Chapter 178

The Final Horcrux

Lily and Ginny looked at Snape, Nick, and Helena. "We'll handle the Horcrux, you start getting everything else sorted. Hopefully, the evacuation will be completed by now."

"Indeed. I must confer with Minerva about the battle plans. I do not believe we have much time before Lady Voldemort begins her attack," Snape agreed. "Be careful, Lily."

"Actually, before we go, we have some news. You need to be clear of Voldemort, because if she figures out what we have, then she'll want you dead, and not just because she thinks you betrayed her," Lily said. "Did Dumbledore ever tell you about the Deathly Hallows?"

"No, but I have heard the legends," Snape said. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Voldemort took Dumbledore's wand, and that's one of the three Hallows. There are two more. One of them is the ring that Dumbledore had, the one that cursed him," Lily said, pulling out the Golden Snitch from her pouch. "He put it in this," she added, before bringing the snitch to her lips, revealing the words. Snape looked at it, then at Lily.

"Tell it the following: I am about to die," Snape said. Lily frowned, then looked at the snitch.

"I am about to die," she said. The snitch lit up briefly, before breaking apart, revealing the black stone from the ring. Lily looked at it, seeing the symbol of the Hallow's etched onto the stone.

"Wordplay," Ginny said. Snape nodded.

"Indeed. Dumbledore was fond of his games, and that was something he told me some time ago, that when someone is at the close, they are near the end of their life," Snape said. Lily sighed.

"Just once, I'd like him to have said something without there being some sort of damned riddle or puzzle," Lily said, a little bitter at all the riddles. "This is the resurrection stone. Dumbledore's Wand was the Elder Wand, and my invisibility cloak is the third Hallow. We have two, but Voldemort doesn't know about the Hallows."

"Still, that is the most powerful wand to exist. Hallows or not, she is going to be unstoppable," Snape said.

"No, she isn't. Wands have a bond to their owner, and before he died, Dumbledore planned everything about his death, including you killing him, which means…" Lily began.

"That I am the rightful owner of the wand," Snape surmised. Lily nodded.

"Which gives us the advantage, so I don't want us tipping our hand just yet," Lily confirmed.

"An excellent suggestion," Snape agreed. "Go, quickly, and destroy the final Horcrux. We will see each other again before the night is over."

Lily nodded, leading Ginny from the area and rushing through the corridors, hoping they had enough time to find the Horcrux. She wasn't sure how to begin to look, but she had to have some sort of hope.

It didn't take too long to reach the Room of Requirement, where Sirius and Remus had just emerged. "Lily, what are you doing here?" Sirius asked.

"About to use the Room of Requirement. Voldemort hid the final Horcrux in there," Lily replied. "Is everyone gone?"

"Mostly. We had the Slytherin's apparated away to a hidden location as a dungeon and holding cell. It's comfortable for them, but they won't be getting out until the battle's over," Sirius replied. "Didn't want them warning their parents."

"Good plan. Did everyone get out though?" Lily asked.

"Colin Creevey tried to stay here but Filch stopped him. Sweet kid, very brave, but I wasn't about to let him fight," Remus said.

"And there were three Slytherin's missing, and I'd give you three guesses who, but you'll only need one," Sirius added. Lily sighed.

"Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle," Lily said, as Draco arrived with Pansy.

"Lily, I just saw Professor Snape, he told us you were coming here, so we're here to help," Draco said.

"We'll be helping as well," Sirius insisted. "Let's get moving."

"Agreed," Lily said, as she closed the doors to the Room of Requirement. She closed her eyes and thought clearly. 'I need the room to be where everything is hidden,' Lily thought.

The group watched as a new set of doors appeared in front of them, a large set of doors, which then opened, presenting itself to the group.

"Okay, let's go hunting for a needle in a haystack," Sirius said, rolling his eyes as he led the way into the room.

"Yeah, a haystack bigger than the castle," Lily agreed, following Sirius into the room and seeing how much stuff was there. It reminded Lily of a dump site she and Sirius had gone to when she was younger, getting rid of some old furniture. "Split up. We all know what we're looking for. Draco, you and Pansy go left, Uncle Sirius, you and Uncle Remus go right, and Ginny and I will go forwards."

"Send a signal soon as you find it," Sirius said, heading off with Remus.

"Will do," Draco confirmed, heading off with Pansy.

"Think a summoning charm will work?" Ginny asked.

"I doubt it, but it's worth a shot," Lily said, as they walked forward. "Accio Ravenclaw's Diadem," Lily said as she waved her wand. After a few moments, there was nothing that indicated movement.

"Didn't think we'd be that lucky," Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes. "Still, it can't be too deep in, since Voldemort would have needed to hide it, then get out."

"Maybe, unless he cast a spell to send it to a random location," Lily pointed out.

"Yeah, okay, didn't really think of that," Ginny agreed. "I thought you were trying to cheer me up," she teased.

"Well, when we win, we'll sleep for a couple of days, then go out and celebrate properly," Lily smiled, holding Ginny's hand.

"See, now that's how you cheer someone up," Ginny chuckled.

"Good, I can do something right at least," Lily smiled, as they walked past what looked like a stack of old furniture.

"How the hell has so much stuff been put in here over the years? I mean, why can't the room just show us what we want?" Ginny asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's likely due to the fact that the room didn't create this stuff," Lily replied, picking up an old book. "I wonder how old this book is?"

"A lot of this stuff is old. I mean, we could spend years going through it and not make a scratch, but a lot of this is probably worth a lot of money," Ginny commented. She frowned as she picked up an old jewellery box, opening it, revealing what looked like an expensive necklace, adorned with diamonds. "What the hell is something like this doing in here?"

"Good question. Someone could have hidden it in here, I guess, but I have no idea why," Lily said. "Any markings as to who owned it?"

"No, doesn't look like it," Ginny replied, closing the box before placing it down. "I guess we've got a lot of area to cover."

"Yeah, but this could be a good area to start in, since there's more jewellery around," Lily said, as she saw more boxes with necklaces and rings around.

"I wonder why so many people left stuff and never returned for it though. If I'd left a necklace or something like that, I'd want it back," Ginny commented.

"Well, whatever the reason, we'll…" Lily began, before laughing.

"Lily, are you okay?" Ginny asked. Lily nodded, pointing to an old bust of a woman. Ginny looked at it, then grinned as she saw what Lily was looking at. On the head of the statue was the lost Diadem of Ravenclaw!

"I've got it," Ginny said, as she climbed up on an old sofa, and plucked the Diadem from the bust.

"Good," Lily said, sending up sparks towards the ceiling. "Finally, a little luck."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes. Lily frowned, before realising what Ginny meant. Through her link with Ginny, she could mentally see the three newcomers into the room: Blaise Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Well, at least we don't need to search the castle to find you three," Lily said, turning around, seeing the three of them pointing their wands at Ginny and Lily.

"Give us that thing," Crabbe said.

"I don't think so," Lily replied. "Blaise, why the hell are you still hanging around with those two? You know you don't need to be helping anyone, don't you?"

"You really think you'll get him to betray us, Potter? You really are insane," Crabbe sneered. Lily noticed the look on Zabini's face; he looked torn, and scared.

"Dumbledore wanted to help you, Blaise," Lily said. "And you wanted him to. Let us help you," Lily offered. Crabbe fired a curse that barely missed Ginny.

"Stop talking, scum, and give us that," Crabbe snapped. Lily laughed, but before Crabbe could respond, he went flying. Goyle spun around but was sent backwards as well. Lily quickly snapped her wrist forward, extending her wand from her sleeve holster, and immediately disarmed Blaise, grabbing his wand and pocketing it. Blaise didn't try to react or fight it; if anything, he looked defeated, as Draco and Pansy came racing over.

"Good timing, Draco," Ginny grinned. Lily walked over to Blaise.

"Blaise, Ginny and I were in the tower that night, hidden, and frozen by Professor Dumbledore. We heard everything," Lily said kindly. "You wanted his help, and we want to help you as well. You're not evil, and you don't believe in what Voldemort's doing, do you?"

"N… no," Blaise admitted, looking like he was ready to burst into tears.

"Blaise, I've been where you are. I learnt the hard way about Voldemort, and what he's capable of, and how twisted he is. You're not like that. Last year, you did what you did because you were trying to make your parents happy, but you don't deserve to be put in this position. Lily can help you. She saved me, and now we want to save you," Draco said kindly, looking at the young man. "All you need to do is let us."

"You… why do you…why would you help me?" Blaise asked. Pansy smiled and took Blaise's hand.

"It's who Lily is, and what she does. She cares about everyone, and wants to help people," Pansy said, as Lily and Ginny walked over to him.

"Come on, we can get you out of here, and to safety," Lily said. Blaise nodded.

"Thank you… Lily," Blaise said weakly. Lily smiled, and gently hugged Blaise.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay," Lily promised. She then felt something rush past her head, and turned, seeing a shield go up, a second before a spell hit it.

"Watch your surroundings Lily," Sirius chided, as Lily watched Crabbe and Goyle standing away from them, looks of anger on Crabbe's face, and a look of… well, stupidity, on Goyle's face.

"You're done, Potter," Crabbe hissed angrily.

"Really? I don't feel done," Lily taunted, before firing a stunning curse towards the two of them. Her curse struck Goyle, who had tried to move, but couldn't since he was too slow. Crabbe, however, wasn't.

"Let me handle this," Draco said, stepping forward. "I need to do this. Just… get Goyle out of here and restrain him. He's an idiot, but he doesn't deserve to die. He follows, that's all."

"Uncle Sirius, Uncle Remus, get Blaise and Goyle out of here," Lily said. Sirius looked at her, and nodded as he waved his wand, magically lifting Goyle up, who was now unconscious, as Crabbe ran for cover, with Draco following.

"Lily… be careful, he knows the Unforgiveable Curses," Blaise said.

"Thanks Blaise," Lily said, pulling out the wand she had taken from Blaise, and returning it to him.

"Keep it. That wand has done too many bad things," Blaise said. Lily nodded and snapped it in half.

"Blaise, I promise, we'll be okay, and we'll help you," Lily assured him, throwing the pieces away.

"I'm so sorry," Blaise told her, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I did…"

"Nothing that you can't be forgiven for. Go, now. We'll talk about this later," Lily said, as she drew the Sword of Gryffindor from her sheath. As Blaise followed Remus and Sirius, who were magically pulling Goyle away, Lily looked at Ginny.

"Throw it upwards. Trust me," Lily said. Ginny nodded and threw the Diadem into the air. Lily leapt up, finding herself going higher than she thought she could, yet she had felt she could do this, and as she did, she swung the sword, slicing through the Diadem as if it were simply a stick of butter.

As Lily came down towards the ground, there was a loud scream that came from the Diadem as it exploded into a black mist, which then disappeared. Lily laughed as she landed, sheathing the sword.

"You did it!" Pansy said, hugging her. "That was the last one, right?"

"Yeah, it was," Lily confirmed. "All Horcruxes destroyed. Now all I need to do is destroy Voldemort."

"First, we should help Draco," Ginny said, as several loud bangs could be heard nearby.

"Good call," Lily agreed, racing towards the noises.

"You really are thicker than I thought you were," Draco snapped, as he stood against a tower of chests, avoiding a green blast that Crabbe sent towards him.

"And you're a traitor," Crabbe snarled angrily, sending another killing curse towards Draco, who again avoided it.

"You need to believe in something to betray it. I never really believed in Voldemort, I just wanted to make my family happy," Draco replied calmly, firing a curse back towards Crabbe, who leapt out of the way.

"Should have thought about that before you turned against us. Bet they'd be angry at you now, Orphan," Crabbe taunted.

"Shows what you know. They helped us destroy Slytherin's Ghost, so they're actually proud of me. Your parents are too stupid to know what that means though, aren't they?" Draco laughed as he sent another curse towards Crabbe.

"You'll pay for this, Draco," Crabbe sneered, as he sent a curse in Draco's direction. However, he wasn't aiming for Draco, but the chests he was using for cover. As Draco leapt out of the way, Crabbe went to launch another attack, but this time, he was sent backwards again as Lily's curse struck him.

"Eyes open, Draco, can't save you all the time," Lily teased, grinning at Draco as she helped him up.

"Good timing," Draco chuckled, as Ginny fired a curse in Crabbe's direction.

"You want to play like that, Potter?" Crabbe shouted out angrily. "PESTIS INCENDIUM!"

"Bloody idiot!" Ginny snapped, as a dragon made of fire shot upwards, beginning to fly towards the group. Lily, Ginny, Draco, and Pansy all leapt out of the way, barely avoiding being struck by the dragon.

"DESINE PESTIS INCENDIUM," Lily and Ginny both called out, aiming at the dragon, which then immediately burst into smoke. However, another Dragon came flying upwards from where Crabbe was.

"What the bloody hell is that moron doing?" Draco snapped, as they began to race towards where Crabbe was. As they turned the corner, they saw Crabbe frantically waving his wand, with a stream of fire coming from it.

"Throw the damned thing away, you idiot!" Draco called out. Crabbe looked at them, before aiming his wand at them, sending the stream of fire towards them. Again, all four of the group leapt out of the way, with Ginny trying to stop the spell.

"You can't control it, Crabbe! You're going to kill yourself; you fool!" Lily called out.

"Then we'll die together," Crabbe snarled angrily.

"Just bloody surrender, will you?" Pansy called out. "Or do you actually want to be burnt alive?"

Lily quickly pulled Pansy down as another stream of fire shot towards them.

"We need to stop him," Lily said, as the group were hiding around the corner.

"I'm open to ideas," Draco replied, as Pansy and Ginny were sending streams of water from their wands, trying to put out the growing flames.

"There's only one way to do this," Lily said. "We'll stun him together."

"Works for me," Draco agreed, as he and Lily stepped out from their cover, facing Crabbe who was still holding his wand.

"Stand down, Crabbe, before that spell kills you," Draco said.

"We may not like you, but we don't want you to die. You're only seventeen," Lily said. Crabbe glared at them, waving his wand again, trying to stop the spell.

"Desine Pestis Incendium," Draco said. "That's the counter curse."

"You think I don't know that?" Crabbe demanded. "You're going to die, Draco, and all your new friends too."

"No, we're not," Lily said. She looked at Draco, nodding. She and Draco then aimed their wands and fired a stun spell towards Crabbe. He, however, spun around, his wand sending a large stream of fire in a circle around him, trapping him. Lily heard him call out the counter curse, but the flames refused to stop.

Lily and Draco both called out the counter curse, but it didn't manage to penetrate the wall of fire that was now between them and Crabbe. The smoke filling the room was extremely thick now, and they couldn't even see Crabbe.

"We…we can't help him," Draco said softly, coughing as he tried to clear the smoke, just as a loud scream of pain came from Crabbe.

"We need to go," Lily agreed, coughing as well as she and Draco ran towards Ginny and Pansy, trying to see them. Draco waved his wand, sending gusts of wind around them, not harsh enough to hurt them, but enough to clear a little of the smoke, as they heard the streams of water coming from Ginny and Pansy, moments before the streams stopped.

"GINNY! PANSY!" Lily shouted out, fear filling her thoughts. When there wasn't a reply, she looked around, terror now in her heart as she grabbed Draco.

"We need to find them!" Lily exclaimed. Draco nodded, but before they could say anything, Lily felt something grab her foot. A second later, she was breathing in clean air, coughing as she saw the door to the room of requirement slamming shut, as she and Draco fell to their knees.

"It's okay, Lily Potter Miss," Dobby said, as Sirius was patting her back. "Dobby and Kreacher found you."

"Thank… thank you," Lily croaked, as she felt a warm light covering her. Looking up, she felt her throat clearing as she saw Professor Snape standing over them, the light shining over her, Draco, Pansy, and Ginny.

"Crabbe?" Sirius asked. Lily shook her head.

"He cast Fiendfyre, but he couldn't control it, or stop it," Lily said. "We destroyed the Horcrux, but… we couldn't save him."

"I know it sounds harsh, but you are more important, Lily," Snape said calmly, as she managed to stand up, feeling better. "Mr. Crabbe should never have fought you or used that spell. He caused his own death, and you are not to blame yourself for being unable to save him."

"This really is a weird night, because I'm agreeing with Severus," Sirius said. "Thank you, Severus, for helping Lily."

"You are welcome, Bl… Sirius," Snape said. "Voldemort's forces are here and are about to attack."

"Well, she's not got any Horcruxes left, so this will be her final fight," Lily said calmly, as Goyle began to wake up. Lily grabbed his wand and handed it to Snape.

"Crabbe's dead, Goyle. He killed himself by trying to use Fiendfyre. I take it the Carrows taught you both it?" Draco asked. Goyle looked ready to break down into tears as he nodded.

"Should have refused to learn it," Lily said. "Dobby, please can you take Goyle to where the other Slytherin's are being held? And Kreacher, can you take Blaise to the safe house and watch over him?"

"With pleasure, Mistress Lily," Kreacher said, taking Blaise's hand.

"Thank you, Lily," Blaise said. Lily nodded, and watched as Kreacher took Blaise away.

"Yeah, thank you… Lily," Goyle said. "I'd… be dead if you… if you hadn't made sure I got out."

"Remember that, Goyle," Snape said. "I will talk with you later about this, but you owe Lily your life. Never forget that."

"I… I won't," Goyle promised, before Dobby vanished with Goyle.

"You sure you're really Severus Snape?" Sirius asked, smirking as he raised an eyebrow. Snape looked impassive as he looked at Sirius.

"Tease each other later; we've got a war to win," Lily said, as she led the group away from the Room of Requirement. The first hurdle of the night was dealt with. Now, it was time for the final battle to begin.