Chapter 16: The fabric of life, woven by fate's hand
In the strange way time has of speeding up when there is something truly bad coming, the month of May gave way to June as exams came and went with only a modicum of fuss. No sooner had the students left on the Hogwarts express, then Order members started Flooing in and apparating just on the edge of the grounds almost daily. Tonks, who had already been stationed at the castle, was now staying round the clock, and surprised Cassie with the knowledge that she was also pregnant, though not nearly so far along. All of the Weasleys descended on the castle two days after the kids were shipped off and Cassie wondered that she had ever seen so many red-heads in one room. Fred and George had even gone on "vacation in Bora Bora," leaving the store in the capable hands of their assistants. They were distinctly surprised though, and there was an initial tense moment when Percy Flooed in the day after and abruptly admitted to being a "bit of a git about things." At this, Molly burst into tears as Fred and George both chucked him around the head and pulled him into a noogie. Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle even showed up, once they had successfully secured the Dursleys and the Grangers. Kingsley, who was still assigned to a night and day watch kept on the Muggle prime minister, regretfully could not leave his post. He did, however, send his well wishes by owl. Remus came strolling up the hill one day with the news that though he could not garner any support from the werewolves, neither did Greyback. The ones who retained more of their humanity had no desire to fight and the others, who preferred to live as animals, did so without caring which side won or lost.
With the arrival of the Order, the dueling practices stepped up in their intensity. All of the DA members and several other witches and wizards who were of age stayed behind to help in the fight. The Room of Requirement was in daily use as novices and veterans alike practiced with each other, sharing secrets and swapping tips. Diggle was delighted to learn Ginny's Bat Bogey Hex and returned the favor by showing her and the others how to cast a Occaecocare spell, which blinded one's opponent. The house elves even showed up from the kitchens to help and to teach. The centaurs began doing drills out on the grounds and the merpeople staged battles in their underground realm, facing off against one another with their tridents. So it continued for the next several weeks as they banded together, with everyone practicing during the day, coming together for meals in the great hall, meeting their again in the evenings for entertainment. Sometimes they played games, told jokes or stories--anything to keep their minds from dwelling on what was to come.
It was one such night, two days after Harry's birthday that Severus and Cassie lay together on his bed. He ruffled her hair with one hand, while the other stroked over her increasing belly. Both of them thinking the same thing, neither wanting to voice it, they knew that Severus would be summoned at any time and the war would truly have begun. Just then, he bolted straight up, flexing his hand and wrist and clutching his forearm.
"Is it--"
"It's burning!" he broke in before she could even ask, grabbing his wand from the side table and stowing it in his pocket. "I must warn the others."
Severus made a dash for the door, buttoning his coat as he went and slamming the door behind him. Thinking at first that it was only out of habit, Cassie reached for the latch and tugged, only to find herself locked in. With a CRACK! she turned, astounded, to face Dobby who gestured quickly for her to come to him. "Hurry missus! Dobby will help you," he squeaked as she grasped his outstretched hand. Another CRACK! and she and Dobby were then standing at the door of the Room of Requirement as Dobby started tottering back and forth in front of it muttering. "Good lord, Dobby, what are we doing here?" Cassie prompted, close to the end of her patience as the door formed and she stepped through with the elf in tow..
"Master Snape has requested you be put here, miss, with the other ladies, and out of the fighting." Cassie looked around to see that "other ladies" meant Tonks, who was clearly as furious as she and Narcissa Malfoy, who swept in from what appeared to be the passage into the Hog's Head, carrying a bottle of red currant rum. No sooner did Cassie register this than Dobby disapparated again, leaving her at a loss.
"Don't even bother trying to get out, mate," said Tonks. "Somehow they've barricaded the door."
"Cheers," said Narcissa, looking thoroughly resigned as she took a large belt straight from the bottle.
"How did you two get here?" Cassie questioned.
"Remus, who will be rapped soundly round the head afterwards, sent me up here for weapons and locked me in," snapped Tonks as she started pacing.
Cassie glanced over to Narcissa. "I was tired of fidgeting around my dear departed aunt's with that barmy little elf, so Dumbledore brought me here. And now I can watch my one and only child get his head blown off, all in the name of Muggles," she sighed, filling a tumbler on the table and taking a strong sip. "No offense of course."
Surprisingly, they were joined very shortly by Poppy, who walked straight through the door. "Poppy!" the girls exclaimed. "How did you do that?"
"Oh any of us can walk in. It's walking out you can't do until they lower the enchantments."
"Blast it all, those blighters! I want to help," said Tonks, kicking one of the hospital beds that had appeared, before lowering herself on to it and massaging her sore toes.
"Serves you right," Poppy snapped. "You've no business, either of you, fighting and straining yourselves in the condition you're in." She barely spared Narcissa a glance before carrying the supplies she had brought in over to an exam table in the middle of the room.
"Oh good lord," Cassie groaned. "I at least want to know what's going on!"
At that, a set of mirrors on the far wall lit up as images from the castle and grounds swam into view. "Alright! That's more like it," said Tonks sweeping over to see the Death Eaters making their way up the hill as everyone inside scrambled to their positions.
"Severus," echoed Voldemort's voice through the castle. "We're here. Open the doors so I can extend Potter my deepest condolences on his imminent death!"
Inside the room, Cassie and Tonks clutched at each other's hands as Poppy put her fingers to her lips, listening to the evil voice seeping through the very walls. Narcissa had sloshed rum all over the table and sat quaking with fear as she tried to toss back the drink in her hand. Just then Dumbledore's voiced bellowed through the corridors and out on the grounds, "not today Tom. If you want Harry, you have a few of us to get through yet." Before Voldemort could counter or even demand what was going on, the doors burst open and the assault began. Watching from their vantage point, the women saw chaos erupt on the grounds as people streamed out launching themselves in attack. They saw Flitwick, Aurora, and Trelawney on the top of the Astronomy tower throwing fireballs at Inferi. Watching incredulously as Flitwick charmed the gargoyles into action, Cassie was amazed to see them fly into the fight below, buffeting Death Eaters and Inferi and dive-bombing the giants.
"Bloody bleeding buggering hell!" exclaimed Tonks, as she watched Remus dueling two Death Eaters at once. "Why'd I have to get pregnant?"
"I'm thinking because he's as hard to say 'no' to as Severus..." Cassie said, trying lamely for a joke as Narcissa tipped the bottle again back at the table.
"Are you sure you don't want just one?" she called, gesturing with a shot glass and already slurring her words. Poppy tutted disapprovingly as the three women turned their faces back to the battle raging just outside.
Cassie looked back over to see Neville fall to one of Bella's stuns as Draco rushed forward engaging her in a flurry of hexes and counter curses. Fred Weasley having just bound Dolohov in restraints and stunned him for good measure, spun on the spot shouting, "renervate!" at Neville's unconscious form before turning to help Hannah Abbot fend of Greyback. Finding himself on the floor in the heat of battle, flung himself straight up and shot Bella with a full body bind spell, effectively putting her out of commission. "Thanks mate," said Draco as he moved off to engage one of the Carrows.
"That's my boy," said Narcissa sadly from the safety of their shelter. "God help him."
Outside the castle, Order members and Death Eaters alike dodged and leaped out of the way to avoid the giants' trampling feet as the house elves set upon them, levitating the clubs so that they beat their owners around the head and face. Roaring in protest, the giants flung up their hands to avoid the blows which gained in strength with every swing, stumbling and snarling as they broke into full retreat. Hagrid, outdoors as well, had cornered Macnair by the lake having chased him from the castle. Still enraged over Buckbeak's near demise, he bore down on the Death Eater as he flung curses to no avail. His giant blood protecting him from the onslaught, Hagrid lifted Macnair's body straight up as he dropped his wand, tossing him into the lake as a merman rose out of it, impaling him on the trident. Other merpeople were tossing their tridents like spears at any spiders that had wandered close to the lake's edge as they swarmed out of the Forbidden Forest. Now cut off from his route back up to the castle, Hagrid screamed at the creatures whose ancestor he had so diligently seen to, "hey ye lot! Get back where ye belong!" He bellowed as they swarmed around him. Just as suddenly as he was engulfed by a sea of arachnids, a dragon swooped down from overhead sending a rush of flames out ahead and clearing a swath through them. Hagrid glanced up in time to see Charlie Weasley soaring past on a Hungarian Horntail that looked all too familiar. Splitting into a wide grin as he barreled back up to the castle, Hagrid waved, "Charlie! Ye've got Norbert with ya?" Charlie smiled as he looped around on a return path, taking out Inferi and several more spiders on the way.
Percy, who was fighting furiously with Avery closer to the castle doors, fell back as he was slashed across the face by a powerful Sectumsempra spell that shot through his shield charm. "Avada Kedavra!" was the last thing he heard from above before he clenched his eyes shut, sure it was the end. Truly he did feel himself levitating upwards and gliding through the air amid the beating of wings. When he was finally brave enough to open them again, he got an eyeful of massive scales and the ground far below him. Craning his head up, he was shocked to see his brother Charlie, smiling down at him as they rode to the top of the Astronomy tower. "Got to let you down here, bro, you're out of commission now." Charlie pulled him off the dragon and handed him over to Trelawney, who laid him out whispering the counterspell to bind his wounds before he passed out again. Once again, Charlie launched off the top of the tower, scattering Inferi and spiders as he swept across the grounds.
"God this is killing me!" Cassie said, stomping her foot. "I could be out there right now with a sword, hacking them to pieces but no--"
"Sword?" slurred Narcissa from behind. "Are you the great bloody wench who killed my husband?" Cassie glanced back to see Narcissa sizing her up through bloodshot eyes.
"Well," she said, figuring she could hardly cause Cassie any harm in this state, "actually I did."
"Thanks for that," she snorted, before falling face forward on the table and knocking over the near empty bottle.
"I suppose I'd best get her to a bed and have a hangover emulsion ready," said Poppy, shaking her head.
"At least she can sleep through this and wake up when it's over," Tonks replied, still looking at Cassie with a newfound respect.
In other parts of the castle, Pettigrew, seeing the inevitability of the Death Eaters' defeat, deflected a spell from Ernie Macmillan and turned towards Greyback who was steadily cursing and slashing at anyone close enough. Pettigrew stood as curses and jinxes flew past him, his silver hand elongating and sharpening to a deadly point, caught Greyback's eye just before he lunged striking true through the heart as the werewolf belted out a raging howl and dropped to his knees. Seizing his opportunity to attempt to save himself from Azkaban, Pettigrew turned once again and began fighting other Death Eaters. Alecto Carrows, who witnessed his change of loyalties from the landing above, aimed a killing curse squarely at his back catching him completely unaware. George Weasley, charging up the stairs, shot a leg-locker curse at her before disarming and shouting, "incarcerous!" on his way to engage Yaxley.
In the great hall, Molly and Arthur battled it out with Amycus and Gibbon, covering each other as they spun and slashed, before Aberforth came barreling down the aisle with a well-aimed Levicorpus that brought both Death Eaters ass over shoulders in the air before they were bound and trussed, only to be summarily dropped onto the floor. "Flammare!" shouted Dean and Seamus together as Inferi began trying to crawl through the broken windows as Grawp plucked more of them away, tossing them several yards to the ground. They turned, facing none other than Crabbe and Goyle senior, and automatically began dodging and parrying with wands flying and flashing as Aberforth, Molly and Arthur ran to help.
Back inside the entrance hall, Severus spun to avoid a curse and flicked his wand deflecting another. True to Cassie's expectations, he seemed to be garnering quite a bit of attention from his old friends. He smiled grimly at the thought, as Rowle filled his vision. "What are you smirking at, Snape?" growled the towering Death Eater. "I've decided to quit playing with you all," he replied, throwing a perfectly aimed killing curse at Rowle's mocking leer before turning back to the two who had just tossed a stray jinx at him while fighting Hermione and Ginny. Tossing a shield charm in front of the two girls, Severus joined them as they collectively stunned the still masked Death Eaters, before they each went their separate ways. He ran headlong out the door, straight for the center of battle where Dumbledore and Harry both lashed at Voldemort who had observed so little of the battle that he was still smiling. The smiled slipped from his face as Severus stepped up, aiming a stun which he quickly deflected.
"How dare you, Severus," he hissed. "Ever more the truth that you never can trust anyone!" Vengefully he swept his wand in front of all three of them, causing the ground to quake as the three men braced themselves against the shift. A feral cry of rage rent the air as Bella, apparently freed from the bind Neville put on her, bulleted into the fray. Severus spun away, engaging her as Dumbledore and Harry continued with Voldemort. Dumbledore kept up the charge as again and again Voldemort deflected Harry's stuns and cursing.
"You should have learned quite more, Potter, before you came to me." Voldemort laughed wickedly. "It will be entirely too easy to take you once I finish off the old man."
His earth tremors continued, bucking under everyone's feet, as Dumbledore tipped his wand to the ground and opened it beneath Voldemort's feet. Falling into the chasm, Voldemort screamed once before shooting straight up in mid-air hitting Dumbledore with a forceful stun that slammed him onto his back before turning a killing curse on Harry, who walked right into the force of the blast. On the edge of their vision, Bella and Severus turned together to see Harry hit the ground. She let out a deranged cackle turning back to Severus as he took advantage of her distraction. "Avada Kedavra!" he screamed, lashing his wand and catching her in the face with it. Spinning toward Voldemort they began circling each other as Voldemort growled low in his throat.
"I'm ashamed of you, Severus," he sneered. "And all these years I thought you liked Bella."
"Insanity is only so entertaining," replied Severus, never lowering his wand or his guard. Sure enough, he cast Sectumsempra just as Voldemort lashed at him with a Cruciatus, which each deflected.
"I have taught you entirely too well," Voldemort conceded. "Luckily, I have not taught you all!" He launched again at Severus, again Severus deflected it, shouting "resulto!" as the curse rebounded on his attacker. The spell caught Voldemort full in the chest, causing him to crumple as he began writhing and twitching, with Snape bearing down forcing the curse to continue its assault. He broke off the curse as Voldemort lay gasping, raising his wand once more he heard a voice behind join his as he yelled, "Avada Kedavra!" With a blast of green light that blinded his vision, he looked back to see Voldemort lying supine, no longer writhing. No gasps, no maniacal gleam in the snakelike eyes. They stared up at the sky, empty. As he turned, he saw Potter standing, his wand still aimed at Voldemort's lifeless body as if expecting him to rise once more, but both he and Severus knew full well that this was the last time.
Hearing a groan from behind them, they both glanced over to see Dumbledore moving as if trying to get up and finding the thing impossible to do. They walked over and, each outstretching a hand, pulled him to his feet. Looking around, he managed a weak nod of approval as he took in the scene. The two giants had long since fled. Charred remains of Inferi littered the ground and any number of other Death Eaters lay dead, either from being cursed, burned, or shot with arrows. A few lay moaning in agony over their wounds, and still fewer had been backed up to the walls of the castle having surrendered as soon as they saw their master fall.
"That'll do, I suppose," managed Dumbledore, who allowed himself to be ushered back inside with Severus on one side and Harry on the other.
As the sun rose later that morning, the castle's residents were still awake, tending wounded and binding prisoners for the Aurors to take back to Azkaban prior to their hearings. Cassie took a break from helping with the injured, who were still streaming in from outside, to look for her love. Down she flew to the first floor and there, as she looked over the huge balustrade that was missing a large chunk, she locked eyes with him as he glanced up from surveying the damage. Climbing the main stairs to Cassie, Severus stepped on Yaxley, who appeared to have a strange combination of green tentacles and Ginny's signature bat bogey wings sprouting all over him, he met her halfway as she ran down to him. "It's over," she exclaimed, overcome with relief as she latched onto him. "Thank god it's over!"
"You said it, love," he sighed, burying his face in her hair, hanging on just as tightly as he lifted her off the ground in a fierce hug. He had his coat off, and his sleeves rolled up after setting aside bodies for burial and shoring up any damage that could be dangerous if left unattended. She turned his forearm to touch her lips to the mark he would never have to feel burning again, only to gasp when she found only the barest trace of a scar.
"For the first time in years," he said, as she looked up questioning, "I know what it feels like for my life to be my own."
***
Weeks later, they stood together at the lake's edge, surrounded by all her new friends and her family, who had been escorted as a service by the Ministry. She and Severus stood under a bower, ringed with garlands as they held hands. Dumbledore, smiling widely and enjoying his official capacity to the hilt, spoke of love, courage, and faith with a merry twinkle in his eye. Neither of them heard much of it, not even as their mouths formed the words they repeated after him. She watched tearfully as Severus slid his grandmother's ring onto the correct finger and pulled her closer to him.
"Then by the authority vested in me as Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Severus," Dumbledore winked, "you may now kiss your bride."
She tipped her gaze up to his, smiling as his lips met hers. Cheers and music rent the air and arrows arced overhead as the centaurs, mermen, and any number of other magical creatures joined in the celebration. She looked around at all the smiling faces watching them: Harry and Ginny arm in arm, Hermione and Ron, the Weasley twins elbowing each other, Minerva and Aurora dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs, Narcissa, Mandy and Draco standing close by, and any number of the other faces she had grown to know and love. Thinking of the only other occasion she knew where all these beings came together, Cassie was eternally grateful that this one really happened, as the other had been rewritten and any number of lives had been redeemed.