3SM143
Disclaimer – don't own it, making no money
Chapter 143
Severus and Lucius flanked Harry as he descended the front steps. They had expected to be at Harry's side when the final confrontation eventually arrived, and they were nearly relieved that it had finally had gotten there.
Severus was, of course, nearly sick with dread that the training and plans might not be enough to keep Harry alive. They had held endless planning sessions, trying to come up with tricks or strategies that would ensure Harry's victory.
Severus suspected, though he was reluctant to admit it even inside his very cynical mind, that no matter what they might plot or plan fate would have the final say. Severus ruefully mused that it probably hadn't mattered whom Voldemort marked, fate would have ensured that they were brought face to face with the Dark Lord.
Whether fate intended Voldemort to be defeated or not was yet to be seen. Perhaps the wizarding as well as the muggle world was destined to get a taste of what it was to be under the boot of a true madman. A good way to teach warring muggle factions to work together … have a Dark Lord decide to kill every muggle in existence and perhaps they would all find they were brothers after all.
Severus shuddered. Maybe Fate didn't care who won. If Voldemort failed, great, if he won … well Fate likely had an interesting outcome for that as well. Severus gripped his wand tightly and looked over at Tom. He knew that Tom had been struggling with something; he hoped it did not distract him from the battle at hand.
Tom marched resolutely toward what he was sure would be his death. He had come to terms with the need for his death for Voldemort to be killed. The dragons had helped a great deal, with the familiar draconic presence calming his fears and encouraging him to do what must be done. Dragons were quite pragmatic about such things and it had bolstered his courage.
It was not dying that bothered him … at least not much. It was leaving Dora behind and deserting their child. He was quite sure that Dora was now pregnant and simply not wanting to burden him with the knowledge.
Dora had finally "accepted" that he very likely would not survive the battle by simply no longer talking about it. Tom could understand that. Further discussion would not change the outcome and would simply upset both of them and ruin the time they had left.
Tom glared at Voldemort over Lucius' shoulder with baleful resentment. Lucius was also resigned to his 50 – 5 0 chance of survival. Draco had been sent to oversee the likely evacuation of students to Malfoy Manor and from there, perhaps, to the safehouses. Lucius had given over much of the Malfoy wards to Draco, the rest would automatically go to him if Lucius died.
Draco had grumbled, but had understood the unspoken fears. If Severus, Lucius and Tom were dead, Draco would need to take over the Manor and protect three families – the Malfoys, Snapes and Riddles. It was not a responsibility to be taken lightly. Still, he resented missing out on the battle.
Sirius paced behind Severus, watching as Harry confronted the Dark Lord. He and James had often eagerly read about grand battles, the heroes facing down their dark enemies and triumphing of course, because the light always won in the old tales. Seeing Harry face Voldemort, though, merely made him sick with dread.
"Ah, Harry, Harry, Harry." Voldemort smirked as the two groups slowly advanced on each other. "I'm so glad you didn't make me chase you down. It's so vulgar to run away from a fight rather than to face one's inevitable death with bravery."
Harry had nearly frozen in fear when Voldemort had started to speak, sure that the Dark Lord would somehow say something that would make him hesitate, or even be too afraid to fight. Harry couldn't imagine anything that could do that, but Severus had said that the Dark Lord was a master manipulator and he had had access to Harry's mind at least in part for quite some time.
Once Voldemort started talking a part of Harry relaxed. The Dark Lord was merely spouting off school – yard taunts and insults. Harry was nearly disappointed; he'd thought that the Dark Lord would be better at mind games. Maybe Voldemort was losing ground mentally with his Horcruxes being absorbed by Tom or destroyed. But at least there would be no more manipulations of Harry's mind.
Harry had his wand out and aimed at Voldemort, the wand humming in anticipation. Quite often, when true danger was at hand, Harry was sure he could feel a hum of magic that was Yvane's running down the wand along with his own magic.
Harry and Voldemort lifted their wands at the same moment, triggering both sides to start the battle, hexes and curses flying thick and fast. Voldemort started with dark curses that were meant to disable, thinking he could badly wound the 'Boy Who Lived' and execute him in front of the survivors after the battle to finish off any thoughts of further resistance.
Harry had found that deflecting the curses was easier than actually trying to block them totally. He had practiced endlessly with Severus on spells and they had decided that deflecting them upward was best, so they wouldn't strike people on either side of him.
Voldemort's curses struck at Harry's deflection spell like a hammer, and Harry winced a little as he heard the curse strike the wall of the castle behind them. Curses flew all around him, with Severus and Lucius flanking him, keeping the Death Eaters backing Voldemort from cursing him from either side. Tom and Sirius stalked behind Harry, firing at the Death Eaters that Severus and Lucius were blocking.
Aurors, teachers, Order members and some older students joined the fray. The Death Eater's numbers were about even with the defenders, but a few scattered Inferi and acromantula were joining in, forcing the defenders to redouble their efforts.
Soon the combatants were getting spread out and gaps formed where wizards and witches fell, either injured or dead. Severus and Lucius got pushed away from Harry and Tom took up shielding for Harry and the fight between Voldemort and Harry got more intense as the Dark Lord became frustrated that the fifteen year old was holding him off.
Voldemort's break came when Rowle sent a hex as well as Gibbon and Travers. Tom's shield broke long enough for Voldemort to send an Avada Kedavra at Harry with a triumphant shout.
Time almost stood still for Tom as he saw that green light flash toward Harry. He felt a strange elation. This was why he was here. The reason he'd been brought out of the diary – to help bring down the monster that he was to become; first by destroying part of the Horcruxes and now to finish off the rest of them by dying while saving Harry.
Tom shoved Harry to one side and stepped straight into the killing curse's emerald light. Finally, the end of Dark Lord would be possible.
Tom crumpled to the ground, eyes staring up to meet Harry's grief-stricken gaze.
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As the battle between Harry and Voldemort started Headmaster Dumbledore broke off his defense of the gates. In spite of the attack, he could tell that Bellatrix and her cohorts did not know how to truly break through. He left Vector and Babbling to watch the gates in case Bella managed to make any real headway. He hurried toward the raging battle in time to see Tom shove Harry aside and take a killing curse.
Bella squealed in delight as she saw her Lord winning. She and Nott leaped onto brooms to speed to the shack so they could join the fight. Rookwood and Yaxley scowled and rather lazily cast at the gates, knowing they would be unsuccessful, but this way they were out of the real fighting.
Narcissa, though, went straight to the Malfoy Manor and approached the farms at the back. Some of them were situated partly in the muggle world to make bringing in goods from the muggles easier as well as selling to them as well.
Loathe as she was to come anywhere near places that were frequented by muggles, it was her only possible way in. The wards were weaker here, though few witches or wizards would even be aware that these 'foot in both worlds' areas existed.
She sneered; the Malfoys had always been a bit hypocritical when it came to business and making money. They simply didn't care if their money was tainted by filthy muggles. She disillusioned herself and worked her way to the back of the farm with Lucius' non-magical livestock picking her way around the manure piles with a grimace of distaste.
The wards that separated the famous magical Wiltshire sheep that gave wool that could be enspelled with a myriad of magical protections from the non-magical sheep that simply gave excellent wool were not all that heavy since the wizards who took care of both of them needed to be able to move between the two areas easily. There was a 'doorway' that they could go through that depended on fairly simple passwords and recognition spells. She was depending on them to not have bothered to exclude her from an area that she had never actually visited. Lucius likely thought she didn't even know about all the farms in the back of the manor.
Sure enough, with a few attempts she made it past the doorway and into the 'magical' pasture. To her dismay the magic sheep left as much manure around as the non-magical. Still, she made it onto the Manor proper and headed toward the house, carefully skirting around things to look for her targets and see if there were any wizards or witches guarding her prey.
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Rosmerta and Petunia sipped at some tea on a veranda that was next to the rather large fireplace that held the floo they expected students to come through. They had received the news that the battle had begun and were tensed to start taking students from the school.
Tori and Beth were out on the ponies and Petunia felt they should come back in under their watchful eyes. Mostly she just wanted to do something. She muttered to Rosmerta that she was fetching the girls and Rosmerta nodded absently.
Petunia walked across the garden and into the back lawn. There had been a place to play croquet and then a tennis court and various other sports that would imply that the Malfoys were athletic. Now the back lawn was an area for the girls to ride the ponies and practice for the pony club shows and various gymkhanas.
They were new to the pony club, but they were eager to learn and becoming a bit competitive. The last few shows they had attended they had entered Jinxy and Max in the 'halter classes'. The judges had scored the two ponies highly, but one judge had mentioned that Max's hind legs were slightly cow – hocked and another had the poor taste to mention that Jinxy's blue eye were technically considered a fault.
Since then, on the infrequent times when the two girls would argue, there were new insults involved. Tori would ask Beth if Jinxy needed a white cane or guide dog to get around the show ring with his obviously poor eyesight. Beth, in return, would make mooing noises as ask if Tori needed to be milking her red and white Guernsey cow. The two had never been very offended by insults from each other … at least until now, when the insults were aimed at their beloved ponies.
Petunia approached the pair with a sigh. The girls were on their ponies, circling around each other, shouting and waving their riding crops at each other like swords. The ponies were snorting fiercely and shaking their heavy manes at each other as they pranced like knight's steeds would have.
Petunia called to the girls and they ended their joust with some pouting and a few last glares as they dismounted and led the ponies toward Petunia. They stopped with a gasp as a line of fire cut across the grass, separating them from Petunia.
Narcissa smiled with a rather mad gleam in her eyes. At last she had the ones that Lucius loved within her grasp. She could kill the squib and the girl who looked so much like Lucius and once the Dark Lord had triumphed she could tell Lucius all about their deaths, just before Lucius was executed as well. Then she would bring Draco to heel and retake her rightful place. It was all very clear in her mind. Killing Severus' brat would just be a bonus.
The ponies, startled by the fire, spooked and bolted, blocking Narcissa's aim from the girls and she aimed a whipping hex at them, forcing them away. Petunia ran around the fire, intending to end Narcissa's attack any way she could.
Beth and Tori, though, were incensed at Narcissa having the nerve to whip their ponies with a hex and they both screamed angrily with all the considerable force of their very healthy lungs. Rosmerta heard the noise and started running toward the ruckus. The safety of children was always paramount in a house elf's mind and the Malfoy house elves responded to the danger to the two girls and immediately popped in around them.
The elves squawked and fluttered, not sure how to fight against a former mistress and decided to simply grab the two girls and pop back into the safety of the Manor. Beth managed to squeak a request and two of the elves rescued the flustered ponies as well. Sorrel, the ancient house elf that maintained the library hissed at Petunia, "The dagger, mistress, the dagger!"
Petunia immediately whipped out the Amazon dagger and heartened by the girl's escape, advanced on Narcissa with a glint in her eye. Narcissa was still shrieking in fury at her prey escaping as she turned with a sneer to face the squib. Now Narcissa would have to track the little brats down again she fumed. She faltered a bit as she felt the dagger's magic, but it was not wielded by a witch, so how dangerous could it be?
Narcissa brought up her wand to cast a killing curse at Petunia, but Petunia was closing in too fast and struck at the witch with the dagger, slashing at her and shouting one of the incantations from the books she and Sorrel had found. The dagger responded sluggishly, perhaps reluctant to work against another female, but it did feel the danger to children that Petunia was trying to guard against.
Narcissa froze in astonishment and stared down at the deep cut in the center of her chest. She stared up at Petunia and dropped her wand, collapsing down onto the lawn. Even as she took her last breath, she could hardly believe that she'd been killed by a muggle-born squib.
Rosmerta raced up and watched as Narcissa was taking her last breath and quickly cast a slashing hex where the wound Petunia had caused. Petunia looked at her in bewilderment and Rosmerta shrugged.
"Do you really want to tell Draco you killed his mother? No matter how much she deserved it?" Rosmerta asked. "Any spell will show that I was the one to cast the curse that killed her … she was technically not quite dead when I cast it."
Petunia nodded with a tinge of relief and had Sorrel take Narcissa's body to the Manor and they went to check on the girls to find them safely playing in the Solarium … with the ponies. A faintly apologetic Dobby grinned sheepishly. "They needed to be safe, mistress?"
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Harry watched his brother fall to the ground with disbelief and then horror. He turned to Voldemort with fury.
Voldemort hissed in anger. He'd meant for his heir to live and be turned, or at least die after the attempt was made. He felt a pang of loss somewhere and then rounded on Harry with an increased ferocity.
Harry knew that another killing curse was going to be sent and now he was facing Voldemort on his own. Severus' cloak was on fire and he was trying to shed it while offing more death eaters. Lucius had numerous cuts and was bleeding an alarming amount, but he'd killed most of the death eaters on that side of Voldemort. Sirius was holding off the death eaters who'd tried to sneak up behind them.
Harry's wand start heating up and he once again felt Yvane's magic creeping up his arm. He could hear a whisper, Yvane's deep voice talking to him.
"Use me, Harry, send your patronus. I will protect you, just as I promised." Yvane whispered.
Harry gripped his wand tightly, keeping it aimed at the Dark Lord. He cast the dragon patronus while Voldemort shouted Avada Kedavra. The silvery form of Yvane spread its wings and absorbed the green light, drawing in all of the killing curse. The patronus was an eerie sight, glowing an emerald green. Then the dragon grinned at the astonished Dark Lord and sent green flames at the wizard, returning the curse to him.
Voldemort dropped to the ground, dead, and the battle paused for a long moment before quickly turning into a stampede of Death Eaters heading for safety.
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Flitwick could hear the Hungarian Horntail's roars of fury when she found one of her males dead. He hoped she would head his way soon. He was battling a huge crowd of Inferi that had escaped the attention of the dragons. His first year Ravenclaws had a Herbology project they wanted to check on and some of the other first years with the same assignment had tagged along. The 20 or so children were now gathered behind him in the Greenhouse while he defended against the rising tide of Inferi.
A pair of muggle-born twins from Hufflepuff were moaning about a 'Zombie Apocalypse ' and crying that they didn't want to become 'undead'.
Flitwick had been a champion duelist and still went to the occasional competition to keep his skills up. He could throw spells expertly, but he could not do so forever. He could feel his magic depleting, but he would cast until his arm feel off to protect his students.
Hazelette was gleefully killing off some of the smaller acromantulas that were escaping the werewolves. In the middle of stomping on a dog sized spider she could hear children screaming and charged toward the greenhouse. She started flaming at Inferi as she made her way to the Professor, who was quickly flagging.
Flitwick managed to hold off the shambling wrecks while Hazelette fought her way to him, but he was surrounded and went down while the dragon managed to get between the greenhouse and the Inferi. Hazelette burned Inferi after Inferi as well as clawing and sweeping with her tail to keep the students safe while she called to the other dragons for help.
She could feel her own strength failing and her heart pounded. She had known her end might be approaching, but she intended to see this battle through. She could hear the dragons arrive from the Reserve and gratefully lay down, blocking the entrance to the greenhouse, protecting the children while the others drove off the Inferi.
She sighed happily. A little nap and then some nice, plump deer would fix her right up. She was trying to decide if two deer would be enough or if she should ask for a third as she took her last breath and her heart stopped.
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Dumbledore reached Tom's body as Voldemort was falling to the ground. He was devastated at the loss of such a promising wizard. He would give anything to not have had this happen.
He barely had that thought when time seemed to stand still and the very air split, leaving Albus with a view into an endless vista of darkness.
Once again Death needed no introduction. Albus gaped at the scene a bit like a first year seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Death was holding Tom with one hand, who looked remarkably calm considering where he was. A frantically struggling Voldemort was tightly held in Death's other hand.
"Well, Albus, did you really mean you would give anything to undo this?" Death asked with an expectant look. Albus understood immediately, of course, that Death wanted his wand back. "And which Tom Riddle do you want returned?" Death snickered with a grin.
Albus paused, struck by how Death had phrased that and the pained look on Tom's face. I'd always known that Lucius and Severus were still holding onto secrets and now several pieces were falling into place. The diary had been made when Voldemort was 16 and Tom had appeared as a 16 year old. Tom wasn't Voldemort's son … he was Voldemort – sort of. But he was a Voldemort that had had a loving home and guidance offered before he had become a Dark Lord and had become a wizard that Albus held in high regard.
Albus chuckled softly. Yes, they had played this well. They had known he could accept that Voldemort's son should be treated fairly. A young Voldemort would have been beyond him.
Albus sighed and with only a brief pang of loss, Albus handed over the Elder Wand to Death. "My young friend, the rather Gryffindorish Tom Riddle, if you please."
Death laughed as he took the wand and with a snap, Albus was back with the world once again in motion and Tom sitting up and coughing loudly. Harry whipped around and looked at Tom in relied.
"I thought he hit you with a killing curse, Tom." Harry said
"He did." Tom wheezed. "The Albus traded the Elder Wand to Death like you traded the stone and cloak."
Harry turned to Albus, "Thank you so much, Headmaster" Harry breathed. Albus nodded his head and smiled. It was certainly the least he could do considering the difficulties of the last few years. He grimaced, 'difficulties' was probably a vast understatement.
Albus and Harry helped Tom to his feet and the looked around. It was practically deserted except for dead bodies. The Death Eaters could be seen running for the gates, since they could leave through there even if they hadn't been able to get in, although they had the gauntlet of teachers to race past. Lucius, Severus and Sirius were hot on their heels, firing off curses as they ran.
As they looked around, Tom noticed a very dead Bellatrix. Sirius had won the duel this time. Tom picked up her wand with a slight smirk and wandered over to Albus, who was watching the fleeing Death Eaters with Harry. Tom handed the wand to Albus.
"It's not a good time to be without wand, Albus." Tom said solemnly.
Albus nodded and waved the wand, testing its compatibility. The Lumos that he cast was not terribly bright but it did work.
"Bellatrix doesn't need it anymore, after all …" Tom added.
Harry managed a slightly hysterical laugh as the three of them walked back into Hogwarts. The castle was swarming with Aurors, just like the grounds outside were raining dragons and their riders. All the dementors, giants and trolls were dead and the Inferi were dead again.
There were some injured unicorns being treated as well a dragon or two. A few Aurors were arriving to mill around and try to separate out death eaters from castle defenders and remains of Inferi.
The trio made their way into the castle and found Minerva, leaning on a cane she had conjured. She and Draco, who was partly holding her up, were directing Aurors, students, a few teachers and some healers that were hurrying. Tom shook his head to clear it.
Harry looked around in confusion. "Can you believe all this happen in only an hour or two?"
Tom watched as some of the younger Death Eaters who had taken on the Hogwarts elves were carried by, covered in cuts. A few werewolves supporting Voldemort were hovered to the floo, still wrapped up in rather stubborn devil's snare.
Albus talked Minerva into letting Harry and Draco take her to the Infirmary so Hugo could take charge. Severus, Lucius and Sirius caught up with them as they entered the infirmary, the three of them leaning heavily on each other. Severus was still smoldering a bit, Lucius was still dripping some blood and it was someone had vanished the bones in Sirius' right arm. They stumbled across the floor and sank into chairs together with a sigh.
Madame Pomfrey was handing out calming draughts to a line of first years before a pair of prefects led them out the door.
Albus frowned, "I thought all the younger years were sent to their dorms for protection, and to prepare to floo, if necessary?"
Poppy sighed, "Professor Flitwick took them to a greenhouse to work on a project." Her eyes flicked over to the line of covered bodies. "Filius and the dragon Hazelette protected them with their lives."
Albus closed his eyes in sorrow, but he expected that there would be losses. Hopefully they would be few. Sirius noticed Neville sitting by a hospital bed and then realized that it was Remus and ran to see him.
"Remus, hey, Remus!" Sirius said. Remus opened his eyes slowly and Sirius grinned hopefully. "We got Fenrir for you … it took all three of us, but we got him." Remus smiled and with a sigh, sank back into unconsciousness.
Harry sat by Minerva while the healers worked. "How bad is it, Professor?"
Minerva patted Harry's shoulder with her free hand. "No students have been killed that we've heard. Most were in their dorms and the castle itself had locked them down. You know about Flitwick and Hazelette. I know some Aurors were killed. Several Death Eaters are dead. A lot of injuries, of course." Minerva sighed. "The numbers will grow, of course, as they clear the bodies."
Tom was looking around the injured being treated, hoping to not see Dora. Of course if she was being treated it would mean she was still alive. He didn't see the spotted streak barrel into the infirmary until he was already knocked down a being licked by a cheetah with enthusiasm.
He managed to stand, still holding the cat and she transformed, still wrapped around him. "You're alive, you're alive." she chanted in relief.
"Voldemort did kill me briefly but Albus traded his wand … the Elder wand to Death to get me back." Tom whispered, though not so low that Severus and Lucius did not hear him.
Dora stiffened in shock and then tackled the Headmaster in a tight hug. "Thank you Thank you Thank you." She said. Albus patted her back, murmuring reassurances that all was well. He looked over at Lucius and Severus who nodded their heads at him, acknowledging Albus' part in saving Tom.
Harry and Draco sat by their fathers, both feeling a sense of unreality. They had all worked tirelessly literally for years to achieve this goal and now it was over.
Severus laid an arm across Harry's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Harry."
Harry leaned against him and smiled. "I'm proud of all of us."
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The next morning the Daily Prophet had large headlines about the final fall of Voldemort … they even used his name, since they knew he would not be back again this time. Cornelius had prepared a lengthy press release about the battle, making sure everyone knew there had been scores of Aurors there.
There was a picture of a proud Lockhart with one foot on a dead Acromantula with a crowd of werewolves around him. Hazelette and Flitwick were lionized at length with a picture of Hazelette being wept over by dozens of students. The duel between Harry and Voldemort was scrutinized at length and spell experts tried unsuccessfully to explain how the patronus had done what it had.
The paper was a thick one at it seemed that in a very short space of time they had gotten the names of everyone who had cast so much as a jelly-legs during the battle. Sprout and her devil's snare and the Weasley twins and Filch had lengthy articles.
The spring break ended up being a long one, what with all the parties and the occupants of Dragonsrest and Malfoy Manor could finally relax with their only fear being that Dora would follow through on her threat to name the baby Albus.
Tom prayed that it was a girl, after all; the name Alberta was not quite as bad.
THE END
(except, of course for the epilogue everyone expects)
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A/N -Done at long last (Never again will I get stuck with an epic). I know there are likely numerous loose ends and I will attempt to tie them all up with the epilogue.