Win, Lose or Draw?
"HOLD THE LEFT FLANK!" Harry yelled, firing off a quick volley of curses at a group of Death Eaters attempting to sneak around one side of the battle.
"What left flank?" muttered Luna. "It vanished forty seconds ago" and fired off a volley of lethal looking curses.
"Damn" Harry whispered. "Luna, take a couple of people and work your way along this passage way" he indicated on the map. "We'll have them caught in a crossfire" and the girl nodded and took a few of the liberators with her around the quiet parts. A scream from close behind him caused Harry to turn around and see Voldemort, albeit briefly, and he tried to counter the curse that flew towards him – only to be pushed out of the way by Hermione. They both landed heavily on the floor of the corridor and Harry took several seconds to catch his breath. When he sat up, however, he noticed that Hermione was clutching at her swollen stomach. She looked up and nodded at his unspoken question.
"I think it is" and then passed out clean in a faint.
"Dean! Seamus!" Harry shouted, and both boys came dashing over through heavy fire.
"Is she…?" Dean asked.
"No, but I think the You-Know-What has started" Harry said. "Can you try and get her to the Hospital Wing with a couple of others?" he asked.
"That is going to leave you with too many gone" said Seamus.
"I'm more concerned with Hermione at the moment" Harry said. "I saw Voldemort, if only for a second, and I'm going after him"
"Why?" asked Dean. "You said it yourself that he will want to kill you himself, so he'll be more then happy to wait" and Harry would have replied when the lake started to bubble and boil as if it was in a giant pan. As the attackers looked out, a mast rose up from the depths and was soon joined by the rest of a sailing ship.
"Thank God he turned up in time" Harry smiled.
"She's signalling" said Seamus, and he started to read the dots and dashes coming from a light on the ship. "Fancy meeting you again" he chuckled.
"Reply: Never, repeat, never has a ship been more welcome" Harry said. The sailing vessel swung round slightly and opened up with magical cannons.
"Aye, Aye, Sir" and Harry turned round and went back to his war.
# # # # #
"I did not think that I would see Miss Granger like this again" Pomfrey said as she saw Hermione being brought inside the Hospital Wing. Dean and Seamus found an unoccupied bed and put her gently down on it.
"Actually" Dean said, "She got married"
"To you?" Pomfrey looked up. "Does Mr Potter know?" she asked. The woman wondered if she had enough time to leave the planet before Harry found out.
"Harry and Hermione got married somehow" Dean said. "Anyway… Hermione pushed Harry out of the way of a spell and might have taken some of it herself instead. She's… She's almost due but she said it had started" he finished.
"That is going to complicate matters" the nurse said. "I will take good care of her, but it will be touch and g-" she was cut off by her diagnostic spells suddenly adding to the din of battle and the cries of those dying and injured.
"What's happening?" Seamus asked.
"No… No, no, no, no, no, no…" the nurse abandoned all of her efforts on other people to concentrate on Hermione.
"What's happening?" Seamus repeated.
"Her body is failing, but she is also trying to give birth at the same time" Pomfrey said. "She is fighting to stay alive, but the baby is going to be born sooner rather then later – causing too much strain on Miss Granger" Pomfrey said the old name out of habit.
"I don't understand" Dean looked from Healer to Hermione several times
"She's dying, Mr Thomas" Pomfrey looked up briefly at the pair, "And there is nothing that I can do to stop it…"
# # # # #
Harry pushed, kicked, punched and hacked his way through to the Great Hall – Luna, Parvati, Padma and a number of others following right behind him. If he could get to the Great Hall and take out Voldemort, even if it cost his own life, the Death Eaters would be without leadership and they would begin to lose their ill-gained confidence.
"Luna. Padma. You take a couple of people and stop any Death Eaters coming or going from the east side of the Great Hall. Parvati, you take a group to the west side and do there same there. Under no circumstances is anybody to enter the Hall unless I say so. If I die, and I think that likely, I want everyone to get the hell out of the country. Get to France, tell the Ministry there what has happened and plan a new liberation. I want no heroic barging in and distracting Voldemort – the bastard's mine" and the party split up – save for Luna.
"You are going to win, Harry" she said, placing one hand on his uninjured right shoulder. "I have Seen it to be" and Harry shrugged in reply.
"Seen what it will be?" he said. "I suppose it is nice to know now…"
"You will be victorious, Harry Potter, but you will not like the outcome of what is to be" and Luna hurried away.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry wondered. He spent a few moments placing people in the best places for cover and setting traps should the worst come to the worse. Taking a deep breath, the Boy-Who-Lived opened the door to the Great Hall and stepped inside. The house tables were absent, only the Slytherin and Hogwarts crests flew and just the Headmaster's throne remained – occupied by the shadow of a man that did not deserve to be sitting there.
"Good Evening, Mr Potter" Voldemort said.
"Is if you die" Harry replied.
#
"What can you do for her?" Seamus asked. He and Dean had remained at the Hospital Wing to help defend it and also to lend a hand as and when needed.
"I can save the babies or I can save Mrs Potter" Pomfrey replied with a sigh. "I can not, however, save all three of them. She has been hit by a fast acting poison curse which I could treat and cure, but I simply don't have the time to help the unborn children and do all that"
"Make a choice" said Dean.
"If only it was that simple, Mr Thomas. I need the decision of either of the Potters"
"Ba…" they turned round to see Hermione's eyes flutter open.
"Do not strain yourself, Hermione" Dean said gently. "You need to rest and gain your strength"
"Mrs Potter, I will not lie to you. You have been hit by a fast acting curse that is using your own blood against you. Your unborn children are safe for now, but I need a decision on what to do. I can save you, but it would be at the cost of your children. Your husband is off fighting to protect you, and we can't get hold of him. What would you like me to do?" Pomfrey asked.
"Ba…" and Hermione's eyes clouded over before shutting again. Her last movement was to move one hand up and then down – resting on her swollen stomach.
"You have a decision" Seamus said.
"I don't think she knew what was going on" said Pomfrey.
"Hermione heard what you said and put her hand on her stomach – she wants the babies to be saved"
"That is pure speculation" said Pomfrey. She would have said more, but the wands of both Dean and Seamus were levelled between her eyes at point blank range.
"Do it, or I will kill you myself before Harry has the chance" Seamus said in as icy a tone as anyone had ever heard him speak in.
# # # # #
"We're never going to get through all of this lot" said Neville.
"Just too many of them" said a Hufflepuff. "We need to get the First and Second Years out of here, but they'll be on us even if a few of us retreat at the same time"
"Get the younger ones ready to move" Neville said. "We can not get them all out of here without some kind of distraction" and he looked at the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors around him. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure fighting alongside you all tonight. If you'll excuse me one moment…" and he charged down the corridor screaming at the top of his voice. "COME ON YA BASTARDS! LETS FUCKING HAVE YOU!" and he cast spell after deadly spell.
"Magnificent valour" one of the Ravenclaws said in an awe filled whisper.
"There goes one brave man" the Hufflepuff looked at the wand in his hand. "Ah well… Who wants to live forever…?" and Ernie McMillan rose, gave a Gaelic war cry and charged after Neville.
#
After getting those incapable of fighting to safer places, those still able to carry on fighting gathered together and started making a sweep of the outer areas – posting guards on each of the multiple staircases going up and down between floors. Once that was done, they started moving inwards – taking out Death Eaters, werewolves and other dark allied creatures with the determination of finishing the job that had been started years before. They didn't know if they would live or die, but they all shared the common belief that it was better to die facing the enemy and on the attack then to die as cowards. They didn't simply stun them, but used all of the combat curses that they knew of. A pair of Ravenclaw first years double teamed a Death Eater and blew his head off. The black haired girl gave the lifeless corpse a good kick with all the strength she could muster.
"That's for making me late for class" she said.
#
"What has happened?" asked Seamus.
"She gave birth to twins – one boy and one girl" Pomfrey said, wiping her bloody hands on the bloody apron she wore over her equally bloody uniform.
"That will please Harry"
"No, Mr Finnegan, it will most certainly not please him"
"Why not? He said the other day he wanted on-"
"We lost Mrs Potter"
"You mean… She's… gone?" Dean asked, and was so stunned by the suddenness of the news that he mis-stepped backwards and fell to the floor.
"Nothing I did helped to save her. I tried one method and the poison would simply block me…" Pomfrey shook her head and wiped the tears from her face. "There was nothing that I could do…"
# # # # #
"You continue to fight" Voldemort sneered at Harry. Taking quick aim, he fired a curse which was deflected by Harry.
"You continue to live" he replied. His entire body was covered with bruises, deep cuts, slivers of stone and wood had penetrated his body and he suspected his left buttock was… broken… seemed to be the best word for it. He could feel the squelching of blood in his shoes, and a lot of his clothing was slick and heavy with it too.
"You are allowing others to fight and die for you? How pathetic"
"Why don't you shut up and die? Give it up, Tom. We've got this place surrounded, the Ministry is under attack and we're going to put you all in a lengthy stretch in Azkaban"
"You fool! I told you once that there is no good or evil – merely power. Surrender, Harry Potter, surrender and become one of my followers – there is nothing that I will deny you at all" Voldemort said. All the time the two spoke, they fired spell after spell, jinx after jinx and curse after curse – but each was deflecting the other's attempts. Despite having trained for months in bringing his full power to bear, Harry was draining rapidly with the amount of spell casting. He didn't know if he could last much longer and was hoping for a lucky break or something to help win the fight.
"What do I get?" he asked.
"Fame, money, riches and all the women you could want" Voldemort said. "Should you choose to leave this place, and the country as a whole, I will give you safe passage to a location of your choice"
"Like America?"
"America" Voldemort agreed.
"America, that'll be nice" Harry inclined his head in thought. "But, My Lord, there is a Million Galleon reward for your capture or proof of your death. I'd never be able to rest easy in my bed at night knowing the reward, and your good self, are still out there to be collected" he gave an ironic bow from the waist to his opponent.
"You would die for a Million Galleons?" Voldemort sounded surprised.
"That's what I signed on for" Harry replied, charging up every last piece of his being for a powerful release.
"Then you will have to do it"
"Grand day for it" Harry said. "If you are going to kill me, I'd like to say something"
"Why not?" Voldemort granted mockingly.
"In the history of your campaigns, over all these years and months, has anybody ever said that you talk too much?"
"One" Voldemort said. "Just one person"
"What happened?"
"I killed her"
"Lord Voldemort?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"You talk too much… ACCIO LORD VOLDEMORT!" and the Dark Lord flew through the air and landed in a heap at Harry's feet. His wand came down to point at the chest of what was once the human being known as Thomas Riddle.
"You kill me?" coughed Voldemort. "You wouldn't dare"
"Oh? Wouldn't I?" Harry smiled at the wasted remains of a man. "Shield Charm this you fucker – BOMBARDA!" and Harry put the remains of his magical core into blasting a hole through clean through the chest, passing through the internal organs and coming out the back – severing the spinal column and shattering it into tiny fragments. By the time the spell exhausted itself, it had created a small and smoking crater in the floor. Coughing up blood, he reached down and picked up Voldemort's wand – placing it into his pocket. When he reached the doors to the Great Hall, he heard the cheering he had expected to hear, but it was, he thought, rather muted. "You started the party without me?" he said through the pain he was suffering. The first person he saw was Colin Creevy, and he reached out and pulled him closer. "Take down a message, Colin" he said.
"Sure…" Colin seemed a little distant for some reason, but he pulled out a notepad and pencil.
"Make to the Ministry – repeated to Buckingham Palace. Have rejoined freedom south of Inverness. Hogwarts liberated from enemy forces. Extreme heavy damage. Extreme heavy casualties" and Harry paused as if to think of how to end the message. "God Save The Queen. Get that off at once, Colin" and then saw one of the Patil twins coming towards him.
"Harry… You better get to the Hospital Wing…" Parvati said. She was cut all over and looked in a right state. Her paleness, Harry thought, was not entirely due to the effects of heavy combat.
"What, Parvati?" he asked.
"You… I'm so, so sorry, Harry…" she burst into tears.
"We lost the babies?" Harry whispered in shock. "I better get down there"
"Harry…?" Padma's voice caused him to turn around.
"Yeah?", but one glance told him all that he needed to know. He took off at the run, barging past the survivors of the battle. The run from the Great Hall to the Hospital Wing took just three and a half minutes, but it seemed to take forever to him.
"Harry… Mate…" Dean shook his head in sadness.
"No, oh please no…" Harry paled.
"She didn't suffer that much" Seamus said. "I take it that we won"
"We didn't win, Seamus" Harry said, walking towards Pomfrey's office. "We have a tactical victory…" and he saw the person he wanted inside. "Where is she?" he asked.
"We put her in the Morgue" Pomfrey said.
"This place has a Morgue?" Harry blinked. It was one of the few secrets that he didn't yet know about.
"I have not had cause to use it" Pomfrey said, looking up from the papers she was filling in. Harry looked at the topmost one and saw that it was titled Death Certificate. The name in the space provided was Hermione's.
"What happened to her?" Harry asked.
"She passed away without coming round" Pomfrey lied - she had decided not to say that she had briefly come back. "We managed to save both of the babies, Mr Potter. I am sorry that we couldn't save your wife"
"They are alright?" Harry asked quickly.
"They are perfectly safe. That elf of yours, Dobby, he is looking after them in the Gryffindor dorms" Pomfrey put the quill and the paperwork to one side. "Would you like to see her?" and Harry nodded. She led him to a hidden bookcase at the back of her office, opened it and gestured for him to step inside. "I will leave you alone for as long as I am able. You will be wanting the shelf at the end of the room" she pointed to a series of metal doors built into the stone walls.
"Thanks"
"Mr Potter?"
"Yeah?"
"It isn't pretty" and Harry looked back at her.
"I know" and turned around and went to see his wife's body. He was down there for nearly three hours, holding Hermione's cold hand in his own warm and living ones. Her face was contorted in pain and she still bore the scars of battle and bits of dried blood marred her graceful and serene beauty. As he stood by her still side, Harry did what he could and arranged her hair so that it was in some sort of order. He also adjusted her clothing – giving his wife an added bit of dignity, though a small part of him wondered why he bothered since Hermione was dead and, therefore, no longer cared about such things. His numbed mind decided to come down later and to clean Hermione properly, seal the gaping wounds in her chest from where they had to get their children out before they died and to prepare her for burial.
#
"I was going to come down and see if you are alright" Pomfrey said as Harry came out.
"How long can you keep her there?" Harry asked.
"As long as is needed, Mr Potter" Pomfrey said to him. "I shall return her after the autopsy to establish an official cause of death"
"NO!" Harry said vehemently. "I forbid it completely" he added.
"It is the law, Mr Potter" Pomfrey assured him. "It must be carried out before any burial service is planned"
"I don't care" Harry said. "I explicitly, completely, totally and unreservedly forbid any kind of autopsy to be performed on Hermione. Come to think of it, the same goes for the others who have died defending the school. I think that they have suffered enough, don't you?"
"Yes… Perhaps you are right…" Pomfrey said. "Have you any instructions as to what we should do?" she asked.
"Why bother me about them?"
"The staff, except me, have been rendered unable to do anything. Because you are a member of the Wizendgamot, you are the highest authority at Hogwarts"
"Oh" Harry said. "Just…" he waved his hand around at the room full of injured people, "Just… Just keep doing what you are supposed to do" and he walked away towards Gryffindor Tower to start taking care of his children. He and Hermione had been prepared for all of the trials and tribulations of being parents whilst still little more then children themselves, but now Harry was going to have to grow up just that little bit sooner.
He was going to be a single parent…
A/N:
For what happens next, be ready for the release of the third part of the trilogy