They had little time to process that they had finally found the diadem and destroyed two horcruxes in less than five minutes, they started to hear duelling not far from them and they knew it was past midnight and the Death Eaters had broken the shielding spells and had gotten inside Hogwarts.
The five of them started moving, hearing several explosions everywhere. The first Death Eater they encountered was stunned by Draco. All but Jade were surprised at that but said nothing. More and more came and they fought Death Eaters when needed.
It was then when Jade's ability suddenly got out of control for a couple of minutes. She started hearing thoughts, sometimes one or two at a time but it could also be ten or even more at once. Some were a mess. Some were quite organised, some were thinking about their loved ones. Some were just thoughts of dying and some were thoughts of killing.
She kept hearing several voices at the same time and she couldn't block them out. They were currently in a part of Hogwarts with Fred and Percy, along with some other students fighting Death Eaters and it was Fred who defended Jade while she was trying hard to block the thoughts, as she couldn't think or do anything. She could hear many thoughts but not her own.
She did notice something though. Sometimes the thoughts would go mute immediately, mid-word or mid-sentence and the voice wouldn't be heard again. She wondered if those people had been killed, she hoped not.
Then there was a big explosion and that actually helped Jade to gain control over her mind. Jade landed hard on her side, so hard that she was bleeding and her already sore ribcage area felt even worse and she had a hard time taking deep breaths. She looked around and couldn't find Draco.
"Draco? Draco?" she yelled, looking around.
But he wasn't there anymore. Harry had to grab her and pull her along so they could get away from there. The hole in one of the walls the explosion had caused was being used as another entrance and this time not only Death Eaters were going in but huge spiders. While Harry and Ron did a spell against them, Jade just killed them.
The four of them hid inside a small cupboard for the time being, they barely fit but they needed a place to just stop and be able to think.
"I need to look for Draco," Jade said, almost crying.
"He's alright," Ron said quickly. "He wasn't there when the explosion hit us, so he didn't die. If we don't end this we will all die, Jade. We both have kids, don't we? So let's think about them and end this, okay? Right, so Harry, you need to find where Voldemort is. The snake will be with him. Do it Harry! Look inside him."
Harry nodded and closed his eyes and he even made a face of surprise at how easy it was. Jade had gotten used to getting into Harry's mind when he did that, she had discussed it with him and he wasn't against it as long as it wasn't his own mind being read.
So Jade closed her eyes too and read Harry's mind, seeing everything he was seeing. Voldemort somehow still hadn't felt that two Horcruxes had been recently destroyed.
"My Lord." Jade knew that voice too well but he had never sounded so weak, so desperate, so scared. Voldemort turned and faced Lucius Malfoy. Jade almost opened her eyes. He looked horrible. He had a closed and puffy eye. He was ragged and broken, his hair was messy and he had big bags under his eyes from exhaustion. "Please, my son."
"If your son is dead, Lucius, it's not my fault. He did not come and join me like the rest of the Slytherins. Perhaps he has befriended Harry Potter?"
"No. Never."
"You must hope not."
"My Lord... Potter might be killed by someone else. Wouldn't it be more prudent to call off this battle? Enter the castle and seek him yourself?"
"Do not pretend Lucius," Voldemort hissed at the already shaking Lucius. "You wish the battle to cease so that you can discover what has happened to your son. Before the night is out, Potter will come to find me. I'm sure... Go and fetch Snape."
"Snape? My Lord?"
"Snape! I need him. Go!"
Jade opened her eyes before Harry, he had stayed in his mind a bit longer than he should have but at least they knew where he was, where they needed to go.
"He's in the Shrieking Shack. The Snake's with him," Harry said and then explained to the other two what he had heard and seen.
"But if he's expecting you, you can't go. That's what he wants. You stay here and I'll go and..." Ron started.
"It makes more sense if I go," Granger exclaimed.
"Actually, I'll go. I'm a Slytherin, he wouldn't suspect me. My brother already joined him," Jade said to them.
"No!" Harry exclaimed, thinking of the time in the other reality where Jade was captured and killed.
But it was then when the door was opened and they were faced with two Death Eaters. One Death Eater was Finley Lias, seeing his daughter after apparently being kidnapped months ago was a shock and it was a bigger shock to find her with Harry Potter.
That shock helped them to defend themselves, stun the Death Eaters and escape. Without even uttering a word they knew what to do. They got under the Invisibility Cloak and rushed to the Shrieking Shack.
The way and the staircase that they had to go through, were full of duellers. It was hard to avoid all those people and spells at the same time and go along with the other three. Jade did bump into Ron a few times though.
Almost outside of that crowded room, Jade heard Draco's voice. He was pleading with a Death Eater. Jade didn't even think about it, she stopped and stunned him. And Draco actually got the Death Eater's wand.
Jade knew she couldn't stay so she kept going with the other three. And the next one to stop was Granger as she saw a four-legged creature rushing to a body and was about to feast on it. It was Lavender Brown. Granger threw Fenrir Greyback backwards. He hit the wall so hard he struggled to stand up.
A door was opened and they saw the spiders again. Jade killed two and other people were also attacking them.
Hagrid, then, came out of nowhere shouting to not harm them. Harry actually tried to stop him but the spiders got him. The spiders retreated with Hagrid and there were too many that no one could do anything about it.
Harry, who had stopped using the Cloak, sprinted after them and the other three after Harry. What stopped Harry was a giant. He tried to smash Harry, who had to jump out of the way and take cover. The others did the same and when the giant's attention was on someone else, they started running again.
They were halfway to the Forbidden Forest when Jade, who was the last one, stopped. She turned around as she felt unnaturally cold. The other had probably felt it too but hadn't stopped. Hundreds of dark figures were after them. She had to admit she felt very intimidated when she saw so many.
"Expecto Patronus!" Jade shouted, thinking of Leo when he called her mum. A beautiful, graceful swan erupted from her wand and charged at once. Several of the Dementors flew away but at least half of them were still approaching them.
Ron's terrier and Granger's otter joined her swan on her second attack against them Harry was unable to do the Patronus this time, but it was okay as three other people had joined from nowhere, they only saw a hare, a fox and a boar and the six silver creatures had gotten rid of the nasty creatures.
The cold and sorrow they had felt was gone. They looked to their right and saw Luna, Ernie and Seamus. At once, Ron ran to Luna and embraced her, asking her if she was alright.
"We're all okay. We're still fighting," Luna replied.
Without having time to talk more, Luna, Ernie and Seamus ran in the opposite direction than the other four to rejoin the battle. Within minutes they got to the Whomping Willow.
With a spell, Jade froze the savage tree so it wouldn't try to kill them as it had done before and without a problem they got inside the small passage at the bottom of the tree. Harry went first and then Jade. She crawled inside as the entrance was too small.
Once they were all inside they got their wands ready and they had to hunch their backs and bend their knees slightly because the ceiling was very low. They made no sound as they moved, expecting tramps or magical barriers but nothing was there.
After what felt like hours, they finally saw a light ahead of them. They whispered among themselves and decided to wear the Invisibility Cloak. Once they did, they continued even quieter if that was even possible and then stopped right by the wall that separated them from where Voldemort was.
There was a small gap in the wall, they watched through it and saw him and the snake they needed to kill and Snape was also there. One wrong movement and they would all miss the chance to kill the Snake. They had two Basilisk fangs but nothing else to kill it, it would be ideal if each one of them had a weapon but that wasn't the case. They assumed they wouldn't be able to kill that snake like if it was a normal snake but they couldn't be sure how being a living Horcrux worked.
"Let me bring you Potter. I know I can find him, my Lord. Please," Snape said, there was urgency in his voice.
"I have a problem, Severus," Voldemort said, holding the Elder wand in his pale hands, and playing it through his fingers. "Why doesn't it work for me?"
"I don't understand... You have performed extraordinary magic with that wand."
"No. I've performed my usual magic. I am extraordinary... but this wand... no. I feel no difference between this wand and the one I procured from Ollivander all those years ago."
Snape did not speak but Jade could still sense the urgency in his eyes. He wanted to go as soon as possible. Voldemort started to pace the room. He passed right in front of the gap and the four of them didn't even dare to breathe.
"Do you know why I have called you back from the battle?"
"No, but let me go back. I can find Potter for you."
"Severus... you've been very valuable to me. Very valuable."
Jade bit her lip, for some reason she could take from the tone that Voldemort hadn't called Severus to compliment him. There was something hidden and it seemed Snape knew too, he was smart.
"My Lord knows I seek only to serve him."
"My concern at the moment is what will happen when I finally meet the boy," Voldemort said. "Why did both the wands I've used fail when directed at Harry Potter?"
"I cannot answer that, my Lord."
"Can't you?" Voldemort said and Jade could almost hear the sarcasm in his voice. "I seeked a third wand, the Elder Wand. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore. And all this night, I've wondered in here, why the Elder Wand refuses to perform for its rightful owner... and I think I have the answer."
Snape did not speak again. He seemed dead. He was so pale and his eyes were so empty and it seemed like he wasn't even breathing. Jade was raising her wand when Ron noticed and put his hand on top of hers and stopped her.
There weren't any enchantments around it. Snape could disapparate if he wanted. Why wasn't he doing it? Jade felt like actually making a distraction so he could escape but Ron was still holding her and for some reason she felt like she couldn't move.
"Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant," he said. "The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Dumbledore, while you live Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine. It cannot be any other way."
Severus finally raised his wand but didn't attack. He hesitated. Voldemort flicked the Elder Wand but nothing happened, Snape and the other four were a bit confused. But then Snape's eyes moved to the left, knowing why nothing had happened... or so he thought. Voldemort had lifted the enchantment around Nagini.
Before Snape could do anything, Nagini had encased him around the shoulders and head, then Voldemort said something in Parseltongue.. It was then when Ron really had to have his arms around Jade to stop her from doing anything and Harry put a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream.
And it wasn't her scream that filled their ears but Snape's. The colour he had left completely disappeared from his face. The snake pierced his neck with her long fangs. His knees gave away and then he fell to the floor.
"I regret it," Voldemort said but he didn't seem like he actually had any remorse of what had happened.
Voldemort disapparated with the snake just a second before Harry bursted in. Ron finally let go and Jade rushed to Snape, followed by Harry, who was so disappointed about missing Voldemort.
Blood was gushing from the wounds in his neck. Both tried to stop the blood flow but it was useless. Jade got her wand from the floor and tried to heal him but it wasn't working.
Snape was crying and told Harry to take the tears. They looked silvery blue. A flask, conjured from nowhere, was given to Harry by Granger. The tears filled the flask and then Harry took it firmly in his hand and sealed it with a spell.
"Look... at... me..." Snape whispered as he looked at Harry.
For a moment the two of them looked into each other's eyes, but then Jade saw how his head fell a little to the side and his chest never rose again. Jade broke into silent sobs as she hugged her knees close to her chest.
The four of them were in shock. Harry kept looking at Snape, hoping he wasn't dead, Jade kept crying next to his body, Ron looked shattered at the older man and Granger looked around for enemies but she also was shocked. What got them back into reality was a cold voice.
"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort values bravery." Once again the voice seemed to come from the walls. "Yet, you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. I'm merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."
Jade's silent tears intensified as she thought of Draco, of Cass, even of her brother. She didn't know who was alive and who was dead.
"I Speak now directly to you, Harry Potter. You've permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If you haven't come to me at the end of that hour, the battle recommences. And I shall find you and punish every last man, woman and child who has concealed you from me. One hour."
Jade was going to wipe some tears when she saw her hands and she lost it. Her hands, shirt and pants were covered in Snape's blood. The other three looked at her, who was trying to get her hands cleans but couldn't wipe them on her clothes and there wasn't anything available. Ron helped her up and held her in his arms to calm her down but she was having a panic attack.
Granger quickly used a spell to clean her hands and clothes and also grabbed Jade's wand from the floor and cleaned it too. She hadn't noticed but she also had a stain on her cheek so Ron quickly cleaned that with his thumb.
"Look at me," Ron said as he put both his hands on her face and made her look only at him, opposite Snape's body. "It's alright. It's going to end soon, okay? You are alright."
Still shaking and crying, Jade nodded. She calmed down a bit. Ron wiped those new tears and Granger handed her her wand. Slowly, Jade started to breathe in a steadier and normal way. Not those frantic, accelerated, short breaths she was taking before.
Still overwhelmed, the four of them walked out and headed to the castle. Every once in a while, Jade wiped a tear. She was sad and affected but at least the panic attack was over. Harry let the other two walk a few steps ahead of him and Jade as he needed to talk to her.
"I need you to promise me something," Harry said to her. She didn't look up or nodded but Harry knew she was listening to him. "If something happens to me, anything at all, don't try to save me… even if saving is still an option."
"What?" Jade asked, finally looking at him.
"You get out of here, understand, Jade? You go and keep Leo safe. He can't go through our deaths twice."
Jade's lip trembled, Jade had said the same words to Harry one year ago, when she knew of the prophecy but couldn't tell Harry about it. 'If something happens to me, don't try to save me.' She shook her head at Harry.
"Jade," Harry said, stopping in his tracks and putting his hands on her shoulders and shook her up a bit. "I know we basically didn't really have him, made him, but his parents are Jade and Harry and that's us. He's a kid, scared, and most of all alone. He can't take the loss of his parents again. Do you understand? If you want, take him to Sirius but let's not make the same mistake we did over there."
"This is different..." Jade said, trying to argue. More tears ran down her face. "I want to fight."
"And you have fought... bravely. And I couldn't have done so much stuff and gotten this far without you but now I need you to do something else."
"No."
"I'm not saying it's going to happen," Harry said quickly. "Just if something actually happens to me... Who knows if we actually voided the first prophecy... imagine if we didn't. Both of us can't die, Jade. Promise me you'll go."
"But the snake..."
"We'll find a way. Jade, we are running out of time! I need your word!" Harry shouted, the other two still pretended they weren't listening but they had stopped and they jumped at Harry's outburst. "For him, Jade. This isn't about me or you, this is about Leo. Our son. Imagine his pain when a complete stranger tells him we died… again. You can't leave him alone, Jade."
Jade said nothing, but she nodded. She didn't have the maternal instinct in her as developed as it should be, but she loved Leo and deep inside of her she knew she couldn't just abandon him. Harry embraced her and tried to tell her it was going to be okay. Jade held on for a little bit longer, grasping his shirt tightly as her eyes remained closed and she listened to Harry's voice.
"You already know where Tonks lives," Harry added when he let go of her.
"Don't die," Jade told him.
"I'll try not to..." Harry told her. "You know... if you weren't married I'd kiss you right now."
"Shut up!" Jade exclaimed and for the first time her tears mixed with a small smile. Her blushed cheeks weren't noticeable in the dark. But Harry saw the smile.
Harry smiled back at Jade and they resumed the walk, the others started walking too. Still keeping some distance between them.
The castle got closer and closer. It was so quiet, it almost seemed unnatural. There were no flashes like there had an hour ago. The spiders were gone. The giants were gone. The dementors were gone.
But as they got closer they noticed how bad it was. Pieces of stone, marble and wood were scattered on the floor, there was blood. Windows were shattered.
The four of them walked to the Great Hall. The tables were gone and unlike everywhere else, that room was crowded. The injured were being treated by the other survivors and teachers, the worst cases were taken to Madam Pomfrey.
The dead were laying in a row in the middle of the hall. The Weasley family was around one of the bodies. Ron ran at once to join his family. Mrs. Weasley lied across Fred's chest. Her body was shaking and tears kept coming down.
People were broken everywhere, everyone had lost someone but Jade felt despair and sorrow as she watched Mrs. Weasley. She had never seen a mother lose a child. And that's when she understood.
Her pain was beyond limits and Jade felt it too. Even when she didn't want to, she would leave Hogwarts if she had to and look after Leo. She had promised earlier but it wasn't until then that she grasped why Harry was asking something that she found so senseless.
And reality became more painful and overwhelming when she saw the two bodies next to Fred. It was Lupin and Tonks. She closed her eyes tightly as she didn't want to cry anymore. She didn't want to lose herself in another panic attack or worse, let her little gift get uncontrolled once again.
She remembered when Lupin visited Bill's house and informed them all of little Teddy. And only a few hours ago Tonks was talking about him. She heard her but she didn't pay attention as she thought Horcruxes were more important than listening to her. Now she regretted it. Two minutes was all she should have taken to listen to Tonks and now that wasn't possible anymore.
Teddy was now an orphan and was never going to see his parents again. Just like once happened to Leo but by a chance and emotions, Leo had the chance to meet his parents. Sort of.
Jade nodded. She turned around to assure Harry she wasn't going to leave Leo alone but he wasn't there anymore. Ron and Granger were with the Weasleys and Harry was completely gone.
She walked out of the Great Hall, and looked around but Harry had already left. She sat on the first step of the stairs, surrounded by destruction and chaos, she got out the envelope she found in the Headmaster office. She hadn't had time to even check what it was about.
Dear Jade,
In a few years you'll come to me with a lot of questions, I didn't have the answers you sought and you haven't come back since, so I've left this letter.
You gave me the object that was given to you by Dumbledore so I could study it. You were concerned about Leo Lestrange's well being. You wanted to know if it was safe for him to live in your reality. After a very extensive research I've found that the time spent in another reality doesn't affect a person. You can stay as long as you want, unlike what you were told by Dumbledore. He won't die if he returns even after fifty years, the reason why you felt tired after trips is normal. Just energy used to take every atom of your body to another space and time, it has nothing to do with the amount of time spent away from your reality or current time. I did find that it will tire you up to jump from time to time or from reality to reality and many frequent jumps could be fatal but with proper care, breaks and the potion you must take, you're safe.
And after he 'vanished' from the tower where he was imprisoned, no one knew of this event for hours so no alarms went off, you can be relieved that you didn't trigger anything by taking him with you.
And Sirius and the Weasleys are all safe, like you will eventually find out. Someone tip them off that someone would be after them looking for the boy.
And the girls named Harlie and Sapphire are also okay, they've actually started Hogwarts and no one suspects who their real parents are.
However, I still do not have an answer to your last question. I haven't found a spell or a way to make a person age in another reality. I can only assume we must be looking for a spell to tie him to the reality where you've taken him so it becomes his reality now.
I'll keep researching.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape
From the other reality.
Jade took a deep breath and then reread it quickly, if she travelled again to ask Snape for information, she must have survived the war. She put the parchment on her lap and realised there was more on the other side.
After a long time of searching and experimenting, I finally found a potion and a complicated spell that could make Leo tied to this reality and thus making him age but if I've understood correctly, Leo is nine years old but born in 1997. I've written this in the spring of 1998, so he must be only a year old by now, not nine.
I've also tried to find a spell to make that fit with this other potion, Leo will be the age he must be based on his birth date, regardless of the reality where he comes from. It's up to you if you want to use it.
I must warn you that the memories he has, the life he's lived, he'll vaguely remember as if it had been a dream but he will remember. Those memories can't be wiped out and if you attempt to, the boy you currently know and love might be gone forever.
Here I add the names to the potions you must make and the spell.
The instructions are somewhere else. Security issues.
Severus Snape
(From your reality.)
Jade felt frustrated as he hadn't written where she could find the instructions to those potions. She looked in the envelope and over it but nothing. And now he was gone, she couldn't ask him. If she was lucky, Snape could return as a portrait, just like Dumbledore, and then she could ask him.
"Jade! Watch out!" Jade heard as she was putting the envelope in her pocket.
Her mistake was to look at the source of the voice, a blond man running towards her and not at what she must watch out for. It was too late when she did. Another blond man, same age as the other, got to her and grabbed her forcefully and pointed his wand to her head.
"Don't do this, Lex! She's your sister!"
"That's why I'm doing it!" Lex shouted.
"He'll kill her!"
"No! She will be welcomed as the great witch she is. He'll be pleased with her and our family! And if you aren't stupid, you'll join us. Hey! Hey! Stop!" Lex said as the other man pointed his wand at him and almost attempted to hit him with a spell. "You could hit her instead of me."
Cassius hesitated, he knew it was true. Jade was telling Lexion to let her go, that she would go voluntarily but he didn't let her go. He started to drag her with him.
In desperation, Cassius attempted a few spells but they all missed or were blocked by Lexion and then Lexion fought back and hit Cass, who lay unconscious on the floor.
Jade started to struggle in Lexion's arms but sadly at some point she had lost her wand and all she had left was her strength and determination but once Lexion hit her with a spell, all that was useless. Jade's world turned completely dark and she knew no more.
Harry stayed motionless, sat on the nearest step. He wouldn't survive. He was overwhelmed with everything that Snape had left for him. All those scenes...memories.
He couldn't even enjoy and think of his mother as a child, of the few memories he had seen that showed his mother as a little kid. In another time, he would be concentrating on those memories.
"And are you sure that Jade Lias won't be considered as Draco's successor to the job?" Dumbledore had asked in one of the memories.
"Yes. His brother's failure wasn't as important as Lucius'. The Dark Lord wants to punish Lucius and Narcissa, knowing Draco will fail. But he doesn't have anything against Finley or Raven. Lexion wasn't in charge, he got captured because of Lucius' mistakes and it was his first mission. Jade is safe."
"They are close, though. Jade and Draco. Do you think he will tell her about his mission?"
"I doubt it," Snape said.
"Still, keep an eye on her too. Just in case."
It was in that same memory when Dumbledore asked Snape to not let Draco kill him and that he must do it instead of the teenager. Snape refused and was as shocked as Harry at the request.
"I confess I should prefer a quick, painless exit. I heard Voldemort recruited Greyback. That would be a nasty affair... or Bellatrix, who likes to play with her food before she eats it."
That seemed to convince Snape, plus the fact that the curse in Dumbledore's hand would eventually kill him anyway.
A memory after, he found himself in the same spot. Snape was there again with Dumbledore. They were discussing Jade's prophecy.
"Are you sure they aren't dating?" Dumbledore asked and Harry at once blushed.
"Jade told me they weren't but I can't assure you they aren't. Teenagers lie, especially the ones who have been raised like her. I think you should tell her the truth, she's a clever girl. She'd know what to do."
"And Harry?"
"Well, if you must," Snape said. "I can't assure you he is clever too."
"Severus, if things don't change, keep Jade safe. Take her away from school and Harry if you must... And if you are interested to know, I've seen the boy. Jade's son," Dumbledore told him. "He looks just like Lily. It's very impressive... the genes and all that."
"You don't need to tell me that to convince me to keep Jade safe," Snape said coldly. "I'd do it anyway."
Then Harry remembered another scene he saw. It was Snape alone this time. Dumbledore had already died as he saw his portrait on the wall. Snape was planning to give the Sorting Hat to Jade so she could get the sword.
"You said Jade was a Gryffindor?" Snape asked the portrait. "Even when she was sorted in Slytherin."
"Yes, but I'll say it again. I don't think Jade will be able to pull the sword out of the Hat. She has been a Slytherin for almost seven years. She's not the Jade she was supposed to be."
"I don't agree with that."
And Snape was right, she got the sword and proved she was a real Gryffindor. He hid it behind Dumbledore's portrait and the fake was on sight, the one he later sent to the Lestrange's Vault.
Then his thoughts went to a memory before that one. The one that changed everything for him, the reason why Snape was trying so hard to find him.
"So, when the time comes... the boy must die?" Snape asked.
"And Voldemort himself must do it."
Harry opened his eyes to stop or at least pause that. He kept hearing those words, though. He couldn't block them out. Harry shut his eyes again.
"I have spied for you and lied for you! Put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Evans' son safe. Now you tell me you've been raising him like a pig for slaughter!"
"This is touching, Severus!" Dumbledore said, unaffected by Snape's outburst. "Have you grown to care for the boy?"
"Expecto Patronum!"
He saw the doe, the same doe that led him to the Sword of Gryffindor. He finally knew the truth. All the truth. Snape had truly been looking after him all these years. He had helped him.
Snape had kept the truth hidden, even every single teacher and student hated him after Dumbledore died and he became the new Headmaster. McGonagall had called him a 'coward' and Harry had agreed with her but now he couldn't disagree more.
Harry recovered then, remembering he only had an hour, now way less, to meet Voldemort. He got a piece of parchment from the desk and quickly wrote a letter to Jade and another to Leo, knowing he would never see his son again. The son that Snape also agreed to keep safe and that he actually kept safe in the other reality.
Harry folded the parchment and wrote on one side, Jade L. He tucked it into his pocket and without looking back, he walked out of the office.
The castle seemed completely empty, even the portraits were empty. The ghosts were nowhere to be seen as well. He walked all the way down to the entrance thinking over and over again of what he had seen, of Snape. Of Jade. Of Leo.
He saw at last a few people, they were carrying the dead and bringing them inside. Neville was among them. They didn't see him as he was under the Invisibility Cloak.
He looked around as he kept walking quite slowly. He couldn't see Hermione or Ron, or Jade or even Luna. A part of him knew it was better that way. To just go. But he did hope to see Jade, but he had written the letter because he knew there was a big chance he wouldn't see her again.
Harry took off the Cloak as Neville was going to pick up another body. He walked to him in silence.
"Neville."
"Blimey, Harry! You nearly gave me heart failure."
He wasn't sure why he was talking to Neville, but he felt like he must. Something inside of him was telling him to do it.
"Neville... do you know Voldemort's snake?" Harry asked. "He's got a huge snake, calls it Nagini."
"I've heard, yeah. Why?"
"It's got to be killed. Just in case you have the chance to..."
"Kill it?"
"Yes, kill the snake if you get the chance. Uh, Neville, have you seen Jade?"
"No, actually, I haven't seen her in a while," Neville said, thinking about it. "But she must be fine."
"Yeah, Neville, if you see her. Give her this for me, or give it to Ron and tell him to give it to her," Harry said quickly.
"You are not meeting him, are you?" Neville asked as he took the piece of paper.
"No. Of course not. I need to do something alone, though."
As Harry walked away very slowly, he still kept looking around searching for her but he knew it was better if he didn't see her. He was going to die, he was minutes away from it, so if he did see Jade, he'd kiss the girl he had fallen in love with. He wouldn't care if she had gotten married, especially because she only married Malfoy to escape her family, even though he knew she did care about him.
But right there, when death was imminent, things got into perspective. Right then, he was truly regretting not kissing Jade only minutes ago and telling her how much he loved her, even when he had told her already more than once. But as it would be the last time, he would make it count.
It was wrong to do so, but he'd die happy and he felt bad knowing he wouldn't care about Malfoy. But instead, he thought of when he had actually kissed her at Bill's wedding a few months ago. If he could do something before dying, it would be, doing it again.
But even with that regret and longing in his heart to kiss her one last time, he was beyond grateful to her for giving him the opportunity of meeting Leo before dying. One thing was pretending to be the other Harry and another was meeting a grown Leo who knew the truth and accepted him as his dad. Thinking of him was giving him more courage to take this last journey but he felt guilty and sad, knowing he would hurt that sweet boy.
