Chapter Twenty Nine: Fate can't touch me now
Harry waited in his room after Remus left to teach his first class that morning. He sat, looking out the window at the Quidditch pitch, thinking.
Remus was right. There were too many uncertainties. Life had taken so much in past... wasn't it time he started living? He didn't need to disregard his apparent fate... the prophecies would still be there... but he was allowing Voldemort to rule his life.
Neither shall live while the other survives...
Perhaps that was part of it. He had been denied life, not because Voldemort had control, but because he'd been unwilling to live while Voldemort was a shadow over him. Perhaps part of defeating him was living his own life.
And trusting that there would be a time after without the concerns he had now.
How would I live if Voldemort weren't an issue?
And with that, everything became much more clear.
"Harry?" He turned to find Ginny standing uncertainly in the doorway. "Are you okay?"
"Ginny..." he stood, looking at her.
"Harry, what happened? Did Remus upset you?"
"Ginny Weasley, I love you," he said softly. He suddenly felt free.
Her face showed her pleasure. "I love you, too, Harry."
"You're the most important thing in my life, and I'm not going to let Voldemort stop me from enjoying the important things any longer."
Ginny was obviously surprised, and confused. "Harry?"
"Come on..."
"Where are we going?"
"I think I've finally figured it out," he said, taking her hand and pulling her down the stairs. "I know I have..."
"What?"
"He's been hanging over my head, Gin... and I've been hanging over his. It's not about death... or murder."
"What?" She looked a little confused.
"I have to live, Ginny. Neither can live while the other survives. It's not about life or death, but living."
"Harry..."
"I've let him stop me living, Ginny... I've let him make my decisions for me... or rather, I've based my decisions... all of my decisions... on him, and that has given him power."
"You mean..."
"I mean," Harry said as he pulled her into the lounge. "I'm free. Voldemort is no longer controlling me and my fate. My fate is my own. He has controlled every major event in my life... I haven't been able to live because of him, I just existed, reactionary..."
"You mean, there doesn't have to be a final battle?"
"Oh, there is going to be a final battle," Harry grinned. "I'm going to kick his ass. But it's not the death of one of us that will end it. I can live, even if he doesn't die. I've allowed his survival to control me... It's his control over me, over all of us, that I have to kill, not necessarily him."
"But, Harry..."
"Neither can live while the other survives, Gin. Not 'one must die'. It was his power over my life that I had to kill. Now, I'm free to fight the battle with him without being concerned about having to kill his body. It doesn't matter what happens to that. It's his power that has to die, his power over our world... because his power is what allows him to do what he does... his followers follow him because of power. His power comes from that... they stop following him, he loses his power. Done. Complete. Finished."
"But Harry, how do you kill someone's power?"
"By chipping it away bit by bit," Harry grinned. "It won't be easy, Ginny, but I don't have to murder him. I don't have to kill. He can't make me believe that I do."
With that, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. "I love you."
"I love you too. Harry, do you really think...?" She still looked mildly confused.
"I just have this feeling, Gin... I have this feeling that I'm right... I believe..."
"You trust."
"I trust. I trust, Ginny... and that is a wonderful feeling!"
"An interesting theory, Harry..." Albus Dumbledore paced in front of the fire. Harry and the others, as well as Remus, Tonks, and Snape sat on the sofas.
"The original prophecy never said anything about death, sir... and I believe that there is a difference between being alive and living."
"Indeed there is, Harry," the headmaster nodded. "It is certainly worth further thought, in any case."
"I don't need to think about it, sir... I'm sure. I don't have to kill him. His death isn't what will allow me to live... It's my living that will cause his death, the death of his power. Neither shall live while the other survives. I've taken that to mean that I can't live until he's gone... but what if it means he can't come into his own true power while I'm doing all the things that truly make me alive? What if it's my truly living that makes him powerless? 'Power the Dark Lord knows not' . What if that power is... life? Love? I haven't been living. I've been existing, and he's been getting steadily stronger. The few times I have lived, I've felt my power... over him. When I'm living I don't get the dreams... not because he doesn't have access to my mind because of the Occlumency, but because he doesn't have the power to do anything. All along, I think I've had the power, in my own mind. He's chipped away at it, hoping I'll lose it completely before I realized... but..."
"Harry, that would suggest that he already knows the prophecy."
"It would," Harry agreed. "It would suggest that he knows all of the prophecies."
Dumbledore's face showed dawning recognition.
"To find the power to vanquish hate, he must know love, of friends, of comrades, of mate," Dumbledore said softly. "So if you don't know those things, if you don't trust people, push everyone away... don't allow those who wish to be close to you near..."
"I always knew there was more to Ginny's being taken to the Chamber than we understood." Harry said. "I think he knows who she is to me. I think he's manipulated every situation to remove people from my life who loved me, because love gives me power, and takes it away from him. The Department of Mysteries wasn't about the prophecy... it was about him manipulating the situation as we knew it to get Sirius there to kill him off. He knew you thought he didn't know the full prophecy... and he knew that you would do anything to keep him from getting it. The stage was set. Bellatrix was very interested in taking Sirius on, and I really don't think it had that much to do with him turning his back on the Black family."
"I don't understand..." Ron interjected.
"And why come after me as a child?" Harry continued, his eyes lit with the fire he had discovered within himself. "Why make such an effort to find Godric's Hollow, when Neville was right there..."
"He knew... he knew the prophecy about Ginny."
"He knew what my mother looked like. It's a well known fact that Weasley's have red-haired children. The Weasley's had a child the night the prophecy was made. A girl."
"He knew..." Albus turned to Snape. "Severus... how could he have known?"
"I have no idea..." Snape shook his head, clearly astounded. "He has access to information that I have no idea how he gets..."
"Professor...?" Harry said. "Did you tell the prophecy to the Order?"
Albus Dumbledore turned shocked eyes back on Harry.
"I did, to a few."
"Pettigrew?" Snape said.
"No," Albus said, closing his eyes. "I only told a handful of people. Molly and Arthur Weasley were told, of course... because of Ginevra's involvement. I remember clearly those I told."
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Only those involved in ensuring the safety of you and your parents, Harry. Peter was not there that night, but several others were."
"Who?"
"Hagrid, Arabella Figg..." Dumbledore sighed. "And Mundungus Fletcher."
"Who also managed to be bloody gone when the bloody Death Eaters attacked Harry and his cousin?" Ron stood angrily.
"Indeed, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore sighed. "Indeed."
"Our power doesn't come from magic... at least not in the way we thought," Harry said. "As the prophecy says... What if it isn't 'six together in their power, as in all things, the end is the beginning, the beginning, the end' But instead, 'Six together. In their power, as in all things, the end is the beginning, and the beginning the end.'"
"You've lost me, mate," Ron looked at Harry, confused.
"The way it's read, Ron..." Harry said.
"Intonation." Hermione said. "The entire meaning can be changed with intonation. Professor, you were there..."
"There is no intonation," Harry said softly.
"What?"
Dumbledore looked carefully at him.
"When someone gives a prophecy... I think...?" Harry looked at Dumbledore.
"You are correct, Harry. When a prophecy is given, the person giving the prophecy is generally in an extreme trancelike state... their words are monotone, without audible intonation or punctuation. I trusted in the words that Julia Spinnet had written down, as she had written them down. Having heard prophecies before, I thought nothing of the intonation... merely listened to the words and verified that they were correct... the intonation is certainly up for interpretation."
"But even so..." Ron said.
"It changes the interpretation of the meaning, Ron," Ginny said. "In their power, as in all things, the end is the beginning and the beginning the end.' It could suggest that we have the solution, the power, already."
"And it still leaves one of us dead at the end of the day," Ron pointed out.
"And it still leaves us with the possibility of a spy in the Order," Harry said softly. "I hate to even think it, Professor, but..."
"You suspected already, didn't you, Harry?"
"Yes, sir." Harry confirmed.
"How?"
"I... had a feeling. I thought..." he glanced at Snape. "I'm sorry to say that I thought it was Professor Snape. His history... I'm sorry, Professor."
"You had every reason to believe your instincts, Potter," Snape nodded.
"And others came to me... with feelings of their own. Dung's name came up. I think... some may have had their suspicions who did not talk to me about it." Harry continued to look at Snape who stiffened in his seat.
"Severus?" Dumbledore enquired softly.
"I cannot equate dislike of a person and their lifestyle with suspicion of their motives, Albus. I did not suspect Mr Fletcher of being anything worse than a bottom-feeding member of our society. I do, however, feel that his position with the Order is less than... circumspect."
"But Harry..." Ron said. "The prophecy? What does it mean, then?"
"They will come, three together', I think that that is you, me and Hermione, Ron. We've been friends practically from the first. 'Four, five, six shall follow', Neville, Luna and Ginny. 'One begins what they together must complete', well, this was my fight, now it's all of us. 'Four and two, three and three, two two two, six together' Tells us how to identify the six... us. 'In their power, as in all things, the end is the beginning, the beginning, the end' suggests we've already got what we need, or that it will somehow come full circle..."
"Harry, what about the part where..."
At that moment, they were all shocked as a dusty, soot-covered Fred Weasley entered through the floo, his wand drawn, his eyes panicked.
"Professor!" he coughed as Remus rushed to his side and helped him up off the floor.
"Mr Weasley... what on earth...?" Minerva stood.
"It's the Burrow... it's been attacked..."
Luna handed Fred a cup of tea, seemingly calm as the others organized.
"Harry... you must stay here... until we know..." Dumbledore began.
"No, sir," Harry said, pulling his wand and putting a spell on his glasses to stay clear.
"Harry?"
Harry looked up the old Headmaster, "Ready or not, sir... this is it."
"Harry?" Ginny whispered, looking up at him through frightened eyes.
"Ginny, this is it. I can feel it. This is what we've been working towards. He knows that I know. He's attacked the Burrow to draw me out, because he doesn't know where I am. I've disappeared from the school... and he knows that, no matter where I am, an attack on the Burrow... on your family, will bring me running."
"So don't do it!" she cried.
"I have to," he said. "If I don't this time, he'll do it again, and more people we care about will be hurt. We end it now, tonight."
Ron stood and took off his robe, leaving him in t-shirt and jeans. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go."
"All of us," Harry said. "It has to be all of us."
Luna looked up, glanced at Neville, and smiled gently. "I'm right behind you."
"We all are, Harry," Neville said firmly. "I have a bone to pick with Tom Riddle."
"Hermione?" Harry said, looking at her.
As she looked up at him from where she was looking at a gash on Fred's arm, he was shocked by the angry tears in her eyes.
"No one..." she swallowed, and paused, controlling her anger. "Let's go."
"Well, not without me," Tonks grinned.
"Mr Weasley..." Dumbledore turned to Fred. "What was the situation?"
"They attacked through the front and back. I don't know how they got through the wards... I don't know how they even found the bloody place..."
Harry glanced at Ron. He had a pretty good idea of the 'how'.
"Hundreds of them... Bill told me to go... I was closest to the floo, and they hadn't made their way into the lounge yet... Mum..." he choked back a sob. "Mum was in the kitchen... I don't know..."
Harry, upon hearing this, made for the floo.
"Harry!"
"I'm going!" he yelled, and turning, grabbed a handful of floo powder and transferred himself to Dumbledore's office. He had only just reached out for another handful of powder to floo on when there was a flare by his side, and Ginny was there, and taking some of the sparkling dust in her own small hand.
"I love you, Harry. No matter what, I love you," she said as she tossed the powder, and, wand drawn, screamed, "The Burrow!"
And they both flew through the network joining Hogwarts with the Weasley family home.
The scene they stumbled out into was absolute mayhem. Harry and Ginny barely had time to step to the side as others arrived, and lost track of each other as they began fighting in earnest. There were masked Death Eaters everywhere... Harry didn't see a single one that he recognized.
He was vaguely aware of the flares and pops of the other arriving, and once heard Ron screaming the Death hold spell, but there were far too many of Voldemort's followers to be distracted.
He caught sight of several heads of red hair in the throng. Through the hallway into the kitchen, he could see one body lying on the floor... bright red hair and a multicolored sweater. Molly.
And he fought with renewed vigor while a small part of his mind relived the moments he had spent in the company of the Weasley family. All of them had welcomed him, even Percy. Ginny...
And in that moment, could feel something, a growing strength. There was a bubble of energy surrounding him, and he felt somehow lighter. Turning and dodging a cutting curse, his eye caught on a tall figure, standing and watching him, apparently oblivious to the surrounding fight.
Voldemort.
So we meet, Harry Potter, once again.
"Tom," Harry said, knowing he could hear him, despite the noise of battle around them.
"I'm so glad you came," Tom said out loud. "That annoying Gryffindor loyalty."
"Yes, well, that was the point, wasn't it?" Harry said, catching Ginny's eye in the crowd, she stilled and turned, looking at Voldemort, too. The bubble grew.
And Ron... who had caught sight of his mother in the kitchen, and turned, his eyes shocked, to see Harry confronting Voldemort across the lounge. Harry felt his anger, and remembered their friendship. Every moment of it. Ron was the epitome of loyalty... and Harry felt another surge of raw power.
Catching on, he glanced at Hermione. Her eyes were already on his, and as she caught his gaze, she turned to look at Voldemort, as well. Harry took a deep breath in quickly at the power he felt.
Tom Riddle's eyes were glowing... but not in victory. Harry could tell that he had noticed something wasn't quite right.
"You think you can overpower me?" he said. "You? A boy?"
"I've done it before, Tom," Harry said softly. "At fifteen months old, I stole your power for ten years."
"The body is not the power, Potter."
"I know," Harry smiled. "I know where your power comes from, Tom. I know now. Did you think you'd take that away from me, as well?"
"You have no idea..."
"Power comes from the loyalty we inspire, Tom. But there is stronger loyalty than loyalty through fear."
"I have the most faithful servants..."
"Faithful, but servants nonetheless..." Harry agreed. "I have a power that the Dark Lord knows not. Remember, Tom?"
"Stop calling me that!" he hissed.
"Why?" Harry smiled, raising his voice. "It's your name! Your muggle father's name, wasn't it, Tom?"
This actually caught the attention of several who were still fighting. Neville managed to get in a binding spell on the Death Eater who was distracted by what Harry had said. Harry caught his eye, expecting a surge of power. He turned back to Tom when he felt nothing.
"My father..."
"Was a muggle named Thomas Riddle. Owned a rather lovely estate at one time, from what I understand. Unfortunate he died so young, wasn't it?"
"Nothing unfortunate about it..." Voldemort was working up a good head of steam. Harry took a deep breath. Beyond him, in the hallway, Luna glanced over her shoulder at him... nothing.
What is going on? Harry thought. Why...?
His eyes met Remus Lupin's in the crowd. Remus turned and looked at him, then at Voldemort.
Another surge, Harry gasped at the power he felt flowing within him.
Why did that...?
Tonks. Tonks jumped in front of him, levelling her wand at a Death Eater duelling Bill, as she turned, her eye caught Harry's and he felt a sudden jolt. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.
Four and two...
He had been wrong. His interpretation had been wrong... Four and two... four students and two teachers...
"As much as I would love to carry on this little conversation," Voldemort was saying as he raised his wand, "I do have things to do. World to dominate, and all that. Thank you for making my job easier, Mr Potter... I couldn't have done this without you..."
"You will not win," Harry said. "You will not win!"
"But... I already have," Tom Riddle leveled his wand at Ginny and as he was about to speak the curse, a reptilian smile still on his face, Harry felt his own power increase... he could feel the anger, and the pain, and everything he had ever suffered due to this wizard and his lust for dominance. He thought of the moments he had spent with those he cared about, he thought of Remus, talking to him about Ginny, and Tonks, knocking things over in the kitchen at Privet Drive when she'd come to get him with Moody and the others. He thought of Ron, sacrificing himself in first year so that Harry could get through to save the Philosopher's Stone... and his own vision in the Mirror of Erised... a family. Something the Weasley family had provided him.
For one to lead, another must follow... Harry knew that for Voldemort to lead, he needed followers... the only way to remove those followers was to remove the power that held them.
For one to succeed, another must fail... The failed attack on Hogsmeade... it was obvious now that the place they'd been probing while everyone was distracted by that attack had been the Burrow.
For one to live, another must die... Perhaps one of them did have to die. Or maybe it was referring to Molly... or even Voldemort himself, or Harry, or Bill, or anyone else standing, fighting in that room, for either side... or maybe it was just a silly bunch of words strung together by a drunken, injured muggle...
To find the power to vanquish hate, he must know love... Harry's eyes turned to Ginny, he saw the dawning recognition in her eyes... she believed that she was the one of the six to die... Harry couldn't let her believe that.
Turning, he saw the words forming on Tom Riddle's lips... could almost see the breath escaping, the slight smile as he performed his evil...
And something snapped.
"Avada Kedavra!" Harry screamed, his wand leveled at the Dark Lord, the power of the six... Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks... and his own power... not fuelled by hatred, but by love... of Molly and Arthur Weasley, their children, Sirius, his parents. He poured it all out through his arm, through his wand, and the entire room glowed until, with a sudden burst, all was silent.