Hiya everyone, sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter, its been a long month. Finally got some downtime today to upload it after being able to write and rewrite this chapter. Believe me when I say this has been the hardest one to write this far. Anyways, read and review please! Enjoy!
(Note: Multiple POV ahead)
"Harry, what are you going to do?" Ginny asked her lover and friend as they lay in his makeshift den within the Chamber of Secrets.
"I really don't know. I can't just give up though; I have to fight Death to the very end."
Ginny snuggled closer to him, her warm touch comforting him. "I know you will get through this, you always do;" she said as she stroked his black hair.
"That's just it, Gin; I don't know if I can survive this time. With You-Know-Who it was so much easier, I knew his strategies, what he would be planning. I could even see sometimes what he was feeling. Now, I don't have that advantage. All I know is that when Death comes for me, I won't have the power to stop him."
Ginny leaned over and kissed him passionately, her soft lips giving his mind a brief respite from his inevitable fate. "You won't need your power, because you will have me. You will have everyone in Hogwarts standing beside you to face it; you won't need to go it alone."
"Unfortunately, I may need to;" he said, slightly wincing as a small surge of energy crept up his arm from the Resurrection Stone. "Get dressed, Gin. He is on his way."
"Harry!" Hermione yelled into the white vastness that surrounded her, the silence scared her, the bleakness of the future of her friend making her doubt her own thoughts.
Suddenly, a black figure appeared in the mist, hooded and foreboding, Hermione wondered whether this was one of Death's forms, as the 'Grim Reaper'. "Hermione Granger..." the sinister voice called out, making her even more terrified of its power. "You want to save your friend, but you lack the courage to help him."
"No, that's not true," she whispered, as she backed slowly away from the creature.
"You lack the strength to protect him."
"No," she said, struggling to fight back her fearful tears.
"You lack the power to prevent his fate."
"You're wrong!" she cried out, hoping that her proclamation would prove itself right.
"Am I? I have the power to change destinies, alter the course of history. I know everything about you and Harry Potter, how you defied me once before!" The being before her seemed to calm down slightly as it stood mere feet from her. "You could have become my envoy, Granger... You could have taken over the entire world with my power, had you just done as you were told."
Summoning all the bravery she had within, she stood tall and faced her hooded foe. "I could have become your envoy, had I chosen your path. But I didn't. I chose the path of love, kindness and trust. I chose strength of will over power and I would do the same, any day."
The hooded figure raised his arm, a bony skeletal hand emerging from his cloak. "So be it." He blasted her with a powerful barrage of curses, far stronger than any she had ever encountered before.
"Someone, anyone, please help me!" she screamed as the dark energy coursed through her, praying someone would hear her.
"Leave her alone!" a voice cried out, and Death stopped his assault, and both he and Hermione looked for the source of the voice.
"Where are you!" Death yelled. "Show yourself!"
Suddenly, Death was hit by a blast of air that knocked him off his feet. Hermione stood up, her energy sapped, and concentrated on getting to where the voice was coming from.
"You will lose... Everything you hold most dear to your heart, Hermione Granger..." Death said as he struggled to get up.
Hermione opened a gateway, before turning back to the Reaper; "If that's true, then I will fight with every ounce of my strength. I will not give in to you." She turned and headed through the vortex, amidst Death's cackles of laughter.
"Ginny, I need you to warn the school that Death is on its way." Harry was busy casting enchantments on the walls of the Chamber as she stood watching in awe at his power. "Get McGonagall to protect the grounds, and get the DA to help defend the students. Above all, do not allow them anywhere near the Chamber of Secrets," he ordered.
"How will I get out of here, if you are making it so that nothing can get in?" she asked as he cast a multitude of charms upon the stone walkway in front of them.
"Easy. Dobby, Kreacher;" he called out, and almost immediately, the two aforementioned house elves appeared with a loud crack.
"Harry Potter!" Dobby squeaked as he ran towards his friend, before gripping his legs in a bear hug. Kreacher however simply acknowledged his master with a brief bow. "Why has Master summoned Dobby and Kreacher to this place?" the elf asked.
"I want you and Dobby to escort Ginny back to the castle, and to help defend if from an imminent attack;" Harry answered, observing that Ginny was defiant in wanting to leave. "Ginny, you can help save the people living in this castle, I know you can."
Finally, Ginny relented. "Alright, Harry, I'll go." She ran up to him and gave him a final kiss, before taking Kreacher and Dobby by their hands. "Goodbye, Harry."
"Good luck, Harry Potter," Dobby called out before he Apparated with a loud crack.
Once the elves had taken Ginny away, Harry pointed the Elder Wand at the Resurrection Stone embedded in his hand, before saying the charm: "Expecto Patronum". The patronus hit the stone, allowing it to be absorbed by it; then Harry held his hand outwards, allowing the magic of the Resurrection Stone to take effect. In an instant, the visages of his dead family, James, Lily and Sirius, as well as Albus Dumbledore; appeared before him, bathed in a ghostly white light, yet given corporeal form. Immediately upon realising this, Lily ran over to hug her son, as did James and Sirius. Dumbledore merely stood aside as the family of the Chosen One embraced their hero.
"Oh Harry, look at how brave and handsome you have become," Lily said as she stroked her son's cheek affectionately. "I am so proud of you, son."
"As are we," Sirius said, ruffling his godson's hair. "We all want to help you out, Harry, by any means necessary."
"Well, that's exactly why I summoned you all here." Harry stood up and walked so that he could speak to all four of them. "I know that Hogwarts will fall if we don't have any help. We need the Order to assist us. That's why I want each of you to go see a different person, and tell them of our upcoming battle. Dad, I want you to head to Kingsley Shacklebolt. He is the current Minister of Magic, he will be able to get some Aurors together. Mum, I want you to visit Snape, he has become the new headmaster of Hogwarts, and I think he will listen to you. Sirius, I want you to visit Arthur Weasley, and convince him to assemble the Order of the Phoenix." The three nodded, affirming their respective missions. Harry turned now to Dumbledore, and the look in the old Headmaster's eyes was one of great pride. "Dumbledore, can you find Tom Riddle for me? He may be a Dark Wizard but I think he has changed. I don't quite know how, but I think if he were asked, he would help defend his old school, as would most of the Death Eaters."
"Alright Harry, I will see what I can do," the old wizard replied. He stood alongside the others and assumed his patronus form; his was a phoenix, James a stag, Lily a doe, and Sirius a Grim.
"Good Luck," Harry called out as the patronuses left for their respective destinations, before Harry sealed the Chamber off completely.
Hermione woke up, sweating profusely, a small gash on her right arm, and debris of what she assumed was her bed around her. Claire was among the rubble, unconscious but otherwise alive, and Tom and Bellatrix were busy digging the two out of the wreckage. "What happened?" she asked slowly, slowly recovering from the initial shock of the events that had transpired.
"You were having a seizure, Hermione," Tom replied as he lifted Claire out of the wreck, and carried her out of the room, clearly wishing that Hermione and Bellatrix were to be alone.
"You were screaming and thrashing about in the bed, begging someone to help you. We all rushed in and when Claire touched you, a blast of energy decimated the bed." She took Hermione's bleeding arm and sealed the wound.
"How could I bleed, I thought the Immortality Ritual prevented that?" she asked, not quite fully understanding the intricacies of the ritual herself.
"It appears that the Immortality is lost if all parties involved are injured simultaneously, like we were just now." She reached over to Hermione and pulled her up from the wreckage before giving her a massive hug.
"Bella, I need to tell you and Tom about what I saw, in my vision." Bellatrix nodded and led Hermione by the hand out of their now destroyed bedroom to see Tom.
"How can we protect this school from the likes of, say undead giants?"
"I don't know, personally in all my years of service to the Dark Lord, I have never come across 'undead giants'."
The two of them, Severus Snape and Ron Weasley ad been arguing for a good hour about how to protect the school from all manner of creatures, and Ron would always be the one to come up with an outrageous suggestion of what may be in Harry's 'Ranks of Evil', while Snape would always be the one to find a suitable method of protecting against such beasts.
Just as they were about to start another argument, a loud noise, like hooves, was heard; and suddenly a white doe appeared in front of the pair. "What the hell..." was Ron's reply, as for Snape, he was simply staring at the doe.
"Lily?" he asked, and the doe nodded, before morphing into her human form.
"Hi, Sev. Long time no see?" she said, as Severus dropped to his knees, tears flooding down his face.
"Oh Lily, I am so, so sorry for what happened to you and James," he sobbed into his hands. "I tried my hardest to get the Dark Lord to spare you, but he wouldn't listen to me. I am so so sorry, Lily."
"Wait, are you Harry's mum?" Ron interjected, to which Lily merely nodded.
"My son asked me to give you a message, Severus. Protect the school and its occupants from the Army of Death, the Reaper is on his way to claim my son, and he will kill anyone who stands in his way."
"We're done for." Ron slumped over, and put his hand to his face to hide his tears. "Its over. We can't beat Death, so what is the point."
Severus merely looked into Lily's ghostly eyes and reached for her hand. When he felt the cold skin of his crush he looked up, and saw the very eyes that he had sworn his heart to all those years ago. "I believe you, Lily. I will protect this school, and your son, as penance for your death." He embraced her in his arms, tears flooding down their faces.
A few floors below, Ginny, Dobby and Kreacher were running down the corridor to the Transfiguration room, and McGonagall's office. As they turned a corner, Nearly Headless Nick appeared, startling the redhead.
"Hello, Miss Weasley, what are you doing out so late, if I may ask?" the ghost asked, his head threatening to slide off at any given moment.
"I need to find McGonagall, and alert the DA." Ginny replied, now composing herself once more. "Actually, maybe you could help me, Nick."
In London, Kingsley was discussing the new Ministry with the Muggle Prime Minister, who was getting fairly irate with the wizard's late night intrusions.
"You have had long enough to repair that building of yours, Shacklebolt. You are wizards after all," the PM shouted.
"I'm sorry Prime Minister, but the damage caused was magical by nature, it cannot simply be swept up and rebuilt, the energy needs to be dissipated before we can rebuild all of the necessary areas;" Kingsley explained.
"I don't care if it takes you 100 years to rebuild that base of yours, you cannot use the basement of Canary Wharf much longer. People are starting to get suspicious of men in long cloaks, thinking there is an occultist movement going on. Also, if the wizards don't make more prudent methods to conceal this location from your terrorist..."
The PM never got to finish his tirade, because at that moment the doors flung open and a white stag galloped into the room. While the PM cowered behind his desk, Kingsley approached the stag.
"What are you doing, that thing could be dangerous!" the PM yelled, still hiding behind the desk.
"Relax, this creature means us no harm. Matter of fact, he is an old friend of mine. A dead old friend."
As if on cue, the stag transformed into its human state. "Hello Kingsley. How are you?"
"James, is that really you?" Kingsley asked, stunned that his friend was indeed back from the dead.
"It is, and I have a message from my son. War is coming to Hogwarts. Death is approaching, and Harry needs your assistance."
"Wait, Harry attacked me at the Ministry last month, I saw him!"
"No, he was possessed by Death," James replied.
Kingsley looked at his long lost friend, the cold dead eyes staring at his own. "I believe you, old friend;" Kingsley said eventually. "I will gather as many Aurors as I can and will see you there." Kingsley then turned to the PM. "Goodnight, Prime Minister."
In the Burrow, Fred and George Weasley were in the kitchen, getting an early start to the day, when suddenly they heard a low howl outside. As they opened the front door, a large white dog burst through, before pacing around the lounge.
"Hey, George, what does that thing look like to you?" Fred asked his brother.
"I'm thinking exactly the same as you, Fred, but it's impossible;" his twin brother replied.
"Nothing's impossible for a wizard," Sirius said as he transformed into his human state, with the twins standing in shock. "Do me a favour and wake everyone else up, oh and ask Arthur if he can summon the other members of the Order."
Back in Lestrange Manor, Hermione had just finished telling everyone about her conversation with Harry. "I really do believe him, Bella," she assured the older witch. "The way he acted, and the way Death spoke to me in limbo, it all makes sense."
"That's not all there is to it;" Tom said, summoning a book from the library. "Back in the 1100s, Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time, had to help King Arthur defeat his enemy, Morgan le Faye. One of the creatures Morgan summoned was Death itself. It killed so many dark creatures, even she could not control it. It attacked Arthur, and was about to kill him when Merlin stabbed him with Arthur's sword, Excalibur."
"Where is this going, Tom?" Bellatrix impatiently asked.
"Excalibur was a goblin-made sword. It absorbed all the properties that could not destroy it. It made itself stronger. The fact that it was blessed by a monk, before its possession by Arthur, means that the power that defeated Death was that of Holy magic."
"I doubt that Holy magic will be able to stop him this time," Bellatrix pointed out. "He is possessing Harry directly, so it is different circumstances."
"Maybe, but perhaps the sword of Gryffindor is powerful enough to kill him," Hermione said, pulling it out of her beaded bag. Just as she did so, a screech was heard and a white phoenix flew in through the window, startling the group.
"What is that?" Bella yelled as the phoenix landed near to her feet.
"Surely you remember me, Bellatrix," the phoenix said as it transformed into its human form – Albus Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore!" Hermione gasped as she composed herself; Tom on the other hand was visibly shaken by the appearance of his former adversary.
"That's not possible..." he said as he sunk to his knees. "Snape killed you. You are dead, how are you here?"
"The power of the Resurrection Stone was meant to bring back the mind of a person, but not the soul. When combined with the Elder Wand and the master of Death, and the correct spell, corporeal spirits can be summoned for a time, retaining the soul of its envisioned person." Dumbledore glided over to Hermione, who gingerly reached for his hand.
"Cold, but very real, Tom." Hermione released Albus' hand and turned back to Tom. "He is dead, but also real. It must be the power of the Elder Wand."
Ginny practically threw the door off of its hinges as she raced into McGonagall's office, who was obviously surprised at the intrusion. "Miss Weasley, what are you doing up so late, if the Carrows catch you, you will be punished."
"It's Harry!" she breathed as she gasped for breath. "He is in the castle, deep underground, and he said that Death is coming to get him. We need to fortify the school!"
"I'm not sure what dream you have been having but I can assure you that Harry is not in the castle. Now off to bed Ginny!" McGonagall said sternly, ushering Ginny to the door.
"Please, you have to believe me!" Ginny frantically struggled as she was pushed towards the door, before she was pushed directly into her brother.
"Ron?" McGonagall said, not quite believing her eyes, meanwhile Ginny simply hugged her brother intently.
"Minerva, I require your help in fortifying the school;" Snape said as he strode into the office behind Ron, closely followed by Lily. "Harry Potter needs protecting from Death, and we shall do as he asks."
"But what about the Dark Lord," she asked, clearly confused over the whole thing.
"Voldemort is no more," Ron stated, disengaging from Ginny as she winced in fear of the name. "Tom Riddle has tossed away the last remnant of that being, and will be helping our cause. I have seen it with my own eyes. Should the Reaper claim the Master of Death, a title Harry currently possesses, he will gain near godlike power over all of the magical and non-magical beings alike."
"Alright. Ron, wake the rest of the teachers. Ginny, escort the younger students to Hogsmeade, and ensure that the villagers are ready to defend themselves. Snape and I will fortify the school." The group agreed on the action needed and left for their respective objectives.
In the Room of Requirement, Neville was panicking, as Ginny was nowhere to be seen, and it was almost dawn. "Ginny, where are you?" he said to himself as he paced the width of the room. Suddenly, he heard the door to the room open and immediately drew his wand. His curiosity got the better of him when he heard two high pitched voices coming from the door.
"...Are you sure this is the right room, Sir?"
"Of course I am, little elf. This is the infamous Room of Requirement."
"Kreacher still thinks this is a waste of Kreacher's time. Master wanted us to find an army. Kids are not an army."
"Hey, who are you calling a kid!" Neville shouted, revealing himself to the trio. Naturally, he lowered his wand slightly when he saw Sir Nick hovering in front of him. "Nick, who are the elves?"
"These two happen to be friends of Harry Potter," Nick responded, pausing to adjust his head. "Apparently, he needs the help of Dumbledore's Army to protect the castle."
"Is that true?" Neville asked the pair of elves, who were wearily watching his wand in case he didn't trust them.
"Yes, sir;" Dobby responded. "Harry Potter summoned us specifically to speak with you and help save the school. And Dobby will do anything that he wishes."
"Kreacher is also bound to Master Potter. He wishes that Kreacher protect his school, so that is what Kreacher will do."
"Alright, I will wake the others, come in." Neville opened the door wide and allowed the trio to enter.
Back in the Burrow, Sirius was busy discussing plans with the Order when a loud crack interrupted him, which was followed by James and Kingsley entering the house. "James!" he said as his old friend ran over to him and gave him a ghostly handshake. "I trust your flight went OK?"
"Of course," James replied.
"James filled me in on what is happening at Hogwarts. I think that we should see Riddle and the others and get their support," Kingsley said as he strode in to join James.
"Agreed. We need to formulate a plan and having them on our side will give us the best chance of success." Lupin stood up and moved towards his friends. "It's good to see you guys again."
The group then led the rest of the Order out into the field, where they Apparated to Lestrange Manor one by one.
Back from his trip to Nurmengard, Wormtail quickly entered the Manor, only to practically run into Bellatrix as he turned a corner.
"Wormtail, you're back!" she said with slight astonishment, "I thought you had decided to stay there indefinitely."
Ignoring her sarcasm, Peter turned to Tom. "My Lord, many of the Dark wizards imprisoned within Nurmengard have escaped, and are heading towards Hogwarts. There are also a lot of Shadowknights heading there from Norway, and some Dementors too."
"Was Grindelwald in their ranks?" Dumbledore asked, and Peter immediately cowered behind Bellatrix in fear.
"How... How are you here?" he stammered to the former Hogwarts Headmaster.
"I am a corporeal patronus with the soul of Albus Dumbledore. Is Grindelwald at Hogwarts?" Albus replied sternly.
"Yes, he orchestrated the breakout. I overheard that a deal was made between him and Death. If Grindelwald helped him, then he would be allowed to rule over all of the Muggles, like he wanted to."
"In that case, this time I must kill him." Dumbledore was clearly ready to fight. Now the rest of them need to be.
"The rest of my allies will be arriving any minute, we should inform them of our plan and head out to Hogwarts as soon as possible." Tom said to the group.
"Glad you will be remembering us in this fight," James Potter said from behind him.
"Its time to save Hogwarts," Sirius replied.
"And no supernatural demon is going to stop us!" Remus said as Tonks stood by him.
"Oh my!" Peter said as his friends stood in front of him, while the rest of the Order Apparated into the grounds of the Manor. "I am so sorry James, Sirius, Remus. I never wanted you to suffer like this, we were all friends."
"And we still are," Sirius replied as he reached for his old friend's shoulder.
"Forgiven and forgotten," James added, grabbing the other shoulder.
"The Marauders are back once again!" Lupin announced joyously as the four were reunited once more.
"Now that the reunion is out of the way, didn't you say you had a battle plan to formulate, Tom?" Kingsley asked as the Order started to enter the Manor in droves.
"He did," Hermione replied, opening the doors to the Sitting Room. "Follow me."