Chapter 51
The sound of Voldemort's voice faded into silence. A horrible chill seemed to remain in the air, some of the students looked panicked. Harry felt eyes on him from every direction.
He's here. Harry thought, his blood running cold.
"He's there! Someone grab him!" A Slytherin girl shouted.
"Hey now, let's not send him to his death." Sam put himself between the girl and Harry.
The Gryffindors had their wands raised, pointing at the girl.
"Everyone, remain calm!" Minerva ordered. "We do not give in, and we do not give up!"
The students cheered, except for the Slytherins. The doors opened, and the Order filed in. Sirius had a deep cut on the right side of his face.
"Harry?!" He called out, fearing his godson had gone off to give himself up to protect the school. Despite Ron's assurances that he was alright, Sirius still worried.
"Here, Sirius!" Harry waved him over. Sirius sprinted over to his Godson.
"You're alright pup…" Sirius sighed in relief, hugging him close. The distant booms and crashes faded from Harry's awareness as he hugged him back. Sirius pulled back.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry replied. "Sirius… your…"
"It's fine," Sirius assured him. "It's you we're worried about."
"I'm alright," Harry replied. "I can handle a few Death Eaters."
"Good lad," Sirius beamed proudly, feeling as if James was with them in spirit. He remembered James saying something to that effect just a few days before his death.
It seemed like a brief break in the chaos of the battle, the eye of the storm as it were. Everyone was checking their loved ones over. Percy was still talking with his family. The man held a deep regret for what he had done over the past few years. Molly had her arms wrapped around him tightly.
Dean and Sam checked in with the hunters, walking toward their parents. Mary pulled her sons in for a hug.
"Are you okay?" Mary whispered to Sam.
"Perfectly fine," He assured her.
Dean nodded. "We have a plan to kill this bastard. Top secret."
"Of course you do. That's my boys," she smiled. Sam looked over, seeing Jess sitting with John, waving her wand over a gash on his arm, which seemed to knit together at once.
Dean looked too. "Go on man, better go talk to her now rather than later." Sam nodded, his throat constricting slightly. He approached his girlfriend.
"Sam!" Jessica exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "You're okay!"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He hugged her closer. "Can I talk to you?"
"Yeah, sure." They moved away from the small group of people.
"Look, I found something out," Sam told her. "Have you been feeling… okay since you got back?"
"Normal I guess," She shrugged. "Why do you ask?"
"That Malfoy kid… he was controlling you with some curse to help him out in his plan," Sam explained, anger in his eyes.
"The Imperius Curse." Jessica looked down, knowing that explained a few lapses in her memory. "He used me…."
Sam put his arms around her.
"No," She pushed him away. "You have to get away from me. He could use me to hurt you, Sam."
"We won't let it happen," Sam said fiercely. "I'm not leaving you." Jess nodded reluctantly, knowing her boyfriend's stubborn Winchester genes wouldn't let up.
There was another loud boom. The whole castle seemed to shake.
"GINEVRA WEASLEY!" a scream suddenly sounded, causing a few to jump. Molly Weasley was walking toward her daughter, who had just entered the Hall.
"Mum-" Ginny's words of protest were cut off at once.
"You're supposed to be at home!" Molly fumed. "You're underage!"
"I wanted to stay and fight Mum," Ginny protested. "These are my friends!" Her cheeks were turning as red as her flaming hair. "There isn't anything you can do to change my mind!" She glared at her mother, anger in her eyes.
"Dean!" Sam's voice caught his attention. Dean looked in his brother's direction and saw Jo entering the room. "Jo!" Dean ran toward her. "What are you doing? It's too dangerous."
"I told you that you weren't keeping me there," Jo replied, angry, but happy to see him still alive. "Mom busted me out."
"Ellen…" Dean frowned, realizing.
"I wasn't going to stay put in there," Jo told him. "Besides, the tower nearly collapsed on me."
"What?!" Dean exclaimed. "Are you okay?!" He started to look her over while rubbing her stomach tenderly. "What about the baby?"
"We're fine. Mom got me out in time. Scared the shit out of that portrait though," she grinned.
"Good," Dean sighed in relief. His heart was still racing in his chest. He hugged Jo close, relief flowing through him.
"Minerva! Quickly!" Filius shouted as he neared the Deputy Headmistress. "The enchantments are breaking!"
Another loud crash pierced the air. Several students gaped in shock as falling stones flew past the windows.
"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Minerva announced. "Anyone injured, to the Hospital Wing!"
Sam nodded to Dean as he and Jessica went to help the injured get to the Hospital Wing. Sam put his arm around and supported a crying Hufflepuff seventh year who was begging for her mother, and who just wanted to go home. She had multiple cuts down her arm.
"It's okay, you're gonna be fine," Sam told her. Jessica was making splints and bandages appear out of thin air as fast as she could, helping students get to the doors.
Dean on the other hand got tied up with fighting a Death Eater with Minerva's help. She held off the Death Eater while Dean pulled out his gun to try to shoot him. Dean pulled the trigger and the Death Eater fell dead at once.
"Good job Dean," Minerva smiled.
"Do I get 30 points for Gryffindor?" Dean smirked.
"Fifty!" She grinned. Dean laughed.
⸸
Hours passed, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing in the middle of the corridor, sending spells at Death Eaters at a rapid pace. Even though parts of the castle were now in rubble, the main structures of the building were standing tall. Dean hadn't seen his brother properly in a few hours now, just brief glances as they fought Voldemort's minions and the Monsters that came pouring in. They were working as a team fighting off random Death Eaters and random Monsters that came pouring through the halls. The Monsters were definitely coming in droves now. Dean needed this battle to be over, and fast. Hopefully, the kid could find the rest of these soul thingies and kill the bastard off for good. He watched as they were holding off two Ghouls from attacking a group of Ravenclaws.
"Don't you realize?" whispered Hermione as she and the rest talked about the Horcruxes. "This means if we can just get the snake-" She broke off as yells and shouts and the unmistakable noises of duelling filled the corridor.
"We need somewhere quiet to talk…." Harry fumed as he wondered where in the hell that would be.
"The dungeons were pretty much cleaned out when Dean and I were coming back with the fangs. I don't think anyone is down there." Ron pointed out, and they started heading down towards the dungeons. "Besides, we should get the house-elves out of the kitchens," Ron panted in a small break in the fighting. "They shouldn't have to die for us." There was a clattering sound as Hermione practically crashed into him, locking her lips to his.
"Oi! There's a bloody war going on here!" Harry yelled after a second. Ron and Hermione broke apart, blushing.
A yell broke the silence. Fred and Percy had just backed into view, both of them duelling Voldemort's followers. Dean, Jo, Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran forward to help.
Jets of light flew in every direction and the man duelling Percy backed off, fast. Then his hood slipped, and they saw a high forehead and streaked hair.
"Hello, Minister!" bellowed Percy, sending a neat jinx straight at Thicknesse, who dropped his wand and clawed at the front of his robes, apparently in awful discomfort. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"
"You're joking, Perce!" shouted Fred as the Death Eater he was battling collapsed under the weight of three separate Stunning Spells. Thicknesse had fallen to the ground with tiny spikes erupting all over him, and he seemed to be turning into some form of sea urchin. Fred looked at Percy with glee.
"You actually are joking, Perce…. I don't think I've heard you joke since you were five!"
"Brilliant Percy!" Ron grinned.
A howl pierced the air, they turned to see a large wolf barrelling towards them.
"Shit!" Dean exclaimed. Werewolves, that's all I fuckin' need. He pulled out his Angel Blade and shoved it deep into the wolf's chest. The beast let out a whine and collapsed on the floor.
"Good one Dean!" Ron yelled.
Dean smirked. "Don't you three have some things to find?!"
The humour was short-lived, as suddenly, the air exploded. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean, Fred, and Percy, the two Death Eaters at their feet, one Stunned, the other Transfigured had been grouped together. There were screams and yells of his companions heard, without a hope of knowing what had happened to them.
They were half-buried in the wreckage of the corridor that had been subjected to an attack. The side of the castle had been blown away. There was a terrible cry. Dean winced as blood dripped down his forehead and the side of his nose. They all stood, looking towards the source of the noise. Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, blood dripping from her arm, and three red-headed men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as they staggered and stumbled over stone and wood.
"No, no, no!" someone was shouting. "No! Percy! No!" Fred was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Percy's eyes stared without seeing. He was limp and lifeless.
"Get down!" Harry shouted, as more curses flew through the air. Fred lay across Percy's body, shielding it from further harm, and when Harry shouted "Fred, come on, we've got to move!" he shook his head.
"Fred!" Harry saw tear tracks streaking the grime coating Ron's face as he seized his elder brother's shoulders and pulled, but Fred would not budge.
"Fred, you can't do anything for him! We're going to have to leave him!" Dean urged, knowing exactly how it felt to lose a brother. It was indescribable agony, still, this wasn't the time nor the place to have a breakdown. Which was ironic, because battle or not, if he lost Sam, Dean would be doing the exact same thing Fred was. He realized the hypocrisy. "Let's move, NOW!" he yelled.
Harry stooped to seize Percy's body under the armpit. Fred, realizing what Harry was trying to do, stopped clinging to the body and helped: together, crouching low to avoid the curses flying at them from the grounds, they hauled Percy out of the way.
"Here," said Harry, and they placed him in a niche in the wall. The corridor was now full of dust and falling masonry, the glass long gone from the windows. He saw many people running backwards and forwards, whether friends or foes, he couldn't tell. There were also several bodies littering the ground, some crushed under rubble, some with blood pooling around them. Rounding the corner, Fred let out a bull-like roar. "ROOKWOOD!" and sprinted off in the direction of a tall man, who was pursuing a couple of students.
Sam had not been seen in several hours and Dean's instincts were on edge, and he couldn't understand why. But he couldn't worry about Sam right now; he was a big boy who could take care of himself. Although, it didn't stop the worry flowing through his veins like ice. He always protected his brother, and now that he was away from him, his instincts were screaming at him to find his brother. But there were also a handful of worried kids that needed him more right now.
The Winchesters were Team Free Will. One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with 6 bucks to his name, and Mr Comatose. Now that one was gone, Dean was determined not to lose another. Still, he couldn't bear to lose Sam. He'd raised his little brother, shown him right from wrong, well his definition anyway. It was hard to see his pain behind the mask he put on his face.
Dean helped raise the body of the man he had met mere hours ago, knowing there was nothing he could say or do to help them.
Ron was crying, Hermione trying to comfort him.
"I wanna kill all of the Death Eaters," Ron begged. "Starting with that bastard Malfoy.
"It won't help anything. I know you want revenge," Dean told him.
"What do you know?!" Ron roared furiously.
"I lost Sam more than once… Believe me, I know what it's like," Dean sighed. "We can get Percy safe, trust me." Slowly, Ron nodded.
Dean and Fred both lifted Percy Weasley into their arms, between them. Fred was sobbing uncontrollably. Hermione and Harry's eyes were filled with horror as the gravity of the situation hit them. Ron's eyes were puffy and swollen already.
"Let's go," Dean's words were soft as he and Fred moved down the corridor, carrying their burden between them. Fred's shoulders heaved with sobs for the loss of his brother. It seemed impossible. Percy couldn't be gone. They hadn't hashed everything out yet. Sure, they'd reconciled, but that wasn't enough. They needed to be brothers again. He had forgotten how much he missed his pain-in-the-ass big brother. Now he was gone.
They moved through the chaos, dodging spells and curses left and right. Dean spotted the figure of his father through the dust and debris, picking up a figure and putting it over his shoulder. As they approached, Harry's stomach dropped as he recognized Colin Creevey in his arms.
"No," Harry mumbled. "Colin?"
"Hey, Dad." Dean's voice was void of emotion. John smiled sadly, his face pale and drawn. The child in his arms was no older than fifteen, Dean remembered him among the class that contained Ginny. He was a bright kid, eager to learn and seemed to idolize Harry. He must have sneaked back as Ginny had. His younger brother, Dennis, was probably already gone with the other underage students.
"Hey Dean," John nodded. "Where's your brother?"
"Helping in the Hospital Wing," Dean replied as they all continued to move forward. John nodded. His body was starting to ache, blood starting to congeal on his face. Sounds of spells landing and screaming rang through the air. It was utter devastation. Where the fuck was Voldemort in all this madness, Dean wondered. This was all because of him. According to Harry Ron and Hermione, Voldemort's snake was the next target. If they could just track the damn thing down, they'd be one step closer. Hermione said it before the corridor collapsed. He assumed the snake would be closely guarded, probably close to Voldemort. There was one sure-fire way to get close enough to the snake…
"No!" Hermione screamed. Fenrir Greyback was leaning over Lavender Brown, his fang-like teeth dripping with scarlet. She raised her wand and a blast of white sent Greyback flying away, landing in a heap across the corridor. It was clear that Lavender was already dead. Her eyes were glassy, and her throat was a mangled, bloody mess of muscle and tissue. Ron's eyes were wide with horror, making a choking sound in the back of his throat as he saw his ex-girlfriend's appearance.
"Fuck…" Dean muttered as he approached the girl. Fred and Ron began to support their brother, as Dean picked up the girl's dead weight, closing her eyes gently. Her blood marked his robes as they continued on like a funeral procession.
It seemed like no time at all before they reached the Great Hall. In the corner, they saw the dead laid out. The group walked toward the area and laid Percy, Lavender and Colin down gently. Dean recognized more people among the dead; Remus and Tonks lay together, and nearby, lay Jim and Caleb. Albus lay a short distance away. Dean sighed, bowing his head.
Jo looked up and saw her husband walking into the Great Hall, carrying the body of someone she didn't recognize. She approached Dean as he, John and Fred laid down the bodies gently.
"Hey," Jo said quietly.
"Hey Jo," Dean murmured quietly, wrapping his arms around her. "What happened?" he asked, brushing his hand over a half-healed cut on her cheek.
"Poppy took care of it," Jo replied at once. "A Demon tried to get to me. I kicked its ass and exorcized it."
"That's my girl," Dean smiled, then turned serious. "I'm sorry about earlier."
"I know-"
Jo's words were cut off as a scream ripped through the air, echoing off the walls. It wasn't a normal scream. It was filled with anguish. Molly was running toward them, pushing people out of her way. She dropped to her knees at her son's side. Arthur was hot on her heels.
"NO NO, PERCY NO!" Molly screamed as she almost collapsed on her son's chest.
"Percy…" Arthur whispered, shock in his eyes as he started to cry.
The rest of the Weasleys were starting to approach. Bill's face was marred with three wounds across his face, which looked to Dean like claw marks. One side of George's head was drenched in blood. He appeared to be missing an ear.
Dean backed away as Ron and Fred joined their family, huddling together. His heart was heavy as he watched them. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that something was wrong.
Harry's eyes screwed up in pain, and he touched his lightning bolt scar on his forehead.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, her face streaked with tears.
"Voldemort's in the Shrieking Shack," he told them.
"He's not even fighting?" Dean muttered. "Bastard."
⸸
Sam Winchester held his gun high. Lucifer was by his side at all times, screaming in his head. It made it so hard to concentrate.
"Good morning, Vietnam!" Lucifer screamed in his head. Not now… please not now. Sam pressed on, gun firing bullets into Death Eaters and taking them down one by one. His head was pounding.
"Okay, if this is some dream, and you got power over it, why don't you just end it?" Sam demanded.
Lucifer grinned.
"End it? This? You not knowing what's real, the paint slowly peeling off your walls, come on, man, this is the sweet spot! Why would I end it? Not like we got HBO in the Pit. All I got is you, floating over the coals with half a hope that you're gonna figure it all out. There's only one way to figure it out, Sam. It's up to you. It ends when you can't take it anymore," Lucifer smirked. Sam shook his head.
"Shut up. I said shut up!" Sam shouted.
"You poor clueless son of a bitch," Lucifer said in an airy voice.
"Stay the hell away from me," Sam snarled, backing away.
"Your world is whatever I want it to be, understand?" Lucifer called to him.
"Leave me alone!" Sam roared. Lucifer appeared behind Sam and Sam turned rapidly.
"It's the big crescendo," Lucifer simpered.
"I said shut up!" Sam growled, firing the gun.
"Want to point that gun at someone useful? Try your face," Lucifer suggested sarcastically. He walked closer to Sam.
"Want to know the truth?" Lucifer asked. "Want to skip to the last page of the book? You know where to aim." Lucifer held a finger against the underside of his jaw as if it were a gun.
"Cowboy," he continued, miming pulling the trigger. At the same time, a voice sounded through the corridor.
"Avada Kedavra!" The blast of green light hit Sam in the back, and he fell forward, limp.
Lucifer smiled a little before disappearing as Sam's world went dark. In those seconds, Sam thought of his brother and his family. Jessica, his beautiful girlfriend, his mother, his father, who he had argued and fought with, even before his death all those years ago and lastly, his brother, who had raised him, never asking for anything in return. Now who was going to look after Dean now that he was gone? Who was going to make sure he didn't do anything stupid?
And Jess? He had just got her back, now it was his turn to leave her. What would happen to her now? Was she still under the curse Malfoy put on her? He was going to help her find a way to reverse it. He had lost her in the battle. Would she even know he was gone? Who would be there to comfort her when she did find out? The sights and sounds of the battle disappeared into the background. All he knew was darkness…
