A/N: The requisite battle at Hogwarts, my friends...
Oh, Hagrid. Yes...umm...would you believe me if I said I completely forgot about the entire Hagrid/giant plotline? So...yeah. Unfortunately, this version of the battle will not have Hagrid playing a role at all. I'm planning on going back through the entirety of S and A over Thanksgiving and will add a lil somethin' somethin' about Hagrid. Until then, you'll have to endure a Hagrid-less battle...my apologies.
Chapter 33- Parting Words
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.- Napoleon Bonaparte
For the five of them, time slowed to a halt as they watched Voldemort walk nonchalantly up the road from the train station and easily through the open gates. The three other cloaked figures followed solemnly, keeping pace with the tall figure in their midst.
"Wait for my signal," said Harry softly. "Watch my back and each other's. If they get past Mr. Weasley and the elves, we'll have fighting on both sides." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Ginny kissed his cheek.
"We're all right behind you, Harry," she said. "I love you."
"I love you, too," whispered Harry. He smiled at her as he walked out in front of them. He came to a stop at the bottom of the front steps and drew his wand. Voldemort came to a halt ten meters away, Nagini curled around his thin body. The three Death Eaters drew their wands as well. Severus could see Draco's pale hair from beneath his hood.
"Mr. Potter," said Voldemort loudly. "What a pleasure to see you today. Makes the occasion all the more exciting."
"And what occasion would that be, Tom?" said Harry coolly. Severus felt Samantha tense beside him and reached out his hand, taking her shaking one in his. They watched silently as Nagini slithered down and curled up on the ground between Harry and Voldemort.
"Why, haven't you noticed?" said Voldemort mockingly. "Today begins my total conquest of the Wizarding World. You pathetic Phoenixers will be crushed beneath my feet and Hogwarts," he grinned evilly, "will be mine." He looked past Harry to the front doors. "Of course, you've brought some friends to watch. Severus, come to see the show? Did you come to see what you gave up?"
Severus smirked cruelly. "In a sense, that is exactly what I came to see."
Voldemort threw back his head, his bone-chilling laughter echoing over the grounds.
"You are a fool!" shouted Voldemort. He turned to look to the Death Eaters beside him just in time to see two of his three bodyguards fall to the ground in body binds. Draco lifted his mask, dropping a knee beside the fallen Death Eaters. He recoiled as both Death Eaters began to choke, blood bubbling up in their mouths as they gasped for air. Voldemort growled as he sneered at Severus, who lowered his wand slightly.
"Very nice, Severus," said Voldemort. "But you seem to have missed one." He turned to Draco. "My young Dragon, will you be so kind as to show your dear godfather some of what you have learned since he betrayed me?"
Draco grinned, his grey eyes shining.
"With pleasure," he said softly. He drew his wand, pointing it at Severus. Draco turned suddenly, pointing his wand to Nagini and fired a spell at the snake, canceling the time-release charm on the poison. The snake writhed on the ground as the potion took effect. Its skin melted off into the grass as a shrieking filled the grounds. Draco moved over to stand beside Harry as the screaming died, his wand leveled at a shocked Voldemort.
"So tell me, Tom," said Harry. "How many of your followers are you going to have to lose in order to see that you are the one that has chosen the wrong side?"
"You think you are so clever, Potter," spat Voldemort as he drew his wand. "But you have no idea of the precautions I have taken, the lengths that I have gone to in order to assure my immortality." Severus saw faint footsteps in the grass out of the corner of his eye. He felt the tingle of the Anti-Apparition wards being fortified over them as Voldemort continued.
"You will never defeat me, Potter," said Voldemort. "I can never die. I have made sure of that."
"Oh," said Harry, as if just grasping a new idea. "You're talking about your Horcruxes, right?" Voldemort's eyes widened slightly. "Oh yeah, I've known about them since last year." Harry glared hatefully at Voldemort. "What do you think I've been doing since the school was forced to close, thanks to you?" He took a step towards the side as Draco took one in the other direction. Voldemort flicked his eyes between them, keeping his wand on Harry.
"They're all gone, Tom," said Harry. "The diary, you knew about." Voldemort glared murderously at Draco. "Dumbledore destroyed the ring that belonged to your grandfather, Marvolo. We destroyed the locket that belonged to your mother and the cup that you stole from Hepzibah Smith. The chest from Ravenclaw was a bit harder to find, but Draco here helped us out with that one." Draco smirked at Voldemort.
"And you saw what just happened to your pet snake," said Harry. "So face it, Tom - you don't really have much to brag about now. You're back to being plain old Tom Marvolo Riddle. You are the last remnant of Lord Voldemort. And after today, you will be nothing more than a dark memory." Voldemort grinned evilly at Harry.
"Bravo, Harry," said Voldemort. "Bravo. I must applaud you for a job well done." The smile faded away quickly. "But you have no Dumbledore to hide behind now, Potter. You think this is my end? You are mistaken. It will be –"
Harry fired a spell at Voldemort before he could finish his sentence, starting the duel. Draco joined Harry as Severus turned to look into the entrance hall.
"Girls! Turn around!" he cried as he fired off stunners at the Death Eaters that were overwhelming Arthur and his team. There were elves scattered all along the hall, viciously slaughtered with nasty hexes. Rachel and Ginny immediately joined the fray, firing curses and hexes. Severus ran past Samantha towards the flashes of light on the road.
"Severus!" cried Samantha. "Where are you going?"
"I want a piece of him," growled Severus. "Help the girls." He jogged down to the duel, amazed at the boys' reflexes. They stood side by side, firing at Voldemort.
"Yes, join us, Severus," shouted Voldemort as he blocked both spells from Harry and Draco. Severus fired off a complicated string of hexes, only to have to dodge them after they rebounded off of Voldemort's shield. Draco was knocked off his feet as Harry fired spell after spell at Voldemort, who paried each curse with an appropriate shield, taking care not to have the spells meet in mid-air. The sun glinted off of Harry's dagger into Severus's eyes. Severus's eyes widened as he patted his own side, feeling the gem-encrusted hilt in his sheath. Severus swiftly drew his dagger. A lifetime of hatred welled up inside him as he took the blade in his hand and threw it as hard as he could at the snakelike creature in front of him. Voldemort screamed in agony as the blade stuck in his chest. Draco immediately bound him with the fire whip charm.
"NOW JAMES!" shouted Severus. Harry had already lifted his wand, watching the top of the castle. There was the sound of shattering glass from a seventh floor window and a bright gleam raced towards them. Harry held out his hand and grabbed the ruby-encrusted hilt of the sword that had once before saved his life. With one swift movement, he plunged the sword of Godric Gryffindor into Voldemort's heaving chest. Severus summoned the yew wand from the skeletal hand, sticking it in his own holster. Voldemort fell to his knees, choking and gasping from the wound to his chest, his skin charring from the fire whip. He looked back up into Harry's cold eyes, the redness fading from the slanted eye sockets.
"How does it feel to have your life ripped from you?" hissed Harry as he twisted the blade. None of them heard the many pops of apparating Aurors by the gates as they stared at the vile creature groaning at Harry's feet. "How does it feel, Tom, to know that you will never be coming back? No more possessing people and draining their life. No more loyal subjects to do your bidding. You will become nothing more than dust on the ground." Harry withdrew the sword and swung it one last time. A bald, hairless head rolled away as Voldemort's body fell heavily to the ground.
"Damn, bro," whispered Draco as he canceled his charm. Severus raced over as Harry collapsed to his knees.
"It's over," said Harry softly. Severus smiled, holding Harry's head in his hands.
"Yes, James," whispered Severus. "You did very, very well." He looked up at Draco, who was still looking in shock at the sword in Harry's hands. All of the sudden, Draco broke out in loud cheering. Severus burst out laughing. He turned to see Samantha and the girls racing out towards them. He stood and ran towards Samantha, sweeping her up in his arms and twirling her in the air, laughing ecstatically. Draco ran up to Rachel, passionately kissing her as she wrapped her arms around him. Ginny rushed over to Harry, taking him into her arms. All six of them froze at the loud clearing of a throat.
"Well, well, well," said Gawain Robards as he stepped towards Severus and Draco. "Two of the most wanted men in Britain right here for the taking." He motioned to the team of Aurors behind him. "Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy, you are under arrest."
"No!" cried Samantha as several Aurors grabbed Severus's arms, violently pulling him away from Samantha. The Aurors disarmed him, pushing him to the ground as they placed his arms behind him and cuffed him with magical restraints. Rachel stood between Draco and a swarm of Aurors, pointing her wand at them. She was hit with several stinging hexes, causing her to cry out in pain.
"Why, you bastard!" shouted Draco as he swung his fist at one of the Aurors who fired the spell, connecting solidly with the Auror's face. The other Aurors quickly disarmed Draco. A huge, bulky Auror punched Draco in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him as his arms were wrenched behind him and secured tightly.
"You can't arrest them!" shouted Harry as he ran to Robards. "They've been fighting on our side!"
"Mr. Potter," said Robards harshly. "Restrain yourself. These men have committed atrocities you know nothing about."
"James, it's alright," said Severus as the Aurors pushed him away from Samantha. He looked to Samantha. "I love you, Sam." The Aurors dragged him and Draco down to the gates, disapparating into thin air. Ginny put her arms around Rachel, who broke into tears.
"GODDAMN IT!" screamed Harry, his face red in anger. He spun around to a now-visible Kingsley, who lifted up his hands in front of him as he walked towards Harry.
"Harry, calm down," said Kingsley shakily. Samantha felt the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end as Harry radiated anger. Harry took a shaky breath and let it out, dispelling the energy around him. He turned to where Voldemort's body still lay bleeding on the ground. He flicked his wand at it, setting it on fire and watching until the body was nothing but ashes. He conjured a small black urn, directing the ashes into it with his wand. He muttered a fierce evanesco and the urn vanished.
"Kingsley, what's the damage?" asked Harry dully. Kingsley flicked his eyes to Samantha before pulling a sheet of parchment out of his cloak.
"Madam Pomfrey sent me this just now," said Kingsley. "We lost Flitwick and Doge in the attacks through the passageways. Longbottom was pretty beat up, but he'll be alright in a few days. Tonks got hit with a bone breaking curse. Her leg's torn up, but Madam Pomfrey sent her on to St. Mungo's. Remus-"
Harry's eyes widened as he spun around. Samantha and Rachel looked over to Kingsley, horrified.
"What happened to Remus?" said Harry quickly. Kingsley avoided his gaze. "Kingsley?"
"Remus and Pettigrew got into it near the Whomping Willow," said Kingsley as he read the parchment. "That damn silver hand - Pettigrew somehow got in contact with an open wound. It caused Remus quite a bit of pain, but Remus got him in the end. Pettigrew's dead."
"Oh my God!" cried Samantha. "Will Remus be okay?"
"I'm not sure," said Kingsley as he scanned the rest of the document. "Madam Pomfrey sent him to St. Mungo's, but she sounds pretty hopeful.Says she was lacking a specific potion or she would have healed him herself." Harry ran a hand through his hair, exhaling loudly.
"What about the other Death Eaters?" asked Harry. "I sure as hell hope we got some of them."
"We got all of the ones still alive, thanks to the house-elves," said Kingsley with a small smile. "We've got to get them out here, which we'll do as soon as I get reinforcements from London. We'd like to keep the press out for as long as possible."
"Oh great," said Harry, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I forgot about the press. We need to get out of here now."
"You're going to have to say something eventually," said Ginny softly. "Some sort of press release."
"We're going to be hounded too," said Samantha. "Fellow crusaders with the famous Harry Potter. What reporter could resist?" Harry swore under his breath.
"Go on home, Harry," said Kingsley. "We'll get everything settled here. I'll go back to the Ministry with Arthur and Moody and see what we can do to get our boys out." He offered his hand to Harry, who took it. "Thank you so much, Harry. You've given everyone their lives back."
"It was a group effort, Kingsley," said Harry. "Let us know any details on Severus and Draco."
"I will," said Kingsley. "Ladies, take care of him for us."
"We will, Kingsley," said Ginny as she grabbed Harry's hand. Kingsley turned away and walked towards Arthur, who was standing in the entrance hall.
"Come on," said Samantha. "Let's get out of here." They were about to apparate when McGonagall appeared at the front doors.
"Potter!" she cried as she ran out after them, levitating a package behind her. He gave her a questioning look.
"Headmistress," said Harry. He stumbled slightly as she thrust the package into his arms, along with a couple of rolls of parchment.
"If I know Albus, I'm sure these will be very useful to us in the next few weeks," said McGonagall breathlessly. "I received them late last night from Gringott's. I don't know what's in it, but one of those scrolls is addressed to you. I'm sure it explains everything."
Harry grinned at her.
"Hopefully it's explained clearly and not in riddles," he said. McGonagall smiled at him. He turned to go when McGonagall stopped him again.
"Oh, and Mr. Potter," said McGonagall with a huge smile. He turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "You, Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy should start revising. I have a feeling that N.E.W.T. testing will occur in a few months." He gave her an impish grin.
"We will, Professor," said Harry. The four of them walked down to the gates, disapparating to Grimmauld Square.
The 12 was in chaos for the rest of the day, with Order members dropping by every hour with updated information from the Ministry and St. Mungo's. Harry, Rachel and Ginny spent the day in Harry's room, going over the scroll that Dumbledore left for Harry. Kingsley arrived just as Molly and Samantha were finishing dinner for the Order members who had stayed around.
"Where's Harry?" he asked wearily as he stepped out of the floo. Molly handed him a cup of coffee, which he took gratefully.
"He's upstairs, why?" answered Samantha. Kingsley took a sip of coffee.
"The press is clamoring for a statement from him," said Kingsley. "I swear if they knew he was here, they'd be swarming the house. I'm sure the Burrow is being staked out as we speak. The Ministry is overrun with reporters. Scrimgeour is furious."
"I don't want to be giving interviews for the rest of my life," said Harry from the doorway. Kingsley nodded at him as he came into the room. He gave Samantha and Molly a kiss on the cheek as he sat down at the table. "But I sure don't want to give any interviews before Severus and Draco go on trial. There's too much information that could really screw us over if it was leaked early."
"I'm trying to get them to be tried first," said Kingsley. "If we can get both of them cleared, they can simply give us testimony against the others. That would speed up the prosecution process immensely. We've got fifty Death Eaters in custody right now. It would take us years to get through them if all we've got is hearsay and circumstantial evidence. You can't beat eyewitness proof."
"We've been working on that this afternoon," said Harry. "Dumbledore left me a letter saying that I should be the only witness and to bring the package he left."
"Even from beyond the grave, the man is infuriating," said Samantha as she put her face into her hands. Molly put a hand on her shoulder.
"Albus would have never let Severus be sent to prison if he could help it," said Molly. "We'll just have to trust him."
"We've got it all worked out," said Ginny. "Harry's thinks he knows what's in the package. If he's right, we're golden."
"No worries, Mum," said Harry. He turned to Kingsley. "Is there any way I can go and see Dad?" Kingsley looked at his watch.
"You should be able to," said Kingsley. "Those representing the accused can visit at any time. You'll have to go through MLE though, so you might want to go in disguise if you can or you'll never get through. They might even give you some more information about his trial." Harry stood up, touching his forehead with his wand and casting his glamour. He gave Ginny a kiss and walked over to the fireplace.
"I'll be back later," said Harry. "I've got my bracelet on if you need me, Mum." Samantha smiled at him.
"Tell Severus I'll be by tomorrow," she said. Harry nodded as he grabbed some floo powder and threw it into the grate.
"Ministry of Magic, Atrium level!"
Severus sat against the wall, listening to the sound of water drip from the ceiling to the floor. The miserable excuse for a holding cell was completely dark save for the light coming in from the small barred window in the door. The room was frigid in its dampness. He was worried about Samantha and about what was going on. Of all the times for Albus not to be here, thought Severus. What are we going to do now?
The door screamed on its hinges as the burly Auror stationed outside pushed it open. Severus held out his hands for the magical shackles that the Auror snapped around his wrists. He stood and followed the huge man out of the cell and down the hall. The Auror pushed open a blank door, motioning for Severus to go inside. He sat at the white table as the Auror shut the door. The silence in the room was deafening, a low buzzing that became steadily louder as Severus tried to ignore it. After several minutes, the door opened again and the Auror ushered in a tall, thin young man with dirty blond hair and silver-rimmed glasses. He smiled at Severus, who returned it.
"James," said Severus in relief as the Auror shut the door once more. "How's Sam?" Harry walked over and sat in the chair opposite Severus.
"She's okay. Said to tell you she'd be by tomorrow. How are you?" asked Harry, eyeing Severus worriedly. "You look awful. Are they treating you okay?"
"They don't treat anyone here 'okay,' James," said Severus harshly. "I'm actually surprised I'm not waiting in Azkaban while they set a trial date."
"They've already set one," said Harry. "I talked to the guy they've put in charge of your case before coming down here. They've set it for next week. That idiot Scrimgeour thinks that you and Elias could escape if you were at Azkaban, so they're keeping you here until the trial starts. You'll be tried together, so at least that works to our advantage." Severus raised an eyebrow at him, sitting back in his chair.
"My, my, you have been busy this afternoon," said Severus softly. Harry smirked at him.
"We've all been busy," said Harry. "Kingsley and Moody worked really hard to get us the best possible scenario for the trials. No one is talking to the press. The entire Ministry's under gag order not to say anything. I'm waiting to give my statement until after the trial, as are the rest of the Order."
"Trial," muttered Severus, raking his hand shakily through his hair. "I thought when I had the one back after Voldemort fell the first time, that it would be my last. Albus convinced the entire Wizengamot of my innocence. I don't know if we can do that again." Harry grinned at him.
"Never say never," said Harry, his eyes twinkling madly. "McGonagall gave me some stuff that Dumbledore left for us. If it's what I think it is, and I can't say for sure because I can't open it, but if it is, Dumbledore will once again be convincing everyone of your innocence. I think since my name will pull considerable weight now, I can get Elias off scot-free as well. McGonagall will help us out as much as she can. It will probably be the press event of the century."
"Oh, wonderful," said Severus tiredly. "I love being in the paper, since I'm so photogenic." Harry laughed at him.
"I'm sure Elias will love every minute of it," said Harry, grinning. The door opened again, admitting the burly Auror.
"Time's up, Mr. McAllister," said the Auror. Harry stood up.
"No worries, Dad. We'll get through this," said Harry softly.
"Tell Samantha I love her and that I'm sorry," said Severus.
"I will," said Harry. Severus gave him a small smile as he walked out the door. He sighed and rose from his seat, following the Auror back to his cell. As he passed the other cells, he caught a glimpse of pale, blond hair. He smiled at the steel grey eyes that watched him from behind the iron bars. The Auror opened a door, pushing Severus roughly into the small room. Severus turned around for the Auror to remove his shackles, only to have the heavy door slammed in his face. He groaned softly, rubbing his eyes with his thin fingers, the shackles clanging noisily with his movements.
"Seven days," muttered Severus. He sat back down and began to count every drop of water he could hear hit the floor.