Disclaimer: Hermione, Ginny and the other HP characters belong to JKR, not me. Jack and Will from PotC belong to Disney.
A/N: Except with Dumbledore being alive, this is my guess as to how they will defeat Voldemort in the seventh book. I wonder how close I really am…
Ch. 19: Voldemort Returns
"Woah, this place is huge!" Ron enthused, gazing at the vastness of the basement of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Hermione and Ginny nodded in agreement. "I wonder why Dumbledore moved the headquarters of the Order here?"
"Harry said that Dumbledore let slip the location of the headquarters to one of Voldemort's spies," Ginny answered. She motioned to her boyfriend who was off to the side, conversing with one of their old DADA teachers, Remus Lupin and a man that Hermione didn't recognize.
"Dumbledore wanted to be ready for them when they attack, and he said he'd rather the bank sustain damage instead of Hogwarts," Hermione added. "It makes sense to me…he wants the school to run as usual after we defeat Voldemort." Ron didn't even flinch at the name…which was a vast improvement from a couple months ago.
"Hey, you'll never guess what Remus just told me!" cried Harry, who rushed over to join his friends.
"He's killed Voldemort single-handedly?" Ron joked. Harry frowned, shaking his head.
"No, something even better. He and Tonks are going to get married after the battle and he's invited me and my friends to the wedding!"
"That's really excellent," smiled Ginny, and Hermione had to agree.
"Hey, aren't Bill and Fleur going to get married soon also?" Hermione asked and Ron nodded.
"Yeah, but not for at least a month…Mum wants them to wait that long so she can prepare the house…we're having it in the backyard."
"Harry, who was that man you were talking to with Remus?" His girlfriend asked.
"Oh, that was Regulus Black…yes, he's related to Sirius. He's his long-lost younger brother," Harry informed them, chuckling when their jaws dropped.
"But where's he been all this time?" Hermione couldn't contain her curiosity. "I thought he was a Death Eater, that he died along time ago in the first war?" Harry shook his head.
"Apparently not…you see, Regulus joined the Death Eaters at his parents urging, but that was before anyone knew what Voldemort really stood for. As soon as Regulus found out what horrible deeds he'd have to commit, he wanted to back out."
"But you can't just resign," said Ginny, frowning. "Voldemort would've killed him if he refused to do his bidding!"
"He knew that too," Harry said, nodding. "But Regulus was in a perfect position to gather information for the other side…he was the Order's first inside spy."
"But what about Snape?" Hermione asked, confused. "I thought he was our spy." Harry sighed.
"He is…but he only turned back to the good side after he heard that Voldemort was planning to murder my parents. Regulus was the original spy. As to where he'd been all this time, well," Harry winced, "He's been kept prisoner in Macnair's basement. The Order found him there almost starving to death after they killed Macnair in the last skirmish."
"That's horrible!" Ron turned white, and Harry nodded grimly. "But at least he's fine now…he's a really nice bloke. I told him that the Black house and Sirius' fortune rightfully belongs to him, but he refused." Harry was about to tell them about how Regulus was so proud of the way Harry got his brother released from Azkaban and that he didn't blame him in the slightest for Sirius' death, but he was cut short.
"Everyone take a seat!" Dumbledore called, motioning to the long table that occupied the center of the large room. Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron scrambled to get a seat. The younger members of the Order barely contained their excitement at attending their first official meeting – Ernie and Hannah Abbott could hardly keep quiet. Beside Harry sat Tonks, Lupin, Regulus Black, Slughorn, Hagrid, Madam Maxime, Mundungus Fletcher, Sturgis Podmore, Kingsley Shacklebot and the Aurors, then Fleur and the Weasley clan minus Percy who was still working for the Ministry. McGonagall sat adjacent to Dumbledore at the head of the table, and on the very end sat Snape along with a very disgruntled-looking Draco Malfoy.
"What's Malfoy doing here?" Hermione whispered to Harry, who narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"I dunno, but Dumbledore better have a damn good reason," he muttered. "I still don't trust him…he does have the Dark Mark branded on his arm after all."
"Perhaps he's the bait?" Ron offered, and they shrugged.
"Could be," Ginny mused. "Though why Voldemort would waste his time retrieving a bloody coward like him is beyond me." By now, all the members had taken their seats and Dumbledore held up his hands for silence. Everyone quieted immediately.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," he said gravely and Hermione noted there was no twinkle in his deep blue eyes. "It was imperative that we all attend for my sources tell me that Voldemort and his followers will seek us out as early as tomorrow morning." A collective gasp went up around the room but everyone settled down quickly; they knew their leader had more to say.
"I would like to take this time to welcome our new members to the Order." Dumbledore called their names out in turn, ending with Harry's.
"And now Mr. Potter would like to say a few words on the outcome of his mission." Scraping his chair on the wood floor, Harry got to his feet.
"Er, I just want to say that my training session was a great success," the Boy-Who-Lived reported. "I'm very pleased with everyone's overall improvement, and I'm confident that each and every one of our new members can defend themselves if we are forced to fight." Nodding at them, Harry took his seat.
"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Because I hope that tomorrow's confrontation with evil will be our final battle." This brought on another wave of mumbling, and Dumbledore waited until it subsided until he continued.
"Now when Voldemort attacks, he'll not only have his Death Eaters but other creatures supporting him as well, such as Werewolves and Giants. And we can't forget his army of Inferi – but they are nothing but corpses, and not to be feared. They will not come near you if you shoot fire at them." Hermione had remembered this from one of the many books that she'd read; it was a valuable piece of advice.
"Speaking of Giants, Hagrid, have you and your brother Grawp decided how to stop the Giants from attacking us when Voldemort comes?"
"Aye, I 'ave, sir. Don' yeh worry about tha'," Hagrid promised, and Grawp, who was sitting on the floor added a growl of agreement. The headmaster nodded in relief.
"Good. What about the extra supplies? Fred and George, did you find some?"
"We did, Professor," Fred answered cheerfully. "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes at your service, with no charge."
"Plenty of Peruvian powder and fireworks to go around," George added.
"Magnificent," said Dumbledore, giving them a tiny smile. Then he turned his attention back to the entire group.
"I have decided to break you into groups equally distributed of new and old members for when the battle arrives. I advise you to stick with your group members at all times – they will be your protection, your backup for when the Death Eaters arrive."
"But how will we know when they get here, sir?" Asked an overeager Ernie MacMillan.
"The house elves and goblins are guarding the few entrances to the bank," Dumbledore explained. "As soon as they spot anything even remotely suspicious, we'll know."
"Now, for the groups… In group one we have Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, myself, and Regulus Black. In group two…" Hermione didn't stay to here the rest of the groups being called. Instead she joined her friends in a corner of the room.
"Hermione, it's so good to see you," Lupin greeted her, his arm around his fiancée. Tonks beamed back at the group.
"I hope you all will come to our wedding," Tonks urged, as Lupin gave her a light squeeze.
"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Hermione assured her. Eventually, Dumbledore had finished calling out the groups and came to join them.
"Harry, may I have a word?" He shrugged.
"Alright." Hermione saw them disappear into an adjacent room, but soon forgot about them when Regulus Black introduced himself. He didn't look that different from Sirius, although his hair was much shorter.
"It's so good to meet all of you," he said, smiling tiredly. "It seems like I've been held in captivity my whole life – I can't tell you how exciting it is to be back fighting once again." Although his eyes still carried a haunted look, determination showed on his once fair features.
"So does Harry know how he's going to destroy the last two horcruxes?" Lupin anxiously asked, suddenly all business.
"He's got a plan," Ginny assured him as Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix flew overhead. "I'm just afraid that after destroying both, he won't have enough energy to fight Voldemort," she fretted. "He drank some of his Felix Felicis and gave the rest to us, but will that be enough?"
"I doubt it," said Regulus quietly. Rummaging through his pockets, he soon pulled out a tiny flask. "Have him drink a few drops this after he destroys each horcrux," he instructed, hanging Ginny the flask. "It's the Draught of Strength."
"Thank you," she said gratefully. "But are you sure this will really help him?" Regulus nodded grimly.
"It saved my life countless times, especially when I found one of His horcruxes." Briefly, he told the story of how he found the silver locket in a cave not too far from Hogsmeade.
"Dumbledore thought a horcrux was still there!" exclaimed Hermione. "He was going to check but before he had the chance, a storm came and the entrance caved in." The group was still discussing horcruxes by the time Harry and Dumbledore returned. Hermione noticed that while Harry seemed to be quite content with what transpired behind closed doors, Dumbledore looked older than ever. While his face tried to mask it, she could tell that he was upset about something; his eyes held a quiet sadness that she hadn't seen before. She wasn't the only one to notice their leader's odd behavior.
"Sir, is everything alright?" Tonks asked worriedly. Dumbledore stole a quick glance at Harry and opened his mouth to respond but he was interrupted by a high-pitched squeak.
"Harry Potter, sir, He is here!" cried Dobby, sprinting into the room. "He and his followers came to the side and back entrances," the house elf elaborated as he caught his breath.
"It's true sir," Winky squeaked, trailing into the room along with several other house elves. "He sees us!"
"Thanks…get into position," muttered Harry as the house elves frantically scattered.
"Stick together, everyone!" Dumbledore bellowed after another glance at Harry. "Group one, come with me to the back entrance. Group two, to the side, and the rest of you stay here." Dumbledore and Harry led the way to the back entrance, and Hermione braced herself for the impact of the break-in. Someone blasted the door apart and she covered her eyes as debris went flying. As the smoke cleared, Hermione could just make out the face of Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Kill them!" she shrieked. "But leave the boy for our master!" Eagerly, half of the Death Eaters streamed into the bank's basement. Behind the Death Eaters marched the Werewolves, led by Fenrir Greyback. Hermione remembered Lupin telling them once that Greyback was the wolf that bit him when he was a little boy.
"Ah, Lupin…so good to see you," snarled Greyback, his lips curled into a sneer, his wand raised. "But I see you have betrayed your kind…you're fighting on the wrong side I'm afraid."
"No, Fenrir, I believe you're mistaken. I'm on the right side," Lupin retorted coolly, his wand at the ready. Behind them, Bellatrix and Tonks were squaring off.
"You're mine, Lestrange," Tonks threatened, her wand already drawn as they prepared to duel. "You got away last time…this time you won't be so lucky."
"I don't think so my dear," Bellatrix cackled evilly. "You soon will meet the same fate as your stupid cousin." Hermione could hear crashes and bangs of the Weasleys' fireworks coming from the other rooms…she only hoped that her friends were faring well against Voldemort's agents of evil.
Behind the Werewolves came five of the tallest beings Hermione had ever seen – Giants! And from the looks of them, they were angry. Out of nowhere, Grawp appeared with Hagrid in tow. Although she believed Grawp to be an enormous being, compared to the evil Giants he seemed to be the runt of the litter. Hermione ducked behind a chair as one of the Werewolves shot a hex at her.
"Stupefy!" she screamed, and her spell struck the wolf on the behind. He fell over with a loud thud, but Hermione didn't bother to watch, as she'd turned her attention to the Giants gathering around Grawp, glaring menacingly at one of their own who deserted them.
"Hey fellas," Hagrid called. "My half-brother wants ta challenge one o' yeh for the position of Grog." Grawp translated in a series of barks and growls, and the Giants seemed to accept his proposal. Hagrid led them over away from the main battle, and Grawp faced off against the tallest and fattest of the five Giants.
"Oh no!" cried Ginny, pointing at the back entrance. "Look!" Dozens of Inferi crowded the entrance, each battling their neighbor for a chance to capture a living person.
"Impedimenta!" someone cried, but it didn't seem to slow the fleshy corpses.
"Lacarnem Inflamari!" Hermione yelled, remembering Dumbledore's tip, and soon the others added their spells of fire, blocking the Inferi from coming any closer. Continuing to enforce the spell, Hermione helped Ron fight off Crabbe, while Harry and Ginny were tackling Goyle and Nott together. She saw that Harry was letting Ginny do most of the fighting…good, he's conserving his strength for later, she thought.
Off to Hermione's right, she spied McGonagall and Dumbledore fighting back to back, each taking on two death eaters. It seemed like they were winning, especially as Snape rushed to join the fray, with Malfoy lagging behind. But that all changed when suddenly the fire parted, making way for an enormous python that Hermione knew to be Voldemort's pet, Nagini. Slithering past the Inferi, the giant snake hissed in parseltongue, which was directed at Harry. Surprisingly, Harry didn't answer back but just stared at the snake in defiance. Suddenly, Ron squeezed her hand.
"It's him," he whispered, motioning towards the doorway. Hermione bit her tongue to stop from screaming, for indeed the most feared Dark Wizard in a century now stood inside the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Fawkes gave a bitter cry and Hermione now knew why so many feared Voldemort's name. He evoked fear – his hideous face disgusted her. The tiny red slits for eyes, the barely existent nose, the deathly white complexion…he certainly looked evil. In his right hand he clutched his twisted wand.
"Albus Dumbledore," the evil one hissed. "I have long waited for this day – soon Potter will be destroyed and I will be invincible. Then you, old man, will die after I kill the remains of your puny Order."
"I believe you are mistaken, Tom," Dumbledore said quietly. Voldemort scoffed and turned his attentions elsewhere.
"You!" he breathed, looking outraged at a defiant Regulus Black. "I was going to bring you the heads of the Potters and then kill you…I won't be making that mistake again." He raised his wand at Regulus, who immediately cast a shield charm. But that was no match for the Dark Lord.
"Crucio!" he shrieked and Regulus screamed in agony. After a few terrible moments, Voldemort relented. "That was just a taste of what's to come, traitor!" Poor Regulus could only moan in response. Then Voldemort spotted Malfoy, who was trying to blend in with the battle.
"Malfoy! Boy, get over here and serve your master!" Voldemort screeched and obligingly albeit reluctantly Hermione noted, Draco approached his master.
"What is thy bidding, my Lord?" Draco asked, his voice wobbling.
"I will overlook your desertion for now," Voldemort muttered angrily. "To redeem yourself and the Malfoy name, you must kill this traitor. Now!" His arm shaking, Malfoy raised his wand.
"Draco, think about what you are doing!" Regulus yelled. "You don't have to do this…you don't belong to him. Don't listen to him…you still are free to make your own choices!"
"Shut up!" Malfoy yelled, but Hermione could see the indecision in his eyes.
"We don't have all day," Voldemort growled dangerously, and Malfoy gritted his teeth. Shaking his head in frustration, the man who was once Tom Riddle stepped away from the scene.
"Stun him," he ordered one of his Death Eaters, Rodolphus Lestrange. "I'll torture him later," Voldemort said offhandedly as he strode towards Harry. As she and Ron had just hexed Crabbe, Hermione watched in horror as the Death Eater cried,
"Stupefy!" But Regulus wasn't affected by the stunning spell – Malfoy had jumped in front of it at the last second. Draco fell to the floor, stunned. Amazed at what had transpired, the Death Eater tried to stun Regulus, but he was too quick for him.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Regulus roared, and the Death Eater hit the ground locked in the body-bind. Sirius's younger brother raced over to Ron and Hermione, who covered him on both sides.
"Did my eyes play tricks on me or did Malfoy just sacrifice himself?" Ron asked incredulously.
"What do you know; he turned out to be good after all," Ginny mused, while Harry and Dumbledore went to face Voldemort. Goyle and Nott had accidentally stunned each other, which gave Ginny the chance to join her friends.
"Potter," acknowledged the Dark Lord, bowing. "Last time we met I was too easy on you…I won't be making that mistake again! Prepare to meet your family!" He snarled, his wand raised high above his head.
"Expelliarmus!" cried Harry, not wasting anytime.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort bellowed, and instead of their wands connecting as Harry had told them they would, the deadly green burst of light hit Harry right in the chest, knocking him off his feet. Harry fell to the ground, dead. Then Voldemort turned towards Dumbledore, who was crying freely.
"No!" cried Ginny in despair as Voldemort let out a cold, high-pitched cackle. "Harry, I love you…please don't leave me," she wailed, clutching his limp body. Hermione's mind was too numb to think…what if it was just a trick, some part of Harry's plan to defeat Voldemort. He was still alive somewhere; he just had to be!
"Ron, is he…" Hermione couldn't finish her sentence before collapsing in his arms.
"He…he's gone," said Ron, his calm voice sounding foreign to Hermione's ears as he stroked her hair and patted her back comfortingly.
Letting out an ear-splitting wail, Fawkes the Phoenix dove straight for Nagini, who swallowed the fiery-red bird in one gulp. Hermione covered her mouth in anguish – was everyone on the good side dying? But just as the mammoth snake was licking its lips in satisfaction, its mid-section caught fire. Fawkes must've planned that all along, she thought, watching through her tears as the snake began to burn from the inside. Consumed by Phoenix flames, the snake soon was no more. The snake was dead; now the horcrux can be destroyed, she thought wildly. But Harry's dead, she thought with despair. But what does it matter; he was the only one who could destroy the horcruxes.
"Mione, look!" Ron cried, pointing to Harry's body. Daring to hope, Hermione glanced at the crumpled form of their friend. She gasped when it began to change, slowly lengthening…then Harry's scar disappeared and he grew a long, white beard.
"He's starting to look like…Dumbledore?" she whispered, confused.
"Hermione, he is Dumbledore," Ginny said, sadly, but in a voice of hope. "Harry lives!" She pointed to where the headmaster had been standing, but in his place stood their black haired, green eyed friend. Voldemort regarded this scene in shock, clearly believing that he'd killed Harry before.
"Distract him!" Harry yelled, running over to the dead snake and summoning the horcrux.
"Crucio!" cried McGonagall, and Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Regulus, and the other members of the Order joined in. As the Death Eaters in the other room had apparently been defeated, Neville and Luna came in, and maintained the spell that kept the Inferi away. Tonks and Lupin, having killed their opponents joined in the battle, stunning werewolves left and right. Charlie, Fred, and George battled the remaining Death Eaters.
"Ahhh!" Voldemort shrieked, clearly in pain - for even a powerful Dark wizard such as he couldn't block the Cruciatus Curse that was being shot at him from every angle. Seeing that Voldemort was no longer bent on killing him at the moment, Harry acted.
"Deletrius!" Harry cried, and the horcrux in the snake was no more. Ginny rushed over to give him the Draught of Strength, but out of nowhere, Peter Pettigrew summoned the bottle from her hands and threw it out of reach. Laughing maniacally, mousy Wormtail advanced towards the weakened Harry, his wand raised for the kill. No! Thought Hermione desperately, but she was all the way on the other side of the room…there was no way she could make it over to him in time. Lupin was the first person to react. Immediately, he stepped between Wormtail and the Boy-Who-Lived.
"You shall not harm him Wormtail…put your wand down. Do it," he commanded softly. "It's not like you've got it in you to kill him…I know you only joined His side to live. You never meant for Lily and James to die, but you were too cowardly to stop him from drawing information from you," Lupin pointed out sadly. Incensed by his truthful words, Peter growled,
"Get away from him, Lupin!" And before Remus could back away, Pettigrew reached out and grabbed his former friend's arm with his silver hand.
"Owwww!" Lupin howled in anguish, and Hermione knew exactly why he'd reacted so strongly to being grabbed. For werewolves were very sensitive to silver – if the substance touched their skin they would die from poisoning. She shot a well aimed hex at Rodolphus Lestrange, who was about to harm Harry, and he fell to the floor.
"Nooooo!" Tonks screamed, running over to her fiancée, ripping his arm from Pettigrew's grip. "Remus, love, can you hear me?" She asked frantically, as beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and his eyes were shut.
"My dear Nymphadora," he whispered as Tonks caressed his face. "I would've given you the life you deserved," he croaked, and she sobbed into his chest.
"True love; how touching," hissed a cold voice. Tonks stiffened in fear…Voldemort had somehow escaped from being tortured and was now observing the heartbreaking scene.
"Go, my dear," rasped Lupin, wincing as the poison took over his body. "Leave me, save yourself!"
"No, I'm not leaving you," she vowed, her wand raised, ready to defend her love to the end.
"Stand aside, silly girl," shrieked Voldemort. "Stand aside and let me kill the last of James Potter's friends...he will die knowing I'm about to kill the last of the Potters." There was a flash of green light and when the smoke cleared, it was Tonks, not Lupin who had been hit. Her body lay as still as stone, draped over Lupin.
"I'll see you soon, my love," Remus whispered, and then he breathed his last when Voldemort killed him as well.
"No!" yelled Harry, spurned into action by this terrible scene. Voldemort turned his wand on Harry at the sound of his voice, but Pettigrew took it in the chest instead. Harry had no time to fathom why Peter had sacrificed himself for him, although he thought it had to do with being the one who caused the last of the Marauders to die.
"Accio Horcrux!" he cried, summoning the wretched thing from Voldemort's body. The Dark Lord stood, transfixed as Harry destroyed the last of the seven components of his soul. Led by Bill Weasley, members of the Order began to torture the Dark Lord again. One of the stunners from the Death Eaters caught Slughorn on the side, and he passed out. Parvati and Terry Boot came running to join the fray, and they too raised their wands on Voldemort.
"Harry, catch!" Hermione shouted, throwing him the flask of Draught of Strength, which she'd summoned from the floor. Sipping a few drops, Harry immediately perked up as it was a fast-acting potion. And it was a good thing too, for Voldemort had broken away again.
"Avada Kedavra!" he shrieked in fury, but this time the real Harry was ready for him. He also uttered the killing curse, and their green bolts of light connected, forming a bond between their wands. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as a shimmering web of green light began to form, caging Harry and the Dark Lord, their wands still vibrating. The air filled with the sound of phoenix song as the light intensified. Harry's face was contorted with a determination that Hermione hadn't seen before - slowly but surely the beads in the stream of light between their wands began to advance toward Voldemort.
"Curse him!" Harry yelled, and Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Ernie, Hannah, Parvati, Terry, the Weasley twins, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Madam Maxime, McGonagall, and Mundungus joined hands and cried in unison,
"Crucio!" As a curse uttered simultaneously is much more effective than uttered alone, Voldemort almost dropped his wand he was so startled. The Dark Lord yelled his fury, but their distraction seemed to be working. Harry smiled grimly as the beads in his wand continued to move forward still. Then the most astonishing thing happened. Smoky figures began to appear from the tip of Voldemort's wand. Pettigrew came first and was then followed by Lupin and Tonks.
"Kill him, Harry," they urged, as more of Voldemort's victims materialized, closing off Voldemort from view. The legs, torso, and then the head of Cedric Diggory appeared and placed his translucent hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Just a little longer, Harry…don't break the connection," he advised. Harry, whose brow was furrowed in concentration, his hands clutching his wand, could only nod. More ghost-like figures emerged from their murderer's wand, including Harry's parents. Hermione observed this odd scene, with Ron squeezing her hand in reassurance. The glimmering beads had almost touched Voldemort's wand, and the Dark Lord was beginning to panic, although his facial expression was blocked from her view by the smoky figures.
"Do it now, son!" James urged.
"We're so proud of you, Harry," whispered Lily.
At those words, Harry cried out and the beads connected with Voldemort's wand. There was a flash of green light, and both Harry and the Dark Lord were flung to the ground. Ginny ran to her boyfriend, and he stirred to her relief. Voldemort, on the other hand, didn't move at all.
"Is he dead?" Hermione asked, hardly daring to believe it.
"Only one way to find out," said Neville, who was supporting Luna, who had bruised her thigh. "Enervate!" he called, but Voldemort stayed still.
"Potter, you killed him!" McGonagall confirmed, her eyes shining with tired happiness.
"The Dark Lord is no more!" An exhausted cheer went up among the remaining members of the Order. Molly Weasley fussed over everyone, and helped Fleur tend to injuries. Fred and George hoisted a fatigued but grinning Harry Potter on their shoulders and paraded him around the room.
"Fred, George…you put him down right now!" Ginny yelled at her brothers, and they obligingly obeyed, setting him down in one of the comfy chairs at the head of the table.
"Harry, are you alright!" she asked with concern. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine…a little sore, but fine," he answered before they kissed. "But Lupin…Tonks…Dumbledore…" he trailed off as a wave of sadness wracked his body.
"Harry, we thought you were dead," said Hermione in a small voice. "I saw him kill you with my own eyes…and then your body turned into Dumbledore's…what happened?"
"He made me switch bodies with him," Harry explained with a heavy heart. "When we went into the other room just before the battle, we each drank Polyjuice Potion. That way Voldemort would think he was invincible if he thought he'd killed me, since according to the prophecy I was the only one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. Dumbledore told me it was the only way…" he trailed off sadly as his friends pulled him into a group embrace.
"You did it, Harry," Hermione congratulated him quietly as they pulled away after a long moment. "That's all that matters – the wizarding world is now free from his reign of terror."
"You've saved us all, mate," Ron echoed, his arm around Hermione. To all who observed, it was clear that Ron loved her, and that she loved him in return.
"Yeah, but not without a price," Harry uttered somberly. They glanced around the room as the members of the Order were levitating the bodies of Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks, Pettigrew, Snape, (who'd died heroically saving Draco from Avery) the Death Eaters and the werewolves. Also, Grawp and the other Giant that he was fighting were dead…they'd both exchanged fatal blows to each other's heads.
"He wanted ta 'elp us," Hagrid sobbed, coming inside after saying goodbye to his half-brother. "A' least he was 'appy when he died…he'd jus' won the duel."
"I'm sorry, Hagrid," said Ginny, hugging his legs. "But at least he stopped the Giants from fighting – that would've been a disaster."
"I know," said the half-giant, with tears leaking from his beady eyes. "But we were jus' getting' ta know each other; believe it or no', he was startin' ta get good a' English. An' Dumbledore was like a father ta me," he howled. Nothing they could do or say could make Hagrid feel better, so they left him alone.
"Harry, that was quite a performance," said Regulus, ambling over to the group. "We will forever be in your debt – how did you do it?" he asked. "You had to destroy both of the horcruxes in such a short span of time…"
"Well, it was just something I had to do, wasn't it?" Harry reflected quietly. "Surrender didn't enter my mind – it was either him or me, and luckily it was him that bit the dust."
"Now I know I'm not my brother," Regulus began, "but I knew how much he meant to you, being your godfather and all, but I was wondering if you'd like to come and live with me during the summer before your seventh year. I'm not trying to replace my brother – far from it," he sighed. "I just thought if you wanted to leave your muggle relatives…"
"Of course I would want to come and live with you!" Harry cried. "When do I move in?"
They hugged, and Hermione smiled through her tears. The second war was over, and things would return to normal soon…well as normal as things can be when you attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. McGonagall was to become the new Headmistress, and they would have to find replacements for the Transfiguration and DADA jobs, though hopefully the latter wouldn't be cursed anymore now that Voldemort was vanquished.
"Hermione, I'm such an idiot for waiting this long to ask you since I've liked you since first year, but will you go out with me?" Ron asked her in front of everyone.
"Oh yes, Ron!" she cried, flinging herself into his arms. "I thought that you would never ask me!" They shared a long kiss and Harry and Ginny looked on approvingly. As the students got in line to return to their school by floo, Hermione glanced at all of her friends and was convinced that love and sacrifice truly will always defeat darkness no matter what.
THE END…or is it? Who wants an epilogue where they go visit the pirates again? Let me know…if I get enough reviews then I'll write one.