Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Draco caught Harriet before her body could smack painfully against the cold, unforgiving stone of the courtyard.
"No….." He whispered as he deftly touched her face.
The tears of sorrow that welled in his gray eyes made Voldemort appear blurry as he dared to look up at the Dark Lord.
Fear left him.
Despite the rage flooding his system, Draco's mouth fell open when he realized his adversary seemed to be forlorn himself at what had happened.
"And with all my power and might, I do wonder how those secrets remained hidden all these years…..." Voldemort mused, half to himself.
"You've killed her!" Draco sputtered. His pale face went red with anger as he clutched Harriet to his chest and shouted, "YOU'VE KILLED HER!"
"I suppose the daughter of the traitor could never hope to be much more." Voldemort chuckled.
Behind him, his elite echoed a chorus of eerie, sinister laughter.
The Malfoys did not join in, instead, Narcissa buried her face in Lucius's chest as she wept, not necessarily for Harriet, but for their grandchild who had undoubtedly also been eradicated by that hideous, green light.
Before Draco could say much else, a great rumbling emanated from within the castle.
He held Harriet close while Voldemort and all present looked towards the tattered building as a loud swishing noise grew more and more present.
A great cry rang out.
Hogwarts' large doors were flung open a second later and through them, the teenage version of Tom Riddle came proudly riding his Basilisk into the glittering light of that May morning,
Voldemort's serpentine eyes nearly bulged out of his head as shrieks sounded.
Everyone dove for cover behind the courtyard walls, terrified of being caught in the Basilisk's jaws.
Several of Voldemort's soldiers foolishly gawked at the startling sight of their leader in younger form and promptly had the great misfortune of locking eyes with the Basilisk.
Draco grimaced at the thuds their lifeless bodies made as they smacked against the stone.
"It can't be….." Voldemort murmured as he looked up at Tom incredulously.
Tom did not pause to enjoy the stir he had caused.
"Harriet!" He shouted as soon as his eyes fell on his beloved, her face pale, body limp, held securely in Draco's arms.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed to slits as he watched his younger self slide down the Basilisk and rush over to Draco.
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Spells and curses had not been successful.
Without defenses or hope, Harriet's friends prepared for their inevitable demise.
Inside the castle, Ron and Hermione clutched each other as Nagini raised herself to tower over them, mouth open, ready to strike.
Hermione screamed as a loud rush of air passed by their ears.
Ron flinched.
When the next moment brought no pain, they both slowly looked up.
Nagini's head lay to the right of her scaly body, over which someone very familiar stood,
"…………Neville?" Hermione gasped.
"Bloody hell….." Ron panted as he looked at the unlikely hero, who firmly clutched the Sword of Gryffindor in his calloused hand.
Nagini's blood dripped from the weapon's tip as Neville flashed Ron and Hermione a proud smile.
"Well……Let's go join Harriet and the others, shall we?" He asked.
As Neville walked away, Ron exchanged baffled glances with Hermione as he helped her to her feet.
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Tom ignored his older self, he ignored the battlefield, he ignored everyone and everything in the world as he pushed Draco aside to wrench Harriet into his own grasp.
"Harriet!" He shouted as he gave her a rough shake, "Harriet, wake up!"
"She can't wake up, you idiot!" Draco snapped, "She's dead! You've killed her!"
"NO!" Tom shot back defiantly as he glanced up at Draco, then at his older self.
Without hesitation, Tom demanded, "What have you done?!"
Voldemort scowled in response.
He had never read or heard anything about Horcruxes taking on an existence of their own, and yet…..
His musings were interrupted by a low moan.
Draco's eyes widened as Harriet's lashes fluttered.
The Basilisk let out a warning growl of a hiss as someone dared to bravely peer over the wall.
"……..Tom?" Harriet asked as she opened her green eyes to gaze into his face.
Draco blew out a breath as he closed his own eyes in relief while Tom flashed her a charming smile.
"Hello, sweetling." He purred.
Draco wanted to vomit as Harriet smiled tiredly and whispered, "We have to win, Tom. I can't wait for you to meet her."
Tom realized he had been so preoccupied he hadn't noticed the obvious truth.
He glanced at Harriet's belly before he gazed into her face again with a softness glimmering in his dark eyes as he asked, "Are you saying we have a daughter?"
"Yeah……." Harriet smiled, "She's brilliant, Tom, she's perfect!"
"Why didn't you send for me?" He snapped at Draco as he threw him a threatening scowl.
"I was a bit preoccupied helping her, as you should have been." Draco retorted.
Voldemort had never worn such an expression of utter confusion.
"It's fine, Tom." Harriet smiled, "It's done…..Now we just need to go home."
"Where is she?" Tom asked as he helped Harriet stand.
"Somewhere safe." Harriet whispered as Voldemort paused a short distance in front of them.
"The girl who lived……" Voldemort grinned at Harriet before he turned his serpentine stare onto his younger self, "……..And the boy who would not die. Almost poetic, I suppose."
The Basilisk whipped its tail close to an outer section of stone as two cowering wizards attempted to sneak past.
Voldemort seized his opportunity.
As he faced Tom and Harriet, he pointed his wand at them.
Tom and Harriet wasted no time in meeting his challenge.
They all fired nearly in unison.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
Two beams of green and one blast of red erupted forth.
The three trails of magic mixed and mingled in the air.
Harriet stumbled in the violent wind that blew suddenly until she braced herself against the force of the struggle.
For a moment, it seemed as if Voldemort would maintain dominance, but he was no match for the enemy he had never fully understood, love.
Harriet had been protected by love since her infancy and as she stood beside Tom, fighting for their future, love kept her strong.
The strand of green and red forced Voldemort's own curse back until the tip of his wand became overtaken.
In one great passing blur, the struggle ended.
Voldemort's wand clattered to the ground as he faced Harriet and Tom.
Behind her glasses, Harriet's green eyes widened.
Voldemort looked deep into her soul as his mouth dropped open.
For one horrible second, she could see he tried to speak, but before words could form, his tongue dissolved into ashes, as his face, head, and body slowly crumbled away.
"It's over…….." She breathed as she watched her old-friend-turned-enemy vanish into the morning.
"It's over!" She cried as she turned to look at her lover.
Draco couldn't truthfully say that he felt remorse as he watched Tom fade, although it pained him to know Harriet would suffer further.
"TOM!" Harriet shrieked as she realized her darling's skin had cracked the same way Voldemort's had.
Tom closed his eyes before they were taken from his sockets as he too evaporated, a single part of a soul, too weak to exist on his own.
"TOM!" Harriet screamed.
She reached to grab him, but her hand caught empty robes as she fell to the ground and clutched his clothes to her chest.
"Tom!" Harriet sobbed as she gathered his things close and buried her face into the bundle of vintage Hogwarts uniform she then held.
Even the Basilisk gave a long, mournful hiss as it found itself suddenly without a master for the first time in more than half a century.