Hmm... So, despite the fact that this is pretty much the climax of our story, we've probably slacked off the most with this chapter than any other. Not good, but school's a killer this year. English, funnily enough, is the bane of our existence. Anyway, about the chapter itself...we might've used too many dashes in the first couple paragraphs, but hey, we're just dash-happy. The vocabulary's a bit unoriginal and repetitive, too, since we didn't have enough energy to be creative. :P And sorry we didn't elaborate much on the battle; we're just sick of all this action crammed into a two-hour plot time period. Actually, we're just sick of action scenes in general. They're getting bland. Blah.

Edit, 9/30/07 - We made some minor edits and reuploaded this chapter, based on the suggestions of some reviews. Thanks very much!


A Debt Repaid
"Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark." – Francis Bacon

Third floor, Hogwarts

Kingsley skidded around the corner just in time to see Bellatrix fall. Two jets of light – one red, one blue – had just slammed into her chest, dissipating slowly, illuminating her twisted features. Her wand hit the floor first, falling from nerveless fingers – her body followed a second later, with nothing more than a dull thump.

For a moment, the only thing Kingsley could hear in the dim corridor was the heavy sound of Snape and Neville's breathing. Further down the corridor, a blood-spattered Sturgis was standing over the motionless body of the Death Eater who had killed Hestia – Dolohov. Remus and Tonks – not hurt, for once – were beside him, their adversary nowhere to be seen.

They all stared at the heap of black robes on the floor – still wary, disbelieving – as if they expected her to leap back to her feet at any moment.

Bellatrix…dead?

She had been, without a doubt, the most wanted Death Eater in history. The bane of the Aurors, the nightmare of the Ministry. Her list of victims consisted of more people Kingsley had known – Gideon, Fabian, Frank, Alice, Sirius – than any other Death Eater.

But before Kingsley could move – before he could ask what happened, where everyone else was – Hermione and Ron burst into view on the second floor corridor at the foot of the stairs, carrying Draco Malfoy between them. They stopped beside the railing, panting and looking up at Kingsley with relief. Ron quickly removed Malfoy's arm from around his neck and let him fall.

"It's Malfoy," Hermione said breathlessly, gesturing toward the half-conscious boy slumped on the ground. "He's – "

"Just leave him here," Ron interjected, putting a foot on the first step and looking down at Malfoy with a disgusted look. "I'm not doing anything more for him."

"Ron!" Hermione began furiously.

"It's all right, I'll get him," Kingsley said, descending the stairs toward them. Hermione crossed her arms and glared at Ron, who pointedly looked away. "What happened?"

"We lost Professor Blackthorn and Professor Drake on the second floor," Hermione explained as Kingsley bent down to inspect Malfoy's injuries, "so we were heading back here when we saw Malfoy. It looked like someone had blasted the wall apart, and he was buried beneath the rubble. We got him out well enough, but he wouldn't let me take off his shirt."

The scorn was evident on Ron's face.

Kingsley shook his head as he saw the various cuts and gashes Malfoy sported. He muttered a few simple healing spells before getting back to his feet.

"It's nothing critical. We'll need Madam Pomfrey to get a look at him," he said.

As if on cue, there was a scream from the Hospital Wing.

––––––

Remus burst into the Hospital Wing, taking everything in with one glance – Harry, standing in the middle of the room with his wand; Wormtail, facing him; Madam Pomfrey, unconscious on the floor; Ginny, sitting up in her bed looking frightened.

Neither Harry nor Wormtail appeared to notice as the others rushed inside.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped; at the same time, Ron exclaimed, "You!" as he pointed at Wormtail.

Wormtail ignored him; he and Harry were staring intently at each other. Both of their wands were glowing a faint shade of red.

"Harry, what – "

"Wait," Snape said sharply, barring Hermione's way. His narrowed eyes were studying Wormtail. They were all quiet for a moment, watching the silent staring contest playing out before them. Harry's face was flushed and his eyes dull and feverish; Wormtail's face glistened with sweat. Both of them were swaying slightly on their feet, their legs shaking.

Remus cursed inwardly – whatever had happened, it was apparent that Harry was still weak. It seemed to take tremendous effort for him just to remain standing.

Wormtail's mouth suddenly moved. Remus could barely catch what he was saying – he seemed to be struggling against himself, one part trying to speak and the other trying not to.

"C-Can't… Pot…ter… Out…!"

And then he seemed to snap. He whirled around with a sharp crack and fired a curse in Kingsley's direction before Remus could register what had happened.

"Duck!" Snape bellowed.

There was a sharp crack and the sound of something shattering as Remus dove to the floor. Jets of light careened around the room as Wormtail screamed. His incoherent shouts were punctuated by bouts of maniacal laughter.

He's gone mad. Wormtail's gone insane, Remus thought grimly as he rolled out of the way of a jet of orange light. He leapt back up to his feet and dodged another hex. Shards of glass lay all over the floor and it seemed as if something new was smashed every two seconds.

Ginny scrambled out of her bed, snatching her wand up from the bedside table as she went. Ron and Hermione darted past Wormtail to her side. Sturgis had dragged Madam Pomfrey into a corner and was trying to revive her.

"Watch out!" Tonks cried from across the room – Remus barely cast a Shield Charm in time to deflect a curse aimed for him. Instead of dissipating, however, the curse ricocheted off his shield and crashed into the wall behind him. He yelled in shock as he crouched down and covered his head with his arms, bits of rubble falling around him.

Kingsley was suddenly beside him, helping him to his feet. "We've tried Stunning him, it doesn't work!" he shouted over the sound of Wormtail's destruction of the Hospital Wing. "Snape thinks we should just kill – "

"Harry!"

Remus looked around to see that Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had taken cover behind Ginny's bed; it was Ginny who had cried out. Ron was holding her back, preventing her from leaving as Hermione cast shields around them.

Kingsley pointed – Remus followed his finger to see Harry sitting against the wall between the two beds, a green shield shimmering around him. It emitted a steady, low hum as the spells Wormtail rained down on him rebounded off it.

"POTTER!" Wormtail screamed, dragging the word out in an agonized screech. It made Remus shudder.

Harry closed his eyes in response, and for a split second Remus thought he was dead. But the shield stayed up; the humming grew louder as the force of Wormtail's spells increased.

Snape was standing to the side, muttering under his breath and firing off an occasional spell. None of them seemed to affect Wormtail, who was focused entirely on Harry now. He either couldn't hear anything that was being said or was ignoring it; he had never once acknowledged that there were others in the room.

And as Remus watched him screaming and flailing like he was being tortured from within, he couldn't help but wish that it wasn't Wormtail who had to suffer. On some deep level – despite the fact that he had betrayed Lily and James, despite the fact that he had become a murderer and helped bring Voldemort back – it hurt to see Wormtail like this.

Besides, it had been their fault – his, James', Sirius's – for not seeing that Wormtail was too weak. Too insecure to handle such a burden as protecting a life, too uncertain to defy the threat of death.

"Peter!" Remus called out, hoping that somehow, hearing his name would bring Wormtail to his senses. "Peter!"

Wormtail jerked around, as if the sound of his name was a physical force that tore his attention away from Harry. He and Remus stared at each other in shock.

The eyes that locked on to Remus' were not Peter's small, watery eyes.

His eyes are red.

The realization hit Remus a moment later – he's been possessed.

Even as the thought flashed through his mind, Snape shouted, "That's not Wormtail!"

"Peter," Wormtail – could he still be called Wormtail? – whispered. And his eyes flickered.

Remus caught a glimpse of Peter's frightened gray eyes before they reverted back to red.

What the hell is going on?

Wormtail screamed again, sparks flying from his wand as he twisted and writhed like a marionette. "STOP!" he shrieked, blasting a hole in the wall above Tonks' head. Remus heard Kingsley curse as spells began flying and crackling around the room again.

How could Voldemort possess Wormtail? There's only one piece of his soul left, which is in Harry. Unless…

"We can't keep this up!" Kingsley said in Remus' ear as they cast shields around themselves. "If we don't stop him soon, he'll destroy – "

"Kingsley," Remus interrupted, grabbing his arm. "We have to kill Wormtail! I don't understand it, but somehow Voldemort's soul was transferred from Harry to Wormtail – that's why his eyes are red! We just have to kill Wormtail now!"

Kingsley looked at him incredulously. "His soul – what?"

But Remus had already turned away from him. He tried to get Snape's attention, his heart pounding wildly – can it be true? Voldemort had just saved Harry's life – it was so easy now, they just had to kill Wormtail – if only –

"Wormtail."

Harry's voice reverberated in the room. It sounded old; old and heavy, with the weight of something so dark and forlorn that Remus was momentarily frozen with despair.

The room fell dead silent. Everything stopped; Remus felt as if he had been immobilized. There was only the sound of panting as all eyes turned to Harry. Wormtail, his red eyes gleaming, gazed levelly at him.

"Wormtail," Harry said softly. "Do you remember?"

The question echoed in Remus' mind. Do you remember?

No.

He tried to move forward, but he was stuck. He tried to speak, only to find that his mouth was similarly frozen.

No!

"Do you remember…your debt?"

––––––

Ron had sensed that there was something wrong, right since he had stepped into the room. It was the tension, so thick it felt like he was wading in it, coupled with the fact that Wormtail – the traitor whom Ron hadn't seen since the end of third year – was there, facing Harry. And there was that feeling – that sense of impending doom.

He felt it more strongly now, staring at Wormtail's red eyes. He could hear Remus yelling that they had to kill him, that somehow the Horcrux in Harry's body had been transferred to Wormtail's – it made sense, didn't it? – that all they had to do was kill Wormtail. Ginny was still struggling against his hold, crying Harry's name over and over again.

And Ron didn't understand why they couldn't just go and kill Wormtail already because it was taking all the willpower he had not to run to his best friend's side. He had to fight the urge to let Ginny go, because it kept looking like each breath Harry took would be his last. Even his shield seemed more fragile as it hummed against the force of the spells Wormtail threw at him.

But it would be death for them if they stepped beyond Hermione's shields.

"Kill him!" Remus was shouting frantically, ignoring Kingsley's attempts to calm him down. Snape got the message – he was pointing his wand at Wormtail –

"Wormtail."

Ron immediately felt his body stiffen, as did Ginny's within his grip. Ginny stopped screaming, Remus wasn't shouting; everyone was silent. Only Ron's eyes moved, and he fixed them on Harry – Harry, who looked so utterly exhausted. His shield was gone, and sitting before Wormtail without it, he seemed so vulnerable. Defenseless in the way of any regular seventeen-year-old boy, with no aura of power, no bearing of a hero.

"Wormtail, do you remember?"

Ron didn't understand. Remember what? He hated how weary Harry sounded, like he had given up.

Not now, mate. Not here. Not when we've made it this far.

"Do you remember…your debt?"

He caught the alarm that flashed across Remus' face; saw Wormtail stop short. Ron couldn't think for the life of him what that meant – couldn't imagine what Wormtail would owe Harry.

But then he saw something else that made his blood run cold.

Harry's eyes were red.

And he could only think, for a moment, that Remus was wrong – the Horcrux hadn't been transferred after all, it was something else – something terrible, much, much more terrible.

They're both possessed.

How had it happened? What, when – but he realized that all those things didn't matter. What mattered was what to do now? They could still kill Wormtail, but then they'd be back to square one. Harry would still be a Horcrux.

They were hissing at each other. It frustrated Ron that he couldn't understand any of it. Keeping his eyes locked on Harry, he tried moving – with no luck. It was as if Harry had cast Full-Body Binds on everyone in the room.

Harry was struggling visibly now, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps as he spoke. His eyes flashed, changing colors rapidly – red, green, red, green. It was, Ron realized, a battle of dominance. The same thing was happening with Wormtail.

Harry suddenly stopped hissing. He shut his eyes tightly and it was quiet in the room.

The tension made Ron's head feel like it was on the verge of bursting. What in bloody hell did they say? What are you hiding, Harry?

The silence seemed to stretch into eternity, and Ron almost forgot where he was. His ears were buzzing, his head pounding.

When this is over, I'm going to sleep. I'm going to sleep and I'm not getting up until these memories are a blur. Gone. Lost in time.

Harry's mouth moved again, but Ron couldn't catch what he said. Wormtail replied – Ron saw his mouth moving, too, but it was as if someone had suddenly plugged his ears. He had always been terrible at reading lips – that was a talent of Fred and George – and the little experience he'd had failed him now. He could only swivel his eyes back and forth, watching their mouths moving.

There was a bright spark in both of their eyes. It was almost fascinating, the way the colors changed – green to red to green in Harry's, gray to red to gray in Wormtail's.

And then Ron's hearing returned abruptly. It took him a moment to register the fact that someone had spoken.

"Wormtail…knows a spell," Harry murmured. "We…can trust…him."

Beads of sweat were running down the rat-faced man's face – he seemed almost as exhausted as Harry as he fought to keep Voldemort at bay. Ron cursed himself, cursed the magic, cursed Harry – it didn't matter whether he trusted Wormtail or not, because he couldn't move to stop him.

"He…can get rid of – of Voldemort's soul. In me. But you…you have to… Promise me that you - you'll help him…help him get rid of Voldemort – in him. Promise me."

It seemed a foolish request, seeing as none of them could speak. But slowly, as Harry looked around at each of them, he seemed to gain a response. At last, his gaze rested upon Ron.

Promise me, Ron.

I can't, Harry. I can't!

Promise me.

I can't –

Promise.

The tears welled in his eyes; unstoppable, unwilling.

I promise.

He turned to Wormtail, who had already raised his wand.

"Do it," Harry said softly.

"Potter," Wormtail said to him. There was no mockery in his tone, no hatred. Just simple acceptance of what had to be done. "My life debt to you is fulfilled." He took a deep breath, and Ron knew there was something wrong.

Life debt?

"Avada Kedavra!"

Up next: Wormtail has repaid his life debt…but he's still possessed.

Not exactly sure what the whole life debt thing really means. jynky thought it was strictly a life-for-a-life sort of thing, where since Harry saved Wormtail's life, Wormtail in turn would have to save Harry's at one point. But I thought it just meant that Wormtail owed Harry something - i.e. he had to do something that Harry wanted him to do without question. jynky's probably right, but that would mess up our plot. So...yeah. Just thought I'd elaborate on that. :) And please, please review! There's only three chapters after this one, I think...

-TFC

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