The Battle of Hogwarts, Part Two
I was sitting in the Great Hall, talking to Fred and George, who were thanking me over and over again for saving them from a group of Death Eaters.
"And, you get to pick anything you want from our joke shop in Diagon Alley. Free of charge." I chuckled, and patted their shoulders before I stood, walking over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting.
"Where's Harry?" Ron shrugged.
"Last I heard he went to Dumbledore's office to look at some memories Snape had given him before he died." I frowned.
"Okay, that's a little odd." Ron nodded.
"Ginny and Neville are out carrying the last of the injured in. We didn't have nearly as many people hurt as Hermione thought." My mind flashed back to the future where I was dead, the piles of bodies along the corridors. I shuddered, and smiled at them before standing and walking over to Luna, who was consoling a Slytherin boy who had lost a hand. I sat next to her as she tended to him, and remained like that until I heard a high, cold voice, magnified throughout the castle.
“Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anybody who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together.” Dread filled me, and I looked over at Ron and Hermione, who were looking at each other in horror. I jumped up, and dashed from the Great Hall, running towards the source of the voice, hoping that Dumbledore had been right, and Potter was still alive, that the Horcrux in Harry had been destroyed and we still had a chance... I arrived at the only standing entrance to the school, and saw Voldemort, surrounded by Death Eaters and giants, with Harry laying on the ground, a very convincing dead person, with Hagrid standing behind him, weeping gently. Voldemort began to speak, but I screamed out at him, yelling abuse and cursewords and anything else I could think of, copied by most of the students, until he cast a powerful Silencing Charm over us. He began to speak, but I ignored him, watching Harry carefully from the midst of the group of people. He didn't seem to stir, but, with my eyesight, I saw his eyes twitch ever so slightly. All of a sudden, the group was shouting, and I took the opportunity to move closer to the gap between the two armies. We were silenced again, then someone broke the Charm, and, to my horror, I saw Neville charging Voldemort.
"No..." I made to run forward, but someone held me back. I looked up, and spied a Slytherin seventh year girl with black hair.
"It won't help. He has to have a plan." I stopped, and she released me. I turned back in time to see Neville light on fire, Sorting Hat on his head. I roared out, absolutely shattering the next Silencing Charm, and I heard a swarm of people from behind me, along with the half giant, attacking. I charged forward, Centaurs causing mayhem in the ranks of the Death Eaters, and froze as Neville drew the sword from the hat. Every single person, giant, and centaur watched as the sword swung, seemingly in slow motion and cut the head off of the snake. I glanced down at Harry, only to find that he was gone. I chuckled, and was barely able to stay upright as the entire group was running into the hall, chasing after Voldemort and Bellatrix, who were shooting spell after spell into the crowd. I forced my way through, spotted Voldemort, who was duelling three people at once, and dashed up to them, standing in front of them. They paused, as did Voldemort, who laughed insanely.
"Traitor. You managed to escape Azkaban to face your death here." He waved his wand, and the three other duellers were knocked back.
"No, I'm just here to buy time for Harry, and maybe take a little ego out of you, Tom." He growled, and smiled dangerously.
"So be it." We both bowed, and stood. He acted first, sending a Killing Curse straight at me. I acted on instinct, and, to my surprise, deflected the spell into the ground. The entire room was silent save a few people duelling, and I realised with a jolt who was protecting me. I mouthed a thank you at the ceiling, and responded a spell that shot a ball of fire at him. I yelled out to Harry, who I knew had to be here somewhere.
"Harry, whenever you're ready!" And promptly waved my wand in defence of a thousand daggers that were flying at me, turning them into a swirling vortex of air, which threatened to suck Voldemort inside. He slashed his wand in anger, and the vortex disappeared, him twisting his wand at me while I was distracted looking for Harry, sending me into the air, where I hovered, slowly suffocating. I waved my wand, casting a wave of Fiend Fyre at him, causing him to drop me. I landed, legs flexing to absorb the blow, and sent a Cruiciatus Curse at him. He blocked it before waving his wand and sending a stream of boiling acid at me. I slashed my wand, vanishing the acid in midair, and was interrupted by a Shield Charm separating us. Harry pulled off the Cloak, to several cheers, and stepped in front of me.
"Thanks, Dugan." I nodded, and promptly collapsed from exhaustion, someone hauling me up and dragging me out of the circle. I watched from a corner of the room as Harry and Voldemort spoke, the latter growing furious as the sun was about to rise. I watched with hope in my heart as they cast their spells, and shouted in joy as the Elder Wand flew through the air, landing deftly in Harry's hand as Voldemort fell. I ran through the crowd, electrified by adrenaline, and tackled Harry in a bear hug. While I was hugging him, I whispered into his ear.
"We need to talk about the Hallows, Mr. Potter." He looked at me in surprise, and I shrugged, adding in another brief sentence before I was swept away by the crowd.
"Come find me when you're ready." He looked at me in awe, and I moved away from him, people parting before me until I found Luna.
"I told you I'd come back." She leaped up, and hugged me, squeezing me hard.
"You idiot! Duelling Voldemort! You could've died!" I chuckled, and shrugged again.
"But I didn't, so it's okay." She drew back, and scowled at me before sitting down with the members of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.
"Alright, so I've got a plan." They looked at me in surprise.
"We are going to be the best Quidditch team Hogwarts has ever seen, because I am going to totally not fall into a coma next season." Everyone laughed, Lauren guffawing loudly, and we sat, talking up plans for next year, as I was going to put a few words in with the new Headmistress as to whether the three seventh years on the team could stay on the team for another year, as they hadn't had Quidditch this last year. As we talked, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I excused myself, squeezing Luna's hand before leaving her with the others and following the three through the halls to Dumbledore's office. They entered ahead of me to thunderous applause, and I entered quietly, waiting as they spoke with Dumbledore's painting. I watched Harry fix his old wand with the Elder Wand, and cracked a grin as he told Dumbledore he was putting it in the tomb. He then turned to me, and I sighed.
"Well, first, could we have a little privacy?" I gestured to the pictures, and they hurriedly left, save Dumbledore. I perched myself on a table, and looked at him.
"You really are who you said you were." He chuckled, and I turned to the three, who were watching me with interest.
"So, I am certain that the three of you have done an incredible job destroying the Horcruxes, especially with the snake, even though Neville did that. Now, I must congratulate you, but I need to speak to Harry alone." They didn't move, but Harry waved them out. They left nervously, and, once the door shut, I spoke.
"I must know, Harry, what did you do with the Resurrection Stone? I know you obtained it from the Snitch, but other than that I have no clue." He shrugged.
"I lost it in the forest somewhere, and I intend for it to stay lost." He added a little steel to his voice, and I shrugged.
"All and good. What I wanted to ask you is if I could see Snape's memories." He frowned, and nodded before pointing at the Pensieve. I shrugged, and shook his hand.
"I'm proud, Harry." He chuckled, and left, leaving me with the Pensieve. I pressed my face in, and was transported into the memories.
I was lying on the floor in Dumbledore's office, having just left the Pensieve. I jumped up, and saw that he was laughing.
"I know who the second brother was." He nodded, still chuckling, and I began to speak.
"So, the old story goes that Death gave the oldest brother the Elder Wand, because what he sought was power over everyone. Voldemort wanted power over everyone, and he got the Elder Wand. The second brother wanted to see the dead once more, and he was given the Stone, driven mad by his sadness at not being able to be with the girl forever. The second son was Snape, because he was almost driven mad by his sadness about Lily, and I imagine that if he knew about the Stone, he would get it however he could. The third brother wanted to hide from Death, so he got Death's own cloak of invisibility, and when he died, he passed it on to his son, and greeted Death like an equal. Harry is the direct descendant of that man, and he was the one who had the cloak, and wasn't afraid of Death, meaning that he was equal with you. He's the third brother. Also, Death was behind the deaths of first two brothers because he knew someone would eventually kill the first brother, and the second brother would eventually kill himself in his insanity. You knew that Harry would kill Voldemort with the rebounding spell, and you knew that Voldemort would correctly deduce that Snape should have been the owner of the Elder Wand, even though Draco had Disarmed him, and he killed Snape because he wanted the Elder Wand's power. And, Harry is going to die naturally, I hope, and meet you like an equal." Dumbledore clapped a few times before nodding.
"Yes, you are correct. But, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell very many people that, as it is very sensitive information." I nodded, and turned to go.
"Well played, Dumbledore. Well played." He chuckled, and I left to go find Luna.