Amber stirred in Ginny's arms. I pulled her hair from her face, and she opened her eyes.
"Hm… what happened? Where am I?" she whispered. Darion kissed her on the forehead.
"This is Hogwarts… just outside of the Room of Requirement. You just missed us destroying it, and I think the Death Eaters have started to attack us," he said. A body came flying over our heads.
"Guys, do you know what this means?" Ginny asked. We all shook our heads.
"The diadem is knocked out. That means… there is only one more Horcrux. The snake," Ginny elaborated. We nodded confusedly, but Amber had a bright idea. Ginny lifted her so that she was facing me. Amber touched her wand tip to my forehead: specifically, my scar. Sending a searing pain down both of us, I entered Riddle's mind.
"My lord… are you alright?"
But of course, Lucius… I am merely waiting for the Trio.
"My lord… forgive me, but wouldn't it be more prudent if you called off this battle, and sought the Trio yourself?"
I need not seek out the Trio. Before the night is out, all three of them will have come to me!
"Forgive me… I was merely concerned that, if you want to kill them yourself, you should be wary of stray spells hitting them. You wouldn't like it at all if someone shot an Avada Kedavra at someone else, missed, and hit one of them instead, hm?"
Such an occurrence is impossible. You are under strict orders not to kill any of them. Perhaps your concern is over your son?
"No… not at all…"
Such lies, Lucius… bring me Severus.
"Severus, my lord?"
No, fool, Bellatrix. Of course I want you to get Severus! Now get out of my hissing sight!
"Woah… next time, warn me when you're about to do that!"
"There won't be a next time, Harry. We've got him cornered: he won't leave these grounds alive! Now… where is he?"
"…I think he's in the Shrieking Shack. He has just sent Lucius to get Severus…"
"Well, then, let's stop staring at our hands and get going. Percy, we were in the middle of a conversation!" Ginny inspired.
"Whoops, sorry Ginny. THICKNESSE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
We got to the Whomping Willow without the incident you'd expect from wandering through a battlefield. I looked at the knot at the tree's base.
"How are we going to get there?" I asked. Amber focused her mind, and turned into her eagle form.
This seems like a good method, no?
"No. I seriously doubt a bird could-" I began to rebut, but Amber had got the knot before I could get the words out.
"Never mind."
Harry, Ginny, I think you two should be the only ones to go. I'll need to be on hand to stop this thing so you can get out.
"You have a point," Ginny conceded, before grabbing my hand and taking me under the Willow.
"My lord, I have no idea why."
Do you not, Severus?
I was spying on the two fighting over some matter. In the corner, I could spot Nagini, protected by a shield of pure magic.
"Amber would have a thousand curses to get to her…"
"Harry, shut up."
The Elder Wand… fabled to be given to the wizard who killed its previous owner. It's last owner was Albus Dumbledore. Guess who killed Dumbledore?
"Master, there must be another-" Snape began, but was stopped.
Severus… to even stand a shot at getting near one of the trio, I need the Elder Wand. I regret to do this, but… Nagini. Dinner.
Nagini's protective shield shot across the room, and encompassed Snape. Two quick bites to the neck, and Snape had fallen all but dead.
Like I said, I regret it… Riddle hissed, walking from the room, lugging the snake behind him. I made to go see Snape, but Ginny stopped me.
"Verto Vultus Oculus," she casted, and once again, my girlfriend took on the form of my mother.
"Stay back. Snape won't take too kindly to seeing James."
"Can't fault that logic."
Lily entered the Shrieking Shack, and crouched down near Snape. I pulled on my Invisibility Cloak, and snuck slightly closer.
"Lily… please…"
"It's alright, Severus… I'm here… I'll protect you…"
"Get… this… to… Harry…" Snape gasped. Leaking from his eyes was the familiar substance of liquid memory. Lily conjured up a flask, and held it by Snape's eye, collecting the memories.
"Look… at… me…" Snape cried, and Lily did so. After Snape lay there, gazing for only a second, he fell limp.
"Verto Vultus Oculus. That was awkward."
"Whatever. Snape said I needed to see these memories. We have to get to Dumbledore's office."
You have fought… valiantly. Riddle's hissing to the entire grounds was so realistic, I almost expected to see Riddle's sorry excuse for a body being framed by the door.
Lord Voldemort values bravery. Yet you have suffered lives beyond counting. Blood has been spilt by the gallon. I do not want this. Every drop of magical blood spilt is a loss and a waste. I hereby order my forces to retreat. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat the wounded among you.
Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Amber Granger… I speak directly to you. You have permitted others to die in your stead, in preference to facing me yourself. I shall be waiting in the Forbidden Forest for an hour. If, by the end of that hour, I have not seen any one of you three, the battle shall resume. And this time… I will participate. Every last man, woman or child who has attempted to conceal you will be dead. You have but one hour.
I looked at Ginny, horrified. She looked at me, pleading. We fell into each other's arms for a minute, but we pressed on.
Me, Ginny, and Amber surrounded the Pensievein Dumbledore's office.
"Ready?"
"Ready." I poured Snape's memories into the bowl, and we all dipped our faces into the bowl.
Snape was lurking by the bushes, watching two girls on a swing. One of the girls was going much higher than the other.
"Lily, no!" the slower one cried, but Lily was unheeded. She flew straight off the swing, did a couple of acrobatic twirls, and landed on her feet not too far away.
"Mummy told you not to!"
"I'm all right, Tuney. Look what I can do!" Lily was a very excitable child. Petunia leaned in to look. Lily had taken a daisy from her landing, and was allowing it to float above her hand.
"Freak!" Petunia called, slapping it near where Snape was hiding.
"No, not really…" Snape said, walking out from the bushes. Petunia went running and screaming, but Lily did not.
"Who are you?"
"Severus Snape. I've been watching you for some time, and trust me, your talents are no mere flukes. You are what many people call a witch."
Lily stood there, thinking it over. "A witch, as in, cackling broomsticks and green skin, or…"
"No… I have no idea where that interpretation came from. Probably some old movie or something. No, you are a witch, in the sense that you are a girl that can do magic. A boy, like myself, is called a wizard."
Lily gave a nice sounding giggle. They appeared to have had a much longer conversation than what Snape showed.
Snape walked up to the Sorting Hat, and turned to look at Lily. She seemed apprehensive, as the Sorting Hat was placed on Snape's head. It shouted, "SLYTHERIN!", and Snape was led to the far end of the hall, far away from Lily Evans…
Snape and Lily were walking along the corridors, engaged in an animated conversation. Bumping in between them were three boys. James, Sirius, and Peter. Remus walked around the two, giving Lily a comforting pat on the back. Snape picked up what Lily and he had dropped, shooting a glare at James.
"Go make friends in your own house!" James called.
"I'd advise you to stay out of other people's business. Now, if you'll excuse me, Lily and I were in the middle of a conversation."
"Snivellus! Snivellus!" was chanted all around the field, as James Potter and Sirius Black had Severus Snape in the air, and at their mercy. He was promptly let down as we showed up.
"You're lucky Evans is here to save you!" James taunted.
"I don't need help from filthy Mudbloods like her!"
"Fine. I won't help in future. And I'd wash my hair if I were you!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Not listening!"
"I really am sorry, Lily!"
"Save your breath, Snape. I only came out here because Mary told me you were going to sleep here."
"I was. I really am sorry, Lily… I never meant to-"
"Call me Mudblood? But you call every other Muggle-born in the school Mudblood. What makes me any different?"
The Dark Lord's bane are born as the seventh month fades…
"Don't kill me!"
"That was not my intention."
Severus and Albus stood alone on a hillside, Hogwarts visible in the background.
"What message has the Dark Lord for me?"
"Message? I come of my own accord!"
"…What is it?"
"You know full well that I was the one who eavesdropped on the prophecy… and the Dark Lord… he intends to hunt down Lily Evans!"
"The prophecy did not refer to a woman. It spoke of twins and a dark horse friend born at the end of July."
"I meant that Lily's twins were the ones to be sought out. Hide them. Hide them all! I beg of you!"
"And what shall you give me in exchange?"
"Name your price."
"You said. You would keep her. Safe."
"Lily and James put their faith in the wrong person… rather like you did."
"Don't… please…"
"The twins survive. The daughter looks just like her mother. The son inherits her eyes."
"Please… spare me…"
"Listen to me, Severus. I admit, I made a huge mistake… Summer Potter's exact location and name are now impossible to pinpoint. However, I need you to protect Harry and whoever the best bet for Summer may be."
"They do not need protection. The Dark Lord is gone!"
"He will return. And Harry and Summer will be in grave peril when he does."
Snape deliberated on his point for a very solid chunk of time.
"No one… can know."
"I shall never reveal the best of you, Severus? If you insist…"
"Mediocre to the extreme, arrogant as his father, and seems to relish in his fame…"
"You see what you expect to see, Severus. Others report him as modest, engaging and reasonably talented. I personally agree. Keep an eye on Quirrell, won't you?" Dumbledore answered, not even looking up.
"Well?"
"It's getting stronger by the minute. Karkaroff's, too. He intends to flee should the Mark burn."
"And you?"
"I have a plan. I am no lowly coward."
"Just like a true Gryffindor. Sometimes, I think we Sort too soon…"
"Are. You. Insane? Why did you even think about putting on that accursed ring?"
"I was a fool. Sorely tempted…"
"Tempted by what?" No response. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are to still be alive? I have contained that curse to your hand, but it will spread."
"How long do I have."
"…Maybe a year."
"Hm. I may want to start setting my affairs in order, compose my epitaph, check off my bucket list… but I trust you are well aware of the plot to assassinate me?"
"Bright as rain. He only told me, the Malfoys, Lestrange, and for some reason, Pettigrew."
"Assassination training. But I trust you know what will happen."
"Draco can't kill you before the year is up."
"I have no intention of allowing him to. You must be the one to kill me, Severus. Put an old man out of his misery… when the time is right."
Snape merely raised an eyebrow, but caught what Dumbledore's exact intentions were.
"What have you been doing with Potter, Weasley and Granger, all those times in your office?"
"Severus, I have my reasons. I simply cannot tell anyone other than those Chosen Three, as well as anyone they trust to assist, what I am telling them."
"Weasley, Granger and Okima? Are you sure?"
"They have proved, through countless trials, that they are worthy. But the information can't be passed on willy-nilly."
Snape sniggered slightly, but Dumbledore must not have heard.
"After you have killed me…"
"You withhold apparently important information from me, and you still expect that service? Maybe I've changed my mind."
"You fear secrecy? Come to my office at eleven, and we'll discuss some important matters that the Chosen are not yet ready to hear. Perhaps then you will trust what I have to say. And how's our young Slytherin friend going?"
"Severus, there will come a time, after I have been killed, don't interrupt, Severus, it's rude, there will come a time when Voldemort fears for the safety of Nagini."
"And why is this important?"
"When this happens, it is important to tell Harry, at the very least, this: when Voldemort died, that night on Godric's Hollow, due to a very specific set of circumstances, long, complicated, and involving Lily's sacrifice, part of Voldemort's soul was separated from him, and latched onto the nearest living thing it could find. Harry."
"How do you know it wasn't Summer?"
"Harry can speak to snakes. He shares thoughts with Voldemort. He has certain character traits Voldemort possessed. Ginny's Parseltongue alone doesn't seem to count, nor does Amber's odd ability to get stitches whenever Voldemort is active in her presence. I don't even think they're related, and are just coincidental."
"Huh?"
"Stress-caused. Anyway, Harry contains part of Voldemort's soul. While he lives… Voldemort cannot die."
Snape stood there, for seconds on end.
"You have been telling me that we were protecting the boy, training him… and now you tell me he's a pig marked for slaughter!"
"Don't tell me you've grown to care for the boy?"
"For him? Expecto Patronum." Snape casted, allowing a silvery doe to run around the room.
"Lily… after all this time?"
"Always."
The seconds stretched out.
"Harry… oh Harry…"
"You got it rough."
Both Ginny and Amber were looking at me sadly. I took Ginny into my arms, while Amber stared out to the Forbidden Forest.
"Two will fall to the hand of one, and one to the hand of two…"
"Amber… what are you getting at?"
"It was foretold one of us would die at the very least. I was hoping desperately it would be me since I heard this prophecy, doubly so since Darion started flirting with Luna, but… Harry… a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
"Amber… Ginny… thank you… it was nice knowing people like you… and Ron and Hermione… and Darion, too…"
"Harry… thanks…" Ginny sighed. I felt my heart rate go through the roof. All those beats it would miss…
"Harry… I don't mean to rain on your parade… but you've only got half an hour to get desoulitized."
"Right, Amber. Longer I stay, harder it will be to go." I put on my Cloak, and headed towards the Forbidden Forest.
The long game had ended. The Snitch was caught. It was time to leave the air.
The Snitch.
I open at the close.
I pulled out the Golden Snitch. I looked carefully at it, before whispering, "I am about to die." It opened.
There, before my very eyes, was the second Hallow. The Resurrection Stone. I took it in my hands. It couldn't hurt to summon a few fallen. After all… they were just fetching me, weren't they?
I turned over the stone three times.
The sounds of not quite corporeal bodies came out from the bushes, followed by the bodies themselves.
James, looking like my identical twin, chuckling at a long since forgotten joke or prank.
Sirius, as happy as James, bearing the same resemblance as he did on the day he fell through the Veil.
Ron, bashfully wandering through the trunks, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be here at all.
Lily's smile was widest of all. I would have run up and hugged her, were it not for the fact I knew it would be for naught.
"You have been so brave…" she said.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean for any of you to die… Any of you… but especially you, Ron… right after Hermione…"
"Amber would have told her why I died. Hopefully, one day, she may be able to move on, and live a happy lifetime. I only wished I could have been there…"
Not having the heart to tell Ron how Hermione took the news of his death, I asked the first thing that came to mind.
"Does it hurt… dying?"
"Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
"And he will want it to be quick. He wants it over."
I nearly broke down then and there. But I had to press on.
"Stay close."
I moved up to face Riddle. The Death Eaters cheered, but Hagrid, somehow captured by the Death Eaters, was aghast. Bellatrix was watching us carefully, waiting for the blow to fall. And so was I.
"Avada Kedavra," he casted. A flash of green light.
And then nothing.
Didn't update yesterday due to the promise to not update an upsetting chapter on Christmas. Not where I thought I'd be, but I think it'd still count.
Practicing not writing notes, for the next story concept, so next chapter has the last for a while.
Two must fall at the hand of one...