Chapter 58
Sirius was sitting as still as stone next to Harry's bed, holding his cold hand in his own and starring at his still, pale face. He didn't need to say anything for everyone who had seen him to know that he was steadily going into the deep end, even Remus could do nothing to break the shell around him and decided to just leave him alone for a short time and try to deal with everything himself first. He had been there for the better part of the night when he heard angry footsteps enter the hospital wing, and the sound of Madame Pomfrey running from her office.
"Where is he?" demanded the unmistakable voice of Severus Snape
"Who?" asked Madame Pomfrey in confusion
"Potter" growled Snape "One of the house elves just woke me up and I went to my classroom to find that it had been painted red and gold, and Potter's signature on the wall, now answer me you stupid woman, where is the little prat? He will pay for doing that, one way or another"
"Severus, now is not the best time, perhaps you should go and speak to the headmaster" urged the mediwitch quietly as she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the small, private room.
"No, I am going to kill Potter for what he did" spat Snape as he pushed her out of the way and stormed into the room, slamming the door into the wall when he entered, only to find himself on the wrong end of a wand that was clutched in Sirius Black's outstretched hand and shaking violently.
"What do you think you are doing, Black, he deserves to pay for what he did to my classroom" said Snape as he made a motion to approach the bed
"You will not get near him, Snape" said Sirius calmly in a choked voice
"I wont' hurt your precious godson, Black, I plan only to teach him a lesson about pulling pranks on me, so let me by" he said in a quiet but threatening voice
"No" said Sirius
"Fine then, Potter, your godfather may be protecting you now, but he won't always be around and I will have my revenge" he said with a savage smile as he looked toward the lump in the sheets, but to his confusion, his threat was met by only silence "Potter, did you hear me?" he asked, but again there was no answer. Confused, he looked back to Sirius "What happened? Is he unconscious again?" he asked in a tone bordering on concern, but Sirius didn't answer, instead, he lowered his wand and sat back in the chair he had been in before and took the still hand in his again, his back to the potions master.
Snape looked at the scene before him, taking in the dejected and weary appearance of his one time enemy before he moved his eyes to the black haired boy on the bed. His skin was nearly transparent looking, and instead of the normal peach pigmentation, it looked ashy. His eyes were closed, but his pupils weren't moving as was common when one is in a deep sleep. He had blankets pulled up to his chest so that his arms and head were the only things visible, and Snape looked to his wrists which were both encircled by heavy metal bands, and as he looked closer, he saw that they both had serpents carved into their dark metal. He also noticed that Harry was completely still, and that is what made him stop his current train of thought as all the hints began to add up. From his chalky face, to his still and silent form, to the behavior of Sirius.
"Oh my God" he muttered under his breath, and before he could react, he felt the gentle hand of the headmaster on his shoulder pulling from the room and closing the door gently behind them.
"Severus, Harry is dead" he said heavily
"B.But that can't be! He's the most powerful wizard in the world! He can't just be killed! How did this happen!" he demanded as he began to pace from one end of the ward to the other.
"Severus, calm down"
"I will not calm down until you explain a few things to me! Harry Potter is not dead! He can't die" he said forcefully as he pierced the headmaster with his black eyes
"Severus, I'm afraid it's true. Now if you would kindly take a seat, I will explain what happened" he said and the irate potions master grudgingly sat on one of the beds.
"Fine, explain" he demanded
So, the headmaster began to tell him what had happened, beginning with the death eaters coming into the castle, to waking up in the chamber, and the curses Harry had been subjected to. He then told about how he had been forced to choose between his own life or the lives of Ginny and the rest of those who were being held prisoner with her, and his decision. He ended with what had happened when Voldemort had taken control, and Sirius' words to them, telling the others of his promise not to let Harry hurt any of them. With a thick voice and heavy heart, he finished by telling about how they had all cast the killing curse, therefore, taking Harry's life.
"Severus, he knew that Sirius would keep his promise and not let him hurt anyone, and as much as it pained Sirius, he did keep his promise, and asked us to help him. Harry was well aware of what was about to happen when he left this castle, and he was prepared to face it. I think he also knew that by killing himself and Voldemort, that the loyal death eaters would parish as well. As hard as this is to accept, we have little choice in the matter. Harry Potter is dead, and we must prepare to have James and Lily cast the spell so that Voldemort will be destroyed" he said heavily
"So, you killed him?" asked the potions master in shock
"In a manner of speaking, yes, we did" answered the headmaster
"How could you!?" yelled the other man furiously
"We did the only thing we thought we could do, by honoring his last request, we prevented Voldemort from taking control of the wizarding world" explained the older man wearily "He knew what he was asking us for, but he also knew that it was the only way. We will cast the spell as planned in four days, and on January 1st, we will hold his funeral here at the castle" he said as he massaged his temples
After several minutes of silence, Snape stood and began to make his way toward the private room again until the headmasters voice stopped him "Severus, where are going?" he asked
"I think it would be prudent if I were to apologize to Black for my behavior, I was acting rashly" he said, and his words shocked the headmaster into silence, never had the potions master offered to apologize to anyone, let alone a marauder, but he quickly found his voice again.
"Severus, I'm afraid that Sirius is in a very fragile state of mind right now, and I can't predict how he will behave. Perhaps you should wait a couple of days until he has had a chance to process all that has happened. He is taking Harry's death very hard, just give him some time, he has lost the only person he had left other than Remus who could remind him of happier times. Just give him some time" he said, and the other man nodded his head and left the hospital wing without another word.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Everyone who had been involved in the days ordeal was in a deep sense of shock and denial, they couldn't believe that after everything that Harry had been through, that he was now gone, and not by the hand of a dark wizard, but by their own wands. They had killed the boy-who-lived. Shortly after her brother and the rest had left the hospital wing, Ginny was overwhelmed by a terrible sense of guilt and she had fled the ward in the direction of her dormitory, trying desperately to escape her pain. She had met Lily and James in the common room, who had just informed Remus and Sirius about all that had happened, and all of their faces were wet with tears, but she ignored them and ran up the stairs and collapsed onto her bed, pulling the curtains closed so the rest of her dorm mates wouldn't disturb her. Shortly after that though, she heard the sound of cautious foot steps approaching her bed.
"Ginny?" asked Lily hesitantly
"Go away" she mumbled into her pillow
"Ginny, please, we need to talk" begged Lily "Remus, James and Sirius are here as well, it will help if we all just sat down and talk about what happened"
"I don't feel like it, please go away" Ginny cried desperately, but to her irritation, the hangings around her four poster were pulled aside and Lily sat on the bed next to her.
"Ginny, look at me" she said gently, and the other girl obediently lifted her wet eyes "I know you are feeling just as terrible as we are right now, maybe more so, but there is nothing that can be done to change what has happened"
"But there had to have been another way, we should have tried harder to save him, not cast the curse to kill him. We all had our wands and we just stood there and let them hurt him until he gave up. We should have tried harder and not just jumped to the easiest solution" she said quietly
"I thought the same thing until Professor Lupin told me that Harry had made Sirius promise to do that if you-know-who got control again. He knew that there was no other way to stop him if that happened, and if we hadn't cast that curse, then a lot more people would have died, including you, and Harry was willing to give his life so that all of us could live" she explained
"But he shouldn't have done that!" exclaimed Ginny
"But it was the only thing he knew to do" said Remus
"How can I ever forgive myself, I helped kill the only person I have truly loved, and now he's gone and he's never coming back again, and it's all because of us, we killed him" she said forcefully as she looked between James and Lily accusingly
"We feel just as terrible as you do about that, we shot the killing curse at our future son before he had even had a chance to turn twenty years old, we helped take his life away, and we can't change that now, we just have to hope that we did the right thing and go on, it's what he would have wanted us to do" said James, but as he said those words, a horror struck Ginny
"Wait, Harry was the only one who could have sent you back to your own time, you're going to be stuck here now, aren't you?" she asked apprehensively
"We already thought about that, and we were planning on talking to the headmaster later, after we cast the spell" said Lily
"What are you talking about? Why do you still need to cast the spell?" asked Ginny
"A while ago, when Harry made Sirius promise, he said that even if his body was dead, that you-know-who would be stuck inside him for at least a week, but then he would be free again, so the only way to make sure that doesn't happen is to cast the spell as planned, on the 30th" explained James
Ginny nodded her head, and for the rest of the night, the five sat and talked quietly, only stopping when they realized that it was time for breakfast. Not bothering to change out of their still dirty robes, they walked silently to the great hall, and when they opened the doors, the conversations stopped momentarily before starting up again and all eyes turned to them. Apparently, the rest of the school had not found out what had happened the day before, but rumors were going around, started by those who had seen them enter.
Ginny ignored the shocked, curious, bewildered, and sympathetic glance that were sent her way and looked up at the staff table, noticing that the five students weren't the only ones who had suffered from a sleepless night the night before. Ron, Hermione, Draco, Remus, and the headmaster all looked just as weary as she felt. She also noticed with a pang of sadness that the chairs that Harry and Sirius usually sat in were empty, but they were both still present. Sirius was probably still in the hospital wing, he had refused to leave Harry's side despite pleading by Remus and Dumbledore.
They silently took their seats at the Gryffindor table and began to distractedly dish food onto their plates, but before they had begun to eat, the headmaster stood and cleared his throat, gaining the attention of all present.
"Students, it is with a heavy heart that I must bear such unhappy news in this joyous season" he began, his frame slumped and his eyes saddened "On the night of Christmas Eve, death eaters were able to enter the castle and put sleeping potion into the dinner, and cast a spell over the occupants of the castle. While everyone was asleep, they came in and captured nine of the residents of the school, myself included, in an attempt to lure Harry Potter from the protections the castle provided, and they were successful. They were able to capture Harry as well, and when they did so, he was killed" as he said this, a gasp echoed through the hall, but he ignored it and continued "but through an unknown spell, when he died, the death eaters who were still loyal to Voldemort all died as well, and for this, we must be thankful. The wizarding world is once again free of the threat of dark wizards, but at a terrible price. I ask you all to remember Harry Potter, not as the boy-who-lived or the defeater of Voldemort, but as a wonderful person, a great wizard, and a terrific friend to all. To Harry Potter" he said as he lifted his goblet, and the rest of the hall stood as well, every student and professor, and lifted their own goblets "To Harry Potter" they chorused as one before sitting back down and eating their meal in silence.
The students were all too shocked to speak to each other, no one wanting to believe it was true. The rest of the dinner was a somber affair for all of the students and staff, and very few of them actually ate any of the delicious food that was placed on the tables.
When they finished the little food that they did manage to eat, the marauders, Lily, and Ginny went immediately back to Gryffindor tower where they spent the day sitting in silence in front of the fire, Ginny completely ignoring the sympathetic words that her classmates sent her.
For professor Lupin, the day was spent trying in vain to convince Sirius to leave the hospital wing, but his best friend refused to leave Harry's side, despite Remus' words that his godson would not have wanted him to waste away like this. After several fruitless hours passed in which Sirius said nothing, Remus became frustrated and left the ward in favor of his own chambers.
Dumbledore was forced to remain in his office for the majority of the day, answering owls from various members of the ministry and holding interviews with reporters, telling them all the same thing that he had told the students that morning, preferring that over the truth. If he hadn't been so busy, he knew that he would break down himself, much like Sirius and Ginny were doing. He had considered Harry to be his grandson, acting as his mentor throughout his school years before the attack by Voldemort, and while he was missing, he had searched tirelessly for the boy, and when he had returned, Albus had never been so happy, and now he was gone for good and there was nothing the aged headmaster could do to change that.
Hermione and Ron spent the entire day together, sitting in Hermione's room and talking about the good times they had all had throughout the years. Beginning with their first journey aboard the Hogwarts Express when they had first met, three eleven year olds, Ron with dirt on his nose, Hermione bossing them all around, and Harry in his too big cloths and taped together glasses. There had been some good times throughout the eight years they had known each other, and some not so good times, but they were all memorable.
Draco spent the day with his old head of house, both sitting silent and reading, but not really comprehending what their eyes were seeing. They were both thinking about all of the terrible things they had said and done to Harry throughout the years and regretting every moment of it. Sure, they had both been on civil terms with the Gryffindor since his return, but that did nothing to alleviate the guilt for the six years of previous torture since neither had ever apologized for their actions, and now they never could.
Sirius was completely lost in his own thoughts as he sat in the hospital wing holding onto Harry's cold hand. He couldn't believe that after all of this, that after everything he had been through, that Harry was dead. He was vaguely aware of Remus coming by, as well as the headmaster, but he just couldn't leave. He had not stood from the chair he was in since Snape had come by the night before, and he had barely even moved from his current position. He kept hoping that if he prayed and wished hard enough that Harry would start breathing, open his eyes, and say that it was all just a big misunderstanding, but deep down, he knew that would not happen, but he just couldn't make himself leave the raven haired boys bedside.
That night, in the evening edition of the Daily Prophet, the following article graced the front page with a picture of Harry with his staff and wearing his scarlet cloak heading it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Boy-Who-Lived Murdered On the night of Christmas Day, Harry Potter, the boy who defeated you-know- who, was reported to have been killed by death eaters. That morning, nine of Potter's closest relations were taken from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to a hidden location by the remaining supporters of you-know- who. Fearing for the safety of his friends, Potter followed and was killed by the dark wizards after a struggle, but the good news is that the death eaters were defeated by Mr. Potter before he, himself fell. None of those captured were available for comment, but Headmaster Dumbledore did say that the funeral for Mr. Potter would be put off for a week to allow those close to him to say good-bye. The funeral will be held on January 1st at 10:00 in the morning at Hogwarts, followed by the burial at Godric's Hollow, where James and Lily Potter were also laid to rest. Our thoughts are with the hero of the wizarding world, hoping that he is now at peace after a life time of fighting.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next two days passed in a very similar fashion for everyone, with Sirius never leaving the hospital wing and no one else being able to enter it for fear of what they would have to see if they did, Harry's dead body being clutched to desperately by the shell that was all that remained of Sirius. But, on the morning of December 30th, James and Lily were forced to face the fact that they would have to enter the dreaded wing in order to perform the spell to kill what was left of Voldemort, and needless to say, they were not looking forward to it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After lunch on December 30th, James and Lily could be seen sitting before the fire in Gryffindor tower once again. Ginny was no where in sight, instead, she had left early to go for a walk around the grounds, unable to bring herself to keep them company or go and see Sirius in the hospital wing which he still hadn't left once. She had accepted it now that Harry was gone, but she didn't want to believe it, she kept hoping that he would walk up behind her and give her a hug, or come see her in the common room, but that didn't happen, so she continued to walk around the grounds lost in her own thoughts.
The rest of the students had spent their day doing any last bit of homework before term started again, oblivious to what various members of the staff and other students were going through. Ever since Dumbledore's announcement the morning after Christmas, the general mood of the castle had been subdued to say the least, and the halls had been eerily quiet, and the students had noticed and become concerned with the tense expression on their headmasters face and the absence of Sirius Black, as well as the now quiet and reserved nature of the marauders and Lily and Ginny, which was normally so unlike them. Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Remus had also stopped attending meals, preferring to remain either in the privacy of their own rooms, or in the case of Remus, trying desperately to get through to Sirius.
At a quarter to twelve that night, after not moving all day, James and Lily stood slowly and began to make their way from the tower in the direction of the hospital wing to meet the headmaster, potions master, Professor Lupin, and Sirius so that they could cast the spell.
When they arrived at the hospital wing, all of the others were already present.
"Lily, James" greeted the headmaster with a sad smile "How are you doing tonight?" he asked kindly
"Fine sir, you?" lied James
"As well as can be expected, given the circumstances. Now, do you two remember the incantation for the spell?" he asked
James looked to Lily before answering "Yes sir"
"Good, well, lets get this over with then" he said heavily as he began to lead them toward the private room.
When they entered, they saw the saddest thing either of them could ever remember seeing. Harry was lying on the bed, looking exactly as he looked last time they had been there, and Sirius was sitting in the chair beside the bed. His face was void of all color, and his hair was greasy and matted, hanging around his shoulders limply. He didn't look as though he had slept since Christmas, with dark circles under his eyes, and just by glancing, they could tell that he had lost several pounds from not eating. Remus was standing behind him with his hands resting on the back of the chair, and the brown haired man gave them a small smile before speaking.
"Padfoot, James and Lily are here" said Remus quietly, but he was completely ignored by the other man. "Sirius, can you get up so that they can cast the spell?" he asked, and this time, he received a response
"I can't leave him, Moony, I can't leave him alone, I promised" he said in a hoarse voice as though he hadn't spoken in several days.
"Sirius, please, come on back to your room, please, you need some sleep and a decent meal" said Remus as he tried to steer his friend from the room by a gentle hand on his shoulder, but Sirius wouldn't budge "Padfoot, please" he pleaded, but Sirius just shook his head and Remus sighed heavily.
"Moony, I can't leave him" he said again
"Sirius, he's gone, there's nothing you can do" he answered
"Yes there is, I can stay with him" rebuked Sirius "After all, it's my fault he's dead, I told you to cast those curses"
"And you promised Harry you wouldn't let him hurt anyone, and he was probably very thankful that you were able to keep that promise" said Remus, and Sirius mutely nodded before he got to his feet, but instead of leaving the room, he just stood against the wall and allowed James and Lily to take their positions on either side of the hospital bed.
Without another word passing between anyone in the room, the two lifted their wands and on a silent signal, they began to speak, "Lavitus Nevius Videlous Reticupul" they said and a stream of bright orange light shot out of both of their wands and struck Harry in the chest, and his back arched for a moment before a shape could be seen emerging from his chest. At first it was just a few strands of black, but it swiftly began to form into a dense cloud, and nearly a full minute later, it was completely hovering above the body, and then there was a bright flash of white light and it was gone, leaving a very tired James and Lily behind, and a very relieved group of professors.
"Thank you both" said Dumbledore "Let Madame Pomfrey check you over, and if she says it is all right, you may return to the tower. "I must go and inform the rest of the staff that all is well now" he said before leaving the room, Snape following behind him.
"Come on Sirius, let's go" said Remus as he tried again to guide his friend from the room
"Just one more minute, please Moony" pleaded Sirius, and Remus nodded
"Ok, I'll wait outside" he said as he too left the room, leaving Sirius alone with Harry again.
The ex-convict slowly approached the bed and took the cold hand in his own again "Good-bye, Harry" he said with tears running down his pale cheeks, and then he knelt over and gathered the boy into a hug, and as the side of his face brushed across his godsons, his breath caught in his throat and he looked to the boys face "Harry?" he whispered, "Listen to me, I'm starting to think Moony is right, I am loosing it" he muttered quietly "I'm talking to my dead godson like he were alive" he said before taking back his previous seat next to the bed, resting his head on his folded arms and dozing off, completely exhausted.
Remus had been in the main area of the hospital wing for nearly half an hour waiting on Sirius before he decided that he had better go check on the other man. He quietly eased open the door and saw his best friend sound asleep with his head resting on the edge of Harry's bed and his hand holding one of the boys.
He allowed a small smile to grace his face at the sight of Sirius finally sleeping as he walked to the bed. Not wanting to wake up the man, he decided just to cast a sleeping spell on him and put him into one of the hospital wing's other beds. He carefully and silently approached the bed and took a hold of Sirius' hand in an attempt to withdraw it from Harry's, but he stopped in his tracks when the back of his hand was pressed against the boys wrist and he felt a faint pulse.
"What in the hell?" he muttered as his eyes went up to the boy's chest, and sure enough, it was rising and falling ever so slightly, causing him to drop the pair of hands back onto the bed and waking Sirius up.
"Huh, Moony, what is it?" he asked blearily when he saw the expression on his friends face.
"S.Si.Sirius.Sirius, he's alive" he stuttered, and instantly, the other man's eyes flew to his godson face and they widened in shock.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Hey, I'm amazed, I only got a handful of death threats for that last chapter! Well, I hope you are all happy now, and all will be explained in the next chapter. FYI, there are only two, maybe three chapters left, so this is defiantly drawing to a close. Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter, and let me know what you think of this one!
Sirius was sitting as still as stone next to Harry's bed, holding his cold hand in his own and starring at his still, pale face. He didn't need to say anything for everyone who had seen him to know that he was steadily going into the deep end, even Remus could do nothing to break the shell around him and decided to just leave him alone for a short time and try to deal with everything himself first. He had been there for the better part of the night when he heard angry footsteps enter the hospital wing, and the sound of Madame Pomfrey running from her office.
"Where is he?" demanded the unmistakable voice of Severus Snape
"Who?" asked Madame Pomfrey in confusion
"Potter" growled Snape "One of the house elves just woke me up and I went to my classroom to find that it had been painted red and gold, and Potter's signature on the wall, now answer me you stupid woman, where is the little prat? He will pay for doing that, one way or another"
"Severus, now is not the best time, perhaps you should go and speak to the headmaster" urged the mediwitch quietly as she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the small, private room.
"No, I am going to kill Potter for what he did" spat Snape as he pushed her out of the way and stormed into the room, slamming the door into the wall when he entered, only to find himself on the wrong end of a wand that was clutched in Sirius Black's outstretched hand and shaking violently.
"What do you think you are doing, Black, he deserves to pay for what he did to my classroom" said Snape as he made a motion to approach the bed
"You will not get near him, Snape" said Sirius calmly in a choked voice
"I wont' hurt your precious godson, Black, I plan only to teach him a lesson about pulling pranks on me, so let me by" he said in a quiet but threatening voice
"No" said Sirius
"Fine then, Potter, your godfather may be protecting you now, but he won't always be around and I will have my revenge" he said with a savage smile as he looked toward the lump in the sheets, but to his confusion, his threat was met by only silence "Potter, did you hear me?" he asked, but again there was no answer. Confused, he looked back to Sirius "What happened? Is he unconscious again?" he asked in a tone bordering on concern, but Sirius didn't answer, instead, he lowered his wand and sat back in the chair he had been in before and took the still hand in his again, his back to the potions master.
Snape looked at the scene before him, taking in the dejected and weary appearance of his one time enemy before he moved his eyes to the black haired boy on the bed. His skin was nearly transparent looking, and instead of the normal peach pigmentation, it looked ashy. His eyes were closed, but his pupils weren't moving as was common when one is in a deep sleep. He had blankets pulled up to his chest so that his arms and head were the only things visible, and Snape looked to his wrists which were both encircled by heavy metal bands, and as he looked closer, he saw that they both had serpents carved into their dark metal. He also noticed that Harry was completely still, and that is what made him stop his current train of thought as all the hints began to add up. From his chalky face, to his still and silent form, to the behavior of Sirius.
"Oh my God" he muttered under his breath, and before he could react, he felt the gentle hand of the headmaster on his shoulder pulling from the room and closing the door gently behind them.
"Severus, Harry is dead" he said heavily
"B.But that can't be! He's the most powerful wizard in the world! He can't just be killed! How did this happen!" he demanded as he began to pace from one end of the ward to the other.
"Severus, calm down"
"I will not calm down until you explain a few things to me! Harry Potter is not dead! He can't die" he said forcefully as he pierced the headmaster with his black eyes
"Severus, I'm afraid it's true. Now if you would kindly take a seat, I will explain what happened" he said and the irate potions master grudgingly sat on one of the beds.
"Fine, explain" he demanded
So, the headmaster began to tell him what had happened, beginning with the death eaters coming into the castle, to waking up in the chamber, and the curses Harry had been subjected to. He then told about how he had been forced to choose between his own life or the lives of Ginny and the rest of those who were being held prisoner with her, and his decision. He ended with what had happened when Voldemort had taken control, and Sirius' words to them, telling the others of his promise not to let Harry hurt any of them. With a thick voice and heavy heart, he finished by telling about how they had all cast the killing curse, therefore, taking Harry's life.
"Severus, he knew that Sirius would keep his promise and not let him hurt anyone, and as much as it pained Sirius, he did keep his promise, and asked us to help him. Harry was well aware of what was about to happen when he left this castle, and he was prepared to face it. I think he also knew that by killing himself and Voldemort, that the loyal death eaters would parish as well. As hard as this is to accept, we have little choice in the matter. Harry Potter is dead, and we must prepare to have James and Lily cast the spell so that Voldemort will be destroyed" he said heavily
"So, you killed him?" asked the potions master in shock
"In a manner of speaking, yes, we did" answered the headmaster
"How could you!?" yelled the other man furiously
"We did the only thing we thought we could do, by honoring his last request, we prevented Voldemort from taking control of the wizarding world" explained the older man wearily "He knew what he was asking us for, but he also knew that it was the only way. We will cast the spell as planned in four days, and on January 1st, we will hold his funeral here at the castle" he said as he massaged his temples
After several minutes of silence, Snape stood and began to make his way toward the private room again until the headmasters voice stopped him "Severus, where are going?" he asked
"I think it would be prudent if I were to apologize to Black for my behavior, I was acting rashly" he said, and his words shocked the headmaster into silence, never had the potions master offered to apologize to anyone, let alone a marauder, but he quickly found his voice again.
"Severus, I'm afraid that Sirius is in a very fragile state of mind right now, and I can't predict how he will behave. Perhaps you should wait a couple of days until he has had a chance to process all that has happened. He is taking Harry's death very hard, just give him some time, he has lost the only person he had left other than Remus who could remind him of happier times. Just give him some time" he said, and the other man nodded his head and left the hospital wing without another word.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Everyone who had been involved in the days ordeal was in a deep sense of shock and denial, they couldn't believe that after everything that Harry had been through, that he was now gone, and not by the hand of a dark wizard, but by their own wands. They had killed the boy-who-lived. Shortly after her brother and the rest had left the hospital wing, Ginny was overwhelmed by a terrible sense of guilt and she had fled the ward in the direction of her dormitory, trying desperately to escape her pain. She had met Lily and James in the common room, who had just informed Remus and Sirius about all that had happened, and all of their faces were wet with tears, but she ignored them and ran up the stairs and collapsed onto her bed, pulling the curtains closed so the rest of her dorm mates wouldn't disturb her. Shortly after that though, she heard the sound of cautious foot steps approaching her bed.
"Ginny?" asked Lily hesitantly
"Go away" she mumbled into her pillow
"Ginny, please, we need to talk" begged Lily "Remus, James and Sirius are here as well, it will help if we all just sat down and talk about what happened"
"I don't feel like it, please go away" Ginny cried desperately, but to her irritation, the hangings around her four poster were pulled aside and Lily sat on the bed next to her.
"Ginny, look at me" she said gently, and the other girl obediently lifted her wet eyes "I know you are feeling just as terrible as we are right now, maybe more so, but there is nothing that can be done to change what has happened"
"But there had to have been another way, we should have tried harder to save him, not cast the curse to kill him. We all had our wands and we just stood there and let them hurt him until he gave up. We should have tried harder and not just jumped to the easiest solution" she said quietly
"I thought the same thing until Professor Lupin told me that Harry had made Sirius promise to do that if you-know-who got control again. He knew that there was no other way to stop him if that happened, and if we hadn't cast that curse, then a lot more people would have died, including you, and Harry was willing to give his life so that all of us could live" she explained
"But he shouldn't have done that!" exclaimed Ginny
"But it was the only thing he knew to do" said Remus
"How can I ever forgive myself, I helped kill the only person I have truly loved, and now he's gone and he's never coming back again, and it's all because of us, we killed him" she said forcefully as she looked between James and Lily accusingly
"We feel just as terrible as you do about that, we shot the killing curse at our future son before he had even had a chance to turn twenty years old, we helped take his life away, and we can't change that now, we just have to hope that we did the right thing and go on, it's what he would have wanted us to do" said James, but as he said those words, a horror struck Ginny
"Wait, Harry was the only one who could have sent you back to your own time, you're going to be stuck here now, aren't you?" she asked apprehensively
"We already thought about that, and we were planning on talking to the headmaster later, after we cast the spell" said Lily
"What are you talking about? Why do you still need to cast the spell?" asked Ginny
"A while ago, when Harry made Sirius promise, he said that even if his body was dead, that you-know-who would be stuck inside him for at least a week, but then he would be free again, so the only way to make sure that doesn't happen is to cast the spell as planned, on the 30th" explained James
Ginny nodded her head, and for the rest of the night, the five sat and talked quietly, only stopping when they realized that it was time for breakfast. Not bothering to change out of their still dirty robes, they walked silently to the great hall, and when they opened the doors, the conversations stopped momentarily before starting up again and all eyes turned to them. Apparently, the rest of the school had not found out what had happened the day before, but rumors were going around, started by those who had seen them enter.
Ginny ignored the shocked, curious, bewildered, and sympathetic glance that were sent her way and looked up at the staff table, noticing that the five students weren't the only ones who had suffered from a sleepless night the night before. Ron, Hermione, Draco, Remus, and the headmaster all looked just as weary as she felt. She also noticed with a pang of sadness that the chairs that Harry and Sirius usually sat in were empty, but they were both still present. Sirius was probably still in the hospital wing, he had refused to leave Harry's side despite pleading by Remus and Dumbledore.
They silently took their seats at the Gryffindor table and began to distractedly dish food onto their plates, but before they had begun to eat, the headmaster stood and cleared his throat, gaining the attention of all present.
"Students, it is with a heavy heart that I must bear such unhappy news in this joyous season" he began, his frame slumped and his eyes saddened "On the night of Christmas Eve, death eaters were able to enter the castle and put sleeping potion into the dinner, and cast a spell over the occupants of the castle. While everyone was asleep, they came in and captured nine of the residents of the school, myself included, in an attempt to lure Harry Potter from the protections the castle provided, and they were successful. They were able to capture Harry as well, and when they did so, he was killed" as he said this, a gasp echoed through the hall, but he ignored it and continued "but through an unknown spell, when he died, the death eaters who were still loyal to Voldemort all died as well, and for this, we must be thankful. The wizarding world is once again free of the threat of dark wizards, but at a terrible price. I ask you all to remember Harry Potter, not as the boy-who-lived or the defeater of Voldemort, but as a wonderful person, a great wizard, and a terrific friend to all. To Harry Potter" he said as he lifted his goblet, and the rest of the hall stood as well, every student and professor, and lifted their own goblets "To Harry Potter" they chorused as one before sitting back down and eating their meal in silence.
The students were all too shocked to speak to each other, no one wanting to believe it was true. The rest of the dinner was a somber affair for all of the students and staff, and very few of them actually ate any of the delicious food that was placed on the tables.
When they finished the little food that they did manage to eat, the marauders, Lily, and Ginny went immediately back to Gryffindor tower where they spent the day sitting in silence in front of the fire, Ginny completely ignoring the sympathetic words that her classmates sent her.
For professor Lupin, the day was spent trying in vain to convince Sirius to leave the hospital wing, but his best friend refused to leave Harry's side, despite Remus' words that his godson would not have wanted him to waste away like this. After several fruitless hours passed in which Sirius said nothing, Remus became frustrated and left the ward in favor of his own chambers.
Dumbledore was forced to remain in his office for the majority of the day, answering owls from various members of the ministry and holding interviews with reporters, telling them all the same thing that he had told the students that morning, preferring that over the truth. If he hadn't been so busy, he knew that he would break down himself, much like Sirius and Ginny were doing. He had considered Harry to be his grandson, acting as his mentor throughout his school years before the attack by Voldemort, and while he was missing, he had searched tirelessly for the boy, and when he had returned, Albus had never been so happy, and now he was gone for good and there was nothing the aged headmaster could do to change that.
Hermione and Ron spent the entire day together, sitting in Hermione's room and talking about the good times they had all had throughout the years. Beginning with their first journey aboard the Hogwarts Express when they had first met, three eleven year olds, Ron with dirt on his nose, Hermione bossing them all around, and Harry in his too big cloths and taped together glasses. There had been some good times throughout the eight years they had known each other, and some not so good times, but they were all memorable.
Draco spent the day with his old head of house, both sitting silent and reading, but not really comprehending what their eyes were seeing. They were both thinking about all of the terrible things they had said and done to Harry throughout the years and regretting every moment of it. Sure, they had both been on civil terms with the Gryffindor since his return, but that did nothing to alleviate the guilt for the six years of previous torture since neither had ever apologized for their actions, and now they never could.
Sirius was completely lost in his own thoughts as he sat in the hospital wing holding onto Harry's cold hand. He couldn't believe that after all of this, that after everything he had been through, that Harry was dead. He was vaguely aware of Remus coming by, as well as the headmaster, but he just couldn't leave. He had not stood from the chair he was in since Snape had come by the night before, and he had barely even moved from his current position. He kept hoping that if he prayed and wished hard enough that Harry would start breathing, open his eyes, and say that it was all just a big misunderstanding, but deep down, he knew that would not happen, but he just couldn't make himself leave the raven haired boys bedside.
That night, in the evening edition of the Daily Prophet, the following article graced the front page with a picture of Harry with his staff and wearing his scarlet cloak heading it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Boy-Who-Lived Murdered On the night of Christmas Day, Harry Potter, the boy who defeated you-know- who, was reported to have been killed by death eaters. That morning, nine of Potter's closest relations were taken from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to a hidden location by the remaining supporters of you-know- who. Fearing for the safety of his friends, Potter followed and was killed by the dark wizards after a struggle, but the good news is that the death eaters were defeated by Mr. Potter before he, himself fell. None of those captured were available for comment, but Headmaster Dumbledore did say that the funeral for Mr. Potter would be put off for a week to allow those close to him to say good-bye. The funeral will be held on January 1st at 10:00 in the morning at Hogwarts, followed by the burial at Godric's Hollow, where James and Lily Potter were also laid to rest. Our thoughts are with the hero of the wizarding world, hoping that he is now at peace after a life time of fighting.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next two days passed in a very similar fashion for everyone, with Sirius never leaving the hospital wing and no one else being able to enter it for fear of what they would have to see if they did, Harry's dead body being clutched to desperately by the shell that was all that remained of Sirius. But, on the morning of December 30th, James and Lily were forced to face the fact that they would have to enter the dreaded wing in order to perform the spell to kill what was left of Voldemort, and needless to say, they were not looking forward to it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After lunch on December 30th, James and Lily could be seen sitting before the fire in Gryffindor tower once again. Ginny was no where in sight, instead, she had left early to go for a walk around the grounds, unable to bring herself to keep them company or go and see Sirius in the hospital wing which he still hadn't left once. She had accepted it now that Harry was gone, but she didn't want to believe it, she kept hoping that he would walk up behind her and give her a hug, or come see her in the common room, but that didn't happen, so she continued to walk around the grounds lost in her own thoughts.
The rest of the students had spent their day doing any last bit of homework before term started again, oblivious to what various members of the staff and other students were going through. Ever since Dumbledore's announcement the morning after Christmas, the general mood of the castle had been subdued to say the least, and the halls had been eerily quiet, and the students had noticed and become concerned with the tense expression on their headmasters face and the absence of Sirius Black, as well as the now quiet and reserved nature of the marauders and Lily and Ginny, which was normally so unlike them. Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Remus had also stopped attending meals, preferring to remain either in the privacy of their own rooms, or in the case of Remus, trying desperately to get through to Sirius.
At a quarter to twelve that night, after not moving all day, James and Lily stood slowly and began to make their way from the tower in the direction of the hospital wing to meet the headmaster, potions master, Professor Lupin, and Sirius so that they could cast the spell.
When they arrived at the hospital wing, all of the others were already present.
"Lily, James" greeted the headmaster with a sad smile "How are you doing tonight?" he asked kindly
"Fine sir, you?" lied James
"As well as can be expected, given the circumstances. Now, do you two remember the incantation for the spell?" he asked
James looked to Lily before answering "Yes sir"
"Good, well, lets get this over with then" he said heavily as he began to lead them toward the private room.
When they entered, they saw the saddest thing either of them could ever remember seeing. Harry was lying on the bed, looking exactly as he looked last time they had been there, and Sirius was sitting in the chair beside the bed. His face was void of all color, and his hair was greasy and matted, hanging around his shoulders limply. He didn't look as though he had slept since Christmas, with dark circles under his eyes, and just by glancing, they could tell that he had lost several pounds from not eating. Remus was standing behind him with his hands resting on the back of the chair, and the brown haired man gave them a small smile before speaking.
"Padfoot, James and Lily are here" said Remus quietly, but he was completely ignored by the other man. "Sirius, can you get up so that they can cast the spell?" he asked, and this time, he received a response
"I can't leave him, Moony, I can't leave him alone, I promised" he said in a hoarse voice as though he hadn't spoken in several days.
"Sirius, please, come on back to your room, please, you need some sleep and a decent meal" said Remus as he tried to steer his friend from the room by a gentle hand on his shoulder, but Sirius wouldn't budge "Padfoot, please" he pleaded, but Sirius just shook his head and Remus sighed heavily.
"Moony, I can't leave him" he said again
"Sirius, he's gone, there's nothing you can do" he answered
"Yes there is, I can stay with him" rebuked Sirius "After all, it's my fault he's dead, I told you to cast those curses"
"And you promised Harry you wouldn't let him hurt anyone, and he was probably very thankful that you were able to keep that promise" said Remus, and Sirius mutely nodded before he got to his feet, but instead of leaving the room, he just stood against the wall and allowed James and Lily to take their positions on either side of the hospital bed.
Without another word passing between anyone in the room, the two lifted their wands and on a silent signal, they began to speak, "Lavitus Nevius Videlous Reticupul" they said and a stream of bright orange light shot out of both of their wands and struck Harry in the chest, and his back arched for a moment before a shape could be seen emerging from his chest. At first it was just a few strands of black, but it swiftly began to form into a dense cloud, and nearly a full minute later, it was completely hovering above the body, and then there was a bright flash of white light and it was gone, leaving a very tired James and Lily behind, and a very relieved group of professors.
"Thank you both" said Dumbledore "Let Madame Pomfrey check you over, and if she says it is all right, you may return to the tower. "I must go and inform the rest of the staff that all is well now" he said before leaving the room, Snape following behind him.
"Come on Sirius, let's go" said Remus as he tried again to guide his friend from the room
"Just one more minute, please Moony" pleaded Sirius, and Remus nodded
"Ok, I'll wait outside" he said as he too left the room, leaving Sirius alone with Harry again.
The ex-convict slowly approached the bed and took the cold hand in his own again "Good-bye, Harry" he said with tears running down his pale cheeks, and then he knelt over and gathered the boy into a hug, and as the side of his face brushed across his godsons, his breath caught in his throat and he looked to the boys face "Harry?" he whispered, "Listen to me, I'm starting to think Moony is right, I am loosing it" he muttered quietly "I'm talking to my dead godson like he were alive" he said before taking back his previous seat next to the bed, resting his head on his folded arms and dozing off, completely exhausted.
Remus had been in the main area of the hospital wing for nearly half an hour waiting on Sirius before he decided that he had better go check on the other man. He quietly eased open the door and saw his best friend sound asleep with his head resting on the edge of Harry's bed and his hand holding one of the boys.
He allowed a small smile to grace his face at the sight of Sirius finally sleeping as he walked to the bed. Not wanting to wake up the man, he decided just to cast a sleeping spell on him and put him into one of the hospital wing's other beds. He carefully and silently approached the bed and took a hold of Sirius' hand in an attempt to withdraw it from Harry's, but he stopped in his tracks when the back of his hand was pressed against the boys wrist and he felt a faint pulse.
"What in the hell?" he muttered as his eyes went up to the boy's chest, and sure enough, it was rising and falling ever so slightly, causing him to drop the pair of hands back onto the bed and waking Sirius up.
"Huh, Moony, what is it?" he asked blearily when he saw the expression on his friends face.
"S.Si.Sirius.Sirius, he's alive" he stuttered, and instantly, the other man's eyes flew to his godson face and they widened in shock.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Hey, I'm amazed, I only got a handful of death threats for that last chapter! Well, I hope you are all happy now, and all will be explained in the next chapter. FYI, there are only two, maybe three chapters left, so this is defiantly drawing to a close. Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter, and let me know what you think of this one!