Through Heaven and Hell:
The Snake vs. The Lion
The vial began to shake and rattle irritably. It rumbled and rumbled until one might have thought the ground would crack before it. Finally it erupted with a huge explosion and a God-awful scream erupted from it, sounding like a high-pitched, inhuman screech. "HHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII!" he screamed as his limbs burst out of the vial. He lay there aching with pain, not knowing how long he'd been in the vial. Blood gushed from tiny wounds in his pale skin from the Fire Walls and glass; even now that he was out of the vial, he wasn't sure if he could survive in his body. But no matter the pain; one thing, one image was still burning in his mind.
Harry Potter.
* * *
His scar was burning far worse than it ever had before, and Harry felt himself wanting to pass out, but tried to resist. Stumbling blindly out of bed he steadied himself on the fireplace until the pain gradually died away after another excruciating ten minutes. "Harry? What's wrong?" said Ginny, sitting up in bed. 'Fifteen years gone by and nothing, not so much as a twang from my scar,' thought Harry, 'we made the vial Unbreakable, we put Fire Walls in it, Memory Charms, everything imaginable...I refuse to believe it.' He shut his eyes stubbornly, "Nothing's wrong Ginny, go back to sleep. I just had a nightmare, that's all."
* * *
Despite what he'd told Ginny, inwardly he was still unsure of himself and he Apparated to Hogwarts a bit earlier than usual. He didn't go down to the dungeons where his Potions classroom was, but instead headed to a large stone gargoyle on one of the main floors. "Furnunculus Charm!" said Harry, reciting the password. The gargoyle came to life and sprang aside, and the entrance to the Headmaster's stairs was revealed. Climbing up them quickly he knocked on the door but no one answered; "Severus?" he said, peeking around the door. No one was there, but he knew it was only a matter of time till he showed up so he waited in one of the chairs. The office hadn't changed much since Dumbledore had been there; there were only two exceptions. A new portrait had been added onto the pictures of the previous Headmasters of Hogwarts, and it was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore noticed Harry's presence in the room and waved from his spot in the portrait, then went back to sleep. The other exception was the absence of Dumbledore's pet phoenix Fawkes; instead there was a grindylow in a cage filled with water, sitting on top of a cabinet. It shook its' fist at him irritably then disappeared amongst the weeds, although Harry could still see a pair of gleaming eyes staring at him through the tangle.
Harry made a face at it then propped his head up on one hand, trying to think. If his scar was telling the truth, and it always had, there was much more at risk than there had been fifteen years ago when he'd first been sealed in that vial. Harry had a wife and a son now, and when Voldemort found that out he was certain to go after them first; then he'd come after Harry. Ron and Hermione had more to lose too; they were both very happily married to each other and they had two kids. Harry ran his fingers through his hair anxiously, "Not now, this can't possibly be happening now..." Just then the door to the office opened and Severus Snape stepped in. He'd aged very well so far; only a few fine streaks of silver had appeared in his jet black hair, and he didn't look much different from when Harry had first begun his wizard training at Hogwarts. Although Harry was going to tell Severus about what had happened last night he didn't get the chance; instead Severus strode over and pulled back the sleeve of his robe to reveal the Dark Mark burning angrily on his forearm. "Tell me I'm going blind," he said. Harry shook his head and pulled back his bangs to reveal his scar, "It woke me up this morning; it hurt worse than its ever hurt before."
Severus bowed his head and sat down at his desk, "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I may not survive again. What am I saying? It's you I should be worried about, with how you're always the one who ends up destroying him." Harry laughed joylessly, "Not destroying him; prolonging the inevitable, perhaps." "We're in trouble either way," said Severus with a dark sigh, "you'd better get hold of Ron and Hermione. I'll go talk to Draco and the rest of the staff." Harry left using Floo Powder, arriving at the Ministry of Magic moments later. 'Probably not even here yet,' he thought as he knocked on Hermione's office. Her flustered face appeared a moment later, and she was carrying a large stack of books, "Oh hi Harry!" 'Who was I kidding?' thought Harry; "Hi Hermione, er, listen, we need to talk."
Hermione had listened intently to everything Harry had said, then bit her lip. "Well," she said finally, "we're in a bit of pickle."
* * *
Ron flipped over backward and slapped the Quaffle away from the hoop with the tail of his broom; "Ha! Take that George!" "Oh shut up Ron you great git," George said, throwing the Quaffle at his head. Ron ducked then noticed that his best friend was waiting for him on the ground, "Time out!" he called, speeding off to Harry. "Hey Harry what's up?" he asked, jumping off his broom lightly. Then he saw the look on Harry's face; "All right game over for today!" he shouted at the players in the air. "Why? What happened?" said Charlie Weasley. "Scared out of his wits more than likely," said Bill. "I don't need a reason now go home!" shouted Ron. "All right Harry, what happened?"
Ron paced his room irritably as Harry told him about what had been going on lately. "So do we have any idea as to where he is?" he said after Harry had finished. "Not yet, but Hermione is already on it," said Harry. "Severus is telling the teachers too, and after that he'll probably get hold of the usuals and tell them about it." "Right, naturally," said Ron, "well, I'll tell my brothers and mum and dad. Ginny knows?" "Er, no, not yet," said Harry sheepishly, "I didn't want to worry her." "Ha!" Ron laughed, "Yeah Harry, that's a good one."
* * *
Harry stopped by his parents' flat later on after he'd talked to Ron. His father had been in the store stocking Fanged Frisbees when he'd arrived, "Hi Dad, how's business?" He shrugged, "Same as usual; giving Zonko's a run for his money." After Harry and Severus had brought back his parents, Harry had introduced James to the Weasley twins Fred and George. He'd gone nuts over their joke shop and was now a partner in it, much to Lily's displeasure. They lived in a small flat right above the shop, and despite James' oddball job as part owner of a joke shop Harry knew he worked hard at it. He just loved to play jokes on people; just the other day he'd slipped Harry a Canary Cream in his pie. Harry had now made a firm regulation with his father that he used often with the Weasley twins; never accept so much as a crisp from any of them.
Harry explained what was happening to James, and a dark, hateful look grew on his face. "Voldemort," said James, "I swear if I ever meet him I'll kill hi-" "Don't bother," said Harry, "I know that everyone wants to kill him but you know why we can't." "Ah yes, of course, resurrecting him using that book," said James, "but you know I was just speaking figuratively." 'Sure Dad, sure,' thought Harry. "You tell Mom, okay? I've got to get back to Hogwarts," said Harry. "Get hold of me if anything new develops!" his father shouted after him as Harry left the store, "I know! I will!" said Harry. Then he Disapparated back to his home; 731 North Hogsmeade.
* * *
"Ginny!" Harry called; it was evening now, so she'd probably be in the kitchen. Suddenly she came from around the corner, "Hi Harry," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek, "how was your day?" "Ginny, we need to talk. Now." She frowned, "What happened?"
Ginny had slapped him on the arm with frustration when he'd finished his story; "I told you to tell me what happened!" "I know, I know, but I didn't want you to freak out," he said with a shrug. Just then his son came walking into the room, "Hi Dad, how's it going?" he asked. Their son, James Severus Potter was eleven years old, and had already attended his first year at Hogwarts. He looked remarkably like Harry, except he had Ginny's nose and his hair was a bit redder. "I'm fine Jack," he said, ruffling his son's hair. "You don't look so good," said Jack with a frown. "Well at least you're observant," said Harry with a sigh.
Then his head burst with pain.
Harry clutched his head, stars in his eyes, and stumbled backward. He could see another vision, but what was it? It was none other than his own house, of course. But why would he be seeing his house? He only saw things that Voldemort saw. Harry's eyes snapped open and he grabbed Jack and Ginny, then threw Floo Powder on the fireplace. "Get to Hogwarts NOW!" he shouted. "Harry why..." "NOW!" screamed Harry. Ginny leapt into the fire with Jack and shouted, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" They were gone. Harry ran to the window and looked out to see a hooded black figure on his front lawn; a wand was suddenly raised. Harry's eyes grew wide and he jumped into the fireplace and shouted, "HOGWARTS!" Just as he began to spin out of the fireplace he heard a deafening cracking noise and saw his house falling apart behind him.
* * *
Severus tapped his fingers on the desk nervously; Harry still hadn't shown up yet. Ginny and Jack had run into his office only moments before, scared out of their wits and explaining what had happened. Suddenly the door burst open and Harry limped in, covered with dirt and soot, and one ankle looking very swollen. Harry didn't say anything and instead kept limping right on by until he reached a crystal case on a shelf in Severus' office; inside it was the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Harry pulled it out then pulled out a silver belt buckle and snapped it onto his belt. He also pulled out the necklace which had been hanging round his neck under his t-shirt, letting it fall onto his robes. He immediately began limping back out of the office again but Severus said; "Don't. He'll kill you easily when you're in a state like that." Harry threw down the sword and limped over to Severus' desk, leaned forward and put his hands down on it. "Rubeus Hagrid once told me that Hogwarts was the safest place on Earth." Severus nodded slowly, "It is." Harry pointed at Jack and Ginny, "Prove it."
* * *
Severus had special arrangements made for Jack and Ginny to stay at Hogwarts for as long as was needed. Jack stayed in what was soon to be his second year dormitory and Ginny stayed in a makeshift bed in Harry's office. They did, however, keep a bed nearby for Jack whenever he felt like staying round his parents for the night.
Harry, Sirius, Ron, James, and Severus went back to Harry's house in the morning. It was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Harry kicked at some of it irritably, then rummaged through it, finding a few possessions here and there. He found Jack's favorite book, a little tattered looking, but still in semi-good condition; he pocketed it for later. "I don't believe this..." said Ron softly, staring at the demolished house; "he's returned even more powerful than before..." Sirius noticed that Harry had his back to all of them, staring into the forest behind what had been their house. "Harry?" said Sirius slowly. Harry didn't say anything for several minutes, and James, Ron, Sirius, and Severus were beginning to feel a very eerie silence growing. "Harry?" said Ron softly. Harry suddenly threw down his wand, "VOOOOOLDEMOOOORT!" he screamed, "YOU COWARD!" He slammed his fist into what was left of a wall and it blew itself into pieces; the sheer power coming off of him knocking his friends and family backward.
Ron's vision of his friend changed; he was no longer Harry Potter the great Quidditch player or Potions Master, he was a deadly wizard no one wanted to go near. "Harry stop!" said Severus, grabbing him from behind. "He almost killed my family," said Harry, tears in his eyes. "I know Harry, I know," he said hugging him tightly.
Voldemort watched with pleasure from the tree line of the forest. "Be afraid boy," said Voldemort, "I meant to take your family this time, but you were clever enough to get them away." He looked down at his hand, observing a thin scar that had been cut into it from one of the shards of the crystal vial he had called prison for fifteen years. "But you will not be so lucky next time; that is what frightens you."
* * *
The school year began without much event. It was Jack's second year at the school, and he was very eager to start learning and to get back to seeing his friends. He'd become best friends with Ron and Hermione's kids, Harry and Sirius; both obviously named after Harry Potter and Sirius Black. Since the three had come to school, however, they were clearly beginning to show signs of following in their parents' and grandparents' footsteps. Already Harry, Sirius, and Jack had had a few midnight adventures resulting in two detentions and points from Gryffindor. Although Harry didn't like having to take away points from his house because his son was out causing trouble, he couldn't help but smile, remembering all his own adventures at Hogwarts. James, Fred, George, and Sirius were all for it, however, and we're constantly trying to get Harry to give Jack his old Invisibility Cloak so Jack wouldn't get caught in the middle of the night, wandering down to the kitchens or going through the Restricted Section of the library. "Nothing wrong with a bit of fun," George had told him one day while Harry had been in their store, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"Yeah Harry," Fred said, "why not pass along the Marauder's Map and the Cloak eh? It's only fair you know." Harry had frowned, "No...er, at least, not yet." "Ahh, that's the spirit Harry!" James had said from around the corner where he'd been filling up the barrel of Cockroach Clusters. "After all, what sort of father wouldn't give his son great stuff like that?" "A good one probably," said Sirius from a corner where he'd been sucking on a Fizzing Whizbee. "Shh! Shut up!" said James, hurling a Cluster at his head. "You'll make him think twice about it!" "Probably should anyway," said Harry with a roll of his eyes.
The school year had only been going on for about two months when Harry had felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach while he had been teaching. He had Jack, Sirius, Harry, and Jonathan Longbottom in this class, so he had to keep very focused indeed on all of them. Harry had just sat down at his desk, letting the class make the Confusion Potion when he felt his mind beginning to wander. He reflected later on that it probably wasn't the wisest idea. "No wait Jonathan don't add that!" cried Jack's voice. Too late.
"BOOM!"
The classroom shuddered as blue potion went everywhere; "Oh for goodness sake Jonathan not again!" said Patrick Finnigan irritably. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking..." moaned Jonathan, "wait a minute, where am I? What's going on? Who are you?" "Well at least we know his Confusion Potion works," said Sirius with a frown. "Huh? Have we met before? No, I don't think so," said Jack. Harry Weasley rolled his eyes, "You're both stupid as far as I'm...heyyy...why am I in a dungeon?"
Harry Potter tried not to laugh and said, "Just to clarify for all that don't know, you're in Potions class with me in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." "Sure, sure, but who are you?" said Patrick. "Oh, Professor Potter, Harry Potter," he said as he began to clean up the blue potion. "Hmm, name sounds familiar," said Jack thoughtfully. "I'd hope so," said Harry, "I'll be right back. I'm going to make a potion to fix this up real quick." Harry went into his office and began pulling ingredients out of his private stores when he felt a prickling feeling of dread in the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it and continued putting things into the cauldron when he felt it again. Harry put down his bottle of Spine of Lionfish and peeked out the door; everything still as chaotic as ever in the classroom. He turned back and decided to look out the window; what he saw shocked him.
Severus was walking across the grounds, but from this distance he couldn't tell that anything was wrong until he began to come closer. He wasn't walking; he was limping. His robes were in bloody tatters, and he was clearly on the verge of exhaustion. Harry ran out of the door as fast as he could and stopped only to get Draco Malfoy to help him. They both sprinted through the halls and out the main doors, grabbing the attention of a few teachers who followed them as soon as they realized something was wrong. Severus had just limped past Greenhouse 3 when they finally reached him; "What happened?" said Harry, putting an arm underneath his to support him. "Are you going to be okay?" said Draco, getting his other side and helping him across the Hogwarts lawn. "Just let me get up to my office," said Severus tiredly. "No way, you're going to the hospital wing," said Harry. Severus looked like he was trying to complain but gave up; it looked like it hurt too much. Other teachers soon came down the lawn, helping the three of them up to the hospital wing.
* * *
Severus awoke in the hospital wing a day later, his palms bandaged up and his one broken ankle in a splint. He tried to sit up but discovered it hurt far too much and lay down again. He couldn't help but wonder if the nurse had seen it or not; he lifted up the sleeve of his robe to reveal the Dark Mark. But it was a much different Dark Mark than the clear black one that had burned there months ago; it was now a bright, poisonous green.
* * *
Three days later he was released from the hospital wing, and was accompanied by Harry and Draco to his office. "This isn't necessary you know," he'd said off-handedly as they climbed the spiral staircase. "We think it is," said Draco. "Of course," muttered Severus beneath his breath as they went into his office. "All right, you've had four days to keep us in suspense; now out with it!" said Draco as he sat down. "Alright alright!" said Severus snappishly. "I just didn't want to worry either of you." "Well it's a bit late for that," said Harry. "Let's just get to it please?" said Draco with annoyance. "Okay, but we'll have to go back a day or two before you saw me on the grounds," said Severus finally.
"A few days before I had been in touch with a few people who'd be seeing things lately; very odd things. They were mostly Muggles who had seen a skull eating a snake over a forest or a house, so naturally I went out and did a bit of investigating on my own. I mean it was obviously the Dark Mark, there was no question about that; but what perplexed me the most was when I was flying over Germany and I decided to pay a visit to the Black Forest. After all, it had been the last place Voldemort had been at. I stopped at about a hundred yards away from the edge of the forest because I'd noticed a fire in the middle of it, about a kilometer away from me. Even though I knew it was probably unwise to go by myself I went anyway and saw Voldemort sitting by himself near a small fire."
"You didn't actually try to kill him did you?" said Harry. "Kill him? Harry, that's impossible," said Severus almost lightly, "I did, however, try to at least knock him out long enough so I could get him to the Ministry of Magic and have the Dementors suck out his soul." "I thought the Dementors stopped working with us," said Draco. "Well they still do, or rather, some of them do," said Harry, "whenever they're offered souls to suck they help us without hesitating." "Exactly what I was thinking," said Severus, "but I knew I was too weak with only my wand so I used a Summoning Charm to bring Godric Gryffindor's belongings to me." "What? No you didn't, they're with..." Harry said, feeling under his shirt for his necklace; it wasn't there. "You? No Harry, you must have taken it off because it came easily to me, as did the buckle. The sword was easy enough; it was in my office at the time.
"While I waited for them to come to me I noticed something," he said, and he pulled back his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark, only instead of the usual black color it was a deadly-looking bright green. "My Mark had turned colors; it was no longer black, and it no longer hurt. Instead it had burned green but it was completely painless; I can tell you that even though I had been a Death Eater for over five years I knew nothing of what this meant." Suddenly he sighed, "This is too much for me to tell; I've got a better idea." He got up and went over to a large black cabinet in the corner of the office and unlocked the door. "Before Dumbledore left he gave me something of his that he said would not be of much use to him anymore," he said as he rummaged through the cabinet. He pulled out a large stone bowl with runes written across it; "Dumbledore's Pensieve?" said Harry. "Yes," said Severus, "he said I'd be needing it and so far he's been right." He set it down on the desk and put the tip of his wand to his head, then pulled it away; funny looking silver hairs were clinging to it, and he swirled it into the mysteriously bright white liquid in the Pensieve. "Go ahead, now you can see for yourselves," he said. Harry and Draco exchanged looks, then they both leaned into the Pensieve and the world fell away from them, and instead they found themselves one on each side of Severus, who was riding a broomstick in the blackness of night over a forest.
"What's going on?" said Draco. "Where are we?" "We're inside the Pensieve Draco, watching what happened to Severus that night, now be quiet!" said Harry. Draco fell silent as Harry asked, although Harry was positive he would have done it even if he hadn't. They both watched as Severus pulled back the sleeve of his arm, oblivious to his other two visitors, and they saw that his Mark was a bright green, almost glowing in the dark. 'So that's what he was talking about,' thought Harry as he leaned over to get a good look at it. "Hey! Look!" Draco hissed suddenly, pointing into the distance. They could both see three tiny silver pinpricks from the glint of the moon, but what they were they could not say. Then Harry realized that they must have been Gryffindor's possessions, finally arriving via Severus' Summoning Charm. Severus looked up and saw them closing in and shot off into the darkness, and Harry and Draco found themselves keeping up with him, although how they weren't sure. Severus caught the sword by the handle and snatched up the necklace and buckle with ease; even now Harry was positive he would have made a great Quidditch player had he gone in for the sport.
After donning the three of them, Severus took off for the fire. Harry and Draco followed, both very curious as to what was going to happen next. There was Voldemort, sitting by the fire, and in the flickers of firelight Harry and Draco could both see fine scars that were wrought into his face. Severus landed easily, only a few feet from him; "Well look who it is," snapped Voldemort. He had clearly changed attitude-wise; he was no longer cocky and cool as he had been, but had become quick and snappish, no longer about putting on a good show before killing someone. "My faithful Death Eater come to visit me? The Headmaster of Hogwarts Severus Snape; how cute and pathetic." "You're the one that's pathetic," said Severus coldly, "looking all scarred and damaged. What did you have to do to escape your prison? Use an Engorgement Charm? Is that how you got all cut up and burnt? From the Fire Walls and crystal shards?" Voldemort's red eyes gleamed with anger, "For the fifteen years of imprisonment you, Potter, Granger, Weasley and the rest gave to me, you will suffer dearly. I will not be kind this time; for fifteen years I brooded inside that vial, and I will pay you all back tenfold because of it."
Severus narrowed, "Just try it." Voldemort balled his fists venomously, "You are going to suffer more than you have in your entire life. I'll have you begging for me to kill you by the time I'm finished." "Empty threats as far as I'm concerned," said Severus with a shrug, "because no one knows you're alive, no one will join you, but I have everyone on my side." "No you don't," said Voldemort, "because you're dead."
What ensued was a rather large fight that Harry and Draco both tried to jump into, only to realize that they were inside the Pensieve; they couldn't help Severus in the slightest. They both gave each other hard beatings, and Severus was completely bloodied while Voldemort was covered in large swelling bruises and cuts. Voldemort took a cheap shot and hit Severus so hard in the gut he spat blood, then smashed him in the back of the head. Severus passed out with pain, and Voldemort stood there for a moment, gazing down at him. "You're not dead, not yet," he growled, picking him up by the arm, "because I'm gonna leave you as a little warning to the rest of your friends." The world suddenly swirled with color and Harry and Draco realized they were no longer in the Black Forest; instead they had Apparated with Severus and Voldemort to Hogwarts. Voldemort dropped Severus behind a bush just off the grounds; "You are saved for now, but don't expect such kindness again. Expect death at the next run-in; for now, however, you will run to Potter, Malfoy, Weasley and the rest, warning them." He cackled nastily and Apparated; he was gone. Harry and Draco suddenly felt a pulling force, and they were being sucked out of the scene.
They were back in the office. Severus had pulled both of them out of the Pensieve; "Well, that explains a lot," said Draco apprehensively. "It means we've got to find him and get him quick," said Harry, "because from the way he was talking..." "The next one of us he meets he'll kill," said Severus plainly. "I don't know about either of you two," said Draco with a shrug, "but I'm carrying my wand with me day and night from now on. Probably need a bloody Dementor escort at this rate..." he grumbled. "He's right about that; we'll be needing the Dementors again. I wonder if..." said Harry softly. "What?" "Erm...the Dementors...they suck out souls; so what happens to a soul when it gets sucked out? Is it dead? Does it feed the Dementor? What does it do?" Severus shook his head, "That I do not know. Why does it matter?" Harry shrugged, "Er, well, alright; now we know we can't technically 'kill' Voldemort because there's always some sicko out there willing to bring him back. We tried encapsulating his soul in a vial, and that worked for about fifteen years then he figured out how to get past it. So neither killing him nor casing him has worked; but we're yet to find out what happens when his soul gets sucked right out of him."
"You think a Dementor may completely, totally, and once and for all kill a person?" said Draco. "That's just it; we don't know. If a Dementor sucks out a soul, where does it go? We know it makes the Dementor feel better, but that's it." "Soul food," snorted Draco with a laugh. Harry rolled his eyes, "I guess, but...the Dementor's Kiss has proven fatal to everyone else, and no one has been brought back, so..." "We don't know that for sure," said Draco, "maybe it's just that no one's bothered bringing back someone who's been killed by a Dementor." "We need to test it," said Severus, "and I have no idea how to do that." Harry stood up and stretched, "I have an idea. We'll try to bring back someone who died by a Dementor; if we can't do it, then that proves no one can and we kill him that way. If we can, then we find another way to kill him." "And just who do you propose we try to resurrect?" said Draco. Harry sighed, "Your father." Draco bit his lip, "Oh."
* * *
Lucius Malfoy had been killed years ago by the Dementor's Kiss. Harry, Draco, and Severus had witnessed it themselves; now it was time to find out if that person's soul could be resurrected or not. Harry wasn't sure if Draco was hoping for a yes or a no on that question; on the one hand his father would be alive again, but on the other it meant Voldemort could come back that way and it would cancel that idea out. Harry wasn't even sure if Draco still had any shred of love left for his father; especially with how he'd met his end.
Harry paced the room, waiting for any sort of news; Severus, Draco, and Hermione had gone off to do what was needed two hours ago, leaving Harry to watch over the school. Suddenly the door opened and Draco stepped in, "Well?" said Harry. He shook his head, "He didn't come back." Harry let out a sigh of relief, then, "Oh Draco, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." "Don't worry, I know what you meant," said Draco, shrugging him off, "I didn't want him back. Don't worry about it." Severus and Hermione came in, "Good-o right?" said Hermione. "Yeah," said Harry, "Good."
* * *
Three months had passed since then without any sightings of Voldemort, which made all of them feel very apprehensive. After weeks of planning, however, Sirius, Remus Lupin, James and Lily, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Draco, Severus, and Arthur Weasley got together. Tonight was the night where they would go out on a deliberate search for the thing called Voldemort. "He's just waiting for the perfect time to get one of us," Harry had said one night, "I know he is. We might as well speed up the process and go get him before he can come get us." They'd agreed with Harry, much to his surprise, and they'd gotten permission from the Ministry to take two Dementors along with them in case they encountered him. They hit the heaviest areas of Dark activity first, and broke up and arrested five Death Eaters, but did not find Voldemort. Then they journeyed through Knockturn Alley and found a meeting inside Borgin and Burkes; they caught eight of them in there, but still no Voldemort. "He's getting smart about this," said Hermione as soon as they had finished Apparating to Hogsmeade, "he knows he's likely to get caught in those places." Harry frowned angrily, "I want to find him quickly; I've had enough of these stupid cat and mouse games."
They dispersed for the night, and Fred, George, James, and Lily went back to their store. Arthur Weasley went home, and Ron and Hermione went up to Hogwarts for bed. Only Harry, Remus, Sirius, Draco, and Severus remained, stopping at the Three Broomsticks. "At least tonight hasn't been a total failure, what with those Death Eaters and all," said Draco as he drank his butterbeer. Harry frowned at him and Draco was quiet. All of them knew how much Harry had wanted Voldemort dead, especially after the attack on his family. Severus stood up, "I have to go back to the castle, but I'll see all of you later." He said goodnight and left, and Harry sat at the table looking glum for several more minutes. "Harry, you can't have expected for him to just walk right into our arms," said Sirius, "we're talking about the evilest, foulest thing on the planet. He's got to have some cunning." Harry smiled wanly, "I guess so. I'm leaving for the night; see you guys later."
Harry kicked a few stones in the path irritably as he walked up to Hogwarts; yes, true enough they'd caught several Death Eaters tonight...but not the Death Eater. Voldemort. "Voldemort," he said as he entered the Hogwarts gates. Harry shook his head, then stopped; he could hear noises. Where were they coming from? Somewhere out here on the grounds, no doubt. He listened carefully, barely breathing; it sounded like metal clanking against something else. Like a sword fight, out toward the Forbidden Forest. Harry ran to the edge of the forest and saw a yellow speck in the distance; he ran as fast as he could, stopping only to ignite his wand with his Lumos spell. Two people were fighting near a fire; as he grew closer he saw that one of them was a tall man in sweeping black robes. It was Severus, and he was fighting with Voldemort. "Nox!" said Harry as he ran, extinguishing his wand; he ran into the circle of light and flame. Severus and Voldemort caught each other with sword and staff, and Harry cried, "Voldemort!" They both stopped and turned to Harry, "Harry!" said Severus, shocked at his nephew's sudden turn-up.
Voldemort saw the opportunity and took it; it happened almost in slow motion, not just to Harry, but to Severus too. He dropped the staff from his hands and ripped the sword from Severus' hands, whirled about in a complete circle and rammed the sword straight through his stomach. His eyes bulged from his sockets as he fell silently to the ground; all Voldemort could do was grin in triumph. Harry felt a thousand knives stab him in the heart, and he clutched the sides of his face with his hands, "NOOOOOOO!" Voldemort turned to Harry, "It's been a pleasure seeing the pain on your face. It's like seeing my own pain from those fifteen years of imprisonment turn up inside you. But now, I must go; goodbye for now Potter," he said, raising his wand, "until we meet again. Aparecium!" and he was gone. Harry ran to Severus, who was lying on his side, the sword still inside him. Harry's hands shook and tears poured down his face; he was near half hysteria, and he didn't know what to do.
"What do I do?" moaned Harry as he tried to cover the wound with his hands, hoping to stop the bleeding. "Oh my God there's so much blood," he sobbed, "please don't die please, please, please..." "It's too late Harry," said Severus slowly, blood beginning to come out of his mouth, "it's too late." "No it's not," said Harry as he shot up a jet of red sparks from his wand; international wizard code for 'I need help now.' A few lights flicked on in the castle; someone had seen him, and Harry continued to pour sparks from his wand. "Just wait Severus, don't move, don't do anything, I'll get you help," he said. Severus weakly pulled on Harry's robes, bringing them face to face, "Too late Harry. Too late." Harry cried and cried, not knowing what else to do as he listened to Severus speak, "Just watch the school and the students. Be wary of everyone; it's how I survived for so many years. If only I hadn't been foolish tonight..." "Please don't talk, please, you're wasting your strength..." moaned Harry. He could hear voices now; people were coming from the school, "Just hang on, just another minute." Severus said nothing, and Harry bent over him, "Another minute, alright? Severus?"
Severus didn't answer.
* * *
They found Harry on the verge of insanity, shaking Severus' dead body, trying to wake him up. There was much debate over whether or not they should take him to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, but they left him in his room in the end. Harry didn't answer the door when his mother and father came to visit him, didn't open it to Draco, Hermione, or Ron, didn't say anything when Ginny and even Jack came by. He just sat and cried. That was all he could do. He thought mostly about how much he hated Voldemort, and how much he loved Severus. If only they'd had more time together, he would have spent it more wisely, or he would have gone up to the castle with him instead of letting him walk up alone. If only he'd had more time, he would have...
* * *
Harry burst into Hermione's office, "Harry?! Oh I'm so glad you're all right! Ron and I were so worried that you..." "Where's your Time-Turner?" interrupted Harry. "My Time-Turner? Harry that was never mine, I got it off the Ministry." Harry tried to leave to go upstairs to the next level in the Ministry but Hermione stopped him, "Harry, why would you want the Time-Turner...?" Then she understood, "Harry, you don't know if that'll work. You know how easily you could end up killing your past self or your..." "I NEED THAT TIME-TURNER NOW!" shouted Harry at the top of his lungs. Hermione stepped back in shock, "Harry...all right, I'll go get it for you, but only on the condition that one of us goes with you." Harry balled his fists, "All right just get it for me!"
Hermione came back fifteen minutes later, "It's done." She was holding a tiny hourglass charm on a necklace in her hand; the Time-Turner. He snatched it out of her hands and put it around his neck, "How many turns will it take?" She shrugged, "It happened last night, or rather about twelve hours ago, so...six?" He was about to start turning it when she pulled on the necklace and put it around her own neck, "You remember what I said. One of us goes with you so it's gonna be me." He frowned, "Fine. Whatever." He turned the hourglass six times and soon they were watching themselves Apparate in Hogsmeade. Their group split up and they watched Harry, Severus, Remus, Sirius, and Draco enter the Three Broomsticks. About half an hour later Severus came out, and they watched him until he reached the edge of Hogsmeade, then they came up behind him. "Hi Severus, how's it going?" said Harry, trying to sound normal although he was shaking with happiness from seeing him alive again. "Oh, hi Harry, I thought you were staying in the Three Broomsticks," said Severus.
Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, "Er, Severus, we need to have a talk," said Harry. "Sure, we can talk while we walk up to Hogwarts," said Severus. So the two of them told him exactly what happened; how he was about to be killed, and what Harry did to try to undo it. Severus stopped walking, "So let me get this straight; I was run through with a sword by Voldemort, who is currently in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry let out a sigh of frustration, "Look if you don't believe if us that's fine. We'll put a Memory Charm on you, hide you in one of the greenhouses, then kill Voldemort on our own." He laughed, "No, I didn't say I didn't believe you. I'm just...trying to take it all in. It's not something that happens every day you know." "Great," said Harry, "now if you'll excuse me we have a seriously bad wizard to kill." "Wait a minute, we can't just go charging in there," said Hermione. "Right we've got the best witch in the world with us, the best Headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen, and me. I think we can handle knocking him out until we get him to the Dementors," said Harry indignantly.
Hermione let out a sound of disbelief, "You perplex me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Good now let's get moving."
They spotted Voldemort in the woods, in the exact same area Harry had seen him in before. Harry told Severus to go around and get Voldemort from behind, and he followed willingly. Harry and Hermione stepped into the circle of light, "Hello," said Harry politely, although he was seething with hatred. "Well look who it is," said Voldemort, "the Boy Who Lived, and soon to be the Boy Who Died if I have anything to say about it." "You don't," said Hermione coldly. "Oh but I do," said Voldemort almost playfully, "especially since he's walked right into my hands. What to do though? Kill him now or kill him later? Or perhaps kill his friend Granger and leave him to cry over her dead body?" For Harry, that did it. He charged Voldemort so fast Voldemort didn't know what to do as he was bowled over. Severus, in the meantime, was watching from the woods, and he finally ran in and stopped Harry, having to virtually drag him off.
"Hermione, do it!" shouted Severus as Voldemort slowly got up and pulled out his wand. "OBLIVIATE!" screamed Hermione, fixating Voldemort with a rather large Memory Charm. He fell to the ground, his head spinning dizzily, "Wha-? Where am I?" he said slowly. "Excellent! Let's go!" said Severus, picking him up and Apparating to the Ministry. Hermione helped Harry up, "You okay?" "I'm great now that we've got him now let's follow him shall we? Aparecium!" and they were both gone.
* * *
Voldemort awoke very slowly, "Where...?" he said groggily. He could feel something around his thin wrist; it felt slimy. He looked down to see a disgusting, glistening hand locked around his wrist; another one was around his neck. He looked up in horror to see a Dementor over him; its hood fell back to reveal a ragged, gaping hole. Voldemort opened his mouth and screamed, trying to squirm out of its deadly grip at the same time, but it was far too strong. It began to suck, and Voldemort could feel something being pulled out from inside of him, somewhere around the area of his heart. He watched as a wispy gray cloud was sucked from him, and then all feeling in his body was gone.
The Dementor tossed him limp to the ground. Harry, Hermione, and Severus watched with disgust; they'd been witnesses to the whole thing. The Dementor slid its hood back up again and glided away; Harry was still trying to hold onto a happy thought as it did. "It's over," said Harry, nudging Voldemort's unconscious body with his foot, "finally over with." Severus sat down on the ground outside the Ministry, staring at the night sky, "For now, yes." "What do you mean for now?" said Hermione. "Voldemort may be gone, Hermione, but...there's always someone to take his place. For the longest time it was Grindelwald, but Dumbledore defeated him in 1945. Then it was Voldemort, and now it's...well, we shall find out who is next." Harry let out a sigh of frustration, "There's no beating this is there?" "No Harry, there isn't," said Severus, "as long as there has been Light there's been Dark. But while the odds may seem unbeatable for a time, there is always someone to pull through and vanquish scum like Voldemort."
"People like us, you mean," said Hermione with a shrug. "Yes Hermione," said Severus, staring at the stars, "people like us."
* * *
Harry and Hermione got back into Hermione's office at six the next morning, replacing themselves when they saw them leave to use the Time-Turner. "We're very lucky you know," said Hermione when she'd come back from returning the Time-Turner. "We weren't caught by anyone at all and Severus believed that we were...well us. And not some sort of Dark magic going on. You have no idea what can happen with Time-Turners if you're not careful." Harry shrugged, "Come on Hermione, we're unstoppable. We've used that thing twice without a problem, defeated a three-headed dog, helped Sirius and Buckbeak escape, survived the Heir of Slytherin...we can do anything." Hermione laughed, "You know on all of those occasions that was mostly your own part. I think you're the one who can do anything." He smiled weakly, "Not without you and Ron."
So Harry went back to the school and told Ginny all about what had happened. She could barely believe any of it, and was quite angry with Harry for not letting her in on it; "I get so worried about you," she said. "Always off nearly getting yourself killed...try to be careful, alright?" He shrugged as he sat down on his bed, "Ginny, I am the definition of careful."
Jack, Harry, and Sirius were a little disappointed about being left out of the adventure. "We could have helped you know!" said Sirius indignantly. "Yeah, trying to punch him in the face, right?" said Harry with a grin. "I was thinking more on the lines of hexing him," said Jack with a frown. 'Three first years trying to defeat Voldemort,' thought Harry, 'Mm. Sounds familiar.'
For once peace and quiet seemed to be at Hogwarts, except for a few practical jokes by the new generation of troublemakers known as Jack, Harry, and Sirius. That Christmas morning Jack was opening a present, when something fluid and silvery slid out. "Hey, that's not a...?" said Harry slowly. Jack picked it up; it looked like a cloak. "A what Harry?" said Jack as he tried it on. He disappeared beneath it, leaving only his head floating in midair. "It is! It's an Invisibility Cloak!" said Harry with amazement, "They're really rare!" "Oh man, now we can get down to the kitchens without getting caught!" said Sirius happily, "But who sent it to you?" Jack pulled off the Cloak and looked at the wrapping paper; then he noticed that he hadn't received just an Invisibility Cloak. A piece of parchment was pinned onto another larger piece of parchment; he read it out loud.
Tap this parchment with your wand and say, 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good,' and something called the Marauder's Map will be revealed. It will show you everything in the school. When you are finished tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed.' This and your new Invisibility Cloak should come in handy over your next six years at Hogwarts. Use them well.
"Wow," said Sirius, "you are really lucky." Jack tried out the Marauder's Map; it worked like a charm.
* * *
Harry awoke in the middle of the night and got out of bed to find Severus at the door, holding Jack, Harry, and Sirius by their collars. "Professor Potter, I believe one of these belongs to you?" said Severus. Jack looked at him guiltily, "Sorry." "Now what?" said Harry as he pulled on his glasses, "Getting into Hogsmeade again no doubt? Or perhaps off to bother the house elves?" Sirius tried to stifle back his laughter, "You tell him Harry. It was your idea." Severus released the three of them from his iron grip, "Try setting the bushes on fire." "You what?! You were setting bushes on fire?!" exclaimed Harry. "And blowing up toilets," added Sirius. Harry balled his fists furiously, "I am very disappointed in all three of you. Fifty points from Gryffindor, and a detention for each of you." The three looked downcast, "I'm sorry Professor," said Sirius quietly. Harry said nothing for a moment, "Go to bed. All three of you. And any further nighttime wanderings will garner more than just one detention and fifty house points." The three shuffled off down the hall, looking very guilty and heartbroken about their detention and lost house points.
The moment they were far away and down the bend in the corridor, however, Harry began to laugh. "I never blew up toilets or lit bushes on fire when I was there," he said merrily. "And you laugh about it," said Severus with a shake of his head. "Excuse me, but it simply reminds me so much of the things Ron, Hermione, and I used to do," said Harry. Severus shrugged, "Wait till you tell James. He'll go into a laughing fit; him and those Weasley twins too." Harry grinned, "I think this really does run in the family."
* * *
James, Sirius, Remus, and the Weasley twins all got a big kick out of Harry's story. "Fifty points though? Wasn't that a bit...harsh?" said James. "Harsh? Should have taken a hundred," said Harry, "because after all, I'm their head of house. I have to discourage anymore nighttime wanderings; I suppose I'm trying to be the next Professor McGonagall." "Well it's not working too well, trust me," said George, "she was a lot scarier."
* * *
Harry leaned over the rail of the Astronomy Tower; sometimes he came up here just to think. He'd been up here for a while now; at least an hour, and he knew Ginny was probably worried, wondering where he'd gone. It was dusk now, and he knew the fireworks would be starting up soon; as an end of the year special, Severus had been persuaded into having very magical fireworks. It was mostly Jack, Harry, and Sirius that had done the convincing, and they'd practically done the fireworks themselves; how they knew how to make them, Harry didn't ask. Another hour passed, and Ginny came to find him; she left after a while though when he said he preferred to be alone. She knew better than to really bother him about it; even she knew needed to be alone sometimes. He sat down on the Tower and watched the fireworks explode around him; there were dragons and knights to slay them, while there would be gigantic butterflies elsewhere. "Should do this every year," said a voice behind him; Harry looked back to see Severus standing there. "Would have been nice to have them around when I was here," said Harry as he sat down beside him.
"I'm just a little apprehensive about letting the three of them make this whole thing up. Only first-years, after all," said Severus. "Only first-years," muttered Harry, "slew a basilisk by the time I was a second-year, so I think they can handle a little fireworks display." "Well you're not exactly normal Harry," said Severus, "you've been through more than any of us can say. But I'm not too worried about it though." Harry stared at a large figure that had sprung from a rocket; it was a man wearing glasses, holding a sword, and fighting something. It looked like another person, with red, gleaming eyes. "That's you," said Severus suddenly; and so it was. It was Harry beating Voldemort, and there was a Dementor that had just arisen from another rocket. "I'm gonna make them promise not to do things like that anymore," said Harry; "Can't have violent things like that happening around school." "After everything that ever happened at this school to you, you're saying you don't want violent things happening around here. Well good for you; took you only thirty-five years or so to figure it out," said Severus sarcastically.
"You said you weren't worried," said Harry.
"I'm not."
"Funny," said Harry as he thought about the new Voldemort-free world around them, "neither am I."
The End
Das ist alles! The series is finally finished, and now I can sleep easier at night! What did you think, Krystle? -RH-
The Snake vs. The Lion
The vial began to shake and rattle irritably. It rumbled and rumbled until one might have thought the ground would crack before it. Finally it erupted with a huge explosion and a God-awful scream erupted from it, sounding like a high-pitched, inhuman screech. "HHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII!" he screamed as his limbs burst out of the vial. He lay there aching with pain, not knowing how long he'd been in the vial. Blood gushed from tiny wounds in his pale skin from the Fire Walls and glass; even now that he was out of the vial, he wasn't sure if he could survive in his body. But no matter the pain; one thing, one image was still burning in his mind.
Harry Potter.
* * *
His scar was burning far worse than it ever had before, and Harry felt himself wanting to pass out, but tried to resist. Stumbling blindly out of bed he steadied himself on the fireplace until the pain gradually died away after another excruciating ten minutes. "Harry? What's wrong?" said Ginny, sitting up in bed. 'Fifteen years gone by and nothing, not so much as a twang from my scar,' thought Harry, 'we made the vial Unbreakable, we put Fire Walls in it, Memory Charms, everything imaginable...I refuse to believe it.' He shut his eyes stubbornly, "Nothing's wrong Ginny, go back to sleep. I just had a nightmare, that's all."
* * *
Despite what he'd told Ginny, inwardly he was still unsure of himself and he Apparated to Hogwarts a bit earlier than usual. He didn't go down to the dungeons where his Potions classroom was, but instead headed to a large stone gargoyle on one of the main floors. "Furnunculus Charm!" said Harry, reciting the password. The gargoyle came to life and sprang aside, and the entrance to the Headmaster's stairs was revealed. Climbing up them quickly he knocked on the door but no one answered; "Severus?" he said, peeking around the door. No one was there, but he knew it was only a matter of time till he showed up so he waited in one of the chairs. The office hadn't changed much since Dumbledore had been there; there were only two exceptions. A new portrait had been added onto the pictures of the previous Headmasters of Hogwarts, and it was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore noticed Harry's presence in the room and waved from his spot in the portrait, then went back to sleep. The other exception was the absence of Dumbledore's pet phoenix Fawkes; instead there was a grindylow in a cage filled with water, sitting on top of a cabinet. It shook its' fist at him irritably then disappeared amongst the weeds, although Harry could still see a pair of gleaming eyes staring at him through the tangle.
Harry made a face at it then propped his head up on one hand, trying to think. If his scar was telling the truth, and it always had, there was much more at risk than there had been fifteen years ago when he'd first been sealed in that vial. Harry had a wife and a son now, and when Voldemort found that out he was certain to go after them first; then he'd come after Harry. Ron and Hermione had more to lose too; they were both very happily married to each other and they had two kids. Harry ran his fingers through his hair anxiously, "Not now, this can't possibly be happening now..." Just then the door to the office opened and Severus Snape stepped in. He'd aged very well so far; only a few fine streaks of silver had appeared in his jet black hair, and he didn't look much different from when Harry had first begun his wizard training at Hogwarts. Although Harry was going to tell Severus about what had happened last night he didn't get the chance; instead Severus strode over and pulled back the sleeve of his robe to reveal the Dark Mark burning angrily on his forearm. "Tell me I'm going blind," he said. Harry shook his head and pulled back his bangs to reveal his scar, "It woke me up this morning; it hurt worse than its ever hurt before."
Severus bowed his head and sat down at his desk, "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I may not survive again. What am I saying? It's you I should be worried about, with how you're always the one who ends up destroying him." Harry laughed joylessly, "Not destroying him; prolonging the inevitable, perhaps." "We're in trouble either way," said Severus with a dark sigh, "you'd better get hold of Ron and Hermione. I'll go talk to Draco and the rest of the staff." Harry left using Floo Powder, arriving at the Ministry of Magic moments later. 'Probably not even here yet,' he thought as he knocked on Hermione's office. Her flustered face appeared a moment later, and she was carrying a large stack of books, "Oh hi Harry!" 'Who was I kidding?' thought Harry; "Hi Hermione, er, listen, we need to talk."
Hermione had listened intently to everything Harry had said, then bit her lip. "Well," she said finally, "we're in a bit of pickle."
* * *
Ron flipped over backward and slapped the Quaffle away from the hoop with the tail of his broom; "Ha! Take that George!" "Oh shut up Ron you great git," George said, throwing the Quaffle at his head. Ron ducked then noticed that his best friend was waiting for him on the ground, "Time out!" he called, speeding off to Harry. "Hey Harry what's up?" he asked, jumping off his broom lightly. Then he saw the look on Harry's face; "All right game over for today!" he shouted at the players in the air. "Why? What happened?" said Charlie Weasley. "Scared out of his wits more than likely," said Bill. "I don't need a reason now go home!" shouted Ron. "All right Harry, what happened?"
Ron paced his room irritably as Harry told him about what had been going on lately. "So do we have any idea as to where he is?" he said after Harry had finished. "Not yet, but Hermione is already on it," said Harry. "Severus is telling the teachers too, and after that he'll probably get hold of the usuals and tell them about it." "Right, naturally," said Ron, "well, I'll tell my brothers and mum and dad. Ginny knows?" "Er, no, not yet," said Harry sheepishly, "I didn't want to worry her." "Ha!" Ron laughed, "Yeah Harry, that's a good one."
* * *
Harry stopped by his parents' flat later on after he'd talked to Ron. His father had been in the store stocking Fanged Frisbees when he'd arrived, "Hi Dad, how's business?" He shrugged, "Same as usual; giving Zonko's a run for his money." After Harry and Severus had brought back his parents, Harry had introduced James to the Weasley twins Fred and George. He'd gone nuts over their joke shop and was now a partner in it, much to Lily's displeasure. They lived in a small flat right above the shop, and despite James' oddball job as part owner of a joke shop Harry knew he worked hard at it. He just loved to play jokes on people; just the other day he'd slipped Harry a Canary Cream in his pie. Harry had now made a firm regulation with his father that he used often with the Weasley twins; never accept so much as a crisp from any of them.
Harry explained what was happening to James, and a dark, hateful look grew on his face. "Voldemort," said James, "I swear if I ever meet him I'll kill hi-" "Don't bother," said Harry, "I know that everyone wants to kill him but you know why we can't." "Ah yes, of course, resurrecting him using that book," said James, "but you know I was just speaking figuratively." 'Sure Dad, sure,' thought Harry. "You tell Mom, okay? I've got to get back to Hogwarts," said Harry. "Get hold of me if anything new develops!" his father shouted after him as Harry left the store, "I know! I will!" said Harry. Then he Disapparated back to his home; 731 North Hogsmeade.
* * *
"Ginny!" Harry called; it was evening now, so she'd probably be in the kitchen. Suddenly she came from around the corner, "Hi Harry," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek, "how was your day?" "Ginny, we need to talk. Now." She frowned, "What happened?"
Ginny had slapped him on the arm with frustration when he'd finished his story; "I told you to tell me what happened!" "I know, I know, but I didn't want you to freak out," he said with a shrug. Just then his son came walking into the room, "Hi Dad, how's it going?" he asked. Their son, James Severus Potter was eleven years old, and had already attended his first year at Hogwarts. He looked remarkably like Harry, except he had Ginny's nose and his hair was a bit redder. "I'm fine Jack," he said, ruffling his son's hair. "You don't look so good," said Jack with a frown. "Well at least you're observant," said Harry with a sigh.
Then his head burst with pain.
Harry clutched his head, stars in his eyes, and stumbled backward. He could see another vision, but what was it? It was none other than his own house, of course. But why would he be seeing his house? He only saw things that Voldemort saw. Harry's eyes snapped open and he grabbed Jack and Ginny, then threw Floo Powder on the fireplace. "Get to Hogwarts NOW!" he shouted. "Harry why..." "NOW!" screamed Harry. Ginny leapt into the fire with Jack and shouted, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" They were gone. Harry ran to the window and looked out to see a hooded black figure on his front lawn; a wand was suddenly raised. Harry's eyes grew wide and he jumped into the fireplace and shouted, "HOGWARTS!" Just as he began to spin out of the fireplace he heard a deafening cracking noise and saw his house falling apart behind him.
* * *
Severus tapped his fingers on the desk nervously; Harry still hadn't shown up yet. Ginny and Jack had run into his office only moments before, scared out of their wits and explaining what had happened. Suddenly the door burst open and Harry limped in, covered with dirt and soot, and one ankle looking very swollen. Harry didn't say anything and instead kept limping right on by until he reached a crystal case on a shelf in Severus' office; inside it was the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Harry pulled it out then pulled out a silver belt buckle and snapped it onto his belt. He also pulled out the necklace which had been hanging round his neck under his t-shirt, letting it fall onto his robes. He immediately began limping back out of the office again but Severus said; "Don't. He'll kill you easily when you're in a state like that." Harry threw down the sword and limped over to Severus' desk, leaned forward and put his hands down on it. "Rubeus Hagrid once told me that Hogwarts was the safest place on Earth." Severus nodded slowly, "It is." Harry pointed at Jack and Ginny, "Prove it."
* * *
Severus had special arrangements made for Jack and Ginny to stay at Hogwarts for as long as was needed. Jack stayed in what was soon to be his second year dormitory and Ginny stayed in a makeshift bed in Harry's office. They did, however, keep a bed nearby for Jack whenever he felt like staying round his parents for the night.
Harry, Sirius, Ron, James, and Severus went back to Harry's house in the morning. It was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Harry kicked at some of it irritably, then rummaged through it, finding a few possessions here and there. He found Jack's favorite book, a little tattered looking, but still in semi-good condition; he pocketed it for later. "I don't believe this..." said Ron softly, staring at the demolished house; "he's returned even more powerful than before..." Sirius noticed that Harry had his back to all of them, staring into the forest behind what had been their house. "Harry?" said Sirius slowly. Harry didn't say anything for several minutes, and James, Ron, Sirius, and Severus were beginning to feel a very eerie silence growing. "Harry?" said Ron softly. Harry suddenly threw down his wand, "VOOOOOLDEMOOOORT!" he screamed, "YOU COWARD!" He slammed his fist into what was left of a wall and it blew itself into pieces; the sheer power coming off of him knocking his friends and family backward.
Ron's vision of his friend changed; he was no longer Harry Potter the great Quidditch player or Potions Master, he was a deadly wizard no one wanted to go near. "Harry stop!" said Severus, grabbing him from behind. "He almost killed my family," said Harry, tears in his eyes. "I know Harry, I know," he said hugging him tightly.
Voldemort watched with pleasure from the tree line of the forest. "Be afraid boy," said Voldemort, "I meant to take your family this time, but you were clever enough to get them away." He looked down at his hand, observing a thin scar that had been cut into it from one of the shards of the crystal vial he had called prison for fifteen years. "But you will not be so lucky next time; that is what frightens you."
* * *
The school year began without much event. It was Jack's second year at the school, and he was very eager to start learning and to get back to seeing his friends. He'd become best friends with Ron and Hermione's kids, Harry and Sirius; both obviously named after Harry Potter and Sirius Black. Since the three had come to school, however, they were clearly beginning to show signs of following in their parents' and grandparents' footsteps. Already Harry, Sirius, and Jack had had a few midnight adventures resulting in two detentions and points from Gryffindor. Although Harry didn't like having to take away points from his house because his son was out causing trouble, he couldn't help but smile, remembering all his own adventures at Hogwarts. James, Fred, George, and Sirius were all for it, however, and we're constantly trying to get Harry to give Jack his old Invisibility Cloak so Jack wouldn't get caught in the middle of the night, wandering down to the kitchens or going through the Restricted Section of the library. "Nothing wrong with a bit of fun," George had told him one day while Harry had been in their store, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"Yeah Harry," Fred said, "why not pass along the Marauder's Map and the Cloak eh? It's only fair you know." Harry had frowned, "No...er, at least, not yet." "Ahh, that's the spirit Harry!" James had said from around the corner where he'd been filling up the barrel of Cockroach Clusters. "After all, what sort of father wouldn't give his son great stuff like that?" "A good one probably," said Sirius from a corner where he'd been sucking on a Fizzing Whizbee. "Shh! Shut up!" said James, hurling a Cluster at his head. "You'll make him think twice about it!" "Probably should anyway," said Harry with a roll of his eyes.
The school year had only been going on for about two months when Harry had felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach while he had been teaching. He had Jack, Sirius, Harry, and Jonathan Longbottom in this class, so he had to keep very focused indeed on all of them. Harry had just sat down at his desk, letting the class make the Confusion Potion when he felt his mind beginning to wander. He reflected later on that it probably wasn't the wisest idea. "No wait Jonathan don't add that!" cried Jack's voice. Too late.
"BOOM!"
The classroom shuddered as blue potion went everywhere; "Oh for goodness sake Jonathan not again!" said Patrick Finnigan irritably. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking..." moaned Jonathan, "wait a minute, where am I? What's going on? Who are you?" "Well at least we know his Confusion Potion works," said Sirius with a frown. "Huh? Have we met before? No, I don't think so," said Jack. Harry Weasley rolled his eyes, "You're both stupid as far as I'm...heyyy...why am I in a dungeon?"
Harry Potter tried not to laugh and said, "Just to clarify for all that don't know, you're in Potions class with me in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." "Sure, sure, but who are you?" said Patrick. "Oh, Professor Potter, Harry Potter," he said as he began to clean up the blue potion. "Hmm, name sounds familiar," said Jack thoughtfully. "I'd hope so," said Harry, "I'll be right back. I'm going to make a potion to fix this up real quick." Harry went into his office and began pulling ingredients out of his private stores when he felt a prickling feeling of dread in the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it and continued putting things into the cauldron when he felt it again. Harry put down his bottle of Spine of Lionfish and peeked out the door; everything still as chaotic as ever in the classroom. He turned back and decided to look out the window; what he saw shocked him.
Severus was walking across the grounds, but from this distance he couldn't tell that anything was wrong until he began to come closer. He wasn't walking; he was limping. His robes were in bloody tatters, and he was clearly on the verge of exhaustion. Harry ran out of the door as fast as he could and stopped only to get Draco Malfoy to help him. They both sprinted through the halls and out the main doors, grabbing the attention of a few teachers who followed them as soon as they realized something was wrong. Severus had just limped past Greenhouse 3 when they finally reached him; "What happened?" said Harry, putting an arm underneath his to support him. "Are you going to be okay?" said Draco, getting his other side and helping him across the Hogwarts lawn. "Just let me get up to my office," said Severus tiredly. "No way, you're going to the hospital wing," said Harry. Severus looked like he was trying to complain but gave up; it looked like it hurt too much. Other teachers soon came down the lawn, helping the three of them up to the hospital wing.
* * *
Severus awoke in the hospital wing a day later, his palms bandaged up and his one broken ankle in a splint. He tried to sit up but discovered it hurt far too much and lay down again. He couldn't help but wonder if the nurse had seen it or not; he lifted up the sleeve of his robe to reveal the Dark Mark. But it was a much different Dark Mark than the clear black one that had burned there months ago; it was now a bright, poisonous green.
* * *
Three days later he was released from the hospital wing, and was accompanied by Harry and Draco to his office. "This isn't necessary you know," he'd said off-handedly as they climbed the spiral staircase. "We think it is," said Draco. "Of course," muttered Severus beneath his breath as they went into his office. "All right, you've had four days to keep us in suspense; now out with it!" said Draco as he sat down. "Alright alright!" said Severus snappishly. "I just didn't want to worry either of you." "Well it's a bit late for that," said Harry. "Let's just get to it please?" said Draco with annoyance. "Okay, but we'll have to go back a day or two before you saw me on the grounds," said Severus finally.
"A few days before I had been in touch with a few people who'd be seeing things lately; very odd things. They were mostly Muggles who had seen a skull eating a snake over a forest or a house, so naturally I went out and did a bit of investigating on my own. I mean it was obviously the Dark Mark, there was no question about that; but what perplexed me the most was when I was flying over Germany and I decided to pay a visit to the Black Forest. After all, it had been the last place Voldemort had been at. I stopped at about a hundred yards away from the edge of the forest because I'd noticed a fire in the middle of it, about a kilometer away from me. Even though I knew it was probably unwise to go by myself I went anyway and saw Voldemort sitting by himself near a small fire."
"You didn't actually try to kill him did you?" said Harry. "Kill him? Harry, that's impossible," said Severus almost lightly, "I did, however, try to at least knock him out long enough so I could get him to the Ministry of Magic and have the Dementors suck out his soul." "I thought the Dementors stopped working with us," said Draco. "Well they still do, or rather, some of them do," said Harry, "whenever they're offered souls to suck they help us without hesitating." "Exactly what I was thinking," said Severus, "but I knew I was too weak with only my wand so I used a Summoning Charm to bring Godric Gryffindor's belongings to me." "What? No you didn't, they're with..." Harry said, feeling under his shirt for his necklace; it wasn't there. "You? No Harry, you must have taken it off because it came easily to me, as did the buckle. The sword was easy enough; it was in my office at the time.
"While I waited for them to come to me I noticed something," he said, and he pulled back his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark, only instead of the usual black color it was a deadly-looking bright green. "My Mark had turned colors; it was no longer black, and it no longer hurt. Instead it had burned green but it was completely painless; I can tell you that even though I had been a Death Eater for over five years I knew nothing of what this meant." Suddenly he sighed, "This is too much for me to tell; I've got a better idea." He got up and went over to a large black cabinet in the corner of the office and unlocked the door. "Before Dumbledore left he gave me something of his that he said would not be of much use to him anymore," he said as he rummaged through the cabinet. He pulled out a large stone bowl with runes written across it; "Dumbledore's Pensieve?" said Harry. "Yes," said Severus, "he said I'd be needing it and so far he's been right." He set it down on the desk and put the tip of his wand to his head, then pulled it away; funny looking silver hairs were clinging to it, and he swirled it into the mysteriously bright white liquid in the Pensieve. "Go ahead, now you can see for yourselves," he said. Harry and Draco exchanged looks, then they both leaned into the Pensieve and the world fell away from them, and instead they found themselves one on each side of Severus, who was riding a broomstick in the blackness of night over a forest.
"What's going on?" said Draco. "Where are we?" "We're inside the Pensieve Draco, watching what happened to Severus that night, now be quiet!" said Harry. Draco fell silent as Harry asked, although Harry was positive he would have done it even if he hadn't. They both watched as Severus pulled back the sleeve of his arm, oblivious to his other two visitors, and they saw that his Mark was a bright green, almost glowing in the dark. 'So that's what he was talking about,' thought Harry as he leaned over to get a good look at it. "Hey! Look!" Draco hissed suddenly, pointing into the distance. They could both see three tiny silver pinpricks from the glint of the moon, but what they were they could not say. Then Harry realized that they must have been Gryffindor's possessions, finally arriving via Severus' Summoning Charm. Severus looked up and saw them closing in and shot off into the darkness, and Harry and Draco found themselves keeping up with him, although how they weren't sure. Severus caught the sword by the handle and snatched up the necklace and buckle with ease; even now Harry was positive he would have made a great Quidditch player had he gone in for the sport.
After donning the three of them, Severus took off for the fire. Harry and Draco followed, both very curious as to what was going to happen next. There was Voldemort, sitting by the fire, and in the flickers of firelight Harry and Draco could both see fine scars that were wrought into his face. Severus landed easily, only a few feet from him; "Well look who it is," snapped Voldemort. He had clearly changed attitude-wise; he was no longer cocky and cool as he had been, but had become quick and snappish, no longer about putting on a good show before killing someone. "My faithful Death Eater come to visit me? The Headmaster of Hogwarts Severus Snape; how cute and pathetic." "You're the one that's pathetic," said Severus coldly, "looking all scarred and damaged. What did you have to do to escape your prison? Use an Engorgement Charm? Is that how you got all cut up and burnt? From the Fire Walls and crystal shards?" Voldemort's red eyes gleamed with anger, "For the fifteen years of imprisonment you, Potter, Granger, Weasley and the rest gave to me, you will suffer dearly. I will not be kind this time; for fifteen years I brooded inside that vial, and I will pay you all back tenfold because of it."
Severus narrowed, "Just try it." Voldemort balled his fists venomously, "You are going to suffer more than you have in your entire life. I'll have you begging for me to kill you by the time I'm finished." "Empty threats as far as I'm concerned," said Severus with a shrug, "because no one knows you're alive, no one will join you, but I have everyone on my side." "No you don't," said Voldemort, "because you're dead."
What ensued was a rather large fight that Harry and Draco both tried to jump into, only to realize that they were inside the Pensieve; they couldn't help Severus in the slightest. They both gave each other hard beatings, and Severus was completely bloodied while Voldemort was covered in large swelling bruises and cuts. Voldemort took a cheap shot and hit Severus so hard in the gut he spat blood, then smashed him in the back of the head. Severus passed out with pain, and Voldemort stood there for a moment, gazing down at him. "You're not dead, not yet," he growled, picking him up by the arm, "because I'm gonna leave you as a little warning to the rest of your friends." The world suddenly swirled with color and Harry and Draco realized they were no longer in the Black Forest; instead they had Apparated with Severus and Voldemort to Hogwarts. Voldemort dropped Severus behind a bush just off the grounds; "You are saved for now, but don't expect such kindness again. Expect death at the next run-in; for now, however, you will run to Potter, Malfoy, Weasley and the rest, warning them." He cackled nastily and Apparated; he was gone. Harry and Draco suddenly felt a pulling force, and they were being sucked out of the scene.
They were back in the office. Severus had pulled both of them out of the Pensieve; "Well, that explains a lot," said Draco apprehensively. "It means we've got to find him and get him quick," said Harry, "because from the way he was talking..." "The next one of us he meets he'll kill," said Severus plainly. "I don't know about either of you two," said Draco with a shrug, "but I'm carrying my wand with me day and night from now on. Probably need a bloody Dementor escort at this rate..." he grumbled. "He's right about that; we'll be needing the Dementors again. I wonder if..." said Harry softly. "What?" "Erm...the Dementors...they suck out souls; so what happens to a soul when it gets sucked out? Is it dead? Does it feed the Dementor? What does it do?" Severus shook his head, "That I do not know. Why does it matter?" Harry shrugged, "Er, well, alright; now we know we can't technically 'kill' Voldemort because there's always some sicko out there willing to bring him back. We tried encapsulating his soul in a vial, and that worked for about fifteen years then he figured out how to get past it. So neither killing him nor casing him has worked; but we're yet to find out what happens when his soul gets sucked right out of him."
"You think a Dementor may completely, totally, and once and for all kill a person?" said Draco. "That's just it; we don't know. If a Dementor sucks out a soul, where does it go? We know it makes the Dementor feel better, but that's it." "Soul food," snorted Draco with a laugh. Harry rolled his eyes, "I guess, but...the Dementor's Kiss has proven fatal to everyone else, and no one has been brought back, so..." "We don't know that for sure," said Draco, "maybe it's just that no one's bothered bringing back someone who's been killed by a Dementor." "We need to test it," said Severus, "and I have no idea how to do that." Harry stood up and stretched, "I have an idea. We'll try to bring back someone who died by a Dementor; if we can't do it, then that proves no one can and we kill him that way. If we can, then we find another way to kill him." "And just who do you propose we try to resurrect?" said Draco. Harry sighed, "Your father." Draco bit his lip, "Oh."
* * *
Lucius Malfoy had been killed years ago by the Dementor's Kiss. Harry, Draco, and Severus had witnessed it themselves; now it was time to find out if that person's soul could be resurrected or not. Harry wasn't sure if Draco was hoping for a yes or a no on that question; on the one hand his father would be alive again, but on the other it meant Voldemort could come back that way and it would cancel that idea out. Harry wasn't even sure if Draco still had any shred of love left for his father; especially with how he'd met his end.
Harry paced the room, waiting for any sort of news; Severus, Draco, and Hermione had gone off to do what was needed two hours ago, leaving Harry to watch over the school. Suddenly the door opened and Draco stepped in, "Well?" said Harry. He shook his head, "He didn't come back." Harry let out a sigh of relief, then, "Oh Draco, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." "Don't worry, I know what you meant," said Draco, shrugging him off, "I didn't want him back. Don't worry about it." Severus and Hermione came in, "Good-o right?" said Hermione. "Yeah," said Harry, "Good."
* * *
Three months had passed since then without any sightings of Voldemort, which made all of them feel very apprehensive. After weeks of planning, however, Sirius, Remus Lupin, James and Lily, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Draco, Severus, and Arthur Weasley got together. Tonight was the night where they would go out on a deliberate search for the thing called Voldemort. "He's just waiting for the perfect time to get one of us," Harry had said one night, "I know he is. We might as well speed up the process and go get him before he can come get us." They'd agreed with Harry, much to his surprise, and they'd gotten permission from the Ministry to take two Dementors along with them in case they encountered him. They hit the heaviest areas of Dark activity first, and broke up and arrested five Death Eaters, but did not find Voldemort. Then they journeyed through Knockturn Alley and found a meeting inside Borgin and Burkes; they caught eight of them in there, but still no Voldemort. "He's getting smart about this," said Hermione as soon as they had finished Apparating to Hogsmeade, "he knows he's likely to get caught in those places." Harry frowned angrily, "I want to find him quickly; I've had enough of these stupid cat and mouse games."
They dispersed for the night, and Fred, George, James, and Lily went back to their store. Arthur Weasley went home, and Ron and Hermione went up to Hogwarts for bed. Only Harry, Remus, Sirius, Draco, and Severus remained, stopping at the Three Broomsticks. "At least tonight hasn't been a total failure, what with those Death Eaters and all," said Draco as he drank his butterbeer. Harry frowned at him and Draco was quiet. All of them knew how much Harry had wanted Voldemort dead, especially after the attack on his family. Severus stood up, "I have to go back to the castle, but I'll see all of you later." He said goodnight and left, and Harry sat at the table looking glum for several more minutes. "Harry, you can't have expected for him to just walk right into our arms," said Sirius, "we're talking about the evilest, foulest thing on the planet. He's got to have some cunning." Harry smiled wanly, "I guess so. I'm leaving for the night; see you guys later."
Harry kicked a few stones in the path irritably as he walked up to Hogwarts; yes, true enough they'd caught several Death Eaters tonight...but not the Death Eater. Voldemort. "Voldemort," he said as he entered the Hogwarts gates. Harry shook his head, then stopped; he could hear noises. Where were they coming from? Somewhere out here on the grounds, no doubt. He listened carefully, barely breathing; it sounded like metal clanking against something else. Like a sword fight, out toward the Forbidden Forest. Harry ran to the edge of the forest and saw a yellow speck in the distance; he ran as fast as he could, stopping only to ignite his wand with his Lumos spell. Two people were fighting near a fire; as he grew closer he saw that one of them was a tall man in sweeping black robes. It was Severus, and he was fighting with Voldemort. "Nox!" said Harry as he ran, extinguishing his wand; he ran into the circle of light and flame. Severus and Voldemort caught each other with sword and staff, and Harry cried, "Voldemort!" They both stopped and turned to Harry, "Harry!" said Severus, shocked at his nephew's sudden turn-up.
Voldemort saw the opportunity and took it; it happened almost in slow motion, not just to Harry, but to Severus too. He dropped the staff from his hands and ripped the sword from Severus' hands, whirled about in a complete circle and rammed the sword straight through his stomach. His eyes bulged from his sockets as he fell silently to the ground; all Voldemort could do was grin in triumph. Harry felt a thousand knives stab him in the heart, and he clutched the sides of his face with his hands, "NOOOOOOO!" Voldemort turned to Harry, "It's been a pleasure seeing the pain on your face. It's like seeing my own pain from those fifteen years of imprisonment turn up inside you. But now, I must go; goodbye for now Potter," he said, raising his wand, "until we meet again. Aparecium!" and he was gone. Harry ran to Severus, who was lying on his side, the sword still inside him. Harry's hands shook and tears poured down his face; he was near half hysteria, and he didn't know what to do.
"What do I do?" moaned Harry as he tried to cover the wound with his hands, hoping to stop the bleeding. "Oh my God there's so much blood," he sobbed, "please don't die please, please, please..." "It's too late Harry," said Severus slowly, blood beginning to come out of his mouth, "it's too late." "No it's not," said Harry as he shot up a jet of red sparks from his wand; international wizard code for 'I need help now.' A few lights flicked on in the castle; someone had seen him, and Harry continued to pour sparks from his wand. "Just wait Severus, don't move, don't do anything, I'll get you help," he said. Severus weakly pulled on Harry's robes, bringing them face to face, "Too late Harry. Too late." Harry cried and cried, not knowing what else to do as he listened to Severus speak, "Just watch the school and the students. Be wary of everyone; it's how I survived for so many years. If only I hadn't been foolish tonight..." "Please don't talk, please, you're wasting your strength..." moaned Harry. He could hear voices now; people were coming from the school, "Just hang on, just another minute." Severus said nothing, and Harry bent over him, "Another minute, alright? Severus?"
Severus didn't answer.
* * *
They found Harry on the verge of insanity, shaking Severus' dead body, trying to wake him up. There was much debate over whether or not they should take him to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, but they left him in his room in the end. Harry didn't answer the door when his mother and father came to visit him, didn't open it to Draco, Hermione, or Ron, didn't say anything when Ginny and even Jack came by. He just sat and cried. That was all he could do. He thought mostly about how much he hated Voldemort, and how much he loved Severus. If only they'd had more time together, he would have spent it more wisely, or he would have gone up to the castle with him instead of letting him walk up alone. If only he'd had more time, he would have...
* * *
Harry burst into Hermione's office, "Harry?! Oh I'm so glad you're all right! Ron and I were so worried that you..." "Where's your Time-Turner?" interrupted Harry. "My Time-Turner? Harry that was never mine, I got it off the Ministry." Harry tried to leave to go upstairs to the next level in the Ministry but Hermione stopped him, "Harry, why would you want the Time-Turner...?" Then she understood, "Harry, you don't know if that'll work. You know how easily you could end up killing your past self or your..." "I NEED THAT TIME-TURNER NOW!" shouted Harry at the top of his lungs. Hermione stepped back in shock, "Harry...all right, I'll go get it for you, but only on the condition that one of us goes with you." Harry balled his fists, "All right just get it for me!"
Hermione came back fifteen minutes later, "It's done." She was holding a tiny hourglass charm on a necklace in her hand; the Time-Turner. He snatched it out of her hands and put it around his neck, "How many turns will it take?" She shrugged, "It happened last night, or rather about twelve hours ago, so...six?" He was about to start turning it when she pulled on the necklace and put it around her own neck, "You remember what I said. One of us goes with you so it's gonna be me." He frowned, "Fine. Whatever." He turned the hourglass six times and soon they were watching themselves Apparate in Hogsmeade. Their group split up and they watched Harry, Severus, Remus, Sirius, and Draco enter the Three Broomsticks. About half an hour later Severus came out, and they watched him until he reached the edge of Hogsmeade, then they came up behind him. "Hi Severus, how's it going?" said Harry, trying to sound normal although he was shaking with happiness from seeing him alive again. "Oh, hi Harry, I thought you were staying in the Three Broomsticks," said Severus.
Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, "Er, Severus, we need to have a talk," said Harry. "Sure, we can talk while we walk up to Hogwarts," said Severus. So the two of them told him exactly what happened; how he was about to be killed, and what Harry did to try to undo it. Severus stopped walking, "So let me get this straight; I was run through with a sword by Voldemort, who is currently in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry let out a sigh of frustration, "Look if you don't believe if us that's fine. We'll put a Memory Charm on you, hide you in one of the greenhouses, then kill Voldemort on our own." He laughed, "No, I didn't say I didn't believe you. I'm just...trying to take it all in. It's not something that happens every day you know." "Great," said Harry, "now if you'll excuse me we have a seriously bad wizard to kill." "Wait a minute, we can't just go charging in there," said Hermione. "Right we've got the best witch in the world with us, the best Headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen, and me. I think we can handle knocking him out until we get him to the Dementors," said Harry indignantly.
Hermione let out a sound of disbelief, "You perplex me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Good now let's get moving."
They spotted Voldemort in the woods, in the exact same area Harry had seen him in before. Harry told Severus to go around and get Voldemort from behind, and he followed willingly. Harry and Hermione stepped into the circle of light, "Hello," said Harry politely, although he was seething with hatred. "Well look who it is," said Voldemort, "the Boy Who Lived, and soon to be the Boy Who Died if I have anything to say about it." "You don't," said Hermione coldly. "Oh but I do," said Voldemort almost playfully, "especially since he's walked right into my hands. What to do though? Kill him now or kill him later? Or perhaps kill his friend Granger and leave him to cry over her dead body?" For Harry, that did it. He charged Voldemort so fast Voldemort didn't know what to do as he was bowled over. Severus, in the meantime, was watching from the woods, and he finally ran in and stopped Harry, having to virtually drag him off.
"Hermione, do it!" shouted Severus as Voldemort slowly got up and pulled out his wand. "OBLIVIATE!" screamed Hermione, fixating Voldemort with a rather large Memory Charm. He fell to the ground, his head spinning dizzily, "Wha-? Where am I?" he said slowly. "Excellent! Let's go!" said Severus, picking him up and Apparating to the Ministry. Hermione helped Harry up, "You okay?" "I'm great now that we've got him now let's follow him shall we? Aparecium!" and they were both gone.
* * *
Voldemort awoke very slowly, "Where...?" he said groggily. He could feel something around his thin wrist; it felt slimy. He looked down to see a disgusting, glistening hand locked around his wrist; another one was around his neck. He looked up in horror to see a Dementor over him; its hood fell back to reveal a ragged, gaping hole. Voldemort opened his mouth and screamed, trying to squirm out of its deadly grip at the same time, but it was far too strong. It began to suck, and Voldemort could feel something being pulled out from inside of him, somewhere around the area of his heart. He watched as a wispy gray cloud was sucked from him, and then all feeling in his body was gone.
The Dementor tossed him limp to the ground. Harry, Hermione, and Severus watched with disgust; they'd been witnesses to the whole thing. The Dementor slid its hood back up again and glided away; Harry was still trying to hold onto a happy thought as it did. "It's over," said Harry, nudging Voldemort's unconscious body with his foot, "finally over with." Severus sat down on the ground outside the Ministry, staring at the night sky, "For now, yes." "What do you mean for now?" said Hermione. "Voldemort may be gone, Hermione, but...there's always someone to take his place. For the longest time it was Grindelwald, but Dumbledore defeated him in 1945. Then it was Voldemort, and now it's...well, we shall find out who is next." Harry let out a sigh of frustration, "There's no beating this is there?" "No Harry, there isn't," said Severus, "as long as there has been Light there's been Dark. But while the odds may seem unbeatable for a time, there is always someone to pull through and vanquish scum like Voldemort."
"People like us, you mean," said Hermione with a shrug. "Yes Hermione," said Severus, staring at the stars, "people like us."
* * *
Harry and Hermione got back into Hermione's office at six the next morning, replacing themselves when they saw them leave to use the Time-Turner. "We're very lucky you know," said Hermione when she'd come back from returning the Time-Turner. "We weren't caught by anyone at all and Severus believed that we were...well us. And not some sort of Dark magic going on. You have no idea what can happen with Time-Turners if you're not careful." Harry shrugged, "Come on Hermione, we're unstoppable. We've used that thing twice without a problem, defeated a three-headed dog, helped Sirius and Buckbeak escape, survived the Heir of Slytherin...we can do anything." Hermione laughed, "You know on all of those occasions that was mostly your own part. I think you're the one who can do anything." He smiled weakly, "Not without you and Ron."
So Harry went back to the school and told Ginny all about what had happened. She could barely believe any of it, and was quite angry with Harry for not letting her in on it; "I get so worried about you," she said. "Always off nearly getting yourself killed...try to be careful, alright?" He shrugged as he sat down on his bed, "Ginny, I am the definition of careful."
Jack, Harry, and Sirius were a little disappointed about being left out of the adventure. "We could have helped you know!" said Sirius indignantly. "Yeah, trying to punch him in the face, right?" said Harry with a grin. "I was thinking more on the lines of hexing him," said Jack with a frown. 'Three first years trying to defeat Voldemort,' thought Harry, 'Mm. Sounds familiar.'
For once peace and quiet seemed to be at Hogwarts, except for a few practical jokes by the new generation of troublemakers known as Jack, Harry, and Sirius. That Christmas morning Jack was opening a present, when something fluid and silvery slid out. "Hey, that's not a...?" said Harry slowly. Jack picked it up; it looked like a cloak. "A what Harry?" said Jack as he tried it on. He disappeared beneath it, leaving only his head floating in midair. "It is! It's an Invisibility Cloak!" said Harry with amazement, "They're really rare!" "Oh man, now we can get down to the kitchens without getting caught!" said Sirius happily, "But who sent it to you?" Jack pulled off the Cloak and looked at the wrapping paper; then he noticed that he hadn't received just an Invisibility Cloak. A piece of parchment was pinned onto another larger piece of parchment; he read it out loud.
Tap this parchment with your wand and say, 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good,' and something called the Marauder's Map will be revealed. It will show you everything in the school. When you are finished tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed.' This and your new Invisibility Cloak should come in handy over your next six years at Hogwarts. Use them well.
"Wow," said Sirius, "you are really lucky." Jack tried out the Marauder's Map; it worked like a charm.
* * *
Harry awoke in the middle of the night and got out of bed to find Severus at the door, holding Jack, Harry, and Sirius by their collars. "Professor Potter, I believe one of these belongs to you?" said Severus. Jack looked at him guiltily, "Sorry." "Now what?" said Harry as he pulled on his glasses, "Getting into Hogsmeade again no doubt? Or perhaps off to bother the house elves?" Sirius tried to stifle back his laughter, "You tell him Harry. It was your idea." Severus released the three of them from his iron grip, "Try setting the bushes on fire." "You what?! You were setting bushes on fire?!" exclaimed Harry. "And blowing up toilets," added Sirius. Harry balled his fists furiously, "I am very disappointed in all three of you. Fifty points from Gryffindor, and a detention for each of you." The three looked downcast, "I'm sorry Professor," said Sirius quietly. Harry said nothing for a moment, "Go to bed. All three of you. And any further nighttime wanderings will garner more than just one detention and fifty house points." The three shuffled off down the hall, looking very guilty and heartbroken about their detention and lost house points.
The moment they were far away and down the bend in the corridor, however, Harry began to laugh. "I never blew up toilets or lit bushes on fire when I was there," he said merrily. "And you laugh about it," said Severus with a shake of his head. "Excuse me, but it simply reminds me so much of the things Ron, Hermione, and I used to do," said Harry. Severus shrugged, "Wait till you tell James. He'll go into a laughing fit; him and those Weasley twins too." Harry grinned, "I think this really does run in the family."
* * *
James, Sirius, Remus, and the Weasley twins all got a big kick out of Harry's story. "Fifty points though? Wasn't that a bit...harsh?" said James. "Harsh? Should have taken a hundred," said Harry, "because after all, I'm their head of house. I have to discourage anymore nighttime wanderings; I suppose I'm trying to be the next Professor McGonagall." "Well it's not working too well, trust me," said George, "she was a lot scarier."
* * *
Harry leaned over the rail of the Astronomy Tower; sometimes he came up here just to think. He'd been up here for a while now; at least an hour, and he knew Ginny was probably worried, wondering where he'd gone. It was dusk now, and he knew the fireworks would be starting up soon; as an end of the year special, Severus had been persuaded into having very magical fireworks. It was mostly Jack, Harry, and Sirius that had done the convincing, and they'd practically done the fireworks themselves; how they knew how to make them, Harry didn't ask. Another hour passed, and Ginny came to find him; she left after a while though when he said he preferred to be alone. She knew better than to really bother him about it; even she knew needed to be alone sometimes. He sat down on the Tower and watched the fireworks explode around him; there were dragons and knights to slay them, while there would be gigantic butterflies elsewhere. "Should do this every year," said a voice behind him; Harry looked back to see Severus standing there. "Would have been nice to have them around when I was here," said Harry as he sat down beside him.
"I'm just a little apprehensive about letting the three of them make this whole thing up. Only first-years, after all," said Severus. "Only first-years," muttered Harry, "slew a basilisk by the time I was a second-year, so I think they can handle a little fireworks display." "Well you're not exactly normal Harry," said Severus, "you've been through more than any of us can say. But I'm not too worried about it though." Harry stared at a large figure that had sprung from a rocket; it was a man wearing glasses, holding a sword, and fighting something. It looked like another person, with red, gleaming eyes. "That's you," said Severus suddenly; and so it was. It was Harry beating Voldemort, and there was a Dementor that had just arisen from another rocket. "I'm gonna make them promise not to do things like that anymore," said Harry; "Can't have violent things like that happening around school." "After everything that ever happened at this school to you, you're saying you don't want violent things happening around here. Well good for you; took you only thirty-five years or so to figure it out," said Severus sarcastically.
"You said you weren't worried," said Harry.
"I'm not."
"Funny," said Harry as he thought about the new Voldemort-free world around them, "neither am I."
The End
Das ist alles! The series is finally finished, and now I can sleep easier at night! What did you think, Krystle? -RH-