Chapter 1
Harry was used to this. Running like his life depended on it, that is. He's spent his whole life running away. Away from Dudley and his thug friends, away from the spotlight, from basilisks, bullies, and Dark Lords alike. It's no different now, dodging curses from every direction. Shooting off spells of his own, trying desperately to protect those in danger, on his side at least. By the time he reaches the grounds, he's out of breath and he can hear Ron and Hermione panting behind him. It doesn’t matter, he has to find the snake if he's ever going to end this.
His vision showed Voldemort, Nagini, and Snape at the boat house. But that was how many minutes ago, Harry couldn’t remember. He just knows the longer he takes to get there, the more likely they'll be somewhere else, somewhere more impossible to reach.
When they get to the door to the boat house Harry pauses and gathers the other two under the invisibility cloak. Better to keep the element of surprise as long as they can. Hermione works her magic and opens the door soundlessly. They creep inside as quick as they dare.
In front of them is Voldemort himself lording over Snape, pacing and monologuing as he goes. “And how is it that this wand, The Elder Wand, does not realise me as its true master? I took it from Dumbledore’s corpse myself, perhaps, it knows I did not deliver the killing spell. You must understand Severus, this is the last step in my journey to greatness, to have it within my grasp is… well there's nothing else to do but take it.”
The snake, the Horocrux, Nagini, who lay curled in a protective glowing ball, began thrashing ominously.
“My Lord, you must-”
“No Severus, the only thing I must do is kill you.”
Hermione looked stricken, Harry turned away.
“Please!”
Ron grabbed his sleeve as if Harry would try to intervene, as if he wasn’t rooted to the spot with terror.
“Nagini, Kill.”
The snake's cage was gone in an instant and she leapt through the air landing on Snapes chest. The three of them watch in horror as Nagini lashes at Snape biting and tearing across his abdomen, chest, and finally his throat.
Satisfied with all the blood spilt she slithers back to her master and winds around his feet.
Voldemort left with little fanfare after it was done, Nagini safely back in her cage, hovering along.
There was no chance he could get to her now, he’d have to figure it out later.
As soon as the coast was clear Harry yanked off his cloak and rushed to the side of the dying man. Snape looked up at him, his face was covered in blood, but even beneath it he looked hollow to the bone. He tried to speak, but the punctures in his chest made it warble. “I’m sorry,” Harry could make out. “Sorry, sorry, sorry-” was all he said. Snape was crying, Harry realised. Tears and memories fell down his face in solid droplets. Hermione knew what to do before he did. She conjured a bottle and stopper with her wand in less than a second. Then held it to his face until the memories stopped and the man went still.
Harry was shaking when she pressed the bottle into his hands. The look on her face brought him back to himself though. Determination and courage, and not an ounce of pity. “Ready to rejoin the fight?” She encourages them all to stand.
Harry takes a fortifying breath, sets his mind right, and starts walking.
-
Once they make it back to the castle the fighting has lessened but they still have to duck a spell every few feet.
As soon as Harry crosses into the threshold of the great hall he hears it. Voldemort is broadcasting his voice once again.
“Harry potter… this has gone on too long. I wish not to spill magical blood, but you have forced my hand. This is your last chance to end the bloodshed. I will call in my forces for one hour, and if by that time you have not given yourself up to me in the forest… then my followers will return, and this time… they will not leave survivors.”
Everyone in the hall looks stricken. But as he watches they become defiant. Voldemort's followers are gone already, and the first order of business is to care for the fallen. People begin healing the injured and positioning the dead in the hall for identification. No one stops Harry as he makes his way out of the hall. He only hesitates to tell Ron and Hermione that they should stay here, but their determined faces shut him up pretty quickly.
It takes too short of time to get to Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle is another casualty of the war it seems. It lies on the ground, much too still to be enchanted any longer. Harry clenches his jaw as he stumbles around the rubble to get up the spiral staircase. Ron and Hermione have followed close but he thinks he should be alone, at least for this.
“Wait down here for me, please? I need you here to keep watch more than I do up there”
Neither of them look happy. Ron starts like he's about to protest, but Hermione grabs his arm.
“Alright, just please be careful?"
“Of course, I’ll be right back, I promise.”
She nods and leads Ron to a cleaner corner of the hall to keep watch.
-
Dumbledor's office itself looks untouched by time. If it weren't for the empty portraits, he could be back here for some other reason. Perhaps another lesson about Tom Riddle, another freakish and prophetic nightmare, maybe he killed another basilisk.
That one is closer to the truth. Though Nagini is not quite that size, Harry thinks the similarity is startling. If only he had the Sword of Gryffindor still, the snake would be no problem. His eyes wander to the sorting hats pedestal as he walks to the pesive’s cabinet. Perhaps he should take the lead of his younger self and pull a sword out of a hat again like a muggle magician. He’ll try that later, he reckons. The cabinet is locked for once, but Hermione has taught him a few tricks thank you very much. He pulls his wand out.
“Alohomora.” He encants evenly.
The cabinet creaks open. Deciding he wasted enough time already, Harry pulls out the shimmering vial full of memories and tips it into the basin of the pensive. Figures he recognises and some he doesn't bob about the surface, and he takes no more time diving in.
-
Harry wasn’t sure what to expect, having seen only the worst of Snape's memories the last time. Now he lands in the familiar hallway of the Leaky Cauldron. Snape is pressed up against a door, and Harry too can hear Dumbledore's rumbling through the cracks. He sounds annoyed, and Harry remembers his reluctance to interview Trelawny in the first place. Then, the familiar harsh tone of a prophecy being told. Snape looks startled but he leans in closer. It's then that Tom the bartender catches him and hauls him out by his ear. Snape, despite being caught, looks ridiculously smug.
-
The scene fades and reassembles as a towering manor room, with Voldemort lording in the centre.
“My lord there has been a prophecy.” Snape bows his head as he speaks, not daring to look his master in the eyes.
“About me?” Voldemort demands.
“Yes, it foretells your strength, to all but one foe.” Snape clearly would rather not be telling him this.
“Who is this, who dares come up against me as an equal!” His wrath is thunderous in the echoing room. “A boy, one not yet born, but at the end of July. His parents are said to have thrice defied you.” Snape adds hastily.
“I see. This shall have to be dealt with swiftly. Find all families who match the given description. I will personally see them and their boys vanquished.”
“Yes my Lord.” Snape bows lower.
-
The next scene shocks Harry’s senses. Rushing winds and high altitude almost knock him over, corporal or not. He stumbles toward two figures outlined only by the quarter moonlight. Their words nearly swallowed by the night, Harry has to listen very closely.
“Two families are in danger. He plans to visit them personally one after the other.” Snape looks more anxious than Harry has ever seen him.
“And no offence Severus, but why do you decide to care about innocents now? Only last week 20 young muggleborns and halfbloods were killed in their houses. Where were you begging for my assistance then?”
Snape hardly looks guilty as he mumbles, “The first he plans to kill… the mother, Lily Evans. I care that she survives this war.”
“She is Lily Potter now, I believe. What is she to you so that you would betray your so-called ‘Lord’?” Dumbledore looks at Snape with hardly much more than contempt.
“My oldest- my first friend in this godforsaken world,” Snape manages.
Dumbledore finally seems to accept Snape’s plea.
-
This memory has landed them back at Hogwarts in Dumbledore's office. Still startlingly similar to the present day. Snape paces in front of Dumbledore's desk, as the man himself sits serenely, staring ahead over his half moon spectacles.
“This is madness. You’ve gone mad, that's what this is.” Snape snarls, still pacing.
“I assure you, I am of sound mind.”
“Then why, why do you ask this of me? To kill you is to seal my own death.”
“Would you rather we leave that honour to poor Draco? The boy has not been corrupt yet to the point of no return.”
“And I have?” Snape looks at him, livid.
“You chosen your path my boy, you chose it until it no longer suited you and then you tossed it aside to aid in the destruction of the forces you once obeyed. You have a responsibility to end this, swiftly and properly.”
Snape sets his jaw, this he cannot argue.
“I ask you of only this, kill me so that Voldemort shall never gain the upper hand.”
Snape lowers his head, breathes, and then speaks, “It shall be done.”
“And when the time comes, Severus, for you to follow in my footsteps I would like you to pass on this message to Harry Potter.”
“What is it you wish me to tell him?”
“I wish for you to share with him this, that for Voldemort to be defeated, every part of that wretched man must be eliminated. This Harry knows of course, but what he must know is that on the night of lightning, another holder was created. That which bears the mark of death holds the final piece to Voldemort's demise.”
“That sounds like nonsense in a children's tale.”
“Yes, but I've found many truths that way. In children's tales that is. Please ensure mister Potter gets the message and all will be resolved.”
“On my word, he will hear it.”
“Thank you Severus, that will be all for tonight.”
-
Falling out of a pensive has never been a particularly pleasant experience. Harry stumbles back until he is hindered by the desk in the centre of the room. Mind reeling, he slides down and sits on the floor, his back to the desk. Snape, the reason for his parents death, the reason for his survival, Dumbledor’s death, and now apparently the downfall of the Dark Lord he once served. Dumbledor’s message, as puzzle-like as it was, is starting to take shape. The night of lightning, the night he got his scar, a new holder was made. A new horcrux he meant. That which bears the mark of death- .
Oh.
Harry is the final horcrux. The snake still needs to be killed, but that will do no good if Harry does not die himself. A few minutes pass while his mind spins trying to process this turn of events.
He has to turn himself in, into the forest and directly to Voldemort. He has to let himself be killed. Its the only way.
Harry stands, and is surprised to find himself and his resolve have solidified. He is no longer wobbly, nor hesitant. He tucks himself under the invisibility cloak and walks steadily down the winding staircase.
He pauses before his friends. Hermione has laid her head on Ron’s shoulder and they are holding hands, waiting for him to return. If he told them his plan they would only try to stop him. But if he stopped, the world would suffer. So he continues on, walking away as quietly as he can until he's out of earshot. He pickles up his pace. There is no way to tell how long he was in Snape's memories, how long he still had until the Death Eaters returned to the battle.
As he passes through the hallways he stumbles apon Neville helping clear some rubble out of the entryway. He makes a split decision and rips the cloak off.
When Neville turns around, he startles, “Blimey Harry! You really snuck up on me.”
Harry’s surprised to find his voice is level as he replies “Sorry Nev, I gotta talk to you for a moment yeah?”
Ever perceptive Neville catches on quick however, “Whats wrong? You look like you're two seconds from hurling.” He laughs, trying to dispel some tension.
“Just, with everything going on I need some assurance that something gets done.”
“Sure, anything you need Harry.”
Harry takes a breath, “Ron and Hermione already know, but if you ever have the chance, I need you to kill Voldemort's snake.”
“...His pet snake?”
“Her name is Naginia and he has used her to kill before if that helps. She needs to die, Neville. If shes gone, Voldemort himself can be killed.” Harry’s voice rings with confidence.
Neville sobers up, “I understand, you have my word Harry. I’ll take any chance I get.”
Harry pulls him in for a hug. Neville gets the idea quickly and holds him tight before pulling away and setting his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Good luck Harry, I'll see you alive on the other side of this.” Neville’s eyes convey that hes making a demand more than a reassurance and Harry nods before turning away.
Making his way into the Great hall, the bodies of the fallen have been lined up in honour in the centre of the hall. He can make out a shock of red, the Weasleys crowding a body toward the end. He tries not to think about Fred as he keeps walking. He can’t help but look at the rest of the fallen and he nearly keels over when he sees the pale, scarred body of Lupin. His favourite professor, his only living connection to his parents, the only person he could share his true worries with. Gone. Tears in his eyes, Harry continues on. Determined now to let there be no more loss. No more fallen friends and family members for him and for every witch and wizard in that castle.