Surprise!

by FirePhoenix86

Now that Harry is free, he gets another Bombshell revelation about his past that was kept from him, and apparently everyone else as well. Can he finally live his life the way he's always wanted? Parents, his Godfather, and a real family? J/L, HP/GW

71. The End of the Beginning

A/N: I use a couple quotes from the DH2 movie towards the battle side of things. Only because Minerva's lines from the movie are better than in the book at some parts. Lol

Chapter 70

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"I always had this idea that you should never give up a happy middle in the hopes of a happy ending, because there is no such thing as a happy ending. Do you know what I mean? There is so much to lose." ~ John Green, Let It Snow

"The thing about a hero, is even when it doesn't look like there's a light at the end of the tunnel, he's going to keep digging, he's going to keep trying to do right and make up for what's gone before, just because that's who he is." ~ Joss Whedon

"And his name is Voldemort. So yes, You might as well use it. He is going to try to kill you either way." ~ Minerva McGonagall, DH2 movie.

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They briefly explained what they did for Dobby, burying him and marking his grave. They skimmed the details of staying with Bill and Fleur. Harry explained the visions he was getting of Voldemort's obsession with finding a wand that could beat Harry's.

They sat in silence while Harry unloaded more silver strands of his memory into the bowl. When he was finished he sat back in silence staring at it, contemplating. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling and giving the group a slight smile.

"'This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning,'" he paused, gazing out above the heads of his family and friends. As if staring into the ether. "Winston Churchill said that," he finished before standing up. "Shall we?" he asked as he stepped up the bowl. The others silently stood up and joined him.

"I'll speak to Griphook first."

They watched as Bill carried in Griphook and set him on the bed.

"Why do you need to talk to the goblin? Is it about the sword?" James asked pointing to the sword, still clasped in Griphook's fingers.

"Partly, but there's something more important. The sword bit comes later," Hermione explained.

"—that I was the goblin who showed you to your vault, the first time you ever visited Gringotts? I remember, Harry Potter. Even amongst goblins, you are very famous."

"Really? How did you remember him after so long? All goblins look alike," Sirius said.

"Sirius! Do you have any idea how…ignorant that is?" Lily snapped.

"It isn't ignorant!" Sirius exclaimed loudly.

"Actually, Sirius, it kind of is," Hermione replied calmly, but still frowning. "Not all goblins look alike. Most wizards just don't care enough about their species to recognize the differences. I remember the first goblin I ever met."

"I remember Griphook because I had never met a goblin before him. Except the teller who examined my key and called for Griphook to accompany us to my vault. It was a pretty memorable moment for me, seeing the first magical races that exists beside wizard kind. Maybe the reason you don't find them visually distinct is because you've lived your entire life in the magical world. They aren't special to you like they were for Hermione and me," Harry added.

"You are an unusual wizard, Harry Potter," Griphook said, highlighting Harry's previous comments.

"He's got that right," James said with a grin. Harry chuckled because he could see the pride in his father's eyes and knew the comment was meant as a compliment.

They watched as Harry led up to the real reason he wanted to talk to the goblin.

"I need to break into a Gringotts vault," he finally said.

James, Lily, and Sirius were all stunned. Not just that he'd be so idiotic to break into Gringotts, but to say it to a goblin was even more reckless.

"What?!" Lily thundered. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all exchanged a quick glance.

"It belongs to the Lestranges."

"WHAT?!" bellowed Ginny, James, Sirius, and Lily.

Ginny hadn't known the whole story of the Gringotts break in. Harry had mentioned that they'd done some stupid stuff during their ten months on the run, but never any details of what the stupid things were.

"You have no chance." Griphook stated.

"Well, duh," Sirius muttered as he stared wide eyed at his godson.

"If you seek, beneath our floors, a treasure that was never yours—"

"Thief you have been warned beware— yeah, I know, I remember. But I'm not trying to get myself any treasure, I'm not trying to take anything for personal gain. Can you believe that?"

The adults were all shaking their heads in disbelief. Too stunned to say anything. Though Lily was looking quite red in the face.

"If there was a wizard of whom I would believe that they did not seek personal gain, it would be you, Harry Potter."

They continued in silence as the debate between Ron, Griphook, and Hermione outlined exactly why the wizards' treatment of the Goblin race was inherently ignorant and morally wrong. Ginny and Lily both smiled at Hermione when she stated, "Mudblood, and proud of it!"

Sirius and James listened to Hermione's speech intently. They had always treated that word as more terrible than the worst curse words out there. They had readily defended anyone who was called Mudblood and, usually, cursed the one who had uttered it in their presence. To hear a girl say she was proud of that moniker and exclaim so vibrantly that she was on the same level as a house elf or goblin and actually make sense was astonishing to them. They had always unconsciously seen goblins and house elves as lesser beings than themselves. Not because they were blatantly ignorant, but because that's how everyone they'd ever known acted. Yes, they treated elves and goblins with more respect than, say, the Malfoy family, but it was more like a vague indifference than actual respect. In just six sentences, Hermione had quite suddenly rocked their entire world view.

Harry, on the other hand, was musing on Professor Binns' goblin war lectures. He had a sudden revelation that maybe the old ghost wasn't just being boring, perhaps he was trying to slowly, and a little sneakily, change the views of the children he taught regarding the goblins point of view. Unfortunately, the dullness of his lectures had failed to hold their attention well enough to make his cunning plan work. He chuckled to himself, musing on this and vowing to talk to Hermione later about his sudden understanding of Binns lectures.

"So young, to be fighting so many.… I shall…think about it," Griphook said, surprising the adults. They'd figure he'd say no immediately and go running to warn the bank.

They watched as the trio left the goblin to his sleep and exit the room. They had a whispered conversation in the narrow hallway regarding Bellatrix and why Harry assumed that the next Horcrux would be in her vault.

"What did she think we'd seen, what else did she think we might have taken? Something she was petrified You-Know-Who would find out about."

James, Lily, and Sirius were all terrified about what this meant for the trio. To break into Gringotts was unthinkable, and yet here was Harry talking casually about trying to do the unthinkable. They listened as he calmly explained why he knew he was right. Why he figured Voldemort would place his precious soul-piece in the bank.

"I think he would have envied anyone who had a key to a Gringotts vault. I think he'd have seen it as a real symbol of belonging to the Wizarding world."

Everyone glanced at him as Harry watched the scene play out. He didn't like being reminded of how well he knew that madman.

"The safest place in the world for anything you want to hide, Hagrid told me…except for Hogwarts."

Harry held his gaze with his previous self, but he heard his mother inhale sharply and smiled inwardly to himself. She had caught that small piece of foreshadowing he'd consciously left in this memory. James glanced at her in confusion but didn't ask. Sirius hadn't caught the sound of her odd breath. Ginny, however, pinched his arm softly so he'd look at her.

"So that's why you had to come back?" she whispered as softly as she could in his ear.

He nodded slightly to her and smiled sadly. She took his hand in her own and squeezed.

"It's all coming together soon isn't it?" she asked him in a soft whisper. Again he nodded. They leaned into each other as the memory faded around them.

They arrived in the small bedroom containing Ollivander. The trio was sitting opposite the older man, with Harry in the middle.

"I am sorry, very sorry, but a wand that has suffered this degree of damage cannot be repaired by any means that I know of."

They could see the disappointment in the younger Harry's eyes as he heard this. They watched as Harry pulled out the other two wands and handed them to the wand-maker to identify.

"This wand belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Damn…you disarmed Bellatrix and got away with her wand. I can only imagine how angry she was," Sirius said with glee. This caused Lily to get a very worried look on her face.

"This was the wand of Draco Malfoy."

"Was?" asked Lily at the same time as Harry had.

"Perhaps not. If you took it, then it may be yours… Where a wand has been won, its allegiance will change."

Harry turned and made a deliberate eye contact with his parents and Sirius indicating to them that this information was important. Ginny, who had been in the Great Hall during the final battle, widened her eyes in recognition but remained silent.

The following conversation about wandlore was difficult to follow for the adults but they knew to pay attention. With the way Harry had shared his past, and his potent stare a moment before, they knew that this topic would come up again with new facts that would make it all click for them. Many questions were asked and the answers given were confusing to them. They were surprised, though, that a wand taken by force could still change its allegiance to a new person. What was even more surprising is that Ron, simply plucking Peter's wand from his hand could be considered as winning it by force.

"Didn't you just grab those other ones from the Malfoy kid?" James asked.

"Yeah. Just grabbed them with very little resistance as I ran past him," Harry added.

"So, it isn't necessary to kill the previous owner to take true possession of a wand?"

"No, I should not say that it is necessary to kill."

Harry didn't have to worry. He could see how invested his parents, Sirius, and Ginny were in the conversation. They were hardly even blinking.

"There are legends though…" Harry had started. He could tell that his family knew this was a turning point for the war. The intensity with which they were watching almost amused Harry.

"Only one wand, I think," Ollivander whispered.

Ginny reached over and took his hand. They were all wide eyed as Harry spoke of things he shouldn't have known, things he only knew because of his connection with Voldemort, and practically gave the wand-maker a heart attack.

"The idea of the Dark Lord in possession of the Deathstick is, I must admit…formidable." They all felt their hearts drop into their stomachs as they heard Ollivander, the greatest wand-maker in Great Britain, admit this and that he believed the Elder Wand was real. They knew now that should Voldemort get that wand, everything was doomed.

The conversation with Ollivander ended and they watched with bated breath as Harry led his two best friends outside and to Dobby's gravesite.

The younger Harry began the arduous task of explaining to his friends the visions that he'd been seeing for the last several months. Everyone was hanging on his every word, but Harry himself was watching his family. One of the most difficult decision he'd ever made was about to come to light and he wondered how they would react.

"Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand a long time ago…It was stolen from him by Grindelwald…"

Harry could see the beginning of comprehension on Lily and Ginny's faces. James and Sirius looked to be resolutely choosing to ignore the facts until Harry actually said the words.

"And Grindelwald used the Elder Wand to become powerful…Dumbledore knew…"

James and Sirius were shaking their heads, eyes wide, mouths open in horror. Ginny was holding his hand tightly, her face blank, but a small muscle near her cheek was twitching faintly. Lily's eyes were wide and staring off into the darkness, her mouth open slightly in an 'O'.

"He duelled Grindelwald and beat him, and he took the Elder Wand."

James looked at Harry in horror.

"What are you still doing there!? Go get that wand!" Sirius said suddenly, making Ginny jump.

"It's too late for that. He knows where it is. He's there now."

"NO!" Sirius shouted. "NO! You LET him have it?! The most powerful bleeding wand in the whole world and you just let Voldemort HAVE IT?!" he screamed. He was gripping his head and pulling his hair in frustration.

"Dumbledore didn't want me to have it…He wanted me to get the Horcruxes."

The current Harry just stayed silent, letting his past-self answer their questions. He stared at his feet as he sensed the world around them shift. The memory turned into the vision Harry had finally allowed himself to succumb to, sitting by the elf's grave.

They all watched in horror as Voldemort dismissed Snape and ventured toward the glowing white of the marble tomb sitting in the moonlight.

"No!" shouted James and Sirius when they witnessed the destruction of their hero's grave. It was the last thing anyone said as they watched in terror as Voldemort robbed the grave of the wand. Sirius still had his hands on his head as he watched in disbelief as the wand emitted sparks once it was in the evil man's hand.

The memory ended and faded out around them.

There was a pregnant silence as he waited for the blow out. He didn't have to wait long.

"How could you—?"

"What were you thinking?"

"Are you bleeding insane?"

"How can you ever expect to beat him now?"

James and Sirius rained the questions down on him, giving him no chance to answer anything. He simply waited patiently until they finished.

"I have my reasons," was all he said. This infuriated them and sent them on another tirade for a few minutes. Finally, Lily stepped in, easily quieting them with a glance.

"Harry, we don't understand why you could allow this to happen. How can you expect to…well, I mean we know you eventually did beat him, but…" she trailed off. Having her remind the other two adults that the war did indeed come to an end, stopped their angry looks.

"I can't explain why I chose to do things the way I did. I just did what I did and, yes, it worked out. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and I can explain why it worked out the way it did now that it's over, but if I did explain it to you, what would be the point in letting you watch the memories? If you want, we can stop the memories and I can just tell you what happened, but it's up to you," he finished.

The memory that had visualized around them was of the trio sitting in Shell Cottage. It wasn't anything truly important yet. Harry had known he'd have to explain the wand dilemma when he placed the memories in the bowl, so he'd prepared a short pointless memory that they could ignore in order to converse.

The adults stepped off to the side and shared a brief, quiet conversation before stepping back towards Harry.

"We still want to see the memories," Sirius reported. He still looked quite upset, but Harry knew it wasn't entirely directed at him as much as it was towards the situation. So he chose to not comment on the dark look on his godfather's face.

"Very well," Harry answered just as the memory switched to another one.

"I would like to point out that Harry would never have been able to break into Dumbledore's grave. Not that he couldn't magically, just that he probably couldn't have mentally committed such an atrocity," Hermione felt the need to point out. This had the final effect of chastising Sirius enough to lose the dark, angry look. Harry remembered her saying something similar shortly after the actual vision.

"I have reached my decision, Harry Potter. Though the goblins of Gringotts will consider it base treachery, I have decided to help you —"

James and Sirius pumped their fists in accomplishment. Lily just looked like she would be ill.

"— in return for payment."

"Oh no…What does he want?" Sirius asked.

"I want the sword. The sword of Godric Gryffindor."

"Dun, dun, dun…" Hermione muttered with a grin. Harry snorted while his parents and Sirius all shouted in anger. Ginny was the only one, besides the trio, who'd heard Hermione and though she had no idea what it had meant, seeing Harry laugh had lightened the mood for her. She gave Hermione a questioning look but the older girl just shook her head with an amused smile. James and Sirius were shouting over one another about the conniving, seedy little bastard of a goblin. Harry just let them rant as the memory-trio shared a similar conversation.

Finally, they heard Harry say, "We'll tell him he can have the sword—" "Harry no!" "—after he's helped us get into that vault – but we'll be careful to avoid telling him exactly when he can have it."

"Oh Merlin…trying to deceive a goblin Harry?" James said weakly. "And I thought the Gringotts thing was bad enough. It just keeps getting worse," he finished. Harry just nodded.

"I have your word, Harry Potter, that you will give me the sword of Gryffindor if I help you?"

The two shook hands and Sirius muttered, "Shaking hands with the devil."

"So. We begin!"

The next several weeks were skipped and went straight into the night Teddy was born. Harry watched sadly as the bang on the door came and Remus shouted his identity to them all through the driving rain.

"It's a boy! We've named him Ted, after Dora's father!" he shouted as soon as he was in the room. Harry watched as everyone, past and present, suddenly had glowing, smiling faces. The tears in their eyes were present, as they had been for almost all memories involving Remus and Tonks, but this memory was cause to be happy.

"Harry, thank you for including this," Lily said as James and Sirius shouted, "It's a Boy! It's a Boy!" over and over while hugging each other and jumping around in circles.

"Of course. It's good to remember the happy times, no matter how brief," he said to her with a sad smile.

"You'll be godfather?" Remus said to the younger Harry. Everyone chuckled at the astonished look on Harry's face as he stammered through his acceptance.

"He looks so much younger," Lily said with a smile as she leaned into James, giving him a loving glance.

"That he does. Eons younger," he replied. They watched in silence as the group in the memory toasted the new baby and shared their congratulations a few more times before Remus finally had to leave again.

As soon as the memory of Remus ended they watched as Bill and Harry moved into the kitchen for their discussion on goblins.

"Harry, you're planning something with Griphook."

"Well, it's not like we didn't hide it. We closed ourselves off in that room with him for weeks," Ron said to no one.

As they watched, Harry reminded his parents of where, and for whom, Bill had worked for so many years.

"If you have struck any kind of bargain with Griphook, and most particularly if that bargain involved treasure, you must be exceptionally careful. Goblin notions of ownership, payment, and repayment are not the same as human ones," Bill said ominously.

"Was he, by any chance, listening in on your planning sessions?" asked Ginny.

"I honestly have no idea. It wouldn't be hard for him to use an Extendable Ear. We Confounded the door, usually, but he's a pretty powerful wizard. I'm sure if he wanted to he could easily break the spells we placed on the door," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Ginny added.

"To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the purchaser. All goblin-made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs."

"Even if it was bought and paid for," James said quickly.

They watched as Bill explained the inner workings of the minds of the money-obsessed race of creatures. To everyone, if felt as if Bill knew more than he should of their plans. But with his final statement they all gasped.

"All I'm saying is to be very careful what you promise goblins, Harry. It would be less dangerous to break into Gringotts than to renege on a promise to a goblin."

"Oh yeah, he knew," Ginny confirmed. "He had to have known for him to say that to you."

"You'll have to let me know what he thinks of the plan once he sees it," Harry said with a grin and a weak chuckle.

As they watched the new memory around them change into the morning of the break in Harry had a mild sense of panic and knew the calming potion had started to wear off. Luckily he planned on stopping the memories after Hogsmeade and before the Room of Requirement. He'd be able to take a fresh dose of potion to keep him calm before starting the end of the final battle.

"This is absolutely bizarre," Hermione said as she watched herself as Bellatrix being too nice to Tom the bartender.

"Tell me about it," Ron said as he stared into his own magically altered face intently.

"You really did do an amazing job with those spells Hermione," Ginny added, grinning at her brother's appearance. "I wouldn't even have been able to tell it was him. I kind of can't wait to see mum's reaction," she added.

Harry only had a few memories he would have liked to see the Weasley family's reactions to, and this was one of them. If he had to choose his top memories from those ten months, this would be the memory he was most secretly proud of. It was like how Sirius could claim being the only one to ever break out of Azkaban without assistance. Harry can now claim that he, and his two friends, were the only ones to ever break into Gringotts and actually steal something and not get caught. Technically two things if you counted the dragon. It was not his most favourite memory or anything he would wish on another person, but he still felt a secret pride at accomplishing it.

"Oh no," Sirius said as they heard Travers shout out for Hermione-as-Bellatrix.

It was impossible for them to hear what Griphook was whispering to Harry so he just filled them in on who the man was and why he was there.

"The Dark Lord forgives those who have served him most faithfully in the past. Perhaps your credit is not as good with him as mine is, Travers."

"That is so creepy. Hermione how are you so good at that?" Ginny said. Sirius was just gawking at her.

"I just…forced myself to start thinking like her," Hermione said hesitantly and with a shudder. Harry didn't blame her for it either. Putting yourself into the mind of someone so evil was enough to make you feel like bathing in acid.

"But whose wand are you using at the moment, Bellatrix? I heard that your own was—"

"Oh no," Sirius said again.

Ron was introduced and the plan to visit the bank came to light. Everyone was horrified to learn that Travers also was planning a visit there.

"Oh this is not good. Turn around and leave. Just go back," Lily kept muttering. Harry took her hand and she calmed down slightly.

"Ah, Probity Probes," said Travers. Harry was slightly amused to see all three adults, and Ginny, flinch as they heard Travers announce another obstacle.

"Oh no." Sirius was starting to sound like a broken record.

Harry knew that the Imperius Curse he cast was approaching. He was a little afraid of what his family would say, knowing that he used that spell repeatedly. But he also knew that he did not regret the use of this particular Unforgivable. The torture curse was a different story. He instantly regretted using that one. The mind control curse, however, wasn't nearly as bad in his mind. Maybe because a person could eventually learn how to overcome it, so it had a measly form of defence to it. But of the three Unforgivable Curses, this one was the least horrible in his mind.

"Quick thinking," James said as Harry Confounded the two guards.

"Thanks," Harry muttered back.

"I wish to enter my vault," Hermione-as-Bellatrix said.

"You have…identification?" replied the goblin.

"Oh no," Sirius muttered again. "She shouldn't need identification. They know. They know it's not her," he worried.

They could hear Griphook muttering the same thing to Harry under the cloak.

"What are you going to do? You have to leave! Get out now!" James cried.

"You'll be discovered!" Lily added in fear. Ginny gripped Harry's other hand and didn't speak. He sensed she knew what was about to happen.

"Imperio!" They all gasped and stopped shouting at once.

"Oh Harry," Ginny said softly.

"I had to. I had no choice. We had to get that Horcrux," said Harry trying to justify his actions.

"Well…it worked I guess," Sirius said softly. He was watching Harry with worried eyes.

"Almost," Harry muttered. "I'm not done yet."

"Imperio!" he said again.

James and Lily were both standing incredibly close to Harry. Simultaneously trying to give and receive comfort to each other and to Harry. Lily was also biting her nails and watching the scene with wide eyes.

"So, if you will follow me, Madam Lestrange."

"It worked!" James cried eagerly.

Another goblin was rushed towards their group to speak to the teller Harry had Imperiused.

"Or not," replied Sirius.

"Forgive me, Madam, but there have been special orders regarding the vault of Lestrange."

"Oh no," said James and Sirius together as the group shook off the unspelled goblin and entered the door leading to the vaults.

"We've got this far, I say we go on," Harry said.

"Yeah!" Sirius suddenly cheered. Harry chuckled as Lily slapped the other man. "What? They've gotten past the hard part. Now it's just getting to the vault and finding the damn Horcrux," he said in his defence.

"Imperio," Harry said again. "I sent him to hide," he said at the questioning looks. He chuckled when he said the same thing in the memory.

"Oh Merlin. We're not all going to fit in that cart," said Lily anxiously.

"Which means –" James started before they all zoomed after the cart, floating in the air behind it. Lily and Hermione shrieked due to the lack of visible ground beneath them. The rest of them, however, whooped in excitement. They could feel a ground beneath them, but it was as if they were flying through the air unsupported and with no wind resistance.

They whizzed through the tunnels following the cart for a few minutes and then they turned the corner and saw the wide, spilling waterfall right in their path.

"ARGH!" Sirius screamed at the same time as Griphook. They passed though the water and then their cart was upturned, so they began to fall. Once they landed a few seconds later and safely cushioned due to Hermione's quick thinking.

"The Thief's Downfall! It washes away all enchantment, all magical concealment! They know there are imposters in Gringotts, they have set off the defences against us!" Griphook said fearfully.

"Oh no!" whimpered Sirius.

"Imperio!" Harry said suddenly.

"Harry, how many more times?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"That was the last time I think," he replied.

"Good. I hate hearing that word come out of your mouth," she said firmly.

"Agreed," Lily added.

"Griphook, how much farther?"

They followed the goblin and the trio towards a loud clanking metal noise and as they rounded the corner they found the source.

"A dragon. It had to be a bleeding dragon," James muttered in terrified awe.

"It's bloody huge!" Sirius replied in shock.

"It's partially blind, but even more savage for that."

"Oh wonderful," Lily said sarcastically.

As Griphook and the group used the Clankers to shift the giant, blind dragon away from the vault, the dragon roared so loudly their heads seemed to rattle from within.

"Oh no," Sirius squeaked, holding his hands over his ears.

Finally, they were inside the vault staring around in amazement. The past versions had immediately started looking around for the cup, but since the present group had nothing to do but watch they stared in awe at the piles and piles of gold, silver, and bronze, mounds of gemstones of various colours, heaps of chains and torture devices, several coats of arms, and piles and piles of random objects. The vault was incredibly vast. So vast in fact that they could not see the back wall. It just seemed to go on forever.

"How the bloody hell did we ever find it?" Harry muttered to himself.

"No shit," Ron added quietly. He jumped when they heard Hermione scream in pain.

"They have added Gemino and Flagrante Curses! Everything you touch will burn and multiply…" Griphook explained.

"It just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? Next thing you know, you'll be trapped inside with Griphook stealing the sword," said James in disgust. Harry glanced at his father in disguised shock.

"It's there, it's up there!" Harry shouted suddenly, pointing to a spot high above them.

"And better, and better…" James said in a sing-song voice.

"How…" Lily started but paused in her thought as they watched Hermione suddenly point her wand at Harry and mutter, "Levicorpus."

"Oh no."

"I ruined everything!" Hermione said with her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Harry!" she said pitifully.

"It's alright Hermione. We got it in the end and survived," he comforted her quietly.

The next several seconds was pandemonium as they watched Harry trying to rescue the cup and Griphook. After several tense moments where Sirius continuously muttered his new catch phrase over and over Harry and the others spilled out of the chamber.

"Thieves! Thieves! Help! Thieves!"

"Hey, dad, you sure you're not a seer? Quick, take a guess on how we escape!" Harry joked to try and lighten the mood. But the scene progressed so quickly that James had no time to guess. After only seconds it seemed, Harry was freeing the dragon and climbing onto it, shouting for Ron and Hermione to join him.

"Oh no!"

"Oh sweet baby Merlin!"

James and Sirius cried as the dragon took flight. Lily however was suddenly furious.

"What were you thinking?! Did you not hear him say that thing was blind!? And vicious!?How the bloody hell did you get off of it!?" she shouted as they soared over Diagon Alley.

"Mum, how else could we have gotten away?" he asked, effectively quieting her tirade. They floated alongside the dragon and Harry watched himself hanging desperately to the scales. Freezing and too afraid to move he occasionally called out to the others to see if they were alright.

"Where is it headed?" asked James.

"I have no idea," responded Harry.

"I say we jump when it gets low enough! Straight into the water before it realizes we're here!" Harry shouted. "NOW!"

The next few minutes consisted of them swimming for shore and healing their wounds with essence of dittany.

They bemoaned the loss of the sword and vented about Griphook's treachery for a few minutes.

"At least we can't wear it this time," Ron pointed out causing everyone to chuckle.

"What ever happened to it?" Ginny asked as she pointed at the dragon opposite the lake from them.

"From what I understand," Harry began. "They found it near Greenland a couple months ago. It was attacking some farmer's sheep," replied Harry. "Last I heard they rescued it and brought it back to Gringotts."

"That poor creature. Locked in those tunnels all its life, blinded, and trained to fear noises. It's absolutely inhumane!" Lily said with disappointment.

"I actually agree. I offered to buy them a different animal that could guard their tunnels. Something that was more suited to the dark, damp locations. But they demanded that they either got a new baby dragon or at the very least the old one back. Apparently they don't want to have to train any new creatures and were only willing to accept a new, young dragon because it would eventually last longer than the old one. Of course, because I wouldn't pay for a new dragon, I had to also cover the repair fees to fix up the building."

"I didn't know that, Harry! How much was it?" asked Hermione.

"Must have cost a fortune," Ron said weakly.

"Don't worry about it. It would have broken even, buying a new dragon anyway, so either way it cost the same. And I'm not actually sure of the end costs. Bill helped me deal with the goblins and he suggested that I either pay them or threaten them, and he very, very strongly advised against threatening them again," he chuckled.

"You paid for all those damages and still have enough money to pay for both our Godric's Hollow home and the island home for Sirius to be built?" Lily asked.

"I also paid for Charlie's friends at the dragon reserve to fly here and put together a search party for that one," Harry pointed. He was blushing as everyone stared at him. "It really wasn't as much as you think it was. Most of the damage was magically repairable. The only areas that weren't was where the dragon fire hit, and luckily most of that space was just rock."

They all gasped as they heard the younger Harry cry out in pain and collapse. The memory faded into the vision Harry was having of Voldemort being told of the break in.

"What did you say to me?"

"Poor goblin bastard," James muttered as they watched the goblin informing Voldemort cowered in fear as he stammered through the explanation again.

"And they took? Tell me! What did they take?" screeched Voldemort.

"Merlin's pants," Ginny muttered as she watching in horror as Voldemort suddenly started killing everything in sight. Killing curses were raining down on them all for a few minutes.

"Go figure my dear cousins would be the first to scarper," Sirius said darkly. Just as suddenly as Voldemort snapped, he stopped screaming and killing and started pacing, muttering to himself.

"The lake…shack…Hogwarts…Nagini…Diary was destroyed…Dumbledore…How could he know? Snape will protect it…I must check…" He hissed to Nagini and walked past all the bodies out of the room.

Suddenly the scene faded and they were back with Harry and the other two on the beach by the lake.

"He knows," he muttered. "He knows, and he's going to check where the others are, and the last one is at Hogwarts. I knew it. I knew it."

"It's at Hogwarts? Where?" asked James.

"How could he have even hidden it there? Unless he did it when he was a student," Lily added.

"Remember the day he came for an interview? In the memories Dumbledore shared with me?" Harry reminded them.

"Then? But would he really…risk it?" asked James.

"We can't know for sure but around the same time he visited Hogwarts, the Defence job was cursed also. Plus, it's the only other time he'd been at the school since he was a student," Hermione replied in her lecture voice.

"We need to get going. Can you imagine what he's going to do once he realises the ring and the locket are gone? What if he moves the Hogwarts Horcrux, decides it isn't safe enough?" said Harry firmly.

They all watched as Harry, Ron, and Hermione put on the Cloak and disappeared. The memory fizzled and reformed in Hogsmeade next to where the trio were invisibly standing. Before anyone could speak, a very loud wailing noise rent the air and a crowd of Death Eaters streamed out of the Three Broomsticks. After hearing the enemies in cloaks and hoods decide to call the Dementors to search out Harry and trying but failing to Disapparate, the group watched as they were led down an alley chased by the demon soul suckers.

Finally, Harry muttered the incantation to repel the Dementors bringing direct attention to their location.

"It's him, down there, down there, I saw his Patronus, it was a stag!" shouted a Death Eater.

The adults and Ginny watched as the trio were pulled into the Hogs Head by Aberforth Dumbledore and directed upstairs. They ran upstairs and all watched the scene unfolding below from the window.

"You send Dementors down my street, I'll send my Patronus back at 'em!" Aberforth shouted. Sirius chuckled when the old man whipped out his wand and claimed that his Patronus was a goat and not a stag.

"That didn't even look remotely like me," James muttered. He was both appalled at being compared to a goat, and impressed by the ingenuity and pure insanity Aberforth showed by trying anyway.

"I'm just surprised he was willing to stick his neck out for you all," said Ginny.

"Yeah, Abe's not the type to actively voice disagreement with anyone. He's more of the subtle, listen to all your secrets and evil doings and then report them anonymously type," Sirius retorted.

"Stag? It's a goat, idiot!"

"I can't believe it's working. That thing looked nothing like a stag," James said again as they watched the Death Eaters give Aberforth a warning and then disperse.

Several minutes later after the old man had returned and they had thanked him for saving them, Harry walked up to him suddenly and stared at him.

"Er, Harry…what—" began James.

"It's your eyes I've been seeing in the mirror."

"Huh?" James finished. Harry pointed to the small mirror on the mantel piece.

"My mirror!" said Sirius suddenly. "How'd he get that?"

Harry could see the faint disappointment in Aberforth eye's when he learned of Dobby's death.

"No seriously, how'd he get my mirror? He wasn't keyed in the wards at headquarters," Sirius said quickly. "Unless he was keyed in after I…" He trailed off not quite sure what to call what happened to him.

"Bought it from Dung 'bout a year ago. Albus told me what it was. Been trying to keep an eye out for you."

"Well that was nice of him," Lily said with a soft smile.

The next few minutes grew more and more tense as Aberforth's true opinion became known. He and Harry began to argue about Dumbledore's true intentions and whether Harry was right to trust the dead man and finish the job he set for him.

"Nice job, I hope? Pleasant? Easy? Sort of the thing you'd expect an unqualified wizard kid to be able to do without overstretching themselves?"

"Hit it on the head there, didn't he?" James muttered.

"You can say that again," Harry replied darkly.

"The Order of the Phoenix is finished. You-Know-Who's won, it's over, and anyone who's pretending different is kidding themselves…So go abroad, go into hiding, save yourself."

"I cannot believe he'd just give up like that!" said Lily indignantly. "His own brother was the leader of the resistance and he just admits defeat like that? What a coward."

"And to try and convince the only people really working toward ending the madness to give up also? I ought to go down there and give him a piece of my mind," James replied angrily.

"He had his reasons," Harry said softly. They spent a good fifteen minutes listening to Aberforth tell the story of his little sister. Lily looked like she had forgiven him, but James was still giving him the stink eye, though it had diminished in the intensity of the stare during Arianna's tale.

"He was never free…The night that your brother died, he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. He started screaming, pleading with someone who wasn't there. 'Don't hurt them, please…hurt me instead.'" Harry spoke softly but with a painful edge to it. "It was torture to him, if you'd seen him then, you wouldn't say he was free."

Ginny and Lily both grasped his hands and held on tightly, giving him a sense of strength. He smiled at them letting them know he appreciated them being there.

"How can you be sure, Potter, that my brother wasn't more interested in the greater good than in you? How can you be sure you aren't dispensable, just like my little sister? ...Why didn't he tell him to hide, then? Why didn't he say to him, 'Take care of yourself, here's how to survive'?"

Harry felt a shock go through him. It was like he knew the truth. Hermione and Ron both gave him quick looks but didn't say anything. He wondered if he should go speak to Aberforth at some point and ask him if he knew the truth. Harry had always wondered why Dumbledore would assume Harry would ever trust Snape after the man had killed his mentor, or at least trust him enough to take what he'd say seriously. Could it be that Dumbledore had a backup plan if Snape had failed in giving Harry those memories in time?

"Your brother knew how to finish You-Know-Who and he passed the knowledge on to me. I'm going to keep going until I succeed – or I die. Don't think I don't know how this might end. I've known it for years."

This also jolted the trio. If Aberforth knew the truth, then Harry had just confirmed that he already knew he was doomed. Harry was stunned. What if he'd had that information sooner than mid-battle? Could he have saved all those lives? Fred, Remus, Tonks, and Colin might have lived not to mention Snape and so many others.

Hermione and Ron saw Harry staring off into the distance with a look of horror on his face. His parents and Ginny hadn't seen his expression yet, so they shifted around to stand behind Harry and they placed their hands on his shoulders. They all stepped back in order to leave the adults and Ginny to watch the memory.

"We'll have to go talk to him some time. Find out the truth," said Ron quietly.

"Even if he did know, there's nothing we can do about it now. Would it really matter if we did find out? All it could do to us is cause us pain," Hermione retorted with a whisper.

"I have to know," Harry whispered almost too quietly to hear. "I have to know if I inadvertently caused all those deaths by opening my big mouth."

"Harry, you don't. It's only going to tear you up if it is true. There's nothing that can be done. You should just leave it in the past," Hermione pleaded in a whisper.

"Mate, I—I think she's right. No, just listen to me for a sec," he muttered when Harry opened his mouth to protest. "As much as I'd like to know the truth, if we were to find out he knew and could have told us, there is nothing we can do about it. So it'll just…be torture knowing we could have saved them. I want Fred back so much, knowing we could have prevented his death would be like losing him all over again. I don't want to go through that and I don't think you should go through that either. We both know you already hold guilt over how many people died, I wouldn't be a good friend if I let you go through even more guilt." Ron clasped Harry on the shoulder and whispered, "I care about you mate. I won't let you go down that road again."

The two shared a moment before Hermione flung herself into a group hug with them both. The movement caught the other half of the group's attention.

"What's going on?" asked Ginny.

"Nothing. Just…preparing ourselves," Ron said with a smile.

"There's only one way in now. You must know they've got all the old secret passageways covered at both ends…The place has never been so heavily guarded," Aberforth said as he watched his sister's portrait. She had walked away getting smaller and smaller until a light appeared at the back of the painting. Then two small figures walked back to the frame together, getting larger as they grew closer. Finally the frame hinged forward and Neville popped out.

"I knew you'd come! I knew it, Harry!" he shouted as he lunged for a hug.

That was when the memory fizzled out and they arrived back in the sitting room.

"Why'd you end it there?" Ginny asked.

"I need another dose of Calming Draught before the last set," Harry said quietly, his ears burning. He didn't like that he needed to potion himself to see his own memories. He found it utterly embarrassing.

"Plus," Hermione added. "This gives you all a chance to ask questions without a memory distracting you."

They all sat contemplating what they had just seen. It was getting late in the day so Harry called Kreacher for a round of refreshments.

"So…I need a loo break. I will be back shortly," Sirius said as he stood up. Everyone agreed and they took a short recess. It had been several hours since they'd begun this round of memories.

Harry wandered to his room to pick up a vial of calming potion and stood in his room thinking about Aberforth. He had half a mind to sneak off in the next week or so and interrogate the elderly bartender, but like Ron and Hermione had said, he wasn't sure he wanted that guilt of knowing.

"It's kind of like Schrödinger's cat," Hermione sat from the doorway.

"Huh?" he asked in confusion. "Someone's cat?"

"Schrödinger. He was a physicist. In the thirties he did a thought experiment where he put a living cat, a vial of poison, and some radioactive material in a box and sealed it. If any radioactive decay was detected the vial of poison was broken by a small hammer device that was rigged up. Because they cannot see the cat, until the box is opened the cat was considered both alive and dead. You can't know the truth until you open the box," she said as she came in and sat on the bed. He stared at her in confusion.

"Just like this whole Aberforth thing. You won't know the truth until you ask him, and until you ask him it's both true that you could have saved lives and not true that it wouldn't have made a difference either way. The thing is Harry, do you really want to open that box?" she asked.

He thought for a few minutes. "Plausible deniability you mean? I can delude myself into believing that the way it happened was the only way. Leave the box shut and I never have to see a dead cat. It will be alive forever."

They sat in silence for a while.

"That has to be the most morbid experiment in the entire world by the way," Harry finally said causing Hermione to giggle. "Where do you learn that kind of stuff?" He smiled at her.

"Books," she replied with a giggle. He rolled his eyes but smiled softly.

"I don't know how much that helped, Hermione, but it kind of did. I don't really want to run off now and question him. I'm still considering it but…it's not as urgent a need now."

"I'm glad that you're at least thinking about it and not acting impulsively this time," she replied with a smirk.

"Come on," he said with a chuckle as he lightly punched her shoulder. "Gotta go share my next set of worst memories in the world."

They headed back to the sitting room and saw that the adults still weren't there and Ron and Ginny were chatting about what memories they wanted to share with the family.

"I kind of want to add some memories from school to show mum and dad how I participated in the resistance. Besides, some of the pranks we pulled were pretty awesome," she said with a giggle.

"Are you sure you want to share that with your parents? I mean, Neville looked pretty bad there at the end. They didn't take the pranks lightly," Harry mentioned as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah, but at the beginning they couldn't really catch us. Plus, I wouldn't show them the punishments we got when we were caught. I just thought I could add a little levity to a tough subject," she said with a frown.

"Oh I know what you mean, but later we're going to show Neville talking about how he'd get caught and tortured, I was just thinking that showing them memories of you all pulling pranks and vandalizing the school and then showing memories of Neville discussing the punishments you all received would be a bad combination," Harry clarified.

"I guess that makes sense," she grumbled. He chuckled and gave her a peck on the cheek.

They could hear the adults coming upstairs as Harry turned to Ron.

"Which one of you is sharing the Chamber memory?" he asked. Hermione replied that she was and she handed him a vial containing her memory. He set it aside until he'd need it later.

"Harry, look who came to join us," Lily said as she entered the room. Minerva McGonagall followed behind her as graceful as a cat.

"Professor!" Harry said in surprise. "Welcome. Would you like something to drink or eat before we start back up?" he asked.

"No that is alright, Harry. Your parents were filling me in on some of the events you have already shared today. I am sorry to have missed the Gringotts memories," she said with a frown.

"Well, we plan on sharing the memories with the Weasleys later or tomorrow. You are welcome to join them then if you want," Harry said with a grin. "Or I can leave the memory for you to view when the Pensieve is returned to you."

"Either of those would work, I'm sure," she replied as she sat in an armchair. Harry had informed her of the basics of what happened and what led up to the Battle of Hogwarts, but she didn't have specific details. Just a rough outline.

Lily, James, and Sirius took a couch across from the kids and waited.

"Did you guys have any questions?" Harry asked.

"Actually," Lily began. "We did have one. Did you have any repercussions from using the Imperius on the goblins or Travers?" Minerva looked at Harry in surprise. He'd left that out in his outline.

"No. From what I understand, Travers died in the final battle so it never came to light. Personally, I think the goblins were embarrassed about it and didn't want it to be known that they can't fight the spell either. If the dark wizards knew that the Imperius worked on goblins the people's money would be endangered so they kept it quiet." He widened his eyes and whistled. "They were not happy about it though," he puffed out a breath of air while shaking his head.

They talked for a few more minutes and James asked something about the mirror that Sirius answered while Harry emptied more memories into the basin including Hermione's memory of the Chamber. He gestured for everyone to enter, and just before he joined them he downed the Calming Draught and handed the empty vial to Kreacher.

As they all watched Neville lead the way into the heart of the school, Harry filled in some missing details for Minerva on how they'd arrived in Hogsmeade and why they were in the Hogs Head with Aberforth. He also explained the portrait of Arianna and the passageway to the Room of Requirement.

"How did they all know about the Gringotts break in and the dragon already? It had only just happened to us," Hermione exclaimed.

"I believe a letter arrived for Severus from Malfoy Sr. informing him of what had happened when the Goblin came to fill Voldemort in on the break-in and a theft. My guess is that some kids saw or heard Severus mention it to one of the Carrows or me before dinner," Minerva replied.

"Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defence Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just the Dark Arts. We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions—"

"What?" shouted James, Lily, and Sirius.

"Alecto, Amycus's sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone. We've all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty…"

Lily was so appalled she was opening her mouth and closing, so angry no words could come to justify her feelings.

"I got this one for asking how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got," Neville said proudly.

"Kid has some balls," Sirius muttered softly enough that Hermione and Lily couldn't hear. Harry chuckled.

"Oh Mr. Longbottom," Minerva said shaking her head sadly. "He was so brave and so stupid. He really did make life harder on himself."

"So he was just supposed to sit there and curse his fellow students?" asked Ginny angrily. "Just supposed to sit back and allow them to treat us all like garbage and…and…" Ginny angrily searched for a word.

"Alas, no, Miss Weasley. I am incredibly proud of Neville Longbottom for standing up to them. But there's a time and a place. He could have avoided that gash on his face, and many more in fact, had he been able to tune out their hateful speeches. Standing up for a student is one thing, making snarky comments is a completely different one," Minerva said matter-of-factly. Ginny grumbled but had nothing of substance for a rebuttal so she eventually turned back to the memory in begrudging silence.

"I don't understand how this could happen to Hogwarts," Lily started to say. "I mean, why would anyone send their children to a school run by dark wizards? Alice would have pulled Neville out of there so fast! Merlin their heads would spin if she'd heard that her son had been forced to perform an unforgivable!"

"The Ministry stated that Hogwarts was now compulsory for all magical children, Mrs Potter. Aside from Muggleborns at least. Anyone who had at least one magical parent had to go to Hogwarts or they and their parents would be arrested and sent to Azkaban," Ginny said. "We had a handful of new students in all years who had previously been taught at home by their parents or private tutors."

This was new to Harry who hadn't heard that before.

"So even if the kids had never been to Hogwarts they had to go?" he asked.

"Yes," Minerva replied. "We had twenty-three new students besides the new first years who had to be sorted last year."

"Are any of them staying at the school for this school year?" asked Ron.

"I have only received one positive response from a previously home-schooled student. Miss Hopkins will be returning for her final year of school. Unfortunately, this is only because both of her parents were killed last year and several of her private tutors as well." Ginny, who had perked up at hearing her new friend Ashlyn Hopkins was going to return, looked devastated at the second piece of news.

"Oh poor Ashlyn," she said softly. "Are her siblings all right?" she asked.

"Yes, she has twin brothers starting their first year as well in September. They have been living with an aunt and uncle of theirs in London," Minerva replied.

"But we were still fighting, doing underground stuff, right up until a couple of weeks ago. That's when they decided there was only one way to stop me, I suppose, and they went for Gran."

"They went after Augusta Longbottom? Don't envy that poor bastard," Sirius whistled. Harry snorted.

"They bit off more than they could chew with Gran. Little old witch living alone, they probably thought they didn't need to send anyone particularly powerful."

James and Sirius snickered in unison imagining what had happened.

"Dawlish is still in St. Mungo's and Gran's on the run. She sent me a letter telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up."

Harry saw Lily smile at the pride in Neville's face and he decided to make sure Neville was able to have a chat with his parents about Alice and Frank. The once timid boy deserved a chance to know more about his parents. James and Sirius whooped and laughed at Dawlish's misfortune.

"I must admit, I am eager to see where all the students were able to escape to. We knew they were still inside the castle, but could never find them," Minerva said as they neared the end of the tunnel.

"They were in the Room of Requirement," Harry said. "It adjusted itself to fit everyone, provided loos, and would shift about the school so the door was never in the same place twice."

Just then they entered the room and were stunned to see the amount of students living in the communal space. Minerva herself gasped at the crowd cheering at Harry's arrival. Not only that but three of the four houses were included.

They listened as Seamus and Neville explained how the room worked for them. Harry's memory flashed around them and they could see Voldemort screaming as he found his ring Horcrux missing. It was a very quick flash before they were back in the castle.

"Sweet Merlin! What was that?" Minerva asked as she pressed her hand to her chest and breathed quickly.

"That was Voldemort finding the first one missing. It'll happen a few more times before he shows up at Hogwarts. He had to check for the necklace as well," Harry said grimly. Just as soon as he finished talking the memory flashed to when he and Luna arrived in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Hermione convinced me to tell everyone we were looking for an object that might have been Ravenclaw's at some point. The only thing they could come up with was Ravenclaw's lost diadem," Harry said filling in the blank spot. "Luna agreed to bring me to her house common room so I could see the statue and what the diadem looked like."

They had just entered the room and walked inside. Harry looked around and could see a person sitting in the shadows behind them all.

"Which makes you pretty skint, witless," cackled Alecto Carrow making everyone but Harry jump and whirl around to see the Death Eater press her tattoo and cackle loudly.

Immediately after that the memory flashed to Voldemort standing outside the cave looking both triumphant and terribly furious. In the second or two they could see him, everyone felt a chill seep into their chest at the cold, enraged look on the Dark Lord's face. But before anyone could speak or even shriek in terror they were back in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Bloody hell, mate," Ron gasped. "That's what those visions were like? Just, flash, Voldemort looking bloody terrifying, and then, flash, back to whatever was going on? How in Merlin did you stay sane with all that going on?" he shuddered. Hermione looked just as shocked as Ron and so missed the opportunity to slap him for his bad language.

Everyone jumped at a loud bang when Luna stunned Alecto.

"I've never Stunned anyone except in our D.A. lessons. It was noisier than I thought it would be."

Sirius barked a laugh. "I like her," he said chuckling. "She's just so…casual about everything. Oh, la-di-dah, Stupefy…ho-hum," he mimicked her aloof appearance as he casually walked past Alecto laying on the ground, pretending to cast at her, and then strolling on past.

James was laughing at his friend's antics but a shout from Amycus from the entrance halted all merriment.

"ALECTO! If he comes, and we haven't got Potter – d'you want to go the same way as the Malfoys? ANSWER ME!"

Harry knew the moment was coming that his family would see him cast the torture curse successfully. The first time he'd cast it, they had all shown him support and love. But that time the spell hadn't been cast successfully. This time was different. He sincerely hoped they wouldn't treat him differently even if he wouldn't blame them if they did. A part of him hated that he had done it, but another part of him still burned with rage thinking about the disrespect shown to his head of house. He wondered if he should give them a heads up that it was coming and glanced at Minerva.

Amycus came roaring in after the elderly witch answered the riddle for him and shouted his head off about the kids, Voldemort coming, and how he could weasel his way out of punishment.

"You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it."

"Go Minnie! Go Minnie!" Sirius chanted with a grin. Minerva frowned at him and rolled her eyes.

He stopped chanting and gaped in horror though as Amycus spat in her face. Everyone gasped and were ready to charge the man had he not been a mere memory.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Harry as he whipped off his cloak and revealed himself. "Crucio!" Harry was slightly in awe of himself for a moment. He was standing in a battle stance, arm raised and wand pointed directly at the heart of the offender. His eyes blazed in fury and his hair whipped around his face from the wind caused by the spell backlash. Amycus went flying across the room and into a glass bookcase that shattered around him noisily.

"I see what Bellatrix meant. You need to really mean it," he said with finality.

The elder Harry stood watching himself, sucked into the memory so much so that he missed the glances his family shared. James and Lily closed ranks on their son, placing their hands on his shoulders. Ginny, who was standing next to Sirius, felt her knees shake a bit but stood strong. Harry felt her give his hand a squeeze, drawing him back to the people around him. Suddenly he shivered.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he muttered and Minerva immediately cancelled the memory and sent the whole group back to the sitting room.

As soon as his feet hit the ground he ran for the toilet. Ginny and Lily followed him but he slammed the door to the bathroom and locked it behind him. He spent several minutes retching and crying silently. Finally, when he had emptied his stomach he sat back on the floor and rested his head on the wall. Kreacher had popped in momentarily and set a cool flannel on his neck at some point, he wasn't sure when exactly, but he used it to mop up his sweaty face.

"Harry, sweetie? Can I come in?" Lily asked softly from the hallway. He closed his eyes and sighed, tears threatening to fall again, but he took a deep breath and waved his wand toward the door unlocking it.

She stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She gave him a soft smile and handed him a glass of water before sitting down next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes as he sipped the cool water, soothing his tender throat.

"I caught myself off guard," he said softly. "Seeing it…" he trailed off not sure what he wanted to sat.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, sweetie," Lily said. She reached out and pulled him into her grasp so he was leaning on her in a half hug with his head on her shoulder. This small action was enough to cause his tears to start leaking again.

"I feel so dirty," he whispered. She didn't say anything just rubbed his back softly and let him cry lightly. They stayed that way for several minutes until he was done crying.

"I love you, Harry. No matter what you've done, I will always love you," she said quietly, but firmly. This caused another brief wave of tears from him as he clutched to her robes.

"Shush, honey. If you don't want to continue tonight, we'll understand. We've been at it for hours now. We don't want you to overexert yourself," she said to him after he stopped crying again. "We can always go and watch the rest of the memories with the Weasley's tomorrow and you don't have to be there."

"No, I should be there with you. I need to confront my past in order to be able to move towards the future without my demons chasing me," he replied thickly. "Might need a stronger dose of calming potion though. I think I puked it all up," he added with a chuckle.

Lily smiled at him. "Are you sure, sweetie? Your dad and I will understand."

"No, I need to see this all again. My…erm…therapist has been trying to get me to talk about it all and she said that seeing the memories is a good way to confront them. She thinks if I can get through it all, I might stop having flashbacks and nightmares," he admitted.

"Has it been working so far?" Lily asked.

"Well, kind of. I haven't dreamed of anything prior to last year since starting all this, but actually the nightmares of being on the run and the final battle have…erm…increased this last week," he grimaced.

"Why didn't you say so?" she asked him.

"Dr. Lund said in a letter that I should expect something like that to happen. It's like that old saying, 'It will get worse before it gets better' or something. I have an appointment with her in the next couple days to discuss everything."

He sighed. "I guess we should probably head back to the room," he mumbled. The tips of his ears burned in embarrassment. First the panic attack after Dobby's death and now this? He wasn't sure he could walk into that room without burning bright red in shame.

"We should," she replied. He stood up and gave her a hand. "Oof. I am not as young as I used to be," she said, causing him to laugh.

"You're only thirty-eight, mum," Harry said with a chuckle.

"Brat! Don't remind me," she muttered. Harry was laughing as he entered the sitting room.

This caused a sense of relief in the occupants waiting for him to return. They had started eating a light dinner served by Kreacher.

"Sorry about that," Harry muttered when he realized all eyes were on him.

"It's alright Harry," Ginny said as she stood up to give him a hug. "We understand."

"Yeah, mate, you keep flippin' out like that, Hermione won't let you stay for the rest of them," Ron said, earning a smack from his girlfriend.

"Tactful, Ronald, very tactful," she hissed.

"What? You said it," the red-head muttered.

"Yes, but you could have said it a little nicer than that. 'Flippin' out' indeed…completely insensitive," she muttered angrily.

Harry just chuckled. Leave it to Hermione and Ron to ease the tension by causing their own.

"Harry, may I ask a quick question?" James said timidly. Harry nodded, waiting for the ball to drop. "Do you cast anymore…er…of those spells?" James asked.

"No," Harry said immediately. "I don't. That was the last one." He saw everyone else relax visibly. "I…well I guess I should explain. I knew it was coming, but seeing myself…do that was more jarring than I had expected. I am sorry about flipping out so much." He saw Hermione slap Ron. "I'm going to take another dose of calming draught before the next set."

He could see some of them open their mouths to protest and he stalled them by raising his hand up and saying, "I insist on continuing. So don't bother trying to convince me otherwise thank you."

Everyone stayed silent and he picked up a plate with a sandwich, pickle, and crisps on it and began eating. They chattered about unimportant things while Harry worked on calming himself down sufficiently enough to enter into the memories again. Finally, after a quarter of an hour had passed Harry stood up and nodded to them all that he was ready to begin again.

"Harry, we…er, I have a much stronger version of the calming potion if you'd like to have that instead," Hermione spoke as she reached out to hand him the vial in her hands. It was deep aqua blue with silver flecks floating in it. "It's a Draught of Peace. You will be unable to feel deep negative emotions while it's in your system, and it should last about four hours."

Harry thanked her and took the required dose. Hermione took it back from him saying, "I made it so when I go visit my parents I'll be able to keep a level head." She smiled at him and he visibly relaxed as the potion set in.

They entered the Pensieve as Minerva met up with Snape in the corridor.

"Have you seen Harry Potter, Minerva? Because if you have, I must insist –"

Suddenly the two professors were duelling violently.

"Whoa! Go Minnie!" Sirius shouted as she sent a lasso of fire towards Snape. "Oh bollocks!" he cried as the flames turned into a giant serpent.

As quickly as the duel began, once Flitwick, Sprout, and Slughorn arrived Snape fled out the window, surprising everyone at his ability to fly without a broom.

"Harry, you said we need to keep an open mind about him, but he's so obviously on the dark side, how else would he be able to fly the same way as Voldie himself," James began.

"Trust me on this dad. Just…be aware that not all is as it seems," Harry said peacefully, sounding a little like a certain elderly headmaster. Lily gave the retreating Snape a long look before they all turned away. The memory shifted and Minerva was talking to Slughorn.

"I shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great Hall in twenty minutes, also. If you wish to leave with your students, we shall not stop you. But if any of you attempt to sabotage our resistance or take up arms against us within this castle, then, Horace, we duel to kill."

"Oh my," Lily said, glancing over her shoulder at her old Professor.

"The time has come for Slytherin House to decide upon its loyalties."

"Yes, that was quite dramatic of me," Minerva said, with a glint of prideful steel in her eyes belying her true feelings. Harry could tell that she was incredibly proud of her students and faculty who fought that day. Dramatic or not, Minerva McGonagall was one of the strongest women he knew.

"And now – Piertotum Locomotor!" she cried waving her spell in a wide arc around herself. The castle suddenly sounded alive, grinding stone and clamping metal sounds reverberated around them all.

"Holy mother of Merlin," James said in awe as the castles statues, armour, and gargoyles came alive.

"Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries, protect us, do you duty to our school!" Minerva shouted, her voice echoing due to the sheer force of the spell covering the entire castle. Everyone in the castle and surrounding grounds heard her battle cry and knew that the stern Scotswoman was in charge now.

Harry smirked when he heard her mutter to his younger self, "I've always wanted to use that spell."

Everyone in the group either stared at the older woman in shock or fell down laughing. Hermione, who had always looked up to her severe professor, beamed with pride.

The memory faded and reappeared on the second floor with Ron and Hermione heading into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Are you sure you can do this Ron?Oh…we should have waited for Harry," muttered the bushy haired girl.

"I can do this, Hermione. Just trust me for once would you?" Ron sniped. "Now, which faucet was it again?" he muttered as he searched each sink.

Luckily, Myrtle was off watching the pandemonium with glee so they were undisturbed.

"We decided that while Harry was searching for the other Horcrux, we would go find a way to destroy them both. Griphook still had the sword so we needed something that could destroy them. We only knew about basilisk venom so we figured it would be worth our time to search for the basilisk and see if it still had some venom left," Hermione explained to everyone.

"Ah! Here it is!" whooped Ron from across the room. As they walked closer to him they could hear him hissing and trying to say 'Open' in Parseltongue. After several minutes Hermione had begun getting antsy.

"Would you knock it off? I'm trying to concentrate here and you're only making me nervous," Ron snapped at her.

"Well, I'm just worried that the longer we stand here, the more we could be doing out there," she said

"Well, have you got a better idea on how to destroy this thing?" he waved the cup at her. "Cuz if you do, I'd love to hear it."

She remained silent so he went back to trying to hiss a word in the snake-tongue.

"Stop for a moment, Ron. Try and remember the last time you heard Harry say it. Close your eyes and just think…when you're ready, say it out loud," she coached.

Ron took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Thinking about the moment in the forest several weeks before when Harry opened the Locket. They all could see his mouth moving slightly as he 'heard' Harry speak in his head. Finally, he hissed out loud.

A grinding noise filled the air and Ron jumped back with a cheer. "I knew I could do it!" he shouted to Hermione with a grin. "Thank, Hermione!"

They both stood at the entrance and looked down into the darkness.

"Er…You wouldn't have happened to heard him say 'Stairs' in Parseltongue at any point would you?" she asked tentatively. He shook his head.

"It's not as bad as it looks. Like a big slide," he said. "A big, slimy, never-ending slide that ends with you landing in a pile of rat bones." She shuddered slightly. "Ladies first?" he joked.

Harry laughed at the scathing look she had sent the red-head.

"Oookay…I'll be a gentleman and go first. I'm bigger too, maybe my arse will clean it enough for you so you won't get as dirty," he said. She reached out to slap him for cussing again but he jumped down the tube with a laugh. "Too slow," he shouted from below.

Harry and Sirius both roared when they saw Hermione smirk. She waited several seconds before grimacing and sitting down on the edge of the floor.

"Well, here goes," she muttered before slipping over the edge. When she arrived at the bottom, she noticed that she was quite a bit less filthy than Ron was, who had already done several cleaning charms on himself. He still looked like he'd gone mucking about with some hogs in a mud puddle that was filled with mucus.

"UGH!" she screeched when she saw him. She immediately waved her wand and cast her strongest scouring charm his way.

"Thanks. I don't know why mine weren't working right," he said. She cleaned herself up and he led the way onward. They passed the skin of the giant snake and Hermione paled.

"That's…that's enormous," she muttered with a shudder.

"Yeah. I mean it looked huge when we first came down here, but…now that I'm taller it looks even bigger than before," Ron replied.

Soon they came to the collapsed roof and they spent several minutes using levitation charms and a few summoning ones to move enough rock to squeeze through. Ron was able to get the next password quicker than before and finally, they were in Salazar's secret chamber. They walked in with their wands held aloft and shining bright light into the cavernous room.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered at the size of the room.

Suddenly, Hermione screamed and backed up with her eyes closed. Everyone jumped and began frantically looking around for an enemy. But the memory Ron ran to Hermione, realizing that she had seen the snake and was panicking.

"Hermione, it's alright, it's dead! The eyes were gouged out. You can open your eyes," he said rubbing her back. She was breathing frantically but slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the giant corpse that lay twenty feet in front of them.

"Sorry, Ron," she gasped. "I just…" She shuddered and he held her tightly in a half hug, half protective grasp.

"I know," he reassured her.

"I can't believe Harry, little twelve year old Harry survived that…that…beast," she said as she clung to Ron. She had tears in her eyes and she leaned her head over and wept for a few moments onto his shoulder. He patiently rubbed her back and murmured soothing words to her. Finally, she seemed to calm down.

"It looks pretty well preserved still," he said as they casually walked up to the dead serpent.

"Magical beast," she replied simply. "They don't decay unless there is severe damage. See? Look in the mouth," she finished, bending over to gaze at the roof of the snake's mouth. She gagged as she caught a whiff of the rotting flesh around the stab wound.

"So, all of this is still salvageable?" Ron asked as he carefully examined the fangs.

"It should be. We'll have to let Harry know. He's so selfless he probably doesn't even know he has the right of conquest to it. I'm surprised Dumbledore never let Snape come gather it all for Potions," she said. Harry was surprised since they had never told him afterward. "Basilisk venom and blood would be extremely rare and potent in potions, and the hide is almost as strong as a dragon's."

"Er…So Harry did you know—" Ron started as he glanced at Harry sideways.

"Shut it," Harry laughed.

Hermione and Ron spent a few minutes picking out which fangs seemed to hold the most venom in them still and used conjured blades to help hack out the teeth.

"Be careful to not pierce a venom sack. We don't want either of us to die down here," said Hermione.

"Well, duh," Ron muttered.

After they had cut out several fangs, Ron pulled out the cup and set it on a small boulder that had a flat surface on top, almost like a table.

"Hermione, I think you should do this one. Harry did the diary, Dumbledore the Ring, I did the locket. It's your turn to destroy a piece of him."

"Are…are you sure I can?" she said meekly.

"Of course! If anyone can it's you. Just…they have a tendency to fight back. Like it knows there's danger nearby. So…if it starts talking to you, just…ignore it," he finished weakly.

She gave him a strange look but nodded. As she neared the cup with a fang raised above her head, an eerie chill filled the chamber. She halted for a moment when she saw smoke start billowing out of the cup and over the edge.

"Do it, Hermione! Now, before it gets up its strength!" Ron whispered. She steadied herself and stepped forward with purpose and raised the fang again. A blast rang out and a voice cackled.

"I know you! I know what you fear!" cried the voice as the smoke took shape.

Hermione gasped and stepped backward. An older woman stood before her, attractive despite her angry face, her hands on her hips and her eyes cold, haunting.

"You are an abomination unto God, Witch! I ought to have you burned at the stake for your unnaturalness. Absolve you of your sins, devil-worshiper!" screeched the apparition.

"No grandmum! I…" Hermione whimpered.

"You abandoned us," cried another voice.

"Hermione! Ignore them! It's not real!" Ron screamed loudly. He wanted to run to her, but was frozen to the spot. Just like Harry had urged him, he had to let Hermione do this herself.

"Mum," Hermione gasped in fright. "No, I did what I needed to—"

"You erased yourself from us. We loved you and you deleted our memories of our only child!" shriek a male voice now. Two more figures formed in the smoke. Mr. and Mrs. Granger floated before their daughter who was shrinking to her knees.

"How could we ever forgive you for this?" cried Mrs. Granger.

"Mum, please! I had to," Hermione wept.

"We will never forgive you! Abomination!" the spectre of Mr. Granger yelled.

"Devil-Spawn! Child of Satan! Harlot!" screeched the first woman who Ron realized must be Hermione's religious grandmother she had mentioned once.

"I am not a harlot!" Hermione suddenly screamed as she crawled forward and stabbed the cup directly through the top and down into the stem.

A loud boom echoed around the room, throwing Hermione back several feet towards Ron who caught her and held her tightly until the wind and black smoke was gone. They remained that way, hunched on the stone floor, for several minutes as Hermione wept again.

"What if they never forgive me?" she whimpered. "What if they never talk to me again?"

"Then you'll stay with me…or Harry. We'll never let you be alone. We'll always be there for you," he said, muttering reassuring things to her for several minutes.

"Hermione, you were brilliant. I know it was hard, I know, believe me. It happened to be too," Ron muttered in her ear. "It knows how to get into your mind and it…clings to your deepest fears. Uses them as weapons against you in order to protect itself. What you saw – it wasn't true."

"What did it show you?" she asked softly.

"Well," Ron thought quickly. He didn't really want to reveal his true feelings for her right then in the middle of the creepiest room ever, sitting next to a snake's corpse. "That you and Harry wouldn't let me come back with you. That… that you were better off without me. It may have also mentioned how I'll never compare to Harry in anything. That he'll always be better than me and no one will care about his idiot sidekick. That I don't matter and I'm not important," he finally admitted. He just left out the whole bit about naked Harry and Hermione kissing.

"Oh Ronald," she murmured. She hugged him tightly, not sure how to tell him her true feelings. "You matter…you're important to me. And Harry," she added. Another minute or so went by in silence as they both considered telling the other their true feelings, but not having the courage to do so.

"We should probably gather up these things and head back up to help Harry," Ron said finally."Who knows, maybe he found the other Horcrux already," Ron said cheerfully, giving her one final squeeze and regretfully letting her go. He instantly missed the warmth of her body against his but he took a deep breath and steeled himself before walking over and grabbing the mangled cup and several fangs.

"Be very careful you don't poke yourself," she said in a shrill voice. He just rolled his eyes and replied, "Yes, 'Mione." As they both headed back towards the entrance the memory faded around them all.

They arrived in the Room of Requirement with everyone.

"They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organized. We're fighting."

Harry watched sadly as many of the children cheered and surged towards the door, eager to leave and risk their lives. Several had fallen that night and never got back up, others were irreparably injured, and all of them suffered emotional trauma. Thankfully, the Draught of Peace was working splendidly and Harry, though sad at the scene before him, felt no guilt or painful remorse.

They skipped the scene with Percy and Mrs. Weasley's over protection of Ginny and the last bit of memory was another flash to Voldemort. They saw him staring up at the school through the gates, his familiar draped on his shoulders like a living shall. They saw him sneer and his eyes darken in fury before they were suddenly back in the room with Harry.

"Oh good god, I'll never get used to that," Lily said shivering.

They appeared in the Great Hall, standing in the middle of the room. Harry was wandering around searching for his friends so the group stayed near Minerva who was making the evacuation announcement to the students. They all gasped when they heard Voldemort's voice ring through the castle and grounds. It almost felt as though the very air was speaking to them.

"I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until Midnight."

The adults were shocked to silence. They turned and placed their wide eyes on Harry and instantly closed rank about him.

"But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!" shouted Pansy Parkinson. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all gasped.

"That…that…" Ron stammered.

"Bitch!" Hermione screeched. Ron almost fell over as he spun and looked at his girlfriend.

"What? She is!" Hermione replied indignantly.

Ron grinned and replied, "Language Hermione Jean Granger!" in a shrill voice. Harry chuckled and Hermione fought a grin.

"Look! Look what they're all doing!" Ginny shouted at the pair to bring their attention back to the Great Hall.

Everyone at the other three tables had stood and was protecting Harry, holding their wands on Pansy and the rest of Slytherin. Harry, who had been too stunned when it happened to glance at the table of snakes, watched Pansy and laughed when she let out a pathetic sound and tried to hide behind Millicent Bulstrode.

Sirius cheered and danced a jig around James in his excitement. "That was so awesome! They all just stood, practically in unison, to guard you!" he sang out as his fist-pumped the air.

They watched as Slughorn led the Slytherins out, followed by the Ravenclaws. As the group was standing nearest Minerva, they heard her conversation with a few choice Gryffindors.

"Longbottom, Thomas, and Finnigan, please come here," she said drawing them to her. "I wish you three to complete a task for me."

"Us, Professor?" asked Neville with wide eyes.

"Yes, Neville. You three," she said, using his first name. This seemed to jolt the formerly-timid boy and he stood up proud and waited for orders. "I want you three to head down to the bridge, leading to the forest on the North Shore, when you get there I want you to destroy it. Prevent anyone from crossing it in any way that you can. Blow it up if you need to."

"B-blow it up?" Seamus said weakly.

"Yes, and you should do it soon. We don't have much time, I feel," she said, eyes watching the Hufflepuff table start to evacuate.

"Let me get this straight, Professor," Neville began. "You're actually giving us permission to do this?"

"That is correct Longbottom."

"To blow it up? Boom?"

Harry chuckled at Neville's disbelief.

"Boom!" Minerva said. Everyone watching cracked up, including Minerva herself.

"Wicked! But how on earth are we going to do that?" Neville suddenly asked.

"Why don't you confer with Mr. Finnigan?As I recall he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics."

"HA! HA-HA-HA!" Sirius laughed uncontrollably.

"Say that three times fast," Ginny giggled. James and Ron both started tried saying the alliterative phrase and butchered it horribly.

"I can bring it down," Seamus cried in delight.

"Yes, well, off you go then. Hurry, and be safe you three!" Minerva said as she shooed them away. Harry barely heard Seamus say, "We need to stop at the Potions lab," as they walked away.

Now that the Gryffindor table was half empty, Minerva trotted off to shoo the underage students out as well.

"Absolutely not, Creevey, go! And you Peakes!"

"How the hell did Colin even get there? He was Muggleborn and in hiding. He wasn't of age so he couldn't Apparate. Someone had to have gone to get him," Harry said to Ginny. She was staring at her old friend sadly.

"Dennis told me that someone turned his D.A. Galleon into a Portkey for him," replied Ginny. "He never said who though."

"And he still blames me for Colin's death?" Harry asked dully. James and Lily turned to look at the toe-headed kid that Minerva had sent away.

"Yes," Ginny replied.

"Why would he blame Harry?" asked Sirius.

"He said that Harry gave Colin a 'puffed up sense of ability' regarding the D.A. and that Colin actually believed that if he fought he would be brave and gallant and he'd be fine since 'the great Harry Potter' taught him defence," said Ginny.

"He said that right before he punched me in the jaw. Broke his hand too," Harry muttered.

"But…the kid was obviously here on his own accord. How can someone blame you? You didn't make the Portkey for him. If anyone was to blame it's the bloke who made him the Portkey in the first place," James said with a frown.

"Grief does weird stuff to people. Nothing we can really do about it," Harry shrugged. The memory flashed around them and showed a new corridor and Harry standing in front of Ravenclaw's resident ghost, the Grey Lady.

Harry argued with her for several moments until he accused her of not wanting to defeat Voldemort.

"It is not a question of—My mother's diadem—"

Lily and Sirius both looked shocked.

"Her mother? She's Helena Ravenclaw?" Sirius asked.

Lady Ravenclaw started her story. Harry decided to watch his family's faces as she spoke to see their reactions.

"I stole the diadem. I sought to make myself cleverer, more important than my mother. I ran away with it. ...Then my mother fell ill – fatally ill. …She sent a man who had long loved me, though I spurned his advances, to find me. …The Baron was always a hot-tempered man."

"The Bloody-Baron?" James squeaked.

Her story continued and Harry fought a chuckle as he saw Hermione staring intently at his younger self, just as he was at his parents and Sirius. Trust her to want to see the dawning comprehension on his face when he discovered the truth.

"A forest in Albania," Lady Ravenclaw said.

Lily gasped and her eyes widened. James and Sirius were only a second behind her.

"You've already told someone this story, haven't you?" said the younger Harry.

"So that's how he did it," James muttered. "How bloody sick do you have to be to woo a ghost?" he tried joking with Sirius, who for once wasn't interested in jokes.

"He hid the diadem in the castle, the night he asked Dumbledore to let him teach! He must've hidden the diadem on his way up to, or down from, Dumbledore's office!"

The memory flashed and Harry was standing next to a filthy Ron and slightly less filthy Hermione.

"So what's new with you?" Ron asked casually. James and Sirius didn't know whether to laugh or grimace at the poorly timed joke. They were surrounded by destruction, explosions, and could hear screams outside.

"I know what the diadem looks like, and I know where it is. He hid it exactly where I hid my old Potions book," he had said. They took off behind him towards the seventh floor.

Harry watched as Ron defended the house-elves. He could see the two love-birds giving their younger selves gooey-eyes as they watched their first kiss happen. James and Sirius both cheered loudly, but as the kiss lingered into something longer, everyone started averting their eyes.

"Is this the moment? OI! There's a war going on here!" Harry shouted making them all laugh. Soon enough they were back in the Room of Hidden Things searching. They split up and finally, Harry watched as he recognized the spot he'd hidden his book.

"It's in that cupboard over there." He pointed at a blistered old thing that had a bust of an ugly old man wearing a wig and the old tiara.

"Hold it, Potter. That's my wand you're holding," said a voice from behind them all.

"Bloody Hell!" Sirius cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Of course it's a Malfoy. It's always a Malfoy."

As they watched the scene unfold, Ron had a few choice comments about Crabbe and Goyle.

"What a pair of bloody morons," he muttered. "I think this is the most I've ever heard either of them speak. 'What's a die-dum'? He can't even say it right. Bloody pillock," he kept muttering insults under his breath until Crabbe suddenly sent a spell at the tower of stuff near causing it to shake and the memory-Ron to shriek. "Bastard!" Ron cried.

"What's Malfoy think, if he finds the diadem he can bring it to Voldie and get a prize?" Ginny spat.

"I don't know. Maybe," Harry said.

"Who cares what you think? I don't take your orders no more, Draco. You an' your dad are finished."

"Huh, even the other baddies think Malfoy's an idiot," Ron said with a grim chuckle.

"Crap!" James shouted as he watched Harry lunge for the tiara and saw it go flying. "Where'd it go?"

Suddenly, spells were being shot from every direction. Crabbe shot at Harry, who lunged out of the way and shot back. Then Crabbe shot a Killing Curse at Hermione who was shooting at Malfoy.

"That wanker almost killed you!" Ron yelled suddenly. Hermione placed her hand on his arm and he calmed slightly, though he still was rankled and muttering to himself.

"Don't kill him! DON'T KILL HIM!"

"Why is Malfoy trying to stop them?" asked Ginny.

"He knows that if I died, Voldemort would kill everyone in his rage. Malfoy was already so low in the ranks that if he had any association with my death his whole family would be murdered on the spot," Harry said calmly.

Several more spells were shot off until they all heard a rumbling noise approaching. Ron and Crabbe came sprinting into view.

"Like it hot, scum?" Crabbe yelled as he ran past, flames licking at his boots.

"ARGH!" screamed James and Sirius as a giant, flame-dragon flew into view and dove into the garbage in the distance.

"Fiendfyre! What kind of dumb arse moron casts Fiendfyre and can't control it?" screamed Ginny. She and the others couldn't feel the heat of the cursed fire, but still they tried to avoid it. None of them had seen Harry thrust a broom into Ron's hand and so when they all lurched into the air, Ginny and Lily both screamed and clutched to the person next to them.

They spent several seconds, but what felt like hours, dodging and diving to get away from the flames. Lily gasped when she heard a distant scream of pain.

"Oh dear lord, those other boys! They're still down there!" she cried. Only a true mother could worry about some brats who had, only moments before, tried to kill someone.

Harry, who had provided the memory, wheeled his broom around and went to find the Death Eaters below. Finally, they saw Malfoy and an unconscious Goyle perched on top of a pile of junk that was being rapidly consumed by the fire monsters.

"IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU HARRY!" roared Ron.

They both dived and reached the Slytherins in a second. Harry swung Malfoy up onto his own broom while Hermione yanked Goyle onto theirs.

"Now watch. The baby Death Eater is going to try and kill you by throwing you to your fiery death?" James said, giving Harry a strange look.

"Nope, brat's too scared to try anything like that. Look how tightly he's clinging to Harry," Sirius laughed darkly at Malfoy, who had his arms wrapped so tightly around Harry, they were surprised he wasn't turning blue.

Unexpectedly, Harry dove towards the fire causing many of the watchers to shriek.

"What are you doing, what are you doing, the door's that way!"

"The Diadem!" Ginny cried out pointing towards the Horcrux. Again, Sirius and James hollered in their excitement.

Finally, what felt like eons after they'd entered the Room, the two air bound sets flew out in the hallway and landed harshly.

"C-Crabbe…" Malfoy choked.

"He's dead," Ron spat harshly. The older Ron winced.

"Ron…that was harsh," Ginny said softly.

"Not in my book," Sirius said. "That bastard almost killed them all. He deserved what he got, and anyone who—"

"Sirius, I just meant that…Malfoy was worried about his friend. Saying it like that was maybe a bit harsh. I'm not saying I don't agree that Crabbe deserved what he got, just that being harsh right then might have been too harsh," Ginny interrupted.

"Maybe. But I still say the bastard shouldn't be shown any pity. It was most likely Malfoy who led them to follow Harry in the first place," Sirius pointed out.

Harry could feel a debate growing and he held up his hand to silence them both.

"Debate it later. I don't want to have to replay anything for you both," he said softly. They tuned back into the memory just in time to see the diadem scream and crumble in Harry's hands.

"So…that was it. They're all gone?" asked James.

"Not quite," Harry replied ominously.

Hermione gave him a glance before adding, "The snake is still with Voldemort." Just as she said it, Ron gasped and clutched her arm. He knew what came next.

Fred's death.

He glanced at Harry who grimly nodded once and waved his wand, sending the memory into a flash. They skipped that horrible scene, sparing them all the grief. Ginny hadn't been there so she didn't realize what was going on until Harry whispered in her ear. She inhaled sharply and tears sprung to her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her and hugged her tightly. Hermione was currently doing the same for Ron.

Sirius saw the Weasley kids' reactions and glanced at Harry mouthing, "Fred?" Harry nodded slightly, grimacing. Sirius turned and murmured to James and Lily about what they'd skipped. The two shared sympathetic looks with Harry and Hermione.

"You need to find out where Voldemort is, because he'll have the snake with him, won't he? Do it, Harry – look inside him!"

Harry was still surprised at how easy it was to turn the link around on Voldemort and see into his mind and through his eyes. He shuddered at the thought of what might have happened had he realized it was so easy to do years or months before that moment. Luckily, the potion he'd taken was still in effect and he was still calm enough to not feel strong emotions or he may have retched at that point as well.

"My Lord…please…my son…"

"Galloping Gargoyles! Look how bad he looks!" Sirius crowed. "Bastard got his just rewards it looks like. Oh how the mighty have fallen!"

"Go and fetch Snape. …I need him. There is a – service – I require from him. Go."

Harry realized that he should probably give his mum a heads up knowing what was about to happen and that they were close at some point in their lives. If he could skip it he would, but they had to see it all. James and Sirius had to know the truth about their former school-boy enemy.

"Er, mum. I should probably warn you," he whispered to her."Snape is going to…er, die soon. It's not pleasant to watch but it's important to the rest of the night afterward. I just thought I should warn you."

She looked at him sadly, but nodded.

"You had already told me he had died, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised," she whispered back. She looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but instead she remained silent.

Abruptly, the memory shifted and they spent a few minutes flashing through a quick set of memories as they travelled through the castle. They saw Minerva, bloody and dishevelled with her hair undone, directing a herd of desks down the hallways, screaming, "CHARGE!" Sirius and James glanced back at the professor standing behind them and snickered.

Flash.

They were down a floor and watching as Dean duelled Dolohov and Parvati with Travers. "Wheeeeeeeeeeee!" Peeves trilled as he chucked Snargaluff pods at Death Eaters.

"HA! Even old Peevesy got in on things," Sirius chuckled.

Flash.

They were running toward a set of stairs where Draco Malfoy was pleading with a masked enemy. As they ran past, Harry Stunned the Death Eater and Ron punched Malfoy.

"And that's the second time we've saved your life tonight, you two-faced bastard!"

"YEAH!" shouted Sirius, slapping Ron on the back. Ron had a smirk on his face.

"Boy that felt good," he said.

Flash.

Fenrir Greyback was gnawing on Lavender Brown. Hermione cast something that blasted the werewolf off her friend. Before anyone could say another word, a crystal ball crashed into the man's skull. Knocking him unconscious.

"I have more! More for any who want them!" shrieked Trelawney as she lobbed another into the air and directed it with her wand out a window.

Flash.

Hagrid was being carried off by a heard of acromantulas.

"No!" cried Lily and Minerva in unison. They looked at each other in surprise.

"It's okay. He was fine later," Harry assured his mother.

Flash.

Harry was cowering from the rain of glass coming down on him caused by the twenty foot giant outside the main door to the castle punching in a high window.

Flash.

Grawp fighting the giant at the door, preventing it from reaching inside and pulling anyone else out for a snack.

Flash.

Dementors encroaching on them. They saw Harry lift his wand but he hesitated in casting, a look of despair on his face. He looked like he'd given up. Then a trio of Patronuses, a hare, a boar, and a fox, sprang past him fighting off the nearest Dementors. Luna, Ernie, and Seamus came into view. Luna walked up to Harry and smiled serenely at him, as if she wasn't in the middle of a fight for her and her friend's lives.

"Something happy?" Harry said, his voice cracking causing everyone's hearts to break a little.

"We're all still here, we're still fighting. Come on, now…"

He struggled for a moment before his brilliant stag burst forth and gave the others enough power to finally drive the Dark creatures away.

Flash.

They were running as hard as they could.

"The Whomping Willow. Go!"

Flash.

They were in the tunnel, nearing the end. They inched toward the door leading into the Shack and could see Snape and Voldemort in the room together. Because they couldn't see anything from the tunnel, Harry inched forward to see if they could move into the room and found that he could, so the others followed him.

"This is it," Minerva said quietly to Harry. He just nodded to her. She sighed sadly but continued to watch.

"Let me find the boy. Let me bring you Potter. I know I can find him, my Lord. Please." Lily frowned.

James was glaring daggers at Snape and Sirius was watching the scene with apprehension.

"I have a problem, Severus," Voldemort said softly. Holding the Elder wand, Dumbledore's wand, out as if to show the Potions Master. "Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?"

Lily inhaled, her eyes widening. It had clicked for her instantly, Ollivander's words ringing in her ears. "Where a wand has been won, its allegiance will change."

"No, my Lord, but I beg you will let me return. Let me find Potter."

"Why is that bastard so intent on finding you?" James asked. He could tell something was going on.

Voldemort spoke, telling Snape that he knew Harry would eventually come searching for him and all he had to do was wait. He had other concerns at the moment.

"Let me go and find the boy, my Lord. Let me bring him to you. I know I can –"

Snape had now asked several times and Voldemort snapped at him finally. Sirius and James were both giving Snape weird looks and Lily was watching her old friend with sad eyes.

Voldemort continued speaking ominously.

"The Elder Wand, the Wand of Destiny, the Deathstick. I took it from its previous master. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore."

"My Lord – let me go to the boy –"

Now James and Sirius, who were staring at Snape's face knew that there was something going on and that Snape was terrified. He needed to find Harry for a reason, and they were acutely aware that if Snape of all people needed to find Harry, it was a matter of life and death. No one would pester the Dark Lord that many times about something and not sound suspicious.

To Voldemort, it might have seemed like Snape only wanted to find Harry to bring him to his death and earn the reward of being the next in command. But the group watching realized that even the most loyal Death Eater would have shut up ages ago about finding Harry Potter.

"I have sat here wondering, wondering, why the Elder Wand refuses to be what it ought to be, refuses to perform as legend says it must perform for its rightful owner…and I think I have the answer."

James and Sirius shivered at the look Voldemort gave his Potions Master. Lily and Minerva had tears in their eyes as they watched their old friend in his last moments.

"The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine."

Minerva and Lily were shaking their heads. James and Sirius, now aware that this was definitely the moment their old rival was murdered, realized that they were not happy about this. Neither felt a sense of justice in this moment.

Ginny clung to Harry. He had told her the truth about Snape shortly after the war, so she knew he was truly on their side and why, but he had never been able to say how Voldemort had killed the spy. As the spell-cage holding Nagini shifted closer to Snape she realized how it would happen.

The spell moved through Severus, encasing his head and shoulders. They could see the pure terror in his eyes now as Voldemort spoke.

"Kill."

The snake lunged, biting Severus in the carotid artery.

Lily shrieked, "NO! SEV!" as she held her hand out to the memory of Snape. James pulled her back and into his arms, holding her as she sobbed into his chest. Sirius looked like he was about to vomit but he was resting his hand on Minerva's shoulder as the elderly woman watched in frozen horror as her former colleague was murdered.

Everyone was silent except Lily's sobs. Voldemort left the room with Nagini floating behind him. They all watched as Harry whipped off the Cloak and stepped up the dying man.

"Take…it…Take…it…" he gurgled. James, still holding Lily watched in revulsion as Harry used a flask to gather the seeping silvery memories from him. Lily, who had heard Severus speak again lifted her head and watched as well. Suddenly, she pulled away from James and leaned down to the level of her dying friend. She reached out her hand as if to rest it on his chest, tears falling from her face and through the memory disappearing below them.

"Look…at…me…" he spoke his final words. Lily was right next to Harry and could plainly see that Severus was looking into her son's eyes as his world ended. She watched, barely breathing and tears falling steadily, as the light and life left Severus Snape's eyes.

James knelt down next to her and held her close to him. She cried silently for a few minutes, but the memory continued on.

They all jumped when they heard Voldemort's voice come from the very air around them.

"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses."

Harry thought of everyone they had lost up to that point. Fred, Remus, Tonks, Colin, Lavender, and so many others. But he knew their side wasn't the only one that suffered.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately."

"What? Why would he do that?" James asked in confusion.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If at the end of that hour you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. ... One hour."

"That's why," Ron said answering James' question.

"Plus, he needed to tend to his own troops," Hermione spat.

The memories ended and they rose up out of the Pensieve and into the sitting room. Lily went to the bathroom to compose herself and wash her face while Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sat down and snacked on some crisps. Harry removed the memories from the bowl and poured in Snape's memories.

James and Sirius were discussing quietly in the corner so Harry turned and looked at Minerva. She was standing quietly and staring at the Pensieve. Her eyes were a little red but dry now.

"Professor? Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I will be fine, Harry," she replied. "You had told me about how he was truly loyal to our cause, and how he played his part so well. Too well. I just had such a hard time believing it. I never realized how…much I enjoyed his presence in the castle until this last few months. He was difficult to work with sometimes but he was my colleague and, I'd even say, friend. I regret…" She trailed off staring at the Pensieve. "I will miss him," she finished after a moment.

She gave Harry a soft, sad smile. Now that she was broken out of her trance she turned and sat down in a high backed arm chair. Harry went over to his friends and sat down with them. Snape's memories would be next and he was worried about sharing these memories with so many people. It felt wrong in a way because Snape had intended on only Harry, and possibly Ron and Hermione, seeing them. Not his worst schoolboy enemies and his lost love, or his former co-worker and students. Harry was just glad that the man was dead and couldn't castrate him were he to find out.

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A/N: Again, I had to split the chapters up. Sorry the ending of this chapter is so abrupt. Sorry this chapter took a little longer to get out to you. My beta's computer crashed and I needed to send it to him again, plus the holidays. So many thanks go to Teufel1987 for editing this beast of a chapter! Go check out his stories!

I hope everyone had a good holiday season or winter break. Ours was pretty relaxed and I got some good gifts, including a Blowgun with needle darts and several Cards Against Humanities expansion packs, plus two antique or vintage cameras, and one actually has a used roll of film inside ready to get developed! OMG! And that camera was made in Germany in 1941...How cool would it be if I had WW2 photos!? It's not likely but it's still fun to think about. The film type is rare so it's hard to find a place to get it developed, but when I do, I'll post the photos in a blog on LiveJournal.

DFTBA!