Wow. If you told me a year ago that I would actually be finishing this fic before the end of the decade, I would have died laughing. But here we are; the final chapter of Book 2 of the Beyond the Gate series. :') I'll give you guys a week before I start posting for Book 3, so read this and make sure to come back soon for Beyond the Gate: Edward Elric and the Truth of Sacrifice!

Edward lifted the Petrificus Totalus spell when he was sure the last Death Eaters had fled up the stairs, Snape leading the way, dragging Malfoy by the scruff of his neck. He looked at Harry who was silent for a few moments before he said in a hoarse voice:

"The best lie is the one that's partly true… is that what you're going to tell me, Edward?"

"I thought I'd rather say sorry for forcing you into this position, Harry, but…"

"But you had no choice, did you? You've been up to it, Dumbledore, Snape and you…" Harry muttered, his tone of voice barely concealing his resentment.

"I didn't plan anything at all. I only really understood that Dumbledore was going to die soon tonight, just before we left. But I didn't know he had planned his own death with Professor Snape. I guessed it at the same time as you." Edward explained.

"I should have understood, that day in the Room of Requirement, when Snape told me that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. I should have known that he wasn't talking about himself but Dumbledore. Now everything seems so clear to me…" Harry whispered, leaning back against the wall, not daring to look down to see his mentor's body crushed there. Maybe if he didn't actually see the scene then it would just be a horrible nightmare…

"I'm sorry, Harry," Edward said, not knowing exactly what he was apologizing for: for not having guessed in time? For not telling him tonight that Dumbledore was in danger of dying? For the latter's death? For Snape's role in it? He didn't know. Maybe for all of it at the same time.

"It isn't your fault. Now, let's go after Snape." Harry said decidedly.

"Excuse me? Edward asked.

"The best lie is the truth, right? Everyone should know that I know Snape is guilty of Dumbledore's death otherwise this sacrifice will have been in vain. Voldemort must be convinced that Snape is working for him, right? Harry said, raising an eyebrow with a look that looked a lot like the Defense professor when he questioned a student unable to answer.

"You're right. Let's go downstairs and chase Snape like two brainless Gryffindors…" Edward muttered as he took the stairs followed by Harry who quickly passed him.

The young Ravenclaw jumped ten steps at a time and miraculously managed not to break his neck during the descent. But unfortunately, Fenrir Greyback had heard him down the stairs and he was waiting for him downstairs and jumped on him wildly. Edward in time avoided the fatal bite to the throat but canines soon began to shred his left shoulder as the young boy screamed in pain. Edward fell back, disgusting hair stuck to his face, a pestilential smell of sweat and blood, a burning, greedy breath on his neck…

"So, you were upstairs, little boy," the werewolf growled in his ear. "Well, you'll quickly regret not staying there…"

"I am not small!" Edward growled as he thrust his wand into the aroused werewolf's muscular body and howled a Petrificus Totalus exactly as Harry joined him, still hidden under his invisibility cloak. For once, the two hadn't bothered to cast their spells silently.

"Edward, he bit you…" Harry whispered.

"The mission is more important." Edward gasped. He quickly mopped his wound while wincing, then the two teens resumed their frantic run.

They soon arrived on the battlefield and there they had to duck to avoid green killing curses rushing towards them. Harry rushed to rescue Ginny, who Amycus was aiming for with bursting Crucios. He stunned and petrified the Death Eater before kicking him in the balls for good measure. Meanwhile, Edward saw himself being targeted by two Death Eaters at a time who were surprised when, instead of running away, Ed rushed at them while deftly avoiding their spells before shooting all sorts of hexes at them at close range. Seeing Ron grappling with a Death Eater, he returned to his first love, alchemy, which he used to raise a huge fist that went to strike the redhead's opponent.

After helping Neville by giving the Death Eater a big kick as he was about to stab the Gryffindor, Edward grabbed the weapon and continued to rush headlong to follow Harry who had gotten ahead of him.

He took advantage of his agility to cut the ankle tendons of a few Death Eaters, hoping that would prevent them from fleeing and then, seeing that the Death Eaters had gotten ahead of them and were apparently heading for the Hogwarts gate, they took a shortcut. But this was treacherous because the stairs moved, separating the two and leading one towards Hufflepuff in the shortcut provided and the other towards Ravenclaw.

Edward cursed upon finding himself in front of the tower of his house and he cursed louder when he saw Luna grappling with Rookwood. The blond, furious, cast a spell that the latter skilfully avoided. However, the triumphant, ominous smile he gave Edward made the alchemist shiver. But instead of attacking him, Rookwood preferred to throw Luna out of the sixth floor window.

"LUNA! Edward yelled, horrified.

He turned towards Rookwood but the latter had taken advantage of the fact that he had let his guard down to throw a Stupefy at him which hit him right between the two eyes. Before sinking into darkness, he had time to see a white owl flying out the window, a sign that Luna had escaped.

Meanwhile, Harry had managed to catch up and he was pretending to battle Snape as he hurled insults at him about his father, as if hoping to make him lose his temper. But it didn't work anymore. Harry knew exactly what to say to unleash Snape's fury and to show everyone that he knew the spy was responsible for Dumbledore's death:

"You traitor! You killed Dumbledore! I saw you, coward!"

A short duel ensued but Harry really had to fight his best and not pretend because Snape wasn't holding back, still fully in his role as Death Eater. Harry was fighting to the max, using the entire repertoire at his fingertips but suddenly he was knocked down by a Crucio cast by a tall blond Death Eater. Only then did Snape interject, saying "Potter belongs to the Dark Lord, we have to leave him! Get out of here, get out!"

Harry knew then for sure that Snape was on the right side because it would have been easy for any of the Death Eaters to seize him and then he would have been mincemeat for Voldemort. Somehow he felt almost reassured because now the camp of the self-proclaimed Dark Lord now had a steel knife embedded in its throat. Snape was sure to become an important Death Eater whom Voldemort would keep abreast of all his plans...

The majority of the Death Eaters headed for the portal as Snape asked in his usual caustic tone:

"Rookwood, I thought I told you we weren't taking any prisoners."

"I received different orders for this one. The Dark Lord is intrigued by his strange power."

This one? But who were they talking about? Harry looked up and saw an unconscious Edward on a Death Eater's shoulder. Terrified of losing someone else tonight, Harry jumped to his feet and started bombarding the man with spells to make him let go but already the man was fleeing,

still carrying Ed like a sack of potatoes. Harry was soon joined by Luna and Neville who joined him in trying to save their friend, soon after followed by Buckbeak but to no avail as Snape and Rookwood had already passed through the portal and Apparated Merlin knows where, presumably alongside their Dark Lord.

Harry roared in rage: Did Edward survive this nightmarish night only to fall into Voldemort's hands? His two Circle friends seemed in the same condition as him and they looked even more downcast than him, probably due to their injuries. Neville was shaking but Harry didn't know if it was anguish or rage and Luna had lost her usual ethereal look.

But there was nothing more to do at the moment except count the dead and save what they could. He, Luna, and Neville cast an Aguamenti spell to put out the fire one of the Death Eaters had started in Hagrid's cabin as Hagrid walked out of his house carrying Fang on his shoulders. Harry wanted to tell the half-giant what had happened but the latter obviously didn't believe him. Harry himself was still struggling to assimilate the shock: he felt the pain caused by the hexes that had been cast on him in the last half hour but his sensations were strangely detached, as if someone else was feeling them in his place. What was very real, however, was this horrible oppressive feeling that squeezed his chest.

He already knew in his head that Dumbledore was dead, he even knew under what circumstances and why he had died but his heart didn't seem ready to admit it.

Finally, they reached where Dumbledore was lying and Harry felt his heart clench painfully: he was not prepared to see his mentor stretched out with his arms crossed, broken, the greatest wizard he had ever met or would ever meet. Dumbledore's eyes were closed and if his arms and legs hadn't been broken by the fall, it would have looked like he was sleeping, finally at peace with himself. Harry reached out to adjust the glasses on the professor's aquiline nose and wiped the trickle of blood from his mouth with his sleeve and tried to assimilate this monstrous and incomprehensible truth: Dumbledore would never speak to him again, he would never be able to help him…

After a while Harry realized he was kneeling on something hard. The locket they had managed to grab had opened from the shock but to Harry's horror he saw that it was not the same locket he had seen in the Pensieve: there was no S of Slytherin engraved on it, no ornamentation. There was nothing in it but a simple piece of parchment on which were written these few courageous sentences:

To the Dark Lord -

I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.

I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.

I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.

- R.A.B.

Harry almost screamed in despair as he read these words. The locket was not a Horcrux and he and Dumbledore, Edward and had gone through all those trials for nothing. Harry didn't know what to do, he would have liked to stay by Dumbledore's side for an indefinite time but Ginny managed to pull him out of his slump by asking him to come and he followed her. They crossed the grounds then entered the castle in the direction of the infirmary although Harry was not injured. But it was the place where all of the Order gathered, so he let Ginny lead him without protesting. After all, he had to brief the Order on Snape's apparent betrayal. Suddenly he remembers Malfoy's speech and he asked:

"Ginny, who else is dead? I heard Malfoy say he stepped over a body."

"None of us. Bill's in bad shape, but he'll live. Greyback attacked him and Madam Pomfrey says he will never look the same again. We don't yet know the effects of a werewolf bite when the moon isn't full. He wasn't transformed when it happened."

Harry swallowed, remembering Greyback throwing himself savagely at Edward as they descended from the astronomy tower and whispered:

"Ed got bitten too."

Ginny hesitated then finally said, with tears in her eyes:

"Luna told me he was captured by Rookwood. I think an injury like that will be the least of his worries if he's going to be in front of You Know Who…"

Harry didn't even want to think about that possibility: Edward in front of Voldemort… It was one of the worst nightmares he could think of right now. And to think it was all his fault: if he hadn't insisted that they pretend to pursue Snape, Edward would have been pretty much safe… But who was he kidding? Ed would never have agreed to let his friends fight alone without his help. It just wasn't in his nature.

"And the others. Do you have news?"

"Neville and the rest of the Circle are unharmed. I believe that without your Felix Felicis potion, we could all have been seriously injured or even dead. The tall blond Death Eater was throwing Avada Kedavra around every which way and he even hit one of his teammates. Professor Flitwick was knocked unconscious but recovered to deal with his Ravenclaws."

Finally, they arrived at the infirmary. Most of the Order fighters stood around Bill Weasley's bed. His face was so lacerated all over that it was almost unrecognizable. No spell seemed to work so Madam Pomfrey was reduced to smearing a pungent green ointment on his wounds. At the same time, she was trying to explain to Bill's family that she had no cure for werewolf bites.

Ron retorted that he hadn't been bitten on a full moon and he asked in a shaky voice the Order specialist, Remus Lupin, if that meant he wouldn't transform. The latter replied that Bill would probably not change into a werewolf but on the other hand, there was a good chance that his wounds would never heal completely since they were bewitched and he could develop certain wolf characteristics.

Ron then asked hopefully if he knew where Dumbledore was and Harry and Ginny then had to tell everyone that Dumbledore was dead. He said with difficulty that it was Snape who had killed him, that he had witnessed the scene and that he had seen it all. He also had to tell others that Edward had been captured by Rookwood. Everyone in the Circle shook when they learned that their friend, the one who had taught them everything, was now in Voldemort's hands.

Tears began to flow, both for Dumbledore and for Edward and at that moment a song of terrible beauty arose in the night: a heartbreaking lament that seemed to come from within himself and not from outside. It was his own grief, magically transformed into a beautiful melody. Everyone stood there, listening to the song that seemed to ease their pain a little, for a very long time until McGonagall's entrance interrupted their trance.

Harry had to recount the scene that had happened in front of him again. He had to muster all the hatred he had ever felt for Snape in order to be convincing in the eyes of others. He used everything he knew about the potions professor to pass him off as the traitor everyone now believed he was.

Lupin and McGonagall recounted what happened during the battle, explaining how the Deputy Headmistress had sent for Snape to help them when the battle began. Members of the Circle recounted how Malfoy had eluded them by using the Hand of Glory and Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder to guide the Death Eaters out of the artificial darkness. Each Order member explained the battle from their perspective, focusing more specifically on Snape's misdeeds.

Finally, with the tales of the fighting over, Mr and Mrs Weasley entered the hospital wing and rushed over to their oldest son. They had heard that Dumbledore was dead and had confirmation of it. Mrs. Weasley, who didn't want to sit idly by, took the jar of ointment to start smearing it on her son's wounds. An argument nearly broke out with Fleur when Mrs. Weasley hinted that now that Bill was so cruelly mutilated, her future daughter-in-law was going to stop loving him but Fleur loudly reaffirmed her love for him. The matriarch must have been impressed in spite of herself because she mentioned a tiara that would be wonderful for Fleur for her wedding and that she would convince her great aunt Muriel to lend it to her.

Faced with such faith in love, Tonks reaffirmed that she loved Remus and wanted to marry him no matter what Remus said. The first concerned tried to reply that he was too poor, too old, too dangerous, but the young woman didn't give it any importance. She didn't want a handsome Prince Charming, but Remus and she wouldn't give up. Harry felt happy regardless: at least there was still some love left in this world, something Dumbledore would have been happy with beyond death.

After that, Professor McGonagall pulled Harry aside into the Headmaster's office. Almost nothing had changed: the silver instruments continued to buzz, but Fawkes' perch was empty, the phoenix continuing its melancholy song outside. A new painting, with a gold frame, of Dumbledore had been added to the other Headmasters of Hogwarts but the occupant seemed serenely asleep. Professor McGonagall shivered slightly but she ended up taking Dumbledore's place and gathered her courage to ask what Harry, Edward and Dumbledore had gone to do that night but Harry categorically refused to answer, claiming that Dumbledore's orders did not end with his death. No matter how hard the Transfiguration teacher tried to protest, nothing changed Harry's opinion on the matter. He had promised not to say anything and nothing would change his mind. He already knew that Edward despite threats and tortures would say nothing to Voldemort and that he would rather die than reveal anything to him.

Soon after, the Heads of Houses - except Snape, replaced by Slughorn - arrived to decide the future of Hogwarts. Everyone tried to argue their point of view whether the school should be left open or not: some wanted the school to remain open at all costs, Flitwick wanted the board to be consulted, Hagrid wanted to stay no matter the cost.

They then brought up Dumbledore's funeral: it was the Headmaster's wish to rest here at Hogwarts and Harry gave his opinion saying that Dumbledore should be laid to rest at Hogwarts and that the students were to be free to attend the funeral.

Finally, Harry was able to join Ron and Hermione in their dormitory and, after casting an impressive amount of stealth charms, he was able to explain to them all that had actually happened. The horcrux which was a fake, what really happened on the tower and why he thought Snape 'innocent'. Hermione stifled a sob when she realized that Dumbledore had probably been doomed since the beginning of the year and Ron comforted her by hugging her. The redhead even went so far as to apologize for insulting Snape. They wondered for a moment whether they should update the other Circle members on what had happened on the Astronomy Tower and finally they voted in the affirmative: Edward had taken particularly good care of them in Occlumency and since he was arguably one of the best Legilimens in the wizarding world, that said it all.

The Circle's meeting in the Chamber of Secrets was bleak and desperate: Edward's absence was painfully felt by everyone as one of Voldemort's worst blows, as was Dumbledore's death. Only the Circle had perhaps best understood that Edward was an exceptionally gifted wizard (after all, it was his presence that had made them surpass themselves) and that losing him could very well slow down or prevent their side from winning. After all, Ed knew a lot of things, besides his strange magic and if he spoke, then Voldemort would hide his Horcruxes elsewhere.

Dumbledore's funeral took place three days later with dignity and reverence. Some students had insisted on attending like Seamus Finnigan and others had preferred to leave with their parents like the Patil twins or Zacharias Smith. As he watched the most powerful men in the Ministry march past, most of them showing only a formality of grief, Harry found himself regretting Edward's absence again. If he had been there, he probably would have made some very caustic comments to scandalize honest people and he was sure Dumbledore would have smiled at them, even beyond the grave. The only ones who he thought showed frank sorrow were the people and creatures that Dumbledore had defended throughout his long life: the humble, the persecuted, the children, those who were always taken to be negligible. It was they who paid him the most beautiful homage in compassion, each in their own way to the terrible loss that the magical world had just suffered.

The boring speech of some little wizard didn't say much about Dumbledore's personality: he spoke vaguely of 'nobility of mind', 'greatness of soul', and 'intellectual contribution' without really citing any examples… Dumbledore had been a multi-faceted man and it seemed almost stupid to attempt to lock him into a monotonous but meant to be bombastic speech. Harry could easily imagine seeing Edward fidget and mutter "Shut up already!" And the thought almost made him smile. Edward perhaps was no longer of this world but his spirit seemed to dwell alongside his friends, just as the memory of Dumbledore remained tangible.

When the funeral was over and a white tomb appeared, Harry was immediately approached by Rufus Scrimgeour who was trying to convince him to play the poster boy for the Ministry. Knowing that Harry was always true to his principles and especially that of truth and honesty, the conversation went rather badly, with Scrimegeour trying to find out what he, Edward, and Dumbledore could have been doing on the night of the Headmaster's death. Harry, of course, was silent and refused to say anything about it.

Harry joined his Circle friends and they chatted before the Hogwarts Express departed.

"I'm sure Edward is still alive, Harry." Hermione said, patting his back awkwardly.

"For sure. Otherwise, we would have found his body… Although…" Ron whispered.

"Sometimes, Ron, you have no sensitivity!" Hermione exclaimed as she nudged her boyfriend discreetly, pointing out the tears that were falling from Luna's eyes. Maybe she had continued to love Edward not as a friend…

"Edward is alive, I'm sure. Rookwood and Voldemort probably want him to tell them everything he knows about the strange workings of his magic. It will be at their expense." Harry said.

"But what if they torture him?" Neville asked in a small voice, remembering his parents trapped in their minds at St. Mungo's because of the Cruciatus the Lestranges had cast on them…

"He will resist. In fact, I'm even willing to bet that he will manage to escape on his own." Harry stated forcefully. If there was anyone who could escape on their own with only a toothpick, it was Edward Elric.

"I hope so…" Hermione whispered.

"Edward will be back just when you need him, Harry. Ron and Hermione will of course be with you in your fight against Voldemort. Neville, Luna and I will be your support at Hogwarts, okay?" Ginny said like it went without saying.

"Wait, I never said anyone would come with me!" Harry cried.

Hermione and Ron gave him such a look that Harry decided not to argue with them. He didn't really have a say with these two and in reality, he was even convinced that Hermione had already chosen the departure time, the best travel itinerary and even the books to take with. He definitely couldn't give up on them and as long as he had his two friends he couldn't ask for better support. Now all he had to do was wait for Edward to leave.

Knowing him, he would have managed to escape on his own on his own while causing the most damage. He almost pitied Voldemort. Almost. On the way back on the Hogwarts Express, Harry could almost expect to see him waiting for them, reproaching them for not having waited for him. But even a prodigy like Edward was still human and he wouldn't hear from him for far too long a time yet…

Translator's notes: Yes, the original does say that Greyback is 'excité'... which can mean excited, but as an adjective nowadays it's understood to mean aroused/horny. Y'know, if you didn't already know he was a pedophile. (We can save the rant on Rowling writing Greyback as a combination of every single homophobic stereotype from the late 80s to the time book 6 was published at once for another day.)

It's not related, but also that part where the narration mentions the loss of Ed as one the worst blows, it made me think of a good movie to recommend- Les 400 Coups or The 400 Blows. It's a classic French New Wave film I watched in one of my French courses that I actually really enjoyed (most of the others, not so much… it was all shitty art house films by shitty people) and if you have an hour and a half to kill I'd recommend it. (It also has a few sequels, which are less about adolescence alienation and more romantic comedies, but are still considered classics).