A/N: Thank you so much for all those who reviewed, particularly nattieb, who never fails. I'm glad you like the story so far. This is going to be really long. I haven't really finished it yet and I'm working on the details on how to get Harry a body, although there is a way to resurrect him, but so far no one has been able to guess yet. You'll find out in the chapter after this.
Chapter Eight
Return to the Battle
Dumbledore scratched at his bearded chin and his eyes twinkled. "Astonishing! This is quite unusual of course, but not altogether surprising."
Ron, Harry and Hermione were sitting around their old headmaster's office on comfortable chairs with half their tea cups drained. They had just finished telling Dumbledore all they knew about what happened to Harry and Ron.
"You mean it has happened before Professor?" Ron hopefully asked. "Do you know a way to get Harry back?"
"I wish I could say I could, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "But unfortunately I have never encountered such an incident before, though I suspect perhaps it is an ancient magic tied to the powerful bond you and Harry have that was also the means to destroy Voldemort. There are still many happenings in the magical world that are yet to be explained and I confess to my own limitation in this case."
Ron sighed with disappointment. If Dumbledore, the greatest living wizard didn't know how to solve their problem, how were they going to?
"But do not give up yet," Dumbledore assured. "We may find a way. You cannot discover wisdom Ronald, without seeking it. And in this case we could start by reviewing the situation when it first occurred." Dumbledore stood up and walked to a closed cabinet. Ron watched him take out a shallow basin with ancient runes carved on it. It was emitting a bright light.
"The pensieve." Harry said.
"Precisely Harry." The Headmaster quickly explained what it was to Hermione and Ron. "Now, in order to assess the incident I must ask you and Harry to put in your memories of that night on the pensieve. Then we shall all go in and see for ourselves what exactly happened."
Harry nodded and decided to go first. As per Dumbledore's instructions he recalled everything that happened, tapped his wand to the side of his head and placed them on the pensieve. When he was done, Ron copied Harry's movements and placed his own memories. It took them several minutes to complete the task. It was rather difficult to try to remember everything but he tried to put in as many details he could.
When they finished, Dumbledore invited all of them to come closer to the pensieve. Ron looked at the somewhat-gassy, somewhat-liquid stuff on the basin and saw the Riddle House just as he had seen it before they attacked.
"Alright, everybody lean in," Dumbledore said. "And off we go..."
Ron placed his face closer and he felt himself sucked in with Hermione and Dumbledore. Cold darkness surrounded him before he landed on his feet. He looked around and found Hermione and Dumbledore next to him.
"I think perhaps we are still familiar with this," Dumbledore said. "We are just about to enter the house."
Ron caught several moving silvery glints in the air. One of them would be himself in a disillusionment charm closely following Harry and Hermione. He followed the glints toward the house. He saw the signal Lupin gave out of nowhere, followed by two guards being taken out by Tonks. Everything was so quiet until the first patronus charm was cast and suddenly the night erupted in chaos. Dementors appeared from the forest, followed by trolls who were throwing large rocks in all directions. At the same time, Death Eaters came charging out of the house bearing curses. Members of the Order and the D.A. began to appear as they either got hit or disillusioned themselves. Ron recognized Zacharias Smith as one of the first to appear out of thin air and he lay on the ground, unmoving. Dennis Creevey followed in much the same fashion. Collin's voice could be heard screaming in anguish and Ron's heart went out to him. It wasn't like the cheerful Collin to be crying like that. His sobs however, were quickly replaced with shouts of a levitation spell. A rock was flying out of nowhere and hit a Death Eater on the head. He fell to the ground a few feet away from where Ron was standing. His eyes were wide and blood was pouring liberally from his head. Ron turned away. He didn't remember seeing that during the battle but he figured he was getting more detail since he was also witnessing Harry's memories as well as his own.
He looked to the sound of crashing glass and metal. He followed the silvery glints that entered the house and heard his own voice shouting stunning spells at the charging Death Eaters coming down the stairs. Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks were already inside sending off hexes he had never even heard of. Sparks and shards of glass and furniture were flying everywhere. Ron ducked at a jet of light that came his way before he realized it was just going to go through him since this was just a memory.
He saw himself appear with Harry and Hermione. A streak of red light came hurtling toward the three of them but Hermione was quicker and had a protection spell ready. The spell deflected, but three Death Eaters came charging them from all sides: Avery, Wormtail, and Dolohov. With their backs to each other, he, Harry and Hermione faced up to the older wizards. Harry took on Avery; Hermione, Dolohov; and himself on his former pet rat.
Ron could remember the rage he had at that time but he was still amazed at what he did. Wormtail advanced on him with an impedimenta charm that he blocked easily. His answer was a full body bind followed by a levitation spell. Wormtail blocked his first spell but was caught off guard when he began to float.
"Tarantallegra!" his memory-self shouted and Ron was satisfied again to see the traitor dance uncontrollably in the air before he was sent crashing into another Death Eater currently suffering from a Bat-Bogey hex.
"Ginny!" the memory-Ron shouted at his beaming sister. She and Dean had just come through the door but they didn't have time to speak.
"Ron, duck!" Harry shouted. The memory-Ron obeyed and Harry shot a spell just above his head and hit Nott who was about to charge. While Ron was still crouched near the floor, he threw a stunning spell that missed Harry by inches but hit right on its mark: Avery, who had been waylaid earlier by Harry with an impedimenta hex.
As Avery fell, Dolohov came into view. His robes were on fire but he was laughing like mad.
Ron looked at the Hermione beside him. "What did you do to him?"
"Bluebell flame and tickling charm, one after the other," she said proudly. "Serves him right for what he did to me in fifth year. My ribs took ages to heal."
Dolohov continued to laugh until he started screaming with the burns. He ran out of the room, crashing into things and setting fire on some of the furniture. The room was already catching fire in some areas, owing to Mundungus Fletcher who seemed to have a penchant for Incendio charms.
The memory-Ron, Harry and Hermione quickly moved out of the way of the burning parlor and moved forward into the house. Ron was momentarily stopped by a full-body bind but Hermione was quick to get rid of the spell and hit back at his assailant. It did, however, leave a few cuts up his arms and elbows when he fell on some broken glass. Ron couldn't even remember having those cuts now; he figured it was that insignificant in the bigger battle.
"I've got to find him," Harry said to them. "He's near. I think he may be out back." Harry led the front while Ron covered the rear, shouting spells. Together, they made quite a formidable team, barging through whatever Death Eaters came their way.
"Harry, I never realized how bloody good we are at this!"
"Yeah, all those D.A. practices were really a big help. We wouldn't have gotten past those Death Eaters if we weren't trained so well."
They moved onward to a large hallway, passing several bodies, most of them Death Eaters.
Ron felt the Harry inside him turn away when they passed a fallen woman. An emerald shawl covered her hair but it was hard to distinguish the color due to the blood that had seeped through her head. Ron's stomach churned.
"You knew her, Harry?"
"Remember Emmeline Vance? I only met her once, never really talked to her but she was part of the Order."
The closed door to their right suddenly blew apart and Justin, Ernie, Hannah, Luna and the Patil sisters came out coughing from the dust.
"We found a way through a side window," Justin explained when he could breathe. "We couldn't get through the front door. Too crowded."
A shadow came up behind them. It was George.
"Good, you're here. We could use the cover," Ron said to his brother. But George didn't respond and his eyes gave no sign of recognition.
"Get back! He's under Imperious!" Hermione shouted.
Everybody moved away as far as possible before George blasted the ceiling and the roof gave way.
"PROTEGO!" several voices shouted in unison and one lone voice shouted, "STUPEFY!"
Apparently the protection spell could hold even against falling debris. Pieces of wood and metal bounced safely off them. When the air cleared, a Death Eater was lying buried under a beam. George was limp against the wall, stunned, while Fred was standing in front of him looking horrified that he had stunned his own twin. Next to Fred were Lee, Katie, and Angelina. More shouts were coming closer from behind them.
"We'll split up," Angelina said. "Three of you come with us and hold off the coming attackers, the rest of you move on."
Hannah, Ernie and Justin remained while the rest took off running down the hallway. They stopped where the hallway ended at a wall and split into two opposite directions.
Harry had a hand on his scar. "We have to go right."
Somebody screamed from the left corridor. "That's Lavender!" Parvati said in alarm. "We have to help her." She was off running before anybody could stop her.
"Parvati wait!" Padma shouted as she followed her sister.
"We don't have time!" Harry said urgently. "I have to get to him."
Ron took control. "Follow them; we have to go with Harry!"
Ron saw their fellow D.A. members nod before his eyes moved back to his memory self, Harry and Hermione as they sprinted to the right. Ron barely registered the crashing sound followed by Padma's scream of "Parvati, no!" at that time, but he heard it fully now and he knew with a sickening feeling what had happened. There were plenty of gruesome stories of that night that they only heard secondhand. Apparently, Parvati was caught by a killing curse when she tried to save the stunned Lavender. Padma had seen her sister fall and used the Avada Kedavra curse to avenge her twin. Ron couldn't imagine how the girl he had taken to the Yule Ball could have said those words and meant them enough for her to kill.
Ron felt Harry's heart wrench with guilt.
"There was nothing we could do, Harry. We couldn't save everyone."
Ron felt Hermione's hand in his, reassuring Harry though she had tears in her eyes.
The memory-Harry suddenly tripped on something, or rather somebody. It was a Death Eater but he was walking about in an uncoordinated way and his eyes were blank. A moment later, a robed figure of a Dementor came gliding from an open room at their left side. The Death Eater had obviously given him the kiss.
There was a scream coming from the large room at the end of the hallway and everyone recognized it as Mrs. Weasley. The memory-Ron rushed forward, shouting to Hermione and Harry to deal with the Dementor.
"Come on and follow me!" the real-Ron said to Hermione and Dumbledore. He remembered exactly what happened next and he wanted Harry and Hermione to see it.
They came to a large dining room. Inside were his father and Lucius Malfoy. His mother lay on one side, apparently His hit by a hex but she was groaning and was coming to.
Malfoy shouted a spell and Arthur fell to the floor. The memory-Ron entered, shouting at Malfoy, but before he could utter a spell, his mother had lifted herself up and like a warrior woman, bashed Malfoy on the head with a piece of wood from a broken chair. Malfoy fell to his knees and the memory-Ron bound him with a spell.
"That must be one hard knock on the head your mother gave, Ron." Hermione said, completely impressed.
"I suppose her arm is still good even after all these years," Ron replied.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well she was a Beater in her Hogwarts days," Ron explained.
"Really?"
"Yeah, where do you think we got all our Quidditch skills from? My dad's hopeless on a broom, but Mum was one of the best."
"Indeed she is," Dumbledore agreed. It was the first time he spoke and he was smiling rather proudly. "Molly was a wonderful player. I remember she was a legend on the Quidditch pitch when she was in school. She could have gotten a professional career. Six league teams were inviting her to play after she graduated."
"Six teams!" Ron exclaimed. "She never told us that. My mum?"
"Yes, Ronald. But of course she loved Arthur more and she never regretted being a mother and having all of you. Molly has the biggest heart I've ever known."
Ron watched himself give a vicious kick at the unconscious and bound Malfoy and he wished that he could have done more damage to the Death Eater at that time. But Harry and Hermione had tumbled into the room, silver mists of their patronus charms disappearing behind them.
"Death Eaters are on the move," Hermione reported, but nobody was paying attention to her. Ron and Mrs. Weasley were moving the unconscious Arthur to the side to assess the damages. Harry on the other hand, was clutching at his forehead. He then sprinted resolutely to the next room into the large kitchen.
Ron followed the memory-Harry where he found Neville facing Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Ready to join your parents in the loony bin?" she taunted.
Neville didn't say anything, but his eyes were filled with a murderous rage Ron had never seen before. Ron didn't even hear what spell Neville cast but it was so fast and powerful that it threw Bellatrix violently to one side of the kitchen. She lay there unmoving.
Ron's eyes widened. "He killed her? I mean I knew I saw her dead in the kitchen, but I didn't think it was Neville who did it. Merlin, I'll never underestimate Neville again. That boy can be deadly if he wants to."
"He's not the only one," Harry replied sadly. "Who knew Collin Creevey could bludgeon a Death Eater to death or that Padma was capable of the killing curse? Who knows who else we managed to injure that night? I suppose a lot of us had turned killers at that point. But I had all the blood on my hands, every single one of them, though I didn't deliver the curses. It's my fault because I wasn't able to stop him sooner."
"Stop it, Harry! Stop blaming yourself. It was a battle, people die. We are forced to kill or be killed. None of that was your fault. You murdered no one, not even Voldemort."
Ron felt Harry brighten a little with the reassurance, though he knew it would take more than that for Harry to get over his guilt. Ron had never known a person to have so many issues about this before and he shuddered as he realized that having Harry with him meant that he had to deal with his issues, too.
Ron focused back on the scene unfolding. He saw himself come hurtling into the kitchen followed by half a dozen hexes which he managed to avoid with his protection spell. He stood up and was amazed with himself that he didn't even seem shaken but returned the hexes at the Death Eaters at the door with lightning speed.
The memory-Harry headed for the backdoor and Ron beckoned to Hermione and Dumbledore to follow him outside. Ron listened to his familiar conversation with Harry about remaining with Harry until the end. Hermione sniffled beside him.
"That was really loyal of you," she said to him.
Ron watched on and felt a shudder when Voldemort appeared. Even in this state he still appeared every inch the horrible wizard that he was. Hermione clutched at Ron's hand when she saw Voldemort's red snakelike eyes. She had never seen the Dark Lord before.
When Voldemort started torturing him, Hermione had taken not only his hand but his entire arm. Her fingers were holding on to him so tightly as if he was a lifeline. He could feel his heart racing, he knew what was coming next, but he had never seen it so vividly before in his memories. He watched as the Harry in his memory changed, beginning with his eyes that turned from emerald green to red while his expression altered to one that Voldemort wore. He felt the Harry inside him quiver with horror and revulsion.
"My God, I looked like him!" Harry said.
Hermione was crying softly. "Oh Harry, what did he do to you?"
"He possessed me. My scar hurt so badly and I felt him inside me. It was like something that was pure evil had taken over me and I wanted to kill Ron so I could hurt myself. And I almost did kill him, but—"
The memory-Ron begged at the Harry threatening him and they could all see his eyes start to turn back to their original color despite his pained expression. Behind Harry, Voldemort was struggling with something inside him and he was obviously in great pain.the the
But it was only for a moment, enough time for Harry to drop his wand and Ron to pick it up and point it at Harry. The red was back in his eyes and Harry taunted Ron to kill him.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" The spell came from Voldemort. Everything then happened so quickly. Harry's eyes immediately went back to green and he ran to shield Ron. At the last moment, Ron shouted "PROTEGO!" The shield covered Harry but the killing curse went right through it as protection spells were no match for Unforgivables. It hit Harry directly, but a sliver of the light caught Ron on the side of his face. An explosion of white light flooded everything; at the same time a blood-curdling scream erupted in the night. When the light cleared, there was a sizzling sound and they could see Voldemort's body deform and burn until it crumbled, leaving nothing but smoke and ashes. Ron screamed and clutched the side of his face as the new mark grew on place, while Harry's still form was being erased of his scar.
Then there was silence and everything went black. Ron knew their memories had ended and there was nothing more to see.
"It's time to go now," Dumbledore whispered in the darkness. Ron felt the headmaster's hand and they went back up into the cold until he found himself once more in Dumbledore's familiar office.