Chapter 57
"Harry!" exclaimed all of them at once as they dropped to the ground next to him
"He's been knocked out" said Sirius once he saw the lump on the side of his head. He gently turned him over and only then noticed the bindings around his wrists.
"What are those?" asked Lily as she pointed to the shackles that were glowing a mixture of red and black
"I think they are to bind his wandless magic, I saw them when he was having his nightmare too" explained Ron
"Is there any way we can get them off?" asked Ginny as she tried to pull them from her boyfriends wrists
"I doubt it, they are magical and probably charmed to stay on unless the counter spell is spoken" explained Remus as he brushed his graying hair from his face.
"Well, there is no way we will be able to get out of here if Harry can't do magic" growled James "None of us have our wands and we are more than out numbered"
"Calm down James, we need to figure out a way to get those off of him" said Lily and they immediately began to try everything they could think of to remove the shackles, but nothing they did worked and after some time, they began to give up hope, until they noticed that Harry was waking up.
"Thank Merlin, Harry, are you ok?" asked Sirius as he helped Harry to a sitting position
"I've been better" he chocked out weakly, "What about all of you?" he asked
"We're fine" answered Ginny
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Ron in concern when he noticed Harry's weary expression
Harry mutely held up his hands to show them the metal cuffs that were binding them together.
"Do they have a spell on them to keep you from doing magic?" he asked and Harry nodded, again without saying a word to his friends and almost fell back to the ground if it weren't for Sirius who was practically holding him up.
"What did they do to you?" demanded Draco
"Nothing yet" answered Harry "They just blocked all of my magic as well as my energy" he answered, his words slurring together and eyes slipping closed.
"No, Harry, you can't go to sleep, we need to find a way out of here" said Sirius sharply as he shook his godson gently to wake him further and Harry's eyes slipped back opened.
"My pocket, wands" he said sleepily and the others all looked to each other in confusion before Sirius reached into Harry's cloak pocket and extracted two wands, a necklace, a pocket watch, and a ring as well as the marauders map, a cloak clasp, and the journal that Sirius and Remus were going to give him for Christmas.
All of their eyes went wide when they saw the wands and James and Lily rushed forward and picked them up with smiles on their faces while Sirius handed out the rest of the items in his hand, putting the map and journal in his pocket for safe keeping before he realized that Harry had dozed off again.
"No, Harry, wake up" he said forcefully as he shook his godson again, once again causing the green eyes to slide open. "James, Lily, see if you can get these things off of him" he said and the two seventh years obediently approached and tried every spell they could think of, and even some that the others told them, but none of them worked and the shackles remained in tact and in place around his wrists, still giving off their faint glow of red and black.
"It's no use" said Lily finally "We can't break it"
"She's right, the spell is too powerful" said James heavily
"Well, keep trying" said Sirius with a sigh "Harry, wake up!" he said again when he noticed he had once again drifted off.
The group of nine sat in silence for several moments before Harry spoke up "Sirius, can you help me up for a minute?" he asked weakly
"Why, Harry?" asked the older man, but instead of answering, Harry began trying to stand and giving a sigh of exasperation, Sirius stood and helped him to his feet, supporting much of his weight once he was on his feet. What he did next caused the others to jump to their feet as well and stare at him.
Harry closed his eyes and began to chant under his breath words they could not hear as he held his bound hands out in front of him, palms up. A faint blue light surrounded his hands for several minutes before shapes began to form in them, and slowly the shapes began to mold into that of several wands before the light disappeared and Harry slumped fully onto Sirius who lowered him to the ground, ignoring the wands that were lying scattered on the ground where he had dropped them.
"Harry, how did you do that?" he asked in amazement with his eyes wide
"Magic" he said quietly "I'm going to take a nap now, wake me up if something happens" he said sleepily, sounding very much like a small child as he closed his eyes again and fell into a deep sleep
"How did he do that? I thought his magic was being blocked" said Hermione as she knelt down to pick up the scattered wands
"I'm not sure, but he managed to summon all of our wands despite that" said Remus as Hermione handed him his wand and he put it in his pocket after inspecting it carefully to make sure it was in the same condition as when he had last seen it.
"I would recommend that we keep this a secret until the time comes that we can escape, otherwise the death eaters will just take them again" suggested Sirius and the others all obliged and pocketed their own wands before settling back down, Sirius with Harry's head on his lap and Ginny holding his hand tightly in her own.
After about two hours of near silence in the cell, they all heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching, and all of them got to their feet and in an unspoken agreement, stood between the still form of Harry and the door.
The door creaked open and five death eaters entered, Shaw once again in the lead with a broad smirk on his face "Well, I hope you have found your accommodations comfortable, and that you have enjoyed the company of Mr. Potter, but I'm afraid we must borrow him for a few moments, but don't worry, we will return him to you" he said as he motioned the other four forward.
"We won't let you take him, Shaw" growled Sirius threateningly
"And how do you plan on stopping me, Black?" he asked mockingly, but before he could answer, he was distracted by another voice.
"It's all right, Sirius, I'll be fine" said Harry weakly and the man spun around to face him. Harry was trying in vain to get to his feet again, using the stone wall as leverage despite the metal cuffs still binding his wrists together and sucking out every bit of strength, magical and physical alike.
"Harry" he started to say as his hand began to move to the pocket that his wand was in
"No, Sirius, don't, I'll be fine, just keep an eye on the others and try to find a way out of here" he said quietly so only his godfather could hear his words "There's nothing we can do to stop them now" he said in a louder voice, causing the death eaters to begin laughing
"Ah, at last Potter has gotten some common sense" said Shaw "Come on" he said in a cold voice and the death eaters roughly grabbed Harry by the arms and began to lead him from the cell, and to the horror of the rest of the group, he didn't even try to fight back. Once the four men and Harry had left the room, Shaw turned to the remaining prisoners
"I've been thinking" he began with a sinister look on his face "What a pleasure it will be for our master when he regains control to have his enemies closest relations nearby, so that he can begin to punish Potter immediately, not to mention what enjoyment it will offer his servants to watch you die one by one" and with those words being said, he called for the guards outside the door who promptly entered "Bring them to the main chamber, and when you get there, be sure that they are watched by everyone, I want at least thirty wands on them at all times" he ordered before he too left the room.
Mutely, the nine followed the death eaters from the cell and into the large chamber, deciding that there was no way to fight, and even if there were, they weren't about to leave Harry behind in favor of their own escape. When they entered the chamber, they were immediately directed in the direction of the wall they had been standing in front of earlier that day, and to their horror, Harry was chained to the wall, his arms still encased in the metal shackles and raised above his head and attached to the chain that was handing there. He was glaring at the death eaters in disgust and hate, but when he saw his friends and family approaching, that look turned to dread.
"What are they doing here? They have done nothing to you" he spat at Shaw who was once again before him
"They have come to watch the show, Potter" he said with a smirk
"There is nothing here they need to see, let them stay in the cell, or better yet, release them, you got me, and that is all you wanted, so let them go" he demanded
"I think not Potter, they will prove useful in a short time" he answered "Now, this is your last chance, surrender now, or we will be forced to make you surrender to the dark lord"
"I will never give in to the likes of him, especially since I am so close to killing him for good" answered Harry
"Very well, as you wish, Crucio!" shouted Shaw as he pointed his wand at Harry. When the red beam of light struck him, every muscle in his body clenched and he let out a pain filled groan, causing tears to spring to the eyes of Ginny and Sirius to clench his jaw in anger, but with the thirty wands aimed directly at them, there was little they could do without dying themselves. Shaw kept the curse on Harry for several minutes before he let up. "Well, Potter, have you decided to give in yet?" he asked again
"Never" gasped Harry as he struggled to regain his breath, only to find himself under the effects of the curse again, but this time it was twice as strong as the first and through his pain filled haze he wasn't surprised to find two different wands aimed at him.
This pattern continued for nearly an hour, and last time they had counted, there were no less than ten wands casting the cruciatus curse on Harry, and still he didn't give in, but they knew he was steadily losing strength, his eyes were dull and his voice was lacking all of the former fight it had possessed.
"Please, Harry, don't give up" whispered Ginny the next time the curses were lifted, a full dozen this time, but she knew he couldn't hear her, not over the laughing death eaters.
Harry was so completely and utterly overwhelmed by the curses now that he didn't even notice the laughter of the death eaters, or the crying and pleading screams of his friends as they tried to encourage him to hang on. When they had first brought him into this room from the cell he had shared with his friends, he was over come with memories of the last time he had seen this place, and all that he had been forced to endure while he was here.
The cold stone walls were unmistakable, and the chain that was still hanging from one was, as well as the blood stains adorning it only served to cause his stomach to be filled with lead and his body to stop responding to his commands. He had known as soon as he woke up that he wouldn't be leaving this place, and he had been prepared to face that, and fight the inevitable with all of his might, but one sight of that wall caused all of his bravery to vanish instantly.
Now, after an hour of the cruciatus curse, he was ready to just give up and surrender to his fate, no matter how terrible it was. The human body was only designed to withstand so much pain before it broke, and throughout his short life, his body had been pushed to that brink on more than one occasion, and now it was teetering precariously close to the edge. Before, the pain had been both external and internal and he was able to focus on one thing that hurt and block out all others, but to do so required at least a little bit of physical strength, and right now, due to the cuffs around his wrist and the curse placed on them, he had absolutely no strength left.
In fact, the only reason he was still awake was due to another curse that prevented him from falling asleep or unconscious, something else he had never been forced to deal with before now. The feeling of someone punching him hard in his jaw brought him back to reality though.
"Potter, when I speak to you, I expect you to answer, I do not like being ignored" spat Shaw viciously "Now, I will ask again, how much do you value your life?" he asked quietly
"More than I value yours, death eater" he answered back, surprised at just how raspy his voice sounded
"That may be so, Potter, but do you value your life over, say, your godfathers, or your friends, or even your mentors, or perhaps hers?" he asked as he spun around and pointed at Ginny who's face was streaked with tears.
Harry had no response to this question, of course he valued their lives over his own, but it wasn't just his life at risk here, it was the fate of the entire wizarding world. If it had been only his life he would have given it in an instant to save theirs, but was it worth all of the innocents who would be killed? He honestly didn't know.
"Well, answer me Potter, are their lives more important to you than your own?" asked Shaw, but again, Harry didn't answer, instead he looked to the faces of those closest to him, and what he saw worried him even more, through their eyes he could tell that they were willing to die so that the future would be light, but he didn't know if he could go on living without them, in fact he knew he couldn't.
"Bring me the girl!" ordered Shaw when Harry didn't answer, and to his horror, two men strode forward, bring with them a struggling Ginny "Now Potter, you have a choice, either surrender and we let her and the others go, or we will kill them one by one in front of your eyes. It's up to you, but you must decide now" he said as he turned away from Harry and pulled his wand from the pocket of his robes and aimed it right at Ginny.
Harry looked to the face of his girlfriend, who was looking right back at him. In her familiar eyes he saw love, and fear, mixed with a strong resolve. She didn't want to die, but she was prepared to, he noted, but he couldn't let that happen, he couldn't stand for Ginny to die, she was to good of a person, with too much left to live for, and he loved her far too much to see her death. Regardless of what happened, he would loose this battle, but she could be spared, as could his friends and family, all he had to do is give up and they would be fine. With this decision in mind, he spoke up to the ex-auror who had his wand still pointed at the trembling Ginny.
"Stop" he said quietly and all eyes turned to look at him, some expectantly and some in defeat "Let her go, I'll do what you ask" he said as he bowed his head
"Harry, no!" exclaimed Ginny
"Shut up you stupid girl, he's made his decision" said one of the death eater who was holding her harshly
"Harry, think about this, we're not worth it! If you give up then they win and there will be nothing we can do to stop it" said Sirius in a pleading tone, the others all calling out their objections as well, but they fell on deaf ears.
Shaw though, was positively glowing, "Wise decision, Potter" he said "If I had known it would have been this easy, I would have threatened their lives sooner" he said "Now, I will keep my end of the bargain once you follow through with yours" he concluded pointedly as he motioned for Ginny to be returned to the others. Harry nodded mutely before he looked into the eyes of each and every one of those he cared for. Hermione, Lily, and Ginny were all crying, Dumbledore looked older than ever, Ron, James, and Draco all looked horrified and unbelieving, Remus looked defeated, and Sirius looked like he had given up all hope and had a deadened look to his eyes.
"I'm sorry" said Harry quietly as his head fell, his chin resting on his chest. Suddenly, as he gave up the last bit of control he had, his body stiffened for a moment before falling limp again. He remained like that for several minutes before he lifted his head, red eyes shining through the thick black hair that was hanging over his face, a cruel smile twisting its way across the face.
"At last" said the cold voice of none other than Voldemort "Release me!" he snapped and instantly, the chain released the shackles and they split apart, but they remained on his wrists, though the spell was taken off, leaving the cold metal wrapped around his wrists like some sort of jewelry, and he began to rub his sore arms as he surveyed the scene in front of him, from the leagues of bowing death eaters who were all muttering 'my lord' quietly, to the group of nine who were looking to him in horror. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Potters little fan club" he said mockingly "Where is the staff?" he asked over his shoulder, and an instant later, a kneeling man handed him the golden staff. "A fine weapon indeed, wouldn't you say Dumbledore?" he asked as he faced the aged wizard with a cruel smile on his face.
"You may have won this part, Tom, but the light side will always be victorious" said the headmaster calmly
"Believe that all you want, old man, but you will not feel the same way once I have killed your students, now will you?" he asked "Now, I think I will begin with the pretty little red head Potter cared so much about, what do you say, girl, I am going to give you the opportunity to join me, but if you refuse, I will not hesitate to kill you" he said as he looked at Ginny expectantly
"I will never join someone like you Voldemort" she said with a lot more bravery than she felt
"You had your chance, girl, Crucio!" he bellowed as he pointed the staff at her, causing her to fall to the ground, screaming in agony, but only a split second later, another spell could be heard being spoken.
"Avadra Kedavera!" shouted someone, and confused, all watched as the green light of the spell struck Voldemort in the chest, causing him to break the spell over Ginny and sending him stumbling backwards into the stone wall.
"Sirius! What are you doing! That's Harry you just hit with the killing curse!" shouted James as he looked to the older version of his best friend as Dumbledore set up a force field around the nine of them and Voldemort to prevent the other death eaters from reacting.
"Sirius, how could you!" yelled Hermione in tears
"Calm down and let him explain" said the headmaster sternly
"That's not Harry, not anymore, I promised him I wouldn't let him hurt anyone, I promised him that I would kill him before he got the opportunity to harm any of us, and it's the only thing I can do for him" he said heavily "But I'm going to need your help, the only way to stop Voldemort is to hit him with the killing curse several time back to back while he's still weak, please help me keep my promise and honor his last request" he pleaded, and the others could see how much this killed him to have to do such a thing, but none of them knew what they could say to help, and even if they had, they wouldn't have gotten the opportunity as Voldemort had just regained his bearings and was looking venomously to them.
"You will regret that, Black" he said threateningly as he positioned the staff in his hand once again, but before he could do anything, he was hit with the killing curse again, this time causing him to hit the wall behind him hard, and forcing the staff to fall out of his grip. Remus was standing with his wand pointed at him and silent tears falling down his cheeks from the curse he had just hit one he cared so much about with.
When Voldemort got to his feet again, he was struck back down by Draco, and the pattern continued in such a way, with Ron, Hermione, James, Lily, and Dumbledore all firing the killing curse, all hitting their target, despite the fact that their vision was clouded with tears and most of them had turned away as they said the fateful words. When Voldemort stood after Dumbledore's curse, he was facing Ginny who was sitting on her knees on the ground, her eyes full of grief and spilling over with tears.
"I will always love you, Harry" she said quietly "Avadra Kedavera" she said and the green light struck him once again, this time causing his back to hit the wall behind him and his knees to give out from his weight and they could tell by looking at him that it was nearly over.
"Harry, please forgive us, Avadra Kedavera" said Sirius and the last thing that the red eyes saw was the green light flying toward him and striking him in the chest.
When the last curse hit, it was as though an explosion had gone off. There was screaming from outside the force field from the gathered death eaters before it was replaced by a deafening silence. Confused, the nine within the barrier looked outside it to see all of those who had been holding them prisoner on the ground, perfectly still.
Immediately, Dumbledore removed the force field and their suspicions were confirmed, all of the death eaters were dead. While they had been looking at this, Sirius had approached the body of his godson who was lying on his side facing the wall. He tentatively rolled him over and was met by glazed over emerald eyes, starring at him, unblinking from the still body.
"Sirius?" said Remus quietly from several feet away where the others were all watching him anxiously
"He's dead" he said quietly as he gently reached down to the face of the one he considered a son and carefully closed the emerald eyes
His proclamation caused all present to begin to cry openly, Ron holding Hermione, James clinging to Lily, and Ginny holding tight to Draco as his were the closest open arms. The headmaster and Remus both had tears running down their faces as well, both looking haggard and worn.
Sirius though, had no tears to cry, instead, he stood and walked to the body of Shaw and roughly pulled the Gryffindor Sword and Slytherin Dagger from his belt before he picked up the staff that was lying on the dirt floor. He mutely handed them to Remus before he walked back to his godson, and kneeling, he gathered the body in his arms and stood, holding the perfectly still form close to himself and turning to face the others who were all watching him expectantly.
"Let's get him home" he said quietly, and without another word, he began to lead them the door that had been carved into the stone at the far end, leaving the bodies of the death eaters behind for the ministry to deal with later.
When they reached the outside, the other two men took the hands of James and Lily and gave the signal to the others to apparate to Hogesmede. The village was deserted when they arrived, all of its occupants with their families for Christmas dinner. They silently made their way to the distant form of Hogwarts, all of them still in too much shock to speak.
When they began to cross the snow covered castle grounds, the doors burst open and the forms of Poppy and McGonagall came running toward them.
"Thank Merlin you're all right" said the mediwitch breathlessly as she quickly glanced over them, her eyes coming to rest on Harry who was still in Sirius' arms "Oh, Harry, poor child, what did he do this time? Never mind, bring him up to the hospital wing and we'll get him patched up and into bed for some sleep. I told him he was too weak to go fighting death eaters, but as usual, he didn't listen" she said with a fond smile, but it faltered when no one made a move to follow her "Well, come on Mr. Black, I need to check him over and he needs to get out of this cold" she said
"You can't help him" said Sirius quietly "He's dead"
At his words, the mediwitch paled and gripped the arm of the headmaster and the deputy headmistress looked at him disbelieving. "Wh.What, what do you mean he's dead, how?" she demanded once she had found her voice
"We killed him" said James quietly as he once again put his arm around Lily and began to guide her back into the castle and out of the snow, Ron, Hermione, and Draco following them, and Dumbledore and Remus guiding Sirius and Ginny in as well with the nurse and professor behind them. They walked silently to the hospital wing, ignoring the curious and worried looks they were getting from the few students who were awake.
When they reached the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey led them to the private room in the back corner and Sirius, after some gentle coaxing, lay Harry on the bed, and out of instinct, covered him with the blankets.
"Come now, we should all go and get changed, we have all been through a lot and we should wake the rest of the students and staff" said the headmaster after they had all stood around the small room for over an hour, everyone present willing Harry to breath, even though they knew it would never happen again. Nodding mutely, all but Ginny and Sirius left the room in the directions of their own rooms, or in the case of the headmaster, in the direction of the staff wing to wake the rest of the professors before he woke the other houses, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, that Madame Pomfrey had not had time to awaken yet.
As the esteemed headmaster of the most prestigious wizarding school in all of Britain left the hospital wing, the same thought kept running through his mind 'How can it be that twenty four hours ago, everything was perfect, and now, everything is wrong. None of them deserved for this to happen, least of all Harry. He's been through far too much already, and to loose his life in such a terrible way just doesn't suite him'
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A/N: So, how many flames am I going to get for this? Please don't hate me, I will post the next chapter the first part of next week, if anyone is still reading it then that is. Please review and let me know what you though, even if you hate it.
"Harry!" exclaimed all of them at once as they dropped to the ground next to him
"He's been knocked out" said Sirius once he saw the lump on the side of his head. He gently turned him over and only then noticed the bindings around his wrists.
"What are those?" asked Lily as she pointed to the shackles that were glowing a mixture of red and black
"I think they are to bind his wandless magic, I saw them when he was having his nightmare too" explained Ron
"Is there any way we can get them off?" asked Ginny as she tried to pull them from her boyfriends wrists
"I doubt it, they are magical and probably charmed to stay on unless the counter spell is spoken" explained Remus as he brushed his graying hair from his face.
"Well, there is no way we will be able to get out of here if Harry can't do magic" growled James "None of us have our wands and we are more than out numbered"
"Calm down James, we need to figure out a way to get those off of him" said Lily and they immediately began to try everything they could think of to remove the shackles, but nothing they did worked and after some time, they began to give up hope, until they noticed that Harry was waking up.
"Thank Merlin, Harry, are you ok?" asked Sirius as he helped Harry to a sitting position
"I've been better" he chocked out weakly, "What about all of you?" he asked
"We're fine" answered Ginny
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Ron in concern when he noticed Harry's weary expression
Harry mutely held up his hands to show them the metal cuffs that were binding them together.
"Do they have a spell on them to keep you from doing magic?" he asked and Harry nodded, again without saying a word to his friends and almost fell back to the ground if it weren't for Sirius who was practically holding him up.
"What did they do to you?" demanded Draco
"Nothing yet" answered Harry "They just blocked all of my magic as well as my energy" he answered, his words slurring together and eyes slipping closed.
"No, Harry, you can't go to sleep, we need to find a way out of here" said Sirius sharply as he shook his godson gently to wake him further and Harry's eyes slipped back opened.
"My pocket, wands" he said sleepily and the others all looked to each other in confusion before Sirius reached into Harry's cloak pocket and extracted two wands, a necklace, a pocket watch, and a ring as well as the marauders map, a cloak clasp, and the journal that Sirius and Remus were going to give him for Christmas.
All of their eyes went wide when they saw the wands and James and Lily rushed forward and picked them up with smiles on their faces while Sirius handed out the rest of the items in his hand, putting the map and journal in his pocket for safe keeping before he realized that Harry had dozed off again.
"No, Harry, wake up" he said forcefully as he shook his godson again, once again causing the green eyes to slide open. "James, Lily, see if you can get these things off of him" he said and the two seventh years obediently approached and tried every spell they could think of, and even some that the others told them, but none of them worked and the shackles remained in tact and in place around his wrists, still giving off their faint glow of red and black.
"It's no use" said Lily finally "We can't break it"
"She's right, the spell is too powerful" said James heavily
"Well, keep trying" said Sirius with a sigh "Harry, wake up!" he said again when he noticed he had once again drifted off.
The group of nine sat in silence for several moments before Harry spoke up "Sirius, can you help me up for a minute?" he asked weakly
"Why, Harry?" asked the older man, but instead of answering, Harry began trying to stand and giving a sigh of exasperation, Sirius stood and helped him to his feet, supporting much of his weight once he was on his feet. What he did next caused the others to jump to their feet as well and stare at him.
Harry closed his eyes and began to chant under his breath words they could not hear as he held his bound hands out in front of him, palms up. A faint blue light surrounded his hands for several minutes before shapes began to form in them, and slowly the shapes began to mold into that of several wands before the light disappeared and Harry slumped fully onto Sirius who lowered him to the ground, ignoring the wands that were lying scattered on the ground where he had dropped them.
"Harry, how did you do that?" he asked in amazement with his eyes wide
"Magic" he said quietly "I'm going to take a nap now, wake me up if something happens" he said sleepily, sounding very much like a small child as he closed his eyes again and fell into a deep sleep
"How did he do that? I thought his magic was being blocked" said Hermione as she knelt down to pick up the scattered wands
"I'm not sure, but he managed to summon all of our wands despite that" said Remus as Hermione handed him his wand and he put it in his pocket after inspecting it carefully to make sure it was in the same condition as when he had last seen it.
"I would recommend that we keep this a secret until the time comes that we can escape, otherwise the death eaters will just take them again" suggested Sirius and the others all obliged and pocketed their own wands before settling back down, Sirius with Harry's head on his lap and Ginny holding his hand tightly in her own.
After about two hours of near silence in the cell, they all heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching, and all of them got to their feet and in an unspoken agreement, stood between the still form of Harry and the door.
The door creaked open and five death eaters entered, Shaw once again in the lead with a broad smirk on his face "Well, I hope you have found your accommodations comfortable, and that you have enjoyed the company of Mr. Potter, but I'm afraid we must borrow him for a few moments, but don't worry, we will return him to you" he said as he motioned the other four forward.
"We won't let you take him, Shaw" growled Sirius threateningly
"And how do you plan on stopping me, Black?" he asked mockingly, but before he could answer, he was distracted by another voice.
"It's all right, Sirius, I'll be fine" said Harry weakly and the man spun around to face him. Harry was trying in vain to get to his feet again, using the stone wall as leverage despite the metal cuffs still binding his wrists together and sucking out every bit of strength, magical and physical alike.
"Harry" he started to say as his hand began to move to the pocket that his wand was in
"No, Sirius, don't, I'll be fine, just keep an eye on the others and try to find a way out of here" he said quietly so only his godfather could hear his words "There's nothing we can do to stop them now" he said in a louder voice, causing the death eaters to begin laughing
"Ah, at last Potter has gotten some common sense" said Shaw "Come on" he said in a cold voice and the death eaters roughly grabbed Harry by the arms and began to lead him from the cell, and to the horror of the rest of the group, he didn't even try to fight back. Once the four men and Harry had left the room, Shaw turned to the remaining prisoners
"I've been thinking" he began with a sinister look on his face "What a pleasure it will be for our master when he regains control to have his enemies closest relations nearby, so that he can begin to punish Potter immediately, not to mention what enjoyment it will offer his servants to watch you die one by one" and with those words being said, he called for the guards outside the door who promptly entered "Bring them to the main chamber, and when you get there, be sure that they are watched by everyone, I want at least thirty wands on them at all times" he ordered before he too left the room.
Mutely, the nine followed the death eaters from the cell and into the large chamber, deciding that there was no way to fight, and even if there were, they weren't about to leave Harry behind in favor of their own escape. When they entered the chamber, they were immediately directed in the direction of the wall they had been standing in front of earlier that day, and to their horror, Harry was chained to the wall, his arms still encased in the metal shackles and raised above his head and attached to the chain that was handing there. He was glaring at the death eaters in disgust and hate, but when he saw his friends and family approaching, that look turned to dread.
"What are they doing here? They have done nothing to you" he spat at Shaw who was once again before him
"They have come to watch the show, Potter" he said with a smirk
"There is nothing here they need to see, let them stay in the cell, or better yet, release them, you got me, and that is all you wanted, so let them go" he demanded
"I think not Potter, they will prove useful in a short time" he answered "Now, this is your last chance, surrender now, or we will be forced to make you surrender to the dark lord"
"I will never give in to the likes of him, especially since I am so close to killing him for good" answered Harry
"Very well, as you wish, Crucio!" shouted Shaw as he pointed his wand at Harry. When the red beam of light struck him, every muscle in his body clenched and he let out a pain filled groan, causing tears to spring to the eyes of Ginny and Sirius to clench his jaw in anger, but with the thirty wands aimed directly at them, there was little they could do without dying themselves. Shaw kept the curse on Harry for several minutes before he let up. "Well, Potter, have you decided to give in yet?" he asked again
"Never" gasped Harry as he struggled to regain his breath, only to find himself under the effects of the curse again, but this time it was twice as strong as the first and through his pain filled haze he wasn't surprised to find two different wands aimed at him.
This pattern continued for nearly an hour, and last time they had counted, there were no less than ten wands casting the cruciatus curse on Harry, and still he didn't give in, but they knew he was steadily losing strength, his eyes were dull and his voice was lacking all of the former fight it had possessed.
"Please, Harry, don't give up" whispered Ginny the next time the curses were lifted, a full dozen this time, but she knew he couldn't hear her, not over the laughing death eaters.
Harry was so completely and utterly overwhelmed by the curses now that he didn't even notice the laughter of the death eaters, or the crying and pleading screams of his friends as they tried to encourage him to hang on. When they had first brought him into this room from the cell he had shared with his friends, he was over come with memories of the last time he had seen this place, and all that he had been forced to endure while he was here.
The cold stone walls were unmistakable, and the chain that was still hanging from one was, as well as the blood stains adorning it only served to cause his stomach to be filled with lead and his body to stop responding to his commands. He had known as soon as he woke up that he wouldn't be leaving this place, and he had been prepared to face that, and fight the inevitable with all of his might, but one sight of that wall caused all of his bravery to vanish instantly.
Now, after an hour of the cruciatus curse, he was ready to just give up and surrender to his fate, no matter how terrible it was. The human body was only designed to withstand so much pain before it broke, and throughout his short life, his body had been pushed to that brink on more than one occasion, and now it was teetering precariously close to the edge. Before, the pain had been both external and internal and he was able to focus on one thing that hurt and block out all others, but to do so required at least a little bit of physical strength, and right now, due to the cuffs around his wrist and the curse placed on them, he had absolutely no strength left.
In fact, the only reason he was still awake was due to another curse that prevented him from falling asleep or unconscious, something else he had never been forced to deal with before now. The feeling of someone punching him hard in his jaw brought him back to reality though.
"Potter, when I speak to you, I expect you to answer, I do not like being ignored" spat Shaw viciously "Now, I will ask again, how much do you value your life?" he asked quietly
"More than I value yours, death eater" he answered back, surprised at just how raspy his voice sounded
"That may be so, Potter, but do you value your life over, say, your godfathers, or your friends, or even your mentors, or perhaps hers?" he asked as he spun around and pointed at Ginny who's face was streaked with tears.
Harry had no response to this question, of course he valued their lives over his own, but it wasn't just his life at risk here, it was the fate of the entire wizarding world. If it had been only his life he would have given it in an instant to save theirs, but was it worth all of the innocents who would be killed? He honestly didn't know.
"Well, answer me Potter, are their lives more important to you than your own?" asked Shaw, but again, Harry didn't answer, instead he looked to the faces of those closest to him, and what he saw worried him even more, through their eyes he could tell that they were willing to die so that the future would be light, but he didn't know if he could go on living without them, in fact he knew he couldn't.
"Bring me the girl!" ordered Shaw when Harry didn't answer, and to his horror, two men strode forward, bring with them a struggling Ginny "Now Potter, you have a choice, either surrender and we let her and the others go, or we will kill them one by one in front of your eyes. It's up to you, but you must decide now" he said as he turned away from Harry and pulled his wand from the pocket of his robes and aimed it right at Ginny.
Harry looked to the face of his girlfriend, who was looking right back at him. In her familiar eyes he saw love, and fear, mixed with a strong resolve. She didn't want to die, but she was prepared to, he noted, but he couldn't let that happen, he couldn't stand for Ginny to die, she was to good of a person, with too much left to live for, and he loved her far too much to see her death. Regardless of what happened, he would loose this battle, but she could be spared, as could his friends and family, all he had to do is give up and they would be fine. With this decision in mind, he spoke up to the ex-auror who had his wand still pointed at the trembling Ginny.
"Stop" he said quietly and all eyes turned to look at him, some expectantly and some in defeat "Let her go, I'll do what you ask" he said as he bowed his head
"Harry, no!" exclaimed Ginny
"Shut up you stupid girl, he's made his decision" said one of the death eater who was holding her harshly
"Harry, think about this, we're not worth it! If you give up then they win and there will be nothing we can do to stop it" said Sirius in a pleading tone, the others all calling out their objections as well, but they fell on deaf ears.
Shaw though, was positively glowing, "Wise decision, Potter" he said "If I had known it would have been this easy, I would have threatened their lives sooner" he said "Now, I will keep my end of the bargain once you follow through with yours" he concluded pointedly as he motioned for Ginny to be returned to the others. Harry nodded mutely before he looked into the eyes of each and every one of those he cared for. Hermione, Lily, and Ginny were all crying, Dumbledore looked older than ever, Ron, James, and Draco all looked horrified and unbelieving, Remus looked defeated, and Sirius looked like he had given up all hope and had a deadened look to his eyes.
"I'm sorry" said Harry quietly as his head fell, his chin resting on his chest. Suddenly, as he gave up the last bit of control he had, his body stiffened for a moment before falling limp again. He remained like that for several minutes before he lifted his head, red eyes shining through the thick black hair that was hanging over his face, a cruel smile twisting its way across the face.
"At last" said the cold voice of none other than Voldemort "Release me!" he snapped and instantly, the chain released the shackles and they split apart, but they remained on his wrists, though the spell was taken off, leaving the cold metal wrapped around his wrists like some sort of jewelry, and he began to rub his sore arms as he surveyed the scene in front of him, from the leagues of bowing death eaters who were all muttering 'my lord' quietly, to the group of nine who were looking to him in horror. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Potters little fan club" he said mockingly "Where is the staff?" he asked over his shoulder, and an instant later, a kneeling man handed him the golden staff. "A fine weapon indeed, wouldn't you say Dumbledore?" he asked as he faced the aged wizard with a cruel smile on his face.
"You may have won this part, Tom, but the light side will always be victorious" said the headmaster calmly
"Believe that all you want, old man, but you will not feel the same way once I have killed your students, now will you?" he asked "Now, I think I will begin with the pretty little red head Potter cared so much about, what do you say, girl, I am going to give you the opportunity to join me, but if you refuse, I will not hesitate to kill you" he said as he looked at Ginny expectantly
"I will never join someone like you Voldemort" she said with a lot more bravery than she felt
"You had your chance, girl, Crucio!" he bellowed as he pointed the staff at her, causing her to fall to the ground, screaming in agony, but only a split second later, another spell could be heard being spoken.
"Avadra Kedavera!" shouted someone, and confused, all watched as the green light of the spell struck Voldemort in the chest, causing him to break the spell over Ginny and sending him stumbling backwards into the stone wall.
"Sirius! What are you doing! That's Harry you just hit with the killing curse!" shouted James as he looked to the older version of his best friend as Dumbledore set up a force field around the nine of them and Voldemort to prevent the other death eaters from reacting.
"Sirius, how could you!" yelled Hermione in tears
"Calm down and let him explain" said the headmaster sternly
"That's not Harry, not anymore, I promised him I wouldn't let him hurt anyone, I promised him that I would kill him before he got the opportunity to harm any of us, and it's the only thing I can do for him" he said heavily "But I'm going to need your help, the only way to stop Voldemort is to hit him with the killing curse several time back to back while he's still weak, please help me keep my promise and honor his last request" he pleaded, and the others could see how much this killed him to have to do such a thing, but none of them knew what they could say to help, and even if they had, they wouldn't have gotten the opportunity as Voldemort had just regained his bearings and was looking venomously to them.
"You will regret that, Black" he said threateningly as he positioned the staff in his hand once again, but before he could do anything, he was hit with the killing curse again, this time causing him to hit the wall behind him hard, and forcing the staff to fall out of his grip. Remus was standing with his wand pointed at him and silent tears falling down his cheeks from the curse he had just hit one he cared so much about with.
When Voldemort got to his feet again, he was struck back down by Draco, and the pattern continued in such a way, with Ron, Hermione, James, Lily, and Dumbledore all firing the killing curse, all hitting their target, despite the fact that their vision was clouded with tears and most of them had turned away as they said the fateful words. When Voldemort stood after Dumbledore's curse, he was facing Ginny who was sitting on her knees on the ground, her eyes full of grief and spilling over with tears.
"I will always love you, Harry" she said quietly "Avadra Kedavera" she said and the green light struck him once again, this time causing his back to hit the wall behind him and his knees to give out from his weight and they could tell by looking at him that it was nearly over.
"Harry, please forgive us, Avadra Kedavera" said Sirius and the last thing that the red eyes saw was the green light flying toward him and striking him in the chest.
When the last curse hit, it was as though an explosion had gone off. There was screaming from outside the force field from the gathered death eaters before it was replaced by a deafening silence. Confused, the nine within the barrier looked outside it to see all of those who had been holding them prisoner on the ground, perfectly still.
Immediately, Dumbledore removed the force field and their suspicions were confirmed, all of the death eaters were dead. While they had been looking at this, Sirius had approached the body of his godson who was lying on his side facing the wall. He tentatively rolled him over and was met by glazed over emerald eyes, starring at him, unblinking from the still body.
"Sirius?" said Remus quietly from several feet away where the others were all watching him anxiously
"He's dead" he said quietly as he gently reached down to the face of the one he considered a son and carefully closed the emerald eyes
His proclamation caused all present to begin to cry openly, Ron holding Hermione, James clinging to Lily, and Ginny holding tight to Draco as his were the closest open arms. The headmaster and Remus both had tears running down their faces as well, both looking haggard and worn.
Sirius though, had no tears to cry, instead, he stood and walked to the body of Shaw and roughly pulled the Gryffindor Sword and Slytherin Dagger from his belt before he picked up the staff that was lying on the dirt floor. He mutely handed them to Remus before he walked back to his godson, and kneeling, he gathered the body in his arms and stood, holding the perfectly still form close to himself and turning to face the others who were all watching him expectantly.
"Let's get him home" he said quietly, and without another word, he began to lead them the door that had been carved into the stone at the far end, leaving the bodies of the death eaters behind for the ministry to deal with later.
When they reached the outside, the other two men took the hands of James and Lily and gave the signal to the others to apparate to Hogesmede. The village was deserted when they arrived, all of its occupants with their families for Christmas dinner. They silently made their way to the distant form of Hogwarts, all of them still in too much shock to speak.
When they began to cross the snow covered castle grounds, the doors burst open and the forms of Poppy and McGonagall came running toward them.
"Thank Merlin you're all right" said the mediwitch breathlessly as she quickly glanced over them, her eyes coming to rest on Harry who was still in Sirius' arms "Oh, Harry, poor child, what did he do this time? Never mind, bring him up to the hospital wing and we'll get him patched up and into bed for some sleep. I told him he was too weak to go fighting death eaters, but as usual, he didn't listen" she said with a fond smile, but it faltered when no one made a move to follow her "Well, come on Mr. Black, I need to check him over and he needs to get out of this cold" she said
"You can't help him" said Sirius quietly "He's dead"
At his words, the mediwitch paled and gripped the arm of the headmaster and the deputy headmistress looked at him disbelieving. "Wh.What, what do you mean he's dead, how?" she demanded once she had found her voice
"We killed him" said James quietly as he once again put his arm around Lily and began to guide her back into the castle and out of the snow, Ron, Hermione, and Draco following them, and Dumbledore and Remus guiding Sirius and Ginny in as well with the nurse and professor behind them. They walked silently to the hospital wing, ignoring the curious and worried looks they were getting from the few students who were awake.
When they reached the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey led them to the private room in the back corner and Sirius, after some gentle coaxing, lay Harry on the bed, and out of instinct, covered him with the blankets.
"Come now, we should all go and get changed, we have all been through a lot and we should wake the rest of the students and staff" said the headmaster after they had all stood around the small room for over an hour, everyone present willing Harry to breath, even though they knew it would never happen again. Nodding mutely, all but Ginny and Sirius left the room in the directions of their own rooms, or in the case of the headmaster, in the direction of the staff wing to wake the rest of the professors before he woke the other houses, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, that Madame Pomfrey had not had time to awaken yet.
As the esteemed headmaster of the most prestigious wizarding school in all of Britain left the hospital wing, the same thought kept running through his mind 'How can it be that twenty four hours ago, everything was perfect, and now, everything is wrong. None of them deserved for this to happen, least of all Harry. He's been through far too much already, and to loose his life in such a terrible way just doesn't suite him'
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A/N: So, how many flames am I going to get for this? Please don't hate me, I will post the next chapter the first part of next week, if anyone is still reading it then that is. Please review and let me know what you though, even if you hate it.