Disclaimer: If you know it, I fail to own it.

Warning: Mild gore from magical battle. (Nothing serious, as if it was, I'd gross myself out and be unable to write it.) "Jar of Hearts" written by Christina Perri.

Marv's Last Stand

Draco didn't know why he hadn't suggested waiting out of the range of the Peruvian Powder before, but he was glad it occurred to him shortly before Nott came out and threw the powder into the air. Hannah Abbot gasped at the sight of the dust hanging in the air and Draco slapped his hand over her mouth. Standing Disillusioned in the hallway only worked if they didn't move or make noise. Out of the dark cloud emerged Nott, holding the Hand of Glory, holding a candle that lit the way for the Death Eaters. Nott stood near the edge of the cloud and the usual suspects rolled out: Amycus and Alecto Carrow, Fenrir Greyback, Yaxley, Thorfinn Rowle. However, instead of just five Death Eaters, there were extras, tragically Bellatrix Lestrange among them. She gave Nott a scary smile as she pranced by him.

Draco felt his stomach drop out. They weren't prepared for an all out attack by the Death Eaters. He let his hand drop from Abbot's mouth as she shook in fear.

"We can do this," he hissed.

"There are so many."

"They don't know how many of us there are," Draco hissed back. "Ready?"

He heard a sharp intake of breath and, "Yes."

The last horrible Death Eater came out of the mist by falling on his face. A blond guy Draco didn't recognize leaped out of the way but didn't get very far before Lupin appeared out nowhere, stunning one of the Carrow siblings when his spell missed the blond guy. Sirius appeared from out of the black dust wearing some sort of mask to stun a few others and chaos broke out. Draco elbowed Abbot and they threw themselves into battle, along with Neville who swung in from the ceiling and tragically landed on Sirius. The charm making Draco blend into his surroundings was quickly broken by one of the spells Yaxley threw made some of the stone above his head crumble, but Draco didn't allow this to stall him. He lost track of Nott in the fray but figured the Death Eaters had made sure Nott got away to carry out his dirty deed.

Tom ran.

He managed to make it up the stairs before Nott was able to cast the spell that prevented anyone without a Dark Mark from getting up the stairs. He chased Nott up the stairs and tackled him to the ground the moment they reached the top of the tower.

"Get off!" Nott screeched, flaying madly trying to get Tom off his back.

Tom grunted as Nott used one of his bony elbows and struck Tom between the ribs. After Nott somehow managed to knee him in the groin, Tom rolled off him. Instantly, Nott cast the Dark Mark and turned to deal with Tom, who scrambled to his feet, grinding his teeth together. Instead of casting a spell, Nott tossed himself at Tom and they both tumbled into the ramparts. Nott, who clearly had never been trained in hand to hand combat, tried numerous times to punch Tom in the face, yet failed each time. Tom was very good at dodging. He'd had a lot of practice as a child.

"Theodore Nott," scolded a tired, weary-sounding voice. "I believe I'll have to give you a detention for fighting."

Nott leaped to his feet, whirling around. Before Tom was able to pick himself up, he found he could not move.

"Expelliarmus!"

Dumbledore's wand flew through the air. It clattered to the ground landing near Nott's feet and rolling towards Tom. Tom desperately tried to move, but failed.

Dumbledore had put him in a Body-Bind.

"Who else is here?" Nott demanded.

"A question I might ask you, or are you acting alone?" Dumbledore asked just loud enough to cover the footsteps crunching in the gravel on the roof, the same stuff that was stuck to every inch of skin exposed on Tom's body.

"Don't make a sound," whispered Regulus Black, who was Disillusioned. Tom felt the familiar sensation of someone cracking an egg over his head and knew he'd been Disillusioned as well. Soon the Body-Bind lifted was lifted as well. "Let's go. Dumbledore will cover us for noise."

Sure enough, Dumbledore kept Nott distracted. Together they crept down the stairs (Regulus carrying a protesting Tom through the Dark Mark barrier) to be met by a whole lot of people who'd not been there before. Tom used the advantage of being Disillusioned and threw himself into the fray of battle, his blood coursing through his veins.

"Harry Potter," hissed a voice.

Harry froze, realizing the Death Eater he'd been dueling was making a quick exit towards the rest of the fight around the corner.

"Hi ya, Marv," Harry greeted, turning around to find the tall, skeletal thin Voldemort standing behind him, wearing a hideous necklace.

Brilliant. Marv was going for ostentatious accessories these days.

"I seem to find you on your own," Voldemort said, cocking his head to the side and stroking his wand with his long, pale fingers. "Where is your shadow?"

"Shadowing elsewhere."

Voldemort let out a snort through his slit-like nose that might have been a laugh.

"I will miss your sass, Harry Potter," Voldemort remarked, studying Harry carefully as he fingered the butt ugly necklace. "You are different."

"Different how?" Harry edged.

"You're no longer one of mine," Voldemort remarked, slowly making his way closer. "I simply had to know if you were still marked as you once were, but whatever happened last summer seems to have cast you out of my favor. No matter, you will serve your original purpose."

Harry's skin crawled. He wanted to inch away, but he knew he had to let Voldemort get close enough if he wanted to get that necklace. Gaudy jewelry was a thing for Voldemort only if he wished to turn it into a Horcrux, though why he was wearing it around his neck was a mystery to Harry. Easier access to the spell if it was on his neck rather in his pocket? Though, maybe he really was going for ugly accessories these days to make up for his face?

Voldemort reached out with his wand and used it to move Harry's fringe to the side to reveal the lighting bolt scar was in fact there. Harry stared at the ghastly necklace with its pulsating green lit stone.

"Still there," Voldemort said archly. "Pity."

"It's my forehead," Harry grumbled.

"Marred as it is," Voldemort lamented.

"Eh, I'm used to it."

Voldemort straightened up, leering. He reached out and grabbed Harry's wrist. Before Harry could yelp, complain, or do anything, he found himself standing in the Great Hall. The tables were still in their usual spot, golden plates waiting for students tomorrow morning to have breakfast.

"How did you do that? You can't Apparate within the walls of Hogwarts," Harry proclaimed, not even trying to get away from Voldemort in his shock.

"It seems the old man released that barrier when he returned to find the Dark Mark above his school," Voldemort taunted. "Likely to make it easier for the Aurors to arrive to be slaughtered, their blood running in rivers down the hallways where they learned rudimentary magic under his crooked nose."

"Ew. Gross. Why do you have to be gross?"

"Now, Harry Potter, I believe we have unfinished business," Voldemort changed the subject, dropping Harry's wrist and turning away with a flourish. "Tonight, one of mine will kill Albus Dumbledore, then I kill you once and for all. Though, I will not murder you until I am brought Dumbledore's wand. I thought it fitting the man who kept you alive for so many years…well, it is fitting his wand will be your end and my new beginning."

Harry scowled, watching the unsightly necklace swing as Voldemort swirled around with his arms out.

"Now, while we wait for the wand to be brought to me, let me tell you a tale. The tale of how I will never die," Voldemort hissed into Harry's ear, somehow getting behind Harry in a blink of an eye and not making a peep. "No one knows how far I've gone— well, no one alive. Calliope knew, for she accidentally discovered my plans. She told me I'd fail, but I've not."

Harry fought hard not to laugh as Voldemort moved to stand in front of Harry. Harry was staring at the last Horcrux, he as sure of it. And it wasn't even one yet. Harry's death was in need to make it a Horcrux and Harry had no plan on dying. All he had to do now was kill Voldemort, as he was sure Dumbledore finished off the final hidden Horcrux tonight when he'd left the school.

Draco hurled a curse at Yaxley, who fell to the ground unconscious. He moved onto his next victim only to find there were no more Death Eaters to take out.

They'd managed to get them all. No, wait, there were a few missing.

"Bellatrix and Greyback are upstairs," Lupin reported, slightly winded and leaning against a wall. He pushed his graying hair out of his face.

"This isn't all of them. There were twice as many as we figured," Sirius grumbled, motioning around looking a little sullen. He'd lost his mask somewhere in the fray but didn't seemed bothered he'd lost a priceless magical artifact. "BILLY! You binding them up?"

"YES! AND DON'T CALL ME BILLY!" came the hollered reply from the eldest Weasley.

"Got another one!" came another familiar Weasley voice. Around the corner came one of the twins, floating a Death Eater and followed by his twin. "Besides the storybook crazy witch and rabid wolf-man, I think we've got everyone."

"Headcount," Tom called, eyeing the Hogwarts students who'd found them in the trophy room where they'd all somehow wound up.

"Draco."

"Hannah!"

"Smith."

"Neville."

"Ginny."

"Dean."

"Seamus."

"Blaise and Ronald, who can't talk because they sealed his mouth."

Weasley waved, looking furious while the twins both snickered. The eldest Weasley sighed.

"Padma."

"Luna Lovegood."

"Levander."

"Parvarti."

"Colin and Dennis!"

"Ohmygod," Addy gasped, spinning around. "Where is Harry?"

"Where's Hermione?"

Tom sucked in a sharp breath, whipping out the Maurader's Map. Everyone else who had yet been called, spun around looking for Harry. Draco hurried over and looked over Tom's shoulder. There were a bunch of Order members, Hermione, and the two Slytherin girls outside battling Death Eaters who'd somehow gotten in through the front gates. There was also a group battling Death Eaters on the first floor near the stairs. Judging by the unmovable state of most of the Death Eaters' dots, that battle was over.

"Everyone else is accounted for except Harry," Sirius said, turning away from the window. He began to dig around in his pocket.

"Snape, Dumbledore, and Nott are still active on the tower. That's where Bellatrix and Fernier have returned," Draco reminded them, eyes still scanning for Harry's dot.

"So, where is Harry?" Addy asked again.

"Cornered by Voldemort in the Great Hall. Let's go. It'll be seven against one," Tom proclaimed, folding up the Marauder's Map. "The other Aurors and Ministry officials have arrived on the grounds. They'll aid the other two battles going on."

"Seven?" Neville asked. "There are more than seven than us here."

"And we're not going to just stand here, do don't even suggest that!" Ginny shouted.

Shouts broke out till Sirius whistled an ear piercing whistle.

"Quite, the lot of you. You've done your duty. But," Sirius paused and glanced at Tom and Draco. Tom nodded. "We've got a plan. We can't tell you more, but you have to stay here and watch these guys till the Ministry officials arrive. You too, Dora. We've got a plan and there needs to be seven."

Tonks looked furious but quickly realized who the seven would be.

"Oh," she breathed, lowering her wand.

Draco noticed Tonks look fleetingly at Lupin before turning back to making sure the Death Eaters they caught stayed contained. Everyone else looked close to mutinous till one of the Death Eaters woke and put up a fuss. Lupin nodded and indicated they ought to leave. Lupin, Addy, Regulus, Sirius, Tom, and Draco slipped away.

Draco pressed a message into his coin for Hermione and squared his shoulders.

"This kind of feels like a death march," Addy whispered.

"It is. Just not for any of us," Sirius said.

"It's quite symbolic, really," Lupin mildly offered. "In the first timeline, none of us were around for the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort."

"True. You were dead," Addy flatly stated. "Sirius was eaten by a curtain, Regulus was rotting in a lake filled with dead people, and Draco and I were time traveling. Oh, and Tom didn't exist. And what makes this even better, Voldemort thinks some of us are dead. I mean, he knows a Regulus is alive, but not his former minion and I looked way different, so I doubt he put that together."

"Dead people totally freak him out," Draco offered.

"I know," Addy said, getting a rather evil look on her face. She waved her wand and she suddenly looked about twelve.

Voldemort would not shut up. He lamented about how it took so much of his time to plot ways to kill Harry, then he wouldn't die. Harry managed not to say that if he just got on with it and shut up Harry might be dead.

"It was really brilliant, I might say. Then again, everything I do is brilliant," Voldemort blabbered, fingering his wand. He glanced over Harry's head at the door looking impatient. He pressed his lips together and appeared as if for a moment as if he was going to stomp his foot in frustration.

He did not do this, mostly because someone greeted a little too cheerily behind him, "Hi-ho! It's Atlanta Black!"

Harry jumped, whirling around. This was stupid, as it put Voldemort at his back, but he was too startled to realize this till it was too late.

"You know, I almost said I was Kermit the Frog," Addy laughed, stepping out of the shadow she was hiding in. She was wearing the biggest smile Harry had ever seen. She looked a little unhinged and twelve— if twelve-year-olds were so damn tall. Her hair was curling wildly and there was a gash on her cheek that was covered in dry blood, but she was a spitting image for Atlanta Black when she started Hogwarts, save the height. "Not that any of y'all have any clue who Kermit the Frog is, tragic on way too many levels. Kermit is awesome."

"I know who Kermit the Frog is!" Sirius shouted from the other side of Voldemort, making the man whirl around with his wand out. There was no one there, just two long tables. Sirius was likely somehow hiding under the Slytherin tables, you know, for DRAMA.

"Show yourself!" Voldemort demanded, shooting a spell at the Slytherin table, making it explode down the middle with a loud crack.

"Hey! That worked! Ouch."

Sirius did not appear, but scurrying feet went the opposite direction from Voldemort and behind Harry.

Addy sighed, looking up at the ceiling and dropping her wand to her side.

"Seriously, Sirius?!"

"I am Sirius, seriously," Sirius cheekily replied from another corner of the Great Hall.

"You've ruined my plan!" Addy exclaimed, still looking at the ceiling. "I had this great plan and all. Seriously."

Voldemort whirled around and shot out a spell. Harry tossed up a shield and it bounced off, heading back towards Voldemort, who did the freaky thing where he vanished in a plume of black smoke and reappeared behind Addy. He grabbed her by her hair, which promptly vanished and she looked once again herself. She leered at him and he looked as if he'd seen an actual ghost.

"Who are you?"

"I told you."

"NO," Voldemort roared, grabbing her by her shorter hair and shaking.

Harry was pretty sure Voldemort would have ripped Addy's head off her body by her hair (or at least pulled all her hair out), if not for Regulus shooting a spell at Voldemort that made him yelp and drop Addy as if she was on fire. Voldemort whirled in the direction of the spell caster and Harry wished he could see Voldemort's face when he finally saw Regulus Black because there was something utterly different about him. He didn't really look much like the Regulus Harry knew, but rather a bored pureblood. His hair was longer and he was wearing an expression Nott often wore, only it looked like it belonged on Regulus' face rather than forced upon it like Nott's expression often looked.

"You're dead," Voldemort breathed.

"Sorry to disappoint," Regulus drawled. "Magical things like tapestries can lie."

Addy got to her feet and moved a little right, nodding. Something rolled across the stone floor. Addy shot it with her wand and a ghostly form rose, heading straight for Voldemort. Another glass ball rolled and Harry heard the song that always played when he battled Voldemort, the same one he'd taught all the Hogwarts Protectors.

Instead of freezing like he usually did when he heard the melody, Voldemort roared and attacked the nearest person: Addy.

Well, good thing Voldemort was so keen to talk Harry's ear off and they'd not used the badges Tom had made to play the song. It clearly didn't have the same effect it usually did on him tonight.

Addy dodged his Killing Curse and shouted, "Who do you think you are? Running around leaving scars!"

Harry blinked at the force of magic behind her words. Voldemort stumbled backward, staring at Addy as if he really was starting to believe she was who she said. Addy got to her feet, pulling up the tank top she wore to reveal an ugly scar across her middle. She wore a challenging look while Voldemort blinked owlishly at her.

Regulus inched closer to her, rolling his sleeve up to show the ugly, scarred Dark Mark on his arm (looked like he'd tried to cut it off at one point). Harry darted over and moved his fringe to the side to show off his own scar. There was noise of another glass ball and on Regulus' other side, a ghostly figure of Atlanta Lupin (or Calliope Riddle) formed, rolling the sleeve back of her own left sleeve to reveal the ugly scar teenage Voldemort had carved into her pale skin.

"Collecting your jar of souls," Addy sang, sending shivers down Harry's spine. "Tearing yourself apart. You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your heart."

Voldemort blinked stupidly. Then took a huge step back looking frightened as several more ghostly figures appeared, bearing their number seven scars for Voldemort to see.

While Voldemort was too busy freaking out by the ghostly appertains, the group of seven closed in around Voldemort, all pointing their wands at the snake man. Voldemort realized before any of them could shoot off spells what was going on and vanished in a swirl of dark robes and appeared behind Sirius and attempted to cut him down. Sirius dodged, shooting a blue jet of light. Voldemort whirled around and shot another spell out and glass shattered across the floor as the song stopped. Addy laughed, smashing her hand into her chest where she wore her own badge. The song started again. Voldemort roared and Regulus punched the guy in the mouth.

The battle as on.

Severus was furious.

And not because he'd killed Albus Dumbledore. No, that had to be done and was requested of him long ago. He'd agreed.

No, he was furious because Nott had disarmed the old coot. Because Harry Potter had told him to distract Dumbledore and for some unknown reason, disarming the old coot was Nott's clever idea.

Nott was the master of the Elder Wand unknowingly. While Potter had told the Nott boy something about tonight, he had not mentioned the fact the Hallows were real (he might not know this, but Severus assumed Riddle had figured it out, thus Potter would know), nor the real reason Voldemort was within the walls of this school tonight were to get the Elder Wand and use it to make Harry a Horcrux. (Not that Voldemort knew Severus knew what he was going to do with the Elder Wand and that ugly necklace with its fake blood protection.)

Severus glared at the wand in his hand as he dragged Nott down the stairs.

"I thought it was a good idea," Nott said for the millionth time.

After Dumbledore had fallen, Bellatrix and her pet wolf had buggered off, leaving Severus alone with a Nott on the verge of a mental breakdown who would not shut up. (Another thing Potter had told him to do, which Nott was taking seriously judging by the words that kept pouring out of his mouth even though Severus had glared at the boy several times.)

Severus was grimly greeted by Tonks, who was locked in battle with Bellatrix. Severus sped up as Bellatrix wailed as one of Tonk's stunners hit her shoulder. Someone else was shooting off spells, but he didn't have time to figure it out as Nott tripped over his own feet (still spewing pointless words).

"Shut up," Severus snapped. He noticed Longbottom and the Weasley girl guarding some heavily bound Death Eaters and paused. "Where are they?"

Longbottom blinked at him with large, round eyes. "Great Hall. From the vibrations in the floor, there's an awfully big fight going on."

Sure enough, the floor rocked. The Weasley girl cursed darkly.

"Thank you," Severus snapped. "Please help Auror Tonks with Bellatrix. She will not go down quietly. Where is the werewolf who is not Lupin?"

The Weasley girl sprinted off in the direction of the fight while Severus made sure the Death Eaters tied up would remain so while he waited for Longbottom to answer.

"Bill Weasley got him the moment he got down the stairs. Bellatrix used him as a shield. Bill's tying him up away from the others to be shipped…where ever they put dangerous werewolves."

Severus nodded. He dragged Nott behind him as he headed for the Great Hall. Nott began to recite Golpalott's Third Law in full, annotations and all.

Harry was getting tired. While it started out seven against one, Voldemort kept doing that annoying moving thing. He also didn't seem to tire. He was like that Duracell Bunny, just kept going and going. Sirius was down for the count with some sort of curse that cut a good portion of his arm off, Lupin was unconscious on the floor at Sirius' feet (he'd managed to stop the bleeding from the missing chunk of arm before Voldemort had hit him with something black and ugly), and Regulus was leaning against the wall still shooting off curses (Harry wasn't sure how he was standing due to the fact his leg was broken in the grossest way possible). Tom and Draco were out cold after Voldemort had blown the Hufflepuff table to smithereens, burying both boys. Addy was under the mess with them, but was conscious and still singing at the top of her lungs the song even though the badges were a total bust. Voldemort blasted Tom's off earlier after he'd recovered from being punched in the mouth, Draco's stopped working after the table fell on his head, and Harry's had been hit by a stray spell from Lupin when Regulus once again punched Voldemort in the face. (It was a testament to how distracting they were that Regulus was able to punch the guy in the face when he could do that stupid moving in smoke thing.)

Harry was kind of the only one standing.

Regulus fell to the floor as the leg gave out.

Okay, now Harry was the last one standing.

Voldemort turned his attention to Harry now that he didn't have to battle with Regulus, who looked to be unconscious as his chest rose and fell shallowly and blood seeped out of his broken leg.

Ugh. Gross. And likely very painful.

"It is now only you and me, Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed, smiling a lipless smile that was creepy beyond description. "And you will now die!"

Harry quirked and eyebrow, pulling shoulders back as he raised his wand to defend himself and the words on his lips to call his secret weapon.

"I thought you were waiting for this?"

Harry jerked at the sound of Snape's voice from what was left of the door to the Great Hall. Snape took in the destruction of the Great Hall with a look of distaste while holding up a white, knotted wand in one hand and Nott in the other. Snape wiped his face of any emotion as he met Voldemort's gaze, but his eyes were full of loathing. Nott was reciting something, a blank look on his face while his mouth moved a hundred miles an hour. Harry glanced at Voldemort, wondering if he realized Snape was about to do something unexpected. Harry might not need to call on his secret weapon: Medusa.

(He'd not told anyone he'd planned to use Medusa. He'd spoken to her about it. She was more than willing to eat the man who'd made her ruin the image of Salazar Slytherin. Or just bite him. She didn't really want to eat him. Evidently humans don't taste good.)

"Severus," the Snake Face simpered, doing what might have been what he thought was smiling. "You've brought it."

Snape nodded curtly as he dropped Nott, who stumbled and shut up.

Voldemort raised his wand to summoned the white wand.

He didn't get a chance.

Snape's face blazed with anger and loathing as he shouted the incantation and shot a green spell out of his wand. Harry watched the green jet of light travel across the Great Hall to Voldemort, who stood where the Slytherin table was usually located. The light hit Voldemort in the dead center of his forehead. Voldemort looked completely shocked and betrayed as he fell backward and landed with a dull thud on the floor.

"Dude," Addy breathed, suddenly appearing out of a pile of wood. "You are pissed."

Snape snapped his eyes to where Addy was still half buried in former table. With a wave of his wand and a silent spell, the rubble vanished.

"Thanks," Addy brightly said, gingerly moving her legs to make sure they worked.

Snape swept forward and checked on Tom and Draco, dragging a white faced Nott behind him for some reason. With another wave of his wand, he levitated the two boys and headed over to Lupin. Sirius gave Snape a strange look but said nothing as he added Lupin to his floating body collection. Turning, he levitated Regulus to him, then barked at Sirius to follow if he was able.

"I'll help!" Addy offered, getting to her feet and brushing off dust from herself. "Come on. Off to Poppy we go!"

"Why are you so cheery?" Sirius asked, getting to his feet, trying not to be hindered by the dead weight of a useless arm (as now that Harry could see the injury fully, was even worse than he imagined as Sirius' arm was half cut off, not simply missing). "Harry?"

"He's dead," Harry dumbly said, pointing at Voldemort. "Like deader than a door nail and no one is…"

"Celebrating joyously?" Addy offered.

"Well, yeah. I kind of thought…"

"Fireworks out go off?" Sirius offered.

Harry scowled. "No. I thought…"

"You'd feel lighter?"

Harry sharply turned around to find a white-faced Nott standing behind him, clutching himself around the middle. Snape had let him go when he'd stormed out with his body collection.

"Well, yeah," Harry said. "I don't feel any different."

Nott stared at him with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, taking a closer look at Nott, who looked ten times worse than he had the last time Harry had seen him.

"No."

"Bring him. Poppy can give him something. He's likely in shock," Sirius shouted as Addy dragged him off towards where Snape had vanished, dripping blood after them.

Harry wished Sirius would be more concerned with the amount of blood he was losing. Then again, Blood Replenishing potion kind of solved blood loss, so that was likely why Sirius wasn't too concerned his arm was dangling by a piece of skin and a little bone and bleeding all over the place again now that he was moving.

"He killed Dumbledore," Nott whispered. "I couldn't do it, so he did it. He asked him to do it. He begged. Or he begged to live."

"No, likely to die. He was already dying," Harry said gently, trying to get Nott to walk with him. Nott's feet didn't seem to be working any longer now that Snape was dragging him around like a dog who didn't really wish to go for a walk.

Harry left Nott where he was swaying back and forth. He picked his way across the hall to where Voldemort was staring dead-eyed at the starry night sky. After kicking the snake-faced body to make sure he was indeed dead, Harry squatted down and stared at the ugly necklace. Harry wasn't sure if he should touch it and it was kind of creepy with its green pulsing light. He looked over his shoulder at Nott and added, "He also knew the task Moldy had given you and asked Snape to do it for you, so you'd not have to commit murder at the age of sixteen. Or are you seventeen?"

"Sixteen," Nott breathed. "Next week, I'll be seventeen."

"Well, there you go. Can I have your jumper? I don't want to touch this."

Nott laughed a wobbly laugh as his feet decided he could move again. He almost toppled over but managed to trip his way over to Harry and take his jumper off at the same time. He didn't say anything as Harry used a cutting spell to get the necklace off Voldemort and wrapped the object up without directly touching it.

"What are you going to do with it?" Nott asked as Harry stood.

"Give it to my aunt," Harry decided.

Nott gave off another wobbly laugh and turned to trip his way back towards the exit. Harry followed after him to make sure Nott made it to the Hospital Wing.

The Hospital Wing was overrun with people injured during the battle. Harry guided Nott through the various people and found him a bed. Madam Pomfrey shot a spell that cracked and boomed, making everyone fall silent.

"If you are not injured gravely, stand in the hallway. Someone from St Mungo's will be along shortly to tend you," she proclaimed as the fire flared from her office and the people from St Mungo's showed up. Harry guided Nott back out into the hallway and stood with the people who weren't gravely injured, which was most of the people. It seemed the noise of their battled had called to arms the whole school. He sat Nott on the floor.

"Why are you still here?"

"Because I don't think you'll be able to tell them what's wrong with you."

"I will too," Nott sneered. "Nothing."

"I think he's in shock," Harry said when the person in lime green robes appeared before them.

The person nodded, pulled out a vial and rattled off the directions. Harry poured the contents down Nott's throat and steered him off. He spotted Blaise (who had a few bruises blooming on his face) and made a beeline towards him.

"Harry?" Blaise asked upon seeing him with Nott.

"Here. Take care of him. He's had a Calming Drought for the shock," Harry explained.

"What happened," Blaise asked, taking custody of Nott, who open and closed his eyes slowly.

"Well, a lot. Voldemort's dead."

"So's Dumbledore," Nott offered, blinking owlishly at Blaise. "Snape killed both of them. I don't know whose side he's on."

Blaise stared at Nott, then looked at Harry, who shrugged. "It's true, though Dumbledore was already dying from a curse on his hand. Remember?"

Harry wiggled his right hand. Blaise nodded slowly.

"So, we won?"

Harry nodded.

Whispers began in the corridor. Figuring his job was done, Harry hightailed it away before anyone caught up with him to ask him more questions hoping to find his aunt or some adult to take the ugly necklace.