Chapter 58

Eric inhaled sharply as the claws halted a mere inch from his throat. Harry's eyes seemed to clear as Alex's voice pierced the air.

"Harry, stop it now! Get control of yourself," Alex shouted.

Harry blinked rapidly and turned his head slowly, as if he was afraid to look in case it was a hallucination. He saw his twin being held up at Hermione. The cuts had been healed over and while Alex looked a little pale, he was fine. He wasn't laying on the ground, bleeding out. In a flash, Harry rushed over, needing to check over his twin himself.

"Alex? You're all right?" Harry frantically checked his twin over.

Alex pushed his hands away.

"I'm fine now, thanks to Hermione," he said. "You shouldn't get so worked up over this. I thought you had better control than this. You know better than to go into a psychotic rage. Don't you remember what happened last time?"

Harry glared at him.

"It's bad enough you were almost killed by our father, but this just made me lose control. I couldn't restrain it anymore," he said. "You almost died, Alex! I knew the counter curse and I couldn't think of it! It's all my fault!"

Alex sighed and pushed Hermione away. He swayed slightly, but quickly balanced himself. He grabbed Harry into a tight hug. Harry stiffened, unused to the contact. While the twins were always close, they were never ones for hugging. Hesitantly, Harry hugged him back. A few seconds later, Harry's grip tightened and he buried his face into Alex's chest, hiding his tears.

Alex sighed as he awkwardly rubbing his twin's back. He had never had to comfort a crying person before—mostly because they were crying due to him torturing them—so this was a new experience for him. He had also never seen his twin cry in a very long time, not since they were mere children.

"Don't worry, Harry; I'm all right," Alex muttered. "Don't blame yourself. I chose to jump in the path of that curse. Remember that."

Harry gradually calmed down and pulled away, wiping his eyes. The tears only made his green eyes more vivid.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to cry."

"It's fine," Alex said.

Harry gave him a watery but genuine smile. Alex smiled back. Harry glanced back at Eric before looking back at his twin. Alex's smile faded and after a few seconds, he nodded reluctantly.

"I know," he muttered, looking down slightly. "Do what you need to do, Harry."

He couldn't look up. He almost jumped as Harry's hand gently cupped his cheek, tilting his head up. Alex looked into his twin's eyes.

"Alex, everything will be okay," Harry muttered.

He pressed a long thin object into Alex's hand. Alex looked down to see Harry's wand.

"Take care of this for me," he said quietly. "And take care of Hedwig too."

Alex closed his fingers tightly around the darkly colored wand and nodded.

"I will," he said, barely able to keep himself composed.

Harry hugged him again before turning away. He walked back towards Eric. Hermione made to go after him, but Alex stopped her.

"Don't, Hermione," he said quietly.

Hermione began to protest but caught something in his eyes. Her eyes widened in realization and she looked back at Harry.

"No..." she breathed.

Alex said nothing as he watched his twin. Harry stopped in front of Eric, his eyes unreadable.

"Eric," Harry said quietly.

Eric looked at him.

"Harry?" he asked warily.

"Kill me."

Eric froze in shock.

"W-what?" he choked out.

"You heard me," Harry said seriously. "Kill me."

"But why?" Eric asked. "I-I can't kill you!"

"Yes you can, and you will," Harry said calmly. "We must fulfill the prophecy. One of us must die and I would prefer it if it was me."

"Why would you want to die?!" Eric exclaimed.

Harry smiled tiredly.

"I just don't feel like fighting anymore. I don't have to fight for anything anymore. My whole reason for fighting this war was to protect my brother from our father. But our father is dead now, so there's no reason for me to fight anymore. You, on the other hand, you have your whole life ahead of you. I'm giving you the chance to end this war and live your life how you want it." he said.

"I can't kill you, Harry! What about Alex?!" Eric protested. "Did you even think about how he would feel if you died?!"

Harry glanced back at his twin before turning back to Eric.

"He understands what has to be done," he said. "Please Eric, don't make this harder than it has to be. If it makes this easier, you can think of it as freeing me from this life."

"Freeing you?" Eric breathed.

Harry gave a single nod.

"I am not afraid of death. I've always thought of it as freedom, freedom from the threat of being killed by my father and everything that kept me isolated from actually living. If I'm going to die, I want it to be because I want to die," he said. "Grant me this one last favor, Eric. You will end this war and give me peace. It's a win-win situation, right?"

"That doesn't make it right though!" Eric exclaimed. "I've never killed before, and it isn't that easy!"

"Sure it is. Just point your wand and say the words," Harry said, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Don't joke around like this, Harry! This is hard for everyone!" Eric exclaimed.

Harry sighed.

"I know that better than anyone. But with my death, this entire war will come to an end. Don't you want peace, Eric?"

Eric gritted his teeth, clenching his wand tightly.

"I still can't do it." he choked out.

Harry took one step forward, grabbed Eric's wand, and shoved the tip of the wand into his chest.

"Do it, Eric," he said. "Kill me and end this war already. It's gone on long enough."

Tears streamed down Eric's cheeks and dropped to the ground. He looked up at Harry.

"All right," he choked out. "I'll do it."

Harry smiled.

"That's more like it, Potter," he said quietly.

Eric took a shaky breath and wiped his eyes as the tears blinded him. His hand was still shaking, but Harry's hand kept the wand steady, pressing uncomfortably into his chest. Eric opened his mouth.

"Avada Kedavra!"