You Can Love
Harry Potter and Voldemort faced each other. They were oblivious to the battle surrounding them. The focus of their attention was on each other. Green eyes full of hatred locked with red ones shining with amusement.
Neither can live while the other survives…"Harry Potter. We meet again. Let us finish this battle once and for all," Voldemort said with a sneer on his face. "Let's see… you have now lost your foolish father, your Mudblood mother, your blood-traitor godfather, and your fool of a headmaster. Tell me… I'm curious to know… who will die for you this time?"
His lip curled as he watched Harry raise his wand and shouted "Cru–"
"Ah Potter," Voldemort started again as he deflected the curse with apparent ease. "not so fast. Are you so rude as to ignore my… ah… guests?" He raised his wand and screeched, "Accio Inferi!"
To Harry's horror, hundreds of corpses approached the two from all directions. They glided silently and encircled the two duellers. Voldemort was clearly enjoying it, as he was taking particular pleasure in introducing members of the Order of the Phoenix who died at his and his Death Eaters' hands as if they were the jewels of his collection.
"Edgar Bones, Potter. I'm sure you've heard of him? Yes, I killed his whole family. He must be pleased now that his sister had joined him… Ah… Dorcas Meadows… Killed her myself, oh yes… Fought like anything, but Lord Voldemort always wins in the end…"
But Harry was already staring mutely at five bodies floating towards him. His frozen expression of horror and shock was enough to tell Voldemort that he had recognised them.
"Ah, yes… May I introduce to you? James Potter, Lily Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black and Cedric Diggory." Voldemort started laughing a high, piercing, and mirthless laugh. The Inferi just watched silently.
"So, my dear so-called equal, how would you like it if I were to use them to kill you? Because you know as well as I do, that because of your love," Voldemort spat out this word like a disgusting swear word, "for these five people, whom you saw died in my hands in front of you, you would not lift a wand to strike them down, would you?"
Harry said nothing. He knew Voldemort was right. He had used his weakness to defeat him. Yet, he would not let him win. He'd vowed to Dumbledore once before.
Dumbledore…
If it is my time to die, I'll make sure I take as many Death Eaters with me as I can, and Voldemort too if I can manage it.
Yet, looking at Dumbledore's corpse floating in front of him, he felt a stab of pain. Why was Voldemort so cruel as to deny the ones he loved to rest in peace? After all he'd done, after all the people he had killed, tortured and toyed with, would he stop at nothing to seize power?
"It seems to be taking a long time for you to make up your mind and answer me, so for simplicity sake, I'll just set them loose on you, shall I? Starting with the five of your precious friends." Voldemort's high cold voice held nothing but contempt. "Attack!"
Immediately, the five Inferi closed in on Harry. Panicking, he raised his wand, but found that he could not curse those he loved. Don't think about it! They are now Dark creatures used by Voldemort! They are no longer who they were, only an image of their previous self!
Instead, Harry found himself at the point of déjà vu. He pointed his wand at Voldemort, screaming, "Expelliarmus!" as Voldemort screeched "Avada Kedavra!" into the evening. Harry vaguely remembered Dumbledore telling him about what happened when wand brothers were forced to fight with each other.
Priori Incantatem, the reverse spell effect.
The red and green beams connected, as before, in one smooth, dark gold beam. It spun off and criss-crossed each other until a golden dome separated Harry and Voldemort from the rest of the world. The phoenix song, so wonderful to Harry yet so terrible to Voldemort, began piping inside the dome. Voldemort, determined to be victorious this time, began forcing the beads of gold towards Harry.
Yet, he didn't realise that three years separated their last such encounter with this. In three years, Harry had grown into a matured eighteen-year-old. He had trained hard for three years, awaiting the day when he would, once and for all, defeat the most dreaded Dark Lord of that era. Harry's powers were now fully unleashed as he, too, forced the beads slowly but certainly towards Voldemort once more.
Voldemort could not believe it. He had been unprepared for what happened the last time. It was his error that had allowed the beads to touch his wand. Yet, this time, he could not even force back the beads as he steadied his wand arm with his other arm. His wand was vibrating harder and harder with every inch the beads were nearing its tip.
Screams were heard as a figure, first the head, then the torso, the shadow of a tall, thin man with a long beard rose up and straightened. Albus Dumbledore was smiling down at Harry.
Harry was shocked. Of all the people to appear from Voldemort's wand, Dumbledore did. Hadn't Snape killed him?
As if he read Harry's mind (Dumbledore was always a great Legilimens), Dumbledore answered, "To use the Inferi spell, a person must be the one to cast the Killing Curse at the victim before being able to control the dead body." A few shadows, Amelia Bones's and Emmeline Vance's among them, blossomed, straightened, and began intimidating Voldemort as Dumbledore continued. "I am guessing that since Voldemort needed to control my body in order to get to you, he stole my essence and shadow from the core of Snape's wand, just like he did with all his other Death Eaters' wands. He also especially wanted the essence and shadows from Bellatrix's wand for… ah… here he comes…"
For the shadow of a man with unkempt hair had blossomed from the tip of Voldemort's wand with more screams. He straightened like Dumbledore, and Harry's eyes were suddenly moist. It was Sirius.
"Sirius!" He yelled, while fighting back a tear.
"Hey Harry! Don't give up! I know you can do it," Sirius beamed at him. "You can do it, and you will do it. You are truly James's and Lily's son."
"And also your godson, Sirius," Dumbledore added, smiling. Sirius bowed, before turning to Voldemort. His expression was extremely ugly as he looked at Voldemort with pure loathing.
"Let me at him. I'll…" Sirius swung his fist violently in the air, giving everyone a very clear idea at what he would like to do with Voldemort's neck. Dumbledore held him back.
"No. Wait."
Harry was struck dumb. "For what?"
"For his fear to overcome him," Dumbledore repeated, nodding towards Voldemort, whose eyes were now livid with fear, and continued, "Let his fear of death overcome him before we advance."
There is nothing to be feared from a body, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.
"Hey Harry." Harry was so busy with Dumbledore and Sirius that he didn't realise the arrival of Cedric Diggory. "It has been a long time. Hold on now."
Inside the golden dome, it was now so full of shadows that the dome was slowly expanding. Harry saw many witches and wizards with him, past victims of Voldemort's cruelty. He even swore he saw a woman who looked vaguely like Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff. The Inferi outside was now fidgeting restlessly as the dome kept expanding to fit all the shadows in.
The arrival of Cedric was followed by Frank Bryce, who was followed by Bertha Jorkins. Harry was now extremely nervous. His body was shaking, which had nothing to do with the golden beam, as the beads were still at Voldemort's end. He was about to meet them again. His parents, who had laid down their lives for him. He was about to see them…
Lily came first, then James. Together they came towards Harry. Suddenly he felt a calmness wash over him.
"Harry… Sirius… Dumbledore…" Both husband and wife greeted their allies.
"Mum… Dad…"
"Ah… Lily, James, do join us," Dumbledore responded.
"Professor, what are we going to do next?" Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He had to know how to finish off Voldemort, the man that had haunted his footsteps from the moment of his birth, never resting, never stop pursuing him, and would likely come after him till the day he died. He needed to know how on this bloody earth was he going to kill Voldemort when he cannot bring himself to kill.
"Do?" Dumbledore considered for a moment. "We need to formulate a plan, of course. First of all, Harry, have you seek out and destroy all the remaining Horcruxes?"
"Yes, Professor. I just killed the snake, Nagini, when Voldemort and his cronies cornered me. Luckily I've got backup from the Order of the Phoenix. Professor Slughorn has provided us with a tablespoonful of Felix Felicis each every time we set out to destroy a Horcrux."
"Excellent. You haven't been taking it in large amounts, I assume? Good, for, as you know, it is highly toxic in large quantities. Hmm… Voldemort has certainly killed a lot of people for the past three decades. No wonder his army of Inferi is so large. Never forget, Harry, that it'll be up to you to stop this from continuing. Ah… Unless I am very much mistaken, I think this is it, Harry. Good luck."
The last of Voldemort's victims blossomed out of his wand tip. The connection broke immediately. Voldemort staggered a little at the advance of his victims' shadows.
"Now, Harry, remember. Only you can do this. You will know what to do. And now is the time," Dumbledore whispered. Harry nodded. He knew what he must do. He couldn't believe it took him so long to understand what must be done.
Play to your strength. Use a nice, simple spell to get what you need. Nice and easy does the trick.
Voldemort, apparently wanting to finish this quickly, raised his wand and hissed, "You're dead, Potter. I've wasted too much time, but I'm not going to wait any longer. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
"PROTEGO MAXIMA!" Harry yelled.
Voldemort sneered. The boy's pathetic excuse of a Shield Charm was no match against his Killing Curse. He discovered it a second too late as the curse was miraculously deflected by Harry's eternal protection sealed into his blood and veins by James and Lily Potter's sacrifice, which was fortified by the Shield Charm he cast. Both ancient spells combined to do what one could not.
To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.
Before Voldemort could react, he was hit by his own Killing Curse for a second time. And this time, without his Horcruxes to ensure his immortality, his body crumpled to the ground at the flash of green light and the rushing sound. Lord Voldemort was dead.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...
Harry looked around. Surely this wasn't all? Lord Voldemort was after all the most powerful Dark Lord of the century. There's got to be a glitch somewhere in this perfect day. And then, he remembered. The Inferi. Damn.
What he saw, however, shocked him. Instead of fading away, the shadows of Voldemort's past victims moved towards their bodies. They paused for just a fraction of a second before melting into their host bodies. Immediately, a bright light started shining from those bodies. Harry had to squint his eyes to see through the glaring white. To his utter amazement, something wonderful happened. The bodies, decayed and disfigured, started repairing itself. The dull grey lifeless skin began to glow a tinge of pink. Before he knew it, Fawkes appeared with a flash of fire and continued piping his eerie but joyful song.
"Fawkes!" cried Harry delightedly. The phoenix had saved him once before. He landed on Harry's shoulder and gave a slight squeeze before taking flight. To Harry's astonishment, the phoenix dropped a tear on each of the Inferi (was it still an Inferius? It looked… almost human). It seemed to be a wake up call for the victims of Voldemort for, one by one, they opened their eyes after Fawkes's tear touched their head.
No spell can reawaken the dead.
But why were all these people alive, then? Worse, they were even greeting each other, like long lost friends who have only recently reunited. Edgar and Amelia Bones were hugging each other, tears coursing down their cheeks.
Finally, Fawkes proceeded to heal James, Lily, Cedric, Sirius, and lastly, Dumbledore.
Harry wanted to believe that it's true, that, after long last, he'd be able to have a proper family. He stepped forward to James and Lily, who were hugging each other, and said tentatively, "Mum? Dad?"
James pulled back from Lily and they looked at their son. As one, they raised their arms and welcome, not only Harry, but Sirius, into their arms. "I can't believe it! I don't want to ever wake up from this dream!" Harry cried.
"Sweet heart, this is not a dream. I love you. We'll always be here for you now," Lily Potter whispered into her son's ear. "We always have been. And we always will be."
They broke apart and grinned at each other. Harry was happier than he ever was. But he still needed answers. He turned to Dumbledore, who was now regarding the happy reunion with his twinkling eyes, shining with wisdom.
"Professor! How did this… happen?"
"I do not know, Harry. But I do believe that, just as you were the only one who had ever survived the Killing Curse, and twice at that, you are now also the only one who had ever performed the miraculous 'Resurrection'. I do believe that this had never happened, owing to the fact that there are usually no wand brothers. Wand makers generally prefer using different magical creatures as their wand core," he answered, then added, smiling, "It was a lucky day, indeed, when Ollivanders decided to take two of Fawkes's tail feathers."
Harry was relieved. Yet, something was still nagging behind his brain. He picked up Voldemort's fallen wand, like it was a long lost brother, and suddenly said, "I need to go to St. Mungo's."
"We'll go with you." Dumbledore gestured at Harry's parents and godfather.
The last thing Harry heard before he Apparated was Minerva McGonagall's shocked voice, saying, "Oh my goodness! Moody! They're back!"
Ward 49 was as silent as ever as Harry, James, Lily, Sirius, and Dumbledore strode through the doors, heading towards the Longbottoms. There had been a commotion and general hysteria at the front desk earlier, where screams of "IT CAN'T BE! THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" were heard throughout the hospital. Jesus, as if they're going to drop down dead at any moment.
Harry stood in front of the two beds, looking down at the sleeping forms of Frank and Alice. He felt sorry for them. They were part of the Order of the Phoenix, they had fought bravely, and they were respected Aurors in the wizarding community. Yet, for all Harry could bring back the dead, he couldn't rescue the Longbottoms. He decided that he should, at the very least, try. A burst of flame indicated that Fawkes had arrived.
"Fawkes," Harry called quietly, and he felt his soothing presence on his shoulder. He looked into Fawkes's jewel-bright eyes and said, "Can you help me save them?" Fawkes let out a single note of music that clearly indicated "Yes."
Harry took both his and Voldemort's wands in his wand hand. He placed both tips on Alice's forehead. Fawkes bend down and aiming precisely, dropped a tear on the spot where both the wand tips meet Alice's forehead. Harry didn't know what made him do it, but he suddenly whispered, as if he intended all along to say it, "Reparo."
It seemed silly, even to him. But a split second later, he gasped as a pale yellow light began shining around Alice. Just as Harry thought it was going to work, the pale yellow light faded away. He was extremely disappointed.
But he needn't have been. Alice suddenly woke up and looked straight at the group of people around her bed. Recognition and confusion shone in her eyes. "James…? Lily…? I thought you were killed… and who is this, James? You never told me you had a twin…"
She looked even more bewildered as Harry started jumping up and down in victory. Lily hurried up to her and took her hands. "Alice! It's so good to see you again! You see…"
Lily was so glad to see her best friend again. She proceeded to rattle off the story, with a little help from Sirius and James, who had all knew her in their Hogwarts days. Harry felt a hand on his other shoulder. He looked up and saw Dumbledore.
"Well done, Harry. I would have never thought that another miracle could be performed today. But then, it is an evening of wonders, I see. But Harry, you're forgetting someone. Frank needs your help too. Yours and Fawkes's. I shall be owling the Longbottoms telling them this good news. I shouldn't be long."
Harry nodded as Dumbledore strode out of the ward. It suddenly seemed a more cheerful place. He turned to Frank Longbottom and, without hesitating, performed the same spell. The Auror woke up immediately and saw Harry. Like Alice, he thought he was James. Disbelieve was in every inch of his face.
"James? I thought… What the…" For he had just spotted James, Lily and Sirius talking to Alice. "Will someone please explain to me what in the name of Merlin is going on here?" he said loudly.
"FRANK!" All four adults pounced on Frank immediately, for Frank was well liked and an able man in the Order of the Phoenix. Explanations poured out again and the atmosphere was at an all time high.
"Hello Potter," a voice growled in his ear. James immediately turned and said cheekily, "That's Potters for you, Moody. There are three of us here."
"Yeah, and how 'bout me? And Frank and Alice?" Sirius pretended to be hurt and offended. "I must tell you, it's GREAT to be back with my dear friends – oofh!" The rest of his sentence was cut off as a man with light brown hair flecked with grey pounced on him, James, and Lily.
"MOONY! My man, please don't wet yourself. We all know that I'm irresistible, but please don't pounce on us like this again, will ya?" James's muffled voice sounded from the depth of the group hug.
"Oh James! Sirius! I'm so glad… Oh!" Remus was so glad, he was nearly crying. It sucked being the only Marauder on the planet. Wormtail didn't count, that betrayer.
"Stop it Remus, you sound like Molly," Sirius drawled in a bored voice.
"What are we going to do with the Death Eaters, Moody?" Harry inquired.
All eyes turned to Alastor Moody, senior Auror, as he spoke, "Well, they're in custody now. Many people reckon they should be killed for all the killings they've done. They reckon prison's too soft for them. But personally, I don't like the idea of stooping to their level, although it seems that this time, we have no choice. Dang me if Scrimgeour lets the Dementors back on our side. No sir, not over my dead body."
"What about an overdose of the Draught of the Living Death?" Harry hoped his voice sounded casual and joking. Moody, however, considered it seriously. "Hmm... I might bring it to the Minister's notice. But anyway, they would not be set free, definitely. Those scum deserve what they will get."
The door to Ward 49 burst open again as Neville and Augusta Longbottom practically flew in, followed by a beaming Dumbledore. They both flung their arms around Frank and Alice.
"MUM! DAD! I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!" Harry had never seen Neville so emotional before. Augusta Longbottom was sobbing like there was no tomorrow.
"Mum… gerroff me… I'm all right, see? You're strangling me…" Frank could hardly talk.
Augusta released her son. Her eyes were red and blotchy. Alice took this opportunity to caress Neville's cheek. "Neville? My son? Oh…" She drew him into her arms. "Mummy will never leave you again…"
Harry tore his eyes away from the emotional reunion to find his arm being wrung by the formidable Mrs Longbottom. "You saved them… I don't know how to thank you enough…"
"You do know now how you defeated him?" The twinkle in Albus Dumbledore's eyes was something he would never take for granted again.
You have a power that Voldemort has never had.
"Yes. Because I can love." Harry smiled. He will always remember this day.
James, Lily, Sirius and Remus hugged Harry between them. "We're so proud of you, sweet heart," Lily murmured into Harry's shoulder (Harry was taller than Lily by now). Harry hugged her, then James, saying, "I wouldn't have done it without your sacrifice to keep me alive, dad, mum. I can finally have my family back with me…"
The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is
"There's only one problem here…" James ran his hand through his always-messy hair before continuing, "How are we supposed to be Harry's parents when we're… err…" He did a quick calculation, "only four years older than him?"
– Finis –