Hallowed
Chapter Fifteen: Return
The jet of green and blast that knocked him off of his feet never came. He saw the snake-like face looking at him, and then everything dissolved into a blinding white. Sure he had succumbed to death, Harry found himself lying on what felt like a gritty floor. Something was wrong: why was he still aware? What was this place? His eyes were clearly open, and now that he stopped to think about it, he heard something.
Testing his luck, Harry moved his hand and went to push himself up into a sitting position. Sure enough, he was sitting on a dusty white surface, and as he looked up, he saw a dome ceiling that was vaguely familiar. There was a sound from just behind him; it seemed to be that of a baby bawling. He managed to turn his head to get a closer look, but what he saw repulsed him. It was reminiscent of the snake-like form that had been dropped into the cauldron in the graveyard in Little Hangleton three years ago. Deformed, it was no bigger than an infant, but it flailed its arms and legs as it continued to sob. Harry found he couldn't turn his eyes from it until he heard a voice that he didn't think he would again.
"You cannot help it, Harry." Jerking his head around, he set eyes on Albus Dumbledore. The man was dressed in his usual midnight blue robes; hair and beard shining in the odd light. "You wonderful boy…. You brave, brave man." Extending his now normal-looking hand, Harry took it and stood with him. "Let us walk."
"Professor, what exactly is that?" Harry asked as he took one last look at the creature that was stowed away in what looked like a sideways box. Harry realized that he had woken up beside the open face of it.
"Something that is beyond either of our help;" Dumbledore looked down at the creature again before turning his back on it completely and starting to walk away. "A part of Voldemort sent here to die."
"And where exactly are we, Sir?"
"I was actually hoping you might be able to tell me, Harry." They walked a small distance away, and the box faded slightly in the dusty light, but Harry could still see an outline of it if he looked back.
"Well, it looks sort of like…" Taking another look around, Harry noted that there were more solid objects forming, and the ceiling was becoming more clear. "King's Cross station, except that it's cleaner and has no trains or people."
"King's Cross, you say?" Dumbledore looked around thoughtfully and then continued. "Interesting thought." Walking on away from the box, the pair were on an aimless path. "I trust that you know by now that you and Voldemort were connected by more than just fate since that night in Godric's Hollow many years ago."
"So it's true then, Sir?" Harry kept slow pace with the man beside him. "That part of Voldemort lives in me?"
"Lived." Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "It was just destroyed many moments ago by none other than Lord Voldemort himself." He moved a little further forward and found a bench with its back facing the box they had just left. Rounding it, he continued speaking as he sat down. "You were the horcrux he never intended to make, Harry."
"I've got to go back, haven't I?" Harry wasn't sure what he felt about that. The fact that he was a horcrux before didn't surprise him now that he thought about it. The fact that he wasn't sure if he could just go back was what got him.
"That's entirely up to you." Dumbledore said simply as he leaned back against the bench. "I believe I owe you an explanation, Harry."
"An explanation, Sir?"
"This entire chain of events that has led you here was based on pure speculation. I hoped that I was wrong, but in the event that I wasn't, I made sure that certain things were in place."
"Voldemort thinks that the Elder wand won't serve him properly." Harry managed as he thought about the memories that Snape had showed him. "And about the wand, Sir; did you purposefully put us on the path of the Deathly Hallows?"
"I did." The former headmaster nodded slowly; a sparkle returning to his eyes. "The hallows were something I pursued in my foolish youth. Together, they make one master of death, but I realize that I was not their proper owner."
"Are the rumors true, Sir; that you were searching for them with Gellert Grindelwald?"
"I see you have spoken with my brother." Dumbledore nodded with a sad smile. "Yes, I was searching for them with him. We lost our heads on a quest for power. I was on a path to becoming Minister of Magic, or so most thought. It is interesting how one small mistake can completely change one's outlook on life."
"What do you mean, Sir?"
"I believe you are familiar with the rumors of my sister's death." Dumbledore said as he straightened up and looked out over the train station. "Ariana was attacked by three muggle boys early in her life and my father went after them. He killed them and was sent to Azkaban." At this, Harry could only guess what kind of attack Percival had risked his freedom for. "My sister was not quite the same after that. My mother tended to her the best she could. When she died however, that left me in charge of my family's affairs."
"Had you searched for the hallows during that time, Sir?"
"I did and was still actively working with Gellert to find them. Unfortunately, we had a… disagreement." Albus paused as a pained expression crossed his face. "He and I were prepared to duel when Ariana heard what was happening and came out to intervene." As he said this, a solitary tear made its way down his face. "To this day Harry, I do not know whether it was by my wand or Grindelwald's that she was killed."
"I'm sorry, Sir."
"Aberforth never fully forgave me for the evets of that day." Albus spoke with a level of regret that Harry hadn't heard since they had spoken after the events at the Department of Mysteries. "I haven't forgiven myself, either. That led me to become headmaster of Hogwarts, Harry. That event made me realize that power was one of the things in this world that could corrupt anyone. Grindelwald went on to search and become more powerful as time went on. I finally dueled him and won the Elder wand from him, but I did not kill him as legend has hinted."
"I know." Harry nodded. "He was the one that finally told Voldemort where the wand was; that it lay with you."
"Speaking of Lord Voldemort, you have a decision to make." Dumbledore's expression lightened as he stood again.
"So I have a choice, then."
"Oh yes. We're in King's Cross, you say?" At Harry's affirmative nod, Albus continued. "Well then, I believe that if you so desired, you could board a train."
"And where would it take me?"
"On." Dumbledore said quietly, and Harry realized what he meant. The thing that surprised him most was that he wasn't tempted by it at all like he had been before finally confronting Voldemort in the forest.
"The snake is still alive, and I currently have nothing to kill it with." Harry admitted, though he wasn't sure why.
"Ah, but you see Harry, help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." Dumbledore said with his usual light tone and a twinkle returning to his blue eyes. "I've always prized myself in my ability to turn a phrase. Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our greatest and most invaluable source of magic; capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it." The former headmaster had started to walk away slowly, but he turned back to finish his thought. "In light of current events however, I believe I will amend my original statement: Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it."
"I understand." And he did. Harry had heard the original statement back in his second year when Lucius Malfoy had blackmailed the other eleven governors of the school into dismissing Albus Dumbledore after the chamber of secrets had been reopened. Harry had still remained loyal to Dumbledore's ideals then, and his phoenix had come at a crucial time to assist in the defeating of the basilisk and destruction of the diary. As he regarded the headmaster carefully, he heard a distant train whistle and knew his time was short. "Sir, I have to ask; is this all real, or is it all just in my head?"
"Of course it is all in your head, Harry," Dumbledore beamed at him while still keeping a slightly serious tone to his voice. "But why should that mean that it is not real?" Before turning to resume his retreat, he gave Harry one last piece of advice. "Do not pity the dead; pity the living, and above all, those who live without love. I'll be going now, Harry."
"Goodbye, Sir." Harry managed a wave and a smile as the man moved further and further toward one of the platforms; his form disappearing in the dusty light of the station. Closing his eyes, Harry wondered just what he would have to do to return to the forest clearing he had left behind, but as he did, he felt everything shift. He was no longer sitting on a warm bench. He was lying on cold and uneven ground with his wand draped over himself; his right side pressed against a tree root. There were whispers again, and these voices were the same ones he had heard as he had made his way into the clearing. Yaxley and Dolohov were muttering something he couldn't understand, but Voldemort's indignant response to something was what caught Harry's attention.
"I don't need your help!"
"My Lord…" Bellatrix replied weakly in response, but her tone sharpened with her next question. "The boy… Is he dead?"
There was a flurry of movement, and Harry could hear one set of footsteps as someone made their way toward him. It sounded as if all of the death eaters and Voldemort were behind him, or at least his head was turned away from them. Harry lay on his back, and his head was turned to the right, while the voices came from his left. He did not dare open his eyes, however. As the footsteps drew nearer, he did his best to keep his breathing discrete; nose pressed into the light dusting of snow so as to keep the vapors from showing. Whoever it was that was near knelt beside him, and from their scent, he could tell that it was a woman. Thin fingers pressed against his neck to check for a pulse, while her lips came so close that they barely brushed his face when she spoke; her voice just barely audible over the wind moving through the trees.
"Is he alive… My son? Is Draco alive?" Harry wasn't sure how to answer the question that Narcissa Malfoy had posed, but he remembered seeing Draco alive in the great hall before he left the castle. Trying his luck, he cracked open an eye just barely to see her grey eyes meet his. With careful movement, he mouthed "yes". Her fingers wrapped themselves carefully around his neck in a thankful response, and she rose to face the ones behind her.
"Well, Cissy?" Bellatrix questioned hopefully. "Is he?"
"Dead." Narcissa said in a flat voice. At that, Harry could feel the tension in the air dissolve. People shifted carefully and uttered excited responses while Harry could hear Hagrid breaking down somewhere to his far left. Voldemort himself made no statement until he had stepped a little closer to Harry.
"Get the giant. We shall have him present the body of the boy to all of those left within the castle."
In the moments that followed, Harry heard Bellatrix and a few others ushering Hagrid forward, and he felt the gamekeeper's massive hands gently lift him from the ground. Harry was shifted into a position reminiscent of how a mother would carry a baby, and he let his head fall to the left as Hagrid turned toward the castle. One hand in his deeper robe pocket, Harry kept it on the invisibility cloak protectively while the other hand dangled limply over Hagrid's forearm. Keeping in mind that there were going to be people looking at him throughout the trip back through the forest, Harry was careful when he barely opened an eye on occasion. He was checking to see just where they were and how far they had to go. As they cleared the trees however, he noticed that he must have been out for a little longer than he expected. There was a bluish mist gathering over the black lake, and the sun was just barely peeking over the grounds; though it was hidden by thick snow clouds.
They were on the path back up to the main courtyard now, and Harry could feel warm tears falling on him as Hagrid openly sobbed. The half giant was not silenced by his captors, however. They used this opportunity to jeer and sneer while he held the assumed dead body of the boy he had rescued from the shambles of his parents' house. Harry chanced a look around again and saw Bellatrix, Voldemort, and Yaxley at the forefront of the group of death eaters. Hagrid was just to their left. When they cleared the path from the outer grounds, Harry finally closed his eyes again. He could see the front doors of the castle still slightly ajar from where he had left them. He could however, see movement just beyond them. Entering the courtyard, he heard voices from the other side of it. People were talking amongst themselves nervously, but he couldn't make out what they were saying until…
"Neville, who is that?!" It was Hermione's voice. "Who's that Hagrid's carrying…"
"Harry Potter…" Voldemort's voice was strong and it seemed he could barely contain his excitement as he shouted. "Is Dead!"
"No!" Harry had to force himself not to react to this exclamation. It wasn't Hermione who had shouted; he had never heard that amount of despair and anguish in Minerva McGonagall's tone before, and he silently prayed he would never again. It seemed however, that Voldemort was ready to add insult to injury.
"Foolish woman, Harry Potter is dead…" At that point, Hagrid was coaxed forward and forced to place Harry on the ground. As he was moved, Harry chanced a look around through an eye that was just barely open. Death eaters were separated from the resistance by a about a twenty meter walking space. He could see some of the Order of the Phoenix and former members of Dumbledore's Army nearby, but the headmistress was at the forefront of the crowd that had come from within the castle. Harry was placed at Voldemort's feet, and Harry realized that the man was standing in the middle of the divide between sides. As he was closing his eye again, he saw Voldemort motion for all of those in the resistance movement to look down at the body before he spoke again in a taunting voice. "From this day forth, you put your faith… in me."
Harry swore he could hear the headmistress mutter "Never" under her breath, seeing as she was closest to him, but he could also hear the exclamations of his friends. Hermione and Ginny had both made moves forward as he had been placed on the ground, but Percy and Arthur Weasley had held them back. That was, unfortunately, all he had time to see before closing his eye again. Feeling the air stir around him, he assumed that Voldemort had started pacing back and forth, but it stopped just as soon as it had started; his repeated exclamation following, though this time directed at his followers.
"Harry Potter is Dead!" This was met with cheers and laughter from the death eaters. Harry also heard Voldemort himself laughing and actually making exclamations of jubilation along with them. Harry cracked an eye again, and watched as the man turned to the opposition and wore a look of anticipation. "Now is the time to declare yourself! Come forward and join us… or die!" In the moments that followed however, all Voldemort got wad disappointment. Through murmurs in the crowds from both sides, Harry heard Lucius' strangled whispers for his son.
"Draco…" Flitting his eye to the man, Harry saw Lucius motion for his son to come forward. "D-Draco…"
"Draco." Narcissa's voice was even and beckoning, but her face clearly said "stay where you are" without her having to speak. At that, their son remained where he had stood; just to McGonagall's left. Though there was a moment of uncertainty and fear, it was replaced by determination when the headmistress nodded in appreciation toward him. Some of the other slytherins that had remained in the castle came forward and joined their parents, but most of those nearest Hogwarts remained there.
"I had hoped for better." Voldemort said; his voice turning cold. "So all of you will face death rather than join me?" Red eyes cast over the crowd, he sneered as he withdrew the Elder wand again. Harry had just enough time to close is eye again as the man pointed the wand at him and uttered the one word Harry thought would give him away. "Crucio!" Harry's body twisted and jerked as it should have, whether he was alive or dead, but he felt no pain from the torture curse. His eyes stayed shut, but his head fell back sevral times against the ground as his body convulsed. When it stopped, he didn't dare chance a look around, and he was thankful he hadn't. The curse was cast again and again. "The Chosen One lies dead before you! What more do you need to see to know that my victory is sure-" Without warning, there was a rush of heat and a loud bang. Harry could hear an uproar from Voldemort's supporters, but he didn't miss the outraged shout that silenced them all.
"Revolting coward! Did you expect anything different?" Harry's narrowed gaze returned to the headmistress as she spoke. Though not loud in volume now, her words were heard throughout the courtyard; venom dripping from each syllable. "Did you really, Tom?"
"You dare…" Now Harry heard Voldemort's ascent from the ground where McGonagall had clearly blasted him off his feet. His voice rose in volume as he strode closer so that he was nearly a meter from her. "Filthy Half-Blood!"
"I remember the wee boy who created a new name for himself fifty years ago." McGonagall continued; her tone deadly. "He was just as insecure then as he is now. The only thing that has changed throughout the decades is just how desperate you have become."
"You would say such a thing, wouldn't you?" Voldemort scoffed as he turned back toward his followers. "Cloaked in your superiority even then." He addressed the death eaters in a high-pitched and half amused tone. "The blind follower of Albus Dumbledore whose blood traitor mother married a muggle and had the ill sense to mate with it!" This was met with hissing and maniacal laughter. "The protector of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, who now lies dead at her feet! Tell me Minerva, where is your loyalty now? Who will you cower behind!" Harry chanced a look back at the target of Voldemort's jeering and wasn't surprised to see her expression was stone cold.
"Brilliant words coming from a man who needed followers to justify his existence and prove his worth."
"I need nothing!" Voldemort spat as he rounded on her again.
"Then prove it." Harry saw her withdraw her wand and direct it toward him. Voldemort eased the great snake off of his shoulders from where she had resided since their walk from the forest. He then pointed the Elder wand back at the headmistress without the formalities at the start of a duel. When the first curse was sent from McGonagall's wand and Voldemort was forced to dodge it, Harry chose that moment to act. He pulled the invisibility cloak from his pocket and threw it over himself before rising to his feet. Removing his wand from his pocket as well, he aimed an exploding curse at the snake who had reluctantly coiled back up a meter or so from her master. Though it was done without words, it alerted many to another's presence, and Harry could see Ron, Hermione, and Ginny searching the empty divide for him. The curse missed, sadly, but the dust that surged upwards as a result was enough to cause a distraction.
Harry saw many Order members rush forward to duel remaining death eaters, and he saw Narcissa Malfoy move from her husband's side to Draco's. The younger Malfoy was preparing to duel Yaxley. Surprised but grateful, Harry dodged a curse that Macnair sent toward Kingsley Shacklebolt and sent another exploding curse toward Voldemort himself. The blast stirred up more dust and knocked the Dark Lord back several paces. In that moment, Harry moved forward and took the headmistress' arm. He pulled her back toward the castle, where others were headed, before removing the cloak to reveal himself.
"We've got to kill the snake!" Ignoring her more than shocked reaction to his sudden appearance, Harry shouted so that he could be heard above the dueling nearby. "She's the last one. All of the others have been destroyed!"
"Find and destroy it!" Both turned to see Severus Snape striding toward them. He looked much better than he had when he, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had returned to the castle, but it seemed by McGonagall's murderous glare, he wouldn't be that way for long. Not wasting any time, Snape went on. "Suffice it to say that everything I did was to ensure that Potter got this opportunity." He turned back to the subject of that comment and added: "She fled inside the castle. Find her and destroy her by whatever means necessary. We will keep him distracted." Harry nodded and went to join Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, but he managed to hear the comments that followed Snape's orders.
"So help me Severus, one wrong move and I'll kill you myself." Minerva managed through gritted teeth as she engaged the now raging Dark Lord. Voldemort had managed to send curses in every direction since he had been thrown off by Harry's exploding curse. He had also seen him remove the invisibility cloak, which angered the man even further. Now, he raised the Elder wand against her; a raving gleam in his red eyes.
"I expected as much." Snape's words were nearly lost in Voldemort's incoherent shouting, but Harry managed a sigh of relief. Those two were at least working on the same side again. He only hoped that one of them wouldn't be killed during that distraction. Entering the castle again, he found Hermione, Ron, and Ginny waiting for him just up the marble staircase.
"Bloody hell, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. He looked a little shaken by Harry's sudden appearance again as well, but he went on anyway. "So, where d'you think she would have gone?"
"Anywhere." Harry muttered as they started up the stairs. "Keep an eye out on all sides, because she could be waiting to strike."
Searching through the first floor of the castle, Harry could hear the dueling that had been going on spill into the entrance hall. Spells were flying, and more glass was shattered in the distance as he searched one of the more unused classrooms. They had already checked the courtyard there on the first floor and most of the other classrooms and a passage that led to the second floor, but they had not seen head nor tail of the snake. With the battle going on, Harry found it hard to listen for that familiar sound of sharp metal bearing down on glass, but he stayed on alert regardless. Ron and Hermione had already gone up to the second floor to begin searching there, so that left Harry and Ginny to follow up.
Reaching the second floor landing, they heard Ron shout something from around a corner, and when they rounded it, Harry was met with a white blur that would have run headlong into him had it not made a graceful arc and come to rest on his shoulder. Ginny's exclamation of "Hedwig!" was all he needed to hear.
"Hedwig!" Harry raised a hand to the owl's crest and stroked her gently. The snowy owl turned her head sideways and gave him a look as she clicked her beak, but all it did was make Harry grin. "Sorry I took so long." He extended his arm, and she leapt off his shoulder and headed for the nearest window. The sound of her eager wings was drowned out by Neville Longbottom rushing down the corridor to meet them.
"Harry, there's no sign of her!" He was clutching the stitch in his chest with one hand while mopping sweat and dried blood from his face with the other. "She couldn't have gotten too far."
"No." Harry shook is head slowly. "She couldn't have." They had searched everywhere he could think of on these floors, and she didn't have time to have gotten too far away from her master. He was sure that she wouldn't , anyway. Nagini never had gone too far from Voldemort, so why should she now?
"The dueling is spreading into the great hall." Neville continued as he looked back down the stairs he had just come up. "Most of the death eaters have either been captured, killed, or ran off."
"What about the Malfoys?" Harry was surprised when he heard Hermione ask this. "What happened to them?"
"Lucius Malfoy looked like he was ready to bolt when all the fighting started, but Narcissa and Draco are fighting for us." Neville said with about as much surprise in his tone as Ron wore on his face. "Yeah, I know. Not what anyone expected." He managed a half grin before there was a ground-breaking crash from somewhere below. He, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron ran to the staircase and looked down toward the entrance hall. There was a great deal of dust coming from the great hall. It seemed that their thoughts were all centered around the same thing when all of them made for the stairs, but Harry had a sudden thought.
"Keep looking for the snake. I think I may have an idea. She'll be looking for us, so why don't we make ourselves easy to find?" He headed down toward the great hall with the others following behind. "I think I migtt know a way of distracting Voldemort as well."
"How?" Ron asked as they rounded the final banister and leapt down the last few stairs.
"Still working it all out, but I think Snape lied to him about the wand serving him properly."
"Be careful, Harry." Ron warned as he and the others were prepared to enter the hall. "Already tried killing you once, didn't he?"
"Twice now, actually." Harry said casually while Hermione rolled her eyes and Neville gave him a sideways look. Throwing open the doors, the rest entered, and Harry was left to share a look with Ginny before they joined the fray.
"I know." She said in the momentary silence. Harry nodded and they immersed themselves in the active dueling that took place. Alastor Moody was nearby finishing off Crabbe and Goyle's fathers, while Arthur Weasley and Professor Sprout were dealing with the large blonde death eater that Harry remembered from the battle at the Astronomy tower and from their encounter in the coffee shop in London. From their positions, they could still see Professors McGonagall and Snape dueling Voldemort. Both were sporting new injuries, and Minerva's silvery black hair had started escaping from her bun; hanging in her face as se sent another several well-placed curses toward her target. At that point however, his attention was directed to his left, where Bellatrix Lestrange had just spotted Ginny, Luna, and Hermione.
Stepping forward, she sent a few stunners their way, but those were easily blocked by a shield charm. Hermione and Ginny sent impediment jinxes back while Luna went for a temporary paralyzing hex. One impediment jinx hit, but the rest were waved off quickly. This left Bellatrix to direct her next curse, the cruciatus curse, toward Ginny. Before Harry could move to stop it or take it for her, Molly Weasley deflected it and sent a curse back at Bellatrix with a vengeful glint in her normally kind eyes.
"Not my daughter, you bitch!" She snarled as Bellatrix grinned broadly at the motherly protective gesture.
"Oh look there, Red, Mummy's here to die for you!" She jeered and they began sending multiple curses at each other while Percy, Bill, and Remus pulled the younger wizards out of reach. This only made Bellatrix work harder to bring the matriarch of the Weasley family down, but Molly was just as eager in her attempts to best Voldemort's most loyal supporter. Several attempts later, Bellatrix was getting more and more excited, but with that, she seemed to be more careless In her defense. Molly managed several good shots that knocked the wind out of her opponent, and with one final exploding curse, Bellatrix Lestrange was thrown to the ground with a resounding thump; wand falling from her lifeless hand.
"Brilliant, Mum!" Ron, Fred, and George shouted at the same time, and that seemed to attract the attention of Voldemort. When his red eyes focused on his now-dead top "lieutenant", he sent a wild curse toward Mrs. Weasley, but Arthur blocked it with a quick shield charm. Neville, who had cheered Molly on as well, suddenly spotted something and directed his attention toward Hermione. His voice rang out in the silence as he moved forward.
"Hermione! Look out!" Still gripping the sorting hat in his hand, he pushed past a few others, but the hat changed in his grip. The brim seemed to be weighted down, and as Neville took a quick glance, he was surprised to see the long handle of the ruby-encrusted sword of Gryffindor. Quickly shoving his wand into his belt, Neville used his now free hand to pull the sword away from the hat. Hermione had managed to dodge a spitting and hissing Nagini. With her quickly ducking again, Neville used the sword and sent it in a raging uppercut-like swipe. The blade pierced the snake's thick body and sent her head spiraling into the air.
