Title: The Boys Who Lived
Author: Shara Lunison
Beta: Batsutousai
Rating for this Chapter: T
Pairings: Harry/Henry (OMC), several others—none of them canon
Warnings: SLASH, twincest, slightly manipulative!Dumbledore, grey Harry/Henry, OoC-ness, major character death
Summary: The Potter twins are attacked by Voldemort and somehow defeat him. Now the Dark Lord has returned and they have to choose between light and dark. SLASH, Twincest, rated M for later chapters.
Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Sorry for the incredibly long wait. I finished my novel for my thesis and it's all turned in. While I'm waiting for the final edits to come back from my advisers I'm going to do my best to finish this fic. I've also started posting The One True King, which is completely finished and ten chapters long. I'm posting chapters of that every Saturday. Please read it if you like HP/LV. This chapter is the beginning of the end.
Chapter Thirty-Two—The Cave and the Tower
May 15, 1994
3:00 PM—
Severus clutched the box of potion vials to his chest, watching as the Dark Lord strolled casually through his followers like a wraith. Long white fingers stroked a cheek here, a shoulder there, and, once, the back of someone's neck.
Looking over the army of white-masked faces, Severus counted absently. There were two missing. Two had been missing for several weeks of these meetings, and now the night was upon them and they had still yet to return.
"They are coming," the Dark Lord hissed with satisfaction, returning to rest on his throne.
No one in the room so much as twitched, so well trained they were. As several sets of boots marched up to the doors at the back of the room, Severus nearly marveled at how no one dared to turn and look to see who was coming. Only he jumped when the doors swung open and Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange entered, a weak form carried between them with its arms over their shoulders. Severus hid his grimace with the ease of long practice and tried to release his death-grip on the box as he watched.
"You return…at last. He is alive?" Voldemort asked.
Rodolphus stepped forward and bowed low. "He is, my lord," he said loudly. "He was being held under the Imperius Curse by his father and the family house elf." His sneer said it all. Weak.
Severus studied the tousled head of brown hair, the only distinguishing characteristic of the person still being supported by Rabastan. His head hung too low for him to see the face.
Voldemort stood once more and descended the steps on the dais that held his throne. Rabastan quivered in his boots while his brother wisely stepped out of the way. They had been sent to find this man, but it remained to be seen if he would be punished or rewarded.
"Barty…" Voldemort hissed softly, reaching out one hand to raise the man's chin.
Severus barely contained his gasp. Barty Crouch Jr…alive!?
"I have a very special task for you, dear Barty…" Voldemort murmured, just loud enough for Severus' sensitive ears to catch.
The limp man roused slightly. "I live…to serve…my lord," he rasped.
A satisfied smirk curled the Dark Lord's lips. "Good." He turned to face the dais where Severus still stood. "Make him ready, Severus. He stands with us this night."
Severus bowed. "As you say, my lord." What does he want Barty to do? He carefully set his box of vials on the Dark Lord's throne, then escorted the limp man from the room and down the hall to his personal potions laboratory.
"I thought you were dead," he said noncommittally as he began collecting the necessary potions to make the younger man ready for a battle.
Barty gave a wheezing, sickly laugh. "I don't give up that easily. I had too much to live for."
Severus paused with a vial in either hand and studied the other man. He vaguely recalled that Barty was always sickly when they were children. He had been in Ravenclaw, and a year below Severus. He found himself oddly…curious. What could keep one man going for thirteen years of imprisonment, first in Azkaban and then under the Imperius Curse?
"I can't imagine," he murmured without thinking.
Barty looked up at him, brown eyes dimmed with pain and exhaustion. "It's the same thing I've always lived for, Severus. The same person." His eyes flickered back and forth between each of Severus' as if searching for something. Sighing, he looked away. "I live to serve the Dark Lord. It's all I have left in me after all this time."
"Indeed," Severus said softly. Had there been something else…for a moment? No. He handed the first vial to Barty and waited for him to drink. He would do as the Dark Lord bid him and return Barty to health, then focus on his own mission for the evening.
Tonight, he would kill Albus Dumbledore.
-o-0-o-
4:00 PM—
"Take one vial each, but do not drink it yet!" Voldemort ordered, motioning to the box of precious potion vials Severus had prepared. "It is enough to last a few hours at most and without it the wards will expel you. Rosier, your group will focus on bringing down the wards and fighting anyone who opposes us."
Evan Rosier nodded with a grim smile. Wards were his specialty.
"The rest of you know your missions. If you have been assigned to corral the students in their dorms, you will secret yourselves away in Hogsmeade until the time is right. Fenrir, you will lead our group of assassins into the forest and wait for the signal.
"Barty." Voldemort paused with a sickly smile. "You will be with Severus. Do not let him out of your sight. I want him protected at all costs, for he has the greatest mission of all. He will kill Dumbledore."
There were cheers and cackles from amidst the crowd of Death Eaters.
"Go, my faithful!" Voldemort crowed, raising his arms with delight. "Get to your places swiftly, but carefully. Draw no more attention to yourselves than necessary. Tonight, we win!"
Pairs of Death Eaters began to pop away—the Carrows, Yaxley and Mulciber, Nott and Travers, Avery and Dolohov. Fenrir gathered an odd assortment together that included Severus, Barty, Lucius, Bellatrix, the Lestrange brothers, and Macnair. They apparated directly to the Forbidden Forest and settled in to wait for the agreed upon sign that the battle was underway.
-o-0-o-
5:45 PM—
Abe polished the glass in his hands furiously, studiously ignoring the incongruous number of Dark wizards gathering in his pub. Something was afoot, and he wanted no part of it. His mind strayed to the Potter twins, and he ruthlessly forced the memory of them to the back of his thoughts. He could not help them now. No one could.
-o-0-o-
6:00 PM—
The twins met Dumbledore in the Entrance Hall and brought only their wands and their invisibility cloak, just as he had told them.
"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked them gravely. His appearance was quite uncharacteristic. Gone were the flamboyant, brightly colored robes and the grandfatherly twinkle. Both his clothing and his expression were serious, and the twins gave him serious nods in return. "I need your word," Dumbledore began slowly, "that you will do exactly what I tell you to do tonight. There is no telling what sort of protections Voldemort has placed on his horcrux, and I will not endanger you needlessly. Do I have your promise that you will obey me?"
Harry nodded readily, but Henry frowned. "I will obey unless it is quite obvious that a different course would be wiser," he said firmly.
Dumbledore nodded back as though he had expected this. "Then let us leave. Put on your cloak and follow me to Hogsmeade."
The twins threw the shimmering silver cloth over their heads and followed the Headmaster out of the front doors of Hogwarts, across the lush green summer lawn, and down the long and winding path to the little village. The school wards extended over the village as well as the school, and the Headmaster stood out as he walked along the little cobbled path past the Three Broomsticks.
Henry pulled Harry up against the side of the building and they stopped as Madame Rosmerta bustled out into the street to greet Dumbledore.
"Good evening, Albus!" she said, smiling warmly. "Here for a cuppa?"
"No thank you, Rosmerta," Dumbledore said, not stopping in his intended direction despite her stepping in his path. "Just out for a bit of a stroll. I thought the fresh air might clear my head of the cobwebs that seem determined to grow there of late."
Rosmerta hurried alongside him, and the twins followed along behind at a safe distance. "You look a bit peaky, Albus," she said with concern. Her hand rested on his arm, tugging ineffectually as she tried to get him to stop. "Are you sure you don't want a drink?"
"I'm quite sure, dear. Thank you," Dumbledore told her kindly. "I must be going now."
She released him and stopped in the middle of the street to watch him leave, wringing her hands slightly. Harry and Henry passed her like ghosts, their feet making barely any noise on the well-maintained cobbles.
"She seems worried," Harry whispered to his brother when they had passed a good distance from her.
"Yes…I wonder what's wrong," Henry murmured back.
They approached the village gates and found Dumbledore waiting for them with his arm raised. Without comment, they both reached up to take hold of his arm. With a step and a twist, they rushed away with a feeling like being sucked through a straw.
When they landed, there was the smell of salt water in the air, the sound of the pounding ocean waves, and a whipping wind that made it difficult to peer through the darkening gloom of sunset.
"There." Dumbledore pointed to a cliff face some meters away from the rocky outcrop they were perched on in the middle of the cove. A dark gap was carved into the rock, low on the cliff and almost submerged as the tide ran out. "We must swim."
With one large splash and two smaller, they set off to find the Dark Lord's soul.
-o-0-o-
6:15 PM—
Ron and Draco walked slowly through the hallways of Hogwarts on their way to Gryffindor tower after dinner. "Do you think they'll be all right?" Ron asked.
Draco scoffed. "If it were just Dumbledore and Harry, I might be worried. But they've got a Slytherin with them. I'm sure they'll be fine."
Ron laughed softly, which was Draco's intent. They walked a few more steps in silence and then he said, "I've just got a feeling, you know?"
Draco stopped walking and looked at him seriously.
"What?" Ron asked self-consciously.
"I've got a feeling, too," Draco murmured, pressing closer to the tall redhead.
Ron backed away instinctively, feeling a hot blush climbing up his cheeks. "Draco…?"
"Shh…" Draco shushed him. "Stop thinking for a moment, Ron. Just feel."
"Wha—mmph."
Draco pressed him against the cool glass window right there in the middle of the sixth floor corridor and kissed him hard. When he finally pulled away, they were both breathless.
"W-why?" Ron asked.
"Because…" Draco's eyes moved the window and he trailed off. Leaning over Ron's shoulder, he peered through the thick glass toward the forest in the distance.
"What is it? What did you see?" Ron asked worriedly.
"I thought I saw a light in the forest, but it was gone in a moment. It was probably just Hagrid."
"Probably…" Ron said slowly.
"You don't think so?" Draco asked, shifting so he could look Ron in the face again. Ron gulped visibly, his eyes straying to Draco's lips for a moment before he clenched them shut and shook his head.
"I think we should tell McGonagall. That feeling of mine has just gotten ten times worse. And with Dumbledore out of the castle tonight, I don't want to take any chances."
"All right," Draco said. He pulled back, intending to continue up to the seventh floor and the Headmaster's office where McGonagall was waiting. Ron lurched forward, arms outstretched as though he did not want to let him go. They stumbled together and across the corridor into the opposite wall. "I thought you had a feeling," Draco laughed.
"I've got two feelings," Ron murmured, dipping his head closer to Draco's. "One is bad and says we should go see Professor McGonagall. One is good—more than good—and says I should snog you first."
Draco felt his will crumbling as he leaned up to meet Ron's lips. "All right, but just for a minute…"
They made it up to the Headmaster's office ten minutes later to find it crowded with aurors, professors, and all of the prefects for every house, including the Head Boy and Girl, all babbling incoherently.
"What's going on?" Ron asked, still settling his mussed hair.
The room quieted upon seeing them, and McGonagall took the opportunity to speak from behind the desk. "Hogwarts is under attack."
-o-0-o-
Severus stood like a silent shadow, watching the school that he had called home for more years than he could count.
"Do you miss it?" Barty asked softly.
Severus barely turned his head. Barty had been following Voldemort's order to a 'T'. The man had not left his side for even a moment since they left the manor.
"Sometimes," he said honestly. "Less than I would have thought."
"I miss it," Barty sighed. "Life was so much simpler when I was at Hogwarts."
Severus snorted, thinking of his own years there. Fighting with the Marauders, losing Lily to James Potter, teaching the explosive subject of Potions to generations of students, reviving the Dark Lord at the cost of a boy's life… No, life had not been simple when he lived in the ancient castle. But it had been richer. So much of his life now seemed stagnant. A tremor passed through his hands and he clenched them tightly. How could the Dark Lord have changed so much?
"What is it?" Barty asked. His tone was colored with concern, and he moved closer in the darkness to see if Severus had hurt himself. "Lumos."
"Put that out, you fool!" Severus snarled. "Do you want to give us away?"
The light disappeared mere seconds after it appeared, leaving spots on his vision.
"I just wanted…" Barty trailed off, looking somewhat ashamed.
"I am fine," Severus said more quietly. "It is a side effect of the Cruciatus Curse."
Barty stared at him for a long moment. "That side effect only happens after prolonged exposure."
Severus did not answer that bold statement and instead returned to his study of the castle.
Barty wisely remained silent. It was a marked improvement over the cackling of Bellatrix in the near distance.
-o-0-o-
6:30 PM—
Dumbledore, Harry, and Henry studied the small boat before them before Harry finally spoke. "There's no way all three of us will fit in that. It looks like it would sink under the weight of one person alone!" The craft reminded him eerily of the gondola steered by Charon as he guided souls into the Underworld on the River Styx. The water in the cavern didn't exactly help. It smelled of death and decay, cold and terror. He would have done anything in order to not have to cross it.
But cross it they must. The horcrux lay in the center.
"Perhaps you should merge together," Dumbledore suggested. "I believe it will carry us both, if just."
They cast the duo universus spell with barely a thought, switching to the holly and phoenix wand when Lylas stood where Harry and Henry once had.
They entered the boat first at Dumbledore's motion. It wobbled dangerously, then started moving on its own once the old man had stepped into it behind them.
It took perhaps a minute to reach the center island of stone. There they found a simple stone pedestal which held a glowing green liquid in a basin on the top.
"It must be drunk, I think," Dumbledore murmured, looking down at the stuff.
"We'll drink," Lylas said.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, if it is poison, no matter how fast or slow-acting, it is better if I drink. I am closer to death than either of you. I will take the risk gladly. You must make me finish drinking it all, no matter what. This I order of you."
Lylas didn't argue. Harry might have, were he not joined with Henry just then. But in this instance, the Slytherin side of their consciousness won.
Dumbledore conjured a glass goblet and dipped it into the potion, filling it to the brim. He began to drink without hesitation, then dipped a second and third goblet-full as quickly as he could. He tried to take a fourth, and that was when the potion struck. The goblet lay on its side in the basin, half-submerged, and Dumbledore fell to the ground where he sat with a far-off look in his eyes.
Lylas grabbed the goblet from the basin, filled it, and turned to hold it to Dumbledore's lips. "Drink," they ordered.
Dumbledore drank. For a few more goblet-fulls, this was enough. Then Dumbledore began to moan and cry.
"No more!" he begged them. "No more! I'll be good, please!"
"Drink," they ordered a little more forcefully.
They were on the tenth or twelfth cup, the basin two-thirds empty, when Dumbledore said something that made them pause. "It was my fault! I know it was my fault! Please, no more! I won't do it again! I'll never make that mistake again!"
"I know," Lylas murmured, holding the goblet to Dumbledore's lips again. "Drink, it will make it better."
"I promise, I promise!" Dumbledore sobbed after two more. There were only three cupfuls left. "Ariana! I won't let it happen again! No more!"
They pressed the next cup of potion into him, and he fell sideways against the stone column of the basin. "Gellert…" he whispered. "Forgive me…"
Dumbledore drank the last cup of potion and grew quiet. Peering into the basin, Lylas spied the locket. A slim golden circle on a gold-washed chain. Pocketing it quickly, they turned to the Headmaster who seemed to be recovering his wits.
"Water," Dumbledore gasped. "Water, please!"
Lylas cast aguamenti on the basin, filling it with water. But no matter how they dipped, the goblet would not touch it. They tried the spell on the glass itself, but it emptied before it could reach Dumbledore's lips. Casting the spell directly over the old man's head resulted in the same. Looking at the water surrounding the rock, Lylas gulped. It was the only source of water available to them. Which was exactly what the Dark Lord intended.
"Accio water!" What they summoned was not the water, but the things that had been living in it. White shapes immediately began to swarm the rock, dead blue-grey eyes staring at their prey as they lurched forward with wet squelching.
They had not been trained by Remus and Sirius for nothing, though. They knew inferi for what they were, and they knew what their weakness was.
"Flamma maximus!" A nimbus of fire filled the air above their upraised wand. Moving the wand in large circles, they whipped the flames into a firestorm that encircled the rock and pushed back the inferi until they had nowhere to go but the water.
Dumbledore scrambled to his feet and stumbled back to the boat. They joined him, maintaining the fire, and waited as the boat carried them across the water to the far shore. The Headmaster drank a palmful of water once they were safely ashore with the boat sinking once more behind them and the flames flickering out of the air and leaving them once more in the dark cave.
"You…did well…my boys," Dumbledore gasped.
"We should get you back to Hogwarts, Professor," Lylas said, helping the old man to stand once more and draping one of his arms across their shoulders.
"Yes. Yes," Dumbledore said.
-o-0-o-
7:00 PM—
The castle's forces had been mobilized, and everyone was standing ready when the Death Eaters first struck the wards with a bell-like gong. McGonagall had cast a spell to bring the suits of armor and the gargoyles to life to defend the castle. Sprout had awoken several plants that had been set to guard the perimeter. Flitwick was marshaling the professors and aurors alike, proving himself to be quite the effective little general.
Ron and Draco were locked into Gryffindor tower with all of the rest of the students. McGonagall had wanted to send Draco to Slytherin, but he had refused. They had filled in Hermione and Ron's siblings, and the rest of the tower that was there eavesdropped on the conversation so everyone knew what was coming.
The first strike on the wards rocked the castle to its foundations. Outside, Death Eaters downed their vials of potion and then simply walked through the front gates where they should never have been allowed to pass.
In the forest, everyone but Severus did the same. He knew what the potion would do, and he happened to know that he still had access to the wards. A foolish mistake on Dumbledore's part. Perhaps the old man thought that Severus would someday see the error of his ways and return to the safety of the school.
Perhaps the old man wasn't as foolish as he had once thought.
The first rush of fighting was more than enough distraction for Fenrir's team of "assassins" to slip into the school itself along with the four pairs who were to secure the dormitories. They lost Bellatrix and Macnair along the way as they spotted their intended targets of Sirius Black and Rubeus Hagrid. The rest of them swarmed into the school and made their way to the tallest tower where astronomy lessons took place. They would cast the Dark Mark there to lure in the Headmaster.
Yaxley and Mulciber went toward the Hufflepuff common rooms near the kitchens while Nott and Travers went to the Slytherins in the dungeons. Avery and Dolohov went to Ravenclaw tower when they passed it, and the Carrows to Gryffindor as Severus' group passed onto the eighth floor.
Lucius stayed with them, which surprised Severus somewhat. He did not know who Lucius was meant to kill, but he would wager a fair number of galleons that it was Draco. Draco, who ought to be in the dungeons and not anywhere near the eighth floor or the astronomy tower.
Severus said nothing, though. He had no desire to see his godson killed, even more than Lucius probably did not wish to kill his own son.
That left only Fenrir, who was probably supposed to kill or capture Lupin. Who knew where the mangy werewolf was. Severus could not have cared less about the man's fate.
The top of the astronomy tower was unnaturally still. Fenrir had reached it first and cast the Dark Mark for all to see in the night sky.
Now all they had to do was wait.
-o-0-o-
7:15 PM—
When they returned to Hogsmeade, the first thing they saw was the green cloud of the Dark Mark hanging over Hogwarts.
"Too late!" Dumbledore gasped, lurching forward as though he might be able to reach the school in one step to put a stop to the battle surely waging there.
"Hold on tight, Professor," Lylas said, casting a feather-light charm on the Headmaster. "We'll fly you there faster than any broom."
Dumbledore gripped them around the waist from behind as they cast their favorite of the symbiotic spells. "Volaticus volatilis!" They rushed into the sky and toward the school and whatever fate awaited them.
-o-0-o-
Severus stood close to the railing around the top of the astronomy tower, looking down on the multi-colored flash of spell fire below. Where was the old man? What was taking him so long?
A spot in the darkness, moving faster than any owl he had ever seen, caught his attention. As it neared, he realized what he was seeing and backed away from the stone railing, motioning to the others to fall back as well. "They are coming," he said simply.
A moment later, a young boy landed on the tower without the use of any broom. Simply flew there under his own power. Severus could not understand it. Even less could he understand why the boy resembled the Potter twins so much. Dumbledore was behind him when they landed, but quickly pushed the boy aside to face the Death Eaters with his wand raised.
He looked weak; ill. Severus raised his wand. "Expelliarmus." The old man could not do anything to block him, and his wand flew from his hand and over the battlements.
"Severus…" Dumbledore whispered, "Please…"
His lips twisting with a sneer for the man's many faults, Severus raised his wand one last time. "Avada kedavra!"
-o-0-o-
7:23 PM—
Before Lylas' eyes, one of the greatest wizards the world had ever known died. Dumbledore was blown back by the force of Snape's spell, falling over the battlements and down, down, down to crumble weakly into the unforgiving ground below. The fighting around where he had fallen quieted and stilled as they looked after the body. The lull spread across all of the fighters until no spells were being cast at all.
"It is done," said Snape.
The Death Eaters with him cheered and turned their attention to the boy who had been left behind. Lylas faced them defiantly, his holly and phoenix feather wand raised as he took a dueling stance.
"Leave him," Snape ordered the rest.
"But—!" snarled a feral-looking man with blood around his mouth and on his fingers.
"He is a child. The Dark Lord ordered that all the students be contained while the adults are dealt with. The battle is nearly won. We must go!"
The others needed no urging to begin rushing down the tower stairs. Lylas watched silently. Now was not the time. Snape was right about that much.
Finally only Snape himself was left, along with an ordinary looking man with brown eyes and hair. "Who are you?" Snape asked Lylas.
Lylas smirked. "I am Lylas. Son of Lily and James Potter. Nice to meet you."
Snape's eyes widened, and then his companion grabbed his arm before he could ask anything else.
"We need to be gone as well, Severus," the other man urged frantically. "It will not be safe here once they realize where the body fell from."
"They will not fight," Snape responded hollowly.
Lylas knew he was right. The fight had gone out of Hogwarts' defenders when they realized that the Headmaster was dead.
Snape looked back one more time before descending the staircase, as if to soak in the sight of Lylas standing there. Then he was gone, and Lylas was the only being left standing on the tower roof.
"Duo abscido," they said softly. Harry and Henry stood there, looking down on the quiet battlefield until steps on the stairs made them turn once more.
Remus and Sirius rushed onto the roof, both looking the worse for wear.
"You're all right," Harry breathed with relief.
"And so are you," Sirius answered. He swept them both into a bruising hug, which they returned wholeheartedly.
"It was Snape," Henry said dully. "He killed Dumbledore."
Remus looked at them sadly, and nodded. "We figured as much. The battle was going in our favor until he fell. Now, well…"
"What's happening?" Henry asked. "The others…?"
"None of the students fought," Sirius said, pulling back a little so he could see them. "But I saw Flitwick fall. Nearly cut in half by Mulciber's dark cutting curse. A number of the aurors weren't moving when I left the grounds. I took out Greyback." A grim smile lit his face for a moment before an anguished expression replaced it. "Not before he killed Hagrid."
"No!" Harry gasped, tears already falling down his cheeks.
"Who else?" Henry asked, crying silently.
"One of the older Weasley boys was attacked by Bellatrix as Snape's group was leaving," Remus said. "I don't know which one, and I don't know if he lived."
"My cousin Tonks," Sirius said, tears coursing his own cheeks now. "Too many to name. I don't even know, yet, who all has died."
The twins nodded, hugging their godparents tightly as the night caught up with them.
"Did you get it?" Remus finally asked. "Did you find what you went to find?"
They both reached into their robe pockets for the locket. It had ended up in Harry's when they split. Pulling it out, they all studied the simple golden piece with a clear gem embedded in the front.
"Open it," Henry said softly.
Harry did. A piece of paper was inside:
To the Dark Lord—
I know I will be dead long before you read this
but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.
I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.
I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,
you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.