Act XIV
Like Flies in
a Roomful of Spider Webs
Harry and Hermione had no idea how quickly the timeline of their lives was approaching a parallel of the real world they had left. The only real differences were the relationship shifts. It was as if the universe, in its infinite wisdom, was pulling at the loose threads and rejoining them into the dominant timeline. As they moved forward, it was with the blind belief that theirs was the only reality combined with the ignorance of the truth that one day in the future this world would disappear. Both of them, and Ron, slept well that night.
The next morning, the three of them were eating breakfast much like any other day. As they ate, Ron asked, "When are we going to Lovegood's?"
"Harry and I were talking about that last night while you were out walking. Here's a list of things we want to ask him," said Hermione as she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket while Ron, knowing the truth about what they were doing while he was out, smirked. "See if there is anything missing or you would like to ask."
Ron took a couple of minutes to read the questions. Then he said, "This looks excellent….uh...perfect, really. I can't think of anything else."
"If you're happy, then I think we can go this afternoon," said Harry.
"There is just one thing you need to think about," said Hermione in a strangely serious tone. "We are going to be very close to The Burrow, but it is essential for the safety of everyone that you don't give in to the temptation to visit your family. This has to be a top-secret mission."
"Yeah, right," replied Ron in a sad voice. "They are just a couple of hills away. Maybe I could just peek over a hill and get a look. That would be alright, wouldn't it?"
"Maybe," said Hermione. "Let's see if a chance to do it is there once we arrive."
"Okay," replied Ron. "I guess that is fair. I am just hoping."
Ron had actually been planning on asking if he could visit. Hermione had short-circuited the asking. He was disappointed, but in his heart, he knew she was right.
The rest of the morning was spent going over their plan. This was the first risky endeavor they had planned since the fiasco in Godric's Hollow. They knew it was going to be dangerous. They did not want a short-sighted mistake or error on their part to be the plan's undoing.
Once they were satisfied that they had covered all of the contingencies, and had gathered all of the things they needed, they had a small lunch. After a bit of cleanup, they stepped outside and apparated away.
Moments later, they reappeared in a brushy swale between the hills separating The Burrow from the Lovegood's property. Ron looked off longingly in the direction of home. After a few seconds, Hermione said, "I guess it can't hurt to climb up the hill for a bit of a peek. Just stay low. We can't be seen."
"Thanks," said Ron with a smile as he quickly turned and headed off toward the hill.
"That was very considerate," said Harry as he started off after Ron.
"I'm a very considerate person," she replied in a 'you had better not disagree' tone.
"I know," said Harry with a forced smile. He wanted to say something about her having the occasional moment to test that assertion, but he wisely kept it to himself.
Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as they hustled to catch Ron before he did something to make them regret what they were doing. They caught him about three-quarters of the way to the top.
"Slow down," huffed Harry.
"Yes. And stay low," added Hermione.
"Right," said Ron as he paused, then started moving forward at a much slower pace.
As they neared the top, they got down on their hands and knees to carefully cover the last few yards. "Careful," said Hermione as they peered over the crown of the hill and down at The Burrow.
They could see chickens roaming around and pecking at the ground in the yard. There were a couple of pigs in the sty and their milk cow was eating in the corral next to the barn. All in all, everything looked peaceful and normal. The only thing missing was people.
They watch for several minutes. Then, just as they were about to leave, the front door opened, and out came Molly followed by Ginny. Both of them had a basket of clothes to hang on the clothesline.
"Mom, Ginny," gasped Ron in a muffled voice, trying to contain his excitement at seeing them for the first time in several months.
Then the impossible happened. The door opened a second time and out came Lavender carrying yet another basket of clothes. Ron started to jump up but Harry held him down.
"Easy, mate. Easy," said Harry as he maintained a firm arm pressing Ron down onto the ground.
They watched as the three of them began hanging up the clothes. Arthur and George walked out of the house a moment later and into the workshop as the girls finished hanging out the bedsheets. Once Molly and the girls finally went back inside, Hermione said it was time to go see Xenophilius.
Ron reluctantly got up and they trudged down the hill and up over the next one. From there, they could see the chess rook-like building sitting on top of the next hill with a colorful string of kites soaring high into the sky. It was the home of Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood.
"Have you ever visited here?" Harry asked Ron as they approached.
"No," replied Ron. "He and Luna have been at our house a couple of times. I suppose my mom and dad have been there but I haven't."
As they reached the front steps, Hermione said, "Keep off the dirigible plums," as she read a sign in front of a bush with odd, purplish fruits floating upwards at the ends of their stems." Another sign said 'Editor of the Quibbler', while a third one said 'Pick your own mistletoe'.
Hermione stepped up to the door and knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened a few inches against a chain and the gaunt, serious face of Xenophilius Lovegood framed by his long, straight, white hair poked out.
"What do you want?" he asked in a very suspicious voice.
There was a brief pause, then Harry said, "It's me, Harry Potter, Mister Lovegood, we met at Bill and Fleur's wedding."
"Yes. Yes. Of course. Come in. What brings you here?"
"We would like to ask you some questions, if that is alright with you, Mister Lovegood," said Hermione.
"Certainly," he replied as he moved about nervously. "Let me put on some water for tea."
"That would be nice," said Hermione.
"Where's Luna," asked Harry.
"She's out gathering mushrooms. She'll be along. Sit down," he said. "Here are some cups. The tea will be ready in a minute."
"We're wondering about the symbol on the chain you were wearing at the wedding," said Harry. "Could you tell us what it is?"
You mean this," said Xenophilius as he pulled the pendant in question out from within his shirt. "It's the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, of course."
"Deathly Hallows? I'm not familiar with them. What are they?" asked Harry.
Xenophilius scurried around the room until he had found a piece of paper and a charcoal stick. He drew a vertical line and said, "The Elder Wand. The most powerful wand ever made." Then he drew a circle over the bottom of the line and said, "The Resurrection Stone. Finally, he drew a triangle around the other part making a symbol resembling his pendant as he said. "The Cloak of Invisibility. Together, they make up the Deathly Hallows. Together, they make you the master of Death."
I'm sorry, sir. I still don't get it," said Harry.
"Surely, you have heard of The Tale of the Three Brothers," said Xenophilius as he started pouring a vile-smelling, purple liquid he called gurdyroot tea into their cups.
Hermione and Ron nodded in the affirmative, but Harry sat still, looking confused.
"I have it here," said Hermione as she fished her copy of Beedle the Bard out of her bag. She turned to a page near the back of the book. "Should I read it?"
"Yes, please," said Xenophilius as he got up and went to the window as if looking for Luna as Harry and Ron grimaced at the flavor of the tea.
Once Hermione finished reading, Xenophilius said, "There you have it. Those are the Deathly Hallows. Together, they make one the master of death. The Peverell brothers in the story are thought to be the original owners of the Hallows.
The trio got up and started walking around as Xenophilius turned to tend to the tea. The house was filled with strange items that caught their eyes. Before long, they stepped up some stairs and found themselves in Luna's bedroom.
"Look at the dust," said Hermione.
"And the spi...spider webs," squeaked Ron.
"I don't think Luna has been here in a long time," said Hermione.
Then Harry pointed to the ceiling. It was covered by hand-drawn pictures of them as well as Ginny and Neville. The word friends was written countless times in gold like an endless chain.
Suddenly, there was the explosion of a blasting spell followed by several more. The house was under attack. As they ducked down, they heard the front door blown open and several pairs of boots enter.
"Where is he?" demanded a voice.
"Why did you call us?" growled another.
He's over there," whimpered Xenophilius. "Where's my Luna? Give me back my Luna?"
Harry peeked down the stairs as Hermione tried to gather Ron and him to apparate away. He saw the faces of two Death Eaters he knew as Travers and Selwyn looking up at him. Then, Hermione grabbed his hand and they were gone in a whoosh.
Seconds later, they were back at their camp. Ron was sputtering about their betrayal by Lovegood. But Harry insisted he was only desperate because they were apparently holding Luna hostage and that they were okay and had learned about the Deathly Hallows.
"It doesn't matter," ranted Ron. "We almost got bloody killed."
"I know you're upset, Ron," said Harry, still trying to highlight some of the pluses of their trip. "But we did get a look at some of your family."
"Yeah. And I saw Lav, too. She's alright."
"Yes, I am happy you saw her," said Hermione. She knew it had to be hard on Ron to be separated like this. She had a hard time imagining being apart from Harry for any length of time, let alone six months.
What Ron did not know was that Lavender was now spending a lot of time at the Weasley's. Her mother and father did not need much help. They lived in the country and were very self-sufficient. Lavender was spending a lot of time at the Weasley's to help out and to lend credence to the story Ron was there suffering from spattergroit.
Molly and Ginny were less than happy about her being there, at first. They treated her like a bit of an intruder, much like they had treated Fleur. Ginny had nicknamed Fleur, Phlegm. Now, she was calling Lavender, Flabender because she was a wee bit pudgy.
Arthur, Percy, and George were happy she was there. It was another pair of hands that lightened their load of duties. Lavender was also happy. She felt useful.
Lavender grew on Molly over time, and to a lesser but acceptable degree on Ginny. Her doting, smothering behavior disappeared. She knew how to do housework and was always willing to pitch in. She took a keen interest in cooking and spent a lot of time learning while helping out in the kitchen. Molly was starting to think she might turn out to be a suitable wife for Ron after all. Ginny was voluntarily spending time with her.
The three of them were talking after dinner on the next day. It was time to start planning their next moves. They had new knowledge. There must be some way to use it to find the other horcruxes.
"We need to come up with some ideas about where Voldemort…" started Harry only to be abruptly cut off by Ron.
"Don't say his name!"
"I'm not scared of his name," asserted Harry in an annoyed tone.
"No! It's not that," insisted Ron. " His name. It has a Taboo curse on it. I told you that a couple of days ago. That's how the snatchers find you."
What are you…" started Harry only to be interrupted again. This time it was some whooshing cracks and voices outside the tent.
"Come out of the tent." growled a big, surly voice. "We can see your shadows. Don't make it rough on yourselves."
"We'll give you the count of three," said another, equally unfriendly voice. "One...two…"
They were caught. They got up and stepped out of the tent as Hermione hit Harry with a Stinging jinx. In the dying light, they saw the face of Fenrir Greyback and three other snatchers, including one Ron said was named Scabior. He said he had escaped from him once while on the run and was quite ruthless.
The snatchers were very suspicious of them. They were especially curious about Harry, who as deformed as his face was, still had the resemblance of his scar on his forehead.
After some conversation, they decided to take them to Malfoy Manor instead of the Ministry. They gathered them together with Dean Thomas and Griphook the goblin, who they had captured earlier. According to Dean, the snatchers had killed Dirk Cresswell, Ted Tonks, and a goblin named Gornuk during their capture. This made the trio very sad because they had known Dirk and Ted as acquaintances.
Act XV
Dungeon and Dragon
The snatchers took them into the countryside to the outside of a huge, imposing mansion. As they reached the gates, they saw an evil form they recognized at Bellatrix Lestrange looking at them through the metal grating.
"We have something for Mr. Malfoy to look at," said Scabior as he pressed Harry's deformed face against the grating. As he pulled back Harry's hair, Bellatrix saw the scar. The gates opened and they were led up to the doors of the mansion.
Once inside, they were given a closer inspection. Bellatrix wanted to be certain it was really Harry before summoning Voldemort. She feared his wrath if he were called for a false alarm. Narcissa was sent to fetch Draco. He was the best choice to determine whether or not this was the real Harry.
A moment later, Narcissa returned with Draco. Lucius took Draco by the arm and led him to Harry.
"Look carefully, son," instructed Lucius. "If we are the ones to turn Harry Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be as it was. But we have to be certain."
Draco looked closely at Harry. Harry could tell by his eyes that Draco knew it was him. Still, Draco hesitated and then said he was not certain. Lucius pulled him away with a disappointed but annoyed look.
"Put them in the dungeon with the others," snapped Bellatrix at Peter Pettigrew as she grabbed Hermione and pulled her aside. "We're going to have a girl-to-girl chat."
Peter pointed his wand at them and urged them in the direction of a stairway. They descended the stairs and passed through a pair of steel grate doors. The doors creaked and groaned as he pulled them closed and left them.
Seconds later, they heard Hermione screaming and Bellatrix ranting. The torture seemed to never stop. Then Peter appeared at the gate and summoned Griphook to come with him.
Harry tried some magic to get them out of there to no avail. Then, as he was looking at the strange shard of a mirror he always carried in his sock, he heard some noises from the back of the room.
"Who's there?" he asked in a loud voice.
From the back, there appeared two forms. As they came into the dim light, he recognized them as Luna Lovegood and Garrick Ollivander.
Luna! Mister Ollivander!" exclaimed Harry. "What are you doing here?
"We're prisoners, my boy," said the emaciated wizard.
"Yes, we've been here for a long time. What's that in your hand?" asked Luna.
"It's a piece of a mirror. I keep seeing someone in it. I think it is Dumbledore."
"But he's dead," replied Luna.
"I know. But I keep seeing him."
Just then, a part of a face appeared in it. As the eye stared into his eyes, Harry said, "Help us."
Several seconds passed. Suddenly, there was a snap and the house-elf Dobby appeared before them.
"Dobby!" blurted Harry. "How are you here?"
"Dobby is here to help Harry Potter," said the elf.
"Can you apparate us in and out of this place," asked Harry, still shocked by the appearance of the elf.
"Of course. I'm an elf."
Take them," he said pointing to Luna, Dean, and Mister Ollivander. "Take them to Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth. Then come back for us."
Dobby took their hands and disappeared as Harry and Ron walked to the gate. Ron had a desperate look as he heard the continued screaming of Hermione and the ranting of Bellatrix about wanting to know who had been in her vault. Then the screaming stopped.
A few seconds later they saw Peter Pettigrew coming down the stairs. Peter opened the gate and started to step inside when a bolt of light hit him in the back. He toppled face-first onto the hard floor. Then, they saw Dobby at the top of the stairs.
"Who gets his wand?" asked Dobby.
Harry grabbed the wand and they headed up the stairs. As they peeked into the room they saw several people talking. The snatchers were gone. Hermione was lying face down on the floor. She was not moving.
Ron moved, drawing attention to them and a fight erupted. Dobby disarmed Narcissa and Bellatrix as Harry stunned Lucius and disarmed Draco. Then, Bellatrix screamed "STOP'. She had pulled Hermione to her feet and was holding a dagger to her throat.
Once again beaten, Harry and Ron started to surrender. Just then, they heard a noise and looked up. Dobby was loosening the chandelier over top of Bellatrix. It came loose and fell as Bellatrix dove out of the way and Hermione fell to the side. Harry and Ron grabbed the loose wands and gathered Griphook and Hermione so Dobby could apparate them away. Just as they disappeared, Bellatrix threw her dagger. It vanished into the vortex with them.
Seconds later, they appeared on the beach in front of the cottage where the others were waiting for them. They were safe. Everything was fine. Then they say Dobby with the hilt of the dagger protruding out of his chest.
Harry ran and caught him as he toppled over. He begged Hermione, anyone, to help Dobby. However, there was nothing that could be done. Hermione was too weak from the torture. Dobby died in Harry's arms.
Dobby was buried in the garden the next day. It felt like the loss of a family member to them. Luna and Dean left to return to Hogwarts. The trio knew they had to find a way into Gringotts and Bellatrix's vault. They went upstairs to talk with Griphook.
Despite the warnings of Bill, who worked closely with goblins on his job at Gringotts, they struck a deal involving a trade of the sword for getting them into the vault. After that, they spoke with Mister Ollivander. He identified the owners of the wands in their possession and alluded to the idea that Harry could actually be the owner of the Elder Wand...although that detail did not immediately sink in.
Using a hair Bellatrix had left on her and some clothes from Fleur, Hermione used polyjuice to transform into Bellatrix. Ron was disguised as a random wizard. Harry and Griphook were going to use the cloak to hide them.
They apparated to Diagon Alley and made their way to Gringotts with a Death Eater they bumped into named Travers accompanying them. Once inside, they managed to secure entrance into the vaults with the aid of a few confundus charms and the Imperius Curse. They made their way down the tramway until they fell victim to the Thief's Downfall. It washed away their enchantments and dumped them on the floor of the cavern.
Griphook and Bogrod, who under a fresh Imperius curse, used devices called clankers to get them past a dragon that guarded the vaults. Once inside the vault, they were warned to not touch anything. The Gemino curse would cause things to multiple into worthless copies and the Flagrante curse would cause touched items to burn them. Enough touching would result in their deaths.
It did not take long before an inadvertent touch by Hermione set off a cascade of chaos. Burning, multiplying copies were rapidly heating the room to intolerable levels. Harry spotted the cup and Hermione levitated him up to where he could get it with the point of the sword. However, he dropped it and the sword. Griphook grabbed the sword and tossed the cup in the air where Harry caught it. Griphook abandoned them and ran from the vault yelling that thieves were inside it.
The trio made their way out before they were burned to death but were immediately under attack by guards. Harry shouted 'Relashio' as he pointed his wand at the chain holding the dragon. Once freed, they dashed onto the back of the dragon in a desperate attempt to escape amidst a hailstorm of curses.
The dragon headed for the cave leading back out of the vaults. Hermione used the Defodio charm to gouge open the cave so the aged dragon could get through it. Up and up they went until they burst into the lobby of the bank and out through the doors into the air.
Hermione was sobbing inconsolably from the pain of the burns and the terror of the situation. Ron held her as Harry urged the dragon on.
They flew away from London and north toward Scotland. However, the dragon was old and half-blind. It soon started to descend over a lake. They jumped off of it and fell several meters into the water. Half-drowned, aching and burnt, they made their way onto the shore where Hermione used all of her remaining Dittany on their burns. Even though it was not enough, it helped. However, nothing could soothe the terror they had just experienced.
They could see the dragon resting across the lake as they changed into dry clothes as evening began to fall. They knew they had to be far from here before it regained its strength. It was going to be hungry and they were probably going to look like a convenient dinner to it.
Harry wanted to go to Hogwarts. He said his mind and Voldemort's had connected while in the water. Voldemort knew they were hunting his horcruxes and was desperately angry about protecting them. Harry knew there was one at Hogwarts and it had to do with Rowena Ravenclaw. He wanted to find it before Voldemort moved it.
Hermione was upset that Harry had let Voldemort into his mind. However, Harry said it was impossible not to prevent it all of the time. She then said they need to create a plan before moving forward to which Harry countered by citing the recent mishap and Godric's Hollow as evidence their plans never seem to work.
Presented with that evidence, Hermione agreed they should immediately go to Hogsmeade and find their way into the castle. A moment later, they appeared on High Street the late Hogsmeade evening and all hell immediately erupted as a bunch of Caterwauling charm started filling the still air with screaming wails and doors started opening as people, mostly snatchers, and Death Eaters, quickly began filling the street.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran for cover as the snatchers started searching for the intruders. They eventually found themselves in a back alley and were ushered inside a door seconds ahead of a group of snatchers.
A person who could have easily been mistaken in the dim light for Dumbledore led them into a cellar.
"What are you doing coming here?" said the man. "The place is full of his forces."
From there, Harry and Aberforth engaged in a contentious exchange where they learned the man was Dumbledore's brother Aberforth. While Harry was unaware of his existence, Hermione had read about him in Rita Skeeter's book. She also knew about Ariana, whose picture hung on the wall. Aberforth made Harry confront a lot of the things he had been thinking, but had never dealt with. If not for Hermione's perspective that he had been watching them in the mirror and that he did not sound like someone who Harry accused of 'giving up' while he left to get them some food, Harry might have never calmed down.
Once he returned with the food, Harry remade his case for going into the castle. Aberforth relented and sent Ariana on her way to summon aid for them. After a few minutes, her portrait returned and the picture on the wall swung open to reveal a secret passage filled with Neville Longbottom.
Neville gathered the trio and started back up the passage to the castle. When Harry noted that he had never heard of this passage, Neville said it had never existed before. It was the trio's introduction to the genius of Room of Requirement requests by Neville.
During the walk, Neville told them how much Hogwarts had changed. He warned them about the Carrows and said Snape was rarely seen. When they burst into the room filled with Dumbledore's Army, an explosion of joy erupted led by Lavender nearly tackling Ron and smothering him with kisses.
"Lavender seems happy to see Ron," quipped Harry.
"You think," giggled Hermione. "Maybe we should have Neville make them a room of their own."
Several minutes later, after the hurrah had subsided and Ron had a chance to also hug Ginny and learn that the family was well, Harry started telling them why he had returned. They listened to him but found the need to find a small, easily concealable item related to Rowena Ravenclaw lacking clues to go on. Only Luna had a suggestion. She thought they might be looking for Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem. However, Cho said it had been lost for hundreds of years and no one alive had ever seen it. That seemed to dampen the thinking.
Finally, it was time to return to the dormitories for the night. As they dispersed, they learned the whole school had been summoned to the Great Hall by Snape. The Houses assembled and soon were marched into the room where Snape was waiting to address them.
Snape told the assembled masses that Harry Potter had been sighted earlier in the evening in Hogsmeade. He warned them against hiding him and asked anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to step forward. As he waited, Harry stepped out of the ranks of Gryffindor House and confronted him.
As Harry verbally accosted Snape for the death of Dumbledore, the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix entered. A fight was imminent. As the house pushed aside, Professor McGonagall stepped in front of Harry to take on Snape.
A duel began with McGonagall and Snape exchanging curses. McGonagall pulled the fire off the torches on the wall with her wand and launched it at Snape. Snape, although no one realized it at the time, deflected the fire so it blasted the Carrows before he fled from the hall.
A chase ensued, but he escaped through a window. As McGonagall cursed him as a coward, a winded Slughorn chugged into the room. She chastised Slughorn's sloth, not accepting all of it being due to his prodigious girth. She told him to sort out his loyalties while there was still time.
Moments later, the voice of Voldemort filled the minds of everyone. He told them that the time to decide their loyalties was here. They needed to give him Harry Potter or he would kill everyone who resisted him. The hell of battle had arrived at Hogwarts and it was starving for a feast.
Act XVI
A Time to Die
No sooner had the voices subsided than the school was enveloped in the chaos of panic planning. Houses were ordered to gather their underage members for immediate evacuation through the secret passages. Several professors and Order of the Phoenix members went into the courtyard to cast protective shield spells over the castle. Professor McGonagall used the Piertotum Locomotor charm to reanimate the stone guards on the walls of the castle and to send them forth to defend the school.
Hermione told Harry that they needed something to kill the horcrux if they found it. She said Ron had an idea of where to get some basilisk fangs. Harry told them to go. He was going to start searching in the Ravenclaw Common Room for the diadem. He had to start somewhere.
As Hermione and Ron headed off to find the fangs, Harry sprinted up the stairs of the Ravenclaw Tower. Partway up he was intercepted by Luna Lovegood. She wanted to talk, but he told her he was too busy. Then, in a very unLuna-like fashion, she screamed at him to stop and listen to her. Her outburst startled him. He had never heard Luna raise her voice in his entire life. He looked at her in stunned silence, wondering what she had to say.
"You're wasting your time, Harry," she said. "Don't you remember what Cho said? No one alive has seen the diadem. It's obvious, isn't it? You need to talk to someone who is dead."
Harry's eyes widened as her words sunk into his mind. This is why he always secretly loved Luna. Her clarity and insights were often amazingly brilliant. And of all of them, this was one of the most brilliant.
Harry followed Luna as she took him down the stairs. She led him to a remote, quiet part of the castle away from the chaos. After a moment, they saw the Grey Lady...Helena Ravenclaw...the ghost of Ravenclaw House floating near a spectral table of moldy food.
"She's very shy," whispered Luna as she stepped away and left Harry to speak with her.
It was a well-known fact that she seldom spoke to anyone. Harry tried to be respectful, but it took several moments and multiple tries before she responded back to him. He explained what he wanted, but she was very reluctant to tell him the location of the diadem. The last time she had trusted someone it was a very persuasive student named Tom Riddle. He then defiled it by turning it into a horcrux. It made her very reluctant to trust anyone.
They conversed for several minutes with Harry pleading his case before relented and said to him "If you have to ask, you'll never know. But if you know, you need only ask."
It took Harry a minute, but then he knew. The diadem was in the Room of Requirement. He thanked Helena and sprinted from the room.
Several minutes later and out of breath, Harry made it to the seventh floor and entered the room to begin searching. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione made their way to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Ron had heard Harry speaking parseltongue in his sleep so many times he had memorized the words to enter it. Moments later, they were gathering fangs from the skeleton of the basilisk Harry had killed in year two.
Ron told Hermione to take the cup out of her bag as she finished sticking five or six fangs in it. She dug around for a moment and pulled it out. Ron took it and laid it on the wet floor. He handed Hermione a fang and told her to stab the cup. She tried to resist, claiming she could not, but Ron said he had done it and so had Harry. Now it was her turn.
Hermione raised the fang over her head and struck down hard on the cup. There was a roaring explosion, then the whole room seemed to turn to roiling water. A few seconds later they stood up, dripping from head to toe.
Ron gave Hermione a hug and told her he was proud of her. He also said he was happy for her and Harry. "You make an awesome pair," were his words as the tiny fruit on the Tree of Love seemed to instantly double in size from the swelling in her heart caused by hearing someone say such a wonderful thing.
They gathered their things and headed out of the chamber looking at the Marauders Map Harry had given her to put in her bag. They found Harry just as he disappeared.
"He's gone," said Hermione. "He was there a second ago."
"Maybe he is in the Room of the Requirement. You said it doesn't appear on the map."
"Brilliant," she replied as they scurried off.
"Up in the room, Harry was getting frustrated as he searched the countless stacks and piles. He had never considered the sheer volume of stuff accumulated here over a thousand years.
Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. He remembered putting a crown on the bust of an old wizard while hiding the potions book a year before. He hurried to the back of the room and saw it, still looking 'silly' on the bust. He took it and headed for the door.
He was about halfway out when Draco Malfoy appeared in front of him flanked by his ever-present goons Crabbe and Goyle. Draco demanded the return of his wand while Harry questioned him about why he had not outed him at Malfoy Manor. Just as Goyle was about to fire a curse at Harry, Hermione and Ron showed up. Hermione disarmed Goyle as Crabbe returned fire. In the melee, the diadem was knocked out of Harry's hand and flew up into a stack of furniture. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle started running with Ron hurling curses as he pursued them.
Harry scaled the shaky stack of furniture and found the diadem in a nest of Cornish pixies. The pixies flew in all directions as he grabbed it and started climbing down. Just as he reached the ground, Ron came running back into view.
"Crabbe set the bloody place on fire," he screamed as he ran by Harry and Hermione. Seconds later, a wall of Fiendfyre came at them in the form of a snake.
Harry and Hermione started running. The flames, now in the form of a lion, were gaining on them when Ron discovered some brooms. They took to the air in an effort to escape. As they fled, they saw the others desperately climbing a pile of desks. All of a sudden, the portly, clumsy Crabbe fell backward and was consumed by a dragon made from flames of his own making.
"Let's get out of here," hollered Ron.
"We can't leave them," shouted Harry as he turned in the direction of the others.
Ron and Hermione were not pleased, but they followed Harry and managed to rescue Malfoy and Goyle from the burning pile seconds before a flaming snake would have swallowed them. Hermione cast a spell that parted the flames as they headed to the doors. In the process, Harry dropped the diadem and saw it explode as it was consumed by the flames. Once they exited the room, they quickly sealed the door to contain the fire.
During the relatively short time they were in the room, the magnitude of the battle had multiplied exponentially. As they made their way down toward the ground floor, they saw bodies everywhere. Some of the casualties were students...friends and acquaintances, others were Death Eaters and members of Voldemort's forces.
They continued their downward flight. Suddenly, there was a flash of wand light. A student, a girl, toppled off a nearby stairway and crashed onto the floor.
"That's Lavender," yelled Ron in a terrified voice. He started toward her as Fenrir Greyback lunged into view and charged toward her. He was bent on finishing her in his own way.
"NO!" screamed Hermione as she fired a blasting curse at him. It hit Greyback squarely in the back and propelled him against the stairway. Sybill Trelawney, who had been accompanying Lavender, quickly dropped her crystal ball on the stunned werewolf. It hit him with such force that he panicked and dove out a window.
"Take care of Lavender," hollered Ron. "We've got to keep going."
Harry and Hermione reached the ground floor only to find it to be like a bag of well-shaken bees. Acromantulas were fighting on the side of the Death Eaters. Giants are fighting with each other. Students and other forces loyal to the school were sending curses at Death Eaters and forces loyal to Voldemort. The floor was covered with stunned, injured, and dead spiders, giants, and people.
Just as Harry and Hermione made it outside, Ron ran up and rejoined them. "Madame Pomfrey is tending to Lavender," he said.
"You should be with her," said Hermione. "She needs you."
"I know. But you need me more," replied Ron. "Madame Pomfrey said she is going to be fine. We have to find Voldemort and kill him before he kills all of us.
Harry paused, trying to get into Voldemort's head and to determine his location. Finally, he said, "The Shrieking Shack. He is in the Shrieking Shack."
The trio ran in the direction of the whomping willow. They knew it guarded the entrance. Moments later, they arrived. The tree never raised a branch to attack them. It was uncharacteristically still. That surely meant someone was inside the shack.
They made their way through the tunnel and were about to enter the shack when they heard voices. They were those of Voldemort and Snape. Voldemort was complaining about the Elder wand resisting him and not performing at its full potential. Snape was telling him that no wand was more powerful and it would not fail him.
As they continued to listen, Voldemort said the wand was failing because he was not its true owner. He told Snape that he was the true owner and in order for the wand to be his, he would have to kill him. Snape started to respond, but his words were cut short by a choking gasp.
"Nagini, Kill!" ordered the voice of Voldemort. There were several loud thumps as the snake struck Snape who was already seriously wounded by a slashing cut from a sectumsempra spell cast by Voldemort. Then, there was the obvious thud of a body hitting the floor. Seconds later, there was the unmistakable whoosh of someone apparating away.
The trio looked at each other in shock. As much as they had hated Snape for all of the years at the school, they never wished a fate such as this on him. They opened the trapdoor and cautiously entered the shack.
Snape was on the floor. He was clearly inches from death.
Take them he begged, motioning to the silvery tears flowing from his eyes. Harry knew they were memories from his experience getting the memory from Slughorn that night at Hagrid.
"Give me a vial...anything," he shouted as he looked at Hermione.
Hermione dug into her bag and pulled out a small, stoppered bottle. Harry quickly took it and began capturing the glimmering liquid as he held the head of the man who had been his most vocal critic and tormentor.
Take them. Take them to the pensieve," gasped Snape. "Look at me."
Harry looked into Snape's eyes. The light in them was flickering, nearly extinguished.
"You have your mother's eyes," said Snape as his last, dying breath rattled out of him. His head fell to the side and he was gone.
Suddenly, their heads were filled with the booming voice of Voldemort. He was speaking in a sanctimoniously insincere tone about how well the forces of Hogwarts had fought, albeit in vain. He commanded his forces to withdraw while the remainder of the Hogwarts forces recovered their dead so they could treat them with respect. Then, he chastised and taunted Harry for allowing his friends to die instead of facing him. He gave Harry one hour to face his fate before he would launch a second attack.
The trio began running back toward the castle. Harry was on a mission to see what was so important that Snape would use his dying breaths to ask Harry to use
the pensieve to view the memories in the vial.
When they arrived back at the castle it was a sobering scene of destruction, death, and injury. The entryway was filled with people trying to tend to the injuries of friends and fellow students. Near the back was a makeshift morgue where the bodies of the deceased were laid out in several rows.
All of a sudden, Ron saw the members of his family gathered amidst the fallen. He ran to them. On the floor was the lifeless body of his brother Fred. He fell to his knees sobbing and crying out 'Fred! Fred! Fred!' as his emotions exploded through him.
George knelt down beside him and embraced him in his arms. Hermione quickly joined them, a torrent pouring from her eyes. Harry stood in the middle of the family holding onto Ginny and Molly. His tears were soon joining those of the others.
After a few minutes, Hermione tried to wipe the tears from her face and looked up at Harry. "You need to go to the pensieve. You are running out of time."
Harry looked at her and nodded, unable to speak. Then, he turned and headed off through the bodies of other friends in the direction of the stairs. In the last row were Remus and Tonks, the hands of their silenced bodies resting atop each other, united in death.
The tears that had almost ceased flowing in Harry's eyes were once again pouring out at full force. His favorite professor, the friend of his parents and trusted friend was gone along with his wonderful wife. They had a baby son. Who would care for him now?
After a few somber moments, Harry returned to his mission. He made his way onto the revolving stairway and up to the office of the headmaster. Once there, he opened a closet and pulled out the pensieve, and poured Snape's memories into it. He then took a deep breath and leaned forward. He felt a tugging, then he was falling into the memories of the dead professor.
They started with him meeting and befriending his mother as a young girl over the objections of her sister, Petunia. Then he watched them grow as close friends until they appeared at Hogwarts. Snape was sorted into Slytherin while Lily became a member of Gryffindor.
Lily became friends with his dad and his friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. It broke Snape's heart to see Lily drift away from him. He clearly loved her. The next sequences were of his dad bullying Snape in front of the school while Lily stood by without intervening. Seeing his father act so crassly was painful.
Then the memories moved to the romance of his and Lily. Then he was making a deal, pleading with Dumbledore to protect them from the Dark Lord because they were marked for death. Snape promised to spy on Voldemort for Dumbledore in return for their protection. However, the protection failed and Voldemort killed his father. Then he turned to kill him, but his mother jumped in front of the spell and sacrificed herself to protect him. The spell rebounded and Voldemort was struck down, losing his powers and turning Harry into the horcrux he never meant to make.
The final sequences were Snape and Dumbledore discussing him. Dumbledore told Snape that Harry must die at the hand of Voldemort to fulfill the prophecy. This outraged Snape who accused Dumbledore of raising Harry like a pig for slaughter and declaring his eternal love for Lily by sending forth his patronus to aid Harry in finding the sword. The patronus was a doe, the same as the patronus of his mother. This amazed Dumbledore, who only then realized the depth of Snape's love for Lily and commitment to protecting Harry.
After that revelation, Harry fell back out of the grip of the pensieve and nearly collapsed on the floor. He realized it was his time to die and he needed to go meet Voldemort and sacrifice himself if good was going to somehow triumph over evil.
After several moments of gathering himself and reconciling the situation, he walked, almost like a zombie to the stairway and down to the main floor. His whole life was flashing through his mind in random, rapid-fire pops. He could not focus.
As he walked across the room, he saw but did not really see Hermione as she was talking to Ron. He wanted to talk to her, He had so much he wanted to say. But he did not know how to begin. His mind was a blur, like water color paints in the rain. An hour ago he thought he had his whole life in front of him to talk to her...to tell her things. Now, he was on a mission to dutifully die at this, his appointed time. He covered himself with his invisibility cloak and started his last mile of life. As he descended the stairs, he saw Neville carrying the body of Colin Creevy, the young student who had so idolized him. He pulled off the cloak and told Neville that the snake was the final horcrux. It was important to kill the snake. Then Voldemort would be mortal.
He continued walking until Hermione noticed him. He did not seem to be walking. He did not notice her. It was more like he was floating in a dream. His eyes were diffused in a thousand-yard stare.
"Harry. HARRY!" exclaimed Hermione as she grabbed his arm as he started to walk past them. "What's the matter? Where are you going?"
"To the forest," he said. "I have to go to the forest."
"You can't," she said as his words stabbed her like a dagger to the heart. "You can't go there."
"I have to," he replied. "It's alright. Find Neville. You have to help Neville."
"What is it? What do you know?"
"The horcruxes. There's a reason I hear them...a reason my mind is connected to his. I have known for a while...but I have been denying it. I think you know, too."
"No," she cried, her face dissolving into an ocean of tears. "I'm going with you."
"You don't understand. I have to face him alone."
"Hermione lunged into his arms, hugging him with all her might, kissing him with a hundred years of future passion pulled into this moment as a woodsman with an axe approached the Tree of Love.