Disclaimer: All rights to the world of Harry Potter owned by J.K. Rowling, with the exception of OC's and plot designs I've added in
A/N: I'm gonna be real honest, I'm writing this story with only the barest idea of where it's headed. It's more of a relaxation story, to write when I can't get any of my other stories worked on, and that means things might be a little wonky at times. I can only hope you'll enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoy writing it!
Prologue
The roar of battle was deafening. So many things were going on at once as Hallow threw curses upon curses towards Death Eaters. Too many deaths were already weighing on his conscience. Even if he had managed to save few, there were always more he hadn't gotten to in time to save. Though, he had to admit, almost seeing people die was just as nerve wracking as seeing them actually die; when he just narrowly blocked Fred from being buried in rubble; taking Dolohov by surprise to save Remus; even in the very beginning of the battle, when he had to save a small second year that had snuck into the fighting. Hallow couldn't help thinking that he should have been there to save others too, that maybe saving Fred and Remus kept him from saving even more lives. It was barely a thought though as both times the battle grew even worse before he had anytime to think.
Even now, as he fought against Death Eaters, ignoring the pain as curses cut his flesh or burned as they narrowly missed hitting him. The corner of his vision was spotting things that weighed heavily on him, whether good or bad. He'd just glimpsed Molly Weasley, one of the sweetest and warmest women he'd ever met, not only kill Bellatrix, but properly curse at the woman beforehand. He saw McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn in battle with Voldemort, fighting with all their rage, only to be launched backwards.
The entire hall had seemed to fall into slow motion when Hallow had noticed Voldemort turning in rage towards Molly after throwing back his three attackers. "Protego!" It happened so slowly, yet so quickly, a large, shimmering magic shield flew up out of nowhere to protect Molly. Until Hallow's eyes widened to see Harry whipping off his invisibility cloak, standing there looking defiantly at Voldemort.
"HARRY! HE'S ALIVE!" Hallow screamed, so loudly that it somehow managed to ring over the fighting. It instantly scratched up his throat from the way he projected his words, but he couldn't care less. A weight that had been weighing on the Hufflepuff's shoulders lifted slightly, seeing Harry, who he and everyone else had thought to be dead, suddenly appear before them. Alive and ready to fight. It made his chest both flutter and ache.
Hallow wasn't the only one who had seen. He wasn't the only one who had become rooted to the spot, either silent or cheering and yelling in shock at the boy's appearance. Hallow couldn't help laughing grimly, a wide grin on his face as tears of relief prickled at his eyes. He was alive! Harry was alive!
"I don't want anyone else to try and help," Harry was saying, the cheering having fallen over them only moments before, when Harry and Voldemort had locked eyes. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me." Hallow wanted to protest, to go help the boy wonder, but he couldn't even move his limbs an inch, couldn't pull himself from the spot, yards away from the tension that was growing between the two notorious people.
Voldemort hissed, a quiet but very audible sound that seemed to echo over the heavy silence all around. "Potter doesn't mean that," he said, red, snake like eyes wide as he glowered darkly at the younger boy. "That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"
"Nobody," Harry sounded so confident, so simple in his answer. "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 spat loudly, and Hallow could see the tension, the anger and adrenaline making the ugly man's body tense. "You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"
"Accept, was it, when my mother died to save me?" Harry asked, and Hallow hadn't even realized until now that the two had been circling one another, slowly but surely, like predators ready to leap and strike at a moments notice, completely enraptured in their own little world. "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 screamed, a tone in his voice that Hallow dared not even try to name. He was watching so carefully, so silently that he didn't even seem to be breathing. No one did, the entire area was frozen solid, not even a tiny speck of sound bouncing off the hall's walls from anything but Voldemort and Harry. "Accident, and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and women, and permitted me to kill them for you!"
"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," Harry said, still circling, still locked in a gaze that was practically an entire battle of its own between the two. "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 from hurting these people-"
"But you did not!"
"- I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed, none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"
"You dare-"
"Yes, I dare," Harry sounded so confident as he spoke. Hallow knew, deep down, the boy must be terrified, but from where Hallow was standing, Harry looked so confident and… hero like. He was standing up to the biggest monster of their time and he wasn't even shaking. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?"
There was a long silence as the two prowled continuously in a circle. It was like they'd completely forgotten about the onlookers. "Is it love again?" Voldemort finally jeered, breaking the deathly silence. "Dumbledore's favorite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me from stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter- and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?"
"Just one thing," it was like Harry was dangling a squirming mouse in front of a snake, a secret in front of Voldemort that kept them at bay.
"If it is not love that will save you this time, you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"
"I believe both," shock hit the snakelike man, a look that was so strange on him, almost revolting- of course he was always revolting really- but it quickly vanished. Voldemort was laughing instead. A sickly, insane laugh that Hallow hated beyond almost anything else once he heard it.
"You think you know more magic than I do? Than I, than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?"
"Oh, he dreamed of it, but he knew more than you, knew enough not to do what you've done."
"You mean he was weak!" Voldemort screamed the words, "too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"
"No, he was cleverer than you, a better wizard, a better man." Hallow couldn't help the sting in the back of his eyes, the chest clenching feeling of sadness the more they talked about Dumbledore. He was such a good man, a man that had helped Hallow through so much in his time as at Hogwarts over the past seven years.
"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!"
"You thought you did," Harry was still speaking simply, calmly despite the entire scene, "but you were wrong." Hallow could practically feel the air leave the hall for a moment as everyone, hundreds of people that watched on in fear drew a single breath together.
"Dumbledore is dead!" Voldemort bellowed, "his body decays in the marble tomb in the ground of this castle, I have seen it, Potter, and he will not return!"
"Yes, Dumbledore is dead," still, Harry was calm with each word, "but you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant."
"What childish dream is this?" Voldemort didn't strike, even as rage and fury continued to etch itself into each word. Even as he stared at Harry with so much hatred that Hallow could practically feel it himself.
"Severus Snape wasn't yours. Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riffle."
Vokdemort was silent, a deep confusion that didn't show itself keeping his tongue tied. "Snape's Patronus was a doe," Harry continued. "The same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized," Voldemort's slitted nostrils flared, an odd look on the noseless man, "he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"
"He desired her, that was all." Voldemort sneered, and Hallow saw just how little this man knew, just how blind he was to so many truths of the world despite thinking he was the best wizard alive. "But when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him-"
"Of course he told you that," Harry but Voldemort off, an action that made Hallow flinch slightly. "But he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you every since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"
"It matters not!" Voldemort was shrieking now, but he had been so enraptured in Harry's words that Hallow could see, just barely, just so slightly in the insane man's red eyes that it was getting to him, especially as he began cackling loudly. "It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love! Oh, but it all makes sense, Potter, and in ways that you do not understand!
"Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the trust master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy- I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"
A little inkling itched at the back of Hallow's mind. Death didn't cause a wand to switch owners, even in wands that followed the strong. Otherwise wands couldn't be won in duels. His thoughts were struck short, barely a second later as the conversation continued.
"Yeah, it did," Harry said. "You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done… Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle…"
"What is this?" shock actually wove it's way into Voldemort's words, shock hit everyone around that heard Harry really. Why in the world would Harry even try something like that with Voldemort?
"It's your one last chance," Harry continued, "it's all you've got left… I've seen what you'll be otherwise… Be a man… try… Try for some remorse."
"You dare-?"
"Yes, I dare," Harry somehow stayed calm, even with the tiniest hint of sarcasm in the three words, "because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle."
Voldemort was starting to tremble, whether it was rage or something else, Hallow wasn't sure. He saw Harry's hand tighten around the wand he wielded though, knuckles going white with the tight grip.
"That wand still isn't working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore." The words were so matter of fact, even Hallow felt almost like he'd been slapped in the face.
"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!" It was slowly dawning to Hallow, but he knew Voldemort couldn't realize what Harry was saying. Someone had stolen the wand's power from Dumbledore just before his death. Hallow had heard the story straight from Harry himself- Draco Malfoy.
"But then, Potter, dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!" There was a malicious pleasure in Voldemort's voice that made Hallow shiver in fear. "I stole the wand from it's last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"
"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard… The Elder Wand recognized a 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, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him it's allegiance…"
Voldemort's breathing was heavy, fast. Hallow could feel the malicious, deadly magic building from the man, a pressure that made the Hufflepuff want to leave. He couldn't move though, too enraptured by the entire scene.
"The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy." Shocked silence had tightened around everyone, even Voldemort looked shocked once again. Hallow's chest was tightening so tightly he wondered if he'd be able to breath anytime soon.
"But what does it matter?" Voldemort's voice had grown soft suddenly, a sound that made fearful chills run through Hallow. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone… and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy…"
"But you're too late," Harry replied simply. "You've missed your chance. I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took his wand from him."
Eyes turned towards Harry's hand as he twitched the wand that was in it slightly. Indeed, that wasn't Harry's wand, but Draco Malfoy's. Hallow knew it from all the years he had seen it in Draco's hand, either in class or when fighting with Harry himself in the middle of the halls.
"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Harry was whispering, and Hallow had to strain his ears to hear, even in the silence of the hall. "Does the wand in your hand know it's last master was Disarmed? Because if it does… I am the true master of the Elder Wand."
The next events went so quickly that Hallow nearly didn't realize what was happening. A red-bold burst of light splashed through the sky, flooding a light over both Voldemort and Harry's faces, causing both to suddenly lift their wands and throw out spells.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Hallow felt his ears start to ring as the silent hall was suddenly filled with a loud, almost canon like boom from the spells. He easily ignored it though, eyes widening as he watched a green and red beam from either fighter suddenly collide in the middle of the circle they had walked multiple times. It was only a matter of seconds before the Elder Wand was thrown from Voldemort's grasp, flying high through the sky and spinning towards Harry, to be caught by it's true master.
Voldemort's own spell had been thrown back to him. It's green light slamming into his chest and sending him flying backwards on the ground, splayed out from the impact. His eyes had rolled back, and now he laid completely still as his body shrunk and grew even more feeble. Hallow stared at the body for a moment, a moment where no one made a sound or movement, waiting to see if something else happened.
And then the silence broke. It was so loud that Hallow felt like he'd go deaf, but before he could be bothered to worry about his hearing, he was running towards Harry, stumbling over his own two feet and a grin bursting onto his lips. Cheers and screams of joy were echoing around the hall, and Hallow found himself reaching Harry just as Ron and Hermione reached him too. All three threw themselves around Harry, squeezing him so tightly that Harry felt he'd be suffocated. There were shouts of joy, of amazement and tears of absolute relief as they hugged him.
Others joined moments later; Ginny, Neville, and Luna first; then all the Weasleys; Hagrid; Kingsley and McGonagall; Flitwick and Sprout; Remus. Light from the fresh sun as it roze ever higher over the horizon washed over them, bringing in a new warmth as incomprehensible shouts and cheers continued to be flung around the group. No one could tell what anyone else was saying as the rest of the onlookers surged into the crowd. Harry was pulled between hundreds of hands as everyone wanted to hug him, cheer for him and thank him.
• • • •
Hallow found himself too tired to stay in the celebration long. Of course he joined them all for sometime, but once he had gotten tired of the crowds- he never had been fond of crowds, no matter the context- and he had gotten medical attention- Molly wouldn't let him out of her sight otherwise- he moved himself to the room where bodies had been laid out. His eyes slid over them all, over all those who laid completely still and no longer moving. So many faces were familiar, so many that he had seen taken out by the cruelty of those who fought on the wrong side.
His throat tightened as he spotted the one he was there for. Tonks, a woman he had grown so close to for the last few years, was there among the dead. Sitting at her side was Remus, bandaged almost as much as Hallow, and holding one of Tonks' limb hands, tears in his eyes. Jaw tense and muscles twitching slightly in an attempt to hold back his own tears, Hallow walked over numbly and sunk down beside Remus. He went unnoticed by the werewolf, which really was mostly fine by Hallow: they could leave words for another time.
The sound of the celebrating and mourning from the Hall was loud enough to echo in, but it was all dampened enough they didn't make out words or voices properly. It was almost like white noise in the back of their mind as they sat there, staring at the metamorphmagus that was a big part of both of their lives. Hallow had seen her like a sister almost, someone that had become like family, and now she was no more.
When he couldn't hold back tears anymore, he felt himself curling over his knees, a choked sob escaping him and his cheeks quickly getting soaked. His whole body shook, hands tightened so tight together as he hugged his knees that he thought he might give himself more cuts from his own nails. Hallow didn't care though, he didn't feel the pain from any of his wounds, didn't register in his head that he would be forever scarred from both the dark curses and werewolf wounds he had gained during the fight. He was too sad for the deaths that he didn't even have a moment to think of what would come once the battle was over.
An arm snaked its way around Hallow's shoulders and he flinched slightly before realizing it was Remus's arm. He lifted his blurry, tear filled gaze up to meet Remus's eyes, sharing for a moment similar grief and pain between one another before leaning in and pressing his face to Remus's shoulder and let out a louder, deeper sob.
"Thank you, Hallow," Remus said, so quietly and suddenly that Hallow wondered if he had even said it in the first place. "You fought so bravely, so well that Tonks would have been so proud of you." The words made Hallow's shoulders shake even more from his crying.
"I-I'm sorry I couldn't save her," Hallow said numbly, his hands balling into fists as he held onto Remus's shirt tightly, so tightly his knuckles were white. "I… I should have protected her t-too. I should have g-gotten to her and h-helped-"
"Hallow, stop," Remus's voice was gentle, a warm, fatherly tone covering the sadness in his voice. "You saved so many already. You fought so brilliantly, and Tonks wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this."
Hallow's throat was so tight, so painful that he didn't know if he'd be able to speak much more for a few days. "But… But Teddy. He won't get to know her- he'll grow up without a mom." He muttered, voice scratchy and uneven.
"But he'll have me," Remus said calmly, smiling softly through his own pain. "You saved Teddy from having lost both parents. Teddy has you too still, because you managed to keep yourself alive just as much as you kept others alive. You did so much more than you needed to, you have to realize that."
A broken, shaking sob escaped Hallow as he slowly pulled himself away from Remus slightly, looking up at him with watery blue eyes. "I- I don't think I could a very good role model for him."
He didn't say another word, just looked away and down to his side as he hesitantly lifted his shirt up slightly to show one of the wounds; a large, although surprisingly shallow bite mark. "F-fenrir. For a few minutes he was shifted. I… I don't know how. I d-did my best to keep him from getting anyone else but…" His voice broke off as Hallow let out another choked sob.
A look of pain and realization fell over Remus's face, twisting his own long healed scars slightly. "Oh Hallow…" He pulled Hallow into a proper hug, resting his chin on the boy's head while gently rubbing him back. "You'll be fine- we'll be fine. You know that. I can help you get through this, and I know you're strong enough to push through…"
"I'm not!" Hallow hissed into Remus's chest, his brow furrowed in self-loathing. "I'm not as strong as you, I can't handle this. Y-you're amazing, Remus. You've lived your whole life with t-this, and you manage to stay s-strong enough to help everyone. B-but I don't think I can… I-I'm going to break…"
"Shhh," Remus kept rubbing the back of Hallow, not moving more than his eyes up as someone else walked in and towards them. Hallow jerked up once he noticed the footsteps stop behind them, turning around to look up a pair of haggard grey eyes. "What are you doing here?" Remus asked, his voice careful but surprisingly kind to the blonde boy.
Hallow looked up at Draco Malfoy with wide eyes, wondering how much he had heard, what he might've seen. "I- I came to thank Regal," Draco said carefully. He didn't wear the sneer he had become so well known for; he didn't actually look familiar outside of the colour of his hair, his eyes, and that distinct face structure that even when he had been nearly sickly and constantly haggard for the past year or two, kept a semblance of poshness.
"F-for what?" Hallow asked carefully, brows furrowing again, but this time in confusion. He pulled away from Remus completely so he could turn to watch Draco properly rather than over his shoulder. Hallow didn't dare wipe away the tears that already stained his face, fearful it would just bring yet another wave of crying that was already on the brink of bursting forth.
Draco hesitated for a moment, gulping down a lump in his throat. "A… a few things actually," there was an air of awkwardness to Draco's words: he didn't thank people often, or really ever before recently. This was a thank you that weighed heavy on his shoulders though, and he felt he needed to voice it. "Mostly for helping me… Er- in the fighting and the last couple years."
Hallow tilted his head slightly, pushing the past few minutes' conversation to the back of his mind for now and focusing properly on Draco. The focus was good, it helped him to get a better grip on himself, the need to cry slowly fading for now and allowing him to properly wipe his face on his sleeve- it left some dark smudges on his face of dirt, grime, and soot- before staggering to his face.
"What do you mean, Malfoy?" He asked carefully, now standing eye to eye with the Slytherin. They were both tall, skinny boys. But Hallow was just a bit taller, at least by a couple inches, and his time on the Quidditch team as a beater, even after a couple years of few if any games or practices, left him muscular under his many, many bandages. "In the battle, and before?"
"Er-" Draco looked almost at a loss for words, his angular jaw tensing up slightly as he gulped down another lump that rose in his throat. He looked like he was struggling to pick out words, to not default to his old habits and storm out before explaining himself. "Well… in the fight you ended up protecting me from some curses- You were one of the only ones who did."
Hallow couldn't help but let out a chuckle- it was grim, hollow thanks to the recent tragedies. "I'm friends with Harry, I've heard how you aren't like the other Death Eaters-"
"Even so," Draco cut off Hallow, not trusting himself to be quiet for long, he needed to get the words out before he chickened out and ran. "No one else would have done that for a Death Eater- For me. Quite frankly, I've been a horrible person my whole life. People hate me for more than the mark on my arm," -as he mentioned it, Draco unconsciously started scratching at his left forearm, digging his nails so harshly into the fabric of his sleeve that Hallow thought he might hurt himself- "but you're… you've been different for years. I… I had to thank you for not hating me.
"Hufflepuffs were always the… relaxed ones of the houses, but you…" He shook his head slightly, lips pursed as an almost pained look on his face as he tried to find the words. "You didn't avoid me… You were always nice to me, even if I wasn't that kind to you…"
For the first time since Harry had won, a smile slid over Hallow's lips. It was small, sweet, but still had the same pain he had been holding since the battle began. "I thought you needed a friend, Malfoy." His voice was kind, his inner, warm Hufflepuff rising up. "Even now- especially now. You're not a bad guy, you know. You've made mistakes, you grew up in a… well from what I can tell, a very shitty household. It's not your fault…"
There was a moment of silence, Hallow could feel Remus watching them carefully from where he still sat. Draco looked like he didn't quite believe what Hallow was saying- honestly the Hufflepuff wasn't surprised, if their positions were swapped, he would probably be pretty disbelieving too. Their eyes were pulled away from one another and towards the door that had just opened again. A pair of blondes stepped in, quickly locking their eyes on Draco and motioning for him to join them. Hallow figured it must be his mother and father.
"Listen," Hallow said quietly, looking back at Draco with a warm, quick smile. "If you ever need someone, owl me, okay? It's going to be some hard times ahead." The offer surprised Draco, who's soft grey eyes widened slightly, before he gave a curt nod and walked off quickly to rejoin his parents. Hallow watched after him until he vanished through the door, and slowly sat back down beside Remus, letting his body nearly crumple into the werewolf's side.
"Such a Hufflepuff," Remus teased after so gently, an arm wrapping protectively around the young man's shoulders. "Tonks would be even prouder."
Hallow half smiled, his eyes now once more resting on the still body of Tonks in front of them. Remus had once more grabbed her limp hand in one of his, and Hallow could see just how hurt the man was to have lost her by how desperately he held onto it. "We all need someone in a time like this…" he spoke quietly, letting his head fall onto Remus's shoulder as he felt a heavy, blanket like feeling of exhaustion finally grip his very being. "If I can be that for someone like Malfoy, I will. It's only right after he helped Harry without even realizing…"
His eyes shut slowly and darkness faded as he felt himself fall into a dreamless, restless sleep.