38) Light in the Dark


"It is time to die, Harry Potter. You refused to join the right side, just like your foolish parents, and now you pay the price. Nobody denies Lord Voldemort!" he spat.

"Wrong, Tom! Confundissimo!" Dumbledore shouted over the chaos and his spell distracted Voldemort for a while.

"You harm Harry? Over my dead body!" Ron yelled, shouting his own hex.

"DIE!" Luna and Neville snarled in unison and fired a double stunner.

Arrows hailed from the castle again, the crowd was roaring and somewhere in-between all his supporters Harry felt his heart swell. Voldemort stared at him with unmasked anger.

YOU, his mind seemed to scream at Harry, who was slowly standing up, but Harry was not afraid anymore:

"You cannot defeat us!" Harry screamed over the deafening thunder. Aiming his wand at Voldemort's heart - if the bastard even possessed one – he shouted his innermost desire.

"Go!" his yell tore the sky open and thunder rolled over them. The storm and heavy rain nearly made him stumble, "and NEVER COME BACK!"

His voice hitched as lightning struck down from the clouds and Voldemort could not even scream as the light took him and smashed him to the ground.

Harry felt the sheer force of the electric shock tingling in the air, but before the energy struck, something had lifted him up from the wet grounds. Looking behind him, he saw Ron smiling grimly from his broom. Looking down, he saw the smouldering remains of Voldemort's/Ginny's body. There was no question about her being dead. Just then several shouts broke the silence. Confused and tired he looked at Snape, who was holding his left arm in wonder. The skin was shallow and dirty from all the mud and blood, but there was no mark on it.

All around people were staring at themselves in wonder. Some blinked, before hurriedly apparating away, while others bowed over the dead and injured. Some had fainted from the power shock and others were huddled together, crying and looking around helplessly.

The rain had stopped, and light was falling through rips in the clouds. Although the wind was still sharp and cold, the air was clean, like after every thunderstorm and the puddles on the ground were reflecting the early beams of the morning sun in all shaped of gold and pink.

Ron let him down again and he hissed in pain, as he put weight onto his foot. Favouring his leg, he turned to see Snape steadying Dumbledore, who seemed old and exhausted, but gleaming with pride and relieve. Snape grunted at him and Harry nodded slightly.

A gust of wind blew over the muddy grounds that seemed to bring people out of their stupor.

Dumbledore smiled widely at him and opened his arms. Limping over to him, the headmaster buried him in a tight hug and Snape grumbled, as he still had to support the headmaster. Smiling mischievously at Harry, Dumbledore released him and hugged Snape instead, who started to protest, but indignantly surrendered, still huffing a little, before hugging the headmaster back.

"I'm so proud of you, boys," Dumbledore said seriously. Smiling slightly, Harry left Snape to deal with Dumbledore and let Ron help him walk. Luna and Neville joined them and they looked over to the aurors, who were rounding things up, when somebody cleared her throat behind them.

"And what are you three doing out here?" McGonagall's strict voice cut like a hot knife through butter. "Did we not give clear instructions that you should ALWAYS stay with a teacher at ALL times? Hrmm? Messrs. Weasley and Longbottom, Miss Lovegood?"

"Yeah, well, you see, erm…" Ron stumbled and Harry laughed again.

"Looking at the extenuating circumstances, could they not be pardoned?" Harry asked lightly and McGonagall winked at him.

"Absolutely not! For clearly disobeying your professor, sneaking around in the middle of a battle, endangering a school broom (Ron snorted) and probably saving the Wizarding world, 50 points to each of you, now get back and clean your boots when you go in, before Filch catches you!"

She beamed and winked at them again, before walking away.

"Strange…" Neville said.

"Maybe she got hit with some confounding charm…" Ron supplied.

"Maybe somebody gave her a good shag last night," Luna added and Harry coughed.

Their post-battle cheerfulness however was quickly swept away when more and more bodies were placed into the great hall for relatives to find. The staff was rushing around and the students who had returned from their hideout were curiously looking around.

Harry sat on a bench at the Hufflepuff table, where the less dangerously wounded were "stored" until Madam Pomfrey and the other healers would tend to them. Owls were rushing in every minute, mostly from those parents who had not yet managed to storm the building.

At the Gryffindor table Molly Weasley was helping tending to the wounded. After all, a mother of seven children, two born pranksters included, had to know one thing or the other about healing and reversing hexes gone awry. Just then a young healer came bustling over to him. Harry pointed at his ankle, which had meanwhile nearly doubled in size and the healer nodded, before fixing it with a simple spell. It itched a little as the bones mended together and he had to use a smelly salve to reduce the swelling.

The magnitude of today's events had not yet sunk in, but he already feeling distinctly light-headed. Hearing a rustling of cloth beside him, he looked up to see Daphne waddle over to him, a hand on her very obviously pregnant belly, looking slightly put out.

Seeing him more-or-less unharmed, she visibly relax, but suddenly she yelped and looked at him with wide eyes. And then she grew very pale.

"Harry?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah?" he smiled, trying to hug her, but she stopped him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I think it's time…" she said faintly.

"For what – OH!" his eyes widened, "Shit!"

"Are there any problems?" Hooch's inquisitive voice asked from the side.

"You could say so, professor!" But whatever he wanted to say after that was forgotten, when she hand gripped his arm and he heard her water break. "Hurry!" Harry yelled at Hooch, who was looking at Daphne wide-eyed.

"Dear, that's really not my competence… POPPY!"


AN: Now, some people might find this very cliche, but I assure you it is vital for the story that the babe is born on the day of Voldymoldy's death. Is that enough of a hint? Come on, review!