible and when I was standing in front of Hagrid, I knew what he meant. Harry was gone. We both looked around, but his body was nowhere to be seen. When more curses were flying towards us, I couldn't continue wondering about this any longer.

I saw a familiar looking dark-haired woman running into the castle. Bellatrix. When I saw whom she was following, the anger overtook me again. She was directly behind Hermione and Ginny! I ran as fast as possible. In the Entrance Hall, I suddenly ran into something and nearly stumbled, but when I looked around, nothing was to be seen. I didn't waste another thought to that. Instead, I kept running after Bellatrix, who was fighting the two girls now.

"BELLATRIX!" I roared and she stopped fighting Hermione and Ginny. When she recognized me, she smiled widely. I could see the concerned look on Hermione's face, but I ignored it. I had to focus on Bellatrix. "Come on, let's finish it!" I challenged her. "Or are you so afraid of me that you have to take those girls instead?"

Her smile turned into an angry grimace. "I'm not afraid of you!" She shouted and then we began to duel each other. It wasn't like last time at the Ministry or back at Malfoy Manor. This time, I was prepared for her. I forced back my anger and tried to remain calm. I knew that this was necessary to defeat her.

Somewhere behind my back I heard Molly Weasley yell "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BASTARD!", but I couldn't turn around to see whom she was addressing. I had to keep focused.

No one tried to join our fight. It was just Bellatrix and me. Honestly, I've been waiting for this moment for nearly two years by now. Ever since that night at the Ministry. She was a good fighter, but so was I.

"Can't you do more than that?" I asked once between curses and grinned at her. I knew that it was stupid, but I couldn't help myself. That's when I remembered something. The morning before we'd left Shell Cottage to go to Gringotts, Harry had given me something. 'I can't shake off the feeling that you'll have to face Bellatrix in the end. So take this and make her regret that she ever touched one of us.' he'd said and handed me Bellatrix' dagger. The one she'd thrown at me back at Malfoy Manor.

It was still hidden under my clothes and now I reached for it. She tried to hit me with a Killing Curse once more, but I sank down on my knees and it hit the wall behind me instead. In one movement, I grabbed her dagger and threw it. At the same time, I disarmed her.

Bellatrix' eyes widened in disbelief when the dagger sank into her skin, right where her heart was. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words would come out. At least that's what I thought with all the noises around me. Bellatrix sank to the ground and then she was lying there, motionless. She was dead.

I stood up and looked at my surroundings. Many others were still fighting. Then my eyes landed on Hermione. She wasn't looking at me and when I followed her gaze, I noticed that Voldemort started at Bellatrix. He screamed and then he turned to me, his wand raised. From the corner of my eyes, I saw that Hermione began to run towards me. She screamed something, but I didn't hear it.

I was ready to jump out of the way when someone close to me shouted. "Protego!"

The Shield Charm expanded between Voldemort and me and he looked around hectically, searching for the source of the spell. I did the same and my heart was racing in my chest. I knew that voice, even if I'd thought that I'd never hear it again.

Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and all around us, people started to cheer and scream. Some in shock, others out of happiness. For half a second, our eyes met and Harry's lips twitched. I felt relief wash over me. Harry was still alive! I didn't question how this was even possible. Because in this moment, he turned around to face Voldemort.

Two people appeared next to me and I didn't have to look around to know that it were Hermione and Remus. Hermione took my hand and Remus' shoulder touched mine. We all watched the scene in front of us anxiously.

"I don't want anyone else to try to help." Harry said loudly and I was surprised at how calm his voice sounded. On the other hand, he'd just died and yet he was standing here, so I thought that nothing could shake him anymore. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."

Voldemort hissed loudly. "Potter doesn't mean that." He said. "That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?" He looked around. "Maybe your godfather over there?"

"Nobody." Harry replied simply, ignoring the provocative tone in which Voldemort had mentioned me. "There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good."

"One of us?" Voldemort laughed. "You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" Harry asked. The whole time they were talking, they circled each other, waiting for the other one to move first. "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"

"Accidents!" Voldemort shouted. "Accidents and the fact that you were always hiding between others to get away from me!"

"You don't be killing anyone else tonight!" Harry said loudly. His eyes never left Voldemort. "You won't be able to kill any of them, ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you hurting these people -"

"But you did not!" Voldemort interrupted him harshly.

"I meant to. That's what did it. I've done what my mother did. None of your spells can touch them. You can't torture them anymore. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"

The mentioning of his real name made Voldemort even angrier. "You dare -"

"Yes, I dare." Harry cut him off. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. Lots of important things. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?"

That's when Harry explained that Snape had been working for Dumbledore all along. That he'd been a spy for him ever since Voldemort threatened Harry's mother. Because he'd always loved Lily, since their childhood. While Harry explained all those things, I saw different scenes in my mind, back in our time at Hogwarts. Snape had hated James, that had never been a secret. But maybe he didn't just hate him because he always made fun of him. Maybe he also hated him because Lily, the girl Snape loved, had chosen him. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle." Harry said. "The Elder Wand isn't working for you, because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."

"He killed -"

"Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them. Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him."

"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!" Voldemort grinned. "I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes!"

"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard. The Elder Wand recognized its new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will. I've been there, that night on the Astronomy Tower when Dumbledore had been disarmed. The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."

All around us, people gasped in shock. However, I was waiting for Harry to continue. He'd said that the master was Draco Malfoy. So who was it now...? And then I remembered what happened at Malfoy Manor and couldn't stop myself from grinning. Could we be that lucky?

"You're too late, you've missed your chance with Draco." Harry continued. "I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand from him." Next to his own, Harry took the wand from Draco Malfoy out of his pocket.

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it? Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does... I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

That's when both of them moved. All those things Harry said had been too much for Voldemort and I could see the pure hate in his eyes.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

There was a loud bang that filled the hall and for half a second, I could see flames between Harry and Voldemort, right where the spells collided. Then the Elder Wand was flying through the air, right towards Harry, who caught it with ease. On Voldemort's face was surprise, but then his Killing Curse had already rebounded and hit him right in the chest. He fell and then Tom Riddle hit the floor, his hands empty and his eyes still wide in surprise.

For a few seconds, everyone in the hall was silent and looked at the scene in front of us with wide eyes. Then the people started to cheer. I saw others running away and leaving the castle, most probably the last Death Eaters. But in this moment, I didn't care.

I wrapped my arms around Hermione and kissed her deeply. Then suddenly, Remus was there. He ignored the fact that we were kissing and just wrapped his arms around both of us. I laughed in joy and grinned at them. More people joined us and finally, Harry was standing right in front of me. Ron was by his side, but I ignored him.

I hugged my godson tightly. "Don't scare me like that again!" I muttered and grinned.

"I promise." Harry laughed. Then Hermione and Remus hugged him as well and more members of the Order joined us.

We had won.

It was over.