4. The Storm

Like most clichés, it was a dark, stormy night when it happened. I was wandering the halls, wondering why I

couldn't feel Harry's thoughts and feelingsthrough the ring. I was also occupied with plans for that night's travel

to the Three Broomsticks. I was in the Great Hall when the front doors burst open. A masked, robed man

stood there, as lightning struck behind him, illuminating his cohorts. Two dementors and an enormous troll stood

slightly behind him. I shook my head, and drew my blades, still thinking of a movie I had seen that reminded me

of this scene. I was lost in this thought as I walked towards them, until a thrown boulder crashed into me, flinging

me back into the staff table. I sat struggling under the boulder until the troll came and lifted the rock and threw it

away. He looked down at my broken body, gashed and crushed. Bones poked through muscle and skin, while

blood gushed from huge rips in my body. My katana was broken in two, but my wakizashi remained intact. The

troll was followed by the masked Death Eater, and he laughed when he saw me.

"Well well well. The mighty Wizard Slayer lies broken from a single thrown stone. I thought I would have a long,

drawn out battle against you, but I seem to have won already." A sneering voice said. Greasy black hair had

slipped from the hood, and hung in front of the mask.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Severus, but I guess the long, drawn out battle is going to occur anyways." I

said, picking my broken body up. And then, in front of the shocked duo, my bones slid back into place,

reformed, skin reknitted, and blood retreated back into my body. I rolled my head from side to side, popping

the cartilage, and drew my knife, holding that in my left hand while my right held the short blade that had healed

me. It was not the Horcrux part of it that healed me, butthe other power that magnified and accelerated my

natural healing powers.

The troll stared blankly at me, and its life was ended when I suddenly leaped up and drew my razor-sharp

blades across its throat. While landing, I aimed a kick at Snape's face, and connecting, shattering his mask and

nose. When the mask pieces fell, I saw the hooked nose gushing blood.

"Heh, does fighting give the baby nosebleeds? Do you need mommy Voledmort?" I said with a sneer in my

voice and a grin on my face, intentionally stressing the word 'Voldemort'. My remark hit its target, and Snape

flinched at the mention of the Dark Lord.

I plunged both my blades into Snape's open stomach, and gave them a twist. Snape's face widened in shock

then shrank in hate and agony. Before he died though, he gave a small laugh, and whispered something about

succeeding.

As Snape dropped to the floor, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny rushed around the corner with some of their friends.

I recognized Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom as members of Dumbledore's Army, and Bill followed

them closely. I noticed something shinyin Ginny'shand,and I mentally kicked myself incredibly hard.

"Taylor! The dementors, they have Harry! They have him, and they're bringing him to You-Know-Who!" Bill

shouted, still running. They all stopped when they saw the smashed table, the bloodstains on my clothes, the

dead troll, and the body of Snape, Dumbledore's killer. Ginny dropped onto her knees, and began to sob

uncontrollably. Neville and Luna leaned on each other as Hermione flung herself onto Ron. I realized that they

had just come to terms that Dumbledore had been killed, and because his killer was lying at my feet in a jumble,

Dumbledore would not come to take care of them. I shook my head, and went to find Rudy, and to contact the

rest of the Order.


Rudy, Bill, Mad-Eye, Tonks, Lupin and I left the next day. We were followed closely by Harry's friends. We

had agreed to let them come, as long as they agreed to do anything we asked without question. None of us

knew it, but these were the same orders Dumbledore had given Harry when they had gone to retrieve the fake

Horcrux, the night Dumbledore had been killed. We agreed as a group that I had the responsibility of going into

all the buildings first. I had asked Rudy to send for a new katana, and I had received it within a few minutes, as

well as a set of armor that my sensei had sent. I had put the armor on reverently, and I could feel the powerful enchantments that had been placed on it.

We wandered about clueless and aimless for several hours. Finally we came upon a large black dog that scared

the bejeezus out of Ron, Lupin and Hermione. When I asked them why, theyquietly responded that they

thought they had seen a dementor. I looked at them, not truly believing them, but they weren't asked anymore

questions. The dog, however, helped enormously. Its sniffling nose found a trail almost immediately, and we

followed it to a house in the northern reaches of Scotland. It had taken us several months of hard traveling, but

for some reason the dog seemed as eager to find Harry as the rest of us.

When we arrived at the house, the dog dropped into the freshly-fallen snow. It was now well into December,

and close to Christmas. Three days away, truth be told. We set up camp in front of the house, surprised that

no-one came bursting out of the house to try to kill us, or something of that type. One event did happen

however. A very large snake got into my tent, and was reared to strike, when I flashed my sword, which slept

under my pillow. My off-hand strike cleanly severed the snakes head. The dog's head perked up, and Ginny

swore she heard a scream come from the house. I decided at that point, that since everyone was already

awake,

we would go see who owned the house.

"Knock, knock" I said, preparing everything.


We entered the old house, and we already regretted it. Hundreds of spells jumped at us, fired off by the Death

Eaters waiting. As our own wizards fired off their own spells, I jumped forward, looking like an ancient Samurai

come to life. The dog leapt for wizardly throats, and tore out several of them. I felt like I knew the dog, likeI

had met him a few years before,and we went into the crowd of Dark Wizards with blades and fangs flashing.

When the battle ended, I picked myself up from the floor that I had dived onto to avoid a spell I knew would

get past my defenses. The wizard that sent that spell was hit by several other spells, launched by my allies. He

dropped onto the ground, looking like some type of slug, and I ended his misery with a downward thrust of my

sword. Then, I went directly to the dog, whoI had recognized helfway into the fight,and sheathed my swords.

"Hey, for a dead guy, you still fight pretty good, Black." I said as I kneeled next to him.

After everyone greeted Sirius back to life, we proceeded into the house. His story of escape from the

Reaperwould have to wait. We came to a large door, warped with age, but showing signs of recent use. I

stopped with my hand on the knob. I looked into the faces of my friends. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna

stared ahead with grim determination. Ginny looked forward, but wearing a mask of anger and hate. Sirius wore

the same mask as Ginny, and they both locked eyes as if saying, well, here's to Harry. Mad-Eye, Bill, and

Rudy looked like this was what they did every day, which was mostly true. They were all veterans of this long

war, and they knew their places exactly. Lupin and Tonks were looking into each other's eyes longingly, and I

knew what they were thinking. I smiled at them all, lifter my short sword, and mouthed one, two, and shouted

THREE!

We burst into the room yelling our various battle cries. Dumbledore's and Harry's name was lost with the cry of

'Marauders!', which were all drowned out by my unintelligible shout. We all stopped as we saw a sight that

both frightened us and made us wet our collective pants with relief.

"Took you long enough, guys. I was wondering when you would be coming." Harry said as he sat in a very

large overstuffed chair. At his feet were smoldering robes. And a wand, broken into two.


We exchanged stories of our success. Harry had evidently stolen a belt from me, one that would temporarily

give him the powers of a god. I looked at his waist, and saw Hades' Belt around his slim torso. I stood gaping,

then smiled and laughed. Harry told us how, when we had killed the snake, he had struck a final blow with a

sword of burning holiness. I grinned and told him the story of how I had gotten that belt, and then told him all of

its powers. Finally, when I finished, I gave it to him formerly.

Sirius hung back from all the merry making until Lupin and Tonks dragged him forward. Harry and him stared

each other for a moment, and all went silent. Then, they hugged each other fiercely, and the group burst into

more happiness. Ginny and Harry began to eat each others' lips, and Ron and Hermione followed suit. Neville

and Luna simply hugged each other, while Tonks and Lupin stood in a corner looking like a pair of virgin

teenagers eager to lose their innocence. Mad-Eye, Bill, Sirius, Rudy and I simply laughed, swapped more

stories, and had a few swigs of scotch, brandy, and whiskey, all corresponding to the person that had either

brought it or had made it appear magically. We joked about Moody drinking from his hip flask, until he pointed

out that we all drank from flasks. We settled down, and listened to Sirius tell the tale of his escape from the

beyondveil in the Depeartment of Mystery.

The couples stopped sucking face long enough to listen, and then resumed when the story was done.

We left the house awhile later, and went to the nearest airport we could find, because we were all too exhausted

to travel any other way. We all bought first-class tickets back to London, and rejoined a very happy wizarding

community. Bill went on his honeymoon with Fleur, Mad-Eye retired for a second time, Lupin and Tonks got

engaged, and Sirius was hailed as a misunderstood hero. The students finished school, and had a huge party

when Rosmerta and I announced our own engagement.


A year later, Rosmerta and I have just had our first child. Harry and Ginny are happily married, as are Ron and

Hermione as well as Remus and Nymphadora, who still insists on being called Tonks, even though her surname

has changed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all Aurors, and are good ones at that. I have put down my swords,

and have replaced my soul sword with a more mundane one. The soul sword lies hidden,in a locationonly one

person knows. And I'm not telling.


Epilogue

We are much happier than ever before. Rosmerta still runs the Three Broomsticks, and I collect a very large

pension from the United States Government. We live carefree now, as our children grow up at Hogwarts,

occasionally coming to visit their old parents in Hogsmeade. We have three. The youngest is Sarah, a witch that

takes after her mother. The middle child is a boy that shows a blend of both his parents, and excels at Potions

and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The eldest is Tom, a strapping young man that shows all of his dear old

father's characteristics, especially the resistance. However, he seems to be eager to learn. I would normally urge

such eagerness, but his eagerness borders a feral hunger. Ah well, maybe he'll be fine. Maybe it's just me.


A/N: Whee! Sorry about the first two chapters. This is the end of THIS story, but i may write a sequel. Who knows. Review!