His Greatest Wish, by AndromedaMarine
A/N: This is late. This is very late, and I apologize. My life has been up in the air since late December (in an extremely good way) and then school started again, with much harder classes. I am not putting this story on hiatus—that will not happen if I can help it. I had a very hard time writing this chapter because of its enormous importance to the entire story, and getting it perfect was an impossible task. If you don't like it, I apologize, but if you do, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Read on.
End of an Era
The day before the train was due to take the students home for Christmas holidays, Artemis fluttered down and stuck his leg out to Sev. Instantly recognizing the fluid handwriting, Sev pulled the note off hastily and fed Artemis a piece of bacon before opening the envelope. Lily watched him. His eyes scanned the note quickly and he passed it to Lily.
Severus,
After many months of planning with the Order, I felt it was due time to inform you that the plan to take down Voldemort will take place over the Christmas holidays, and although I know it will do no good to say this, you will not have a part in the battle. To all around you, you are but a child. This will be a very public fight, with Aurors and myself in the fray. To have a fifteen-year-old wizard, regardless of his mental capacity or futuristic skill, take part in the fight would be irresponsible at best. I will not waver on this, Severus. You will stay safe for your family and for Miss Evans.
Albus Dumbledore
Sev sighed and briefly glanced at the Head Table, where he saw Dumbledore engaged in an animated conversation with Professor Sprout. "I should've guessed he would word it like that. He wants to guilt trip me into staying out of it."
"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Lily replied so softly only Sev could hear her. "Think of how it would look to the people involved. A fifteen-year-old in the battle fray? You're good, Sev, but they don't know that."
Sev stabbed a kipper, and it was only then that Lily understood how much Dumbledore's rejection upset him. He wanted to be the one to cripple the Dark Lord, he wanted to be the one who cast the final curse to destroy the menace. Lily put her hand over his and he glanced up to meet her eyes.
"I know you want to."
He dropped his gaze. "You think I'm mad, don't you." It wasn't a question.
Lily shook her head. "No…I don't think you're mad. I think that you've worked hard for this to come about, and you're disappointed you can't be part of the end."
"You know me too well," Sev said with a small smile.
"Ah, that I do," she replied with a wink, and then continued to eat breakfast.
It hit Lily on the train ride home that this would be their first Christmas without her father, and when she came upon this realization she tried her hardest not to cry, but she couldn't stop the few tears that escaped and soaked into Sev's jumper. The Circle of Seven all sympathized with her, tried to cheer her up; Sirius and Regulus started a game of Exploding Snap to take her mind off things. No one doubted it would be hard for Lily to adjust to life without her father, since the only person Lily had been closer to besides Sev was Mark Evans.
"I'm guessing Petunia is coming with our parents to pick us up, yeah?" Sev asked Lily. "No doubt she wants to see Cordon."
Everyone in the compartment shared smirks. "I still can't believe they're together," Peter said, shaking his head in disbelief as he carefully set an Exploding Snap card on the rickety house of cards. The train lurched, and the cards tumbled down, exploding the whole way. When the smoke cleared, Peter's eyebrows had been singed off. "I mean, Cordon Diggory?"
The compartment filled with hearty laughter at the sight of Peter's sooty face and his lack of concern for his eyebrows. He grinned as Remus wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.
"I think it's wonderful," Alice supplied. "We've all heard of how badly Petunia took the news of Lily being a witch. Just the fact she's dating one now is fantastic! Imagine in ten years, when we all have kids of our own, that Petunia's will be magical!"
Lily shared a glance with Alice and they both smiled when the six boys fell silent.
Sev cleared his throat. "Alice…"
"Oh, come on, lighten up! We're all going to be married someday, no point in ignoring that fact."
Peter smiled slyly. "Oh, I'm not too sure if Sirius can settle for one girl…"
Sirius reached over and smacked Peter. "I'll have you all know, then, that I've been dating a Ravenclaw for almost a month now."
The silence that followed this statement was so still that you could hear a pin drop.
Sev counted down in his head: three…two…one…
Alice and Lily squealed at the same time. "Who? Who? Why didn't you tell us sooner? What's her name?"
Sirius's cheek's began to grow hot under the girls' scrutiny. "You remember Ryan Clearwater, he finished a few years ago? Well it's his younger sister, Jacqueline."
"Wait," Lily interrupted, "Isn't she on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team?"
"Opposing Seeker, yeah."
"Oh…no…" Sev said. "You're going to have to play against her in our matches."
Siri sighed. "I know! We started dating right after the last match against Ravenclaw."
Lily put her face in her palm. "Siri, we're all ecstatic that you've found someone, but if you twiddle your thumbs and let her win our games…so help me you won't be able to sit for a week."
"Lily!" Sev exclaimed, "You can't threaten our Seeker—"
"The Cup is ours, Sev," Lily shot back. She turned back to Siri. "You will get the Snitch before her."
Sirius yawned and flapped a hand at his captain. "Lil, you don't even have to worry. We're not playing Ravenclaw again until what, February? And even then that's if they beat Slytherin."
Regulus snorted. "I wouldn't be too sure of Ravenclaw taking Slytherin in that next match. The only reason you beat us in that last match was because Perry sneezed at the exact moment Sirius saw the Snitch. Cost him that extra burst of speed."
"I wouldn't get too defensive of your team, Reg, considering you've been rooting for Gryffindor since the start of term," Remus reminded him.
Peter snorted and then the entire compartment rang with laughter.
"Bollocks," Regulus swore. "You had to go and remind me of that, eh?" Regulus had, in fact, been sitting with the Gryffindors at every match except those between Gryffindor and Slytherin, for if he attempted to be in the same vicinity as the scarlet and gold mass of students, he would've been practically torn limb from limb. It was more to prevent injury than anything else, even though Slytherin hadn't beaten Gryffindor yet this season.
Remus's eyes flashed mischievously. "Why not? You haven't won yet."
They continued on the Quidditch thread until they were several minutes out of London, at which point the rummaging began and Sev had to practically sit on Lily to avoid being squashed by Peter's trunk, since he had quite unfortunately forgotten to wear Muggle clothing for the train ride back. "Our cloaks will have to do," Sev said to Lily behind him, since they'd worn them onto the train and had been using them as seat cushions for the train ride. Lily didn't want to find her Muggle jacket anyways, since they were so far removed from Muggle culture, even in Ottery St. Catchpole.
"I want to visit Molly and Arthur tomorrow," Lily mentioned.
"Oh, how are they doing?" Alice asked in the middle of fastening her cloak beneath her throat.
"Charlie was born over the summer, and I can't wait to see how big he is. And Molly mentioned in her last letter that Bill's started accidental magic already!"
Sev was relieved to see Lily ease into the conversation about the Weasley family with Alice; he saw the tension slip from her fair features, but he knew it would return on the car trip to Ottery St. Catchpole. It was her first Christmas without Mark.
Sev felt a little empty too.
Eileen and Rose invited the Weasleys over for dinner the night after Lily and Severus returned from Hogwarts. Lily had spent most of the day at the Burrow without Sev, who was so distracted with the impending destruction of Voldemort and shut himself in his room with the intention of writing to several different people in the Order. When Lily and the Weasleys arrived, Lily was carrying Charlie and Bill was asleep in Arthur's arms.
Lily passed Charlie to her mother and Arthur carefully sat down at the kitchen table so he wouldn't wake Bill. Lily went up to Sev's bedroom door and knocked.
Sev grunted.
"Sev?"
He sprang up from his bed and opened the door, eyes lighting up when he saw Lily.
"You're not still thinking of going after him, are you?" she asked, reaching up to rub his arm.
Severus hesitated before shaking his head. "I'm really not, Lil, honestly. I just wish Dumbledore respected me a little more to let me help him."
"He hasn't seen your skill. Well, I mean besides with the Horcruxes."
"That's my point. He could use my help. I know things—weak spots in You-Know-Who's defenses. I could exploit them."
"Why don't you tell Dumbledore what they are?" Lily asked, walking further into the room so Sev could shut the door for privacy.
"Because they're only evident in the middle of a fight. The only thing I could really contribute without being in the fray is that he disregards Muggles." At the look on Lily's face, he continued: "You've heard his beliefs—that Muggles are inferior and should be stamped out? He's a very powerful wizard, Lil, but he could easily be hurt by a Muggle weapon."
"You're saying if a quick thinking Muggle pulled out a gun and shot him…he'd die?"
Sev shrugged. "Well, yeah, since we already destroyed all of his Horcruxes."
Lily sat on his bed, thinking. "It seems a bit anticlimactic, doesn't it? The most powerful, feared Dark Wizard of this age brought down by a simple bullet…"
"Lil…what are you saying?"
Green eyes met dark hazel. "A wand is useless against him. So why not use a gun?"
"I hardly think a wand is useless—"
She waved her hand, cutting him off. "You know what I mean, it takes someone of Dumbledore's—or your—skill to match him in a wizard's duel, but anyone with a half-decent aim could shoot him."
"Lil—"
But she cut him off again. "What if Dumbledore fails? There should always be a backup plan."
Sev didn't answer her. Instead, he crossed the room to his desk, pulled out a piece of parchment from a drawer, and sat down with a quill in his hand. He started scratching words, and Lily stood to look over his shoulder.
Albus
I will be short, as you may have already set a time and place with the Order to lure Voldemort. Keep one thing in mind: he is impervious to most magical means of attack—he is skilled with a wand and indeed the most powerful wizard in all of Britain, but he sees Muggles as useless fools who stand in his way. This is his weakness, his Achilles Heel—and it means he can be brought down by Muggle weapons. A Protego will not shield him from the sting of a bullet; in fact he might not even attempt to block it at all. The key may not to engage him in a duel. The key may be to use the weapons of those he hates so much.
Severus
He quickly folded and addressed it to Dumbledore, and tied it to Artemis's leg. He stroked the bird once and it soared out the open window. Sev continued to stare out the window at the sky, which had started to let snowflakes float down to the ground. "That's as far as I'll get involved." He reached out until warm fingers touched cold glass, and he pulled the window shut with an air of finality.
Severus was careful to watch the Daily Prophet over the next week, but when nothing appeared on the front page, he felt a little worried. Why wasn't Dumbledore taking action like he'd said he would? He had half a mind to go out and find Voldemort himself, but knew that it was far too foolhardy to do so. Lily simply didn't know how to ease Sev's distress, and so busied herself with the Christmas baking in the kitchen of the Prince-Evans shared home.
It was three days before Christmas before any news came at all. The sound of someone Apparating outside cracked through the room where everyone sat, causing everyone to become still and silent. A knock echoed.
"It is I, Albus Dumbledore!"
Sev leapt to his feet and, careful to keep his wand in hand but pointed downwards, he opened the door. Lily came up behind him. The snow swirled around the headmaster's figure like a white, ghostly fog.
"May I enter before we speak?" he asked swiftly. His hard face was lined in a way that Severus did not like.
"Of course," Lily supplied when Sev didn't move or say anything. She tugged on his shoulder and he moved out of the way. Dumbledore swiftly entered and Lily closed the door behind him. Sev remained stiff next to the door.
"Wait," he said, lifting his wand and pointing it at Dumbledore's breast. "I want to make sure it's really him."
Lily stared at Sev. "Are you mad? Of course it's him—"
"What is your favorite flavor of jam, Professor?"
Lily didn't know whether to laugh or not. She stood, rooted to the floor, her eyes traveling between her best friend and the greatest wizard of their time.
"I quite agree with your decision to test whether I am really myself, Mr. Prince. As we have established in our meetings together during the school year, my favorite flavor is raspberry."
Sev lowered his wand. "What happened?"
Eileen and Rose were lost for words, and Petunia, who had been in the kitchen dusting powdered sugar onto the Russian tea cakes she and Lily had made an hour ago, stood frozen in the doorway to the living room with white dust on her cheeks and hands. Eileen got to her feet.
"What do you mean, what's happened?" she asked her son sharply. She wanted to ask why Dumbledore was there, but refrained.
"Have you not shared your knowledge with your family, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes icy and serious.
"Destroying him was my only concern, Professor, I didn't want to worry them in case I got involved…"
Albus turned his attention to the two mothers. Rose was still sitting. "My apologies for bursting in on you unannounced so close to Christmas, Eileen, Rose. But I believe you would rather hear this news from myself than from the Daily Prophet."
Sev's breathing quickened.
The Headmaster continued: "Earlier this evening the Aurors of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement joined forces with a few trustworthy Muggle police officers in a mission of utmost importance to the survival of our world. We engaged Lord Voldemort."
Everyone in the room gasped, because everyone knew that the name was Taboo. And if Dumbledore himself was using it in the sitting room of a magical household in the middle of an integrated magical and Muggle community, the outcome must at least have been partially good. But the Headmaster's expression did not change.
"I regret to say that six of our forces were killed. As for Voldemort…one of the police officers wounded him with a gun. And I myself cast the last curse. He is dead."
In the immediate silence that followed this era-ending statement, Petunia dusted her hands off and crossed the floor to her mother, whose eyes had started to fill with tears. Rose was unable to speak, so Petunia asked for her: "And what of the men who murdered my father?"
Albus Dumbledore studied the young woman carefully for a moment before answering. "Of the three men who invaded your home and stole Mark Evans from you, two are dead and one has been sent to Azkaban, pending trial. When he is found guilty, the Dementor's Kiss will be performed upon him."
"Who of ours were killed?" Sev asked, finally holstering his wand and wrapping an arm around Lily's shoulders. His heart was pounding unnaturally fast, and the reality that the wizard who had once killed the love of his life was dead had not yet sunk in. "Who, Professor?"
"Four of the Muggle men who helped us, and two of our Aurors. Rufus Scrimgeour and John Dawlish."
It was all Sev could do not to breathe his relief that it wasn't Kingsley Shacklebolt or Alastor Moody.
"But Lord Voldemort has been destroyed. It is…the end of an era. And dark an era it was, dark from the moment he left Hogwarts. Your families deserved this knowledge firsthand." Dumbledore tipped his head to the two Princes and three Evans. "Have a happy Christmas," he said kindly, and from his pocket drew five Wizard Crackers. "It is a meager offering, and I apologize. But it is the least I can do on such short notice." He handed the crackers to Lily, and then left.
There were three beats of silence. Sev kissed Lily without caring that their mothers were standing a few feet away, picked her up, and twirled her around, joy in his dark eyes, excitement and relief…that the only true threat against them was now gone.