Chapter III: … And So It Ends
The fighting that day was long and hard, and the stuff of legends. Many fell on both sides and many others distinguished themselves in their services and sacrifices.
Yet, in the end, it all came down to one boy and one personification of evil. When most of the other battles had been fought and won or lost, two lone figures continued on, in a confrontation for the fate of them all.
The duel between Harry James Potter and the Dark Lord Voldemort (aka Tom Marvelo Riddle) lasted long into the night. Both opponents were damaged, bloodied and near exhaustion when the final curses were uttered to end it all.
Brilliant green light erupted over the battlefield. Witnesses stood and watched in horror as Harry uttered the spell that would destroy Voldemort's body and soul forever, an instant before the final deadly curse came out of Voldemort's wand and crashed into the boy's chest.
Thus a scrawny teenaged boy in bare feet and a borrowed robe met his destiny unfalteringly and vanquished the most evil Dark Lord the Wizarding World had ever known. The threat was gone and the world saved.
oo0oo
"Harry!" With strength he didn't know his almost spent body still possessed, Severus Snape leapt to Harry's side as the boy was thrown to the ground. The Puppet Master's strings had snapped and the marionette could only collapse into Severus' arms.
An unearthly hush had fallen over the battlefield as Severus came to his feet, cradling his most precious burden to his chest. Despite his fatigue, he neither stumbled nor wavered. Surrounded by this unnatural silence, the Potions Master made his way to the Hospital Wing; to the only person he would ever trust with this dearest of treasures.
Even the chaos of triage stilled as the boy was carried in and laid ever so gently onto the bed that had long since been dubbed as his own.
Madam Pomfrey needed a moment to clear her vision over the broken boy before her, before her professionalism took over. Frantically she went to work. In addition to his other injuries, Harry's scar was an angry red, swollen and bleeding.
The Mediwitch examined the boy hero for some time, scanning, diagnosing and healing in near silence. Finally, she stepped back for a moment and met Severus' gaze.
"He has broken bones, internal injuries, lacerations and contusions too numerous to count and he's magically drained. Merlin and the gods only know how, but Harry Potter will live!"
Absolute bedlam broke out!
In the ensuing disruption, Snape's knees finally gave way. It was Charlie Weasley who caught him and carried him to the next bed. After running a few quick scans, Charlie looked up at the Matron and smiled.
"He's in surprisingly good shape. He's pretty beat up of course, but nothing is urgent or life threatening. He's just drained. A bit of healing, a couple days rest and he'll be his snarky ol' self once again!"
Poppy closed her eyes and gave a silent prayer of thanks. Her two best boys were going to be fine. She had honestly feared she was going to lose one or both of them on this day. Drawing new strength from this, she went back to work on Harry.
~oo0oo~
NB: I've highlighted the line concerning 'the scrawny teenaged boy' because that is the line that started it all. I'm not sure where it came from, be it dream or waking, but that's where this story started. I simply built the rest around it. I guess you could call it my way of starting with a block of marble and carving away anything that doesn't look like an elephant!
- Belldandy
~oo0oo~
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Potterverse! It's just that Harry and Severus begged to come out and play! How could I refuse those beautiful green eyes, or that velvety voice?
~oo0oo~