Chapter Sixty Four
Lily was jolted back to the start of consciousness as someone ran into her, kicking her hard in the stomach. Her head was fuzzy and painful as the stunning spells Lucius had cursed her with fought to continue to control her brain.
She knew why he'd done it, why Arthur had reached and grabbed her at the same time. She'd have been dead before she'd gotten half way to Harry's body, but at that moment, she really didn't care. And that feeling had nothing to do with the pain in her stomach.
There was no chance Lily could stand up yet. She reached out and grabbed the ground in front of her, pulling herself painfully along. The rough ground tugged at her clothes and cut into the soft skin on her chest and stomach. She was half way to Harry before her legs started working enough for her to crawl on her hands and knees the rest of the way.
Lily collapsed next to her son, dragging his head onto her lap. Broken sobs crashed out of her. No one but Harry could hear them through the noise of the battle but for Harry those sobs broke his heart.
The tears rushed from Lily's eyes, dropping down her nose and onto Harry's frozen cheek.
"I'm sorry Harry, I'm so sorry!" Lily sobbed, "I should of saved you, I tried… I tried so hard. I'm so so sorry, my baby boy…"
Harry felt his chest become slightly easier to move as he breathed, as her tears dripped over his skin, he forced all his effort into moving his hand. He needed to show her he was alive, he had to stop the pain she was feeling.
It took far, far long and took more energy than it would have normally taken Harry to run the length of the school, but he watched his hand slowly reach up to his mother's hair.
Lily jumped before letting out a laugh strangled by a sob, clutching at his hand and kissing the chapped skin.
"Harry… you… you're not… you're alive!" Lily sobbed, pulling him into a sitting position.
Harry was grateful for the help to sit up, his body was slowly becoming unfrozen but it was taking its time.
"Hi Mum… sorry if I spooked you." Harry said with a grin, his voice seemed rough, like it was taking a moment for his vocal cords to work, but they did; something he was very grateful for.
"Spooked me?" Lily said, letting out another laughing cry, "You are grounded, grounded for fifteen million years!"
"Sounds fair enough." Harry nodded, "Given the circumstances."
The battle raged on around them, although far fewer people on their side seemed to be falling than had been before. The Death Eaters were taking heavy casualties however.
Harry swept his eyes around, counting off those he reconsigned. Luna was fighting fiercely, brutality almost, Draco by her side, pulling her out the way when a spell came too close. She seemed to have very little care for her own safety, which broke Harry's heart a little more.
"Where's Ryker?" Harry asked, trying to remember everyone he should be looking out for, his head still felt fuzzy.
Lily cast her eyes around the people rushing around them, "There."
"Moody?" Harry croaked, his voice still struggling.
Lily looked sadly at him and shook his head, "I'm sorry Harry, he was brought into the Hall… he didn't make it."
Harry let the news sink in for a moment, "Anyone else get hurt? Voldemort said Dad was…"
"He's alive, just." Lily assured him, "It… it's not a pretty sight but he's alive and fighting to stay that way."
Harry clenched his jaw and started fighting to his feet.
"Harry… don't…" Lily said, half beg, half trying to hope he was still young and innocent enough to be told what to do, knowing that that time had passed long ago.
She helped him up, making sure he was steady on his feet, and had his wand ready and waiting in his tight grip, before letting go of him. It took ever ounce of Lily's strength to let go of her son, fearing it would be the last time.
"You don't have to do this." Lily told him.
Harry smiled sadly at his mother, he had so much he wanted to tell her, about seeing James, about being able to help Sirius. James's words rang through his mind, whatever was in the Snitch was right there, hanging in the Mokeskin pouch around his neck.
This wasn't the time though, all of that, all of everything else was going to have to wait. But for the first time, he could see himself having the chance to have those conversations.
"Yes, I do." Harry told her sadly, "I'm sorry it's just… yes, I do have to do this."
Lily closed her eyes and nodded, "I know. I love you. And I am so, so proud of you, more than words can say."
"I love you too Mum." Harry told her, leaning his head against hers for just a moment before standing up straight and glaring into Voldemort's back.
Everyone was too busy fighting to notice that Harry had stood up. He took a few tentative steps forward, until he was sure on his feet. Flexing his fingers and his toes inside his shoes, making sure he had full control of his body again.
"HEY!" Harry shouted, his voice cutting cleanly across the noise of the battle.
Voldemort spun round, his red eyes growing wide in shock at the sight of Harry standing there, very much alive.
Several other people in the battle stopped as well, unable to process what their eyes were telling them. Harry heard people joyfully calling his name.
"Looks like Harry Potter stands too." Harry said with a smirk.
He could see Cho, Nikka and his friends react to him being alive. Lucius began to cry, clinging to Narcissa's side while she just looked stunned.
He wanted to rush over to them all, to hug Cho and tell them all all about everything. To ignore Voldemort and the others and just be a kid for a while.
Voldemort looked him up and down before flicking his arm, the Death Eaters retreating from the field, to stand around them in a semi-circle. Harry watched in slight amusement as those fighting with him also stepped back, completing the circle around Voldemort and him.
"You were dead! Davis confirmed it!" Voldemort hissed, his eyes moving over to the Death Eaters behind Harry, trying to find Davis in the crowd and failing.
"Davis…" Harry repeated, everything falling into place, "Why on earth do you think he would have told you the truth? After you murdered his daughter, basically for the fun of it! These people don't love you! They don't follow you because they want to they do so out of fear and fear will always crumble when confronted with love. From what Tracy said, in the short conversation that we had, I think her father really loved her and she definitely loved him."
Harry heard a Death Eater towards his left let out a choked sob, and take several steps further into the crowd.
Voldemort continued to glare at Harry, "Well… I shall make sure you are dead personally this time."
Harry nodded, trying to look serious and failing, "Sounds sensible. A smart person may have even done that in the first place but never mind."
"In many ways I must confess myself pleased." Voldemort mused, "This way everyone, including your simpering mudblood mother with be able to see you die."
Harry shook his head, "I don't think that's going to happen." he said truthfully, shrugging his shoulders.
Voldemort let a smug smile spread across his lips, "Oh Harry… you can't kill me! I have mastered magic you couldn't dream of… no… you see, I cannot die."
Harry smiled, counting on his fingers,"Diary, Ring, Locket, Cup, Diadem, Snake… me."
Voldemort's smile faltered for a second, "What are you talking about?" he snapped.
Harry pulled out his bag and dumped the remains of the Horcruxes they still had on the ground, smiling as Voldemort's face fell, "Your diary, Slytherin's ring and locket, Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem and Nagini… they're all gone. What did you think we'd been doing this last year? Just running away? Please! You are not that scary."
Voldemort opened his mouth to say something, unable to keep his eyes from flicking over to where Nagini lay, her head at least a foot away from the rest of her body. Cursing himself for allowing himself to get distracted and not keep her by his side.
"Thing is, if it weren't for you, we still would have failed." Harry continued, "I was a Horcrux as well, and we never even knew it."
"I never…" Voldemort hissed.
"I know, it was an accident." Harry nodded, "When you tried to kill me, when you tried to kill my Mum, when you did kill James, my Dad. Your soul was so broken by everything you'd done to it, another bit just… broke off and headed for the closest living thing to take it, which happened to be me."
"Then I am even more protected that I thought!" Voldemort said, his eyes gleaming, "As long as you are alive, so am I!"
Harry shook his head, "Yeah that would have been the case… but…"
"But?!" Voldemort screeched.
"You killed me." Harry grinned, "Oh I came back, for many complicated reasons that wont matter a bit after today, but I was dead. Dead enough to kill the part of you living inside me anyway."
"I still powerful enough to kill you again." Voldemort said firmly, what little colour his face could show having drained from his pale skin.
Harry continued to face off against Voldemort, he could see him wondering if he should risk running, reforming his army, if he could, and attempting to make at least one more Horcrux, even though he knew deep down that wasn't going to be possible.
In the end Voldemort came to the same conclusion Harry had long ago, it was only going to be possible for one of them to leave this battlefield.
He smiled nastily, "Once again, the great Harry Potter stands alone…"
Voldemort raised his wand and shot a killing curse at Harry. Harry reacted in the same second, shooting a disarmament charm at him.
Harry expected them to meet in the air, crashing into one another in the same way they had after the Triwizard Tournament, in the graveyard. He realised the second Voldemort's wand flicked towards him though, it was not Voldemort's normal wand, but blood red and more smoothly shaped one.
He had no idea if the fact Voldemort was still alive, with Harry's blood running through his veins, would save his life again but he highly doubted he could keep half dying and coming back, unchanged.
The spell failed to kill him though, it knocked Harry backwards, his wand falling several feet away from him as all the air rushed from his body. Voldemort let out a cry of pain as the wand he'd been using burned in his hand for a moment before taking off into the air and landing with barely a sound at Lily's feet.
"You?" Voldemort hissed looking her up and down with nothing but hatred in his eyes.
Lily picked up the unusually smooth and coloured wand, "What are you…?"
Voldemort had ripped his eyes from Lily though and had pulled his own, pale and uniquely shaped wand from his robes.
Harry looked achingly to his side and forced himself to reach for his wand, knowing he'd never reach it in time.
Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion for Harry, in a way it hadn't in the forest, his mother was rushing to cover him, she wouldn't make it in time, he was reaching for his wand and he wouldn't make it in time either.
Voldemort raised his wand, his own comfortable and reliable wand that he should of used from the start, he'd gotten so caught up in the idea of the Hallows, an idea Dumbledore had chased into his grave.
This was better anyway.
Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the child who had nearly killed him sixteen years ago, ruining all his plans, who'd been the reason he could come back to life to finish those plans… he would die from Voldemort's own, faithful wand that had served him so well, since the day he'd bought it to go to Hogwarts. It was the wand that had taken him from the orphanage and brought him to life.
Pansy didn't think, she reacted. She could see Harry reaching hopelessly for his wand that was still three or four foot out of his reach. Her hand reached inside her pocket and pulled the scram sax from it.
Months of training with Marcus and Titania paid off as she nimbly tossed the blade over in her hand and threw it into Voldemort's back.
It was far heavier than anything she'd ever thrown before, it was also badly balanced for throwing and it's not like she'd had a practice run.
The scram sax missed it's target of Voldemort's spine in a throw she'd have been ashamed of under normal circumstances, but the scram sax still managed to stick deep in Voldemort's shoulder, doing what Pansy had hoped it would and causing Voldemort to drop his wand arm in shock.
Harry reached his wand and jumped to his feet, confused at why Voldemort had stopped.
Voldemort felt the blade in his flesh. It was less pain than he'd experienced before, but people never really remembered what pain felt like. His right arm was useless as he reached round to pull out the knife with his left.
Daphne got there first though, pulling the scram sax free and driving it back into Voldemort's lower back with more force than she thought she'd be capable of. Draco joined her, pulling out the blade and stabbing Voldemort again, as his dropped to his knees, blood pooling at the corner of his mouth.
"Harry will never stand alone." Draco whispered in Voldemort's ear, pulling out the scram sax again.
Pansy reached down and took Voldemort's wand from him, he tried to fight against it, but she slid it from his fingers with ease as a deep weakness over came him. Pansy threw the wand to Hermione standing nearby in the crowd, looking shocked.
Harry took a few deep breaths before stepping over to where three of his friends stood over the gasping and moaning Voldemort.
"He looks small." Harry remarked quietly.
It was true, Voldemort looked shrivelled and weak, too small and bony in his billowing robes. Harry felt another wave of sorry pass over him, shaking his head firmly to try and get passed it, but once upon a time he was just a small, scared child who wanted Maggie to kiss his scrapped knee better, to tell him it didn't matter none of the other children would play with him.
Harry knelt down in the dirt by Voldemort and took one of the pale bony hands. Voldemort tried to pull away, but he hadn't got enough strength left, Harry barely felt the movement.
"I… I just wanted you to know that I think, I tried to make sure anyway, that the part of your soul lost in me… that it made its way to Maggie." Harry whispered to Voldemort, so quietly even his friends couldn't hear him, "I think it means all of you will get there once you die."
Harry wasn't exactly sure why he was so sure Voldemort's soul would be in one piece again once this main part of him died, but he just knew that was the case.
"Why?" Voldemort croaked, another trickle of blood forming at his lips as he fought for every breath.
"Because she really did love you. I'm pretty sure you loved her." Harry said, "And before you come back next time, as I believe you will… I think you could do with being loved a little while."
Voldemort felt tears form in his eyes, he felt cold and exhausted and a rush of human emotion that had been lost to him many, many years before, it surprised him that he'd missed it, "I'm scared…"
Harry nodded, "We all are when it comes to dying. But it's going to be all right. It wasn't that scary when I got there."
"The pain… make it stop." Voldemort begged, all of a sudden he just wanted it all to be over.
Harry nodded, he took the tip of the scram sax and drew careful lines either side of Voldemort's neck, severing the arteries while not damaging his wind pipe. The almost unnaturally bright red blood streamed into pools on the ground quickly and within a few moments, Voldemort's hand grew fully limp in Harry's warm ones.
A few uninjured Death Eaters that had remained took one look at their dead lord and fled into the forest. Several members of the Order of the Phoenix, Angels Calling and the Lions of the North ran after them, Harry had no doubt they'd be rounded up and arrested within an hour at most. Most of the Death Eaters that were left though simply threw their wands down, the impossible had happened, they'd been beaten by a bunch of mud bloods and children.
"What did you say to him?" Neville asked, finally battling free of his parents and kneeling down next to Harry.
Harry shook his head, "Doesn't matter, he's dead, for real this time."
Lily placed her hand on Harry's shoulder, "I can't believe it's all over."
Over. That sounded wonderful.