Chapter Nineteen
Harry looked at Abaddon standing calmly at the gates of Hogwarts. His posture was totally relaxed. His hands were clasped neatly behind his back. When His head were tipped back, his green eyes focused on the midmorning sky. When he saw Harry standing there, he nodded affably.
"Harry, I thought they'd send you."
"What do you want?"
Abaddon lifted one shoulder. "To talk."
"About?"
"This conflict between us."
"Why would you want to talk about that?"
"Look, if we fight, there's going to be a lot of death on both sides. I've already lost one of my most powerful fighters. I don't want to risk Ginevra as you call her. I want to offer you a deal."
"What sort of deal?"
"Abaddon smiled. "You know that Aeval was the one to higher me, correct? She wants you dead, but I never made any sort of oath to kill you. It just so happened that our goals coincided."
"What's your point?"
"All I ask is that you stand down. Let me do what I came to do and I'll let your family live. Think about it, if you move to the Muggle world, you can offer them your help. They'll let you live."
Harry snorted. "You don't know much about people do you?"
"I'm sorry?"
"If I took your offer, the Muggles may accept our help, but they'd never trust us. After all, if we'd betray one race, we'd probably betray another. Let's say you're right though. Just for argument, let's say they allow us to live. What kind of life would that be? They'd always be watching us. They'd never truly let us free. They'd always be waiting for the time when we'd betray them."
Abaddon's eyes had turned hard. "So you refuse my offer?" he asked resignedly.
"It's not much of an offer. Let you take over the world and we'll be subjected to lifelong scrutiny by the Muggles. Wow, that's a generous offer. Let me make you one, go away. Leave this world in peace and we won't kill you."
Abaddon snorted. "Your wards are good. It will take a few minutes to get onto the grounds, but no more than that. Do you really think I'm going to give you the chance to strengthen the wards?"
Harry felt the pulse as Abaddon's magic slammed against the wards. Quickly, he tapped a ley line and funneled the energy into the wards. A dome of blue white energy flared around them. The dome stretched high over their heads, encompassing the gates as well. The iron glowed where the magic touched it. Smoke began rising off the metal.
"So," Abaddon grunted. "You do have some fight in you, but you are only one man. I on the other hand have the strength of three wizards behind me."
Ginny was suddenly there beside Harry. She took his hand, adding her strength to his. "He's not alone."
The dome of energy flared brightly. Abaddon stumbled backwards. His handsome features twisted into a snarl.
"Nice try, but you won't defeat me."
Ginevra appeared beside him, clasping his hand tightly. "Us, you mean, you won't defeat us." She glanced at Abaddon. "You should know by now that I won't let you go into situations alone."
"I was trying to protect you," Abaddon said as his strained expression relaxed. "I didn't want anything to happen to you."
Ginevra smiled softly. "I can protect myself. We're a team, love. Where one goes the other shall follow. I'll never leave you. I've been at your side through all of this and I'll be at your side through the rest of eternity."
Harry looked at Ginny. "They really do love each other," he mouthed.
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I thought it was just lust, but they really do care."
A pulse of power nearly knocked them off their feet. Turning to look, they saw Abaddon and Ginevra smirking at them.
"You really should keep your minds on what's important," Ginevra said sweetly. "We're going to get through those wards, so you might as well stop fighting."
"Never," Harry said. His green eyes began to glow as he drew more power from the ley lines.
Abaddon wagged a finger at them as if they were naughty children. "You can draw on ley lines, but how much can your bodies take?"
The dome thrummed with power as Abaddon redoubled his attack. Cracks began to appear along its outer edges. The iron gates began to melt. Within seconds, the gate had become a pool of molten metal. Hurriedly, Harry scrabbled for the ley line again.
He drew as much power from the line as he could. It was like someone had driven a metal spike into his skull. Blood began to trickle from his nose.
"Harry?" Ginny said her voice trembling.
"I'm fine," Harry grunted.
"No your not," Abaddon said pointing at his exposed arms.
Looking down, Harry could see his skin flaking away. As he watched, another large swatch of skin turned to ash, revealing muscles and tendons underneath. Looking back at the dome, he saw that the cracks had faded. The dome was holding for now.
"Harry," Ginny said more frantically. "You have to stop. Your body can't handle the strain."
"I can hold on long enough."
Abaddon sighed dramatically. His grip tightened on Ginevra's hand. "See, this is why I killed my counterparts and took their magic. It makes the body so much more resilient."
A shriek filled the air. It was the sound of metal pushed to its breaking point and finally giving up the fight. The dome flared before exploding with a sound like breaking glass.
Harry flew backwards, landing hard on his back. Stars exploded behind his eyes as the back of his head struck a rock.
He blinked away the stars. His eyes widened as Abaddon stepped over the liquid metal. The sound of his feet on the grass was very loud in the silence.
Abaddon casually walked over to Harry. "You did good, but not good enough." A sphere of green light appeared, floating just above his palm. "I'll make your death as quick and painless as possible."
The sphere of light flew through the air, heading straight for Harry's head.
One of the winged bores that had decorated the gates rose into the air and dropped in front of the spell. The light struck the stone of its forehead and blinked out.
"What…" Abaddon began.
Ginny smiled at him. "Did you really think I'd let you kill my husband. We're a team."
"Forever and ever," Harry said rising to his feet. The tendons and muscle of his forearms was now covered in fresh new skin. Not a trace of his burned and blackened flesh remained.
"How," Abaddon said.
"Wolfshifter healing factor, remember?"
The stone bore lunged at Abaddon, its tusks aimed straight for his eyes.
Abaddon snapped his fingers. The bore exploded into stone chips.
Ginny pointed a finger at Abaddon. The remains of the bore formed a long stone spear that flew at his head.
A silver shield appeared in the path of the spear. The stone struck the shield with a loud clang.
"You're not the only ones who can fight as a team," Ginevra said conversationally. "But there's something you should know?"
"What's that?" Ginny asked.
"We're not alone."
With those words, the glamour hiding their army vanished. At least a hundred wizards and twice that number of werewolves and vampires stood there.
"Well crap," Harry muttered.
He glanced at his wife. "You take the a hundred and fifty on the left and I'll take the a hundred and fifty on the right."
XXX
"Their outnumbered," Hermione said.
"Come on," Lily said. "Let's go. Albus, lock down the castle."
"If just the three of us go out there, we'll die." Dumbledore said softly.
"There are children here," Luna snapped not sounding a bit like her usual dreamy self. "We can't allow the fight to reach the castle."
"You are right," Dumbledore said. He drew his wand. "Let's go."
XXX
Harry ducked the snapping fangs of a vampire and chucked a rune stone into its mouth. There was a flash of light and the vampire exploded into ash. Wiping the ash from his face, he looked up in time to see a large bear of a man charging at him. The man clutched an ax in one hand and a wand in the other.
With a grunt, the man swung the ax. Harry yelped as the steel blade bit deep into his shoulder. Blood flowed steadily from the wound. With a jerk, he tore himself free from the ax leaving a chunk of muscle behind.
The mercenary laughed. He grinned at Harry, revealing surprisingly white and even teeth. "Maybe I'll have a bit of fun with that wife of yours once you're dead."
Before Harry could respond, a shaft of light exited the man's forehead, leaving a smoking hole behind. He fell forward, landing flat on his face. Dumbledore lowered his wand. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Harry grunted. "I'm fine."
"How long will it take you to heal?"
Harry looked down at the bloody hole in his arm. The wound was already smaller. He tried to move his fingers and was pleased to see them twitch slightly. "I'll need a few minutes."
Dumbledore turned away. "Then allow me to buy you the time you need." His wand was a blur. Lightning and fire flew at the enemy. Where ever he pointed his wand, death and destruction rained down like judgment from an angry god.
Harry watched in awe. He'd never seen Dumbledore fight. He'd actually considered those who used wands to be weaker wizards, not near as powerful as those who didn't need a wand. Watching Dumbledore, Harry gained a whole new respect for wand wielders. He realized that how you wielded your magic was no indication of how well you could use magic.
A vampire tried to sneak up on Dumbledore and Harry punched it in the face reducing its head to a bloody pulp.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said as a beam of light bore a whole in a werewolf's stomach. Wet and glistening ropes of intestine flopped from the whole as the werewolf collapsed.
XXX
Hermione dropped from the sky her machete flashed and a werewolf's head rolled away. Spinning she stabbed another mercenary through the center of his face before jerking the blade upward. There was a wet crack as the man's head split neatly in two and he flopped to the ground.
"That was gruesome," Luna said conversationally. She made a pulling motion with her hand and half a dozen vampires turned to dust. Six grey and withered hearts appeared in her palm.
Hermione arched an eyebrow. "What would you call that?"
"Effective."
A mercenary lunged at Luna. She calmly stared him in the eye. The mercenary stopped, put his wand in his mouth, and muttered something around the shaft of wood. His head vanished in a flash of flame.
Hermione stared at Luna. "Now that was gruesome."
"No fuss no muss," Luna said skipping towards another group of vampires. She pointed to the amulets hanging around their necks. "You're too young to be immune to sunlight."
With a gesture, the amulets flew from their necks and plopped neatly into her outstretched palm. The vampires screamed as their skin blistered. Within seconds, they were gone only leaving a smoking pile of ash behind.
She looked up startled as two icy hands gripped her from behind. She let out a soft surprised sound as the vampire bent her backwards and sank it's fangs into her throat.
Luna felt a cold wrist being pressed to her lips. Thick blood flowed into her mouth. She choked, trying to spit it out, but the vampire's grip was too strong.
"Luna," Hermione yelled. There was a flicker of steel and the vampire's arms and head fell to the ground.
Hermione dropped to her knees beside Luna. She could see the transition from human to vampire already beginning. Luna's silvery blue eyes had darkened slightly and her normally pale skin was as white as snow. Hermione watched as Luna slipped one of the amulets she taken on and rose gracefully to her feet.
"Luna?" she began.
"I'm fine," Luna said airily. "It'll take several days for the transformation to be complete. Now come on, we have work to do."
XXX
Ginny dodged the green light flying at her head. She returned fire, balls of multi-colored flame flying at Ginevra's face.
"You can't win," Ginevra said softly. "You are too weak and unwilling to do what needs to be done. You will die here today just like all the others."
"No, I won't, I have a husband to get back to and we have a family to create."
Ginevra smirked. "Funny, that's what my other selves said to. It didn't stop me from killing them."
"You won't kill me so easily," Ginny said.
XXX
Lily faced Abaddon her green eyes meeting his firmly. "SO, you are the son I would've had with James."
"Yes, one of them anyway. I kill as many of my counterparts as I can find. Some are noble and others are disappointments to the Potter name."
"I'm pretty sure James would consider you a disappointment to the Potter name."
"When he's sent to Azkaban and betrayed by all his friends and those he considered family, then he can judge me."
Lily's hands were surrounded by emerald green witch-fire. "That doesn't give you the right to take out your pain on others." She sighed. "You are a bully plain and simple. Tell me Abaddon, what's the difference between you and Dudley Dursley?"
Abaddon's face twisted. "I'm nothing like him. How do you know that I was raised by the Dursleys?"
"A little bird told me. As for your similarities to Dudley, You've been tormenting entire worlds because of what was done to you. Dudley tormented you because of what you were. It's not that big a leap son."
"If you hadn't died I wouldn't have turned out this way."
"From what I was told, my counterpart died so you could live. She would be very disappointed in the life you have chosen to lead. I know I am. You could've been the bigger person. You could've walked away. Instead, you chose to kill worlds full of innocent people for what one small corner of the world did to you. You are worse than Voldemort ever thought about being."
"Shut up," Abaddon roared. He hurled a sphere of green light at Lily.
Lily nimbly stepped aside. She returned fire with a blade of silver light.
Abaddon jerked as a long gash appeared in his cheek. He touched the blood on his face and glared at Lily.
"First blood to you," he whispered.
Lily felt herself lifted off her feet and thrown through the air. She slammed into the side of the castle. "Now, let's see how much pain you can stand," Abaddon whispered.
XXX
"Things are certainly not looking good for your little wife are they?" Aeval asked as Abaddon plunged silver nails into Lily's wrists.
Oberon was trembling with rage. His jaw was clenched and his golden eyes blazed with power.
"Are you happy with what you've done," he growled.
"I never wanted this," Aeval said sadly. "I just wanted to continue my rule as queen."
"How is that working out for you? Are you satisfied?"
"There's nothing I can do," Aeval nearly whined.
"What would you do if you could?"
Aeval didn't say anything. She stayed quiet, merely continuing to stare into the mist.
"I can open the gates," Oberon said, "but there will be consequences. The spell I will use can only be spoken by someone that is neither living nor dead."
"What sort of consequences?" Aeval said.
"The barriers will be gone."
Aeval's eyes widened. "You mean…"
"I mean that Elphame and the mortal realm will merge. I have no idea what the results will be."
They both looked back at the mist as Lily shrieked in agony. Aeval's mouth puckered as if she'd bit something sour.
"I admit I was a fool. I blamed everyone else for my stupidity. If you can open the gates I'll help your son and wife, for your sake."
Oberon hesitated. "You swear not to harm them?"
"I swear I will give my life to keep them safe if necessary." There was a blaze of light that signified her oath.
Oberon didn't hesitate once the light faded. Raising his arms to the sky, he began to chant. The words rolled from his throat. Aeval winced with every syllable.
The throne room shook. Cracks formed in the gates of Elphame before they exploded. A rumbling sound filled the air.
XXX
The battle on the grounds of Hogwarts stopped as the earth shook slightly underneath their feet.
"What the?" Abaddon began.
Aeval appeared in a swirl of light. Her blue eyes were fixed on Abaddon's face.
"It's over," she hissed. "Stop this now."
"Aeval," Abaddon said smiling charmingly. "I thought this was what you wanted? I'm going to kill Harry. It's just taking longer than I thought it would."
Aeval didn't answer. She snapped her fingers. The silver nails vanished from Lily's wrists and the wounds closed, leaving no sign they'd ever been.
"What are you doing?" Abaddon asked.
"Fixing my mistakes."
"Mistakes?" Ginevra said. "What sort of mistakes?"
Aeval turned to face the remains of Abaddon's army. One of the mercenary's stepped forward, smiling stupidly. She waved a hand. There was a rumbling sound. The mercenary stumbled and then screamed as he and the rest of the army dropped into an ever widening hole. With a crash, the sides of the hole slammed together.
"Traitor," Abaddon growled.
"Like you weren't going to betray me," Aeval snapped. "You weren't just going to leave this world alone. All of my people were going to die because of you."
Abaddon was silent. His green eyes blazed with magic and his fists clenched and unclenched.
"Leave now," Aeval continued. "Find another world to attack or suffer the consequences."
"You may be powerful, but you can't stop me," Abaddon said stepping towards her. From his cloak he drew a roughly hewn knife. The silvery black metal gleamed dully in the light of the sun. His other hand came up, a sphere of green light flying at Aeval.
There was a blur of movement. Dumbledore crumpled to the ground. Aeval looked down at him along with everyone else. The old man stared sightlessly up at the sky, a contented smile on his face.
Abaddon shrugged. "I was going to kill him anyway. You just sped up his death a little bit." He stepped closer. "Stand down, Aeval. I will kill you."
"You are forgetting one thing," Aeval said smiling thinly.
"What's that?"
Aeval clenched her fist. Ginevra made a choking sound and collapsed. Her feet kicked a few times and blood poured from her slack mouth. "I'm a bitch," Aeval finished.
"Ginny," Abaddon roared hurrying to her side. He knelt beside her, but he could already see it was too late. He gently closed her eyes and kissed her forehead. "I will avenge you my love," he whispered. Turning on the spot, he vanished.
Aeval spun, but wasn't quick enough to avoid the iron blade that plunged into her chest. She let out a soft cry before collapsing. Abaddon drew back his foot.
"I'm going to beat you to death for what you've done."
A blinding flash of light lit up the grounds. Abaddon was lifted off his feet and slammed onto his back. He lay on the ground, staring up at the sky dazedly. Blinking, he saw Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Harry, and Lily standing there hands clasped.
Hermione released Lily's hand and walked over to Abaddon's fallen form. Kneeling down, she drew a strange rune on his forehead. "I strip you of the magic you have stolen," she whispered.
Abaddon cried out as spheres of light tore free of his chest, leaving bloody holes behind. He convulsed, more blood spilling from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"How," he croaked.
Hermione smiled sadly at her oldest friend. Tears ran down her cheeks. "I've been trying to find a way to stop you for years. Who'd have thought I simply needed the right rune."
"Hermione," he whispered. "You died."
"No," Hermione said gently. "Harry saved me. He wouldn't let me die. You allowed anger to control your life. You let yourself do horrible things in the name of revenge. Now it's time for you to receive your reward for your actions."
Abaddon shuddered. "I won't die so easily. I still have ways to heal myself."
"We know," Harry said. "That's why we don't intend to give you the time you need." His hand seemed to melt. Drawing back his arm, he swung his hand down. There was a wet crunch as his claws sliced through Abaddon's chest. Abaddon's let out a gurgling sound. Harry drew back his hand, clutching Abaddon's still beating heart. He crushed the heart in his fist before tossing it aside. Turning away from Abaddon's corpse, he knelt beside Aeval.
"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for saving my Mother."
"Forgive me," Aeval whispered. Veins of black were spreading up her arms. A smell of rot and burning meat hung around her. "Forgive me for not accepting you and your Mother. All of this is my fault. If I hadn't been such a vindictive bitch, none of this would've happened."
Oberon's spirit appeared on the other side of Aeval. "It's in the past now," he said making as if to brush the hair out of her face.
Aeval smiled up at him. "I can't undo what I've done, but I can give you something that will hopefully make up for it a little."
Oberon raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"Take my life," Aeval said. Her words were filled with power. "I will it to you to make up for what I've done."
Oberon stumbled. His semi-transparent form was gone. He was there. His feet left impressions in the grass as he took a step backwards.
Aeval's eyes closed. Her words were so soft, Harry barely heard them. "I love you Oberon." Her entire body relaxed.
Lily flew passed Harry wrapping her arms around Oberon. She crushed her mouth to his, kissing him fiercely. Harry left his parents to their reunion and walked over to where Luna, Ginny, and Hermione stood.
"How are you feeling," he asked Luna.
"Surprisingly well," she said. "I don't feel that different."
Ginny took his hand. "Is it over, really over?"
"The war may be over, but the changes have just begun," Oberon said walking over. "Elphame has just been merged with the mortal realm. That was the trimmer you felt."
"How is there not a whole bunch of catastrophes?" Hermione asked.
"You forget, our place is the forests and the wild places. When the realms merged, they simply added to the woodland that already existed. Your oceans will have gotten bigger as well I imagine."
"Shouldn't that still cause terrible natural disasters," Hermione sputtered. "I mean the entire planet just got bigger."
"I don't know," Oberon snapped. "I only know it didn't, but I'm not an earth elemental, so don't ask why it didn't."
"So what does that mean for us?" Harry asked.
"It means the fae won't be able to hide for long. Soon, we'll be known to the humans for good or ill. We may be able to hide for a while, but with technology advancing, we won't be hiding forever."
Lily took his hand. "There's no use in worrying about what hasn't happened yet. Right now, why don't we go back to the castle and tell everyone that the war is over?"
Harry knelt and lifted Dumbledore's body. "Sounds good." He cast a look back at Aeval. "What do we do with her?"
Oberon spread his hands. The ground split apart and Aeval's body sank into the earth. The ground closed, leaving smooth barren earth behind. "Not pretty, but it will work." He turned to Lily. "I'd like to put a marker here if Hogwarts will allow it."
Lily kissed him again. "That would be alright I think."
The small group turned and walked back towards the castle.
XXX
Tom Riddle stood in Limbo. Behind him, he could hear the river flowing along its endless course. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.
Turning, he saw a scrawny woman with lank hair and eyes that stared in opposite directions. She smiled at him. "I'm so proud of you. You really learned from your mistakes. You did well with your second chance."
"Mother?" Tom croaked.
Merope Riddle wrapped her arms around her son and hugged him close. She took his hand. "Come on, you've earned your reward."
Tom hung back. "I'm not worthy. I've done terrible things."
"You've also done some great things. Even without your memories, you fought against the darkness. You didn't allow your own prejudices to cloud your judgment. You learned from your mistakes and that is something very few are able to do."
A simple wooden door appeared in front of them. Merope continued pulling him forward.
Tom took one last look back at limbo before allowing himself to be tugged through the door. He had lived two long and hard lifetimes. Hopefully now, he would be able to get some rest.
A/N One more chapter to go. I hope this was good. Please let me know what you think.