Thank you to everyone who reacted to the last chapter, it was one I was eager to hear the opinions of you all as I'm sure you can guess now you've read it, and a really major one when it comes to the whole story. Enjoy might be the wrong word here, but I hope you all like this chapter just as much!
Some dialogue in this chapter is borrowed from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Chapter 29 – The Phoenix Lament
It was as if all sense of sound had disappeared. He couldn't hear the shouting of spells, nor see the destruction of the castle around him as the Death Eaters began to flee the scene. All that mattered was the seemingly slow motion action of Mary MacDonald falling to the ground, her eyes wide in her final look of surprise. He didn't even feel his legs moving as he pushed himself up to his feet and ran towards her, skidding on rubble as he neared and dropping to his knees again as he roughly grabbed her red jumper, a present that he had given her for Christmas three years earlier. He shook her once, and then again, but she wasn't moving.
"Mum." He croaked, not knowing if the dripping that he felt down his face was blood or tears anymore. "Mum!" He cried louder, but nothing worked, she just wouldn't move of her own accord. "Wake up, Mum." He said, his chest restricting with each word as the reality was settling in. He buried his face in that red jumper and let out a muffled scream as grief threatened to overtake him. Taking a shaky breath he looked to where Avery had been standing, only to see nothing at all. Anger was all he had then, the rage of vengeance as he gripped his wand tighter in his right hand, pushing himself back up to his feet with a tight scowl as he took a step towards the exit…
He was stopped three steps in as a strong pair of arms stopped him. The owner of them said something that Leo couldn't register; his sole focus was running after him. He shook his body, trying to free himself but to no avail, and so Leo gripped the arms tightly with his hands, forcing them away before shoving backwards with his shoulder, unnatural strength seeming to flow through him as he ran through the corridor he had come from initially. He saw the blast marks on the walls and ceiling, the burn marks from his fire whip as he continued, chasing down the Death Eaters until he reached a junction. Looking left and then right Leo cried out in frustration, bundling his hand into his pocket to pull out the Marauders Map, quickly snapping the password before searching the castle for the group of Death Eaters. He spotted Severus Snape just before the marker left the castle, and the tightening of Leo's chest grew more restrictive as his breathing quickened. He kicked out at a fallen painting, before kicking it again further down the corridor with a frustrated shout. Realising his wand was still in his hand he then channelled his anger into his magic, throwing basic red sparks towards the nearest wall and not letting the scorch mark settle before firing again, and again, and again. With each cast his cry grew louder and louder until he heard footsteps running towards him once more. Angrily turning to his right and aiming his wand, he noticed four girls all looking at him with concern.
"Leo?" Hermione was the first to speak, stepping towards him, her eyes raking all over his face and noticing the dirt, blood and tears. She took another step closer when Leo's knees buckled and he fell once again to his knees, now noticing how painful they were. She managed to catch him, falling to the ground with him as he gripped her purple sleeves, using her as a crutch to stop himself toppling further. He felt other arms around him, hoisting him up as he spotted Fay and Anna too, their eyes brimming with worry.
Once he was up on his feet again he moved to grab Hermione's hand, holding it tightly to feel the warmth and life still within her. Without a word he started walking, back towards the Astronomy Tower chamber. Once within, he spotted his Mother's body immediately and his breathing was panicked again. He heard Hermione gasp and let out a sob, but she squeezed his hand tighter than before.
"Are you alright?" Remus Lupin had joined them, Leo realised, checking over the girls before returning to him, and the student recognised his as the arms that had tried to stop him before. "Leo…"
He nodded, not trusting his voice to speak for him. He let go of Hermione's hand as he walked back to where Mary lay, dropping to his knees gently and by choice this time. That look of surprise was still on her face, but there was something oddly peaceful about her still face. He brought his left hand up, stroking the hair away from her eyes despite how much he was shaking, before he couldn't contain his sobs anymore, letting out a choking noise that he had never heard before as the tears fell freely.
How long he was there for, Leo would never know, but eventually he was gently prized away by soft hands as Remus stepped forwards, waving his wand to slowly lift Mary's body into the air. "Take him to the Hospital." The former Professor told Hermione as he levitated Mary in that direction, the only thing that encouraged him to move, walking beside the woman that had raised him alone for so many years.
The next moment that truly registered to Leo was a short while later. He was sat on a bed in the Hospital Wing with Hermione leaning into him sat on the edge, her head resting on his shoulder as tears dropped silently down her own face. Madam Pomfrey had worked her magic and had quickly healed all of his cuts and scrapes, and had poured out a portion of Dreamless Sleep potion in anticipation.
He had heard more about the parts of the battle he hadn't seen in the time since arriving, having known so little other than what was happening directly in front of him while it was raging. Neville was in the bed beside him in an induced sleep to allow his many injuries to heal after the Gryffindor had fought with a courage that many would have been surprised at had the last 12 months not happened, while Leo had also learned that Bill Weasley had been one of the worst injured on their side, being attacked by an untransformed Fenrir Greyback. Mary looked to be the only casualty on their side, and it was almost a miracle that things hadn't been worse, though that would never make Leo feel any better, as he wished that they had thought to give the Felix Felicis out to everybody...
The doors opened and all eyes turned to see Harry Potter standing there, hand in hand with Ginny. Hermione immediately rushed over and engulfed him in a bone cracking hug. Leo nestled into his pillows, barely listening as Harry took notice of Bill's grotesque injuries. He tried to close his eyes but all he saw was his mother's body lying there, her eyes wide in the surprise of death… and a tear dropped down his cheek.
"Ron… Dumbledore's dead." Ginny's voice brought him back into the Hospital Wing as his eyes bolted open, a mix of horror and shock showing clearly on his face. Remus was the one to voice their horror before collapsing into a chair beside Bill's bed as he covered his face with his hands.
"How did he die?" Tonks whispered. "How did it happen?"
"Snape killed him." Harry told them, causing Leo to gasp, once more in surprise, remembering how relieved he had been to hear that Snape was up there on their behalf… he couldn't believe it. Neither could the others it seemed, and so Harry began to explain his side of the night, telling them all how they had arrived on the Astronomy Tower in fear of the Dark Mark and how Professor Dumbledore had been ill and yet still managed to put a body bind curse onto Harry before Malfoy of all people had disarmed the Headmaster, and finally how Snape had used that fatal curse that Leo so hated with every cell of his body. As Harry was talking Leo heard the terribly beautiful sound of birdsong coming from outside of the windows louder than the sobs coming from somewhere in the room. It brought fresh tears to Leo's eyes, as the mournful tune overloaded Leo with grief. Hermione was quick to notice and rushed back beside him, and Leo even noticed Harry look at him sympathetically, and realised news must be spreading. "Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, but no answer could be given as Professor McGonagall burst through the doors, her usually pristine robes ripped and bloodied.
"Molly is on her way." She explained looking over at Bill, before once again the news about Snape being the one to kill Professor Dumbledore was shared. Professor McGonagall was lucky that a chair was conjured as she stumbled backwards, her face showing her complete disbelief. "We all wondered…" She said faintly, her voice rising with every word that followed. "But he trusted… always… Snape! I can't believe it…"
"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens." Remus stated with a biting tone. "We always knew that."
"But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!" whispered Tonks. "I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't…"
"He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape," muttered Professor McGonagall. She had brought out a tartan patterned handkerchief to dab her eyes with as they continued to leak slowly. "I mean… with Snape's history… of course people were bound to wonder... but Dumbledore told me explicitly that Snape's repentance was absolutely genuine… Wouldn't hear a word against him!" She was on the verge of shouting, Leo realised, a new sort of anger than he had ever seen in the Professor's eyes.
"I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him," said Tonks, voicing the opinions of almost everybody in the room.
"I know," said Harry, and everybody turned to look at him. "Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my Mum and Dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realised what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead."
Leo sat, his mouth agape at the… pitiful excuse, he realised. He had heard enough about Snape and his relationship with the Marauders during his time spent at Grimmauld Place getting to know Sirius to know that there was no love lost between Sirius, James Potter and Snape, a fact that Lupin also mentioned incredulously. "And Dumbledore believed that? Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James..."
"And he didn't think my Mother was worth a damn either," said Harry, "because she was Muggle-born. Mudblood, he called her."
Leo scowled at the word, his hand reaching out for Hermione's to hold comfortingly as the room reacted to what seemed to be the utter stupidity of the Headmaster. The doors quickly opened again during the silence and Leo's stomach tied itself in knots as he saw his Father looking around frantically, before spotting him and running to his bed. "Leo… I came as soon as I heard."
He couldn't speak, he simply welled up again and leant over to sob into Sirius' shoulder as the adult wrapped him up tightly. Leo could feel tears drop onto the back of his head but he didn't care, just wanting some form of parental comfort. He only let go as the conversation began to turn back to what had happened that night as Ron, Ginny and Hermione explained the actions of Dumbledore's Army, with Leo moving back to squeeze Hermione's hand again once Lupin told her that Snape could have killed her if she hadn't let him pass, the thought of losing her too just too much to handle.
"And what about Mary?" Sirius asked, raw emotion in his voice. "Was that…"
"Avery." Lupin snarled.
"I should have killed him when I had a chance." Leo muttered, causing all eyes to turn to him. "We duelled in one of the corridors… if I'd only…"
Hermione shook her head. "It's not your fault, Leo." She whispered.
"No." Sirius agreed. "It's nobody's fault but Avery's, and he'll get what's coming to him."
"As will Snape." Harry muttered darkly.
Sirius nodded. "Yes, he will. I'll raze Spinner's End to the ground myself if I have to." He said darkly, before emotion got to him once again and he dropped into his own chair tearfully.
"Is that where Snape lives?" Harry asked, seemingly surprised at the thought of teachers living anywhere away from the castle. "How do you know that?"
Remus was the one to answer, having moved from his chair to grip Sirius' shoulder comfortingly. "It's where your grandparents used to live Harry, your muggle Grandparents." The former Professor explained. "Lily arrived at Hogwarts already knowing, and having befriended, Snape."
Leo noticed that Harry stumbled subtly, and he completely understood the reasoning given how little he knew about his parents. "But… he called her…"
"Everything shifted in 5th year." Sirius had recovered enough to explain. "Snape, Avery and Mulciber were getting into some dark stuff, but Lily was the only Muggleborn spared from their cruelty, seemingly because of her friendship with Snape. They grew apart as time went on of course… Lily was furious after they…" He trailed away but he looked down at Leo, and Leo knew exactly what he was talking about, and another scowl adorned his face as he thought back on what his Mother had been forced into, before another wave of grief washed over him as he realised she wouldn't be there to tell him to ignore it.
"And then that moment you told us that you saw last year happened, after our History of Magic O.W.L." Remus continued for Sirius. "And Lily stayed well away from Snape for the rest of our time at school."
Harry moved to sit down in a chair, his mind looking to be racing with new information as the doors, once again, flew open, and this time it was Molly Weasley that flew into the room in tears. Leo's stomach churned again as Mrs Weasley fretted over her eldest and he thought once again of Mary, of what she would have done had he been attacked by Greyback. He felt a tear fall once more and Hermione realised immediately, pulling the outer curtains around with a quick word to the others that Leo barely caught. "Take your potion, Leo." She whispered. "We'll be here when you wake."
"We will." Sirius nodded, gripping Leo's other hand tightly. Hermione was the one to bring the potion to his lips, with Leo drinking all of it before his eyelids grew heavy, and he fell into a deep slumber.
It took Leo a grand total of 19 seconds to remember what had happened after waking up on the morning after. His initial confusion was quickly turned to grief once more as remembered that flash of green light and the surprise… His first tear quickly followed, but the sniff and movement to wipe it away brought attention to him. At his feet he felt something heavy stir, and noticed a large, black lump of fur shifting, big black eyes soon staring over at him with concern. Leo sniffed again and the dog jumped off of the bed, turning back into Sirius before reaching the ground.
"Leo." His Father said softly. Looking around, Leo tried to find Hermione who had promised to be here. "She had to go back to Gryffindor Tower." Sirius explained, almost reading his thoughts. "She kicked up a fuss though wanting to stay, but Poppy wouldn't allow it.
"I shouldn't have let you stay either." The matron stated tersely. "Not in that form."
Sirius showed off a weak grin, but it didn't reach his eyes which remained devastated. They stayed in silence as Leo was checked over and declared to be fit enough to leave, making a quick detour to the kitchens to get some breakfast in peace as Sirius did all of the talking, explaining the number of times he had been caught causing trouble in a certain room as they walked out into the grounds by the lake. Leo stood still for a moment as the shore lapped at his shoes as Sirius once again went on about some story, though this time Leo caught something that meant he paid attention. "…your mother and I first got together."
"Sorry, what?" Leo asked, his voice hoarse and harsh.
"This spot here." Sirius said, and Leo turned to see Sirius looking at a tree. "This is where I first asked her out." He pointed at a mark in the bark that Leo must have seen a dozen times on his walks, a mark that looked like a fancy M, but now Leo was looking at it in context the left side of the M was written in a curved way that could have been an S. "She carved that on our last day at Hogwarts." Sirius explained. They both fell into silence, both pained beyond words by her loss, and both seemingly thinking about the future judging by Sirius' next words. "After… after the funerals. I want you to come back to Grimmauld Place with me."
Leo scowled. "I have a home." He stated bluntly.
"You do." Sirius admitted calmly. "And it shall always be your home mate, but it's not safe…"
"Nowhere is safe." Leo muttered bitterly. "Hogwarts was supposed to be safe."
The silence that followed said it all, that Sirius agreed with him, before realisation hit him. "The secret keeper…" He whispered, before swearing. "Another thing to sort out."
Leo looked at him questioningly. He realised now that Professor Dumbledore had died that anybody who knew the secret about the Order's headquarters was now a Secret Keeper, but what else… he stopped in his tracks. "The funeral." Sirius nodded, and Leo continued, sounding more Scottish than he had in years. "She wanted to be buried at the Loch, next to Granda' and Gran." He could see the thoughts stirring in Sirius' head about safety and the like, and so Leo angrily added. "If they come… let them. I'm more than happy to face a few Death Eaters right now."
"As am I." Sirius said coldly. "But we need to be smarter." He thought for a moment. "Yes, we'll bury her there before Albus' funeral." He said, mainly to himself. "Small, discreet, just us two. Then we protect the cottage until…" He took a breath. "Until this is all over, and we can go back properly. I'd like to see the old place again… under better circumstances." The thought of not going home outside of a funeral was a gut punch to the 17-year-old, but Leo nodded in agreement, not speaking still as he admired the beauty of the lake in the summer light. The Giant Squid was cruising mournfully at the top of the lake causing the body of water to appear still, with only the light lapping of the water's edge making a noise. It was peaceful, Leo thought as he looked up at the Astronomy Tower, flashes of light and screams returning to his mind.
The pair stayed there for a long time, the sun moving across the sky as it grew closer to noon. Eventually though, Sirius sighed and Leo knew that he needed to go and arrange things. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "I know I'm not your Mum, Leo, I'm no comparison given everything the two of you went through and shared together while I was… while I wasn't here. But I want you… no, need you to know that I'm here, and though we'll both miss your Mum forever, this doesn't mean you're alone."
Leo nodded, more tears starting to form as the realisation of that statement kicked in, that he wouldn't see Mary again. He turned and hugged Sirius tightly, trying to convey in action what he couldn't in words. Sirius seemed to pause for a moment before returning the hug tightly, letting Leo burrow deeper into his shoulder once again. He was right, it wasn't like his Mum, but it was something. And at that moment as the changed world was just beginning to show itself, Leo would take a little something.
Reviews:
Lukoshi: Leo managed to fight off a number of Death Eaters, including Avery, as well as get smashed into a wall horribly, and survived it. That's what the Felix did, but it's not an all encompassing potion, it won't make those in the vicinity lucky.
AZW330: Thank you! Thankfully the time taken to immerse myself in the world before any major fight like this has helped, but it definitely was a bit of a learning curve.
SkepticPrinceArthur: Well you were the first to voice it to me in any case! Anna wasn't created to be Ron's girlfriend, I'll say that much about her, it just seemed pretty natural once she split up with Wayne, Ron split with Lavender and the amount of hormones raging around the place in Year 6. I really appreciate the comment about Ron as I really want to give him more to do here given he isn't romantically involved with Hermione it really gives me a chance to spread his wings and use that strategist brain he has. This battle was less of a battle and more of a blitzkrieg type thing from the Death Eaters, so while there were more students, there wasn't actually much more than Mary on the Order side of things, and obviously both her and Dumbledore dying is a devastating loss for the Order.
Lightningscar: Wow… thank you for the high praise! Yeah the way I see Harry, Hermione, and even Ron in this fic is that the little stuff can be pushed to the wayside when the big stuff is happening. This is a different Ron than canon, his dad was killed by Death Eaters and he's now surrounded by people that say the name (Harry, Hermione, Ginny) so I don't see him as being scared, just angrier. Yeah Mulciber and Avery are the two that are mentioned in Deathly Hallows so they are the two I wanted to have as the antagonists to Leo… though obviously Mary got her moment off page because Leo wasn't there. The kids were doused with Felix hence the no killing curses, but I also see this Death Eater mission as intended as being a quick 'get in, kill Dumbledore, get out'. I'll defend Remus here… he's trying to look out for them and protect them as the Order should. He also has only just found out what's happening and has barely registered that, and especially with Leo, he hasn't actually been in a battle yet. Thank you for the words about the battle! As mentioned above the wait to get to this moment immersing myself in the world really helped, but I enjoyed it for sure. Leo's addition is the reason more students got added and I wanted to foreshadow 7th year a little… I figured if Luna saw her coin, others in the DA should have recognised it and gone to find their own, joining the battle later on. Mary's death will 100% have a lasting impact, I'll say that at least.