Chapter 16
Once alone, Professor Snape seemed to make a violent effort to reveal Professor Dumbledore's last words.
"The Headmaster made me swear that I would not tell you this secret until you had completed your quest. There is...a seventh Horcrux. And it is..."
"Me," Harry finished.
There was a heavy silence.
"Did you know that already?
"I deduced it last year. I know I have to die for him to die," he explained.
"And that's all it does to you?" Professor Snape asked in disbelief at his reaction.
"I've had a year to think about it and accept it. It was long enough for me to finally accept," Harry replied with a bitter smile.
"How do you come to accept it? Dumbledore raised you like a lamb to the slaughter, like a bloody sacrifice! You should hate him, send him to hell!"
Harry remained silent before saying:
"I probably should. But then what? What difference will it make? If I'm going to go, then I might as well not hate."
"You would have every right to!"
"It's my death. If I have to die, I might as well do it out of love, to protect those I love, rather than out of duty or necessity. In a pinch, I'd rather not die at all. But that is the way it is."
The professor's face looked particularly tormented:
"I have lied, killed, sacrificed what was left of my soul all under his orders. I swore that my whole life would be devoted to saving you. I believed that all these sacrifices would be for the sake of saving what was left of Lily in this world. You. But he lied to me."
"It was wrong of him to trust you with this secret to reveal to me. I regret that you tortured yourself about it for a year. I wish he had had the courage to tell me, if not to my face, at least in writing, in his own words. That he would have confronted this reality. But he didn't and now it's too late for that."
"I am betraying my oath by letting you die in any case," The professor had the expression of someone who was approaching the grave with great strides and was not thinking of slowing down. And somehow this vision made Harry angry:
"I release you from this oath! You are free to go. I can't speak for my mother: she was her own person, for good or ill. But know that I forgive you! I forgive you for revealing the prophecy to Voldemort, I forgive you for being partly responsible for the death of my parents, I even forgive you for your abysmal behavior during my schooling and for hating me!
Then he continued in a lower tone:
"But please, don't die unnecessarily. Don't add to the weight on my shoulders."
There was a silence.
"Is this still about you, Potter?"
This feeble attempt at a joke managed to draw a smile from Harry, who replied:
"You said it, Professor."
In the hall, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were beginning to make preparations to support the siege against Voldemort. Professors Sprout and Slughorn had been briefed in a few words, including Professor Snape's true loyalties. When Snape came downstairs, Professor Sprout ordered him to join them as soon as possible to set up the school's safeguards. The spy replied with self-deprecation that he doubted Hogwarts would accept his participation.
"Oh, shut up, Severus. We've all been blind. When Umbridge was appointed Headmistress with the endorsement of official power, Hogwarts refused to recognize her as such to the point of denying her entry into the Headmaster's office. And yet, you, who were accused of the worst crimes with You-Know-Who, Hogwarts allowed you to rule it," burst out Professor Sprout.
"I should have understood that clue much sooner, but I was too blinded by my rage and pain to consider the facts. Will you forgive me, Severus?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Make haste, make haste, Professor Snape, you are one of us, after all! A worthy Slytherin!" Professor Slughorn greeted him.
"What's more, Hogwarts' protections will be more powerful if the rightful Headmaster summons them," Professor Flitwick added.
And so, with his colleagues, Professor Snape began to cast the Hogwarts protections that were multiplied by the faculty. Magical barriers rose, visible as the magic was so powerful, gargoyles and armor gathered in battalions. Outside, in the Forbidden Forest, a wild wind seemed to blow through the woods as its inhabitants prepared for battle.
After some hesitation, Professor Snape offered to add some of his own spells and without hesitation, the other professors agreed. The few witnesses present would have been able to testify how the ungraceful face of the dreaded Potions Master was transformed by the confidence of those who would have sent him to the devil an hour before.
Several dozen teenagers in pajamas and robes came down the steps, followed by former students who looked ready for battle. Harry and Edward recognized several former members of the AD, members of the Order of the Phoenix, and the entire Weasley clan, including Percy and Ginny. Harry intercepted Ginny, hugged her, and told her to go back to safety. Edward knew that this would not work, even though Harry was being quite sensible: Ginny had been in labor for only two days...
And indeed, he was right, judging by the fierce Gryffindor's expression as she clearly told him where he could put his protective instincts. Edward decided it was safer not to interfere and intercepted Cho as he led his fellow students toward the Great Hall:
"Isn't there someone watching the entrance to the passageway?"
"Yes, don't worry, I've taken precautions! I'll come back to help him afterwards." Assured the young Asian.
Meanwhile, Harry, with an overwhelmed air, returned near him. He had obviously not been successful.
In the Great Hall, the students were sitting around listening to Professor McGonagall's evacuation instructions. His popularity was much stronger than Professor Snape's and three quarters of the students recognized his authority. Several students asked to participate in the fights and the vice-principal agreed, as long as they were of age. Given the outraged expressions of some, there was no doubt that the instructions would not be followed to the letter.
Edward could understand them: they had just spent a year being bullied at best, tortured at worst by the Death Eater twins, all while hearing rumors about the resistance. Even the youngest had to toughen up to survive. They were no longer children, no matter what Professor McGonagall thought, and Edward felt that they had the right to choose to fight and struggle.
After all, he himself had joined the army at the age of twelve... But then again, we were talking about a military dictatorship aiming to use his talent to execute genocide. So his opinion was probably to be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, it was also a question of the future of these "children". They had the right to fight for it.
But Edward's thoughts were interrupted by a hissing, high-pitched, blade-sharp voice that seemed to emanate from the castle walls. Apparently, Voldemort was coming to join the party...The ultimatum, oh so predictable, demanded that they deliver Harry Potter to him in exchange for the lives of everyone in the castle being spared. They had until midnight and Edward wondered why they always set this kind of deadline at midnight or noon...Frankly, it was a real cliché.
At the same time, Pansy Parkinson's voice came from the corner where all the supporters of the ruling regime had gathered. She was in a hurry to hand Harry over. Daphne apologized aloud as she abruptly applied a gag to Pansy's mouth. They had forgotten this essential element...
In any case, it seemed to cast a pall, especially when Professor McGonagall seemed eager to start the evacuation with the Slytherins. Many of the non-resistance students were pointing fingers at them and seemed to agree that they were unreliable. Curiously, they were not the ones who had rebelled the most against the Carrows... Theo bellowed out loud:
"WE'RE NOT ALL MANGMORTS, DAMN IT!"
Finally, the evacuation took place, but not as calmly as hoped. Hearing Voldemort's voice had panicked some students, while others had slipped away to fight despite their age. Edward, who was the first to see the staff, noticed three students in particular were missing. Tracey Davis admitted that they had not been able to catch Malfoy and his goons: they were not in their dormitory.
Unfortunately, the teachers were too busy reinforcing the castle's already imposing defenses, forming groups to send them into battle from the highest towers or in the far too open space of the park. Others would be watching the multiple entrances, which was the task of the Weasley twins who knew all the secret passages.
"Edward? I need to talk to the ghost of Slytherin, she might know something."
Edward stopped, as if struck by lightning.
"Of course she can help you. She's Rowena Slytherin's daughter! She even told me about that damn tiara in my fifth year! I'm a complete idiot!"
"No time for self-flagellation, every minute counts!"
"Helena? By the Truth, here you are. The tiara you told me about... the one you had... borrowed from your mother... where could it be?"
"Edward? Don't tell me you want to wear it..."
"No, I prefer my hair, thank you. Do you know if Voldemort found it?"
The ghost seemed to replicate the pale, blushing, then pallid complexion in record time.
"Yes...I confided his whereabouts from his hiding place, in Albany, over half a century ago. He was charming, so understanding...Tom Riddle..." Murmured the specter; But already Harry was no longer listening to him and thinking out loud:
"He must have moved it...He certainly wouldn't have left it in that trunk. And he was thinking of Hogwarts, so that's where it must be. But where did he hide it? Not the Chamber of Secrets, we've already searched it from top to bottom when the Circle was set up... I have to get into his head... If I were him, where would I hide a tiara? Edward said the best way to hide was in plain sight... It's like looking for a needle in a haystack..."
"There's no need to interrupt him, he's in the middle of thinking. But thank you for your help, Lady Helena, you have been a great help to us."
"Sent from the Gate? If you ever get the chance tonight...Untie our chains. None of us wants to be stuck between life and death anymore. Not even my murderer deserves this fate." Murmured the otherworldly voice of the Slytherin ghost, causing Edward to shudder.
"I promise."
"I know where he is," Harry whispered, as if struck by a revelation.
At the same time, midnight struck and Edward tackled Harry to the ground to prevent him from being hit by another kind of revelation: the kind of deadly curse. All around them, windows shattered from the attackers' curses, thousand-year-old statues were smashed to pieces, and screams rang out. The fight had just begun and there would be no quarter given. There was obviously no time to lose.
"Where?" Edward asked as he walked stooped to avoid stray fire, mimicked by his friend.
"The Hidden Objects Room."
"That room where every generation that has passed through Hogwarts has stashed their stuff and contraband. And Dumbledore never thought to check it out?" Edward asked, flabbergasted.
"Dumbledore was a model student who never saw this room as anything but a room full of chamber pots. He certainly never needed to stash anything away out of sight. Plus...I caught a glimpse of him last year when we were watching Malfoy. An old tiara on a bust..." Harry explained.
At the same moment, a huge marble ornamental vase hit the wall two meters away from them, leaving a gaping hole. A second later, they saw Hagrid running past, chasing Crockdur, the terrified dog fleeing towards the park. Harry knew that Hagrid was more resistant than most to spells, but when faced with such powerful dark magic, it certainly wasn't going to be enough. There was a clattering sound and when Harry turned around, it was to see that the wall had been rebuilt. With gargoyles uglier than sin. And shooting fireballs that seemed to be doing damage to the other side...
They set off again, passing Aberfoth, who had seen his bar invaded by kids, Mrs. Longbottom, who was off to fight alongside her grandson, Tonks and Ginny, both discussing the effects of motherhood while fighting. All the while avoiding collateral spells and, in Edward's case, repairing the breaches caused by Giant attacks... Harry sometimes felt like he was in a surreal dream. Or in a nightmare.
Finally, they joined Hermione and Ron, the latter instructing the Elves to get to safety and protect themselves. His girlfriend looked like she had never been more proud of him and was about to show it physically... Before she got a splash of ice water, courtesy of Edward.
"Hugs and other methods of propagating the species will be done after we win the battle, is that clear? The slightest distraction, and you're dead, got it?"
He looked really angry and they all bowed their heads.
Luna stood in front of the door and said she was watching the passage with Cho. It must be said that in addition to the passageway leading to Aberforth's house, there was also the Disappearing Cabinet, of sinister memory. It was best to watch the door. She wished them luck in their quest.
The Room of Requirement was now empty and they were able to get to the part they needed access to. And soon, they began searching the shelves desperately, even splitting up to search more quickly.
Harry tried to retrace his steps from a year earlier, remembering the odds and ends that had marked him. The five-legged sheep, the corner of the brooms and bats....And finally, the closet where he and Edward had stashed themselves last year. He glimpsed the ridiculous tiara-topped bust...
As he reached for the tiara, he heard an unwelcome voice.
"Not so fast Potter!"
Malfoy was there, accompanied by his two henchmen who looked much more dangerous now that they had been taught dark magic and enjoyed it. The two boys stood back, but they were obviously ready to attack.
"You are going to give me back my wand and then I will turn you over to the Dark Lord," Malfoy tried to look assured, but Harry noticed the tiny tremor. He was afraid.
Harry began to emit his magical aura as he had seen Dumbledore do. Now Malfoy was clearly becoming intimidated.
"You will not do this, Malfoy," He said calmly. Then he began to approach
"I wouldn't hesitate to do it!"
"Like you hesitated to kill Dumbledore? You didn't do it then," Said Harry.
"That's because he's a coward..." Crab muttered, but loud enough for his supposed superior to hear and shudder.
"No...It's because there's still hope for you, Draco. At the manor, you seemed to recognize me, but then again, you hesitated. Who gave you his wand?" Harry asked as he took a step.
"My mother..." Malfoy replied, taken by surprise by the change of subject. Harry took another step forward.
"Your mother. Who begged Professor Snape to do it for you, because she knew you didn't have the soul of a murderer. Because she didn't want you to get hurt like that. Because she loves you," Said the young boy as he stepped forward.
"I am a Death Eater! I have my mark!" Exclaimed the Slytherin, desperate.
"Don't let a mark define you. You still have a choice not to condemn yourself and your family to a life of servitude. For in the end, can you and your father stand before Voldemort? Does he really care about you? Does he respect you? I'm in his head and I know he doesn't," Harry stated, taking a step forward with each question.
"Where is the proud Draco Malfoy who never seemed to bow to anyone? Is it enough for a dark mage to reduce you to a servant role?"
Malfoy remained silent and bowed his head, trying to regain his composure. Tears seemed about to fall from his gray eyes, his features twisted with anguish.
"No, Draco. You'll never be one of them," And he gently withdrew his wand from her, not that Malfoy resisted.
"Well, I am one of them! And anyway, your family is finished, Malfoy! It's our turn to have the glory!" Crab bellowed before starting to cast every dark magic spell he knew.
Harry tackled a shocked Malfoy out of the line of fire and fired back. His friends, who had been under Disillusionment and had taken advantage of Harry's negotiations to corner the Death Eater apprentices. Now they were trying to disable the two goons, but they were returning fire with the death spell as if they were first year spells. Goyle was eventually stunned, but Crab seemed determined to show his worth and fanaticism by using the strongest spell in his arsenal.
He shouted a spell unknown to Harry and a strange fire began to break out. The fire seemed to be alive, demonic faces seemingly forming, seeking to devour anything it touched. Soon, an intense heat spread through the room. Ron pointed to brooms and the quartet grabbed them, Edward, not knowing how to fly, took up position behind Harry.
As they tried to escape the dreadful blaze, the young Gryffindor spotted Rowena's tiara in the flames. Leaving Edward to fly, or at least keep the broom in the air, he turned into a hawk to grab the Horcrux without losing any feathers. After circling several times, he swooped down with the dexterity of a catcher.
As he grabbed the object, a smoke snake tried to attack him. A violent pain spread from his scar, causing him to cry out in pain. Harry let go and the hellish flames greedily seized it and he watched as the object burned away, a blackish liquid pouring out of the molten silver and a distant scream echoing over the noise of the flames.
He regained control of the broom and made one last turn to make sure no one was left. He had done well. Malfoy, despite the betrayal of his two sidekicks, was trying to rescue them, to get them out of there. Harry used the Levicorpus, which had the advantage of holding its target in the air without the need for concentration, and managed to rescue Goyle, while Ron got Malfoy on his broom. But when Hermione tried to rescue Crab, he refused the offered hand of what he saw as a Bloody Beast. The flames engulfed him as he remained fixated on his pride.
The group managed to escape the burning room in extremis and no sooner had they exited than the door disappeared, the castle containing the fire within. Priceless treasures would disappear, but at least they were alive.
"What was that fire? That wasn't natural..." Ron muttered.
"It was... Fiendfyre. One of the few ways to destroy a Horcrux. It devours without stopping and if it gets out of the caster's control... Well, you saw," Hermione whispered.
"I saw the Horcrux, it destroyed it," Harry confirmed.
"Crab is dead..." Draco groaned.
"I tried to save him. He refused," Said Hermione.
"Some people will always refuse compassion and help from those they despise, even to the point of preferring to die," Murmured Edward, who had experienced the same thing with Envy.
But Draco didn't seem to be in the mood to fight anymore, even verbally. He cowered and Harry felt a kind of pity for him. The same pity that had driven him to try to persuade him to stop fighting. He saw Edward discreetly cast a sleeping spell on him before placing him in a room with no access to the outside world to prevent him from getting a stray spell. Goyle, on the other hand, was treated less gently and was tied up.
As they passed through the hallway of the On Demand Room and down the stairs, they heard a groan. Edward rushed into the dark corner and found Cho Chang and the sight made him pale. She was obviously dying. Her insides were spilling out onto the floor and she looked like she was in agony. Edward tried every healing spell he knew, but nothing worked.
"Sorry Edward..." The young woman whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"You don't have to apologize, you're dying," Edward murmured, shaking her hand.
"That was Marietta. I really thought she had redeemed herself, that she had become my friend again... And she betrayed me."
"Oh...Cho."
"I was with her and Luna, watching the Room of Requirement. And all of a sudden, she showed Luna one of her necklaces...that was her hiding her stuff to make fun of her. She said she wanted to make a fresh start and she threw it at her. But when Luna caught it, she disappeared... It was a Portkey..." Cho recounted, growing paler.
"But I thought Hogwarts protections are supposed to prevent that..." Edward muttered.
"Marietta's mother works at the Ministry, in the Department of Transportation... If there's one person capable of having a powerful enough Portkey, it would be her," Ron murmured.
"And the protections are primarily to keep someone out." Hermione added as she held Cho's hand. They were so cold.
"Then she cast a Videntrail spell on me. She wanted to set a trap for you. But I still had my wand. I threw her down the stairs. I heard the crack."
Harry glanced up and saw the disjointed body of the traitor. She wouldn't harm anyone else.
"I trusted her and she killed me...She was my friend and I killed her..." Cho muttered, blood dripping from her lips.
Edward was now casting all the spells to make a person as comfortable as possible: warmth, comfort, and finally sleep. She almost seemed to relax. A few moments later, she breathed her last. She had obviously conserved all her strength to stay awake, so she could warn them. Now she seemed almost at peace.
It was Voldemort who had done this, who had divided families, who had forced friends to betray each other. They had to kill him at all costs. And they were close. Only he and the snake remained...and then peace would return.
They made their way to the corridors where the attackers were trying to enter the castle. The Weasley clan was defending this part of the castle and Percy was informing the ministerial puppet of his resignation. Fred seemed pleased with this development, while Mr. Weasley had his sons' backs.
Then it happened: a wind seemed to blow through all the combatants without anyone being able to determine its origin. It passed like a specter, and everyone suppressed a collective shiver. It was as if someone had stepped on their grave. Edward shuddered: he had felt this at least twice before in his life, in another universe.
But then Mr. Weasley tried to cast a spell... to no avail. The other defenders tried the same thing with the same lack of magic. The attackers, however, succeeded. A huge explosion occurred, sending everyone to the ground. Fred tried to get up to fight back, but his father tackled him to the ground. A bolt of green lightning struck and the Weasley patriarch collapsed in front of his son.
None of the defenders knew what to do without magic, so it was Edward who intervened. First with alchemy, immobilizing the attackers in stone cocoons, and then with weapons, disabling those who had escaped his devastating attack. But his intervention came too late to save Ron's father. Ron's father, along with his brothers, was screaming in pain and despair.
But in a war, there was no time for grief and tears. Edward forced his friend to his feet. Harry and Hermione, trying several spells, failed and were in despair. At the same time, an ominous clattering sounded as mandibles oozing poison tried to stab them. The children of Aragog were clearly in Voldemort's camp.
Edward used his alchemy to fend them off, before shouting:
"Magic without a wand! Try this!"
Harry concentrated and a fist of air sent the next acromantula flying. It worked! Whether they could keep it up remained to be seen. But just then, their wands sparked again and Fred's next spell sent rocks flying into the face of one of the attackers.
"What was that?!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Voldemort. That's why he needed Luna. He's trying to use her to take over the magic... But he doesn't have exactly the right person, which is causing his plan to go haywire... We'll have to expect more short circuits in the next few hours. Spread the word. Those capable of magic without a wand will have to take over. Otherwise, there are the physical attacks, the bladed weapons..." Said Edward with a panicked expression.
It was the first time Harry and his friends had seen Edward lose his temper like that, which meant it was very serious. They absolutely had to hurry, otherwise the situation would get worse. And the best way to do that was to put the opposing king in checkmate.
"We have to know where Nagini is! That's the priority right now! She must be near Voldemort. We have to kill her and then we'll have to kill Voldemort, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as she hugged him tightly.
Harry delved into the now horribly familiar bond between himself and Voldemort. He saw Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, surrounded by Death Eaters and some Death Eaters. But most of all, he stood there, raging at Luna, the young girl completely bloodied and unconscious, but whose normally dreamy face was twisted with pain. Voldemort was cursing Snape for his betrayal and demanding that Rockwood explain why this was not working as he had predicted.
The Death Eater, no longer wearing his usual sullen demeanor, seemed to think they had the wrong person. But he assured his master that he would be master of Great Britain and the magic of the wizarding world before the day was out.
"He is in the Forbidden Forest, but he is surrounded by Death Eaters," Harry revealed, shaking his head to extract himself from the dark mage's hatred.
They began to run towards the Great Hall, giving advice as they went to those who were terrified by the momentary loss of their magic. The teachers looked shocked, but some of them knew a few spells in wandless magic, namely, Professor Snape or Professor Flitwick. As for Professor Chourave, she was betting on the aggressiveness of her plants.
It was then, as they were about to pass through the door to go to the park that Ron stopped dead in his tracks and asked this question:
"Where is Edward?"