"Bittersweet"
A/N: Thank yous to Door, an anonymous person, and Meow Queen, all who reviewed for the first chapter.
References: Sailor Moon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "After the End"
***
II. Alea Iacta Est (The Die is Cast)
Harry ducked behind a pillar. Voldemort was getting angry, now that Harry had knocked out all the Death Eaters present, and Snape had been revealed as a spy when he jumped in front of Harry, taken the Cruciatus Curse. Voldemort was weakening, as was Harry. Harry needed to end this quickly.
Mulling over things in his mind, he tried to think of a way to defeat Voldemort. Priori Incantato? No, Voldemort would surely break the link....Avada Kedavra? That wouldn't destroy him, he'd go back to being a spirit and Harry would go all the way back to square one......
Then, he remembered...he didn't know how he knew it, or how he remembered, but he knew.
He stepped around the pillar, and faced the evil. His eyes rolled back into his head- Voldemort was laughing- and he began to chant...
"Abyssus abyssum invocat, acta est fibula, adversus solem ne loquitor, aegrescit medendo, aeternum vale, vincit qui se vincit, una salus victis nullam sperare salutem, respice, adspice, prospice, alea iacta est, alea iacta est!"
Red and gold light streamed around the Boy-Who-Lived as he struggled to keep the power flowing. The power swirled around, cocooning the Dark Lord. Voldemort let out a horrible shriek. He gasped for air, and cried out. His skin began to shrivel, and pulled away from him, falling to the ground as dust. His muscles contracted, leaving a twisted skeleton, which shrank into oblivion, leaving nothing, but a voice, screaming into the twilight....."I'LL BE BACK!"
A pile of robes sat on the ground. He was gone.
Harry collapsed on the ground, choking and coughing. Blood was pouring out of his shoulder. He lay on his side, gasping for air, feeling like he had run a thousand miles. He felt no jubilation, no triumph, nothing that "heroes" should feel.
Then again....he wasn't a hero. He had just survived once again.
Shouldn't he feel happy? Even if he did, the last thing at that moment that he wanted to do was smile. Looking down at his robes, he saw they were caked with dirt, and blood. Harry realized with a jolt that little of the blood was actually his own. He limped to the corner where his bag lay, got on his broomstick, and flew out a fresh hole in the wall.....to see Dumbledore beaming on the ground, beckoning him downwards. Feeling confused and more tired than ever, Harry tilted his broom and touched down on the ground.
"Is he gone?" asked Dumbledore. Harry nodded, too exhausted to speak. "Harry, you have done the impossible. You have done more than what is expected of a wizard of your age, of any age for that matter. You have seen terror, looked it in the eye, and used it for your own. Harry, your parents would be so proud of you, and there is no higher praise that I can give to you." Harry flushed slightly. "Thank you, sir." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I should thank you, but I know you would not accept it." Harry flushed redder. "Here, a Portkey. Tap it with your wand and it will take you to the Burrow. I'm sure you will find quite a fan club there. I'm afraid I have other business to attend to, and cannot come. Yes, I believe that Cornelius is looking down at you and scowling fiercely. Congratulations, Harry." "Thank you." Harry said again, gratefully taking the book. "Good bye for now, my dear boy." Dumbledore said, as Harry tapped the book.
Harry felt the familiar jerk behind his navel. He did his best to block out the last time he had used a Portkey. He grinned as the familiar Weasley kitchen came into view, and dropped his Firebolt and bag as soon as his feet touched the floor. He stumbled forward a bit.
"Harry!" called a familiar voice. His grin widened as the red headed girl ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair, returning the hug.
"Harry! Are you ok? What happened? Is he gone?" Sirius ran up to the hugging two. Ginny let go of him. "He's gone." Harry said, unable to keep the exhaustion from creeping into his voice. "And I'm fine."
Suddenly, he was surrounded by a sea of red heads, punctuated by Hermione's familiar bushy hair and Remus's shaggy brown bowl cut. Molly ended the confusion. "Harry, dear, you should go to bed. You can give us the details when you are rested up." Harry nodded, too tired to argue.
Harry and Ginny fought their way to the staircase, Ron and Hermione joining them there. They walked up the stairs to Ron's room in silence, straining their ears to here the adults plus Fred and George below.
As they entered Ron's room, Harry fell, face-forward, onto the bed. "Finally." He groaned through the pillows, causing his friends to laugh. Flipping over, he noticed they were making their way towards the door. "You don't have to leave. After that, I don't think I'll be falling asleep anytime soon." The three nodded, and sat down on the bed as Harry pulled himself into a sitting position. None of them spoke for a while, until Ron broke the silence.
"Harry, why did'ya go alone?" Ron asked. Harry sighed. He should have expected this. "I had to; it's as simple as that. I couldn't stand putting my friends in danger anymore." "We would have helped, Harry." Hermione said. Harry nodded. "I know." Silence resumed, until Hermione broke it. "Ron, you're practically pushing me off." she said in annoyance. Ron waggled his eyebrows. "Oh, really, am I?" He proceeded to push her off. She landed on the ground, spread eagle.
Harry and Ginny roared with laughter as Hermione pushed herself up. "RONALD WEASLEY, HOW DARE YOU!" Ron laughed. "Couldn't help myself, Mione." "Aww, is that a pet name?" asked Ginny scathingly. Harry roared with laughter again, as Ron blushed and stuttered. "We-we started t-that in the l-letters be-because I c-couldn't wr-write out h-her name so-so-so many t- times." "Ahhh." said Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are we really that bad?" she asked. "No." said Ginny, nodding her head vigorously. Ron exploded in laughter, rolling over the bed and then off it. Unfortunately, Hermione had sat down again, and he landed right on top of each other.
Harry and Ginny were wheezing and gasping for air from their laughter as Hermione screamed again. "RON! YOU PLANNED THAT!" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "I wasn't the only one." Hermione flushed. Harry pulled a serious face. "Here is my opportunity. Ron, Hermione, get a room." He pronounced each word with an impatient air. Ginny collapsed on the bed, dying from laughter. Ron pulled Hermione to her feet. "I think we will." He dragged her outside, and from the sound of it, down the stairs.
***
Harry picked at a spot on the quilt, as Ginny looked carefully at the ceiling. Harry whistled a jaunty tune out of nervousness.
He glanced over at her, and found that the fiery redhead was glaring at him. He blinked. "Err, what did I do?"
She didn't answer at first, and when she did, it wasn't verbally. She drew her hand back and slapped him across the face.
"You BLOODY IDIOT! Don't you know how worried we all were! You just ran off to face the most powerful Dark Lord of all time!"
She was kneeling up now, and Harry was quite sure that the whole house could hear her. He found that he didn't care much, fearing more for his life at the moment.
"Jesus, Harry, couldn't you have let us help you? You had no way of defeating him, of coming back alive, nothing! And I can't even rant properly about it because I was so worried about you!"
With that, she slapped his shoulder again, and ran out of the room, just as Molly Weasley's annoyed voice filtered up the stairs. "Oiy, Gin, get down here!"
Harry leaned back onto the bed, grinning, now that the danger had passed. He liked her, all right!
***
Ginny, still seething, hopped into the kitchen.
"You screeched?"
A special edition of the Daily Prophet floated into the room and onto the table. The bold headline stared back at the people looking at it.
VOLDEMORT DEFEATED- HARRY POTTER A HERO AGAIN! Special Story on page four by Cele Remlis.
A picture of Harry from the Quidditch World Cup grinned up at them all.
***
Latin Translation:
"Hell calls hell, the drama has been acted out, don't speak against the sun, the disease worsens the treatment, farewell forever, he who conquers himself, the one safety for the vanquished is to abandon hope of safety, examine the past, examine the present, examine the future, the die is cast, the die is cast!"
Click
!
!
!
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v
A/N: Thank yous to Door, an anonymous person, and Meow Queen, all who reviewed for the first chapter.
References: Sailor Moon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "After the End"
***
II. Alea Iacta Est (The Die is Cast)
Harry ducked behind a pillar. Voldemort was getting angry, now that Harry had knocked out all the Death Eaters present, and Snape had been revealed as a spy when he jumped in front of Harry, taken the Cruciatus Curse. Voldemort was weakening, as was Harry. Harry needed to end this quickly.
Mulling over things in his mind, he tried to think of a way to defeat Voldemort. Priori Incantato? No, Voldemort would surely break the link....Avada Kedavra? That wouldn't destroy him, he'd go back to being a spirit and Harry would go all the way back to square one......
Then, he remembered...he didn't know how he knew it, or how he remembered, but he knew.
He stepped around the pillar, and faced the evil. His eyes rolled back into his head- Voldemort was laughing- and he began to chant...
"Abyssus abyssum invocat, acta est fibula, adversus solem ne loquitor, aegrescit medendo, aeternum vale, vincit qui se vincit, una salus victis nullam sperare salutem, respice, adspice, prospice, alea iacta est, alea iacta est!"
Red and gold light streamed around the Boy-Who-Lived as he struggled to keep the power flowing. The power swirled around, cocooning the Dark Lord. Voldemort let out a horrible shriek. He gasped for air, and cried out. His skin began to shrivel, and pulled away from him, falling to the ground as dust. His muscles contracted, leaving a twisted skeleton, which shrank into oblivion, leaving nothing, but a voice, screaming into the twilight....."I'LL BE BACK!"
A pile of robes sat on the ground. He was gone.
Harry collapsed on the ground, choking and coughing. Blood was pouring out of his shoulder. He lay on his side, gasping for air, feeling like he had run a thousand miles. He felt no jubilation, no triumph, nothing that "heroes" should feel.
Then again....he wasn't a hero. He had just survived once again.
Shouldn't he feel happy? Even if he did, the last thing at that moment that he wanted to do was smile. Looking down at his robes, he saw they were caked with dirt, and blood. Harry realized with a jolt that little of the blood was actually his own. He limped to the corner where his bag lay, got on his broomstick, and flew out a fresh hole in the wall.....to see Dumbledore beaming on the ground, beckoning him downwards. Feeling confused and more tired than ever, Harry tilted his broom and touched down on the ground.
"Is he gone?" asked Dumbledore. Harry nodded, too exhausted to speak. "Harry, you have done the impossible. You have done more than what is expected of a wizard of your age, of any age for that matter. You have seen terror, looked it in the eye, and used it for your own. Harry, your parents would be so proud of you, and there is no higher praise that I can give to you." Harry flushed slightly. "Thank you, sir." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I should thank you, but I know you would not accept it." Harry flushed redder. "Here, a Portkey. Tap it with your wand and it will take you to the Burrow. I'm sure you will find quite a fan club there. I'm afraid I have other business to attend to, and cannot come. Yes, I believe that Cornelius is looking down at you and scowling fiercely. Congratulations, Harry." "Thank you." Harry said again, gratefully taking the book. "Good bye for now, my dear boy." Dumbledore said, as Harry tapped the book.
Harry felt the familiar jerk behind his navel. He did his best to block out the last time he had used a Portkey. He grinned as the familiar Weasley kitchen came into view, and dropped his Firebolt and bag as soon as his feet touched the floor. He stumbled forward a bit.
"Harry!" called a familiar voice. His grin widened as the red headed girl ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair, returning the hug.
"Harry! Are you ok? What happened? Is he gone?" Sirius ran up to the hugging two. Ginny let go of him. "He's gone." Harry said, unable to keep the exhaustion from creeping into his voice. "And I'm fine."
Suddenly, he was surrounded by a sea of red heads, punctuated by Hermione's familiar bushy hair and Remus's shaggy brown bowl cut. Molly ended the confusion. "Harry, dear, you should go to bed. You can give us the details when you are rested up." Harry nodded, too tired to argue.
Harry and Ginny fought their way to the staircase, Ron and Hermione joining them there. They walked up the stairs to Ron's room in silence, straining their ears to here the adults plus Fred and George below.
As they entered Ron's room, Harry fell, face-forward, onto the bed. "Finally." He groaned through the pillows, causing his friends to laugh. Flipping over, he noticed they were making their way towards the door. "You don't have to leave. After that, I don't think I'll be falling asleep anytime soon." The three nodded, and sat down on the bed as Harry pulled himself into a sitting position. None of them spoke for a while, until Ron broke the silence.
"Harry, why did'ya go alone?" Ron asked. Harry sighed. He should have expected this. "I had to; it's as simple as that. I couldn't stand putting my friends in danger anymore." "We would have helped, Harry." Hermione said. Harry nodded. "I know." Silence resumed, until Hermione broke it. "Ron, you're practically pushing me off." she said in annoyance. Ron waggled his eyebrows. "Oh, really, am I?" He proceeded to push her off. She landed on the ground, spread eagle.
Harry and Ginny roared with laughter as Hermione pushed herself up. "RONALD WEASLEY, HOW DARE YOU!" Ron laughed. "Couldn't help myself, Mione." "Aww, is that a pet name?" asked Ginny scathingly. Harry roared with laughter again, as Ron blushed and stuttered. "We-we started t-that in the l-letters be-because I c-couldn't wr-write out h-her name so-so-so many t- times." "Ahhh." said Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are we really that bad?" she asked. "No." said Ginny, nodding her head vigorously. Ron exploded in laughter, rolling over the bed and then off it. Unfortunately, Hermione had sat down again, and he landed right on top of each other.
Harry and Ginny were wheezing and gasping for air from their laughter as Hermione screamed again. "RON! YOU PLANNED THAT!" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "I wasn't the only one." Hermione flushed. Harry pulled a serious face. "Here is my opportunity. Ron, Hermione, get a room." He pronounced each word with an impatient air. Ginny collapsed on the bed, dying from laughter. Ron pulled Hermione to her feet. "I think we will." He dragged her outside, and from the sound of it, down the stairs.
***
Harry picked at a spot on the quilt, as Ginny looked carefully at the ceiling. Harry whistled a jaunty tune out of nervousness.
He glanced over at her, and found that the fiery redhead was glaring at him. He blinked. "Err, what did I do?"
She didn't answer at first, and when she did, it wasn't verbally. She drew her hand back and slapped him across the face.
"You BLOODY IDIOT! Don't you know how worried we all were! You just ran off to face the most powerful Dark Lord of all time!"
She was kneeling up now, and Harry was quite sure that the whole house could hear her. He found that he didn't care much, fearing more for his life at the moment.
"Jesus, Harry, couldn't you have let us help you? You had no way of defeating him, of coming back alive, nothing! And I can't even rant properly about it because I was so worried about you!"
With that, she slapped his shoulder again, and ran out of the room, just as Molly Weasley's annoyed voice filtered up the stairs. "Oiy, Gin, get down here!"
Harry leaned back onto the bed, grinning, now that the danger had passed. He liked her, all right!
***
Ginny, still seething, hopped into the kitchen.
"You screeched?"
A special edition of the Daily Prophet floated into the room and onto the table. The bold headline stared back at the people looking at it.
VOLDEMORT DEFEATED- HARRY POTTER A HERO AGAIN! Special Story on page four by Cele Remlis.
A picture of Harry from the Quidditch World Cup grinned up at them all.
***
Latin Translation:
"Hell calls hell, the drama has been acted out, don't speak against the sun, the disease worsens the treatment, farewell forever, he who conquers himself, the one safety for the vanquished is to abandon hope of safety, examine the past, examine the present, examine the future, the die is cast, the die is cast!"
Click
!
!
!
-----
v