The Final Battle
‘Oh shit,’ Sirius said.
‘What?’ Harry asked, looking up at him.
‘How long have you got?’ Remus asked, ‘Before you have to go to him? How long can you get away with?’
Snape tore his eyes from his arm.
‘Not long.’
‘Right. OK.’ he floundered for a moment, eyes darting around the room, ‘OK. Right -’ he shook his head slightly and Sirius' hand found his shoulder, gripping it tightly. ‘Ok,’ Remus tried again, ‘Harry, we need to get you back up to the castle. Severus is the Floo still open? Can we go straight to your office? We need to get to the cup. Then we can - we need to -’
‘The Floo is still open,’ Severus said, his dark eyes steady. ‘We can go straight to my office.’
He moved quickly, rolling down his sleeve, and waving his wand at the cauldron, which began to shrink, packing itself neatly back into the wooden box, alongside the various bottles and ingredients that had remained on the tabletop. Remus hurried across the room to gather their belongings, throwing Harry's cloak to Sirius, who wrapped it around his shoulders and helped him down from the table. They followed Snape to the Floo, watching as he disappeared in the flames.
‘You go next,’ Remus said, ushering Harry into the fireplace with Sirius. ‘I'll meet you there.’
As they disappeared, he turned to the room once more, sending the furniture back into place with a flick of his wand, and seizing the sword. He stepped into the fireplace, ducking beneath the mantle.
‘Hogwarts!’ he shouted.
*
He emerged in his old room, registering the strangeness of the meticulous tidiness. No cloak flung over an open trunk. No piles of paper collapsing on the desk. Snape was already by the door, directing Harry and Sirius through it.
‘Come on, Lupin!’ he called, hurrying after them as they half ran towards the nearest staircase, heading for the gargoyle that would grant them entry to Dumbledore's office. They climbed despite the movement of the spiral staircase, unable to bear waiting any longer, Sirius catching hold of Harry as he stumbled.
‘Are you OK?’
‘Yeah, fine - just - bit of a headache -’
They reached the door, the brass griffin smiling up at them as Sirius reached for the knocker -
The door opened.
‘Right on time,’ Dumbledore smiled, standing to one side as they piled in, Remus bringing up the rear, coming to an abrupt stop as they took in the scene that met them: Kingsley stood behind the Headmaster's desk, a scroll open in front of him. Emmeline by the bookshelf, casually thumbing through an enormous book. Arthur and Alastor were sitting beside the fire, and had looked up from their conversation as Dumbledore had spoken, Arthur rising immediately and coming towards them, putting his hands on Harry’s shoulders.
‘Poppy, I think you might want to have a look at this one,’ he said, calling behind him to Madam Pomfrey who had been talking to -
‘Dora!’ Sirius said, as Poppy left her, placing a hand on Harry's forehead and peering closely at his scar, ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Everyone’s here, Sirius,’ Dumbledore said, gesturing around the room at the other familiar faces. ‘Aberforth seemed to think the time had come, although he has been rather light on the details. Severus, am I to assume we should be making our way somewhere?’
Snape nodded, ‘It has already been almost half an hour -’
‘And Remus,’ Dumbledore continued, ‘Am I to assume Harry need not come with us?’
‘Yes,’ Remus said, unable to suppress the relief in his voice.
‘Right then,’ Dumbledore turned to the crowd behind him, ‘Poppy, take Harry to the hospital wing and run a full diagnostic. Severus and I will go ahead and you can follow,’ he paused, nodding once at Kingsley before turning his attention to Remus. ‘The cup is in the walnut cabinet, third drawer on the left hand side. When we get there, whatever happens,’ he glanced at Sirius, who was fussing over Harry, despite Poppy's requests for him to move, ‘I want your eyes on the snake.’
‘Albus - how -’ Remus began, but Dumbledore shook his head.
‘See you there,’ he said to the room, pulling the invisibility cloak over his head.
Snape looked around the room once more, his eyes hesitating on Harry, and then meeting Remus’, before he vanished with a loud crack.
‘Sirius -’ Harry said, over by the door now, Poppy’s arm around his shoulders. ‘Sirius - where -’
‘It’s OK, Harry,’ Sirius said, his voice slightly hoarse, ‘It’s OK - go with Poppy, we’ll be back - we’ll see you soon.’
Harry looked back at him, his eyes round and pleading, Remus took a step forward, almost involuntarily. The urge to pull Harry to him, and grasp Sirius by the hand and make a run for it stronger than it had ever been before.
‘Harry -’ he said -
‘Right, everyone,’ Kingsley began, and Remus hesitated, watching helplessly as Poppy hurried Harry from the room, ‘We’re following them as soon as the portkeys activate. Tonks, I want your eyes on them please, let us know as soon as they are ready,’ he gestured to a selection of objects that were arranged along the edge of the desk: books, a strangely large quill, a desk clock, a paperweight, ‘We need to make sure we're landing behind Albus’ silencing charm, so accuracy is essential. When you arrive, you stay low and wait for the signal. No one moves until they're told to.’ He turned to Remus and Sirius, ‘Albus said you had one more thing to attend to before you follow us. We’ll leave you one of these,’ he gestured to the desk, where Tonks was standing, eyes fixed on the objects in front of her.
‘How did you all -’ Remus began, looking around the room, at the little huddles of people, all waiting, all ready.
Kingsley shrugged, ‘You’re not the only ones who have been working on this.’
‘But Dumbledore -’ Sirius began.
‘Ready!’ Dora cried, suddenly, as the objects glowed blue, illuminating her face in a light that almost exactly matched the colour of her hair.
‘Let's go,’ Kingsley said, striding back across the office and peering down at the parchment. ‘Tonks, with me.’
Sirius and Remus watched, as the order members huddled around the desk, vanishing in groups of three or four, in swirls of dark-coloured cloaks, until they were alone.
‘What the fuck?’
‘The cup, Sirius,’ Remus said, moving swiftly across the room to the cabinet, and rummaging through the doors. He found the velvet box in seconds, placing it open on one of the many side tables that were scattered across the office.
‘How did -’ Sirius began as Remus raised the sword, bringing it down swiftly on the golden cup.
There was an explosion of noise, black smoke curling from the box as the Horcrux protested, but Remus barely heard it, shoving the sword into his belt and grabbing Sirius hand, tugging him over to the desk.
‘Ready?’ he asked, bringing one hand up to hold Sirius’ cheek.
‘Ready.’ Sirius nodded.
‘Listen, when we get there -’ Remus felt breathless, desperate, ‘Don’t -’ he paused, taking in every line of Sirius' face, his grey eyes, stormy and tired, ‘Just be - just - don’t die.’
‘Same to you,’ Sirius said, reaching for the small silver clock, which was still glowing softly on the desk.
*
They hit the ground, only just managing to stay on their feet. Remus pulled Sirius down, noses to the earth, scratching his hand on the bush they had landed beside. He looked around, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. They were in a forest, trees densely packed around them. It was eerily still, no wind whistling through branches, no rustling leaves, At least they’d managed to land behind the silencing charms. There was no sign of the others. He squinted through the bush where a glow of light filtered through the foliage.
Without thinking, he moved as Sirius began to, pulled forwards by his grip on Sirius’ arm. They crept forwards, moving from tree to tree, Remus only briefly wondering where the rest of the Order might be. The lights were growing brighter, and sound was beginning to filter through the charm, voices, Remus thought, or a voice. They moved as quietly as they could, watching for fallen branches, or dry leaves, but April had maintained it's reputation and the earth was soft and silent. They inched closer still, aware that as the voice became clearer, so too would any noise they made.
Sirius stopped abruptly, pulling in behind an enormous rowan tree. Their eyes met only briefly, before they turned them back towards the light. Figures were clear now, standing hooded, faced obscured, in a circle around a fire, which blazed with blue flame. The voice was still muffled, vibrating strangely through the silencing charm in a series of unintelligible murmurings.
‘Where are they?’ Sirius hissed, his mouth a millimetre from Remus’ ear.
A gust of wind whistled through the leaves. They were at the very edge of the charms now, and Remus caught sight of the tip of a boot, only just visible behind the tree opposite them. He nudged Sirius, who looked around, just as Kingsley’s eyes appeared further up the trunk. He held up a hand, urging them to wait. Remus felt himself nod once, shifting carefully to get a better view and instead catching the back of Sirius’ head as he slipped away, moving even closer to the figures. Remus felt his heart rise into his throat, and clamped his mouth shut as if to keep it from escaping. To keep himself from crying out. He glanced back at Kingsley, who was staring at him, his eyes wide in warning and followed Sirius anyway.
He found him not five metres away, lying flat on his stomach at the base of a broad oak tree, his head sideways, one ear towards the group. Remus huddled in beside him, feeling Sirius' fingers squeeze his wrist as he did so, taking great care to lower himself down without making a noise, because here, the voice could be heard clearly.
‘... searching for you My Lord, following every sign -’
‘And was it this devotion to finding me what led you to lose track of your wife and child?’ The voice was high and cold. Remus felt it sink into his skin, and shivered for the first time on the cold ground.
‘My Lord -’ it was Lucius Malfoy who was speaking, his clipped tenor unmistakable.
‘Let us hope they are the only thing you have lost track of,’ Voldemort cut him off, and Lucius swallowed the rest of his words, choking slightly, ‘You know of what I speak.’
‘Of course, my Lord,’ Lucius squeaked, and Remus wondered how he was doing it, how he was holding his nerve. Could Voldemort really be so distracted as to not probe further-
‘Retrieve it.’ Voldemort ordered, ‘Go now, return immediately.’
There was a whooshing sound and the swirl of a cloak as Lucius disapparated followed by a pause, the only sound a low hissing noise that seemed to come from within the circle of cloaks. Remus raised his head slightly, but couldn’t see more than the hems of their black robes as they stood, some silent and still, some shifting nervously from foot to foot.
‘Wormtail -’ Voldemort began, and Remus felt Sirius stiffen beside him, rising onto his hands and pushing himself backwards. He turned, ready to grab at him, to hold him back, when there was a shout and then a great flash of light -
‘Let’s go!’ Sirius yelled, darting forwards, leaving Remus to scramble to his feet, looking wildly around himself as spells began to fly -
‘Sirius!’ he shouted, blinking against the blinding lights, ‘Siri-’ he ducked back behind the tree as something green flashed past him. Fuck he thought, fuck. He peered around the great trunk, his eyes following the line singed into the bark. The battle had begun. Kingsley darted past him, duelling with one cloaked figure, whose hood had blown back to reveal a pale faced middle-aged man Remus vaguely recognised. He ducked down and ran forwards in the dark, looking desperately around for Sirius, for the snake, the noises around him deafening after so long behind the silencing charms. The fire that had been in the centre of the group was still burning, and he headed for it, dodging rogue spells from the scattered wizards as they moved between the trees, the light from their wands flashing in and out of view. A shout to his left turned his head, and he caught sight of Dora, her blue hair illuminated by the jet of red light she had fired from her wand, immobilising her opponent. He hurried towards her, finding her carefully binding the Death Eaters arms and legs with magic as his eyes stared up at her, wild and pleading.
‘Be right back,’ she said, as she hauled him to his feet, holding him tightly by his forearm.
‘Where are you going?’ Remus asked in alarm.
‘Got to deposit this one,’ she looked at him quizzically. ‘Kingsley’s orders. Capture not kill,’ she huffed through her nose at the question on his face. ‘Haven’t you got something you're supposed to be doing?’
Remus blinked, ‘Yeah, yeah - have you - have you seen Sirius?’ he looked around them once more, peering through the trees, ‘Dora?’ he looked back, finding only empty air where she had been standing moments before.
He headed back the way he had come, weaving between trees, stumbling over roots, moving towards any flash of light that caught his eye, veering away when he saw the Order member involved had their duel under control. A shout carried on the wind whistled through the branches overhead and Remus turned again, sure it had been Sirius. A beam of red shot through the air above him and he heard a great cracking sound as the branch it had hit began to separate from the tree. He threw himself to the side as it came down, but too late to avoid it. Stars danced in front of his eyes as he crawled forwards, trying to retrieve his wand from where it had rolled under a thorn bush, which clawed at his clothes and skin. He rolled over, pulling himself free, and froze. There it was: the great snake, its body heaving as it slithered over the uneven ground. It was moving slowly, trying to remain beneath the bottom layer of forest foliage, heading gradually one way and then another as if unsure which way to turn. Remus hesitated, watching it for a moment, puzzling over its strange movements when he heard a sound behind him. More jets of red light were bouncing between the trees, sending bark and leaves flying -
‘Give it up Tom, your followers are few, your strength is failing, you won’t win this fight.’
Dumbledore was duelling Voldemort, his wand arm moving with impressive speed. He seemed to be gaining ground, moving gradually towards the thin cloaked figure, closing the distance between them. Voldemort gave no answer, and Remus could see the beam coming from his wand was faltering slightly, dulling. It was now or never.
He staggered to his feet, aiming for stealth, but the snake was only inches away and it felt the tremors of his steps upon the ground. It turned, rearing its great head, jaws wide and threatening as Remus pulled the sword from his belt, raising it high above his head. He brought it down, swinging it with full force. It connected with the snake's neck, and continued through, slicing its head clean off its body.
Remus heard a scream from behind him, or thought he did. His ears were ringing and he swayed as he tried to turn, to find the source of the sound. Voldemort had spun round, his red eyes vivid in his pale face, his narrow lips parted forming a black cavern. He raised his wand, directing it this time at Remus, who dropped the sword and fumbled for his own in his belt, struggling to close his fingers over it. This is it, he thought, the words clear in his head as he watched Voldemort’s mouth forming the words of his spell, Sirius, this is it. He closed his eyes -
A strange kind of silence washed over him and he stood for a minute, swaying gently on the spot. And then, he felt a breeze move across his face and a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes.
‘Nicely done.’
Dumbledore’s blue eyes were twinkling as he smiled down at him. The forest was silent, still.
‘Where is he?’ Remus said, looking wildly around them, his head pounding.
‘The body of Lord Voldemort has been transferred to a secure cell at the Ministry where Aurors will examine him and confirm his defeat,’ Dumbledore said, ‘You came at just the right moment.’
Remus looked around him again, ‘No - where's Sirius -?’
He allowed himself to be steered back towards the blue glow of the fire. It was dying now, the spell that had been maintaining it gone with its caster. He saw Dedalus, sitting on a felled branch, holding a handkerchief to his forehead as Elphias fussed above him, trying various spells to stem the bleeding.
‘Cursed, I'm afraid,’ he was saying, ‘But I'm sure Poppy -’
They continued to move through the crowd, finding Tonks huddled with two other Aurors, heads bent in debrief. She looked up as they passed and raised her eyebrows at Remus.
‘Thank Merlin, he's in a right flap. See if you can talk him down.’
She gestured through the trees, where a white light was glowing softly. From this distance, it struck Remus as rather beautiful, the silhouetted leaves standing stark against the bright light, their soft shapes moving gently in the breeze. Voices were filtering through the trees, and he shook his fuzzy head trying to make sense of them.
‘Don’t touch me Mad-Eye or I swear -’
‘Give it a rest Black. Come on, the battles won -’
‘Sirius-’ that was Arthur Weasley, ‘Let us deal with this. You can stop now. It's done - it's over -’
Sirius laughed, harsh and cold and it cut through some of the haze in Remus’ head. He hurried forwards, the huddle of people who had been speaking coming into view. Sirius was standing in the centre, his wand trained unwaveringly on a trembling Peter, who revolved slowly within it, jerking periodically as he attempted repeatedly to transform.
‘Sirius,’ Dumbledore said gently, raising his own wand, and sending his own pale shaft of light to join Sirius', ‘I’ve got him now, you can let go.’
Sirius turned his head, a retort forming in his mouth, and saw Remus, his narrowed eyes widening. He dropped his wand, the beam of light vanishing as Dumbledore's took its place and hurried over to him, his captive forgotten.
‘What happened?’ he said, his fingers tracing across Remus' forehead and coming away bloody.
‘Oh -’ Remus said, bringing his own hand up, ‘Bang on the head.’
*
‘Oh dear, what a mess you've made of your lovely face.’
Remus snorted, ducking back as Poppy fussed over him, dabbing at his head with a cloth soaked in some kind of potion. It stung.
‘Don’t make that horrible noise, it's quite unbecoming.’
‘I don't think one more scar is going to ruin my complexion, honestly Poppy -’
‘She’s not wrong,’ Sirius said, leaning against the bedside cabinet, ‘It is a lovely face.’
They were back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore preferring to keep the required healing in-house. None of the injuries sustained by the order were particularly awful - Death Eaters they had been up against didn't seem to have been particularly dedicated to the cause. It seemed that Voldemort's fanaticism hadn't had quite enough time to take hold in the same way it did before. Perhaps Narcissa’s successful flight had left others with something to think about.
Dumbledore had been in to see them briefly, sweeping through with news that Lucius Malfoy had been apprehended by Aurors in Diagon Alley, whether on his way to Gringotts, or to try to escape through some black market Floo was anyone’s guess at this stage. Peter had been returned to the Ministry holding cells, and Dumbledore had overseen the spellwork himself this time. There would be no escape. Moody had been the one to capture Barty, and he was safely locked away now too, awaiting what would be a very short trial.
‘You should contact Andromeda,’ Dumbledore had told Sirius, ‘See if she can pass along word to her sister.’
‘We want to talk about Harry,’ Sirius had replied, ‘Now Voldemort has gone -’
Dumbledore had appraised them for a moment, his blue eyes steady, and nodded once.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘Alright then.’